Good morning, friends. It’s still dark in our little house in the woods, but light promises to rise every dawn, doesn’t it? Aren’t we lucky that the sun keeps rising, day after day, no matter what challenges our human world present, no matter if we can see it or not?
Today is Day 3 of my seventy-five day spiritual journey. The intent: to connect to the Heart, Love, God, Presence more deeply as 2020 turns toward memory and 2021 births new into our lives.
So what actually does this look like? you may be wondering. (And I think it might look different for each and every one of us unique fingerprints of Being.)
The truth is I don’t know what this will look like during the seventy-five day stretch. That remains to be revealed. I can tell you what it looked like yesterday.
I am turning focus again and again and again toward the Holy. Listening deeply to what the Heart knows. Listening to what wants to happen next. Not what my mind wants to happen next.
You know the difference between following the mind’s marching orders versus surrendering to the Holy?
My mind might want to spend the day playing jigsaw puzzles, checking the iPad, phone or computer for entertainment, losing minutes and hours struggling to figure things out, trying to solve world (or personal) problems, being lost in an ego world where the monkey brain attempts to control, fusses and reacts.
There’s nothing wrong with any of those activities, but I hear a calling from my Heart to focus on what really counts. What matters. Why I came to this blue and green and spinning planet.
Yesterday, every time I noticed that I was caught in a mental mumbo-jumbo, I gently remembered to turn toward the Heart. To pivot into Silence, body, prayer, affirmation, felt-sense or Presence. To invite God into the next moment. Not just me. C’mon, Holy, I remember you, hello.
Because this commitment is so new, it was easy to accomplish most of the day. When I noticed anything straining or fretting: Hello, Heart, I surrender this to you. When my shoulders ached from raking leaves too vigorously: Hello, Holy, help this body relax. (And relax it did! And soon raking became a gift to the Universe, effortless, soft, pull, breathe.)
Toward evening the sweet connection with Love seemed to disappear, but–for some grace-filled reason–no remorse or personal beating up happened. Instead I greeted, “Hello, human” and attempted to honor this dance of remembering and forgetting and remembering yet again.
Blessings on your day, holy humans!
Lake Superior Spirit 
Hello, human ❤
Hi human!!
Relaxing, thought provoking, and spiritual … And in the tone of the season.
It certainly is the tone of the season. So glad this was relaxing to you…maybe as relaxing as a beach walk? 🙂
Absolutely … First walk is up … But can’t remember if you saw it
Not yet! I am heading over to your beach asap!
😊
Forgetfulness and remembrance occur moment by moment, don’t they? Thank you for helping me remember in this moment, which has given me pause during what has begun as a difficult day. XOXO
Moment by moment, dear Stacy. I remembered much of the day, and have forgotten again (since a stressful work-related session earlier today). I am so glad this little post helped you for at least a pause earlier this morning.
Oh, it did more than that. 😉 I took a break from my pity party and wrote a post.
Oh! I shall have to see it!
Thanks, Kathy. My love is sent to Lake Superior.
Pat, you are welcome, and Lake Superior feels your love…
Oh thank you god, Kathy, Human. My forgetter forgets and believes I will NEVER remember again how to navigate a day and how to talk to/with my spirit.
Oh my how we learn to co-exist with our forgetters! I am in a forgetting place this afternoon after a long remembering place earlier today. You WILL remember again how to talk with your Spirit–I am sure the Heart knows that.
Love the peace and simplicity of this. I have started to ask the Divine/Holy to enter my breath. It is very effective for me.
Leelah, thank you for writing this! And thank you for mentioning breath. After writing this I thought–I forgot to mention breath. It is a godsend that we have breath to help us remember.
❤
Thanks, Robin, and a ❤ back to your heart.
Such a mindful practice. Really curious how this will turn out for you. And I love all the fall colors! I know it is a lot to clean but can I just appreciate how beautiful they are?
Oh my goodness yes! The leaves are sooo gorgeous this time of year. A lot to rake up…but it’s worth it to see the colors burst like this.
I read recently that everything in the world is spiritual … and I had a quick look and found exactly what I read ~~ “Spiritual versus Material are not the choices. Everything about this physical manifestational experience is spiritual. It is all the end product of spirit. You have nothing to prove. Be the spiritual you and create like a physical fiend.” It’s from Abraham Hicks, and your post today reminded me of it. ❤
Yes, you are so right. Everything in the world is spiritual! But we humans are always dividing everything and making some things spiritual and others not. Thanks for sharing that quote. ❤
Listening to what wants to happen next. Not what my mind wants to happen next.
I once started a group in my social online networking community called Mysteries of the Heart Divine.
What I sense wants to happen next is the ability of every human being to thrive. Really thrive – in an enthusiastic and healthy manner.
May it be so . . . .
Oh yes, Deb. May we humans thrive. Every single one of us. May it be so, indeed.
I love this post, Kathy. Especially the picture of you raking the leaves. I’m always looking for the sacred in the mundane. Lately I’ve turned cleaning up the kitchen at night into a sacred practice. It’s hard to explain. I used to dislike the chore but now I look forward to it. My heart knows it is an important part of why I came to this planet. Many blessings to you, my friend.
How cool, Barbara–that you’ve been turning your kitchen cleaning into sacred practice. Wondering how you do that? By being more mindful, more Present? Isn’t it interesting that we do know–on some level–what our Heart knows we came to do on the planet? And it can feel so frustrating if we feel we’re not doing it. But then there’s a turning in love back into that frustration, if we remember. xoxo
I’m not sure how it happened but one evening it struck me that I was meditating in a nondual kind of way, while cleaning, very aware of every sensation and perception. I guess it could be mindfulness. Years ago I heard that saying, before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water, after enlightenment, chop wood, carry water, and it kind of stuck with me and then that evening it felt like I understood it in a whole deeper way. Kathy, I always struggle to find words to describe these moments! I look at what I wrote and it doesn’t make sense, yet while it’s happening it all makes sense. But now I find cleaning up the kitchen at night a peaceful, deeply meaningful experience that I look forward to every night, instead of a chore. Not sure how long that will last but it’s been that way for weeks now… xoxo
It makes sense to me, Barbara. I love how you wrote it. And love that you’re doing this in your kitchen… ❤
Oh that Monkey Mind – you just wish it would help with the chores! I like seeing you raking with a tentative smile.
Oh my–if our Monkey Mind could help with chores! Barb, what a brilliant idea! If you figure out how to harness that…please let us know. 🙂
Reminds me of a conversation from this morning.
He wants the leaves cleared away.
I want more time to stand in the sea of golden leaves.
This is the sort of dancing we do today.
What a dance in this leaf-filled life! Thanks for responding to this blog’s dance with a comment, dear Lunar.