I closed my last blog with Paul Trueblood's lyrics from And Peace Begins: "An open heart, an open mind, just being kind and Peace begins". (I notice I'm always capitalizing Love and Peace these days - they're such sacred words to me.) And musings about Peace have been popping ever since. I'm reminded of Dr. Gerald Jampolsky, author of many books including Love Is Letting Go of Fear and Teach Only Love, being queried on a talk show about what really makes us happy. He replied very simply, Peace. I remember thinking at the time, what an interesting response that was. I'm reminded of Michael Beckwith on Oprah's Spirituality 101 show last week, responding to a women suffering in despair over the havoc in her life caused by her current financial losses. He asked her what quality she would have to birth to bring herself Peace of mind.
Then there was the Embrace Life group. Years ago I co-hosted a group for cancer and AIDS patients with a lovely and wise woman psychologist. It was a very intense and fulfilling experience for all concerned. We called it Embrace Life because we both agreed that, though critical illness is an important chapter in our lives and we have to take responsibility for doing whatever is required to assist ourselves through the process, we also need to be heartily involved with our lives, our loves, our interests above and beyond our disease. The men and women attending were all in treatment and a few of them did die during the course of our gatherings. It was always sad, and we would sit with such gratitude at how undeniably blessed we were by the meaningfulness of this person's life to ours. One evening, a group member arrived and shared that she had gotten results from her latest tests and that the cancer had metastasized. She was a thirtysomething woman and as we silently sat and received the blow, she went on to say that all was fine. She was so grateful to have been with us and had learned so much from the group, that she felt totally at Peace. It was perfectly OK - It was fine. She was fine.
Then there was the woman who approached me to make a personalized tape for a friend of hers who was dying. Embedded in his favorite music, I think it was Mozart, I lead this older gentleman in a guided meditation taking him deeply within to the place of profound Peace that we all share. He feebly reported to his friend before he died that he finally knew what life was all about. Peace.
In the light of the stunning outbursts of violence recently causing the deaths of Dr. George Tiller and the security guard at the Holocaust Museum, Stephen T. Johns, I'm reminded about being a 'Peace-breather'. Shortly after 9/11, Ryan Kelly of the NYC Ballet wrote: "I'm trying to breathe peace more than ever this year - like rain forests that oxygenate the earth, peace-breathers might pacify the planet ..." I feel that the healing balm of Peace is mandatory to defuse the very prevelant upset in our world's energy field at this time. And surely, committing to being a Peace-breather is a great way to birth and anchor within ourselves - Peace.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
What to do?
I woke up this morning feeling a little queasy and when I questioned that within myself, I flashed on President Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Elie Wiesel speaking at Buchenwald yesterday. Clearly they had all been profoundly moved by their tour of this place of unspeakable horror. And we were all reminded of the potential within we humans to perpetrate such despicable acts upon each other. Moreover, we became sickeningly aware that such brutal behavior still holds sway in many pockets of our world. When will this cease? What can we do? I'm reminded of my musician friend Paul Trueblood's song "And Peace Begins" which opens with the lyric: "An open heart, an open mind, just being kind and peace begins". So simple, so obvious, so needed from all of us.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Run The Light
This phrase has taken on new meaning for me recently. To many of us it's always referred to zooming through a traffic signal that's morphing from yellow to red. Now, to me, Run the Light means something totally positive and invaluable. I Run the Light while meditating, while walking down the street, actually whenever it occurs to me to do it.
Running the Light is a precious tool because when we're upset, depressed, worried, anxious or just plain exhausted, the energy in our bodies contracts, and things are not easefully pulsing away in there with the harmony and balance that is native to our systems. If we're out of this orientation for long enough, we usually get sick. I'm sure this is coming up for me right now because during the holiday season I usually succumb to overwhelm and get laid low by some form of 'not feeling well'. The upside of this is it reminds me that I need to Run the Light. This year I've been fine and think it's because I'm automatically doing just that.
First and foremost, running the Light requires us to acknowledge that our bodies are energy systems. Just stop reading for a moment and notice your beating heart - notice your breathing - take an energetic deep breath and then exhale it slowly as if you were ever so gently blowing on a big candle to watch the flame flicker - begin to notice pulsations all through your body. As Deepak Chopra says: "Our bodies are rivers of energy." See if you can feel that. All the cells of our bodies are alive with energy. Feel a flow within you.
OK - so what is running the Light? I'm a heart person so my inclination is to go straight to the heart. In metaphysical terms, the chest cavity is referred to as the heart center. It makes sense because that's where our physical hearts are housed and where we feel love, joy, peace and gratitude and conversely, at times, profound sadness and grief. It is considered the gateway to our spirit. So I ask you right now to come with me - come home to your heart. Obviously, closing your eyes wouldn't be appropriate, but as you're reading, see if you can imagine taking your awareness gently down into your chest cavity. When I say gently I mean as if your awareness were a leaf wafting to the ground in autumn - that kind of float and ease. Allow yourself to come to rest in the center of your chest cavity in what seems to be a vast expanse of Light. This Light is dazzling bright, shimmering and glistening and there's a surprising calm in Its luminescence - you are enveloped in It and soothed by It. It's a very welcoming feeling. Stop reading for a moment and imagine that. Feel It. It really is home.
