Time Flies

"Today is Wednesday, March 18th, 2013.  Here in Northwest CT, it's still winter.  Most of us are anxious for Spring to arrive.  Winter feels like it has been so long this year.  But once Spring does get here, it'll will pass quickly.  And then will come Summer, and that will pass quickly too."

That's an excerpt from a blog I started in November of 2012.  And then revisited  in March of last year. I returned to it again today - Tuesday, May 27, 2014.  The day after Memorial Day, the unofficial start of Summer.

What strikes me when I read it, is how time has passed & how quickly it passed.  We talk about it all the time "seems like yesterday"....

It's the beginning of summer, and people are talking about the summer & school ending.  But they're also talking about Christmas & next year.  Summer will pass. The Fall will come.  School will start again.  Winter will arrive.  It's inevitable.  Time passes.

But how much of the time do you spend talking about what happened or looking ahead to the future? How much of the time do you spend in this day?  How present are for what's happening now, in your life?  

Reminiscing is wonderful.  And so is having goals & dreams for the future.  And it's ok if you look back sometimes & say "where did the time go?"  But don't let that be your whole life.  Start small.  Start paying attention now.  Notice which cup you use for your coffee.  How the cup feels in your hand, how the coffee tastes.  When you say "Good Morning" to someone, look at them - really look at them.  Make a connection.  Practice paying attention in each moment of each day.  Practice being present.  Notice how the air feels, how the sky changes, how people change. 

Time will still pass "fly by" - and that's not really a bad thing, if you're present for it.  You'll be present & you'll be the pilot of your life...rather than just going along for the ride.  Be an active participant in your life.  This the practice of yoga - the practice of being present.  This is yoga off the mat.

Sweet Dreams

"The more fear one has of anything, the more a vibrational match to the thing that they fear they are. Help your child discover that if she makes things that are potentially frightening a non-issue to her, then they don't bother." -Abraham

Quite some time ago, our son woke from a nightmare absolutely terrified.  We had to take him out of bed, into another room, where we hung out & watched videos ("How It's Made" - a cool show that explains how things from bubble gum to big ships are made) & talked until he finally relaxed.  He wouldn't tell us what the nightmare was about.  When we finally went back to bed, he was still afraid & wouldn't even put his legs under the covers.  He still didn't want to tell us about it the next day & we let it go, not wanting to make a bigger issue out of it.

A month or two later, he decided to tell me about it, totally out of the blue.  He said it was about a big rat that was trying to "get him" (which explains not wanting to get under the covers again...he thought the rat was still there).  We talked about it.  I told him that when I have a bad dream like that, when someone or something is trying to get me, I turn the dream around when I wake up.  I remember the dream, but then imagine a different ending.  I told him that it was his dream, and now he could remember the dream & imagine himself making friends with the rat.  And so he didn't have to be afraid anymore.

He still talks about the dream occasionally, but now tells it with his spin.  He made friends with the rat.  He's not afraid of the rat.  It has, I hope, become a non-issue for him.

There may be other bad dreams.  There may be other fears.  I hope that we can help him make them non-issues, in whatever ways work best for him.  And as much as the Abraham quote above is directed toward children, I think it is useful for many of us as adults.  We find ourselves afraid of all kinds of things & people - often times, things that are out of our control.  And yet, we direct out thoughts & energy toward these fears.  And so that becomes our vibration - fear.  And we attract to us exactly that of which we are afraid.

What are you afraid of?  Make it a non-issue.  How?  With new thoughts.  Happy thoughts.  Re-imagine that of which you are afraid.  Re-imagine a different, happy ending.  Connect to those feelings & thoughts & people that make you feel strong & comfortable & happy.  Let that be your new, brave vibration.  Face that rat & make it your friend:)