October 4, 2008

All is Well but It's Time to Get Centered

Part of counseling and healing is reassuring people that all is well. Recently, naturally, people have been worried, in fear, saying in one form or another, "What in the world is happening!? I need to know!"

But there are times, such as these now, when the ultimate outcome is in the balance. I can "see" the positive result of what we are going through. I can "feel" the higher energies coming in and landing. I know the fantastic upleveling of consciousness. But how do I tell this to someone whose retirement savings or financial investments are at risk?

From a Buddhist perspective, I would advise to simply observe your feelings, knowing they will pass. Knowing that everything passes, eventually. Impermanence. This probably won't fly. We are talking people's money.

From an astrological perspective, I could say, "Well, Uranus, you know, opposing Saturn, and Jupiter squaring Neptune, and Mercury retrograde..." Reassuring to astrologers, for certain. But to mainstream, Main Street? Hardly.

Americans want answers. They want to know that things are going to improve. They want to not suffer. After all, that's what we've been promised. We expect it.

So I took a moment last week to meditate and be sure I was pointed in the best direction. I asked, "What is the best way for me to advise people who are in fear over the current events?" I did not get that I am to reassure people about their world remaining as it is. Instead, what came is this: there is a way to live through any moment of your life.

I know what this means, and so do you. This is a time to let go of the need to know, to release your insistence on knowing. It is a time for living the not- knowing, and for accepting what cannot be changed. The way to live through any moment of your life is to center yourself. Those of you who have worked with me know I emphasize this, and it works. But it requires your participation. Here are a few of the basics. Begin them now. There is no better time.

Root your energy into the earth. Breathe into and soften your heart center. Be aware of the speed of your breath. Slow it down and lengthen it. Relax your shoulders. Soften your tummy. Feel your feet. Go outside and be in nature. Pet an animal. Breathe into your heart center, again. Repeat after me, "All shall be well. All shall be well. And all manner of all thing shall be well." quote by Julian of Norwich - 14th century English mystic

Ride the bucking bronco, maybe, if you are already on it. But run out into traffic with the panicking masses? No.

There is no substitute for learning how to center and calm yourself at any given moment. Let's do it.

Growth Spurt

We remain in the very middle of a growth spurt. Remember junior high when everyone was becoming, growing, surging, turning inward, looking outward, despairing?

This is where we find ourselves again. Moving through an awkward stage where the past is gone and the new, more mature self is not yet formed. We are caught in that squirm-filled space of no longer and not yet.

As a result, many people are experiencing fear and anxiety. Not necessarily because they, or even you, wise old soul, feel afraid, but because everyone around you speaks with a sense of foreboding. This talk grips a tiny part of the ego (the less wise, but more amusing self) and yells into your ear that you might lose something.

Lose something we might, but for each of us, the best bet is to come into a place of balance. To once again take steps to be centered, calm the mind, and live in the present moment.

Today, because you are a beacon of light and what you do and feel affects us all, I call on you to access your wise old soul and put the sage back at the head of the table.