Dear ladies,
I am so glad I listened to the voice in my head that said “ask them to draw an Animal Spirit Card card and bring it to the circle”. Thank-you for trusting me and trusting the process.
Your individual willingness to receive your animal message and to look inside for the resonance was inspiring! And it was intriguing to see how each of us called forth compassion in our own unique ways. For some, there was a longing for compassion, and for others there was an awareness of compassion’s presence. All this was shared with some lighthearted laughs...courtesy of our animal friends!
I did not know that Compassion would be the theme of our class until after our opening circle, and, yet, the readings I picked out beforehand fit perfectly. Divine Grace at work!
“LIGHTEN UP (and Do Something Different):
Being able to lighten up is the key to feeling at home with your body, mind and emotions, to feeling worthy to live on this planet. For example, you can hear the slogan “Always maintain only a joyful mind” and start beating yourself over the head for never being joyful. That kind of witness is a bit heavy.
This earnestness, this seriousness about everything in our lives - including practice - this goal-oriented, we’re-going-to-do-it-or-else attitude, is the world’s greatest killjoy. There’s no sense of appreciation because we’re so solemn about everything. In contrast, a joyful mind is very ordinary and relaxed. So lighten up. Don’t make such a big deal.
When your aspiration is to lighten up, you begin to have a sense of humour. Your serious state of mind keeps getting popped. In addition to a sense of humour, a basic support for a joyful mind is curiosity, paying attention. taking an interest in the world around you. Happiness is not required, but being curious without a heavy judgemental attitude helps. If you are judgmental, you can even be curious about that.
Curiosity encourages cheering up. So does simply remembering to do something different. We are so locked into this sense of burden - Big Deal Joy and Big Deal Unhappiness - that it’s sometimes helpful just to change the pattern. Anything out of the ordinary will help. You can go to the window and look at the sky, you can splash cold water on your face, you can sing in the shower, you can go jogging - anything that’s against your usual pattern. That’s how things start to lighten up.”
“MOTHER OF MERCY
Just like a Sun that sines brightly casting a strong shadow, your growing spiritual power needs to be expressed with the awareness that it will have an effect on others, even if you are not completely conscious of that effect. To create peace in the expression of your power, we call upon the Mother of Mercy. Mercy tempers great strength and power with kindness, gentleness, compassion and caring. The Divine Kuan Yin brings the quality of Mercy to you know as a divine gift, encouraging you to cultivate mercy in your dealings with others and to receive it for yourself now too.
PRAYER TO THE MOTHER OF MERCY:
Mother of Mercy so loves my Soul
The Nectar of Mercy brings peace and bliss untold.
I open my heart now to this endless love and peace, which the grace of Kuan Yin helps me reach.
Om Mani Padme Hum.”
New Moon is Tuesday, May 15th at 5:47am Mountain Daylight Time
“Focus on the New Moon energy on Monday night. This New Moon is very potent and powerful. It comes with a robustness similar to an eclipse and is a marker for great change, the preview of which could be manifested through some major earth event or events.
We have seen this beginning to happen with earthquakes and volcanic activity in various parts of the world, all related to the earth. Watch for your own internal earth event that may feel like an inner earthquake, shifting all of your priorities and values around. This new moon is both difficult and exalted with potential for great inspiration that comes with the freedom you may experience following challenging choices you have made or are in the process of making.
While stepping forward into new territory through your choices and realigning values, it is also important to bring in the quality of beauty and inspiration into the equation. Nurture yourselves in some way and have some fun despite the chaos that you may feel around you. It cannot be focused hard work all of the time. You will reap many more benefits if you take some time to smell the roses along the way and do something for yourself that represents self-care with a bit of luxury like going to a fine restaurant for a meal or treating yourself to a massage. And if you are in the process of purging the old, bring in something new that is an upgrade in the area of beauty and inspiration.”
Have a wonderful week and Victoria Day long weekend and I will see you on May 28th!
xo
Patti