“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

This quotation is taken from one of my very favourite spiritual books, A Return To Love by Marianne Williamson. If you have never read it, I would urge you to do so.

“I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year ‘give me a light that I may tread softly into the unknown’.  And he replied.  ‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.  That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way’.  So I went forth and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.  And he led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.”

These were the words written by Minnie Louise Haskins that were read by King George VI during his Christmas day broadcast in 1939, just at the start of WWII.

Over the last few days I’ve spent quite a bit of time sorting out and going through my ‘memory boxes’.  Memory boxes are where I store all sorts of things, such as special birthday cards, postcards and other memorabilia which keys me straight back into a particular moment in time with clarity and immediacy.

During my reminising I came across a card with these words on it – it was something I bought at a time of great need and it seemed important that I share it with you now.

While I was in town today I was reminded very sharply of how many synchronicities happen in our lives; you know those incidents that we would like to pass off as coincidence, but find hard to do when we examine them in more detail.

I was talking with an acquantance I know just a little and when I asked what she was going to do with her afternoon off, she began to tell me some of her life story.  She was going to meet her brother she said.  They had been separated as very young children when they were all put into care.  Although she had tried over the years to find him, her search had been frustrating and eventually she had given up, trusting that he would call her one day.

That day, was just four months ago and now they are making up for lost time and enjoying being re-united.  But that isn’t really a synchronicity is it?  Some of the synchronicities are:-

1. They both worked for the same company with just 18 months between their tenures
2. One of his best friends is also one of her friends too
3. He worked on the redevelopment of her place of work while she was working there

The fact that she lives in West Dorset and he lives in East Dorset makes it all the more difficult to see how just these three incidents could come about.  Isn’t life wonderful!

I have just spent the most fascinating day at the Mount Haemus Lectures with OBOD, which took place at the Medieval Hall in Salisbury’s Cathedral Close.  The whole day was a revelation and gave me the opportunity to dip my toe very gently into the world of the Druid’s.

A conversation with the friend I went with though, did convince me that this world isn’t for me, although I have been invited to a grove meeting.  I was informed that I’m too ‘urban’ for the mud and cold and let’s face it, my shoes wouldn’t take it.  When I mentioned my pink, rose covered wellies, the look I received showed me that they’d probably be even less welcome.

Anyway, of the four lectures that took place, two in particular grabbed my attention fully and completely.  The first was a discourse on Ethics in Celtic and European Mythology and the second was Professor Roland Rotherhams extremly amusing look at Working With Animals – in the sense of the totem.

It got me thinking that I had spent years studying philosophy at school and university and was still no closer to the question of how ethics change through the course of history.  The conclusion that I think Brendan reached was that the ethics of the celtic period may not be appropriate in today’s, but they were relevant in that time and place.  He likened them to virtues and I found myself wondering if the ‘constant virtues’ he talked about were also those that are highly valued today.

As for Roland … well what can I say?  After a trip through crocodilopolis – the ancient egyptian ‘chip shop’ the lecture descended rapidly into laughter.  He was one of the funniest speakers I’ve heard in a long time, but also one of the most sincere …. I’ll definitely be off to listen to him again.

I also picked up a few books and a CD – the most interesting book is called Shroom – A Clutural History of The Magic Mushroom by Andy Letcher ……. Hum …. should be interesting as it grabbed my attention because it reminded me of the Carlos Castenada work I did way back in the 1980’s.

A couple of years ago, my dream was to be able to have a job that allowed me to work between 10.00 and 2.00, with a long lunch break!  Well it’s not quite there, but almost as close as it could be.  I can work wherever I happen to be in the world just as long as I have access to the Internet to deal with emails etc…  I spend most mornings at home sorting out orders, replying to emails and admin tasks and then I have most afternoons free to do as I wish.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how all this came about and I realise that my dream was in fact a powerful message to the universe that this was how I wanted my life to be.  In fact I was indulging in a spot of ‘cosmic ordering’.  Have you come across it yet?  If you haven’t you could try a couple of books out about it – I can highly recommend it as it has obviously worked for me.

Linda

A really dear Aussie friend sent this to me and I think it’s words are very apt:

This is a nice reading but short.  Enjoy!  This is what The Dalai Lama has to say for 2006. All it takes is a few seconds to read and think over.

I N S T R U C T I O N S  F O R  L I FE

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R ’s:
   • Respect for self,
   • Respect for others and
   • Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so yo know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honorable life.  Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation.  Don ’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge.It is a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your ove for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you have had to give up in order to get it
19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

PS I particularly like the last one!  Linda

I have felt rather down today, probably as a result of yesterday and my house sale problems/issues. I don’t really know what to do about it, and am trying desperately to ‘let it go’ and be whatever it needs to be – but it is soooooo hard! I keep feeling as if there is something I should do. Anyway, I ended up getting up early to work, more writing for the new book. Later on had tea …. in bed with hubby and eventually we got ourselves sorted out enough to go out.

