As you walk the path of Love…

Posted on March 26, 2020 by AlianaAlani

Here’s a wee mantra type affirmation to consider as you choose to walk Love’s path each day…

See with the eyes of Love

Listen with the ears of Love

Feel with the heart of Love

Breathe with the breath of Love

Use it as your ‘check list’ to see where your head and heart are in each moment. And remember…

YOU – ARE – LOVE

each moment of each day, no matter what’s happening, no matter how it all looks.

So go on …

Be daring. Be the Love You Are.

Be well. Be happy. Share the joy.

Yes, even now … Especially NOW.

Namaste.

Blessings…

Posted on December 25, 2019 by AlianaAlani

This is a time of Love and of Light.

Drink from the cup of each reverently, letting the inner melody of both fill your heart until you are full to overflowing with the depth of wisdom and of caring each embodies, and then gently, kindly, share their blessings with your world. We will all be richer for it. As will you.

Blessings to you at this precious time.

It’s almost Solstice time!

Posted on December 17, 2019 by AlianaAlani

Winter Solstice – December 21st

For many, this is a time of reflection, renewal, even opportunity. For some, this year especially provides a window of great possibility – a door, perhaps, to a deep resonance of being where the veils lift a little, the heart opens a bit more, and a song of harmony begins to be heard, if you listen carefully.

Are you listening?

And so, the chance to meditate on all that truly matters. Not the humdrum chatter of the day, but the deep space love that lives within. To entertain its melody and dare to welcome it into the light of day. Yes, even if winter is upon us.

So go on now, meditate!

It is a time to kiss the blarney stone of love (Ireland’s going to love me for that one!) and serenade its story into the deepest corners of the heart. To watch its golden-threaded words weave their way, like fireflies of light, around the crooks and crannies of those scattered dreams, calling them back to life, maybe even now.

Go kiss that stone (well, not really) …

and dare to dream anew (okay, definitely try that one).

Yes, the Solstice is upon us. Take time to honour the power of its doorway, then if it feels right, let the love it can bring into your heart and your life. You’d be amazed at what might happen then.

rising sun

and remember – Love is the answer, always.

Prayers abound…

Posted on May 8, 2017 by AlianaAlani

TO ALL THOSE IN CANADA in flood-stricken areas, our prayers are with you.

To Quebec, the Gatineau, Ottawa, the Okanagan of BC, and regions in the Maritimes experiencing flooding – stay strong, stay as dry as you can, and know that we are with you in spirit as you go through this difficult time.

May the waters recede, the rains lessen, the lands dry. May kindness and caring prevail for you wherever you are. May strangers and neighbours be your helping hand, now and during the days of clean up ahead and those of building anew.

I am reminded of the lotus flower that births forth out of the depths of the watery mud to be share its magnificence, serenity, and beauty with us all.

Even now, in the midst of devastation, such birthing is possible. May it be yours.

lotus flower

No more…

Posted on April 9, 2017 by AlianaAlani

You will forgive me if I say – no more.
Forgive me, perhaps, as I turn away
From this game you seem unable, or unwilling,
To leave behind.

I have stood watch over your thirst for conquest.
Soothed your wounds of battle with my tears.
Mourned your spirits passing, bodies left in the cold of dark.

Many times the heavens turned, showering love
Like fertile seeds within the winds of sorrow
Upon the fields of story – your story
That you seem unable, or unwilling, to leave behind.

Many times did you drink from their cup gladly,
Relishing the moment, healing, even gratefully,
Only then to forget, yes again.

I have come more times than you can possibly imagine
To speak for love instead of hate
To light the way for gentler tomorrows,
And still it continues.

So you will forgive me, perhaps,
If I say – no more.

No more will I lament your passing nor watch
Sweet souls tumble to a blood-strewn earth.
No more will I bury your bones within the stars of light
That you may come to your senses and remember.

This game of war is yours and yours alone.
The courage to peace, to change, lives within.
It has always been thus, but this time it is up to you.
For next time, beloveds, you will be on your own.

You will forgive me, perhaps.
I will not come again.

Quotes to ponder … a new page

Posted on February 1, 2017 by AlianaAlani

I’ve just put up a new page called, Quotes to Ponder.

Every month, I’ll be posting new quotes, adding or taking down some, and then at the end of month, changing it all.

It is my hope that midst all of them, you will discover some gem that inspires you, encourages you, and then helps contribute to a more thoughtful, loving, and compassionate life for you and those around you.

Check it out from time to time. It’s there for you.

for New Zealand…

Posted on November 13, 2016 by AlianaAlani

This article (and its added poem, which I posted here years ago) is long, so I hope you will hang in and continue reading. And if it strikes a chord in your heart, please share. It is my feeling that New Zealand could use your prayers today.

I AWOKE THIS MORNING to learn of the latest earthquake in New Zealand, a country that, as many know, is prone to such things. Some report it as a 7.5, others as a 7.8. Either way you look at it, it was large. Unlike the Christchurch earthquake, this one was inland and deeper. It was also bigger. The subsequent aftershocks have been large, shallow, and some have migrated northward. And there have been beginning tsunamis and casualties.

BACKTRACK, IF YOU WILL, to 2011. This time I wasn’t on the other side of the ocean. I was landing in Auckland – two hours after the Christchurch earthquake hit. As I watched the story unfold day after day for the next two weeks with all its aftershocks and increasingly bleak coverage, and as I personally walked small forest trails and ocean’s black sands, stared at calm sunsets and wild cloudy skies, I found myself touched beyond measure.

