To Be

"To be or not to be is not a question of compromise. Either you be or you don't be."
Golda Meir

Who are you being right now? Want to be someone who eats foods that feel good in body, mind and spirit? Summertime is a great time to explore fruits and vegetables. There is an abundance! Take action to feel your best now!

Carol

What is projection?

Projection is seeing the world through our experience. I can only know my thoughts and my feelings. I can't know yours in the same way. So if I look at you and say to myself, "She is very happy today, very friendly," I am basing that experience of being happy and friendly- either my experience of being happy and friendly right now or in the past.
Projection doesn't mean that I'm never going to know anything about you since I can only know myself. You may or may not be happy and friendly today. If you are, then my projection is "correct" in that my experience of happiness and friendliness coincides with yours. If you're not, then I am mistaken. But the point is not whether I am "right" or "wrong" about you. It doesn't matter. What matters is knowing that when I perceive someone else as happy and friendly, or sneaky and dishonest, or loyal and loving, I am perceiving myself. I cannot know what I have not experienced. I cannot perceive goodness, or anger... in you without having known it in myself.

When projection has awareness, it brings us back to the truth of ourselves. We see our contradictions, our strengths, our weaknesses- we see that we are everything we thought was "out there". And when we are able to see that, when we are able to see that we are everything, it is because we are looking from the center of our being. We are looking from our True Nature, the biggest truth of all.

This is an excerpt from "That which you are seeking is causing you to seek" I love gaining more understanding around this. I have found it especially helpful when I am not feeling so great about myself but am seeing the beauty in others. I take a moment to reflect and remember that to see it means I possess it!

Growing

I have been rereading a book my mother gave me thirteen years ago. I'd like to share some of its wisdom. The book is " That which you are seeking is causing you to seek" and its published by a Zen Buddhist Center.

"If you see something you don't like about the way you are and you beat yourself up for it, pretty soon you will have trained yourself to stop looking. Congratulate yourself whenever you see something hard. It means your GROWING."

To the many seasons of growing ahead of us!
Best,
Carol

Being

I spent about 4 hours yesterday sitting on my neighbor’s couch chatting, drinking tea and interacting with my friends and lots of kids as they wandered in and out. I honestly can’t remember the last time I spent a late Sunday afternoon with no agenda, nowhere else to be, no need to be doing. It felt wonderful and met a need to connect and laugh and just BE!
My husband and daughter are out of town so it’s Jack, my nine year old, and I on our own for five days. I’m noticing with fewer responsibilities I feel a bit freer to be in the moment, to be present for Jack, myself and whatever is in front of me. I miss Mark and Phoebe a lot yet at the same time feel grateful for this opportunity to explore being in my home and community with a little less on my plate.
Have a wonderful day,
Carol

The Grand Canyon

I just returned from an eight-day river-rafting trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. For me being in the canyon was like being in the most beautiful cathedral in the world. My heart feels one hundred times more open and I am very connected to my spirit. Top that off with an amazing group of loving, generous individuals, being there with my husband and daughter, the excitement of the rapids and the incredible food. All of which made for a very, very special adventure.
I got to experience as one of the guys said “ being with my mind”. There was plenty of time to notice what I was feeling and listen to all that chatter in my head and then choose to let it go or not. I loved being able to let go of making decisions, allowing the trip leader and those more knowledgeable than myself take the lead. I was able to be really patient and let the day unfold instead of trying to grasp on to any one thing. I went with the flow, of the group and the river.
The full trip is 18 days long and my daughter and I hiked out on day 8 to come home to my son. It was hard to leave and I feel a bit fragmented. Part of me is still in the canyon, part is grieving for the place and I am without a doubt here and present for my children. However, there is a piece of that place and the people that remain firmly rooted in my heart.