I've Been Thinking...

I awoke at dawn on Friday. The early morning, like my home, was dark and quiet.

I looked out my kitchen window as I brewed my coffee. I always look at the same tree in my backyard whenever I’m feeling off balance or out of sorts. It has been an inspiration for me as long as I’ve lived in my home.

When there were wildfires in California earlier this fall, I looked out at my tree in what felt like slow motion. Several of its beautiful branches came crashing to the ground. I was told it was just too hot outside and that the branches buckled under the weight of the heat. I held my breath as I watched them fall. I thought the entire tree might fall before my very eyes. I was already mentally preparing for what I would do without it.

I tell this story because, in some way, I think many of us are holding our breath right now waiting for something to fall. We are preparing for things to keep changing, or to live without something we love.

As we are less than a week away from celebrating Thanksgiving Day in the US …. I am reminded to find  the moments of appreciation all around us, big and little. Join me in reaching for the feeling of gratitude my friend. We can do this!

We’re shining our lights. We’re being lighthouses for the highest, greatest, good. That’s been my prayer the entire time we have walked this journey we are all in collectively. It is still my prayer today … nothing has changed: the highest, greatest, good for all.

Can we get there together? That is the goal. That’s what so many people want, regardless of where you stand in the midst of all the current changes. We don’t go back. We move forward … and you have to choose and decide where you’re going to put your attention and your energy.

And if you are truly going to be a peacemaker, if you are truly focused on peace in this world, then you have to have it inside of you.

You cannot have regret. You cannot have anger. You cannot have judgment. You cannot have condemnation. You cannot have ignorance towards others. You cannot have comparison.

That doesn’t live with peace.

What do you think about when you first wake up?

The Practice:
Lean into good on first waking.

Why?

Waking up is like the sun rising. At first it’s mostly dark, as glimmers of consciousness begin to light the shadows. Emerging into full wakefulness, the fogs and veils dissolve and the whole plain of your mind comes into view. It’s quiet: a restedness in the body, sleepy still, not yet much internal verbal chatter. There’s an intimacy with yourself, abiding as the core of your be-ing.

Ultimately being a powerful communicator is simple but not always easy.

Say what you really mean.

Ask for what you honestly want.

Take responsibility for how you feel.

Speak with love and kindness.

Your ability to communicate powerfully will determine the quality of your life.

Communication is the foundation for a fulfilling life.

Yet, it can be so hard to understand another and to be understood. So much pain, heartbreak, conflict is caused by miscommunication.

So why is it so difficult?

I began as all young artists do—working toward some imagined greatness that might reveal itself in time, if I could stay devoted enough to my craft. But along the way, I was humbled to be more uplifted by what was true rather than what was great, by what was heartfelt rather than what was intricate. It kept me close to my own experience, which when entered honestly began to reveal the common ground of all experience and all time.

From there, I risked more by entering the poems than by writing them, not sure where they might go, and found myself touched and changed by showing up in my life so completely. Well, that’s not very different than being changed by loving another, is it? Now in the second half of life, I am devoted to being in that holy space where the conversation of aliveness exists. It’s not about the words but the poetry of life that is revealed and enlivened by our honest engagement.

Lately I’ve been craving silence.

Silence in my surroundings and silence in my own internal world.

The craziness of the world between politics and Covid and everything else, has generated so much noise, especially the noise of my opinions and everyone else’s.

The other day I saw these words on Instagram (@buddha.says) that blew me away:

“Open Your Mouth Only If What You Are Going To
Say Is More Beautiful Than Silence.”

I've Been Thinking...

A few months ago, I was talking to a friend of mine about life when he said to me: “Maria, if you want something new, you are going to have to first get rid of the old. It’s the only way to make room.”

Damn, I thought. Ain’t that the truth?

One of my big New Year’s resolutions for 2020 was to clear out the old in every area of my life. I had made a promise to myself that this would be the year I would take a hard look at how I was living my life: my beliefs, my attachments, and all my stuff. I started sorting through things from my office, things from my time as First Lady of California, things from my parents, things from my kids (do yourself a favor and do not save all of your kids’ school things like I did), and so many other things that had found their way into storage when life got the best of me. In fact, I was already in the thick of shredding, digitizing, donating, selling, and clearing out old stuff when my friend’s comment triggered me.

POWER LESS

Is not without power

The word powerless seems to infer NO power
but it is only a state of less power.

Power Full
Is strong

New moon alert!

STOP what you’re doing…

DROP your pen onto the page…

And ROLL out those soul-deep intentions!

With the moon moving into Scorpio on Nov. 15, there’s no better time to set big, gorgeous New Moon intentions. And there’s no better way to dive deep and create certainty around those New Moon intentions than by journaling! 

Today, I’m going to talk a bit about the power of the New Moon for intention-setting and manifestation, what the New Moon in Scorpio means for us collectively, and how we can take advantage of this unique window of opportunity. 

NEW MOON INTENTION SETTING

The first 48 hours of a New Moon is a window when our creative energy is at its pinnacle.

New Moons have two powerful days, the day of and the day after, where setting intentions are most powerful. That means we’re able to effortlessly embrace our role as co-manifestor with the Universe. 

The Dark Moon (the night before the New Moon) provides us a perfect time to contemplate, meditate, and decide upon the intentions we want to see take root and flourish. 

"When your mind and heart are truly open abundance will flow to you effortlessly and easily."

I have an emotional response to the following words that I don’t think is unique: loving, peaceful, forgiving, warm, tolerant, harmonious, heartfelt. To me, these words all have feminine overtones.  The same is true of the “A words” that are in circulation: appreciation, affection, acceptance, and allowing. If you are distressed by the deep divisions in society, these words seem to describe what has been lost.  They also outline a path to healing.

Does the feminine have a chance right now? Within every person resides two polarities, the masculine and the feminine. When both are free to express themselves, the foundation is laid for living in harmony, balance, and fulfilment. This need for wholeness is known to modern psychology as well as ancient spiritual wisdom. When we experience one polarity overshadowing the other, disharmony, imbalance, and inequality prevails.