REMEMBERING AGAIN AND AGAIN

     I really hope you'll be able to join us for our Spring Retreat next weekend. It's a great opportunity to rest, relax, and re-connect with your Self at a deep level. You'll find details below, or on our website, but the most important thing to know is that the retreat combines many uplifting aspects of the Circle community: fellowship, meditation, relaxation, lively music, movement, creative expression and spiritual renewal, all unfolding gently over the course of a leisurely, low-cost weekend spent in a beautiful, Hill Country setting on the banks of the Guadalupe River.

REMEMBERING NOW

     But whether you're able to come spend those days with us or not, you don't need to wait till next weekend to take a break. Why not spend a few moments relaxing and affirming yourself NOW? Wont' you take this opportunity to inhale deeply, focus and remember:

     I am here to do what is mine to do in the service of Love. My purpose is to experience, explore and express the free flow of Spirit, moving through me. As I live my purpose, all the time, energy and resources I need are available. I do not need to be any better, smarter or work any harder than I AM.

     I affirm that all I need to do is show up and be fully present, with an open mind and open heart, trusting that every person, task and situation I encounter along the way is integral to this process of serving Love to the best of my ability. Nothing more, nothing less. I rest in the awareness that All is well, and all shall be well, today, tomorrow - and all my tomorrows. I name it and claim it, and so it is!

SENDING BLESSINGS

     Here's hoping that you find yourself feeling supported in doing whatever YOU are here to do as your manifest your purpose in life, today - and tomorrow - and all your tomorrows!

With love,

     Rudi

GOOD ENOUGH

     Once again this morning, shortly after I woke up, I found myself floundering under the tyranny of The Illusion of Success - thinking that I need to work harder, become more organized, make more money, become someone that I am not yet.

     Well-meaning friends, family members and total strangers have been confidently urging me forward toward my Future Fame and Fortune since I was a toddler, and 60+ years later I'm still struggling with that notion. So much so that I could wake up at 5:45 this morning, already feeling like I'm behind schedule!

  SOON ENOUGH

     Feeling both unable and unwilling to walk any faster or work any harder, I sit here wondering when this incessant pressure will stop - and then it occurs to me:  Why not NOW?

     Why not let go of this illusion, which I made up and which no longer serves me. Why not remember that there is nowhere to "get to" - and nothing I must become other than who I AM.  Sure, there are still phone calls to make, meetings to attend, tasks to tend to. I'm not talking about neglecting responsibilities. I'm merely choosing to release my attachment to my life being anything other than what it is, at this moment. This is enough.  I am enough. And enough is enough...

 SURE ENOUGH

     And, no, this is not the first time I've had this thought. And, yes, I may well forget again this afternoon. But, for now, I simply simmering in Enough-ness - and invite you to consider doing the same. Ahhh..  

With joy,

     Rudi

Thanks for supporting the Circle with your time, talent and treasure, just by reading this you are tapping into our collective abundant consciousness of Love. Please consider making a financial donation to support that consciousness by clicking HERE.

CELEBRATING SPRING

Standing bare-foot in the yard, 

 facing into the rising sun, 

feeling the cool, damp grass between my toes, 

 drawing my attention simultaneously down into the lush greenery beneath me 

 and the brightening sky above. 

 The dawn chorus fills the ears of my heart with more bird calls than I could begin to identify; the wet grass tunes my soul 

 to the vibrations of the green growth all around me.

What a gift to stand among the scores of trees in sight,

to lift my arms and greet the dawn

and imagine I AM one of them: standing motionless, 

my arms/branches spread out to bask in the morning light; 

my legs/trunk drawing energy and nutrition up from the soil; 

my skin/leaves "feeding" on the fresh spring air all around me; 

 sprouting new growth from every strand and cell in my body.

I swear I can feel the living truth of Easter, 

 a time of renewal and rebirth; 

 of Passover as an exodus 

from the old and entry into a time of new beginnings. 

 Joined in awe and wonder

with humans all across the ages and continents 

 celebrating this time of year with festive gatherings

and sacred rituals.

Overhead, a red-tailed hawk calls out

 My heart soars up to the sky in greeting... 

 and extends itself to you, Dear One

With Joy,

Rudi

Thanks for supporting the Circle with your time, talent and treasure, just by reading this you are tapping into our collective abundant consciousness of Love. Please consider making a financial donation to support that consciousness by clicking 
HERE.

LEARNING FROM LAUGHTER

     Starting about three months after a child is born in a traditional Navajo community, the infant is watched over carefully by family and friends, who patiently wait for the moment when the baby laughs for the first time. In their tradition, this moment is particularly important, because it marks the child's first outward sign of pleasure as a social being, and thereby, the completion of it's transition from the spirit world to the physical world.

     Whoever is present for that first laugh is deemed to have caused it, and is considered to have a special bond with the child for life. Whether the Laugh Witness is a close relative or a passing acquaintance, s/he then receives the privilege of preparing an A'wee Chi'deedloh (The Baby Laughed), a special ceremony and party that officially welcomes the infant into their community. This also formally begins the child's training in generosity, a trait that is held in high regard among the Navajo people.

FEELING GENEROUS

     At the party, guests bearing plates of freshly cooked food slowly pass in front of the child who, with help from the Laugh Witness, places a pinch of salt on each person's food as a symbolic act of generosity. The salt is said to rekindle and sustain the goodness in each recipient, and is considered the first in a lifetime of generous acts by the child. 

     At a time when so much of our contemporary pop culture and socio-political frames of reference are focused on the power of greed, separation and self-importance,

I believe this inspiring Navajo tradition has several important reminders for us:

·   we humans are social beings, who thrive on the company and support of others

·   generosity is a central virtue

·   opportunities to celebrate generosity help us remember and regenerate our goodness

·   an act of kindness blesses not just the receiver, but also the giver, and all who witness it

ACTING GENEROUS

     In the Celebration Circle, our purpose is to honor and nurture awareness of the Sacred in ourselves, each other and All Creation. As we deepen in understanding of our Oneness as individuals and as a spiritual community, we do our best to demonstrate that awareness by being generous, kind and compassionate with ourselves and each other. Not just because it's a "good thing" to do, or "The Right Way" to be, but also because, at our core, that's who we truly are.

     As the Navajo tradition of the First Laugh shows, we have much to enjoy and learn from each other in this respect. And, as my good friend and teacher, Charley Heavenrich likes to say, "You've got to do it by yourself, but you cannot do it alone."  At least, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

With joy,

     Rudi

PS: Speaking of generosity, many thanks to all the volunteers, donors and attendees who made the Circle's  25th Birthday Party such a Big Success. I can't begin to list all the folks who made it possible in this space, but you know who you are -- and I trust you can feel the power of your contribution(s).