Spend a lovely couple of hours at West Bay and then went on to Burton Bradstock for a long walk across the cliff top, but ended up having an arguement about my business acumen (or lack of it according to John). So I felt even more down.

We got home a couple of hours ago and I worked my way onto the laptop again – more a distraction than anything else. But after I had done what I needed to do (changing the postal rates on the website because the Royal Mail is putting the costs up on Monday) I felt I needed to do something else, but couldn’t work out what.

So a bright idea of mine suddenly popped into my head and I thought “I know I’ll go over to Google and put in the search term ’surprise me’ and see what I get back” So that was just what I did and the result that was first up was http://www.surprisemegod.com ‘a 30 day faith experiment’.

That really intrigued me so I had a look around the site and thought – actually this is just what I need right now, an idea of how to let go – I’ll do it by doing 30 days of asking God to surprise me, and see what happens.

As it happens the book has already been written, unfortunately! and you’ll find a link to it at the bottom of the page. But I think this is one journey I am destined to make!

So, with love, light and laughter (I am trying honest!!!) I’ll let you go and be back tomorrow.

Linda

Surprise Me: A 30-Day Faith Experiment

I’ve had a really **** couple of days, because some really annoying f*****g, w%%%%%r, b££££££s had hacked into a site I run on behalf of the community I live in and they had completely trashed the forums.

The air was blue, I was sooooo angry and frustrated, not only at them but also at myself for not having the sense to think things through before acting in haste (and then repenting at leisure…. lots and lots of leisure).

Eventually though, it is all back up and running and you can see the site at: www.charlton-down.com, and view the discussions that take place between people in a small rural community in Dorset, UK (if you feel so inclined that is).

But the whole thing got me thinking. By last night I had realised some things about myself, that I love working with computers, I love this medium that is the internet and instead of battling against computers, they are a part of me and I interact with them as if they are an extension of myself. I love both the logic and the creativity that is needed when I work on my laptop – because what I do is creative, but I use a highly logical way of doing it.

I also noticed that I was no longer angry at the people that had trashed the forums on the site, why? because I had learnt something new. I realised I could do something about it myself (I know how to now, and if I’d just taken a few minutes to think and read and surf for information I would have saved a whole load of hassle in getting the hosting company to reinstall the database).

And I realised this (writing, and disseminating information via the internet) is where my passion lies, not in some of the other avenues I have been exploring recently and had assumed would be a better avenue to work in.

So, in many ways I have a lot to be thankful because I don’t know how I could have come to the conclusion I did, without the f…..g, w…..r, b……s who hacked my site. So yes, perspective really is a wonderful thing.

Till we meet again

Linda

Your Inner or Soul’s Urge: This is spiritual and emotional expression more than physical. It is your heart-felt desires, your incentive, how you look at life. Here are your areas of personal satisfaction.     Number: 1

Usually not very emotional, you are in this life to take action.  You want to lead and direct.  You are independent at heart and desire to reach your goals by your own efforts and intelligence. You have a strong creative force with many original and interesting ideas. There is much inner strength available to you. Rarely do you shirk responsibilities.  You are proud of your abilities and seek opportunities to display your strength and usefulness.  Others will respect and help you, like a true leader deserves, so long as you acknowledge and validate the interests and desires of others as well as your own. Be kind and generous, and you can be a recognized leader.

You can display conceit and intolerance of people who are considered inferior — boastful, egotistical, critical, impatient of trifles — especially when you feel impeded. When you are headstrong, impulsive, or highly willful, you may appear contrary, bossy, dominating, or egotistical. You tend to be impatient with those who are resistant to change.  You can be reticent, and can lack self-confidence. Sometimes you won’t take a stand for fear of hurting others. Yet, something continually keeps urging you forward.  You want your home, spouse, and family to be a credit to you.  Overall, you are loyal in friendship, fair in business, a safe leader, and work diligently. You are capable of great accomplishment.

Your Personality: This is physical expression more than spiritual or emotional; your outer self, the way you express when meeting others. It may or may not be the real you.     Number: 3

You are seen as a colorful, cheerful, and entertaining person; a natural host or hostess. You can cheer up a lifeless party. Friends are important to you, and you are easy to talk to.  In communication, you tend to elaborate and exaggerate in the direction of color and creativity, preferring to overlook the drab and mundane.  If you take on too many activities at once, you can appear superficial or contrived.  You probably enjoy wearing jewelry and fancy clothing. Just don’t overdress or wear extreme styles in relation to the occasion.

