Category: Love

Sending Love to the Bullies

Sending Love to the Bullies

Still awake after waking at 2am, my mind wandered back to the little boy who broke my heart yesterday. I was working the cash register at my part-time job at a major outdoor clothing store. A man and his eight year old-ish son were at the counter looking at wallets. The boy was quiet and shy but given the way his dad was treating him, I understood why.

 

The man kept criticizing the boy, saying things like he should get a pink wallet because of how he’d been acting that day. The boy grew smaller as i observed their interaction, his dad clearly wanting those around to witness the humiliation directed not only at the boy but toward women. ‘If you have emotions you must be a woman and wear pink.’ The child was being bullied and the father hadn’t a clue what an ass he was being, how he was damaging his son.

I smiled and teasingly said to the ‘man,’ “Hey, we’re almost an all-female staff. Be careful…” The guy laughed, not understanding what I was saying and kept on harassing his little boy. Finally, I walked over to the boy and said, “My brother is a man, he hunts turkey and deer and he wears pink shirts.” The little boy broke into a huge smile for just a moment and as we made eye contact I knew he felt understood. If only for a brief time, someone was on his side.

Tears prompted me to write this as a way to send love to the boy. But I  also send love to his father who was probably bullied by his father. Shall we send love now, through our deep breath and exhalation, to all the bullies whose pain is so great the only way they feel relief is to pass it on to their children.

And to the little boy…may you find the courage to be yourself, to feel and express your emotions, to be the math nerd or the science whiz or musician or actor or writer or artist or professional soccer player….may you always be true to your heart and find support, sometimes where you least expect it.

Oneness….

Oneness….

Just as the heart is hidden in the human body, so is the body surrounded by the powers of the soul because these reach the ends of the earth.” –Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard was a Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, visionary and founder of scientific natural history in Germany in the 12th century. She was a bold nun to write of the mystic visions she experienced. And perhaps even bolder to write of humanity’s need to protect Mother Earth.

This Christian mystic from the 1100’s considered the earth and universe as one being coming to life. “The earth is at the same time Mother. She is the Mother of all that is natural, Mother of all that is human. She is the Mother of all, for contained in her are the seeds of all.” 

The following is a poem written by Hildegard:

I am the one whose praise echoes on high. 

I adorn all the earth.

I am the breeze that nurtures all things green.

I encourage blossoms to flourish with ripening fruits.

I am led by the spirit to feed the purest streams.

I am the rain coming from the dew that causes the grasses to laugh with the joy of life.

I call forth tears, the aroma of holy work.

I am the yearning for good.

Should we feel alone or disconnected she reminds us, “God hugs you. You are encircled by the arms of the mystery of God.” 

Contemporary writer and teacher of Celtic shamanism–Tom Cowan–writes, “The soul is not in the body, the body is in the soul. Our bodies, minds, egos and personalities are temporarily living within the soul and this soul exists to fill the entire universe. My body and mind are folded into my soul, which brings to me, through my senses, knowledge of the oneness of all created things.”

I’ve been thinking about the writings of Hildegard and Cowan lately. The idea that our soul contains the body, rather than the body containing the soul, brings such delight to my wanderings in the woods and along the shore. If the expansive, energetic part of me connected to Source contains this physical manifestation that is a body and personality, it’s not the part of me with an expiration date that reaches into the Universe, it’s the timeless part of me.

As I walked contemplating this today, I felt a greater sense of relaxation and well-being. It’s not up to the flawed personality self to get it all right, right now. This soul, this container, connects the little ‘me’ with the Vastness of time and space. It’s not a tiny seed of Light in this body, this body is a physical expression of that which enfolds me…the enormity of Light within which everything is contained.

I am therefore connected to everything and everyone on a soul level with absolutely zero effort. The effort comes in awakening my personality self to the truth and learning to look beyond the finite illusion that I am separate from anything or anyone.

A morning blessing I adapted to speak to Nature…to Life each morning at sunrise:

I arise today with the strength of Heaven–

Light of Sun

Radiance of Moon

Splendor of Stars

Swiftness of Wind

Power of Fire

Depth of Sea

Stability of Earth

I arise today with a mighty strength, witnessing the Oneness of Creation.

The faces of love….

We are One. There is nothing we can do about it…it’s just the way it is. It’s time to stop fighting it and surrender to Oneness.

 

This is Love

This is Love


Trying to communicate love isn’t always easy. The word has so many different meanings. For some, it means sex. For others it may mean possession. Others might think of love as obligation. Everyone has a personal spin on what it means resultant of their own experience of relationship.

When you tell someone you love them, their filters of personal experience can possibly change what your intention was. And then things get messy and people might respond as if you are the one who originally taught them about love in relationship. Painful experiences can follow us throughout our lives and we expect love to bring the gut-wrenching punch we first felt when someone we loved acted in an unloving way. It can be confusing.

Cosmic Whale-3Dion Fortune, one of my favorite writers, wrote this, “The personality must be healed so the power can come through clear.” This has been my quest for decades now…heal my personality flaws so that I can be a clearer channel for love. This isn’t easy. It’s not a path for the faint of heart. We must be willing to open ourselves completely and make horrible fools of ourselves when, in our openness, we stumble. But if we have the courage to be that open, to be that vulnerable and to feel so deeply to clear our personality flaws, then only good will result.

