Speak Your Love

Maybe the best present of all on Christmas Morning, every morning ...

"On This Day"

It was hanging on the wall in my chiropractor's office.

I like it very much.

Wishing you all Serenely Joyful Holidays 

and a 

Loving, Harmonious, Fulfilling New Year.

Illuminated Rumi - nations ...

"Your way begins on the other side.

Become the sky.

Take an axe to the prison wall.

Escape.

Walk out like someone suddenly born into color.

Do it now.

~ Rumi

Panda Peace

Panda Peace  

Artist ~ Laura Basha, 2012, acrylic on canvas

The panda is a wonderful teacher for soul development, representing wisdom, peace, diplomacy, and balance. I painted this painting for my granddaughter, Emerson, at her request. She asked me for it over a year ago, and I finally got around to painting it. I have so many paintings to complete for a project I am creating, yet it was bothering me that I hadn't finished this for her since I said I would.

I have been studying new concepts in the field of leadership development, specifically the concept of Integrity, and a new science that is building momentum and gaining credibility in the academic and business fields of leadership. 

One of the basic tenants of this new thinking is that the heart of integrity lies in following through on what one has given one's word to. And particularly following through on what one has given one's word to one's self! So, all those commitments to work out, go on a diet, etc., when we don't follow through on keeping those promises we have made to our self, we lose power; Power being the capacity to influence and empower through Being a clear and focused individual, for ones self and others. 

When we don't cultivate this capacity for keeping those promises to our self, we diminish our capacity to keep our commitments to others, and what we are left with at best is force, posturing as power.

There are no small things. I completed the painting for my granddaughter, and, as simple as this sounds, the feeling of satisfaction and freedom was equally as fulfilling as being pleased with the end result of the painting. And the result was not just a delighted little girl who received it, but a little girl who trusts that her Nona will do what she says she will do. That's worth everything.

So, how much power, fulfillment, freedom is available through the simple act of keeping our promises to ourselves? Maybe we won't just lose those 5 lbs, maybe we lose the sense of failure and will gain a sense of possibility.

What COULD each of us commit to accomplishing for ourselves, and, keeping that promise, experience the freedom, joy, and possibility inherent in authentic power?

Panda is a wonderful teacher for soul development.

"Exploring the Fulfilled Life"

Balloons Over Napa, CA, 

August 2012

What I see when exploring a fulfilled life, is that Fulfillment is equally everywhere present. 

Life Itself is a realm of Fulfillment. 

We have only to choose which forms will express and bring and give that fulfillment ... 

Fulfillment is waiting to express through us, as us!

Silently Thundering the Truth of Oneness

~ Alaskan Fjord ~ 

Clicking the shutter on this stunning serenity just last week while in Alaska, I was so struck by the quiet serenity and profound power of the environment. Otherworldly beauty, and we were trespassing through the sacred waters of the whales and eagles and otters and bears; through Nature's realms.

As I allowed this resonance of majesty to impact me, I became aware that this dreamlike place lives on long after I leave to go back to my daily living. It lives on like this, infinitely generating from past into future a holy integrity that dwarfs my opinions, my concerns, my fascination with myself and with differences between me and others, silently thundering the truth of oneness.

"A single hand cannot know the whole animal at once. The ocean has an eye. The foam bubbles of phenomena see separately: we bump against each other, asleep at the bottom of our body-boats. We should wake and look with the clear eye of water we float on."

~ Rumi

Intuition: The Seventh Sense

 Inward Sky

"You are the soul, the universe, 

and what animates the universe. ...

Why cry for what is closer than voice? ...

Prophets come and go for one reason, to say,

Human beings, you have a great value

inside your form, a seed. Be led 

by the rose inside the rose."

~  Rumi

Have you ever had a thought of someone, perhaps someone you haven't been in contact with for some time, and at that moment the phone rings and it is that very person? Have you ever had a dream about an unidentified or uncommunicated event, and then that event occurs? Have you ever stopped and been very still and reflectd on something of concern to you, and an insight occurs, or even an epiphany, and you are flooded with knowing the solution to your problem?

