Merging With The Ocean

As a child I lived in the U.K. in a town far from the sea. Yet, I could hear the sound of waves arising and subsiding inside. It was a sound both familiar and achingly beautiful.

All those years ago, I could never have imagined that I would one day be living in the Bahamas. It would have seemed like a fantasy. Yet here I am. 

At 5.15 a.m. each morning my husband Tony I sit up in bed and enjoy a cup of coffee. We listen to the waves. It is a beautiful way to start the day.

Sometimes we hear the waves crashing angrily against the shore.  At other times they lap gently, like a big cat licking a sweet bowl of cream.

After coffee, I go to the meditation room. I light a candle and incense and then sit. The sound of the waves is louder there.  The silence echoes more deeply. 

In the thick of that sound, birds circle and cry, signalling the start of the new day. My neighbor revs up his car to head to work and twice a week, the garbage men announce their arrival with the cranking and crashing of the bins.

All these sounds swim in and through one another. They arise from the same Source. They are born from silence and they dissolve back into silence.

When we start to pay attention, when we really listen, we realize this. We also notice how our thoughts and words arise from silence.

The beauty of this practice gifts us with what Merrill-Wolf calls ‘high indifference.’ This is not disinterest. Rather it is the capacity to see, hear and perceive from the highest perspective.

When we leave the confines of the mind we are free. We realize we are not separate. We see how intimately connected we are to all of life.

In the thick, vibrant energy of this profound realization we are home. We are what we have been searching for all along...

Excerpt from the Living in Alignment online course.

Paradise Island Bridge and More

This week has been yummy. I have been visiting Nassau, staying with my lovely friend Sonia on Paradise Island.

In between counselling sessions, teaching and writing I have been enjoying getting caught up with friends. These are friends I have known, it seems like forever, for more than twenty years. 

These friends are like family. I love how we never have to explain anything. There is an instant and intimate understanding between us.

Have you noticed how it can also be like that with people you are meeting for the first time? I have and I am noticing it more and more.

Just the other day for example, I hopped over the bridge from Paradise Island to a shopping mall in Nassau. It's not really that far, maybe just over a mile, but when the sun is beating down mercilessly it's not the most comfortable of jaunts.

When it was finally time to turn around and head back home I decided to take a cab. I stood outside 'Fresh', a wonderful food store. I sent a simple message to the universe.

"I need to get home. Please send a cab."

Seconds later a cab pulled up. I asked the driver,

"Are you free?"

He told me,

"I have to get medication for my grandfather. Just wait a while and I will be right back."

Minutes later, he arrived clutching a brown bag. Then he jumped in the driver's seat and took off at break neck speed with me bouncing around in the back.

Shouting over his shoulder as we climbed the bridge, the cabbie told me his life story. He detailed where he grew up, which school he went to, the girl he married and lastly the health issues of his grandfather.

This is one of the things I love about Bahamian people. They are so open and friendly. They warmly invite you in as if they are recognizing you as a long lost member of their family.

They also laugh a lot and take things lightly. One of the things the cab driver insisted before he said good bye was this,

''Take it easy and stay blessed!''

Father Bede Griffiths

A beautiful talk on how exploring other religions can enhance the faith you practice.

5 Simple Ways to Respond to Negative People

Many of the most valuable lessons I have learned have come from people I definitely do not want to be like. You know the type.

For example, I have a family member who is the embodiment of cynicism, doom and gloom. He rarely has anything positive to say and his dark jokes revolve around someone's misfortune.

Whenever asked, "How’s it going?" he details his latest job woes in a manner that reflects his view that the world is out to get him. He can also talk for hours about his dark conspiracy theories.

Being around him can be draining, to say the least. Most family members suffer in silent resignation, head for another room, or step out into the garden for some fresh air to get away.

I often do the same. At other times, I feel compassion and attempt to share the benefits of seeing life from a more elevated perspective while also hinting at the importance of taking ownership of one's shadow.

There are also times when, if I am not careful, I find myself getting drawn into the gravitational pull of his dark energy. When this happens, he unloads his grievances and walks away with a light spring in his step while I am left feeling like I need a shower.

In other words: this man is a fantastic ally. He has taught me incredible lessons about where and why I allow myself to be pulled off center and out of my heart. Through him, I have woken up to when this happens.

