Amidst this sultry realm, with nature at its prime

A bonfire blazes tall, a beacon in the night

Its crackling flames like whispers

with wisdom to uncoil

Inviting us to gather ’round and to let our spirits sail

The bonfire’s glow, a mesmerizing sight to behold

It paints the evening sky with dancing hints of rubies and of gold

Drawn in like moths, we form a circle tight

Sharing laughter and our stories

igniting pure delight.

As the embers crackle and leap

the warmth from them felt upon our skin

We find solace in their flickers, a respite from the din.

For in this fiery haven, worries gently fade away

Replaced by joy and camaraderie, where memories form and play

With friends and loved ones by our side

we find a sense of bliss,

A soft breeze with hints of revealing secrets

with every nuzzle and quiet kiss

We bask in summer’s glory, as the stars adorn the sky

And in this shared existence, our souls are lifted high.

As the night seeks out its slumber, and embers fade to gray

We take comfort in the new memories, caught within the bright display.

For in our hearts, a spark will forever reside

Always ready to inspire

A reminder of that summer’s eve

when life met all of our desires

Okay, your turn:

Whether it be memories of summer camp, or summer school, or staying up late…what does the heat of the summer time invoke in you?

I invite you to share your observations, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2023 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

I observe

I see

I am

You are

We are

one.

Passing through

this lifetime

Birth Death

Birth Death

Neither of these

do we choose

Both do we experience

In-between

is up to each of us.

Explorers

Adventurers

Beyond the mind

Beyond the pale

Of that which we tend to hail

Mental constructs

Personality conflicts

All at the expense of what

is directly in front of us.

Did you miss it?

Live today as if it’s your favorite birthday!

Light the candles

Sing

Party like it’s

nobody’s business.


Life is truly

a gift

Accept it with glee and satisfaction

As if you picked it out for your very self


Remember to enjoy the ride

As you never know when the ride

will stop.

Around we go!

Okay, your turn:

When is the last time you got lost in time? Could it be today? Tomorrow? Every day?

I invite you to share your observations, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2022 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

The trees provide

without prompting

without expectation

for one

for all

of us

to prosper.

The rocks endure

the passage of time

and wayward travelers

lost inside.

The rocks ask no questions

The rocks tell no lies

The peaks await your arrival

your ascent

your stay for awhile

to admire the view

and take in the breeze

that swells around you

holding you in place

if only but for a moment or two

in time and space

and then descend

you must

along the way

the very way you came up

with a different view this time

and an awe-filled heart

all the same

all the way

down the mountain.

The trees wave

as you step by step

walk by

all the way down.

At the base, the ground says

hello

welcome back

how’d it go?

Okay, your turn:

Having spent the weekend in the Sierras with a supportive, wonderfully playful, and wildly creative group of co-adventurers who like to hike, I couldn’t help but share with you a poem that I was inspired to write as part of that experience. What in nature speaks to you?

I invite you to share your observations, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2022 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

Across the veils

From the center

outward

revolving

evolving

contacting

communicating

relating with

all the relations

Across the veils

so thin

and frail

To avail

myself the opportunity

to connect

with those

who have passed on

to other worlds

across the multiverse

only to converse

in telepathic ways

among the waves

of grief

For your consideration:

When we say someone has passed on, have they really left us, truly?

This time of year, with the observance of Samhain, All Hallows’ Eve, All Souls Day, Day of the Dead, all converging upon early November, the connection with the spirit world is stronger than ever.  I feel it. I lean into it. I blend with it. With each subsequent year, I emerge more and more connected, more and more at peace, with all that was – and all that – is.

Okay, your turn:

Have you lost loved ones, and if so, did the love leave with them?

I invite you to share your observations, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2021 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

Thinking is not being present

I think therefore I am. — Descartes (1637)

Latin: “Cogito, ergo sum”

What may be lesser known is this: Soon thereafter, Descartes revised his own saying, to: “I am, I exist.” (1641) Now, THAT’s the spirit!

