There are so many paths to becoming the ocean…so many ways to inch closer to realizing what we truly are and even more ways to forget and be human. Leonard Cohen left us with an abundance of blessings to inspire us to keep inching towards Becoming and to comfort and be with us when our humanness gets in the way. Thank you so very much Mr. Cohen for sharing your eternal spirit with the world in so many ways.
Love is always a choice. It is the only real thing that exists. It dwells in every thing just waiting to be accessed. It is easy to forget that truth and get swept up in other illusions. But once we remember, it is even easier to get back into the frequency of love…within.
Reading this old favorite – The Frequency of Love has blessed me so much this week. The Universe sent it back to me and I am so grateful. I send it out to you hoping it may bless you in some small way too. May you take the time to read it and find that place within you that vibrates in the frequency of love…your most natural state.
Love will immediately enter into any mind that truly wants it.
(p. 55) – A Course in Miracles
Sending you love and joy!
“Living together is an art.” I love these words strung together in the way they are below. Thich Nhat Hanh says it so well.
It’s lovely to consider how I may listen well to those I live with and contribute more fully to their everyday happiness. Even with my good intentions, it may be easy to miss the mark on the thing I value most…loving presence and peace in the moment with my sweet little family. So easy to get busy and full of ambition that makes the sweetness of the moments dull at times…
One may also consider how to see the good intentions of others and choose the mindfulness in the moment to bring more peace, joy, love and “happiness” to the art of living together well. Maybe holding others to our perceived “happiness” requirements simply robs us of the joy within the moment waiting there to bless us.
May we all live well together in the truest happiness that is the present moment! Sending love and joy!
Sometimes when you find yourself on a spiritual seeking endeavor or a “path” towards enlightenment or simply trying to become the best version of yourself you leave part of you behind. With the best intention I kind of did that a few years back. I thought attachment to “my story” would only have been from the ego and I did my best to set it aside and not feel attached to it any longer. Even as I look at the “about” section and “my story” page within it on my blog I realize that although what I wrote seemed like truth for me at the time, it isn’t quite all there really. It’s some words I thought wouldn’t offend anyone or ruffle any feathers or take me down the attachment to old wounds road. I did acknowledge that I wasn’t really into my story anymore and offered a brief one anyway. I can see now that there will be some editing to be done in the future. I won’t scrap the old one, I’ll just keep updating it with the journey and the willingness to do so becomes my real story.
I do love being old enough now to lean back and see how everything has worked in my life so far and I couldn’t feel more grateful for all of the life lessons. I can feel the evolution of things and the miracles and beautiful way they fit together are astounding. I love the tough stuff as much as the rest; even more perhaps. Although, it is nice that my “problems” are much more tolerable these days than they once were and my more recent stories never end with a traumatic and awkward twist as the old ones sometimes do. 🙂 Over the last year I realized that I had abandoned a part of me that needed some nurturing. Many things happened that opened old wounds and took me back to remembering things I had blocked out and practically forgotten. I recently felt so deeply that I needed to nurture that version I had abandoned. I hate the idea of the wounded inner child dominating the future or even one moment of the Now we are truly meant to live though, so I was at a bit of a crossroads trying to figure it out.
I accidentally (there are no accidents) stared a childhood monster in the face via a mug shot on the internet recently. I found myself completely reacquainted with the frightened little girl who once lived inside me that I had known so well. Being somewhat comforted at the thought that that particular monster couldn’t get me anymore and realizing that I had been living with some fear of that happening someday, I quickly found a brave side of me allow myself to reach out to forgotten family members and lost childhood relationships I may have been able to have without that fear. A baby-step reach out, but at least something. I realized how much family I have lost over the years for various reasons. I remembered things I had completely forgotten. I knew there was work to be done to help me circle back and nurture my abandoned self while maintaining all the presence and wisdom from the many years of constantly seeking evolution since.
I’d been reading various things and one book had suggested recalling your specific hell-and-back to identify your tribe and the specific things you could help others through. In fact, these sentiments may have started the whole remembering process and “accidental” confrontation of old trauma. I knew that my future and my finding and answering my true calling depended on my willingness to look at the past with healthy detachment without outright abandonment of the wounded self. So there I was working with the past three books, making my own so-called workbook to really live the lessons I was learning. I was building confidence and praying for presence and consciousness while recalling and reliving old trauma with the intention to bring healing to myself and others all the while.
