Through Intent & Action: Synchronized Rhythms

Through Intent & Action: Synchronized Rhythms: image courtesy of Lisa McDonald/ freedigitalphotos.net Early in the morning as the light filters into the sky, I am reminded of the int...

Synchronized Rhythms

image courtesy of Lisa McDonald/
freedigitalphotos.net

Early in the morning as the light filters into the sky, I am reminded of the interdependence inherent in life. The sun’s creep toward the horizon heralds more than just a lightened sky — with the coming of day, the entire world shifts and reconnects. No longer one great swatch of darkness, the world is alight in gradients and bursts of brightness. The plants turn toward the sun as the diurnals begin their days. The world moves in synchronized rhythms.

As the sun brightens my life, I am aware of my interdependence — my connections to people, places, events…all of creation. These connections are relationships. The relationship with myself is found within my core. Knowing who I am and deepening my connection to self create the hub through which the threads of my other relationships twine. My connection to the Sacred is an anchor for each of my other connections. All relationships are triad: my self, the Sacred, and the other.

A relationship may be with a loved one, a friend, an acquaintance, or co-worker. It may also be with a stranger. Each time we have an opportunity to connect with another we form relationships. These connections may be as brief as a moment and as long as beyond a lifetime. Each relationship is a string on our life web. We never know how significant one interaction is to the integrity of our web. Compassion is the key to a strong connection.

We are part of wondrous creation. Each time we interact in the world, we form a relationship. After seven years I have an intimate relationship not only with the wetlands behind my apartment but with the people, plants, and animals within.  My relationship with the earth is strengthened each time I recycle or find ways to live more simply. I also form relationships with inanimate objects such as my car and jewelry.

For me, this interdependence through relationship is a vital part of contemplative living. My silence and my prayer is enhanced each time I connect to myself, the Sacred, others, and creation.

Today how did your connections strengthen your life web?

Peace & All Good, Vanessa

www.intentandaction.com

Silence Is More Than Noiseless, Prayer Is More Than Rote

image courtesy of think4photop/freedigitalphotos.net

Contemplative….what images does that word conjure for you?  Maybe you see a monk cloistered spending all his/her time in quiet prayer.  But, what if that image were radically different?  What if the image was of an ordinary person in the every day world being contemplative with each step, each word, each thought?

When I share that I am a practicing contemplative, confusion dances across the face of the other.  S/he is unsure that someone who is not of a religious order and someone who has a child can be contemplative.  Being contemplative in the mundane world is a different yet no less profound path to walk.

What does being contemplative mean to me?  The quick answer is that I experience the world through silence and prayer.  Although silence, for me, can be a cessation of noise that is only a small part of how I sense silence.  Silence creates an environment through which I experience the world with my body, mind, spirit, and heart.

Within the silence, my mind doesn’t stop spinning and my exterior world continues to unfold.  Although my mind may continue to spin like a top, the silence provides the environment where I clearly hear my internal monologue but choose not to be distracted by it.  I am able to participate in my exterior world with an awareness that leads me to respond with compassion and not react from fear.  Each moment I am aware of the distractions but do not respond to them, I am nurturing mindfulness.  Mindfulness is a key component of being contemplative and engaging in prayer.

One of my favorite Merton quotes reminds me of the role of prayer in our lives: The spiritual life is first of all a life.  Everything that I do is part of my conversation with the Sacred. All that I do is part of my conversation with the Sacred.  I can choose to praise, give thanks, make requests, or ask forgiveness with each thought, word, and action. It is often an unsettling revelation when I look back upon my day.  Did the intent of my prayer match my actions?

So, silence and prayer are keys to practicing this way of being. The path of the contemplative is not a path of perfection; rather, it leads us to live moment by moment in mindful joy. As each moment expands into the next, we have another opportunity to rest in the silence and make each action, each word, and each thought prayer.

What prayer are you experiencing this day?