Now assign healing properties to this Light - that It is tender, compassionate Love (It is.) and then imagine that this wondrous Light is liquid Light and that It is easefully starting to run through your entire body. We've all seen enough graphics on film to imagine this for ourselves - healing Light bathing our lungs and rib cage, all our vital organs being embraced and suffused, liquid Light flowing easefully though our intestines, our sexual organs, our pelvic girdle, down our legs and into our feet. You're glowing with Light from within from your chest cavity to your feet.
Now bring your awareness, again gently, back to your heart center - and notice that the liquid Light is flowing up into your shoulders and down your arms into your hands. Then see and feel It in your throat and up your neck into your head - Light/Love compassionately easing and releasing the tensions, fears, doubts, worries - any dis-ease. Know that this Light can spread throughout the body in moments. As you become more attuned to It, you can see and feel It branching out from your heart center in every direction at once. This wondrous tree of Life/Light is streaming healing Light to every nook and cranny of you. This process can become the most natural thing in the world for us to do.
For millennia sacred teachings have told us of God being omnipresent - there is no place that God/Love is not. Running the Light is an acknowledgement of this Divine Presence being here constantly - in every cell, every atom, in every sub-atomic particle of us and everything else. This kind of surrendering to the Presence, which is our own innate healing ability, is the perfect antidote to the relentless, wearying and often destructive distractions of our daily lives. It's time to bless ourselves regularly with this Light - to remember and rejoice that It is ever-present with us - that we are one with It.
It goes without saying, that every time we engage this Light, we're raising the energy all around us and inadvertently blessing others. The next logical step then is to very consciously Run the Light to our beloveds, to anyone or any circumstance that is currently challenging us, to all beings on this planet, to Mother Earth and, ultimately, to the Universe. See all embraced in the Light - being soothed and healed by glorious Light.
As the New Year begins, let's make Run the Light a daily practice for ourselves. We can do it anywhere, anytime, though it's particularly delicious when we can sit or lie down and embrace stillness at the same time. It occurs to me now that maybe the yellow light morphing into red has real symbolic resonance here. Maybe, as 2009 commences, it's time to embrace Barack Obama's "audacity of hope" and move through whatever cautiousness stops us in our lives, and regularly Run the Light to the freedom, joy, fulfillment and vibrant well-being that are our birthright. Let's do that! Let's Run the Light!
Running the Light is a precious tool because when we're upset, depressed, worried, anxious or just plain exhausted, the energy in our bodies contracts, and things are not easefully pulsing away in there with the harmony and balance that is native to our systems. If we're out of this orientation for long enough, we usually get sick. I'm sure this is coming up for me right now because during the holiday season I usually succumb to overwhelm and get laid low by some form of 'not feeling well'. The upside of this is it reminds me that I need to Run the Light. This year I've been fine and think it's because I'm automatically doing just that.
First and foremost, running the Light requires us to acknowledge that our bodies are energy systems. Just stop reading for a moment and notice your beating heart - notice your breathing - take an energetic deep breath and then exhale it slowly as if you were ever so gently blowing on a big candle to watch the flame flicker - begin to notice pulsations all through your body. As Deepak Chopra says: "Our bodies are rivers of energy." See if you can feel that. All the cells of our bodies are alive with energy. Feel a flow within you.
OK - so what is running the Light? I'm a heart person so my inclination is to go straight to the heart. In metaphysical terms, the chest cavity is referred to as the heart center. It makes sense because that's where our physical hearts are housed and where we feel love, joy, peace and gratitude and conversely, at times, profound sadness and grief. It is considered the gateway to our spirit. So I ask you right now to come with me - come home to your heart. Obviously, closing your eyes wouldn't be appropriate, but as you're reading, see if you can imagine taking your awareness gently down into your chest cavity. When I say gently I mean as if your awareness were a leaf wafting to the ground in autumn - that kind of float and ease. Allow yourself to come to rest in the center of your chest cavity in what seems to be a vast expanse of Light. This Light is dazzling bright, shimmering and glistening and there's a surprising calm in Its luminescence - you are enveloped in It and soothed by It. It's a very welcoming feeling. Stop reading for a moment and imagine that. Feel It. It really is home.
Now assign healing properties to this Light - that It is tender, compassionate Love (It is.) and then imagine that this wondrous Light is liquid Light and that It is easefully starting to run through your entire body. We've all seen enough graphics on film to imagine this for ourselves - healing Light bathing our lungs and rib cage, all our vital organs being embraced and suffused, liquid Light flowing easefully though our intestines, our sexual organs, our pelvic girdle, down our legs and into our feet. You're glowing with Light from within from your chest cavity to your feet.
