This period of the Pandemic has been a very trying and challenging time for most people. For the majority of us, it has been a time of deep introspection and coming to conclusions about life, goals, challenges, and achievements. It was as though time had stopped. That seemed this way because there was a forced sense of staying at home, spending more time with the family, and coming to terms with a lot of unreal realities.
"It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves." —Sir Edmund Hillary
I've Been Thinking...
My friends, this first week of the new year took my breath away. I’m sure it took your breath away as well.
I could not believe my eyes as I watched lawless rioters smash windows and fight police as they broke into the U.S. Capitol. I could not believe my eyes as I watched a rioter break into Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and sit with his feet up on her desk. The images that came tumbling out of D.C. on Wednesday enraged me. They shocked me, disturbed me, and took me aback.
I was, however, heartened by President-Elect Biden’s comments that this is not who we are. I really believe in my heart that he’s right. What we witnessed on Wednesday is not who we are as a nation. I don’t even believe it represents most of the 74 million Americans who voted for Trump. That said, I do believe Trump is to blame for the outrageous behavior that unfolded. The responsibility sits squarely with him, as well as with those who have used their platforms to incite, to lie, and to cause disruption. Words matter—I can’t stress that enough. Lives were needlessly lost. This was a tragedy and a disgrace.
Thank God his time is almost up. I cannot wait. It cannot come soon enough.
"Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, No one can count the apples in a seed."
Contemplating these words inspire me to not underestimate the potential of the coming year. We live in a world of infinite potential. Small actions with a sense of natural timing will grow fruitful results.
GOOD SEED
©1-18-13 Will Hale – Tadpole Parade
A new day dawns tomorrow
Once a seed is planted
It is up to God to make it grow
I have watered, fertilized
and trust the sun will rise
Planted but not forgotten
Left alone but not neglected
The process of life is out of my hands
Surrender is not giving up
It is letting go of control
Like the seed in the ground
It is my time to rest.
The tilling, planting, and praying
Is done
I can trust the spark of creation
To do what love does, Grow
No one fails to react when public violence is flagrantly incited, which happened at the Capitol this week. As a political philosophy, or a way of life, disorder doesn’t work. Violence might not be inevitable, but chaos is.
But in the face of chaos, some facts remain constant and stable:
- Peace is a state of awareness.
- To advance the cause of peace, you must be at peace.
- External conflict reflects the inner conflicts of human nature.
- No dispute is ever settled unless both sides achieve a level of mutual satisfaction.
When politics comes down to rigidly opposing views, all of these facts are being ignored. Nothing gets resolved so that all sides achieve mutual satisfaction, and therefore grudges simmer, awaiting sudden eruptions and the pot boils over.
Covid-19 has offered us the opportunity of a reset.
Throughout this window of quarantine, self-isolation and lockdown, we have been able to very quickly discern every day what it is we need on a daily basis. Covid has forced us to become conscious around our level of consumption. It has also shown us that we really don’t need most of what we have been consuming at all.
I would like you to continue the momentum of this reset as we continue to emerge beyond the pandemic, and return to our daily lives. Because the simpler you are, meaning the more you realize your survival is dependent on basic things, the more what you do with your time becomes a choice. It very quickly enables you to get out of a bad trade, which is trading your time and energy in order to survive.
Where are you headed?
The Practice:
Find your North Star.
Why?
I did a meditation retreat (at Spirit Rock, wonderful place, including for workshops). One evening as we walked out of the hall after the last sit, I was feeling rattled and discombobulated. (One of the benefits of a retreat – though it can be uncomfortable – is that it stirs up of the sediments of your psyche, which can muddy your mental waters for a while.)
I looked up at the stars shining brightly in the cold clear night, and soon noticed the Big Dipper. My eyes followed its pointing to Polaris, the North Star, and a wave of easing came over me. The star felt steady and reassuring, something you could count on. It connected I think with a young part of me who loved the outdoors and learned to believe that as long as he could locate the North Star, he could find his way out of the tangled woods and back to safety.
