Darn That Squirrel!

There is a milk shoot/box off my kitchen where the milkman used to deliver milk.  Yes, it's an old little house, but it has a huge backyard!  I have often looked out this shoot and watched the gray squirrels, black squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, cardinals, blue jays and other birds, and the occasional racoon and skunk.  Many times there would be six to eight squirrels running and playing while a robin splashed in the bird bath and a chipmunk looked for ways to get into the house.  The male cardinal was a regular and the female cardinal kept to the shadows.  Whenever I saw the cardinal I told myself all is well, Spirit is with me.  My sign for myself, my personal affirmation.

A few weeks ago I noticed a little red squirrel had started coming around.  At first I was delighted.  But then I noticed "Red" chasing the other squirrels (twice its size) out of the yard!  I haven't seen the birds much and spot the rabbit rarely.  "Red" has taken over the yard!

Another phenomenon this summer:  Green pine cones were littering the yard!  Sticky with sap, we'd pick them up before letting JS, my grandson, out in the yard, knowing he'd grab them and then be covered in pine pitch.  We picked up hundreds!  Looking out the milk shoot last week, after cleaning up the yard, I noticed three cones down, all in one area.  As I watched, more fell.  And more fell.  I finally stuck my head out the shoot and looked way up to the top of the tree.  There was "Red" knocking the cones off!  Within minutes there were about forty cones on the ground and I couldn't help but laugh.

The question came to mind, "How and why did I attract this red squirrel into my life?"  As a believer that I create the experiences in my life with my beliefs, I often use this type of question to take note of what I'm up to, what I'm thinking, what is the vibration I am putting out there into the Universe.

Knowing that it often takes a little time for my creation to be made manifest, I took myself back into the past few weeks, months.  Studying the squirrel, it appeared to me that "Red" wanted the yard, now its home, all to itself.  Not too long ago I was, let's say, not comfortable in my own home.  People moved into my little house with me.  People I loved and cared for.  But I was having a hard time coping with the messiness, added chores I had assigned to myself, and mostly the lack of privacy.  I felt I had lost my sanctuary.

So I think "Red" showed up to mirror the vibration/energy I was creating as I figured out how to live in this new way.  But even before "Red" moved in, I had started to shift my thoughts and beliefs into ones that better matched what I preferred.  I found ways to ask for what I wanted in the home, created a space for myself for privacy and sanctuary, and appreciated the company of family and friends in my home.

Now I get to watch what unfolds in my backyard as my new thoughts and beliefs go out into the Universe.  Will "Red" leave, or make nice with the other animals and birds?  I'll keep watching out the milk shoot and keep you posted.  By the way, what's going on in your backyard (Life) that needs a closer look?

A Great Experiment

The last couple days I have been contemplating the meanings of the words "punishment" and "consequence".  How this all came about was a recent debate - I said they are not the same thing, someone else saying they are the same thing. Well, in a way they are the same - according to the dictionary. But they are also different - and in a very powerful way!

What became clear to me was how certain words can be empowering, dis-empowering, or neutral.  It is my past experiences and indoctrinations, how I was raised and how the words were introduced and re-enforced to me that trigger my negative or positive (or neutral) responses.

For instance:  It's cold outside.  Is that true?  Here in Traverse City someone may believe 30 degrees is cold.  Someone in Alaska may think the opposite. "I'm cold" is really a personal experience. "I'm freezing!  I can't stand it! This is awful!"  - now this person has assigned very strong beliefs about what it is to be cold and is emotionally connected to those beliefs.

I'm cold.  It is what it is.  I will go inside or get another sweater. Or - yes, a break from the hot flashes. Mm.  You see, we give meaning to what we perceive our reality to be at the time.  The influences during our childhood can often be reflected in our experience of today.

A small child witnessing Mom freaking out about how cold it is outside can leave a lasting impression.  When the child is older and encouraged to go outside to play, child freaks out about how cold it is outside and refuses. 

