Enlightenment is Awesome - and Light

As in not heavy. As in expansive. As in free.

Perhaps enlightenment isn't about ascending, or about feeling smarter or holier. Perhaps enlightenment is about weightlessness. The bright bubbling joy of feeling light on my feet. Light in my head. Light as air.

With air, we fly. We may need to use a lot of heavy machinery to get there, but we are spacious and expansive in the air.

And even when the water freezes, we find ways to move lightly across is. To be light. To flow smoothly. To fly. 

What about summer, when we remove all our clothes, open up to the sun. Free ourselves from the shelters we've created. We stretch and lighten up. The earth itself expands, opening out to accept the light.

And do we not dance? Light on our feet? Flashing like the fire that skips and bubbles and pops when it is doing what it was created to do? Dancing, are we not connected with every other flowing being, through the sound of music and the flow of movement and the flashing light?

Enlightenment - that joyful, airy, nirvana moment of peace and acceptance and balance -- perhaps it is about light. Being light. Being expansive, embracive, feet won't touch the ground and everything is dancing and flowing, we are all connected, and the smile won't leave my face, light.

I hope you are EN LIGHT every moMENT you desire it!

-Lila

Thoughts to Ponder: Colder than a Witch's What?

Why is the saying "colder than a witch's tit"?

When it's cold outside, my toes are the first to let me know. Then my fingers. Ears. And of course lungs and nostril hairs. My teats are snugly warm under layers and layers of clothes. And a big fuzzy coat.

Even if we're saying that a witch is a woman with a huge green nose (like Witch Hazel from the Looney Tunes) - surely that nose was sticking out much further into the frigid air than her breasts. Which are also happily covered with cloth. Warm black wool cloth. And most likely a shawl.

Let us officially change the terminology, please. We may say it is colder than a witch's nose hairs.

Cuz it surely is, right now. Colder than a witch's anything.

Especially as all sensible witches are tucked inside with hot toddies and a good book.

I hope you have a warm day!

-Lila

Life in Runes

Capricorn 2014 - 2015

The rune for the coming month is no rune at all. 

If you're like me, it's a little difficult to swallow that.  It feels like we barely made it through the last moon cycle with our sanity intact.  And now you're telling me "You've got this?"  I need guidance!

But the universe says I've got all I need.  So, what do I have?

Well, I have all these gifts, all these dreams, all these foundations I have been creating.  Personally, I have some catch phrases, some new services, some identities.  I have a book ready for publishing.  I have a beautiful place to live - and some allergies and some new questions about the weather and my desire to tolerate it.  I have belief and determination.  I have some very strong opinions.  And I have a lot of practice under my belt.

I guess that's enough to build on.

Grudgingly,  the universe did gave one little nugget.  If I really need, if you really need, something to guide our thinking, to ground the whirlwind of thoughts and ideas, if you need a rope to grasp onto…

…think about the flow.  The flow from the past to the future.  The flow of the pack.

  Is it a flow you want?  Or a flow you don't?  Is it a connection you wish to maintain, or one to release?

Dear ones, the time of the individual is on the rise.  We are not fighting for our pack or our nation or even for humanity's continued existence as a race.  Humanity has definitely dominated the earth in numbers.  We are now working to each be our own unique block in the quilt, to accept ourselves so we can accept the differences of each other.  To be a better race, a race of quality. 

Find your individual quirks.  Revel in your personal passions.  Dream.  Practice.  And celebrate.

I hope you have a great month!

-Lila

Youth to Wise

inspired by a post from Lissa Rivero Sanders

Dedicated to all the wise women & men who offered their teachings, whether or not I accepted.

Dear Wise:

Wise, it is true,

we rush to take our place.

We oft forget to hold the space

for beauty.

Wise, it appears

we are cold and hard as steel,

And we speak but do not feel

Compassion.

We can't wait to dance away.

  We will always come back to hear you.

Wise, it does seem

that as we strive and fret

We rush courtesy and forget

our kindness.

