The Spirals of Life

Well, the return of winter to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan has arrived! I was wondering how long it would take as our autumn seemed to have lasted an exceptionally long time this year. I think that it is good that it did last that long, though, because we did not have much of a summer for weather. It was rainy and cold for most of it. The autumn actually brought us a few days of nice weather and then stayed nice for a long time. Nice, in Saskatchewan, means that it was about 7-9 degrees C. Normally once October hits we are battered with snow storms. We have actually just begun having any measurable amount of snow overnight and through today.

Having clients come and go, I have to keep on top of the shovelling. So I have already shovelled three times. Yes, my body is feeling it, but it feels good to also get out into the fresh air and have a bit of physical activity. I have been making all sorts of adjustments in my life that include things like more physical activity.

I find it amazing how we can extend ourselves beyond the breaking point at times and not even realize it until suddenly enough is enough. I have withdrawn from two programs that I was involved in because they both were taking up way too much time and energy on my part and were compensating me with very little. I was involved in them because I thought that it was an excellent way to look after the community and also have ripple effects to the world at large and, who knows, maybe beyond. But neither one were serving to feed me on a soul level. Initially, yes they were. But then the responsibilities gradually became obligations and burdens. So I asked myself, "Self," I said, "If this were one of your clients what would you be suggesting they do?" and my self replied with, "Well, I would be suggesting that they simplify their lives." So simplify I did and released myself from the programs. Voila! I could feel such a weight lift off of me it was amazing. Thus I know I made the right decision.

So my invitation to anyone who is feeling burdened with obligations is this....what can you do that will simplify your life? No one else can do this for you.  Only you can do it.  The more simplicity we have, the happier we become. As we allow ourselves to flow with the spirals of life we release our needs to hang on to whatever is no longer appropriate in our lives.

Blessed Be
Trent
http://www.youtube.com/trentdeerhorn
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Simple things

Nature is so beautiful in its simplicity. This always inspires me to keep my life as simple as I can. These days, that is not quite so easy as my Love and I are packing up our one bedroom apartment and getting ready to move into our new house. This is a wee bit overwhelming as the move is happening in less that 2 weeks. But if we keep things as simple as we can, then we will be able to accomplish this task.

The simplicity aspect is actually more of a state of mind. When we reduce things to the easiest factor, then simplicity is a result. Keeping things basic and uncluttered mentally helps us to do the same with our environments and with our tasks. Ya, wish me luck with that!

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

The Way of the Wise Man

In my wonderful book titled "Awakenings" by Danielle and Olivier Follmi, there is a quote from Chuang-tzu that reads, "To act with the minimum of effort and obtain the maximum results, such is the way of the wise man."

This concept can be found in such practices as Tai Chi, Wyn Tsun and many others. In these martial arts, one does not aggressively strike out so much as both not be in the way of an aggressor striking out and to use the force of their strike against them. Thus we dodge the strike, grasp the arm that is striking and pull it along the path of the strike right past us. The aggressor usually goes through the wall with minimum effort on our part.

But this concept can be applied to every day life. The photo that goes with the quotation in the book is of a shimmery body of water with a group of people on a small sail boat moving along with the wind pulling them. Talk about minimum effort in application! Besides sailing, we can also "sail" right through various challenges in our lives with minimum effort as well. The trick here is to know what we truly want and who we truly are. Everything that does not fit that knowing simply falls away from us and can no longer clutter our paths. This is not to say that getting to know who we are and what we want is without effort. But once we discover the simple truths about ourselves, the rest comes easily. Try it. You might find it to be quite enjoyable!

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com