Sunday Beach Run: Mother Gaia calls

When I usually run to the beach and back, I don't go in the water, since I'm on foot all the way.   Sunday morning I felt a 'call' to do just that, so packed all my gear including bathing suit and based at Dania Beach.   I ran a very sluggish bit down past North Park, then circled around ON the beach itself to run back to the pier.   Early AM on the Broadwalk was remarkably busy!  But as I found a nice little rhythm through the sandy surf I had La Mer all to myself more or less with the rising sun hitting all through my body with a lovely warmth.   The fresh salt breezes felt uplifting, and before long, my body began that morph into something 'a part of' the landscape of the natural world.

Once I changed out,  I went into the gentle waters and swam, lulled, floated into the arms of Our Beloved;  for that's how it felt- as if I was embraced and rocked in the rhythm of Her Heart, all tensions gone,  all worries swept out to sea.   In the powerful matrix of water and light I felt buoyant, vibrant,  filled with compassion for my Great Mother and grateful that the Shift we have so diligently dreamt of, worked for,  hoped for, appears on our horizon- at last.

The response to such a Big Shake-up as this will mirror the vibe we carry, and we all see those around us who are meeting their issues and agendas with much suffering at this time.  Those of us who are fortunate to find ourselves in a place of balance need to remember to serve the Greater Good with full compassion.   It is not for us to hoard our good feelings and rest on our laurels.   Now more than ever, make yourself available to the Light as it permeates all of the many levels of existence and raises us up into the perfection of that union with All That Is.   The Earth gives us Her healing essence in so many ways;  as She helps us help Her!  And whether we stumble, or slog along, or sprint like the gods, we all get there, we all gather together in one way or another.  There is no more US and THEM.  It is ALL of us in the rhythm of the run to a fast finish:  until the next road unfolds.  

Forward and Back: Staying Centered amongst the Changes

July 22nd Crop Circle:  The Merkabah

My Sunday long run was a lesson in humility.   Just ahead of a storm front, the air was so muggy my arms were covered in a sheen of water just minutes after I begin.   Needless to say it was tough going, as I attempted to round out my warm-up loop and headed out west on Park enjoying nearly empty streets and overcast skies.  My initial hope to put in at least 10 miles quickly re calibrated.   I stopped at Anderson, then John Williams parks and circled back through the back streets to 56th and Emerald Hills.   I most likely walked most of several miles before home,  unable to will my legs to keep up even a minimal gait, so heavy did I feel.

When the rains opened later,  a great rush of relief seemed to fill me.   As events continue to unfold globally for the redemption of our oppression into greater freedom and light,  the healing of our collective traumatic wounds and our own inner hurts still processing,  finding even a small window of time to go within for that 'balance point' becomes ever more important.

The Merkabah has been coming to me in all sorts of forms.   Not surprising to see it as a form of The Star of David and realize how my bloodlines and spiritual lines cross around this image which speaks to me of the inner dynamic of wholeness.   Our Elders (on and off planet) are telling us the same things over and over:  to bring our awareness back within,  to awaken our common Heart and Humanity within the greater Stellar Families, and to continually work for the uplifting of our purpose and connection with each other.   

Ultimately even a so-called 'bad' run gives me much to contemplate.   While my own body adjusts through the stresses and strains of the 3-D world,  I now freely 'give myself a break'- physically and psychologically.   I forgive myself faster for my struggles,  and I accept the Process of unfolding in its own creative way.   But most of all,  The Mother seems to open the road for me either way, even if She often seems to ask that I take my time and just relax, and stop seeking the fastest way forward.  Only She knows How, and When, and Where the Shifts may come.  I understand why: it is our imperative as spirit beings to grow, and glow....to be...and BECOME FREE!   Give yourself permission today to be WHO YOU ARE, and TRUST  the process to hold you in the balance point now. 

Beach Run 7-15: Big Weather

Inner oscillations and agitations ebb and flow, in sync with the rhythm of the atmosphere here in SoFlo.   Hot and steamy air creates the Big Weather systems that moves in and out of the Atlantic ocean and Everglades, buffeting the end of the Florida peninsula.   I take my chances, like today, that I could make it to the beach and back without any downpours, and I did, even as the skies looked full of rain, moving just to my north.

I worked out a huge jam in my right ankle yesterday, so took my new feet out for a 'test drive'.  Our bones are prone to settle into complicated pretzel-like patterns, the result of stress, physical pressures and too much sitting.  Much of my post-run routine is stretching and self-massage.  During the run, like today,  I monitor the connections between top and bottom, side to side,  shoulder to shoulder in my eternal quest to find the comfortable gait.   Watching the Olympic track trials yesterday reminds me:  there are people who run big and easy and have the range of motion and endurance I dream of.....just to know what that feels like-! I attempt to anchor even a little bit of that super-awareness and fly off the roads...to feel the magic uplift of mind and body together.

