“You have so many layers, that you can peel away a few, and everyone’s so shocked or impressed that you’re baring your soul, while to you it’s nothing, because you know you’ve twenty more layers to go.”
~ Craig Thompson

The sky this morning was filled with so many layers of clouds! At first the high fluffies were red, then the clouds right above St. John lit up like a strand of lights, then a few more, until finally the sun rose.

They made me think of the many layers of life. The average human thinks 70,000 thoughts in a day. So I’ve had 1,212,540,000 thoughts in my head so far in this lifetime … And it just keeps on going. It’s mind boggling really !! read more

“When you have once seen the glow of happiness on the face of a beloved person, you know that a man can have no other vocation but to awaken that light on the faces surrounding him. In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”
~ Albert Camus

What a brilliant sunrise for our friend’s last morning here with us. It’s been an amazing week, with a fine balance between work and play. Sharing sunrises, sharing thoughts over morning facebook time, sharing time in the kitchen and delicious plant-based creations, seeing whales off the deck, sitting on the beach at Maho, discussing life and pondering each of our purposes here on planet earth … read more

“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”
~ E. B. White

Gorgeous, tranquil morning at Maho Bay Beach on St. John with the sunrise coming up behind me and lighting up the hills of St. Thomas. The full moon in the sky was an added treat. And three deer served as an alarm clock, grazing right outside of our cabin window this morning.

I couldn’t help but to be a little bit sad, thinking of this beautiful little retreat being torn down. And I wonder what will happen to all the campground kitties and the bananaquits that feed on the sugar bowls outside of the dining hall ? One thing I know for sure … You simply can’t stop progress, so there’s no point in clinging to thoughts of what was. Who knows, maybe the new owner will have a change of heart. We’ve been told that it remains uncertain what they intend to do with the property, so in that, there is still hope. read more

Ain’t nothin’ gonna to break my stride
Nobody’s gonna slow me down, oh-no
I got to keep on movin’
~ Matthew Wilder

Couldn’t help but hum this song, with rain clouds filling our morning skies. As Murphy’s Law would have it, we’ve planned a beach day with our visiting friend. It seemed as though there might not even be a sunrise, but the sun managed to find it’s way through the only break in the clouds, and cast a welcoming glow to the day. And by the time I’d imported my photos, the clouds have already cleared. Yes, life changes so quickly! read more

“It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one destiny, affects all indirectly.”
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

It was another spectacular sunrise this morning. So easy to be tied into the inner-connectiveness, the fabric of life, not wanting to miss a moment of the ever-changing beauty, no distracting thoughts to take me out of the stream of being.

Yesterday, my friend and I spent a number of hours googling for imagery and symbolism to express this connection, our ability to learn and nurture self-care, self-awareness, and self-acceptance. It was an interesting experience. There is so much pain out there in the world, people feeling alone. Happiness being derived from the external, instead of the internal state of oneness, of being. read more

“A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs; an optimist doesn’t see the clouds at all – he’s walking on them.”
~ Leonard Louis Levinson

What a beautiful sunrise this morning, rays of light welcoming in the beginning of a new work week, brimming with promise.

The wall of clouds so aptly symbolize what the day holds for me. I’m working with a friend and client on some web development. Just like the clouds, there already is a structure there, it has a few holes in it. And behind the structure, there is a beautiful shining light, guiding our way. As we watched the sun peak it’s way from behind the clouds, a heart formed. My friend’s business is ‘Love in the Center’. The clouds were speaking to us, assuring us. I have great faith in where intuition will guide us today, that we will create something truly extra-ordinary and beautiful together. read more

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”
~ Buddha

This has always been one of my favorite quotes. And what a beautiful morning and sunrise to be shared with a friend. It was fun to hear the thoughts and songs in my friend’s soul that bubbled up, as the sky and clouds changed quite dramatically over the time that we sat together, sharing in mother nature’s splendid show. read more

Quieting the mind is the most heroic act.
This is the purpose of all practices.
When you quiet the mind you come to absolute silence where time and space do not exist.
You are instantly anywhere and everywhere.
Everything is within your Being.
~ Swami Amar Jyoti

Each month, I look forward to receiving a Light of Consciousness newsletter from Swami. His beautiful words arrived in my inbox this morning and echoed in my mind as I watched the peaceful sunrise.

Yesterday, I read some very disturbing suppositions concerning the resignation of the Pope. If what they say is true – and I pray it is not – I can’t help but think this is what happens when we place our faith inside brick walls that are constructs of money and power. I used to think God was some third person, something to be feared, something that I needed to confess sins to, something I couldn’t access without being in the presence of a man who had studied “the scripture” inside a building with stained glass windows. I no longer feel this way. If I have sins to confess, ‘he’ already knows because he is part of my consciousness. I don’t have to tell him. I just have to be honest with myself. Through yoga and meditation, I’ve come to find that the Divine is to be found inside, not outside, only through me, not someone else. Actually, divinity is to be found everywhere. In me. In you. read more