Envision What You'd Like to See

 

Fear is such a strong emotion.  It can have a very high volume.  And it can almost act like a vortex, drawing to us what we don’t want to have happen.  One of my spiritual teachers once said to me that it is important not to imagine destruction.  

Our minds are very creative and they can also direct the focus of our lives.  ‘Is the glass half empty, or is the glass half full?’  Where we hold our thoughts creates our perspective of reality.  If we think the world is terrible and going to hell, then it is.  If we think the world is beautiful and people are pretty nice, then they are.

Sure, there are stinker moments, and stinker people too, but we don't have to dwell there.  We can shift our focus and choose to see what is good and right and true, and then place our minds in a new direction and take that new path.

I feel that there is a big difference between judgement and discernment.  Judgement holds us, and others, in a particular pattern.  Discernment lets us decide what works for us and it shows us where we’d like to go.  Discernment also helps us to let go.  We no longer have to strive against the other.  We can simply let them be and direct our energies, instead, onto our own path.  And the others will either change on their own and join us, or simply fall away.

It’s a lot less stressful, really, when we follow our inspirations and go where we feel called.  So, let’s all envision what we’d like to see and then head in that direction.  My bet is that we’ll all end up with what we’d really love.  Our joy, after all, holds an equally loud volume, and it calls out to those around us to join us in the fun.  

 

Orchid Photo by Aleta Arthur

Take a Vacation

Take a vacation.  You don't have to go far.  You don't even have to leave home.  The idea is to get a fresh perspective.  And that's what we sometimes need to do, to look at our lives from a different point of view.

My cousin recently invited me to meet with her and her family in Sedona.  I don't often travel, but I went.  And it was great.  We all had fun exploring the vortexes found there.  It is said that all of Sedona is abundant with these swirling energies and that they can move and might be felt almost anywhere.  However there are four main vortexes that people tend to visit and we did.  We found ourselves feeling uplifted in the 'Yang' ones, up on the buttes.  Then, down by the rivers and in the deeper areas of the canyons, in the 'Yin' vortexes, though we still felt quite playful, we were spontaneously a little more introspective.  Some of us even had the experience of receiving direction for our lives.  
    The energy there in Sedona, especially in the Vortex areas, whether it was yin or yang was wonderful.  My ten year old cousin (twice removed) summed it up as we were leaving the Airport Vortex when he exclaimed, "I just don't want to leave."  And that is how we all felt, we just didn't want to leave, even when our week together was done.  It was so much fun.
    Not only was the beautiful red rock spectacle of nature which is found there amazing, but it was also very refreshing and interesting to see how those around me, my extended family members, organized their lives.  It gave me an opportunity to take stock and to see my own life anew.  Though I am quite technically able, with my website and podcast, and all, I was nowhere near close to the capability of my cousins who were all masters of the electronic modern age.  We still had fun in the usual family way, watching movies, drawing, playing charades and other games, but their skill levels with Smartphones, tablets, TVs and even the airports left me in the dust by comparison.  

For this trip, I flew, which dinged my carbon footprint for the year with a mighty blow.  But to have a vacation, a real vacation, we certainly don't always need to travel far.  I've had similarly transformational experiences by simply going a mere twelve to twenty miles away from home.  Because it is the doing of things differently that opens up the doors of possibility and helps us to see with new eyes.

With a 'Staycation,' we do need to change up our routines to some extent, otherwise it is just like hanging out at home.  We need to seek out the company of folks we are not so familiar with or go on lots of little day trips, visiting sites and local attractions that we have not yet seen in our home town or area. 
    Though travelogues and books about far away places can in no way be considered vacations, it is good to know that we can also gain some insight by engaging our imagination in this way.  We can live a little vicariously through the experiences of others.  This is why we like to see pictures of our friends trips and hear the stories and tales of the far away places that they bring home.  But these are just tiny peeks into new ideas and ways of being, and are nowhere near as all encompassing as time spent away on vacation, immersing ourselves in something completely new.
    When we take a vacation, especially when we travel far, we see how other people live and for some of us, the experience of having everything be so different, even if we are still within our own culture, is quite irresistible.  It holds no equal for bringing a fresh perspective.  It informs us and refreshes our outlook.  And that is what some say is a miracle, a change in perception or a new perspective.  So take a vacation if you can.  It is a wonderful way to brighten one's way of being in the world.

© Josephine Laing 2018