As a form of protection, I have created an internal checklist to respond to people both at work and at home who are negative or stuck in a dark mood. The checklist goes like this:

1. What does this person need?

Is there a chance that a positive input is being sought? If the answer is yes, then share something to lift the mood. If the answer is no, keep the interaction brief and walk away.

2. Are they acting as a mirror?

The answer is yes if we are being sucked in. When there is a pull, there is a resonance. Someone or something "out there" shows us where we are resisting the flow of life. When this is the case, we can breathe in deeply and accept what is.

3. This too will pass. 

While we can offer compassion and point to other alternatives, we are not responsible. Suffering is a choice. When we maintain our state, we are part of the solution rather than adding to the illusion. In this way, we create space for an opening of awareness to happen, which is more than enough.

4. Avoidance is O.K.

We can protect and safeguard the sanctity of our internal state by making sure we are with people who nurture us. On other occasions, when we have no alternative as a consequence of work or family obligations, we can remain upbeat and keep turning every negative comment into a positive. Do it for long enough and it works wonders. If the other person cannot get you on his or her negative side, they will eventually give up.

5. Love really is the answer. 

Everything always comes down to love. If we love and respect ourselves, we do not give ourselves away so cheaply. We do not come down from our state. We do not concede who we are for the sake of someone’s need to off-load. We can listen with love. We only get dumped on when we allow ourselves to become part of the drama.

**

The next time that person comes your way, be grateful. No matter how mean, dark-spirited or negative they may be, they are here to teach us how to love, honor and respect who we are and what we have to offer the world.

I would say that is an invaluable gift wouldn’t you?

3 Steps to Manifesting Your Dreams

In July 2007, I boarded a train heading from London to Nottingham in the UK. It was a two hour journey and I realized I had nothing to read. However, a moment later I recalled having picked up a free magazine while visiting a mind-body-spirit bookstore, which I had stuffed into my bag.

Taking it out, I settled in to read an article written by Barbara Brennen. Half way through, I suddenly heard a voice saying, “You can do this. You can write articles and essays that inspire people.” The voice was so loud I looked around just in case anyone had spoken, though I already knew. This message was ‘an inside job’, delivered from the depths of my own intuitive wisdom.

Without questioning or doubting what I had heard, I chose the only surface I had to write on and began drafting my first article on the back of a paper napkin. At home, after tweaking and typing it up, I sent it to the editor of the magazine I had been reading. 

Three days later, I received an e-mail from the editor saying he wanted to use the article in his next edition and hey presto! From that moment on my creative doors were flung wide open and I was forcefully propelled in a direction I could never have consciously foreseen.

Since then in the work that I do, I have been happy to share a simple, yet incredibly powerful  checklist, which can be utilized in order to go after what we are most passionate about. The list goes like this:

1. Listen.

When you hear a strong inner message, don’t miss the moment and let it slip away. Trust what you are hearing. Write it down; commit it to memory and hang on to it like a lifeline.

2. Act.

Take at least one step toward what you are being directed to do. If the first step is not immediately clear, keep a journal and inquire, “What can I do right now to bring this dream into manifestation?”

3. Share.

Tell those you trust and who are able to safely incubate this intention with you. Ask for support and input. Don’t hesitate to express your wildest, most extravagant dreams.

When we Listen, Act, and Share, we are saying, “YES!” to the flow of the universe, which is dynamic, alive, and charged with immense power.

We are proactively stating,

• I acknowledge and trust my intuitive wisdom.
• I love and honor who I am.
• I respect and stand behind what I have to offer the world.

In contrast, when we do not Listen, Act, and Share, we are made aware of it in several ways.

First: We feel depressed, intuitively recognizing that we have missed an important message meant to open us to new and expanded possibilities.

Second: We feel sluggish, “stuck,” and unable to see clearly. It’s as if our eyes have clouded over and we are trying to look through thick, dirty glass.

Third: We contract, which leads us to feeling alienated from the ones we love, as well as from the world at large.

Inevitably, at different stages in our lives, we flip-flop between the two opposites until we begin to see that we do have choices in the expression and manifestation of our dreams. We also realize that even if we miss an inner directive, it is never too late. We will be gifted with plenty of others.

Once we arrive at this understanding, we wake up to the truth that we will always be guided from within. And once we follow our inner guidance, we will be shown that the universe is, by nature, abundant and more than willing to take care of us, show us the way and even firmly take us by the hand, if we let it.

Copyright- Julie Hoyle 2012