Tag: NOW

Connecting With the Divine

I know that I am always connected to the Divine, but sometimes I don’t feel it.

May 26, 2023

Tagged Blah, Living in the Now, Miracles, Neutral, NOW

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I have been doing a lot of thinking about my connectedness to the Divine Feminine/Goddess/Source. Over the past month or so, I have let my daily practice of writing and meditation slip. I let myself get distracted with to-dos and all of a sudden my day is gone without my having meditated or journaled. I have let my focus shift away from my spiritual practice to the mundane, the consequences of which have put me into a kind of half melancholy, disconnected state that feels empty. I don’t feel connected to the God/dess. I know that I must return to my daily spiritual practice, but what else can I do to restore that feeling of connectedness with the Divine?

I know that I am always connected to the Divine, but sometimes I don’t feel it. I know that God/dess dwells within me and always holds me in love, but many times I don’t feel Her presence. What I know in my head doesn’t always connect to my heart.

As I spoke to my spiritual director this week, we talked about how what we feel isn’t always the truth. What we feel about something, while it feels true to us, is really the product of how we think about something. If we change how we think, we change how we feel. For example if I think that the person who raced ahead of me in traffic is just being a jerk, I will probably have a little flare of anger. If, however, I think that person is rushing to the hospital, I feel empathy and compassion. Neither scenario may be true, but the thought determines the emotion.

I can’t always be in the middle of a mountain-top experience. Neither will I always be in the depths of despair. Most of the time I live in a neutral position, neither up nor down. But sometimes that neutral position seems blah and disconnected. Instead of focusing on the blah feeling, what would happen if I were to shift my thinking and change my perspective to see the miracles that exist in this moment.

If I think only about the seemingly unsolvable world problems, if I focus only on what is wrong with the world then I have trouble feeling connected to what seems to be an uncaring god. However, if I shift my focus to gratitude, and begin to see everything as a miracle, I then feel more connected to the Source of all things.

Feeling connected then, is really about changing my perspective. It is moving from seeing what is wrong or, even what is neutral, to seeing the sacredness of everything. It is seeing a miracle in the flight of a bird or the deer outside my back door. It is being grateful that I can walk two miles every day and that my mind is still reasonably intact. It is moving from the macrocosm to the microcosm, from the big, overwhelming picture to the miracle of everyday life. It is appreciating every moment as a miracle – I live, I breathe, I am. And God/dess is with me in that life and breath and being, whether or not I feel Her presence at any given time. I only have to look around me and be grateful for the miracles of life.

Barbara Garland
May, 2023

When Does the Spiritual Become Political?

The Rhythm of Now

I must trust that each moment is exactly what it should be. I must be present in each moment and recognize that it is the only moment I have. I call this state, the rhythm of now.

Goddess Inspired

February 11, 2022

Tagged Creativity, Flow, Living in the Moment, NOW, Openness

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The Rhythm of Now

I come from a long line of worriers. Growing up, I lived in a household of four generations of women. My great grandmother, my grandmother, and my mother all worried about everything. They had survived a world in war, the great depression, hunger, and loss. They were not people of means, and I am sure that all of those things contributed to worry and sleepless nights. So it is only natural that I am a worrier too, although not to the same degree.

During my meditation practices this week, the oracle cards that have kept coming up for me are ones that keep pointing out the idea of flow. There is ebb and flow, being in flow, trusting the flow, creative flow. Ultimately, they all point out to me how important it is to just allow life – in all its contradictions, its quirkiness, its uncertainties – to flow around me. I must trust that each moment is exactly what it should be. I must be present in each moment and recognize that it is the only moment that I have. I call this state, the rhythm of now.

If I am fearful and anxious about the future, I am wasting the moment that I am living in. If I am focused on or regretful about the past, I am also wasting this very moment. My task is to focus on the here and the now and to allow the flow of moments to wash over me without judgment. My task is to be fully present as each moment unfolds, to allow whatever feelings I am experiencing to flow through me without identifying with those feelings.

If I am in the here and now, I am in flow with the universe. I am fully present. I am not in a state of worry. I am not missing out on the now because I am focused on the past or the future. I can fully appreciate the things of the here and now – the beauty of the sky, the scent of a flower, the joy of a hug, or conversely the pain in my joints, or the loneliness of being misunderstood. How I respond to these moments will determine my future because they are all about how I approach life. Is it with love and appreciation for each moment or is it in fear and mistrust based on past wounds or a frightening future?

