the online magazine for seekers of spiritual and universal truth

Posts Tagged ‘self-discovery’

Stillness by Joyce Rothman

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

I’m a mom, grandmother of 2 adorable toddlers, RN, spiritual seeker and writer.   I moved from Boston to Onset – the “Gateway to Cape Cod”, 7 years ago and I’m fulfilling my long held dream of living in a village by a beautiful harbor. This is the perfect setting for the simplified life that I’ve wanted and that I continue to fine tune. I started journaling 28 years ago and many years later, through writing, I connected with spirit and began channeling divine wisdom.

I’m working on a memoir called “Making Sense of It All” which is a journaled account of how this guidance has nurtured, directed and comforted me on my life path.  I enjoy exploring other writing genres: poetry that expresses whatever needs expression in my life, at the time and nature writing with a spiritual/philosophical slant. I escape so totally into the scenery when I’m in nature, that I wanted to try my hand at capturing with words what an artist might with paint.  ‘One With Nature’ blends imagery with my spiritual growth. My blog is: wordsfromnature.wordpress.com.

STILLNESS

Everything is still in front of me, except the top of the windmill in the distance, visible above the tree line over by the canal and Mass Maritime. The empty expanse of sand in front of me is inhabited by a lone, sun bathing gull.  Even she doesn’t move.  The blues of the water change in the bay.  Closest to shore, it’s a sun lit iridescent powder blue, taking form like a large fat V lying on its side. In its middle, are royals, ceruleans, hints of purples and grays.  Only the surface moves slightly, giving the colors more definition.  The boathouse on the point across the bay sits empty in winter hibernation.  Snow lines the banks along its shore, still white and pure even though it’s a week old.  There is no activity to muddy it up. No foot prints to mar its smooth surface.  It just sits motionless– waiting to melt, and then refreeze.  All the moorings in the bay look lonely and unattached; each one motionless and white, separate from the others.  The Yacht club is closed for the season, hidden from view by stacked layers of shrink wrapped boats in dry dock.  The old Victorian homes that line the shore on the far side of the beach add a pastel quirkiness to the calm of the water.

Stillness is all I see as I view this beach in winter.  Stillness is all I feel.  It is a different kind of quiet for me – more pronounced than when I take quiet moments in a world of motion.   This is quiet that permeates me from the outside in.  Quiet that is born from the stillness of the scene I am within.  Nothing moves except that windmill in the distance and the solitary gull who takes flight every now and then. My insides feel the change.  They have been tranquilized naturally by being present here.  I too have been slowed, much to my great surprise.  Not fond of cold weather, I usually contract and withdraw from the elements.  I realize that in doing so, I’ve missed opportunities to be quieted by the winter landscape, from the outside in. But now I know.

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“Thoughts on Teachers and Teaching” by D. P. Boivin

Friday, January 1st, 2010

Today I would like to share some ideas on teachers and their teachings that I credit to two of my favorite writers, J. Krishnamurti and Alan Watts.

If you wanted to go to Boston and you saw an arrow that said “Boston This Way”, you wouldn’t climb up the sign and sit on it; you would go in the direction in which it pointed and you would forget all about the sign. Spiritual teachers and their methods, words and books are like signposts – they are not the destination, they are just there to help point out the way.

A few years ago Krishnamurti’s writings got so into my head that I had to put his books away for good. I am still hesitant to even read a sentence or two. I would never want to have not read him – his ideas rang so true with me and made so much sense and helped me so much – it just took a long time to be able to think about life instead of life according to Krishnamurti.

Have you ever noticed when you are meditating that you’re thinking about a book you read on meditation, or the life of some sage that you want to emulate? Or when you are walking in the woods and instead of being right there in the woods, with the trees and the birds, you are thinking about the idea of bonding with the trees and the birds? When it comes to spirituality I think we tend to get too absorbed in the teacher and the ideas, and that can get in the way of the clear-headedness we need in order to truly experience what being is. Part of this, I believe, is just human nature – we put something in our minds and there it is, we’ve got to process it for a while. But if we truly want to experience an enlightened existence like the ones all the philosophers and sages and books and magazines and websites are trying to help us experience, then we’ve got to put all that down long enough to get back to the pure simplicity of the SELF and NATURE.

We can absorb others’ ideas and put them to use just as we can read a street sign and then find our way, but we need to be able to then dismiss that signpost from our minds.

I truly believe that we have everything we need to live a good, rewarding life. We just need to take good care of ourselves, body and mind. Too much of a good thing is bad, right? Just as we are careful not to overeat, perhaps we should be careful not to over stimulate our minds. A mind needs plenty of rest, too!

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Close Encounters of the Awareness Kind – Cathy Drew

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

Have you ever had one of those close encounters with life that opens you up to a new awareness of possibility – one that arrives softly but then sends out breathtaking waves of insights and questions that you know will somehow significantly influence your past and future?  Meeting John was like this.

