The pool has taught me to listen;

    You will learn from it, too.

                 The Ferryman, Siddhartha

On the Island of Is, our next stop is the Pool of (Ac)knowledge, where we have the opportunity to perceive, acknowledge, and honor all the ways that God and the Universe support us. This is an important aspect of being grateful, one that magnifies one’s awareness of the Divine in all things.

Many people before our time have known this: shamans of the Andes and other indigenous cultures, Hopi elders, astrologers of ancient Egypt, and many others. Ecuadorian Shaman Blessing sacred dancer for holy festivalBy acknowledging the support they received from Spirit and expressing gratitude, they opened the door for even more blessings in their lives.

Synchronicity

Many of us know this term from the work of the psychologist Carl Jung. This is where two events seem like a coincidence, but actually they are not by chance.

“For whose purpose?” we might ask. Spirit’s? God’s? Ours? All three! Events come together because it is what we have asked for, and also because they serve a greater purpose. It is how Spirit/God acknowledges and interacts with us.

Divine Perfection

By acknowledging a synchronicity, we become aware of the Divine perfection all around us. When we perceive them as Divine perfection, they happen more frequently. If we honor the power and majesty of Divine Presence, Spirit will manifest itself in seemingly magical ways.

Synchronicities always have the purpose of expressing Spirit’s support, and sometimes they are a way for others in our life to notice the support.

Even small events can be synchronicities – even the tiniest things! If we acknowledge the minute, ordinary, daily events – every time something works easily or smoothly or well – then the number of synchronicities will increase vastly, as will your awareness of the role of Spirit in your life. You will become more and more attuned to Spirit.

Look into the Pool 

We use the metaphor of a pool to represent the opportunity we have every day to look into the realm of Spirit and see a reflection of our Divine essence. This reflection is apparent in all the ways that Spirit/God supports us.

For three amazing stories and unique lessons about synchronicity – and a continued experience of magic! – visit The Isle of Is: A Guide to Awakening.

Join us at the Pool of (Ac) Knowledge  to experience the knowledge of your true essence as Divine.

   Continued Blessings,

          Caroline & Thom



How Can We Be Grateful for Everything?

It’s a radical concept. So many things seem difficult to be grateful for: personal tragedies, world tragedies, the environmental degradation of Mother Earth.

 Gratitude opens the Spiritual Heart Yet the more one uses the spiritual tool of gratitude, the easier it is to open the heart and keep it open. This is especially true when we stretch ourselves by seeking the good in experiences we consider difficult or painful. 

Cosmic debris inside us, such as feelings of grief or anger, show us where to look. Ask yourself: What is it that prevents me from being grateful for this? Take some time to answer this question and feel what is in the way. Then look beyond what is difficult to what is a gift in the experience.

The Gift in the Experience

Perhaps you are sad because a loved one is ill. What might prevent you from being grateful? Of course, you do not wish for the person to suffer. You may worry that they won’t ever be well again. You may be concerned for this person’s young children.

But there are gifts in the experience, too. When a person is ill, it may allow them to see how much other people love them. It may allow others to recognize how deeply they love the one who is ill. Family issues sometimes heal in the context of a crisis. We can be grateful for whatever resources and support offer comfort or assistance.

Even if these things do not exist, we can be grateful for the opportunity to offer our love and support, to bring a measure of comfort to the one who is ill.

A Daily Practice

Create a daily practice of writing down at least five things you are grateful for. Then ask yourself, “What in my day, if anything, has seemed difficult? How might I reframe it so that I can express gratitude for this experience?” List as many things as you can think of about the difficult experience to be grateful for, then observe the effect on your life.

Grateful for the Impossible

How far can we take this idea? What about the most painful situations? Death of the person we love most, oil destroying life in the Gulf of Mexico, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis. What about anti-human policies, genocide, and child abuse?

Let's consider the tragedy of oil gushing into the Gulf. We can be grateful that the situation raises people’s consciousness about fossil fuel consumption. Is it really important to drive a car? Can we car-pool or use a train or a bus? Can our nation find ways to cut back on fuel consumption? Can we install solar panels, wind generators, other sources of renewable energy? We can be grateful that Mother Earth is showing us that we have been headed in the wrong direction.

