Nature Uniting US, Elections Dividing US

(Originally posted two years ago yesterday, I came across this piece written days before the Nov. 2010 election as Middle Tennessee was recovering still from the May Day flood.  Now days prior to another election those in the Northeast begin to pick up the pieces of their lives.  How is it we allow crisis to connect us and elections to divide us?  Who really wins?)

October 30, 2010

The six month anniversary of the May flood nears as we find ourselves on the cusp of an election. I’ve been pondering these two events, one of nature, one of humankind. 

Not so long ago, one brought us together uniting us, offering an opportunity to bridge political, religious, racial and economic divides while one more recently intentionally separates us by playing on these divides.

In both, images were and are used to motivate us. During the time of the flood and immediately afterward, images prompted us to reach out and show compassion. Good will flowed as strangers helped one another.

The beneficiaries were individuals, families, communities and ultimately the human heart as we were Tennesseans at our best, baptized into a greater understanding of people around the world who have lived through natural disasters.

More recently in the weeks leading up to the election, commercial images have been used to serve up attacks, perpetuate untruths and stir mistrust in an attempt to manipulate and separate us, to get us to forget the lessons learned and experiences shared during the flood. Money flows while business and political bedfellows help one another buy America. The beneficiaries are special interest and lobbying groups and many corporations.

I’ve never really cared for the phrase ‘acts of God’ used in insurance policies referencing acts of nature such as the flood. I don’t believe in a God that ‘acts’ in this way. Yet I am mindful there is a grace to these events for they shake us and for a time awaken us empathically and remind us of what’s really important.

Crises remind us on a deep level that we are more alike than different whereas our present election system thrives on getting us to forget these differences.

Regardless of who wins Tuesday, we each have the privilege of deciding how we hold the lessons from the flood. In the privacy of our insides, we each get to decide what governs the territory of our individual heart and mind. We can choose to remember or forget the connections made and lessons learned in May.

Regardless of who wins Tuesday, we each get to decide whether to live from a place of greater awareness and love or to live in reactivity and fear.

-Dawn! The Good News Muse, 30 Oct. 2010 and again 31 Oct. 2012
dawn@imaginetheshift.com

Imagine the Shift of Taking Off Our Costumes

One Halloween prior, Jerry and I freed our Inner Cheerleaders while also lifting the quantum energetic level of the local NFL team. Within 24 hours of our 'appearance' the Titans finally had their first 'W' in the win column. A series of wins followed. (Come to think of it, the Titans could use us again.)

As the handful of trick-or-treaters made their way down our street, we cheered: "We've got candy, yes, we do. We've got candy, how about you?"  

Halloween always prompts memories of my mother chauffeuring my siblings and me around our one red light town as we trick or treated. One woman always passed out homemade popcorn balls while another dressed as a witch poured cider from a black cauldron.  At night's end, our den floor became a mini stock exchange as we traded loot with one another. I was as mesmerized by the colorful wrappers as the candy inside. 

This particular evening, I found myself most curious as to how free being in costume made me and how restrained those driving past on our street appeared. My long pink locks unlocked the part of me that unknowingly had bought into being invisible or seen but not heard as a kid.
 

Drivers headed down our dead-end street solemnly stared ahead driving in haste or stared at us without a trace of humor, not even a nod or slight smile. One lone college-age girl happily shouted, "What's going on here?" This rare drive-by support was so unexpected we hardly shook our pom poms. 

Our favorite treaters of the evening were Lily the cheerleader who inspired this trilogy of sorts and Candy Man outfitted in twizzlers, gum drops and Hershey kisses. Their costumes prompted a realization.

Although Halloween's associated with shadow, the dark, mysterious and scarey side of life, Ella and Lily's costumes conveyed their very essence, not shadow.

Candy Man has the sweetest, most caring heart I know and the cheerleader has the boldest of spirits. Given their parents and friendship network, I suspect their essence will not end up in their shadow to be remembered in therapy or self-help circles later in life.

So many of our individual problems (which in turn become societal) comes from gradually and unconsciously putting on the "costumes" we wear the other 364 days of the year.  We gradually come to believe we need these costumes for protection and status, to please others or to portray we don't need others or from the need to be invisible or visible. These layers and labels first separate us from who we are then in turn separate us from one another.

 

So often what we decide to portray betrays who we really are in spirit and essence.

I wish for each of us a remembering of who we are in our essence and a gentle laying aside of our costumes.

Imagine the shift that brings and Happy Halloween.

-Dawn, The Good News Muse,  31 October 2012

dawn@imaginetheshift.com

We're In A State of Emerge and See !

