Golden Eagle or Turkey Vulture?

I was mountain biking yesterday and saw a huge raptor lift off from a meadow and fly into a nearby tree. Thinking it was a golden eagle, I dropped my bike and excitedly approached for a closer view. What greeted me was alarming--wrinkled red head and beady eyes looked down from a pine limb, giving me a cursory look before ripping into something held in its talons.

"Geegads, that's not a golden eagle, it's a turkey vulture!" I cringed and looked away, heading back to my bike. Then, a moment of insight hit me--I had emailed an Inner Constellation Blessing* that morning encapsulating what I had just witnessed:

Nothing dies, everything transforms. When this is known, we suffer a little less.

Um, hello, the disgusting vulture is basically the mascot here, showing very viscerally the above truth. Yet, I turned away. How often are situations in life like this--something beautiful presents and I'm attracted, I run towards it (ie, "It's a golden eagle!") but something difficult or ugly presents ("Yuck, a vulture!"), and I'm repulsed, I push it away?

Nature is one of my greatest teachers. Working at a local wildlife center for a few years, here's what I learned about turkey vultures: they are incredible garbage collectors, keeping an area clean for miles and are the only birds that have a sense of smell, also they have highly potent stomach acid that breaks down organic matter in amazingly quick speeds, so they are ready to dive into the task at hand again and again. At the wildlife center when we fed the vultures, we had to wear rain coats because if they perceived us as a threat, they had the ability to project acid filled vomit amazing distances! OK, now that I have your attention, aren't you glad we have these incredible birds to keep our outside environment clean and sparkly?

Vultures are supreme garbage collectors. After receiving my vulture friend's message, I turned back around, faced the bird and watched him enjoying his ugly self in the tree. I appreciated and gave thanks for its incredible abilities to transform. Then, after shaking off my heebie jeebies, I hopped back on my bike. As I rode, I got to thinking--once "trash" is identified, it can be gathered up and disposed of responsibly, it's not revisited and retrieved from the trash bin--it's left on the curb for transformation. Thank you, dear turkey vulture for the confirmation of Inner Constellation Truth #2-- indeed, nothing dies, everything is transformed. I'll identify my garbage, be free of it and  leave it to you, my friend.

Thunderstorm of Mindfulness

Mindfulness Practice*
 Wedn. 7:30-8:30a The Studio Lake Tahoe

This week in our Mindfulness Community Practice group*, I vowed to use sound as a conscious tool to bring me back to the present moment. Yesterday I had the perfect opportunity to practice my intention. After days of unproductive afternoon clouds, a thunderstorm produced a beautiful refreshing and much needed rain. The sticky pollen that coats everything in the Sierras this time of year ran in yellow rivers, and luckily, I was in a position to stop and soak in a much needed downpour. Enjoy the offering....

Listen, Listen
©2014 Karla Johnston,InnerConstellation.com

Rumbling sky
calls me home.
I stop what I am doing
and sit beneath dark canopy.
My thoughts ride the stifling summer air,
shift, as moisture collects itself.
Thunderclap 
heralds the completion. 
Raindrops pitter patter, soft,
then let go with total abandon,
refreshing everything in their paths,
no discrimination.

Might I, too, be falling rain? 

*Mindfulness Community Practice is every Wednesday from 7:30a-8:30a at The Studio, Lake Tahoe. Come join us to
practice in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. 

Find Your Inner Mystic

Last evening, I put the finishing touches on a chapbook of poetry I'm submitting for review. It's been quite a project, and with a sigh of relief I felt a weight lifting from my shoulders, knowing I would meet the deadline, and more importantly, I was meeting my personal goal of taking the jump and submitting my work. The chapbook I composed is entitled, Disciples of the Moon, and it begins with my favorite quote from Joseph Campbell:

"The schizophrenic is drowning in the same waters in which the mystic swims with delight."

Disciples of the Moon outlines the evolution of personal mysticism, beginning with the seeds of "mental illness" that defined members of my family and ending with contemplative expressions beyond the intellect. As I placed the chapbook in the envelope for send off, the moon shone across the table where I worked, bright and full, illuminating my kitchen. I had enjoyed a view of it out my window all evening, it had been a close companion. I grabbed a handful of dried Lavender and Rosepetals and stepped outside to say goodnight. Heart was full of gratitude at the constancy of the moon in my life, always prompting me to remember the Eternal and True, the bigger picture of life beyond stigmas, judgments and drama. I thought of the journey it had taken outside my window while I worked on my poetry collection. Momma Moon had risen bright over a swath of stormy gray haze, then peeped through billowing clouds from the East that passed dramatically by. All the while, she hung, bright and full, illuminating the entire sky, even when hidden temporarily from view. I recalled a beautiful metaphor--inner guidance is like the moon, always there for us to recognize, sometimes a sliver, sometimes ripe—constant and enduring. The moon has been my symbol for one's "inner mystic."

How do we find our inner mystics? For me, the journey has been threefold:

1. Listen to yourself. There are so many theories, experts, methods, techniques, but no one knows you better than you. In order to listen, one must be still and attentive. Be quiet, listen to your needs, take care of your crying babies, pick them up and listen like a good momma.
2. Listen to others. When we are solid and cared for, we are better able to be solid for and care for others. When we practice listening deeply and speaking lovingly to ourselves, we are better able to listen deeply and speak lovingly to others.
3. Live what is wholesome and true - the more we increase the conditions for goodness, water the wholesome seeds, the more goodness will grow in us and in others. Voila, the inner mystic is born! Like the moon, beautifully shining.

I am humble disciple, the work is never done. Find your inner mystic and the world is a better place--shining, happy people. All love and care, have the best weekend. 

Happy 4th of July, Beautifuls!

Malala Day 2014. Together we are #StrongerThan fear. 

When I opened my eyes this morning, a little snippet entered my consciousness as I slowly came awake to greet the day:

Freedom yearned for
is freedom attained,
moment by moment
by moment.*

As we approach July 4th, I pondered the above and realized to have an aspiration is powerfully strong. Our founding fathers and mothers had the yearnings to live free deep in their bones and lived free before it was a reality. In our modern time, we might look to someone like our IC poster child, Malala Yousafzai. This beautiful young woman is getting ready to celebrate her seventeenth birthday on July 14. In exercising her North Star--freedom of education for all--she has a birthday wish, to be joined in speaking up for education. Her own journey started with a yearning and each step she takes attains what she yearns for--freedom of education. Her July 14th birthday slogan is the following:

"We are stronger than fear, hatred, violence and poverty."

Last year on her birthday, she stood before the United Nations and gave a moving speech regarding this idea of yearning: the journey, the obstacles and the spiritual ancestors she draws on for strength. Join Malala Day 2014 with every woman, man, boy and girl who raise their voices to achieve their goals of peace, education and equality:

This July dive into the Inner Constellation monthly theme--Freedom.* How do you define freedom in your personal life? In what ways do you yearn to live free? In the yearning is the attainment--moment by moment, by moment.


*to receive the Inner Constellation theme blessing Monday-Friday gifted to your email inbox, please contact me.