From the Daily Inspiration service of Don Miguel Ruiz
Doubt is a powerful tool. Doubt challenges my beliefs and breaks the spell of all the lies and superstitions that control my world. I use doubt to recover faith in myself, to take my power back from every superstition I believe in, and return that power to myself.
(c) 2011 Howard McQueen
Exploring our inner landscapes,
especially the darkened places
where the candle has been seemingly snuffed out.
It often takes multiple visits
to relight the candle that seems to have blown out.
And, even then, those mind-made miseries
may take a while to relax and dissolve.
Sometimes it requires a courage to eat the demon.
Sometimes it is manifesting the patience to fully digest
and integrate what we've swallowed.
Version 2.0
(c) 2011 Howard McQueen
Time to reassess.
Time to sober up.
Time to let go all the false pretenses and ignorance.
Time to stop that hiding in the shadows,
relying upon all those repetitious patterns of self-medication.
Engaging life.
Riding the bronco.
Looking the dragon in the eye.
Eating the demon for breakfast.
Being in this world without acting out
fear, or arrogance
or creating any more artificial separation.
Invite in this willingness to radically inquire,
to cleans our wounds of all infections
and allow us to tender our hearts
and clarify our resolve
to continually open to what is true.
Time to choose living now, in the unknowing.
(c) 2011 Howard McQueen
We humans live in the seeming paradox
of being both distinct life forms as well as being interwoven into life.
We believe our pain is unique
instead of shared
and we disconnect into the artificial illusions of separation.
We can become so practiced with separation that what is artificial
covers over what is real
and we become lost in the smoke and mirrors ...
UNTIL
We choose to wean ourselves
from all that which is artificial.
It is process which allows us to become born again.
We drop our illusions,
forgive ourselves,
reclaim oiur innocence
and step into the courageous heart.
(c) 2011 Howard McQueen
What is universal,
lights up my eyes
and all my senses.
Membranes, skin and bones
form these temporary boundaries
and I claim this shell-of-a-body as my home.
Fifty trillion cells coalesce and make agreement to cooperate
in organic, clockwork-like rhythms.
The bounty of our Earth is brought to my table,
all this effort brought to bear to sustain my life
and my awareness.
I am alive and awakening
in this unbelievably raw and beautiful biosphere of existence.
AWESOME ...
WOW ...
May I learn to deeply and steadfastly show my appreciation
for just being alive,
for the blessings of one more morning,
to see the universal in everything living,
especially through the veils of struggle and suffering.
(c) 2011 Howard McQueen
Like experiencing magic for the very first time,
like the first glimpse of the ocean
or the snow-capped mountains,
we hold a depth-of-capacity
to vibrate with delight.
A ten year old sofa bed is retired from the vacation rental cabin
and is donated to a consignment shop.
A single young mother scrapes up the money to buy this,
so very delighted to have something like this to grace her home.
So many wait staff and service people beam their brightest of smiles,
when shown just the slightest of appreciation.
Cultivate your delight
share your delight with others,
and share in the delight of others.
Learn to tune into the vibration and radiation of delight.
Catch all the opportunities to wildly be caught,
to bubble up and effervesce in the contagiousness of delight.
If you catch yourself closed down to the vibration of delight,
ask your inner child if she/he has experienced too much delight.
;-)
Step back on this vibrating train of delight.
It makes stops to honor times of sadness and grief.
You can get back on this train anywhere and anytime.
Your ticket to ride
came pre-paid
for your entire lifetime.
© 2011 Howard McQueen
The troubled mind is so easily isolated, so easily it maneuvers our awareness back into a corner:
too much information,
not enough information,
needing to control outcomes.
The mind cramps and our inner weather darkens
as old patterns of trouble accept invitation to take root and dominate.
LIKE SELLING A HOUSE AND BUYING A HOUSE
The mind wants to quantify and economize.
The mind wants to fantasize and splurge.
The mind wants to become a foreclosure expert.
The mind wants to setup a war room with parcel maps and printouts to track every transaction.
The mind desires discipline and laser focus and a will to exclude all else to get the job done, to complete the mission.
LAYERS & LAYERS TO THE COMMAND AND CONTROL PROGRAMMING
Lightness of being is crowded out with all this mental siege machinery being called into service. What ever happened to the sacred journey, the connection to all that is alive?
Relax!
Reconnect to the warmth of your heart.
Allow your heart to set the intended emotional tone
for what it is you wish to manifest as your home.
Let this scent-of-feeling vision be your guide,
what you constantly consult,
as you navigate this great unknown.
Certainly become familiar and informed with the formulas and mechanics of finance, modeling your budget and monitoring your cash flow.
There is absolutely no need to become fearful and obsessed!
Remember the wisdom in maintaining a lightness-of-being
as your guiding principal.
Wait and watch for the magical signposts
as heartwarming outcomes will manifest
and you will not longer need to summon
all the old patterns of trouble and stress.
© 2011 Howard McQueen
Become deeply anchored in this home, your organic body.
Let your emotions be felt,
passing them through your heart,
to guide your purity of intent.
Intermixed with all the blissfulness,
are the emotions of anger, grief and shame.
These are the emotions that have been allowed
to bypass the heart
and fester in the mind
as wounds that ooze as suffering.
Consider how useless it is for you
to try to take away the suffering of another.
This is their choice, their work, on their terms.
Come to peace with all things.
Remain quietly courageous and joyful,
especially amidst those who are suffering.
Share your presence gently, silently and when sincerely requested.
Be the light, the love, demonstrating this through common,
everyday examples in your encounters with others.
© 2011 Howard McQueen
Set aside, for the moment, that special someone we refer to as our sweetheart.
Turn inwardly with me so together,
we can cultivate an appreciation for our inner heart-space.
You are the chef, the alchemist, the director responsible for the sweetness of your heart. When you place all your resources,
all your being, in the service of keeping your heart sweet,
life itself becomes increasingly sweet.
The sweet heart recognizes that there are bitter and sour experiences
that the heart will be challenged to experience.
The sweet heart gently compels the mind to stay in synch, in partnership.
This nudges the mind so that it does not remain stuck in bitterness
or become soured to life.
The sweetness already exists within, in an inextinguishable abundance.
This is the natural state of the heart, as the feeling center for your entire being.
Feel your world,
feel your heart,
and put your mind into the service of your heart.
© 2011 Howard McQueen
I’m overwhelmed again,
having encountered an inner burden,
a blockage that alters and depreciates
my connection to the present moment.
Being overwhelmed is reaching another inner threshold,
an opportunity to grow, inwardly.
It could be something you need to fully witness to integrate.
It could be shifting your relationship with another and reclaiming your power.
It could be surrendering your walls and armor.
Welcome these moments of being overwhelmed.
Do your work,
to the best of your abilities,
and be gentle and honest with yourself.
There seems to be an infinite depth to the mystery of being alive and aware.
