Swine flu had broken out in Mexico City, some 3,000 miles away from where I and my women’s circle of 12 years were gathered for a long weekend of circle dialogue, ritual, play, life in community.

Outside, families and groups of friends were gathering to enjoy another ordinary Saturday at the beach.  Young men warming up for a game of soccer, vendors firing up their little stoves to heat up delicacies of corn-on-a-cob and churros, children playing in the sand and running into the water while their mothers laid out their little picnic blankets for a nice lunch…or a midday nap.

This was the sleepy town of Rosarito, Mexico - untouched by the flu because tourists and visitors heading towards or back from the more bustling and exciting neighboring cities of Tijuana or Ensenada hardly knew the town was there at all and because the locals led simple lives and didn’t have the resources to be traveling much outside of the town’s perimeters.

Up in our wonderful host’s condominium, we sat in circle. We spoke of the old worlds falling away, the new one emerging….of our lives of joy & sorrow, births & deaths, endings & new beginnings, money & no money, old work and new, each thread of life gifting us with new perspectives and insights, expanding hearts, deepening compassion and love. We acknowledged the gift and the responsibility that come with “privilege”. We followed the news of the breakout of the flu virus through the internet and anxiety, worry and fear began to arise, tempting a quick exodus out of Mexico. Instead, we called to gather in circle. Light the candle as a central flame. Listen within, speak the voices  out loud, reflect and listen again.

Together, we inquired about what its presence meant to us, how it would impact our time together, what underlying issues and dilemmas it would raise for us — about our lives, about our worlds, about their worlds, about our shared world. We talked and sat in silence, danced and played, sang and prayed for all. We enjoyed the long walks along the water’s edge, the Friday night karaoke in a small nearby hotel and the enchiladas, tacos and margaritas and were in bed by 11:00 pm.

Right here in the sleepy town of Rosarito, 3,000 miles from Mexico City and some 20 miles south of the border to the US and San Diego.

Yesterday, my girlfriend and I drove across the border back up to San Diego. After an hour’s wait to get to the border inspector’s booth we were asked to drive to the second inspection site to wait for another 20 minutes before they let us through. The hold up? We were taking 2 garbage bags of empty and rinsed out cartons and plastic containers and bottles back to the US to recycle. They had to make sure we weren’t carrying anything else in them.

A slice of Life…south and north of the border…

I just knew I needed to write something concrete this morning (it is Sunday) before I dash into the world. Now, by concrete in this case, I mean: Put it in written word. Of course even if something is written it doesn’t necessarily mean it is concrete because often writing is simply a vehicle to express something fluid and whimsical.  Anyway though, an interesting idea has been percolating lately and I thought I would put it into words instead of keeping it floating around loosely in my mind. The idea is that if we are endeavoring to stay awake and exist as much as possible in a version of awareness and living in the present moment , then this intention is like “paying it forward with Oneness!” What I mean is this… when we are succeeding in being centered and not plummeting into duality right and left, then our ease of being impies a Oneness state. This Oneness state therefore is the reality we are expressing out to the world. We understand that the inner environment is the basis upon which we outpicture ourselves so I am thinking of this as “paying it forward with Oneness.”  Imagine: We can walk around in a continual consciousness of readiness for good to appear!! It sounds simple here and that is why I decided to write it in words because I thought if I approached this magnificent concept in words the living of it might fall into place too. In other words, by writing this down I myself am paying it forward with Oneness.  I’m going out into the day now with this image firmly situated in my awareness so I can’t wait to see what good pops into my experience. Blessings to all, Bonnie Kelley

I don’t know if you feel this way, but it’s always hard for me to get started with a new or creative idea, and even harder to put it out. I tend to be afraid—mostly around saying something different from the way I assume other peoples see things. It makes me feel very vulnerable—exposed and way too open to criticism. So when the real inspiration of my life began to tug at me—even demand that I write—I held back. It wasn’t only fear: I simply had no words for what I was sensing. At first, I tried to express those early intimations in a silent slide presentation, The Evolution of Stress, using well-known art and photography. But it took 25 years to actually begin writing and five more to finish what eventually became a book, Awakening the Energies of Love.

