Rosemary always asks these pointed and difficult questions! Yes, I know they are good for me to reflect on, to answer, truthfully, for myself. And I actually thought this one would be reasonably easy for me to reply to and write this commentary. Then I took a second look!
A couple of years ago I did an exercise to clarify my values, to align them with my thinking, my philosophy. I made a list and prioritized it. I took a deep dive into this analysis, writing at length about these values I had come up with, what they mean to me and how I live by them. At the end of much thought I distilled the set of values down to two key ones: Practice and Love. In fact I even drew a diagram, a schematic to relate these two primal values: Practice –> Love.
No, this doesn’t mean my practices lead to love and it doesn’t mean if I practice well enough I will learn love. Maybe these meanings are overlays here, but these are two distinct values for me. I truly value that I am able to practice my various approaches to live a conscious life. Meditation, yoga, qigong, pages, poetry, … and any other consciousness raising practice that comes along that has potential for me is a key value. And how much more can I say about Love? Self, family, friends, community, humanity, life, Planet Earth, Nature, food, wine, beer making, wow…so much to love in life! And, clearly there is a relationship between practice and love. I love my practices. My practices help me better understand this whole sense of Love. Love improves my practices. It is complex and I can’t say that I even fully understand it when I write, and I often do: Practice –> Love.
But Rosemary’s question goes deeper here. Yes, she asks us to review our values, but more importantly to review our lives as they reflect those values we reaffirm! This is the key analysis, the driving question.
And I’ve spent the last several days, as part of our retreat weekend, reviewing and refining my answer. My answer initially is “no.” Oh sure, I’m doing a lot of practice, and I’m pleased with this. I also love: I am partnered with the love of my life. I am part of a loving family. My kids really do love me (at least they’ve done an awesome job of showing it!). But there’s a deeper level here I am reaching toward.
My exploration begins with the word “unconditional.” This is the quality of Love I’m reaching to attain. And this would then truly be the goal of Practice –> Love, my core values. I am not practicing unconditional love at every opportunity and therefore, my life is not reflecting this value.
That said I am working on it. This is my new level of Practice I’m striving to achieve. I suspect it is a life-long pursuit! But I have begun. Last evening, after Rosemary and I had returned from our retreat, our daughter stated, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that she had been craving pancakes for breakfast and would I please get up to make her some next morning! Hmmm, on Wednesdays she leaves for work at 7:15; hey, I’m retired, and while I am working harder than ever before and enjoying it a whole lot more, my hours don’t include 7:15 am! I did not commit! But this morning I was awake at 6:30, wanting more sleep. I debated with myself for about 30 seconds, and then asked “what would I do if I held the value of unconditional love? Yeah, you guessed it; I got up and fixed daughter and two grandsons pancakes (two different kinds). And the surprise and smiles were well worth the few extra winks!
With this good experience as a launch point I have been challenging myself to come from unconditional love all day. I’ve failed multiple times! I had several errands to run which meant driving and encountering other drivers; always a stumbling block for me to keep my cool while driving, but at least I continued to pull myself back to my core value. I’m practicing!
How are you practicing your values this year?
Mystic Messages 
CRYSTALS AND YOU – Richard’s Commentary
July 30, 2014 — RichardAs I write this we are in Florida visiting friends on our way to a conference in Orlando. The items we brought, combining housewarming (our friends moved here recently) and host gifts, are crystals. In fact our son, who has been collecting crystals since he was two, sent a special quartz crystal he had found in Raleigh, NC, to our “adopted grandson”, aged 6, as a special connection. We are all tapping into the “wisdom of the worlds.”
Here is the paragraph from Rosemary’s channeled message from The Divine Feminine that I most resonate with:
Not all people alive at this time are ready to hear the Wisdom of the Worlds as transmitted by these crystals, and, so, they will deny the value or, indeed, even the idea of crystals as messengers. They will dismiss crystals as ‘new age fads’ or ‘just fancy rocks.’ When you hear this from a person, or if you feel this yourself, know that this attitude comes from a fear of the challenge of personal growth. If you are connecting to these words then, Dear One, you are ready for personal growth through a personal relationship with the Crystal Kingdom.
Many people are awakening to this special and “personal relationship.” We have another friend in the Annapolis area who hosts a crystal grid and sing bowls meditation once each month. These experiences are some of the most powerful meditation experiences I have had recently. And I am pleased and impressed by the number of young people who are attending. Several help with the hundreds of pounds of crystals set up each month. They are clearly ready for the “personal relationship.”
What does this mean exactly? I can’t explain it with rational thought or logical words. These are feelings. There is a vibrational experience and sensibility that works on trans-rational levels. It could be loosely compared to intoxication, but it is a trip of the mind/soul/spirit rather than a chemical trip of the body. And there is a Universe of “information” available on these trips. I am still processing my last experience with the crystals.
Do you have a crystal with which you resonate? If so you can simply sit with it. Hold it in any way that feels comfortable. Let your mind drift. Follow your breath. Then begin to gently tune in to the crystal. This is usually a very subtle process; a sensitive attunement with the energy radiating from the crystal. It is a delicate “listening” experience…listen with your entire person, especially inside. Tune out the five senses and “listen” with your heart. After a little while set the crystal aside and record what you experienced.
If you need to find a crystal to discover a “personal relationship” you can simply locate a “rock shop” in your area; you can find very inexpensive and yet powerful crystals almost anywhere these days (the Crystal Kingdom is seeking these relationships). Go into the shop in this “listening” mode described above. First sense the overall feeling of the shop. If it feels dead, low energy, or if you sense any negativity from the shopkeeper, choose another shop. But in my experience it is rare for a shop with crystals to have negative energy. To find “your” crystal simple scan the collection in the sensitive mode, listening with your heart. The crystal will call out to you!
Of course, if none of this makes any sense to you, you may not be ready for this “personal relationship.” And that’s OK too! We are all growing and developing at our individual rates. Remain in flow and patient!
For all of us, in all stages of development, the Crystal Kingdom is blessing us with their energy and messages!