What an amazing awakening today has been for me.
On the 10th, I left for a 10-day trip to the Mediterranean. We started in Spain, then sailed to Italy, then on to France, with day trips to the Vatican and Monaco. Five countries in all, not including our stop-overs in Germany and Canada. On the trip - I was inspired... I saw so many beautiful buildings, amazing pieces of sculpture, famous paintings, ancient cities and even the enshrined resting places of some of the world's most famous people. It filled me up with this amazing sense of appreciation for the richness of our world and the beauty that it contains.
My desktop background, now, is a picture of the Coliseum in Rome - a picture I took with my own camera while standing within the building itself. In my collection of photographs, I have pictures of Michaelangelo's David - and Michaelangelo's grave, where his bones lie even today. I have pictures from Pompeii - where Mt. Vesuvius destroyed a city of 20,000 people in the year 79 AD... and I have pictures of the aqueducts which already existed, the lead pipes that fed the fountains, the ruts from the sliding wooden doors and the beautifully crafted architecture which let the people of the 1st century collect pure water, illuminate streets at night with no fire and have working sewage systems - all based on simple gravity.
Of all of the amazing things I discovered overseas, however, the ones which are the most meaningful to me are those about myself. I reconnected, for the first time in a long time, with my deep appreciation of art. There was a couple on the cruise from Australia who performed several nights, singing this amazing ensemble of Jazz that absolutely stirred my soul - there were statues and carvings and fountains and frescoes everywhere which were oozing beautifully expressed soul-energy into every alleyway - and there was me... awe-struck and inspired, and feeling compelled to give of my own soul to this world as so many have before - to uplift others, to leave a legacy and to connect.
Integrity...
Since getting back from my cruise - I have found myself in an interesting dichotomy. I have been feeling inspired to do something with my time - to fill it with exploration and culture and art - to meditate and heal and learn and grow... and yet I have found myself simultaneously not wanting to leave the house... demotivated about going out to explore the beautiful city in which I live.
This morning, attending Seaside Center for Spiritual Living's devotional service for the first time, I found myself nearly jumping out of my seat when Rev. Sorensen was speaking about Integrity. I found myself wanting to yell "It's the distance between your lips and your life!" - which is the definition I've used for years, and which I speak about fairly regularly... and then it struck me: it is the distance between the two, not the measure of either one.
Often, when we think of someone being "out of integrity," we think of a liar. We think of a person who says one thing and does another - who says "Of course I believe in Charity" or "I believe in doing the right thing all of the time" - and then lives a life of greed or selfishness, or in some other way acts out of alignment with their own self-proclaimed beliefs. But it struck me, as I reflected on the guidance I was hearing in my own head that the opposite is true as well...
If a person is living a life of spirituality, seeking enlightenment and harmony and growing in their own faith, but still spending their social time complaining about the foibles of others, talking about how "cooky" some spiritual people are, or even denying the importance of their own journey - that, too, is just as much of a "distance" between their lips and their life.
And then the next wave of revelation struck me... of course I'm feeling out of alignment now that I'm back in the US. I haven't spent hardly any time since returning home in meditation. I haven't been journaling - as I was on my trip. I haven't spent any time in nature, or listening to music that fills my soul, or seeking out artistic expression - or expressing myself... I have been out of integrity - and I have been feeling the energetic and emotional result of that in headaches, restlessness, a sore throat and a general malaise.
So - this blog posting is one way in which I am expressing. It is one method by which I am opening myself up energetically to receive. It is a re-emergence of my soul into the daylight - and my soul says this to the universe:
"I am open... I am ready... I am listening. Welcome, new experiences. Welcome, great teachers. Welcome, new lessons. Welcome, loved ones. Namaste."
And - if you are reading this - my soul is saying the same to you. Namaste, loved ones. All that is holy and enlightened within me recognizes that which is holy and enlightened in you - and in that place, we are one - and we are god. Thank you for being a part of my journey - and co-creating this experience together.
