March 21, 2008
At a little before six this morning I was in my backyard waiting for my dog, Buddy. I was beginning my day as I do every day by watching the sky. There were very gusty winds and clouds were rushing across the sky sliding in front of the last visible stars before sunrise. It was surprisingly quiet for my more urban neighborhood. I began the Seven Whispers I say each morning. These seven statements were taken from Christina Baldwin’s book, Seven Whispers. I have been using them for several years now. They are:

· Maintain peace of mind
· Move at the pace of guidance
· Maintain continuity of purpose
· Surrender to surprise
· Take what you need and offer what you can
· Love the folks in front of you
· Return to the Earth

These seven simple sentences secure me in my day and remind me what I am about in life. As I was saying them this morning I was thinking how difficult they are to do if I am not in the present moment. And how very difficult it is for me to stay in the present, in the “now.” Yet the only things that are real are the things that are in the present. A little later today I paused in my workday and just stopped to listen to the wind still blowing so noisily outside and I realized my house was completely quiet.

My thought was “What is this? It seemed very loud a moment ago.” What had been so noisy a moment ago was only the thoughts rattling my head. That was what I was experiencing as noise. The only chaos that existed was between my ears. All was really peaceful and quiet.

The remainder of the day I have kept myself more in the now and there have been no moments of tension or anxiety… and much more room for joy.

How lovely to be writing this first entry on the first day of Spring… a time of re-birth. Isn’t it so wonderful that we can have re-birth as many times as the earth? It can be a constant renewal—whether it is a rebirth to a new part of ourselves, or a piece of the past which has shifted and we can go forward in a renewed manner. It matters not what form it takes. It is always there …the opportunity to change, to start over, to stay in the now.