The Main Event- Don't Miss It!

Stay awake to the present moment.
Everything is revealed here.
Everything is done here.
In this moment, and the next, everything we need for our soul evolution is being offered.
This present moment, right now...
That is the main event.
Look no further.
Don't miss it.

The Unlived Life is Calling

Is there something yet untapped, unlived, that wants to come through you?

After a really juicy couple of decades, full of love, goodness and success, I committed to up the ante and take my living to a new level. I commited to live for the soul, to make the God of my heart driver rather than adviser/copilot. The last year has blown the roof off the last 40. I am talking about deep soul fulfillment, communion with supreme being. Not everyone wants that. And, if you do, it is always available.

Don’t believe a word I say... You know what is real in your heart. Please don’t settle for less.

Leap. Love. Live.

The Real Journey Home

Tonight is Harvest Full Moon in Jupiter (expansion and opportunity). With the Moon, reflecting our inner life and deep feminine mysteries, this Equinox window, invites us to give thanks for all we have harvested in our lives, and amplify prayers for future fruition. May we give equal respect and embracement to both light and dark aspects of our lives and our world.

Holding a space of equanimity, while letting go of toxic behaviors, relationships, agreement fields and patterns, refreshes our ability to earnestly pray for the new beginnings and opportunities that will support the flourishing of our hearts and lives.

My prayer for all of us at this auspicious time begins with finding our way home and letting our hearts lead the way.

I woke up the other morning feeling disoriented... totally and utterally lost, actually. I wrote in my gratitude and goal journals, and rose to meet the day. By the time I went out on my favorite running meditation loop, it was already in the triple digits. But hey, I was already burning inside - I figured I could formalize it and have the elements cook me out of my head as well. And that they did.

The first couple of miles snaked through dense Sonoran desert arollo. I was graced by the medicine of lizards, quail, rabbits and roadrunners. I know my way instinctively through these trails, and recognize the curves of the canyon, like my own body. Then, the loop climbs out of the canyon and onto a high foothills neighborhood with gorgeous, monstrous homes.

Holding the space of equanimity, I transitioned from the unity of nature to the duality of the marketplace. I was in a maze of streets and grid of suburbia. It is beautiful, don't get me wrong. Bougainvillea blooming in bright fuchsias, reds and purples, majestic saguaros and ocotillos reaching skyward and landscaping abundant with bubbling water features surrounded me. And spectacular mountain views!

The funny thing is that the loop returns to my house on a sort of convoluted route, that no matter how many times I take it "seems" misdirected. By my mental compass, it appears to be taking me in the "wrong" direction, yet by my heart intuition, I know, it is the "right" way. Even though I feel I might be lost, it inevitably leads me "home," every time.

There is no guilt or shame in this metaphor, of losing and finding our way, of being confused and disoriented on a life path. There is simply a burning to find the essence, and return home, again and again. That is the heart of my sadhana. That is the heart of my full moon prayer for us and that is the segue into the wisdom story I am about to share with you.

I call it the touchstone story. It is based on a true story, told by Radhanath Swami at BhaktiFest, and retold today, innovated with my biases and filters. Regardless, it comes with love. May you take from it whatever is yours to receive.

There was once a wise holy man who was formally a very wealthy consultant to a prime minister. He had accumulated financial treasures, land, homes, livestock and wealth beyond measure. He was highly respected and sought after for his counsel. He reached a point of awakening on his life journey where devotion and the love of God became primary. He chose to relinquish his worldly responsibilities in the marketplace.

The prime minister who depended on his counsel was furious and imprisoned him, so that he could maintain access to him, expanding his own wealth and power. Finally, this holy man escaped the prison. He became a fugitive, running from the law, giving up everything he had earned and known, in order to have his God life.

He ran to safety and found sanctuary under the shade of a mango tree far, far away. There he lived on top of a hill under a tree, in total devotion and communion with the divine. Now, there was a villager who wanted wealth and success above all else. In his ambitious search for a better life, he came across a seer who told him of this holy man and the "touchstone" he had in his possession that would turn everything into gold. The villager set out to find him and did. When he approached the holy man, he was surprised to see that he was a simpleton, in a loin cloth, somehow happy, even ecstatic with just being under this tree.

He said to him, "I hear you have a touchstone. But if you do, why do you live so simply and have no signs of wealth around you?"

