THE OTHER GOLD...

My dear friend, Carolyn, came for a visit last week, and it was great to catch up after a long hiatus.  Our friendship goes all the way back to sophomore year in college, when we would hang out in her tiny -- but “single” -- dorm room on Bay State Road in Boston.  I always loved escaping to Carolyn’s space because she had made it magical, whimsical, inviting, and cool – my first taste of Feng Shui, as I look back on it.  I remember being surprised and delighted by how a few objects and images, thoughtfully placed, could awaken a space to life.

Feng Shui uses an imaginary map, called the Bagua, to enhance and gather information about living and working environments.  Looking like a tic-tac-toe board, with nine equal areas, called guas, the Bagua adjusts to the shape of any floorplan.  If you are standing at the front door and looking into the space, the area at the bottom right corner is called “Heaven”, and is also known as the “Helpful Friends” area.  This is where friendships may be honored, loyal and trustworthy help may be requested, and those companions who watch over and assist us (“angels”, if you will) – are recognized.  From this energetic viewpoint, we are nudged and encouraged to be at the right place at the right time, to pick up on the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle ways) the universe is speaking to us, and to find our flow.

As the Olympic Games in London are drawing to a close, the world is savoring the display of truly amazing physical prowess of athletes from every nation.  The celebration of Olympic gold, silver, and bronze brings to mind an old camping song about friendships, new and old --“one is silver, the other – gold!”

A Native American Tale...

                                                                                

Thanks to my friend Libby for passing along this Native American teaching story.  The original source is unknown – but the message is as compelling today as when it was first told around an anonymous campfire in a time long ago.

   Once there was a little girl whose grandfather was a respected member of their community. He settled disagreements fairly, helping those in difficulty in a way that maintained their dignity. He kept peace and harmony among the people, and often was able to cure the sick and injured.  In a thousand different ways he contributed positively to people’s lives, and always did this in a way that, at the same time, supported the community as a whole. The people respected his wisdom, listened to his words, and generally followed his advice.

The little girl knew all this and was curious.  She went to her grandfather and asked him, “What is it like, being you?”

   The old man thought for a few minutes, and then he told her, “It’s like having two wolves in my head.  One snarls and bites.  It is angry at people’s foolishness and wants to fight with them and drive them away.  In addition, it wants everything for itself, the best food, the best den, the best everything.  The other wolf is different.  It wants to teach about cooperation.  It knows that every other wolf has something to offer and needs to be a valued part of the pack.  It understands that together we are stronger than any one of us is alone.  It has compassion and its actions support the welfare of the pack.  Always these two wolves are fighting with each other in my head. Always.”

The little girl’s eyes got very large and very round as she considered these things.  But she didn’t say anything.  Quietly she went away, and for a number of days she thought about what her grandfather had said.

   After some time had passed, she returned to him.  “Grandfather, which wolf wins?” she asked.  The old man replied, “The one that I feed is the wolf who wins.”

CLUTTER: THE FINAL FRONTIER...

It probably won’t be a surprise that the biggest obstacle to good Feng Shui is clutter. If we define clutter as stagnant energy, that is, anything in our life that is no longer vital to us, nourishing, cheering, satisfying, or useful in some way, then it makes sense to give ourselves permission to let it go. There are compelling arguments for holding on to things that we don’t need (for example, we might need it some day!), but lurking beneath all of this is some kind of fear – of not having enough, of what tomorrow might bring, of an unkind universe.

The process of letting go is ongoing – don’t believe those newsstand articles that claim you can do it in a weekend, with a few plastic bins from Target. However, once you start to turn a focused eye to the truth of your stuff, you are in a process that creates its own momentum; once you get going it will carry you along. This is a refreshing journey that starts to bring rewards almost immediately, with increased energy, greater clarity, and more confidence.

When you are not bogged down by the detritus of life, you will find that you are able to connect with the things that you really want to do. You will find more, passion, joy, and spark; as well as more time. There is a greater ability to cope with problems and to move forward in life. And at the end of the day, there is better rest and deeper sleep. So, far from being a discouraging reality, clutter can actually be a beacon in our lives, showing us where we’ve come from, and pointing the way to where we might go from here.

A FRIEND IS SOMEONE WHO KNOWS YOUR SONG…

Thanks to my friend, Libby, for passing along this story in its entirety. Years ago, and in a very special place, I had heard a segment of it and was moved even by that. It’s so nice to have friends who help you put the pieces of the puzzle together –

When a woman in one African tribe knows she is pregnant, she goes out into the wilderness with a few friends, and together they pray and meditate until they hear the song of the unborn child. They recognize that every soul has its own vibration that expresses its unique flavor and purpose. When the women attune to the song, they sing it out loud. Then they return to the tribe and teach it to everyone else.

And when children are born into the village, the community gathers and sings their song, one unique melody for each unique child. Later, when children begin their education, the village gathers and chants each child’s song. They sing again when each child passes into the initiation of adulthood, and at the time of marriage. Finally, when the soul is about to pass from this world, the family and friends gather at the bedside, as they did at birth, and they sing the person to the next life.

