living the power blog2012-05-29T13:09:37Zmarie jacksonCopyright 2012, marie jacksonSPHPBLOGearth day: message of the magnolia sustainability is a paradigm coming slowly to us humans. consumption is so natural to us in our ego-based, have/have not dimension of opposites. it’s all the wanting wanting wanting for me me me with historically little awareness of what all the wanting has done to our earth mother. we might have dominion over our planet, but that doesn’t mean we own it. we’re getting better though. our “get/have” lens on the world is broadening to include the “how” – so we’re no longer this monster eating its own tail.
“our planet doesn’t ask much of you,” a neighbor’s magnolia has been whispering.
october 2011 was tough for a lot of us in the northeast; right before halloween we got hit with an out-of-season, heavy-snow storm. because we hadn’t completely gone through all of autumn, the snow collected in little “bowls” formed by leaves still clinging to tree branches, creating weight beyond what many of them could bear. our snowfalls are historically peaceful; this one, however, was abruptly, rudely and repeatedly interrupted with the gunfire of cracking limbs, the crash of their collapse fading into a pathetic snow-muffled thud. even the sturdy oak at the edge of our driveway was no match for this assault; venturing outdoors then was determined by whether or not one had a hard hat.
many in the midatlantic region remember those days’-long power outages none too fondly. generators were at a premium and their loud rumble night after night as we tried to keep water running and heat in our homes was replaced by that of chain saws once power was restored and we began clearing debris from our yards and roadways. the trees in our area are old, weathered, like aged and experienced friends we turn to when we need solace or guidance through storms of the human kind. cleanup after a weather event is just part of daily living in our locale …in this cleanup, however, we were inconsolable.
a much-anticipated event in spring has always been the blooming of a neighbor’s huge magnolia tree. even in the non-blooming season, this magnificent structure catches the eye – the way the long, sturdy boughs open like arms inviting you to rest in the enormity of its shade, or as if to say “come! enjoy me! aren’t i just the prettiest thing ever?” after the storm, you could feel it weeping, its enormous heart broken, limbs split from the sturdy trunk like string cheese being peeled great chunks at a time by a little child eager for a treat. for weeks and now months after the snow melted and the immediacy of the event had mellowed into a community conversation topic, many of us wondered what the owners of the magnolia would do with it. replace it? see what could be salvaged? trim it so it’s not so “obvious” in its brokenness? driving past the brown, dispirited skeleton became a sore spot in our winter days, its stooped, sad shoulders a weary shadow of its former majesty.
until spring.
intention - in all its determined, creative, resilient glory – unfolded in that magnolia. hundreds of little red sprouts popped up everywhere on the now-downed branches still clinging to its trunk. pink and white blossoms followed several days later... opening everywhere in the sunlight. once again, our magnolia called “come! enjoy me! aren’t i just the prettiest thing ever?”
with just the faintest of heartbeats from this frail and struggling life, the universe’s unstoppable power fulfilled its intent for creation and expansion and abundance and beauty. this magnolia is a portrait of the strength of our planet and our species: sturdy, resilient, regenerating, deep in its resources for life and…sustainability.
mother earth isn’t asking much of us. quite the opposite. she’s telling us with a little light, air and water, we have all we need to live and thrive together. we can sustain ourselves and our home with a little mindfulness of the products we buy and create, the institutions we support, the people we elect. our paradigm is shifting…from the love of stuff to the stuff of love
mindful consumption. we can do this. collective intention in harmony with the universe’s power. our sun will be brighter, the air will be cleaner, our water more pure. then, when we listen to our planet – really listen – soon we’ll hear her tell us all - “come! enjoy me! aren’t i just the prettiest thing ever?”
love to all, marie
]]>http://www.livingthepower.com/blogging/index.php?entry=entry120422-0516102012-04-22T00:00:00Z2012-04-22T00:00:00Zmystery one of the cores of the christian faith is the death and resurrection of jesus. modern science and technology have been trying for the last two thousand years to explain exactly how this bedrock event could have taken place, and even if we cannot definitively recreate the circumstances that formed such a pivotal moment, we know something happened.
