Beach Runs, Beauty, Reading, And Faith

Today I went in search of a nice long beach to run on.  I found one that goes all the way to the next town north 8 miles away.   The only barriers are creeks that you have to forge but nothing too deep as they flow out into the ocean.  Running on a beach is so nice because it is easy on the legs and just right for a running mindfully (This way I won’t trip over rocks or roots as I tune inward.) 

Between here and the nearest town there must be at least a half dozen state parks and places to hike into the hills or down to the beach.  The nearest town is Yachats, which name comes from the native people and it means “dark waters.”  The view of the ocean from the surrounding Coastal Range must have seemed much darker compared to the rivers and streams.  There is so much natural beauty here that I am in awe.

My readings have all been supporting my inner work since I got here.  Ram Dass’s book Be Love Now, Hilda Charlton’s Saints Alive, and Michael Singer’s The Untethered Soul all have been sharing their wisdom with me and inviting me to further awaken as I read and explore this place.  When you and I mix the richness of the interior of each of us, then toss in some inspirational and enlightening reading, and add this place that naturally calls a person higher and it is so easy to heal and expand.  This healing brings wholeness and more light to the world.

In Be Love Now Ram Dass provoked a question in me that I need to now spend some time exploring.  He said with his Guru Maharaj-ji he had total faith and when things get rough he can fall back on that faith.  I thought, what do I have that kind of faith in?  Is faith necessary in tough times to more easily make it through?  I need to explore this question of faith.  My initial response is that I have faith in the power of love and the power of consciousness.  There is no guru, Buddha or religion for me to turn to, so can I turn to my heart or to the part of me that is in unity with all things?