The holy man replied that he had infinite wealth, beyond measure, and had no use for the touchstone anymore.

"Well, "said the Villager, "I want wealth, I want money and fame and success. Where is that touchstone? Can I have it?" "Yes, you can," said the holy man. "It is in that large heap of garbage on the other side of the hill, near the river."

The villager, ran to the garbage heap and dove in, searching madly for the touchstone. He sorted through all kinds of funk and rot until he found the touchstone! He frantically ran down the hill and went on to amass gold, homes, land, abundant wealth, and fame. He was surrounded by more wealth than he ever could have imagined or dreamed of, yet he was still not happy. He went back to the sacred hill and found the holy man once again...still sitting in ecstasy, at one with God.

The villager said, "Holy man, I have all this wealth, but I am still not happy. What is it that YOU have? I want what you have. If you gave up this touchstone and all the wealth that came with it, surely, you must have something better. I want it. "

The holy man smiled and said, "I will gladly give you what I have, but you must be willing to let go of the touchstone. You must be willing to throw it in the river. Can you do that?"

"I don't know," said the villager. I have never had it so well. I have so much wealth and power. What if it does not get any better than this? I don't know if I can throw away the touchstone." After working with his own greed, fear and attachment, the villager finally plunged the touchstone into the river and came running back to the holy man. "I am ready", he said, "Give me what you have. Give me what is better."

The holy man gave him the Maha Mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, which promised eternal, unlimited, ecstatic communion with the Divine.

According to Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupâda, "Chanting this mantra brings transcendental consciousness...this maha-mantra, or the Great Chanting for Deliverance, brings one into divine
ecstasy. "

And so, this is the heart of the wisdom story...whatever your path, mantra, prayer or practice, find one that is a direct taproot to the ONE. Are you willing to give up what you thought was the best thing in life, relationships, reality you ever had...for something better? For the only real and everlasting love?

What, if anything have you settled for in your life, believing it is the best it can ever get? Have you settled for an egoic drive, a limiting paradigm, a toxic mimic of real truth, real love, real possibility of awakening?

Where, if at all, have you lied to or betrayed yourself, self-medicated or agreed to stay in a comfortable yet medicocre state? Where, if at all, could you let go, surrender
and dive deeper into your own embodiment of divine love, light and communion? You decide.
Your heart knows the way home.

Me? That touch stone is deep in the bottom of the river. And though I may find another, and another, I will keep tossing them away and going for the real touchstone and only lasting treasure of the heart...the eternal presence.

Radhanath Swami says "Real spiritual life is not necessarily about changing our position in society. It is about transforming our hearts....overcoming selfishness and learning the beauty and art of seva, selfless service...Spirituality is meant to transform arrogance into humility, greed into generosity, vengeance into forgiveness, hate into love, criticism into appreciation, hopelessness into hopefulness...It is meant to transform us into becoming instruments of the inner peace that is in our heart with God...That is the real journey home."

This full moonrise, I will be chanting the maha mantra. I will be honoring the marketplace as well as the natural world with equanimity. I will open a space to embody the divine marriage of both material and spiritual wealth. I will pray to utilize the embodiment of that abundant wealth to serve the world, from a full and healthy heart.

Your Second Chance at LIFE is Here, Now.

Lately the offering of heartache as blessing has been strong in my psychic/dreaming space. Today's post comes with loving intentions that it will touch a place in you that needs to bloom open.

Five years ago, in 2005 I was pregnant. I was thrilled, terrified, excited and awed. At 13 weeks , just past my first trimester, I started bleeding and over the course of the next 24 hours, painfully labored and miscarried.

The mystery of life and death moved through me. I plummeted into a deep depression and crisis of faith. I found myself grief stricken, broken hearted, confused and angry. For the next many months, I found it challenging to get out of bed and face the day. Residing in the world of the living felt hard and heavy and I wished at times that life would just go on without me.

Thanks to the love of community and engagement in creative expression and sacred movement I was able to embrace this passage with breath. It was a dark wormhole of transformation. I cried an ocean of tears during that time and I often wondered if my true joy and trust in life would ever return.

That season:

• I humbly learned that being in "God's Grace" did not mean always having "my way".
  


• I discovered that my broken heart was more of a being broken open. My capacity to love, was expanded beyond measure.
  


• I embraced and honored the sober reality of death and the temporal nature of so many aspects of life on Earth.
  


• I was returned to the Source of what is Eternal.
  


