I have returned. You may find my new blog, The Hawk’s Tail,” at:
www.risinghawkspeaks.wordpress.com
Hope to see you there!
Rising Hawk
Tag Archives: inspiration
“Don’t Be Fuzzy…”
New York (Photo credit: Elliotphotos)
All things come to those who wait. Everyone has probably heard some variant of that statement before. I would say that it is, for the most part, true – but there is a caveat. There are a couple of conditions. Woodrow Wilson said:
“All things come to him who waits – provided he knows what he is waiting for.”
That’s one of the conditions; knowing what you are waiting for. I’ll come back to that one. The second “condition,” relates to the quality of your waiting. Is there such a thing as quality waiting? You better believe it!
There are two kinds of waiting that a person can do. The first is to sit around hoping that something is going to change.
Now, hope is a good thing to be sure, but it is not waiting with quality. Waiting in hope is sort of an anxious, wistful sort of thing, and when you are waiting in this manner nothing usually manifests for you. It’s not proactive – it leaves the driving to someone else, so to speak.
“Quality waiting,” on the other hand, can best be described as patient faith. You are not simply hoping that something will come, you know that it is coming because you have applied your faith and taken the appropriate actions to yield a specific result. Notice that I used the word “specific.” That is part two of the formula – “knowing what you are waiting for.”
Let’s suppose that you wish to go to Times Square in New York. And let’s suppose that Times Square just happens to be east of your current location, and you must take a cab. So, what do you tell the cab driver once you are settled in the back seat – to head east, or that you want to go to Times Square in New York?
Well, the answer is obvious: you would say, “take me to Times Square in New York.” If you just said “head east,” you wouldn’t be doing any quality waiting; you would be anxiously hoping that you somehow ended up at Times Square. Good luck. No, you have to be specific with cab drivers, and you have to be specific with the universe, too.
When you want change in your life, both you and the Infinite Source must know – specifically – what condition or change you wish to experience . . . that is, “what you’re [quality] waiting for.” If you are without a specific vision for your future, then you don’t know what you’re waiting for, and with that sort of vagueness of energy, who knows what you’ll get? The idea of a positive change sounds fine, but offers nothing concrete and specific from which the universe can build. The lesson here? Know EXACTLY what “good thing” you wish to come into your life, apply some patient, quality waiting, and then you will have a real good shot at getting it.
So, no more hopeful waiting in vain for some fuzzy, non-specific outcome. Make a plan, paint a detailed picture in your mind and write it down. That’s where one begins when one is serious about experiencing a desired change.
Many Blessings To All…
Rising Hawk
“At A [Writer's] Cliff…”
English: penulis = writer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
That’s what I need - a bridge.
You see, I’m writing this fiction book, and a couple of months back I wrote myself right to the edge of a cliff; I had no idea what was going to happen next. I didn’t know where the story was going, so I couldn’t proceed. So, for about two months or so, I haven’t messed with it. Sad. Thirty-eight thousand words in . . . and then, nothing.
I’ve written and published a book in the past, but it was non-fiction. All that I had to do was relate what I experienced in an intelligent and coherent way. I didn’t even have to do any research – I had lived it. Fiction, on the other hand – well, that’s kind of hard for me.
Don’t get me wrong . . .writing fiction CAN be easy in two cases:
1. You are a genius – you know, the Stephen King , J.K. Rowling types. Or . . .
2. You THINK you are a good writer, but you churn out really crappy stuff. Writing crappy books is a lot easier than being a good writer, (and your friends won’t tell you the truth).
Outside of those two cases, writing a fiction book is very difficult. I’m not in category number one, and I know full well when I am writing total shit, so I’ll can it rather than stand by it, so I am not in category number two. [I don't count my blogs so much, because they are much more casual, "off-the-cuff ," and I may or may not do much editing before I zip them off into cyber-space].
Where was I? Oh yeah, at a cliff and needing a bridge. On the bright side, I know what the problem is. It isn’t that I suck as a writer, it’s that I don’t write with a plan in mind; no outline, none of that stuff. I have a vague, general idea of where I’m going, but that’s about it. I take that and sit down and start writing. It’s true – I don’t even know how the book will end, or have a list of characters, or a firm idea of a plot. That’s totally wrong, I hear – I would fail writing school.