i believe that “something” was the culmination of what jesus lived, taught and demonstrated in his brief time on earth: life is eternal, and love is the foundation for life. i believe our modern proclivity for proving everything through science and technology before we can understand can diminish the wisdom at the base of our spiritual teachings. one of the tenets of buddhism is the finger and the moon: if i’m pointing to the moon, don’t worship my finger.
if we can keep just this one message from jesus of love and eternal life uppermost in our awareness in all our choices and decisions, if we can see the gift of our lives in our life situations, if we can allow ourselves to live the intent of the teachings of this one quiet, reformed rabbi-coach who lived and died two thousand years ago, there will be no mystery of easter needing “proof” before we can comprehend.
while the physical manifestation of exactly what easter tells us took place will probably never be resolved through science, the imagery is clear: death is just the opposite of birth; life is eternal and love is the foundation for life.
no mystery here.
love to all, marie
]]>http://www.livingthepower.com/blogging/index.php?entry=entry120408-0619232012-04-08T00:00:00Z2012-04-08T00:00:00Zthe hundredth monkey meets twitter all great human strides toward living the truth of our existence – evolution through expansion – resulted from young people reaching and breaking beyond the old ideas of confinement and structure - ideas held in place through the force of unchecked egos. our own country was founded on these principals, and today we’re watching a number of countries in the middle east and africa grapple with this same human imperative to grow, leaving those in leadership positions who are slow to learn to their small-minded, exiled selves. the egos of past generations rooted in the belief that might equals right are facing the stark reality that their time is up. mother earth’s younger, smarter children are living what more enlightened beings and governments have long known: violence and force do not work. the inevitable evolution of the human spirit is taking over our planet. we have reached our tipping point, and it is humanity’s young people who are doing the tipping.
twenty-first century technology is the universal accelerant allowing the heat of these passionate young people to reach every corner of the globe with one message: let my people go. we’ve slipped the bonds of geography – the hundredth monkey has met twitter. philip howard, associate professor in communication at the university of washington states “our evidence suggests that social media carried a cascade of messages about freedom and democracy across north africa and the middle east, and helped raise expectations for the success of political uprising.”
ghandi said “when i despair, i remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. there have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. think of it …always.”
truth, love … and evolution.
]]>http://www.livingthepower.com/blogging/index.php?entry=entry120322-0435472012-03-22T00:00:00Z2012-03-22T00:00:00Zwho will we be? i’m more convinced than ever, though, that the difference between a politician and a statesman is the politician shows us who he or she is…the statesman shows us who we can be.
hearing, reading, watching these people use issues as launch pads for their nastiness and mean spiritedness shows me who they are, and reinforces who i don’t want to be. i can’t imagine seeing some of these candidates on my television and on my home page every day, as they will be if they are elected. their “take-no-prisoners” positions on gay marriage, right to life or right to choose, immigration reform, global economy or protectionism are pitting us against each other on a battlefield, instead of asking us to engage in conversation in a forum of respect for differences. these are important subjects and i’m really glad they’re in the public discourse, regardless of our agreement or disagreement with the positions taken; my concern is with the humanity of the candidate himself or herself and how, if elected, they will navigate us through these waters of conflict. if they have their way, who will we be at the end of their administrations?
the way i am deciding who should be in the white house the next time around is based in substance, not form. the substance of the person: the wisdom of knowing our place in the world as leaders, not occupiers or dictators. how his or her humanity leading to sharing and inclusion is reflected in bringing people together instead of instilling fear and separation. it is courageous to reach; it is cowardice to withdraw.
maybe a good way to get started thinking in this direction is to change the name of our “department of defense” to “department of war” – that’s how it started out, and i believe that’s a more accurate reflection of the way we're being told to think. if we're sensitized to what we call it, maybe we won’t be so quick to use it - individually or collectively - reminding us of who we really want to be.
