Wear the World like a Loose Garment!

I have never ever liked tight clothing and I still don't.

I feel smothered and restrained and if it is two things I despise they are not being able to Breathe and being restrained! Or maybe you haven't noticed!

So today as I was listening to a recording, the woman said these words that were really not the point of the teaching but made everything else she said disappear from my thought processes. I guess I will have to go back and listen to that recording again sometime.

She said, "We are to wear the world like a loose garment!"

What would it look like, I wonder, if we all wore the world like a loose garment. You know a garment that only touches us in certain places... those places we desire them to touch. Yes, we want pants to fit around our waist so they don't fall off, but does that mean we pull the belt so tight that we can hardly breathe? And is that about not wanting the pants to fall off or is there another meaning to be gleaned there?

Yes we want our shirts to hold on to our shoulders so they won't fall away either, but what happens when that strap has to be so tight that it causes a mark on our shoulder? Or how about the shoes we wear that hurt our feet but we wear them because they make our legs "sexy"? We could go on and on you see!

Most of us take personally, what is happening in the world, especially since the last presidential election. So that, no matter who won, we take it personally and the garment of the Election begins to make us so uncomfortable (like those too tight shoes) we become irritable, angry and down right mean!

Our family drama... and yes, that is personal.... begins to strangle us like a scarf tied too tight to keep out the cold.

And we can't breathe.

What would it look like if we Wore the World like a Loose Garment?

I imagine it would make me feel free and light. It would not make the World go away, it would make me less restrained and bothered by that which causes me to be irritable, angry and mean. It would hang on me like my Goddess cloak hung on me during my Croning Ceremony. I could barely feel Her on me and as such I felt Powerful, Empowered, and Authentic to accept the anointing and also then be free to decide what this meant for my ongoing Journey. How would I stand in my Croneship? How would I treat others? How would I live a life standing in my Truth and Wisdom?

If that cloak had been tight, I would have spent more time adjusting and fidgeting and would have been distracted and ultimately irritated and angry. That would have ruined the Journey for me.

So I choose... yes it is a choice.... I choose to wear the world like a loose garment; only touching me where I need and want it to touch me. Notice, this does not mean I choose not wear the world at all. Oh my goddess.... that is not possible and most certainly not wise. The point is I will choose how it touches me and hangs on me. I want the world to hang on me in the same Divine Fashion that the Goddess Cloak hangs on me. 

I choose to Wear the World in a way that gives me pause to Breathe and Reflect so I can make decisions from a Divinely inspired place and not a place of irritation, anger and meanness!

I want the World Garment to touch me in my Heart and Soul for those who are marginalized, hungry, abused, neglected, discriminated against, and for women's right to choose. For others, they will choose for the Garment to touch them in different places. But for all of us, the garment that hangs loosely allows space to Breathe, to Speak, to Listen, to Pause, and to Act!

What pieces of clothing need adjusting in your life? Is there a way you can loosen the belt, scarf or buy a different pair of shoes?

A loose garment allows me to flow through the tough times, allows me to twirl in celebration and to spread my "wings" when I need to go into battle!

I choose to Wear the World like a Loose Garment! Want to join me?

Blessed be!

What happens in the Pause?

For the past few months, I have listened as my Gentle Flow Yogi, Brenda,  reminds us to Pause before taking the next Breath. Just a second or two, but to Pause. It is interesting how just a second or two Pause makes me feel like I am smothering. But yet, today, I finally GOT IT!

Today, I sat in the Pause.

Today, only for the second or two there, I soaked in the Quiet, the Stillness, the.... Pause!

The Pause from thinking about the next breath!

The Pause from thinking about the next Pose or the next Thought!

Pause!

In this fast paced life we now Journey through, there are seldom Pauses! We rush from one thought to the other, one thing to the other, one person, event, relationship to the other.

And we wonder why we are always Tired.

Now, I won't be intentionally Pausing between Breaths as I go through my day, but this is what I gleaned this morning.