Now, one would be making a reasonable presumption if one presumed that such an approach is destined for disaster. But, I re-read the entire book that I have thus far today, and it is a real page-turner. It pulls me along . . . I couldn’t stop reading it, and I wrote the damn thing! Just as if I was a total stranger to the work, I really want to know what is going to happen next for these people. I suppose that makes perfect sense, since in the real world, as the author, I DO want to know what is going to happen next, and I don’t.
But, I think the “dry spell” is coming to an end, because after reading it again today, I felt the “flow” of it again. I realized that the pace of the story had slowed, and that I had stopped at a place where dynamic action was needed in the story. It’s great to feel the pacing, because then you know where and how to direct your creative energy. The writing stopped within shouting distance of becoming boring, and that’s really good information to have as a writer. Now I know the nature of the energy that needs to be portrayed next, and that is a huge help in building that “bridge.” I know that there needs to be another dose of intense action, and that gives me focus by narrowing my creative field of vision.
Today, some ideas began to brew again. That feels good.
Many Blessings To All…
Rising Hawk
“Nuts! . . . “
Think Tank (Photo credit: Robiwan_Kenobi)
If there was one word that would best describe what is being said by Albert Einstein in the following quote, I believe that it would be perspective. He said:
“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.”
So simple and so true. And it doesn’t just apply to “significant” problems, either. When the way that you think creates a problem, it is impossible for that same line of thinking to resolve it. There must be a mental “shift,” a change in the way that you look at an issue before it can be fixed.
In corporate speak, the popular phrase is to claim a “paradigm shift” in the way that company conducts its business; i.e. “we’re approaching problems and challenges from a new and fresh direction.” In short, they’ve changed the model that they were previously using to solve problems and move forward because that way of thinking wasn’t working. We, as individuals, must do the same thing when faced with unpleasant situations that our thinking and actions created.
Have you ever been to a carnival and thrown a ball to knock down a milk bottle or pin? When you miss it, what do you do? You recognize that what you did “caused a problem;” it didn’t work in attaining your goal. So, you change the angle of your arm, or the speed with which you were throwing, or maybe adjust the positioning of your feet. Mentally, you tinkered with your perspective, which led you to physically alter the way in which you approached the challenge. If you did the same thing as before, you would get the same, ineffective result. To not change the way that you think and yet still expect to receive a different result is the much quoted and humorous definition of “insanity.” Reading it here, right now, we all say, “yeah, that’s common sense.” But it isn’t that common, and you would be surprised at how many folks, (you and me included), will steadfastly NOT change anything in full expectation that the outcome will be different. Nuts!
Take a stroll around your problem. Look at it from above, or from the other side, or from another person’s perspective. A simple change in the way that you look at something forces your mind to re-evaluate, and that puts you at a different level of thinking. That’s where the solutions are.
Turn the rocks in your path over – they look different from that angle, and that stimulates new thinking.
Many Blessings To All…
Rising Hawk
“An Emphatic Announcement…”
Help starts to move your way when YOU move.
Miracles happen.
People show up in your life that have the answers or support that you need.
This isn’t new information, but it bears repeating. There is the old, traditional saying, “The Lord helps those that help themselves.” There is also this quote from Louise Hay:
“Be willing to take the first step, no matter how small it is. Concentrate on the fact that you are willing to learn. Absolute miracles will happen.”
When you practice this, circumstances arise that perfectly mesh with what you are working to achieve. These timely manifestations are NOT coincidences; they are synchronous displays of the amazing power of the universe, Creation, responding to your step of faith. But your steps can’t be guided if you aren’t taking any.
You can’t just sit in your chair and wait to be told which direction to go; it doesn’t work that way. In order to get those mysterious forces involved, you have to stand up and take a step, no matter how small, and no matter if you are not dure of the direction. Then,as Louise Hay states, “Concentrate on the fact that you are willing to learn.” Believe me, when you do that consistently and expectantly, you WILL begin to be taught and directed, each step becoming more exciting than the last.
So, if you have a vision for your life, (and I sincerely hope that you do), and you haven’t gotten started because you are waiting for direction, then it’s time to move!
It’s not about the economy, or who the President is, or whether or not you can see how it will work – it’s about taking a step in faith. Your step may seem ridiculously small and insignificant to your intellect, but it is a very BIG announcement to those forces that are waiting to assist you. It is a declaration to the universe, an emphatic announcement, that says, “I am ready.”
