Here we are again, for the very first time, in the midst of these Holy Days that traditions all around the world celebrate in unique and beautiful ways.
 

I’ve softened into a stillness that has settled within me; yet, at the same time, I feel a quickening in the inner landscape of my being.  In a few days we’ll be at the turning of the light that the solstice brings; the shortest winter day for some of you, longest summer day for others.

I love how some of us have the light receding while others have the light returning. Isn’t that always the way of it?

It humors me that this year I’m getting two winter solstices; being in the southern hemisphere in June and now being north of the equator.  (Could that be the reason I feel a little turned up-side-down now and again?)

Dec 21, 9 PM GMT, marks this turning of the light.   Beyond any other holiday traditions we may celebrate, every one of us on the planet is intertwined with this coming and going of darkness and light.  This universal nature, along with the astrological potency of this particular solstice, makes it a powerful time to globally join our hearts and prayers.  

During the moments of this solstice beloveds all across the world will be focusing on love, healing and new visions, at exactly same time. 

Since the solstice is a still a few days away, now is a good time to consider if / how you feel called to add some loving energy to that day.  Your prayers, however you express them, are valuable: a moment of silence, a dance, a song, lighting a candle, speaking your heart to the Holy, meditating, lovemaking, crying out your longings. It might be in your own solitude, or shared with beloveds, or tuning into a virtual event (The Global Silent Minute is once such event)

Can you imagine the light of your prayers joining with the of millions of other beloveds as we each turn our attention to love, healing and emerging possibilities?  How gloriously beautiful.

Joining you light and love,
Sharon

Like my morning walk, this Sweet Reminder meanders in a way that might only make sense to me.  Isn’t that often the way of things?

For no reason at all, some days just feel a little more special. Yesterday was like that for me.  The air seemed to touch me with gentleness. My heart’s smile was so vibrant I think it must have been illuminating my face with a light that reached out to everyone I crossed paths.

The world felt right. With all the uncertainty. With all the challenges. With all the griefs. I felt the mysteriously rightness about it all.   
And that surprised me.  December 5^th.  Eleven years since Gary, my brother, left his body.

I’m used to the day bringing a rainbow of emotions, often tinted with sorrow. But today there was just sweet memories and imagination.  

I wasn’t the first one on the beach.  My footprints intertwined with the the coming and goings of other morning beach walkers.   I imagined one set of those footprints belonged to Gary, as if my brother was walking right alongside me.    

He was astonished by the tangerine streaked sky. He smiled at the morning moon still hanging in the sky. I could hear his laughter when a wave caught us off guard. 

A story I’d heard long ago came to mind. You might know it too. As the story goes, in a dream there are footprints along the beach.  Most of the time there are two sets of prints, but every now and then one set of prints disappears.  The dreamer, who realizes one set of prints is their own and the other set belongs to their spiritual master, wants to know why, when the going got tough, he/she had to walk alone.  “Ohhh”, the spiritual master said, “You were never alone. When there was only one set of footprints, those were the times I carried you.”

Seeing my sandy path mingled with the footprints of others I reflected on how we carry, and are carried by, each other; most often, not even realizing it. 

Today, for no reason and for every reason, it was a special day.

Loving you from here,
Sharon

This morning, as I slipped into the cool salty water, the sun peeked over the low clouds and reached her warm rays out to me.   The water felt like liquid silk caressing my skin as the sun’s kiss penetrated my cheek.

The stillness of the morning settled over me like a gentle mist and I heard my out-breath whisper…”letting go.”

Such a simple yet profound practice … breathing out, gently whispering, “letting go”

Letting Go …
 …. into Love,

Sending you the whisper of a loving breath,
Sharon
 

I’m just curious.  Have you ever found yourself up a creek without a paddle, feeling like you were shit-out-of-luck or that things were going to Hell in a hand-basket?  
 
Have you every felt light as a feather, happy as a lark or bursting with excitement?

For the past few months I’ve been playing around with metaphors. 

You understand that I don’t actually want you to “break a leg”.    I might tell you to “get your head out of your ass” but truly, is that really where your head is?  I might feel like a million dollars but … hahaha … you get the point.
 
Metaphors.  You can grasp a hand. You can also grasp an idea. You can bend a stick. You can bend a rule.
 
Metaphors are sprinkled all though our thoughts and conversations, usually without our realizing it.
 