We can be grateful for the opportunity to use our own voice to speak up about the situation and become involved. Problems, big and small, offer opportunities for us to create more meaningful lives. Being grateful does not keep us from doing something to solve the problem. Rather, it allows us to act from a place of inner calmness so that we can think more clearly and act more effectively.

What is the effect on your health and the health of the planet if you focus your awareness on being grateful, instead of being angry and afraid?

A State of Gratitude Use Gratitude as the Way to BE in the World

By being grateful, you will become more grateful. By expressing gratitude and behaving in grateful ways, you enter a state of gratitude, a way to BE in the world. This is the greatest gift awaiting you – a way of being that is joyful and appreciative.

When you can flow unconditional love toward everything, you move beyond the realm of judging things as positive or negative and become willing to live with it as it is – to live in a space of Is-ness.

To Read More

To read stories of people finding gratitude in difficult and painful situations, and to learn tools to assist in doing this work, see The Isle of Is: A Guide to Awakening. Click here to read more about the book. 

Please send us your comments and questions. What have you found to be grateful for in a painful situation?

We send Blessings and Gratitude for your Presence,

         Thom & Caroline

 “Leave your luggage at the Gate;

this is the entrance to the Sacred Realm.”

                     Saint Anonymous

The Business of Is-ness

As our Ecuadorian neighbor says, it’s all about “the business of Is-ness.” If one is to have a truly spiritual life, one must learn how to live in the present moment, immersed in the experience of Presence.

We use the word Presence – what others call Being, the Absolute, the Presence of God, or Is-ness – to describe that divine essence that permeates all time and space. This essence has qualities that one can feel: peaceful, serene, calm, nonlocal, central, profound, unconditional love, and much more.

The Island of Is

For the next few postings, we will explore the Island of Is, the magical place we present in our book, The Isle of Is: A Guide to Awakening. Our journey begins on the beach, where we discover a map of the island and a ring of keys. These, along with our intuition, lead us down a woodland path to the Gate of Gratitude. The map etches the path as we walk. The keys vibrate one at a time as we approach each sacred place.

The Gate of Gratitude

“Why does our journey start here?” we wonder.

Gratitude is the entrance to the Sacred Realm. Without gratitude for all the blessings of our lives – from the most joyful to the most painful - our ability to perceive and live in a state of Presence is limited. Without gratitude for the most difficult things, our perceptions are obscured, as though we are seeing through a dark veil.

One can begin by creating a collage of all the blessings of their lives. By making our gratitude visible, we affirm to ourselves and to the Divine Creator that we do indeed honor the gifts that each day, each chasm, each boulder, and each insight brings.

Where Am I Not Grateful?

Next, look at the irritations of your life. Ask yourself, “For which things am I not yet grateful?” and make a list. The list may be short or long. The length does not matter. What matters is the honesty of the search.

Is God, Spirit, the Divine, grateful for everything? What do you think? We believe that God flows graciousness toward every single thing, and that we humans are capable of seeing the world through these eyes, too, flowing unconditional love toward absolutely everything.

Flow Love Toward Every Thing

It may be a tall order, but what more important task is there? Loving unconditionally – being grateful In all things - is the highest spiritual calling.

If you are unable to find gratitude in a situation, then there is a something you aren’t yet able to see. A truth you are not yet able to acknowledge. A gift you have yet to unwrap.

Until gratitude infuses your being, it is good to recognize and honor where you are, as it is the only place you can work from. You are only in the present; you cannot place your efforts in the past or future. Change takes place in the constant present, and that requires accepting and honoring where you are right now, in this moment.

Will you take the journey with us? Create a collage and make a list of where it is difficult to be grateful. In our next writing, we’ll explore being grateful in difficult life situations, from the death of a loved one, to the oil gushing in the Gulf of Mexico.

        In the constant flow of Gratitude,

        Thom & Caroline