Month: August 2010

INSPIRATION

Humpback Whale

“Your true support system is in each breath that you take.  It is your inspiration: the movement of air that spirals in and out of your mouth and lungs each second of every day.  It is the breathing-in of your Divine Self; your connection with Divine Mind.

And it doesn’t stop with you.  The breath you draw at this moment is the same breath I am drawing.  Wherever you are – whether you are in America or Fiji, Venezuela or Japan – you are breathing the very same breath.

Think about it for just a moment.  There is nothing between the air surrounding you and the air surrounding me.  It carries on in one seamless, invisible network of nitrogen, oxygen and other gasses.  It covers the whole Earth, permeating everything: even the waters of the ocean (there’s just a little more hydrogen down there) and the miles of frozen tundra.

It binds us together as surely as the moon draws the tides across the planet: moving to an unseen tune: guided by the Divine Design.

We are all inspired by the same force of life.

And it doesn’t stop with us humans, either!

The breath that is filling your lungs at this second is the very same breath that swirls around the lungs of the jaguar in the deepest corner of the rainforest and expands the bronchial tubes of the albatross as it wings its silent way far out to sea.  It inspires the tiniest pigmy shrew, which must eat every two hours if it is to survive.  It gives life to the seventy-foot whale, which must eat more than a million shrews could eat in their whole lives with one gulp of its gargantuan mouth!  

It gives colour to every plant and substance to every crustacean.  It touches us all in this instant.  We are all connected: always.  We just have to wake up to who we are.  And to do that, you must take the leap of faith that you took with that very first breath.  You must follow your own inspirations. “

Richard Cawte, Ph.D.   Excerpt from a new book being released soon!  Divine Path –  Stay tuned !!!   www.richardcawte.com

I start this post with Richard’s quote above for many reasons.  This past couple of weeks for me has been driven by “inspiration” and fueled by “intuition”.  Reaching Richard’s website by what I call “divine providence” as I explored one day, I was so taken by the work he is doing in the world that I wrote him an e-mail of gratitude.  Out of that e-mail has come a meaningful and delicious connection that has inspired me tremendously already, and has me more often utilizing my intuition and creative inspiration at every opportunity that I can.

As I read the passages that contained the excerpt above, tears streamed down my face.  To wake up to the immense interconnectedness of all living things is almost more than one can hold.  I do know that your breath – which is your inspiration and your creative expression in the world – is shared by all, including the earth and all of nature – expanding out into the immense universe.  We create it all by our thoughts and the actions stemming from those thoughts.

I invite you to take in the deepest, most expansive breath that is possible for you in this moment and remember….. as you exhale and come to that still pause at the end …. right before the next inspiration  – who and what you are sharing this breath with.  We in-spire each other….

Gaye Abbott, A Breath Inspired Writer

Other Blogs by Gaye:  www.WildlyFreeWoman.net

The Wise Blueberry – Metaphor For Abundance

Wise Blueberry Bush

Oregon is well known for it’s magnificent blueberries and I certainly take advantage of that during picking season – which is right now!  Just the thought of those luscious berries with all of their sweet taste and antioxidant elixir brings me into pure pleasure.  As the scarcity “default” is slowly ebbing it’s way from my thinking I notice even more acutely when it shows up, which is a good thing as I get to choose how I want to think and believe in the moment.  Feeling pretty “on top of things” this past week I realized today that I was taken in by the culture’s “scarcity “and “fear of not enough” models without even realizing it.  That scarcity template is really embedded in our culture, and I couldn’t have resonated with it if it wasn’t in me too!

This last week we have had some blazing hot days and I was hearing from here and there that it was taking a toll on the blueberries and that soon there wouldn’t be any to pick.  Even as recent as yesterday a blueberry grower at the local farmer’s market said that this was the last of her berries and that there would be no more picking on her farm.

Well, I had put off picking every weekend as something else would come up and the month of August has certainly flown and with it the blueberry season.  I noticed a slight panic inside that I wouldn’t get to pick any this year because “they would all be gone!”  I needed to get out there right away!  Many voices around me were saying the same sort of thing buying in to what had been passed down to them.  No wonder we go running about in fear that we won’t have enough – or maybe none at all!

As I called my favorite picking place this morning my question was “are there any more to pick?”.  I had bought in!  The kind woman’s voice on the other side said that there were plenty to pick and that there would be for at least another couple of weeks, maybe even three.  I hung up the phone and said to myself “abundance vs scarcity, now which one do I chose to live in?  A good question and one well worth posing every single day.

Arriving at the blueberry farm this morning I waited to be assigned to my rows to pick.  I was to pick between rows 26 and 27 about midway down as their professional pickers had stopped before the middle.  I then found myself in blueberry heaven, literally!  They were everywhere hanging in huge dark blue/purple clumps just waiting for me to gently remove them from their stems into my waiting buckets.  The sun shone through big puffy clouds and the weather seemed just perfect for picking.  Definitely a breathing space!

Someone in the next row said to their picking partner, “I bet we could come back down this row many times and still find more to pick”.  It was after that comment that from time to time I would turn back and look at where I had picked just moments ago.  It was almost as if I hadn’t even picked there as my eyes would light upon an abundance of berries that I either missed because I was not fully taking in all of the abundance right in front of me, choosing instead to look down the aisle for the next bunch…. or that better yet the blueberry fairies were placing berries back on the limbs faster than I could pick.  I kind of like the idea of the fairies myself…but know that it was most definitely the former reason!

Abundance or Scarcity?

