love – Page 2 – Soul Reflection

One River Many Wells

‘[We need to resist the] “will to quarantine” and to separate ourselves behind self-imposed walls. For this is why we were born: Men, all men, belong to each other, and he who shuts himself away diminishes himself, and he who shuts another away from him destroys himself.’

Howard Thurman, quoted from One River, Many Wells by Matthew Fox.

Many moons ago I began a course to become an interfaith minister (a person who studies all the faiths and can minister to anyone in their combination of beliefs) but the joyful and long awaited pregnancy of my first child halted that training before it could really begin. However, in true bibliophile style I had already bought all my required reading books and they have sat on my ‘to read’ shelf for quite some years until my more recent discipline to read whatever reaches the top began.

So this book, One River, Many Wells, has been my latest read and what I love so much about allowing the Universe to determine my next study, rather than my just my desire, is how extraordinarily relevant the books have been to my current standing in the world. Is that because they are guided to me or because I see the answers in any text? Both perhaps.

I have to confess I found this book quite hard going, not philosophically but in style and format. The flow wasn’t there for me and it was certainly a matter of will and stubbornness that help me complete it. That being said, there were also a plethora of golden nuggets to take away (see small selection in photos) and I love how they have touched on all aspects of my journey, from health and nutrition, breath and purpose to reflection, justice, fear and love. It encompasses life in all of its finery and challenges.

And I absolutely agree with its holding principle, divinity is the river from which all beliefs are drawn from, whatever that looks like for you. A message so important that it needs to be reiterated as much as possible, to unify and connect our souls into a web of love, compassion and forgiveness.

First published on social media on 2nd April 2022

In Their Shoes…

This week I have been told that I am ‘inconsiderate’ and ‘unable to put myself in other people’s shoes’ by a close family member. It is a familiar pattern of criticism but certainly I think it’s important for me to reflect on it and see where my truth lies within it or indeed outside of it.

I know that I could turn to a friend or two who would say the exact opposite and hotly defend me to boot but that’s the way of the world anywhere isn’t it? There are always places where we can validate or oppose our views and beliefs, looking outside is simply seeking confirmation rather than creating a knowing.

So what is the truth within me? Once I would certainly have heard those words and believed them to be true; shamed and chastised myself for not being a good and kind person. Now I see them differently.

There is truth in them but not within me.

There is truth in them for the teller, their perception and beliefs mean that my actions and speech show those values or lack there of. I have not chosen the path that would reflect consideration for their feelings, logically that would indicate my inability to see their point of view, to step into their shoes.

Except of course life is far more nuanced and complicated than that. I have made conscious and thoughtful decisions as to why I will not choose that path that would be ‘considerate’ and indeed in the depths of that decision is, in my view, a consideration far more powerful and important that encompasses their well-being, their freedoms and my love for humanity.

I hope one day those will be seen but I recognise that it may also never happen. That I have to hold being judged whilst living my path with faith in my own integrity and also a humbleness to be able to accept that there is every possibility I could also one day be shown wrong in my perception.

Meanwhile I stand in my truth, which is to protect the freedoms of mind, body and soul for all of my family and for all of humanity. I do that without grandeur but with the small day to day decisions and choices that can seem so unnecessary, so petty, so inconsiderate without the bigger picture that I have in my eye-line.

So in the end I am grateful for the criticisms, they have forced me to reflect and have helped me clarify even more clearly that I stand by those values in the face of a thousand words of judgements. I will bear the bruising of those words because I know, in this moment, I am making the best and most considerate of decisions.

First published on social media on 24th January 2022

Pete

Pete is my Guardian Angel, we have communicated together for close to 20 years now and he is my connection to spirit, love, sovereignty and peace.

Until this past month I have never know him anything but fully vibrant and present to my call. I speak and he answers, most often with humour and naturally with grace.

These past few weeks he is different, just as available, just as wise, but his form is something else entirely. If I were to try and describe it with the limitations of our human language, I would say he is in a place of rejuvenation and strengthening. Where once there was always light and brightness, now is dark around him. The light emits from his centre but it is a dull glow that I can see is being charged and filled to reach its greatest and most powerful potential.

He tells me all the angels are doing this now, they are in preparation for the tsunami of loving and healing energy that is about to unleash itself upon our world. It is a battle that will be won by the light, but also requires a surge of power not seen for thousands of years.

Prepare yourselves for the coming of truth and love. It is on the horizon and shall bring a change to our human consciousness quite unfathomable and utterly Divine.

First published on social media on 9th January 2022

The Four Fold Way

I’ve read many books on the various archetypes, their strengths, shadows and meanings but I have to say I think I’ve enjoyed this one the most. Super simple, very clear and engaging with simple techniques to bring awareness to our areas of work in order to find our balance.

Loved the quotes scattered throughout (always a winner to see #rudolfsteiner ‘s words on another pathway!) and really felt I absorbed more of the essence of archetype understanding than ever before.

