July 9, 2018 It is OK to Hiss

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Passing thru the gate
Much bustling on the outside.
Inside, solitude.
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When I moved to Mission Canyon I built a fence around my property. The primary purpose was to keep my grand-children safe as there is a drop-off into the canyon at the bottom of the property. The secondary purpose is to keep my doggie girls from wandering too far. I purposely made the fence low enough that critters can easily jump and or climb over the fence. (I have seen deer in my yard numerous times since it was built so I know I have succeeded.) As an after-thought I put up a ‘Beware of The Dog’ sign. I have no deep-seated concern related to human’s coming on the land without permission. Add to this, the greatest risk from my dogs to those entering is actually excessive licking and playful jumping. (Okay, Wincicila does bark at strangers but she has never bitten anyone.)

However, I guess this sign is a ‘sorta-kinda hiss’.

🐾 It is okay to protect yourself. 

🌲 It is okay to back off from the busy 

and demanding encounters 

and seek solitude and quiet.

🐾 Even the warrior needs rest and relaxation.

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There is a much-told tale in India, also recounted by Paramahansa Yogananda in Autobiography of a Yogi. It is a story of a snake who lived in field and was a terror to the villagers until he was transformed by an encounter with a saint. After meeting the saint, the snake determined to not terrorize and bite the villagers ever again. When the saint visited the village some time later he found the snake in poor state of health from the abuse by the villagers. The saint told the much-injured snake, “I told you not to bite – but – you can hiss.”

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Photo I took of the gate at the bottom of my land near the drop off to The Mission Canyon
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June 30, 2018 Connection

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Touching the robe’s hem –

Breathing in, then quiet sigh.

Connection forged.

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I had never looked at my home from across the canyon. Then, Natalie sent this image. Lovely. It gives the impression of there being no one around for many miles. Indeed – depending on the direction I personally choose to look - the impression changes for me also.
When I go out on my back deck and look out across the canyon, the nearest home is some distance away and across a deep canyon. It would be daunting to go straight across to the homes on the other side so even though I can see them, I can not easily reach them by direct route.
However, when I go out my front door, I see my door is not far from Natalie, Ellen, Terra, Susan and Dick’s front doors. It is all about perspective. It is all about where I am looking.
The human is an interesting balance of ‘pack’ versus ‘solitary’. Too much time in one or the other (for most of us) creates issues of unbalance. The balance point needed varies from person to person. It also varies related to where we are in our personal earth walk.
It is common for the little one to say, “I am lonely.” The older one tends to want more alone time. However, the adult may also feel lonely, but may be less likely to speak the words, they may just hold the feeling, quietly suffering. It is heart tearing, to see another suffer loneliness.
I have been there. I have been in that place of hunger for human touch, human voice, friendly human words and laughter.
Many years ago, I read the book TOUCHING by the cultural anthropologist Ashley Montagu. In this tome, he speaks of the suffering of little infants when they are not physically touched. He calls this need ‘skin hunger’. Whereas I may have previously had a sense of the need for connection, it was through the words of Ashley Montagu I came to more deeply and viscerally understand this need. Montagu shared, the infant’s primary communication is through physical touch, making touch of paramount importance. As the we mature, other forms of connection gain importance, including visual and auditory. Sharing words with another, finding commonality of thought also creates connection as we mature.
At some point, we may realize, there is an inner realm. Even without any training, we may now and again sit quiet, breathing slow and easy, eyes closed or quietly open without a ‘seeking vision’ but rather observing without avarice to obtain information. THEN a place is touched, rich in connection. With soft exhalation, we are full to overflowing as we let go of desire. We have found peace. We have surprisingly found connection in the center of that peace. This is the beginning of the true end to loneliness. We have touched connection with life itself. We have touched the hem of The Robe Divine. 

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“Loneliness expresses the pain of being alone and solitude expresses the glory of being alone.”
Paul Tillich 

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“As I called to Thee in the wilderness of my loneliness, Thou didst burst through the dawn to greet me with Thy joy. Thou didst emerge from the molten door of the sun to pour Thy power into the pores of my life. Thou didst tear away the night of my ignorance to reveal Thy silver rays of speaking silence!”
Paramahansa Yogananda
http://www.yogananda-srf.org/HowtoLive/Beauty_and_Joy,_Grace_and_Refuge__Living_in_the_Presence_of_the_Mother_Divine.aspx#.WzeAU_acFPY

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An olive mountain neighbor – Natalie Mcguire –

 took this photo of my home from across the canyon
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