Now bring your awareness, again gently, back to your heart center - and notice that the liquid Light is flowing up into your shoulders and down your arms into your hands. Then see and feel It in your throat and up your neck into your head - Light/Love compassionately easing and releasing the tensions, fears, doubts, worries - any dis-ease. Know that this Light can spread throughout the body in moments. As you become more attuned to It, you can see and feel It branching out from your heart center in every direction at once. This wondrous tree of Life/Light is streaming healing Light to every nook and cranny of you. This process can become the most natural thing in the world for us to do.
For millennia sacred teachings have told us of God being omnipresent - there is no place that God/Love is not. Running the Light is an acknowledgement of this Divine Presence being here constantly - in every cell, every atom, in every sub-atomic particle of us and everything else. This kind of surrendering to the Presence, which is our own innate healing ability, is the perfect antidote to the relentless, wearying and often destructive distractions of our daily lives. It's time to bless ourselves regularly with this Light - to remember and rejoice that It is ever-present with us - that we are one with It.
It goes without saying, that every time we engage this Light, we're raising the energy all around us and inadvertently blessing others. The next logical step then is to very consciously Run the Light to our beloveds, to anyone or any circumstance that is currently challenging us, to all beings on this planet, to Mother Earth and, ultimately, to the Universe. See all embraced in the Light - being soothed and healed by glorious Light.
As the New Year begins, let's make Run the Light a daily practice for ourselves. We can do it anywhere, anytime, though it's particularly delicious when we can sit or lie down and embrace stillness at the same time. It occurs to me now that maybe the yellow light morphing into red has real symbolic resonance here. Maybe, as 2009 commences, it's time to embrace Barack Obama's "audacity of hope" and move through whatever cautiousness stops us in our lives, and regularly Run the Light to the freedom, joy, fulfillment and vibrant well-being that are our birthright. Let's do that! Let's Run the Light!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Waiting Room
Last week I accompanied a friend to the hospital. She was to have surgery that day, and I'm a great believer in people having a loved one with them when they embark on this particular journey. All the pre-surgery agenda seemed to be handled smoothly, and she went off to the operating room 10 minutes ahead of schedule. I took myself out for some lunch and then joined a large, diverse group of 'the anxious' in the Family Waiting Room. I'm always so touched by the way we humans interact when sharing a common drama. Surgery's a biggie and the impact on everyone involved is enormous. I was acutely and gratefully aware of the communal compassion alive in the room that day.
It turns out that it was an extremely busy day at this major Manhattan facility, and, though my friend's surgery was completed in two and a half hours, all the recovery rooms were full. She had to wait in the operating room until a slot opened up in Recovery. Everyone on my side of these happenings was in the same boat. As all these patients remained stacked up somewhere in the vast labyrinth of this gigantic edifice, we were assigned to waiting mode for hours. The room was furnished with comfy sofas and chairs and coffee tables thoughtfully arranged in seating patterns to accommodate family groups or little niches where one could be more private. It was slightly overheated and airless, but everyone hung in quietly chatting or reading, with an occasional furtive dash to the restroom or Starbucks so as not to miss the surgeon's anxiously anticipated arrival. One by one they all came to inform us of the surgical outcome, though just when we could actually see our person was unknown. So we waited. There were lovely, dedicated volunteers attempting to keep us posted, but even they didn't know exactly where some of our people were. So we waited.
Through all this, I was greatly assisted by having inadvertently brought my very own support system. That morning I'd put on my iPod the Pre Surgery and Post Surgery Healing Support Programs from the Better & Better Series we'd produced a few years ago. I'd taken them to relax and inspire my friend as she waited for her procedure and subsequently to assist her in the healing process thereafter. She listened to most of the Pre before being whisked away, and seemed to be very touched by it. Then later, as I sat in this emotion-packed room, iPod in backpack, I was prompted to play the programs for myself. Since the post-production phase of the Better & Better project, I hadn't listened to them, and though my MO is to be highly critical of my own work, they really got to me. Despite all the upset in the air, I was able to succumb to the beach sounds, music and meditation (Pre) and the joyful, renewing ambiance of a waterfall in Spring, music and meditation (Post). It created my feeling so great that I found myself wanting to stand on my chair and proclaim to all the worry-wearied beings assembled before me that there's a better way. We can take a few moments, close our eyes and go to the beach in our minds. We can be comforted by soothing music, calming, inspiring words and the uplifting sounds of nature. We can take ourselves out of the tension and pain of this room. We can relax and de-stress ourselves. It's so wonderful and healing for us. This surgery thing is an arduous journey but taking care of ourselves in the process is mandatory and priceless. Clearly, we can't be the caregiver to anyone else if we're so exhausted and emotionally shot that we become ill ourselves.
Through my own health crisis (six surgeries in four year, then three years of chemotherapy), I was guided to, and subsequently gifted with, life transforming/saving insights. For the last twenty years it's been my joy to share these gifts with others. It's no news flash that stress creates most of our illnesses. Our bodies are simply not designed to be contracted and tight and harbor upset in them. Anything we can do then to get back to breathing and relaxing and connecting to the Peace within - and it is always within - always! - is our responsiblility to embrace. Life does not provide a wise counsellor at our side at all times, so it behooves us to awaken to the fact that there's boundless wise counselling to be had within. And there are myriad ways to guide us to this wisdom.
