Potential of Getting Lost

There is much to be said for getting lost. I do it often and can remember other times in my life when that didn’t feel like an option.

Back then, I felt a tremendous need to keep myself on track, keep track of others, and track down the best buys, recipes, and wardrobe. But now I am turning, as often as I see the opportunity, toward getting lost. The only question, really, is what I want to get lost in.

There are some things I am always willing to lose myself in… a long lunch with a friend, time at Café spirit, card games, a walk on a sunny day, a spirit adventure of any kind, a road trip, any moment with Jim, conversations and silliness with my family, and, of course, chocolate.

Then there are other things I am glad to get lost in if the time is right. It’s a priority thing. I’m game to go there with parameters about when and how long and the intention. This kind of lost is more challenging. It asks me to be aware of my needs and set boundaries. It requires balance so that my time and energy don’t slip away like rain water into a gutter.

This morning, I recognized how the time of day affects my sense of getting lost. I get lost most easily in the morning. That is great if I sit down to write and find it is lunch time before I know it. On the other hand, it’s not that grand if I start paying bills or doing laundry. Taking care of essential responsibilities needs to take place in the middle of the day when I don’t get easily distracted.

I say this because I think getting lost is connected to the magic in my life. It’s not throw-away or unproductive time as I once thought and I want to honor it by choosing it with enthusiasm and awareness.

Notes along the way… Jeanne

Spirit Friends and Dreams

At times, every life journey is going to have boulders sitting smack dab in the middle of the path. Other places will feel too slippery and steep. Sometimes it will seem like monsters have arrived to rip up the trail being blazed.

Those are the moments I know I can make a difference if I hold onto any piece of the plans I’ve been making along the way. This is sometimes ridiculously difficult. With a monster situation roaring and stomping on my intentions, I have to ask my self to stare it down until I can look through it and beyond it to catch a glimpse of where I was going before it arrived. But in that glance, I give power to what I want and diminish the ogre event. I might have to do this several times a day or many times for several weeks or months, but every time I can see past what is and concentrate on where I intend going, I make a difference in the outcome.

For the slippery slopes, I have spirit friends. I can reach out with conversation and they will hand me cleated shoes. Advice requested… and heard… can show me where the roots of my truth are buried in the muck so I can grab hold and move toward my purpose. Intuitive hits have been known to show me detours. Dreams have given me insight to light the way.

And my boulders have always turned out to be the limitations I have placed on myself. Knowing this, I am getting better at moving around them though it might some take time. There have been boulders I chipped away at for years. But other blocks in my path took no more than turning to an ally who sees nothing in the way, only the destination. My limitations are not theirs and now I know how to follow them. I let go of needing to control the circumstance.

I am going to have moments when I feel overwhelmed and unprepared for what I find along the way, but I also know this. These times will be less protracted if I can keep my feelings attached to what I want rather than what I am experiencing during this particular stretch of my spirit journey.

Notes along the way…. Jeanne

Dream and Imagine

I don’t know how it all fits together, but then my musing moments are no more than leaves scattering in the wind as I try to rake them into a pile of cohesive thought. Always, and more so lately, I’ve been amazed by the man, woman, or child who first imagined the things I take for granted in life.

In any day, I look at the food I’m eating and wonder who imagined it was eatable and then found a way to make it digestible. I peel the layers of an artichoke to eat the delicious, tender flesh tucked under the thorns and leathery leaves and picture someone finding such a plant and making it part of their diet. Hunger could have been the motivation, but then I have to applaud their daring to find the heart at the center and figure out the hairy covering must be removed, and then taking a chance it would nurture rather than make them ill.

How did someone discover the delicate flax plant could be retted, its filaments woven into fabric to make linen, its seeds ground into meal, and the oil extracted for furniture polish and paints? It boggles my mind in the most wonderful way. Imagine someone eons ago, plucking a goose for dinner and thinking all that soft down would be lovely to lie on… and then consider the many steps taken by others until I go to sleep at night on a delightful down pillow.

I can remember my son, so many years ago, telling me music was going to be sold on little discs rather than records. I tried to comprehend it and failed, but I still smile when I play my CD’s. Before I had heard the word “internet” he told me computers would soon change communication patterns and open people to information in a way unheard of before. I couldn’t imagine what he meant, but he sits in my heart every time I come to Café Spirit.

I think I’m intrigued by the origins of what is commonplace in my life because they remind me to imagine more than I can currently comprehend. The familiar brings comfort. Possibilities are the magic in life.

Notes along the way… Jeanne

Women, Amazing, Beautiful, Shining

Women are amazing, beautiful, shining treasures.

