It’s normal for the human thinking mind to try to juggle Life to keep all of its “spinning plates” spinning.
Humans in doing-mode, driven by busy minds, want to keep those plates in the air to keep the momentum
going and have nothing change. This takes a lot of time, energy and effort.

In the world of objects and forms, there is change. Change for a spinning plate might mean a stumble, jostle or slip
which disrupts momentum, allowing the plate to drop, fall and break into pieces on the floor. Whatever we were doing
is interrupted, our project collapses, our way of doing things might no longer be possible. We’re faced with the unforeseen circumstances of change.

The human mind resists the changes which arise. “What If” fears flood our confused minds.
Disappointment and frustration come as the desire to hold-on meets the realization that this change
might mean we cannot move forward in the same direction, operate in the same way nor continue along
the path we’d been traveling.

Every “spin” started in the past. Imagine spinning a basketball on your finger. It took an action, now in the past,
which started the basketball’s spinning momentum. If we want the basketball to continue to spin, we must push
against it, again and again. Spinning needs repetition of the past action to keep it going. This is the natural course
of interaction between objects and forms in our physical world. The thinking mind needs repetition of its past,
a renewal of its past, to drive its momentum.

Part of the mystery of Life is the “when and the why” spinning objects stop and momentum ends. It may feel unfair
for things to end while we’re still enjoying them. We feel disappointed with unanswered questions of “but why”.
If we cannot restart the momentum, we feel confused. “Now what?” We’re faced with not knowing what to do once
this specific type of “doing” ends. The thinking mind can no longer find its path, it cannot see from starting point A
to its end goal of point B. Fear arises. The thinking mind can become frantic in its search for new end goals,
the next replacement of “what”. It can become obsessed with choosing various starting points and planning new
pathways of “how to get back to what.” “But how?!!!,” it demands.

This is the time to stop, to step back, to breathe.

2022 is a time of uncertainty. The Pandemic brought the spinning to a stop and plates crashed to the ground.
We may have lost our earning momentum. We might have lost our goals for achievement in career. We may have
lost our perception of personal power or sense of direction as plans fell by the wayside. We may have lost loved ones
and are facing change to the structure of our family units. We might struggle as we redefine the receiving and giving
of social support. We might no longer be able to gather as before in ways we enjoyed our social interaction.
We may struggle with health/medical bills, aging, employment, or housing.

We may feel the blanket of distress in the universal emotional field of mankind and suffer the collective anxiety as
nervousness building within our spiritual bodies. Our economy is changing, the structures around employment are
changing. Upheaval is a word which fits massive change on all levels within the world of humanity. This is no little thing
and we’re not going crazy. We are facing change.

The infinite details to which Life attends would easily swamp a tiny, human mind and the egoic part of mind fears
not being in control of what it thought was “its universe”. Disruption to the human dream, the doing mind’s goals,
can feel unwelcome, unwanted, a pain in the ass, a punishment, a block or obstruction in our path towards progress.
We suffer as we hold onto the ego’s “wants” while the ego resists arising change. We don't want a "new" normal.
Our schedules have been interrupted, our accomplishments have been delayed, our patterns and routines of normal have ground to a halt.. “But…why, how, what, when, where…” the ego questions in reactive resistance to the request from Life
to stop, to be still, to wait, to BE rather than to DO.

Looking at our daily schedule through the eyes of balance, what is our measure of our being in comparison to our doing?
When we sit, are our minds still doing-thinking, planning, watching a program? Do we rest when our body stops or do we collapse?

Just for today, can we set aside 15 minutes to sit with a warm cup of our favorite beverage and just rest? Just “switch off”.
No phone, no pen and paper, no electronic device, just be. Watch the mind spin without being pulled in. This will be easier
if we’ve chosen a spot outdoors, surrounded by nature. Observe the birds, listen to the sounds without following the mind's attempts to build a story around the sounds. Listen for the moment of Spaciousness from which each sound is birthed
and into which each sound “dies”. This gap, this space, is the ground of Being.