What if we were to practice listening to the "still small voice" within? What if we listened for the inner wisdom that resonates to our question, and tested the result in the laboratory of our own life? The more we practice, the more audible is the innate wisdom. We can see that it has been speaking all along, we have simply been listening to the cacophany of the external world of our circumstances and conditions, and not paying attention to the permeating flute music. 

The more attention we pay to the Silence within, the more we can avail ourselves to what It is saying, and recognize that It is always available to us. Like Balance, Intuition is a sense that is ours for the cultivation. It is as available as the air.

Taste, Touch, Smell, Sight, Hearing, Balance, and Intuition. 

Seven!

A Note from Michelangelo

"What spirit is so empty and blind,
that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe,
and the skin more beautiful
than the garment for which it is clothed?"

~ Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)

The Sixth Sense ...

Drawing of Da Vinci's "Vetruvian Man" by Laura Basha

I am in the process of creating my next painting of which the above drawing will be a part, and the process has me considering something I think important to us all. It has me thinking of the question of "Balance". Proportion and balance as depicted in the human form was considered the most elevated and honorable subject of Renaissance art, certainly by Da Vinci. In reading his notes, he talks about painting as:

"... [surpassing] all human works by the subtle considerations belonging to it. The eye, which is called the window of the soul, is the principle means by which the central sense can most completely and abundantly appreciate the infinite works of nature; and the ear is the second, which acquires dignity by hearing of the things the eye has seen. ..."

In following the mathematical instructions of Vetruvius, and the elegant draughtsmanship of Da Vinci, the importance of balance became very apparent to me, and in combination with the above quote, I began to think of our five senses of taste, touch, sight, smell, and hearing. But what if there were more senses? More senses might allow for us to cultivate a life experience of even more richness and equilibrium; a deeper resonance of Life might be available to us.

What if Balance was one of those senses? Balance is something we consider when "juggling" our schedules, when needing more time for relaxation and play to balance out work, more time for family. When we are out of balance, things fall apart, fall down, like a perfectly stacked tower of blocks until one tilts a little too much to one side. 

It seems perhaps capricious, but what if we were to focus on balance as being a given sense - a sixth sense if you will? If we paid attention to balance like we do to say, hearing, would we experience more equilibrium? When we slow down and turn our attention away from the cacophany of daily life, we hear the birds, the breeze, maybe laughter in the distance. If we listened for balance, what would we hear? If we paid attention to balancing activity with rest, would we experience more pleasure in being alive? Much like sight is to the artist, balance may be to the fulfilled life.

If balance is available to us through simply reflecting on it - not having to make it happen or "create" it, how much of a contribution could it be? What would life experience be like if we knew balance was intrinsic, such as smell and taste and touch, and we just haven't been paying attention? 

Where in your life would more balance make a difference? And what could you realize if you reflected on it as one of our given senses?

"The water of realization ..."

Mom ~ New Hampshire, June 2012

I wrote in June of our trip to Florida, four sisters, united in our commitment to move Mom to a more comfortable and secure residence, nearer to family, grandchildren and all. 

It was a success! She loves her new place while still missing her home in the South. 

We were the four great women that we truly are.

Love's transmutation capacity elevates all other concerns.

Again from Rumi:

"Love says: You can deny me. Try.

I say, Yes, you appear out of nowhere

like the bubbles in wine, here and then not.

... The water of realization is the wine we mean ...

Grace floods in. The wine's power breaks the jar. ..."

Peace of Mind

Moonset over San Francisco Bay

" ... if anyone speaks to you about any matter, do not argue with him. 

But if he speaks rightly, say: Yes. 

If he speaks wrongly say to him: You know what you are saying. 

But do not argue with him about the things he has said. 

Thus your mind will be at peace."

~ Thomas Merton, The Wisdom of the Desert, Saying X

Beauty

"Continued observation unfolds perception.

Meditation on what we observe and perceive unfolds the power to cognize.

Direct cognition is the result of perfect subconscious concentration."

~ Master Subramuniya

"Behind Each Eye"

Four Sisters

It had been over 40 years since we had all been together. Separated by the annihilation born of a traumatic youth, we finally trusted enough to reunite to see our mother after all these years. It was moving to me to observe us, 4 women now, cooking, navigating the kitchen, each doing her part as only four women who have raised children know how to do. Silently, musically, harmonized with no outer conductor needed.