]]>http://www.livingthepower.com/blogging/index.php?entry=entry120222-0534582012-02-22T00:00:00Z2012-02-22T00:00:00Znovember voting booth i’m one of those independent voters everyone seems to want to register “for real” in their camp. i’m a fiscal conservative and a social liberal – not an uncommon profile for a lot of independents. i do my best to hold myself open to hear all the real issues, leaving out the mudslinging. the mud isn’t so much the issue, as the slinging is. i’m not sure any of us is in a position to really know all the details about the mud. but we know slinging when we see it.
there’s a lot of good stuff about this country – the freedom, the opportunity to pursue happiness, whichever way we define it. watching the republican nomination unfold brings into sharp focus what we can agree with and what we can’t as it relates to freedom and the pursuit of happiness, as individuals and as a culture. and i think that’s what is most appealing about this whole process: it’s asking us to have conversations with ourselves, each other, in groups or one-on-one examining who we are as individuals and as a nation, and how that expression gets translated into a vote.
i continue to listen for the candidate who most reflects my global view of where i believe our country could be culturally, socially and morally in the world. my position of who we are as creations asks for inclusion and support; it reflects sharing and lifting up. it strengthens through respect for all religions, races, sexual persuasions, geographical and cultural histories. my position is one of empowering all others to do their best, to stretch individual and collective limits of creativity, expansion, abundance, kindness – all that love- and courage-based energy. shutting down, shutting off, building walls, and promoting aggression so we’re “protected” (an illusion, in my view) comes from fear, pure and simple.
the choice is always ours.
so when i listen to the candidates, i ask myself if that person is asking me to be afraid? or to be creative? to pull in and protect? or to reach out and expand? the conversations are important in the social discourse in our 24/7 news cycle, and in our quiet moments of self reflection. the results will be taken into the voting booth in november.
]]>http://www.livingthepower.com/blogging/index.php?entry=entry120209-0531512012-02-09T00:00:00Z2012-02-09T00:00:00Zstaying on this side of the "but" this kind of on-line media seems to me to be multi-purposed: depending on what we click on, the source learns what our interests are, what teaser lines work, which questions pull us in, what works, what doesn’t. that part of pop culture has long been with us, starting with barkers at carnivals. what interests me the most, however, is another purpose of the media – the need to keep us focused on what’s wrong with us, our society, our culture. what we lack, are missing, should be afraid of. (maybe it sells newspapers, or increases ad revenues…i don’t know.) today’s headline is “housing starts up 9.3% but still the worst year on record.” the first 25% of the article cites the stats and details, then spends the remaining 75% talking about why things are still terrible. we learned a couple weeks ago that the unemployment rate dropped from 9% to 8.6%. it’s been falling steadily since october 2009. that same article hastened to add that it’s still the highest it’s been in the last 30 years.
i find it bewildering that as a culture – a world culture in many cases - we focus on what’s wrong, how we just don’t make the grade; that focus keeps us off-balance with what’s right about us. 91.4% of anything is pretty good. 91.4% of the time we stay on our diets, work within our budgets, get along with our kids, have a good dental checkup, find a parking space in front of the place. if we have a 91.4% day, we’re pretty juiced! it gives us incentive to make that number even better the next day. when we focus on missing the mark 8.6% of the time, it drains our energy, keeps us in the slow motion of defeat, deprives us of forward momentum.
there’s no mystery here. we as human beings are intended to be creative and expanding. and our recent housing and unemployment numbers show that, despite our 24/7 news cycle determined to convince us otherwise. when we stay focused on what’s wrong with us, how we’re not measuring up and not making the grade, we hold the vibration of disappointment, lack and scarcity. the attendant low vibration of condemnation, ridicule, and scorn become our being-ness. and that derision undermines our creative and expansive nature – the downward spiral continues, because as the law of attraction states, "energy attracts like energy." stay focused on what’s lacking, and you continue to lack.
we need to stay on this side of the “but” – and look closely at and celebrate what we’re doing right. feel the lift of congratulations and encouragement for what’s working…then take that feeling, that energy, that force of community momentum and expand it. encouragement goes farther than derision; creativity is seeded in staying open to what’s possible.
if we stay on this side of the “but,” quoting gene kranz, flight director for apollo 13, i believe this will be our finest hour.
