what's reality?

end of hibernation

Banded Woolly Bear (caterpillar) Isabella Tiger Moth

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.”

Richard Bach

reality choices

“There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.”
Douglas H. Everett

friday's greeting and greeting friday

I welcome this new day. It is a gift to me, a new creation, a promise of resurrection.
Greetings to the Four Realms, the Goddesses and Gods, and the Kindred of Yore.
I salute the Sun, the Earth, the Seas, and the Sky.
I am thankful for being alive this morning.
Thankful for the sleep that has refreshed me.
May my hands do the good work.
May my eyes see the truth.
May I speak compassionately.
May I make the world a better place this day.

Awen.

a message from Cathy Olsen

photo credit http://www.nwf.org/peregrinefalcon/

A Parable For Our Times

Once upon a time there was a young falcon named Frederick who lived among those of his kind in the ‘Forest of Falconry’. Now Fredrick was known to be quite a reserved bird for someone his age. He didn’t like the idea of squawking about like some of the others young birds that flocked close to home. In fact, truth be told, Frederick was quite insecure around his fellow birdlings. You see Fredrick had lost his parents to a wayward wind early on in his life, just a short time after his hatching. And so, poor little Fredrick had been ‘winging it’, ever since, as there had been no one within his wooded home to teach him the ways of bird-dom. Consequently, Fredrick never felt as good, as strong, or as courageous as the other birds in the forest.

As the time came for all young falcons to test their wings, Fredrick felt more alone than ever. He watched as mother and father birds began to encourage their little ones to venture from the safety of their nests. The elders nudged the young ones, from their home branches watched with pride as they spread their new-found wings in flight. The older and more experienced among them guided and guarded the young ones should they meet with danger or adversity in their testing.

Fredrick watched longingly as one young bird after the other stepped off into freedom and soared into the atmosphere. He began to wonder if he would ever those heights of experience without someone to guide him. Who would be there to coax him toward the open skies, precipitating his own flight toward freedom?

After watching the others from his lone perch, Fredrick began to feel downright discouraged. He soon realized that he would have to venture out on his own if he ever hoped to accomplish this rite of passage for himself. And so he perched on the edge of his nest and prepared to launch himself into eternity. “Do or die”, he mouthed into the air before him. Fredrick squeezed his little falcon eyes shut, gathered his courage, and stepped off into open space.

As luck would have it, Fredrick’s innate bird sense kicked in as he clumsily spread his wings and for flight. He spun, and dove and tipped and twirled until he suddenly landed with a thud on the uneven ground beneath him. But Fredrick was determined not to be done in. And so over and over he dove again from his lofty perch, trying to create the same graceful patterns of flight that the other young falcons were enjoying. He noticed how the others flew with delicate balance and beauty upheld by the windstreams and air currents in their midst. But try as he might, Frederick continued to spiral and sputter and twist and tangle, clumsily dodging the trees around him until eventually landed bruised and beaten on the ground far from his home. He became disheartened at his plight and the apparent lack of grace which seemed to surround him like a rain cloud set to burst.

He let out a frustrated ‘squawk’ and slumped down, beak in wing, wondering to himself “Why can’t I be like everyone else in bird-dom? Why am I so slow and clumsy and out of control? What’s wrong with me anyway?” Fredrick knew that his lack of skill was not for lack of trying. Never the less he felt lost, alone and different from the others. And so he sat in resignation all the day through until the sun finally set behind the clouds. Cold and disheveled, he eventually picked himself up, brushed off his little wings and steeled himself for the long walk home. For he knew that standing on his own two feet was the only way he could be assured to reach his home again, without the maze of dizzying flights and tough landings that had encompassed his day.

When he finally reached home, hungry and tired from his exasperating adventure, he climbed into his nest alone and tired, covered himself with leaves and mosses and set about getting a good night sleep. Fredrick soon drifted off to sleep, where his weary mind began to dream and what a dream he did dream. In his slumberous wanderings, Fredrick dreamed that he was once again attempting free flight with the usual amount of frustration and discouragement, when all at once he was overshadowed by the wings of the most beautiful falcon his eyes had ever seen. This great and majestic bird approached Fredrick ever closer, circling and diving until landing on the ground at his feet.

