A green, brown or albino praying mantis is still a praying mantis.
No matter what the color…
Speaking your truth
Differentiate yourself from the projections, the half truths, the lies.
Walk away from those who act as though “it never happened”.
What is not your business…stay clear of.
What is your business….clear up.
Become an ally to those who are disrespected, treated cruely, and shamed.
(This includes being an ally unto yourself!)
Today do what is necessary to live in a world where all are welcomed.
What do you know by heart?
Remember reciting poetry and songs?
Remember saying, “I know it by heart!”?
Today what do you know by heart?
What is that heart of yours sharing with you?
LIsten deeper. Embody it.
Express.
Express what you know by heart.
Without apologies. Without explanations.
Without seeking approval.
Express these new whisperings.
Let your heart raise your consciousness.
May you be courageous as you rise
And then like with all evolving good things
Take it to the streets
And share like a spiritual warrior..
Love Letters
When was the last time you wrote a love letter?
When was the last time you received a love letter?
How about writing a love letter to youself today?
Then tomorrow when you wake up,
Read it out loud to yourself.
You deserve to love yourself up these days.
May nature be your guide
May the winds guide you in to an unexpected location
May the birds sing to you throughout your day
May the laughing coyote let you in on the joke
May the darkness of night show you her beauty
May the tarantula crossing the dirt path keep you focused
May the unexpected rains soften your skeptcism
May the moist smells bathe you in aliveness
May your precious human body remind you of the miracles of Gaia
Simplify with a Strong Dose of Slow
It appears Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was reading my current mindset when he wrote Something Left Undone in 1863. This summer no matter my intentions, disruptive events have arrived taking me for wild unscheduled runs, leaving much undone.
The disruptions are viable. The surrounding fires, the thick smoke, the protest demonstrations, the two-month heat wave, the pandemic, the news turned into tall tales, the drought, the circulating lies, the highly disturbing events around the world. It’s all there.
FYI: Monkey Mind thrives in this swirl of agitated thoughts, frightful images and unknown futures.
How do we live in the midst of “shake-you-to-the-bone events” with engaged integrity*?
Antidote: Simplify with a strong dose of slow.
Make your life simple and spacious again. Zen down to the basics physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Reduce involvement to that which does not serve.
Walk away from what is not needed. Delete or reduce the others. You know how to do this. It takes training. Mind training.
Again ~ Simplify with a strong dose of slow.
*Engaged Integrity defined as active, big hearted moral honesty.
What are you telling yourself?
What are you programming yourself to believe?
How do you know it is true?
Go slow.
Explore and investigate what you are telling yourself.
Go slower. Make sure what you are telling yourself is true.
Choose your words, thoughts and images slowly during these times.
Make sure they are your truth.
A little madness is good for the soul!
When I was 25 years old, I was a consciousness growth trainer living at an educational and intentional community. We had just moved from Berkeley to a 150 acre old Catholic seminary in rural Kentucky. I was homesick. As I was packing to go back west a friend came to my room and asked me to reconsider.Â
He shared this quote from “Zorba the Greek”: A man needs a little madness or else he never dares cut the rope and be free.Â
I took it to heart when he said, “Don’t leave! Do something wild.  Something fun. Something outrageous!”
My Karma Yoga that month was to sweetly wake all the residents and students at 6am chanting “OM” while ringing bells.
The next morning I did wake everyone… yelling at the top of my lungs Zorba’s mantra while pounding a big pot with a wooden handle. I felt untethered, wild and happy! I could not stop laughing! I gained a new perspective and stayed on to work out the kinks of the move.
A challenge:
•Chant throughout the next 24 hours ~
I need a little madness, or else I will never dare cut the rope and be free!
•Watch what emerges.
•Consider what little madness you will do to cut the rope and be free without alcohol, drugs and especially without harm.
•Express that little madness. Move the energy. It will benefit all sentient beings…
I’m doing my little madness in just a few hours. No one will know how it came about or who did it, except me. And yet it will have a big, happy impact for months to come.
Go slower than slow
There is much to integrate, adapt to and transform in our continually changing world. How to bypass feeling prickly, short tempered and powerless as a result?
Go slow. Go slower than slow.
Slowing every single thing down
Gives spaciousness for
Intelligent Rhythm
To pulsate and update you.
You deserve to fall in love with life again.
Call the ones who want the best for you…
Ask them to listen to your ideas on how to live in this brand new world.
Ask them to encourage you.
Ask them to tell you why you and your ideas will succeed.
Rally your Beloveds.
Ask them to remind you (especially when you have forgotten)
Why you are perfect to live in this mysterious and unfolding world!
Then…reverse roles.
You be the listener, the reminder, the supporter….the coach.
Bottomline:
It’s all about takin’ it to the streets with that adventuresome spirit of hope, proactiveness, and evolution. It’s about using our moral compass to follow our North Star. It’s about being the change agent.
•~•~•~•~•
To learn more about coaching, check out Mindfulness Coaching School.
And remember ~
It’s never too late to be who you might have been!
Ann-Marie's Blog 