thru thick and thin

One of the most endearing sentiments that has remained true from my childhood to present day is a combination of loyalty and dedication. I remember feeling a profound sense of loyalty to my peer group as a kid -- that I would do anything to protect my friends. I found comfort that they would do the same for me.  This feeling of support allowed me to take bigger risks because of which I continue to do so. These are values espoused by all forms and sizes of social organizations from street gangs to high levels of government. Loyalty, keeping secrets, confidence, trust, friendship, safety. This current of feeling is the pinnacle of human achievement. This is the most valued currency of humanity. Within in this flow is also, forgiveness, grace, tenderness, and healing.
           As I deal with personal challenges, I am held up by the loyalty and dedication of my friends and family. I can endure great hardship because of that support. Most of the time I am able to offer that confidence as well. In fact it is an honor to do so. To be let in by a friend, to be part of someones' life  --- I feel so grateful. I sometimes tease my wife, "you really love little old me" Amidst all the great work I've done on myself, I wake up everyday not remembering what I've accomplished, and being surprised by the beauty around me.

It's as if everyday were the first day of my life and the 

world is interested in little old me...it can't be...but it is!

As I move through my life loyalty and dedication are precious commodities. Material things in excess are empty and frivolous at best. Our value is our in unity.

Through thick and thin may our families, friendships and as a species be together in spirit, support each other in life, endure in the world, and make this planet a more magical home.

the path prose

life is inherently dynamic.

its funny how just as I get comfortable with a situation it begins to change. Or in many cases I would like things to change because they are too comfortable and predictable. Either way, life finds a way to teach me to let go...

I believe the Bible says something like, life is but a vapor. It's so true. Whenever are we? Wherever are we? Life goes on.

The more present I am, the more time seems to flex like plexi glass, warping its structure, texture and dimensions.

De ja' vue anyone?

Have you been here, done this, before?

I  strongly sense I have. I project we have many times ... whose to say when.   Not to get to out there but here I go anyway.

Life emits its animating force from the

dynamic vortex heart structure of existence.

As I attune to that Heart, the beauty, preciousness and paradoxical nature of opposing values swirl. Within that motion a compelling force moves me in a clear trajectory of service, honesty, power, love, and joy. There are other experiences too. I choose to focus on the aforementioned...most of the time.

Amidst the seeming chaos, purpose awaits. It awaits your initiative, resolve and commitment. Our work is serious, challenging, often difficult .... and if we want we can enjoy it, have fun, drink bliss. Vamos Muchachos!

Beautiful Me

Have you every had a great coach or mentor? These extraordinary people sit with you when you're stuck and help you move into the unknown. A great coach is a visionary. My mentors see my potential and through their guidance turn their vision into my reality.  Eventually I see their possibility for me. I see myself through their eyes. I witnessed my fear and limitations fall away, and a strong, smart, and beautiful being emerge.  

To see yourself through the eyes of someone who sees the best in you

this-is-an-extra-ordinary-sight

 

       Today, I see me full of vigor and joy. My smile is beaming and eyes overflowing with spirit. My skin is glowing and hair shiny and glistening even under overcast skies.  I am eating lunch, slowly enjoying every bite and chewing my food to liquefaction. My digestion is hardy and strong. My entire GI tract is working smoothly, easily absorbing the nutrients from the delicious organic vegetables, fruit, grains and proteins I'm eating. The large intestine is effortlessly and regularly moving bowels for elimination. My beaming smile, reflects how great I feel.
       Man! I am sleeping like a baby. Falling to sleep quickly, getting deep rest, and waking up refreshed and inspired for all of the fun and creative things I am doing today. My breath is full of vitality, lungs feeling strong and fit. Breathing I can feel the pranic life force powerfully flowing through muscles and into the marrow of my bones.

       My mind is clear and focused which is reflected in my erudite, crisp speech. Everything I do is full of intent. In my heart I feel connected to a spiritual source of power and grace that permeates every aspect of my life. Lighthearted and fun, I am laughing often during the day. I am committed deeply to every aspect of life, and it shows in the joy I share with co workers, friends and my family. My work life is truly fulfilling and I have plenty of resources to live the lifestyle I want, giving regularly to those in need.

