The weather in November was extremely variable with several days of hard frost, which turned the leaves a glorious colour, followed by mild, wet and windy weather that brought down said leaves in a hurry. We have been very lucky here at Findhorn even though there has been very heavy rain we have not had the floods and devastation that so much of the country has experienced. I phoned Diana Cooper and asked her if she could shed any light on why there were so many floods and her response was “It has been tragic to see the dreadful flooding in this country and my heart goes out to all those affected. We all need to co-operate to help them. On a spiritual level it is part of the cleansing of the planet for we are told that the planet is to be purified so that the world and all of us can ascend. It may help to remember that we can each of us make a difference. First the more light we send into Earth the less cleansing is needed. We do not necessarily know where pockets of negativity are held from events that happened aeons ago but when we send the planet light and love, it will automatically go to where it is most needed. Secondly much of the damage is caused by the elementals of the air, earth, fire or water being affected by the panic of the people. The elementals then get out of control, which is where much of the damage happens. By staying calm and peaceful we can affect them, so they can do their cleansing gently. By holding a peaceful, centred space we can help turn a hurricane into a breeze, a torrent into an overflow, an inferno into a controllable fire and so on.” This had already been my own inner sense but it was good to receive confirmation from Diana. I would like to suggest we all spend time each day, in whatever way we feel comfortable, visualizing the planet surrounded by light being blessed and held. Diana’s book 2012 and Beyond and the double CD Preparing for 2012 and Beyond are available in stores and give detailed information on how we can prepare ourselves as individuals and the planet as whole for this transformative event. Let us focus on the good and the positive! -Carol Shaw

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Oy vie—such cheer when one is Feeling anything but, can be rather taxing on one’s psyche, can’t it?  However, the holidays can offer much healing to one’s psyche, once we grow into adulthood, and choose to learn from our pains.  Notice I say, learn, not mask, not overcome, but learn.  Everyone must learn who it is; they have come here to Be.  However, it has been my experience, that not many folks recognize my purpose, here on earth.  How could they, for many years I had no idea what my purpose was, either?  You see, I am a Feeler!  Therefore, I Feel what others say, I Feel what others project!  This means I cry easily and Feel intensely—everything!

The energy we give-off as humans via our thoughts, words and deeds, projects outwardly into the ethers; we simply cannot see these energies.  (Well, most people can’t see them, there are those amongst us who can; seeing these energies—is one of their gifts.)  One of my gifts is that I Feel.

The holidays, therefore, have been a challenge for those of us who Feel:  Santa isn’t real, our parents are lying to us, yet teaching us we cannot lie; and everyone is running around with smiles and good cheer—when they are not ’sending out’ good cheer.  As young children, we Feelers really struggled with planet earth, no doubt—many of us thought—we had arrived on the wrong planet!

We Feelers have been mistreated, misdiagnosed, and misunderstood, especially, here in the United States, unless we were born into a Native American family.  Our Native American cultures, are taught the depressed individual in their tribes—is the Shaman—thus, instead of drugging them and throwing them behind hospital walls.  They honor them and remind these individuals of their gifts, through various Initiations and Sacred Ceremonies, which allow these individuals to fulfill their Divine Purpose for incarnating.

What exactly is the purpose of being a—Feeler?  We are also known in certain circles as Transformers/Transmitters: We have offered to use our physical bodies as a conduit for the negative, dark, and discordant energies.  Our heart chakras serve as the intact and output center as we simply Feel— all there is to ‘Feel’ on this planet.  It was understood, prior to our incarnations that these dark, discordant energies which have been prevalent on this planet for eons, would need to be Balanced energies of the Male and Female Polarity—beings this is the planet of duality.  Most people who incarnate are steered towards pleasure, and taught to strive for only that which is the Light.  Thus, this leaves a tremendous amount of energy for Mother Earth to transform.  We Global Lightworkers, incarnated to give Mother Earth a hand.