I had arrived a little before first light dissolves the stars, the whole beach to myself – or so I thought.  With a cadence in harmony with the gently rolling waves, I walk along the waters edge toward where the sun would soon rise.  As my eyes adjusted to the ambient light I notice that in the mist blanketing the beach someone was walking toward me.  Most mornings I would simply look into the faces of those passing by, warmly smile and continue on in silence.  But this persons distinct sense-of-grace and lightness-of-being were fascinating.  “May I walk with you awhile”, I ask when he is close enough.  “Yes, of course”, he says with a big inviting smile, his unruly snow-white hair blowing across eyes the color of the sky on a crisp fall day.

For a few minutes we talked about our love of early mornings, the ocean and life in general.  Then he stopped, looked at me and asked, “Why did you want to walk with me?”  I barely heard the question.  He had turned so the cresting sun lit up his eyes.  They weren’t just brilliant blue, they felt endless and somehow different.  “You have very unusual eyes”, I said.  He casually replied, “Yes, they don’t see”.  “What do you mean?” I said with the sound of shock quivering in my voice.  “I mean, I am blind”, he said.  A waterfall of questions tumbled out of me.  “But how can you walk the beach without a cane or friend or seeing-eye-dog; did you ever have sight; do you miss seeing…?”

John’s laugh was as unrestrained as my questions.  Still looking at me with his unseeing eyes, he reached for my hand and knew right where it was.  “Cathy, every day I bless the moment I lost my sight.  Yes, at first I was scared and angry, but now, when I walk the beach my feet can feel the subtle differences in the earths skin as if I were stroking my lover.  My ears hear the ocean as a constantly changing symphony of a 1,000 instruments playing in perfect harmony.  I can taste the nuances of the sky and smell the rich fragrances of life making love with itself.  With mischief in his eyes and laugh he says, “I could sense a lovely lady walking toward me before her eyes could see me!

Shifting to a calm, deeper voice he continued, “Everyone has their blindness.  I have mine.  You have yours.  It isn’t your enemy.  It isn’t a curse.  You are not lacking.  It is your friend, blessing you with the perfect circumstances to become all that you feel called to become.”

Remaining hand-in-hand, we fell into silence for a time.  Me, deeply moved by the grace I felt in this wisdom and the penetrating intimacy of his presence.  John, savoring every little detail of these perfectly orchestrated moments, before leaving to continue his solitary walk.

Cathy Drew
SoulEssence Art

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Fall on Campus – Emily J.

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Emily is a good family friend and photography student. She is one of those people who lights up a room with her enthusiasm, joy and love. She is an excellent dancer and has proven to be a staunch friend and collaborator to one of our daughters.

Emily J. says of her photographs:

I took these in the fall on my college campus. I like taking pictures during the daytime. The sunlight is what brings so much beauty to the photographs. The colors in the pictures are very vibrant, especially those of the fall leaves. Taking pictures, for me brings me closer to nature, and allows me to be a more careful observer. It allows me to become more spiritual.

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Amanda Michele Photography

Saturday, November 21st, 2009

Bio:

Amanda Michele O’Dell Jones, known to friends as Mandy, specializes in nature and children’s photography. Her work, which has been showcased in local galleries, can be found in the homes of many families throughout her community.

My story:

Photographs and the stories they tell have always fascinated me. As a child, I could often be found with a photo album in hand lost in the images that lay before me. Now, in the early years of adulthood, I have developed an appreciation and an interest for the process of creating timeless images that will tell my story for years to come. To some it may seem a natural happening, the progression from simply admiring the work of others to creating your own masterpieces. However, my story is not quite that simple.

Last June the 5th to be exact, my mother passed away from a rare blood disease, which she had been battling for just over 6 years. She was only 61. She was the strongest person I knew and I struggle with anger at the fact that her body wasn’t as strong as her will. My mother was my super hero, my idol, and my best friend. I had built my life around her, as I wanted to be just like her.

Here I am 5 months after her passing, realizing that I am 28 years old and have no idea who I am or where my life is heading. A wave of emotions have been surging through me and in the midst of the disaster that was once my mind, one emotion stands out above the rest: lost. Where do I belong? Who do I fit in with? Who is going to be my number one supporter now? Who is going to always be there for me, loving me unconditionally? As I was driving to work one foggy morning a family of deer crossed the road in front of me. I don’t know what it was about seeing those magnificent creatures but the question that I should have been asking myself became clear; “How are you going to redefine yourself? Don’t you think it’s about time you discovered who you really are?”

I was with my Mother that dreadful morning in hospital when the doctors shared the news that she had only days left with us on Earth. She was using every ounce of strength she had to maintain her composure and for once I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. While choking back tears I was able to ask her “What are you thinking? Do you want to talk about it?” I will never forget the expression that came across her face as she looked me in the eyes and said, “There’s still so much I want to do.”

I am sure we are all going to feel this way when our time comes but her words inspired me to do more with my life. To develop dreams of my own and do all that is within my power to achieve them. Looking back, I know that it was that moment in the hospital and her words that lead me to the beginning of my journey toward self-discovery.

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