25 Aug 2008 9:42 AM

Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass..... it is about learning to dance in the rain."

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20 Aug 2008 10:51 PM

My guardian angel was taking care of me - and my tenant James - yesterday.  I was out all day and came in at five.  BUT - James had come in at three and found black smoke enveloping the hallway, where I always have a candle burning.  He said the flame was like the Olympic torch flame but had obviously only been burning for a short while. 

Within about half an hour the whole house would have been in flames - what is worse, I realised afterwards, that if James had come in before this had started he would have been in his room and unable to get out.  He suffers from a severe disability and is not strong at all.  He can get up the stairs to his room with great difficulty.  My other tenants two rooms are at the back of the house and that tenant could have got out of the window onto the top of an extension, but James would have been stuck. 

He seemed to be unconcerned about this and said he would have smelled the smoke, dialed 999 and would be ok but.....houses catch fire so fast dont they.....

My back patio door was open so Bess would have got out - I have a blackened hallway, stairs and landing but am just so grateful that James came in at that critical time.

Thank you guardian angel...*big smile*.....................

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20 Aug 2008 10:12 PM

The Insights:

THE FIRST INSIGHT . . . A CRITICAL MASS:
A new spiritual awakening is occurring in human culture, an awakening brought about by a critical mass of individuals who experience their lives as a spiritual unfolding, a journey in which we are led forward by mysterious coincidences.

THE SECOND INSIGHT . . . THE LONGER NOW:
This awakening represents the creation of a new, more complete worldview, which replaces a five-hundred-year-old preoccupation with secular survival and comfort. While this technological preoccupation was an important step, our awakening to life's coincidences is opening us up to the real purpose of human life on this planet, and the real nature of our universe.

THE THIRD INSIGHT . . . A MATTER OF ENERGY:
We now experience that we live not in a material universe, but in a universe of dynamic energy. Everything extant is a field of sacred energy that we can sense and intuit. Moreover, we humans can project our energy by focusing our attention in the desired direction...where attention goes, energy flows...influencing other energy systems and increasing the pace of coincidences in our lives.

THE FOURTH INSIGHT . . . THE STRUGGLE FOR POWER:
Too often humans cut themselves off from the greater source of this energy and so feel weak and insecure. To gain energy we tend to manipulate or force others to give us attention and thus energy. When we successfully dominate others in this way, we feel more powerful, but they are left weakened and often fight back. Competition for scarce, human energy is the cause of all conflict between people.

THE FIFTH INSIGHT . . . THE MESSAGE OF THE MYSTICS:
Insecurity and violence ends when we experience an inner connection with divine energy within, a connection described by mystics of all traditions. A sense of lightness--buoyancy--along with the constant sensation of love are measures of this connection. If these measures are present, the connection is real. If not, it is only pretended.

THE SIXTH INSIGHT . . . CLEARING THE PAST:
The more we stay connected, the more we are acutely aware of those times when we lose connection, usually when we are under stress. In these times, we can see our own particular way of stealing energy from others. Once our manipulations are brought to personal awareness, our connection becomes more constant and we can discover our own growth path in life, and our spiritual mission--the personal way we can contribute to the world.

THE SEVENTH INSIGHT . . . ENGAGING THE FLOW:
Knowing our personal mission further enhances the flow of mysterious coincidences as we are guided toward our destinies. First we have a question; then dreams, daydreams, and intuitions lead us towards the answers, which usually are synchronistically provided by the wisdom of another human being.

THE EIGHTH INSIGHT . . . THE INTERPERSONAL ETHIC:
We can increase the frequency of guiding coincidences by uplifting every person that comes into our lives. Care must be taken not to lose our inner connection in romantic relationships. Uplifting others is especially effective in groups where each member can feel energy of all the others. With children it is extremely important for their early security and growth. By seeing the beauty in every face, we lift others into their wisest self, and increase the chances of hearing a synchronistic message.

THE NINTH INSIGHT . . . THE EMERGING CULTURE:
As we all evolve toward the best completion of our spiritual missions, the technological means of survival will be fully automated as humans focus instead on synchronistic growth. Such growth will move humans into higher energy states, ultimately transforming our bodies into spiritual form and uniting this dimension of existence with the after-life dimension, ending the cycle of birth and death.

THE TENTH INSIGHT . . . HOLDING THE VISION:
The Tenth Insight is the realization that throughout history human beings have been unconsciously struggling to implement this lived spirituality on Earth. Each of us comes here on assignment, and as we pull this understanding into consciousness, we can remember a fuller birth vision of what we wanted to accomplish with our lives. Further we can remember a common world vision of how we will all work together to create a new spiritual culture. We know that our challenge is to hold this vision with intention and prayer everyday.

THE ELEVENTH INSIGHT . . . EXTENDING PRAYER FIELDS:
The Eleventh Insight is the precise method through which we hold the vision. For centuries, religious scriptures, poems, and philosophies have pointed to a latent power of mind within all of us that mysteriously helps to affect what occurs in the future. It has been called faith power, positive thinking, and the power of prayer. We are now taking this power seriously enough to bring a fuller knowledge of it into public awareness. We are finding that this prayer power is a field of intention, which moves out from us and can be extended and strengthened, especially when we connect with others in a common vision. This is the power through which we hold the vision of a spiritual world and build the energy in ourselves and in others to make this vision a reality.

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18 Aug 2008 8:09 AM

Joyous kindly asked me to upload a photo of the seaside trip we made with my mother and myself...so AMAZING to see the sea again after so long.....my mother and myself were both brought up by the sea and living in the Thames valley we feel that we are not truly in the fresh air!  Philip remembers amazing holidays with his grandparents over years and always has wanted to live by the sea, though I doubt he will leave Oxford now he has children at school and his work.

The sea was soooo rough that day - perfect for me as I love the sea in every type of weather - though a bit tough on mum with the wind practically bowling her over.  Philip and myself on either side helped though....

One of those days to remember...:))

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18 Aug 2008 7:55 AM

The Summer Day Mary Oliver
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?



from New and Selected Poems, 1992
Beacon Press, Boston, MA

Copyright 1992 by Mary Oliver.
All rights reserved.

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