The Stones in the Path.

"When the trail gets muddy, it is the stones in ones path which become the path."

We are living through times of great change. Many friends of mine lately are struggling with aspects of themselves which seem to be chronic and persistent. These things range from physical illness to life long issues which seem to keep arising. Challenges which present themselves over and over again. I have found that if I allow things to flow instead of attaching ones identity to those things, they disappear. Embrace them as part of your experience, they are part of your path taking you where you want to be; at times it is only a shift in perspective that we need.



Having spent several seasons hiking in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State, I can tell you that after (or during) the rain or in seasons of snow-melt runoff, all those trails through the deeply forests mountains and lowlands become tiny streams. The whole area becomes saturated and moist. It becomes evident when in the forests of the raincoast, that the moisture which can be annoying, uncomfortable and at times an obstacle is also the very reason why it is so lush here. This water feeds and sustains everything. All of the fauna around one is water being held and used to increase life.

For a year I lived above 9,000 feet in the Indian Peaks Wilderness of Colorado. It was a beautiful place and my job at a mountain resort allowed me to be in some of the most pristine country around every day. I had the opportunity of walking out my tiny cabin door and walking straight into the forest. Even my walk to work took me on dirt roads through the forest. One day, while I was hiking one day below Longs Peak on the trails around Brainard Lake, I had a realization.

It was Spring time and the snow was begining to melt. At times, the trail would get so muddy that I had to switch over to stepping from stone to stone instead of the space between and around the stones which I usually thought of as the trail. It was a natural switch, this stepping out of the mud to dance upon the rocks. As I laughed to myself about what it was I was doing and how I had so easilly shifted my perception and that shift had made my way along the path so much easier. These stones in my path were no longer what I had previously thought they were. I had the realization that at times, it is the stones in ones path which are the way.

Later in my meditations on this aphorism, I began to draw other metaphors from it. Often the times the trails are muddy is when there is much water around. I already knew that the water was, of course feeding the life around me, however, what started to materialize was the process and how it related to my life. Often the wet times in nature come in the Spring, which is a time of great change. The trails are mudiest when life is the newest, shoots are poping from the ground, pushing up the rich humus, trees are begining to use the water as they once again start the process of using sunlight, elements and nutrients into sugar. I saw how this mirrored my life's muddy times. Usually when my life or path gets muddy, messy and difficult to navigate without slipping, it is a time when there is much change and new growth. Of course changes in life bring stress, even "good" change still has teh mud of stress mucking things up.

When things don't appear to be going as we feel they should, or have planned them out, our first response is often to be upset or fearful. The fact that we see obstacles, challenges and difficulties often translates as "things are not going as planned" or "things are not going well" or "I am failing." I have found, however, that these times of change are usually times where the old is leaving me and something new, something more to my liking is emerging or becoming manifest in my life. Over and over again in my life, it seemed to me that things were falling apart only to later realize that things were actually reassembling themselves into something better. Times of change or stress are times of transformation, of shape-shifting; form is changing to allow energy to flow more efficiently in service to life usually by facilitating growth or through the the creation of new life forms.

At times in my life I have encountered the same problems or issues over and over again. Often I have said to myself "Why is this happening again" when facing things which seem to be a recurring pattern in my life. Usually I found that eventually there was a lesson there which I needed to learn in order to progress. Time and time again though, I would see these recurring issues as problems, as obstacles and engage them in battle. I would not welcome them, but instead despise them and feel as though my life was not going the way I wanted it to. It was only after I finally learned the lesson that I could progress in my life and not run up against the same problems over and over. I had to shift my pespective, stop reacting and judging and see what was really happening.

I was fixated on the stones in my path, usuing all my energy on them. I was so focused on them that the issues were all I could see. I was failing to notice that I was still moving, growing;and change, you see, is a sign of life. Life is change. Living things grow, they have a circulation system, they change form, they take in nutrients and combine them into new forms; they build muscle or cell walls, they heal, they eliminate waste, they engage other life forms, they reproduce.

