Fire Dancing Unity

In the midst of our world’s massive shifting and upheaval, were I to lie on the breast of the new crescent moon, gazing down upon our blue planet earth, what do I know to be essential truth.

ONENESS ~ SAMENESS ~ LOVE

come to the clearing
come to our center
come to our truth dance
creative fire dancers all

open
willing
joining
together
communion
unity all

each
soulprint
heartprint
footprint
handprint
voiceprint
essence sharing all

heart talker
truth walker
seeker
seer
do er
be er
banter
laughter
loving
sharing
embracing
envisioning
encompassing
enlightening all

co-creating new world matrix
natural nature
simple truth
the word
the world
together
highest good for all

I was born never noticing the colour of skin, only sensing the heart beat within. Friends, friends all over the world, have I, never seeing them segmented, categorized, placed into levels of cultural, physical, religious worthiness. On quick count, I’ve friends from over 30 different countries, cultures, including the Middle East and Asia, Africa, Europe~ on all continents actually: so dear to my heart and ever enriching my life with their gifts.

It is my truth that we have all chosen to be here, to learn about love, through our humanness. Never once did I evaluate the radiant light of god shining through Sam’s ‘African skin’ as he smiled face to face with my tiny blonde haired daughter. Only ever have I felt our deep sameness, soul to soul kinship.

May peace light and love guide our hearts, one interconnected sentient family on earth, as together we  SoulPrint our new world creation with inclusion, respect and opportunity for all.

Peace  love and blessings, Linda

Our Greatest Gift

I’ve seen two impactful, empowering movies lately:’The Soloist’ and ‘My Name is Khan’. Their message is profound and played a part in the creation of the prose that follows.

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

Let your light shine
Lightly whispering of new vistas ahead
Like sun sparkling diamonds on water

Let your light shine
Lightly sun kissing snowflake in frosty air
Like gentle caress on baby’s cheek

Let your light shine
Lightly tip toeing each musical note
Like glinting smile in Irish eyes

Let your light shine
Into depth of darkest night
Beaming rays of promise toward pathways of joy

Let your light shine
Lightly upon all lost and in hiding
Those curled inward hugging bone chilling cold

Let you light shine
Lightly on the long forgotten
Those perhaps masked as neighbour family, friend or foe

Let your light shine
Lightly on those only awaiting
Softened edges of anyone’s smile

Let your light shine
Lightly dancing on the edges of time
As together we create world be coming

New world shining
Light filled
Lightly~

Let your light shine~~

Now is the time, this moment is the place, we are the ones who may freely offer our greatest gift.  Our loving light~

Warmest loving wishes

Linda

Un~Masking The Mask

Masks or the art of mask making had never called to me~

From my experience they had signified a sense of hiding, deceit, an attempt at confusion.
~the Masked Man
~Mask of Zorro
~Master of the Masque

None of these concepts appealed to me as I had spent my life attempting to see through, see behind the invisible to the eye masks, worn by people everyday. I understand now that I had been longing to see truly, soul to soul with another; not something society in general longs for in most areas of the ‘civilized’ world.

Why would one be drawn to masking I often queried ~ I later learned that therapeutically  people may feel safer when ‘masked’ to explore, to bring into awareness, to show to the world more of their inner self, both the light and the darker aspects of their deeper nature. And of course for many they may be fun.

Still this didn’t call to me.  Curious, I went to Wikipedia:

A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, concealment, performance, or amusement. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes. They are usually worn on the face, although they may also be positioned for effect elsewhere on the wearer’s body, so in parts of Australia giant totem masks cover the body, whilst Inuit women use finger masks during storytelling and dancing.

Then one Saturday morning, having completed  2 weeks in the Expressive Arts Therapy course I walked into the soothing quiet of the light filled studio at the Haliburton School of the Arts. My classmate friends and teachers were gone and the familiar creative haven of ‘becomingness’ beckoned me forth. 

Materials for sculpting, painting, beading, wire work, moulding, mixed media, mobiles, sound making all lay before me in a wondrous pattern of possibilities.

I had come to paint.

Intuitive art was my ‘thing’~ my returned passion, my source form of expression.

I had come to paint.

Perusing the artistic array with assured gait, I walked over and chose beads, feathers, paints, brushes, a form, other additives and moved to my workspace. 

Shortly thereafter, all the while working and listening deeply within, I stared down as

my SPIRITUAL WARRIOR gazed up at me.

I had made a MASK~!

It was then I understood. I had spent my life imploring, questing, calling out for answers, the energy, the grace to UNMASK myself, layer after layer after layer~ 

I had had no desire to add yet another MASK of any kind ~

In yet,  from the depths of my inner knowing my SoulPower Mask emerged before me.

‘Linda, I AM your truth.
I have been waiting all your life for you to come home.
I am your integrated, aligned essence: Now, let the gift of your truth shine, so that it may invite others to do the same.

A few months later, a new restlessness began to stir within me. I had to find a certain piece of prose kept for years. Lying in my filing cabinet, I finally uncovered the writing below.

Its message had been subconsciously guiding me, calling me back home to my authentic self, all along.

