Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch Changes

“Never  underestimate the power to change yourself.  Never overestimate the power to change others.”  ~H. Jackson Browne, Jr.

Change.  What is in our control, and what isn’t?  We always have the ability to change ourselves.  It is a matter of willingness, action and surrender.  Willingness to take that first step, in that first moment.  Gathering the courage to step into action, pushing away fearful thoughts.  Surrendering to that which is higher and more powerful than you.  Trust yourself and Spirit, that you are not only capable of change, it is a natural process in your everyday life.  Create positive reminders of changes you are requesting.  Put up post it notes in your surroundings, write in your journal, create a vision board.  Set your intentions and then act!  Pay attention to your physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual health as you set the tone.  Your inner and outer balance is needed in order to gather the strength to pursue your desires.  Give service to others.  The more we give with compassion in our hearts, the more we fill with the love that is needed to give to ourselves.  Ask for help.  Open yourself up to the possibility of others entering your life to assist you.  Tap in to your intuitive self and, as always, LOOK for the signs.  Pay attention.

As far as changing others….for those of you who have attempted this, what comes to your mind?  Is it like banging your head against the wall, over and over again?  Plain and simple, it doesn’t work!  You can lead a horse to water but you know you can’t make them drink.  You can encourage, suggest, send love and prayers, and that is the extent of your energy you should give.  Extend your energy into what you can change, YOU!  Those around you will eventually respond and work to change themselves, or you will move on to new surroundings more conducive to your world.  The right people and events will show up at exactly the right time.

Change.  Scary, exciting, needed, fruitful and fulfilling.  Put your smile on and get to it!

The Joy of Zen

Real Zen…

to be JOYFULLY

ALIVE right NOW

if not for thought

one could be

JOYFULLY ALIVE

RIGHT NOW    ~The Silence

Our direct intuitive insight allows us to drop all illusion and tune in to the stillness of our mind, body and spirit.  Thought distorts this blending of presence.  Be joyful.  Be loved. Be held.  Just be.

Animal Spirituality

Are there animals that seem to walk into your life often?  Have you ever thought about the messages that each animal brings you?  Many cultures give great meaning to these messages.  Native Americans have always felt a spiritual connection to all animals.  There is a deep respect and profound communication that occurs.  I often see deer on my walks, black bear show up at my back door a few times a year, and as of late, the majestic eagle has been flying high and low around me.  I see, listen and stay open for Spirit to guide me through these messages.

If an animal has been showing up for you, research the meaning.  You may be surprised how in sync the message is with your life situation.  Maybe not:)  Below is some of my research on the Eagle….

“The Eagle represents spiritual protection, carries prayers, and brings strength, courage, wisdom, illumination of spirit, healing, creation, and knowledge of magic.  The eagle has the ability to see hidden spiritual truths, rising above the material to see the spiritual.  The eagle has an ability to see the overall pattern, and the connection to spirit guides and teachers.  The eagle represents great power and balance, dignity with grace, a connection with higher truths, intuition and a creative spirit grace achieved through knowledge and hard work.”   ~Eagle Spirit Ministry

The dictionary of scripture and myth, describes the Eagle as;

A symbol of the holy spirit, which flies, as it were, through the mind (air) from the higher nature (heaven) to the lower nature (earth) and soars aloft to the self (sun).

Lines of Beauty

“Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.”  ~Eleanor Roosevelt

My lifetime friend, Louise Cady-Fernandes, has started a wonderful new venture.  It is a topic that many in our culture are afraid to touch.  Louise found this out as she searched out similar views.  Sadly, not much was found.  The area of interest?  Aging.  Something so many in our culture appear to be afraid of embarking on.  I remember studying this phenomenon in college.  The media and certain groups promote youth, tight skin and invisible waistlines.  Why is it that we shy away from the beauty of aging?  Yes, youth can be beautiful, and so can that gorgeous woman who smiles with her eyes.  Feathery lines outlining the wisdom that remains underneath.  Why is there fear attached to aging?  Is it that we are closer to death?  Why not embrace the process that takes us to our last day?  All the life, the experiences, the pain, the wisdom acquired, the joy, the whole roller coaster!

Recognize the beauty of our teachers, our mothers, our fathers, ourselves, as we age.  Live healthy and naturally, treat our bodies with respect and love.   Allow our bodies to age gracefully with every nutritious meal you eat, every energetic step you take and every experience you encounter in this wondrous thing called life!

You’ve earned every line of beauty….  Louise has featured her amazing Mom as the “Beauty of the Week” on her blog.  I know she is truly Louises beauty of Louises life.  http://www.linesofbeauty.com

Lesson 101

“The lessons you avoid will inevitably present themselves upon your path…” ~CWB

As painful as the lesson appears to be, it is often less painful when you allow yourself to experience it.   Wherever you go, there you are. Might as well look deep within that reflection called YOU.  Life will flow….no more running from yourself, just a slow joyous ride….

Your mirror awaits.

Reiki Ricardo!