I have learned to see changes in life as growth, as an expansion of my life, an increase of experience, and so things which at first seem like obstacles or problems in the path become steps through times of change. Once I realized the true challenge was in the way I saw things I was able to welcome the many changes of form in my life, knowing that new things were forming or coming into existence. It was just like dancing on the rocks of the muddy trail, with a shift in perspective all obstacles vanished and all that remained was the path I was on going where I wanted to go.

"Change your thoughts, change your life."
~Wayne Dyer

The Seedling Sermon: The Illusion of Failure

My brother is celebrating his new home by putting in a garden. We have been talking about gardening together now for a while since it is a shared joy. Planting a garden is a great way to expand ones dominion in ones life, of tending the flow of abundance and seeking to expand. I have always found gardening to be a way of learning about nature and about my own nature.



Recently my brother contacted me about prepping a bed for beans and such and inquired about “hardening-off” his seedlings. Young, pampered seedlings that were grown either indoors or in a greenhouse need a period to adjust to outdoor conditions, gradually exposing the tender seedlings to wind, sun and rain and toughens them up prior to planting in the garden. This transition period is called "hardening off.” It usually involves the simple method of placing them outdoors for gradually longer periods of time. Hardening-off seedlings helps prevent transplant shock. However, one must be prepared to bring them indoors if there's a late freeze or snow.

My brother’s question was “How many days to harden off seedlings before planting?” I told him that several days; perhaps a week was often sufficient. I told him to observe the changes in the plants as they harden-off, sometimes one can see a marked darkening of the green or notice a strength or an ability to stand up even in a bit of wind, or popping back up after a bit of rain.



I explained that when in doubt, leave them out to harden–off longer, the only concern being their becoming root bound in the tiny containers usually used to sprout seeds. Becoming root bound stunts their growth, so check for that and re-pot if needed.

“That’s my worry.” He said.
“Don’t worry, just check.” I said. It’s okay to loosen up the soil in the container gently and lift out the soil and root mass to examine it briefly. Knowledge is power.

One should look for root growth on the outside of the root and soil ball, roots not in soil but wrapping themselves around the soil and obviously constrained by the walls of the container. If this is the case, they should be re-potted into a larger container with more soil. This way the plant knows that there is ample room to grow and more nutrient territory to be had and it will continue to grow and expand and seek its natural full expression. Another method instead of the re-potting of the seedlings is to temporarily plant them loosely in a tray or a wheelbarrow to allow for root growth and expansion as well as providing a continued ease of moving them in and out of frost danger.



Also, one can go the “not all eggs in one basket” route and diversify your seedling hardening off techniques profile. Try a few different things in an effort to maximize ones sense sureness. Learning gardening is an opportunity for experimentation and discovery.

I have found the Path of the Gardener to be an amazing potent Wisdom Path. Rich metaphors between the ways of plants and the ways of humans become evident. There is much to be learned about the process of all living things on this path. Immersing oneself in the planting and tending, in the growth and flowering and fruiting, in the dying, composting and the eventual return to the source can greatly enrich ones life.



The part which spoke to me today was The Sermon of the Seedling, especially the part about trying new techniques, about exploration and discovery. When taking on new projects, trying new things in life, changing the form of something so that the energy flows more efficiently or more in line with our preferences there is often a hesitation, a fear of failure.

What I have found is that if I maintain a mindfulness and consciousness through the decisions to move in the direction of my intentions or dreams, I can not fail.

Life is a journey of discovery, a process by which we like the seedlings, seek expansion and growth. We like all life are seeking a full expression of our selves. Whatever we decide, whatever choice we make, we will learn and grow either way. There is no such thing as failure when doing something. The only failing is “trying” which, in the end, is simply “not doing.”

Things not “working out the way one planned” should not be seen as the marker of failure, but instead, as the path of growth. Our own life story can attest to this if we examine it. How many times have we worried about changing jobs or shifting the shape of a relationship or moving to a new home only to find that the new form and situation was just what you needed? The wisdom of our lives tells us to take a leap of faith; we will learn and grow, either way.

