QUESTION #9 -- May 7, 2008
So would I be the same animal if my mama's womb had landed in Wichita? I'd have to say that I'd probably be influenced by my surroundings outwardly, to the degree that they'd be such a contrast to what was percolating inside of me -- that being the dna that formed my core.. My surroundings might've shaped my behaviors and protocols and the surface of my dreams until I was old enough to honor all the bits of me that needed fortifying from a northern coastal city. Then I would've probably ended up where I am. As my buddy Robert Plant once wrote: 'though the course may change sometimes, rivers always reach the sea.'
Springtime has sprung...the birds and the bees are sipping mint julips and my green thumb is being tested. So I ask you all:
QUESTION #9 -- WHAT IS THE ONE SEED YOU'D LIKE TO PLANT THIS SEASON FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL GROWTH?
Springtime has sprung...the birds and the bees are sipping mint julips and my green thumb is being tested. So I ask you all:
QUESTION #9 -- WHAT IS THE ONE SEED YOU'D LIKE TO PLANT THIS SEASON FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL GROWTH?
Hi Cali,
Interesting question you pose - I just wrote the following in my newsletter that I would like to share with your readers.
Summer is on its way and it is a time to grow!
Summer is the perfect time to plant the seeds to make it happen! In my garden ~ I get so excited about planting that I want to get right into the dirt without planning.
I remember to stop, take a breath and know that by planning I will have better results. I know I need to plan out what will I plant and where they will go, test the soil and adding compost, etc.
It is similar with our spiritual and personal growth. At times we read book after book or take short classes - feeling the urge to know all at once. What I find happens with myself and my clients is that in order to truly grow and change we need to choose a path and really till the soil, plant the seeds, nurture the plants.
In my own mindfulness practice and spiritual work I remember to regularly practice each day - feeding and watering, I go on meditation retreats, have regular supervision sessions and take advanced trainings to deepen my understanding - like adding compost to the garden.
I invite you to take some time now, to become still and reflect on what it is you want to plant in your inner garden? What is it that needs nurturing? What new knowledge do you want to plant this summer? What weeds need pulling so that the flowers can have space?
You may need some guidance and support and that is when a session may be helpful. My work now feels like a well matured perennial garden - instead of all the plants being separate and distinct they now blend and flow beautifully into each other - creating a gorgeous landscape. ~~~~~~~~~~~~
So to ask myself this question ---
This spring and summer I am planting the seeds of kindness - for myself and towards other - to embrace all of myself without judgment knowing that I am also in process. I plant this seed, and allow nature to take its course, I will nurture it with meditation and mindfulness awareness of when judging arises or when kindness arises.
thank you for creating this blog. The first time I have ever blogged (??)
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There has been this seed that I've been trying plant for about a month now and honestly, for the first time I think I'm actually starting to feel it take root, for I've noticed a significant change in myself that I really couldn't put my finger on til now. I have been looking at things like "the secret" which bugged me a bit and I didn't like it very much. Than I read an article on being happy and then Oprah had a special on it so on and so forth. Recently, my boss gave me an excerpt from a book called "The monk who sold his Ferrari" and this chapter changed my thought process. I immediately attempted to put things into action and it was very similiar to "the secret" except it made more sense. It was more logical, and now I'm reading the entire book. It is basically about how to be happy and giving up all the materialistic things that we as a whole seem to grab onto. Whether it be the big house, fancy car, etc we tend to view our success through these type of glasses and when you get up close or use a microscope despite all these things that we might have or possess we aren't happy. So my seed that is growing is one of acceptance, and letting go of the materialistic things and doing for my career what makes me ultimately happy instead of working for that paycheck to buy these goods. The seeds that I'm growing are for ulitmate happiness not just temporary and I've noticed things don't bother me as much as they used to and I've relinquished that control we try to have over others and the control I allow them to have over me. I don't have road rage, I meet people everywhere I go and my friends say they see something different in me...so that's the seed I'm going to continue to grow.
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Hi Cali,
Well, my path right now is about money, which is, I believe, a form of energy. For a long time I regarded material goals as unspiritual, but it was just a subtle way to scuttle fear and dodge involvement in some of the most necessary challenges of my life.
The seed growth has been and continues to be about working hard, staying focused, doing my utmost in professional dealings, and meeting financial responsibilities and goals, even if I'm bored out of my mind.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to check out that pricey snail-snot scar-fade cream, or those hand-hammered Summer of Love hoop earrings from the Sundance catalog, or to support public radio and the Burmese monks, Mother Jones and The New Yorker.
It's about living via a code of values, of which money is a symbol. Wax on/wax off, ka-ching, and what has taken root and grows is mental clarity, peace, the desire to share and most surprisingly, inspiration. \
Thanks for the blog....
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Quit one bad habit, like sugar, or stepping in dog shit.
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