• I was able to see, even in the depths of it, that I was being held in grace all along, and that this devastating experience was actually an offering. As beloved sister, teacher, Vanessa Stone would say, it was my perfect prescription for awakening.

That miscarriage was my first intimate experience with death. Moving with and through that process deepened me spiritually and matured me emotionally. It served my evolution in countless ways, that in turn, allow me to serve others. Death and loss became my calling to life... to fully receiving and being alive.

For many months I grappled with fears. I was afraid to open up and trust life and love again. I was afraid of pregnancy. Would I even be able to conceive? Would I be able to carry full term? Could I handle going through this ordeal again? Would I ever get another chance?

There was a turning point where I tuned into a cellular wisdom that said that as long as I was still breathing, it was my responsibility to give my best to life. I remember weeping while listening to Second Chance, a song by Deva Premal and Miten. It pierced right through me and spoke directly to my heart... (Take a listen). My fetus had died. The dream of how that particular reality might unfold had died...but I was still alive. I realized that as long as I was still living, I belonged to life! This was my second chance. Right here, right now.

And so, I became a devotee of life. DEVOTED...to the core.

Fast forward to last week, March 31, 2010. Kenya, Talia and I attended an amazing Kirtan concert of Krishna Das and Deva Premal and Miten. We all relaxed into a sweet communion of devotional chanting. At one point, Miten started strumming that beautiful song... "And my heart whispered inside, the moon rose and the angels sighed...and they said,
Here comes your second chance, you better believe it. Open up and receive it...Take a deep breath, this is your second chance." In a flash of memory and a flood of tears, the entire experience I just shared swept through my heart, bursting it open even more. I had come full circle. My 3 year old daughter was cuddled sleeping on my lap. I had gotten my second chance at pregnancy, at motherhood, at life. In total trust, in pure love, in deep gratitude, I wept and sang my way through the rest of the concert.

Whatever the circumstances of our heartache, we all endure our darkest nights. And, with grace, we do come out the other side. Perhaps, like me, you have discovered that we are capable of accessing infinite "second chances". As Miten said last week, "every deep breath is a second chance". As long as we are alive, it is never too late to detangle knots of contraction, worry, or fear...To dislodge clogs of grudge, bitterness or hurt...To soften a hardened heart and surrender...To receive ourselves as devotees of life as we move on as love. This awesome great mystery of life, of living and dying all within eternal being, is a boundless well of blessing and opportunity.

What does your heart whisper inside? Need a second chance? Here it is...

"...And we all come and go like waves in the sea each with our own responsibility to leave this world more beautiful than we found it..."

Dream It-Live It!

Today's post comes to you in honor of THE DREAM...Your dream, my dream, the BIG DREAM that keeps dreaming us into life.

Lately, I have been grocking the magnitude of Universal Energy available that seems to want to be put into action and manifestation. I have been witnessing both subtle and huge shifts in my own life and those of my intimates as we stretch beyond our comfort zones while living our Big Dreams. I'd like to clarify that a "Big Dream" does not have to look or be "Big". I am referring to an internal measure and inner knowing. My idea of the Big Dream is listening to and following the guidance of the Universe as it seeks to live through us, maximizing our potential. You know what I am talking about...it is the voice of our hearts saying,

"This is what you must do...this is why you are here..."

It is from this Universal heart that I write you the following message:

• Take Risks, Go Big, Act Boldly in Alignment with your Universal Calling.

Understand that when I refer to you and your dreams, it has a broader context. I am talking about your " Big" Self, your Universal Self rather than the "little self"(looking out for me, making sure I get what's mine). The Universal Self knows how to lovingly ask the "little me", to move out of the the driver's seat and become a devotee of life and live in service to the Universal Plan. What is this plan? A mysterious unfolding to be lived. The good news is we can live in synergistic relationship with the Universal Energy as it informs our waking and dreaming life . There is impeccable guidance and information available to us in every moment. We just need to tune in and listen...then boldly act from that place. This includes not tripping out or getting drunk (and believe me, I have) with the awe and infinite possibility at hand. Instead, harness this Kosmic Energy to be a sober ambassador of living wonder and embodiment of the bigger life that is possible-for YOU.

Here is a real time example:
Kenya Masala: Energized-Entrepreneur-Consultant. (He also happens to be my hubs, favorite person in the world and is quite an incredible man.) Over the past 15 years that I have known him, he has taken many risks and followed his path of heart unwaveringly.

