Catching a Glimpse...

This holiday, rather than attending bigger parties that I often frequent, I chose to spend time with family and friends at home, with great food and conversation. It was a rich time of asking questions, sharing stories and observations, confessing challenges, supporting each other with caring and love and a call to clarity. And the food! Oy…

So I enter this new year with a full heart, knowing that within the deeper conversation flows a life intelligence that is way beyond our understanding yet continues to guide all of us. I wish this for everyone, a trust that something beyond the human mind, the illusory egoic awareness, becomes more apparent in conscious awareness to all human beings, that we may awaken to the profound “Is-ness” that is life, nature, the way the Universe works.

We will never grasp this Is-ness fully, the human mind cannot. But we can catch glimpses that inspire us along the path. They can even drive radical transformations. This was one of things we talked about over the holidays. That with decades of practice, we may only catch glimpses of the ineffable, or the divine presence, or whatever we want to call it. But these glimpses impact us for our entire lives. As I listened to each person share, I was struck by how much we remember every detail of these moments, perhaps seeing it vividly in our minds as we recount the experience, and how they affect our current state. And they can certainly inspire us to change that which we know limits our human walk in this life. For me, they also wash over me with a touch of magic, and this feeling of magic is a particular enjoyment of mine that connects me with a larger presence. I call it Spirit, and it really inspires Gratitude.

These glimpses can open us to how different life species also experience this life force, this Is-ness. We look at plants and leaves in nature differently, maybe realizing that they are not striving to be more beautiful, more wealthy, more happy, less lonely. They just Are, and the natural intelligence, that we may call Is-ness or God or Divinity, or Universal Truth, or Buddha nature, or a thousand other names, fully exists in their life. They need sunlight, and water, and air, and they perfectly unfold themselves to drink in these natural elements and when it is time to die, they release. Are we listening?

For me, I’m also deeply touched by what I call Doggy Love. Yes, dogs (and cats and others) have become domesticated, and there is a whole history of that to acknowledge. But to experience the pure love of any animal that we bond with is, for me, profoundly moving. Because I watch how they love, and the unconditional nature of their love when all is said and done, after they have begged for their food and treats. They are steadfast. They seek connection, and they give it freely, without judgment. They teach us about that. They provide so many glimpses into what it means to offer love purely, to just be love.

So in this next year, how can we avail ourselves to catch a glimpse, to see the purity, the Is-ness, to be inspired by it, and to share it with others in ways that connect, support, and inspire?

Wishing everyone an Inspiring and Gratitude-filled 2025, Melanie

If you'd like to explore your own awareness and catch a glimpse, feel free to contact me at melanie@innertegrity.com, or go to www.innertegrity.com/sessions