As I put my focus on each moment, I am fully experiencing life in all its wonder. I am allowing life to flow, and I am an active participant in that flow. It is in that flow that co-creation with Goddess can happen. It is in that flow, the rhythm of now, that life at its best can happen. It is also in that flow that I can trust that I am held and safe. Whatever is going on around me is a part of a much bigger and grander picture. Even in the difficult times of life, there is an ebb and flow. I can find beauty in the dark times as well as the light times if I stay in the rhythm of now. While being in the rhythm of now may not change what is going on the wider world, it changes how I perceive the world and allows me to savor my life instead of worrying about the past or the future.

Barbara Garland
February 11, 2022

Practicing Joy

Joy is not dependent on the external circumstances that surround me. It is, however, dependent on my own inner connectedness to the Divine. When I practice living in the present, creativity, communing with nature, gratitude, and spending time with myself and Goddess, I connect ever more deeply to that flow of Spirit within, that deep joy that is mine, regardless of outside circumstances. I become ever more joy filled and grounded in the eternal.
What brings you joy?

Goddess Inspired

March 24, 2021

Tagged Creativity, Joy, Nature, NOW

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Practicing Joy

Last week I wrote about that which brings joy. I described it as a state of flow, of connection with the divine inner being and the God/dess within. The question for me, and probably for most of us, then, is how to reach that state of inner flow. How do I get in touch with that which brings me joy? Because each of us is unique, there are as many ways to joy as there are human beings in the world, but I do believe that there are some things that almost universally bring joy. Today, I want to share a few of the things that help me get into that joyful and life-giving state of flow.

Eckhart Tolle says, “Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.” When I live in the Now, in the present moment, I am concentrating on what is, not what was or what will be. I am not worried about past or future. I am able to be in a state of wonder and gratitude. I am alive in the moment, and that to me is a form of joy.

Creativity is one of the best practices for living in the moment, and living in that state of joyous flow. When I am concentrating on creating something, I am not worried about the next thing. I am focused on the work of creation. In this state, I have no thought of time or space. Hours can fly by in what seems like moments. I am in touch with my inner vision, my imagination, and my inner child. When I let go of perfection and step into creation, I step into inner joy.

Being in nature also helps me to step into that internal flow which brings me joy. When I walk on the grass barefooted, I deeply connect to mother earth. The beauty of a sunrise or sunset, the calls of birds, the color of autumn leaves, the riotous blooming of spring – all the glory of nature that surrounds me fills me with joy. If I can lie on the earth in the sun, listen to the sounds of a babbling brook, feel the energy of a majestic tree, or hold a wriggling baby or puppy in my lap, I am overcome with a deep feeling of connection to all that is. I am filled with knowing that I am part of a glorious divine whole.

Practicing gratitude may sound trite, but when I am grateful. I open a floodgate of joy that spills into my life and hopefully into the lives of the people around me. There is so much to be grateful for, even in the midst of tragedy and loss. When I am grateful, I am in a state of loving acceptance of what is, and in that state, I am in a state of connected flow. In that state, I am in a state of joy.

Carving out time for myself for meditation and prayer is also one of the things that brings me joy. In that sacred, quiet space I have learned to love myself, to be gentle with myself and to open myself to the Divine, loving presence that is in me and that surrounds me at all times. When I quiet my mind and listen to the inner Divine voice that calls to me, I find that my capacity for joy grows. I become more grounded, more open, and more observant of the love that encompasses me always. I am aware of the connectedness of all things, and I feel held and loved.

What brings you joy?

Barbara Garland
March, 2021

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New blogs will be added to this post every Friday.

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About Me

I am a seeker of truth, a truth teller, a lover of the Divine Feminine, an aspiring writer, a mystery, an open book, a work in progress. I have lived a long and varied life, and now in my seventies, I am being called to share some of what I have learned over the years. I hope to share the wisdom of the deep Feminine that is being channeled through me.

If the Goddess has ever whispered to you, I invite you to join me on an incredible journey of love and discovery. May you hear Her wisdom through these words.

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