A friend of mine was raised in Peru. She was there recently visiting her elderly mother and was reminded of a beautiful instruction her mother had given to her when she was young. It was this, "While you are out walking, it is good to sing and smile. Then, no one will be afraid of you. And if you can't sing, then whistle."
My friend also said that while she was growing up they had a neighbor who would sing out his songs in a booming voice. Everyone always knew where he was and how close to home he had come. I shared this with my husband and he told me that one of the elders he had met sometimes said that it is a bad man who has no song in his heart.
Such profound and simple wisdoms, and we know them to be true. Most all of the time, when we hear someone singing or whistling as they walk by, we are instantly put at ease, especially if they grace us with a nice friendly smile.
After a severe head injury, another friend of mine was very distressed to realize that upon awakening she no longer had a song playing in her mind. She mourned and wept for the loss and then was ecstatic some months later as her healing progressed and her day-to-day songs were returned to her once more.
Some years back, still another friend of mine shared that her daughter had found the man she wanted to marry and introduced him to her parents. I asked my friend how she liked the young man. She said, "He's great!" We love him! And guess what, he whistles!" She was overjoyed because as she said, "It's always the sign of a happy heart."
Our brains and hearts and minds are remarkable and as we sing and whistle and smile we connect with others and feel that all is right with the world. And we stride forward into the beautiful moment of Now.
© Josephine Laing, 2016
There is no greater authority in our lives than our own self. Only we know all of the various situations and circumstances that have brought us to be who we are today. Of course, it never hurts to gather information and opinions. It's nice to see what our loved ones have to offer when we are faced with a decision. But when it comes to making choices in our life, we are our own best authority.
There have been times in my life when I have relied on the opinions of others, especially in my youth. And I have certainly done my fair share of offering up my thoughts and concerns to others. However, on some level, both of these situations are subject to illusion and projection, especially if there is emotional attachment to the ideas shared. We often think we know what might be good for someone else. But, really, most likely, that same advice that we'd like to share turns out to be something that would be good for us. And unless we take the time to ask within on our own behalf, we barely know what might benefit us best.
So, how do we ask within? It's really quite simple. We just need to get still and let ourselves be. No agenda. Just sitting somewhere, perhaps in a little personal sanctuary, or walking down a country lane, taking a momentary break from the hustle and bustle of all of our daily thoughts. Look at a flower, or a bug for a moment or two. Really look. Or take a bite of something, then slowly chew it. Let yourself thoroughly taste it. Or listen and see if you can hear a distant sound, try to find the one that sounds the most far away. Lend your ear to the task. All of these simple awareness techniques let your attention come to the here and now. Then, once you've had a few moments, just being yourself, think of something that you really love, it could be a puppy or a sunset. This engages our heart mind, our higher self, our super-conscious mind, and it puts us in the best part of our self from which to receive.
Now go ahead and ask yourself how you feel about the question at hand. Let your ears listen, give yourself the gift of introspection, let your eyes see using your vision center, notice how it feels in your gut. Our gut feelings let us also check in with any body memories that may be associated with the idea. Then settle back into your heart again. Ask your heart how it feels about the prospect. Listen there. You'll likely get one clear idea, something that resonates you. Or, maybe you will get an array of ideas. If you do make careful mental note of them all. Take the time to let them coalesce into a plan of action and then go with that.
We don't need a middle man when finding our way in life. We are innately born knowing what we came here to do and when we ask within we are guided on our way. I like to call this process, "Dialing Direct."
When we take the time to ask within and then honor what we receive with actions that are in harmony with our internal responses, our whole self comes more fully into alignment. We find our place in the world and in the Universe as well. Then as well, the simple act of letting ourselves 'ask within' engages the great spiritual law of asking and receiving. The more we ask, the more we receive. When we live our lives in accordance with spiritual laws such as this one, we find greater levels of self-fulfillment and we free ourselves to increase the joy in our lives. So, take the time to ask. I have found that it is a lovely practice.
© Josephine Laing, 2016
Peace Pilgrim said that if we smile at the world, it smiles back at us. When we connect with the grace and innocence of our pure love, for both the animate and the inanimate world around us, then our connection with Nature's voice is awakened.
In modern times it has become progressively easy for us to connect with other humans, but what we have forgotten is how to connect with the Natural world around us. However, we don't have to re-invent the wheel here, we humans have been listening to the subtle communications coming to us from Nature since time began. We've gone on vision quests and written in pictographs. We've seen the forest as our brother and the river as our sister. Reclaiming this part of ourselves is as easy as stepping outside.
Of course our dutiful beloved subconscious minds are always going to protect us from something we have been taught to fear. And make no mistake about it, all of our fears have been taught to us. We learn them from our families, our religious groups, our friends and even our government. Unless our subconscious programming along these lines is intentionally changed, it can sabotage our attempts to open our hearts to hear Nature's voice. Beliefs like "People will think I'm crazy," or "I may loose my grip on reality," or "This is against my family belief system," are all scary enough to stop you in your tracks.
This is where self love steps in. We need to love ourselves enough to give ourselves what we need and really want in the world. Many of us yearn for this connection with Nature and when we get whispers and glimpses of it, it brings us so much joy.
I feel that joy is the basis of our spirituality an that it is our job as humans to nourish the Universe with our joy. So, if we'd really love to have that beautiful connection with our mother, Nature, we need to free ourselves from the tyranny of our own minds.
Identifying our fears, so we can move through and past them, is how we do so. Once we have become aware of them, we can use our intention plus our attention to change those old thought habit patterns and manifest new thoughts instead.
Our spiritual practices can also help us to listen to the voice of Nature. Self love, meditation, dream interpretation and prayer all help us to calm our minds, activate our inner vision centers and connect with the Divinity in everything, including Ourselves. When we do this, we open our hearts and let the love flow. We free ourselves to smile at the Natural word. And then it smiles back at us. We step into our joy with open hearts and Hear From Our Source How We Can All Serve The One.
© Josephine Laing, 2015
