Inundation

I am thinking about a lot this morning. In my dreams from the night, Egyptian priestesses

dance on the earth outside of an unfamiliar temple. There are scorpions on my shoulders who tell me this is "the night of the first drop." They tell me to look to "the drop" for wisdom at this time. 

I know the Night of the Teardrop is still celebrated, in revised form, in some countries, and I know the words of the scorpions are gifts. They are keys to deeper wisdom in the mysteries of the Egyptian Goddess Isis. But for this morning, I'm not interested in following the research with my left brain.

I look outside at the silvery morning rain and I think of the deep cleansing that water provides.

An old Roman Era papayrus celebrates the rains and the flooding of the Ancient Egyptian Nile with these words: The water has come. Hail to the streams at the rising of the freshet of Isis." A freshet is a flood that comes from either heavy rains, or the natural thawing of ice in spring. Where the water flows, old poisons are washed away and the land is made fertile for new life.

In Ancient Egypt, the Inundation was one of the hallmarks of the New Year, bringing a new season of planting, harvest, and possibility.  'We are in an Inundation,' I think to myself. Astrologically we're moving through a series of solar flares, planetary retrogrades and squares that all support an energetic flooding, revisiting and clearing of our inner landscapes.

Just minutes ago, outside, I ran into someone I haven't seen in a while. Another healing practitioner, he speaks the way a reverend or other deeply spiritual person often does: "How are things unfolding for you?  . . . Ah, yes, this is indeed a time where what we do not need is being shown to us so that we can make peace, let go, or transform. . . What blessings are you noticing?" 

"I am noticing that everything I have ever asked for, I have received," I confess. "I am noticing that I'm fortunate, but also impatient. I like things now. I like things yesterday. Tomorrow feels like it can't come fast enough, but when it does I'm not ready because I have been too busy clamouring rather than creating and taking care of business in the now. I am learning to just be in the present, and to welcome the gifts of the moment, and to remember that my future is lovingly cared for."

Behind him garbage cans overflow with trash waiting to be swept away. The morning is quiet, waiting too.  I turn to go and notice that a commercial water pump has broken and is flooding the street with water. Business inhabitants seemed unconcerned. 

Inundation. Flooding. I love being inundated with fortune. I love being flooded with the deep awareness of the beauty of my life, but sometimes that flood loosens old poisons and fears. Sometimes the flood clears strains of old anguish, grief, or madness, leeching these songs from my blood like floodwaters clearing veins of mercury in verdant sleeping mountains. I am sensitive this morning, aware of old stories that no longer have power over me, and noticing new ones that do.

I sit before my altar. I spend a few hours in prayer. Chanting, breathing, reading lines from buddhist sutras, I notice parts of my body that are tight. They resist change. Twice I cry as the relentless rhythm of the mantras open up my heart. Small epiphanies precede my tears, and I feel renewed once I've wiped the water away and moved deeper into the center of my being. This is why I love meditation.

For me this is the first day of the year. Again. Haha. Not only is this the Chinese New Year, but like a true Ancient Egyptian, I see the New Year in every moment, as each moment transforms potential in new realities (called Zep Tepi). 

My mind wants all things at once, and I breathe, learning to lovingly hold my center so I can move forward with clarity. 

Questions to meditate/journal on: How do we welcome an Inundation without judging it as good or bad? How do we celebrate 'now?'

blessings,

Dailey

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© 2014 Dailey Little. Art: Scorpions and Magic by Fleurine CC license.  Be Present © Dailey Little. You are welcome to reproduce this article provided you do so in its entirety. Dailey Little is a Reiki Master and active practitioner. She teaches Reiki & other fun stuff through her private practice in Santa Rosa, CA. Join her joyful community for ReikiShares, Free Clinics, and eco-activism by signing up at her website, www.SantaRosaReiki.com

Healing Droughts

This is what I woke up thinking after a nap...

The earth right now has been so dry this winter, the sky spacious blue when it should be pouring. I think of the myth of Demeter(earth mother), who cries for her lost daughter Persephone, thus creating the seasons as she mourns her daughter's loss and rejoices her return. It is her tears that nourish the land even in the darkening season. It is her frozen emotion, melting upon Persephone’s return, that feeds the cycle of life.