Okay, so I walk into dance class the other night, I ask where my friend is and the class blurts out, “She’s with Reiki Ricardo!”  I laugh knowing there’s a joking lining with these girls, but yes, I take the bait and ask, “And WHO is Reiki Ricardo?”  Our wonderful comic tells me that my friend is at her Reiki class but they kid with her telling her she spends too much time with Reiki!  For those of us who remember I Love Lucy, all kinds of images pop up, don’t they?  Ricky with the big band doing the mambo jumbo and all of the hysterics of Lucy.  Actually, Ricky probably would have been pretty fun to hang with, with all the jammin’ music, but Lucy would be my choice.  What a blast!

Coming back down to earth, Reiki is truly a wonderful practice and soothing inner belief system.  Another friend of mine is a Reiki Master.  After one treatment with her and I feel like I just had an intense full body massage.  So relaxed and centered am I.  I will leave it to the Masters to describe exactly what a Reiki treatment is, but my version is that it is a vibrational energy from the practitioner that treats the body and energy force of the client.  The Master’s hands are raised a few inches off of the body as it scans all chakras.

I have always loved The 5 Reiki Principles.  My friend has them framed in her office adjacent to mine.  Before I leave the office, I always take a quick look at them as a reminder of a kind, compassionate, healthy way of living.  Just for today, keeps us in the present.  One step at a time, one moment at a time.

The Five Reiki Principles

BY DR.MIKAO USUI

I – Just for today, I will not be angry.

Anger at others or oneself or at the whole world, creates serious blockages in one’s energy. It is the most complex inner enemy.

Reiki is an excellent tool to remove anger blockages which have accumulated in the body over years, but it cannot remove the residue of current anger which occurs daily.

Letting go of anger brings peace into the Mind.

II – Just for today, I will not worry.

While anger deals with past and present events, worry deals with future ones. Although worry is not always a negative phenomena, endless worries may fill one’s head, and each one bores a small hole in one’s body and soul. While anger requires a focused Reiki treatment to remove obstacles, worry requires the energy to be spread throughout the entire body.

Letting go of worry, brings healing into the Body.

III – Just for today, I will be grateful.

Be grateful from your heart inward. Inner intention is the important element in this principle. Simple things as thanks, forgiveness, smile, good words, gratitude can improve others life and make them happy.

Being thankful brings Joy into the Spirit.

IV – Just for today, I will do my work honestly.

Support yourself and your family respectably, without harming others. Earn a respectable living, live a life of honor.

Working Honestly brings Abundance into the Soul.

V- Just for today, I will be kind to every living thing.

Honor your parents, honor your teachers, honor your elders.

Being Kind brings Love into the Will.

Secret Words

I once had a wise old woman tell  me a secret.  She told  me if I regularly used twelve words in my vocabulary my light would shine brighter.  Actually, scientifically, she explained that using these words would affect how my brain processes my view of life.  As we are taught the perception and meaning of these words in our culture, you can understand why verbalizing them often would embed visions in our minds.  For those of you who know me, you know I use these words often.  Every time I write, voice or think of them I can’t help but light up.  Their definition warms my heart and so does the memory of that wise old woman who illuminated my life!!

Salubrious

Beauteous

Miraculous

Mysterious

Glorious

Joyous

Harmonious

Wondrous

Luminous

Numinous

Humorous

Anonymous

~The Silence

And so, there you have it,  express with these beauteous words and feel the smile come to your face:)

In Your Eyes

love I get so lost, sometimes
days pass and this emptiness fills my heart
when I want to run away
I drive off in my car
but whichever way I go
I come back to the place you are

all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside

in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
the heat I see in your eyes

love, I don’t like to see so much pain
so much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away
I get so tired of working so hard for our survival
I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive

and all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside

in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light,
the heat I see in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes  ~Peter Gabriel

The light, the heat, in your eyes….the window to the soul.

“In Your Eyes” video from the Secret World Live DVD, 1994  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoEQREKFQG4

The Mirror of Myself

For those of you who feel frustrated or angry with one close to you, I suggest you stop that thought of projection and take a good look at your own reflection.  Most often, we subconsciously choose these people to enter our lives in order to learn and work through our own battles.  If we are always projecting onto others we will never learn what it is we are attempting to teach ourselves.  Accept your lessons and learn from them.  Just as we practice acceptance and nonjudgment of others, extend the same to yourself.   We are meant to learn as we travel this earth.  Don’t miss the opportunity to look inward and grow with each reflection.  Focus on yourself and allow others to experience their own journey.  Everyone’s road is individual and meant to be their inner schooling.

Step into your travels, feel the joy and pain of all your choices, and allow others to experience theirs. As we become whole individually, we will appreciate the works of art that we are, as well as the beauty of others.

Look into your mirror today.  What is it that you SEE?

Define Rich

We are ALL Rich

some

have MONEY    ~The Silence

Think about it.  How do you value yourself?  Is it through outer means or inner assets?  The richest I have ever felt is when I am in balance with my mind, body, spirit and emotion.   No one and no-thing can touch me when I am in that space.  A beautiful place to be….