Many Blessings To All…
Rising Hawk
“Living Is A Disease…”
Death’s gonna cold-cock you (Photo credit: _Madolan_)
That sounds pretty pessimistic, doesn’t it? It really isn’t intended to be – but it states an inescapable fact.
To be alive is a glorious thing, and nothing short of miraculous; so living isn’t a “disease” by definition, only in the way that it unfolds.
Diseases are things that afflict the body, and often lead to what we consider to be tragic or early deaths. One thinks of Cancer, Alzheimer’s, and AIDS, (just to name a few) In less affluent cultures, conditions like Malaria are still quite common, and take the lives of the young and old in equal measure.
In the past two weeks alone, I have lost a cousin, age 56, to cancer, and my daughter-in-law lost her father to cancer and its complications only a day ago. He was younger than my cousin. I lost my father 16 years ago to an abdominal aortic aneurism – he was 62. And my brother died from cancer 23 years ago at the age of 28. I could go on-and-on, (as could a lot of people). In every case, I have felt that the death was tragic, unexpected, or “before their time.” And also, in each of those cases, there are people who are afflicted with the same condition and are cured.
But there is one disease for which there is no cure, and that is being alive. We are born into death. If you have received life in a physical body, then its death is inevitable. That is why I say that “living is a disease;” because it always ends in death.
To think about this leads some to become fearful, but it is nothing to be feared. Yes, the body will cease to function at some point, but your essence – call it the soul, the spirit, or whatever you like – keeps on without missing a step. It is nothing more than a change of venue. The moment of death is painless for the one who moves on – only those of us who were attached to that form suffer pain.
So what is the point of this post? To scare you or make you feel bad? Hardly! It is just a reminder to soak up every moment that you have with heartfelt passion and near-reckless abandon.
You already have the “disease;” you were born. Living is the enabler, the certainty of death.
How?
When?
Where?
My advice to you would be to not waste your time with such conjecture; just live the moments that you have without regret. And when the time comes, be the one that screeches in on bald tires, laughing at the fun you had on the ride. At that time, another adventure awaits you . . . go into it smiling.
Many Blessings To All…
Rising Hawk
“Not Much Different…”
Well, I’ve just above spent all day to make a complete circle and end up real close to where I began.
The “new” blog doesn’t look much different from the old one! In the end, the only really noticeable change is the name and the tag line. Oh well. My hope is that the change in terminology will drive more readers to the blog and, hopefully, more people will be blessed.
All is not lost, no matter what. Sometimes, even a small change is enough to jump-start one to higher-and-higher places! My fondest hope is that more people will share posts that they believe are helpful on their preferred social media, or via link in an e-mail to someone in need.
Many Blessings To All…
Rising Hawk
“The New Name…”
The Tao of Nature (Photo credit: Sanctu)
This blog has a new name – The Fortress of Potential.
I changed the name based on the revelation of the previous post, which led me to realize that everything I have written here is really an eclectic form of ministry, or more appropriately, an unassailable bastion, a fortress, of potential. .
Not a Christian ministry, or Buddhist, or Islamic, or Taoist, or Sufi, or specifically representing any other religion for that matter, but instead, holding a view that is expansive – one that embraces all that would live in peace and compassion, who seek success, and desire to enjoy more powerful experience of their spiritual, personal, professional, and universal world. Spiritual and personal growth is what matters to me, not the framework within which it comes. In that regard, every religion and path, (or no religion at all), is embraced if peace and compassion are its hallmarks.
I changed the look of the blog, too. It only seemed appropriate to do so since it is a “rebirth” of sorts, even though the content and overall purpose has not changed. And, I find that I am especially impressed and increasingly amazed at the power of sound and vibration to change and heal our world. It’s all about discovering the expansiveness of life; it is so much larger than our bodies and minds.
Anyway, feel free to share anything you read on this blog on Facebook or other social media, and I welcome all of your comments and input.
Many Blessings To All…
Rising Hawk
“File Under ‘Incredible’…”
Well, you can choose to believe this or not.
I was hesitant to write of it but, in the spirit of showing what can happen, and how you can be led if you open yourself, I am going ahead.
I shared these words within a few hours after I received them with a very close friend, and wrote a wrong word in the first line – and it is significant – so I hope he reads this, (he usually does). This has to do with the mantra, which I last expounded upon here:
http://risinghawk.wordpress.com/2012/06/21/my-continuing-mantra-adventure/
First, a few facts. One, when I received this mantra, it was after about a five-week drought of waiting, and the sounds that I formed came from a deep place. I wrote long ago that the mantra had a Polynesian feel to it, not Sanskrit, which was unusual given that I have been studying, practicing and teaching Sanskrit mantras for years.