It is important to Pause between the things on our list, the thoughts going through our head and even the channels as we cruise through the remote!

If we would, I do believe we would find ourselves in a much different place. A place of Quiet and Stillness and even Void!

A lot happens in those 1-2 seconds. I did not suffocate. I did not panic or even die.

What I did do was experience the Divine in a new way and in a new place..... INSIDE ME!

That is where the Pause exists!

Come with me and find the Pause! As you are rushing through your day, intentionally Pause before getting out of the car at your next stop. Pause before answering the phone or sending the text. Pause before selecting your words during a confrontation or even a moment of tenderness.

Pause so you don't miss the Rainbow, the cloud formation or what Moon Phase is shining in the nighttime sky! Pause to actually taste the coffee or the sandwich you are swallowing whole to get to the next appointment.

Pause to give thanks! Pause to give or receive a compliment! Pause to laugh and pause to cry!

Just Pause!

You will be glad you did!

Blessed be!

I walked with the Suffragettes!

I have been able to vote since I was 18 years old. I have never taken it for granted. Every time I vote I say thank you to all those brave warrior women we call Suffragettes who made it possible for me to make a decision and cast my vote.

This morning was different tho'. Luckily, I do not have to drive to my polling place. It is held in a small church on the main road right at the entrance to my apartment complex.

So, I got up early, bundled up as it was 37 degrees outside, chose one of my Goddess figurines from
Brigids Grove (https://www.etsy.com/shop/BrigidsGrove) and began my walk. Maybe it is because the Veil is still thin from Samhain, but whatever.... all of a sudden, I was with the Suffragettes! They were all around me... marching to the Polling Center. I stood tall and regal and walked slowly breathing in all that happened prior to the 1920 ratification of the 19th amendment and afterwards! Breathing in those Women who were put in prison, who were beaten and abused, who were demeaned and lost family support. Breathing in the brilliant choices of those such as Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

I walked with my head held high this morning with the Spirit of all those women who made it possible for me to vote in this country.

But today was different in another way. I was voting for a Woman to be President of the United States of America.

There are many who have accused me of voting for Hillary Clinton JUST BECAUSE she is a woman. Well, yes, her being a Woman is incredible, but let it be said, when Sarah Palin was running as Vice President, I did not hop on her bandwagon JUST BECAUSE she was a woman. There was no way, I would vote for anyone like her, woman or not... thus why I am not voting for Donald Trump.

I have "followed" Hillary Clinton since the early 80's. I respected her Voice for Women and Children, for her Activism and for her political decisions. I was thrilled when she became First Lady and then Secretary of State and Senator. She is an intelligent, compassionate, forward thinking, political savvy woman!

Does she still have one foot in the Patriarchal Mind Set? Yes! But you cannot get things done without understanding the abuses of power and control, the misogynistic, bigoted mind set, and you cannot understand how to "work the system" if you are not first a part of it in some way. It is women like Susan B Anthony who "worked the system" to finally achieve something she did not live to be able to take part in. She died before the ratification, but had left other women to continue the fight and finally win.

Hillary Clinton has to swim in those waters so her voice will be heard. This is the way changes will happen, with a Woman at the helm.

But she cannot and will not be able to do it alone. She will have a hard road ahead of her, as did President Obama, but she also has a shit load of Women surrounding her.

Like Susan B Anthony, who did hard work, suffered for it, and raised the awareness of other Women to continue the fight! We must continue this work. We cannot be Silent when the Election is over!

So, there I was surrounded by men and women (some with their children just like I use to do), all ages, races and stories. There I was surrounded by people in work clothes, some like me in my walking clothes and some in their Sports shirts. There were many holding coffee cups and lots on their phones. And yet, for me.... I was surrounded by All the Women who came before me so I could be standing in that line...knowing who I would be voting for and not worrying about who anyone else was voting for.

It was just me, Goddess and the Suffragettes. 

And I voted with Goddess in my hand! I voted with a smile on my face! And as I walked home I cried!

I voted!!!! It is a good day!