Last Summer a dream seed grew in him. He listened, and heard "Za Boom Ba". He visioned. He was both terrified and electrified by the enormity of the project that wanted to be born through him. With sobriety, creativity and courage, he moved forward. He visioned an amazing theatrical production with the spirit of tribal dance and global percussion, where the veil between performers and audience was broken to create a village of unity consciousness, playfulness and polyrhythmic love. He was guided to apply the culmination of skill, passion and love of his last 41 years into this production. Once he said "YES" to this calling, divine providence flooded in; and it has been unstoppable. I know, because the spirit of Za Boom Ba landed in our home and is living through us in a major way. We premiere May 7 & 9 in Tucson, AZ. Join us! Watch our latest promo video.

Going for this dream has stretched Kenya in every way possible. It has already resulted in such riches of personal/professional development and the fusion of an unbelievably talented community of over 50 cast/production team members...from dancers and musicians, to costume/set designers, sound/light tech specialists, media artists, instrument runners, and the 1000 people we expect at our two shows.

I admit, there have been times over the last many months when Kenya (and I) have felt overwhelmed and under pressure, tempted to cut corners or throw in the towel. Instead, he utilized anxiety and stress as allies to dig deeper, surrender and allow the force of the Universe to drive the project. He has continued to go Big on this Dream and let the power of it grow with and through his empowered actions and willingness to risk it all.

I know you can relate. Haven't there been times in your life when you were going for a Big Dream and had to expand to meet it? When the heat of transformation was so intense you could hardly bare the discomfort? Yet you knew that hiding out, and going for any less than 100% was not a an option. Playing it safe does not serve us. That track can quickly lead to an un-lived life.

I repeat:

• Take Risks, Go Big, Act Boldly in Alignment with your Universal Calling.

As Lee Lozowick said, (quoted by my Kali-Kick Asana teacher of life, Darren) "...to me, the worse things are, the more it is useful, maybe even crucial, to shake things up, to get some action, to generate movement, to take some risks, to show the Universe that you're a player...Show the Universe that in spite of fear, in spite of appearances, you are willing to stay in the game..."'

Perhaps equally and maybe more essential than achieving the outcome of a Big Dream is going for the moment to moment process of how showing up evolves us. I keep finding that true happiness comes from a success that is not goal driven. Rather, it is a fulfillment of playing big, cultivating rich relationships and and having an intimate experience of being fully ALIVE!

I love this passage by writer Paulo Coelho, (once again brought to me by beloved Yogi, Darrenji), "When we first begin fighting for our dream, we have no experience and make many mistakes. The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times. Because, once we have overcome the defeats--and we always do--we are filled by a greater sense of euphoria and confidence. In the silence of our hearts, we know that we are proving ourselves worthy of the miracle of life...If you believe yourself worthy...then you become an instrument of God, you help the Soul of the World, and you understand why you are here."

Why are you here?
Dream it. Live it. The force is with you.

20 Quick Ways to Jumpstart Your Love of Life

Dear G,
Sometimes I feel bogged down and deadened by the mundane details of daily life doings. Any nuggets of wisdom to jump start my aliveness, inspiration and remembrance of what makes it all worth while? Fast?
Thanks,
Need a Boost.

Dear Need a Boost,
Thanks for your honesty. I have many a moment where I feel the ordinary, consensus reality world harshening my mellow, and dampening my inner fire. What to do? Good Question. Honoring your request for a speedy shift, I will offer you some of my faves and most effective enliveners, that are most always accessible...even with a breath and perspective alteration. First, STOP, BREATHE AND PAUSE. Always start here.
Then, choose from your sumptuous menu of delicious possibilities:

• Marvel. Be Awe struck.
  
• Grock the Mystery of life and the radical Unknown of it ALL.
• Rejoice, Savor, Celebrate...the ways in which and reasons why are boundless. Get to it.
• Commune with the Natural World-Merge with the frequency of the wilderness. Whether gazing at the sky in a crowded city or solo on a mountain top, the Elemental energies are everywhere. Call on them.
  
• Meditate. Pray. Listen. Be.
  
• Practice seeing the world through the eyes of your heart.
• Lose yourself in beauty-nature, art, music, love. Drink it in.
  
• Touch and be touched. Affection rocks. Be a love bug.
• Hang out with a dog.
  
