30 Days + of Gratitude ~ Day 23/24

1. I am grateful for the power of past discipline in my practices.  In traversing the the variety of terrain and weather in yesterday's 11+hour drive from Los Angeles to the high desert mountains of Sandia Park, New Mexico, there were three snow-storms to pass through, and two additional passengers to carry safely to "the Land of Enchantment" for this weekend's retreat.  There were periods of next to no visibility of the road, the lanes, the territory ahead, or even past my windshield when dark fell and the lights of oncoming cars would turn the window into a flash of white.  In my mind's eye, I could see the candles lit on the altar in New Mexico gently encouraging my passage, drawing me to my destination.  It was in these moments that the muscles of faith and trust I've been cultivating in the gym of Spirit got to be tested out in actual life circumstances.  It's usually fairly easy to feel a sense of connectedness, wholeness, trust, and faith sitting in some formal meditative practice.  But in the circumstances of life's unfolding, to let go of the fearful controller, lean into instinct and intuition, and carry onward... these are the places where the muscles of Awareness get honed and honored for the power they carry.
2. I am grateful for the continually deepening Trust in Love in my relationships when my ego tries to convince me that some "wrong" has been pointed in my direction.  I see myself more committed to the quiet truth of shared love, shared commitment to the relationship between myself and my relations, than the past pulls to right/wrong, good/bad, and seeking redress for imaginary trespasses.  This too, is continuing to evolve and deepen.  
3. I am grateful for the growing willingness to rest.  Learning to deeply relax and do nothing is an art I am cultivating.  Very distinct from laziness, procrastination, or checking-out, this is a practice that entered into consciously can recharge me in remarkably powerful and efficient ways.  The pull to busy-ness, the pull to incessant activity, physically or in thinking, is the ego's lack of trust and faith. The more trust and faith I have in myself and the Universe I am a part of, the easier it is to take these periods of doing no thing.  At the end of a hatha yoga practice, there is usually a pose called Shivasana.  It's a pose done lying flat on one's back, a time to integrate the work just completed, a time to enter the Self within.  It's known among adepts as the most difficult pose for humans to master...the art of doing nothing...no thought, no activity...resting in and as the Eternal Being.
4. I am grateful for my curiosity.  It is a way I am led into wider perspectives on all matters, out of the myopic viewpoints of a contracted sense of self.  As a kid my parents nicknamed me "Curious George".
5. I am grateful for this retreat property in New Mexico, to David Elliott for stewarding it, and to all the people, critters, and elements for supporting it.  This property is a living altar, it has been loved so deeply through countless hours of work and nurturing, and to all who come here in a good way, she showers and endless rain of blessings, rejuvenation, and remembrance.
6. I am grateful for laughter.  Especially the kind that just won't stop...that bursts out in waves long after the original joke has been forgotten...the kind that ripples back and forth between two people until your stomach muscles scream "Uncle!!!"
7. I am grateful for the way time expands and stretches out to accommodate everything that needs doing when I'm present and unattached to outcomes.  I mesmerized by it every time.
8. I am grateful for conscious community.  A gathering a people who can manage their own states more of the time than not, who can come together as a powerful collective...a powerful collective that can accomplish nearly anything.
9. I am grateful for the One Teacher revealing itSelf through all things.  May my hearing, my feeling, and my seeing always perceive You as You are...may I recognize and honor the teachings quickly in full Trust and Faith.
10. I am grateful for travel.  Traveling changes my routines and helps me become more adaptable and agile in all ways.