When we as people choose not to allow our tears to surface because “we are strong enough not to,” we do greater injury to our delicate emotional makeup. When we deny that emotional process of grieving however it is most honestly reflected within us, then we starve our own future.

It is through the cleansing release of our own tears, and through the reflection of those emotional waters (even if frozen) that we gain the equilibrium to keep moving forward. If we never give in to the waters of our emotion, then how will the flowers of spring be fed? If there is no rain, how will new crops grow? Even our messier emotions feed our sunny days. We only make space in our lives for new and beautiful experiences if we allow our own inner terrain to stay permeable, soft, and open to new experiences.

It’s possible that we may need a period of deep winter freeze, of no life, of no activity. Eventually, winter turns to spring. Eventually, we will bloom again. So when it is time to cry, let yourself cry. You are simply honoring the cycles of life, and feeding a future that has yet to unfold.

blessings!

Dailey

You Can Have It

from my Facebook Musings:

Is there a reason why you can't have everything you're asking for from the universe? A good reason?

Really think about this, and Please share! Because I believe that you, as well as I, deserve the very best that the world has to offer, and there's no reason it can't be that way.

Imagine how things might feel if you simply expect to be met in all of your ventures, no matter how scary or unlikely they may be. Imagine if you surrender your specific expectations around what you want, but are able to hold on to faith that your dreams, or something better REALLY ARE ON THEIR WAY.

All of your problems will be resolved, and whatever you need to know, learn, do, or face, you will do with grace and confidence. If you ask the world for support and learn to listen to the signs, you will receive clear answers.

What if you hold, just for this weekend, that this process can be simple and even joyful? What if you begin, from today, to see your path as paved with good fortune?

What if you engrave that feeling of joyful expectation into your very bones, and allow appreciation to flow for every thing that occurs in line with your visions?

Blessings!

Dailey

Why Should I Meditate?

WHY SHOULD I MEDITATE?

This morning I am thinking about the act of meditation as I break from my morning meditations. Sometimes meditation is really just about calming the mind. That’s the surface of what meditation can be. When we crack the outer shell of our ego voices --you know, those voices that stream a running commentary in your mind about everything that’s happening around you and how you should feel about it-- we move very deeply into our bodies.

We begin to hear the stories that we have pushed aside, or pretended not to notice. When our minds get quiet, we may remember traumas that occurred to us: anything from a thoughtless catcall as we were crossing the street, to how the death of a loved one took its toll on our emotional well-being. We don’t have to remember these traumas, but as they come up, we can quite naturally let them go.

We all have masks, ways of moving in the world that allow us to “save face,” to be comfortably protected from emotional ravishment by our vigilant egos. When we meditate, calming our rolling waves of continuous thought, we open to the chance of moving deeply behind our mask, and behind our protective armor.

People often tell me, “But Dailey, I can’t meditate! It’s so hard!”

Yes, it is hard. It is hard to face vulnerable truths, to see things we may not like about ourselves or how we have been moving in the world. It is hard to tell the ego to shut up. But it doesn’t need to be. We can remove the label of toil from it, and simply think of meditation as sitting down with an old beloved friend; that beloved friend is you.

You can be kind and compassionate with yourself. Allow yourself to get quiet enough to slip into your being and see what your body wants to tell you, and listen without judgement. Listen to back aches an allow tears to come up, or desires, without castigating yourself for the experience. Just allow. Just be.

This is the very basic, very first step in what meditation is about. Everyday, sit with yourself. Get to know yourself beyond the projections and protective machinations of your ego. You can sit, stand, circumambulate, dance, run. . . there are many ways to be both mindful of your being, and to settle into the inner quiet that characterizes basic meditation. The more consistent you are, the more rewarding it becomes, just like nurturing any good relationship.

Do you meditate? I would love to hear your thoughts below about why you think it's important, and what challenges you come up against when--or if--you do! Will you share your thoughts with me?

blessings,

Dailey

Crystal Wisdom With Lepidolite

Crystal Wisdom with Lepidolite

The other day I woke up and went to get water when, in the still morning silence, a single word came to mind: Lepidolite.