When you’re thinking, you’re ‘mulling.’ You’re ‘somewhere else.’ Thinking takes you away from, or out of, the present moment. For more on this, refer back to this recent edition of Soul Notes, here.

Take the Olympics, for example. The athletes have prepared years if not even decades, yes. They’re in the best physical condition of their lives, also yes. They’ve ‘put in the work.’ Indeed. And yet, are they thinking much while they’re setting world records? Maybe. I suppose there is still some cognitive strategy at play. Are we thinking as we watch? Maybe, a little.

What draws us in as witnesses to these events, however, is the series of ever present moments. It’s the single points in time and space where everything converges. That’s where the magic is. That is when we are most inspired. That’s when we are in awe. That’s when we are all one.

For Your Consideration

If you’re not thinking, does that mean you no longer exist? This is not a rhetorical question. Of course you (we, I) exist! It is not our thinking which makes it so.

Okay, your turn:

As a carryover from last moon’s edition of Soul Notes, I ask you: Is thinking overrated? I invite you to share your observations, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2021 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

All things being equal

 

 

All things being equal

EQUINOX

Equal days and nights

Welcoming in with delight

and a bit of fright

the insight

that comes with the rotation of the planet

the turning of the seasons

All amongst the haze

And daze of shortened days’

light

 

Not unlike fallowed farmland

we allow room to rest and restore

and

root down

to stabilize

as the harsher winds

of Winter will be

approaching

 

Leaving behind

the lazy dazy

daisy

days

of Summer

 

Autumn brings harvest

 

Thankful for the harvest

(did you know Thanksgiving used to be observed during early October and not late November as it is now in the United States?)

 

Yes, thankful even this year

2020

and its

harvest

of

stillness

reflection

eye opening

tears inducing

heart opening

heart closing

heart wrenching

heart healing

 

Awareness

and the time and space

to embrace

thoughtfulness

consideration

discerning

what’s

true

and real

and real(ly) important

For your consideration:

Notice, without jumping to quick conclusions, what this unusually strange and often unsettling year has brought up for you.  What are you harvesting?  Not from the surface-social-media-finger-pointing-mud-slinging level, but at the level of deep rootedness…feeling into what your heart knows to be true?

For me, among other things, I find myself doing an ongoing life review of sorts. I’m viewing my earlier experiences in a new (dare I say “novel” as in a novel virus) way. This time affords me an opportunity to be not only reflective but more inventive, more innovative, more imaginative, more creative.

Maybe Plato* was on to something!

(*Reference to his dialogue, the Republic and the idea that from necessity comes invention.  More on that perhaps in a future blog post!)

Okay, your turn:

What’s been coming up for you during these turbulent times? Are you feeling less rooted? Are you nervous that you’ll be blown over by the winds of change? Will you join me in my pledge to stay rooted throughout it all?

I invite you to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2020 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

What it means to be home

“Home is where the heart is.”

“Everywhere you go, there you are.”

Now, before you start thinking I’m about to list out several more adages you may likely find embroidered on a pillow, let me say that these two sayings often resonate because they’re true.

The past few months I’ve been traveling out of state and noticing how much I love to travel to other places, and yet how much I also cherish returning home. The common denominator of course is me. My spirit, my body, my heart. This is the same for all of us, right?

As I have visited with friends at their homes, I have felt deeply nourished not only by our human connection, but also by the beauty of receiving a deeper glimpse into who they are by and through what they bring to their environs.  There’s a deep sense of place, and of making it your own.

Celtic history abounds with lyrical devotion to the concept of place. This heritage reveals itself in modern day, too. When I traveled by bicycle for several weeks throughout County Cork (where the Noonans are from) awhile back, I was struck by how truly welcoming the Irish were to me and to all of us traveling through their towns.  Several Irish locals told me that they love helping Irish Americans find out more about their ancestry. Many took out time in earnest to help me learn that the Noonans come from the nearby town of Fermoy. Their desire to help me find my roots was loving and strong.

