Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Spiritual Beings Living an Earthly Life?

Perhaps it is the role of any great spiritual leader, especially one based here on earth, from pastors, popes, or Dalai Lamas, to not be so much spiritual beings but earthly beings showing all of us in day to day earthly grinds how to be spiritual in the midst of it.

And how can they do that without living in the midst of it With us?

Not on some spiritual plane somewhere while someone else tends to their 'earthly' needs - wouldn't a lot of people like that, or think they would - but an honest earthly existence like everyone one here is working at, while still maintaining a spiritual life.

Just a thought for anyone considering themselves 'spiritual?'

Friday, August 8, 2008

Bemused Writer Musings Or How I Learned to Clean Better

It’s interesting the things we carry inside us. Hidden in crevasses buried deep in dark secret places, that we’ve never even known existed, let alone excavated. Things we never knew existed at all. Until they come out in inexplicable ways, at strange times. Sometimes not the happening at all, just the catalyst. But just like our houses need spring cleaning so do our souls. No matter what the season. And once we face whatever it is we are carrying inside, it no longer has the power to control us. Still might affect us here and there until we get used to not letting it. As we shine and polish our possessions, which is easier than cleaning and polishing and letting our souls shine, maybe we can let the mundane task [or even hated task] become a more introspective time to let our spirits speak to us.
And vacuuming can be a very zen thing – I saw on a board somewhere that a vacuum cleaner expert said most people really don’t vacuum effectively. Most people run a vacuum cleaner back and forth across the floor as if racing those dust bunnies to the corners.
According to the expert, the vacuuming needs to be done much more slowly, giving the machine time to suck up all the stuff agitated up to the top by the beater bar.
Made sense to me. So I began to try to go more slowly and vacuum better. [and hopefully suck up more dust mites into oblivion! Have you seen what those things Look like!!!]
And I discovered as I moved more slowly it became a more relaxing way to clean. Okay, still not my favorite thing I want to do, or run to do. But better. A bit.
So I say why not try it. Not only helps your environment, your house, and maybe your allergies. But also maybe a help for your soul. To bring body, soul, and spirit, and even environment, more into alignment.
And as a friend and fellow writing group member says – with a wave of her hand, ‘it’s all good.’

But at least we can make it better. Sometimes just by thinking we can. Or at least trying something to help the thinking along. ;)

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Strange things afoot....er, in the air

Trying to work with an aircraft hovering nearby banging at the windows is a bit difficult.

That it’s a legged kind not a metallic one is somehow not a lot of consolation. A bit, of course, but still, the thing is huge! Even for some kind of flying bug!

At first there was just scrabbling noises at the windows. Which I took to be the strange squirrel that sometimes decides to launch himself at our picture window in some kind of effort to….
Well, I’m not exactly sure what he’s trying to do. Wonder if he is some kind of relation to the psychotic squirrels our friends on north side of Richmond have.

But when the scrabbling noise changed to another window – one Much higher on house, it went from being annoying to concerning. Did I mention our friends on north side of Richmond have really psychotic squirrels?

I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or not when I found the cause.
No squirrel, but the biggest flying bug type object I’ve ever seen! And worse – on the Inside of the window!

I think it might be a wasp of some kind. It has taken to buzzing and banging against all the windows in front and back of house, and moved over to window at side of house which is right beside me.
So I have had more time than I care, to have seen it, and its size, as it has zoomed around my space more than a few times. More than a bit unnerving. Which why I have ended up writing this than working on my neglected novel. Easier to do quick get away from.

I’ve debated about searching the house for some kind of gargantuan gaping hole where the ‘thing’ got in. But decided against it, for now.
Don’t particularly want to run into it if it decides to try to get back out that way. Or run into any of its minions if it decides it really likes it here and wants them to come by for a visit, or more. Besides, it’s August, in Virginia. If there was a big gaping hole somewhere I’d surely feel it. The hot humid air alone would be enough to send me keeling over my keyboard in fatigue. [Not to mention sweat.]

No, I think I’ll leave it alone – if it leaves me alone. At least till my husband gets home.
Hopefully I won’t have been carted off somewhere before he does. Psychotic squirrels don’t employ flying minions do they?

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Living Abundantly

We live abundant lives not by the things we surround ourselves with. Or buy, or accumulate, or any of those Things.
We live abundantly by our thoughts and beliefs, of our world around us, and of us.
We are told we create our world, our lives with our thoughts.
Are we told enough that our thoughts create us?