]]>http://www.livingthepower.com/blogging/index.php?entry=entry111222-0450282011-12-22T00:00:00Z2011-12-22T00:00:00Zthe real difference between "no" and "yes" so when we come up against something in our life situations that in our estimation needs a colossal “no” from us, it’s hard to find a “yes” anywhere in our being.
the last 18 months have been quite the ride for my husband and me – travel and business commitments on the work front, simultaneous with contractors and landscapers catching up to long-overdue repairs and improvements on the home front, two lengthy power failures within about eight weeks of each other, a sudden and very serious family illness which still has us all hanging near a telephone…
the holidays are upon us and usually by now i have our party dates set, invitations created, menus drafted (which change about 20 times before lift-off), but all i can think of is “no…not yet…not already.” there’s that word again…
the traditional start of our winter holidays in this country is thanksgiving – my favorite holiday. thanksgiving is all about plenty, and sharing, and appreciation – everything surrounding gratitude for life, family, love and abundance. i love the message of thanksgiving – it’s non-denominational, inclusive. we all have reasons to be thankful – however small or obscured, reasons for love and thanks are everywhere if we stay open to seeing them.
remembering who we are as part of the abundance and creativity of the universe can keep us in that place of gratitude and all things “yes.” every minute of every day is an opportunity to be creative and receptive and expansive…not a “no” in there anywhere. but we don’t always have to be materially big in our “yes” – it can be the big "yes" to generosity of spirit, smiles, humor. it doesn’t have to be big gifts and parties and clutter and food. maybe the big “yes” is to a smaller gathering, or a broadened shopping list with thoughtful but less complicated mementos saying “thank you” to friends, family or patrons for being part of our lives.
as i sit here typing this, i’m thinking of all the ways i can share who i am this holiday season, keeping stress – which is not who i am - out of the equation. there is no “no” in the universe – when we have something coming at us that brings us to “no” – we need to look at where we can say “yes” – because that’s who we are, we are the “yes” of the universe and that’s what the occasion always calls for – that’s the opportunity being offered to us…how can we “yes.”
and that’s the real difference between “no” and “yes.” the difference is us.
love to all, marie ]]>http://www.livingthepower.com/blogging/index.php?entry=entry111119-0506542011-11-19T00:00:00Z2011-11-19T00:00:00Zbe-do-have as i type this, i’m having the human experience of no power after the historic nor'easter snow of 2011. we’ve been without power since last saturday…today is our sixth day…and i must say i’m taking a lot of deep breaths so this doesn’t take a total toll on my sweet disposition.
in my workshops i talk about the have-do-be/be-do-have paradigm. that is, we often think we will be happy/peaceful/joyful/content/fill-in-the-blank if we have the right job/house/mate/amount of money/fill-in-the-blank. we feel we can do (live, experience, offer, share, give, create) everything from that place of being, because we will already have what we desire.
so here i am in the dark, thinking if we can just have power – i will be warm and have light so we don’t have to endure 14 hours of darkness and flashlights, water so i do all i need to do: take a shower, wash the dirty dishes piled in the sink, launder the clothes waiting in the laundry basket, and flush the toilets. i can do my work, practice my piano, and cook for my husband – then i’ll be grateful and joyful and at peace and not stressed.
and i am working hard to keep that have-do-be/be-do-have flipped. i’m consciously staying in a place of appreciation - purposefully being grateful and joyful and at peace – not easy. i’m grateful because i have a roof over my head to shelter me from the elements and lots of layers of warm clothing to keep me warm. we have a generator grinding away on our front porch powering my computer, one lamp and the space heater at my feet so i’m able to do some work and stay warm while i’m doing it. in a little while, i’ll even be able to put some time in on my piano – i’m behind in my lessons. we belong to a terrific and generous gym where i can work out, have some structure to my days and take a hot shower. and i have access to a few wifi locations so i can get my work done online and get a good sandwich and bowl of hot soup at the same time.