(This came to me initially when Nashville flooded in 2010.  It has again been on my mind with all that's unfolding on the East Coast. May all see.) 

At lunch, I glimpsed news coverage titled "Flood Emergency Update." The word 'Emergency' caught my eye because I immediately saw tucked within another word - "emerge." Then I heard myself saying, "Emerge N C" followed by "Emerge and see."

I love words. They are simple yet powerful keys available for us to see the possibilities in times like these.

Imagine what is being held here in what's called a crisis in Middle Tennessee if we can hold and use this as an opportunity to Emerge, to come out, to bring forth new ways of being, living and relating to one another and to Mother Earth.

Every emergency offers an opportunity for us to emerge and see the patterns, people and things that really matter.

Emerge and See with Me !

-Dawn! The Good News Muse 5/7/10 and 11/1/12
dawn@imaginetheshift.com

The Roma, the Owl and the Web Connecting Us All

(Yesterday I learned Carson, Walden Puddle's Animal Ambassador, died recently. He has been replaced by dear Demetri also a screech owl who was checking folks out at the Tomato Art Fest in East Nashville.  I was touched by the compassion with which Carson's care giver spoke of him yesterday and decided to repost this in his and her honor.)

What role does synchronicity play in your life?  What pattern is essential to really living? 

Last night before bed, a face book post from a friend got my attention.  An owl had hit the hood of her car while she was driving, frightening her and she suspected killing the owl.  Inside I cringed as one response asked if this meant 'bad luck' and another suggested making stew. These mysterious creatures of the night prompt discomfort and fear in some yet awe in others.

Minutes prior, I had been among the awe-filled while attending a reception for Walden's Puddle, an area wildlife rehab center.  The event honored those donating money, time and service to Walden's animals and included a viewing of the new dvd "Giving Wildlife a Second Chance."
Among the mingling guests walked an employee with Carson, a screech owl unfazed by the music and people. Carson is one of the few animals that can't be returned to the wild thus he serves as an animal ambassador for educational purposes.  

Upon seeing the face book message, it seemed synchronistic that I spent the evening with those who rehab owls and animals so they can return to their home in the wild as my friend two hours away encountered the owl that returned to its home in the stars. 

Earlier the same day another synchronicity got my attention.  While at a musical event on Wednesday night, I met a young woman I had not seen in a year.  When we initially met she told me of working with Roma youth in Europe. The Roma or gypsies have suffered much discrimination which continues presently. 

After seeing Amber, I came home and saw a news story regarding the new Berlin memorial dedicated that day to the Roma people killed in the Nazi Holocaust.  Between 200,000 and 500,000 Roma were killed by Hitler due to their darker skin. 

Early this morning I awoke thinking of the profound beauty of the owl dying as not that far away we celebrated owls and animals.  Thanks to the unseen web by which we are all connected, I believe the owl leaving Earth felt the love shared by those of us gathered celebrating Walden. Likewise the souls of the  Roma killed decades ago felt the love of those gathered on German soil this week honoring their loss.   

Mystics and indigenous people have always known of the web that quantum science is now researching.  Through the energetic, unseen threads of this web, these beings, animal and human, both held with fear and suspicion by some, found comfort in Love's pattern, the pattern of an open heart.

It seems more vital than ever that we keep our hearts and minds open so those closed in fear can experience  Love's pattern in the web wherever they are in these Times. 

-Dawn, The Good News Muse, 26 October 2012

dawn@imaginetheshift.com.

Into the Canyon Love Came - A Vision at Havasu Falls

I've been remembering the 2009 hike I made into Havasu Canyon with my friend Karen Johnson.  I had never heard of Havasu Canyon until this trip yet many of the Havasupai still live in this remote western end of the Grand Canyon home of Havasu Falls' blue-green waters. Traditionally considered the Guardians of the Grand Canyon, the tribe in 1919 was restricted to the area into which we hiked when the national park was designated. 

Recently I've been reflecting specifically on a particular vision I was shown while at the Falls.

Each afternoon we'd make our way through the campground to the cool blue water, the gathering place of many campers in the mid-day heat. To the Havasupai these waters were healing and sacred.  Knowing this created tension for me as hikers often climbed the rocks and jumped turning these sacred grounds into a water park.

One afternoon while lying on my towel immersed in the sounds of the Falls and the people around me, I had a vision.  At first I was shown a five-pointed star. Then from the star's center, a ramp came down as if someone could walk from the star.  Then the star's edges took a cloud-like shape and the star became a heart.  Slowly the heart separated into pieces then vanished. 

