Wonder of Wonders

“A willingness to be still and feel the Wonder, works wonders.”

These words came to me the other day. I was very Greatful* and knew I was to share them. 

We’ve all been given this wondrous gift – the ability to choose. And the gifts that emerge from our choice ‘to be still’ are boundless. Choosing stillness and dropping into Wordlessnss within, as Martha Beck encourages in her fabulous book “Finding Your Way in a Wild New World”, are two of the most salubrious and delicious things we can do for ourselves. In our tenaciously raucous world, this is not always easy, however, it is simple. Sit or lie down, making yourself as comfortable as possible, close your eyes, and notice your breathing – the inhale, the exhale – and choose for the breathing to be more and more easeful. As you’re letting the breath relax you, feel your beating heart and slowly become aware of the pulsations all through your body as the result of your beating heart.  Really allow yourself to feel these pulsations. What a Wonder is this Life Force within us that simultaneously pulses throughout all space. Now, for as long as you choose – Be inside yourself – Be still – Feel as though you’re listening to silence. Keep relaxing more and more into the stillness. Feel the Wonder. Say “Thank You”.

*I've begun to spell grateful – Greatful – because when we're feeling gratitude, we're full of The Great. 

Heaven

In response to Barbara Walters’ comprehensive report on Heaven last night, I whole-heartedly agree with Richard Gere who, at the conclusion of the piece, articulated that: “Heaven and hell are here now”. Just seeing footage from Iraq/Afghanistan, the havoc created by suicide bombers, awareness of the wars that have plagued humanity for millennia is to know hell. And, in my experience, Heaven is ever available within us.

Whatever happened to “the Kingdom of God is within you”? That was one of Jesus’ main messages. And we must “Be still and know that I Am God” is the key to finding that Kingdom. The Divine Presence that permeates all space and pulses through every cell of us is right here, right now, always and forever. The trick is the "be still" part in the midst of our relentlessly cacophonous world.

Years ago, I was extraordinarily blessed to be guided to Hilda Charlton, a masterful spiritual teacher, who inspired my physical healing and led me and thousands of others to the Kingdom within. Her religion was Love. www.hildacharlton.com/

With all the intellectual study and talk of God and Heaven and how we get there, there’s not a doubt in my being that allowing ourselves to be still and subsequently to feel the Peace, the Joy, and the Love within, is the antidote to all our distress and dis-ease. A near death experience is not a necessary prerequisite. http://www.tm.org/benefits-of-meditation

The adage “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all else will be added unto you” is as perennial as the rain. Heaven is within us all – it is natural for us – it is delicious to experience. Though not easy, it is simple and requires only our commitment. Love is always the answer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QshPsO-eP5o&feature=youtu.be

Greatful

For many years, I've held that the value of the two little words "thank you" is inestimable. Thank you - feeling and, more importantly, expressing gratitude. And today I'm noticing the word 'grateful' and I'm hearing and seeing the word 'greatful'. Hmmm. That's what makes us feel so good when we're full of gratitude, we're full of the 'Great' - The Good, Love, God. It's been said that gratitude is the ultimate heart opener and now, to me, this is why. Consciously or unconsciously, when we’re feeling grateful, we're directly connecting with the Divine, the very essence of us, of Life. What could be better! I invite you all to join me now in becoming ever increasingly aware of our Greatfulness.

What Gifted Men!

My friend Milla Ilieva gifted me mightily yesterday. She had invited me to join her at a Health & Wellness Day, that was part of an ongoing series called Times Talks. Tina Parker-Pope, consumer health columnist for The New York Times, did a great job of moderating fabulously informative and inspiring interviews with Dr. Deepak Chopra and Dr. Mehmet Oz. These men have long been heroes of mine.

I’ve already written with gratitude about Dr. Chopra. His ‘quantum healing’ work surfaced shortly after my intense indoctrination into the marvels of the body/mind/spirit connection as a student of the extraordinary teacher and healer, Hilda Charlton. This turned out to be an indoctrination that healed me and totally transformed my life. Our scientific community and Dr. Chopra were now making available to the masses what Hilda had been teaching, and the ancient wise ones espousing, for millennia – that the Universe and everything in it is energy. And that in the case of us humans, this energy pulsing unceasingly within us, is profoundly affected by our thoughts and the feelings they engender, as well as our beliefs and attitudes. These can be either healthful to our physical bodies or harmful to them. As Chopra tells us repeatedly our bodies are not frozen sculptures in time and space, they are pulsating energy, ever changing, ever renewing themselves. They are self repairing mechanisms, which is a constant message in my own work. He spoke of addictions yesterday and encouraged us to become increasingly aware of our choices. We always have choice. Expanding awareness is the antidote to addictions, along with finding ways to inspire ourselves. Inspiration always works, he said. His message was abundant with far too much wisdom and information to cover here, but his parting words for our ongoing wellness were:

1) Good Sleep
2) Awareness of everything we put into our bodies
3) Taking the Vow for Wellness (make one up for yourself)
4) Moving – the body needs to move!