When we were there, each of the townships was vying for the coveted “Tidy Town Award.” We smiled big smiles whenever we’d see a local shop owner delicately sprucing up a flower box, or hand polishing a brass railing, or sweeping up with pride the sidewalk in front of their shop.

When traveling a lot on business years ago, I used to always travel with a particular candle in a small travel container. I liked the idea of making an unfamiliar place feel and be more familiar. I found the warm glow and the inviting scent wafting throughout the space to be calming and grounding. Now that I am traveling again, perhaps I will bring something new with me this next time.

For me, it’s returning to a view of sunsets along the Pacific ocean that tells me I’m home.  Although, it’s not as if I have ever truly left. Home is where my heart is. And it’s all okay. Very much okay.

For your consideration:

Meditate on the word “home.”

Make “home” your mantra for this moon cycle.

Allow all the possibilities, all the meanings, to come to the surface. Allow yourself to be surprised!

Jot down the words, the phrases, the messages. Draw or paint the incoming images.

Notice what’s around you when you open your eyes.

Be inspired and take action on what is revealed.

Okay, your turn:

What part of home do you take with you everywhere you go? What’s your favorite part about coming back home? What makes it so?

I invite you to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2020 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

Promise me

 Often:

Promise me “you’ll be good,” says one.

Promise me “you’ll stay,” says the other.

Promise me “you’ll always be mine,” they say in unison.

 

Instead,

Promise me you’ll be you.

Promise me you’ll be true

to you

and to me

And not to whom you think

I desire you to be

Promise me you’ll stay true to what you intend to be true

Promise me you’ll only make promises you sincerely intend to keep

Promise me.

Will you?

I will, too.