We return next month, to Florida, to move this our mother who never mothered very well, to a safer place where we can all be there for her in her elder years. She is alone and she needs to be mothered and we can be that for each other and for her.

Bring what you are looking for.

Behind Each Eye

Spring overall. But inside us

there is another unity.

Behind each eye 

one glowing weather.

Every forest branch moves differently

in the breeze, but as they sway,

they connect at the roots.

~ Rumi

The Power of Quiet

Koi Pond, Kauai 

 

"In a gentle way, you can shake the world."  ~ Mahatma Gandhi

 

 

 There is more and more research being done on the valuable perspectives experienced and seen by those of us who are introverted. As we live in a culture that values extroversion to an extreme, introversion has often been characterized, if not overtly, as an undesirable attribute to have, especially if one wants to get ahead professionally or socially.

 

Well, what is now becoming more and more obvious, is the powerful contribution the introverted way of operating brings to any conversation, leadership role, or certainly any creative endeavor, and one book that is brilliant in exploring and revealing this value is Susan Cain's Quiet: The Power  of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.

 

If you are interested in understanding an introvert's perspective and its value, or if you are interested in validating the value you know you have always possessed as an introvert (!), check out this TED talk by Susan Cain, and "may the Force be [gently] with you"!!

http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts.html

Jake

Jake
1995 - 2012



He had a way of looking at you until you understood what he was saying. I loved how he would reach up his paws onto the couch to be picked up as I sat quietly writing in my journal. His soft purring soothing, leaning his pristine white self against my leg, while he looked over the space of the room as if holding court.

I stand on my back deck overlooking the canyon and there is a hawk soaring elegantly on the breeze of this beautiful summery afternoon. It seems to me that Jake's spirit is soaring onward just like that.

Thank you for being in our lives, for all of your love, and for being such a great good joy and solace these 17 years.

Peaceful ongoing to you, dear, beautiful, loving old friend.

Breaking Free ...

"Out of a hundred thousand kites,
At best but one or two break free;

And Thou dost laugh and clap Thy hands,
O Mother, watching them."

~ Sri Ramakrishna

Cultivating a Growth Mindset

"Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not ..."

~ Luke 12:27

How willing are we to listen to the Silence?
To listen to the quietness inside the cacophony of our own thinking?

Are we interested in growing? There's learning, and then there's growing. What's the difference?

Learning occurs mostly from the outside-in, utilizing the intellect to store more memory. A very good and useful practice to be sure. Growth, on the other hand, is more of an inside-out process, a process we allow to unfold us: without toil, without spinning - through stillness, from
Center to circumference.

It requires a type of deep listening to what we don't know, to a realm of creative mystery which is the realm of genius. It requires the willingness to be uncomfortable in not knowing, in not having an answer: a "growth" mindset.

Growth requires a willingness to learn how to tolerate our own survival patterns squirming in the face of uncertainty.

In being willing to stand in this Silence of not knowing, Infinite Intelligence reveals to us the answer to the question we have brought, the solution to the problem with which we are wrestling. The answer actually precedes the question, pushing the question up to consciousness so that we can ask it and become aware of the next insight.
Such is the beauty and possibility of a problem.

"Consider the lilies ... how they grow ...
and yet ... Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."

How do they grow?
And unfold in such Beauty?

How do we grow?
What beauty within us will unfold?

© Laura Basha, PhD, 2012

The Gift of Insight

Give yourself the gift of insight.
Clear your head. Forget what you know.

Listen deeply to the quiet.

Allow yourself to see what you haven't seen.

© Laura Basha, PhD

The Balast of Tranquility

As I talk with people both in my coaching practice as well as in my studio space with other artists, the conversation of loneliness arises. There is a valuable needed respite in being alone, however, there is also a different experience one can have from experiencing long periods of aloneness.

Sometimes aloneness with one's thoughts can breed a loneliness born of the feeling of isolation, and as much as we value and are amazed by the miraculous creations emerging from the world of technology, this isolation is augmented by an ever increasing reliance on technology as opposed to personal interaction.