       Eyes wide and glistening I am stoked to live this day, knowing that I make a difference in the world just by being me. Different emotions flow through my body during the day. As they appear I breath life into them letting them wear new grooves into the contours of my vast Soul.  

From timbre of my voice and inflection of my words people can feel I am comfortable being vulnerable which allows them to be open.

Full of love in my heart, gratitude is spilling over, as I remember how blessed I am just to have life, let alone the other countless things I am consciously grateful for. 

   

       I catch a glimpse of me in the mirror, and for a moment 
I don’t recognize the face in the reflection. 

It seems like it could be the face of anyone in the world, and then I see it. I see the light of my Soul shining through the body. I can feel my purpose within that light. Even though I look radiant and beautiful, I care about something much deeper. One overriding desire pulsates withing me like a homing beacon. And that desire is to share my heart with the world through my word, action and deed and receive the heart of the world in the same way. That is enough. That is the point and purpose of my life. Give. Receive. Give. Receive.

My heart is rock solid love and it is beautiful to witness.

This is my vision and my reality.

read this out loud as a daily affirmation of who you truly are.

as you read it, feel into your cells and bones.

breath the words into your body.

let them marinate deep inside.

the one you are looking for.

guest post by melinda iglesias

it's amazing how a sunny morning can change my whole day.  

even more amazing, is how it changes around me.  

here in the PNW we value sunshine; 

we are grateful for it every time it shows up.

some of you who are thinking, "no! i need a few more weeks of transition time before i shed all the layers i've been using to protect myself throughout the long, long winter." i agree with you! it is challenging to make the transition so quickly. i know, without a doubt however, that we will get a few more days of rain to help with reflection and contemplation before the big spring shift occurs.

that being said, on days like today i catch myself considering how i might re-create the effect that the blazing light of a sunny day has on me, in my own dark times.

now you might laugh, but i mean this literally...  at least for those of us who endure the winter in cold, rainy, damp, grey oregon for all of the winter months.  we don't know what else to do but bask in the light of spring (when it finally arrives).  

i notice the following about myself and others when the sun is out:

          i must get outside, i must commune with nature,

                   something that always makes me feel incredible

          i smile more and others smile back

          i make more of an effort to make eye contact, others do too

          i laugh more

          i am sweeter in my thoughts and interactions

                    ..maybe even more authentic?

          i would even go so far as to say that i get more accomplished when it's sunny out

i guess then, the question is how do we re-create the effect of the sun in our lives?

what qualities do we imbue ourselves with to better prepare us for life's challenges?  

how can we consciously meet a situation, person or moment in life with the intention and energy that is given to us when we are re-charged?

here are some of the responses i received when i posed this question

what do you do to recharge?

        eat lots of fruits and vegetables, slowly

        spend time by myself

        watch television

        read a book

        go for a walk

        sleep

        meditate

        cook

        clean

        hang out with friends

        go out and be in nature

        hang out with good friends and loved ones

        burn palo santo and sage

        practice yoga, in a class or by myself

it seems that reoccurring theme for this time is cultivating relationships,

healthy and nurturing ones....

the 'good for you' ones, not only with others, but with yourself.

a great teacher once said, 

"the one you are looking for, is the one who is looking".

all love, melinda.

you'll be better for it.

guest blog by melinda iglesias


our biggest fear is not that we are inadequate.

our biggest fear is that we will achieve and thrive,
our biggest fear is stepping out, into our deepest self, into our true potential.

what i could be, my best self, the potential i have inside,
is what scares me the most.

recently i have been rebuilding my relationship with the amazing person that i know is deep inside of me. i think about it all the time... always working toward being more authentic.
living more and more in my heart.
it's like being in a relationship, with myself!

