
“Go where your best prayers take you. Unclench the fists of your spirit ….”
“Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.”
~ Frederick Buechner, from Telling Secrets and Now and Then: A Memoir of Vocation
“Listen to your life … touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it.”
Life has a holy and hidden heart to it. Your life has a holy and hidden heart to it. My life does. Isn’t that a revelation?
Listening to Life. Considering that Life — and Life as it’s living and expressing through each of us and everything else — has a Life and holy heart of its own, but we can “touch, taste, smell (and listen)” our way to it.

Many of our long-ago ancestors had a sense of this, but it’s not the easiest wisdom for those of us in our talky talky, noisy, consumption-addicted, always-plugged-in, rush-rush-it’s-urgent, make-it-happen, control-freak culture, is it?
First, the notion that Life — including our own Life — has its own agenda, it’s own holy heart. I know; breathe.
And to make matters worse, Life’s agenda and holy-heart-yearning may be quite different than the ego-success agenda we think we’re supposed to be making happen because consumer-culture tells us so, which is enough to send most control freaks into spasms.

Secondly, the whole listening thing, which is not an area of mastery for a lot of folks — whether listening to one another or anyone else, much less Life itself — primarily because it’s a function of receptivity and stillness, among other things, and most are taught to constantly perform in order to succeed.
So listening to your life, or me listening to my life, might require a wee bit of a change in habit: first slowing, stilling, becoming receptive; and then listening, still receptive, and watching for clues and patterns that we, in our usual noisy hurry, miss because we’re just not paying attention.
I know from my experience that Life does have its own rhythm, its own pulse and wisdom, and its own timing. And if I sync up with that, it seems that grace and synchronicity flow more readily. And that’s a wondrous and yes, fun, thing.
When I push and wrench and hammer things — and this has happened more than I’d prefer to admit — it feels a lot more out-of-sync, a bit rougher, the way more impeded, the experience nowhere near graceful, and frankly it’s exhausting (yes, awhile back, I hit that wall going a thousand miles an hour, so have that handy lens of experience to draw from!).

So breathe, unclench the fists, loosen the grip, relax the delusions of complete control and of having to be perfect, and dare to believe that maybe, just maybe, there’s something even more wonderful taking shape in its wabi-sabi, freaky perfect-imperfection, and with a more graceful timing than anything we could push and hammer and wrench and chisel into place prematurely.
Maybe, just maybe, Life’s pretty smart, and wise, too, and knows where it’s going, and where we’re going with it.
And maybe, just maybe, that’s the secret to living into the intersection of where our joy meets the world’s need (to paraphrase Mr. Buechner on vocation).
“Breathe deep of the glad air and live one day at a time.” as he advised. Remember that you can trust the Divine, and Life.
There is a flow to it, and our wise, intuitive, receptive, responsive selves know how to navigate like that.
For many of us, this remembering is deep practice, day by day, and even minute by minute. But with practice, our recollection of it grows stronger.

