more connectedness
I acknowledge that synchronicity is often (a) in the eye of the beholder and (b) generated by how the beholder focuses her eye. Confirmation bias, right? You find what you look out for.
But I cling to the intention that what's in synchronicity for me might vibe with someone else, might strike a chord in your heart, might make a connection between us. That the experience of harmony and resonance might gift you, even for a moment.
After all, synchronicity means "time" (chronos) "happening together" (syn). Which should mean that multiple people can have that same experience, of events, experiences, learning opportunities, occupying the same space in time.
Written by Ela Harrison
on Sunday, 23 November 2014.
Posted in All About Words, Mindfulness
Where did we come from; where are we going?
We know all about the power of now : it's the one time when we can make change happen. Great opportunity, great responsibility. But in order to use that power, we need to know
- Where we're coming from, and
- Where we're heading to
A change moment isn't as powerful when we don't take aim. I know this as an individual, but it's also true of us as a species. Have you heard the statistic that the next generation, for the first time since records were kept, is projected to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents?
Many of my friends who are parents were galvanized into action when they heard that, and part of Pedram Shojai's drive to make this movie came from the consciousness of responsibility bringing his own child into the world.
Written by Ela Harrison
on Wednesday, 19 November 2014.
Posted in Mindfulness
it's all connected
It sometimes strikes me as so backward that I learned most of what I know about herbs from reading books and looking at them captured in jars in stores. Going out "in the wild" and getting to know the herb and making a relationship with them would be "better," in my judgment.
Then again, most of our learning is secondhand, isn't it? I give thanks for all the teachers and books who share portals into knowledge, leave threads that we can pick up and follow through the maze to find our own experiences.
I was also the little girl who made potions from herbs in the back yard, so experiential learning has always been there.
I'll be talking about herbs often here, both for what they teach and offer, and for the metaphorical lessons.
Perhaps it's because I've been thinking about Mastery lately, but yesterday a mallow taught me about persistence.
Written by Ela Harrison
on Tuesday, 18 November 2014.
Posted in Mindfulness, Herbs and Plants, Tucson
--by Hazrat Inayat Khan, and by Robert Greene
Two books, both titled Mastery. One was written recently, by an American author in his 50s. The other (which I can't find anywhere in the format I own) was written by an Indian Sufi who died in 1926, before he even made 50 years old. One would be classed as "personal development." The other would be shelved in the religious section.
One I've never owned but have borrowed from the library both as audio and print books. The other, I've carried around with me my whole adult life, through all the many places I've lived, starting well before the newer "Mastery" was even written.
Written by Ela Harrison
on Friday, 14 November 2014.
Posted in Literary Citizenship, Mindfulness
It Really IS How You Look At It
There were so many things I wanted to write about today.
I wanted to talk about words, and specific words: hormesis, discrimination, that I expect to talk about over and over.
And about colors, and about sleep, and literary citizenship, and doing things for other people.
I spilled some water on my computer this morning. Everything seemed fine until two hours later, when the screen went dark.
But guess what? It was a good thing!
Written by Ela Harrison
on Thursday, 13 November 2014.
Posted in Literary Citizenship, Mindfulness
"syn" + "chronos" -- "timed together"
Synchronicity is something I mean to write about regularly--weekly--on this blog. Events that happen "timed together," which also means "spaced together" which also means "in the eye of this beholder at this time together" are messages as subtle and emergent as the appearance of an eye in a peacock feather. Yes, I see it because I'm looking for it... but that's always true! What I see is a reflection of who I am. My belief is that the more aware we can be of the lenses through which we look and see, the more intentional we can be about the kind of world we experience.
I like today's synchronicity because not only does it involve a confluence of ancient wisdom and modern science; it has to do with something I already wrote about on this still-quite-new blog!
Written by Ela Harrison
on Wednesday, 12 November 2014.
Posted in Mindfulness
this side, that side, the dark side
Since it's full moon today, I want to share a bit about this month's Sufi new moon meditation. That's not as illogical as it sounds: I've now had two weeks, since new moon, to practice the meditation and harvest something to say about it!
The meditation is a variation on alternate-nostril breathing, commonly used in yogic disciplines. It seems appropriate that a practice that involves harmonizing our own two reflecting hemispheres be associated with the moon, whose daily existence in our lives is an enactment of the subdivisions of a sphere.
Written by Ela Harrison
on Thursday, 06 November 2014.
Posted in Mindfulness