frog prince

millie shows me a toad, squatting in the mud, hiding beneath the leaves.  the toad stands up and turns into a man, then squats back down into a toad.  it goes back and forth several times.


"we are all a blend of the light and the dark, the positive and the less so.  the contrast between the two gives us depth, dimension.  you hide from yourself the parts of you that you consider ugly, undesirable.  look at those parts.  honor them as part of your experience in the universe.


you can shift the way you interact with your darker parts, be less controlled by them, be more aware of their presence and what they bring to the mixture that is you.  but don't hide from yourself.  don't judge yourself by the darkest parts of you.


you are a beautiful blend of dark and light.  honor that.  honor you.  honor the blend in others.  don't focus on the dark.  try not to see things as black and white, but the shades and shapes and colors that make up who we are.


accept yourself so that you can accept others.  love yourself.  all of you."

thank you, millie.

raindrops

"each individual raindrop is small and seems insignificant, but together they can add up to mighty rivers, great lakes, massive floods."

the raindrops represent each of us as individuals, and they also represent the amount of growth we achieve, or information we take in at a time.


"the drops also represent your thoughts and actions.  the ripples stretching away from each raindrop as it hits the surface are the energetic resonance of your thoughts and actions.  thoughts and actions do not stop at the boundary of you and everything else, they resonate far beyond you."

she shows me a human sitting in water in the rain, the human dissolves and becomes part of the water, and then re-forms as a human.  she shows me this dissolving and reforming several times.


"your rain barrel, your personal store of knowledge and experience is at once distinct and also part of the whole.  water is water, where ever you find it it has the same physical and chemical properties, whether it is in a glass, or a steel tank, or a pond.  you can contain it differently, but it is all water, and all water knows itself.


the rain, the water that comes your way, is nothing new.  it is all a reminder, an awakening of what you already know, what you already are."

thank you, millie.

spring

millie shows me a flower, in time-lapse photography, the whole progression from seed to beautiful flowering plant.  clouds are rushing by, rain, sun and darkness are coming and going.


"spring is a time of accelerated growth, a good time to be intentional about your change.  you can leave behind the old, heavier, parts of you, the parts that don't serve you anymore.  it is effortless to leave them.  don't chop or prune or hack these parts off, just outgrow them.  step away from the old.  aim your energy and growth in the direction of your highest good."

the picture shifts to a jack-and-the-beanstalk type plant, growing rapidly, shooting into the clouds.


"grow.  the sky's the limit."

thank you, millie.

oranges

millie shows me two oranges.  one has a thick peel and the fruit inside is dry and tasteless.  the other has a thin peel with juicy, full fruit.


"energy that goes into your peel is unavailable for your fruit.  put your energy into yourself, not your shell.  focus on your juice, not your peel."

I love the food analogies, they make so much sense!

thank you, millie.

unfold your fan

millie shows me a delicate japanese fan with beautiful artwork.  then she closes it.


"you all walk around with your fans folded, hiding your true selves, so that you look as much as possible like everyone else."

the fan opens part way, then snaps shut.  there is a feeling of fear.


"fans are not as pretty when they are closed.  they aren't functional when they are closed.  humans are the same way.  open your fan.  you function better when you are open.  it takes a lot of energy to close yourself off, let go of the fear and use that energy for a positive purpose."

I associate total openness with lack of boundaries, over-sharing, lots of negative things.


"everyone has boundaries.  physical, energetic, emotional boundaries.  the problem isn't that boundaries are lacking, but that people fail to observe them.  do what you need to do to keep yourself comfortable, but know that you can occupy your own physical and energetic space in such a way that others do not intrude.  


this is a separate issue from your openness.  you can be open and also fully occupy your space, with no reactivity or defensiveness, you simply own your space and others cannot affect that."

it seems that we look outside of ourselves when we should be looking in, and vice-versa.


"that is a side effect of living so many lifetimes in a purely physical, body-based world.  you forget what is possible.  you lose touch with some of your tools.  as you re-integrate as a spirit in body, these tools will become more available to you."

so I'm guessing my use of these tools will not prevent others from over-sharing.


"no.  but it will help you not to be bothered by that.  and it will help you to maintain your own space, with your own energy, which always feels right and good.  the energy of others, whatever that may be, will not enter your space."

that does sound good.


"as you move through the world, sure of your space, comfortable in your space, you can let go of fear.  scary things may come, but they cannot enter your space."

that sounds great!


"you can do this.  you already do it.  when the fear gets into your space, it is because you agree with it.  when you agree with it, you accept it, you allow it, and it comes in.  try just looking at the fear from a neutral place.  don't agree.  don't resist.  just look.  see what happens.


let go of fear and it will let go of you.


open yourself to life, to each other, to the real, full you.  unfold your fan."

thank you, millie.

community

millie shows me a boat with people rowing.


"when you all row in the same direction, with the same intent, there is progress and ease.  when you row in different directions, there is discord and stress.


you are all in the boat together.  whether you choose to row together or not is a function of individual free will."

what about our desire to place ourselves first?  how does that rock the boat?


"you live in a community.  most of you live in several communities.  you row with your communities to the extent you choose to.  there is a delicate balance between rowing for yourself alone and rowing for your community.  enlightened self interest dictates that you row for your community in order to row for yourself.  there is power in the actions of the many that is not present in the action of the one."

so we can row for everyone and ourselves at the same time?


"that is the most effective way.  find the intersection of you and everyone else and put your energy there.  it doesn't take away from your individuality, it multiplies you and your effort in the world."

thank you, millie.

pay attention to the small stuff

millie shows me a small ladybug crawling up my leg.  it stops on my knee and starts to speak in millie's voice.

"sometimes the information that comes your way is small and subtle."

the ladybug starts to dance, complete with top hat and cane.  then it stops and looks at me.


"it isn't going to dance a jig to get your attention.  to receive your information, just be open to it.  make space for it in your life.  the more space you give it, the easier it will be to see and understand.


don't work at it.  don't hunt for it.  just listen and wait.  notice it when it comes.  acknowledge it and let it go on by.  let it land on you like a butterfly, like a gift.


actually, it is not so rare as a butterfly landing on you, more like lightening bugs on a summer evening.  the information is everywhere.  when you look in one direction and see bugs flash all over the place, then you look somewhere else and see more of them flash, it is like information readily available wherever you look.  open yourself.  be grounded.  be centered.  pay attention."

thank you, millie.