This Too Shall Pass

Good Morning Everyone,

Recently Woody the Cat has been suffering a bout of agoraphobia. Seriously! This is the same Woody the Cat about whom I have written previously. Mr. Neighborhood Ambassador, hunter extraordinaire.

It's been a wee bit disconcerting. For about a month he's always here. Except for potty breaks, I hadn't witnessed him out and about, roaming, stalking, playing at all. This was couple with his being my second shadow, always doing his infinity movement at my legs, under foot, curled up tightly ON TOP of me.

"Woody," I would say, "what's going on little buddy?" He actually spoke back to me with pathetic little squeaks or tiny sounds of explanation, known only to him. And he was sneezing, little tiny 'ah choo's'. A cold? A burr up his nose? A case of poison ivy? Yet, he wasn't sick, just in an extreme state of quietude and introversion.

This went on for about a month, until Sunday night last around midnight. I scooped him up and said, "Buddy, you and I are going for a walk."

It was a really beautiful night, starts out - especially where there were no street lights. I set him down on the side walk and coaxed, "Come on, Woodyman, let's just stroll about for awhile." I'd walk on ahead and look back to see his little shadowy figure sitting stock still on the sidewalk. I could almost hear him weighing up his options: run back for the cat door or follow me.

When we lived in the mountain in San Diego with mountain lions, coyotes, owls, rattlesnakes, and bobcats, Woody the Cat and I would frequently go for night strolls, especially during the full moon. He loved these walks! He would shoot up one tree, leap to another and down again presenting himself back along side of me. "Did you see that!" And of course, I did. I would cheer and clap my hands for him.

Now we were in the cityscape, and here was my fearless cat, scared to move.

"Come on, little guy, you can do this. See? Nothing scary out here."

Just then, a neighbor comes out her front door with dog on leash. I looked down to see Woody in a crouch. A good sign, I thought, he's not running but in the I'm ready for anything stance.
There he is! He's back.

We walked on for awhile just enjoying the summer night together like old times. When we got back to my unit, I reacquainted him with the cat door.

That night he brought me a present: not exactly sure what it was.

I've often thought our domestic pets are like live-in angels. They take on some of emotional burdens and process them for us, so loyal and loving are they. Perhaps he was dealing with some of my stuff, of which I was no aware.

At any rate, it is love that gets any of us from Point A to Point B. Woody the Cat has loved me through all the patches of my own human journey, and it was time to return the favor.

It's been about a week now since our midnight jaunt, and Woody is definitely back. I watched him from my upstairs balcony last night stalking something in the treeline - being himSelf once again. Whatever it was, it has passed.

Thanks for reading!

Kath

Well, Well, Well: Going Through

Good Day Everyone!

Well, it's cool and promising rain in September here in the mountains of San Diego. This is almost unheard of. But I for one am thankful. The cool of fall is here just in time for the equinox. see link (http://www3.kumc.edu/diversity/other/autumnal.html). I think this is my favorite time of year. Cleaning out the gutters, stacking and covering the fire wood, insulating the water lines, digging out my winter clothes and putting my flannel sheets back on the bed. The night sky is incredible. Cozy is back!

This year I'm dealing with my water well. To my way of discerning information about my life, this is a very significant activity. For help in interpreting such a monumental event, I often use the I Ching for guidance. The I Ching, often referred to as the Book of Changes, is intuitive and useful and performs exactly to the Christian advice, "Ask and It is Given."

My water well seems to have mud in it. So much so that we are now having to line the well and insert a sand separator to filter out the sand/mud. The 48th hexagram in the I Ching speaks directly to the water well of a village. (see link) http://deoxy.org/iching/48. I might add here that this is one of the few times that the symbol is actually appearing in the physical, so it's definitely a "sit-up and pay attention" time for me.

