Tuesday, September 29, 2009

fall


The first whiff of fall is in the air in these parts of California. As quickly as the last heat wave has faded out, the cool has moved in. I relished being able to wear a sweater today, and I enjoyed the nip in the air as I stepped into the cool of the night on my way home. Tonight is the first night in a very long time that I am closing my windows to go to sleep.

There is something special about this time of year… a nostalgia. It is a time of letting go. Of beginning to go inward… preparing for winter.

We have to accept that the long, light, and fun-filled days of summer are coming to and end and begin to transition into shorter, cooler days. The darkness sneaks up on us, and we discover with surprise just how early the sun suddenly sets. We turn around to find the moon has already risen.

Tonight, the moon is hiding behind the clouds. She likes to tease. Emerging briefly at times to wink at us, just to disappear again a few short moments later.

Fall is a time filled with memories. Both happy and sad. In Chinese Medicine, this season is associated with the Metal element, and the emotion corresponding to it is sadness, or grief. For many people, fall brings with it a sense of aching or longing. It may be specific, as in aching for an out-of-reach or deceased loved one, or more vague, as in feeling a tug or a wanting... a feeling of ‘pulling’ or contraction in the chest. A knowing that there’s something more that's just a little out of reach.

This is the time to go within and find what out what it is that we are longing for. Take time to meditate, go out for a walk, and marvel at the beauty of nature, leaves gently falling from the trees and dancing their way to the ground.

Spend some time on your own these next few weeks, and listen to your inner voice. What is it saying? Take time to connect with yourself and tune into what your heart is telling you. Notice any feelings that come up… and then just be with them. Do not judge them or think you ‘should not’ be feeling this thing or another. Allow yourself to mourn any people or circumstances from your past. But don’t hold on to the sadness! Feel it, be in it for a little while, and then release it! Honor the tears that may flow as your body’s way of releasing old emotions that you can now let go of.

Enjoy the beauty of this season and all that it brings with it!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

heart of compassion


A few months back, I met with a friend at Orchard Valley Coffee downtown Campbell. The energy between her and I had been a bit funky in the weeks or months preceding, and we were in dire need of a good heart-to-heart. We both needed to express to each other some of the things that had gone unsaid, as well as clear some stagnant energy that had been building up between us.

I am a great believer in open communication. I believe that nothing heals relationships like opening our hearts and speaking our truths. Holding things inside and repressing emotions never does anyone any good. With time, resentment builds as we make assumptions about what the other person may be thinking and feel misunderstood by them, rather than being open with each other about what we are truly thinking and feeling.

My friend and I met on a Sunday morning – Farmer’s Market time in downtown Campbell! There was something very special about being surrounded by the vibrant and alive energy of all the people who were out and about on this weekend morning to buy fresh produce, enjoy the sunshine, and interact with fellow human beings.

My friend was already there when I arrived and had selected a table for us. When I sat down across from her - slightly anxious about our interaction, though, deep inside, feeling a great sense of peace and calm about it -, I looked up to see one of the most beautiful paintings I’d ever seen! It was a large painting of a heart, primarily in red, yellow and orange tones – all of my favorite colors! While my friend went to order her drink, I sat and gazed in amazement at this beautiful picture. I soaked up its energy and let it fill me with a great sense of joy and wonder. I felt my heart energy open. I was in awe that I would have found myself sitting right across from this painting that resonated so deeply with my heart and soul at this particular moment in time! It felt like a gift from the Universe. There was a tremendous amount of healing emanating from this painting for me – and for my friend and our relationship together. Throughout our entire conversation, I felt as if enveloped by a warm, soothing light. It was beautiful. I was in awe.

As it happened, my friend and I had a really good interaction that morning. I felt we both were able to open our hearts to each other and walk away from our meeting feeling a great deal better about our relationship than we had walking into it! I felt as if the Universe had positioned this painting strategically to bring both me and my friend healing energy on that day. How very beautiful!

I’d meant, since then, to return to this particular coffee shop to find out who the artist was. I’d LOVE to have this painting on my wall! Today, a number of months later, I met with another person at the same coffee shop. On my way there, right around the corner, I spotted some art work displayed outdoors and realized this artist had her studio right there! I decided I would stop by after my meeting.

