“Many think success means getting everything I want.
And we say, that's what dead is, and there is no such thing as that kind of dead.
Success is not being done; not being complete.
Success is still dreaming and feeling positive in the unfolding.”
--- Abraham
Excerpted from the workshop in Sacramento, CA on Saturday, March 15th, 2003
www.abraham-hicks.com
It is an early Saturday morning, well before sunrise, in the middle of December in the year that we call 2009. I, or perhaps more accurately, my spirit, is in physical form. Within my physical form, I have changed. The way I view things, the way I experience things, the joy and excitement of experiencing things and my ability to be patient and accept things and people’s choices have changed. Even when my invitation to a person to join me in the dance of life is not accepted, I have changed. Sometimes the choice not to dance with me hurts on a feeling level. I sometimes feel a strong sense of loss or frustration, yet I no longer get lost in the feelings of pain, loss, frustration. I am better able to allow the person to chose not to accept my invitation to dance, while still feeling positive about what that person has brought into my life, sometimes still leaving the invitation to dance open. Perhaps at a later time, our vibrations will compliment each other, the invitation will be accepted and we will radiate the joy of emotional expression that is part of the music, that is part of the dance, or perhaps not.
In the physical dimension of time, during the last year and one half, if one choses to measure the time, I have experienced much that at times jumbles the music, jumbles the rhythm of the dance. My feet and my body are unsure how to move to the music. Yet my feet move, my body moves, the music plays. Somehow as I allow the negative feelings, the insecurities to leave, my body finds the rhythm. In seeking new relationships, in deepening relationships, in allowing others to be, whether their movement is toward me or away from me, I am reconnecting with my spirit, my eternal spirit, the spirit that was me long before I entered this physical form as Ralph Michael. I am still learning to accept others as they are and relate to them as they are able or wish to relate to me. This accepting is like my dance, it is not perfect, sometime I lose the beat, lose the rhythm, sometimes I stumble, sometimes I revert to the old feelings.
To dance is to connect with the music. Music is nonverbal, it is an expression of emotional energy. Music invites us to be free, to connect with emotional energy, to connect with ourselves, with source energy (God), and to connect with others on a most intimate level. Words fail to describe the joy and excitement that is experienceable when we strive to connect with the music and dance. The imperfection, the mis-steps, the mistakes are part of the learning to dance with joy. If we allow fear or insecurities to prevent us from allowing the imperfection, the mis-steps, the mistakes, we will be unable to experience the joy of our body/life in motion. I would suggest that our only mission is to allow ourselves to radiate the joy of dancing to the music. If we chose to radiate the joy of the dance, others will notice. Some will still allow fear and other insecurities to cause them to hesitate to join the dance. Others will be inspired to do their own dance. While still others will dance with us. Shared joy is beyond expression in words but would be foolish to miss experientially. The joy of the music/dance far exceeds any fear, self-doubt, or insecurities that we might at times feel.
I am able to appreciate on a deeper level all that I have experienced, especially in the last few years. There have been so many twists and turns on the path, yet the music grows more intense and beautiful. I look forward to the various sharing with the people in my life, family, friends, colleagues, students, people who seek mentoring for their own growth. I am grateful and excited that the next few weeks will be celebrating by sharing food, gatherings, and most importantly the joy of the dance.
Copyright 2009, Ralph M. Ferraro
Uncle Ralph- I've made it on finally.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting approach on the topic of this thing called "life." In a metaphorical sense- shall we dance? Dancing...as I'm understanding through your article is seen on various levels to which one would utilize in experiencing life. I am not well versed on this journey for I'm still only approaching 1/2 the age of my father. However it seems through your experiences you have gained a wider view through different angles.
Despite the angles and what we percieve - perhaps there may be a challenge that is being put upon us. One of my good friends, whom I deployed with to Afghanistan seems to currently be in a similar situation. The discussion we had revolved around the meaning/purpose/reason of why he is experiencing, what he percives as pure challenges to both he and his wife- I was not sure what to tell him - but several images popped in my head as we discussed over 3 weeks ago:
1) St Ignatius of Loyola
2) The Matrix
3) a small excerpt from my Philosphy class on Hume...
1) - Loyola pushed forward on a particular idea into action, however encompassed this ideal that his purpose was for the "greater glory..."
2) - Neo's arch-enemy, Smith stated that: "everything has a purpose" yet with Neo's actions of going through death and coming back into life -- re-defined Smith's idea of purpose...
3) -Dave Hume said something about the destruction of man through antiquarian...to remember, but not live the past.
My friend and I had many discussions and disagreements on this topic since we were 2nd Lieutenants - while freezing in the Bavarian training grounds and over an Army lunch of dining facility food while holding our paper coffee cups...he searched for a true definition of "destiny" and "control" of things which we went back and forth on...agreeing/disagreeing.
The one conclusion we both came into was something we tried to define, but only came into a phrase/word called "living faith." Which we tried to agree on: (somewhat) blind action but placed into the hands of the Father. The most difficult thing we found about this was...living and doing this thing called "life" by ourselves. Only through the help of eachother and support of one another - we were able to have the best regards for the the positive things (things: the blessings that are provided).
I hope this angle provides input into the dance, Uncle - only a thought.
- Virgil
1/2 the age huh? Okay, you qualify as a grasshopper!!!
ReplyDeleteConcerning Loyola, "greater glory" for who? I would suggest that we can only seek to expand ourselves and work toward being who we are, which in turn will bring us happiness. Once happy, we can inspire others to reach for happiness also.
In terms of death, I am reminded of the psalm that goes: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want ... though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death (shadow of death ~ got it?) I will fear no evil. ..." When we connect with our desires and spirit and source energy which can only be done with faith, death means little ... it is only a shadow ~ we are eternal, period.
On destiny & Control. We have been given the power to create our life as we wish it to be. Creating is not done on a purely word level. Creating comes from spirit, connection with our own spirit and with the Spirit that is source energy. Faith gives us the "glasses" to see that which is not normally visible to our senses. I think your term "living faith" is a good perspective. We cannot understand everything, our knowledge of what a human being is or what the universe is, is equivalent to a single spit in the oceans of our planet. I do believe it is important for us to spend the time, meditate to connect with our desires, then allow that emotional energy to vibrate into the universe. The universe will vibrate back with what we seek. The music picks up intensity, we are in the dance my nephew. Even if we stand still and hold our breath, the music doesn't stop, the dance continues. Blind action is another myth. Blind action is sometimes called living by default. A person lives by default when they send their thinking energy and feeling energy out to lunch. When we connect with our spirit, we move with the universe ~ we create ~ shape what unfolds before us with our thought vibrations and our feeling vibrations so it is very important to watch what vibrations we send out. if we send out the vibration that "shit happens," guess what ~ More shit than we know what to do with will happen.
Talk to you soon
Rmf