Room For 2 More Plus Raccoons

Would you like to come do The Work of Byron Katie tomorrow afternoon? You get to work on a problem, person or issue in your life that’s stressing you out. I’ll be there every step of the way from start to finish and help you find your own answers.

(No one has to share their work, by the way). Mental health counselors can receive 4 CEUs.

We’re meeting 1:30-5:30 pm in northeast Seattle in Goldilocks Cottage.

(You might get to meet a raccoon….keep reading to see why).

Room now for two more because of a cancellation last night. Hit reply to this email and I’ll send you all the details.

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I was preparing for the mini retreat this weekend partly by picking Rainier cherries from the two luscious trees in the front yard of the cottage.

I thought I’d include them in our snacks and provisions for the inward journey.

Oh….and I also wanted to get as many off the tree as possible before that raccoon tried to eat them, again!

Greedy varmit! My cherries! Not yours!

yosemite_sam

Oh. Hi, didn’t see you there. I was busy having a hissy fit about a raccoon for a second.

Have you ever found yourself flippin’ out because you forgot something at home, or your kid left a mess on the kitchen counter, or your car broke down, or the traffic is thick?

That auto-pilot response…..OH DRAT…..and an shot of irritated energy zings out. Maybe you curse.

Or you say “rrrrrrr!” like a growl.

Well….self-inquiry can be amazing for very painful investigations into thought, but also this kind of small-potatoes investigation as well. The things that aren’t so troubling, and yet, you notice you’re building a case for how you’re a victim of circumstances, a victim of the situation.

Let’s call that a Raccoon Situation.

This past weekend, the days were sunny and beautiful during the Year of Inquiry retreat. We had the front door of the cottage propped open, as well as the two back French doors, so a light breeze could blow through the house. Birds were tweeting, people went by on their bicycles, and we were all gathered in a big circle in the pretty living room.

In the middle of someone’s sharing, I suddenly glimpsed a large dark shape moving. A big thick moving creature in one of the cherry trees in the front yard.

What??!! A raccoon out during the day?!

Arrrrrrgh! Get outta my tree! My cherries! Shoo! Scat!

Bang Bang!

I jumped up and clapped at the animal, which stared at me a second and sauntered slowly down the tree trunk and off across the street under a tall laurel bush.

A participant in the retreat said “oh, so cute!”

I think someone took a picture.

But I was thinking of building an electric shock fence around the base of my cherry trees, or sitting up that night with a stick ready to swat.

Not that I’d actually want to fight the raccoon but I wanted it gone and to never come back and never eat any of my cherries.

EVER!

But I composed myself and we reassembled.

Now where were we….

The following day, again in circle during the afternoon session, again in the beauty of the thoughtful inquiry and people sharing very powerful personal work….

….I see the tree shaking and a movement reflected in the door glass.

I get up and lean out the front door and clap at it. GIT!

I had to laugh upon returning to my chair.

No one at the retreat complained a peep about my impulse to Get The Raccoon Out.

Someone even offered to spray it, if I had a hose.

But I was laughing because I could see the mind creating an instant story.

MY cherries, MY trees, MY yard! Enemy raccoon!

Who would I be without the belief I had to chase that thing away?

Who would I be without the belief it was taking something of MINE?

Who would you be without the thought that you’ve be done wrong, or something is in opposition to you—like traffic, or something spilling, or the customer service dude not getting your issue, or not being able to find your keys?

I know for me….I’m laughing.

Life is hi-la-rious! Raccoons show up!

“A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble on the road.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher 

If you find you get jolted by day-to-day activities….

….commuting, traffic, house chores, meetings, laundry, wildlife….

….who would you be without your tension?

Yippeeeeee!!!

Much love, Grace

P.S. A couple more spots only at Breitenbush Hot Springs in 3 weeks. We have the most spectacular time soaking in inquiry Weds through Sunday 6/24-6/28. Call 503-854-3320 with questions or to register. 26 CEUs for mental health counselors. 24 CEs for Byron Katie Facilitators.

Failing At Life? It’s Only A Thought

In our last Eating Peace class yesterday morning, we were looking at underlying beliefs….

…not just about eating, food, bodies, weight…

…but underlying beliefs about LIFE.

As people read their work, their painful concepts they held sometimes about life and living, their lists were deep, sad, terrifying, upsetting and dark.

But no one was alone in thinking them.

“There are no new thoughts.” ~ Byron Katie 

One thought that several people identified was “I am a failure at life”. 

This thought appears very softly, in a little whisper….or very loud, in a scream. Either way, it’s wonderful to question.

Is it true that you are a failure at life?

Even in that ONE area…you know the one. That moment that wasn’t up to par, that exchange that you screwed up, that result that didn’t happen, the outcome that wasn’t optimal, that mess you made in the past.

Was that a failure?

Yes. I know what success looks like. Not that.

Are you positive? Was it a 100% failure? By YOU? Your fault?

No.

How do you react when you believe the thought?

Tired, sad, annoyed at the other person (or people) involved, angry, seeing the faults in many, desperate for change, hopeless.

Who would you be without that belief?

If you just landed here from another planet—BOOM—you’re a person named (insert your name here). Go.

If you were a flower growing in a garden.

If you were a tree in a forest.

What would it be like, without that thought that you are a failure at living? What would it feel like? What can you imagine? How would you walk down the street? How might you eat dinner?

“When your image of the me takes a break, you’ll find all you are doing at that moment is just being open. You feel quite relieved that you are not trying to get to another moment or a better experience. You feel yourself just being in a very relaxed, easy sense of peace. You haven’t gained anything at all–you’re not smarter, you don’t necessarily know more than anyone else, and you haven’t suddenly become holy.” ~ Adyashanti 

Turn the thought around: I am a success at living. 

Could this be as true, or truer?

Are you alive? Breathing, heart beating, observing this world from your area.

Is just being you enough? What if it was?

I chuckle at the other turnarounds: My thinking is a failure at living…it’s not actually supposed to be successful at living. It comes and goes in whisps and fits, highs and lows, appearing, disappearing. Thoughts live and die.

Another turnaround: I am a failure at dying. So far, this is true. I apparently inhabit a human body. That is still alive. And even after the body is dead, it will turn into earth or ashes and carry on in other formats.

Perhaps, there is no success, or failure. Wow.

“You may realize that most of your life you made the present moment into an enemy. You didn’t say “yes” to it, didn’t embrace it. You were out of alignment with the now, and so life became a struggle. It seemed so normal, because everyone around you lived in the same way. The amazing thing is: Life, the great intelligence that pervades the entire cosmos, becomes supportive when you say “yes” to it. Where is life? Here. Now.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

How would you go about your usual day today, without the belief that you are failing, once failed in the past, or could ever truly fail again?

In a few hours, if you’d like to join a 90 minute free telecall to do The Work together, you’ll get the opportunity to investigate a painful situation in your life, and question an underlying belief about it.

Here are the dial-in instructions:

Primary dial in number: (425) 440-5100
Secondary dial in number: (206) 494-4023
Guest pin code: 305799#

Skype: enter “joinconference” right into your keypad where you normally dial a phone number (no spaces). When you are prompted for the pin code, open your key pad again and enter it.

Extra help for skype users: Click HERE.

Finally, if you’d like to connect via computer and not participate “live” then at the time of the call but only listen in, click here.

Let’s do The Work. A tiny shift in thinking, today, could change your life.

Much love, Grace