In comes… the Artist’s Way. A Lifeline! Pure Love from the Universe!
I am indeed very grateful for this blessing that came into my life several years ago called the Artist’s Way. It was given to me by a dear friend and sat patiently on my shelf for over six years or so. A few weeks ago it was pulsating on the shelf and screaming at me to pull it down and experience it. I had already chosen my next read, but felt the pull towards it so strongly as I randomly walked past the bookshelves that night. Thank goodness I listened and felt all that the Universe was trying to bless me with.
I knew nothing of what the book was about, it hadn’t really spoken to me when I first received it and from then on it simply looked pretty on the shelf. It had never been the right time. From the second I grabbed it that night, I knew it was meant for me now at just the right time. It turns out that it is a twelve week endeavor to recover your creative self. It is hard for me to put into words just how perfect it is for me now.
As I said, the whole wounded inner child thing really turns me off and feels like a step back rather than forward. However, as I have shared, I knew there was work along those lines to be done and I was (and still am) willing to do it. This gift of the Artist’s Way is so lovely. It matches my best intentions perfectly and provides the path that is in line with all I have studied so hard for the past ten years and all that I have lived through before. It will allow the nurturing of my inner child with the beautiful intent of recovering the creative being that dwells within…within me and within us all.
It would be more words than anyone has time to read to describe all that it is. I can do so over the next few months hopefully. I’ll just say that I signed the contract. I’m in it to finish it. I already know that the “morning pages” and the “artist’s dates” I’ve committed to are life changing endeavors. I am so excited to share more as I go. I couldn’t feel more blessed than I do to see the perfection in this gift from the Universe at this time. I am never ever at a loss for words, but to even try to describe the hundreds of synchronicities and dots connecting and showing up as miracles and Universe hugs making this process available to me right now would be impossible. The wordless acceptance is much better. “Thank you” is thing that feels perfect to say about it so far.
My dear friend that gave me the book years ago is going through the process with me now. What a gift! I had one friend say with enthusiasm that she had gone through it years ago but didn’t finish it. I encouraged her to do it again, knowing that we experience things so differently as we change and grow. I sent a copy to a friend on Monday, just this moment another friend sent a photo of her copy that had just arrived in the mail after we recently discussed it. Such a blessing! I recently purchased the version that is written for parents in hopes of also bringing more creativity to my children’s lives. I welcome the opportunity to hear from anyone that has been blessed by this course/book. Do tell me how it showed up in your life if it has. Join me on the journey if you like! We are all creative beings. We are all artists creating our lives. We can bring our creative selves and more creativity to whatever it is we spend our time doing. It is all Art! Our Life is the canvas.
In a sense, as we are creative beings, our lives become our work of art. –Julia Cameron, the Artist’s Way
I hope to post about “the morning pages” soon. I wish the blessing that they are for everyone! If you’re at all intrigued, just search “the morning pages” and see for yourself. Fun!
Sending love and joy today and always! Wishing us all time with our creative artist within!
My reading last week inspired many thoughts of play. In Martha Beck’s Finding Your Way in a Wild New World, she shared a beautiful story of how she envisioned her infinity loop symbol of a wayfinder’s life as a “never-ending, self-sustaining loop of rest and play.” It was lovely. Thoughts about her story mixed with those of past teachings on the unfamiliar and creativity and more by other favorites led me to wish the blessing below for everyone today. May this blessing carry us through the entire workweek ahead and beyond by embracing it one moment at a time:
May we all approach whatever it is we are doing today with the spirit of play. May we bring the excited feelings of exploration, discovery and delight to whatever lay before us. May we have fresh eyes and playful hearts that allow us to enjoy our work and let it take shape as something new for us no matter how many times we may think we have done it before. May we always experience each moment as fresh, new and alive with playful opportunities. May we dwell in playtime until it’s time to rest and prepare to play some more.
I’ve had visions throughout recent days of how I used to play teacher and mommy as a child. I can smile and embrace those two things playfully each day. Playtime is always there waiting for me. I created this life through my playtime as a child and now I can live it. I used to play all kinds of office games a lot too. Been there, did that as well. It was fun sometimes. I truly have created a life that is a lot like the one I used to create in my playtime as a young girl. I even banged away at my typewriter back then embracing my love of words as I wrote all kinds of stories and various ramblings. It’s funny how all aspects of my favorite childhood games are realities in my life today. I used to play roller-skate instructor to imaginary kids a lot though, that I have not done in years. Ha! What fun to remember!
