Delving into Intuition

“It’s not whether the outside world has changed in response to your spiritual growth that matters, it’s whether your spiritual growth allows you to respond differently to the circumstances even if they stay the same. That means you have actually grown.” — Bashar

There is a lot at stake when we turn the corner and delve deeper into our spiritual edge.

Sometimes we lose family and friends who don’t understand us. We revel in our solitude and bleed a bit more, but eventually, we awaken the respect for what we have inherently known all along: Things that don’t nurture and support our growth must dissolve, and with that dissolution, a quieter and more thoughtful response to life is immanent.

And as this happens, along the way we may take a mental beating from our own head. It is so hard to quiet the discussion that dances in between our ego/mind and insecurity — but the sooner we heed the voices within, the easier it becomes to take the world-gone-mad into our compassion.

But why do we distrust our knowing? Why do we push back all the time when good, viable information shines? The conditioning of guilt and shame from a past come and gone has a way of infringing upon our peace, even when the gut truth is telling us, “It’s okay; it is truly okay to know what we know and acknowledge it.”

However, when that small voice of insecurity whispers a sweet nothing (and I mean “nothing”) into our ears, it can be hard not to listen. The conversation goes something like this: How can I be right? How can I possibly know what is beyond the surface? I am not a “seer,” a “psychic,” a “knower.” How can I trust myself?

It’s good to remind ourselves that the path we are on is a choice, and we made it based on being healthy and in touch with our gut. It is a path that is needed, wanted and decided upon for the sake of our sanity. And more importantly, the shift of our consciousness helps us when things seem a bit too heavy, too laden with too many little messes.

When we take a leap into the void, and the warning signs are blaring loud and they linger, it is something we mustn’t ignore. Turning a blind eye is just not an option anymore (which can be far more painful than facing any uncertainties up close and personal.) You see, the truth is so much greater inside of us than out; and it will always protect us. The more honest we are about what is truly felt, the lighter we become as the old paradigm of “what if” fades into the background.

The good news is that in all this craziness — all the pain, all the life practice, and people dropping out of sight — we are simply being prepared to understand the minutia of consequences that follow us when we embrace our beautiful goddess-given intuition. (And this isn’t just for women.)

We feel it; we hear it, see it and then (like never before) we can decide how to process it all. But the moment is so tiny we barely have time to blink, yet it is larger then we could ever imagine — and if we do not take it in, life will eventually fall apart.

“Between stimulus and response, that is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.” — Viktor Frankl

Learning to trust our intuition can be as exciting as it is tumultuous, as sane as it is insane. And as scary as it might seem to really acknowledge all the “stuff” we truly know, honoring the internal gifts and the natural omens is far greater than we think. Going back to our root knowledge with an intelligent reverence just feels right. Trust your gut.

I can’t stress enough how beautiful our mind/body and soul is when it is working in harmony with that universal call — but we forget. And when we try to separate the trio and try to go back into the wounds, we can’t get there because once we have gone through a portal, there is no looking back. No matter how hard we try to find that old comfortable place — it’s gone.

Never disavow your curiosity, your truth or the light in your core. It is pure and blessed.

Live in your edge, and love the challenges of growth and being new. That is what children do (without a second thought) and we might want to take a page from their book.

It really works.

-debbie lynn

http://www.edgemagazine.net/2016/11/delving-into-intuition/

WHISPERS

 The language of the forest 

can be heard 

just by being in the midst of it.

The trees 

laced 

in moss they are 

ancient

forlorn and wise. 

They endure on 

sacred ground

and rise where 

very few dare to walk. 

The woodlands 

stand sentinel 

and beckon “enter” 

with the magic 

of heavy-laden 

color. 

The lyrical 

movement is alluring 

yet an abstract 

and unsure presence 

taunts 

and pulls at the heart strings.

The sun barely shines 

through 

the thickness 

and the

light 

has 

nowhere to rest or reflect. 

The dampness 

still holds 

an aroma of rain 

and at any moment 

a 

mythical 

creature 

could reveal 

what 

only 

plays 

out 

in the mind.

-debbie lynn

https://www.facebook.com/360degreesofinspiration/

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THERE IS MORE TO "LETING GO" THAN JUST WORDS

Intentions - getting real

Great strides in healing are made when we decide the energy spent in resentment, blame and anger just doesn’t make sense to us anymore.This realization lifts a ton of toxicity off our back as we stop trying to rationalize the irrational. Once here (in this view) we can step back and set some real attainable inner aspirations.