THIS WRITING BELOW feels as important to me now as it did then. As I read it again, I couldn’t help but feel that tucked within, there is perhaps a message for us all. It is a small homage to the spirit and heart of the Land of the Long White Cloud and of its people. New Zealanders, in my experience, are a strong kind people. That doesn’t mean your prayers and caring aren’t needed. So again, if this writing touches you, feel free to pass it on. Perhaps in the telling its heart song will help ease the way a little.

Digital Camera

LAND OF THE LONG WHITE CLOUD

©Aliana Alani 2011

LAND OF THE LONG WHITE CLOUD – AOTEAROA – Where stories linger like slender strings of tiny ocean pearls within your billowy sleeves of cloudlike memory. Where sky and sea walk hand in hand and in their mirage-like mist worlds both old and new appear to hover, and on their very edges ethereal doors stand ready to be entered, to share gifts perhaps waiting to be given. Is it but a dream to feel this way? And yet somehow, I think not.

Kia Ora, you say.

Aloha, I answer. For that is what I know in my heart.

Heart – the door you offer, at least to me – the chance to enter a land of ancient openness and be at peace, to walk with ease again along the corridors of time. As if a jewel had been here patiently waiting to be retrieved and lived anew. Strange to find you now, for I have landed on your shores when the earth is rumbling mightily and the ring of shifting sands and olden fissures is making itself known. Breaking through the seeming solidness of life and coughing up its innards for the entire world to see.

Kia Kaha, you say, for you have been through this before and know no fear.

Is that the opportunity, when all else falls away, to know no fear? To know that life always begins anew, that if we open our hearts and trust the birth, it can perhaps be even better than before, that we are strong in spirit no matter what?

I am touched by the hearts of people on this land of yours, Oh Long White Cloud. Touched by their generosity and kindness in the midst of devastation – their willingness to reach out and help another. It is the humaneness within humanity, is it not – to offer aid without question or condition? Too often we forget this as we stride our world of ever-increasing gadgets and sound bites. Your people are helping us to remember.

Ke Aloha Aotearoa, your beauty is astounding. Gods have walked upon your earth and fished in your waters. Songs have been sung in your honour and winds have dashed your shores. Mountains high and long have risen dressed in snowy garments. And films have told stories of Middle Earths and Hobbit kingdoms. You are part of a realm we now call, The Pacific. But somehow you are part of something else as well. It lives within the very fabric of your air, and hence within the fabric of your people. Amongst all else, it is a strength of heart and the never-ending ability to dare to weave new story into life, no matter what. A wondrous gift this is for the world to see and feel. Thank you for bringing it to our table.

Kia Kaha, Aotearoa, Land of the Long White Cloud. Kia Kaha New Zealand.

You are loved.

The Man and The Angel

Posted on October 14, 2016 by AlianaAlani

*This wee story looks long but it really isn’t, so hang in there. And thanks for that!

The man and the angel were sitting on the fence drinking tea. The kind that helps you see more clearly. The man thought it was your everyday ordinary black tea. The angel knew otherwise. They were sitting on a lovely stone fence, the kind with rocks and moss and tiny pretty flowers peeking out. It was a grand day. A day of sunlight upon green grasses. One could almost say that it was magical. Not a dark cloud in the sky.

The angel hovered in thought, picking his moment. The man waited. He could feel something coming. After all, they’d had these chats before.

“It’s a grand day.” The angel said, stating the obvious.

“Aye, it is.”

“You’re fond of grand days, are you not?”

“I am.”

“It would be a shame for that to change.” The angel threw that out gently.

The man fussed a little within. He didn’t take much to round-about conversations. “And why, for the love of God, would that change? Other than your occasional storm, that is.”

The angel let out a sigh. “The words of the world are spinning into a great tempest, my friend. Soon all the ranting and raging will erupt like an angry volcano. What will happen then will depend largely on what happens now.”

“You’re talking in riddles again.”

“Then I’ll be direct.” The angel smiled. The man nodded, though he inwardly knew it was highly probable that he was not going to like what was to be said at all at all. “You didn’t come here for this – all this fighting and fuming, this destroying of things.”

“I thought you said we came here to learn.”

“You did. But you came here to remember who you are more. Besides, do you not think you’ve learned about destruction enough? It would seem to us that you acquired a PhD in it lifetimes ago. All you’re doing now is circling the wagons of remembering. What’s to learn in that?”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“Am I? Even if I was,” the angel sighed again, “the point is this – you’re running out of time. You must come home to your true being now. You came to this exquisite planet to participate in all of its beauty, not destroy it, so that you could open to the garden of life that exists within yourself and all creation, and in so doing, dare to dive into the deepest caverns of your own heart so that you would know, beyond question or doubt, that you, YOU, my friend, are indeed divine love incarnate.”

Your man blushed. “Aye, well I wouldn’t go that far. I’m a fair enough lover, I’ll grant you that, but…”

“You know what I’m saying.

The man nodded. “And if we dive into that deep heart? What then?”

The angel smiled. “Then you’re home – wherever you are.”

The man swirled that one around in his mind. “Will it really make a difference?”

“It will to you.”

He grinned. “And what happens to one happens to all.”

The angel looked him straight in the eye. “You could say that.”

The man thought about it for a moment, feeling the impact of the angel’s gaze, then he took a colossally deep breath and popped down off the fence, straightening his jacket as he landed, as if he was about to meet God Himself. “Right then, I’ll give it a go.” He paused, turned to the angel. “But you’d best hang around for awhile – to make sure I get it right.”

“As you wish.”

With that, they sauntered together, the man and the angel, with a glint and a laugh, into the light of the green grasses and the soft air of tomorrow today.