Thus, this is why I have Awakened, and why I share my experiences with you this day—many Feelers are still asleep after taking on the veil of forgetfulness when incarnating.  It is my Job (my dharma or what I call my Divine Purpose) to Awaken others who share my Gift; so, we can become the Global Lightworkers we intended to Be.  As such, we simply go where we are guided to go; and we transmute and transform the energies.

What does it feel like to be a Feeler?  When we take in the energies—we literally take them into our bodies, much like a transmitter picks up signals from the ethers.  We Transform the darkness into Love and Light.  When we take in these energies, it may cause several reactions to occur: we may suddenly burst out in tears, or spontaneous toning (much like the Sirens in Homer’s Odyssey), when walking we may suddenly stop, as we deep breathe several times, and we may begin to vibrate/shake, while standing in place.  We can also have reactions that are more violent; depending on the energies, we are transforming: Sudden vomiting, diarrhea, and electrical aches and pains that may knock us off our feet.  The lesser energies, can come and go instantly, while the more violent may take several days to transmute, while we are bed bound.  Either way, when we are Awake, we endure these transmutations knowingly—allowing for the energies to transform, and when we are finished, we simply continue onward.

What does this have to do with the holidays?  Well, we Feelers seem to suffer the most during the holidays; there is something so foreign to us about these celebrations, as well as all the ‘untruths’ that surround the holidays.  Not everyone is filled with joy and happiness; in fact, many people—are simply miserable.  The masses seem to go on autopilot, much like zombies bumping into one another, to buy and consume— as if happiness could be purchased at a mall or grocery store.  It’s highly confusing for us Feelers.  Don’t get me wrong, we aren’t sticks in the mud; we are simply aware and able to Feel the energies for what they are, we don’t judge these Feelings (once we are Awakened).  We are only here to transform them.

However, and this is the tricky part—here in the Western World—we have very few Teachings that include us Feelers.  We are labeled early on, as softhearted, crybabies, depressed, weakened emotional windbags, and such.  We are extremely, kinetic; yet, most schools have no training, no curriculum that helps us to use our strengths, and embrace our gifts—so we may hone-in on our abilities.  Thus, many of us have grown into Victims (or I should say— believe we are Victims), becoming the drug addicts and alcoholics of our societies.  Show me an addict or a drunk—and I will show you a very Old Soul—who has forgotten why he or she has incarnated.

Do you cry easily?  Have you always done so; do you cry while merely walking around when you come upon a force of energy that hits you right in your heart?  Do you cry for the animals or the destruction of trees, does a burnt forest make you cry?  Perhaps you too, are a Transformer.

Therefore, I am intending to Awaken those, who are like me.  I have great news!  We have a Divine Purpose—we Criers—and it is time for us to fully embrace the darkness we Feel, to recognized it is not our ‘own’.  After my Awakening, I became aware of the Teachings of people like Louise Hay, and Carolyn Myss—in fact, both of their books were thrown at my feet in a library one day via my Angelic Self, Azira.  In these teachings, I learned I have the power over my thoughts—and I could change them (my thoughts) in order to heal any physical aches, and pains and illnesses.  These wonderful Teachers had their own Gift to share with humanity.  God blesses them both for Awakening, and being brave enough to share their intuited information with us.  Imagine my surprise; however, when after changing my thoughts, I still was knocked around by my ability to Feel.  It took many years, and a journey around the globe for an entire year; to Awaken the Global Lightworker within me.  It was during my travels, when I finally discovered my aches and pains, as well as all my tears were ‘right’.  There was nothing ‘wrong’ with me, I was not ‘thinking’ certain thoughts that needed to be changed—I was simply providing my Service to Humanity!

Is this your Divine Purpose?  Are you here to aid and assist Humanity as a Feeler and Global Lightworker?  You can learn more about becoming a Global Lightworker, by reading my new book soon to be published, I Saw A Mountain Move Today: Ascending from Victim to Divine Purpose. I would love to hear your stories—please Feel free to share . . .