In their eyes, I see compassion for others born in their own experiences. They reach out to me in their journey to heal themselves and, from the dark places, they carry hope for more, for better, for possibilities.

Women reach out with their hands to touch when nothing else will soothe. They embrace with abandon, bringing me in and giving me moments of bliss. Their hands prepare food, their arms lift in times of transitions. Fingernails, decorated or naked, filed long, worn short, declare how they fit in the world at any particular time.

And with their hair, women show up to be counted. Curly, colored, cute or cascading, women dare to claim their identity. A new hair cut proclaims a change. A trim says all is right with the world. Letting her hair grow, she declares a new path taken by choice.

In their curves, women carry the soft, sweet, and swollen beauty of life. And though it takes many life miles for this to be appreciated and embraced, the journey is a wonder to behold. When women start showing up in the world as themselves, away from mirrors and expectations, I am filled with their stunning magnificence.

Though it often takes several decades, I am deeply honored any time I witness a woman reaching through her hesitations and resistance to embrace her power. When my daring, caring feminine allies find their footing and step out, the world is always a better place.

And, as we sit together at Café Spirit, I recognize all of us can see ourselves reflected in each other. It’s a lovely way to see our value.

Notes along the way… Jeanne

Inspiration of Quantum World

It’s fun to walk in the park, swim in a pool, and snuggle into a movie with fresh popcorn in hand. I also love spending conscious time in my quantum world. It is enchanting to choose five minutes, maybe an hour, even an afternoon remembering everything is vibrating molecules. Everything.

My thoughts are vibrations connecting to other vibrating thoughts as close as the person standing next to me in line at the post office and as far away as the other side of the world. My thought vibrations communicate with my body… what I’m thinking affects my well-being and my well-being nurtures my thoughts. Each of my beliefs create a certain vibration attaching to similar vibrations like a bee to honey. This connection confirms, cements, and celebrates those beliefs. My vibrating thoughts, working with my vibrating emotions, send frequencies forward where energy starts forming the future I am feeling with intention and passion.

My computer, desk, tea, and papers are vibrating too. I have learned to translate them into solid objects, but they each have their own pattern of frequency. The trees outside, my cell phone, and check book are fluid. This not only delights my senses, it reminds me all things are in movement. The beauty or wonder I might like to embrace forever are in transition in this very moment… and so too are my problems. Sooner than later, I will look back and see they are memories. Spending conscious time in the quantum world helps me enjoy each moment and feel more comfortable in my challenges.

In a quantum sense, Café Spirit is as tangible and real as the other coffee shop down the street. In each, we get to be together sharing our spirit adventure.

Notes along the way… Jeanne

Authentic Personal Power

In several conversations at Café Spirit, I have been exploring the nuances of personal power. Recognizing and embracing my own power has been very much a part of my personal journey and it seems I have been given another opportunity to grow with it.

As I sit with my cup of green tea, I am thinking about the difference between what I call my false power and my authentic power. The former isn’t false in its intent or by design. It is false because it doesn’t reflect my inner wisdom and personal truth. For me, my false power is the many ways I learned to manage my life as I responded to the dynamics of past experiences. It helped me survive and gave my days structure. It was my best effort at that time.

But, in healing old wounds, I began bumping into my authentic power. It celebrated my creativity, honored the best of my Self, and were very much connected to my spirit. In that way, it feels more genuine. It feels like a cheer more than a growl of determination. It feels like an ally as I grow my days, rather than the dictator.

I’m only a beginner is this adventure with personal power, but I think it’s intriguing, a wonderful time of unfolding. And as one spirit friend pointed out, it asks me to have the courage to be self aware and open to the information coming to me. Then it insists I take a leap with choices as my guide.

Notes along the way… Jeanne

My Choice and Busy

Though busy days often ask it of us and though it gets the job done, I have been looking at how multi-tasking fits into my life.

I see it allows me to check two or three things off my list of things-to-do, but it is clear my experience is diminished in the process. If I am answering my email while baking cookies, I am not fully connecting to either one. The smells from my oven, the dance of filling a cookie sheet with mounds of dough, and the quiet, chocolate chip connections to my past will become an enriching moment if I take an hour to be with the baking. And, if I should find myself with five minutes while the cookies bake, I might look out the window and see a cloud, robin, or an inspiring thought. And then, if I go to my inbox with no other task in mind, I might focus on each email, giving them a chance to touch a deeper place. Rather than skating across the shared news, I might feel the wonder and appreciation for the relationships held in the words though we are separated by miles.

Doing several things at once is a skill I honed when I was under the impression of timeless togetherness and endless opportunities. It assumed getting things done was most important. That is certainly true at times, but I notice this assumption has become a habit and therein lays the catch. A road taken as a momentary detour became my rut. I want my talent for doing many things at once to be something I call upon as needed, rather than how I travel through life.

