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June 2007In this Issue: The Dog |
Our dreams can inform us powerfully. They can open and initiate us to areas of unconsciousness that we are not willing to face. Many clients come to the coaching conversation because of a disturbing or confusing dream. Despite all the outward success many people are left with shadowy images of an un-lived life. I have seen over and over in my life and the lives of my clients that what a person will not address during waking hours often bursts forth into their dream world. If what holds us back from living freely and fully doesn’t arise in dreams, it certainly does on the meditation cushion. This summer, I intend to go slow, wander, intensively mediate, stay open to my dreams, climb mountains, walk by the sea and create. Most of the next two months I will be in solitude, on retreat, or enjoying vacation with my son and my companion and her kids…and the wilds of Northern Ontario, a secluded cabin in Cape Breton Island and a writer’s retreat on a river in West Chester county awaits. As Robert frost said… everyone has the right to go slow, very, very slow. And I don’t think he meant sluggish. Slow mind becomes no mind. No mind is goat mind. Climb and create! See you in September. Warmly, *If you'd like to share this issue with a friend, they can view the newsletter online at http://www.seanleclaire.com/ezine/, or you can use the Forward link at the bottom of this issue. If you'd prefer not to receive future issues of Be The Change, click the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of this message. THE DOG “When I climb I am followed by a dog called ‘ego.’ ” Once when I was traveling in northern India, I climbed a mountain in dream. Jesus was beside me. It was dawn. In complete silence, we hiked toward shining peaks. His Presence was, and remains, like a thousand burning suns inside my heart. To our left was a great valley and, although it was about a mile away, it was as if we were standing right amidst its beauty. Thirsty trees drank from a mountain creek. On the knoll just in front of us, a joyful man tumbled in a field of wildflowers. He was surrounded by a dozen gleeful kids. I turned to Jesus. He smiled with such radiance. “Oh, that’s my brother Buddha; he just loves tumbling with the children.” We continued our climb side-by-side. The shimmering peaks pulled my being upward into the sky. I woke up naked, lying on the concrete floor of the small room I was staying in. Sweat glistened on my skin. Soft light filled the room, and everything around and in me was blessed. I was peaceful, happy. The awareness that I was given the night I climbed without the dog sustains me when my mind turns to darkness and I can no longer see the shining peaks of Truth. I am grateful for glimpses of Perfection, and I have come to realize that the state does not stay with me permanently because I try to control my life and because I am attached to outcomes. More than that, a nasty little part of me actually still thinks it knows who and what is best for me. During times like that… I let my dog pull me around on its leash.BODY-CENTERED BREAKS (BCBs)The Body-Centered Break is a body-focused inquiry and awareness meditation lasting only two minutes and done whenever and wherever you are in your day. Benefits as described by coaching clients include: calmness of mind, overall sense of well-being, sharpened mental focus, reduced anxiety, increased ability of autonomous nervous system to recover rapidly from stress, and an increased capacity for learning. CLICK here for an audio-guided BCB at any time you feel the need to slow down and center into yourself. Enjoy the Benefits NOW! HeadRest Radiate QuietMind SteamValve PEERS OF INFLUENCELike many true artists, my good friend Linda Hoffman creates in a number of media… poetry, prose, sculpture, performance. Her lovely interpretation of The Ox Herding Series captures the essence of the spiritual journey. SHARED WISDOMThe person who looks outside dreams. The person who looks inside awakens. Carl Jung POEMWhen I am Among the Trees When I am among the trees, I am so distant from the hope of myself, Around me the trees stir in their leaves And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say, INQUIRYHow does efficiency hurt you? WONDERINGHow can I ease into the opening called creativity? EVENTS/WORKSHOPS Honoring Father RIGHT ACTIONGo easy, walk slowly, bow often, and create! Driftwood Horses
Explore additional images of Driftwood Horses, created by Heather Jansch, by clicking here: http://www.jansch.freeserve.co.uk/index.htm |
© 2007 Sean Casey LeClaire, all rights reserved. |