But to do this, it is so important to understand the flavor of our intentions (getting to know them personally). The intricacies of our mind (our pre-conditioned patterns) are so very interlaced with our feelings that they end up attaching, co-creating, and influencing what is in our heart and soul of intent.

Our intentions are a powerful and an amazing energy - they are: Our everything.
This energy trickles outward into and onto all we do and encounter daily.

We are the influencers of the wave, the mystic connection of one moment to the next and we are responsible for this motion. WE, (yes you and I) have huge effects on our interior and exterior world so we must be accountable (at all times) with our thoughts, our words and actions. Never for one minute discount the power of intention; it truly supersedes all but a few things have to be put in place as we go.

Breaking free from the intended role of the "victim" -

As the victim, we stay small and we stay in unhealthy shame as we beat our head against the wall for clarity. Even when we believe our intent is in the perfect spot, if we are still clinging to blame, we muddy up the energy and override its purity. It is also important to know that the answers we seek can elude us for a myriad of reasons when we maintain an unresolved status.

Example:

1) We are not ready -
The emotional strain of the truth may be too much to bear right now (it is an overwhelming to process) so we have to allow our inner understanding to catch up with the pain. As we sit somewhere in-between the two (knowledge and suffering) what we find is grace. But there is no guarantee it will happen in the time frame we want, it is not productive punish yourself. Sometimes we need to regroup, refocus, re-boot so to speak. Sometimes we need to cede to the unknowable and put our intentions into surrender.

2). Our perception of the past has been tainted and dramatized by our memory and surroundings -
In the distortion (the drama) things are always blown out of proportion. Not to minimize trauma, but there comes a time when we have to give ourselves a hug and say, “We have come this far, perhaps we don’t need to backtrack anymore.” This is where contentment and peace give us greater visibility in a foggy situation. If we want things to get better, we have to stop breathing life into the past and let it die.

3). Assigning cause (blame on others) for our past is sidestepping a great opportunity for accountability and growth -
In this modality, we stay exactly where we are (imprisoned in a time come-and-gone) instead of a solution for betterment in our current moment. Change can’t change until we commit to changing our self. When we put thought into this, then act on it with our highest intentions – transformation happens quickly.

No denying -

We can’t dismiss where we come from because everything from birth to now is highly important - repeat highly important. So being acquainted and embracing our past with an intention of betterment shapes our path and future. We must use the “wrongs” as examples to make things right.

Accept them, (not excuse them) and learn from them.

It is far better to leave the justifications in the hands of the universe and trust we have spent enough time in turmoil. Trust we are ready to make peace with the past and happily move on. Trust we know all we need to know and we are home. One day we find (as we surrender pain for indifference) that when an ugly memory is sparked, the emotions that used to accompany it are null and void. We realize we are detached but very much alive aware and now…. We are free to let it go with full meaning.

It is pretty simple – intentions to rise and heal begin right here:
Release the blame; it releases you.

-debbie lynn

https://www.facebook.com/360degreesofinspiration/

IT'S FALL

It’s “Fall”

pulling out of the wreck of twisted emotions

I stand up; brush myself off  

dirty, shaken, and confused

it takes a bit of time before the reality of the moment unleashes its

fury upon my soul

I am bitter

I am angry

I am filled with an unfamiliar energy that is trying to consume me

I resist

I don’t like the way I am wearing this emotion

I try to run; it follows me

I try to forget; it hangs on

and just when I am at my edge

a sudden rush of truth

explodes inside

tears turn to relief

relief turns to forgiveness

I unfold

intricate tapestries play a song in my head

a matrix of experiences

golden leaves and blacked skies

it all makes no sense

yet every single moment has, had  and will have purpose

hands to the heart center

and like seasons we cycle

so I avow to let the healing begin again

and again

it’s fall

-debbie lynn

“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt” – John Muir

https://www.facebook.com/360degreesofinspiration/

WHEN “SORRY” SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD

[Note to self - The ill considered]

Please give me your silence; it offers so much more.

It isn’t fair to stand behind words have no substance and transparent disinterest. The vapid “ I am sorry” that acts as a filler of insipid concern (as if there is nothing else to do or to say) – it leaves a cold chill.

The overused and trite expression that so easily pops out the mouth into thin air is expected to take care of business - so casual, this malady is now meaningless and I just have to ask, why bother?