Having experienced this day, it's more clear to me than ever, that caregivers need healing tools as much as patients do. And they're ubiquitous. Of course, I'm partial to the Better & Better Series, which is for both patient and caregiver - but there are many others. Furthermore, even without crisis mode, do yourself a favor and discover the delights of your own inner self. It's the gift that keeps on giving. The Love, Joy and Peace of the ages are there for everyone. Day by day, let us become our own best caregiver and enjoy an ever-expanding experience of life lived from within-out. It's time!
It turns out that it was an extremely busy day at this major Manhattan facility, and, though my friend's surgery was completed in two and a half hours, all the recovery rooms were full. She had to wait in the operating room until a slot opened up in Recovery. Everyone on my side of these happenings was in the same boat. As all these patients remained stacked up somewhere in the vast labyrinth of this gigantic edifice, we were assigned to waiting mode for hours. The room was furnished with comfy sofas and chairs and coffee tables thoughtfully arranged in seating patterns to accommodate family groups or little niches where one could be more private. It was slightly overheated and airless, but everyone hung in quietly chatting or reading, with an occasional furtive dash to the restroom or Starbucks so as not to miss the surgeon's anxiously anticipated arrival. One by one they all came to inform us of the surgical outcome, though just when we could actually see our person was unknown. So we waited. There were lovely, dedicated volunteers attempting to keep us posted, but even they didn't know exactly where some of our people were. So we waited.
Through all this, I was greatly assisted by having inadvertently brought my very own support system. That morning I'd put on my iPod the Pre Surgery and Post Surgery Healing Support Programs from the Better & Better Series we'd produced a few years ago. I'd taken them to relax and inspire my friend as she waited for her procedure and subsequently to assist her in the healing process thereafter. She listened to most of the Pre before being whisked away, and seemed to be very touched by it. Then later, as I sat in this emotion-packed room, iPod in backpack, I was prompted to play the programs for myself. Since the post-production phase of the Better & Better project, I hadn't listened to them, and though my MO is to be highly critical of my own work, they really got to me. Despite all the upset in the air, I was able to succumb to the beach sounds, music and meditation (Pre) and the joyful, renewing ambiance of a waterfall in Spring, music and meditation (Post). It created my feeling so great that I found myself wanting to stand on my chair and proclaim to all the worry-wearied beings assembled before me that there's a better way. We can take a few moments, close our eyes and go to the beach in our minds. We can be comforted by soothing music, calming, inspiring words and the uplifting sounds of nature. We can take ourselves out of the tension and pain of this room. We can relax and de-stress ourselves. It's so wonderful and healing for us. This surgery thing is an arduous journey but taking care of ourselves in the process is mandatory and priceless. Clearly, we can't be the caregiver to anyone else if we're so exhausted and emotionally shot that we become ill ourselves.
Through my own health crisis (six surgeries in four year, then three years of chemotherapy), I was guided to, and subsequently gifted with, life transforming/saving insights. For the last twenty years it's been my joy to share these gifts with others. It's no news flash that stress creates most of our illnesses. Our bodies are simply not designed to be contracted and tight and harbor upset in them. Anything we can do then to get back to breathing and relaxing and connecting to the Peace within - and it is always within - always! - is our responsiblility to embrace. Life does not provide a wise counsellor at our side at all times, so it behooves us to awaken to the fact that there's boundless wise counselling to be had within. And there are myriad ways to guide us to this wisdom.
Having experienced this day, it's more clear to me than ever, that caregivers need healing tools as much as patients do. And they're ubiquitous. Of course, I'm partial to the Better & Better Series, which is for both patient and caregiver - but there are many others. Furthermore, even without crisis mode, do yourself a favor and discover the delights of your own inner self. It's the gift that keeps on giving. The Love, Joy and Peace of the ages are there for everyone. Day by day, let us become our own best caregiver and enjoy an ever-expanding experience of life lived from within-out. It's time!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Let's Start Getting Serious About JOY!
JOY!
On November 4, 2008 at 11PM EST the pilot light of joy was ignited within the hearts of many beings in the USA and around the world. This was more than the incredible high of a World Series win or moving into the house of our dreams. This was a much deeper, substantial and potentially life-transforming plunge into the infinite well of joy, love, hope, faith, compassion and peace that ever-dwells in us patiently awaiting our acknowledgment.
Many of us have long felt disheartened (Webster's definition - "a weakening of spirit" could describe us for sure) about our great country. The unjust and immoral policies that had been implemented by our government were so far off our personal radar, that we were stunned, incredulous and dumbfounded. At the same time, on some level, we had to feel that, wittingly or unwittingly, we had aided in the creation of this toxic scenario in the first place.
But a new day is dawning. And now each one of us has the opportunity to be very consciously responsible for getting our country (and ourselves) out of the proverbial ditch - for resuscitating it - breathing wondrous new life into its currently compromised state.
