Harmony

The other day I ran into Starfire, a wonderful Tai Chi teacher.  We hadn't practiced together for a long time, so I asked him what he was working on.  He said he was focusing on "yielding" as he practiced the form. 
Tai chi is all about balance, black and white, yin and yang, yielding and resisting; so I wondered why the emphasis on yielding.  I decided to try it in my own practice and discovered, much to my delight, the lack of balance I had in my own practice.  (Oh boy, something new to notice and work on).  Unconsiously, I had been emphasising resisting much more than yielding when I did the form.
This stands to reason since I started practicing martial arts in order to "defend" myself more ably and become stronger and more powerful.  Even though both Tai Chi and Aikido stress gentleness and flow, throwing people more effortlessly and with less muscle was how I enterpreted those ideas.  Many of my teachers also stressed harmony, but their ideas sort of bounced off me without taking root. I couldn't figure out what they meant.  Harmony with what?  The attacker?  The form itself?  How could I use the idea of harmony to be stronger and more powerful?  And throw people better.
Practicing yielding, I began to understand the idea of harmony.  I realized that my body felt softer, more opened, and more available to what was around me.  I enjoyed the feeling of peace and depth the practice gave me. Suddenly I was struck by the realization of a simple truth:  yielding to what is means totally accepting what is, and when you accept completely what is, you are in harmony with it. 
There is no more powerful place to be then in a harmonic relationship with the universe.
When I made my practice about resistence, I was anticipating conflict and preparing myself for it.  When I practiced yielding, I noticed that I anticipated nothing and was therefore more able and available to flow with life. As I practiced I also noticed that I felt more and more like an integral part of the natural world.
That's what we all are, of course, but in our attempts to control our environment and those around us we lose touch with those subtle forces that help us feel our connection to it all.
Yielding demands that we trust: ourselves, each other, the world around us, and life itself.
Today's message from the Universe?  Yield. 
This is a fascinating practice. Try it and see what harmonizes with you, and what you harmonize with. 
What beautiful music you will make.
Love, Kristine

Temperance

For some reason, I am reluctant to analize this card.  It feels like too much to me, so that is a sure sign that this is a card I need to look at.

An angel with red wings pours water from one goblet into another.  She stands with one foot on the land and one in the water.  In the background a path over the foohills and into the mountains leads to a shinning crown.  Three yellow lillies grow on her left, one bud and two in full flower.

The red wings are interesting.  Red is the color of passion, and passion and angels just don't seem to go together.  Passion and temperance don't seem to go together either, so perhaps the red wings indicate that passion is what lifts and motivates us out of our everyday cares and woes and into more inspirational and inspiring activities.  That idea feels pretty good.
 
The feet placed both on land and in the water indicate  the willingness to be rooted in "reality" (i.e. accept what is) and at the same time the willingness to accept change and flow in one's life and to be guided by one's emotional nature.
 
The water being poured from one cup to another tell us that despite our perspective on any subject, there is no duality, no good or bad, victim or vicimizer; all is truly one if we have the wisdom to let go of our ridgid constructs and let life flow.

Lillies symbolize purity, chastity, and innocence. Yellow lilies represent the pure joy of the spirit that show us our own beauty and creative importance in this world of ours. The flowers are our current blessings, and the bud indicates the growth of more in our lives if we cultivate our ability to appreciate what we have.

The path shows us the way towards enlightenment (the crown representing the crown chakra).  Sometimes the path is gentle, sometimes hard and rocky, but, as O Sensei said , "There are many roads to the top of Mt. Fuji, but the summit is always love."

Temperance, the title of the card, reminds me of the old Greek adage, "Everything in moderation".  It reminds us to take things slow, be patient, and allow life to show us the way.  Don't try to force anything, even spiritual growth.  Trust yourself, trust life, and all will be well with you.

Well, that wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be.  I guess the lesson is to trust what's in front of me, begin the enquiry, be patient, and new understandings will emerge easily and naturally.  This is just the message from the universe that I need.  I hope you benefit from it too.
Love, Kristine

10 Minutes of Appreciation

It's 9:00 and I'm going to write about the things I appreciate until 9:10. I'm told that if I can do this for 30 days, my life will change because I'll be altering my "set point" to a more optomistic point of view. I'm all for that. After all, at the beginning of this year I pledged to learn to live a happier life. So, time's a-wasting. Time for appreciating.

I'll start by appreciating this effort. I'm so glad that I'm on this path. Already it's made a difference. Each day feels fresher and I feel more alive. When I feel myself embarking on a dark path, I notice it and shift my thoughts. It really does change things.

The power to enjoy my life is in my hands, and I'm really learning that as I practice this way of being. It's great to understand that I'm not a victim to my moods, I'm the instigator. Once I realized that, I could make the changes in my patterns of thought that made me feel helpless and powerless to do anything about my unhappiness.

So that's great, and what I'm learning is how simple a satisfying life can be. Sure, happiness can come by achieving a long sought after goal, but the moments that make up each day are truly the life I'm living. How can I enrich each moment? I can appreciate all I have in it. The people I'm with, the place I'm at, the beauty that surrounds me, the love in my heart; I can notice all those things and feel at peace and at one with all that is.

I appreciate the people who provide me with the signposts that keep me on this path. My friend Marguarite said that she's decided that God is the muse of creativity, and harmony is the way that spirit is revealed. She's a singer, but in all things there is truth here. God is the creative spark in us all, and harmonizing with the moment is what helps that spark flame into being.

Aikido is called "The Way of Harmony", and now I understand what that means. Harmonizing with the moment means being in concert with what is, completely accepting what is and aknowledging my responsibility for what is.

Ekhart Tolle, a great teacher, talks about the power of the moment, and how being present to what is helps one feel at peace and alive. It's true. I've noticed that the more I notice everything involved with NOW, the less I worry about LATER. Later takes care of itself if I pay attention to now. I can plumb the depths of now and discover myself, what I enjoy, what is, and the seeds of what will be.

It's 9:10. I feel much better. How about you?