DAILY AFFIRMATION FOR YOUR PATH OF EMPOWERMENT

I am a new warrior of spirit
I exist in a world of sacred balance
I balance with one foot in the physical world of material substance
And one foot in the dimensions of spirit and sacred life
My course is set by my ally~ the winds of time.

Mother Earth gives me life force~
The life blood of my sacred body
The plants give me nourishment and healing
As I ride the wind horse of my intent
My sacred warrior’s transport of buoyant joy~
Into a new and unknown world of harmony

I am truly a new warrior
An androgynous spirit being of light
My weapons are the shield of awareness
The symbols of ancient truth and the sacred giveaway
Like the angels that surround me
Few see me for who I really am

I do commerce in the world
I raise my family. I live a life dedicated to freedom
I immerse myself in the physical world
So that one day I can give it up
Because I can give up only something that I truly have

People learn from me through example
Because of the integrity of my own life and spirit
I move into the world with confidence and wisdom
I am always open and learning tools of knowledge
And I share these tools with my sisters and my brothers

I am a warrior of the light
And I live the integrity of that truth with great care
From a center within myself that is pure goodness~
The embodiment of the peaceful soul

I walk with confidence
The path of heart and personal power~

Anonymous

What mask might be loosening for you?

If you lifted this mask off how would your world change ?

How would revealing more of your true self gift our world?

Blessings and gentle strength to you~

Linda

As a Guidance Counsellor who loved being with the students not so much the administrative tasks, as you may deduce from the sign above I posted on my office door, my awesome team mate ‘supervisor’ Jean, smiled at me trustingly and obligingly said: ‘Great, you work with the students and develop the Grade 9 program for the school.’

That left me speechless since both she and I knew I was great at process work in the moment; not great at writing down the ‘how’ of anything I did. Jean however was and is a very loving and wise woman: she asked another counsellor, my friend to sit at the back of the room and write down what she observed as I interacted with the students. Then together as a staff we co-created a wonderful program for the grade 9’s in that school.

This particular day, we were discussing self esteem, ‘full steam ahead’ ability. 

Listening to my intuition, I said to the class: “Let’s try something new.  I need 3 volunteers and I am going to say something positive, negative or neutral to you. The only thing is that you will not know which one it will be. I need you to respond to me in role play.”

A young girl put up her hand. In a loud condescending tone I scolded: “You haven’t cleaned up your room or done your home work! No you are not going out!”Immediately the student began to berate me, call me names and fall predictably into the angry teenager role.   I then stopped, thanked her and asked the class if they had ever seen this happen. All heads nodded in unison.

I asked for the next volunteer.  Another young girl put up her hand and I spoke: “Its great weather we have today.”  She agreed.

As I asked for the third volunteer, of course the whole class already knew what scenario was left.  A young boy bravely stood up.  I looked at him and in a warm caring voice said, “Do you ever have a nice smile”. 

Silence.  Profound nothingness. You could have heard a pin drop. Thirty two students ~ not a sound.

I looked around the room and said to the class, “What’s happening?”

After what seemed like a long time, someone said: “He doesn’t know what to say.  We don’t hear nice things like that.”

Three more times, 3 more classes, grade 9 through grade eleven; same results consistently. It was then, with a lump in my throat, that my soul knew the depth of this teaching and the dire need to offer this tool to others. I am saddened once again, just remembering the heart felt depth of this moment and the deep trust those students had in me to be able to ‘stay with me in this process….

From my journalling I wrote back then:
this is the work of my soul and I know it so is so simple but so vital to wellness…help me god to bring this to the world in your way…show me, guide me…..thank you for bringing into my life the support for me in this work, my dear friends, my soul friend co-workers and family members who support me in this manner……

As always, I am hearing Truth is so simple. Linda, go back to the simple.

In that moment I saw laid bare, the pain of the unacknowledged soul.  The tender hearts of our pain filled children: the same pain that had drowned my soul as a very young child and most likely the souls of my own children at times, before I became aware.  It is one of those moments when the precious gift of being a ‘teacher’ touched me to the core.

On the surface, how simple a compliment seems. Just an ordinary phrase.  No big deal.

Not so~ A compliment is an open hearted act of kindness. Seemingly small, a compliment has the love force of touching another and reverberating to the essence of who we are. Validating, healing, energizing…
 
So what was my lesson, the nugget of gold from this profound awareness?   I began to see clearly how easily many are conditioned to respond quickly in defensive anger, negativity, meanness and also how many are unable to receive the positive or the ‘good’. 

 
How long will we choose to resist the simple truth of caring and kindness?

 How can we begin to change this together?

 What simple compliment, act of kindness may you offer or accept today, toward becoming the change in this world we all share?

The First Step Is The Most Challenging~

And The One That Brings New Life~

To Risk~

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental
To reach for another is to risk involvement
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self

To place our ideas our dreams before the crowd
Is to risk their loss
To love is to risk not being loved in return
To live is to risk dying
To try is to risk failure

But risk must be taken
Because the greatest hazard in life
Is to risk nothing, do nothing, and be nothing

One may avoid suffering and sorrow
But one simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love or live
Chained by certitude, one is a slave
Has forfeited freedom

Only a person who risks is free

Anonymous