I watch you wrestle with unimaginative empathy as you embezzle feelings (because you have none left to give) and I wonder where the truth is actually hidden in you these days.  Are you so damaged that there is no way out?  

I don’t think so; I know you better than that – and numb really isn’t your best color.

Perhaps you could put the ego/pride aside if only for a moment - and remember.  Remember what it was like to love fully, deeply and without a reason. Remember when your wild side was mystic, enchanting and vividly expressed with elegant intent. 

Remember when you were happy?

Apologies are only as good as the designed intention, and if you think yours is clean – you are wrong; it is dirty.  I implore you to bathe in some indigo authenticity.  Not for me, for your heart, for your honor and your truth. 

This reflection holds many secrets and you have shown me the empty well as an example of who not to be. A forgery, an imposter an artificial soul that is intoxicatingly gorgeous but completely dead inside and I weep.

One day all that plastic will break down to nothingness, with only a shell of who once was there – but not to worry, change is good as long as you are able to get above the frenzied garbage of the contrived.  Being true is self-evident when we see through rose-colored glasses but when blinded by an old story there is nothing rose-colored about it… and you know.

It isn’t that I am looking for the original to come back, it is just a longing to have some semblance of that beautiful essence I know exists under a guise of empathy laced with sadness – and all the words of void that are spoken out of obligation, (not significance or care) are so frigid. 

Take a chance and run ablaze.

Give me your fire, your warmth and comfort. Lost is a place to be found again and again so please don’t be afraid of the light - your darkness doesn’t become you.  All I ask for truth no matter what kind of pain it inflicts, it is far better than unattended words that are never going anywhere.

-debbie lynn

https://www.facebook.com/360degreesofinspiration/

RECYCLING - THE PERFECT DIAMOND

We are….
A diamond in the rough filled with malachite dreams, the coal that has turned to serenity. This is where our transformation begins as the pressure to forgive creates the heat, and in the heat of the moment there is a cry for change.

White light emerges and shines on the target where an ancient mother load of truth can be mined if we are careful – and yet it can feel like a million needles piercing the skin.

It’s a process.

The inner alchemy is blood-to-rubies, this is the how we recycle pain and there is always a pay-off, always someone waiting to buy our “stuff.”

We can make it, break it, or we turn it into something new, brilliant, and something rare.

When we hold vigil in our silence integrity forms. It is another gift given to us from our core that is hard at work creating gems. This is where possibility resides - full, sparkling, and waiting to be received with open arms.

Reviving what we inherently know is Spiritual Alchemy and after the transformation we stand stronger, wiser and better for the pain. This is the beauty of live and let live if we are able to steer clear of the rabbit hole.

And they say that diamonds are a girl’s best friend yet there is no friendship worth the cost of the fire in the belly that taints the heart with revenge, aggression and anger.

Rise above it.

Gems that sparkle can blind the eye, so sometimes it is better to be the rock that hasn’t been polished yet. We must learn that values are only as real as we want them to be and the dream of arrival is not based on anything money can buy.

Discernment is key.

Then, when it is all over, all said and done, we can turn in and see the shimmer in our truth that has touched many and dancing in a memory of the distant emotions.

We become subdued, solid and then we are done.

And when it is asked, “Where did all that pressure to be perfection come from? We thankfully answer, “From inner change” - and rightfully so because no one needs to be molded into something that doesn’t feel good.

Say a little prayer, an inner apology and life goes on. No past is worth clinging to when we have been recycled, enlightened, and truly forgiven in our own surrender.

Forever catching the light, it shows in your eyes…
Shine on you crazy diamond; you are in very good company.

-debbie lynn

https://www.facebook.com/360degreesofinspiration/

1983
I had just moved into my new apartment—LA style (or I really should say, “L.A. no-style”).

I was broke with no furniture except for a few plants, my stereo, over 300 LPs and my leather jacket. Five bucks would get me a couple packs of cigarettes, a can of Dinty Moore stew and a loaf of bread that would last almost a week.

Life was good.

One very early morning Saturday morning after a drunken night on the Sunset Strip, I was awoken to the sound of bells and chanting. It was coming from the other side of my bedroom wall and it seemed to be getting louder. I lay there and listened.

Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō. Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.

My first thought was that it was 5:00 a.m. and what the…? My second thought was, I am still drunk and dreaming because there was a lightness and hypnotic rhythm in those words and they gave my hung-over head and heart peace. It was odd, soothing and then very irritating all wrapped up in one. I really needed to go back to sleep, or get up and puke (the latter of the two won).

