dailydatewithgod

For some reason, there is this idea that to have time for leisure we need to have everything else done.  Perhaps it is a stay over from childhood where you did not get to go play until your chores were done or eat dessert until you had your vegetables.  In principle the idea is sound.  Discipline and taking care of the staples allows time to saunter. Yet we can get so caught up in the doing mode of life that we think we are human doings instead of human beings.  When we learn to let go of the mind’s chatter or at least not take it so seriously all the time there is room for another perspective.  There are of course times when doing and getting done are most important.  I live my life effectively because I have structure and discipline.  Yet not every environment or circumstance needs us to march through.  Some elements of life call upon us to saunter. Getting into the rhythm of our hearts, noticing the pattern of our breath when we enter an experience is one way of detecting if it march time or saunter time, or even running time.   Having a leisure approach to something does not imply laziness or earned relaxation.  It is something we can incorporate amidst the hustle and bustle.  When we remember to saunter we can notice the panoramic view.  When we saunter for a few moments we can look people in the eyes. When we saunter we allow ourselves to receive all the gifts the moment has to offer.  There is a reason for an exhale following an inhale.  Unless we take the moment to let go we will not have the energy to keep moving.  God invites us to find the moments where a saunter is exactly what is needed to be most fully ourselves at the moment we are in.

If information is kindred of the mind, What is kindred of the heart?  Is it the same for everyone?  Are their kindred of the heart that is more valuable than others? The kindred of our hearts are any experiences, ideas, states of being, people, or things for which we have an affinity.  As we go through our lives we are drawn to kindred of our heart without much thought.  We find ourselves participating in the kindred activities, contemplating kindred ideas, hanging around kindred people, and conducting ourselves as a kindred spirit to ourselves and others. This is a natural outcome of the moments we are present with the truth of who we are.  What sounds or looks like a foreign and irrelevant idea to our minds can simultaneously be the thing our hearts long to be kindred. On my daily dates with God, I learned to notice what makes my heart come alive and expand.  What is kindred to our hearts is not always foreign to our minds.  When the whole of who we are resonates with what is kindred to ourselves we move and live from a place of wholeness and confidence.  It is in those times we understand innately what all those mind gurus are talking about when they speak about flow. Our kindred expression of body, mind, heart, and spirit is the best of who we are.  It comes from taking the time to pause and with curiosity begin to look at how we operate in the world and correspond with all we are drawn to.  One of my favorite literary characters is Anne of Green Gables.  She always acknowledged the kindred spirits she came across in life and it was evident from how she was acting that she was most free to be herself and feel a sense of acceptance when she was with them.  It allowed both people to be the fullest expression of themselves and a joy to watch their interaction.

It is easy to buy into the idea that as long as something is logical all will be fine.  If it makes sense then we feel peace and ease because our minds have nothing to fret over or figure out.  We work doggedly to come to conclusions that can be shown through irrefutable evidence. For that brief moment when logic hits its high point all seems well with the world.  Then before we know something of a mystery enters our path.  We step down from the high tower of mindful logic and find ourselves among the leaves and hints that mystery places on our path seem to get us off course.  But what if the course of mystery is to get us to breathe into playing again in life.  We have had our moment of resting on our pedestal of logic and now life calls upon us to do a little dance, make a little love to the moment and get down from our high tower tonight. 😉 This is what the spirit calls the logic of our hearts.  We move from holding our breath at how long the logic of the mind can claim reign and step into the space where we bring in inspiration and send our spirit of curiosity and wonder.  We get to see life through new eyes when we step into the logic of our hearts.  It can get dirty and messy on the path of the unknown, but by engaging the heart’s courageous energy and the spirit of adventure we can find our way to satisfy the logic of the mind, and then it will feed us back into mystery.  It becomes the cycle of life to move from the logic of the mind to the logic of the heart.  Our breath is the spirit of life keeping us alive . . . sometimes it is the only way we know we are not yet dead.

