Not Puppets

Shadow self, the dark forces, the enslaving oppressive hopeless helpless voices and naggings from within that somehow feel like an intruder disguised as me, masked as you. The great lie is that the voice(s) are my/your own and they are not, the deceiver, the liar sells fraud, masquerade with chipped and dented psuedo truths to convince and persuade the victim of what isn't Truth. Fear, bravado, pride, self aggrandizement, false humility, excessive shame, unforgiveness of self or other, addiction, the list can go on, these are the signs and symtoms of the shadow, the dark side, painting black over top of brilliance. The shadow is a wooing spirit of deception that preys on it's human hosts insecurities and natural inclinations or predispositions and capitalizes on these existing conditions for the shear pleasure of command, in other words, if the shadow were the puppeteer, I/you are it's puppet. Anything that has a hold on me/you and feels as though I am without choice is a great indicator that some investigation needs happening in that area, and perhaps many more areas. What I write of is not new, it his age old. I have been in the presence of greatness, humans of mastery. These humans fight the good fight, knowing shadow is want to turn them into stringed caricatures of themselves, bouncing them about in a jagged performance unbefitting the Glorious nature of man. In the presence of greatness, there is a sense of awe and wonder, the eyes grow large in an attempt to absorb and capture what is felt and heard as though to record and somehow assimilate, make my own/your own. You and I, we can only be fooled for so long. The human spirit is not want to be toyed with, it wants for and pants after the filling up and abundant overflowing of all that is spectacular and stunningly beautiful to behold. You are not your shadow self, you are not something's puppet, playing the fool. You are created in the image of God and shadow fades and disappears when standing in The Light. Man is made for Glory, less is counted as loss. 

Summon

Summon, "to call for the presence of, as by command, message or signal,; call". This is the word a friend used to describe the communication we had prior to our actual communication. Here is what I mean: I was sending a message to a friend and while doing so, a name popped up on my screen and I was somewhat surprised...within the very next second, the person to whom the name belongs, sent me a text message. My eyes bulged, a little stunned with the instantaneous occurrence. We have all had similar experiences where you think of someone you haven't seen in quite sometime and then you see them or they call...it is always a wonder and in conversation we say something like "this is crazy, I was JUST thinking about you!" Precognition, a knowing that is later confirmed, a sense that is undeniable and proven in the flesh at a later date. I told my friend that I had better pay attention today, for my summons may come in many shapes and forms and it is a call to service when this brilliant phenomenon happens. The veil is thin, between the physical and spiritual realms. We move through this life in a trance until we start to notice, sense, feel into what we perceive and the intangibles become more substantial and palpable than the mere what we can touch and prove with our hands things. I am torn, the physical wants to hold me fast to earthly things, my spirit wants to soar and fly freely...it is summoning me to the Heavens. 

Blazing Trail

It is easy to jump on the bandwagon when someone else has taken a good hard swallow and forged bravely ahead blazing a trail. Stepping out into no mans land is both thrilling and terrifying and contemplation makes the stepping out bittersweet and enduring. There comes a time when the body moves without permission, it is without decision, impelled to go and do and there is no stoppage, impossible does not exist as a concept and I/you find yourself transported in time and space and suddenly there is a still point, a reconciling with the now. Where am I and how did I get here? Here is only part way and it is the brave of heart that continue there voice in the wilderness trek to places unknown and yet mysteriously assured. I wander broken in the desert, the stars lighting the sky, I stumble cut by a cactus, a physical reminder that I am human, I bleed...I lie supine in the rough dry grass mixed with dirt and stone, humbled before my God, the dawning of my wrestling with what was and what shall be. The great chasm closes and I am one with His plan, His calling me forth to my divinely intended identity. I surrender, conforming to the image of Christ for my own sake, and the the sake of those He wants to claim as His own. He knows His sheep, he calls them by name and they that know Him recognize His voice, The Good Shepherd, they are impelled to draw near. Thy Will not mine Lord...

Stay

There are blessings in tenacity. Giving up is easy in the moment, it is the aftermath of having abandoned a project, a relationship, a goal that can cause life long heart burn, dissonance that is like a slow burn just beneath the surface of the pysche. Situational Discomfort comes when I am challenged beyond my so far naturally, progressively obtained abilities. In coaching, the novice coach is taught something called stay and during every training workshop, the leaders invite the trainees to "stay until the end", the designated time that class is actually over. This reminder to stay present has the effect of reeling the would be mind wanderers back to the here and now, the crucial learning ground of self, in the presence of others. Stay is an art form, it is a distinguishing characteristic of a truly engaged student of life. I recently wanted to quit, I felt the pressure and burden of a steep learning curve and my current talents for managing details big and small are diminutive when I look at what is wanting to be created, seemingly out of nothing. In my stay, I see the others, the ones I am learning in front of, the ones who are too, students of life, learning in front of me. We bare witness to one another's vulnerabilities, struggles and fall downs and, and we get to see the get back up tenacity that Delivers blessings through perseverance. Nothing does not exist, there is the yet to be discovered and when I stay, when you stay, the likelihood of discovery increases exponentially and the reward too, grows Powerfully. No thing will stand between me and what is yet to be, I stay because my work, my learning, it is not done. Stay is a choice, and it is yours to make. 

