Spiritual Guidance Blog

“If we lose our relationship with nature, we lose inevitably our relationship with humans.”

…Krishnamurti

Last month (May) lived up to its reputation and reminded me why May is my favorite month of the year.  It is the month in Canada that offers the most splendid manifestation of the blooming of nature’s palette of ‘creation’.

Winters can sometimes feel long and arduous.  We can have snowfall well into April and temperatures can be slow to moderate.  So it is with great joy, excitement and anticipation that May brings with it warmer temperatures and the splendour of nature’s creation.

There is something almost surreal, something awe-inspiring, about watching tender shoots peek their heads up through the ground even before all the snow has disappeared.  And as each day warms up and the sun casts its warmth on the earth, more and more of nature’s creations burst forth and bloom.

Gaia offers a painter’s palette of colour, texture, shape, size, and form.  Together, this canvas becomes a work of art for the senses.  More than that, Gaia’s creations extend a healing energy that is so palpable, even a sorrowful heart opens, gladdens and smiles.

I notice this blooming energy affecting everyone is ways that can only be described as ‘love’.  People seem to walk with a lighter step, seem to have a closer connection to nature, and seem to be more compassionate and caring toward one another.  There is demonstration after demonstration of people being more loving to one another.

As I watch the splendour of Gaia’s creations bloom and blossom, and as I watch this life-giving energy be passed among everyone around me, I ponder how these gifts of creation offer abundant healing potential for humanity.  What is it about the ‘event’ of Spring that fills our hearts with joy and lifts our spirits to new heights?  What can we take from this time of year—Spring—and apply to everyday of our life?  What would life be like if the blooming and healing qualities of Spring—nature’s creation—were with us in every moment of every day?

I invite you to ponder the possibilities of what this time of year offers you and how we may extend this blooming and healing to everyone and everything around us.  What would this form of unconditional, loving existence mean for you?  What would it mean for humanity?

Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,

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And so it is with anger: We are never angry at what we think we are; and anger is the ego’s attempt at making someone else feel guilty for our own inner pain and grief.

A dear soul and I recently completed a project that, for some, would be considered stressful.  On one particular day during this several-month-long project, we were both having a trying day and upon my making a comment that was perceived as an attack against my brother, he snapped and yelled at me.  I tried to remain calm, step aside and let the anger pass by, and simply got on with the task at hand.

Later that day I forwarded the following passage to my brother, along with love:

You are still asleep if you blame others, situations or events for your stressful feelings.  Stress comes to tell us there is something we need to change within our self, not in the other. All stress is self-created regardless of the circumstances.  Every time you blame others for what you feel, it means you are asleep to the truth that your thoughts and feelings are your response, therefore your responsibility or ‘response ability’.  The awakened person accepts full responsibility for their thoughts/emotions/attitudes/actions…everywhere and always! Not easy, especially when almost everyone seems to find it easier to point the finger, which means they have learned to believe ‘it’s not me, it’s them’.

Much to my delight, this was my brother’s response:

On the other hand one could say all emotions are self created - sadness, joy, love; but of course they are not. The potential to experience these emotions is always there but lays dormant until awakened through human or non-human (nature) interaction.  That’s the beauty of the human condition.  Blame and stress are a lethal mix but they are not co-joined.  Often, and certainly with me, the anger and blame and subsequent stress I feel are self directed.  I blame no one but myself.  (One can feel stress without anger and anger without stress).  My snapping at you yesterday was  a moment I felt stress, anger and shame...but my anger was at me for creating a situation over which I do not have full control, my haphazard manner in which I do things, and shame for lashing out at you and the people I love most in life.   So while it may seem as though I was pointing my finger at you, my finger was pointed directly at me.

And so it is with anger:

1. We are never angry at what we think we are.
2. Anger is the ego’s attempt at making someone else feel guilty for our own inner pain and grief.

The next time you feel anger welling up inside you, you will do well to remember the lessons above.  If possible, step away from the situation and be still, quiet, for a moment.  Bring yourself back to your heart place—where love rests to be shared with all those around you.

Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,

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“Acceptance, trust, and patience are symbiotically intertwined to create the condition I call faith.” 

