“There is no coming to consciousness without pain.” ~ Carl Jung


Very few things are simultaneously as loving and painful as a kneading cat. Believe me, I would know; my cat, Wizard, is a twenty-pound bag of melted sugar and he regularly dispenses his love through the rhythmic action of his lion-sized paws.

Yesterday morning I was in for another dose of loving – Wizard jumped up on my chest while I was laying down on the couch still wearing pajamas and began walking over me in circles, lovingly kneading his way to sleep. Being summer time, I was wearing thin satin pajamas, and his claws were pushing right through the material as easily as a knife slicing through butter.

He was too cute for me to push him away – his eyes were dreamy and he was purring madly – so I just held my breath whenever I felt pain. Thankfully, the slippery material caused him to slide down a couple of inches, and his paws came to rest where the shirt overlapped the pajama bottoms – instant relief! The double layer of material stopped his claws from reaching the skin. After a few moments of kneading pleasure, Wizard went to sleep. I laid there and rubbed his head, listening to him while he still purred in pure bliss. I was glad I didn’t interrupt his happy dance, as his loving actions provided a priceless portion of food for thought.

All along, Wizard never meant to hurt me – his intent was constantly motivated by love, regardless of the spot he was kneading. What made all the difference was not a change in his kneading pattern, but my own shield of protection provided by an extra layer of material.

Similarly, when we are hurt by someone’s words or actions, the pain we feel may not necessarily be caused by the words or actions themselves, but by our heightened sensitivity triggered in that particular situation. Salt poured over healthy skin is merely irritating, but it is downright excruciating when sprinkled over an open wound.

Taking notice of what upsets us allows us the opportunity to see the parts of ourselves that are in need of healing. I believe that certain people and situations are placed in our lives to help us grow and heal; when someone or something causes us to feel pain, we gain insight over a “sore spot” within ourselves that needs to be addressed.

Once the weak point is identified, steps can be taken to raise a better shield – it is impossible to heal something until we know what it is, the same way that we can’t fix something until we know what part of it is broken.

People speak and act out of their own sorrows and joys, rarely even knowing how deeply their actions and words will affect us, and by causing strife they show us our strengths and weaknesses. Once the weaknesses are dealt with, those words and actions will simply slide off like a cat on satin pajamas.

The Hidden Key

“Sometimes questions are more important than answers” ~ Nancy Willard

I recently asked a friend to paint a portrait of Elegba, the Saint of doors and crossroads, to display in my living room. When she brought the painting over I was speechless at the quality of it – the spirit is shown as a gentleman walking gingerly toward a natural crossing in the midst of a bayou, looking over his shoulder with a peaceful smile as he holds a silver-tipped cane in his hand.

The day she delivered her work (shown here), Pam told me she had painted a small skeleton key – about an eight of an inch in length – somewhere on the painting, but wouldn’t tell me where it is. Needless to say, I have stared at the blessed thing for hours, looking for the key with no avail.

Yesterday, while talking on the phone, I jokingly asked if she is ever going to tell me where the key is, and her reply was: “It’s there for sure, but if you can’t see it, it is probably because you are looking for the obvious. Solutions aren’t always obvious.”

She explained that while painting, she felt compelled to add a small key, but as soon as she did, her brush accidentally hit it and it became hard to see. She thought of fixing it, but immediately felt very strongly against it.

Having a key on this particular painting is very symbolic, as the spirit portrayed is known as the keeper of doors, and his seal is usually represented by an equally-armed cross with a skeleton key intersecting one of the arms. The four arms of the cross represent the directions one can walk, and are each associated to elemental forces, with the middle point being the home of Spirit. The key symbolizes that only one of the paths leads to solution.

After hearing what my friend told me, I realized that I really don’t need to know where the key is – I don’t have to see it to know it is there.

I thought of her words as well…’solutions aren’t always obvious’. We run around in circles, looking as hard as we can for a solution we can validate through our senses, but one isn’t always readily seen. Sometimes, stepping back a little and taking our focus off the problem allows us to see a greater portion of the picture, and thus the right path to walk.

So I’m no longer looking for the key, although a part of me struggles not to scan the painting whenever I walk by it. All I need to know is that a key is there; someday it will hopefully sparkle through the moss-dripping branches of the ancient trees.

Was Jesus a Leftist?

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?” ~ Matthew 5:43-47

I am very often labeled a “tree-hugging leftist”. For those who might wonder, I don’t hold a membership with PETA, I don’t belong to any activist group involved with the preservation of our environment, nor do I condone lack of self-responsibility and accountability. My qualification for the job is the mere fact that I don’t easily judge others and I embrace all, regardless of who they are or what they have done.

As I write these words, I can already imagine that some are mumbling the word “naïve”, so I have a question to ask – was Jesus naïve? Two thousand years after His incredible journey on earth, the great majority finds His embracing ways inspiring, and most who follow His teachings aspire to be able to live their life in the amazing footsteps He left. According to records, Jesus’ messages of equality, unity, unconditional love and lack of judgment spread quickly across the land, and were accepted by many - rich and poor, educated and illiterate. But, as a woman living in the 21st century, embracing the same concepts labels me as a “leftist”.

I am fairly conservative, and hold on tightly to what I believe are wholesome, important values, but I still choose to keep my mind open in order to tailor my views on an ever-changing pattern which is at the base of human evolution. I believe in preserving life in all forms, as I believe that each is one of the many faces of creation; I believe that humans are constantly having to choose between the pull of the ego and the guidance of Spirit, thus all humans have the potential of being good or evil; I believe that since half of each person is created by light, the best way to turn them away from the shadows is to feed them more light, regardless of how faint their flame is at the time I meet them; I believe in all people being the same gift just wrapped in different packages; And ultimately, I believe that we are all one – as long as we waste time fighting one another over meaningless issues we will never discover our true potential.

So, inquiring minds want to know - wasn’t Jesus hoping to spread these very same thoughts? He embraced thieves and prostitutes because he knew that deep down they were no different than a holy man – the only difference between them was the direction they had mistakenly taken, which could be reversed by changing paths on their journey.

I hope nobody is offended by these words, as I have no intention of stepping on anyone’s belief, but I have often wondered why we tend to mix politics and spiritual views, and would love to hear others’ opinions about this topic.