On top of which #angelesarrien ‘s obvious respect for the indigenous cultures around the world and the wisdom they hold feels a lot like coming home. Ancestral and Elder wisdom is something I frequently crave and this book feels like I’m sitting at my grandparents knee soaking it all in.

Highly recommend, a super easy and accessible read, even tempted to pass it on to my near teen, though I might wait a couple more years… we’ll see.

First Published on social Media 20 November 2021

The Evolution of War

I can’t take credit for this photo or its title but it is how I see where we are at, right in this moment in time.

We are at war for our freedoms, like every war has been about – control vs freedom, power vs liberty.

Many of those that can’t see this are in a place I can understand: a denial and a want to imagine the best. Surely these are just mistakes, perhaps even incompetences? Some seek blame at the hands of those fighting for everyone’s freedoms, determined not to find fault with their current perspective. If they are even reading these words, they might dismiss me as hysterical, a CT* or doom merchant.

I wish I was. History has repeated itself for millennia, but so quickly we forget. We can’t imagine that such darkness can really exist, so it is relegated to the past, to something we must forget and bury under the guises of innovation and development. But power corrupts or should I be clearer, only the wounded seek power as validation. Shouldn’t we therefore consider anyone in such a role with natural caution?

Wisdom and power are not the same. A wise leader wishes to aid, heal and guide without remittance. It is time to learn the difference, to remember the difference, to teach the difference. Will this struggle be endless or will we one day truly allow freedom of spirit, mind, body and soul to be celebrated and embraced as our constant?

That ideal is worth fighting for, speaking up for and showing up for. I am here.

*conspiracy theorist aka critical thinker

First published on social media 4th November 2021

The Subtle Art of Parenting

It’s easy to claim the titles of mother/father or mum/dad, they’re a biological thing or even a role demarcation. You are, or you are not, a mum or dad.

Being a parent, on the other hand, is a different kettle of fish. You can be a mother or father without ever actually being a parent. To be a parent requires a person to actively parent – to guide, nurture, hold, love, support, cherish, discipline, nourish and be present to a child. Not all at once and not all of the time, but certainly a significant portion of it.

This is not about making the child the centre of your focus, as that too can be detrimental to their own perception of their place in the world, but that the parent’s focus contains the child.

One of the biggest inhibitors of this is our own ego. The part of ourselves that tries to define us; we are ‘such & such’ a person because we have these status symbols or because we behave in this manner. We are seen by the world, and we see the world, with the protection and filter of our ego. It has its place but it can also be frequently a barrier to genuine connection and understanding.

When our, perhaps imbalanced, ego is involved in the parenting mix, it often causes more harm than good. The ego may tell us how our children should behave or be or look or act, as a representative of us. It forgets that children are their own spirits and personalities. Our imbalanced ego prevents us from seeing our children for who they really are, in the place they’re really at, just now, here, in the moment.

By working on the principle of stepping beyond our own ego – by recognising when their behaviour or attitude triggers the delicacy of our own status or place in the world – who am I when my child argues with me? Who am I when my child lies? Who am I when my child hits or hurts us or another? Who am I when my child rejects my food?

By staying with the understanding that it is our ego that wants to control and stop these challenges to our sensitives selves and by reframing the thoughts to – who are my children when they do these things? What are their struggles? Where are their needs being met or not?

When we can offer this alternative, then we can offer our presence, our attention, our attunement and, most of all, our love.

From my own place as a mother and as a daughter, when I consider the art of parenting, I know that the practicalities fall in and around these principles. If I parent from this place of seeing my children for who they are, not how I want them to be; if I pay attention to the subtleties of their days and interactions, I will learn to understand them as they shift and grow. I will be able to offer simple heart connecting wisdom rather than controlling direction and I will meet my children where there are at. Just this.

Indeed, as they age and form their own depths of personalities and experiences, the more important this becomes, and often the harder. Society forgives a tantruming toddler, but less so an emotionally spirited teen. So can we transcend the ego expectations of our societies and embody the role of parent instead?

Not always…. to err is human, but certainly it is a baseline of understanding to return to, to ground ourselves from and to turn around and try again.

So pay attention to what has happened today, what went on in their worlds this week, this month, this year… how has that formed them, influenced them, shifted them? What do they need from us now? Distraction, attention, conversation, silence, hugs, space, food, sleep, healing, laughter, fun, company, connection…?

To navigate the subtle art of parenting is an onerous task, but also, quite simply, the most rewarding, soul stretching, inspiring and important creation of art there ever was, or ever will be.

Broken

This photograph makes me weep. Where has my beautiful world gone? The one where common sense and common decency prevailed above all the idiosyncratic crazy’s.

There is always chaos, there is always darkness. Life wouldn’t be life without the contrast and the shadow. I have borne witness to and been part of plenty and been so grateful retrospectively for the insight, healing and wisdom it offers.