This year I don’t plan to make any resolutions.
If I learned anything from 2020 it’s that trying to make plans while in the center of a chaotic cyclone is a set up for disappointment and frustration.
Instead, I am going to make ONE WORD the focal point of my biggest desire for 2021 and that word is CONTENTMENT.
Striving for contentment isn’t a new thing with me, but it is something that I now want to master now.
There were many years when my focus was happiness, but I’ve learned that for me, happiness is not the ultimate goal because happiness is tied to other people, outside circumstances, and unforeseeable experiences.
Welcome, 2021!
We have so many hopes pinned on this new year. It will take us a while to process and implement the vast need for social change and healing illuminated in 2020. Maybe in the past we’d say “that’s it” for last year and be quite glad to see it in our rear-view mirror. But this paradigm shift will require us to pause and take a deep respectful breath of hope knowing there is still a lot of patience and work still ahead as we traverse the in between time from what was to what will be.
The old way is being dismantled and being cleared away, and even if we’re not 100% where we hoped we’d be, we are still making room for more love, creativity, courage, compassion, hope…and joy. This and that will be true!
And, if there is one thing I know for sure.
How we consider and integrate the past has a huge impact on how we experience our future. “If we do what we did we’re gonna get what we got!”
When your mind and heart are truly open abundance will flow to you effortlessly and easily.
The way we eat has changed the planet. In this simple idea, which few of us consider when we go to the grocery store, lies immense hope for the future—if we pay attention. On the medical front a large number of people accept the notion, once thought of as a fringe belief, that “you are what you eat.” The decisions you make today about what you eat will have a huge impact in your future health. Food plays a decisive factor in modern lifestyle diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and all the damaging side effects related to the epidemic of obesity in this country.
The next step in our growing awareness expands on the same idea. The next bite you take adds to the health of planet Earth or pushes it a tiny step toward deterioration. Unconscious eating is bad for the environment. Conscious eating puts the planet on the road to renewal and wellness.
How will you ever find peace
unless you yield to love?
—Rabia
If you put down what you carry
in case of emergency, you will make
space for what can really help. For
clutching onto failure or success
will only make you sink.
No matter where you are in the world, one of the most iconic events is counting down New Year’s Eve as the ball drops on Times Square or a series of breathtaking fireworks explode from barges in the Sydney Harbour or Singaporeans dance the last hours of the year away at the Siloso Beach Party. But chances are, for most of the world, New Year’s Eve (like everything else about 2020!) is gonna look a little (okay, a lot!) different.
Never fear, my friends!
Pandemic or no, we can count down to the New Year in style.
Join me for a seven-part “Woo” Year celebration!
SEVEN: 7 Ways to Cleanse Your Space
Nothing says, “New Year, New Woo” like cleaning out the old to make room for the new. Follow these steps to release energy, let go of the old, and C-L-E-A-N-S-E your physical and energetic space.
C – Crystals. Crystals have been used throughout history as sources of healing. Each crystal has its own energy, and each comes bearing its own message. For clearing, try amber, which can help release karma and heal family patterns; citrine, which is wonderful for letting go of negativity, and fluorite, which is effective for clarity and focus.
L – Light. With days much shorter in the Northern Hemisphere, some of us have to be intentional about getting our dose of the Sun. When you’re at home, open up those shades and let that natural light in, or go for a walk when the sun is shining( even if you have to bundle up as we do here in Ontario)!
E – Essential Oils. Use essential oils on diffusers! You’ll love the aroma in your home, and high-quality oils can assist in resetting your mood, lifting your energy, and even combatting germs.
A – Ambient Sounds. The sounds you surround yourself with can help create a sense of calm and wellbeing. Create sounds by ringing a bell, or a crystal singing bowl, or listening to my guided meditations on YouTube! By flooding your environment with positive sound waves, you’ll disturb the stagnant energy.