It’s a good thing I don’t write for a living! All that time, the slides languished on a closet shelf until last summer when a friend made a video of it. (If you’d like to see it, there’s a free link here.) When I look at that sequence of art now, I’m still astonished at how visionary those artists were! It was as if they’d painted the conflict, confusion, and feelings we’re experiencing in our time, as well as the beauty of their potential resolution.

Last month, painter, Mary Southard, created a glimpse of that potential in her graceful poster of “The Song of Love” from Awakening the Energies of Love. The words and her art can be seen on the Ministry of the Arts website. They produced the poster and will receive all the income.

I find myself awed by the experience of putting something so close to my heart out into the world with no idea how it will be received—and then receiving another person’s creativity in return. Brian Swimme calls this creative process “Fire igniting fire igniting fire!”

So let’s ignite some creativity together! There’s now a new page on my website for your own creative work. I was amazed at the breadth of responses to an earlier book, The Dancing Animal Woman: among them, stained glass windows, CD’s for a cancer support program, videos at a celebration with indigenous peoples, calendars, and more. So if something from Awakening should inspire you, I’d be honored to display it with a link to your url. If you’re interested, please send your work here. With Love to all of you, Anne

PS Here are the words on Mary’s poster:

The Song of Love

You are loved. You are accepted, held in a vast embrace. There is
nothing in you, nothing of character or tendencies, race or sexuality,
accomplishment or failure that is not held, not needed. You are a child
of God. That which you are is deeply wanted.

You are not alone, not left to your own devices. There is more going on
than can be seen. You belong to an activity that is beyond
comprehension. Trust it.

You are known. That which you have sought is seeking you. That which
you want to offer life is greatly needed. You may not yet know what it
is, but it is exactly the right gift and only yours to give. Give it.

You are part of a great leap of loving such as the world has never
known. You have work to do. Begin it. There is only one ancient and
forever work of art: the slow fashioning of life and the gradual
flowering of Love. Find your way. Find your companions. Give your life to
Love.

The world sings in its many voices, “Do you love me?” It stumbles across
your path a hundred times a day. Respond.

Be bread. Be broken. Let go of what you know. Find in your heart what
your mind can’t comprehend. Moment by moment . . . place by place . . .
person by person . . . wound by wound. Dance! Fall! Fail! You will be busy,
but not with the busy- ness of the world.

In the heart of you lies Love. Without your opposition, it shines through
you. You have only to let yourself be held in the larger embrace, let
yourself be loved, let yourself be known as you are—and you will be lit up.

Thomas Merton said, ‘There’s no way of telling people they’re walking around shining like the sun.’

You are a shining. You are not only the small being who wants to be safe.

You are Love. You are Life. You are Light.

Go Shining.

At the close of a very moving and inspiring phone conversation with a friend who wanted help in clarifying and articulating his life work in the world, Philip said to me: “Do you know the Buddhist concept of Dhana?” (No, I said.) “To me, it is a concept that lives in the process of teaching the ideas of Buddhism in which the teacher does not charge. After a teaching, though, the student often feels the experience of deep gratitude and an inclination to generosity. There is not a charge sought, but a response is given in gratitude. I feel this gratitude. A Dhana is warranted here.”

A few days later, a generous check came in the mail. Money given in the true spirit of gratitude and generosity. And the field is nourished and uplifted. As am I.

I checked out the meanings of Dhana.

Dhana: The literal translation is wealth. It is also the name for the second house because the second house rules wealth. There are also a number of yogas called dhana yogas or combinations that indicate wealth.

Dhana: Pali Buddhist Buddhism Dictionary on Dhana
dhana (dhana): Treasure(s). The seven qualities of conviction, virtue (see sila), conscience & concern, learning, generosity, and wisdom.

