5/10/13—Being the Ripple

Today's Draw Classic*: Kizzie, my handsome boy. Do you know how significant your power is in the world? Do you realize that each and every day you make an impact on the overall vibration of humanity? How will you use your power today?

If you're a regular at the Daily Draw, then you've probably seen this post in some version before. Usually when I do repeat posts, I try to choose one I've never repeated before. But this particular post is different. For one, it's perfect for our week's theme of how much more awesome we are than we know. Second, my Kizzie boy has a hurt toe this week and is limpy, so he needs to be honored. And third, I've rewritten this post a couple of times, so it no longer fully resembles what it was originally. The last time I rewrote it was after my brother died. Anyway, it's one of my favorite posts. And when it calls to me, I repost it. :) So....

The other day I saw something I've seen a million times. Only this time, I saw it in a completely different way. My dogs and I took a trip to the park and my boy, Kizzie, decided to go in the river for a dip. As I saw him standing there, I noticed all the ripples issuing out with him at the center. Each time he moved, a new set of ripples would form. And the ripple effect of each motion would continue out into the river, despite the current. Despite anything. Indefinitely.

His presence was recorded throughout the river that day—through the ripples in the water, the displacement of the air around his ripples, and by his ripples meeting the shore and bouncing back. In the same way, his presence was recorded throughout the universe. Beyond that, on land, the wag of his tail, his body temperature and the sound of his breath had a similar effect in the environment around him, sending forth kinetic, sonic and heat waves from his body.

According to Wikipedia, a wave is a "disturbance (an oscillation) that travels through space and time, accompanied by the transfer of energy." Einstein's famous equation, E=MC2, posits that everything in the universe is energy. So what we see in the water above is Kizzie's energetic body having an effect on the water's energetic body. And since energy is never created or destroyed—only transferred—the effect he has is eternal. Pervasive. Ubiquitous.

Our lives work the same way. You create a kind of ripple when you have children...a ripple that goes on way beyond your lifetime. But even if you don't have children, you create it through everyone you come into contact with...every life you touch. There is nothing about us—no thought, no emotion, no scent, no delicate resting of silk on skin—that doesn't cause a disturbance that travels through space and time. 

So imagine the kind of ripple effect even something as simple as a smile can create. You smile at someone and cause them them to smile and feel a little more part of this world. That changes them, even if ever so slightly in that moment, and that change is passed on to the others they encounter that day. The vibration they spread is just a smidge higher than it would have been. And the people they encounter are similarly raised. And so on. And so on. And it ripples around the world, back past the original smiler, indefinitely. 

Of course the same is true about being a grumpy gus.

But the point I'm making is that no matter how "small and insignificant" we are, the impact of our every breath and thought echoes out into the universe to create the "whole". And that impact continues long after our death. We're still benefiting from the simple work of the men who built the railroads, women who showed their independence and the early men and women who moved out of caves and built humanity's first communities. We're also still affected by the ripple created by those who never spoke up against Hitler, spread the belief that the earth was flat and sailed to Africa to grab people and make them slaves in the New World. 

If you've ever been to an emotionally charged historic site, you can still feel it in the air. Occasionally I drive through the Manassas battlefield where so many lost their lives during our Civil War. The air is different there. It's palpable. Another place that comes to mind is Cape May, NJ, where the ripples of risque ladies in their swim dresses still echoes in the surf. 

For better or for worse, everything that has ever happened adds to the ripple of everything that ever will. As will your choices to recycle, eat meat, hate a particular race, reach out to the needy or make myriad other choices. We cannot have the foresight to see the impact of our choices in any given moment, but the energy we put out continues to ripple on indefinitely, even if it dissipates over time and is transferred into something else. 

The beautiful thing about this is that, regardless of what you believe about God and heaven, we live on in this very real way for eternity. We matter. No matter how normal and mundane our contributions. Do you think those railroad men, like my grandfather, felt like the kings of transportation, trade, information sharing, development and connection that they were? My mother was one of those women who paved the path for other women to hold "men's jobs". Look at what has come from that! That's not what she was doing—she just wanted to put her competence to good use—but look at what came of it. 