i am constantly checking in, trying on different scenarios. what feels good? lunch with friends, or time by myself? yoga or a hike? do i want to share myself with that person, would it be better if i didn't? what does the exchange in my relationships look like currently? what insights do i have in regard to my relationships? am i being authentic or ingratiating? do i speak the truth with grace and equipoise or do i ignore conversations i should be having to make the other person more "comfortable"?

what are my dreams? what do i want to be tomorrow?

your questions may and will look different- as our questions will be based on where we are in our journey. but, for just a moment, think about it, think about all the things you could possibly be and how amazing you could be at each and every one!

what keeps you from making those a reality in your life?

remember saying,
"when i grow up i am going to be a (insert dream here)!"
reflect, think, pause, and remember what it felt like, viscerally, to say that sentence.
did you take a deep breath before you said it?
did you have an enormous smile on your face?
what were the reactions to your statement?
were you supported in your dreams?
what does it feel like to say that sentence right now?
can you still identify with that person?

sometimes i wonder where that person went...
sometimes i wonder where that authentic, overzealous, unstoppable young lady is.

re-creating, maintaining and nurturing my connection to her is vital.
much of the world we live in today does not always support being authentic, being in your heart, living your greatest potential, your life's purpose. rather than filling our hearts and minds with what is wholesome we stuff ourselves to the point of discomfort, numbness and eventually paralysis. in doing so we slowly chip away pieces of ourselves, forgetting our true nature. leading ourselves down a treacherous path of isolation and victimization.

so how do we get back from that path?
and how do we stay away from it?
we re-learn, re-program, we re-member.

a great teacher once said, "from the perfect comes the perfect, arising in the form of perfection, remaining perfect in it's perfect nature... when this is true law, why do we human beings experience imperfection, why do we feel broken and scattered, why do we keep crying out and weeping?" the teacher then goes on to say, we do this because of our forgetful nature.

we forget & fear the authenticity it takes to step into who we truly are.

when you hear that voice inside your head that instructs you to do something, what is your immediate reaction? are you inviting your heart's thoughts into your mind? the heart is where the earth and the sky meet... the midline, the balance. i invite you to really consider, what do you do when you begin hearing your heart?

are you already living in your heart?

can you live in your heart always?

listen.
i believe you can be a person and live in your heart in every facet of your life. try listening to that voice a little more and see how it goes.. try it on. the voice will reshape how you interact with your families, friends and partners and even your interactions with yourself.

practice.
practice is everything.
practice listening to your heart
practice yoga
practice meditation (even if you have never tried before)
practice asking questions
take off that outer casing that shrouds and dims your beautiful light...
tell someone about it, or do it in front of them.
change the way you interact and ask for support while doing it.


listen, and, practice.
be kind to yourself, compassionate with yourself..
step into your most full you.
give your current-self some serious stretch marks.
you'll be better for it.

The Courage to be Uncomfortable

Last night belligerence came to my front door.

At 2:30 a.m. my wife and I were awoken to what sounded like a jet engine whistling towards our house. This was followed by the sounds of tires screeching, steel scraping and glass shattering against the asphalt in front of our house. Adrenaline infused we burst out of bed called 911 and I went to check to see if the driver was ok. As I opened the front door I could see a large figure lifting himself out of his vehicle. It was an eerie scene. He limped over toward me awkwardly and I could smell sweet alcohol on his breath. It was terrifying in a primordial sense, how he so overtly flirted with death.

            A month ago one of my long time patients died in a horrific car crash up in the Cascades.

There have been other such losses recently. Some dramatic and unexpected and others I saw coming.

I’ve been asking myself could I have stepped in and made a difference?  For some of them I think I could have and yet something stopped me. Sometimes, I find that rather than share what may make someone feel uncomfortable I ingratiate them.

That is, I get nice, when I really want to get real --- be authentic. 

I’ve been working on being aware of ingratiating my whole life and it continues to be an area for me to refine. Sometimes rather than ingratiate I will distance my self from someone or a situation.

Either way I'm afraid to create discomfort. I'm afraid to hurt people's feelings. I'm afraid of not feeling needed and loved. So I do nothing.

