The Power of the Mind

Spring has a lot going for it. The sun is more present, the birds are more chirpy, the leaves are so tenderly green. It is a season of growth and gain.

There is the old adage, that what you focus on grows. Imagine if you could focus on a flower so much, that it could grow! That's exactly what happens in the mind. If you put the full power of your attention on positive movement, you will actually generate positive movement.

This is called the Power of Positive Thinking or Manifesting, today's popular phrase. But what it is, under the label, is the ability of the mind to generate experience. The Buddha said, "All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become."

Manifesting literature often focuses on visualization for material gain. But the Buddha had something else in mind. He was interested in the alleviation of suffering. When you focus your mind on positive outcomes, self-judgment and negative thinking have to fall away. There is just not room for them to grow. And it is precisely negative thinking that is the root of suffering.

So in this season of growth and gain, it's a good time to ask: what am I focusing on? What positive outcome can I put my attention on?

Here is a good mantra for today:
In this breath, I am a flower,
growing into full bloom.
In this breath, I am the water
that the flower drinks from its roots.
In this breath, I am the sun,
shining in my heart of hearts.
In this breath, I am a flower,
adding beauty to the world.

In support of your blossoming,
Cynthia

The Dandelion Effect

This morning I took a walk around my suburban neighborhood, contemplating how powerful it is to have a sense of your soul's purpose. Whether that purpose is to love, to inspire, to order, to tend, to know --or any of the limitless purposes we can imagine-- how powerful to stand in your purpose and know that this is why you are on the planet!

Then I came upon a green patch of grass highlighted with the small but sunny pop-pom offerings of dandelion flowers. I love dandelions. I was blessed with two Pennsylvania German grandmothers. One made salad with eggs and dandelion greens, the other made dandelion wine. So I think of dandelions affectionately.

What popped into my head as I walked by these dandelions was: what if the dandelion wanted to be a tulip? How sad that dandelion would be! It would try and try, and the fire of this kind of mental anguish would make it droopy and sad. Maybe it would wilt and die before its time. And in the end, it would still be a dandelion, just a sad one.

The good news is that dandelions don't do that. They stand powerfully in their dandelion suits and shine yellow and puffy for all the world to see. At some point, they change form and turn into a translucent globe of seeds --a ball of pure potential! And then the wind blows, and the seeds of who they are spread out across the land. Lucky for us, and Pennsylvania German grandmothers, the seeds take root. And new dandelions standing powerfully in their yellow suits are born, each different, and yet spectacularly pom-pom like and elfish in the green grass.

And this is how it is when we use our power to choose to express our own gifts and our own purpose and stand powerfully in that expression. When we do this, we become beautiful manifestations of the Divine in form. Even more, we become translucent globes of possibility. When the wind of life itself blows, these seeds of possibility sail and take root and create new life.

Just think for a moment about the soul expression of Bach. Or Mother Theresa. The seeds of who they were continue to take root and grow and create new expressions in the world.

Thank goodness, I thought, that dandelions don't want to be tulips.

As I was walking with this last thought, I turned a bend, and came upon a vibrant bed of red tulips, surrounded by purple violets. I had to chuckle. Thank goodness that the tulips are also happy with who they are.

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How can you own your purpose and your potential more fully? What in you, beneath the daily round, is begging for expression? Take one step to express your soul today!

Finding Your Purpose

What is life purpose? I have had the benefit of working with numerous people on their journey to align themselves with their purpose. Purpose is like the banks of a river, guiding the river in its way, allowing the river to contain bounteous life because it moves in a certain trajectory with a certain amount of orderly chaos! Purpose creates a natural channel for our life work and expression.

If you have ever sat along the banks of a river, you will understand how essential those banks are for the life of the river. The banks create clear boundaries and direction for the river. Similarly, having a life purpose creates clear boundaries and direction for your life. With a trajectory for life, you can relax within that trajectory, knowing that all obstacles will eventually resolve in service of that flow and movement.

One of the great leaders of our day, Ammachi, the "hugging saint" says her religion is "Love." Love is her mission, too. She does this by offering a hugging blessing to anyone who shows up at her door, whether she is in India, or whether she is traveling in the States. A whole support structure has been created around her to further her purpose and mission. She has hugged millions upon millions of people, spreading the message of love and peace in the world.

With a clear sense of purpose, Ammachi inspires and serves the world through a simple act of radical loving. Watching Ammachi, it's fairly evident that she did not choose this purpose, but that it chose her. Some purposes arise like this. However, for others, there is a direct choosing involved. How you come upon your purpose depends on who you are!

What is your purpose? If you want to explore that question, I am excited to announce that I'm offering "life purpose coaching," culling the best of the best from my life coaching practice as well as relying on inner listening and play!

It's true that what we do for ourselves, we do for the planet. My current mission is to help people dream and help people bring their dreams into reality. For our planet needs big dreams! Our collective psyche needs wild ideas! There are many people dreaming their dreams...won't you join us!?

As John Lennon sang, "You may say I"m a dreamer. But I"m not the only one."