We were all gifted with an infusion of joy and hope and such love in the late evening of November 4th. We were gratified by Senator McCain's concession speech and then profoundly touched by President-Elect Barack Obama's purposeful and determined acceptance of this grand honor and awesome responsibility. We were delighted to tears by the adorable Malia and Shasha and by being witness to the genuine love and caring that flows between Barack and Michelle and their beautiful girls.
There remains great joy and hope in our air. Let us revel in them at this time, and let us commit to sustaining this deliciousness within ourselves that it may become our daily expression to the world. When the going gets rough and challenging, as it surely will with the rebuilding tasks ahead, let us be like exquisitely trained actors and call forth the sense memory of that November evening. Let us remember it - remember where we were, with whom we were celebrating - re-live the joy. Breathe it in. Breathe it out to the world. Be re-inspired. Let us refuse to let negativity highjack our country or us ever again. Refuse! Let us stand firm and tall and determined in that decision.
Joy is our birthright. It is within us every second of every day, regardless of the outward appearances of our lives. It wants to be acknowledged, embraced and become our constant companion. Let us, finally, and not a moment too soon, start getting serious about JOY!
On November 4, 2008 at 11PM EST the pilot light of joy was ignited within the hearts of many beings in the USA and around the world. This was more than the incredible high of a World Series win or moving into the house of our dreams. This was a much deeper, substantial and potentially life-transforming plunge into the infinite well of joy, love, hope, faith, compassion and peace that ever-dwells in us patiently awaiting our acknowledgment.
Many of us have long felt disheartened (Webster's definition - "a weakening of spirit" could describe us for sure) about our great country. The unjust and immoral policies that had been implemented by our government were so far off our personal radar, that we were stunned, incredulous and dumbfounded. At the same time, on some level, we had to feel that, wittingly or unwittingly, we had aided in the creation of this toxic scenario in the first place.
But a new day is dawning. And now each one of us has the opportunity to be very consciously responsible for getting our country (and ourselves) out of the proverbial ditch - for resuscitating it - breathing wondrous new life into its currently compromised state.
We were all gifted with an infusion of joy and hope and such love in the late evening of November 4th. We were gratified by Senator McCain's concession speech and then profoundly touched by President-Elect Barack Obama's purposeful and determined acceptance of this grand honor and awesome responsibility. We were delighted to tears by the adorable Malia and Shasha and by being witness to the genuine love and caring that flows between Barack and Michelle and their beautiful girls.
There remains great joy and hope in our air. Let us revel in them at this time, and let us commit to sustaining this deliciousness within ourselves that it may become our daily expression to the world. When the going gets rough and challenging, as it surely will with the rebuilding tasks ahead, let us be like exquisitely trained actors and call forth the sense memory of that November evening. Let us remember it - remember where we were, with whom we were celebrating - re-live the joy. Breathe it in. Breathe it out to the world. Be re-inspired. Let us refuse to let negativity highjack our country or us ever again. Refuse! Let us stand firm and tall and determined in that decision.
Joy is our birthright. It is within us every second of every day, regardless of the outward appearances of our lives. It wants to be acknowledged, embraced and become our constant companion. Let us, finally, and not a moment too soon, start getting serious about JOY!
Monday, November 5, 2007
At The Same Time
At The Same Time
I woke up this morning musing on my life's relentlessly blessed theme - the heart and the magnificent energy available to us there. 'Whenever in doubt, come home to your heart' is the signature on all my emails. I feel there's nothing more important for the health and well-being of each of us and our world than this heart energy.
And it's so accessible - the heart energy and the myriad aspects of love ever-present within us. Our physical heart is beating unceasingly, from approximately 22 days after conception until we shed this physical vehicle. When acknowledged it can be a constant reminder to us of our Oneness with all of Life. The energy is pulsing in trees and flowers and grasses and oceans and stars and animals and in each of us - in all things. Everything in the Universe is energy.
Ann Hampton Callaway's fabulous song At The Same Time, which is featured on Barbra Streisand's CD Higher Ground, embraces this theme. Just a few of her lyrics are:
Think of all our hearts beating in this world at the same time.
Think of all the love pouring from our hearts at the same time.
Think of all the Light our Love can shine around this world at the same time.
And the very last lyric:
There's a healing music in our hearts, beating in this world at the same time.
Just think and feel how much beauty and truth are in these words. Thank you, Ann. Yes, there is a healing music in the hearts beating within us. The healing ensues from the innate connection we have with each other and with the Spirit dancing within us and in and around all of Life. Let us give thanks to our beating hearts and the healing music flowing from them. Let us feel that these pulsations are flooding our body/mind/spirit system with Light and an ease to vanquish all dis-ease. Let our beating hearts constantly remind us of Who We Really Are.
I woke up this morning musing on my life's relentlessly blessed theme - the heart and the magnificent energy available to us there. 'Whenever in doubt, come home to your heart' is the signature on all my emails. I feel there's nothing more important for the health and well-being of each of us and our world than this heart energy.
