Author: Ki McGraw

I faced the chilly day on my bike ride to see the dentist. Unlike the majority of adult Americans who have two untreated cavities in their mouth, I had a great checkup and cleaning. I do have two new chipped teeth from being kicked in the head unintentionally on Saturday by a beloved student.

Neither require any further attention, as they are not visible nor compromising my dental health. As I told my student after the incident, it’s an occupational hazard, as is peaceful energy, a strong and flexible body and a clear and focused mind. Overall, teaching is worth the drawbacks.

Is your job worth it’s drawbacks? Can you take time off to get your teeth cleaned and checked? Ki to Happiness smiles with clean healthy teeth as she works.

My mom’s voice message started with the old song, “Hi ho, Hi ho, it off to work I go.” She has tempered her grief over dad’s passing into a renewed commitment towards serving others. At her advanced age, she inspires many as she explores options for where to best serve.

It brings joy to my heart to hear her doing well, especially at this time of year while the holidays loom. Enjoying my experience, I’m having my own private Thanksgiving this morning. In gratitude, I further recommit to serving others as is part of my family’s tradition.

If you’re fortunate enough to live to an advanced age, what do you foresee doing with yourself? How may you serve best? Ki to Happiness foresees herself serving others in ways that will become clear at as the time arrives, based on skills and lessons learned along the way.

Today’s Scorpio new moon concludes the three day energy portal of great manifestation. We are given another opportunity to meditate on the energies we wish to transmute. Generally moving from fearful fragmentation, to peace and wholeness is my intention.

Gathering together our disparate aspects of self, we each become more effective in our intention. Aligning our actions with those intentions, we integrate our energies for manifestation. Holding a clear, unified vision of what you’d most like to create for the upcoming holidays is a good use of today’s new moon.

How peaceful would you like your holidays to be? What disparate energies do you need to transmute to align with that desire? Ki to Happiness shifts away from fears ever toward the safety of the Higher Self.

We observe Veterans Day weekend at the time of the energy portal, 11/11. Today and tomorrow the portal continues to stay wide open as we approach the new Moon. This gives us an opportunity to continue to transmute warring conflictual energies ever toward peaceful resolution.

Every veteran I’ve ever interacted with, including several family members, all want peace. I honor each and every act in the direction of peace. I thank those who serve as instruments of peace in every walk of life.

What kind of veteran are you? When and where have you served as an instrument of peacekeeping? Ki to Happiness thanks you all for your efforts toward peace.

Today’s date represents a portal. Energy is amply available for manifesting one’s truest desire. Like every other day, my desire is to manifest peace in my heart, in my home, with my family and community, and in the world at large.

This means digging at the root of anything, not peaceful. Removing participation in conflict and drama, energy can be directed toward resolution. While there are those who benefit from conflict, I choose to “put my weight on the other side”, as stated in the Yoga Sutras, through meditation and prayers for peace.

What do you wish to manifest? How can you best participate in that today? Ki to Happiness prays for peace to manifest today and every day.

The present global, cultural and societal issues bring me to my practices. I remember to “take the trash out” referring to removing thoughts and emotions that don’t serve my desire for peace and happiness. Yesterday, I needed to make that a literal reality.

Next door, there is an ignored trashcan that is stored under a set of steps to that building’s maintenance room. I dumped it over to drain the standing water so I could sort the trash, recyclables and compostable materials and carry them to their respective containers for proper disposal. In doing so, I released my emotions and transmuted them in alignment with my truest desire.

What “trash” do you need to take out? Can you transmute it into something valuable? Ki to Happiness practices repurposing emotions as energy that wants motion.

Bob and I took our lunch smoothies outside on our sunny deck. We sat bundled up in the cold brightness. Red, orange and pink maple leaves fell all around us in the gentle breeze.

Exposing as much skin as possible, we took in the vitamin D. Blessed with dry weather, we may have few opportunities to do so during these next dark months. We are fortunate to be able to adapt our activities to the natural rhythms.

Are you getting enough sunshine? Do you know how important vitamin D is for your immune system? Ki to Happiness recognizes the good fortune of being free to attune activities to nature.

On my way back from my walk, I saw dark smoke rising above my neighbor’s house. A terrible chemical smell permeated the area. As another neighbor left her house to enter her car, she expressed her concern about it to me.

I told her I would look into it, so she could continue on her way. Just then, yet another neighbor came up from the woods, demonstrating her concern. She and I went together, knocked on the door and found that all was well, as we learned that new wood burning safely in their stove for the first time this season was the culprit.

Do you know your neighbors? Whether or not you do, can you help each other? Ki to Happiness appreciates neighbors helping neighbors.

For most of us to change, there’s a need for what we’ve been doing so far to fail. If our present methods of dealing with our issues succeed, there’s a little motivation for trying another way. When we pray for others to change, the result is often a worsening of their conditions toward failure of their present means.

This is one way of interpreting the expression “be careful what you wish for”. Observing someone we love hitting bottom brings up our own sense of futility, helplessness, and hopelessness. As we learn to love and detach from the outcome of our loving, we may accept others as they flail and fail in confidence that the way to recovery often requires such. Withstanding those uncomfortable feelings, we embody faith in the Higher Self as it acts in its own timing and way through each of us.

What do you wish or pray for? Can you withstand the uncomfortable feelings that may result? Ki to Happiness wishes and prays for what Is, grateful and faithful for what may come.

I spoke with my brother, like I do on Sundays. His cats also had him up early earlier than necessary. While we lamented the autumnal ritual, we also appreciated its benefits.

It was much warmer for me as I sat outside, for privacy and freedom. Dawn had already broken bringing light and beauty to our chat. With greater light and warmth, my brother ventured out to find the celebratory package I sent him on his front steps and opened it so I shared in his delight.

What benefits have you noticed in the time shift? Can you choose to focus on that instead of the annoying drawbacks? Ki to Happiness chooses to focus on the benefits of the uncontrollable.