Blog
Winter So Far
I finally took the time this evening to edit a few images that I’ve shot so far this winter. Looking over these beginning in November, it reminds me that it’s been an odd winter here in Maine. Snow on Halloween, then again on Thanksgiving; none at all through December except a dusting and now finally, in January, it feels like winter… kind of. Most of us in the northeast are used to solid snow covering the ground from mid-December all the way through March. Looking at it in reflection, I see the similarities in having the proper time to go within and reflect, covered by a solid layer, able to truly settle in, inherent in winter. When it’s cold, but no snow is falling, or mixed precipitation and rain melting the snow that’s cumulated through a storm, it feels as if something is incomplete. Like having trouble settling into a rhythm. We feel bare and unprotected, exposed to the elements and unable to go into the silence.
My wife Sarah and I are continually looking at life from a reflective view. It’s who we are as individuals and is magnified as a couple. We spend hours nearly everyday talking out what we are feeling personally, in the planet, the stars and humanity as a whole. Lately I’ve noticed a magnified energy on being present in the moment to the things I need healing in. Emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically; I’ve come to recognize when something is out of balance and needs attention to be brought back in. Being present, in the moment, is the only way that I can tune into my being and get a clear picture of what is going on inside me and how facing it can bring healing and balance. This isn’t just new-agey talk. It’s what we have come to be in this point of our evolution as beings of the universe. Coming into our own, whole being, is what we are all facing at this moment. We can stall and procrastinate all we would like, but at every corner there is an opportunity to tune back into our own being, our own presence.
Take an un-attached look at your own life at this moment. The relationships you have to others, to money, to success, to health are all being cleansed for lack of a better word. If there is unbalanced energy in any of your relationships (again to more than just people), consider being present with that imbalance long enough to gain a new perspective on it. The difference between success and failure, good and ‘bad’, happy and sad; is one’s point of view. The approach is everything. The universe and all within it are reaching out to you to help you see this for yourself. To heal what needs to be healed and released. Everyone you know is going through the same thing. You are a catalyst for them, just as they are for you. If all you end up with is greater trust in yourself and your power over your own life, then what have you to lose? Encourage your friends to work within and do the same for yourself. After all, no one can do the work for you, they can only offer the conditions for the work to happen.
Thanksgiving Sunrise
Today is a wonderful day! On Thanksgiving we are reminded to reflect and give thanks for all that is in our lives. No matter the circumstances in which you find yourself, know that being grateful is key to living in harmony with the universe and all it’s abundance. This Source of Abundance is the very same substance of our individual being. Once realized, this substance provides all that we need and desire simply because Abundance is all the Source, our Source, knows. It is a matter of becoming conscious of this Truth and allowing it to move from within us, outward into our reality. There is no shortage. Never has been, nor could there ever be. Count your blessings today and all days, and you will have an abundance of blessings to count in all days.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Samuel
If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.- Meister Eckhart
A Murmuration of Starlings
Simply amazing footage of a collection of Starlings. Also known as a murmuration. Video by Sophie Windsor Clive
The Fire of the Heart
What you are, the world is.
And without your transformation,
there can be no transformation of the world.
j. krishnamurti
In alchemy, the fire is representation of the process in which we transmute one thing into another. In life, the fire is the symbol and essence of the life-force that animates our being. Fire can be the force that burns us up or it can be the force that we are. We can create with it, or be consumed by it. In both cases, when the fire is present, so is transmutation in the form of change. It is the inner fire that drives us and keeps us moving forward, ever changing, and ever growing thus transforming our lives from within. As we metamorphose into new and higher expressions, the world around us reflects back to us that which is now within us. When we consciously focus our fire, the way in which we perceive the callings of growth, change becomes less threatening and less of an attack. You see, as we identify with our fire, our life-force, the divine aspect of our being, we become less attached to the ego’s idea of our identity. The ego is a perfect deliverer of opportunity for conscious and deliberate transmutation, ego is the source of fear we feel when a change is present that could loosen the grip of rigid ideology. Identifying with the fire is not the destroy the ego, it is to observe it, and heal that which needs healing, love that which needs loving, change what needs changing, all to move us into a higher vibration and align us with our true purpose and calling. (more…)
Science and Wonder
Science is rapidly catching up with spiritual belief, as if we needed their approval to believe! This is wonderful, being that scientific proof of our world seems to be the way most people form the belief of how we are what we are. Outside of dogma, science is the “religion” that forms the patterns of belief about our world and our place in it. It creates wonder in our minds and stirring in our soul to have “proof” that what we know spiritually is now confirmed by science.
The video below is a great interpretation of where we are and rapidly headed. I found this on Michael Pollan’s Facebook page.