On a night that is known to glory in darkness and mystery, it is a good time to remember that within us is the reality of both dark and light.  Because the darkness is harder to see through and there is much unknown, we can easily slip into a place of fear.  Reflecting, however on the fact that it is always darkest before the dawn it can be utilized to give us hope of the coming radiant light.  But radiance is much more than keeping our spirits up.  The radiance of life existing within us, perhaps in the deepest, darkest places of ourselves speaks to us of the hope of life.  When we are in the midst of darkness, trepidation, fear, and uncertainty it is easy to believe that because it is that way it will always be that way.  The hope of radiance which breaks with every new dawn is a reminder to us.  Just as nature moves effortlessly from the darkest moment to the most radiant one means as a part of that nature, we will too.  No matter how dark it seems or how much we revel in it on night’s like Halloween, the radiant moment will be just around the corner.  Even Halloween which is synonymous with dark and fearful is a word expressing a time that is on the eve of all things holy = All Hallow’s Eve.  Whether the darkness is something we are playing in on this night or something we have been feeling internally, externally, or even collectively for a while, God invites us to be present to the coming radiance which ultimately is always with us.

When there is a loose thread in one of my blouses or skirts and I tug at it, I find out if there is this long extension to get to the root of where it has disconnected. I then see it is not as simple as just cutting off the one thread.  I have to go to where it has gotten disconnected and cut it off there.  It reminds me of how we find these loose threads in our lives and we think if we just cut them off or get rid of them we will not have to deal with them anymore.  Unless however, we get to the source of where the thread began and either mend it or cut it off there, we will find it loosen itself again and again and eventually undo the whole piece of fabric.  God invites us to notice the loose thread and recognize it as a signifier of where something has gotten disconnected from the whole.  It is not a good or bad thing but an opportunity to evaluate the interwoven elements of our lives and how close they are tied to who we are.  Sometimes we wear a garment so long because it is familiar and therefore comfortable.  I love wearing those worn-in jeans or my favorite shirt but when it is falling apart at the seams and I am seeing loose threads everywhere it is time to re-evaluate its usefulness.  The loose threads in our lives remind us of something we either need to repair or let go of but we are called to do so at their source.  Reflecting on their value at the core of who we enable us to make a choice in alignment with the true fabric of our lives.

With so much breaking down of typically reliable systems, changes in how we operate as a culture, and facing uncertainty on a collective level it seems ridiculous to think about flourishing.  Our minds want us to be on the lookout for the next possible destruction or dissolution of ideas, people, practices, or institutions.  Our brains are wired to make sure we are aware so we can survive them. Our hearts have greater confidence in our survival because it is our heart that knows it is more than a body.  It is our heart that trusts us to be a part of the fullness of life which does not end when it stops beating.  Our hearts are connected to all that is and will always be.  It is as though our hearts have the internal awareness that energy is neither created nor destroyed. In this space, our hearts remind our eyes to see elements of flourishing.  The flourishing taking place both right under our noses and beyond what our minds narrow our focus towards. God invites us to notice the flourishing forms of life happening in and around us that provide a new breath of energy.  It is what we will need on the days when we cannot see any of it.  Flourishing is something we can internalize in such a way that it will enable us to call upon it within when we have no way of seeing it outside of us.

It may seem often that the road between our hearts and our minds is a long and windy one.  The mind speaks loudly, often, and at every open and closed moment. Our heart speaks softly, simply, in a language not measured by words and letters, and sometimes not until directly consulted.  The good news is with practice we can strengthen the connection and create a level of cooperation.  On my daily dates with God, I have learned many tools at the base of which is utilizing my physiology to jump-start the connection between my mind and my heart.  My breath is the fastest tool I have to get me right into the moment where I can assess if my heart and mind are on the same wavelength.  This moment becomes the belvedere upon which I create a new lens for life. When our hearts and minds are in alignment or at least attempting to be within the same self at the same time, we see differently.  We see wholly.  We see what a belvedere is designed to provide us an outlook to.  And this is only one method to get to the desired scene.  Because God creates unlimited possibilities and avenues, there is more than one belvedere to bring ourselves into alignment.  The process of discovering our belvederes is part of what makes us come alive and grow. When we connect to what those belvederes are for us they in turn create a belvedere within us.