I promise.

~~~~

Tomorrow is not promised.

Today is all we’ve got.

And that is everything.

For your consideration:

What about “broken promises”?  Are they based on unrealistic expectations, wishful thinking, both, or neither?

I know for me, an unfulfilled promise hurts more than no promise at all.

Like most every child growing up in Southern California, I fantasized about going to visit The Magic Kingdom…Disneyland.  We did get to go when I was really little, and I was “too short to ride the rides,” as the signs said in front of the line for all the ‘big kid’ rides that my older brothers got to go on without me.

As I got a little older and a little taller, nearly every year, at some point, I would tug on my dad’s shirt sleeve and pester him with “please Dad, can we go to Disneyland again soon, can we, can we?” I believe my father did desire to make me happy, and sometimes, as I know now, he would say what I wanted to hear, without giving much thought as to whether it was likely to actually happen.

One time in particular, I remember when my dad announced to the family: “Yes, we are going to Disneyland,” and we set the date.  I practically squealed with glee and leaped with joy.  I counted down the days, imagining all the fun rides we’d ride at the amusement park, and how I’d get to have my picture taken with Pluto and maybe even Goofy, my favorite.

On the morning of the day that we were supposed to jump in the car and head out to Disneyland, I eagerly asked my dad what time we needed to be ready to leave. I was antsy with anticipation.

Engraved in my memory are these words in his reply:  “Oh, Lori, we’re not going to Disneyland today.”

He didn’t provide a reason why.  He dismissed the promise, and me, as quickly as I had asked the question.

I slumped down into my dejected heart and glumly walked back into my room without a spark of joy left in me.

I didn’t know what to believe.

So:

What if we were to commit to making promises from a place of what’s truly true? What if we made the decision to embody that promising promise now, and to carry it through…for ourselves and for all concerned?

Okay, your turn:

When have you felt the impact of a broken promise?  What does it mean for you to make a promise?

I invite you to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2019 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

The Creative Process Best Begins by Embracing Fun & Excitement

We’ve all heard the phrase, “be in the flow.”  What is it exactly, though?  And, how do we get “in” it?  This new moon’s edition of Soul Notes is devoted to the creative flow of life.  If you’re game (pun intended), let’s go!

Creativity is intelligence having fun. –Albert Einstein

Creativity, at its core, is creating something from nothing – or at least something different from that with which you started.  Remember as a child, making up games, and scenarios, right on the spot?  Remember being with a few of your friends, and deciding who would play whom, and assigning characters and roles to play out – straight from your imagination?

Remember how FUN that was?

Fun first. Flow next.  Then, and only then, can the mind come into the picture and serve its (important) purpose of evaluating, tweaking, remolding, editing, finishing to bring into being the final product.

The writing process can be like that.  Creating from a fun, imaginative, flow state allows deep(er) access to what wants to come through you and out into the world.  It emerges in a more fluid, natural, pure state that way.  Once it’s out in the open it can be refined.  If the mind (instead of the heart, soul, and spirit) goes first, then what emerges oftentimes can be overly structured, stilted, and less pure.

What happens to the creative process, and innate ingenuity, as we get older? Several things.  Key among them is that along the way we accumulate and store experiences, and related memories.  And, it’s how we learn.  As adults, we tap into a virtual storage closet of occurrences to draw from.  It’s how we end up using metaphors, similes, and analogies, without even thinking about it!  (See what I did there…without “thinking”!)

As a corporate trainer in the legal market years ago, I studied, learned, and became certified in, ALPs (adult learning principles).  As a trainer, I used metaphors and analogies to serve as educational short-cuts for the adult learners. It facilitates their grasping a new concept, if it’s put in terms of comparison or contrast to something with which they are already familiar.  When training sales reps, I used these ALPs often — to help the sales consultants be able to learn the technical aspects of our product lines, and in turn then be able to explain those to the personnel at the law firms we served.

I find myself doing this in my writing process as well.  I’m not really conscious of it until I go back to review what I’ve written so far.

This comes in handy when writing anything, including legal briefs, crafting opening or closing arguments, and whether in front of a judge or jury.  It also helps when you are conveying information, strategies and counsel to your own litigation clients.

It’s like the phrase “toying with an idea.”  It’s your intelligence at play.  That’s creativity, as Einstein suggests.  (Notice that I didn’t say that it is your intelligence at work.  Work suggests thinking, and mental fortitude, which carries a different energy altogether.)

Fluidity Requires Surrendering

Fluidity, flow, “in the zone” – it’s often described in the context of playing sports.  (Again, notice that we don’t say “working” sports).  This is perhaps the ultimate in nonresistance. To use another metaphor, that of a river or stream:  Allowing yourself to go with the natural flow, downstream, and with rather than against the current gets you farther and with the least amount of effort.  It’s the most efficient use of energy (and time).  This allows for the best results with the least amount of taxation on your body, mind and spirit.  Time flies as do you (okay, that one is a mixed metaphor…grin.)  This involves surrendering.  It requires a suspension of the mind – it’s the opposite of “thinking too hard” about something.

I’ll give you two examples from my own experience.

One:  Rowing.