It’s a beautiful, sunny, warm Spring day. My friend Philip and I, playing in the fields of Grace.

I Want Your Story! Talk to Me!
How are you dealing with the Recession? Were you laid off? Was your spouse or partner? How are coping? What are the changes have you made? Hamburger Helper every night? Letting the perm grow out? Or do you see your favorite businesses closing? Your neighborhood sprouting foreclosure signs? What have you lost? What have you gained? No matter who you are or where you are on this journey, I’d like to hear from you. ~ from Recession Daily

I love the internet and how they connect you to girl(and boy)friends past who otherwise would probably have simply disappeared from your life, leaving you wondering…

Just recently, I got reconnected to Rhonda Mitchell who upon first meeting — on the phone — I felt an immediate joyful kindredship with. She struck me as wise, centered, feisty and spunky, and creative as all get. Then, life happened and we got out of touch before we could even explore more what that creative juice in our conversations was all about.

Now she’s back and she’s talking. Actually, while I was gone, she’s been talking! And as these things happen, I had to go through my own money stuff (check out my earlier blogs — Search & Rescue Missions, The Divide to Cross, From the gutter…, etc.) and come out seeking/inviting a more real, yet larger and co-creative perspective and dialogue on the economic crisis…before Linked-In brought us together again. Phew!

So, do check out her blog at Recession Daily. Her invitation (see above) shouts out to all to tell their story of how the recession is affecting us is warm, inviting and asks us to ’sit up’, take stock, think/talk it through and live the story forward with truth, spunk, inquiry, creativity. It’s inspiring and quite fun, too.

Lately, it seems that all we are talking, reading and hearing about on
the news is the economy and, more specifically, when it will
“recover.” We are in the midst of amazing times, and the politician
and pundits are working on all sorts of plans to “stimulate” the
economy for a full recovery.

Well, I am not at all certain the economy will recover. I am actually
not that convinced it is even sick. And I am rather certain that no
amount of stimulation will change what is happening.

Words like “recovery” and “stimulus” are tossed around as if
they have a real meaning. Recovery, at least in the dictionary, is
defined as “a return to a normal state of health, mind or strength.” I
don’t know about you, but I really hope what we have had in the past
is NOT normal. It is not normal, in my opinion, for 10 percent of the
people to control 90 percent of the world’s resources. It isn’t
healthy to spend more than we make and use credit cards to cover the
difference. It isn’t strong to let people run Ponzi schemes for years
and years and then claim no one noticed. And it certainly is not sane
to use up the planet’s resources for today and leave nothing for
tomorrow. We all know this. We just are not all that crazy about what
it takes to change it.

What we are embarking on now is not an economic recovery. It is an
economic rebirth. We are on a course for the dawning of a new age. And
no amount of stimulus is going to change that.

In the meantime, we are all in for a lot of changes. Yes, some of the
things that are happening are not pleasant. I feel very sorry for
everyone who is losing jobs and retirement nest eggs (myself
included). But, as a person who has followed metaphysical teachings
for a very long time, I am also excited and encouraged to see the
world changing.

My guides have told me that there are three guideposts that will help
us find sanity in these times of change. They are authenticity,
simplicity and community.

As we struggle with the decisions that need to be made, they suggest
that we use these three things to aid us. It is important, they say,
to determine who we are. We need to become our authentic selves. For
many years we have let the media and the marketers tell us what we
want and need. In this new era, it is up to us to decide for
ourselves. Like children, we need to grow and determine our own likes
and dislikes and what we really need and what we have merely been told
we want. What makes us authentic will be different for each person.

The simplicity, my guides suggest, is not only to live in a frugal
manner, but to live in a simple fashion. Choose the “easy button.” Our
lives are amazingly complex. In this new era, there are many ways to
simplify our schedules, our obligations and our spending patterns. We
will be challenged to find them.