• Run a fast mile (think wild horses).
• Shake your Booty-Dance IS Medicine.
• Sing. Yell. Vocalize.
• Laugh. Goof. Play. Spend time with a child.
  
• Let go of the inner grip! Yup, good ole vulnerable surrender. Always a winner.
• Be Grateful. Make a list if you must. Generate the attitude of gratitude.
  
• Serve another and get beyond yourself.
• Root yourself in a fertile space where your environment will nurture you to grow.
• Be Present. Go agendaless-even if just for a few moments.
  
• Take an action toward fulfilling a dream.
  
• Be the One Love you want to see in the world.

That's just a few of an endless list of possibilities. May they spark your own inner knowing of what makes your heart sing and your life worth living. Today's picture and video clip feature offspring, Talia, 3 1/2 and Hubs, Kenya. These two, my favorite people in the Universe, are playful ambassadors of love, enlivening every life they touch.
Carpe Diem! LeHiam! Viva!
Now and now and now.
Love Unending, G
Anyone else? How do you enliven your days? Tell me-I want to know!

Avatar -Unity Consciousness 101-Let's Debrief!

I saw Avatar recently. What a packed film - giving voice to multiple memes, powerful implications and possibilities. Join me, let's debrief.

After the first 30 minutes, I wondered if this was simply a Pocohantas meets the imperialist Bush administration story. Indeed, it was much more, and I will only cover the core of it for me here.

"UNITY CONSCIOUSNESS 101"

• We are Multidimensional and we are One
  
• We are all Connected
  
• The Earth is our Mother
  
• Telepathy is real and practical
  
• We can "See" at essence level
  
• The Divine Feminine is the Spiritual Leader
  
• Respect and honor all life
  
• The energy of the Source of all life is always available/accessible
  
• Love your people, and really SEE them-Let love transform you

These “lessons,” are very practical and very real to life. From my perspective, much of the essence of this film is not science fiction, rather it's metaphysical and emotionally intelligent non fiction. Humanity, could really benefit from getting more connected to one another, the Earth and Cosmic energy. Further, the Shamanic perspectives and practices in the film offer an educational transmission for anyone who is open and willing to receive.

In an airport last week, I caught a CNN update, stating that Avatar viewers are suffering from depression. I can see why. Reemerging from the film into a mass reality that lacks connection and has lost it's sense of deeper "seeing" , and grocking the genocide and atrocities that are still happening in our world is depressing. I say lets feel the whole heart aching truth of what Avatar evokes. Let's feel all the way into what has not been working in the way we do life as humans, individually and collectively. And then let's use our awareness as fuel for reclamation, reeducation and reinvention.

I also hear that Avatar received negative press for being Anti-America. Right wing
conservatives even criticized Avatar for being Pagan and Goddess worshiping, (as if anything is wrong with being deeply earth connected and honoring the divine feminine aspect of the Godhead). Well, I am American, I am human and I am universal, just like many of you. And I actually felt my voice and views were portrayed in this film in a positive light.

Metaphorically speaking, I see Avatar as being pro-Earth, pro-Life, pro-Humanity and
pro-Awakening. If anything, Avatar seems anti-ignorance, anti-genocide and anti-demolition of life in the name of obtaining "unobtanium."

How obvious that the richest mine of “unobtainium” just happened to be under the tribe's "Mother Tree". Of course it would be. What is the metaphor of this precious resource? Is it oil? Is it power? Is it enlightenment? Or salvation? Perhaps a community's most valuable resource is the heart and home of its people. Perhaps it is life itself and a harmony with it that cannot be obtained but only cultivated and honored. What is it for you? For me, “unobtainium” is the mystery of life itself. It is a blessing and a birthright yet it cannot be possessed or controlled.

What would Jung say about Avatar? Maybe he'd say that our collective psyche dreamed this film so that every archetype voiced, as a part of our selves, can come back into wholeness and integration. I feel that Avatar offers a probe for shifting paradigms; for further realizing our potential. We can dream a new dream; one where we steward our planet, get connected and nurture the essence of life. After seeing Avatar, my willingness to be a compassionate reality artist of unity consciousness is stronger than ever. I hear a call to humanity to evolve ourselves into more conscious, reverent beings with love and unity as driving forces, Universal laws. Do you hear it too?

It is our dream. What shall we create next?

I see you. I love you.