Reading some of the great lessons on finding what we’re meant to do in the life often hint at or say outright that we should do what brings us the very most joy. Martha Beck asserts that we should only do what brings us joy. The thing is, we don’t have to feel burdened to change our careers, make sweeping life changes or even alter one thing, to immediately and with great success, shift our approach towards whatever we are doing today as if it is our playtime. Just about anything can be a game and bring joy. Maybe I’ll play cooking show while making dinner tonight like I used to making my lunch every morning before school as kid…that was fun. We decide how it feels to do what we do each day. We can make it fun. Life can be filled with Playtime!
As I write this I can hear the kids pretending all kinds of cool stuff in their rooms. It warms my heart to have those sounds as my background chatter. Whenever we run errands or go to various appointments, or even if people come to service something at the house, the kids are playing close attention at all times. Then soon enough you can hear them playing those things out in their rooms. Current favorites include airport, pharmacy, dog-trainer, tennis instructor, chef, cooking competitions with their stuffed animals, school, tennis tournament with their stuffed animals and more. Wouldn’t it be lovely if the adults actually performing those jobs and/or tasks could feel the joyful delight found in child’s play as they flow through their days each day. Sometimes you do run into those people and it feels good. I wish that we all may encourage, notice, share, spread and delight in joyfulness today and always. I pray to remember all this myself as I flow through my so-called duties throughout the days. I can feel how it felt to play and enjoy these things as a kid…even driving in my pretend car and running to the pretend bank felt fun…I only hope to remember it and truly Live it in the moment that it comes each day. If I forget, I can always notice it and jump into playfulness in the next moment, right?! 🙂
Wishing you one playful moment after another, leading to a life of playtime! Sending joy and love!
My books have long been my best friends. They have always been such a source of inspiration and support through so many phases and circumstances. I love to watch the dots connect as the Universe sends me messages and nudges me towards the perfect messages for me and embraces me in what I call Universe or God Hugs.
I had kind of a tough year last year in many ways and I now know that some of my thoughts and statements had a lot to do with that. Last year I actually said out loud on various occasions something to the effect of…”I’m sad, I have no books, nothing to read…” I even went on to describe that I couldn’t connect to anything the way I used to and that of all the things I tried to read nothing was touching me as it once had.
I know better than saying something like that out loud or even allowing that thought to take shape in my head. It’s like giving that thought power, making it so, sending a wish to the Universe, etc. So, that is what happened in many ways. I was completely out of touch with my “best friends” the books. As a result, I was out of touch with the deepest part of me as well.
I am happy to report that I am a blessed woman these days. My friends are piled up all around me. Some old ones are showing themselves to me in new ways. Many new ones have appeared and blessed me abundantly. I have embraced new types of books and allowed stories to come to me in wonderfully new and exciting ways. I have once again opened the channel that I have always used so well to communicate with the Divine and Unknown. It makes my heart burst to feel the sweet embrace once again.
I have a lot to say about this topic and I know this experience, although lonely, was perfect as it was teaching me so much. But, for purposes of this post, the main thing that strikes me is just to acknowledge for myself and encourage others about declaring things in life to be one way or another. I was pretty darn sure that I wasn’t able to enjoy my reading as I always had. I felt stuck, lonely and uninspired. My health suffered and I was unable to stick to so many of the things I know align with my beliefs and passions for truly Living.
The very limiting thought that I had allowed to take shape in my head and outwardly spoken to a cherished friend, my husband and even my daughter was making itself so in my life because I had declared it as my experience. It didn’t have to be that way. I was even doing a number on myself thinking that I couldn’t connect to my books or any new books anymore because I was meant to be working on other writing projects or something along those lines…I just found all kinds of ways to support that limiting and somewhat destructive thought and it grew and became what seemed to be “real” to me.
Once I figured it out, the channel opened back up again and my goodness does it feel good. Anyone who knows me, knows I love sharing books. It’s kind of like wanting my friends to meet my other friends. All that fun has started again and it is so great. It’s funny, I used to insist that people should read this or that specific book, now I tend to send way too many books to others so they can choose the one for them and their own perfect timing, etc. It’s now like I want to share with them that connection that whispers to them and leads them to their perfect experience they’re meant to embrace. I no longer assume that through any one book they will have the same experience I had, I only love the idea of helping them find the perfect experience for them.