It isn't always noticeable, but such isolation is a high price to pay for advanced communication development. A discontent, a malaise, a needless negativity can arise from such loneliness, and energy is expended in dramas that could be utilized for authentic self expression, contribution, and growth.

Some measure of peace of mind, some access to tranquility, is needed for the evolution of consciousness, the awakening to creativity and possibility, the realization of health and well being. And this peace of mind needs to come from within, from Center to circumference if you will, to be powerfully dependable in the midst of any circumstance. Any tranquility based on externals is a false sense of peace, for any third force that so intends can shatter it in an instant. Practicing tranquility generates a foundational balast of peace in the midst of loneliness, confusion, excitement, any of the fluxtuations of life experience.

"The Attentiveness of the Creative Mind ..."

~ evening sky over the SF bay, 2/14/12

"One of my ongoing questions is: "What am I not seeing?"
Whenever I enter into a dialogue with a client, or put myself in a course for ongoing growth and development, I forget what I know in a sense, so that I can hear newly. I practice "getting amnesia" regarding my intellect and memory and then I do my best to listen from a place of "not knowing". From this vantage point I always get a fresh perspective, and I am then open to others' points of view, am willing to be a neophyte, and so I always "see" a new way of considering a previously well-rooted and oftentimes well-grounded concept. With high intention to get an insight about one issue or another, I find pretty much anywhere I look will do if I am listening for what I don't know. ...

Now, what if we were to listen to our own intellect and acquired knowledge the same way? What if we were to listen to the inner silence of what we don't know, the inner wisdom of "not knowing", with nothing on our minds but a complete curiosity for what we haven't been hearing? It is as if we have been listening to the cacophony of our own thinking with such an enamored fascination that the flute music of inspiration has been essentially drowned out. Yet when we can turn our attention away from that educated inner monologue, what can emerge from the stillness is a distinct resonance of wisdom. Implicit in this resonance is an answer to the question that has been raised, an emergence of a solution to the problem, a new realm of possibility that is equally-everywhere-present but which has been obscured by our own attachment to what we know.

This is the walk of the artist, the attentiveness of the creative mind ...."

~ © 2012 Laura Basha, PhD, excerpted from The CGT 2010 award-winning paper

Joy is the Standard

My mother's husband made his transition this past Saturday, and my three sisters and I are working together to assist our mom in finding a new place to live, as it is apparent that she, being elderly, cannot live on her own any more.

So I was thinking about Joy, and how to access it in the midst of such challenging circumstances as grief and life transitions. The thoughts we each pay attention to do create our own life experience as well as our experience of life. So the question is: what am I thinking? To what thoughts am I paying attention?

We have longings and desires, we have hopes and dreams, yet many times we are at a loss as to why these longings are not present in our every day experience. We want these experiences, these circumstances, these material objects, these conditions we are longing for, because we believe they will bring us contentment and happiness. So it is the contentment and happiness we seek. It is the longing for freedom and joy at the heart of it all.

So, what thoughts are we paying attention to? What feelings do the thoughts we are thinking elicit? Are we paying attention to the thoughts of what we desire, or are we paying attention to the thoughts of worry or lack? Thoughts are things.

If we are dissatisfied with our life experience, what are we thinking - really. And if we don't know what we are thinking, what is happening in our life experience? I am looking around at the manifestation of my thoughts.

The true measure of our success in life experience could be the joy we feel in it. What are we paying attention to that brings the result of manifested Joy?


"Whatever you love, you are."
~ Rumi

© Laura Basha, PhD, 2012

2012: Awakening to the Spirit of Our Earth

~ Montreal Garden, 2004 ~

"The grass grows in the fields, and the leaves on the trees, and every year they are, in great part, renewed. So that we might say that the earth has a spirit of growth; that it's flesh is the soil, its bones the arrangement and connection of the rocks of which the mountains are composed, its cartilage the tufa, and its blood the springs of water.


... its breathing, and the increase and decrease of the blood in the pulses, is represented in the earth by the flow and ebb of the sea; and the heat of the spirit of the world is the fire which pervades the earth, and the seat of the vegetative soul is in the fires ..."

~ Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519)