As we find our path

through the changes of each day,

It is easy to dismiss the way

it's always been.

We are a little envious because we know

  we are building on the foundation you have created.

Trust us, as we trust you.

Believe, and we'll come through.

For it is your world too,

While you are here. 

We will let you go grudgingly.

And through the cycles of life,

through the dance of time and space,

The bridge we build together will always be a place

Of love and honor.

Patience and Kindness.

Integrity and Strength.

i hope you have a great day!

-Lila

Enlightenment is Awesome - Crap! It's my Turn

I just had lunch with a friend who's been out of state for many years.

Of course, there is the adage that good friends can just regain communication as if no time is passed.  And that felt true.  Which has its benefits and its downfalls, especially if you've both been practicing new habits, new modes of expression.

And of course, there is the "new" judgment classifications I have been learning - acceptance is easy.

But now there is the added layer of "what sort of energy exchange is there?"  Do we share similar enough perceptions, similar realities?  How will time spent with her feed me? 

These are especially important questions for me, after all this transformation, and claiming of self, and choosing how I'll release my gifts, and choosing who I want to hang out with.  Balancing my new needs with the complete joy of spending time with someone I have treasured for many years.

Happily, as I have been growing and expanding, so has she.  There is still language to learn and, of course, differing perceptions, but the broad dreams, the world shaping desires, the manifestation of reality, is similar enough, in alignment, resonation, that we will be walking side by side for a long while yet.   Yay!

Then, as I was driving home, basking in that strange happiness & pride one feels when a friend is still awesome, I realized something.  Okay, something I knew already, but this lunch kind of crystalized it.  Solidified it.  Helped me see it wasn't just me, but was, is, as I am learning, US.

I have looked at the way education is being treated, heard (despite my efforts) of the atrocities being committed, come to think that maybe the children of the 21st century hardly have time for childhood.  And I have thought, oh man, these are the people who will be running the country.

And maybe someday they will be.  But  not before I and mine have a go at it.

Speaking personally, I wouldn't claim adulthood for myself until I was 33 years old.  21 may have meant legal adulthood, but it took many years of practice for me to feel confident, free, and rooted enough in myself to make decisions for myself.  It took another 10 years of practice to bolster that confidence, to define my morals and my personal beliefs and my responsibilities.  And further, what I expect from others.

And now, now it's time to express that, to claim that, to see what parts of my country, my world are able and willing to stand up, to stand together, as strong and confident individuals who accept each other and allow no one, not even the government we've supposedly elected, to bully us.

We are not the 12th district; we are none of the districts, to meekly offer up our dreams and our wills just to retain an unhappy existence for the physical body.

We are not bought and paid for.

And we are not children, to be told what to do, to hide from experience and responsibility and the alien-ness of those around us.

We are individuals, with emotions and free will.  We are all unique and awesome, and we are taking back our power.

We are the next generation - those of us reaching our prime, mature enough to have enjoyed 20 years of choices, flexible enough to still see a better future.  A melding of realities.  A celebration of personhood, where the person is an actual living, breathing, human being.  'Cuz when it comes right down to it, even corporations, even governments, even local businesses, hospitals, countries; even this world is simply a grouping of many individuals.  There is the energy and the  memory of those who have lived and died before us, but mostly, there is just now.  And us.

So I accept.  I accept the job of creating a glorious tomorrow, in my own way, with my own dreams, my practiced will, my sacred honor.  I accept the responsibility of being the best me, the strongest me, the most awesome me, unbowed and unbullied.  I accept all those who stand,  working hard for their reality.

I know the people who are the "kids these days."  And I want to hand them a strong foundation to work from, an awesome, expansive, inclusive, caretaking example for them to follow.

But more, I want to create a happy world for me.  Cuz I'm still here.  So it's still my turn.

It's my turn.  It's our turn.  I accept.

Do you?

I hope you have a great day!

-Lila

If you're like me, you have a sister.

If you're like me, when people post sappy stuff about sisters, and how they're best friends forever, you just kind of roll your eyes and scroll on.  Cuz you know that the word "Frienemies" was made for sisters.  Possibly even the word "nemesis".