Today, I reached 30,000 repetitions of the new mantra and, on a whim, (not really a whim, I am certain I was led to do it by a higher energy), I decided to see if these sounds had any translatable equivalent in Polynesian tongues. I do not know any Polynesian words, (except “aloha”), and haven’t been to any part of that world. So, I used a translation engine online, which I cross-referenced with other translations to ensure accuracy.
Now, you can go back and read everything that I “felt” that these sounds meant, and the effects that it has had so far. All of that was prior to discovering this – today. The sounds that form the words of the mantra do, in fact, have Polynesian translations, and you won’t believe it when you read what they mean. I took the three stanzas, plugged in the definitions, and fleshed out the lines with a few words to make them read as sentences, (nothing that changed or altered the meanings or the order was added). So here goes . . . one of the most amazing prayers I have ever read. In English:
I touch the breath that is life.
O, Grandmother Earth, the space between objects that blows as the wind, sounds as an echo, and shines as the Sun and Moon.
The Ancient Power, God, is present – to which power I surrender and send forth.
That’s it. I have been, by a strict definition, been “speaking in tongues,” as I was speaking a language that was unknown to me. Or, you can just file this under “Incredible.”
Many Blessings To All…
LOTD
“A Spirit Wind…”
stream (Photo credit: simplerich)
This happened to me today, around 2:45 EST. This isn’t a ghost story, or fictitious in any way.
Allow me to preface this account by saying that I am no stranger to the woods of the Eastern U.S. I grew up surrounded by mountains in SW Virginia, and spent many hours in those woods – hunting, fishing, just walking . . . you name it.
I have never gone for very long without returning to the woods, even to this day. I can usually tell you what animal is making a noise without even looking, just by the sound of the way that they travel. I am, by no means, some expert tracker or adept woodsman, but there isn’t much that I haven’t experienced in the outdoors. I know when a storm is coming just by watching how the leaves turn in the wind.
Today, I was in the woods, by a stream. I was in Northern Virginia, near where I live. The creek by which I was squatting down had, over the past three years, yielded to me two, prehistoric, milky quartz arrowheads – in the water.
As I said, I was squatted down by this creek, looking at rocks. A creek full of tumbled stones is always a joy for me – a regular treasure hunt; you never know what beautiful little piece that Creation may present to you.
As I was there, on my haunches listening to the water, I was whispering my mantra, which I wrote about here: http://risinghawk.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/like-a-prayer/ [Since I wrote that post, I have discovered that the mantra, when whispered, seems to embody the sound of the wind and a stream - the woods - and that is what led to go to the woods today]
Quite unexpectedly, a deer caught me off-guard as it leaped across the water upstream from me. I was downwind, so I don’t think she realized that I was there, either. In the distance, there was a crow sounding a distress call, which led me to believe that it had likely found an owl’s roost, or perhaps a hawk. The squirrels were very active, too.
Then, the wind changed. There was no chance of rain today, but rain was blowing in. The breeze became quite strong – very cool and refreshing – and I could hear the rain as it began to blow through the tree-tops, sweeping in my direction. It sounded like a pretty big rain coming in. In fact, the wind through the trees was unusually loud, and I began to feel little drops of water hitting my arms. Now, here’s the kicker – my arms were dry. There was no water, no tree sap, no insects or anything else on my arms . . . and the sky was clear. This lasted about 10-15 seconds, then it was over.
I cannot begin to describe the power of that moment, but I know that the mantra was involved, and a deep connection to Spirit that I hadn’t felt to that extent before.
I wasn’t drunk, (or even drinking for that matter), or on medication, or in any way delusional – it happened – and what occurred can not be dismissed by any sort of “logic” or scientific blather. I was keenly aware of the moment. I felt no fear . . . just awe.
Today, I can say without reservation, that I was touched by a “Spirit Wind,” and it felt magnificent. I wish I could tell you what it meant, but I can’t – I don’t know.
The importance of this story isn’t my experience. It is that if I can experience such a thing, then so can you; because I am not special or superior in any way to anyone. If you make yourself available, there is magic to be had.
Many Blessings To All…
LOTD