There is a reason for you being here. Even beyond our deaths, in the memories and minds of those we leave behind, we continue to send out ripples that, even for a moment, change the way our loved ones consider their lives. There is nothing we do, nothing we are, that doesn't have this import in the lives around us and the lives around all those people, etc. 

You are the ripple. Everything you say and do today will be forever felt by the universe. How will you use your infinite power today?

*Today's entry was rewritten from the 4/23/12 version of this post.

4/23/12—Being the Ripple

Today's Draw Classic*: Kizzie, my handsome boy. Do you know how significant your power is in the world? Do you realize that each and every day you make an impact on the overall vibration of humanity? How will you use your power today?

As many of you read last week, my brother was very ill. He passed into spirit this past weekend. I didn't have the time or energy tonight to do an entirely new entry, but I thought about an entry that I posted a couple of months ago and decided to use it as a basis for this entry....

The other day I saw something I've seen a million times. Only this time, I saw it in a completely different way. My dogs and I took a trip to the park and my boy, Kizzie, decided to go in the river for a dip (nevermind that it's the middle of winter). Anyway, as I saw him standing there, I noticed all the ripples issuing out with him at the center. Each time he moved, a new set of ripples would form. And the ripple effect of each motion would continue out into the river, despite the current. Despite anything. Indefinitely.

His presence was recorded throughout the river that day—through the ripples in the water, the displacement of the air around his ripples, by his ripples meeting the shore and bouncing back. In the same way, his presence was recorded throughout the universe.

Beyond that, on land, the wag of his tail, his body temperature and the sound of his breath had a similar effect in the environment around him, sending forth kinetic, sonic and heat waves from his body.

According to Wikipedia, a wave is a "disturbance (an oscillation) that travels through space and time, accompanied by the transfer of energy." Einstein's famous equation, E=MC2, posits that everything in the universe is energy. So what we see in the water above is Kizzie's energetic body having an effect on the water's energetic body. And since energy is never created or destroyed—only transferred—the effect he has is eternal. Pervasive. Ubiquitous.

Our lives work the same way. My brother had four children, so clearly his impact will be felt by generations and generations. But even if he never had a child, the same would be true. 

Imagine the kind of ripple effect even something as simple as a smile can create. You smile at someone and cause them them to smile and feel a little more part of this world. That changes them, even if ever so slightly in that moment, and that change is passed on to the others they encounter that day. The vibration they spread is just a smidge higher than it would have been. And the people they encounter are similarly raised. And so on. And so on. And it ripples around the world, back past the original smiler, indefinitely. 

Of course the same is true about being a grumpy gus.

But the point I'm making is that no matter how "small and insignificant" we are, the impact of our every breath and thought echoes out into the universe to create the "whole". And that impact continues long after our death. We're still benefiting from the simple work of the men who built the railroads, women who showed their independence and the early men and women who moved out of caves and built humanity's first communities. We're also still affected by the ripple created by those who never spoke up against Hitler, spread the belief that the earth was flat and sailed to Africa to grab people and make them slaves in the New World. 

All of those people were everyday people, motivated by the same things that motivate people today and cause them to make good, bad, normal, misinformed and inspired choices today. For better or for worse, each of those people and their collective groups are still making a difference today. As will your choices to recycle, use gasoline, eat meat or make myriad other choices that we can and cannot have the foresight to see the impact of in any given moment. 

The beautiful thing about this is that, regardless of what you believe about God and heaven, we live on in this very real way for eternity. We matter. No matter how normal and mundane our contributions. Do you think those railroad men, like my grandfather, felt like the kings of transportation, trade, information sharing, development and connection that they were? 

There is a reason for you being here. There was a reason my brother was here. And, even in his moment of death, he sent a ripple out that would change the way many people would consider their lives, even for a moment. There is nothing we do, nothing we are, that doesn't have this import in the lives around us and the lives around all those people, etc. 

You are the ripple. Everything you say and do today will be forever felt by the universe. How will you use your infinite power today?

*Today's entry was significantly adapted from 2/17/12's entry.

