Tag Archives: community

Community, Gratitude and Peace.

Say Yes To Domestic Peace

Witta markets

The Witta Markets (Third Saturday of the month)

I’ve been running, running and all this wonderful energy has been channeled into playing catch up after our month of moving madness. So now it’s Saturday and we’ve been in our new home for just over two weeks and our last brief abode is receding into a distant dream peopled by archetypal animals and a psychopathic character that probably belongs more in the realm of nightmare. Whew! Still in a constant state of gratitude for the beautiful community that my Beloved and I live in. Market days amidst green grass and trees as we drink our coffee and chai latte on almond milk and talk about the wonderful Walk Against Domestic Violence that launched a new initiative, “Say Yes to Family Peace”. We had an internationally renowned choir master teach us the song we sang as we walked down the main street and the police car drove in front of us so we could walk safely. The words we sang were “Walk with me, hold my hand, I don’t want to walk alone”.

Ordinary people doing extraordinary things

And so many people do feel alone even when they are in the middle of a crowded city surrounded by countless other millions of isolated folk. The gap between the rich and the poor keeps getting more and more like a bottomless abyss and the politicians have become quite blatant about supporting their rich mates over the average working Australian. Let’s face it, we have enough technical know how and resources these days that the idea that everyone needs to work for a living is simply not true. I love this quote from Buckminster Fuller:

buckminster fuller“We should do away with the absolutely specious notion that everybody has to earn a living. It is a fact today that one in ten thousand of us can make a technological breakthrough capable of supporting all the rest. The youth of today are absolutely right in recognizing this nonsense of earning a living. We keep inventing jobs because of this false idea that everybody has to be employed at some kind of drudgery because, according to Malthusian Darwinian theory he must justify his right to exist. So we have inspectors of inspectors and people making instruments for inspectors to inspect inspectors. The true business of people should be to go back to school and think about whatever it was they were thinking about before somebody came along and told them they had to earn a living.”
― R. Buckminster Fuller
Maleny Co-op

The Co-op where I buy my organic produce.

So I am incredibly grateful that I do live in a place where people are valued just for being who they are. What you do for a living or how much money you have in the bank don’t tell me if you are a kind and gentle person, or if you have an open heart. Living in a place where people and community are considered important gives me a bit of insulation from the outside world which sometimes frightens me. In the state of New South Wales just below the state that I live in the premier of that state has just sacked a whole lot of councils. Because of corruption or ineptitude perhaps? No, because they opposed developers wanting to build roads in places where the community was very much against the proposals. And if anyone wants to protest his undemocratic behaviour he has brought in new laws to take away that basic human right.

roman debauchery

Comparisons with the corruption of the Roman Empire keep springing to mind, the rich today are starting to look more and more like the moral degenerates that abounded as that empire went through it’s last gasps. Thank the Goddess for grass roots movements that are these days filled with ordinary folk who are beginning to wake up to the fact that our governments are much more interested in feathering their own nests than they are in doing the job they were supposed to be elected for. Because I’m an optimist and I believe that there will be a way forward into a brand new day of true harmony and connection for the people on this beautiful planet. Just don’t look to governments for this direction, look into your own heart and find the peace within yourself. That is something that no dictator can take from you, it is a quality that will create happiness for you and those around you no matter what craziness is going on in the world.

Big Rainbow

End of rant, shanti, shanti, shanti……peace, peace, peace…..

Moving On Towards The Next Miracle.

moving-outWell I guess the aversion to technology is still very much with me, seeing as I didn’t manage a post last week at all! Plus there has been rather a lot going on in the inner realms, and yes for those who have been following me for any length of time you are rolling your eyes and saying, tell me something I don’t know. Well I do have something new to tell you and it is stirring things up although not quite as much as it might have before my Vipassana experience. Just as my Beloved and I have become settled and happy in our funky little flat we got the news  a week ago now that we have to move out. Not because of any problems with our tenancy, our wonderful landlords need the space back and are very sorry to see us go.

kerry in the kitchen SM

The wonderful new kitchen I was so excited about!

So once again we need to create a miracle and find a place where we can have our privacy at an exceptionally cheap rate. Our little flat has also been serving as a space where we can see clients so that is also something that we need to organise and all of this at bargain basement prices. If I was feeling a little anxious I think that most people would consider me completely normal. Well there has of course been some anxiety kicking around but not as much as you might think, I am still in the space of not being reactive which was such an enormous gift from my silent retreat. We took a couple of days to process the news and then began to put the word out into the community for a new place to call home.

community connection

There are various practical things one can do out in the world when seeking to create a new beginning, but just as important is the work you can do inside yourself. Yesterday my Beloved and I did some toning together, this is where you intone the vowel sounds and create harmonics that you can feel go right through you. We were toning away when we began to go into a very deep pitch with the sounds, I became aware as we were doing this that our sounds were grounding our new home into place.  This is how we can use more of our human potential, by exploring all the different ways to access the incredible treasures that every single person on the planet has inside of them. These kinds of creative processes are powerful in a very practical sense. Not only can they help to create the future you desire but in the short-term it can dissipate feelings of anxiety and fear.