Dr. Mehmet Oz appeared on my radar in the 90’s when the Magazine Section of the Sunday Times presented an in depth article about his prowess as a cardiac surgeon. The pictures showed him to be quite a young man, extremely attractive – movie star looks – with great respect for, and close affiliation with, healers. My heart smiled. Now, of course, he’s a really big star with his own TV show, which evolved out of his many appearances on Oprah where he educated the masses about health and well-being. He shared with us yesterday that although his surgical practice was wonderfully fulfilling, he lived for a long time with the frustration that his patients didn’t need to have arrived at such a difficult and painful place in their lives. So much of their disease was preventable. He finally decided to go outside the box and teach us how to truly care for ourselves, so that many of us won’t have to undergo such invasive treatments. Though the TV show demands a lot of his time, he still operates one day a week. He knows that this intimate involvement with his patients remains a big part of his purpose in life. He encourages us all to make peace with our purpose in life. Like Dr. Chopra, he emphasizes having good sleep each night – most of us need seven to seven and a half hours. He encourages developing eating habits that truly nourish our body/mind system as well as doing some form of exercise every day. He feels that first thing in the morning a brief routine of stretching will serve us tremendously. Once our many faceted days begin, exercise often falls between the cracks. I can relate to that one. Dr. Oz exudes enthusiasm and joie de vivre. His vibrant aliveness in person and on TV is totally infectious. I’ve thought from the first time I saw him on Oprah that this man would do more for preventative medicine than any one on the planet. He reaches millions with his message of taking responsibility for our own lives. He’s delightfully human and fun and brilliantly aware of the love and caring that are mandatory for our own well-being and the health and well-being of our world. My heart overflows with gratitude for these two divinely gifted men. Thank you, Dr. Oz! Thank you, Dr. Chopra! Thank you Milla!

Love

Years ago I wanted to write a song about Love. Not romantic love, though that’s wonderful, but the glue of the Universe, Love, the essential energy, Love, the “God is Love”, Love. Though it had never occurred to me that I’d ever write a song, this would become my second composition. Amazing!– I sang songs, I didn’t write them. But I felt the prompting and for the next week went about my life with a tape recorder ever at the ready. I’d hum the melody into it – I’d get a few lyrics waiting for a bus. In very short order I had a song. Richard Shulman, my fabulous pianist at the time, added accompaniment to the melody and there we were – "Love Is The Answer" was a full blown song. The opening lyrics:

Love surrounds us every moment
Refreshing us with every breath we take.
Smell it in the beauteous rose,
Hear it in the sweet bird’s song,
See it everywhere you choose to look.

Since my spiritual immersion and healing with the extraordinary Hilda Charlton, I have resonated with “God is Love”, feeling and sensing, when conscious and in-the-present, that we all live in this sea of Love (God). This probably explains why the most oft repeated word in Hawaii is Aloha, which means far more than hello and goodbye. It means “The breath of God is in our presence”. Hawaiians also say “Thank you” a lot. These people know they’re living in paradise – they’re very grateful. As am I. Once you’ve slogged through life-threatening disease, you’re very grateful.

And now I find that my mission can best be articulated as gently guiding people to the experience of Love and Peace that resides within us all – as well as all around us all, always – in all ways – even in the throes of dark circumstances. So in my programs and meditations, there’s the encouragement to be grateful throughout the day for the most ordinary things that we all take for granted – the soft sheets that embrace us as we rest in our comfy beds, the water that gushes forth from a faucet at our every beck and call.

Which brings me to the graphic you see above. This picture that I’d clipped out of a magazine years ago suddenly surfaced, and I knew I was to share it now. Every spiritual teaching for millennia has taught us that God is everywhere, in our air, in our water, in everything. So, I suggest that every time we take a shower, we imagine that this is Love (God) pouring upon us – every color of the rainbow soaking into our pores, soothing, relaxing, renewing, revitalizing, healing every cell of us. How blessed we will feel. Why shouldn’t our daily ablutions be consciously healing? Albert Einstein said: Imagination is more important than information. Imagine. Try it.