Ingratiating it self is not a problem. It’s when I ingratiate instead of share my truth that becomes a problem for my life and health.

As I approached the driver to check on him, He was beginning to panic as he started to grasp the implications of his actions. I instinctively comforted him by placing my arm on his shoulder, and said, “hey man it could have been a lot worse, you’re still alive”. He then asked me to help him get the rest of the beer out of his car that was perched on its side against the curb. At that moment, barefoot on the cold wet asphalt a chard of glass sliced the arch of my foot and I knew I couldn’t help him. The emergency response was on its way. I began to distance myself, making my way back to the house, towards my wife. I explained the situation to her and we watched to make sure he was ok.

The great sages of Chinese Medicine say that ingratiating is a way we lie to ourselves to make us think that what we are doing is ok, when we know deep down it’s not.  

My patients and I have an agreement to be honest and respectful of one another. My job is to offer an invitation for healing, their role is to make a choice to accept or amend my offering. In the security of this agreement a lot of healing can take place rapidly. In life outside the clinic I sometimes struggle to intervene with people I care about because the rules are less clear. I may instead ingratiate or simply hold a space of neutrality.

The drunk driver forced me to look at my behavior. How belligerent and off balance does someone have to become before I step in and make an offering? It’s an important inquiry.

Life is short and precious. I’m working on being more courageous, speaking my truth not just when it’s safe, but when and where it matters most.  How ‘bout you?

The Argument of Nature

As long as the sun shines, the rain falls, 

and the world spins, you will heal, physically

mentally, emotionally, and spirituality. 

Follow Nature

The pace of nature is elegant. The night blooming jasmine, emits her intoxicating fragrance hours after dusk. The desert rose curls centripetally inwards as the moon rises, with the peaking sun the desert rose uncoils white spindles of fleshy petals reaching towards the suns' rays.

The timing of Nature is exquisite. 

Gradual, steady, Nature displays its power, beauty and force with rhythm and timing. The ocean tide, steadily rises and falls, swells and subsides with exact calculation.

We can count on Nature because She is true to her Self. She honors her pace. 

I notice the opposite phenomenon in myself at times and in our world. Rushing to work, high stepping from patient to patient, scarfing lunch down with minimal enjoyment. The pace of Nature is forgotten and my energy, inspiration, and enjoyment wane. How do I become steady, consistent, and strong? Watch the Old Growth Doug Fir. Year after year, from the heartwood concentric circles over lay themselves upon one another. Five hundred years later the great grandfather tree is still going. I can learn a lot from Nature.  

      How do you go from disease to ease ... with lasting improvement? We do it like Nature. 

I can't argue with Nature. Nature is steady. In most instances a disconnection from Nature is always at the source of disease and in order to correct it we must reconnect to our source --- to Nature. 

We forget we are Nature too.  Like plants and animals we are born of the natural elements. This is where we physically come from and will return. 

How do you heal the afflictions of worldly life? Connect with Nature in you. 

I'm not talking necessarily about forests, flowers, and water here --- although that helps too. What I'm getting at is forming a connection to your Natural rhythms. Not the rhythms of work life, home life, or evening traffic. I talking about Your Rhythm. 

Nature as it freely and spontaneously seeks to express itself through you. Where to you block, impede, go unconscious and on automatic to your Nature? Do you know what I'm referring to? Nature is always making a play at reminding you to sync up. 

Are you in sync with that pulsation? 

Healing happens when we align with the undulating surge of life force. We are not meant to be at 100 percent output all the time. The lifewave rises powerfully forth surging to its crest and gently coalescing back to its source. The intercostal muscles contract drawing the ribs in all direction, the lungs fill with life giving oxygen, exhaling the ribs retract. On and on Nature shows its power. When we are not careful with nature, She reminds us with illness. How can we more fully attune to Nature?
This is our constant inquiry.

Healing. You can disagree with science, religion, politics and so on, but Nature... Nature is its own authority. And you are Nature. Tune in.

Food for Thought. Thought for Food

Love Out,

Luke