I was pretty surprised. I don’t know anything about lepidolite, other than that it is a stone. Pushing myself to remember anything I could about it, I also remembered that I’d seen it at a crystal shop a few weeks back. I was surprised by how sharp and clear the word resounded in my thoughts.

“Well,” I thought to myself, “When stones speak, there is usually a reason.” I looked up lepidolite in my crystal book but nothing about the entry jumped out at me. A few days later I was browsing in Crystal Channels when it occurred to me to ask the owner Kami if she had any lepidolite. Sure enough she did, some very lovely pieces. With incredible kindness, she made a gift of lepidolite to me. The moment I held it in my hand, I didn’t want to let go, and I knew that this stone had work to do with me.

When I receive new stones, I usually cleanse them under clear running water, spend time to sit with them and check in about spiritual messages that may come through. However, there is no right or wrong way to work with stones. For the lepidolite, I felt drawn just to be with it, without doing any advanced shamanic work.

At home, I reread the same entry as before, and this time, it seemed like lepidolite was exactly what I needed. In the passing days between my original intuitive hit to look up lepidolite, my mind and spirit had gone through a number of experiences that had shifted my outlook, and now the gentle energies of the stone felt rejuvenating just when I needed it.

Here is just a tiny bit of what Melody (“Love is In the Earth” has to say about lepidolite (she’s got two pages of info!):

“[This mineral] opens the crown chakra and allows for the flowering of the inner blue lotus, assisting one to become aware of the subtle vibratory energies both within and without of the self. It is used for stress reduction and to alleviate despondency. The energy of lepidolite is refreshing and almost sentimental; it assists in the transformation of the energies of the lesser spiritual ideals to the energies of universal light, hope, and acceptance. It is recognized as a ‘stone of transition,’ helping one through situations of variability in this life and assisting in the restructuring and reorganization of old patterns. It further serves to gently induce change and to allow for smooth passage during change.”

This seems like the perfect stone coming out of a busy holiday season, doesn’t it? Who doesn’t need to release the stresses that come from family gatherings (or lack thereof), shopping, responsibility and social expectation. Likewise, we all have personal beliefs--especially around love, self-care, and familial socialization--that are especially challenged during the holidays. If we can integrate the transformative lessons from our everyday living and allow ourselves to move into deeper alignment with love-based values, we unlock a deep well of joy within our lives.

It doesn’t need to be complicated. It can be very simple. Lepidolite has an energy that supports this vision of simple access to our joyful selves. Child-like is the word that comes to mind.

Stones do so much more than what a book says. There is no way to honor in words the power of their full-spectrum ability to heal. We must spend time with them and get to know how they affect us personally, just as we would a piece of art, or a new friend, or a good book. I met a woman who is helping someone through cancer, and I knew intuitively that lepidolite would be good for the both of them. I know someone else who is struggling with muscle tension and cramps from extreme tension to the point that they have become desensitized. Perhaps a piece of lepidolite would not erase all of that tension, but the stone speak on sublingual levels, sharing frequencies of wisdom with the body that trickle up to our consciousness. We find ourselves more prone to making necessary shifts for our well-being.

Some people simply will not seek or carry stones. I believe that sometimes we carry stones not just for our own incredible internal healing, but for the healing of others. As we heal what is out of balance within ourselves, we shift everything around us. I’m reminded of cars on a race track, and how one can get pulled into the wind pocket of another, being influenced for better or worse just by proximity to other cars. We people are like that, influencing one another. So I believe we are often carrying stone medicine that, while absolutely for us, may also be with us in order to touch other lives the stones might not otherwise reach.

Children play with stones all the time. If that we could all return to our childlike inner wisdom, and enjoy the gifts that nature has provided! (A very lepidolitian statement, haha)

blessings in the New Year,

Dailey

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Art: Lepidolite © jarous - Fotolia.com. My lepidolite looks very similar to this in color, but it is polished and smooth. Lepidolite comes in many shapes and colors, all of which affect how the stone may best be used. 

Just Trust & Have Faith

We do not always know what the future holds. Even the most psychic, the most intuitive of us must simply trust what is in our hearts and move from there. It can be hard to have faith, sometimes, that everything is working out for the best. Our ego gets triggered! We want long term assurances about our lives. We want to see the path from here to the north pole! However, when the future is pressing in and you feel confused or paralyzed with indecision, just remember to look in your heart for the step right in front of you.

