Love the...Oil??

A couple of weeks ago, as I visited the Gulf Coast with a friend, I wrote a post about the oil spill and how the most important thing we can do is "Love Them Anyway". Our anger at who caused it or who is to blame does not help generate the energy that is needed to create miracles and solutions. I believe that there will be time later to resolve what happened and hopefully learn from it, but the focus now needs to be on how we fix it and protect the ocean and the wildlife, also restoring livelihood fishermen and others who have been so hurt by the crisis. My thoughts about sending love to the BP employees who are working to find a solution - sending love to the "bad guys" cause one or two raised eyebrows (and accusations of smoking crack! :), but many understood that what we give off, we get back. If we want miracles, we have to heal first, with love...we have to BE the miracle, in our hearts.

My friend Cathy DiDonato sent me a message on facebook yesterday which I thought hit on such an important but forgotten part of this vibrational equation. While many of us are trying to lift up and heal this situation through positive thoughts and prayers, her thought was that we should not forget about sending positive energy to the oil, which is also from our Earth but just displaced. Knowing that EVERYTHING has vibration, she had a thought about the oil needing our good thoughts and prayers too. I think Cathy is on to something, not just with respect to this oil crises,but in the way we behave in general. When we open our minds to the good of every situation rather than the bad, it makes us better people, heals our hatred and fear.

Here is Cathy's message to me:

I am having this thought over and over again. Call me crazy...Please let me know what you think. I’ve been thinking a lot about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Collective prayers for the water are being sent by many. Research done by Masaru Emoto have proven that these prayers are well received. During meditation I was made aware of the fact that we are only praying for part of the issue. The oil that is spilling into the ocean waters also have its place in nature, in Mother Earth and is being displaced. Does the oil have its own consciousness? Its own vibration? Is it also in need of prayers? I think that including the oil that is spilling into the Gulf in our prayers and returning it to the Earth where it rightfully belongs is going to be key in coming up with resolutions. The water belongs where it is and the oil also belongs (somewhere) where it is not.

Wow! What a beautiful perspective.

Most all of us, in industrialized nations at least, use oil..whether it is to drive our cars, travel on airplanes, purchase goods that were transported by truck, or using plastic (not just in our food purchases, but in our computers, televisions, vehicles, and all around us)...we all use oil. Yet "oil" gets such a bad name and is spoken of with such a vile energy and vibration from so many. This spill has magnified that, as we see the images of "ugly" oil on birds and beaches, we almost automatically begin to feel that the oil itself is bad. Perhaps during this time where oil is considered the bad element, we should be grateful for all that it does for us, understand that we have created a need for oil drilling....and, as Cathy said, pray for the oil. Give gratitude for a coming solution, and thanks for all that oil provides us. We can make a promise to conserve it more, and do our part to make the demand less.

We are bigger than the crisis, if we will open our hearts to be so. When we look beyond the common snapshot in any situation, we are more likely to find truth, then miracles. Thank you so much, Cathy, for your inspiring thoughts...and being brave enough to share them!

Finding Your Meditation Style

For many in the general public, the idea of meditation conjures of images of a stiff and strict lotus position, or gives the idea of a foreign idea of worship, leaving them feeling intimidated about the practice. However, the benefits of a meditative state can be achieved in different ways for different people, some methods being as simple as doing an activity that relaxes you. The difference in what makes something a leisure activity vs meditation can be a simple as the intent behind it.

Answers.com provides the following definitions for meditation.

1. To reflect on; contemplate.
2. To plan in the mind; intend: meditated a visit to her daughter.
3. Buddhism & Hinduism. To train, calm, or empty the mind, often by achieving an altered state, as by focusing on a single object.
4. To engage in devotional contemplation, especially prayer.
5. To think or reflect, especially in a calm and deliberate manner.