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This story was 20+ years in the making. Fortunately, it will not take as long to share.  For some, this will seem like a silly, little story.  However, the lesson embedded in the story is one I hope I have finally learned. And in sharing it with you I hope you can learn it too.

Many years ago, decades ago, I had a rare plant in my life.  For you budding botanists out there, the plant was an Epiphyllum Ackermannii; the common name for this plant is ‘orchid cactus’.  The orchid cactus is an exquisite plant.  Untidy in appearance, the flowers that are produced are extraordinary in every way.  The sheer size of the fluted flower (some 3” x 5” in diameter) is awe-inspiring and the deep, deep red color of the flower is enchanting.  The plant was in my life for a few years, faithfully producing exquisite bloom, after exquisite bloom, each year it was in my life.  When I moved, the plant did not come with me.

Many years passed and I moved into a new home that provided ample natural light for house plants.  As I was going through my antique plant encyclopedia one day, dreaming of all the plants I could adorn my new home with, I came across the orchid cactus.  Remembering how much joy it brought into my life in the past, and thinking I could provide the proper conditions for such a plant to thrive in my new home, I sought to bring an orchid cactus back into my life.

Much to my surprise and disappointment, no floral stores or greenhouses in my city carried this plant.  I searched, and searched, and searched some more, and not a single store or supplier in my city or province carried or bred orchid cactuses.  Not wanting to give up on my dream, I turned to my good friend Mr. Google of the internet-family of search engines and found a botanist in California who bred a hybrid form of orchid cactus.  We exchanged a few emails and I was fascinated to be informed that the international botanist community had stopped breeding the rare and exquisite orchid cactus many years before.  However, this California-based botanist had made her life passion in breeding a new, hybrid-form of orchid cactus for mass enjoyment.  Without hesitation, I had a few cuttings of this hybrid orchid cactus shipped from California, United States, to Ottawa, Canada.

The cuttings arrived a few days later and I immediately planted the cuttings, carefully following the California-botanist instructions for soil, water and other care.  It was late summer and I had no expectations the plant would produce any growth for the remainder of the season.

The following spring arrived, and one day I noticed a flower bud starting to form on one of the cuttings planted the previous summer.  I became very excited!  The thought of being able to see an exquisite orchid cactus flower brought great joy into my life.

As the weeks went on, the trajectory of the sun was shifting fast; too fast in fact.  During the winter and spring months, the orchid cactus was getting full sun.  But now that summer was hinting at its forthcoming presence in our lives, the sun rose so high in the sky, so quickly, that the sun no longer was shining directly on the orchid cactus.  And then one day I noticed the flower bud that had been growing, and growing, and growing, started to change color (not good!) and starting to shrivel up (not good!).

It was now late April and my partner suggested I place the orchid cactus outside in the front garden where it would get full sun all day.  While this seemed like a reasonable suggestion, I balked at the idea of placing this precious (to me) plant outside in the elements.  I feared the temperatures (it was still quite cool at night) would stunt the plants growth, or that nature’s creatures would take up residence in the cactus and leave it battered and broken.  So I resisted the idea, I held on.

Each passing day saw the flower bud shrivel more and more.  I was saddened.  My dream of seeing this extraordinary flower in full bloom was fading with every day.  Again, my partner suggested I place the plant outside in the front garden.  Again, I resisted.  I held on.

Finally, I had nothing to hold on to.  The bud shrivelled up and fell off the stalk.  Not to sound too dramatic, but it was a day of mourning for me.

My partner suggested again, “Put the plant in the front garden.  Maybe other blooms will sprout.”  Knowing that blooming plants like orchid cactus have cycles of blooming each year (and typically only once per year), I realized that my opportunity to see my orchid cactus in full bloom for this year had passed.  With the acceptance of this in mind, I ‘let go’ and placed the plant outside in the front garden.

As I placed the orchid cactus in its new home for the summer months, I thanked the plant for gifting me with the joy and excitement over seeing this rare species of plant sprout and flower.  As each day passed, and I walked by the orchid cactus in the garden, I gave it thanks for all the joy it brought into my life.