I turned this over and over in my mind so as to not forget the symbols amidst the surrounding noise and distractions. I intuitively sensed I had been shown Sirius but I wasn't sure and didn't know why. 

As I noted the vision, I was joined by a dog. I called to his owners as they played cards on their nearby blanket and asked his name.

"Moses," they shared.

As soon as I heard "Moses" I knew I had seen Sirius for all I knew about Sirius is it's called "The Dog Star."  This four-legged, friendly confirmation affirmed my hunch. 

I have kept this vision close since then and have wondered why, why, why it appeared to me.  Now I'm given a glimpse as I realize:  

Into the canyon, Love came.  

From the void where all appeared dark, Love came from the stars 

and Love on Earth was born.

Love, Love came from the Stars to dwell in our bodies, minds, spirits and hearts. 

Imagine the Shift of Earth's people remembering we are each Love come from the Stars.

-Dawn! The Good News Muse 25 October 2013

dawn@imaginetheshift.com

The Pause that Really Refreshes

Whether in the city or country, I'm grateful to be able to sit outside surrounded by nature regardless of the season. This time of year beneath traffic I often hear crickets' hum.  I see Summer's last flowers and they see me. 

Today I asked:  'What is this experience, this palpable interaction between me and thee?'

Then I heard:

'This is how it was meant to be. I am Watcher and the Watched, the See-er and the Seen.'

When I stop to pause and listen, not just with my ears but with my entire being, there's an aliveness, a palpable engagement between me and everything.  That pause makes all the difference. It opens me to new worlds and reveals the opening to other worlds. 

Years ago some commercial, I think, for a soft drink referred to the "pause that refreshes."  

The pause that refreshes me comes through listening with my eyes, ears, touch, intuition and sensation.

Embody the Shift ! Take time to pause, to listen, to be!

-Dawn, The Good News Muse  23 October 2012

dawn@imaginetheshift.com

Reclaiming Fields - Children of Matter and Pattern

Thanks to the Corner Coffeebar and Art House post on facebook, I set out on an impromptu field trip to Waters Farm for "Field Day" this past Saturday.  I originally heard of Water's Farm in 2011 at Cookeville's NatureFest. One of the festival events included TN Tech professor Randy Dodson giving a tour of Tech's sustainable farm of which Randy's the tender and caretaker (and now the professor of Tech's first organic farming course.)

Saturday's field trip prompted a wondering:  How did the word 'field' come to be associated more with sports than growing things?  Think about it.  We've track and field, football and soccer fields and as a kid I anticipated school field day and field trips.

I've nothing against sports, but there’s another field where it all started.  The marriage of the unseen energetic field of dark matter and Earth's fields of rich soil gave birth to life on Earth.

The trees, plants, animals and we are the offspring of this beautiful marriage.

Yet over time due to neglect, unconsciousness, industrialization and the separation of Spirit from Earth by the patriarchy, humankind as a whole (except for the indigenous people on each continent) seems to have forgotten we are children of this miraculous joining of spirit matter and earthen body.  This forgetting has brought us to this place where Nature has become our object to be used with little consciousness. This forgetting has caused the split of spirit from matter as man has assumed the role of a god in science and research labs. 

Fortunately that’s not the end of the story.  We are living in a time when many are remembering we can consciously and positively impact the energetic field around us through our hearts, minds and vibrations. We are living in a time when many are reclaiming the local, green and growing fields of Mother Earth's beautiful body in a spirit of cooperation with Earth rather than domination.

This reclaiming is what I found happening at Water's Farm Saturday about 15 minutes off I-40 near Cookeville.  The Dodson's have a 100 acre bio-intensive farm where tilapia will be raised hydroponically, hens are outside and already laying eggs, sorghum was being made and hoop and tunnel gardens filled with greens will grow food into the winter and ultimately year round. All is in relationship. Nothing is wasted.

As children from the marriage of matter and pattern, we are alive in this auspicious time equipped to wake up and live and love with more awareness than ever in recorded history.  We are presented with the opportunity to reclaim the energy of the Field from which we come and live on Earth's field in this time of the Shift to Love.

Live the Shift ! 
 

-Dawn, The Good News Muse  23 Oct. 2012

dawn@imaignetheshift.com

I Am a Nut (You Might Be Too)

Sometime ago I thanked a local woman by email for a story I read about her journey. This person responded saying she walked away from the interview wondering if people would think she was a "nut" for what she had shared.

I had just that morning in my quiet time experienced something similar as thoughts running through my head prompted me to second guess myself.  I opened a copy of a new yet old book "Original Blessing" by Matthew Fox.  First published in 1983 this book was a catalyst for Mr. Fox, a Dominican priest, being asked to leave the Catholic church.

