"Chaos. What you going to do?"

In the midst of gathering darkness,

light becomes more evident.

~ Bonnie Bostrom

Over the past couple of weeks I have found myself very busily engaged with an internationally known philosopher in some deep philosophical questions. Our lively explorations grew out of a quotation he saw in my on-line bio. "What's in the way, is the way." We have invited pondering ideas that have broad implications for us all such as: 

Is there any truth to the idea that what you focus on you get more of?

If so, what is the most appropriate relationship to have with what comes into awareness?

Is there a going beyond awareness?

I have started to blog about all this several times, only to be interrupted. In the meanwhile, the ultimate truth of "What's in the way, is the way" keeps revealing itself. 

For example, last Thursday morning, I had some miscommunication about the sequence in which we would run some errands. The result was to put us in the precise place at the precise time to make significant connections, so much so that it could only be called meaningful coincidence. Not being able to find the door to the Nazareth post office allowed us to walk in as a person we know was walking out. This person had information we needed, but would not have ever thought to seek her out for.

The confusion about the sequence of the errands, the delay in finding the door to the post office, then the exchange with the person there, all managed to put us at the bank just as a huge line formed. The line brought a financial service coordinator out into the lobby asking, "If anyone has just a simple deposit, I can help you." Our conversation with this woman quickly revealed multiple connections that would not otherwise have been made. The precision of the tiny windows of opportunity never cease to amaze me.

A few minutes ago, I received this message from a friend vacationing in another state:

"I turned on my computer yesterday morning and found ants crawling all over the desk. Then our toilet plugged up. I went to the front desk and very graciously reported our problem. Then they very graciously asked if we would like to move to another room.... We are now staying in the "Queen Suite" with all the comforts for $57.00 per night!!! How's that for manifesting abundance?....Thank you to the little ants that made it possible."

Reading of her ants made me recall an incident I experienced while staying in Thailand in 2010. The counter of the home I was staying in was covered with ants! When the mother of my hostess stopped by, with great indignation I reported the ants all over the counter to her. She very calmly and compassionately responded, "Ants. What you going to do?" I guess that was that to a Buddhist sincerely living the call to harm no one.

It may be undeniable that our outer world is experiencing chaos. 

"Chaos. What you going to do?" 

It may also be undeniable that in the midst of all that global outer chaos is a silent rhythm and pattern of order unseen by the human eye, unheard by the human ear, but nonetheless felt in the stillness of the human heart. 

That outer chaos might be a call to experience deeper inner calm. Thanks be to god if that is true....

Moth!

It was very late in the evening, but before calling it a day, I was diligent to wash some fresh lettuces that had been gifted to me by a friend. As I was taking the trimmings out to the garage fridge (I save those for another friend who has chickens), out of the corner of my eye, I saw something fly by. For just a moment, I wondered if it might have been a bat, but it was a very large moth!  

The moth was about the size of my fist, and not only did I get to enjoy seeing it, it decided to enjoy walking on me. It walked on my arm, then down my body and onto my leg. It was as though I was being rewarded for my kitchen work. I was very honored, and a bit amazed by the experience, and as I escorted it out into the front yard, I thanked it for the visit, and I wished it a good life.

Waved Sphinx moth going for a ride on the back of my leg!

I have thoroughly enjoyed learning the way Native peoples instinctively knew to look to nature for life meaning. This is commonly called "animal medicine" and is related to the practice of your having awareness of totem animals that are significant throughout your life, as well as specific messages at a given time. Several wonderful books are in my personal library, including Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small, by Ted Andrews, and Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through the Ways of Animals, by Jamie Sams, David Carson and Angela C. Werneke.

Additionally, you can learn the meaning of specific animals by doing a Google search. Try putting in the name of the creature you have seen in nature along with the words "medicine totem." It is wonderful to recognize the way the divine is always guiding and supporting us, and nature has become a significant part of that communication in my life. 

A few days after my moth encounter, my brother-in-law spotted an Imperial Moth on a garden rock he had painted for my sister, Janis. The rock is her fairy door, and Larry—an artist, writer, and photographer— took this amazing photo.

Imperial moth photo taken on the garden fairy door, both by Larry Britton.

This excerpt is from my recent search for moth medicine totem:

Philosophically speaking, night creatures do not fumble in the dark, and neither do humans. We use our dreams, our awareness, and our deeper, inner knowing to navigate through the darkest hours of our lives.

Faith is another tool we use to move through shadowy times of uncertainty, and the moth also shares this aspect. The moth never questions provision. She has complete faith that all of her needs will be met each night.

While we may not have the privilege of seeing such a large moth every night, each time we see a moth, or even think about them, or about nature in general, we, too, can have complete faith that all of our needs will be met. 

Thank you, Mother Nature, for being such a beautiful reminder to us all...

Happy Independence Day!

I have always been fascinated by those optical illusion games such as this one with the young woman and the old lady. Have you noticed how obvious something is once you see it?

A good example of the way we can miss the obvious, is the information about whether an exit will be to your left or to your right. You can tell that by noticing which side of the sign the exit number is on.

I recently attended a workshop on higher consciousness. At the workshop, we worked with 8 stages and states from Barbara Brodsky's book Cosmic Healing, condensed from Ken Wilber's work. 

Another way to think about that is to notice the availability of expanded states of awareness. One message the teacher shared over and over was that we are able to become aware of things being simultaneous. At the same moment, you can see when someone speaks rudely or in a condescending way to you, and also realize that he or she is in great pain and the action has nothing to do with you. In fact, this might be what Don Miguel Ruiz was addressing when he gave the wise advice to take nothing personally (The Four Agreements).  

For sure, it may well be worth thinking about how much other awareness is available to us at each moment. Perhaps that is the greatest freedom human beings can enjoy. 

Happy Independence Day!