Grace In Place

Several nights ago during sleep the words "Grace In Place" came to me. I woke up with the little but powerful phrase lingering in awareness. It felt as though the word "grace" was a call to action, action to come from me. It was as though the phrase was informing me to be patient, to embrace what is for the sake of growth. Translated the message was saying, "Rest and be with your current circumstances for there is plenty of material with which and from which to grow."

The analytical side of me comes to the question: where did the message come from? I tend to think it came from the subconscious, sprouted from various structures and programs of study to support inner work. Greater minds than my own have pondered such questions about God, the psyche and brain activity. The source matters less to me than the message so I aim to release pondering. It seems to be a distraction anyway.

As I write this I wonder if there's another interpretation to Grace In Place. Is it also reassurance to simply trust that the gift of grace is with me? As it is for everyone if we can only see? It is very like me to hear the former interpretation which seems to ask for a certain level of engagement. It is less like me to see a simple gift being offered as in the lighter-handed latter one. I open to and allow both to be a blessing to my awareness.

The Gift of Fear

Gavin de Becker gives a very informative talk on intuition, how it's function differs from logic and anxiety/worry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNtXjIiJ0PU

"Intuition is knowing something without knowing why."

Update:
Since creating this post I read his book The Gift of Fear. It is important and wonderfully informative!

The Courage & Peace of Malala

I Am Malala is an inspiring story about an intelligent and very brave girl. Malala Yousafzai is an advocate for education, specifically and initially for girls in Pakistan. Her story of being shot by the Taliban sparked within me the question of whether I have life-on-the-line courage paired with peacefulness. It is the pairing that makes Malala quite outstanding. It may be enlightening to allow the question to linger: where is courage? deep peace? do the two intertwine?

Winter Fog & Thunder

Opthamologist Drishti

Recently I underwent opthamology testing spread over two appointments. Where I had little experience with eye exams I had a considerable amount of resistance to the idea of anything touching my eyes, whether a puff of air, drops, fingers or an instrument. Everything was fine until the last examination where the opthamologist used a mirrored device that actually came in contact with each eye ball for several minutes. Oh boy. Well, I recruited drishti (gazing) practice from hatha yoga. It all came back: gazing at a spot on a wall during asana or seated for concentration (dharana) gazing at a candle and an orange dot. Instead of the previously mentioned points of focus it was the side of the doctor's ear as he suggested. It worked! I didn't blink but breathed, steadied my awareness on the eye sensations and released tension elsewhere in my body.

We are indeed sort of programmed to seek out the human figure and face but is there not the profile of a person looking to the right within the lit hole?

Patterns On Fallen Wood

Each season offers the potential for awareness. It was the low winter sun of late afternoon and the snow on the ground that brought out the pattern in this fallen wood.