A couple of weeks had passed since I placed the orchid cactus in the front garden and one day I noticed a little growth coming out from the side of one of the stalks of the plant.  I looked closely at the growth and to my delight I realized it was a new bloom sprouting!  As I examined the plant more closely, I counted a total of 8 new blooms sprouting!  And that turned into 12 new blooms a couple of days later.  I was so excited at this turn of events.  And then it dawned on me…

Look at what I gained by letting go!  I had held on, and held on, to the idea of placing the orchid cactus outside in the front garden.  I held on so long that the very thing I wanted to happen, the flower to bloom, I prevented from doing so.  When I finally let go, a whole new world of possibilities opened up for me.

I hope to carry this lesson with me as I move forward in life.  How about you?

Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,

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“…it really is about the journey, and not the destination.”

Last month’s e-newsletter departed from the norm whereby my opening piece shared some exciting news with you. I will now share a teaching directly related to that ‘exciting news.’

Last month did see me launch the Sacred Attention Therapy Online Training. What the experience taught me, however, was that it really is about the journey, and not the destination.

When I began working on the online training initiative, I remember feeling like I was embarking on an expedition to climb a very tall mountain. Let’s use the almost-mythical Mount Everest for our example.

When I was first approached about embarking on the adventure (i.e., developing the online training course), I was honored and excited, but I was speechless, somewhat dumbfounded, and terrified. “Where does one even BEGIN with such a huge undertaking?,” I remember saying to myself, like with any adventure of this magnitude—of any adventure, actually— “the adventure begins with one step.” This teaching is reminiscent of the wise old saying… “the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

Given my background as a university professor (giving me the skills to develop curriculum), my background in business (giving me the skills to put this together and offer it as a service), and my technology skills (allowing me to use various technologies to produce and deliver the education, online), I had everything I needed to bring this together. But it just felt SO daunting!

I remember near the beginning of the journey…it felt like I was standing at the base of Mount Everest. I started to gaze upwards in the sky...to the summit of the great mountain. My neck was wrenched from having to gaze up so high! I can remember thinking to myself, in the context of the great task that lay ahead of me… “You have GOT to be kidding me!!!”…as I nervously point to the summit of Mount Everest… “You want ME to get to the top of THAT mountain???!!!”

“Oh dear GOD!...WHAT have I gotten myself into???!!!”…were my initial thoughts. “Why did I say yes to this crazy adventure???!!!”

But we start our adventures, don’t we? We take a step. And then we take another step. And at some point we realize the start line is far behind us, yet the summit of the mountain remains far off in the distance…still way too far to seem like a realistic goal. Such was the case at a point in production of the online training…

I had completed 10-15 of the 38 lectures (for Level 1 online training). By this point in the lecture production, the intensity of the endeavor was ‘full throttle.’ I remember having a vision…

I was standing on a ledge—more like clinging to the side of Mount Everest!!!—and I took a moment to pause and look upwards toward the summit. It still seemed SO far away…, and yet I felt like I had been climbing for a lifetime!

Then…I looked down—something I had not done yet in the climb. I froze…from fear!!!

I was SO far off the ground. I had been focused so much on the climbing I had not even noticed how far I had come. I remember thinking…

“The summit still seems like something I will never attain…but I’m way too far up the side of this mountain to consider going back down. So…keep on keepin’ on.”

And the climb continued…

As each lecture was produced, the half-way point loomed in the distance. And when I finally reached that half-way point in the lecture production (19 of 38), the energy of the experience shifted. I started to believe I would…some day…get there.

As the weeks of intense, dedication unfolded, the summit came more and more into focus. And as the summit came within reach, I remember starting to realize that all along this was about my journey up the mountain and NOT about reaching the summit (i.e., completing the lectures and launching the online training).

Don’t get me wrong…to complete the production and actually launch the online training was a monumental achievement and one worth celebrating. However, what I learned along the way is FAR more important than actually reaching the summit. It IS the journey that gets us to the summit. Once at the destination, the learning…well, the learning stops.

I think we so often—I know I did, and still do—get lost in the pursuit of the finish line, the goal, the end destination. Well, I have news for you…

There is no finish line, no goal, no end destination. There is only what we are doing in this very moment. And our peace and joy is in THAT very moment, not in a perceived moment that we envision coming, or one that we think we experienced in the past.

It really is about the journey, not the destination. For there is only journey, and no destination.

In love, gratitude, compassion and forgiveness…

Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,

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