N – Nice & Neat. Physical clutter is trapped energy. Clear away stacks of papers, wipe down surfaces, and let go of the old. When you clean up, declutter and reorganize, you’ll unleash energy and usher in the new. S – Salt Scrub. While you’re cleaning away the old, don’t forget about detoxifying yourself! This DIY Himalayan Salt Scrub recipe is one of my favorites. Not only does it work wonders on dry, rough skin, it also helps detoxify your body through increased blood flow and exfoliation. You can use it for your hands, feet, and whole body:
Each new year, many set out goals for what they want to achieve or experience. 2020 has challenged us in all-new ways — both personally and professionally — but our essential need to find balance in work and life still remains. How will you use your time in the year ahead? Will you cling to the need for work more than ever, or will you prioritize play and free time that feeds your spirit?
As you look ahead to how work and play will factor into your time, it is worth reflecting on how different cultures and time periods have treated this issue. Perhaps you will find your personal key to work-life balance somewhere in the midst.
Work to Live, Live to Work
Europeans like to remind us that they work to live while Americans live to work. They believe their lifestyle of more emphasis on leisure than work is superior to the American way. After all, it is filled with less stress and it’s less materialistic and less dehumanizing.
With more free time, Europeans feel that they can focus on nurturing their families, building their communities, and cultivating their minds. Frenetic Americans, on the other hand, don’t seem to have much time for such a rich life.
You’re standing at the doorway.
On one side of the door, you can decide that life has not turned out the way you desire. It’s unfair. It’s too hard. Maybe the same thing keeps happening to you-- or not happening.
You might feel anxious or discouraged. It’s a young techie’ s world. Or a blonde’s. Or someone luckier and other than you. You don’t have real money. Stable true love. The recognition or freedom you deserve. It almost works out sometimes. But then it rains. You lose your ticket. The job is taken away. Your lover turns out to be a tiny bit misleading, what with being married to 8 other people and all. And the disappointments seem familiar, and yet cut you to the bone, because some part of you knows, it doesn’t have to be this way.
This is a life that is “happening to you.” This perspective denies your power. I am not demeaning your feelings of frustration. It’s just that I have something more useful in mind.
You can walk through this doorway.
It’s going to be very strange when we turn on our TVs on New Year’s Eve to watch the ball drop at Times Square. For the first time in 114 years, the streets of New York City will be empty. But as strange as that may seem—we still have good reason to celebrate!
Bottom line:
- We survived 2020.
- We made it this far!
- We pulled together, and tapped into resources we didn’t even think we had and above all, we moved forward.
- We learned how to do our jobs, teach our kids and order our essentials online.
- We figured out ways to maintain our fortitude and stay connected to our lives and our loved ones, even when wearing masks and keeping our distance.
I fully appreciate that not everyone was so fortunate and my heart and prayers go out to all those who have lost someone to Covid-19.
Let’s be honest: the season we’re living through right now in this pandemic is scary and stressful for all of us. The more I keep watching, the more I keep seeing so many of us hitting places where we’re experiencing strong, sometimes confusing emotions—about our money, our jobs, or our lives in general.
Everything is a bit up in the air still, leading us to face a lot of stress and fear. Believe it or not, that’s why I think it’s so important to keep talking about building our wealth from the inside out, and not the outside in, so we can insulate ourselves against the chaos of what happens in the world and leave our fear and stress far behind us.
This is what I mean…
How to Build Your Life From the Inside Out
We all have deep-seated inherent desires within us. Sometimes we ponder over these to get to the exact point of our desires. The intelligent human being knows and understands how he can harness the powers of his own mind to create the life he desires.
BELIEVE TO ACHIEVE
You need to realize and feel that there is a way with which you can achieve your desires and then go for it. Infinite intelligence within your subconscious knows and believes. It is the acceptance of your conscious mind that will respond in totality to your beliefs.