“Hello there”, the great bird addressed Fredrick. “What seems to be the problem?”
“I am a failure as a falcon” squeaked Fredrick. “I am a disappointment to my kind. For I cannot soar and move and land gracefully as the others do. I am nothing but a clumsy feathery, sputtering mess.”
“Nonsense”, said the great bird. “I have been watching your attempts at freedom and I believe I have the answer to your flight dilemma.”
“Oh, please, pleaded Fredrick, with hope I his heart, tell me what it is I can do to become a falcon that holds his head up with pride.”
“It seems, young Fredrick that you have attempted to fly at half capacity. I have noticed that your wings are stiff and only slightly open. You see Fredrick, in order to fly in complete freedom, you need to use the full capacity of who you are. Let me demonstrate for you.”
The great falcon unfurled his majestic wings and lifted off from the ground as Fredrick looked on with wide eyed amazement. The bird began to soar gracefully and effortlessly before him. He made flight look effortless and joyful. Fredrick gazed at the broad wingspan and free flight of this most beautiful of birds, until the great being landed just as gracefully before him on the ground at Fredrick’s feet.

“You see, young friend, replied the great majestic bird, until you open fully to life and bird-dom you cannot hope to experience the grace and freedom which is your birthright. You must trust as you allow yourself to open to full capacity, that the winds that surround you will support your flight. For you, Fredrick were created for flight. You are a being of flight and you have within you all the tools you will ever need to soar into the heavens trusting that the universe will support you in all your life’s travels.”

A grand smile then began to move across Fredrick’s feathery little face. For he could feel in his young heart that this great bird spoke the truth. He now felt encouraged and supported as never before. Fredrick knew that from that moment on that his life would never be the same. The great bird addressed him once again, “And so young Fredrick, be free. Soar to new heights with the grace inherent in your nature. Allow yourself to open fully to life and love and freedom. Only then will you come to know what it truly means to be a falcon. Know too, dear one that you are never alone as you traverse the skies above you. For there are many of us watching and waiting for you to accept your true place within the ‘Forest of Falconry’ and beyond.”
Grace and freedom to you!!

http://spiritlibrary.com/

i am

“I realized that Eastern thought had somewhat more compassion for all living things. Man was a form of life that in another reincarnation might possibly be a horsefly or a bird of paradise or a deer. So a man of such faith, looking at animals, might be looking at old friends or ancestors.”
William Orville Douglas

do not stop at spring, go directly back to winter

wake me when its over

frog teaches

"All water rites belong to Frog, including all initiations by water. Water prepares and cleanses the body for sacred ceremony... Frog sings the songs that bring the rain and make the road dirt more bearable. Frog teaches us to honor our tears, for they cleanse the soul. Like Frog, we are asked to know when it is time to refresh, purify, and refill the coffers of the soul."
Medicine Cards

realization our creation needs serious tweaking

seriously, you thought this was better than the spca

being alive

“The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be.”

Oprah Winfrey

venture to another reality

The world exists for us only when the senses and mind are directed towards it, and cease to exist for us the moment we silence the senses and mind. During deep sleep we do not experience the world because the senses are not active. Can you prove the reality of the world while you are deeply asleep? When you wake up from sleep other people may tell you that the world existed, but can you prove that these people existed while you were asleep?

http://www.successconsciousness.com/index_000014.htm

shifting perspectives

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”
Rabindranath Tagore

taking risks

“Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.”
James Bryant Conant

“A turtle travels only when it sticks its neck out”
Korean Proverb

insights breaking thru the veil

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/column.php?id=101514

nature immersion

Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. ~ Kahlil Gibran ~

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring- these are some of the rewards of the simple life. ~ John Burroughs, Naturalist (1837-1921) ~

flow

“As your faith is strengthened you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them, to your great delight and benefit.”
Emmanuel Teney

when our boat sinks, we adapt

“We can learn from experience if we are ready to adapt that experience to changed conditions.”

