Acceptance

I've had a lot of education around the concept of acceptance, lately. As I was telling a friend Saturday, When I accept what is, I create a new starting point.

This is true for just about anything in my life. It can be aspects of myself that I don't like. It can be other people. It can be what happened to me the other day. It can be my financial, physical, emoitional situation at this time. It can be how I want something, or expect something, that doesn't exist yet.

Acceptance takes the air out of it. When I am thinking about how much I don't want this, or I need to change it, it has more power. It has power over me. If I give my energy in the form of resistance, it will become stronger and more irritating, frustrating, or painful. When I accept what is, I am no longer resisting, and so it loses it's power.

Because it isn't "it" anyway. It is here, it is part of me. When I resist "it", I am trying to objectify it, trying to separate myself from it. But "it" is right here. So when I accept "it", I am accepting myself.

When I accept myself, I am liberated to accept you.
Sweet.
Larry

Stars in the Bahamas

Walking from the car to the house after a beautiful Christmas Eve celebration, I was fortunate enough to look up from the ground-focus to notice the stars. A clear night, after the relentless rain of the day had been swept away with a cool front, allowed the stars to shine; at least a few. Though my home seems very rural, nearby light sources have reduced the number of magical stars in my night sky. When they are revealed, it is a joy to see.

It reminds me of my delicious trip to the Bahamas on a barefoot cruise aboard a 54 foot sloop, the week after Christmas. Sounds very glamorous, but the boat was spartan, and the skipper had warned everyone that it was like camping in a boat. Not an inaccurate description. I was happy as a pig in mud.

The first night after leaving Miami was spent anchored off an uninhabited key with not a single light source in sight. I brought out the star chart I had purchased at home, with the lattitude and seasonal adjustments, that would allow us to find every constellation in the northern hemisphere. We gathered on the front deck with chart and flashlight. As twilight turned to darkenss, the stars emerged. Then more stars emerged. A flood of stars filled the sky, the sea of stars was so thick that there was no distinction possible that would allow a constellation to be determined or detected. The star chart was useless, the stars would not relinquish their mythological sky-writing to our eyes. We were left with a Bahama breeze, a blanket of stars, and good company. Guess that would have to do.

Peace on Earth
Larry

Work on the book program for Steve Sherwood's book Finding Freedom; The Five Choices That Will Change Your Life is going very well, and is on track to be completed by the end of the month/year. I am ready for purchase and implemented by a client with a national reputation. Even more exciting is the actual work of designing these programs. I can work into the night without getting tired. That's a passion.

I realized how much passion I have for my work, and how easily I can get drawn into it. One of my resistances to that is that I am concerned that I would forget self in that passion, in the work. As that thought came to me, I also realized that it is as much about balance as it is about forgetting Self. One of my ways of being has been to find ways to divert my attention, to relax with distractions. Many times, these behaviors were resorted to out of fear that there would be no time for Self. But if I look at my life with an intention of balance, then I won't resist, I won't react out of fear, and I will have greater control over the time that I am working. If I plan for balance and the activities that create balance, I will be free to focus fully on the task at hand; success. Taking control with intention to create balance in my life will reduce the feeling of loss of control.

But maybe the first step is the acceptance that I don't have control. Accept that I am riding a current. A very strong and powerful current when I am in tune with it.
Larry

P.S. I'd love to hear your comments, please add your thoughts!

Hello!
It's been a while since my last post because I had a real tough time logging on. Now I'm back at it!
I've been thinking about a few subjects lately, one of which is Unconditional Love. I had been thinking all week about that subject and Santa claus as the emitome of that concept. Then yesterday our minister, Rev. Doris Hoskins, devoted our Sunday lesson to that very subject. Go figure.

I'll be back with more later!
Peace on earth
Larry

In reading The I of the Storm by Gary Simmons, I was able to absorb his conception of the harmony of being and doing. In my own vernacular, they feed each other. And there is choice in each of them. We decide what we are going to be; that from which we act out our lives. And we decide our actions.

The interesting thing about acting out our actions is the choice of acting from a consciousness of who we are at the core of our being, or acting out from fear based on past experience. All fear is based on our past experiences and the meanings we give them.

So as I was reading this, I just stopped and focused on being from the state of spirit, from a state of "not-doing" as Lao Tzu says. Yes, it seemed a little like meditation, bordering on sleeping, but there was an intensity of awareness that seemed to drive inward. When it was shattered by the phone ringing, that sudden withdrawal from a state of simple consciousness created a contrast to it that allowed a clear view of what it felt like at its deepest.

I am repeatedly affirmed by the number of occassions where it is acknowledged that the best connection that occurs among people is in a small size of 6-8 people. That seems to be the number that allows for a connection and authenticity for all the members. At that size, they foster a level of safety that encourages even the quietest member to speak up. Yet they are not so large that people get lost in the dynamics, and small enough that the dominant personality doesn't take the power of the room.

That's why the Small Group Book Study works so well for understanding the material and exploring the wisdom of the collective.

Peace & Love,
Larry Watson

Time and Snow

A very light dusting of snow on the roads turned into "black ice" that was so slick that the wind started to turn my car sideways. Four trucks slid off the highway - going uphill. You'd think that after the first one was visible, the others would have slowed down. Huh.

I finally turned around, halfway to my destination, deriding myself for my lack of fortitude, reasoning that the roads would be clearer in a couple hours anyway, but it just wasn't worth it. I felt repsonsible to the people who I was meeting, but at what expense?

So what's the point I'm making? How many times was judgement a part of my thought process? Judgement, guilt, projecting onto other people what I think their motivations were. Concern for how others would judge me.

I am so grateful for the awareness of this judgement, so that there is the possibility of releasing it. I have moved from Unconscious Incompetence, to Conscious Incompetence. I'm still incompetent in the complete release of these thoughts, evidenced by the tightness in my solar plexus, but now I have the opportunity.

"Time runs from present to past." To be continued.

Welcome!
I am happy to begin my blog today for Inspiring Connection, and to welcome you to my world. My intention here is to share my insights and the way my mind takes in this world from a spiritual perspective in a physical world; and sometimes a physical perspective in a spiritual world. I would love any comments that you have.
I found myself, on the 40 minute drive home from a fabulous evening of music playing, dreading the idea of another 50 or 60 minute (with good taffic) drive in the morning for a networking meeting that I would love to attend if I could teleport. But the prospect of that morning "commute" seemed to drag me down. As I approached my sanctuary, I decided it wasn't worth it. I could change my mind in the morning, but the point is that I am paying attention to what my feelings are when I consider a prospective action.
As I came in the door, I realized that it is also my choice as to what my attitude is about that prospective action. Why do I dread it? What bothers me about it? Why do I pay attention to that? How does it serve me?

It had been weeks since I was able to join my friends in the Glendale Guitar Guild (G3). I found myself able to sink into the moment and swim in the music, feel the synchronicity that is live music. Through most of my life, I was convinced I had little musical ability, focusing on my visual artistry instead. But in the past few years, I released the bounds of convention and judgement so that I could "play". Just enjoy what I do, whether it is of a professional polish or not. Creative outlets are one of my core values, and I decided that as long as these guys accept me into their magic, I will participate. And I let the music wash over me, drawing me in, holding my focus, in the moment.
Larry