One thing my daily dates with God have taught me is to tend to my realm.  It may sound fanciful or that I am pretending I am some sort of queen, but we all have a realm.  We are gifted with so much in the very being of who we are and it requires our attention and needs a benevolent ruler. There are certain elements that the world will tell us are more important than others.  But just like a ruler of a queendom, if one area of the realm is neglected it will fall into disarray, create a lack of coherence, suffer from neglect, negatively impact other areas of the realm, and or cause the ruler to be less effective in the areas of the realm that are tended to.  We may be excellent at ruling our physical realm, but do a poor job of ruling our emotional realm.  The same goes for our mental, spiritual, energetic, and so on.  We can give them whatever names we like but the reality there is much involved with being responsible for a realm.  Then, add to it when we decided to but our nose into how other people rule their realms or worse yet, take them over. We cannot give what we do not have. We can assist others in their rule, but it is advisable to keep our own realm in order first. God encourages us to explore and discover the intricacies of the realm of our being.  Perhaps there are abandoned stones and landscapes that are calling out for our attention. All of who we are deserve the royal attention so we can rule with power, confidence, courage, and be the beacon of light and love we are designed to be.

Many people, including myself at times, shudder just looking at the word confrontation.  Who wants that? It means conflict, doesn’t it?  Not exactly. The definition in layman’s terms is from the idea of two opposite things facing each other. It sounds very socially correct to say that we do not like confrontation.  Many I know shy away from it, to say the least.  I certainly don’t go searching it out. The funny thing is it does not exist outside of us only.  Most confrontation is going on inside of us.  We are often engaged in a confrontation between our mind and our hearts or our mind and our body or our mind and our spirit.  Are you noticing a trend?  Is it that our minds are built for confrontation?  That would be too simplistic.  The purpose of confrontation comes in the facing.  Acknowledging for ourselves where we are out of coherence. Where there is a possible conflict that stems from us not being whole in our expression.  It is not about being a perfect balance, it is about noticing when an internal confrontation is happening, and with curiosity, exploring what it is telling us about ourselves.  A productive confrontation between people with opposing ideas is handled through open and clear communication.   In the same way, we are invited to the confrontation between the different elements of who we are to discover our own truth in the moment. We spend time arguing with ourselves and avoiding confrontation because we are in fear.   Learning to trust that the core of who we are knows how to draw the courage and fortitude needed to face whatever inside of ourselves that is out of alignment, we can take a deep breath and walk through the confrontation despite our fear. We have the power to move forward and find the peace we seek within ourselves. Besides, when we are at war with ourselves, who wins?

Sometimes we lack imagination.  We become familiar with acceptable use of an item, purpose of an idea, intention of a person or group, and when it or they step out of the accepted norm our feathers get ruffled.  What would happen if we determined the use of family was to have as many farm hands as possible?  How upset would we be if we collectively agreed that the best use of an idea was to share something with others and engage in dialogue not throw it out as a truth that must be accepted if we want to be included?  Our minds are filled with all kinds of fixed ideas about what and how things are of best use.  When we step into our hearts we can see these same things through a different lens. It is not as much about what is acceptable as it is what is most needed at this moment.   How can we or an idea or an item best be of use right here, right now?  We do it in emergencies or the times we are faced with limited resources.  Otherwise, we default to what is normal or acceptable.  Our hearts open up our imagination by inviting the spirit of life into our system.  If we take a deep enough breath spirit can reach our minds and knock on the door of the expected and say, “imagine this . . .”  Suddenly we find an alternate use for something.  God invites us to stop suffering from a lack of imagination and use our hearts to open ourselves up to the spirit of use.