The wind began to pick up the closer I got to the beach.   At my North Park pit stop I saw,  in place of the usual church service,  the homeless guys gathered, who apparently sleep on or near the beach, swapping news and cigarettes, while I took my photos and filled my water bottles.  As I headed back out,  the wind came at my back and gave me just that lift I was looking for, a little push,  a little help, on through the back alleys,  the parallel neighborhood streets, until the last mile, walking home. 

Processing the depth and breadth of current changes takes enormous fortitude...endurance comes with inner practice, and time.   Finding the ease in our movement while releasing everything that jams us up is the crux of our current quest.   Follow the Process;  the run takes care of itself, if I don't focus too much on how I compare to my past self,  my ultimate vision or anyone else I pass on the way (or who passes me!).

After CC and I chat earlier I am again reminded:  we do nothing alone.   While Big Weather has us all in the strong grip of transition and transformation,  the force of change, revolution, liberation will try to dislodge our moorings- if we let it.  Instead,  offer yourself words of encouragement while reminding those who struggle, as we all do, to throw your arms open and embrace the wide skies of Possibility!   Your dreams and there, your future self is waiting for you, at the end of the run,  at the close of all your suffering.  See yourself Released.   And move forward.

Weekend Runs

I caught a few nice runs this weekend, 
enjoying the reflections of heat-induced clarity in the many puddles and swaths of water from all the recent rain.  

Yesterday,  headed out on a whim towards the beach, packing extra water and electrolytes.   I took the entire stretch from my house in one fell swoop.  When I got to North Park,  I had to be careful not to disturb a small church service which had gathered right at the pavilion....so snuck around to get this pic:   a beautiful rising sun over the water.

Nature, as always,  gives me such peace and comfort.   Where my wandering artist eye can go,  I am rewarded by the abundance of Her splendorous beauty.   Sometimes I think I run just so I can be outdoors, united with All She Is....when circumstances create such tableaus of patterned perfection,  I can easily sink into a oneness with Her....She so freely embraces me.   She is the only one.  

Universal Run

I'm fascinated by maps, cosmologies, anthropological material, archaeology; in high school I wanted to be an archaeologist.  Little did I know how my interests would coalesce into my interior excavations, and the quest for Self.  The symbol systems of art and the representations of spiritual practice remain, to me, one of my greatest passions.   It is a distinctly human endeavor to visualize and depict what is essentially invisible and unknowable.  As much as we can know,  we strive to mirror and replicate the worlds within.

Some of my favorite music to listen to on the run is world music,  flipping through the roulette of 8 track or similar to hear and learn more about music from many places, much of which has a nice rhythm and a good beat for running.  And if it strikes the right chord,  it can take me on long inner journeys as well, as I imagine indigenous runners through time who carried messages, or news, on their long jaunts through mountains, deserts, woodland trails- the internet of their time.  

Yesterday for my Sunday long run I headed out at dawn,  with just a crisp edge to the air fading with a hot sun rising as I took the overpass to head up 29th.   Runs have a universal feel.   There is nothing more fundamental than a body in motion.  If you walk long enough, or you run, then you know what I'm talking about.   As the rhythm takes over,  the body settles into the movement.  As I rounded out the top, and walked up to Angler's I could almost feel the relief from a week of stress floating off my body in waves....the heat picking up, the sweat gathering on my arms....heading west through the trailer park to pit stop at Griffin.   Feeling cautiously optimistic, and downing some electrolyte caps,  I swung over to 35th from the top down and had the long slow curves almost to myself.   I took heed to my stride, my gait, my hot spots....I imagined the Olympic hopefuls,  the weekend runners,  the young and old,  current and ancient, and I felt bonded with them all.  

There are many universal aspects to our lives.  And many things which connect us together, besides our basic biologic needs and activities.   Unlike modern sports, running harkens back to very ancient times.   I can run today much as I might have a zillion years ago, except today I carry nothing except what serves me, and no one is counting on me making it through.   I still imagine myself The Messenger.   And on some fundamental level, we all head out each day carrying the imprints of our deep hopes,  fears, concerns,  dreams and visions.  As you head into your day,  think about the lineage of your life and how you experience the motion of time.  Are you in sync?  Are you sure-footed?  Have you got the endurance and fuel you need to make it to your destination?  We are all 'in training' for long-term survival and must adapt to the weather, the times and circumstances.  How well we do this translates into the drama, the tragedies and triumph of our lives.