Thank goodness I also read a lot with the kids for homeschool and enjoyed a lot of our learning last year or else I would have gone completely mad. I may not have been hanging out with my best friends, but I was able to survive on other messages and at least learning something… Now that I’ve been open again to the messages that are coming my way through my favorite channel, the new books and old ones are working together with the educational things I enjoy with my kids. It is like everything I enjoyed before about this magical channel for me is now drawing sources from a million more places and the synchronicities are amazing me even more.
An interesting outcome from this experience is that I can now be blessed with multiple messages across a much larger number of sources. I used to kind of only want to read one thing at a time. I was pretty stubborn about this. Now, I have at least four different books going at the same time and the educational lessons on top of that. I let them speak to me more and tell me what the message for me that day is. I have embraced new types of literature and allowed old ones to be read in a different way. In one morning reading session, I often experience the craziest tingle of awe and gratitude and how magical our Universe is as three completely different books put a magical puzzle together before my eyes and delight my soul. It’s a lovely way to start the day!
I am also finding other ways to connect with different types of stories. I haven’t read much fiction in the past ten years having found my shelves overflowing with plenty of non-fiction that held my interest so firm. Now, I’m more open and can see that there are so many ways that storytelling takes shape from the depths of others’ souls that connect just as powerfully to my soul and are equally as “real” as any non-fiction that has been so powerful in my life in the past. The stories are opening my imagination and allowing more miracles to take shape in my life. They are in some ways bringing me back to Life a bit and expanding my horizon for the future.
I know that I held those limiting thoughts about my friends the books. I know that it blocked all that wanted to come through and bless me. I know I suffered in choosing that. I also know that the timing in all of it is perfect and I am now more open, more inspired, more grateful, more ready for a blessed future than ever. It All is perfect. It happens just as it should. All will be well. This opening I am feeling now makes me feel more ready to share from an even deeper level here in this space that has brought me such comfort, healing and hope. I plan to jump back into my writing here and allow myself to share more of my stories…always with the intention of bringing healing to the world through first healing myself and then hoping that can also bring love and healing to others.
Sending you peace, love, joy and gratitude. May you be blessed with all that inspires you and the courage to embrace it today and always.
Bridge To Terabithia—what a wonderful gift! It was my childhood favorite. Ms. Rhodes read it aloud to my fifth grade class and it touched my soul. I read it aloud to my children a few years back to return the gift. Last night our family watched the 2007 movie version. It was a delight and a wonderful spark to ignite the imagination just before ringing in the New Year. Every time this story visits me, it blesses me in new, lovely and refreshing ways. I am so grateful!
Imagination is such a gift! I love thinking about this today…what will my New Year be like? What will I create? What joy can I bring? How can I bring more connection and love to my life and to those around me? I want to be brave and build a bridge that is so wide it lets my most creative self live in this world and that world with my ever expanding soul tribe always close by to enjoy Life together.
So many fun dreamy goals this year! Lots of routine and ritual goals on my mind too. I promise to share the ups and downs of them both here all year.
Each and every day, and in fact, each and every Moment is a brand new one to embrace. Wishing you and yours a wonderful New Now…today, right Now and always! Sending you Love and joy!
“It ain’t what they call you; it’s what you answer to.” —W.C. Fields
Cheers to creative living! Have fun creating a great life!
This quote has been on my mind sporadically since I came across it. It struck something deep in me when I first saw it; since then, I have continued to let it roll around in my head and take on various meanings and inspire a variety of learning opportunities.
There are several ways to look at it. It can be interpreted in so many ways, depending on our state of mind when we see it, hear it or think about it. Here are just few things that may occur to us:
If we can take it up a notch, through a lens of deeper awareness, we may look at these words through this perspective:
Obviously, these thirteen words strung together by Emerson can lead us to consider a myriad of possible meanings; some inspiring, some disappointing. I think the key to getting the most out of something like this and just about anything we ever encounter is to look within and figure out what it means for us. We can observe how we choose to live and how that shift begins to show up in our daily lives and the things we spend our time doing.
When we look at these words and apply them to what we think we see on the outside or in others, we may get stuck in painful memories or recall past experiences that can make us pretend to live in a world without enough Love. We must find the courage to look within and let these words comfort us in the moment of Life we are currently in as we do our best to BE and Live more of who and what we really are.