Peace & All Good, Vanessa

www.healingwillow.com

Treading the Path of Courage & Curious Daring

The Atlantic Ocean @ Sunset. Thanks Chris!

When I was younger — and, if I am honest, I still have the twinges — I was envious of prophets.  The way they connect to the Sacred just amazes me.  I am in awe of how their curious daring opens them to see the extraordinary instead of the mundane.  The courage a prophet shows when sharing her/his experiences reflects a depth of inner peace. Prophets model a profound, intimate connection to the Sacred.

But, now I find myself asking questions:  Does a prophet have some special connection to the Divine that I can only dream of? Is he or she really so different from me?

I found the question underlying these question lodged deeply within my heart:  Do I have a prophetic nature?

I discovered the answer to the question of my heart by using both my head and my heart.  A prophet has nurtured the environment of silence in his/her quiet mind.   Within this silence, a prophet looks beyond the superficial facts and the mundane world while understanding that things are often not as they appear.  Here within the silence of the quiet mind tough questions are asked, and the answers are patiently waited for.  S/he receives the answers, and Divine Grace flows through him/her.  This Divine Grace is the impetus for his/her response.  Any response of a prophet is always the result of a reflective process.

It seems that prophetic experience has five profound steps.  It begins with the intent to live fully to her/his life purpose.  Next, a prophet meditates or is mindfully aware of the presence of the Sacred in her/his life.  Prayer is integral — it is the way a prophet communicates her/his desire to be filled with Divine Grace.  After the prayerful request, comes the time of waiting.  Contemplation is the sitting in silence while waiting patiently for the response. Finally, with courage daring and courage a prophet acts upon what s/he has received.

I believe that each of us has a prophetic nature. We are called to live from this place by questioning without judgment or defensiveness what is occurring in our unfolding life. When we listen with the ear of our heart (full body listening), we are given the sustenance to experience our prophetic nature and share our messages with the world.

As prophets, we know that the question is as important as the answer. We realize that both have the potential to transform our personal life and the world around us. A prophetic life is radically lived with the willingness  to follow the call of divine wisdom.

How are you living from your prophetic nature?

It's All Good! Vanessa

www.healingwillow.com

Donning the Mantle of Intent

image courtesy of bulldogza/freedigitalphotos.net

Waking up in the morning I shake off the residue of sleep and feel the last remnants of my dreams slip from my conscious mind. This morning I chuckled as the song “Happy” danced through my head. What a great way to start the morning I thought to myself.  And, the dancing music was a most welcome harbinger for the day.

In those first moments of waking, I become aware of me in the present moment.  As I linger in the land between here and there, my breathing becomes the bridge upon which I travel from sleep to wakeful awareness. With each breath I let go of a bit more of my ethereal nighttime world and ground myself into the present, physical reality.

As my thoughts turn to the day ahead, I decide upon the intent that will be my fellow sojourner this day.  My intent is the mantle of being/doing that I throw across my metaphoric shoulders. Lately this mantle has been one of the healer. It is dusted with the iridescent compassion sparkleys that twinkle against the midnight dark silence of my quiet mind. As each star twinkles, so grows my intent to be a healing presence. And, as this intent grows it spills out into my actions. Through intent and action I navigate my world.

During this navigation I may find the gentle tone needed to soothe a harried traveler or a kind gesture that shifts the tone of another’s day. My words may shift another’s perspective or a simple action may right that person’s world. My words, actions, and thoughts can be healing to me as well. My goal is to be a part of bringing myself, others, and the world to wholeness through my thoughts, words, and actions.

Healing — each of us can and do provide loving, healing grace through our words, our thoughts, gentle gazes, and through each compassionate act. Every moment of every day provides opportunities for us to be conduits of great healing or hurt. It is all a choice. We choose to be healers or destroyers. This choice begins when we wake in the morning and decide what mantle to don.

What is your mantle of intent?

Vanessa

www.healingwillow.com