If you're like me, you realize there's no other woman who was there - who knows what you mean when you relate back to childhood training and experiences that have shaped your current existence. 

If you're like me, you can hurt each other like no one else, simply because these shared experiences lead you to expect shared language.  But your sister has her own points of view, and perceptions, and experiences, and dreams that are totally different from yours.  And if you're like me, you have no idea how 2 people raised in the same household could be so…  not even opposite…  unaligned. 

If you're like me,  you are connected so deeply to your sister, you feel safe enough to ignore her for months on end, 'cause you each have to work through current experiences your own way.  And yeah, you're grateful when you need to reach out, 'cause you know she'll reach back, eventually.

And that it's reciprocal.

'Cause if you're like me, you love your sister deeper than the mountains and higher than your desired level of income.

I hope you have a great day!

-Lila

Failing Asleep

If you're like me, sometime it's tough to fall asleep.

I don't think it's the full blown insomnia that some people have.  It doesn't happen every night, or even consistently enough to be a PROBLEM.  But it does happen, and it is frustrating.

And I'm not talking about the nights you just stay up, playing your games, reading your book, while you tell yourself you really should be in bed.  Ha.  If you're like me, you've cut back on your reading because of that tendency.

No, the most frustrating nights (if you're like me) are the nights when you know you're tired.  The nights you go to bed early.  The nights you've flung yourself on the bed before finishing your nightly routine, and you drag yourself back up again because you MUST finish.  And then, when you finally get snuggled in all proper and ready, the brain kicks into high gear and you don't sleep.

Well, you feel like you don't sleep.  If you're like  me, it is possible you slip into a doze in between bouts of intense wakefulness.  You don't realize you've been asleep, so all you're aware of is the wakefulness.  Is the wanting to be asleep.  Is the "Oh my Gods, why can't I be asleep?  I want the warm cozy snuggly feeling of just waking up, of drifting on dreams, not this cold, isolated, left out feeling of aching restless body & over active, repetitious, mind.  Shut up shut up shut up!"

So, if you're like me, you've developed some ways to deal with it.

Here are my two favorites.  The first is a tool to replace the repetitious thoughts or scenarios which run around and around in the head.  There is a track, I swear, which seems to enjoy repeating things!  (Maybe it's the learning track, because that is one way I learn - by doing the same thing over and over again until I get it right.)  So, when I want to sleep, I occupy that track with something familiar & monotonous - the alphabet song.

I like to sing it without a pause between letters, so I finish the alphabet before I finish the tune.  This gives my puzzle loving brain something to concentrate on, while still being monotonous enough to be lulled into sleep. 

If this doesn't work, and sometime it doesn't,  I move onto step two - the countdown.  I start at 100 and count  to 1.  Simple and easy.

This has many benefits.  If you're like me, the countdown is associated with meditation, and that means relaxation.  So as you countdown, your body starts releasing.  You may be amazed at which muscles have been tensed in the effort to MAKE yourself fall asleep.  (My buttocks and upper thighs are big favorites for sneaky tension.)

The other benefit is the monotony.  You have to really concentrate.  It's so easy to get distracted from the countdown: By the wandering thoughts.  By the relaxation.  By the alphabet sneaking back in.  And often by that little rebellious child who will insist on falling asleep when you're trying to stay awake and count. 

I rarely make it to 1.  When I do make it to 1, I get out of bed, and go to another room.  I read a chapter, play a video games, or do some work for an hour.  Then I go back to bed and try again.

But I have to make it to 1.  If I realize I've stopped somewhere, or I'm not sure what number comes next, I have to start over.  At 100.  And count down all the way to 1, clearly, concisely, consciously.  I have to make it to 1.

Just last night, I was ready to bound out of bed when I realized I had stopped at 9.  I hadn't actually made it to 1.

I had to start all over. 

I never made it to 70.

Sleep rocks.

I hope you have a great night!

-Lila