And it's so accessible - the heart energy and the myriad aspects of love ever-present within us. Our physical heart is beating unceasingly, from approximately 22 days after conception until we shed this physical vehicle. When acknowledged it can be a constant reminder to us of our Oneness with all of Life. The energy is pulsing in trees and flowers and grasses and oceans and stars and animals and in each of us - in all things. Everything in the Universe is energy.
Ann Hampton Callaway's fabulous song At The Same Time, which is featured on Barbra Streisand's CD Higher Ground, embraces this theme. Just a few of her lyrics are:
Think of all our hearts beating in this world at the same time.
Think of all the love pouring from our hearts at the same time.
Think of all the Light our Love can shine around this world at the same time.
And the very last lyric:
There's a healing music in our hearts, beating in this world at the same time.
Just think and feel how much beauty and truth are in these words. Thank you, Ann. Yes, there is a healing music in the hearts beating within us. The healing ensues from the innate connection we have with each other and with the Spirit dancing within us and in and around all of Life. Let us give thanks to our beating hearts and the healing music flowing from them. Let us feel that these pulsations are flooding our body/mind/spirit system with Light and an ease to vanquish all dis-ease. Let our beating hearts constantly remind us of Who We Really Are.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Take Responsibility and LOA Shows Up!
Take Responsibility and LOA Shows Up!
Clearly the Law of Attraction has been in full swing throughout my entire life - throughout all of our lives. But my consciously becoming aware of it began one day in the '70s, when I had what was for me, at the time, a revolutionary thought. I was four years into a bout with cancer. I’d had six surgeries and was beginning a chemotherapy regimen that ended up lasting for three years. I was a working singer/actor, and was tap dancing as fast as I could to keep my illness quiet so I’d still get hired in theatre. Neither my doctors nor the few people I’d taken into my confidence could explain why this was happening. I took better care of myself than anyone they knew, so why was I in the hospital every 20 minutes? My medical team was terrific, and they were doing all they could to restore my health, but I began to feel that it wasn’t enough. I knew that something inside of me had to shift. And then out of the blue came this insight: I must take full responsibility for my own well-being. Unbeknownst to me, this was one of the axioms of the then-emerging human potential movement, and the energy was in the air. From that moment on I was fully committed to being responsible for my own wellness.
This famous Goethe quote always rings so true: “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”
I began! And what we now refer to as the Law of Attraction became a palpable presence in my life. I opened up and the Universe moved in. I was guided to books and seminars and health care professionals. Modalities that I hadn't even known existed were thrown across my life path. I got rolfed, rebirthed, acupunctured, acupressured, shiatsued. It was so exciting and I was so grateful. Ultimately I was led to a spiritual teacher and healer, Hilda Charlton, and after receiving her teachings and healing energy for a year, I removed myself from chemotherapy. I just knew I didn’t need the drug anymore, and with my doctors fainting all around, I promised to come more frequently for check-ups. I did, and thankfully my intuition was correct; I’ve been fine ever since. (Please know that I never recommend that cancer patients do this.)
For 12 years I studied with Hilda. I knew that her wisdom and the blessings from her magnificent spirit had helped save my life, and I wanted to learn all I could from her. Her teachings were based in ancient metaphysical/spiritual traditions. It’s the same quantum mechanics material now being espoused by our scientific community and many of our doctors. It's all about the Law of Attraction. To summarize Hilda’s teachings very succinctly, here are three points that were life changing/saving for me
1. The universe, and everything in it (including every cell of our bodies), is made up of whirling atoms of energy or subatomic particles. (Regarding our bodies, Deepak Chopra says it this way, “Our bodies are rivers of energy.”)
2. Thoughts are “things”. They are constantly impacting our bodies, either uplifting them or disempowering them. “You are what you think about all day long.” Emerson
3. Disease is literally that ”dis-ease”, a lack of ease and harmony in the body/mind system.
My life was never the same again. Though I loved being in theatre, my passion for the healing arts took over. I longed to share all this wondrous material that had healed and touched me so and found myself dancing into what continues to be the most creative period of my life. I began presenting what we called Healing Concerts, in which I sang everything from Puccini to John Denver, punctuating the songs with inspiring information. And when the market would bear it, I’d lead a meditation. As I wanted to thank all my doctors and the people who had assisted in saving my life, we produced a recording of songs entitled Gratitude. It went onto the market, as did Beautiful Dreamer Awake, music and meditation to help people relax into delicious sleep at night, and to invigorate their awakening process each morning. This project was particularly auspicious for me in that I wrote the “wake-up” song. Amazing! It had never occurred to me that I could do anything but interpret someone else’s words and music, and suddenly ideas were coming to me straight out of the air. I was thrilled.