i keep thinking about all the people who have it really tough. new mothers with little babies. my hospice patient who needs home health aides and nurses - aides and nurses who need light and warmth to work. my friends with children who are non-verbal and have autism…they just don’t understand why they’re cold and the darkness can’t be fixed by flipping a light switch. they’re all in my prayers and intentions and remind me that feeling sorry for myself goes against all the universe intends for me.
we’re told our power is going to be restored any minute…or we might go through sunday. when i learned of that yesterday, i must admit i was at the edge of meltdown. to live in the 21st century is a blessing to be sure – and to be thrust into the 19th century with no warning or preparation or tools or skills is a gift i believe few of us would request.
this isn’t going to be forever – just a couple more days…or less. in the end, i know i’ll reflect on this time as a gift. but for now, when the power does go on, it’ll do my heart good to hear the toilets flush.
]]>http://www.livingthepower.com/blogging/index.php?entry=entry111104-1025592011-11-04T00:00:00Z2011-11-04T00:00:00Zit really is getting better october 1, i saw andrew cohen at haverford college, in pennsylvania. cohen spoke of humanity’s unique opportunity at this point in our evolution. never before have we been in a position to direct the unfolding of the universe, he posits. because we are aware beings and we understand the consciousness we embody, we can keep ourselves in that instant just beyond the “now.” now is all we ever have - and working with the momentum of now pushing from its forward edge to the next now, we can make choices through our thoughts and vibrations and behavior to form the future of the universe.
then sunday, october 9, i saw peter russell in arnold, maryland. russell has reason for great optimism for us and for our planet, he says. he began by citing the late steve jobs of apple computers. russell reminds us that “apple” computers took its name from “apple records” – the beatles’ recording label. the “all-you-need-is-love” “give-peace-a-chance” beatles. jobs was in grade school when the “british invasion” became part of his world and, later, his work. russell went on to remind us that the young people of the 60’s and their message of collective consciousness and love not war imbedded itself in the awareness of the creative drive of the next generation.
and now that next generation - our children - are the seedlings of the flower generation running corporations and heading up technological and scientific discoveries. russell works with such enlightened ceo’s as those of apple, ibm, digital and american express. as children and grandchildren of the 60’s, we are watching closely as the groundswell of planetary understanding begins to show itself through products and services and ideas reflecting the shift from the love of power to the power of love, as anodea judith states.
the sixties generation and those since know that this planet, our species, our future depend on the lived awareness that we are a contained planet, we need each other, and we must work with each other; we must enhance each others' gifts and create the environment where we can all thrive through cooperation instead of competition, and through harmony, not conflict.
i know more than ever after listening to these two enlightened teachers that we really are getting better. they live the awareness that the intention of our being is what gary zukav calls the purpose of the soul: harmony, cooperation, sharing and reverence for life. with enough people like cohen, and russell, and judith, and zukav and others such as ken wilber, ervin laszlo and david simon teaching us, leading our hearts, keeping us awake and aware, and in the momentum of creation, we can work it out.
here comes the sun.
]]>http://www.livingthepower.com/blogging/index.php?entry=entry111011-0753032011-10-11T00:00:00Z2011-10-11T00:00:00Zthere is no "no" watching our sugar maple, old elm and pear trees do what they’ve done for a hundred years makes me wonder why so many of us see fall as a time of “transition” – from one season to another - instead of a season unto itself. falling leaves make the compost necessary to supply nutrients to feed those same trees – replenishing them and allowing them to rest from the work of generating fruit and shade.
resting isn’t necessarily a bad thing. we tend to see resting “from” something or in preparation “for” something as “down” time. when really it’s a form of creation, gestation. we let muscles rest after working them out so they can produce more cells and fiber for more work. we let dough rest to allow flour to completely absorb liquid and promote the fermentation process of the yeast before forming and baking. we rest our bodies and brains (sometimes not enough) at the end of a day’s work so we can grow and do and be more and fulfill our intention of abundance.
there is no “no” in the universe – it’s always in a state of creation, not diminishment. as humans we are inclined to see “ends” and “beginnings” when really it’s all just one continuous process of creating and allowing. and when we see value in all of this creation and allowance, we see there really is no “no” – there is no death. death is just the opposite of birth – life is eternal, it just changes form.