When one reads the I Ching, it's a good idea to read the previous hexagram, and then read the one you're focused on; and then the succeeding hexagram, as well to give you the flow, the movement you might say, of what is going on in your life. Perspective. In this case, the previous hexagram is #47 Exhaustion (see link) http://deoxy.org/iching/47. (Oh, no duh.) And the hexagram after the Well is #49, Revolution. (see link) http://deoxy.org/iching/49.

And then, of course there is the "going through", the passage.

I use myself as example so that you might reflect on the passages of your own life. We're never stuck or stagnant, but moving from one place to another. The Soul, our Internal Guidance System, our Godchip, is always reaching for more love, more Life, more freedom, more joy, more expansion which is its nature - these are our heart's desires, of course. That's how we register them with our human mind. My heart's desires are.... And when we ask, it is granted.

But to allow them in is the point of challenge to each of us. This is where human, conditioned mind tell us these things are not ours. Or we should not reach for so much. Or we don't deserve these things, or it's just not possible - "you're dreamin'!" But the heart, the Soul, our Self knows better. It knows that anything is possible and so, we dare to reach. And thus begins the internal work of letting go of that which no longer serves us - status-quo, the way it is, the way we've always done it; the way I have always believed things to be. Our wee little hand reaches for the unseen and the unknown. We are in free fall. Once you let go from what was, it is a walk of faith in the land of ambiguity. Constantly checking in to see what belief you're tempted to run back and cling to (is this where Klingon came from?) so you can consciously remind yourself to let it go.

The human mind screams out warnings of fear and panic. Don't do it! Go back! You'll be ruined!
You'll die. (The proverbial Rock). While the Godchip is saying, "It's ok, let go, all is well, TRUST!" ( The proverbial Hardplace).

I am in such a movement. Tired of what was, no longer wanting what I have had, and boldly reaching for a new life in a brand new way. I am...going through. When I was reading the hexagrams this morning, I understood in one fell swoop why people don't want to change. It's is because of this place I am in, the going through. It's like being in a fun house. Remember that ride at the amusement park.? You're going through this dark place in a little car, and scary things pop up along the way to terrorize you (human mind), yet you continue on the ride, you continue to go through and eventually you see the light and come out the other side. It is the going through that people do not want to do.

For me, the discomfort of staying where I was, was greater than the fear of going through. Although yesterday and today I am in pea soup and definitely wondering why I didn't just stay put. It's pretty dark and mucky and scary. However, I know there is also a way to go through well.

Hence, I began today with the I Ching for the overview. The day to day, minute by minute what should I "do" questions and answers are more subtle. But the rules for going through are fairly simple. First, until you feel ok, well, hopeful.....you must stop. The first thing is to always get yourself feeling better about something. Refocus. Find anything that will make you feel the relief. Once stabilized there, you can look to the situation and find the good things going on in the chaos. Make a list. Feel the support of the diamonds in the pile of crap. How full is the glass, really. Get outrageous in finding the good things.

Now you're at a place where you can begin to look at what can I literally "do". Above all, do nothing until you're feeling better and seeing the good things, the support in the chaos. Now do what feels best, and only what feels best. I sometimes think this is the hardest place, because my human mind is screaming about "duty", "should", "responsibility"...and often times this is exactly what we are transforming within ourselves, these concepts and how they look in the physical. It's truly the fun house floor of shifting and dropping and keeping you off balance. What's real and what's Real?

I once had a friend who belonged to the Explorer's Club. These are people who explore the wonders of the world where no one else usually goes. The highest mountain peaks, the poles, the darkest rivers in the deepest jungles. I believe this journey- the inner journey of letting go and reaching for more - is the penultimate Explorer's Club - the conscious and deliberate exploration into higher, purer levels of consciousness. There is no map for this work, but it is elegantly guided and supported by the whole of the Universe.

This, dear people, is the cutting edge of the cutting edge. It is not glamorous. It doesn't garner the limelight.

It is solo, yet you are not alone. It is private, yet all of heaven is rooting for you! It is yours for the asking and the daring to "go through". You cannot fail. I cannot fail.

Thanks for reading!


Kath