Winter brings short days and cold nights. Traditionally, winter is a time for evaluation, for resting, for going within, for reviewing the previous year, and planning the next. During this time, many of us make our New Year’s resolutions.
The seasons exist within us and we are intimately connected with the cycles of the earth. When we align our lives with the energy of each season, we leverage unseen forces in the universe that govern the rhythm and cycles of life on this planet (see The Astrology of Time by Gary Goldschneider).
Agricultural communities naturally understand the seasonal cycles of planting, cultivating, harvesting, and resting. In our technological, hypernetworked, information age we can telecommute to work, tune into 24-hour news, and push ourselves into a non-stop lifestyle that feels like a videotape viewed on fast-forward. Events rush into, through, and out of our lives with little reflection.
Do you feel that time is something to be managed? Or savored? When we live in the present moment—in the eternal now—we naturally know when to turn inward and rest. When we take off our watches, put down our datebooks, take a deep breath and trust in our intuition, we know exactly what to do next. (This knowing is often our first thought or impulse, the subsequent conversation in our heads is mind-chatter and second guessing.) Go within, find your silence, and make use of the “Pause” button on your VCR of life. It will make the “Play” time that much sweeter.
Peace to all beings,
Tony Cecala, Ph.D.
“Things turn out best when they
happen at the right moment.”
—Gary Goldschneider
“The Master gives himself up to
whatever the moment brings.”
—Zen saying
Have you ever noticed that when you feel good about yourself, you feel like you can do anything? How about when you like yourself and focus on what excites you and what you are passionate about? Does it not feel like doors open magically and that there truly are no limits?
When Caroline Myss (author, Sacred Contracts : Awakening Your Divine Potential, and Anatomy of the Spirit : The Seven Stages of Power and Healing) spoke in Dallas recently, she said that the most powerful force in the Universe, more powerful even than love, is our self-esteem. Nothing is more important than that we feel good about ourselves and that we help others to feel good about themselves.
How do we do this? Cheryl Richardson (life coach and author of Life Makeovers, and Take Time for Your Life) said that she found a joyful picture of herself at 10 months of age and placed it above her desk. Any time she hears her “inner critic”, she looks at that picture and asks herself if she would ever say or do anything to wound that beautiful little spirit inside that little girl.
Sometimes we can be supportive and nonjudgmental of our friends, yet often we do not apply these same principles to ourselves. By asking ourselves how we would respond if whatever we are upset with ourselves about had happened to our best friend, we can begin to learn how to be our own best friend. Cheryl Richardson found it helpful to remind herself that, “even if I fail, I will stand by me anyway.” She placed this phrase on a card above her desk where she could read it often. This has helped her to be able to take risks and to create her enormous success.
Perhaps, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, we can all discover that the power existed within us all along. By paying attention to how we feel and by moving in the direction of what makes us feel good, we will feel better about ourselves. Co-creating with likeminded others can make our life experience even more joyous. Part of the gift that our happiness brings to the world is in helping others to see what is possible, to feel inspired, and to be happy themselves.
Wishing you all the best on your journey.
Felicia Weiss, Ph.D.