“We talk of our mastery of nature, which sounds very grand; but the fact is we respectfully adapt ourselves, first, to her ways”
Clarence Day

incoherent and coherent thought patterns

Doc Childre and Howard Martin, The HeartMath Solution

The collective energy generated from the feelings, thoughts, and attitudes of the almost six billion people on this planet creates an atmosphere or 'consciousness climate.' Surrounding us like the air we breathe, this consciousness climate affects us most strongly on energetic and emotional levels. An increase in *coherent* thoughts and feelings creates an uplifting momentum in the consciousness climate. An increase in *incoherent* thoughts and feelings creates a stress momentum in the consciousness climate. In other words, coherence or incoherence is broadcast via the consciousness climate much as music or noise is broadcast via radio signals.

Many people are now starting to experience a new energy filtering down through the density of mass consciousness. This energy stirs your spirit to find freedom of expression and amplifies the voice within your heart. This new planetary energy facilitates people in thinking more about the heart and its potentials in all human affairs.

Doc Childre

A New Heaven and New Earth, Rosemary Fillmore Rhea, from New Thought for a New Millenium

The world we are experiencing today is the result of our collective consciousness, and if we want a new world, each of us must start taking responsibility for helping create it.

thanks dave for photos

experience energy work

I recieved this gift yesterday and listened to show. I could feel the energy coming in via crown chakra. For anyone who would like to experience energy work follow this link.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/soulnewsence
scroll down till you get to jo dunning -mass healing with energy on the air.
The show is over an hour so you will need that amount of quiet time for yourself.
Enjoy!

reflecting on the infinity symbol

infinity symbols from metta gems
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5231027

today is my birthday. a day I choose to do what I want and usually spend at least part of it in reflection of experiences and moments in this journey. my soul twin creates these magical pieces of jewelry and these ones in particular remind me of another moment.

As I was doing dishes one day I felt a vision coming on. I said to myself, can it wait till I finish the dishes? Immediately I lost all normal vision and was given my third eye vision of blackness with the infinity symbol in it. Ok, let me sit down then, I tell myself.

I giggle now at this moment. Imagine the arrogance of telling my higher self who is trying to guide me to the most profound vision to date to hold off till the dishes are done. Yes, I can reflect and humbly hope I have come further in releasing ego from my daily diet.
So these wonderful creations from metta gems continue to remind me of the amazing patience and tolerance my higher self has had in trying to guide this independent 3d self. the creator of this jewelry has also been amazingly tolerant and patient with me over the many years.
the passionate energy she puts into creating her jewelry is the same she puts into her relationship with others. In reflecting on all the people that have come and gone from my journey I am very grateful to still have this one of such high vibration still on the journey with me. and of course her partner who has been so supportive of our soul's growth.
I encourage you to take a moment and take in not only with your vision, but feel the energy of these magical pieces. metta gems

divine in 2009

between worlds

People desire to separate their worlds into polarities of dark and light, ugly and beautiful, good and evil, right and wrong, inside and outside. Polarities serve us in our learning and growth, but as souls we are all. Joy Page

photo credit- dave long

smile

A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he cannot get along without it and none is so poor that he cannot be made rich by it. Yet a smile cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give. ~Author Unknown
photo credit- david long

memories of warmer evenings

One of the most satisfying experiences I know is fully to appreciate an individual in the same way I appreciate a sunset. When I look at a sunset...I don't find myself saying, 'Soften the orange a litle more on the right hand corner, and put a bit more purple along the base, and use a little more pink in the cloud color...' I don't try to control a sunset. I watch it with awe as it unfolds.

Carl R. Rogers

be enthusiastically in love with yourself

As I learn to love myself, I recieve the love I desire from others.
shakti gawain


"You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." buddha