Is Integrity old fashioned?

Are respect and integrity becoming casualties of the world in chaos? When did it become unimportant to keep our word and our commitments? Do excuses and apologies repair the damage when we fail to live up to these commitments? Why do we commit to things we are unable to complete? Is it really a case of being out of touch with our own reality?

I was invited to a party last night in a restaurant for the birthday of a friend. Others were to show up as well. Two of us waited an hour for the others and finally left. Apologies ensued but the fact was that we kept our commitments and they did not. I was not mad but disappointed to lose a friendship because the other was not up to the challenge of living in integrity.

I do not know about others but I am through giving bad behavior a free ride. I am not so needy that I am willing to overlook breaches of integrity and respect in order to maintain friendships. The friends I cherish are those that show up unquestioning when and how we agree to and do not make excuses or commitments that they cannot keep. To me that is integrity and respect but perhaps that is an old fashioned concept and out of touch with today’s reality. Whatever…

As for me, I will continue to operate in a world where my word has meaning. Those I choose to have in my life KNOW that when I say I will do something or be somewhere that they can bet their life on the fact that I will go through “hell and high water” to keep my commitment because I have given my word. In this new paradigm that we are creating, I choose to include only those who I can count to do the same. We have a choice as to whom and what we bring into our lives. If those who wish things were different were to step up and make them different in their lives, that would be our new reality.

Just a thought…Penny

Ageless Wisdom

When did being chronologically mature become a liability and not an asset? Are there not other cultures that value the wisdom gained through experience and not push this aside condescendingly as being irrelevant in today’s world? Why is it when we have lived long enough to see the larger picture, many have not learned to value the wisdom we can bring to the collective? As paradigms shift we might wish to look at what we are forfeiting by operating totally in the present without taking into consideration the wisdom gained by past experience from those who have “been there and done that”.

The “older” I become, the more I become aware of the wealth of experience that I have learned by living a life of meaning and purpose. It seems a waste to bury all these hard-won lessons and insights when I finally give up this journey. We all wish to give our children the best we can and make their life easier than the ones we experienced but how many of them want what we can give them? One of the tragedies born of the disintegrating family is that many have lost touch with those wisdom keepers that are a branch up on the family tree who have secrets to life and ways to avoid many of the pitfalls on the path. If our new family structure is the family of choice, wouldn’t it be advantageous to include all stages in our life journey together so that we are able to share our view from our branch?

The higher we climb, the greater the perspective. Those on the upper limbs have stored the memories of the seedling as well as the fragile early years where the impediments of life help shape the forming structure. But they have also adapted and grown past the challenges and the storms have helped them to strengthen and move higher where the view is better and strength is found in bending in the wind and being part of the ebb and flow of life. There is much wisdom to be gained from those who have been through the storm and know how to survive and thrive.

I am saddened when I see “youngsters” not just making fun of those who have fought the battles and have the scars to prove it but more importantly, not appreciating that they just might have the answers that would help avoid such skirmishes today. Laughter at the expense of others is never kind and seems to be another casualty of the old paradigm. Can’t we begin to rekindle this flame of divinity joyously by kindly acknowledging each other and the gifts we each bring to the association, no matter what our “age”? The vision and energy of youth are a perfect complement to wisdom and experience in the new paradigm. Might we be better served by walking hand in hand on the road to understanding that each has a piece of the puzzle of life if only we are willing to pool our visions in order to grow together?

Many attempt to regain their credibility by trying to recapture their youth. If we are a culture that no longer values the mature or appreciates their contributions, then why not try to make yourself appear as young as possible to be recognized as valuable? Are the “elderly” ridiculed, tolerated, or patronized or appreciated for the perspective they bring to the dynamic? Is ageism as offensive as racism, sexism or any of the other “isms” that separate us rather than unite us as One?

Wisdom used to be something that we gained from life experience and stored for future use. Knowledge comes from those who have studied the words and deeds of others. Truth is visible from our unique place on the tree of life. Wouldn’t it be advantageous if we began to share our perspectives within this dynamic, no matter what our “age”?