The Law of Attraction kept expanding in my every day experience. Taking responsibility for my own well-being had not only been the catalyst for my healing, it had opened wide a path of creativity that stretches before me as far as my mind can think and heart can feel. It’s true that in the past 10 years there have been many difficult and painful times. My beloved mother passed away, as did my beautiful Collie dog, and my husband and I endured a lengthy separation. We’re now happily re-united and surprisingly grateful for that estranged time. Everything happens for a reason!) However, through it all, the training I received from Hilda sustained me. My working knowledge of LOA and the profound connection to spirit that had been born and honed in me at that time relentlessly supported my well-being.
Of course, I've needed to take responsibility for the fact that the Law of Attraction was very much in play before my epiphany in the '70's. It was then frequently fueling a negative side of me. Though there are myriad reasons why we host serious disease, one of the huge contributing factors to my illness was not loving and respecting myself enough (though I ate right and got enough sleep, etc.). I was always an intelligent and gifted person, but I beat myself up all the time. Nothing I did was ever good enough. My MO was trying too hard to be what others thought I was or what they wanted me to be. Therefore, though it was usually couched in humor, there was a lot of self-denial and self-denigration. This lack of harmony within myself led to stuffing much sadness and frustration into this body. It's clear to me that these negative thoughts, and the feelings they engendered, helped set the stage for my illness. I attracted it. However, in retrospect, this most arduous time in my life was a blessing in disguise, a life chapter that taught me so much and opened me to wonders I probably would never have known. I think of it as an initiation, a rite of passage. I feel all our crises are just that. Everything is grist for the mill, part of the journey - in many instances, a journey of remarkable creative gifts.
Shortly after leaving my husband, I was walking in Central Park and these thoughts flooded my consciousness: sing these two sacred songs, put a meditation in between them, here's the cover art and you can produce this yourself (my husband had always produced my products). It was that clear. Within 24 hours I had contacted my friend Jeff Olmsted, a terrific musician who has a sound studio in my neighborhood, and we began working on the project. The fee for his services was the exact amount I'd just received for selling my Aunt Mary's bequeathed china. Hmmm. Talk about LOA. The project is called Come Home To Your Heart and, like all my other recordings, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Creative inspiration is deliciously uplifting and humbling at the same time. It is so precious.
Over ten years ago I wrote on my projects-to-be-done list: Pre and Post Surgery Videos for Patients and their Caregivers. In 2004 Eric Brown, a retired lawyer, came into my life, loved the idea, most generously produced it and the Better & Better Series was born. It's so clear that the Universe wanted this project done and brought everything together at the perfect time to accomplish it. Hilda always reminded us that "God has perfect timing". The How is always up to the Universe - the What is up to us.
And now The Secret emerges. At this most critical/perfect time on our planet the Law of Attraction is introduced to the masses. What better timing than now to awaken people to their responsibility for the health and well-being of their own lives and for that of our beautiful Earth. My gratitude to all who participated in the making of this life-transforming video and book. My gratitude to Esther and Jerry Hicks and Abraham who have been teaching LOA for years. My gratitude to my beloved teacher, Hilda, and all the spiritual teachers who have been imparting these universal principles for millennia. My gratitude to Oprah for ensuring that millions all over our planet received this most significant and very urgent information. May it seep so profoundly into the mass consciousness that we and our world become steeped in gratitude, integrity and compassionate caring that, true to the Law of Attraction, keeps creating more and more of the same. Thank you. Thank you. Gratitude reigns.
Clearly the Law of Attraction has been in full swing throughout my entire life - throughout all of our lives. But my consciously becoming aware of it began one day in the '70s, when I had what was for me, at the time, a revolutionary thought. I was four years into a bout with cancer. I’d had six surgeries and was beginning a chemotherapy regimen that ended up lasting for three years. I was a working singer/actor, and was tap dancing as fast as I could to keep my illness quiet so I’d still get hired in theatre. Neither my doctors nor the few people I’d taken into my confidence could explain why this was happening. I took better care of myself than anyone they knew, so why was I in the hospital every 20 minutes? My medical team was terrific, and they were doing all they could to restore my health, but I began to feel that it wasn’t enough. I knew that something inside of me had to shift. And then out of the blue came this insight: I must take full responsibility for my own well-being. Unbeknownst to me, this was one of the axioms of the then-emerging human potential movement, and the energy was in the air. From that moment on I was fully committed to being responsible for my own wellness.
This famous Goethe quote always rings so true: “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”
I began! And what we now refer to as the Law of Attraction became a palpable presence in my life. I opened up and the Universe moved in. I was guided to books and seminars and health care professionals. Modalities that I hadn't even known existed were thrown across my life path. I got rolfed, rebirthed, acupunctured, acupressured, shiatsued. It was so exciting and I was so grateful. Ultimately I was led to a spiritual teacher and healer, Hilda Charlton, and after receiving her teachings and healing energy for a year, I removed myself from chemotherapy. I just knew I didn’t need the drug anymore, and with my doctors fainting all around, I promised to come more frequently for check-ups. I did, and thankfully my intuition was correct; I’ve been fine ever since. (Please know that I never recommend that cancer patients do this.)