4/12/12—Figuring Out Who the Bad Guy Is

Today's Draw: Seven of Wands from the Bohemian Gothic Tarot by Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov. Do you know someone who enjoys raising a big stink? When this happens, do you tune them out or do you put them in their place? And if you put them in their place, what payoff do you get from engaging in the drama?

Sometimes I'm not sure if I make the card I draw each day fit something relevant in my life, or if the tarot is really as magic as it seems. But the last couple of days it seems the card I've chosen has mirrored a conversation I've JUST had with someone. And today, I'm pulling the meaning right out of the book, so I don't know how it could be anything other than magic! :)

This is the Seven of Wands from the Bohemian Gothic, one of the most treasured decks in all the land. And, though it's not pictured that way here, I drew it from my silver deck, which puts a metallic sheen everywhere the light hits, drawing you deeper into the shadowy depths of each card. The silver ink makes it seem like the only two colors in the card are silver and a blackish blueish black. You have to look really closely to see the slight red inside the monster's mouth. I go on about this because, even though this is a "dark" deck meant to explore the shadow side, it is probably one of the most breathtaking and hauntingly beautiful decks you'll ever see in its silver incarnation—a true testament to the artistry of Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov.

Anyway, now that I'm done salivating over these cards, the Seven of Wands is about those battles that you take on knowing you'll win. So if you get this card, you're likely to have a favorable outcome in a fight. But because this is a shadow deck, there's something darker lurking behind the eyes of the monster in the window—he's fighting for sport. For fun. Because he gets a kick out of stirring the pot. Because he enjoys seeing everyone get their panties in a wad. That's why he knows he'll win. The battle's not about principle or anything that really matters to him. It's about creating chaos and luring others into the dark.

This wins my vote for the most brilliant 

card ever created. The addict collapses

into the Devil's arms while the Devil shoots
 her up with morphine. It captures both the

essence of addiction and the Devil card meaning.

We all know people like that, right? Maybe they don't even do it consciously. But they're so married to conflict and drama that it follows them wherever they go. Many times they're the cause of it, making issues where there are none. But while their "victims" like to stand around and point and call them out on it, they don't usually see that, by doing so, they're becoming equal partners in the game. It's easy to blame it all on the troublemaker, but the fact is, it takes two parties to have a fight. 

Anytime there is a conflict between two sides, one side always entrains to the vibration of the other. The "attacked" could take the high road and act with love and peace, causing the belligerent one to limp away wondering what went wrong. But what usually happens is that the "attacked" side engages in the fight, eventually ending up as the very monster they're fighting. 

In one area of my life, I am gratefully on the sidelines of such a battle. As we discussed earlier this week with the universe testing you to define your boundaries, I have fought these battles enough in my life to know what happens and the role I play in perpetuating them. And staying out of this is one of the tests I've passed to show the universe how serious I am about disengaging from this kind of drama. And, being an observer this time around, the dynamic is so clear. 

There's one side that, whether consciously or not, enjoys stirring the pot. And there's another side that, while claiming to be morally superior, has dived in, fangs drawn. They feel justified in this behavior and I don't don't think they realize how they have now become the one stirring the pot...the attacker...the monster...the very thing they are fighting against. Nobody's morally superior anymore. Everybody's the bad guy. No doubt you've seen this kind of thing before in your life and, if you're like me, you've also been the "morally superior" one who has eventually embarrassed yourself by how low you've stooped.

One side always entrains to the other side's vibration. And when we participate in battles such as this, no matter how justified we are, we only succeed in devolving. There is no evolution in places where you allow yourself to be pulled down into a lower energy. Even if you have every right to be bitchy right back to the other person. The only evolution—the only way to actually BE the better person you claim to be—lies in compassion, forgiveness and rising above. It's not easy, especially when the other side is so good at pushing your buttons. But until you rise above, you're nothing more than their puppet. 

So if you're currently being drained by and drawn into this type of thing, stop. Just stop. You're not fighting the battle you think you're fighting. You're just being toxic right alongside your attacker and you're better than this. So not another word or action about it, whether in public or behind the scenes. Lead the charge of love, instead of revenge. Open your heart to others and use this as an opportunity to evolve.

