Do Not Get Caught

Good moods, 

Bad moods, 

Anger, 

Frustration, 

Irritation and 

Despair,

Arise and 

Subside. 

They come and go. 

Do not get caught in them. 

Instead,

Find the One,

Who reports,

These moods back to you.

Find the Unchanging Principle,

Even in the midst,

Of violent change.

Bring Flowers

Bring flowers,

Light a candle,

Say a prayer,

To all the faces of God,

You most love,

Knowing,

All the faces of God,

You most love,

And even those you don't,

Are,

You.

Awareness Is Everything

An ignorant woman says, 

"I am angry because of what he/she/ the world did to me. 

I have every right to be angry. 

You would be angry too."

An ordinary woman says,

"Yes, I have anger. 

I try to control it but sometimes I can't. 

It just erupts and there is nothing I can do about it."

A wise woman says,

"Anger is impersonal.

I do not identify with it.

I watch it come and go."

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.

Like Swans

Those who awaken
Never rest in one place.

Like swans, they rise
And leave the lake.

On the air they rise
And fly an invisible course,
Gathering nothing, storing nothing.

Their food is knowledge.
They live upon emptiness.
They have seen how to break free.

~Dhammapada:

Teachings of the Buddha,
by Thomas Byrom

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!''

Saying Yes.

One Friday afternoon in October 2013, a package arrived in the mail.  It was a book. The little, aqua-green gem had been wending its way to me for over a year.

The title of the book was, 'Tiny Buddha's Guide to Loving Yourself.'' The author was Lori Deschene. Lori is the founder of the Tiny Buddha website. In August 2012, Lori had written to ask if she could use one of my articles in the book.

I said, "Yes."

A year later, Lori wrote again. She wanted to know if I would support the book's launch, by offering a free gift.

She also wondered if I would like to participate in an interview. Lori attached a list of interview questions and asked for them to be completed as soon as possible.

At the time, I had just arrived back on Grand Bahama Island. Lori's e-mail arrived the morning after a grueling transatlantic flight. Back to the reality of island living, the heat and humidity was unbelievable, the car wouldn't start, there was no food in the fridge and I had a gazillion things to get caught up on. I was feeling worn thin and overwhelmed to say the least.

However, I said, "Yes."

Years ago, I remember reading about a Zen Master who asked one of his disciples,

 "Why do you always say No, before you say Yes?"

This question triggered an epiphany. In that moment, I realized I have rarely had this problem.

The reason is, I trust my heart.

Even with exhaustion and concerns about whether there will be time to get everything done, I know it will all magically happen. If my heart wills it, I trust that my heart will work it out.

Somehow, my heart just knows how.....

Tiny Buddha