quieting the chaos around us all

Not my usual perky self this morning. It has been so noisy in my neighbourhood this past week that it is starting to take its toll on me. Sidewalks across the street have been ripped up with all that jack hammering that goes along with that....LOUD. The shingles of the condos across the street are being replaced with much loud banging and crashing going on. It is constant NOISE.

Funny how when I don't get enough sleep or quiet time, my energy goes all haywire. The awareness within me however, is able to see so clearly now when I am out of alignment. My breathing is the first sign. I find that I start to take really deep breaths in an attempt to come back into my centre.

My sensitivities have become very heightened of late. Perhaps it is that I am doing more healing and intuitive work. Focussing on my practice has brought me into a deeper place within me and the awareness of when my space is being invaded, intentionally or otherwise, is very loud.

I notice an edge around my aura this morning which I now realize has been caused by the constant noise outside my office window. Workers have also been ripping up the roof of the building next door which is right at the height of my apartment so NOW I have had a whole stream of worker dudes walking past my 4th floor apartment. I am so used to having my privacy and uninterrupted LIGHT present and I simply felt invaded which would explain the raggedy edges. It wasn't even the noise there that got to me. It was the fact that I did not have my usual privacy within which to work. The last straw was the upstairs neighbour having a very VERY loud gathering which prevented me from getting any sleep.......

Can you feel when you are being energetically tweaked? This is not the same as having someone shouting or arguing with you - we can all feel our energies with this exchange. I am talking about noticing a subtle shift within you as a direct reflection of what is going on around you - without you even being part of it all. This is what has occurred for me. And the reason that I am sharing it is because it is a good reminder for all of us to be diligent in maintaining our own balance while moving through our days.

We can so easily be "tweaked" if we lose sight of the need for constant attention to our own sweet selves. I have simply been moving through my days, doing all that I do BUT not spending enough quiet time with me. It was all brought to the surface when I realized that even IF I had been attempting to be quiet, all around me was chaos. Living in the city, this can become a challenge and unfortunately, it showed up for me to look at.

So we live in a noisy world. We can get away from it by the ocean shore, the parks, sometimes our own back yards but at the end of the day, noise is everywhere. When I lead my meditation circles here in Vancouver, one of the promptings that I start with is reminding everyone of the presence of various noises and to simply let our awareness of them be present and then, to let it all fall into the background - which it generally does.

So for today, I need to pay attention to my own counsel and bring my own sense of quiet and calm OUT to envelop all that other stuff that has been causing me grief. This is opposite to what we generally do. We don't send our energies OUT to quell the storms, we tend to withdraw and try to hide inside. That is not a powerful way to handle the chaos.

And now this moment, I am ready to embrace all that calls to me from "out" and align it all with that resonates deep with IN.

Namaste