Seers of the new world speak of “youthing” which is a process where as we become an ageless continuum of experience. If you knew all you now know and had an ageless body, what would be the quality and focus of your life? Perhaps this is what we need to be focusing on as paradigms and realities shift and come into being.  This is the ageless wisdom…

Sophia

In the Silence

I am becoming more appreciative of the silence in my life for it is the blank slate on which I process my thoughts, dreams, and insights. When I was younger I felt that I had to fill each moment with sound as if its presence proved my existence. Now it is a gift to have the time, space and stillness to connect with my soul and listen for its whispers.

 I no longer reach for the radio control when I enter the car. In the rhythmic sound and motion of the car moving across the road I move into a zone of inspiration. I have gotten some of my most profound realizations while in my state of meditation behind the wheel. Road trips are less of a chore and more of an opportunity for communion with the divine and introspection.

I have been blessed this week with an interval of aloneness. While I thoroughly enjoy the interaction with my housemates and friends, they are out of town so this has been a mini-vacation from the disruptions of life lived in the now of activity. I luxuriate in the opportunity to delve deeply in a cherished book and explore the garden listening to the songs of Nature without the background noise of TV and telephone.  

 It was in this time of silence that I received an unusual pointer. As I sat quietly on the portale, appreciating the beauty of nature expressed in the garden, a bobcat sauntered across the yard and disappeared into the brush beyond. I realized the gift of this occurrence and wondered what nature was trying to tell me. I sought out my animal wisdom cards and “surprisingly” drew the Lynx (the genus for bobcat). This is a silent seeker, knower, and keeper of nature’s secrets. It has the ability to move through time and space and to go into the Great Silence for unraveling any mystery. It is clairvoyance and clairaudience. It is a sign that Mother Earth is signaling in some manner. Some believe that the Sphinx in Egypt is not a lion but a lynx. For me this was a confirmation that this silent path has a deeper meaning and purpose and I am learning to hear with different ears.

 

Seldom have I had the luxury of personal space and quiet during the years of family, career, and growth.  Life as a Gemini, with Mercury, the sign of communication, is seldom without noise-filled interaction with the world around me. Part of the duality of this sign is finding time to be quiet and reconnect with Source and recharge my mental and emotional batteries for the next day’s adventure.

 

I sometimes wonder about my grandchildren’s generation that must have the constant stimulation of noise plugged into their ears and their awareness. When do they have the opportunity to dream, imagine, and process the events in their lives? Have they evolved past the necessity to reason, evaluate, and discern and become merely reactors to stimuli rather than creators and innovators? Do they understand what it means to listen to the still, small voice within?

 I recognize the growth inherent in being content in my own company and not feeling I need to fill the void. It has been said that the only thing worse than being alone is wishing you were. Somehow the possibility of aloneness for a while is not so daunting when it becomes a time to dialogue with my higher self. I am grateful for this time alone in the silence. Peace be still…

Penny

 

Peace One Day?

This Friday, September 21, 2012, commemorates World Peace Day, set aside by the UN over 10 years ago for celebration and observance of an international day of cease fire and non-violence. It got me thinking , what are we really doing in our lives to foster a more-peaceful world? Is this world in fact a more peaceful place than it was 10 years ago and if not why and what can we do about that?

For what seemed like a no-brainer, it took the organizer, British actor Jeremy Gilley, 15 years to bring together enough nations to back and proclaim the resolution. I doubt if you were to interview men and women on the streets, in refugee camps and on the front lines anywhere in the world there would be more than 5% saying that they wanted anything less than to live their lives in peace. Why do we have such a difficult time doing this?

I have been involved in a week-long string of events sponsored by Return to Honor that helps bring awareness to ways of creating a culture of peace. We have shown the movie Peace One Day, involved the schools with movies about bullying and writing essays and expressing in art what peace looks like to them. Sunday spiritual leaders from various religious persuasions came together in a forum where we looked at our concerns and beliefs about creating a more peaceful world. We sang together songs of peace, signed the petition to make Sedona a City of Peace and the mayor has proclaimed Friday Peace One Day in Sedona. On Friday, the high school will form a peace sign on the football field to be filmed from a helicopter for inclusion with the YouTube promotion of the event. There is a live benefit concert and even a community campout in the park. We say we are all about peace.

