The Seeing Eye

Seeds X, 9

Seed: The Seeing Eye

It’s Leap Year Day as I send this. A day which comes only once every four years. It’s a day for seeing life in a new way, an extraordinary way.

Meister Eckhart, the great nature mystic, wrote, “The eye with which you see God is the same eye with which God sees you.” Do you know what this means?

Gandhi wrote that we must “be the change we wish to see in the world.” This is what it is to see with the eye of God.

I believe there is a Godself within you possessed of a seeing eye. On this [quantum] leap year day, give yourself the gift of seeing your life through the seeing eye of God within you.

Start in the bathroom mirror first thing. You might wish God good morning when you see your own precious face.

Be content,

Susan Corso

Dr. Susan Corso

Seeds are remarkable gifts. Sown in consciousness, they bring you to the most important part of your being—your Divine Spark.

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at SeedsDrCorso@comcast.net and please visit my blog Ode Magazine.

Blog: No Title

Yesterday was a year and a day from the day I started this blog. A friend walked me through the process. I would never have done it otherwise.

In fact, that goes for most of my cyber-experience. Someone who knows more than I do about it gets to show up and walk me through it. What a miracle.

The thing that’s the miracle is that someone always does—show up, that is. One of the things I’ve given up as I’ve gotten older is the need to be an expert on everything. Oh, I’m an expert, but just on some things, and it’s perfectly alright with me if others are experts too. Especially on things I know nothing about.

Are you an expert who would like to be a guest blogger? Email me at seedsdrcorso@comcast.net and let’s talk about it!

Blogging three times a week, week in and week out, is a wonderful discipline. The cool thing is, expert or not, I never run out of things to write about. The world is a fascinating place, always open to another perspective.

So, happy anniversary, Seeds for Sanctuary! Here’s to another year (at least) of explorations, insights and omnifaith wisdom.

Making Space

Yesterday marked the conclusion of a long stretch of events hooked to timelines in our lives. As I write, it is Sunday, the first, full free day we’ve had in some months. Our houseguest went home. We did some picking up and reorganizing of household things, but mostly what I did and wanted to do was to make space.
Isn’t that a strange expression? Make space. What does it mean? For the most part, it means to me that unstructured time is needed to allow whatever needs to come up to arise. Even odder here. Making space is about unstructured time!

Here is what happens to many of us in our over-scheduled lives. We don’t have the time to allow for our true feelings to arise. We’re so crowded with events that we just throw the feelings into a recycling bag and intend to get around to them sometime soon. This can have a less-than-stellar effect on current reality.

In the past few hours, my sweetie and I have both confessed to unexpressed (ergo, unfinished) anger, sadness, unspoken words, outstanding questions between ourselves and others, frustration, worry, doubt, having to run away, snuggling and a whole host of other experiences we’d thrown into the emotional recycling bag because we were too busy or too tired to deal with them at the time.

What this does is perpetuate experiences that if we instead attended to would be put to rest. This is the danger of recycling bags and emotion.

So I’m going to finish drafting this post for tomorrow’s blog, sit down on the sofa, and make a little more space for myself and my beloved so that, hopefully, we’ll waken tomorrow refreshed, renewed, and emotionally caught up to where time has brought us today—into the ever-eternal now.

Accomplished

Seeds X, 8

Seed: Accomplished

Keith Olbermann, one of the bad boys of MSNBC’s political news team, likes to taunt the current administration with their Mission Accomplished statement about Iraq. As a people, we like to measure our accomplishments.

The OED says that accomplish comes from Late Latin roots meaning to fill up, or complete. When we accomplish something, we complete it.

What have you completed in your life? A college degree. An exercise regime. Quitting smoking.

What if accomplishment were also the process?

You accomplish things, dear one, when you decide to do something, persist in its doing, and then look back from your now and measure it. You also accomplish things whilst you are in the midst of your doing. Give yourself credit in the process of completion.

Be content,

Susan Corso

Dr. Susan Corso

Seeds are remarkable gifts. Sown in consciousness, they bring you to the most important part of your being—your Divine Spark.

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at SeedsDrCorso@comcast.net and please visit my blog Ode Magazine.

The Mysterious More

I’m back to studying the Magdalene. She has been a through-line in my spiritual life for many years. Lately, I’m read Betty Conrad Adam book, The Magdalene Mystique, about her creation of a Magdalene Spirituality Community in her Episcopal parish.

That’s where I came across the words of my title, The Mysterious More. It’s one name she uses for God. I think it’s a delicious way to think of Divinity.

This morning I had an appointment outside the house and I made a list of errands to run at the same time, always conscious of my carbon footprint and driving. One of my stops was to be the post office. In the shower I caught myself thinking of the Priority Mail stamps I had. The charge for Priority Mail had gone up, and it came to me that I ought to buy some stamps to make up the difference. Here is a mysterious more. Simple, I grant you, but meaningful nonetheless.

How is Divinity showing up in your life as a mysterious more? Is it as simple as stamps? Or more complicated? Does it matter?