When I say, I love you, think of the chimpanzee hugging Jane Goodall when he is released after she rescued him (see video above). That’s just pure love without expectation or labels. It’s the nameless experience of unconditional positive regard…light manifested through action. The monkey isn’t asking Jane for anything. He is simply allowing an energy of pure love to move through his open heart with nothing attached, nothing expected.

bitmoji-20160602165515Romantic love doesn’t interest me nor does possession of anyone or expectation of anyone. I want to live in the space of open-hearted communication and communion with the world. To those that mean the most to me I wish to be able to clearly show love without it being misconstrued as something it’s not. We can’t control how others receive the love we express so the only thing I know to do is to keep loving…purely, without expectation and with my whole heart.

_TSL1975I think animals are such channels for love because they don’t live in the past. They simply allow their open hearts to bring forth the magic of light manifested through action. When I watched mother humpback whales and their calves interact this past February it was crystal clear that love was guiding them. It was the most exquisite expression of love I’ve ever seen.

FullSizeRender 5Perhaps this is why I have always appreciated animals so much. We understand each other without thinking about it or wondering what it means….I love you….and you….and you….and you…….I love you.

 

 

Ah-Ha Moment!

Ah-Ha Moment!

SimoneLipscomb (13)Decades ago I had a vision of living alone in a cottage as an older woman. I can’t remember the exact circumstances but it was a very strong image.

Society has certain expectations. If you are single and choose to live alone, and have the audacity to be happy,  it can make others uncomfortable. One of my long-time friends recently pointed out that living alone, choosing to be single, and being happy is a lifestyle. I had never thought of it that way before and it was quite eye-opening.

I love living alone. There. I said it. I find fulfillment and happiness by myself.

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New friends I met diving the Sea of Cortez last autumn.

I have friends and I travel a bit and meet new friends. It would be awesome to have a traveling companion to enjoy nature with but if not, I’m still happy. I don’t really want a live-in relationship.

It seems the world is geared to people who are in relationship. I was listening to a playlist while cycling this morning and every song was about being in a relationship…with another person. What if I just want to be in a relationship with myself? Can someone please write a song about that? And make a fun one, a happy one…please.

SimoneLipscomb (8)Not to say I haven’t been in love or that I don’t still very much love a man. But who says love has to look a certain way? Can’t I love another person without wanting a romantic, rose and chocolates kind of experience? Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But are Cinderella and Snow White really the fairy tales we want to base our lives on? We never know what happened to their happy ‘ending’ after they became self-actualized.  Maybe they discovered they really wanted to live in their own castles and find joy in solitude and just invite the prince when they wanted to take a fun journey.

_TSL4466Creatively I am my most-productive when alone. I ride my bicycle alone with rare exception because I enjoy being out in nature with no distractions. My friend wrote me the other day and reminded me that I can choose to be happy in my life, but I have to consciously take that step. Today it all made complete sense.

Yesterday was the craziest day I’ve ever experienced but it opened me to this realization: I am happy. I like living alone and having a relationship with nature and my four-legged companions. I love and appreciate my friends and love a man that still brings wisdom to me even though we have been apart over four years. And I’m not closed to a relationship but I envision more of a traveling companion. But if he doesn’t show up, I’m still happy.

I wrote to my friend last week: I am clear that cultivating relationships with trees, ocean, earth, animals and learning to love…period…is my path. Love to depths that clears way anything that keeps me from being open to bringing through unconditional love and light.

Sometimes we need a reminder that we are already happy with what we have.

Love and Gratitude

Love and Gratitude

 

 

From Sunday night:_TSL2742I can’t sleep. When I close my eyes I see the large, white truck pulling out into the side of my car and the headlights illuminating my car’s interior, my face and the words rush into my mind, I’m not ready to die yet.

Snuggled safely in bed now tender moments of the evening flash back into my mind. Sweet hugs, kisses on my forehead and cheek, a bear hug that lifted me off the ground, smiles, friends sharing kind words, music. And earlier in the day…lunch with my mom and brother.

After the truck nearly took me out, my knees shook and I felt nauseous. The remaining fifteen minutes of the drive home gave me time to contemplate life and the thing I kept hearing was this: Take risks, share your feelings with others, don’t wait to reach out to someone you care about or love. None of us are guaranteed a single day. Live every moment with your highest ability to give and receive love.

_TSL2058Too often we allow fear to keep us from letting someone know how we feel…appreciation, gratitude, love…we hold back and possibly never experience a precious relationship or special moment with a friend. Emotional honesty takes courage yet when we take the risk, we gain freedom.

Earlier on the drive home I had been thinking about the evening. Several people commented positively on my work or social media posts and perhaps for the first time I really heard them, took in their gift of emotional honesty and fully received their message. Not easy for me. So I was reflecting on the ability to receive such precious gifts just before the ‘scare.’

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To my friends this evening who were gathered listening to Eric and David play their amazing music, thank you for embracing me with love and joy. For the sweetness of life we shared, I am profoundly grateful. Each of you is a jewel in my life, a unique and beautiful gem.

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And if it had been my last night on this planet, the music was outstanding and as Eric sings, I get carried away. So thanks for the music guys.

_TSL3955And here’s a reminder for us all: Have the courage to tell someone how you feel. Hug freely, give of yourself, surrender to the work that wants to come through you and above all, love fully and completely.

SimoneLipscomb (3)And….thanks again angels. I don’t understand how miracles happen, but I know they do.