Kwah Io Lanereh*

Rustling around and rumbling around, I’ve been scouring my files for something—here’s a concept—already written, something to send you all that feels relevant and current and right for Now.

My internal worker-bee rebelled—am I trying to “get off the hook” of writing for a week?

Am I slouching in my commitment to us, to our community?

Is there anything I’ve written that I appreciate enough to send on to you, my dear friends?

It’s been an interesting and somewhat amusing process; self-observation in hindsight, utilizing a current dose of strong zero-judgment.

I did find something I can almost live with.

This is something from my second book, Already Home, Stories of a Seeker.

Written in 2010, does this sound like me?

Could I have written this today, this morning, looking out at the grey day, the Christmas trees standing upright in a light covering of snow?

This is taken from a chapter called Spirit:
What do I believe in the depths of my soul, at this moment of my life?  What are my spiritual truths, my safety nets of belief that catch me as I tumble, amidst the everyday struggles of my life?  How do I navigate my way through the potential sludge of suffering that regularly awaits me?

I believe there is a spirit, a power, a grace in my life that is greater than I am and greater than my mind.  It is greater, I believe, than the human experience. This power is running the show, determining my reality. Call it God, call it spirit, call it intuition, call it grace or evolution, call it the great reality, or call it nothing.  There is something going on here with which I am partnered. That’s the good news—I’m not alone.

The bad news is: I forget this regularly.  I think I am in charge and attempt to control my reality.  When this happens, the results are generally not pretty. When I am operating on self-will, when I am forging forward with my intended plan for the moment, I suffer.  When I relax into what is, there is freedom and breath and ease. It’s profoundly simple, yet it is the imperfect practice that will carry me to my final breath.

Okay.  Yes. I believe that.  And in this past decade, I have learned and continue to practice making specific my understanding of the Divine, finding access to that Grace through that which is literally right in front of my nose.

And hence, the magic unfolds!  A good friend, Eamon, sent on this most extraordinary piece from his friend, Bear Fox, an elder in the Haudenosaunee people, an alliance among six Native American nations. While each nation has its own identity, they together form a confederation, whose name means “people who build a house.”

Please give yourself this gift; receive Bear’s blessing:

Where more fully and most obviously does Grace live, but in the beauty of our glorious earth?

In the stars, 

The birds,

The air,

The water?

Where does more magic exist,

But right there,

Before 

Our

Very

Silly 

Human

Noses?

May we see the beauty that is.

Dear Friends, let’s imagine that, in this new decade, moment by moment, we practice being available to the Grace that blesses us, always.

All blessings,
Aruni

To hear more of Bear Fox’s music, check out Spotify or iTunes.