DeLightful Spring

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never ending line
Along the margin of a bay;
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee;
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocud company!
I gazed– and gazed– but little thought,
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie,
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye,
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

William Wordsworth's words danced in my head as I awoke this morning. Spring is more deliciously seeping into the light we see and the air we breathe each and every moment. And as I look at the relentless pace of our lives, I feel the wisdom of gifting ourselves with wandering, even "lonely", in nature. (Central Park or any city park works wonders.) The freshness, newness and abundance of this precious season revitalizes and renews all our senses, to say nothing of our hearts and souls who long to revel in this joy, these new beginnings. Allowing ourselves to open to this beauty is truly the gift that keeps on giving, as we subsequently allow ourselves the luxury of silence and reverie to be ever-nourished by this soul food over and over again at our slightest whim. Relax-Receive-Renew. May Spring's Light bless all.

Serious Illness - A Blessing in Disguise

“Matter is Energy. Energy is Light. We are all Light Beings."
Albert Einstein

Thank you for that profound statement, Albert Einstein. And thank you, Helen Keller, for: “The best and the most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”

I had a stimulating discussion with a very wise friend recently. He had just read many of the writings from my blog, and though he appreciated them, he also felt that I wasn’t being specific enough. He opined that at times I glided over serious issues a bit too nonchalantly. I must admit that in re-reading some of the material I’ve noticed a glibness of sorts and, of course, that was never my intention. Perhaps in my enthusiasm to share information that had been life saving for me, in which I’ve been immersed for years, and which ever thrills and inspires me, I stated my case too perfunctorily.

Mainly what I write about is my own experience of the energy that we all share – that we all are – and the acknowledgement and embracing of that energy in its myriad guises. And I can hear my wise friend saying right now: “What do you mean by that? Most people won’t understand what you’re talking about. What energy?" Let me explain.

What brought me to my life focus on ‘energy’ was a challenging battle with cancer I had about thirty years ago, which entailed multiple surgeries and three years of chemotherapy. I spent the first four years of this seven-year journey in bewilderment, asking my doctors what I was doing wrong. “I take very good care of myself, why am I in the hospital every twenty minutes?” They didn’t have an answer to that one but were wonderfully skilled and kind and helped me immeasurably. Finally, around the time I was beginning chemotherapy, a deep insight awakened in me. I had to take responsibility for myself in this situation – something in me needed to shift into another gear. Out of the blue, wondrous guidance showed up. In retrospect, I see that I was led to all manner of healing modalities. We’re talking the 70’s here so a lot of this was really foreign to me – acupuncture, acupressure, shiatsu, rolfing, rebirthing. I was guided to health care professionals, seminars, books, and ultimately to my spiritual teacher, Hilda Charlton, who taught me and thousands of others about ‘energy’.

Our scientific community has been telling us for years that the Universe and everything in it – including every cell and atom of our bodies – is energy. Before Quantum Physics became part of our vernacular, Hilda was a living, breathing expression of the Universal Energy that has been the foundation of sacred teachings for all of recorded history. God, The Light, The Source, The Force, Divine Presence, Higher Power – however we wish to label It – that’s what she was sharing. She had us feeling with our hearts. She had us experiencing The Light. She was the catalyst through which many of us were healed. Though Hilda is no longer in her body, she's very much alive through her recordings and books (http://www.hildacharlton.com/) and through the many she inspired to go forth and share their own work in our world. I'm honored to be part of this list which includes Alan Cohen, Rick Jarow, Ron Young, Rita Heap, Lionel Fernandez, Garnette Arledge, Larry Heisler, Linda Cali, Jed Schwartz, Lois Slade, Allen Levy, David Pomerantz, Richard Shulman, Kathleen Donovan, and many more too numerous to mention. We're all so grateful to her.

Becoming attuned to this energy and how profoundly it is affected by our thoughts and feelings ultimately brought health back to my body and changed my life forever. I really ‘got’ that life is lived from within out, and that it's all about being ever-conscious of this connection – a connection to energy that we can’t see or touch or taste or smell – only feel. It has become my deep conviction, and the core of my work, that every arduous experience we attract to our lives is to serve that purpose – to usher us in to our own hearts and souls where this energy, despite any current physical disability, is alive and well and beckoning us to feel.

I realize that when we’re in the throes of critical illness, our natural reactions are to be angry, sad, depressed, and hopeless. And I don’t ever want to negate the value of those reactions. It's vital that we allow ourselves to experience these emotions. We can’t move to the other side of any situation until we accept what’s there. But I’m also encouraging acknowledgment of not only what’s there, but rising to the invaluable challenge that this scenario has presented to us. We are not simply these bodies. We are body/mind/spirit beings.