Perusing the pages of the book, I felt such a resonance with this man whose name I had heard more recently in my journey but whose works I had never read.  This book made me think about why I am so slow to share what I know and in my hesitancy how I participate in dismissing my personal truths. 

My knowings come through experience, through what I see or hear rather than through scientific proof. For me experience is all the proof I need yet I live in a society where science dominates and where science and spirituality have been separated from one another for hundreds of years.

This woman's response touched a nerve for I too have feared being called a 'nut' especially as I write about the visions I see and things I hear.  

At times this fear rises with simple things like trusting my body.  Earlier this week I was leaving a doctor's office after having stitches taken out from an area where a benign lump was removed days prior.  In place of the stitches the nurse added some surgical glue. I do not have allergies but I am extremely sensitive. I shared this with the staff  then I agreed against my intuition to have a small amount of glue placed in the healing cut. 

In the midst of a conversation ten minutes later, I felt a strange sensation in my lymph nodes just above the shoulder wound.  I couldn't fully listen to my friend because mentally I was debating trying to remove the glue once I got home versus having the doctor's office do this. I feared I would be judged, not believed or considered..........a nut.

I got to choose whether I would abandon my body's literal signal out of fear of being judged or take a risk and take care of myself. Fortunately I was true to me regardless of what my doctor thought.  Within moments of having the glue removed the sensations ceased. This seemingly simple decision for me was huge as it lessened my fear and increased my sense of self trust, connection and freedom.  

As I pondered this an epiphany was birthed. I suddenly realized I am glad to be called a nut. It is a great compliment to be called a nut for the mighty oak, walnut and hickory trees hovering over me come from nuts.

Now I suspect how we came to connect criticism and derogatory labeling with much in nature relates to the disconnect between science and spirit.  (Think about it wolves, pigs, foxes, mules, weeds take all kinds of projected abuse when humans are the ones who are loners, lazy, sly, stubborn and invasive.)

Today I imagine the shift in people embracing the profound beauty of being a nut.  To become the great trees, nuts lie in dark earth, not seeing the light of day, until it is time to risk pushing toward warmth not knowing what will be next or how things will be. Can you imagine dear Earth devoid of trees?  I don't want to imagine Earth devoid of our presence nor the trees.

We are grown for these times and it is time for all of us who have allowed ourselves to be held hostage by the fear of being called names to emerge from the dark and grow like the trees, to not fear what some call 'dark times' but heed the wisdom and realize the potency we hold inside.

Imagine the Shift of embracing who you were born to be for these Times. 

 -Dawn! The Good News Muse, 18 October 2012

dawn@imaginetheshift.com

P.S. Last I heard Matthew Fox is scheduled to be at Nashville's Scarritt Bennet Center in the Spring of 2014, 

A Honk, A Smile, A Wave - Making the World a Better Place

This morning, like every Wednesday, the honking horn broke through the quiet as I sat coffee in hand reading the paper. Its sound prompted my race from the back of the house to the front door just in time to see James waving at the garbage man.

This ritual was started by the prior garbage man earlier this summer.  James our just-over-one-year-old neighbor could be found every Wednesday morning around 9:00 sitting in his mom's lap on their front steps awaiting the garbage truck.  As it appeared around the corner, James would start pointing and the driver would honk.  A little wave was incorporated with the pointing as the driver would honk again and wave back at James.

Weeks passed as I watched the waves grow as James' grew. 

Then suddenly this man who happened to be white was replaced by another man who happened to be black

Would the honks continue?

They not only continued, they increased.  

Then James began part-time daycare. 

For several Wednesdays the 9:00 honk came but James wasn't to be found.  One day I even went out and waved.  The garbageman waved back.  The next week I went out to explain James' absence in case he didn't know but also to thank this dear man for his gesture of friendliness.  

Now the garbageman arrives nearer 8:30.  I don't know if this is purposely so James can wave but what I do know is my day is brightened by the little blonde mop happily waving and pointing at the man who drives the big, noisy truck

This young child like most children his age is colorblind to black and white.  He hasn't yet learned that  facial expressions, hands and honks often in today's world convey hostility. 

I have hope for our world because of people like the two garbage men, James and his mom and I want to believe humankind like James' is growing, growing in such a way that facial expressions, a wave and a honk increasingly become gestures crossing divides, making the world a better place.

Imagine the Shift!

-Dawn, The Good News Muse  17 October 2012

dawn@imaginetheshift.com