Judgment can keep us from many moments of unexpected delight. If you go into every experience already knowing what you think, what you expect, what you want, it will be much harder to be surprised by joy. I recently went into a local fast food restaurant, about which I normally have a lot of judgments but, because it had been built in line with the local architecture, I was curious and was able to be delighted by the sight and sound of a player baby grand piano in the corner. Just the memory of it puts a smile on my face.  C. S. Lewis, a rather proper don at Oxford who wrote the book entitled Surprised by Joy, was surprised by a brassy American woman named Joy whom he eventually married. How can you be “surprised by joy” today?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surprised_by_Joy

The Happy Virus

I caught the happy virus last night

When I was out singing beneath the stars.

It is remarkably contagious -

So kiss me.

Hafiz

It seems that happiness is contagious. When I remember to be happy, the people around me seem to be happier, too. If you don’t believe me or  Hafiz, then maybe you’ll believe research by Harvard Medical School. See: http://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20081204/happiness-is-contagious. And for more poetry by Hafiz, see http://www.astrodreamadvisor.com/Hafiz.html.

After several months of change (during which I left behind my back yard labyrinth, and am still pondering how to create a large, portable one), I am returning to my online journal with a new focus: Ignite Delight. In case you’re wondering what that means, one of my “mentors,” Abraham, says you must “make a decision that you’re going to be happy one way or another—no matter what.” But if you are relying on the external world to make this possible, you are coming at it from the wrong direction. The happiness comes from within you, and is then radiated to the world around you. I invite you to take this challenge: each day, come up with one thing that you are happy about. It can be as simple as seeing a butterfly, or as profound as reconnecting with someone whose relationship you thought was lost to you. In the next weeks I’ll be journaling about some of my own delights. Blessings.   http://www.thingstobehappyabout.com/

Today in secular terms is Groundhog Day, but in Celtic tradition it is known as Imbolq, the special day mid-way between winter solstice and spring equinox. Six weeks after the shortest day of the year, we can now see clearly that the sun is returning. One of the traditional “tasks” for this day is to completely sweep out the hearth, the heart of the home, and lay in a completely new fire. One might also do this with the human heart, and so I dedicated my morning’s labyrinth walk to this task—sweeping out the old ashes and preparing a completely clean heart-space for what is to come. 

Master’s Challenge: Imagine there’s no money; I wonder if you can

Gene Roddenberry could, the author of Conversations with God comes pretty close, and the movie Zeitgeist, Addendum sees it coming, so why not give it a try? If you’re having trouble, watch some Star Trek episodes, or the franchise’s movie First Contact, in which this concept is explained, or go to Zeitgeist.com and watch Addendum, and then begin “dreaming into” it yourself. The internet is moving in this direction; a lot of what is available on the internet is absolutely free, including the Zeitgeist movies. What would your world look like if there was no money?

And revisit John Lennon’s song while you are at it, at:  http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/john_lennon/imagine.html

Lead from your heart, not just your head

Every time you are about to pay for anything—an electric bill, a massage, a new “toy”—check in with yourself and see if you are developing a knot in your stomach or are having a little trouble breathing. That’s fear. Now, before you actually spend the money, move into your heart and get to a place of joy and/or gratitude for the item you are paying for. If you can’t do it right then, walk away until you can. Maybe that will be a few minutes, a few hours, or a few days, but don’t spend money from a place of fear.

For additional support, watch for future posts, or go to http://www.heartmath.com/

Quit listening to anything which is fear-based

That can be anything or anyone—including your friends—and it can be pretty subtle. “How to Prosper in a Fear Economy” is a cover story of a national magazine’s January issue and, at first glance, seems positive. But why not go further and resolve not to be part of  a “fear economy” at all? Why not resolve to be part of an economy which is based on love, trust, generosity, and prosperity for all, and KNOW that this is possible?

Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.

John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963, Thirty-Fifth President of the United States

At my winter solstice gathering most everyone was talking about “paradigm shifts.” It’s in the air, especially in the economy—it’s time for a major shift in how we live our lives on this planet. To help effect this change, I’m challenging myself and you to make a different kind of new year’s resolution—to change an attitude or belief or way of acting in the world which might help bring about the real change Obama and others are talking about. I’ll have some specific suggestions later in the week.

This morning as I walked my labyrinth with small, measured steps, I was reminded of the movie, What About Bob, where Bob’s therapist advises making changes with baby steps. In fact, it has been said that you need only take one small step towards spirit, for it to meet you—more than half way. And so, with my new grand adventure underway, I am reminded by my labyrinth walk that all it takes for the rest of my life to show up is for me to take one baby step at a time.

From 1/17/08
This morning I watched a video by Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D., entitled, Healing the Luminous Body: The Way of the Shaman, in which he talks about Destiny retrieval. This feels very similar to James Hillman’s ideas in Soul’s Code, and to a number of current writers/thinkers. The idea is this: no matter what current circumstances are, no matter what diagnosis you have been given, etc., there is a possible healthy, whole, joyful, successful you which already exists in the “future”; the retrieval opens a doorway to that possible you and retrieves it from the “future” to the present moment—you merely need to allow it, step into it, etc.
I took this idea with me into the labyrinth this morning, and walked toward that “possible me” which is a successful visionary artist, leaving behind the worries, fears, doubts, and nay-sayers in my mind.