On a personal note, I’ve been somewhere in the shift for many years. I now know that not everyone likes to see change or the beauty of fresh unfamiliarity in lifelong relationships or even newer ones. Our journey towards our truest self that is a lifeline for us is not always seen as positive by everyone. Sometimes others just cannot see us. Misunderstanding and the painful feeling of not truly being seen as we grow can be tough. Sometimes we have setbacks or things happen that can make it seem as though we aren’t moving far enough along the path. The pain can block us or clog our flow if we let it seem real for too long. Those setbacks are blessings. They are the blessings that awaken us to the truest part of Life…the One we are meant to Live. We must remember that we are just where we are meant to be in Life and at the perfect place to Open up and allow abundant Blessings for All to flow through us.
Today, I pray to see recent suffering as a blessing and hold firm to the knowing of who I Am. I am reminded that although there have been painful repetitive experiences that I have known since childhood, I am not bound by that pain and continual misunderstanding. I can release the guilt that I have always felt since childhood and set it free knowing it does not serve me or anyone or anything around me that I may bless without it. Page 241 of A Course In Miracles says, “…it is only your guiltlessness that can protect you.”
May we all love our choices and see the shift in our lives today. May what we do speak of Love for ourselves as well as for others. May we know deeply that our intentions are pure and we are led by the Divine in Us. May we have compassion for others’ reactions to our choices without taking those reactions personally. May we unclog the flow of Life by surrendering and releasing guilt and see only the Oneness and Beauty that Life is beyond all the mirages caused by fear. May we be thankful and filled with gratitude for All.
Sending you Love and Joy!
This quote has been on my mind sporadically since I came across it. It struck something deep in me when I first saw it; since then, I have continued to let it roll around in my head and take on various meanings and inspire a variety of learning opportunities.
There are several ways to look at it. It can be interpreted in so many ways, depending on our state of mind when we see it, hear it or think about it. Here are just few things that may occur to us:
If we can take it up a notch, through a lens of deeper awareness, we may look at these words through this perspective:
Obviously, these thirteen words strung together by Emerson can lead us to consider a myriad of possible meanings; some inspiring, some disappointing. I think the key to getting the most out of something like this and just about anything we ever encounter is to look within and figure out what it means for us. We can observe how we choose to live and how that shift begins to show up in our daily lives and the things we spend our time doing.
When we look at these words and apply them to what we think we see on the outside or in others, we may get stuck in painful memories or recall past experiences that can make us pretend to live in a world without enough Love. We must find the courage to look within and let these words comfort us in the moment of Life we are currently in as we do our best to BE and Live more of who and what we really are.
On a personal note, I’ve been somewhere in the shift for many years. I now know that not everyone likes to see change or the beauty of fresh unfamiliarity in lifelong relationships or even newer ones. Our journey towards our truest self that is a lifeline for us is not always seen as positive by everyone. Sometimes others just cannot see us. Misunderstanding and the painful feeling of not truly being seen as we grow can be tough. Sometimes we have setbacks or things happen that can make it seem as though we aren’t moving far enough along the path. The pain can block us or clog our flow if we let it seem real for too long. Those setbacks are blessings. They are the blessings that awaken us to the truest part of Life…the One we are meant to Live. We must remember that we are just where we are meant to be in Life and at the perfect place to Open up and allow abundant Blessings for All to flow through us.
Today, I pray to see recent suffering as a blessing and hold firm to the knowing of who I Am. I am reminded that although there have been painful repetitive experiences that I have known since childhood, I am not bound by that pain and continual misunderstanding. I can release the guilt that I have always felt since childhood and set it free knowing it does not serve me or anyone or anything around me that I may bless without it. Page 241 of A Course In Miracles says, “…it is only your guiltlessness that can protect you.”
May we all love our choices and see the shift in our lives today. May what we do speak of Love for ourselves as well as for others. May we know deeply that our intentions are pure and we are led by the Divine in Us. May we have compassion for others’ reactions to our choices without taking those reactions personally. May we unclog the flow of Life by surrendering and releasing guilt and see only the Oneness and Beauty that Life is beyond all the mirages caused by fear. May we be thankful and filled with gratitude for All.
Sending you Love and Joy!
Live What You Know 