Feel the internal arising of mind’s momentum as it builds in an effort to move you from your chair. “But, I need to do….”. Breathe, deeply, stay still and allow it to pass, this is only fifteen precious minutes. Witness the inner struggle as mind
builds and falls, spins and slows, attaches to thoughts and lets go. Observe the self-soothing desires arise to watch
a movie, read a book, call someone on the phone, eat something, workout, take a nap. These are the patterns mind
has used to avoid the Present moment. Don’t judge, just see and breathe.

If we follow this “precious 15” for a week, we will begin to notice the imbalance of thinking mind. We will begin to recognize
why we are so tired; the mind's following of thought consumes much energy; doing takes great effort. The more deeply
we dip into Being, the more balanced our Doing becomes. Life will guide our way towards greater balance. Life will support
our tiny openness to be shown the way forward through the changes we face. Willingness is the current which powers the
inner generator of Life force which is of immense strength which the thinking mind cannot comprehend.

What if more could be accomplished by Being rather than Doing? What if the quality of doing- arising-from-beingness is
far superior and more encompassing in range than we’ve ever actively witnessed? What if inherent unconditional
love is ready to flow through new channels to replace the dying ways of fear, worry and discontent? What if our growth
is overtaking the dying conditioning to which we’ve been chained for so very long? Would we not wish to experience
every moment of unfolding sweetness rather than be distracted by the off-kilter spinning of conditioned mind?

“But, what about…?” I know, I too, hear conditioned mind’s questioning, for it simply does what it does and knows not
what it cannot know. We’ve gone this route so many times before. Can we rest, during this time called “change” to witness
our own unfolding? What a treasure this moment, even if it feels like “waiting”, can we dive deeply into this moment
and leave the mind behind -just for an instant- for one loving glimpse of Freedom?

How does fear hi-jack Awareness of our beingness? “I can’t possibly stop such and such because…what if?”
Is thinking mind struggling to hold onto the pattern of the past rather than waiting for guidance, for the arrival
of a new direction? “But, I don’t want to lose…” What of the gain, here-Now, of abundance unrecognized?

Look to this Now moment, how are we supported? Is there a floor holding a foundation beneath our feet?
Is there a chair supporting our body? Are there clothes keeping our bodies warm? Is there one bite of food to sustain
our body’s energy? Is there one sip of liquid to quench the thirst arising now? “Yeah, but that stuff doesn’t really matter,
what if…..?”

The spiritual teacher Byron Katie says “if you want a little fear and terror, get a future”. Thinking mind always escapes
the present into a fearful story it calls the future or it dives into pain it remembers from the past. The egoic mind lives
by past/future, only our Being-ness delights in the Present moment, recognizing the gift of Itself.

Spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle mentions, “sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending
or hanging on.” We are that courageous. We are this power. The fearful human mind doesn’t want to let go for it fears
failure and sees threat to survival. What if there is no failure and survival is a matter of perspective?

Have we survived so far? Are we surviving Now? How many times have we faced danger and with no independent action
of our own, have we survived? Can we say that survival happens? “But there are people who didn’t survive…
and that is horrible.” Can we really know, absolutely without a shred of doubt, that this is true? Have there ever been times when we felt physical death might just be merciful or even beneficial? Can we really know what is of the utmost greatest goodwill for someone else?

If we are here, we are surviving and this is meant to be…until it’s not. Can we rest in the safety of our own Being-ness
without allowing egoic mind to cloud seeing with panic and distress? Have you ever watched a nature program such as
National Geographic and observed a squid, in the ocean, as it leaves an ink-trail when startled by a predator?
This defense mechanism confuses the predator so the squid has a split-second to reach a cave or crevice within which
to hide, to achieve its “get-away” to instinctively maintain physical survival.

