All Blog Posts (596)

Something that has become undeniable to me, is the presence of a sacredness that is infused within all people and all things.

It is a sense of great beauty that fills my whole being with love. Ever since this sacredness made itself known to me, or any other words, ever since I realized I am this sacredness, or essence, or presence, a deep healing and restoration of true sanity began to take place.

There is a sense that every place of division inside myself is being…

Where do thoughts come from?  They seem to just appear out of the silence of our mind.  They come in the form of words predominantly, but also images.  No one else can hear them or see them, which makes them very private and personal.  For the most part they are purely unintentional and random, but we take this voice in the head to be the only authority on what’s true and what’s not.  Therefore, thoughts make up who we think we are and who we think the rest of the world is.



Are…

© 2012 Howard McQueen 

All the inner voices,

calling out for attention;

some of them advocating for discord.

And yet,

quietly,

patiently,

there is also a soft voice calling forth from a simple wholeness.

It is not the loudest.

It lacks the drama carried by the other voices.

And, yes, even when you clearly hear it,

you still sometimes clam up into a forced silence,

denying yourself your own…

Guardian Angels are thought to be spiritual beings that are "assigned" to assist people here on Earth in various ways. Whether there is one angel per person, one angel for several person or several angels for one person is open to question. But whether you believe in them or not, or whether you want one or not, believers insist that you do have a guardian angel. What is their assignment? According to "Encounters of the Angelic Kind" at Future365 (now defunct), "they intercept at many…

Spiritual well-being, and the role it plays in your life, is stronger than you may believe. The word "spiritual" refers to that core dimension of YOU - your innermost self. It provides you with that profound sense of who you are, where you came from, where you're going and how you might reach your goals. Spiritual wellness may mean different things to different people. For some, spirituality may be synonymous with traditional religion, while for others it relates primarily to the quality of…

Article reposted from: http://wp.me/p1iNwq-c9

Spiritual awakening is not always straightforward and well-paced.  Mine wasn’t.  That I am here at all caring for my family, working, able to express my experience,  speak with and inspire others, is to a large degree due to the healing work of Charlie Morris.   This does not mean the other supports,  incredible teachers, teachings and practices I have been blessed to receive are not also very…

© 2012 Howard McQueen

We are each on a journey,

 a journey into opportunities to uncover our courage,

 to encourage ourselves and others

 to look beyond and feel beyond the lenses of what we fear.

A journey to notice that when we contract in fear,

 we close like a beautiful flower

 and we deny ourselves of receiving life sustaining love

 and of giving life sustaining love.

A journey to notice that our…

Writing from Dunedin, Florida, while in the midst of packing

VISITATIONS

© 2012 Howard McQueen

I allowed myself to become attached to this house we made an offer on.

   The deal fell through because our house in Chattanooga did not sell.

   Sadness and disappointment came for a visit.

 A week later our Chattanooga house sold

   and we put an offer in on a small, modest house in Fernandina Beach

   and the seller…

This posting from Don Miguel Ruiz's entire archive of daily inspirational emails.

"There is no other medicine but unconditional love.  

Not:  I love…

Dear Friends and Family,



Our little girl (now nicknamed Precious by me) is 3 months old already, and just keeps getting cuter by the day.  One of the most joyful things in the world is watching her smile and try to talk.  I’m teaching her to say “Hi,” and she has done it a few times now.  Most of the time it’s just cooing.  I could just spend all day gazing into her curious eyes, but there is work to be done.



see photo at…

© 2012 Howard McQueen

To be heard, calls for someone else to listen.

To be felt, calls for someone else to be open to feeling.

To be understood, calls for someone else to invoke a response that conveys caring, compassion and, we might include - wisdom.

These qualities of communication are conveyed verbally, through body language and, surprisingly, through the inclusion of silence.

When my partner communicates to me something of…

 (C) 2012 Howard McQueen

Are you willing to let in all the light

 and all the darkness,

 without forming judgment.

Are you willing to be present with all our separation

 and all our inter-connection,

 without forming judgment.

Then welcome, friend, to the field of enlightenment.

(C) 2012 Howard McQueen

I don't know about you,

but my own attempts at letting go

often leave claw marks

in what I finally release.

I have this tendency to hold on so

to that which repeatedly signals me

that it is well past my time to let go.

I find myself to be the author of this inner struggle,

this inner conflict

not wanting to recognize the ever-present

shift in all things…

© 2012 Howard McQueen

We come face-to-face with suffering,

in order to earn the choice to relinquish our control.

What we encounter is life’s ongoing invitation

for us to release control

and trust in it’s flow.

Do we choose to let life open us to the gifts of growth,

possibilities we can only begin to fathom?

Or, do we postpone, till

our expectations for some very specific outcome

are not met,

and…

Inspired by a breakfast meeting with Dan Emmons at Margeurite's Cafe; Dunedin, Florida

© 2012 Howard McQueen

Not escape from,

or eradicate,

or divorce ourselves from.

To co-exist with

the fear,

the urge to control,

the need to confine through defining;

to encourage the subtle to emerge

and achieve expression - to be birthed into this world.

To co-operate with

rather than resist

the…

Inspired by a breakfast meeting with Dan Emmons at Margeurite's Cafe; Dunedin, Florida

© 2012 Howard McQueen

Not escape from,

or eradicate,

or divorce ourselves from.

To co-exist with

the fear,

the urge to control,

the need to confine through defining;

to encourage the subtle to emerge

and achieve expression - to be birthed into this world.

To co-operate with

rather than resist

the…

© 2012 Howard McQueen  

 

Today I am making an agreement and a vow:  

 

I release myself, in perpetuity,

from any further involvement in my own,

as well as other’s blame-shame games.

 

Blame-shame games 

are loose-loose, 

full of subterfuge, 

failures to bring 

into illumination 

the lurking pain, 

fear and confusion 

underpinning our…

Pristine Shades Of Being

The world has always been

A magic show

Made of sand

In a wind storm

Made of wood

In a blaze

How can you awaken

To what has always…

We've started a basic Triangle area website, to share information about Durham/Chapel Hill retreats and Satsangs.   Right now it is a simple Meetup.com group which let's us get the word out about events in the Triangle area. 

Thanks to Cullen and Trey for their advice on creating a "sister site" to the Asheville Sangha!

Teala