At the coffee shop, I sat in the same spot today as that Sunday in June, facing the wall on which the coffee shop owners display local art, and where some of the same artist’s more recent pieces were currently on exhibit. As planned, I walked over to her studio/shop after my meeting. She sat behind the counter, and I was excited to meet the artist in person! Something compelled me to tell her the story of the impact her art had had on me that Sunday morning in early June. I told her how it had ‘opened my heart energy.’ She was so thrilled to hear my words and claimed I’d made her day! In fact, she’d just been looking for a tag line for her website, and ‘Open your heart energy’ seemed to be just perfect!

I felt as if I had been led into her store today. I got to be a gift to her, just like she, through her art, had been a gift to me a few months back. We had a very sweet interaction, and I walked away elated – filled with a deep sense of gratitude and awe for the beauty of life and all its synchronicities. She sent me off with two of her beautiful greeting cards to thank me for walking into her life and giving her just what she’d needed in that moment. I walked away with the promise to manifest into my life someone who’d want to gift me the painting of hers I love most, called 'Labyrinth of Love.' :) (Can't seem to link directly to it... it's the one on the right hand corner of the top row if you follow this link... though I'll glady accept the one to its left or the first one in that row, as well. :))

If you live in the area, go visit Debbie Marie Arambula at her gallery at 327 East Campbell Ave in Campbell, CA. If not, you can check out her gallery on her website. Her art is so beautiful! Trust me, its color, vibrancy and compassionate energy will open your heart and fill you with great joy!

Monday, September 14, 2009

a wink from the Universe ;)

The Universe comes up with all sorts of creative and fun little ways to send us messages. We only have to remain open and aware to notice them!

Today, as I was walking the last stretch of the way home after my morning run, I looked down on the pavement to see the following image:


I had to come back out with my camera to capture this and share the joy it brought me with others. What a beautiful reminder that life is good! ...a wink from the Universe. ;)

Thursday, September 10, 2009

change and uncertainty

Think back at a time in your life when you sensed great impending change. You didn’t know yet what shape or form this change would take or how it would come about. Maybe you were facing a move, considering a career change, leaving a relationship, or starting a family. Whatever it was, there was a sense of unknown. You knew something was about to change big time, but you did not yet know what exactly this change would look like and just how it would affect your life and your experience of yourself in this world. You found yourself in a period of transition – no longer fully grounded in the reality you had known, and not yet quite able to make out the details of the fuzzy future that lay ahead.

How did you feel at that time? Did you feel scared? Unsettled? Uncertain? Maybe anxious?

Now fast-forward past this transition period to a time when the change had fully taken effect. Maybe you’d found a new job, or the perfect apartment to move into, or you’d taken the leap and left a relationship that, for whatever reason, was not quite right for you anymore at that time. Or you were holding your newborn baby in your arms and feeling the most profound and incredible love you could ever imagine. I’d venture a guess that, from that point in time looking back, all the anxiety leading up to the change seemed completely unnecessary and a waste of your energy. Everything had fallen into place perfectly, and, from your new vantage point, you were hard-pressed to understand how you could have been so worried about something that, in the end, had worked out so smoothly and perfectly.

Now come back to the present moment. What changes are you facing at this time? What scary unknown lies ahead of you? Are you feeling overwhelmed at the thought of all the details you will need to work out in order to get to where you are going? Uncertain about just what to do and what steps to take next? Worried whether the ‘right’ job/apartment/partner etc. is out there for you and how to find it/him/her?

Think back again at the past challenge you just revisited. Take a moment to appreciate how, in looking back, you can see that everything fell perfectly into place for you. That everything lined up exactly the way that it needed to for you to meet the precise individuals and come across just the right bits of information that lead you to where you needed to be at the time.

If you could go back and give your past self in that period of transition some advice, what would it be? You might tell your past self to relinquish all worries. To trust that all would work out in your highest good. And that, although the future may have, at the time, felt foreign, scary, and unknown, it would soon feel familiar, comfortable, and ‘right.’

Here is an invitation to trust that the future will unfold exactly as it needs to. That you are always being led to people and places that further your growth and have at heart your highest good. Knowing this, you can relax into the present moment, trusting that it will carry you smoothly and seamlessly into a bright and wonderful future.