So here’s to the new abode that will house the inspiring presence of “The Love Bubble Presents”! Letting go of fear and embracing trust I move into the flow of a meaningful and prosperous life, aho!

Occupy Christmas Three Years On!

christmas-spice-cakes-with-chocolateHere is a post from Christmas Day 2012, comments on a culture of commodities and consumerism!

You know those cooking shows where they don’t have time to let things cook and so there’s an already finished dish ready to present, well this Christmas Day post is a bit like that. There’s no way I’m going to be writing my blog on that day so here is something I prepared earlier, some thoughts on the whole tinsel and tree, food and presents, family dynamics extravaganza.

The thing that strikes me about the festive season is the amount of stress that people put themselves through, going into debt to buy presents they can’t afford that will have fallen apart by the end of the school holidays. The spirit is still in there somewhere but our culture’s habit of turning everything into a commodity does get in the way at times of the coming together in community that is for me, the essential nature of Christmas.

christmas-decoration

If you’ve read any of my previous entries you may well be sick of me talking about community, but I think it is not only important for me but for the whole of humanity. If we don’t work out how to move into a higher level of co-operation with each other than the sun may well be setting not only on our current civilisation, but on the entire human race. For most of the ‘sheeple’ the fact that we need to do this doesn’t even register as they continue to be blinded and dumbed down by the toxicity of our food, media, government and other institutions.

occupy-wall-street-protest-signs

As always though, I am the eternal optimist; and while I can see that many are still wearing blinkers, there are also many who are beginning to wake up. The internet and social media are playing an important role in this process, it is getting harder and harder for those who are shafting us to get away with it and they know it.

sunshine happy

We really do live in exciting times and I for one am glad to be alive in a time of such incredible transformation. Let the incredible journey continue as we move into the exploration of what the next stage of being human might look like!

 

 

Spring Cleaning: Creating New Life!

The Snowy Mountains.

Wildflowers in Spring!

My Beloved and I are looking after a beautiful place for a few weeks and it has come at rather a critical time in our mutual unfolding. It seems easier here somehow to put in the time to meditate, to dance and to reflect upon the vision which is growing like wildflowers in the Spring time. And lo and behold it is indeed Spring so we are in sync with the seasons! We are growing our vision and writing some of it down in a very special book with handmade paper and a purple jewel  on the cover, that was a gift for our commitment ceremony.

Our very special vision book!

Our very special vision book!

My intention to begin training in preparation for the 10 day Vipassana retreat next year is providing a great platform for exploring what is going on within myself. I sat in meditation for two lots of 20 minutes, the first one was sitting unsupported and simply watching the breath and the body. And of course coming back from the distractions, watching where my thoughts were going. In the second one I wanted to look at obstacles to receiving abundance which brought my awareness to my uneasy belly. I could feel the fear moving out of the cells of my body and it left me with the sense of being more present and available.

buddha impermanence

So it is not so much about ‘doing’ although of course action does need to follow intention, it is to do with ‘being’ whatever it is you are passionate about. Put that out into the world as clearly as I can and then let people find me. It felt like a warm and cosy space where I am comfortable being myself and where all my needs are met with ease and grace. And it does help enormously that I have a partner who is on the same page and who is working with similar or the same issues. We bring our similarities and our differences to the table and from that we have an incredibly rich resource from which to create.

spirit lovers chakras

We also live in an amazing community and I felt into that in my meditation even before I began focusing on what was leaving my body. There were lovely people building and painting outside and hearing the sounds and feeling the gorgeous energy of where we are living got me all warm and fuzzy in my heart space. Having supportive and open people around you is so important when you are wanting to grow and evolve upon the spiritual path. I think it is going to be a very powerful time here in paradise, I will keep you posted so until next week…… namaste!

Big Rainbow

Strength And The Bubble Of Love!

Us on the day of our workshop!A couple of posts ago I wrote about the commitment ceremony that my Beloved and I had been planning for an entire year. So we have now passed through that important milestone and I can now report to you that I do feel very different. It was the culmination of the many processes that have accelerated our growth and expansion as we have explored relationship as a spiritual practice. I have been feeling more confident in myself as well as ridiculously happy!

