Being Childlike

Flagler Beach, Florida

Have you ever been at the beach and just wanted to run through a flock of sea gulls? As Lina and I watched the sun rise here at the Atlantic Ocean, this opportunity came up and I went for it. What a free feeling!

"Be very, very simple, very un-complex, very natural, like very small happy children, undisturbed by what happened yesterday or what may happen tomorrow, but living and enjoying the ever present Now to the very full. Never try to possess anything, never try to hold on to anything, because when you do, you cannot be simple and childlike, for you are full of fear, you are afraid of losing that which you are trying to cling on to. When you can open your hearts and share all the good and perfect gifts, which I pour down upon you, holding on to nothing, then you know the true meaning of the freedom of the Spirit and you really are free. When all is out in the open and you have nothing to hide, what a glorious feeling it is." (Eileen Caddy of Findhorn, Scotland)

When I arrived in Florida a month ago, an experience took place that gave me an opportunity to let go into this child-like "holding on to nothing" that is being shared here.

I was about an hour from my destination when the right front tire blew on the car and it went out of control on the highway. There was no steering or brakes. As it was happening, everything slowed way down and there was a clear seeing of the entire experience from Awareness. The body was in a bubble of Grace and was not hurt. It is so clear, as I look back on the experience now ... there is only an appearance that we have control ... we have never had control and will never have control. It is just like the player piano, it looks like and sounds like the song is being played by the musician. But, the song is already on the reel and it's all just getting played out.

This revelation brought forth a child-like quality that is meeting every moment with a sense of awe and wonder. Not missing any opportunity to fly with the sea gulls.

As I drive now, in my new/used car, it feels kind of unreal how it all came together so effortlessly. I am so grateful for these blessed experiences that free us of any remnants of holding on, to then release the hidden splendor of the Creative Essence that we all are. Each day, each moment is a miracle happening.

Simply enjoying it all as it is.

Celebrating Being Together

Wafarer,

Your body is my prayer carpet,

For I can see in your eyes

That you are exquisitely woven

With the finest silk and wool

And that Pattern upon your soul

Has the signature of God

And all your moods and colors of love

Come from His Divine vats of dye and Gold.

- Hafiz

Since our last communication, I received this very meaningful letter from Mary. She gave me the go ahead to share it with you…

Dear Elizabeth,

How special it is to be able to spend a few minutes "with you" and see how your day unfolded. Two things come to mind, the first is a "gatha" I say in starting each day. It is from Thich Nhat Hanh's book Peace is Every Breath.

Waking up this morning, I smile.
Twenty-four brand new hours are before me.
I vow to live each moment fully
and to look at all Beings with eyes of compassion.

The other is a song that had come to me in the mountains and that I sang over the phone during our NNP follow-up calls.

We are the river, the mountains;
We are the trees, the ground;
We are the fish and the ocean,
The Heart where Love abounds.

For there is no other, there is no other, there is no other, there is only One.

Several other verses have come to me from time to time. I feel such gratitude and love of life. Your guidance at AHAM freed me to live with joy moment by moment.

Much love to you,

Mary

I’ve been here in Florida for almost three weeks already. There has been such a sweet gathering with a number of folks here. We celebrated in this Love and Oneness that Mary shares in her letter...simply being together.

Here's Dan & Jenny (& baby) at a gathering for 11-11-11 in Orlando...

Here is Cheryl, Lucas, Charlotte and I, at the same gathering on 11-11-11...

Kelly and Cheryl celebrating at exactly 11:11pm on 11-11-11...

... and Richard joining in ... we all raised the roof ... all 400 of us ...

Later that week, here is Charlotte and I with Annette at a little place by the sea called Cedar Key... while visiting her in Gainesville...

..."living in joy moment to moment"...no matter what arises...so grateful to be alive.

Thank you, Rich ...

The Gift of Life

This beauty will not show itself

like a face or hands or any bodily thing at all,

nor as a discourse or a science,

nor indeed as residing in anything,

as in a living creature

or in earth or heaven or anything else,

but being by Itself with Itself always in simplicity;

while all the beautiful things elsewhere

partake of this beauty in such manner,

that when they are born and perish

IT becomes neither less nor more

and nothing at all happens to IT....

-Mary Oliver

Today, have we fully received the gift of life? Have we been alive to each moment as life unfolded its magnificence before us? In one tradition, it is called “mindfulness,” in another tradition it is simply “being aware.” Do we live each day as it was our first and our last?

There is a lot of talk about a great shift that is occurring on this planet. There are many perspectives as to what is going happening…some good and some not so good.

As I am here in the N.C. mountains, it has become so clear to me the simplicity of it all. As Esther and I walked in the Dupont Forest today, hiking the trail up to the Triple Falls, this very basic question came to me: ”Am I fully present in this moment, receiving this gift of life?”

When I truly received what was in front of me, with love and gratitude, I realized this simple act of being fully present honors the gift of life in all of its various expressions. Gratefully receiving it all, is the contribution I can make to this “shift” taking place, which seems to be bringing us all back in touch with our Wholeness.

I received a beautiful You Tube today that shares this perspective so perfectly. You may want to view it yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5DYFL4Wl4k

So, just another day in the simplicity of living life to its fullest…oh, how remarkable and magnificent and holy it is!


May I never not be frisky,
May I never not be risqué.

May my ashes,
when you have them, my friend,
and give them to the ocean,
leap in the froth of the waves,
still loving movement,
still ready,
beyond all else,
to dance for the world.

- Mary Oliver