To Grow, Let Go

The brief essay in Ian Watson's newsletter today caught my attention; the title is "When you reach dry land, ditch the raft!" The short but valuable message is that we acquire certain skills, roles, etc. (the raft) in order to accomplish certain things in life (cross a river), but that doesn't mean that we ought to carry those along with us forever if they're no longer needed. Ian says:

"It is commonplace to associate growth with increase, accumulation and acquisition, but this is only one half of the equation. Letting go, shedding and relinquishing that which is no longer needed is the other, less visible part of any growth process. If you wish to grow, you must let go."

So, I'm left wondering...

Is there something that I need to let go of today?

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Road Less Traveled By

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

~ Robert Frost

Who hasn't heard these famous lines or read this poem at some point? Even people who don't read poetry probably think it rings a bell ... "hmm, that sounds familiar." I've always felt a kinship with this poem. When I was young, I thought about that path less worn but didn't yet have the courage to travel it; after a few life trials, I found my strength - at least the outer edge of it - and chose to follow my heart and inner guide along a less traveled road. And a winding road it has been!

The poem was mentioned today by a Homeopath I know and respect. A discussion was in progress regarding the resistance - even animosity - that allopathy (conventional medicine) and Big Pharma have against natural modalities including Homeopathy. We can become discouraged and give up or we can remain true to our hearts and healing paths, staying strong in our knowing that these methods are powerful, and provide people with deep self-healing. We don't heal and neither do the remedies; we merely provide the catalyst because each individual (people or animals) has the ability to bring themselves to healing -- whether spiritual, mental, emotional or physical, on whatever level that individual needs to heal.

So I am content to take the road less traveled by; it has made all the different to me - and to those I've met along the way.

Self-Healing and Empowerment

The approach of Ayurveda is not only holistic in its applications but also emphasizes empowerment. The great Ayurvedic sage Charaka said, "What the patient knows is more important than what the practitioner knows. The successful Ayurvedic practitioner is not the one who heals the most patients, but the one who teaches his patients to heal themselves."

~ excerpted from the Foreward to Ayurveda Nature's Medicine

This wisdom has always guided my own approach with clients and is also why I enjoy facilitating classes.

Catalyze

Awaken

Revitalize

Empower

Imagine, Entering Into Joy

Following is one of my favorite passage meditations; I often read, reflect and meditate upon this passage before I go to bed as it has an incredible stillness within the words that seep into my senses and bring a quiet serenity and grounding. I suggest reading it aloud, slowly, giving attention to each phrase, soaking it up, then closing your eyes and repeating the phrase to your innermost recesses.

When the passage refers to "he made us" or "his word", I replace those with the feminine "she" or "her" to enhance my connection, but even then I am not relating to a 'being' per se -- rather, I am resonating with an incomprehensible infinite source of creativity and creation that is within me, within all of us, and woven into the tiniest thread of our universal tapestry.

You can also listen to this passage as read by Eknath Easwaran.

Imagine if all the tumult of the body were to quiet down, along with all our busy thoughts about earth, sea, and air;

if the very world should stop, and the mind cease thinking about itself, go beyond itself, and be quite still;

if all the fantasies that appear in dreams and imagination should cease, and there be no speech, no sign:

Imagine if all things that are perishable grew still – for if we listen they are saying, We did not make ourselves; he made us who abides forever – imagine, then, that they should say this and fall silent, listening to the very voice of him who made them and not to that of his creation;

so that we should hear not his word through the tongues of men, nor the voice of angels, nor the clouds' thunder, nor any symbol, but the very Self which in these things we love, and go beyond ourselves to attain a flash of that eternal wisdom which abides above all things:

And imagine if that moment were to go on and on, leaving behind all other sights and sounds but this one vision which ravishes and absorbs and fixes the beholder in joy; so that the rest of eternal life were like that moment of illumination which leaves us breathless.

~ Saint Augustine

Cramming with Chai

Okay. Not really healthy. I admit it. Well, sort of healthy in that it's organic and all natural but not in that it's got caffeine AND sugar (evaporated cane juice). And certainly not healthy in such large amounts as what I've drank today and likely will be in the coming week! LOL But, I'm down to the wire on my A&P studies - last chapter and final test - that simply HAVE to be done by early next week because I start KSA on September 13th and have an assignment to complete for that course prior to the first class! And, I'm running a bit out of steam when I need to be stepping it up... So, enter Oregon Chai Tea Concentrate. This is my 'jolt' of choice. I knew that it was stimulating to my system from pre-health food days (I found Oregon Chai about a decade ago and immediately fell in love) but I generally have tried to keep it to a blissfully decadent one cup (maybe two) on special occasions, taking it with organic rice milk instead of cow's milk. However, during the past year, with my return to vegetarianism and heightened food awareness, caffeine and sugar have been exceedingly minimal. So, today was quite the stimulating blast to my metabolism!

While the wonderful self-healing modalities I use like Flower Essences, Homeopathy, herbs, bio-algae, and energy work are incredible supports, they still work within the template of my own constitution and Vital Force. So, the temporary measure of a Chai Tea 'lift' takes me a step more intense than what I would naturally be able to achieve. The beautiful thing about the natural modalities is that they also will support me during this temporary shift into a higher gear than that in which I'm normally comfortable, allowing for a dynamic equilibrium that is outside my usual patterning. The Flower Essences allow me to focus the extra energy from the Chai Tea, while some natural remedies can help my system to detox some of that excess caffeine and sugar so as not to overload my organs. Balance all these with awesome nutrition and I'm doing GREAT.

Each Progressive Spirit

“Each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand mediocre minds appointed to guard the past.”

~ Maurice Maeterlinck

I read this quote today in someone's email and immediately thought, yep, that's about right - except that I might at times feel it's more like ten thousand mediocre minds! LOL

However, after contemplating the quote a bit longer, I realized that the key elements speaking to me are that the Spirit is opposed by the Mind in order to resist the Now. This brings the quote home on a more personal level, doesn't it? Instead of looking 'out there' for someone to blame, we can ALL reach for the truth in ourselves ... touch and embrace our own "progressive spirit."

Lily Pad Pond

While driving back from Yoga class this morning, I spotted a Lily Pad Pond! Now, maybe they're all over the place in Maine but I've never seen one here before! I had to stop and take some pictures and drink in the sight - it was glorious! And, as I'd walk carefully along the bank - it was pretty good sized - I'd hear "kribbit...PLOP!" as the frogs leapt off their pads even though I tried not to disturb them. I received this serene gift and feel blessed.