One day I will feel the same about now, but right now I am crying for the cold, alienating, separating choices that so many, too many, are embracing to protect themselves from an exaggerated fear.

I am crying for all the babies, all the beautiful, wonderful children that are growing up right now thinking life is unsafe and threatening. That are being shown by their mentors and guides to fear their bodies and the bodies of others; to fear each other.

I am crying for the irrevocable harm being caused to all these divine bodies through the mistaken belief that experimental poison could protect them.

This heroic man’s face, lifted to the sun, lifted to the heavens above, being physically forced to mask, to inhibit his very source and energy for control and dictate.

This has broken me today.

May I rise stronger tomorrow to begin again and continue to stand for our freedoms, our breath, our light and our love.

#darkness #chaos #control #masks #freedom #choice #love #light #divine #hope #tears

First Written on Social Media 9 May 2021

Maskless

Just as I think my heart couldn’t hurt anymore I see a post like this. And then I feel so intensely angry that there is such complicity that has enabled this horror.

This past year has all been about personal responsibility. When we take full responsibility for ourselves we become empowered in our own wisdom. As I have become more and more accountable for my actions, choices, behaviour and impact over the years, I have also deepened my real sense of self on every level: physically, emotionally and spiritually.

I understand my body and my health and have no fear of illness; I am in touch with my emotions so I can recognise when I am standing in fear or love; I have nurtured my faith in the Divine and do not fear lack or death.

All of these are about me taking responsibility for my place in the world and that includes standing in my sovereignty around these beautiful babies and children who are meeting life in the hardest of ways. Babies seek out my face in the shops because I am maskless, they need us to step out of fear and offer them a life worth living.

They are our future. Damage them now and it portends to the saddest of worlds; welcome them with all the love and compassion they deserve and heaven becomes a place on earth.

#children #future #love #fear #compassion #responsibility #wisdom #sovereignty #heaven #masks

First Written on Social Media 28 April 2021

The Rockery

My youngest is a do-er. Any task where tools can be utilised, muscles stretched and creative energy unleashed, that’s heaven.

And it welcomes its own journey of negotiation, surrender, guidance and boundaries. Much like most areas of parenting really.

This past week we designed and created a rockery in our garden. Our ideas were not fully aligned. One of the areas of parenting I have struggled with is finding the balance between fully embracing the creative vision of my child, measured against not only my own desires, but actually more the practicality and functionality of these endeavours.

I have learned that leaning fully into their own ideas has so often just led to crushing disappointment as they cannot yet manifest in practical terms. This has its own gifts, and disappointment is not something to shy away from. Counterbalanced by the knowledge that with a little guidance these ideas can create the most glorious of lessons, skills and confidence. The cherry on the top is also respecting my own visions, to model holding my boundaries and not allowing the ego of child to believe themselves too worldly, too early. And then of course there is surrender….

All this in just a few days of moving rocks, planting flowers and scattering stones. All of this everyday as a parent.

When to guide, when to step back and allow, when to stand strong, when to surrender to flow.

These are life lessons for me but the painful edge is that it can feel huge that I am this influencer of principles to real, live humans who are still growing and forming and absorbing it all. The pressure can feel utterly overwhelming until I remember that I’m just human too, that we chose each other from the stars and love is love the world over after all.

So to all you mama’s and papa’s agonising over the most recent battle, the lost moment, the unsaid apology, the what if; I want to offer the words that I comfort myself with.

My work is their work, my lessons are theirs. We are intertwined for this very reason, for this moment in time, for this day of chaos, for this hour of hilarity. All of it is and all of it isn’t. Everything is just as it should be.

Love Hope Faith and Grace.

#parenting #childhood #boundaries #surrender #joy #love #hope #faith #grace #negotiation #guidance #influencer #humans #lessons #asitshouldbe

First Written on Social Media 27 March 2021

Not All Women

So I have some questions. You know those mothers, the really damaged, wounded ones, who abuse their children? The ones who starve them, neglect them, beat them and sexually assault them?

Am I responsible for those women because I am also a woman?

Should I be at the school gates everyday, making delicate, or perhaps obvious, enquiries into any behaviour that is outside of generically good and kind? Should I be talking to all the mum’s about whether their own toxic childhood is damaging their children?

If I saw a woman doing any of these things to their children, would I step in? You bet your bottom dollar I would. But would I presume all mothers are like this, degrade them with this presumption and nag and belittle them just in case they might be one of those exceptional and rare cases? No I wouldn’t.

So I’m not going to do that to men either. I trust human nature to be good and kind. Are there exceptions? Of course. But I won’t poison the whole pot just to punish those perpetrators. As much as it makes me heartbreakingly sad when I hear stories of any form of abuse, it is not helpful to live in fear of it.

Fear creates fear. Love creates love.

#fear #love #trust #kindness #men #women #children #notallmen #notallwomen

First Written on Social Media 13 March 2021