The belief in scarcity/lack communicates to our bodies and many things can and will happen over time.  Our breath most certainly will become shallow and tight, our muscles contracted, as we grasp for more and more and more – never able to “fill up”.  Taking a very large and deep breath I realized that when we believe, feel and think in abundant ways  – that will be our experience.  When we believe, feel and think in scarcity/lack modes – that will be our experience.  The wise blueberry bush had taught me a deep lesson for the day – more is here NOW, in this very moment.  What would our lives be like, the health of the planet and all life on it if we perceived everything as abundant with more than enough to have and share for the well being of all living things?  Live in that question – and try on the blueberry metaphor.

Gaye Abbott
Blue handed and caught in joy…

Blueberry Breathing Space:  For my favorite local Oregon blueberry picking go to Facebook and look up Radke Blueberries in Corvallis!

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:  www.WildlyFreeWoman.net

NOT Waiting to Exhale: Stop Holding Your Breath, and Start Living Your Life

Sylvia Beach Hotel, Newport, Oregon

When we hold our breath, we constrict the flow of life force by clenching our bodies, or by telling ourselves limiting stories.  We are practicing separation, instead of belonging.  We are literally putting up walls to the experiences and people that have the potential to not only change our lives, but to open them wide up!  Yesterday a very good woman friend and I took off for the coast on a whim, and a desire, to be out in the rare sunshine at this time of year.  What was to be a pleasant day spent in nature and in good conversation turned out to be a phenomenal 24 hours!  What changed our direction?  Intuition, a willingness to let go of an agenda, a hunger for adventure, creative passion, a willingness to trust in the unknown and –  NOT waiting to exhale!  It was in the exhale that we let go and opened room for “inspiration” to fill us back up again.

What came out of this decision?  An absolute feeling of freedom and joy walking on the beach knowing that we had an entire afternoon, evening, and morning to just be; moments to soak up sunshine on the veranda of the hotel; laughter, play, and connection with “strangers” at our shared dining experience playing “2 Truths and a Lie”; a sensual dining and breakfast experience with luscious food; feeling into the rhythms of our bodies as to when to stay up and read late into the night, or go to  bed early; connecting with people that held some direction to a big personal leap that is up coming (Note here – synchronicity shows up more often when you follow your intuition/gut feeling in the  moment!); and the inspiration to create a “Spontaneity Bag” which is an overnight bag that holds just what you need for a spontaneous decision to stay overnight, drive off in an unknown direction, or even hop on a plane or train – totally unplanned.  Perhaps it should be called an “EXHALE BAG” – and note here that it should be kept with you at all times!

Here is a short 3 minute video called JUICE (click here) bringing the wisdom of a 5-year old.

and another tool that will remind you to NOT wait to exhale for those of you that are on your computer a lot.  Install it and be reminded to be in the moment and breathe:

http://www.mindfulnessdc.org/mindfulclock.html

Gaye Abbott, RYT
Natural Passages Consulting  

NOTE:  Stay tuned every Wednesday for a  “recycling” of one of the e-zine articles that I have written over this year of 2010.  Each Saturday there will be a post that will collaborate with a new e-zine article published on Sunday.  If you would like to be on my e-zine list, Taking a Breather, please send me your e-mail address to: JoyfulGaye@NaturalPassages.com You can also subscribe to this blog so that you are alerted to new posts.  Thank you!!

Compliance or Creativity?

“Creative living does not mean only the creative life of the artist.  To make art is wondrous, enriching, and indispensable.  But it is just as essential to enjoy the freedom to live creatively whatever we may be doing, whether it’s slicing carrots, cutting flowers, trading bonds, baking bread, taking a walk, drawing a breath, riding a bus – or writing poems, symphonies, or novels.  The portrait of the artist is really about the creative spark that exists in each of us, young, old, and in between, that is enlivened by solitude.  When that spark is ignited, our lives feel rich and meaningful; when it stays buried, we go about the business of living ready-made, compliant, rule-dominated lives, wondering what went wrong and how to change it. “  –Florence Falk from On My Own

I am certain that Julia Cameron of The Artist’s Way would agree with that statement as she affirms that creativity is everyone’s birthright and I say is medicine as essential and health giving as the breath.  Art teaches us to express how we feel – as the breath teaches us how to live fully embodied lives.

We come already equipped at birth to live full and vibrant lives.  Of course not all of us are born into circumstances that promote that way of living, and some of us come in with early, or acquired later on in life,  health challenges that we assume affects our ability to live creatively or breathe fully.  The challenge here is for each of us to see and feel what may be in our way of uncovering the full creative expression – and breath! – that we were born with (even if we feel “I don’t have a creative bone in my body” or “I have a health challenge that prevents me from fully breathing/living.”) Did you know that the Balinese don’t even have a word for art in their language because everything is creative!

Get curious!  Give yourself some solitude to explore.  Perhaps uncover – or honor – a passion – and watch what happens to the breath as you savor the experience and entertain the possibilities that seem to birth themselves out of nowhere.

Compliant or Creative??  You choose….

Here are some suggestions from most challenging to easy:

*Quit your present job (that you cannot possibly fully express YOU in) and bring your passion to life!  For this one please go to www.infinitevisionart.com for inspiration!!!!!!….and watch this video: 

  Be certain to look at The Artist and The Beautiful Project!!

*Go on an Artist Date weekly by yourself and spend one hour exploring a place/art/music/etc that inspires you.

*De-clutter your living spaces and find your creative energy coming back that was lost in the mess.

*Take a Gratitude Walk (more on this in future posts) and put your attention on what you are grateful for – including the surroundings you are walking through.

*Eat a meal mindfully and slowly paying attention to the colors, textures, tastes and smells.

*Send a friend, family member (or even stranger) a card that you have created.

*Be still and breathe in this moment….

Gaye Abbott
Breathe Fully, Live Fully!