Lastly, we are ushering in a whole new era of community. We may find
that our McMansions are better suited for extended than single
families. We will be drawn to communities where we can walk to our
jobs, or better yet, work from our homes. We will hone in on our
inherent desire to be in community with those of like minds.

When the dust clears, (and it will) the new era will be one of peace
and a true prosperity that comes from having joy and peace of mind in
our investment portfolios. As the Light Collective advises, we will
invest in joy.

Kathryn is the author of five books, Your Life In the Palm Of Your Hand (1994), The Millennium Effect (1996), The Intuitive Advantage (2000), The Angel in the Big Pink Hat (2005), and Palm Visions (2007). Her books have also been published in German and Dutch. She is also a monthly columnist for Edge Life Magazine where she shares monthly intuitive insights with a circulation of approximately 45,000 readers.

Kathryn appears regularly on television and radio. She has been featured on the Arts & Entertainment network’s “The Unexplained”, and on Court TV’s “Psychic Detectives.” She is a regular monthly guest on the the Eleanor Mondale and Susie Jones radio show on WCCO am in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Kathryn calls herself a professional wanderer. She has traveled to over 90 countries and has been featured on radio and television in Jamaica, Brazil, Australia, Holland and Germany. Find out more at www.harwig.com.

Hello!  Bonnie Kelley –checking in here, breathing my way into this posting to see if magically the blog entry I’m doing now can also be shared into my Evolutionary Women Conscious Choices blog container! Where I am, on my own evolutionary edge, always is applicable to everything I’m doing on all fronts. I see life as a continuous opportunity to be a transparency. Today’s technology appears at times to be daunting and yet I find myself stepping in to the “soup” no matter how resistant it feels. I will start with this small entry for now and we’ll see what happens. Blessings, Bonnie

My new friend Kathryn wrote to me today. She said, “Love is like fertilizer. It doesn’t work if you don’t spread it around.”

Wow. I like that.

I’m spreading it around!

I have always been curious about words… their origin, their apparent meaning, and their embedded or double meaning. As many of you know, I also enjoy revising the meaning to words so they hold a more intentional impact.

A word that caught my fancy recently was one we hear far too often these days: overwhelmed. Everywhere I turned, I hear the word in conversation, experience it in everyone’s attitudes, and witness the result on people’s faces.

Honestly I, too, had a week that tempted me to concur, however, remembered the words of Mother Teresa,

“I know God will never give me more than I can handle, I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.”

Her cantankerous commitment to optimism reminded me to take a deep breath and look again from a different view-point.

With her whispering in my ear, I insisted on believing there has to be a better way than despair, and somehow had it in me to refuse to succumb to this overwhelmed perception that only leads to feeling worse.

These feelings caused me to ponder what exactly is the “whelm” we are “overed” by? Hmmmmm. What is whelm?

whelm
Pronunciation: \?hwelm, ?welm\
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English
Date: 14th century
Definition:
1 : transitive verb 1 : to turn (as a dish or vessel) upside down, usually to cover something : cover or engulf completely with, usually disastrous effect
2 : to overcome in thought or feeling : overwhelm <whelmed with a rush of joy — G. A. Wagner> intransitive verb

When we get attached to the way we think life “should” be, we resist what is, even miss it all together. Life then moves forward about as easy as a car with the parking brake on. Our creativity and compassion shut down, prohibiting us to see all the alternative possibilities for joy available to us, even amidst challenging circumstances. Life becomes a pain in the rear to endure rather than an adventure to be explored. (more…)

JOSHUA TREE
Joshua Tree National Park
4.2.09

I love you
The Joshua trees
Are calling out
Reaching toward me
Yearning for my
Affection
I love you
See me
It says
I see you
Slow down and
Touch me
See how I bend and twist
To please your eye
See how I make a place
For creatures to rest
See how I give myself
To the sun and the wind
And the rain
See me
Slow down
Touch me
I love you
Says the Joshua tree
Are you inspired?
The big rock asks
Placidly and majestically
Rising up to meet me
I am here for you too
Stop
Love me
See me
I love you.