We never fail to succeed.

Think Big

I am part of an open membership group known The Art of Living and was recently sent this posting with a section from the book “Think Big” By Dr Den Carson

I believe that it is very good advice about living. I know that we can all translate this into our own spiritual language to make it applicable wisdom to each of us


Think Big
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T alent: Our Creator has endowed all of us not just with the ability to sing, dance or throw a ball, but with intellectual talent. Start getting in touch with that part of you that is intellectual and develop that; and think of careers that will allow you to use that.

H onesty: If you lead a clean and honest life, you don't put skeletons in the closet. If you put skeletons in the closet, they definitely will come back just when you don't want to see them and ruin your life.

I nsight: It comes from people who have already gone where you're trying to go. Learn from their triumphs and their mistakes.

N ice: If you're nice to people, then once they get over the suspicion of why you're being nice, they will be nice to you.

K nowledge: It makes you into a more valuable person. The more knowledge you have, the more people need you. It's an interesting phenomenon, but when people need you, they pay you, so you'll be okay in life.

B ooks: They are the mechanism for obtaining knowledge, as opposed to television.

I n-Depth Learning: Learn for the sake of knowledge and understanding, rather than for the sake of impressing people or taking a test.

G od: Never get too big for Him.



Also:

A Second Chance
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To be happy, drop the words “if only” and substitute instead the words “next time”

- Stanley Blanton, M.D.-
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The Art Of Living Blog can be found at:
http://gurujiskripa.blogspot.com/

Meditation

I have struggled to maintain a regular meditation practice for years. I have found that when i do meditate regularly, my stress levels go way down, my immunity goes way up and that i am generally in an even-keeled state of well being.

The form of meditation i use is mindfulness meditation which is simply sitting and paying attention to my posture, my breathing and my thoughts. I like the Zen master Dogens word for it shikantaza or "just sitting."

I would like to point out that "just sitting" is not as easy as it might sound.

Have you ever tried to just sit?

The first thing that will happen is that thoughts will start popping up. I don't mean that you will begin to think things, for if you pay attention you will notice that thoughts simply arise.

Like bubbles up from a stagnant pond.

In more ways than one.

No, you will find that when you sit and are mindful of what is going on in your land of thoughts you will find that often you are not really thinking your thoughts they are simply arising unbidden from the bio-machinery of your mind.

At this point of noticing, i acknowledge the thought, decide if its anything i should pay attention to (such as the smell of smoke in my home) or not (a moment in kindergarten i suddenly and without prompting recall) and then, since 99.99 per cent of the time it is an unimportant thought, i turn my attention back to my posture and my breathing. These strangely unbidden thoughts, like pop-up ads on the screen of an infected computer, are pesky and will pester the meditating person often.

I find that counting the breaths is a useful tool, it is a simple form of attention or focus which is not something one needs to attach himself to very deeply. Breathe in (one) and breathe out (two), breathe in (three) and breathe out (four).

It is simple.

There is no mystery here, no drama, nothing of interest to distract one from ones intention to just sit.

When a thought arises i simply return to my breathing count. Sometimes i realize i have been entertaining some long train of thought and i have no idea where i left off.

The train doesn't have to be very long for this to occur, so nipping it in the bud is wise advice.

As ones meditation practice matures it often becomes easier and easier to catch these thoughts sooner and sooner. However, as i said, i have struggled to maintain a healthy meditation practice and i have found this affects my ability to meditate when i do get around to attempting it again.

This reminds me of the saying "Zen mind, beginners mind." which implies that the mind is something we all have to deal with no matter how long we have been meditating. Meditation is not an activity with a goal in mind, there is no "end result" it is simply a practice. An ongoing practice, like our other practices of sleeping and eating.

One does not get good at eating and finally arrives at the point where we no longer need to engage in the practice of eating.

It's the same for sleeping.

I find that meditating cultivates a healthy sense of serenity in my life. A place from which i can respond to life in a level headed and peaceful manner instead of habitually reacting to events in my life as though they were the last straw, you know, the one that broke the camels back.