Cheryl Lafferty Eckl's Blog, page 4

A Thanksgiving Blessing to Share

Especially at the holidays, if I am asked to offer a blessing before a special meal, I feel called to share these words from the person of the Divine Mother I called Gaia in my poetry.

As we give gratitude for the bounty of our tables, may we also say a prayer for those who have suffered great loss of home, family, cherished animals. In these episodes of heartbreak, I do believe the veil between our worlds thins. May we all live long enough to see the Here and Over There come together in days of peace & joy.

Love & blessings from my heart to yours, Cheryl (Listen to the audio recording)

Gaia’s Blessing

May our Home always be

the sanctuary to which you return

after every earthly sojourn.

May you carry a Garden frame of mind

and heart to any world that calls to you.

May you cherish all living things

as elements of your True Self.

May you always know the peace

of ineffable Love and Joy

that are the Garden’s pure delights

and gifts of perfect healing for all time.

May you feel the gratitude

of spirit beings and earthly ones

who recognize there is a bridge

between the Here and Over There.

And may you live to see the day

when the veil between our worlds

dissolves.

from Idylls from the Garden of Spiritual Delights & Healing

(c) Flying Crane Press, all rights reserved.

The post A Thanksgiving Blessing to Share appeared first on Cheryl Eckl.

Responding Appropriately

The Wise Inner Counselor is the mediator between the material and the spiritual—possessing access to ways of knowing our human minds do not.

Our Inner Pilot sees into past, present and future as a unity, perfectly directing us moment by moment in response to changing circumstances.

The more attuned we are to this timeless flow of guidance, the more trustworthy we become. And the more able to respond with love, wisdom and the appropriate amount of power in any given situation.

Making the Still, Small Voice Louder

The post Responding Appropriately appeared first on Cheryl Eckl.

Twin Flames? Soul Mates? What Happens When They Meet?

We long for reunion with our soul’s source—for wholeness, for the perfect love, for the one person in the universe who will completely understand us, support us, and help us create the balance of body, mind, and spirit we know we need.

Does that person exist? Probably not, except in fictional romances. And yet—our souls remember—we were created out of wholeness. We know we have a twin flame somewhere. We just have to find that special someone.

Supposing our paths do cross, we recognize each other, and experience once more an exquisite love. Then what? Or what if we meet and discover we don’t really like each other? Then what? 

In The Weaving, Sarah & Kevin must answer these questions and more. Will their present-day experience of love-at-first-sight sustain them through challenges, quarrels, and misunderstandings begun in ancient lifetimes? Only time will tell.

In this entertaining video you will learn more about why twin flame relationships can be difficult, why soul mate relationships may be easier—and how I, as the author, had to let the characters in The Weaving speak for themselves. Theirs is a story we are eager to share with you.

Buy Now! 

The Weaving: A Novel of Twin Flames Through Time

by Cheryl Lafferty Eckl | Flying Crane Press

ISBN: 978-0-9970376-5-4 | $15.95 paperback

ISBN: 978-0-9970376-6-1 | $7.95 e-book

The post Twin Flames? Soul Mates? What Happens When They Meet? appeared first on Cheryl Eckl.

Much More Than All Hallows Eve

Samhain (SOW-in) was much more than a celebration involving both faery folk and humans. It was also a time when those who knew of such things began a pilgrimage into their deepest soul connection with the spirit world. Over the next seven weeks they sought purification and enlightenment so that the darkest night of the year would find them filled with light.

How will you celebrate Samhain this year? Perhaps by listening to the poem.

Samhain

The new year starts with mist and wind

as faery folk (the Aos Sí)

come dancing out of hillside mounds

into twilight gardens

to gaze through brightened windows

at the humans holding court within,

who forgot the veil is thin tonight

and not again till springtime

will they see with such perception

into Spirit lands of Love and Light.

The clocks roll back in modern times

as if to beg for one more hour

before the dark days settle in

and mystery o’ertakes the thoughts

of old and young who now prefer

to wander in a neon world

that honors neither soul nor sprite

but looks for answers in metallic realms

that harden hearts to woodland views

and mask the Otherworld’s bright joy.

