A fledgling is protected by the parent birds
only until such time it grows its wings.
I have shown the way.
You must now be able to follow it up and
find peace wherever you are.
- Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi
Welcome to this blog...a place for the ordinary to be expressed extraordinarily through us all ... as we are Living from the Heart & Flying Free!
This is the first day of the rest of my life...what an appropriate statement for what is happening right now in my life...this being the first day of a "retirement" phase of my life. And, we've only just begun...is the sensed feeling.
The function of Spiritual Director of AHAM was passed on to Stan Davis, yesterday, in our Interlude program (Sunday, October 31st). This was on the eve of our founding Spiritual Director's birthday, Ramana. And, before this first entry is being written, I was in Ramana's room honoring his birthday. I was tuning into this being a full circle of completion... my meeting him in 1978 and the years we spent together in the creation of AHAM ... and now in the handing over of this creation into the hands and Heart of our AHAM Community and the Heart-felt direction of Stan Davis. What a blessed life we have! I am so grateful for this time to have participated in this creation. Now, with everything in place ... our facilities in USA and India ... our Conscious Curriculum...money in the bank ... our Conscious Community ... we've only just begun...
So, as this new life cycle unfolds for Elizabeth ... it began with spending time, here at AHAM, with a dear friend in our AHAM family ... Michele Bordelon. She assisted me in setting up this blog and setting the stage for these communications. Our time together expressed perfectly this next phase of my life as we shared together with no roles or functions involved, as it would have been in the past ... it was simply two friends hanging out together Heart to Heart.
It warms my Heart to begin experiencing the "fruits of our labor" over these past 32 years ... seeing the Heart expressing Itself so naturally and freely within and through Michele. The tables were turned ... I was the recipient of this Heart-felt exchange as I was experiencing the experience of "leaving the nest" of AHAM after 32 years. Michele was right here with me as these feelings came up and simply held a nurturing Heart space of acceptance and Love. What a beautiful feeling to receive in this way. Another full circle was happening.
As Ramana Maharshi shared above, "find peace wherever you are." Whatever is occurring ... wherever the body is placed ... whatever the responsibility ... find peace right where I am ... receiving it all as a blessing.
Over the years, as Ramana was being my conscious friend and being with me in the process of waking up, I had said to him many times, "How can I ever repay you for all that you have given to me?" Each and every time he would say back to me, "Simply by being who you are, Love." Today on Ramana's birthday, I am so happy to be able to give back to him in this way. And, I am overjoyed that this gift is not only from me ... it is from the entire AHAM family!
We've only just begun
White lace and promises
A kiss for luck and we're on our way,
And, YES, we've just begun!
- The Carpenters Song
Love and best wishes for all of your travels!
ReplyDeleteOm Nama Shivaya
Thank you and wonderful journey my dear and precious friend. Thank you for taking me with you and being with me where ever we go.
ReplyDeleteLove
Cheryl
Elizabeth, you asked me this morning how I felt about last night’s call, and only one word emerged, SWEET.
ReplyDeleteI was also feeling that it was a birthday of sorts, the birth of a new chapter for AHAM.
This morning as I was being with the idea of a new chapter, what came even more clearly was a term that many businesses have used and few have followed. In fact, even today one company, Hewlett Packard, has it as their slogan.
The term is, Re-invent.
To me it means building on now rather than the past. It does not mean the past has no value; it does, especially when its lessons are applied and its blessings honored, shared, and lived.
Re-invention to me means constantly examining what we’re doing, asking why we’re doing it, and asking if there’s another way that might serve us and the community better.
It is asking rather than assuming. It’s about honoring tradition without being paralyzed by it, and it is always being in learning rather than protection.
Re-invention requires exploration, wondering, “what-ifing,” curiosity, openness. Feedback is its life’s blood, feedback from people, from results, from the space, and from our inner guidance.
I have worked for many managers who SAID they had an open-door-policy, and they likely thought they did. But, in order to enter through that door, you needed to get on their schedule and be prepared to get “bumped” off that schedule. Their “open door” allowed no feedback.
What I found worked was constantly asking for feedback from those who worked for and with me, and from those for whom I worked. I was not adept at “going inside,” so I took little advantage of that gem mine.
It has to be safe to give feedback. If it’s not, feedback is still-born. Feedback does not have to be followed, just heard, and the feedback donor must feel heard and feel that his or her feedback was fairly considered even if it wasn’t adopted…yet.
As you said last night, Stan, we’ve got a talented group of thoroughbreds assembled, and if their arrows are aligned with the organization’s arrows then a glorious new day dawns for AHAM and the AHAM Conscious Community.
Here’s a beautiful quote about leadership that I shared in a speech I gave two weeks ago at the Chamber:
We must be silent before we can listen.
We must listen before we can learn.
We must learn before we can prepare.
We must prepare before we can serve.
We must serve before we can lead.
Love,
Doug
Thank you, dear, dear Elizabeth for all you have given over the years, and thank you, too, for taking us along on this wide-open, heartfelt journey of yours! We will be with you, and you with us, in the Heart, and on the road, wherever you go. So much love, my friend, and Godspeed! I'm so looking forward to this next chapter of yours, of ours . . .
ReplyDeleteWherever you go, there we are, opening to life's blessings that we might see our own. Oneness is wholsesome.
ReplyDeleteOne Love, that which we are.
Doug