If we are all in this world together and all looking to live in peace, what is preventing us from behaving as peace-loving people? I believe it has a lot to do with our focusing on the things that separate us than those bring us together. We all view life through our own filters of experience and preconceived ideas.

Case in point – As part of the preparations for Peace Week in Sedona we engaged a local artist to design a poster to publicize events. He did a beautiful painting of a family raising a white flag with a peace sign on it over a tank with flowers in the barrel. Many, because they had been through the 60’s and 70’s, understood the symbolism and thought it expressed their sentiments beautifully. Given my past experiences, I thought “Oh no, the fundamentalists are going to be offended and not join us because they consider this to be a satanic symbol”. My friend, an ex-military man, thought immediately that this was a sign of surrender.  We are all a product of our experience and conditioning and see life through these filters.

I see little chance of coming together as One in Peace if we are not willing to start from this point forward and to begin to find the cords that connect us and weave together a future that honors and celebrates our differences rather than raising our hands in anger to those that knowingly or unknowingly offend us. If we are not mindful in dealing with others, we will not be able to avoid the mine (mind) fields that can derail even the best of intentions. It is only by dialoguing about the things that pain and offend us in respectful ways that we will be able to foster awareness and come together in mutual respect and peace. One Day…

Namaste, Penny

Healing Injustice

Why do I feel the pain of injustice so deeply? Why do I feel the need to speak up when I see things that reek of fear rather than Love? If I am not being personally threatened, why do I feel I must step in rather than to allow their Karmic dance to play out?
Once again I gave advice where it wasn’t wanted or appreciated. Once again I stirred the waters and caused others to go deep into their own inner reserves for answers. Is anything accomplished by dislodging others from their righteous stance? We all feel we are “right” or “justified” in some way or we wouldn’t be doing what we are doing. We want someone to be accountable for our pain and suffering. Does shining a light on perceived injustice really accomplish anything?

In this case I was placed in the middle. I heard and understood both “sides” and could see both the real and unreal in each. But then the only thing that is REAL is Love – anything else is part of the illusion. How do we heal the unreal? I also believe that thinking there are sides is the unreal. 

I went deeper with this to track my motivation and response.

In a past lifetime in Poland I was a child of six. We were shunned, ostracized and banished. No one spoke up in our behalf. I died of starvation in Dachau.

I also was present when He said “As you do this to the least of these my brethren, you do it to Me”.

So these are the soul lessons I bring with me into this lifetime to help guide me and others through the fog of illusion.  I know that there is NOTHING anyone could do that would make me subject another to what I have experienced. I know I would be willing to die rather than go there but others have not had the lessons I have and would probably not understand as I do.

How do we heal this wound in the body of God?

Again I invade everyone’s space and call for compassion, Love and understanding. Everyone is polarized in their woundedness so they resist but perhaps some begin to come into resonance.

In the stages of grief and dying enumerated by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross we go through the denial and anger, the bargaining, and depression before we get to the acceptance and therefore the peace. Perhaps this is what is necessary as we die to the old ways of being together. Do we need others to “get” their lessons or is it really about our experiencing our own? Is it enough that we tried and “failed” or is this all part of the process of coming together as One.

In the movie “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” the young man kept saying  ”All will be perfect in the end and if it was not perfect, then it was not the end”. So evidently it is not yet the end. I am assuming that by my causing all to go deeper in their own process and examining their own motivations and assumptions this will be healed in ways that are incomprehensible to my linear mind. That is certainly my intention. Sometimes it is necessary to lance an infection in order to affect healing. It is my hope that being the “thorn in the side” of those in conflict that I have served some purpose in affecting a more conscious outcome. But of course it is not “over” until we are all Home.

Namaste, Penny