Right from birth we experience the world though comparisons and a metaphorical landscape we organically begin to construct.  Before we have words, our sensing compares what we experience … “this is like mom’s heart beat” … “this comforts me like, floating in the womb.”   Our infant- self begins to discover the world through metaphorical relationships.
 
“Metaphor is a way of thought long before it’s a way of words,”  James Geary writes in his intriguing book,   I Is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How It Shapes The Way We See the World    “Metaphorical thinking — shapes our view of the world, and is essential to how we communicate, learn, discover, and invent.”
 
I’ve become fascinated and curious about that  last sentence …“Metaphorical thinking — shapes our view of the world, and is essential to how we communicate, learn, discover, and invent.”  
 
You and I have a shared understanding of many metaphors. “I don’t know where it’s going but this hand-basket sure is picking up speed”, is a bit of humor that makes us laugh because we share a metaphor.  
 
But we also use metaphors that are uniquely ours; personal associations and meaning that invite our heart and soul to have their own voice.  These unique metaphors have the potency to slide below the surface of our consciousness and become catalysts for organic growth and change.  They bring us to places too deep for literal languaging.
 
The past few months I’ve been exploring ways of asking simple questions that facilitate someone to illicit their own unique, potent and enlivening metaphors.   My discoveries have been intriguing and surprising.    The Joseph Campbell quote “If you want to change the world, you have to change the metaphor”  leads me to “if you want to change your life, you have to change your metaphor.”  

I’ve been astonished at how quickly an experience can shift through metaphor.  I’m excited about the juicy ways what I’m learning has been enhancing the depth and richness to the coaching I offer and  I’m inviting you to join me in a little metaphorical exploration. Check out the note at the bottom of this message and let me know if you want to play.
 
As I write this, I’m feeling rooted like the almond tree in my yard.  The morning breeze is caressing me with the tenderness of a lover. Possibilities are sprouting in my heart and I’m curious to see how they blossom.

And I’m smiling at you with love across the miles,
Sharon

Music. In another time and place we might call it magic. The spell it weaves can move us to the deepest depths of our emotions, conjuring any state of being. Wanna change your mood? Change your tune.  Music can carry us into delight, melancholy, hope, longing, grief, celebration, power, love.
 
Music can time-travel us, bringing a past memory vividly alive into this now moment. It shape-shifts into wild and fierce ecstasy, the comfort of serene loving arms, and everything between the two.  It can recharge us with vim and enthusiasm or lull us into peaceful sleep.
 
Music often becomes my backdrop to housecleaning, driving, cooking, exercising, working on a project, love making.  Just for the joy of it, I’ll dance and move to a rainbow of genres. My favorite music? Anything that stirs me to move my body.
 
Early on during my covid-daze I realized there was something precious that had slipped away from me and my love affair with music.  I’m calling it “Pure Listening”.  
 
Pure Listening:  the moments where I’ve given myself totally over to the deep intimacy that emerges between tones, melodies, rhythm, tempo and my listening-feeling-vibrating self.   
 
Once upon a time I’d put a record on the turntable, close my eyes, and open myself to being traveled into undiscovered territory of my being.  Or I’d close my eyes at a concert and give myself to the pleasure of full-body listening.
 
Pure Listening.  Just me and the music that would wash through my being with the gift of clearing my mind and softening my body into exquisite presence.
 
In March, which Covid-19 impacted my life, I entered a time of unplanned sanctuary and retreat.  Unplanned, but met with curiosity about the potential held in those unique days.   I started Pure Listening. 
 
In the mornings, before even getting out of bed or checking for messages, email etc,  I’d put my headphones on and give myself to music.  Later in the day I’d sit under the eucalyptus trees, empty myself, and invite music to re-fill me in the generous way it does.
 
The practice of Pure Listening once again became a cherished friend.  Now I often put on my headset, get comfy, close my eyes and let this re-discovered friend have her way with me. 
 
Wanna join me?   Just for a few minutes, let the “to-do’s” go. There is no place to go. Nothing that needs to be figured out.  Simply pick a piece of music you love. Put on your headphones. Get comfy and listen with your entire being, purely listening. 

For the joy of it, I’ve put some of the music that’s been loving me this past week into a Dropbox for you. Enjoy!

Listening with gratitude and love,
Sharon