The Week of 2/19/12—Raising Your Vibration

The other day I saw something I've seen a million times. Only this time, I saw it in a completely different way...

My dogs and I took a trip to the park and my boy, Kizzie, decided to go in the river for a dip (nevermind that it's the middle of winter). Anyway, as I saw him standing there, I noticed all the ripples issuing out with him at the center. Each time he moved, a new set of ripples would form. And the ripple effect of each motion would continue out into the river, despite the current. Despite anything. Indefinitely.

His presence was recorded throughout the river that day—through the ripples in the water, the displacement of the air around his ripples, by his ripples meeting the shore and bouncing back. In the same way, his presence was recorded throughout the universe.

Beyond that, on land, the wag of his tail, his body temperature and the sound of his breath had a similar effect in the environment around him, sending forth kinetic, sonic and heat waves from his body.

According to Wikipedia, a wave is a "disturbance (an oscillation) that travels through space and time, accompanied by the transfer of energy." Einstein's famous equation, E=MC2, posits that everything in the universe is energy. So what we see in the water above is Kizzie's energetic body having an effect on the water's energetic body. And since energy is never created or destroyed—only transferred—the effect he has is eternal. Pervasive. Ubiquitous.

Taking this further into metaphysical realms, everything about you is energy, including your thoughts, as different synapses in your brain fire. Everything you do, everything you say, everything you think—everything—interacts with the universe. There's no place to run, no place to hide. 

I suppose one way to see this is to say the universe is like a highly sophisticated lie detector. In a lie detector test, your body physiologically responds if you tell a lie. Your heartbeat quickens, your temperature rises, etc. And that piece of equipment captures those measurements. 

Lie detectors can be beat, though. The universe can't. It detects the most subtle shifts in your energy—shifts your brain may not even be able to consciously record. And every shift creates a "disturbance that travels through space and time, accompanied by the transfer of energy." 

Everything we do and are is recorded in the universe. And everything we do and are creates a disturbance in the universe. And everything we do and are is detected by the energy in the universe, including other people, animals and things. When we're sad, the trees know it. When we lie, our dogs know it. When we crave, the wind knows it. The "knowing" may not be conscious, but it melds with the energies of all that is. It creates a "disturbance" in all that is. 

I'm constantly amazed at how small and insignificant, yet how powerful, we are in the universe. Through just our thoughts alone, we can create beauty or pain. I'm not a parent, but I hear parents say all the time "our kids have no idea we're arguing" or "the kids are too young to realize what's going on." And then there are single people like me who think, because we have no kids or partners, that our thoughts and actions have no impact on the world around us. 

Even if you're entirely alone, locked in a lead box, you're fooling yourself. The energy of your being is transferred out into the universe and is recorded by every other living on either a profound or subtle level, depending on how relevant it is to the being. Even alone in a lead box, the lead knows. And the disturbance you create in the lead echoes forth, transferring itself to everything else, forever reshaping the environment around you.

When people say "we create our own reality", we really do. Even if you don't believe in that 100%, you shape it with every bit of energy you put out. And you ARE energy, a perpetually vibrating wave, the amplitude and frequency of which shift subtly every millisecond of the day, reaching out to all of creation. 

Heavy, I know. But essential to everything from your own spiritual development to the fate of everything that has ever existed or ever will..."a disturbance that travels through space and time."

So as you move through your week, consider these thoughts: 

• What effect are you having on the universe in this moment? 
• What net effect will you have this week? 
• How will you shape your own reality with your next thought?
• What type of "disturbance" do you want to create in your environment moving forward?
• What kind of "disturbances" are you creating in your own body with the thoughts you have?

People in the woo-woo world often refer to their self-development and spiritual work as "raising their vibration" or "walking in the light". If you've heard these phrases and thought they were BS or didn't know what to think, now you know what we're talking about. At some point in a spiritual journey you will ask yourself what effect you have on others and how you can change the world...questions like that. The answer is, literally, never more than a thought away.