It’s not a spectator sport

“If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.” Anonymous

What is the edge? Is the edge the brink or verge of disaster or a border at which a surface terminates – like the edge of the earth? It could as easily be the line at which two surfaces meet rather than an abrupt end in destruction. The edge could also indicate an improved position, as in gaining the edge or the ability to put an edge on, to sharpen. What does the idea of living on edge bring up for you? Does the mere idea of it attune your instincts and sharpen your awareness? Do you feel your heart race and your defenses stiffen?

We hold our breath as people jump out of planes, not releasing the parachutes until the very last minute. Reality TV, where survival is the game, attracts our attention, even in our short attention span world. Our fascination with the edge doesn’t seem to be declining even though most of us aren’t willing to actually live there. We would rather be spectators, tucked carefully out of the brink’s reach. Yet, there is a reason we are attracted to danger, to watching others live, and sometimes die, on the edge. And not living there, rather than giving us a sense of safety, creates the need for increasing levels of stimulation. You see, the edge was never designed to be a spectator sport.

“Say you were standing with one foot in the oven and one foot in an ice bucket. According to the percentage people, you would be perfectly comfortable. Bobby Bragan

Time for a deep breath, a moment of integration, no longer exists between the end of one churning and the beginning of the next. Last night I realized that the next piece to unfold was already in the pipeline even though the current one is still quite present in its tenderness. They are lined up like chess pieces ready to be moved or perhaps a domino awaiting sufficient angle to tip and collide into the next.

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” John F. Kennedy God has always lived as human. You, exactly as you are, are the Divine Expression of God. You don’t have to change one thing. Relax into your inheritance and [...]

Desire is not bad. It has no need to be transformed, surrendered, or denied. It is God speaking, expressing creatively, the ongoing breath of vibrant aliveness. The notion that desire should be chained and restrained, that it should not be allowed to flow freely, is a rejection of This That We Are. Stopping up desire impedes the flow of our abundant inheritance, the inheritance that is ours as sons and daughters of God – not servants, but children – not beggars, but rightful heirs. Everything that God is and has is ours. This is a founding principle for everyday, ordinary life not merely a concept or hope for a better life once this one ends.

Consciousness is unfolding and it’s unfolding with pinpoint precision. Even as I hang onto crystallized beliefs, unaware of my protected stance, movement abounds, wriggling through me in waves, bringing to light every ploy preventing me from being right here, right now. What grace. How could I ever become aware of ‘those things I don’t know that I don’t know’ if it weren’t for this great unfolding?

What if you didn’t need anything? What if everything you believe to be missing is already right here? What if you are already a most remarkable, creative, beautiful and powerful force? What if the purpose of your search was to make you pliable enough to accept this truth? What if you surrendered your sense of lack and your hopes for something better and settled deeply into your experience of life, trusting it to hold only abundance, health, wholeness and harmony? What would that mean to you? How would that feel deep within your bones?

“Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.” Albert Einstein With spirit’s relentless support, ego’s grip loosened and unraveling began in earnest.  Humbled once again and streaming tears, a great fullness poured through. In its wake innocence reappeared. The impulse to defend [...]

Have you ever seen a ghost? I have. It wasn’t at all what one might expect – not a sprite and certainly not a howling demon. What could have been a startling experience revealed a surreal ordinariness that added new understanding to what it means to be alive. Watching not one, but many ghost-like presences, I felt as if I had passed through the veil of one world into another dimension.

With each passing day it is simpler to stand in the middle of the tsunami pouring through my life and the lives of so many. Less effort and less apparent choice is required. Standing here, right in the middle of whatever shows up, is more natural than it was yesterday. The moment I realized there was actually no way to step out of the wave, that struggling to break free sucked me deeper into the powerful undertow, the battle ceased. Now I understand what it means to be alive on purpose.