Awake | Bonnie Barnard - Part 5

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Sidewalk Oracle

My friend Quinn takes a morning walk and daily photographs what she sees on her walk. She got the idea from a book entitled Sidewalk Oracle, by Robert Moss. I ordered the book this morning and will post some wisdom from it in my next blog. In the meanwhile, I am going to make up what I believe his book will say. As everything you and I see comes from our inner self and interpretation, I believe Author Moss will tell me that what I place my attention upon during my walk will be uniquely mine. I may choose on my walk to pay attention to the health of the trees and if you were to take the same walk you might be fascinated by the songs of the birds. Each of our interpretations of what draws our attention will have meaning from our unconscious mind and will be made conscious to us through our fascination. I would use more spiritual language and say that on my morning walks;...

Half Way Through My Fast

On February 1st I announced on my blog that I would go on a February Fast cutting out political news from my daily diet and taking my own energy back. I would meditate from 5 to 6 pm instead of watching Chris Matthews and re-direct my energy toward that which I value. I want to share with you what I’ve observed. When a plane makes a very small, microscopic shift in direction it will end up in a different country. In fact, most of the time pilots are flying they are adjusting course. Flying is a series of mini-course corrections until the desired destination is reached. I should not have been surprised by the impact that this one small change could make in my life, but I was. By giving up political news, reading, and radio, I regained time. Probably 10 to 15 hours per week. The past three months I have had extensive leg, groin, and back pain. Metaphysically this means an inability to move, feeling unsupported, and...

My February Fast

It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection. Bhagavad Gita February 1st I committed to one month of withdrawing my attention from political news. This is a big deal for me. You see, something changed within me when Donald Trump became president. The Divine Presence within me was rock solid, but my personality was running amuck and wearing me out. I somehow felt, that in order to stay safe, I needed to become vigilant and know what the president was up to. I felt that lending my energy to catching him in his lies would somehow keep me safe. I also committed to praying for the president and the country everyday and I told myself that knowing what was going on was helpful. I don’t know how helpful it really was. I got caught up in the energy spiral of division and hatred and felt Ghostbuster slimed at the end of each day resorting to an...

A New Year Meditative Message

Today we begin 2018! A New Year. Each year I begin my year with long meditation and a cleansing prayer. Today was no different. During my meditation, though, I received some beautiful Soul musings that I captured in my journal. I typically don’t share my intimate inner conversation; yet today is a new day so I will. These words are powerful read out loud. There is a Power and Presence that lives inside of me and It is Eternal Love — not dependent upon anything other than Itself — Pure and Total 100 percent Love. This Love is available to lead me and guide me. I say YES to this guidance. It comes not from my mental structure of mind; but from my Being which operates from a feeling tone. My spiritual practice includes leaning into this tone I often refer to as A Field or The Field. I get quiet. I breathe deep and slow and become One with my breath. Then I witness the marriage of the...

Self Soothing Practices

When your emotional body is overstimulated or out-of-whack what actions do you take to soothe yourself? If you aren’t conscious of your behavior, now may be the time to give yourself a look-see. I have my standard practices: Ground, breathe and become present. Meditate. Sit in affirmative prayer. Chant. Take a walk. Call a friend who loves me and reminds me of who I am. And, today I added a new one. Adult coloring. I know, I am late on the coloring train; yet I want to say that there is brain technology that supports my new-found self-soothing practice. Check this out…according to an article by Dr. Nikki Martinez in the Huffington Post there are seven benefits to adult coloring: It works with the subconscious to access information and become more self-aware. By concentrated focus it helps with many mental and emotional disorders. Returns us to a simpler time in our life. It utilizes advanced brain functions like organization and problem solving. Calm down parts of our brain that...

Ash Wednesday Can Be Any Day

I wanted to write about Ash Wednesday yesterday, on its given day, and it didn’t happen. Although I thought about writing often, it just wouldn’t happen. Instead, I woke up with a message today … one day after its ritually assigned time. Which is PERFECT. It seems like a large portion of my life right now refuses to fit into the box or timeline I want to assign to it. How unfortunate it would have been if a blog on Ash Wednesday actually arrived on Ash Wednesday. Why is this? Because there is no time and space in God, The Universe, Our Hearts. Time and space are units of measurement that we humans brilliantly created in order to track and measure. Two very helpful practices for communicating with one another. Also, Ash Wednesday didn’t “feel different” to me than any other day, and it used to when I was steeped into the Lenten practice and I believed God was an external “thing.” Why doesn’t it? Because every day I ask...