The old Kerry was always worried about being a ‘good’ girl and getting things right, with the underlying feeling that this was doomed to fail no matter how hard I tried. Now I find myself easily stepping into my larger self who is more concerned with creating a life that is in alignment with my values rather than satisfying someone elses idea of what is right or wrong. For example if I see a discrepancy in say a work situation I will simply ask the appropriate question seeking clarification. Well how hard can that be I hear you ask! There was a time when I would agonise over such an issue and possibly even not end up asking the question.
StrongWoman

To simply be who I am without apology is the most liberating feeling and it gives me a sense of personal empowerment. This is something I can then bring to my sacred union, and to have someone I love deeply celebrating my achievements with me takes the whole thing up to an even higher level. So we feed off each other and expand even more and that energy bubble of love becomes bigger and bigger. That energy field that we create together is an important aspect of how we contribute to our community, we are quite literally spreading the love.

Dancing Lovers.

So be inspired if you like by our love story and find your own unique way of creating love and kindness in the world. If each of us could find that place in ourselves the world would be in much better shape.

 

The Warm And Cosy Nest Of Love.

Dancing Lovers.There are times when I want to lie forever in the warm nest that my Beloved and I make between us. Exploring the frontiers of pleasure and connectedness to another being so deep that you often have the sense of almost being merged with them. It’s a cosy little world and when I am in it I don’t ever want to leave. Then I go out in the world to work and to connect with my community, to interact with a different environment. That too can be magnificent, just as long as I keep nurturing that place called home that we have created together and separately. The place in myself that is love that I do not actually carry, it is more that it is the truth of who I am.

heart_of_oneness

One of my important jobs is to be as happy as I can be and to radiate that joy out into the world as widely as I can. I am considering the possibility of being out in the world a bit more depending on some outcomes, I will have to remember the light and remember to radiate. Taking my bubble of love out into this strange world we have created is an opportunity to spread the energies of love and of compassion.

Big Rainbow

May all Beings everywhere be happy and free!

Love and blissings to all beings everywhere!

The Courage To Live Life To The Full!

child wonderEmptiness can be very full, a blank canvas stretching out within the core of the soul’s journey that can seem terribly bleak if your view of the world tells you that you must always ‘know’ and understand every little thing. But if you are prepared to be a child again and get excited about the unknown then that clear space of nothing is full of raw potential that is simply waiting for your focus to become something wonderful!

ecstaticdancer2I have been feeling a bit anxious about various aspects of my life even as I revel in my deeply satisfying relationship, old habits die hard they say and the mind tends to go looking for justification for its sometimes rather strange notions. I sat in a medicine circle not so long ago and one of the messages coming through loud and clear was that I am living an amazing and ecstatic life right here and now.

And it isn’t hard to see life that way if I am prepared to truly go out on a limb and ignore all the messages from the everyday world that say you have to be in a regular job and fit in to society’s way of thinking. I don’t work nine to five and instead of renting or living in my own home I do house sitting, it means I can live in places that my current income would never be able to support. In the modern world status is gathered by the material things we accumulate, if you were to judge me by those standards then you’d have to say that I am an utter, utter failure.

free spirit

Luckily I don’t see it that way, and when my mind encounters early programming that tells me I’m not good enough it doesn’t take too long to realise what’s going on. So much of what we’ve been told about the world is based on narrow views of reality that leave out all the best bits, like spirituality and love, community and compassion. Time to do what Terence McKenna recommends and to “tell society to fuck off!”

The Princess And Her Soulmate In The Magic Kingdom.

Magic_Kingdom CastleOnce upon a time in the Magic Kingdom there lived a commoner princess who loved the caring, hearted community that she left only for very important reasons. After all there was not anything much that she couldn’t find to satisfy her deepest needs in this place that often seemed to run at a different rate of time, just like the Faerie Kingdom. Wonderful and creative people, good food and music, all at standards usually only seen in more metropolitan settings, here in the Magic Kingdom one can have ones vegan, raw cake and eat it too!

Raw Key Lime Tart.

Raw Key Lime Tart.

The only thing missing was a companion at her side to share the wonder and stimulation of this place where empowerment and stepping into ones magnificence is positively encouraged. Over almost three years she had connected to a vibrant pulsing interconnected  system that has developed through the strong intentions of those who saw that recognising our co-dependance on each other was imperative in order to navigate turbulent times. The princess kept doing her inner work and refining her diet and began to spend a lot of time with the Mother in Sacred Circle, she asked the Mother to help her to do whatever was required to make space for her love to come through.

princessfairys

passionate embraceAnd so she met her soulmate, he too sat in Sacred Circle with the Mother and so they neatly avoided much of the surface nonsense that can sometimes be there at the beginning of getting to know another soul. When one has been in intimate space with another in a circle created by all of the participants, there is a connection that makes absolute honesty much easier. So they courted online for a month before meeting in the Magic Kingdom and discovering that the promise they had suspected was in fact a flowering harvest, ripe for the plucking!