Your Quiescent Self: Stripping away all outside influences, aspirations, ambitions, “shoulds”, and “shouldn’ts” — this is you when you are alone; just you and your dreams. Number: 3

You are popular, attractive, and sought after. You are successful in one or more artistic fields — designing, decorating, painting, acting, singing, sculpting, or related arts. A guest list is not complete without your name. You are applauded for your talents and spread happiness wherever you go. It all comes natural to you.  Your thoughts and pleasure are related to seeding happiness and personal recognition of your artistic talents.

Your Destiny or Ultimate Goal: This is your desired lifetime accomplishment. It is a key to a useful and happy life, and to feeling fulfillment during your latter days.
Number: 4

You are a builder, a manager and organizer to build solid foundations and structures that last for your and others’ security. This applies to all work you undertake.  Rather than just dreaming, you strive for tangible results. Your success depends much upon your personal determination, sincerity, perseverance, patience, and honesty.  You are systematic, methodical, trustworthy, dependable, and effective; a craftsman, a builder, and an organizer slowly and surely building for the future. You are solid yet durable, precise, and dignified. When you have a definite goal, you are persistent until it is reached.  You know the value of a job well done.

Your Life’s Path: Here are clues to what fate has in store for you. It indicates the type of encounters, events, and opportunities you are likely to experience along your physical life path.     Number: 8

Your path is along commercial activity and organization, business affairs, positions of authority, and management of people. Your goals are reached most easily by cultivating a large outlook, refusing all limitation, and using your authority and power wisely.  You are a natural leader and a natural executive. Your ability to lead is limited only by your range of education and experience. You are able to deal well with the practical and material things of life, including judicious accumulation and use of money.  Your opportunities lie with fulfilling the needs of organization, efficiency, effective handling of personnel, and expressing your executive abilities. Large corporations and organizations appeal to you.

This Year’s Path: Here is what you are likely to encounter this year — your feelings, your predominant perspective, and the type of situations, circumstances, and opportunities you tend to attract during the calendar year.     Number: 7

This is your year for personal reflection and perfection, a year of introspection. You feel like analyzing everything you have been and are doing. You think about beauty, love, perfection, and what life is all about.  You spend a good deal of time alone, getting acquainted with yourself and your new inner power. This year you gain a better understanding of your emotions and your spiritual nature. Take time out to rest, study, read, and travel, and to look at life from a different angle. Find outlets for personal creative expression.  If you have psychic, spiritual, new age, or mystic interests, this is the year to pursue those studies.  Quality is your standard.

Next Year’s Path.     Number: 8

This is your year of achievement, your year to make great strides in business, employment, promotions, monetary compensation, and/or the accumulation of possessions. It is your harvest time.  You feel ambition stirring, a desire to better your financial condition. To accomplish this, it is necessary to be businesslike, efficient, and practical all year.  Many opportunities present themselves. To gain your rewards, move forward in a businesslike manner and with sustained effort. Your state of mind, mental capacity, education, experience, and self-confidence are all part of your success and financial advancement.  You feel desire to make a special effort to improve or bring to a successful conclusion some of the ideas and dreams of the past years.  This is a year of action. Place your abilities on the market with a sense of self-confidence and authority.

Last Year’s Path.     Number: 6

This is a year of service for you, a duty year. You feel you’re assuming new responsibilities. People make more demands of you this year. You are needed in many directions.  Warmth and good will toward others, along with love and harmony, will make everything worthwhile. Justice, fair play, and honesty are important. It is a year for unselfish service.  Take care of your health because without it you cannot help others. Find time for rest and relaxation. This is a year to be thorough and conscientious about everything that you do.  It is a year of fine and friendly influence for marriage, tranquil home conditions, and traditional family activities. You may feel a strong desire to get settled.

I was at a friends 50th birthday party last night and it got me thinking as I watched all these vastly different people and how they interacted and communicated with eachother, that we really have no concept of ‘age’. We measure our time on earth by years, but what is a year?

Somehow 365 days just doesn’t cut it. If time is man-made and it could be horizontal, vertical or even circular how can someone be ‘50′. And if they are a soul that is constantly re-born in new lives, then can we ever really ‘know’ how old someone is.

And, let’s face it, age exists simply to create yet another category to neatly package people into. It brackets us in a way that other parameters don’t seem to manage. It separates the generations, (each one thinks it invented sex first!) and we never seem to be able to understand why things are so bad “these days” when it was all so much easier, people were nicer and strawberrys had flavour “in our day”.

One of my favourite quotes is “times are changing, children don’t respect their parents and everyone is writing a book”….. it could be a phrase from today, but isn’t it interesting that it was originally recorded by Cicero, that well known Roman philosopher.

So, does age matter, is my friend really 50? or is it all some cute joke with a punchline we will finally get at the point of death!!! who knows, but in the meantime there are still those strawberries to consume.