It is said that 20 minutes of meditation can provide a physical benefit similar to 8 hours sleep. Beyond that, the spiritual benefits can be even more powerful. Any quiet thought can be a form of meditation, if on a level that seeks to tap into the deeper part of the soul for answers. Likewise, any activity that provides calm assurance can be an avenue for obtaining a meditative state or the benefits of such. Walks in nature provide that avenue for me, observing and listening to animals, absorbing sunlight that filters through tree limbs, or walking along a beach to breathe in the salt air. Practicing Reiki is another way that I connect more deeply, by focusing on the energy of love as it flows through me. Each of these gets me to a place of stillness in my soul where I can more readily tap into the knowledge that is either within me or available to me, knowledge beyond things that I have been taught or have learned through study or experience.

Albert Einstein, arguably one of the greatest minds of modern times, once said, The only real valuable thing is intuition. Many in our modern world frown upon intuition as a source of knowledge, or at least if it is used in any deep way, thinking that if you can't prove something through facts and logic, that it must not exist; but Einstein was in tune enough to know that some knowledge is deep within us - that the most important thing we can do is to find ways to touch and utilitize that intution in order to reach greater heights and tap into our true potential. It is this knowledge of intuition that we can touch only through our willingness to go to a calm, reflective state.

You may find that you get into a state of heightened awareness or connection through prayer, through a round of golf, through working in the garden, drifting off for a light nap, or through a combination of many things, but the important thing is to intend to go there to seek your answers and your truth - to let other things fall along the wayside in order to daydream, to escape, to reflect. You should not only go there, but go there often. As you begin to find avenues to get to a better state that is more in touch with your self and your soul - more in touch with God - you may wish to venture into other methods for even deeper meditation. Set aside time that is just for your meditation and reflection, and you will begin to find answers to problems you are facing or questions you have about life. The answers are always waiting for you.

Be Still and Know...

Psalm 46:10, Be still and know that I am God, is a very common verse in the Bible, known by most who have had any connection to religion. In our culture we are not still for very long, in fact, we often refer to those who are not not constantly in action or not constantly working toward a goal or outcome as slack or lazy, applying a derogatory connotation. We do not encourage quietness, stillness, or emptiness, nor do we understand that these things may be our way to know God more fully...just "being still" in order to connect with God in a way that is full of knowingness - beyond any need for proof or logic. This knowingness is where our faith truly begins, because it is without need for proof or evidence.

The Biblical phrase, "be still" is from the Hebrew root rahpah, with meanings such as, be slack, stay, be still, be slothful, fail, forsake, leave, let alone. By applying these possible variations on the translation, the meaning expands greatly. It is as if the Bible, in its earlier translation that was closer to the real language of its origin, is telling us to let up, to forsake our patterns and methods for seeking God or thinking about God, and just "know" that God is there. In a deeper sense, I like to also consider that these words may have had the meaning of telling us to "let go" of our limiting thoughts by stilling our minds away from the process of thinking, at which place we can know and feel that "I AM God"..."I" meaning ourselves...understanding that we have God in us at all times and can therefore never be separated from Him. The perceived separation from God, as in "I am not good enough, I am not worthy enough" is what has created our problems. Simply remembering our Oneness is all that we need to return to the Divine.

If we can overcome the wordly ways of needing to constantly be doing something or accomplishing something to validate ourselves - and learn to just "be still" - be slack, do nothing - for significant periods of time, we can attain a significant connection to God and to our holiness. It is that simple. Find quiet time where you allow yourself to do nothing - to take a nap even when the laundry needs to be done, the kitchen cleaned, the beds made, or the lawn mowed. But instead of ignoring these things to go shopping, watch TV, or do something else, just do nothing. Let the worldly "to do list" disappear and just "be slack... slothful...fail." In that quiet and pure space of non-guilt, feel God and feel the power of knowing that you are one with God. It is likely that you will feel a physical shift in energy and a sense of peace within you. If you do not feel this right away, do not give, up...simply continue and try to let go even more. In time, if you are sincere in your efforts, you will begin to "know" even if in only tiny bits. A simple flash of knowing God in this very personal a direct way can be all you need to lead you on your way to a more fulfilling connection. Any of us, in spite of all of our excuses, can surely find small bits of time to be still and ask for God to truly come into our presence. The benefits are simply too great to ignore.

Be still...and know.