And that will be quite enough of that for the moment, stay tuned for the sequel to my tale of the commoner princess, Queen of Hearts and a long way from perfect, just like you or me.

For now Farewell!

From Uneasy Belly To Joy…And Back Again.

The view from my seat.

The view from my seat.

I look for ways of taking myself out into the world while still doing all the things that need to happen for life to be supported. It’s better right now to be away from home where possible and that is having a rather delightful effect. I’m doing things such as writing this post out in my community, on a bench at the back of the library overlooking the creek at this very moment!

I can hear the kids at the playground and the cars passing through the roundabout on a busy saturday afternoon. My town is a bustling hub and it’s nice to be out of it in a peaceful fairly solitary place, but still in earshot. It’s warm with a touch of coolness in the air, fluffy white clouds in a deep autumn blue sky, perfect weather in fact so I’m truly glad to be out in it.

autumn clouds maleny

Life is good and so very worth celebrating anytime really, you can always find something to be grateful for. I’m grateful for where I live and for the gorgeous friends who provide such a wondrous support network, satisfying so many levels of my being. Even so, when I have to be away from my Beloved for as long as four days! Well thank the Goddess for the love that I receive in my community, the stimulation to my mind, heart and soul.

Big Rainbow

 

And any discomfort that I may feel from wherever it may come, is only ever temporary. I go from heart and soul brimming over with joy and love to uneasy belly, and then back again. So remembering to breathe and to connect with Mother Earth for grounding, I allow myself to be with whatever feelings are moving and I sigh, as I let go………..into infinity and peace.

Shanti, shanti, shanti………peace, peace, peace.

I Laughed So Hard I Wet Myself!

bumpy roadI almost decided to take a holiday on this post but my over conscientious  and obsessive nature won’t let me let you down. So here I am trying to make sense as I am being driven along a sometimes bumpy road by my Beloved, as we embark on day three of some much-needed time off. Ahhhh………..at last the freeway is offering a smoother passage………so what do I have to share with you today?

Well the first thing that comes to mind s that laughter is the best medicine of all, helpless laughter over the silliest things and I feel like a child. A child in the best sense of the word, present and open to whatever life may bring to me and full of wonder and joy at the gifts that I already enjoy in such bountiful helpings. Laughing so hard I actually pee myself, embarrassing but true, you see how much trust I’ve developed in life! Well, would you admit to the world that you wet your pants!!

Joy-and-Happiness

My heart, mind and soul feel incredibly open as I continue to move into this amazing new chapter of my life, my spirit dances and my intuition sings. The mind does its best to keep up with the larger me but this morning its feeling a little overwhelmed and struggling to be coherent, much less entertaining or profound.

AN INTERMISSION WHILE WE WALK THE CITY STREETS SEEKING A GOWN TO ADORN GALADRIEL FOR MY FABULOUS 50TH BIRTHDAY PARTY, FOR THE UNINITIATED THAT’S A LORD OF THE RINGS THING. GALADRIEL IS RATHER SERIOUS IN THE FILM SO I’M GOING TO BE HER TEENAGE WILD CHILD SELF, THE PERIOD IN HER LIFE WHEN THE FIRE IN HER BELLY MATCHED THE HAIR ON HER HEAD!

Here's Galadriel being all serious!

Here’s Galadriel being all serious!

I’m back and writing as we drive along, this is the first time I’ve walked city streets for a whole year and it was a tad overwhelming. Since moving to the country I am much more sensitive, it’s less about all the buildings and cars and traffic lights and more to do with the thronging energies of people and devices milling about in a sea of chaos.

If you want to develop your sensitivity and still live in an urban environment then I suggest you consider carefully what kinds of practices might support you in remaining open without becoming overcome by the sheer  volume of energetic traffic. Meditation is always helpful and there are as many ways of doing it as there are people. Any activity where you are firmly ensconced in your heart will give you protection and help you to perceive the beauty of life in whatever environment you are in.

The analogy for that state of consciousness that the American Indians call “Beauty’s Way”, is being in love. It’s a pretty nice way of going there but luckily it isn’t the only doorway, I’m driving the Love Bug quite blissfully at the moment but it is by no means the first time that I’ve travelled that particular inner landscape. I’ve found it through friendships, dance, yoga and meditation, I always joke about toning being my favourite way of getting ‘bent’, I’m sure there are endorphins that get triggered when we are doing things that we love that bring us into openness and joy.

Can you imagine a world full of open-hearted, joyful folk, all expressing their uniqueness in the world and creating a global community of co-operation and mutual care? I can, and the more of us that hold this vision in our heart space, the more likely we are to get there!

Shanti, shanti, shanti………peace, peace, peace.