In this African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the villagers sing to the child. If at any time during a person’s life, he or she commits a crime or aberrant social act, that individual is called to stand in the center of a circle formed by all members of the tribe. And once again the villagers chant the child’s song. The tribe recognizes that the proper correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment, but love and the remembrance of true identity. When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another.

A friend is someone who knows your song and sings it to you if you have forgotten it. Those who love you are not fooled by the mistakes you have made or the dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.

May we all be blessed to have others to help us remember our own songs, and may we help others remember theirs.

PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD...

PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD, because it’s a 6 Heaven year, according to an ancient form of astrology based on the I Ching, or Book of Changes. The Chinese Solar New Year begins on February 4, and the I Ching – or 9 Star Ki – astrology uses the year of birth to determine your star sign. We have just emerged from a 7 Lake year in which we were encouraged to find our creativity and the joy of our own expression, and now it is time to be taken seriously.

In a 6 Heaven year, honest and straightforward dealings are the best course of action. This is not a time to go back on your word, or to use the subtler forms of manipulation to achieve a goal. The “old-fashioned” values of kindness, generosity, patience, humor, punctuality, trust, tolerance – will be the way to go for 2012. (How interesting that this is an election year!)

Each of the 9 stars in this system are also associated with members of the family; and this year’s resident family member is Father. This is a Dad who is the ultimate authority and leader, but one who is supremely fair. The energy of this Dad carries over into all of the Helpful People in our lives, encouraging us to be in the right place at the right time, in all areas of our lives. This is a good year to move ahead with confidence – because, if we’ve been doing our homework, we’ll find all the support we need.

THE BELIEVER...

By C.K. Chesterton –

What has happened to me has been the very reverse of what appears to be the experience of most of my friends. Instead of dwindling to a point, Santa Claus has grown larger and larger in my life until he fills almost the whole of it. It happened in this way. As a child I was faced with a phenomenon requiring explanation. I hung up at the end of my bed an empty stocking, which in the morning became a full stocking.

I had done nothing to produce the things that filled it. I had not worked for them, or made them or helped to make them. I had not even been good – far from it. And the explanation was that a certain being whom people called Santa Claus was benevolently disposed toward me…

And, as I say, I believe it still. I have merely extended the idea. Then I only wondered who put the toys in the stocking; now I wonder who put the stocking by the bed, and the bed in the room, and the room in the house, and the house on the planet, and the great planet in the void. Once I only thanked Santa Claus for a few dolls and crackers; now I thank him for stars and street faces and wine and the great sea.

Once I thought it delightful and astonishing to find a present so big that it only went halfway into the stocking. Now I am delighted and astonished every morning to find a present so big that it takes two stockings to hold it, and then leaves a great deal outside. It is the large and preposterous present of myself, as to the origin of which I can offer no suggestion except that Santa Claus gave it to me in a fit of peculiarly fantastic good will…

GLASS HALF FULL...

After a pitch-black, cold night listening to the awful sound of tree limbs cracking outside, it was pure joy to be awakened the next morning by the hum of all the electric infrastructure of my world coming back on – including the lamp next to my bed. (The last official act being part of a tantalizing chapter in a good book.) But that morning held even greater rewards: warmth, music – and coffee!

After the devastating nor’easter of October 29, most of Western Massachusetts and Connecticut woke up to an improbable winter landscape and no power. As the week wore on, the recorded messages from town officials kept reporting only very gradual return of power, and the opening of shelters and warming stations. Our neighborhood became a refuge for family and friends whose homes continued to be “off the grid”. My friend, Elise, whose power didn’t get restored until Friday, came over for a shower most nights.

All this past week the weather has been beautiful – sunny, with temperatures climbing towards sixty degrees. Elise had a day off from work, and we went for a walk. She told me that, in a way, she was disappointed when her electricity finally came back on. She would come home every day to find that her house was still dark and cold. She would put her thermals on, so never felt the chill, and then she would – relax. With no power there was really nothing that could be done, so there were no pressing matters to attend to, and no expectations. And later, she would snuggle into bed for a really good night’s sleep, cozy and warm, under layers of blankets.

In her book, Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui, Karen Kingston describes the Balinese annual Space Clearing ceremony, called Nyepi. On the night before Nyepi, there are parades, fireworks, crashing symbols, and music making at full-blast to scare away the angry or low-level spirits. On the next day, silence reigns over the island. No one is allowed to work or go out; fires are not lit; there is no drinking, smoking, or gambling; and no radio, telephone, or TV. In many villages, electricity is shut off. It is a day for quiet contemplation of the year that has ended, and prayers for the year to come.

Now that the lights are on again in our communities, there is little wish to return to those dark days of last week. But, for those who were able to adjust to nature’s own version of Nyepi, all the surprises were not bad. Even then, there was a glass half full…