My life is rich and full of abundance and joy. I am blessed with prosperity and abundance all around me in every aspect of life. I trust in the universe to provide each and every day. ~ Pamela J. Leavey

(Photo: Bunny in the Front Yard ~ c. Pamela J. Leavey 2012)

Abundance can often be like the ocean, ebbing and flowing with the tides. When the tide is low, I seek to remind myself how quickly the tide can turn and bring with it the seeds of prosperity which planted will flourish and grow. Today, I look to the heavens and I thank the Universe for all bestowed upon me, with gratitude and confidence that I have planted the seeds. ~ Pamela J. Leavey

(Photo: Rough Legged Hawk ~ c. Pamela J. Leavey 2012)

Today is International Women’s Day:

I wrote Watch Us Stand Strong in 1994. I’ve shared it here before but felt today was a good day to share it again:

Watch Us Stand Strong

Long have we walked
Through the valley of our sadness,
Searching for a way
To end all the madness.
Long have we toiled,
Silent and unnoticed,
Suppressing our knowledge
And our gift to heal the world.
We are large by number,
We are small through the ages,
There are few that have spoken,
Few that dare to read
Our pages.
We are mothers,
We are daughters,
We are sisters,
We are friends;
We contain the lifeblood,
And the passion
Of all the universe
In our souls.
We are women,
Full of knowledge,
And beauty;
The Queens of our planet.
We are home now,
Watch us stand strong,
It is time to heal
Our world.

Check here for 10 Ways to Celebrate International Women’s Day. I spent a good part of International Women’s Day outside in my yard enjoying to 70 degree day here on the river. A little time communing with the Great Mother Goddess is always balm to the soul.

When I look to the skies, I often see very magical formations in clouds like the one below that looks a bit like a rainbow colored lightening bolt seen through the the bare trees:

When I see rainbows, my heart lifts up to the heavens in a sort of communion with the universe that fills me with joy.

It’s so important to find joy in the little things in life, as I have noted here in my Daily Affirmation today, and my Food For Thought post yesterday.

We go through life sometimes in a very numb state of mind, in that we forgot to look to the skies for rainbows or stop and smell the flowers.

I learned a long time ago that in being in the moment, you place your heart and soul in alignment with the opportunity to experience and feel joy. To be in the moment takes constant work and practice on living with an open mind and an open heart.

Awakening to joy, seeing rainbows is a great balm to the soul when we learn to look to even the littlest things to fill our hearts and minds with love and gratitude.

(Photo: Rainbow Bolt Through the Trees ~ c. Pamela J. Leavey 2012)

Sometimes in life you step out of your comfort zone and take a chance… Stepping out on a limb, you trust the universe to keep you safe.

But then, the tree shakes because maybe it’s not strong enough to bear your weight and you plummet to the ground.

So you ask the tree, why did you let me down, but the tree doesn’t respond, it just looks at you and shakes, leaving you filled with uncertainty and pain.

There is heartbreak in losing trust. There is grief in what you may think of as your own failure to recognize, that the tree wasn’t as strong and powerful as it appeared.

Illusions can get shattered like the glass in a mirror. In time with reflection you move past the heartbreak and grief and find your bearings once again. Healing takes time.

(Photo: Tree at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge ~~ c. Pamela J. Leavey 2012)

I have alluded here from time to time that I have been on a path filled with struggles in recent weeks. It has been a time that many would call, the dark nights of the soul, referring to a time in one’s life when spiritual practice and discipline suddenly loses all it’s experiential value.

This particular journey through the dark nights of the soul started for me when I had what then seemed like a minor fall in my driveway, on the last full moon, January 8 ~ the Wolf Moon.

That fall however, coupled with other concurring trials and tribulations, has managed to turn my world upside down and leave my soul weary and wondering. Try as I may day by day, hour by hour, and at times minute by minute, I ask for answers and I am, most oft left wanting.

Yet, there are times through it all, when I know that the universe has some mighty plans for me in this time of darkness, and I see a spark of light beckon through the darkness. I have watched the moon as it goes through it’s phases and as she began to wax, I began to feel my strength waxing with the her.

In a recent moment of clarity a few days ago, when faced with yet another trial, I knew that the intuitive, empath in me had in fact been feeling the wound resting in the vessel of a dear one. Learning what I had, some of my suffering then became clearer. And, in that moment of clarity, I thanked the Mother Goddess/Holy Mother and the Grandmother Moon for guiding me, nurturing my soul and feeding my heart with their wisdom. Yes, they were listening…

Then like balm to the weary soul, the Grandmother and the Mother guided me back into the light with their strong, nurturing voices ringing clear in the darkness…

Rise Up. Rise Up… You are not alone in your struggles. The Mother hears… She listens.

Daughter, you must know that these are the tests of time… And you have weathered for worse than this on your journey through this life.