If you’d like more nourishment from this stream of inspiration, follow your intuition and choose one (or all) of these:
On Restoring the World’s Lost Heart
Listening for and discerning purpose and vocation,
Crazy, Holy Grace, and/or
Our Deepest Calling (from The Wake-Up Juice).
I also created the Feminine Mojo audio programs to help each of us strengthen our intuitive, receptive, Feminine self, so you can tune in to those (the guided meditations are relaxing, too!).
But mostly, right now in this minute, breathe deeply of the glad air, gather back your energy from hither and yon, let the Holy Heart of Life move you, and let your heart and Life speak and guide you to its holy, hidden heart.
And I’ll practice into that, too. Deal?
Big Love and Happy Spring (or Autumn ‘down south’).
March 20, 2015 at 6:22 pm
Reblogged this on Blue Dragon Journal and commented:
Perfect… what I haven’t found the words to express myself… quite!
March 20, 2015 at 6:26 pm
Thank you for reblogging this post, Eliza! I appreciate that you shared it, and that it resonated with you. Blessings, Jamie
March 21, 2015 at 5:19 am
I, too, have only in recent years, learned — finally! — the lesson of ‘going with the flow.’ Pushing, forcing exerting every bit of effort only left me exhausted, frustrated, distressed! Indeed, Life, everything, has its own time and timing. Blessed be Jamie. <3 <3 <3 NadineMarie <3 <3 <3
March 21, 2015 at 3:22 pm
True enough, isn’t it NadineMarie? I still feel that old conditioning trying to grasp for control every once in awhile, which is when I know I need to gather back my energy and focus, breathe and heart-sync. Going with the flow is an exercise in trust … one of those Chiron in Pisces lessons in particular, it seems. 🙂 Do you find that living near the water helps you with that? xoxo Love, Jamie
April 4, 2015 at 11:38 pm
Certainly Jamie. Living near the water helps me going with the flow — that and much more! This is the only environment that not only can help me heal but make me thrive and come alive! 😀
April 5, 2015 at 7:38 pm
Beautiful, NadineMarie. You and one of our other readers have a particular affinity and love for the great healing wisdom and presence of the water! May the thriving continue. 🙂 Love, Jamie
April 5, 2015 at 11:39 pm
Lovely! Thank you Jamie! <3
March 21, 2015 at 6:03 am
Beautiful post Jamie. “Unclench the fists of our Spirit” once we do this, we can find our own rhythm as you suggest, listen and connect to the flow.
March 21, 2015 at 3:27 pm
Thank you, Karen. I’m glad it felt timely for you as well. No matter how long I’ve been practicing this, it still takes practice to ‘unclench the fists’ and trust Life, but drawing back to heart-and-center does help, as do these beautiful reminders that we share and find along the way. xoxo Love, Jamie
March 21, 2015 at 2:53 pm
Thank you Jamie and Happy Equinox ♥ This is so the process I am in right now — listening for clues as to where my Life wants to take me NOW. Just when I thought I had it all set and figured out, there seems to be a new path unfolding before me. Listening and letting go of my mind’s attempts to control the outcome or second guess my Holy Heart’s new destination is the practice of the day and the moment. I gained much encouragement and validation from reading this today. Blessings, Alia
March 21, 2015 at 3:30 pm
A happy Equinox to you as well, Alia, and thank you for your visit and your post. It does seem that quite a few of us are feeling this right now, doesn’t it? This shapeshifting and the need (or invitation, since we do have the choice to ignore it if we dare!) to still and listen and watch for the clues and omens. So Feminine!
“Listening and letting go of my mind’s attempts to control the outcome or second guess my Holy Heart’s new destination is the practice of the day and the moment.” Well spoken, and yes yes yes!
I’m glad you found validation and encouragement from the post, Alia. Thank you for all you share, too!
Happy Holy Listening. 🙂
Love,
Jamie
March 21, 2015 at 3:51 pm
Dear Jamie,
Your posts feel like a walk in the garden of the heart, blooming with beauty in the artwork, artistry in your words and quotes of others giving us readers a chance to meander, ponder, commune. Sophia is smiling upon us! Heartfelt thanks!
March 21, 2015 at 4:02 pm
You’re most welcome, and thank you, Sri Devi, for your generous words (and the spirit that moves them). I do love the garden metaphor, so thank you for sharing that as well. Sophia is smiling upon us. 🙂 Yes, and may it be so. Love, Jamie
March 23, 2015 at 12:47 am
Beautiful post.
March 24, 2015 at 4:20 pm
Thank you! (I just posted a thank you for the reblog, too.). xoxo Jamie
March 23, 2015 at 12:48 am
Reblogged this on The Almost Daily Thread.
March 24, 2015 at 4:20 pm
Thank you for reblogging this post on your Almost Daily blog! I appreciate it, and am glad that what came through resonated with you. Blessings, Jamie
April 18, 2015 at 12:26 am
Reblogged this on Pantheist Heritage.
April 18, 2015 at 12:28 am
Reblogged this on Industrial Civilization – A Cult of Death.
April 18, 2015 at 12:33 am
This is beautiful, thanks you ever so much. Reblogger on https://pantheistheritage.wordpress.com & also on https://industrialcivilizationacultofdeath.wordpress.com
April 18, 2015 at 4:43 pm
Thank you for visiting, Brandon, and for reblogging the post to share with your circle as well. I appreciate that. Blessings, Jamie