You understand, of course, that I am not talking about the weather.  Words are one thing - the energy behind them, the inflections, negative or positive connotations, can have just as much power.  A mother could use the word consequence instead of punishment, but if she always associates it with pain and suffering that will be how the child incorporates that word into its experience!

This is how we learn as we grow and how we determine how we see the world.  What do you believe?  Pay attention to how you react - or not react - to words, labels, etc.  Notice how others react and ask yourself "What would a person have to believe to react that way?"  Now this is a Great Experiment!  Let me know how it goes!

Danger! Danger! Danger!

I have often commented that I wanted to write a book on the dangers of personal growth. Really, there should be warnings before inquiring about oneself and the possibilities of being more. One of the chapters would be about how the people in your life will change -NOT.

When you wake up, even the least little bit, you will notice how the people around you are not the people they used to be. Especially the people close to you. Somehow they are different and you don’t recognize them as you used to. Of course, they didn’t change – you did.

When you were sleeping, you daydreamed how people were – usually the way you wanted them to be. Or expected them to be. Unconsciously, you decided what to see and what to be blind to.

I took a trip not too long ago with some people I used to travel with to Las Vegas. I’d been there with them before and had a good time. Once I got there it was like I didn’t know these people at all! These were acquaintances from my sleepwalking days.

I found myself switching back and forth between judging and being in fascination as fast as I could blink my eyes! I kept asking myself questions, like “Were they always like this?” “Did they always talk like this?” “Was I like this, am I still like this?”

Answering myself, I said, yes, they are the same as they always were. One man in particular, my host, spurred my own soul searching the most. In our past, I had been quite impressed with his self-confidence, how he carried himself, how he seemed to make others take notice of him, that he was free with his money. My dream man!

The man in my wakened state was not so confident after all. In fact, it appeared to me that he tried to raise his self-esteem, make himself more important, by making himself big, and others small. I know he did not know, was not aware, that he was doing this. And I knew he did not want to know – not at this time or in this place.

He hadn’t changed. I had. My choice to become aware, to wake up to who I am and who I want to be has taken me down a path, a path I chose consciously. I encouraged others to come with me. I had encouraged him to come with me when I first started out. I thought he had tagged along, for a little ways, at least.

Not everyone you know and love will choose to walk the path with you. It’s okay, they are already on a path of their own choosing, and they just may not know it. Some will try to keep you from going down a path you chose, may even reach out to pull you back, because they know their life will change if you go. But you can never go back. Once you wake up, even a little, that part of you can never be put back to sleep again.

A personal growth trainer I worked with would get down sometimes after giving a three-hour free introductory course. She would be discouraged that people hadn’t signed up to continue the training, and she would feel sad that they apparently chose to not make a change, to not wake up. I would reminder her that each and every one of them had indeed made a change, had awakened – it was impossible not to, unless they had literally snored through the entire three-hour training. They knew too much now to ever be the same again.

Even your reading this now is an inquiry of your own to know more, to experience more, to be opened and awakened to new possibilities. And you will never be quite the same as you were.

The dangers of personal growth: You will change. Others may leave you, you may leave others. You will love and bless them, as I love and bless those from the Vegas trip.

The dangers of not seeking personal growth: You will change. Others may leave you, you may leave others. You will stay asleep and life will happen to you.

The good news is, when you seek to grow you will change purposefully. You will take your power back from wherever or whomever you gave it to. Be grateful that it was taken care of while you slept.

People may leave, but there are people just waiting to welcome you into your wakefulness.

I meet others on the path I chose and I keep their company. It is important for me to have their support, faith, and encouragement. There are hands out there reaching even now to pull me back, put me in the cubbyhole they think I should be in. I hold on tight to the hands that won’t let me go that gently push me forward.

There are dangers in personal growth. You will never be the same and you can never to back. Ah, but the rewards are eternal!