The thinking mind “squirts fear trails” to escape the Present moment. In this Present Moment there is no real risk nor real predator. A Course in Miracles says, "Nothing real can be threatened, nothing unreal exists." The bible mentions, "Fear Not."

The Present Moment is a way to focus attention on the Awareness aspect of mind which matures, strengthens, expands
during spiritual Awakening. This is an inner embrace of Life. When thinking mind turns attention outwards, it attaches
to physical objects in physical life and is no longer aware of the inner dimension of Being-ness. When we hear the word
stop, we might mistake stopping for physical stopping, for stopping all “outer” action in the world. “I won’t eat, I won’t talk,
I won’t move” is an exaggeration of the misunderstanding of inner/outer awareness.

We can “stop” on the inside while we observe the outer aspect of Life continuing, including the movement of our body
and the thought processes of mind. The more we practice tuning into the Present moment and sitting in Stillness,
we begin to discern the subtleties of our “inner/outer” dimensions. We can watch our physical life-form without being
caught up in the egoic identification with a personal “self”. We begin to see ourselves as consciousness which includes
our physical form without thinking we are only the physical form.

The Consciousness of Which We Are includes experiences of multi-dimensionality, simultaneously. Expansion during Awakening brings this Awareness to our attention in richer ways than we could have ever imagined. We will miss it,
if we’re embroiled in the momentum of thinking mind. No opportunity is ever wasted, it will come, again, yet these are
available for direct experience, any time the mind is quiet.

If we’ve ever wondered, what is physical earth life, the life of the human all about, “what is this life for?”, the Present Moment
is the spaciousness in which this answer is revealed. A specific way for each of us to comprehend is offered-according to our recognition of our own essence. Don’t let any words bother nor concern you. There is part of you which understands, even without the use of words as descriptors for language. This part is what speaks, what listens, what comprehends,
is aware and That which Knows. This is what reveals Itself in stillness, inner stillness, through Awareness which can be
aided temporarily by achieving outward stillness, such as in the “precious 15” minutes of stillness surrounded by the being-ness dimension anchored by nature.

If we’re willing to “stop” on the inside, the slowing down, stopping or new direction for the “outside” will take care of Itself.
The inner stopping allows us to face Awakening with less fear, less chaos, less drama, less discontent, less suffering.
Open willingness is cooperating with the expansion of the consciousness of which we are, called Awakening, as a return movement of recognition of all of the inherent qualities of our being-ness: Unconditional Love, unshakable Peace,
uncaused Joy and unfathomable Wisdom.

Isn’t this what we hoped earth things and human life accomplishments would bring?
These have never been absent, only hidden, beneath the “fear-squirt trail” of egoic mind.

If it feels as though our earth-life “plates” are falling and crashing to the ground, we can let them fall.
We accept the opportunity to watch the process of our True Being unfold. We allow plates to break.
We become willing to sweep up the pieces, throw them out and wait for direction. We open to change
as the arising of the new. We allow the death of old ways which no longer serve wellness.

New direction might emerge which thinking mind judges or interprets negatively. Sit with it, allow whatever arises
and give time for things to “shake out” and “settle”. The egoic mind will misinterpret and judge and cause itself to suffer.
Let this arise and pass. As we step onto new pathways, we might not see the “end” and wonder what we’re doing.
Allow the uncertainty without judging nor interpreting. Deep inside, we Know what feels true and we have the courage
to take each step which comes. This is the walk of faith many religions describe, allowing consciousness to act even
while thinking mind does not understand.

Awareness will bring the encouragement and the recognition that intellectual comprehension plays but a tiny part
in the expansion of That Which We Are. The body will survive or it will not, aspects of the human dream will die or continue,
yet We Are, simply and eternally. All we need know will be revealed in just the right timing for the unconditionally loving wisdom of beingness will take care of doingness.

We can rest in Freedom, even in the midst of change.

With You as Awakening Unfolds