Consider asking yourself this when seeking guidance: Is there more? Then listen. I think you’ll find, as Betty Conrad Adam does, that there’s always more.

Six-Word Memoirs

Sue Katz, who is a blogger friend, sent me a post on this new book, and totally delighted me. There’s a new book out, which I haven’t read, called Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure collects almost 1,000 six-word memoirs, including additions from many celebrities including Stephen Colbert, Jane Goodall, Dave Eggers, and more.

From their website . . . http://smithmag.net/sixwords/

Six-Word Memoirs: The Legend

“Legend has it that Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Last year, SMITH Magazine re-ignited the recountre by asking our readers for their own six-word memoirs. They sent in short life stories in droves, from the bittersweet (“Cursed with cancer, blessed with friends”) and poignant (“I still make coffee for two”) to the inspirational (“Business school? Bah! Pop music? Hurrah”) and hilarious (“I like big butts, can’t lie”).”

So what did I do? I wrote my own.

No God.
Know God.
O God.

What a great exercise! This one covers my whole life, but you could try it on whatever “problem” shows up next. Tell the story of it in six words. I’m willing to bet that you get to the bottomline—and clarity—in a heartbeat.

Difference

Seeds X, 7

Seed: Difference

A client said it the other day. “I want to make a difference.” I heard the phrase in a way I’d never heard it before. After the session, I looked it up.

The OED says that the word different comes from Latin roots which mean to have opposite bearings.

Why is it that so many of us want to make a difference? There’s a subtle judgment here that bears examination. If making a difference means to have opposite bearings, doesn’t that mean that we want to change whatever we want to make a difference to?

Think of it. Start with what is. Decide what you think about it. If you like what is, fine, but if you want to make a difference, you’re talking about having opposite bearings.

Could it be that the easiest way to make a difference is by reorienting your own thoughts about your subject?

Be content,

Susan Corso

Dr. Susan Corso

Seeds are remarkable gifts. Sown in consciousness, they bring you to the most important part of your being—your Divine Spark.

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at SeedsDrCorso@comcast.net and please visit my blog Ode Magazine.

Zen Valentine

Special Edition Seeds X

Seed: Zen Valentine

Beloved, on this day to celebrate love, consider asking yourself . . .

. . . what's LOVE got to do with it . . . ?

Everything.

And always, always, always, start with loving your precious self.

Be content,

Susan Corso

Dr. Susan Corso

Seeds are remarkable gifts. Sown in consciousness, they bring you to the most important part of your being-your Divine Spark.
Is it time to invite your friends to receive Seeds?

Unlikely Allies

Reading the latest issue of Ode Magazine, the two words above caught my eye. They’ve stayed with me for more than an hour. In our hyper cyberworld, that's a long time.

Have you ever met, worked with, discovered, created, found unlikely allies? Have you ever been one? I’d venture that most of us have had both experiences.

The thing about unlikely allies that’s so important is that we can’t really anticipate them. That’s why they or we are unlikely.

Readers of this blog know I am a novelist. I have been writing novels for more than ten years. Today, on the phone to discover how I might acquire the lyric reprint rights for the first book, Oklahoma! Hex, I spoke to a young woman whom I could never have anticipated would be my ally. She will be, though.

This is why it’s important to reach out to those who qualify as likely allies because through that discipline you hold yourself open to unlikely allies.

Remember this? A stranger is simply a friend you have not yet met. Unlikely allies? Likewise.

Mumbo Jumbo

Two people in the past two days have asked me questions about their choices. It’s not strange to me. I’ve been a spiritual therapist in private practice for more than half my life.

What surprised me was that both people, in very different places in their spiritual journeys, had fallen into the realm of superstition. I mean childish superstition like, step on a crack, you break your mother’s back!

Bless them. My two friends are not alone, not by a long shot. On special days—every day! ­I still like to add the digits of the time together until they equal eight before I get up. I did it as a kid. Who knows where it came from?

So I decided to visit the OED about superstition. It means standing over something in awe. It could be expressed as over-awed, and here’s the rub.

Only one thing merits awe. God. Face to face. Of course, we all see facets of the Divine all the time, but none of it is the Divine in its entirety.

So now, can I get out of bed when the clock time doesn’t add up to eight? Of course. Does it ruin my day? No. So I’m not locked into the superstition. If I set it up to have a bad day because it didn’t add up to eight, that would be a superstition.

Here’s a test you might consider. You’re caught in superstition if you’re afraid to do something or not do something. Often it means we’ve put something before God in our own minds. If you don’t know, get still and ask to see the biggest perspective available to you. Usually superstition just melts away with a larger picture.

Active Ingredient

Seeds X, 6

Seed: Active Ingredient

I got a rash the other day and, fortunately, I live in a country where I can go to the pharmacy and get anti-itch cream which I did. Of course, I read the box just to make sure there wasn’t anything in it that might cause me an allergy, and the words above appeared more clearly to me than ever before.

What is the active ingredient in your life?