Later, I rolled my sorry butt out of bed and slowly began my day. The chanting of the morning seemed to stay with me, but I didn’t really understand why. I chalked it up to all the weirdoes in this town and it gave me a smile. Being on the edge of weirdness was where I loved to be. I am an artist—it’s good for the inspiration. I went about my usual Saturday ritual cleaning: coffee, vacuuming and a cigarette, but not necessarily in that order.
Trash can in hand, I opened up the apartment door and my neighbor, “The Chanter” opened hers. With the energy of a 40 knot wind she offered up a huge, HI!

She was a stout ebony colored woman sporting the latest hippie garb. She had dreads, Birkenstocks and eyes that could melt ice. I loved her immediately. We exchanged some pleasantries and she asked me if she was too loud this morning. I said, “Yes” but with a smile. She said, “So is your music” and our playful friendship was born.

I asked her about her singing.

She gave a loving laugh and explained that she was a Buddhist and that she was chanting, not singing. She then asked if I was interested in joining her someday for a chant. Humm, more oddness—she didn’t ask me to come over for conversation, coffee or a cookie…but for a chant? I respectfully declined yet the vibe of her voice was still in me and my curiosity was piqued.

Weeks of her morning ritual chants turned into months. I thought my boyfriend was going to shoot her (he was convinced she completely whacked), but I loved the sound. I told him to let it go.

Even though it started long before the birds were up, I loved the bells and the feeling that her chanting gave to me. So, I decided I was going to take her up on the offer and I would deal with the boyfriend later.
There were a couple of things I had to work through, however.

1) How the hell would I wake up that early?

2) How would I sneak out at 5:00 am without getting caught?

3) How would I explain I was chanting with a Buddhist to my “Rock Star” macho boyfriend and friends?

4) Justifying it all to myself

See back then, Buddhism was not understood, accepted or liked—at all. Most people thought it was a goofy cult. As for me? It was another step in my exploration of the mystic, the spiritual and the longing to find some roots. The obvious had to happen, so, I joined her.

I endured the harassment and the whispers of, “She has gone off the deep end” for a while from friends but quite frankly, this 5:00 a.m. crap was edging into my partying and living the “Metal lifestyle.”

Something had to give.

Incense, bells and words that meant nothing became embedded into my be-ing, yet I wasn’t truly convinced that Buddhism was my path. Try as she might, her teachings and daily mantras and my being in a seated position at the butt-crack of dawn was not for me.

It is said that, ”When the student is ready the teacher will appear.” Obviously, I wasn’t ready. Maybe my timing was off, maybe I was too insecure or lazy or all of the above, but it didn’t last long.

All I knew was it was easier to find meaning in an astrological forecast from the LA Times than it was for me to delve into Buddhism. And being a “Taurus” was a lot easier than trying to explain Buddhism and far easier for my friends and family to digest. After all, Nancy Reagan had Ronnie hooked on astrology (an Astrologer, not a politician, ran our country…eye roll).

So, I quit going.

She never said a word. We were still good friends and neighbors because that is how she (the Buddhist) was. There were no questions asked; just respect, love, purity and the of course the magic of the bells. It took a few years for me to fully appreciate her Modus Operandi. I began to miss the energy of the OM and all the amazing gifts of the Noble Eight Fold Path. Although I loved it, I just never committed; yet it is the closest thing I have ever come to my higher self.
Fast-forward 30 some years.

People ask me all the time, “What Religion are you?” I say, “I don’t have one, I just am.”

To me, the thread that runs through all the religious teachings is so simple and clear that we don’t have to subscribe to any sect to practice. I believe in love, truth, respect and kindness—that is it, the end. These “things” are found all over the world. It is the universal call and when you mix it with music, the power is beyond words.

I love how the Koans make my mind spin: the wisdom of Buddha and the Buddhist messages that are minimal with huge impact on the soul.

I no longer live in the big city, my LPs have long been replaced by CDs, my leather jacket hangs in the closet and my heart belongs to Buddhism. It is not uncommon for me to but on heavy music and rock an hour or so of yoga or meditate with Led Zeppelin. I was destined to integrate my music with Spiritualism.

And, I am forever thankful for that beautiful neighbor whose chanting woke me up (in more ways than one) early one Saturday morning.
-Debbie lynn

https://www.facebook.com/360degreesofinspiration/

http://thetattooedbuddha.com/the-heavy-metal-buddhist/