Tired as you may be, you must Rise Up, because you have work to do. There are those who need the healing and wisdom of which you have been gifted…

So… Rise Up. Rise Up… The moon is full once again and you have been replenished in it’s ethereal light.

And so they spoke to me, the Great Mother Goddess and the Grandmother Moon and I felt my strength slowly return. Still I know, needed as I am, there will be more dark nights before the tests of time are through…

I believe, there are times in each of our lives that take us each into the dark nights of the soul. But, no matter how dark the nights may seem, no matter how bleak the circumstances are, no matter how deep the despair, call out to her…

Call out to the Holy Mother and she will be there to wrap you in her arms of love and comfort you. The dark nights will pass. There will be light.

And, remember too, to look to the Grandmother Moon when she is full, as she is tonight (Snow Moon) and bask in her glow… For she has come to guide you back from the dark nights of the soul…

Blessed Be…

(Photo credits: Wolf Moon ~ c. Jerry Blackburn 2012 & Snow Moon ~ c. Jerry Blackburn 2012.)

Sometimes the universe heaps so much unsavory matter in our lives, we feel swallowed up by the enormity of it all. It is there, we are in times of deepest despair and sorrow, brought to our knees. Some of us, come to know this time as the Dark Nights of the Soul.

It is here, we lay our troubles ahead of us like an unknown path to a destination that was not on our agenda. Crippled we find ourselves unable to walk the path and find the answers waiting in the light.

But trust we must, that the answers to our questions will be answered if we still our hearts and minds and listen.

It is there in the still of the dark night, that we cry out in anguish that life is so unfair. We weary of the thought of carrying on, because we have been worn down by so much grief.

And so in the darkness, we take one small step at a time, towards the light, with trust and faith that we will be encompassed with the ever glorious light of the universe.

Though the journey might be tough and and the process slower than we wished, we must all take this journey at times in our lives, because it is on this journey that we learn the lessons necessary and gain the strength to move forward in our lives.

The light is there… Trust we must.

(Photo: Parker River Sunset ~~ c. Pamela J. Leavey 2012)

Via His Holiness The Dalai Lama on Facebook…

It is important that when pursing our own self-interest we should be “wise selfish” and not “foolish selfish”. Being foolish selfish means pursuing our own interests in a narrow, shortsighted way. Being wise selfish means taking a broader view and recognizing that our own long-term individual interest lies in the welfare of everyone. Being wise selfish means being compassionate.

Think about that… What we do in life and how we do it, matters in over all plan of the universe.

Reflections…

As I have mentioned here previously, it’s not easy for me to stay down. I’m working hard at this time to “be in the moment and go with the flow” although going with the flow, feels quite a bit like swimming upstream… or worse, being caught up in a whirlpool.

I have plenty of time right now for inner reflection… As the universe has grounded me for a while. Given the fact that I’m stuck at home unable to drive I’m reading 3 wonderful books that I would recommend for anyone who’s looking to read good “food for thought” books:

• Untie the Strong Woman: Blessed Mother’s Immaculate Love for the Wild Soul ~~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes
• The Gift of Change: Spiritual Guidance for Living Your Best Life ~~ Marianne Williamson
• Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World ~~ His Holiness The Dalai Lama

I somehow missed reading Marianne Williamson’s The Gift of Change when it was first published a few years ago. I’ve long been a fan of Marianne’s books and lectures. Early in my years spent living in Los Angeles, I frequently went to her lectures at the Wilshire Ebell in the ’90′s. Reading it now comes to me at a profound time of change. It’s helped to re-mind me of many of the spiritual lessons I have learned over the years studying A Course In Miracles, Buddhism, Shamanism and the Goddess.

Women Who Run with the Wolves was published around the time I started to seek out spiritual knowledge, particularly focused on the Goddess and female Shamanism at the time. Clarissa Pinkola Estes long awaited new book, Untie the Strong Woman does not disappoint. I’m not far into Untie the Strong Woman yet… I will try to write more about it, as I am reading it.

Last night, I just lightly began to delve in the Dalai Lama’s new book, Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World and so far I’m loving the message.

We all need to take time in our lives to reflect on our lives and free ourselves from past ties that bind us. It’s about slowing down and listening to the messages that the universe has for us… Often seen in reflections if you slow down enough to look at them.

Reflections on now…

I find myself now in a place forced to stay some what less mobile (an understatement), than this fiercely independent woman is accustomed to enduring. My bottom line has always been, I just don’t stay down well. I’ve always had to do for myself in life, and my daughter, as I raised her alone. So what to do now that I am in this forced state of limited mobility?

The universe sometimes gives us a shove when a gentle push doesn’t work anymore… I’ve now been gifted with the time to clean up some serious procrastinations that have been hanging up my life.

That’s the blessing… If there is one to be seen in this mess…

First, I am taking some time and heeding the message that sometimes when the going gets tough, the tough do need to slow down and take some time to heal.

(Photo: Reflection Through the Trees at Hellcat Swamp ~ c. Pamela J. Leavey 2012)