Rahm Emanuel very aptly states that “a crisis is a terrible thing to waste”. Whether we like it or not, illness provides a time-out from life as usual which strikes most of us as really bad news. However, the good news is that, if we rise to the challenge, there's a hidden agenda here that can open us up to a part of ourselves that, I promise you, longs to be embraced. This difficult, painful, intrusive dis-ease is grist for our life mill. It’s not an accident. It’s meaningful and purposeful. It has the potential to bring us to unfathomable riches within that will enhance every aspect of our lives.

Ok, so how do we get to the riches? First, it helps a lot to accept, and have the experience of, our bodies being energy systems. This can be accomplished by just getting still for a few moments and noticing the beating of our hearts. Our amazing hearts start beating about twenty-two days after conception and continue unceasingly until our physical bodies die. Their service to us is priceless, and I suggest that right this moment, we all feel great appreciation for our beating hearts. Notice energy pulsing all through your body as the result of this beating heart. Feel such appreciation. Next, acknowledging our breathing – take another few moments and slowly notice the inhale – the exhale – so natural, so automatic. Feel appreciation for this breath of life that breathes us every moment, day and night. Allow yourself to feel - really allow yourself to feel love for your very own body. I'm very big on tenderness these days. Feeding ourselves tenderness. What elicits tenderness for us? Holding a baby, a puppy or kitten – just thinking about the vulnerability of a baby bird? Feel the tenderness that lives within you and then offer yourself this tender love and compassion. Just let tenderness flow through you like a soothing river. This is oh so healing for us. This is one of the riches.

Then there’s the continuous flow of energy pulsing through all the vital organs and systems that are working relentlessly to sustain our lives. Even when they’re compromised, our bodies are magnificent and functioning tirelessly to re-balance and heal themselves. I refer to our bodies as healing machines. And for this I say “Thank you”. Thank you every organ ­– heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, gall bladder, spleen…. every system – digestive, respiratory, reproductive.... Thank you, my body. Thank your body every day. Thank it for being your vehicle throughout this life adventure. Gratitude and appreciation are enormous contributors to our overall well-being. Even when our road has become outrageously bumpy, consciously being grateful for as many things as we can think of each day is immensely salubrious. Feel gratitude.

Having started to feel the precious energy of our bodies, and the gratitude inherent in that experience, the next step is taking responsibility and totally committing ourselves to our own well-being. Commitment is essential for our success in any endeavor, particularly in regaining our good health. As soon as we're truly committed, guidance kicks in and it can open us to the vast array of healing modalities available. I'm not talking about eschewing traditional medicine. I'm suggesting that when critical illness has arrived at our doorstep, it behooves us to pull all the bunnies out of the hat – to try anything and everything that has the potential to make us well again. Modern medicine is astounding, surgical procedures, stunning. But, from my viewpoint, to make our recovery lasting and this whole process as transformative as it is meant to be, this is the moment to take to heart Hippocrates' wise words spoken over 2000 years ago: "Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease." This is the moment to claim the healing energy that resides within us all, always. This is the moment to realize that there's a wellspring of power within our bodies that would have gone unnoticed if this crisis hadn't crashed into our lives. This is the moment to embrace a new philosophy and thought process regarding our bodies and the way we've been living our lives. Commitment and taking responsibility mean rising to the challenge and using all the tools available – traditional and alternative – to set the stage for our own healing. Reading/listening to any inspiring information to which we’re guided is most important, as is enlisting the assistance of someone well versed in the mind/body/spirit connection. These few things are a fine start on the road to our inner riches.


In the midst of my own health crisis I was drawn to, and immensely nourished by, reading Ralph Waldo Emerson. The veracity in his quote “The first wealth is health” is undeniable. He assures us also that: “We lie in the lap of immense intelligence, which makes us organs of its activity and receivers of its truth.” Lying in the lap of immense intelligence and receiving truth there is always available to us. All we need to do is get still enough to feel – to quiet our breathing – to listen and marvel at our beating hearts and the Life Force moving through our bodies – to open to the heart and soul food ever-present in this stillness. Relax – Release – Receive.

I know that my illness drew me into a place of great blessing. It was a gift of inestimable value – a gift that truly does keep on giving. For anyone hosting serious disease, it is my ongoing prayer that this "illness opportunity" be grasped and inhaled and imbibed as the gift that it is. May it usher you in to finally feeling and relaxing into your precious connection with the Immense Intelligence – Universal Energy – Love – Light – God. "We are all Light Beings."


"True happiness is in the love-stream that springs from one’s soul; and he who will allow this stream to run continually in all conditions of life, in all situations, however difficult, will have a happiness which truly belongs to him, whose source is not without, but within."
Hazrat Inayat Khan
Sufi Teacher 1882-1927