To light a bonfire in the heart

is the task of this festive ritual,

for safety’s sake to foster

deep soul communion

that opens insight into double worlds

and guides the seeker over dusky roads

that must be trod through the Unknown

if one is to reach a threshold

of long-sought soul awakening.

For ancients understood Samhain

as more than revelry and fun

to keep the faery folk at bay

lest tricksters spoil the year’s best fruits.

The wise ones saw it as the start

of a pilgrim’s trek of seven weeks

twixt harvest time and Solstice eve,

a secret journey revealed to few,

each week an opportunity, a choice, a key

to stoke more fire of inner Light

from base to crown in sacred circles

to realize one’s radiant Self

at Midwinter’s celebration.

from Bridge to the Otherworld (c) Flying Crane Press

The post Much More Than All Hallows Eve appeared first on Cheryl Eckl.

When the Veil Thins…

For the Celts, Samhain (pronounced SOW-in) was a time of deep spirituality when the veil between worlds thinned so that residents of this world and the next were in close communion. Samhain was also the beginning of the Celtic new year, when winter was coming—a time to gather around the home fires to celebrate kinship and commemorate the dead.

The local seanchaí would be on hand for the telling of epic tales and the singing of songs. And both children and adults would wear masks while they visited each other’s homes hoping for treats and only a few tricks by the faeries and other spirit beings who frolicked about.

This poem astonished me when it emerged. What do you think it’s about? (Listen here)

Paso Doble – Spirals in the Dark

It’s safe in here, she says to herself.

The door is locked, the windows barred,

no way for the creature

to gain entrance

to my sanctuary.

Lotus-posed, she seals her peace

with chant and charm—

impervious at last.

Ears stopped, shields up,

lest the howling without

jar her careful quiet.

But what knock has howl become?

What pounding now

that her studied protection

will not drown?

Be still! she shouts.

You are not welcome in my den.

Have you no respect for sorrow?

A minute’s peace is all I ask.

Why won’t you go away?

A breath, a beat, a space, a pause—

And then a curdling cry

that shakes her house

to its foundation.

Too much, too much, she bleats.

You’ve pushed me far enough!

Irate, door flung open, windows ajar,

eyes wide, ears perked,

looking out, surprised—

at nothing after all.

Slowly she closes the door.

Latches, locks, and shutters the portal

in satisfied relief.

Then turns with sudden shock

into the face of two fierce eyes

glowing gold

above the snarling snout

that threatens to devour her.

Circling ’round each other now,

never breaking eye contact,

they move first left, then right

in ever-tightening spirals.

Closer and closer

until he rises up

and snatches her to his breast—

not into his glistening maw,

but to his heart in wild embrace.

And to her great astonishment—

they dance.

Listen as Cheryl reads Paso Doble – Spirals in the Dark

from Poetics of Soul & Fire, (c) Flying Crane Press

The post When the Veil Thins… appeared first on Cheryl Eckl.

Meditation on Thresholds & Bridges

These thoughts are for anyone who has ever lost a loved one—which is just about everybody I know.

Ten years since Stephen’s passing. A decade, which feels significant. Tomorrow, October 15, is the anniversary. Solar Return at 11:30 a.m. But ten years ago today, October 14, was the day that Stephen went into silence. Today was the bridge—the transition place where full leave-taking was in process. Active dying. That in Stephen’s case was very still.

Lots more activity on my part—as always, he would say. I was getting his physical form ready for the journey. All cleaned up and ready to go. That was my day ten years ago. Both of us as prepared as one can be to step across the threshold into our new lives. His as the spirit who would still be attending me all these years later. Mine as the writer who would stay to tell our story. And many stories, as it turned out.

Threshold images hold great power for me these days. Doorways, openings from one space to another. And bridges.

Those spans that reach across marshes, bogs, rivers, streams. All those middles-of-nowhere we suspect might trap us in nothingness or despair if we let them.

Of course, time—and what we do with the time that loss presents—teaches us that we ourselves become the bridge. And on each side we embrace a threshold of the heart that lets us go at the ending where the next bridge begins and gathers us into a new beginning where that bridge ends.

We complete this transition many times, as I am reminded in this moment of contemplation.

Today, ten years on, I stand upon another bridge, ready to enter more deeply my heart’s threshold into the next phase of living, loving, learning.

