Adaptability...

I had hoped I would have some good news to share tonight after DH’s job interview this week.  But it turns out that “the company has met its quota on the first wave”, according to the recruiter (a cattle call hiring 10 people at a time basically, and he didn’t make the first cut).  They evidently plan on doing a “second wave” – although we have no idea when that might be.   However, DH has other irons in the fire as they say, so we are still encouraged, as he is early in this job-hunting process, although it’s difficult not to recede into a fog of sadness and discouragement because we weren’t instantaneously relieved from this period of uncertainty.  Which is a segue into the subject of “adaptability.” J

A week ago DH was at the library perusing the shelves when he came across a CD series called “Adaptability” by a leading guru of change, MJ Ryan, targeted towards those in the business world.  Basically the premise is that those who adapt survive the changes that are inevitable, and so the point is to cooperate with the unavoidable, learning to take on new roles and shift with the changes that are coming more frequently in the business world.  DH has been doing this for years – adapting, shifting his career identities and roles to suit the current business environment, and still, jobs have been hard to come by and keep. We are grateful that he actually had a job that lasted a full year!  Most have been 3-6 month contracts.  He says the series on “Adaptability” is helping him with this current change, giving him a new perspective and some new skills for riding the wave.  If you’re interested, here is a You Tube link to watch her give a talk on “The Tortured Mind.” J  As always it comes down to what we *think about* what we are going through and how we interpret it.

What does this have to do with the photo of the Raccoon in the drive-way you ask? J  Well it showed up late yesterday afternoon, sniffing its way around.   I of course grabbed the camera and snapped the shot through the window.  As it disappeared out of sight to the right, I went outside to see if I could get a better shot.  I’m a sucker for wildlife – especially in the burbs.  Raccoons and Coyotes are about as wild as we get here.  The critter had climbed part way up the Spruce tree at the corner of our neighbor’s property by the driveway.  And of course I just had to try to get closer for a better shot…  But it went further up the tree – so no shot only big cute eyes looking back at me.  And what does a Raccoon have to do with adaptability?

Well... late last night I looked up the symbolic “meaning” of Raccoon in one of those animal symbolism books.  And the very first word that was underlined in the text was “adaptable.”  My eyes bugged out at the seeming synchronicity, and I went to share it with DH who was already in bed trying to sleep. J  Seems there’s a message here we’re supposed to be paying attention to!  So I read on:  Raccoons are known for their sense of curiosity about new realms, exploring what fascinates them, as well as their courage and ferociousness.  One of their most striking features is the mask.  Although the common interpretation is thievery, it actually becomes a very powerful symbolism for adapting.  When we wear a mask we create a doorway in the mind of who we believe ourselves to be.  It goes on: We can become anything we want to be by wearing different masks (identities) and learning to be dexterous in the masks that we wear, knowing when to use which mask for different purposes, knowing what circumstances requires what mask.  And in that respect, masks help us in the process of change.

There is actually a purpose for the persona of course – adapting to life situations, which seems to be a natural process.  I had somehow lost sight of that...

So – it spawned a few questions for myself like:  What masks am I wearing…  And are they serving me…  Are they helping me to adapt and change to life circumstances or am I just hiding under a mask of “spirituality”…  Do my masks keep my True Self hiding under a disguise, or are they are true expression of the Being that I am…   Do I need to change my idea of who I am, my self-identity as a “spiritual” person – ahhh – now *there’s* a courageous question…   Will have to explore that one a little more…

In any case, we are learning to adapt once again to the perpetual changes of life, accepting the reality of what is at the moment.

You might also like this humorous post
that I wrote last May on the subject of masks and identities:

Who Would You Be If You Weren't Who You Think You Are...?

Curiosity, Intuition and Fluidity

This space of “waiting for the ‘Yes’" that I wrote about in the last post has been an interesting experience. There’s a feeling of freedom here. It’s like a new playing field has opened up. There’s a new sense of being open and playful with Life, seeing where Life wants to go, seeing that it’s all Life doing the doing, and so there’s more curiosity about Life and how it’s expressing Itself – how it’s moving and being open to how it’s moving. And so there’s a deeper listening, if you will, to the Inner Voice that some call Intuition, some call Spirit… And amongst all this there is also the realization of how I have become a Curmudgeon – grumbling and complaining – and trying to control how life has been happening, or resisting what’s been happening, instead of staying open to this inner fluidity of Life moving Itself.

In this space of “listening” a curiosity and an inner sense of “connection” with the fluidity of Life has emerged, with the Flow that underlies existence – being in touch with the deeper Flow within – and a curious and intuitive sense of how to move with it.

And I have been noticing that what I need to hear does in fact come to me in this Flow – things that eerily reflect my experience…

For instance, earlier this past week I just happened to check out Annette Nibley’s Website, and read her January Writing. Certain phrases began to emerge: “…move with What Is …with fluidity and intuition. Be curious. Be fluid. Go with whatever sparks your interest. There is a way to move with a subtler, inner world…..explore it. There are no constraints, and this is freedom. All is Self. This completely frees this life for impersonal play. It is the force of Self that actually propels you.”

It was music to my ears. I listened deeply and felt a sense of freedom flooding in…

Wednesday evening I listened to Adyashanti’s Café Dharma online satsang. Initially there didn’t appear to be anything there for me. But again, certain phrases popped as he was speaking: “Surrender your resistance to what is. See the Divine in the ups and downs of life. Surrendering completely to the moment allows us to spontaneously perceive a whole different reality – to see the peace that is there. Don’t let your non-dual philosophies about life get in the way. Let go of your *idea* of it. It’s all simultaneous Existence.”

More opening into a fluid sense of living…

Thursday evening I listened to an audio recording of a “spiritual teacher” that I have been listening to for over a year now. For several months now I have been feeling a lack of resonance with what is being said. This time I intuitively knew that it was time to move on. There was no ‘Yes’ here anymore.

I realized that sometimes in “waiting for the ‘Yes’” you get a ‘No’ – which is still fluid and open – and still takes you to where you need to go.

Yesterday I logged onto Tammi Brannen’s video blog on her Instinctive Life Website. Now I don’t normally listen to “motivational” type teachers, but my husband has been listening to this woman for several months now and I was curious. So my curiosity led me to where I needed to hear something that profoundly spoke to me. Once again I discovered that it doesn’t always come though the “normal channels” that I expect it to come through – like the “spiritual teachers” that I normally read or listen to, or the particular “path” that I’m following at any given time. But I’m noticing that if I am open and curious I may find Life speaking to me in profound ways. In her blog Tammi said: “Live the life that is true to who you are. There is a connection between who you are and your life. Do they match? How does life want to be lived? What is life showing you, offering you? Don’t approach life in terms of what you want or need, but focus on being absorbed by life. Open and receive what the Ocean of Life has to offer and ride it.”

Another opening to fluidity.

The combined messages I heard this week had a profound impact - all reflecting where I am and what I need to hear in a kind of Divine Synchroncity. “The Mystery” was fluidly and playfully dancing with me this week – leaving a universal thread running through everything I encountered. All I had to do was be open and listen.

Fun-Qi Art™ - :) Christine