I was a member of a four-person recreational sculling or “crew” team. Including our coxswain, five us in a boat would row back and forth along the stretch of ocean in front of Marina del Rey, California.  There are a lot of elements at play when rowing, even in a one-person boat let alone one with five!

The boats themselves are sensitive to even the slightest imbalances, and are extremely easy to tip.  The hulls are only about four inches deep, and you’re sitting practically right atop the water. The water has its own currents running underneath you, and the winds above may be calm or blustery. The external conditions vary from moment to moment. The sun may or may not be in your eyes. Plus, the seats slide back and forth along a narrow center track inside the boat; and the individual oars (on each side) all move independently.  Oh, and did I mention that you’re rowing backwards?  So, you cannot see where you’re going.  Keeping the boat straight and clear of obstacles is a big part of the job of the coxswain, who is in the boat with you, facing the other direction.

Despite the physical effort, crew is probably the only sport I’ve done where I’ve ended up feeling lighter and more refreshed after a long (one or two-hour) stint, than before I started!  I came to realize that the primary reason for that was that when I am rowing, my brain can’t help but take a rest.  There’s virtually no room for mind chatter with so many other moving parts going on!  There’s too much subtlety for your body to pay attention to, that if you think too hard, you’ll lose the rhythm and disrupt the pace set by the coxswain.  You’ll also likely throw off the synchronization with your fellow rowers.  Then you’re subject to toppling the boat and everyone in it – right into the sea!  (We actually did do that once – and we hadn’t even left the dock. That’s another story for another day…smile).

Two:  Hitting a golf ball.

Golfing is a unique sport in that the ball doesn’t move.  Well, at least not until you make contact with it, by hitting it with a golf club.  Seems simple enough, doesn’t it?  That’s what I thought, until I tried it.

I mean, I grew up as a baseball player, hitting 70-mile an hour fast balls (and even 90-mile an hour ones, if I was at the batting cages) coming at me.  So, how hard could it be to hit a golf ball that’s just sitting there?

Well, in short – to have success, you simply cannot “think” about it.

When you’re hitting or fielding a swiftly moving baseball, there isn’t time to think.  You need to allow your body to move into position and trust that it will adjust accordingly as needed.  You put your body in motion, and then you let your body take its natural flow toward hitting or receiving the ball.

In golf, it’s really the same thing – it’s just that the timing is different.  The golf ball starts out stationary. Whether you’re in the tee box or out on the course – in the fairway, in the rough, on the green, or in a sand trap – time is suspended.  (Unless you take a really long time to hit the dang thing, and you hold up other players, then you risk admonishment from the golf course marshal).

This “extra time” is exactly what provides perhaps the biggest challenge.  It allows you to think about it too much.  You cannot successfully think your way through a golf shot.  Sure, you can think beforehand about the distance, what club you want to use, survey the wind conditions, and the like.  And, as with any sport, it helps to have at least learned the basics of the mechanics of the game. But when it comes time to making clean contact with the ball, just like with rowing, you need to put yourself in motion and allow and trust in your body to make a natural, fluid movement.  You need to relax and allow your body to do what it is designed to do.

It’s generative in its nature.  It comes forth from your body and not from your mind.

So, today’s lesson? Give your mind a rest!

Are you game?

Okay, your turn:

When do you find yourself most easily “in the flow” and not overly thinking? In what type of situations do you find the opposite to be true?  Do you start out in one mode, and end up in another?  If so, what helps or hinders your success?

I invite you to SHARE your thoughts, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2018 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

 

February, the month of love.  Oh, how we love (and sometimes don’t) love thee, February!

This new moon’s edition of Soul Notes is dedicated to love.  May love find you and you find love in all the divinely inspired ways possible…this month, and always.

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

Dear Love,

Thank you for sunsets

and sunrises

Thank you for moonrises

and moonsets

 

Thank you for rainbows

and moonbows

and mountain tops

and mountain bottoms

And landscapes

and horizons far and near

and seas to cross

and seas to see

and salty wind sprays

off the ocean

And unswept beaches

with crawly sand crabs

and scurrying sandpipers

 

Thank you for the crunch of gravel

and the scent of pine needles

and the shape of pine cones

and the sweetness of pineapples

 

Thank you for fireflies

and hummingbirds

and macaws

and geckos

 

and the clippity clop

of Clydesdales

 

and the sounds of drumming heard from the drum circle

down in the valley

 

Thank you for heart beats

and heart swells

and heart warmings

 

Thank you for goodbyes

and hellos

 

Thank you for touch

and taste

and ecstasy

and bliss

 

Thank you for stretches

and stretching

and growing

and restoring

and

Thank you for the

remembering

 

Thank you for new levels

and old reliables

 

Thank you for healing

and healing space…s

 

Thank you for being there

even when I don’t seem to notice

 

Thank you for seeing me

Thank you for hearing me

Thank you for listening

 

Thank you for knowing all the things

The secret secrets

and the not so secret

 

Thank you for the holding

and the mystery

and the understanding

and the hope

and the reassurance

 

Thank you for the reason

and the unreason

of it all

 

I am with you

We are with you

I am you

We are you

And it is…

divine

Okay, your turn:

What does this poem bring up for you?  What is love?

I invite you to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2018 Lori A. Noonan. All rights reserved.