My favorite line – Neil DeGrasse Tyson ‘I know that the molecules in my body are traceable to phenomena in the cosmos. That makes me want to grab people in the street and say, have you heard this??
The journey through awakening
March comes as a winter long feat of moving through old beliefs and patterns of existing that have been shaken up and shed from within. The recent earthquakes have moved a great deal of energy on and within the planet, and just as the earth has shaken and freed up old energy, so have we all. As the earth rippled from the epicenter of the quakes, the wave of energy encircled the earth, rippling each of us, blasting us with new energy and altering our consciousness.
Nothing happens to the earth that does not happen to us humans as well. As you read this, think about how deeply we have all been moved to change our perspective on the world. No longer is turning a blind eye or deaf ear acceptable in what we do to the earth, our selves, or our neighbors; far or near.
The earth is calling us to wake up, it is time to shed fear and accept change. It is time to allow the dawn of a new way of being and living to shine it’s light into the darkness of the past. We can choose to usher this in if we only listen to the rumblings of our inner landscape and allow the shifting of the crust of mind and belief.
If you are experiencing any inner shifting or shaking and need some help, I am here as always to help you through the rebuilding process. Body work coincides with spiritual work, they both unlock the full potential of your greatest expression, the soul that is deep within you, awaiting to reveal the love and light that you are. I offer both as one, healing body and spirit, moving energy to help you call forth your purpose and joy.
I have posted the rest of this month’s newsletter on my Examiner.com column. You can read it here.
As always,
LOVE, LIGHT and BLESSINGS to you and yours
Samuel
The Breath of Yoga and Life
My experience with Yoga is now over 10 years deep.
I have experienced growth through yoga that has reflected my highs and lows. As with other things in life I have had times when I didn’t go a day without it, and times when I didn’t give it any attention what so ever.
When I first became interested in Yoga, I was an avid young surfer, fit and somewhat flexible, or at least I thought so anyway. My spiritual practice then consisted of how much time I spent in the water communing with the ocean and drawing in my sketchbook. I took an interest to yoga when I came across an article in Surfer Magazine about some of the pros training techniques. Since I was convinced that I could obtain pro status in the surfing world, I decided to incorporate a training regimen into my life outside of just surfing as much as possible. Yoga, as it seemed was a logical step into boosting my agility, reflexes, and expanding my lung capacity.
As I searched for how to begin learning yoga, I didn’t feel comfortable going to a class, so I went to the local book store. Back then, the section that contained yoga books was sparse, with no more than a dozen options. I landed on the selection of B.K.S. Iyengar’s – Light On Yoga. The simple yet beautiful cover with the shadow of a figure in the Natarajasana pose with a beautiful orange sun behind him struck a chord within me. As I briefly read part of the intro, scanned the images of the poses, and read his descriptions of how to do them, I knew I had found it. I purchased the book, claiming to be “The Bible of Modern Yoga”, went home and began that same day what is now more than a decade of inner journeying through outer experience.
At the time, my intentions were to formulate my body and mind into a point of focus aimed for pro surfing glory. Little did I know that this would be the gateway into finding my spirit, my soul, the place of equanimity that resides within. As my practice in yoga blossomed, I began learning Pranayama, a Sanskrit word meaning to lengthen the prana or breath. At the time it had never occurred to me as to be something that could be done with the conscious intent of expanding the mind, not just the amount of time I could spend under water. I could not have imagined the place I would now be without yoga’s influence on my inner landscape. It should also be mentioned that as I do still surf regularly, it is hardly what fulfills me.
The breath is the fine line of living or dying, and as important as that sounds, it is something we hardly give any attention as to how well we do it. Our breath is the keeper of calmness, it allows an ease of demeanor and a balanced mind and attitude towards life. If you have ever noticed your breathing patterns during times of stress, and times of relaxation, you know that a deep easy breath equals a calm attitude and feeling within the body. You will also know that a short breath, high in the chest is usually the result of anxiety and stress. Learning to adopt an awareness of your breath will give you full access to your current level of inner calm, as well as train your mind to focus on the present moment, the only place breath exists.
Over the years, yoga and the breath have challenged me, not just physically, but spiritually, mentally and emotionally as well. I have grown spiritually through other means, however, yoga and pranayama have been staples in my spiritual diet throughout. I still find that my time on the mat reveals new challenges in my focus and balance, inner and outer. I encourage any of you who are looking for a way to tie the knot of spiritual growth with everyday living to give yoga a try, or at the least, learn conscious breathing. Getting into your body, into the present moment allows your soul the avenue to come forth and speak clearly, unfolding your truth straight into your mind, heart and breath.