Do you know that saying, "It's in God's hands?" This is the reminder that if we try to carry all of the burdens of everyone around us, without recognizing our need to just trust and have faith, we will be buried in stress. Likewise, we each have a significant amount of our own fear and burden. If we choose to keep it bundled within, refusing to share it with the appropriate loved ones, or if we forget that we are connected to the resources of the vast universe around us, then we will also be buried. Receive the unseen support of the world around you.

Trusting and having faith are not exactly passive. We must still take action. We must still live as fully as possible based on the truths we unearth within. However, to have faith is to relinquish the core of our fears--to let go of inadequacy and improbability--and to believe that in this fully connected world of ours, everything we need will be provided. Again, give up your deepest fear! Believe that in the end, the most beautiful vision possible is being woven through the threads of your precious life!

blessings,

Dailey

Prince Siddharta & the Quest for Enlightenment

Prince Siddharta & the Quest for Enlightenment

Once upon a time there was a prince named Siddharta. He was so beloved by his parents that he grew up surrounded by wealth and shielded from all forms of life that might cause pain or discomfort. He was given everything a young prince could desire, never knowing the stress of illness, old age, or death.  

One day an old woman made it through the doors of the palace courtyard, and when Siddharta saw her advanced age, and the pain she suffered in her weakened, swollen limbs, he was so deeply moved by his sense of powerlessness and compassion that he vowed to find an end to all forms of suffering. (In other words, he had a mid life crisis).

Renouncing the wealthy, indolent life in which he had been raised, Siddharta began his epic journey, the journey of the historical Buddha, to seek and find the meaning of life, and put an end to suffering. He soon came to understand that everyone went through the phases of birth, age, illness, and death, and that this cycle of suffering was inescapable as long as people were in human form.

Siddharta, in his travels, mastered several metaphysical gifts as he developed his internal and external understanding of the laws of life. He inadvertently created new religions and offshoots of buddhism through his inspiring exploits,  and eventually realized that the healthy desire for life, for love, and connection were just as inescapable as death. He saw that as long as we were alive, we would be a part of the wheel of cause and effect created by our desires, and that because of this, desire could be a source of great suffering.

What if, instead of renouncing all desire, we learned to walk a middle path somewhere between desire and detachment? What if we realized that our desires revealed our inner natures? What if we used these revelations of self-knowledge to master the suffering caused within our own minds, thus allowing us to experience the life and death, cause and effect, with peace, and joy?

Siddharta preached these, and many other insights throughout his life, eventually developing such a life force of compassion and all-seeing wisdom that he went into a state of paranirvana, where he became everything and nothing at once. (Think: Yoda in Star Wars)

Before he did so, he reminded his sangha--his community in faith-- that all things perish, and that even angels and gods of the other realms were caught in the same karmic cycles of desire, cause, and effect. He enjoined his followers to follow no-one, and instead to master their own minds of suffering through personal understanding and empowerment. 

Having walked many different paths and learned many different systems of belief himself, Siddharta reminded his fellows to see enlightenment in all beings, and not to judge or slander others for the paths they might choose to take.

Reliquaries and monuments were made in his honor, and within 600 years of his death, many of the verbal spiritual traditions he had stimulated were codified by written word. Would he have approved of these written texts, this man who loved to sit in circles beneath trees and share in heart to heart dialogue? We do not know, but Siddharta himself says he is always here, waiting to reveal the law to anyone who will listen, for his is the spirit of the Buddha, a human spiritual quality of inquiry and curiosity about the nature of life that we all carry within.

His stories about his many lives were told as Jatakas across Southeast Asia, and continue to unfold in living form as modern day avatars, mystics, and seekers journey out on their own path of life discovery.

Perhaps Siddharta is even alive in top 40s pop artists like Daft Punk, whose lyrics in "Get Lucky" begin quite philosophically: "Like the legend of the phoenix, All ends with beginnings, What keeps the planet spinning, The force of love beginning."

We must all age, experience challenges, and die, but in our wisdom heart of love, we can renouce suffering and replace it with true happiness.

The End! (Or is it? haha)

Blessings,

Dailey