"You need to use your spiritual map! Your team will help you connect the dots. Failure inoculates you from the perfectionism you so want to practice. Instead, practice courage! Set up, try, dismantle, begin again."
— Lesson from Senor DaVinci, meditation 11.12.20
The Cowardly Lion proudly receives his medal of Courage, -The Wizard of Oz, MGM Studios (1939). For days I’ve talked with the ascended masters in my daily meditations to consider suitable fall newsletter topics. We talked about politics, the pandemic, and polarization. Turns out the masters table is as divided as we are and they appeared bored by the topics. In frustration, I shared aloud that this newsletter was going to go long, wasn’t it? King Midas blandly said, yes, and added: Get over it. *** Yesterday at 5 AM, Gandhi began talking to me so I didn’t hesitate to throw back my comforter and grab a pencil. Gandhi: We’ve been giving you a lot of wisdom in piece-meal bites. Let’s try to pull it all together for the sake of your audience. Sally: Wonderful. Gandhi: Lately, Senor DaVinci has been counseling you to approach the business of My Inner Lighthouse as an engineer, correct? Sally: Yes. Gandhi: Why is this important? I pause. Not fair. There is no coffee in this body. When Gandhi asks you a question, you do your darnedest to land a succinct reply. I head for the kitchen and make a bee line for the coffee maker. Sally: Because I have a tendency to attach emotion to everything. DaVinci: Not everything needs to be wrapped in a blanket of feelings, Sally. Senor DaVinci takes a seat at my dinette table. I bet Senor DaVinci drank a lot of coffee in his day. After a few minutes, the Ninja coffee maker begins to sputter to life. Now we’re talking! Gandhi: I believe he wants you to practice more detachment. Sally: You told me you wanted me to “fail” more. Experiment. Take things apart and put them back together. Risk. You said that it would be a way to break my perfectionist tendencies. Gandhi: Very good. That’s right. Gandhi is leading me somewhere. It’s not clear but I can feel it coming. Gandhi: Tell me about the Law of Detachment. Ugh. This is my “shadow” law; my weakest link. Let me explain... For years, the masters told me that things would become clearer after I took the "Self Compassion Course." I assumed that meant that I would stumble upon (i.e. attract) an interactive class on this, my toughest subject. After Gandhi talked to me about writing my principles, I realized I needed a systematic way to approach organizing the wisdom they were sharing with me on a daily basis. By spring this year, the system was born, based upon the seven spiritual laws as expressed by Deepak Chopra in his “Creating Abundance” guided meditation course. I combined the chakra system (thanks, Suz!) with the sacred geometry tools they were flashing me during client sessions and downloaded to me during my early meditation days back in Seattle. Viola! The Self Compassion Course!
The vision in my meditation shifts. We are now on North Beach out in front of Gentlewood and the 7 guides join me for a walk down the sands.
Sally:
Law of Detachment. Right…
That’s Saturday, I think. Its symbol is the rose. I need the caffeine to kick in please! Sacred feminine. You’d think I’d have this one down, by now, with my intuition and everything—
Gandhi quits walking. We all stop and meet his gaze. He stares at me.
Gandhi:
Let desire drive.
Ohhh! That's why they told me that! Didn’t get that! They offered me this mantra some time ago and I thought it was just a catchy phrase! It was a short-cut! To help me remember my toughest subject! They're so good...
Gandhi:
What is your first living principal Sally?
Sally:
Start at the heart.
Gandhi:
Start at the heart. When you start at the heart of things, you ARE at the center.
Human beings aren’t the only beings with an emotional center. Events, situations, thoughts even the energy of a room has an emotional center.
DaVinci: A painting certainly does. But as an engineer, you can both observe the effect at the same time as you feel it. Observation is the easiest mindfulness practice of all! It is effortless!
You can practice 2 ways of being through the Law of Least Effort. Let go of this constant need to control things! Experiment! Try something new. See where it takes you. This brings us to the latest practice we’ve been teaching you.
Sally:
Courage.
I quietly give thanks to the people who first discovered how to roast coffee beans.
DaVinci:
Yes, courage. Plagues are a scourge on humanity! But they can encourage better development for crowded living spaces.
That’s right! In my research and reading on DaVinci, I remembered that the Bubonic plague in Milan prompted DaVinci to draft improved designs for urban planning. Interesting that Milan was the location and it was the initial center for our pandemic in Europe…
DaVinci:
Yes, history does have a way of turning over on itself, does it not?
Gandhi:
Let desire drive. Go to your heart. Listen to what it wants to share with you.
DaVinci:
And don’t hold on so tight! (He lifts his tight fists in the air and shakes them for emphasis) Practice courage and let go.
DaVinci opens his hands and bright blue butterflies lift off his palms!
We all watch the butterflies take flight.
Sally:
Hope travels light.
DaVinci, looking every bit like a little boy:
Well said, my dear! She surely does!
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
What circumstance, relationship or situation do you most need to observe or temporarily detach from to gain some perspective?
What arena in your life is calling you to step forward and practice some courage? Can this help you connect to your deeper passions?
What gives you hope these days? What can you let go of to make things lighter for yourself?
Sally Mathis O'Brien 206.909.3737 | My Inner Lighthouse | we all house the light ®