Are Your Choices Magical or Mundane?

Clear the mists around your Avalon.

I remember reading "The Mists of Avalon" over winter break. My roomates were home with their families and I had the apartment to myself. While the snow fell outside I was warm and toasty eating bread smeared with butter and honey just like in my book on the mystical and magical court of King Arthur.

The mists shrouding the Isle Avalon grew and thickened as the beliefs in the old ways were abandoned. The magic was becoming lost and forgotten as the isle slipped deeper and deeper into the fog.

How we long for the magic and "supernatural" in our daily lives. We love to exchange our stories of dreams and experiences with psychics, healers, and shamans, to recount the butterfly that flew by just when we were thinking of a loved one we have lost. We long to have that undeniable, authentic experience to prove to us beyond a shadow of a doubt that Spirit exists and is alive and well in our daily lives. We can't get enough reassurance that those we have lost continue on and are somehow still connected to us in consciousness. We long for magic.

I do. We all do.

I want my dreams to be vivid, even lucid.
I want my experiences to be intense and authentic.
I want to feel close to those I have lost.
I want to feel that my ancestors are here with me.
I want to know that I live in a supportive living conscious universe that accepts and loves me unconditionally.

But what I learned this week is that Spirit is a two way street.

You have to sing out and with all your heart.
You must dig deep and be true in the most seemingly mundane of ways.
You have to get your ego out of the way.

You are called to be present.
You are called to fully participate in life.
You are called to recognize the magic and potentcy of all that is around you.

My daily life is more filled with tupperware dishes than abalone shells, but it's just as profound.
I probably won't find my animal totem from a Facebook quiz but I will find Spirit if I choose to recognize and participate in Life itself.

I choose to take time to listen.
I choose quiet mindfullness over mindless internal chatter.
I choose to reprioritize my day and spend time connecting and being grateful for the gifts of Mother Earth.
I choose to put down the digital devices and be in the moment.
I choose to clear the fog.

I meet people who are such bright lights that just being around them makes me exuberantly happy.
I find myself wanting to be more prepared, more present, more thankful, more true.

I know that every moment is precious.
Every moment is a Divine gift.
That not everything can be explained with words.
Not every answer can be found in Google.

Some things you just have to sit with and revel in their very existence.
To know that magic abounds.
To clear the mists around your Avalon.

Be quiet.
Be true.
Send your prayers.
Sing your songs.
Listen with your heart.
Be grateful.
Hold your vision.

And know.

The Action of Your Love Matters

This week the theme in the Commitment Experiment here at our center is The Action of Your Words is What Matters in Relationships. In contemplating this topic for the last few days I have been inspired to feel it out. By that I mean explore how this idea feels in my life, in my experience, in my relationships with God, myself (and Self), my husband, kids, friends, etc. etc.

So, what I discovered about the action of my words mattering is that this age old, tried and true, truism is true! Again, I discovered this again. It's not like I didn't know it. I realized that there are many sayings that we (join me if this is true for you) toss around, such as:

'Actions speak louder than words'

'Talk is cheap'

'Say what you mean and mean what you say'

'Walk the talk'

"Who you are speaks so loudly, I can't hear what you're saying." 

And then there is the very well used and often fallen back on: Do As I Say, Not As I Do! Who hasn't said that? I dare to suggest that this is not going back on our word, or our intetntion but is a first baby step in changing a habit, or pattern in our lives. It is often easier to start with saying or acknowledging what we know. For instance, I know I should exercise every day, I tell myself that every day... and yet, my actions have not caught up with my words - yet! They will, I know and trust they will because I really, really, really know the value of exercising every day, not just some days,  but every day. So, is that going to make the difference - adding the extra really's to my knowing? It might help, but what is going to make the difference, for me, is taking action - Yes, the "A" word. Action. To me, it means, caring so much, believing enough, trusting that even if it is just for a minute, or five, or twenty it is enough. It is enough to match my actions to my words even in a very small way. Because, walking my talk really does matter to me, experiencing being impeccable with my word empowers me, and I love the breakthroughs that happen in my life when I say what I mean and mean what I say! And, I have found, that when I trust myself it is easier for me to trust others, to trust life. That is the power of Life responding to me!

So, have my words built a stronger case for my actions? Yes, and that makes it easier to match my actions to my words! I say I love you - I believe they are the most powerful words we can say and hear. Hard words to say aloud? Let me show you I love you and we both experience how "the action of your love is what matters". Join me and the spiritual community at the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley and experience love, joy, beauty, creativity, connection - experience why you matter.

p.s. I really do love you!