Friday, December 23, 2016

Rite

I didn't come here last week. I'm having a hard time writing. My bones hurt. It's not that I'm not writing because my bones hurt. They hurt because I'm not writing. It's psychosomatic, I know. Not writing weighs heavily on me and I feel it in my body. I want to write, even if I don't know what it is I want to say. Writing is my flow and not writing keeps me stuck and heavyhearted.

I know why I'm not writing. Last week I finished a very difficult semester and, immediately after, I let go of my spiritual practices in order to take a break and relax. I haven't taken a break and I haven't relaxed. Sleeping in means that the world is awake by the time I get up and so I wake up to action, conversation and a whirl of activity. I believe that my lack of meditation has brought me to this point, has brought this on. The Universe likes order. Inspiration is in the rituals – mornings rise through meditation, prayer, silence, poetic movement and incense. It is then that the muses show up. When I forgo my practices, chaos enters. Maybe it's superstition. No, I'm inclined to believe otherwise. I believe that in quiet stillness my intention meets a higher Intention and, in concert, they set a tone and a rhythm to life that is smooth and powerful. As I meet my morning, so I meet my day and everything I do in it. It is a matter of ritual and reverence to the Self and a remembrance of what is important, what I hold sacred, and what makes me feel whole and happy. Writing flows from that connection.

Today, I stopped everything mid-afternoon to wash the dishes, mindfully and aware. That was my prayer, my acknowledgement of the heart of the ordinary things in my life that make up my life. It was a prayer of gratitude and forgiveness, and an invocation to flow. I'm flowing.

Today is a good day to do just that, to take a moment in the normalcy of life to say thanks, to connect, to call on Inspiration, to bring awareness and mindfulness to our days that we may create smoothly, joyfully, and vibrantly. Let's do this today, and then again tomorrow, and then they day after.

Image found at ceejaykayfit.com.

© Millicent Maldonado and www.soulcerer.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

Friday, December 9, 2016

Gray skin

I was on my way to a workshop I was teaching in another town. I had plenty of time to get there. I left early enough with a plan to find a place to eat lunch before getting to the school. Because I had plenty of time, I decided to stop and buy pens for the participants. I did. I got back in the car and went on my way. But, by the time I got back on the road, traffic had built up. The detour to the store delayed me more than I expected. When I got close to the school, I found that the only place near enough and quick enough to eat was a McDonald's. Oh boy. How bad could it be?, I thought.

Today I woke up a bit sluggish and looking a little gray. It's no wonder, considering what I ate. I know better than to eat McDonald's. What I take in builds me up or drags me down. This, however, does not only happen with food.

What we take in builds us up or drags us down. As Wayne Dyer once wrote, Beautiful thoughts build a beautiful mind. Thoughts build our feelings. Our souls feed on what we read, watch, listen to, speak, and imagine. A constant intake of pessimism, negativity, fear, worry, and gossip drags us down. Yet, when we take in optimistic, positive, hopeful, confident, assertive, and empathic thoughts, we become energized, inspired, and strengthened.

Today is a good day to ask ourselves how we want to feel and then feed ourselves accordingly. Though we may take in lesser thoughts every now and then, we can nourish and sustain our souls with beauty, kindness, a whole-hearted smile, literature, uplifting conversation, generosity, laughter, inspiration, shared joy, positive affirmations, creative visualizations, music, and gratitude. Good food, good thoughts and good feelings make us feel good. We can turn our gray skin and our meh-feeling souls around. What will you feed on today?

Image found at pinterest.com.
© Millicent Maldonado and www.soulcerer.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.