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Namaste …

Namaste is unfamiliar perhaps to many of you and certainly not a standard “holiday” greeting. Yet, when I read this paragraph recently:

In India when we meet and part we often say, “Namaste,” which means: I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides; I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace. I honor the place within you where, if you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us. ~ Ram Dass in Grist for the Mill

I was moved to share it. A similar expression of Namaste comes from singer/songwriter, Trish Bruxvoort-Colligan:

Namaste

Namaste, Namaste, I greet you with my heart wide open.
I bow to the place in you where God dwells.
In Light and Love we are one. We are one!

I wish I could share with you a recording of her angelic voice singing that sentiment!

Namaste is based on an understanding that God – or Universal Love – is within each and every one of us. At any point in time, we may not feel it within ourselves or see it in another’s actions. But, what if we did? What if we lived from and into Namaste each time we connected with a family member or stood in a check-out line or passed a neighbor on our daily walk?

How can we bring the essence of Namaste alive this holiday season?
How do we greet one another with “heart wide open”?

 

I believe that Namaste is asking us first to go deep inside and find within ourselves the root, the core, the indwelling love, the inner perfection, perhaps the personal “God within.” This means that we must see, accept and move beyond elements of our human expression which may not resemble love – qualities such as hate, anger, fear, doubt, confusion. Yes, they are in you – and in me – just as each of us is and expresses compassion, empathy, joy, connection, love.So, first we connect within and honor the place “where the entire universe resides — the place of love, of light, of truth, of peace.”  We go there each dawn and again before each and every interaction of the day. We go within and become one with our innermost loving source. We open our heart.From there, from this loving, accepting, honoring energy, we greet others with “heart wide open”. Looking past the more negative elements of their human expression and looking for the indwelling “place of love, of light, of truth, of peace” we find it! It is there.

This is how we greet one another with the essence and intention of Namaste, with heart wide open.

Throughout the holiday season and beyond, I greet you with heart wide open. I wish for you an ever expanding understanding and experience of Namaste, of Love greeting Love.

Namaste, my friends.

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We Are One

This morning, not unlike many mornings, I’ve been present with all that is going on in and around me and our world. So much pain and suffering, unrest, fighting. So many in service to those around them trying to bring a bit of gentleness, healing, ease and love into the world. I was reminded of song lyrics which came through me some 17 years ago which reflect what I see today. They speak to the wide range of experiences and emotions present but also to what some of us know to be a wider truth:

In the midst of all of this, we are one.

How can that be? We don’t act like “one”. We fight. We destroy. We kill. Yet, we are one body of humanity. We are one world wide civilization on one planet, Earth. As one, these actions are not hurting “the other” — they are hurting “me”. When I get caught up in wanting to inflict hurt, I try to remember that we are all in this together. I see that it will take each of us wanting to resolve our differences peacefully, to support one another graciously, to desire that everyone live in simple abundance in order to bring harmony to the chaos. It is from this awareness that I try to do my part and bring the best of me forward. When I do this, my impact on the world is powerful, positive and healing.

Today, my part is to write this tidbit and share a few inspirational words. If they touch you, pass them along. If they soften your heart, smile. If they inspire you to action, act!

What is your role in the healing of humanity today?

Here is the song which came through me so many years ago.

We Are One (Listen)

There are people everywhere who are happy,
People everywhere living life so free.
And we are one with all the people everywhere
One in Spirit, One in Love. And there are

People everywhere who are hungry,
People everywhere who are lonely.
We are one with all the people everywhere
One in facing life with hope. There are

People everywhere who are angry,
People everywhere fighting for a cause.
We are one with all the people everywhere
One in purpose, One in Truth. And there are

People everywhere who are crying,
People everywhere who are dying.
We are one with all the people everywhere
We are one in death in life. We’re one with

People everywhere, from all nations,
People everywhere, every race and creed.
We are one together hearing Spirit call
We are one in heart and soul. We are one.

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What are you listening to?

Today we are in the midst … and what I am most present to is that we are the collective we of the entire world. We are each, individually, and we are all, collectively, called to be present to the same thing. We are drawn together by the same challenge even as we are asked to isolate in service of the whole.

I am writing today to share two powerful messages I’ve heard in the last week and to invite you to be discerning about how you are nourishing yourself these days: Continue reading “What are you listening to?”

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Circle of Giving

Never deny anyone the opportunity to be helpful.
~ Jamie Loehnis

This week, I took my scooter to  the local thrift shop. I found a rather large item which was perfect for the current creative project. I bought it – knowing that I might need to take the scooter home and trade it out for the car in order to get it to my house.

In the parking lot, a woman asked me, “What is that?” (Yes, it was an odd looking thing!) I told her that I really didn’t know what it was but, rather, how I was planning to use it. Then she watched me attempt to get this thing onto my scooter unsuccessfully. And she said, Continue reading “Circle of Giving”

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Time is elongating…

What follows is a message which flowed into my journal recently. While choosing part-time work, I have a parallel full-time practice of learning to live the moments mindfully, coming to a new understanding of Life in all its complexity and beauty, routine and miraculous. I am practicing living and choosing from my heart space rather than the calendar and the to-do list. It is from this place, that the writing below emerged. It isn’t for everyone! But, especially if you find yourself new to retirement, or, like me, on a journey of presence to the moment, it may strike a resonance in you.

Time is elongating – what used to be an everyday happening is now less regular and less frequent – or perhaps it is my concept of “day” that is changing … it is less controlled as alarms rarely call me to action at a particular hour – nightfall encourages sleep when it’s ready.
Continue reading “Time is elongating…”