I don’t want to forget my choices. I want to fly though tasks when it serves me but I also want to slow down and really feel other moments. I want to spend most of my days tootling along at a steady pace that gets things done, but still encourages staying connected to my spirit intentions.

I want to stay fully conscious of how fast I drive my Self because I do know this… engaging one speed at all times will not give me the life I want.

Notes along the way… Jeanne

To Change The Night

I continue to change my relationship with the night hours. It is not an adjustment I invited by choice. Rather it has come to me in recent years and we are still seeking a comfortable connection.

There are some early morning hours I wake up with thoughts parading through my mind at such a pace; I can only lay back and view. At first I struggled to ignore this progression because my eye was on the sleep I needed. Then I we made peace the many layers of consideration and agreed to be a witness, but not follow in any willy-nilly journey of contemplation.

This worked well for many years, but recently, the night hours have not been content with our arrangement. They are changing our relationship and I’m not sure what to do. I sense I can’t stay up all night as a general rule though my thoughts seem to love the play time. Yet I haven’t been able to ignore the musings of the wee hours. Meditation has been attempted and failed. I even counted sheep, for goodness sakes. And there I was, staring at the back of my eyelids, thinking, wondering, reviewing, imagining. I was even taken into the first chapters of a new manuscript as though I was a fairie watching the characters grow a story.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy these quiet, dark moments. It just feels like they interfere with my intention to sleep so I can be ready for the next day. And writing this, as I sit here at Café Spirit, I get the feeling my spirit is asking for time… free-flowing, unlimited, purposeless time. It has something to share. So I’m to order a cup of green tea, stare out the window, and invite insights. Perhaps, if I give my spirit voice in the day hours, it will bow to my sleep in the night hours.

Notes along the way… Jeanne

Comforts and Choices

I am not naturally inclined to enjoy the wonders of technology. Like yogurt so many years ago, it comes to me as an acquired taste. But I seem to have turned a corner and come to Café Spirit to celebrate.

It has touched my curiosity. Whereas I used to turn away from the learning curve, I am now pulled toward technology’s possibilities. I learned how to do this from the wisdom of those less than ten years old. They are game ‘just to give it a try’. They don’t ask to be experts or even proficient. With amazing patience and adventurous intentions, they sit with the challenge over time doing only what intrigues. They showed me a beautiful way to explore modern wonders.

Technology has also touched my senses. Music is now easily available wherever I go. I can hear it around me or choose my own and the variety and quantity is truly endless. It makes my spirit soar. There is also equipment to bring me movies, the Wii for a tangible experience of flying off a ski jump while standing in my son’s living room. And for my taste buds, I can have instant tea water or reheated soup with the push of a button.

I am sure every generation feels they are living in the golden age of progress and comforts. It surely feels that way to me. Here I sit in the comfort of my home, visiting others at an online café, encouraged to explore and express my spirit through the wonders of cyberspace. Technology made this possible. It asked me to learn more and then it grabbed my curiosity and opened up my world.

Notes along the way… Jeanne

Childhood Emotions

I am completely fascinated by the way our childhood years have such sustained impact in our lives. In all ways, the emotions and experiences we have in those few years follow us with a particular kick. Our neighborhood stands still in time even when we return and find the big hill is but a rise in the road. A favorite teacher never dies. A Fudgescicle is never quite as delightful as those from the case at the corner market down the street.

And though there are challenges, fears, and very real problems in these years, I think there is a gift to be embraced. It lies in the vivid, timeless memory of that early landscape. In this, I have been guided in the following footsteps of my journey. Snow crunches under my boots and I am eight years old… every time. And while my adult self might rue the inconvenience of winter, I always have an excited, expectant child within who marvels at the magic of the mischievous white covering everything in its path. I can no longer jump into a cold, summer lake, but once I have carefully waded out, everyday chatter leaves and wonder takes its place. I am a fish and the water is my friend.

As I sit at Café Spirit and muse about these heartfelt, childhood moments stamping my current experience with excessive power, I see the common thread. In each instance, I was in a place of no time. I was utterly, truly, fully in the experience… mind-body-spirit. Every cell of my body, each swirl of energy, and all my thoughts were present. There were no distractions That is the very ordinary capacity of childhood that gets lost along the way.

Seeing this, I am certain I can visit that place of no time in these current years. It asks me to release ‘doing’ and opt for ‘being’, but I’m up for that challenge because I think it has great value in supporting my happiness. And if I put my bra on the out side of my T-shirt as I get ready to leave the house that’s okay. Silly things happen when I am gloriously lost in whatever I’m doing.

Notes along the way… Jeanne