For 12 years I studied with Hilda. I knew that her wisdom and the blessings from her magnificent spirit had helped save my life, and I wanted to learn all I could from her. Her teachings were based in ancient metaphysical/spiritual traditions. It’s the same quantum mechanics material now being espoused by our scientific community and many of our doctors. It's all about the Law of Attraction. To summarize Hilda’s teachings very succinctly, here are three points that were life changing/saving for me
1. The universe, and everything in it (including every cell of our bodies), is made up of whirling atoms of energy or subatomic particles. (Regarding our bodies, Deepak Chopra says it this way, “Our bodies are rivers of energy.”)
2. Thoughts are “things”. They are constantly impacting our bodies, either uplifting them or disempowering them. “You are what you think about all day long.” Emerson
3. Disease is literally that ”dis-ease”, a lack of ease and harmony in the body/mind system.
My life was never the same again. Though I loved being in theatre, my passion for the healing arts took over. I longed to share all this wondrous material that had healed and touched me so and found myself dancing into what continues to be the most creative period of my life. I began presenting what we called Healing Concerts, in which I sang everything from Puccini to John Denver, punctuating the songs with inspiring information. And when the market would bear it, I’d lead a meditation. As I wanted to thank all my doctors and the people who had assisted in saving my life, we produced a recording of songs entitled Gratitude. It went onto the market, as did Beautiful Dreamer Awake, music and meditation to help people relax into delicious sleep at night, and to invigorate their awakening process each morning. This project was particularly auspicious for me in that I wrote the “wake-up” song. Amazing! It had never occurred to me that I could do anything but interpret someone else’s words and music, and suddenly ideas were coming to me straight out of the air. I was thrilled.
The Law of Attraction kept expanding in my every day experience. Taking responsibility for my own well-being had not only been the catalyst for my healing, it had opened wide a path of creativity that stretches before me as far as my mind can think and heart can feel. It’s true that in the past 10 years there have been many difficult and painful times. My beloved mother passed away, as did my beautiful Collie dog, and my husband and I endured a lengthy separation. We’re now happily re-united and surprisingly grateful for that estranged time. Everything happens for a reason!) However, through it all, the training I received from Hilda sustained me. My working knowledge of LOA and the profound connection to spirit that had been born and honed in me at that time relentlessly supported my well-being.
Of course, I've needed to take responsibility for the fact that the Law of Attraction was very much in play before my epiphany in the '70's. It was then frequently fueling a negative side of me. Though there are myriad reasons why we host serious disease, one of the huge contributing factors to my illness was not loving and respecting myself enough (though I ate right and got enough sleep, etc.). I was always an intelligent and gifted person, but I beat myself up all the time. Nothing I did was ever good enough. My MO was trying too hard to be what others thought I was or what they wanted me to be. Therefore, though it was usually couched in humor, there was a lot of self-denial and self-denigration. This lack of harmony within myself led to stuffing much sadness and frustration into this body. It's clear to me that these negative thoughts, and the feelings they engendered, helped set the stage for my illness. I attracted it. However, in retrospect, this most arduous time in my life was a blessing in disguise, a life chapter that taught me so much and opened me to wonders I probably would never have known. I think of it as an initiation, a rite of passage. I feel all our crises are just that. Everything is grist for the mill, part of the journey - in many instances, a journey of remarkable creative gifts.
Shortly after leaving my husband, I was walking in Central Park and these thoughts flooded my consciousness: sing these two sacred songs, put a meditation in between them, here's the cover art and you can produce this yourself (my husband had always produced my products). It was that clear. Within 24 hours I had contacted my friend Jeff Olmsted, a terrific musician who has a sound studio in my neighborhood, and we began working on the project. The fee for his services was the exact amount I'd just received for selling my Aunt Mary's bequeathed china. Hmmm. Talk about LOA. The project is called Come Home To Your Heart and, like all my other recordings, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Creative inspiration is deliciously uplifting and humbling at the same time. It is so precious.
Over ten years ago I wrote on my projects-to-be-done list: Pre and Post Surgery Videos for Patients and their Caregivers. In 2004 Eric Brown, a retired lawyer, came into my life, loved the idea, most generously produced it and the Better & Better Series was born. It's so clear that the Universe wanted this project done and brought everything together at the perfect time to accomplish it. Hilda always reminded us that "God has perfect timing". The How is always up to the Universe - the What is up to us.
And now The Secret emerges. At this most critical/perfect time on our planet the Law of Attraction is introduced to the masses. What better timing than now to awaken people to their responsibility for the health and well-being of their own lives and for that of our beautiful Earth. My gratitude to all who participated in the making of this life-transforming video and book. My gratitude to Esther and Jerry Hicks and Abraham who have been teaching LOA for years. My gratitude to my beloved teacher, Hilda, and all the spiritual teachers who have been imparting these universal principles for millennia. My gratitude to Oprah for ensuring that millions all over our planet received this most significant and very urgent information. May it seep so profoundly into the mass consciousness that we and our world become steeped in gratitude, integrity and compassionate caring that, true to the Law of Attraction, keeps creating more and more of the same. Thank you. Thank you. Gratitude reigns.
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