A bridge’s final step is the hardest, the most filled with longing for the past and trepidation for the future. Even as shafts of golden illumination beam out from tomorrow’s threshold with shining possibilities, I must gather all my courage for another round, another cycle of promises yet to be fulfilled before the sun returns once more to its point of origin.

And I remind myself again—the sun returns in hope. With happiness at its core and encouragement in its light rays that reach out to me as hands of unfailing support, no matter where I walk.

The post Meditation on Thresholds & Bridges appeared first on Cheryl Eckl.

Prayer for a Soul Friend

On a recent tour of Ireland with the incredible folks at Celtic Consciousness, I had occasion to read one of my favorite poems from Poetics of Soul & Fire to the lovely group of friends shown here. Traveling with people who hold strong intentions for kindness, courage, compassion, mystery and adventure is, to my mind, the best way to experience a new place your soul already knows as home.

Click here for a reading of the poem. Transcript is below. Come, walk with us a while.

Blessings, Cheryl

Prayer for a Soul Friend

Anam Cara—that’s how the Celts called

the friend who will see you naked,

unblemished by the world

or your own misconceptions.

We humans suffer from mistaken identity—

assuming ourselves to be other than

the brilliant soul created by Love

and acting as unworthily as we

believe ourselves to be.

Soul friends know otherwise—

and slip into our lives

to push, prod, humor, and cajole us

to look into their eyes and see

the image of our loveliness

mirrored back in purity’s reflection.

This is gnosis—unschooled knowing—

recognition deep and sudden

that, at its core, bears no conditions,

urging only courage, kindness, and

attunement with each soul’s pledge

to higher purpose.

All we really have in this life is time;

and no one has tapped clear prophecy

to give us the measure of that interval.

Such is the way of anam cara that

cycles may be fleeting and

lessons more than we can bear—

or so we think.

But soul friends know that time

is naught when put to use

in loving our togetherness and

cherishing the ties that bind us

heart to heart—no matter what.

Our beloveds may lift off this plane,

leaving us to mourn their flight;

but gentle ears detect a whisper,

reassuring those who grieve

that lovers once may be lovers again.

For Love awakened cannot help but find its self

renewed and recreated

in life’s sweet gift of a new companion

who comes to share the path we choose

to journey home together.

Who would not pray for such a partner—

if even for a little while?

(c) 2015 Flying Crane Press, all rights reserved.

The post Prayer for a Soul Friend appeared first on Cheryl Eckl.

Grounded in Reality

 The Wise Inner Counselor is practical because it is grounded in reality. Not theoretical, but actual.

Inner Knowing is not magic—though it may seem so in those flashes of brilliance that transcend mental struggle and synthesize myriad details into an elegant, holistic solution. Instead, we soar to Wisdom’s heights on the wings of a firm foundation in the realities of life in and around us.

In many cases, the Wise Inner Counselor shines through the skills afforded by careful training, depth of experience and focused knowledge. When under the guidance of the Inner Pilot, those factors can save the day.

Learn more about your Wise Inner Counselor

The post Grounded in Reality appeared first on Cheryl Eckl.

Why Organize?

It is no mistake that our companies are called organizations. If a thousand or even forty employees had to decide each day when or where or if to work, performing disconnected tasks willy-nilly, employees and managers alike would feel like mama mallards trying to get the ducklings to line up.

Little would actually get accomplished. And if it did, probably no one would notice.

We organize to implement our ideas, to give shape to our endeavors, to align our industry with goals and to harmonize our interactions to accomplish more as a group than we could as separate individuals.

The Danger of Form for Its Own Sake

Too much focus on form can sidetrack us from our original purpose. Once we identify the components of an idea or project or company, it is tempting to spend more time maintaining the form than creating the content it was designed to support.

A friend of mind who coaches entrepreneurs says they understand this principle. They need just enough structure to implement their ideas. And they often sell a company as soon as it becomes successful because it is the nature of growing organizations to become complex and cumbersome.

The necessary addition of more staff and facilities can lead to the implementation of bureaucratic policies and procedures that stifle innovation. Especially if leaders fail to understand that organization originates to support process, not the other way around.

Learn more about Doing Great Work in Any Occupation

The post Why Organize? appeared first on Cheryl Eckl.