On the 10th, I left for a 10-day trip to the Mediterranean. We started in Spain, then sailed to Italy, then on to France, with day trips to the Vatican and Monaco. Five countries in all, not including our stop-overs in Germany and Canada. On the trip - I was inspired... I saw so many beautiful buildings, amazing pieces of sculpture, famous paintings, ancient cities and even the enshrined resting places of some of the world's most famous people. It filled me up with this amazing sense of appreciation for the richness of our world and the beauty that it contains.
My desktop background, now, is a picture of the Coliseum in Rome - a picture I took with my own camera while standing within the building itself. In my collection of photographs, I have pictures of Michaelangelo's David - and Michaelangelo's grave, where his bones lie even today. I have pictures from Pompeii - where Mt. Vesuvius destroyed a city of 20,000 people in the year 79 AD... and I have pictures of the aqueducts which already existed, the lead pipes that fed the fountains, the ruts from the sliding wooden doors and the beautifully crafted architecture which let the people of the 1st century collect pure water, illuminate streets at night with no fire and have working sewage systems - all based on simple gravity.
Of all of the amazing things I discovered overseas, however, the ones which are the most meaningful to me are those about myself. I reconnected, for the first time in a long time, with my deep appreciation of art. There was a couple on the cruise from Australia who performed several nights, singing this amazing ensemble of Jazz that absolutely stirred my soul - there were statues and carvings and fountains and frescoes everywhere which were oozing beautifully expressed soul-energy into every alleyway - and there was me... awe-struck and inspired, and feeling compelled to give of my own soul to this world as so many have before - to uplift others, to leave a legacy and to connect.
Integrity...
Since getting back from my cruise - I have found myself in an interesting dichotomy. I have been feeling inspired to do something with my time - to fill it with exploration and culture and art - to meditate and heal and learn and grow... and yet I have found myself simultaneously not wanting to leave the house... demotivated about going out to explore the beautiful city in which I live.
This morning, attending Seaside Center for Spiritual Living's devotional service for the first time, I found myself nearly jumping out of my seat when Rev. Sorensen was speaking about Integrity. I found myself wanting to yell "It's the distance between your lips and your life!" - which is the definition I've used for years, and which I speak about fairly regularly... and then it struck me: it is the distance between the two, not the measure of either one.
Often, when we think of someone being "out of integrity," we think of a liar. We think of a person who says one thing and does another - who says "Of course I believe in Charity" or "I believe in doing the right thing all of the time" - and then lives a life of greed or selfishness, or in some other way acts out of alignment with their own self-proclaimed beliefs. But it struck me, as I reflected on the guidance I was hearing in my own head that the opposite is true as well...
If a person is living a life of spirituality, seeking enlightenment and harmony and growing in their own faith, but still spending their social time complaining about the foibles of others, talking about how "cooky" some spiritual people are, or even denying the importance of their own journey - that, too, is just as much of a "distance" between their lips and their life.
And then the next wave of revelation struck me... of course I'm feeling out of alignment now that I'm back in the US. I haven't spent hardly any time since returning home in meditation. I haven't been journaling - as I was on my trip. I haven't spent any time in nature, or listening to music that fills my soul, or seeking out artistic expression - or expressing myself... I have been out of integrity - and I have been feeling the energetic and emotional result of that in headaches, restlessness, a sore throat and a general malaise.
So - this blog posting is one way in which I am expressing. It is one method by which I am opening myself up energetically to receive. It is a re-emergence of my soul into the daylight - and my soul says this to the universe:
"I am open... I am ready... I am listening. Welcome, new experiences. Welcome, great teachers. Welcome, new lessons. Welcome, loved ones. Namaste."
And - if you are reading this - my soul is saying the same to you. Namaste, loved ones. All that is holy and enlightened within me recognizes that which is holy and enlightened in you - and in that place, we are one - and we are god. Thank you for being a part of my journey - and co-creating this experience together.
A pleasure to be reading this tonight Troy...
ReplyDeleteSeems you and I were both called to attend celebration on a Sunday morning today, when neither of us have done so, for forever, and how wonderful how it spoke to us both.
Holding the space for your expression to continue, and doing so in loving gratitude for our friendship.
In Spirit,
Trae