Consciousness Concierge Volume 5

A wise friend once encouraged me to ask, “How is this for me?” in the face of difficult or unwanted experiences. While the answer is rarely obvious at the moment, looking back, I can see that some of the most disappointing, even devastating, experiences are inextricably linked to some of the very best things in my life.

There is no separating the “good” from the “bad” in the tapestry of life, at least in the long view. This orientation that life is happening for me, not to me, helps me stay open and curious about alternative interpretations of distressing events, whether personal or collective.

Consciousness Concierge Volume 5 is all about being grateful, even for the obstacles, because as Wendell Berry pointed out, "it’s the impeded stream that sings."

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Round and Around ​Kolohe Kai

This song is a burst of sunshine. Let it warm your soul and remind you, "it's time to grow... through obstacles, round and around we go..."

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Because Even The Word Obstacle Is An Obstacle ​Alison Luterman

This poem is a favorite that makes me smile and helps diffuse my irritation at humanity for just doing its thing. And, of course, I love the beautiful reminder, "if something is in your way, it is going your way."

Try to love everything that gets in your way: The Chinese women in flowered bathing caps murmuring together in Mandarin and doing leg exercises in your lane while you execute thirty-six furious laps, one for every item on your to-do list. The heavy-bellied man who goes thrashing through the water like a horse with a harpoon stuck in its side and whose breathless tsunamis rock you from your course. Teachers all. Learn to be small and swim past obstacles like a minnow, without grudges or memory. Dart toward your goal, sperm to egg. Thinking, Obstacle, ​is another obstacle....

​Continue reading here.

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​Trusting the Gold: Uncovering Your Natural Goodness​ ​Tara Brach

I tried, unsuccessfully, to clip a recording of Tara Brach reading this passage from her book Trusting the Gold, because I love her voice. As someone whose attention seems magnetically drawn to what’s wrong or in need of improvement, this story hits home.

My husband is a very positive person. Often, when I share my running stream of observations, he says I’m complaining. Lately I’ve been trying to say Sono’s mantra out loud whenever I feel compelled to point out something in need of correction. It’s so out of character for me that he often bursts out laughing. I guess we are all a work in progress…

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Remover of Obstacles

Finally, I leave you with one of my SoulCollage cards featuring Ganesha, the Remover of Obstacles in the Hindu tradition.

May you welcome, or at least get curious about, whatever impedes your stream.

Until next time, Kathy