Ask. Be. Blessed.

The Pattern of Life

Where do you start and end o’Soul?
Endlessly I peer upon thy beauty.
I Am immersed within thee.
It is only my reflection I see.
I hear myself in silence.
I move to peace through stillness.
I feel my touch in the drops of the rain.
I see my smile in the bloom of the flower.
It is only everywhere I see me.
When I feel everything emerge from, and return to me,
what me is left?

Ask. Be. Blessed. The pattern of life. Life’s method. A pattern and method I recognized on a trip to India years ago. As simple as the pattern may seem, I discovered these three words were three complete sentences. Each as a sentence was a full teaching on its own, diving well beyond the conceptual understanding of the word itself. Each word points to an idea, a concept. Each idea invites us to practice exploring its concept until we discover its truth through being.

Ask.

Ask for what you seek when the heart’s desire enters your consciousness. Suffering is not a required experience before asking. You are loved beyond measure. Harmonize with God and love yourself, provide for yourself, hear and heal yourself early and often. Asking is love provided for self and requested from others. Asking is an invitation to love, a call to co-create. Ask with your whole being and your entire heart. Make what you ask for, or what you ask about, as critical as your next breath, but with zero attachment, because the Soul is whole already. Place the ask onto the alter of the Soul — witness who and what joins you in the exercise of painting life. The throat chakra manifests intentions of the heart. Witness the blessing of the spoken word.

Be.

Be heartfelt and aware and observing of life. Be un-knowing and curious. Live in wonderment, the vantage point where all is possible. Every child in your life is inviting you to join them in embracing the child within. They offer the invitation to be; to live fully, creating organically and effortlessly through embodied authenticity. Witness with your heart what you see. Let what you see witness your heart.

Blessed.

Blessed is what is happening in life. Every moment blesses us with experiences inviting the discovery of expanded levels of compassion, forgiveness, and unconditional love. This life is the blessing offering the revelation of the divinity we are. Blessed is what we are because of you. Blessed is what you are through being you. Blessed is what is.

Ask. Be. Blessed. The pattern of life.

My First Blessing

“May I be blessed to easily perceive and understand the messages being shared with me.”

My heart whispered this prayer to my Soul. The answers to this prayer provided me insights for every story I will ever write, which is why it is the first blessing I offer you here.

I ask my Soul for my guidance and blessings because:

• Each time I asked this way, I received guidance; a prayer answered.
• In asking my Soul, I am already humbled. I cannot fool my highest-self.
• When I read the Sanskrit sentence “Tvat Tvam Asi”, I wept in response. At the time, I did not know the meaning of the sentence but cried anyway. The sentence translates to “I Am That” or “That I Am” and it refers to the Soul (Atman) and God (Brahman) being one. My body remembered what my Soul knew, offering up tears in acknowledgment of remembrance.

God Bless You.

My ashtanga yoga practice was complete. It was my first practice on this trip, my second such trip to Goa, India. I was here alone for three weeks. My wife introduced me to the practice of ashtanga three years earlier, a year after, she introduced me to Rolf, our teacher. This day I sat alone on the floor of my small single room guest house. The chickens were cackling, and dogs were barking outside. Ants scurried across the floor. The fan was on the high setting, but the ceilings were so tall the fans’ stiff breeze didn’t seem to bother my eyes even though the room was small, containing a single bed. There were no dressers in the room. No nightstands. One full-size bed and a white plastic chair occupied the remaining space. I was in an extremely dark place at this time of my life, and I struggled with feeling and showing anyone, including myself, love.

“Show me I am loved,” I asked, completely unaware of what my voice and heart had set into motion.

An hour later, after making my way down the dusty dirt path which funneled its trekkers onto the top of a five-foot-high cement wall south of the market, I made it to the beach. I sat down in a chair and immediately looked up to catch the eyes of a short, stout Indian lady as she approached me. She was carrying a basket of assorted fruits on her head. The tips of her fingers on her left hand gently touched and brushed the sides of the basket as it sat there balancing perfectly. It was apparent the hand, and outstretched fingers provided no counterbalance at all. Her skin was dark from the all-day sun, every day; she carried a knife in her waistband to open the fruit. Her eyes were dark brown contrasting sharply with her bright Indian clothing.

“God loves you.” She said, smiling as she continued to look directly into my eyes.

I wept.

The next day after practice, I sat back down on the floor of my room. Skeptical but believing too. I could feel a spark of light within me, faith maybe; belief.

“Show me I am compassionate,” I asked, now a bit more aware of what I set in motion.

An hour later, after traversing the same path and jumping down from the familiar tall wall, I arrived at the same beach, and sat down in the same chair, keeping my legs to one side, the side the Indian lady approached me from a day earlier. A few minutes passed, and I lifted my head and looked down the beach. I began watching a small momma dog. She walked up and sat down between my legs. She was a street dog. She was ragged with patchy fur and significant tumor-like growth on her belly. She was tired. We looked deeply into each other’s eyes, connecting. She was panting from the hot sun and burning sand. I could feel her wanting to be loved. I began to pet her softly.

A minute passed, and I began to weep. “Show me I am compassionate.” I wept as I connected my action to my prayer, sitting offering this momma dog love and compassion. She felt me recognize this connection, too, then stood up and left. I never saw her again.

Ask. Be. Blessed. The pattern of life. I invite you to open your heart, speak to your highest aspect of being, then rest, be. The universe is listening.