Sometimes challenging ourselves to make a bold move in life and follow our truth requires mental and physical strength. When that is needed, the strength and peace of a spiritual practice that includes all facets of life is priceless.
Below is a poem I wrote one night while practicing yoga before bed. Amazing what comes through when you allow it…
The Breath
As I inhale
I am this moment
I become aware of this place
this space
this breath
My belly expands
followed by my ribs
then my chest
Lungs full
Mind Still
All that was before this
has now passed
as has my influence upon it
My exhale slowly moves me
from this awareness
this time
Preparing me
to release the now
to move into the new
that my next breath
takes me to
As I sit within this
I am aware
the universe spins slowly
ever present
ever growing
The Moon ebbs and flows
The Sun feeds and grows
always in rhythm
pulling in the life force
pushing back out the creation
All from the now
All from the now
© Samuel Strickland
What does spirituality mean to modern men?
Look into the eyes of many men and you will find a soul trapped by past and modern stigmas of what has been thought to be correct behavior. As I work each day in the arenas of healing and light work in the greater Portland, Maine area, this has become increasingly apparent. It is also becoming visible as a grand theme in the sadness of war, whether overseas or right in our own neighborhood.
Men have historically been labeled through religion and militarism as being warriors, beaten and shaped in to tough as steel exteriors by virtually thousands of years of a non-peaceful planet. Given the role of provider, warrior, and sacrificial combatant without feelings of personal needs that beg for balance and compassion, some are lost in a great lie.
In my experience as a boy growing into a man in a religious family, I was expected to get a good job with benefits, go to church, get married and live the American dream. Through much deliberation, I found that this was someone’s daydream, someone outside of my own self. After a tour in the military, numerous jobs, careers and failed plans, I found my life was lacking something; peace in my heart and mind. At first, I found it challenging to step into my souls longing to live a peaceful life and maintain and daily spiritual practice. As many friends and acquaintances I grew up with became distant, I came into the understanding that, sad as it may be, there are many men in the world who have no idea of how to find the inner spark called the soul. For most, if they do hear the call from within their hearts, they have qualms about talking with others of their inner discovery.
When it comes to expressing heart felt feelings, men often find resistance from peers and even spouses. Not that this is true in all cases however, just that in all honesty, at some point or another most of us men have been shamed for emotional showings that involved our inner most feelings. We are expected to love our spouse or partner, our children and families. However, when faced with challenges that bring out the inner ‘demons’ of vulnerability that lye within, buried under thousands of years of distorted masculinity, most choose to suffer in silence. Reasons ranging from preconceived judgment, a real threat to our safety, inabilities to connect to the pain or sadness that lurks beneath the surface of ego, or countless others are the culprit for keeping us mum.
In his book The Hidden Spirituality of Men, author and religious-spiritual teacher Matthew Fox says;
“It is no secret that men are in trouble today. From war to ecological collapse, most of the world’s critical problems stem from a distorted masculinity out of control. Yet our culture rewards the very dysfunctions responsible for those problems.” Also stating; “One of the best kept secrets of our culture is that many men are deeply spiritual and care deeply about their spiritual life. It is a secret, however, because it is hidden – sometimes, even from the men themselves.”
In the Preface he poses the question: “Why have men, to greater and lesser degrees, “hidden” their spiritual lives?” He follows with an extensive list, here are just a few of his;
- Because Western culture is still a dualistic patriarchy that values thinking over feeling, material wealth over spiritual, scientific fact over intuitive knowledge, men over women, and heterosexuals over homosexuals.
- Because men are rarely rewarded, and often mocked, for openly expressing their deepest feelings of joy, sensitivity, and pain.
- Because men, who are “not supposed to cry,” learn to hide their grief as well as their joy.
- Because our culture more often rewards men for their extroverted rather than their introverted sides.
- Because an “original sin ideology” makes men doubt their beauty and right to be here, and the teachings about God as a punitive Father create a toxic, punitive role model.
I’ve found this book an eye opening, superbly researched “manual” of sorts for men to find within themselves the words to define the inner landscapes of almost unknown terrain.
With that, whether you are a man, or woman, looking to find that spark of inner fire that beckons from within your heart, don’t give up. Seek out and find groups, healers, religions, synagogues, meditations, yoga or the like to match whatever it is inside of you. You won’t be sorry.
Take Hold of Your Life
In a moment of inspiration and dedicaton to open eyes-
All this movement…
The light coming on stronger, brighter, faster, higher…
Be ready my people this day…
All is changing now…
RIGHT now…
Best make haste not to waste…
breath, nor time, nor energy…
No struggle, and not to strife…
Take Hold of the Rest of Your Life…
- Samuel Strickland
…and as Albert Einstein said it so profoundly – Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.