Systems Down Day

Saturday as Sabbath

I have designated this coming Saturday as my Sabbath, a sabbatical leave from technology and dedicated to God. It will be my seventh day, my day of rest. In farmland speak, land was "plowed and harrowed but left unsown for a period in order to restore its fertility as part of a crop rotation or to avoid surplus production".

Seven-year cycles

The ancient Jews, after settling in the Holy Land, began to count and observe seven-year cycles, culminating in a Sabbatical year known as Shemittah, literally "to release". The song with lyrics Please Release me, let me go, comes to mind as the build up toward my day of refreshment and restoration approaches. The intrigue around the number seven abounds and while some consider it to be lucky, it is deeply rooted in creation, a master plan that started before man had the ability to notice patterns and capitalize on them.

God wants to be worshipped 

Choosing to worship

The God of The Bible wants to be observed, appreciated, worshipped on the seventh day of each week. There is a humbling in this, when I/you acknowledge that much has been given to us, not the least of which is our very life's breath. In the Thank-You God day, there is a release from worldly pressures, the field of the soul is left unsown by human hands and God is invited to plant heavenly seeds of otherworldly delights.

I sit still, longing for this and the return to his original plan: he is the Master Craftsman and I am his to shape, from seed to sapling to branch on his tree of life.

Saturday approaches, I choose him. 

Dance, a Language of Love

I teach a dance class, dancing brings me much joy and comes easily to me, it is a body celebration, a way for feelings to be expressed, conveyed. Today, I had two woman in my class, a blessing to me. These women are elderly, new to the country and can speak very little English. Only necessity would have someone at their stage of life take them away from all that they have ever known and loved, including the vastly comforting environment of people speaking their mother tongue, food and clothing they are accustomed to, a faith shared by their brethren...being able to ask for what they want, need, and understanding simple instruction without having to hear the instructions repeated over and over again. I am humbled by the patience of these women who have their stories and history, untold in a foreign land. What did they leave behind and what hope do they hold in their hearts for the life they have here? I am overwhelmed at what I take for granted, a life of freedom and liberty, unrestricted. I can dance and love and laugh speak or not, I can be silent and move slowly and see into the eyes of another and speak wordlessly so that they hear my heart and I hear theirs. Sometimes I feel beyond words and that's when I know that there is always more than meets the eye. Dance is a language of love. 

Talking

Let your words be anything but empty...let your yes be your yes and your no be your no. The Truth is out, excessive talking causes bleeding ears in the would be, wanna be listener. So here it is, the HUGE opportunity that we all get to share in and be a part of, wait for it, waittttt for it, relationships! I know you are thrilled with this revelatory breaking bit of news, so stay with me as I chase down my own connect the dots thinking and capture something big here. If I am in front of you and I am listening, then my assumption (forgive me this assumption in this instance) is that what you have to say is important and I am all ears, especially if I have paid to hear you speak. There is an expression, give them what they came for, and baby, if I'm your audience, I want you to bring it. I'm not talking about performance here, I'm not in need of entertainment, there is something much bigger at stake...it is relationship through connection. I have sat through too many one sided captive audience experiences and I love myself far too much to suffer them anymore, in fact, they make me sick, literally. When a speaker has listeners and asks perfunctory questions in an attempt to include the people in the room, it is painful to watch the lost opportunities to hear hearts, listen to wisdom, feel the love of others and their "why" for what they do. In a world gone mad with getting things done, the talking has turned into talking about connection, with real relationships being lost in the fray. I escaped such a meeting, not nearly soon enough, just this morning. My fight or flight urges where neatly held in check until break was called and then, like a bird in an UNLOCKED cage, I flew freely out of there. I could have left earlier, I could have yelled stop babbling about what should be and start modelling it but it wasn't my place, my opinion was not asked for and I was, I am, at choice to say something, nothing at all or simply, move on if the effort appears to far outweigh potential return. Time is precious, I choose how I "spend" mine...I hope in reading this, you haven't wasted yours!