Do you know? Do you have a choice about it? I think we do have a choice, and that, at best, the active ingredient is some intangible that we value. Most often, the active ingredient in my life is Peace. As you know, I’m committed to creating peace all over this planet as soon as possible.

Others might find that Love or Wisdom is the active ingredient in their lives. Or Freedom, Justice, Truth, Honor, Joy. Any of the wondrous qualities that make up quality of life here on earth.

Check out the active ingredient in your life today. If you like it, swell. If not, choose another one. Ingredients, especially the active ones, make a difference.

Be content,

Susan Corso

Dr. Susan Corso

Seeds are remarkable gifts. Sown in consciousness, they bring you to the most important part of your being—your Divine Spark.

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at SeedsDrCorso@comcast.net and please visit my peace blog Ode Magazine.

Thank Heaven for Little Girls . . .

. . . because they grow up into caring women.

(My title is the name of a song from the wonderful musical, Gigi.)

I remember the conversation as though it happened yesterday. My brother, David, the closest of three to me in age told me when he was about eleven, “A girl can’t be president. No way.” I was thirteen. It ticked me off then, but a part of me believed it. The evidence was certainly in his favor.

When I was fourteen, my mother made me play hooky from school one day to go hear Gloria Steinem speak. She’d gone to Smith; so had Mama and I. At the time, I thought she’d make a marvelous president.

So as I write this, it’s February 5th, Super Tuesday in some parlance. Presidential Primary Day for 21 states, and there’s a girl running for president. Or, she was a girl who grew up into a woman who cares about our country.

To be honest, as a registered Democrat, I struggled with whether to vote for Senator Clinton or Senator Obama. I really like Obama’s hopeful ideology for our country. I also like Clinton’s experience. If I could mix them together like ingredients in a recipe, that would be the perfect candidate for me.

After I voted, and no, I’m not going to reveal for whom, I remembered the conversation with my brother. It came to me that it doesn’t really matter to me which of the Democrats wins the nomination, I can vote for either of them with a full heart.

The most important thing about Senator Clinton’s bid for the Presidency is that she's doing it. She's doing it for real, viably, ethically, elegantly, and yes, she’s a woman.

Hillary Clinton, bless her heart, has changed presidential politics in the United States forever. I’m certain there will be a woman president someday. If not now, then within the many years I have left on the planet. So I say, thank heaven for little girls who grow up into caring candidates.

Guided Action

I’m sure you’ve read the words in my title before. It’s what all the teachers in The Secret talk about. Set your intention, keep focused on it, hold still and wait till you’re told what to do.

Who’s doing the telling? The Spirit of your Self.

It’s taken me a lot of years to be able to follow this advice. How about you? Oh I know how to set intention, focus and hold still. It’s the waiting that can trip me up. An old song from the movie Dr. Doolittle comes to mind. It’s called “I Think I Like You.” One of the lyrics is “Waiting . . . , waiting . . . , waiting . . . .”

Waiting for what? For guidance, for an impulse, for an idea, for a nudge, for a surge of energy.

In the long run, it’s easier to manage a life this way, but learning how to do it has a steep learning curve for most of us. I learned to listen for guidance on purpose. Here’s how:

First, I started using guidance with things that “didn’t matter.” I don’t mean they really didn’t matter to me, but they weren’t the humongous things that mattered a lot.

I’d have a bunch of errands to run. I knew I’d get them done one way or another, but I used my inner guidance system to ask how best to do them, in what order. Invariably, if I followed my guidance, I’d run into someone I needed to see on the path. If I didn’t listen for what to do first, I wouldn’t run into anyone.

Second, I used my internal guidance system with things that made a difference (everything does), bigger than an order of errands but not the biggest things in my life.

As time went one, I got to trusting my guidance a lot more and I moved easily into using it for everything. Now, I rarely make a move without an inner push.

Guided action is efficient action. You just have to hold still before you pass go.

Impeccability

Seeds X, 5

Seed: Impeccable

I’ve been working with this concept with a number of too-busy, overwhelmed clients in the new year and so thought it would make a good seed. When I looked up its roots in the OED, I was astonished!

Impeccable comes from Latin roots meaning incapable of sin, or, put more secularly, incapable of error.

My own definition of impeccability is a little less lofty. To me it means that I do what I say I’m going to do when I say I’m going to do it OR I renegotiate my agreement. Take lateness, for example. It doesn’t matter to me if I’m two minutes late or thirty. If I’m late, I call the person I’m meeting.

The thing that intrigued me about the etymology of the word was the incapable part. Incapable means can’t do it. Not, won’t do it, or wouldn’t do it, but can’t. There are two ways to read this. Either it means one is quite literally unable to make errors, or it means that there are no errors, no matter the choices we make.

For myself, and I invite you to join me, impeccability is simply an easier mode to live by than others I’ve tried. I like being a woman of my word.

Be content,

Susan Corso

Dr. Susan Corso

Seeds are remarkable gifts. Sown in consciousness, they bring you to the most important part of your being—your Divine Spark.

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at SeedsDrCorso@comcast.net and please visit my blog Ode Magazine.