Lovies Dawn

Each Monday morning since September 28, a small band of us have been breathing, sighing, singing, humming, dancing and playing with big life questions, and each other, in the virtual playspace of a teleconference call. Wheeeee! We’re Alive! is my weekly free gift to the community accessible by telephone from wherever you happen to be - 30 minutes of play to spark the depths and delights of being human.  One ongoing participant recently shared her experience:

…the simple exercises and reminders help me stop, listen and discover.  I have been pleasantly suprised each time to find spontaneous, authentic answers to the questions posed that I would not have found by simply thinking about them.  Thanks for helping me return to myself in ways that are easy to forget these days. (H.J. – Austin, TX)

This past Monday, we explored the question What am I ready to release? Profound responses surfaced through brief meditation and a simple hand dance. We wondered together at our realizations that possessions and life’s documentation can bog us down in “who we have been”, and even inhibit us from embracing “who we are becoming”.  Breathing to expand our physical sense of spaciousness, we considered how we can let go with the same ease as exhaling.  Anticipating yesterday’s Thanksgiving holiday, we also affirmed the cyclical connection between releasing, giving, receiving and acknowledging gratitude.

You too are invited to play! Wheeee! We’re Alive is freely given and open to everyone. Registration is simple – click here.  Keep your call-in number and PIN to join in every Monday. Calls continue into 2010. Hope to connect with you on our November 30 call.

Joyfully yours, Nika

I have been heavy all my life….ok I have been obese for most of my life.  There I said it.  It is in black and white print for all to see.  I started on diets at age 12.  I took thyroid pills that made me sick when I was very active…not a good way to live, but I lost 30 pounds and that was good.  But I put them back on plus a few more in 4 years and thus started an up/down cycle that would go on for 45 years.

Jan M.

I have been on the grapefruit diet, apple cider/lecithin, Nutri System, Atkins, South Beach, 500 calorie a day liquid diet(like Oprah back in the 80s), 6 week makeover , LA Weightloss, just to name a few.  I signed up for the “Biggest Loser online program” but then didn’t follow it because it seemed so impersonal.  I was getting ready to try Jenny Craig but I really didn’t want another packaged food program. I knew I needed to lose weight but I also wanted to just get healthy.  I have a little problem with atrial fibrillation, my lower back hurts and my feet are killing me with plantar fasciitis.  I know I am getting old but I don’t like “feeling” old.  I knew I needed to change my lifestyle but didn’t know how to start.

My husband and I live in Arizona and travel in our RV each summer around the US and we were in Kalispell in August.  We stopped at the brewery in Lakeside and they had Montana Women’s Magazine.  So while eating a delicious lunch, I leafed through the magazine and saw the ad for Genesis Transformation COD Retreat.  It sounded interesting and I went on the website.  I was really intrigued now and I wrote Sheri.  She wrote back and I signed up for the Retreat at COD Ranch.

I feel very fortunate that I could start my transformation with a total immersion into the program.  I got educated.  I found out why that old theory of calories in and calories out doesn’t work.  I found out why my cycle of dieting didn’t work.  I found out why my metabolism was “dead”. Being a process-oriented person, I needed an explanation of why I had such a problem.  Why could my brother eat everything in sight and never gain weight?  Sheri explained everything.  And she had a step-by-step proven process on how to get healthy.  She made sense!  And her passion was infectious! The Yoga every day with Samantha was great!  And the food!  I couldn’t believe how much food everyone was eating!  I remarked to everyone that I had never been in a room with 9 women with so much food on everyone’s plates…and they even went back for seconds!  This was amazing!   It was also very helpful to meet other women and hear their stories that were similar to mine.  And meeting Lisa, who lost 100 pounds, made it all real for me.   Maybe I could do this!  Maybe if I treated my body right for a change, it would react the way I wanted and drop the pounds.  Maybe at the age of 59 I could finally get healthy!

So one month has passed since I arrived at the COD Ranch.  I have dropped over 11 pounds.  My blood pressure has dropped from 140/85 (last spring) to 101/68.  Isn’t that amazing?  I realized I was addicted to salt and I have dropped my sodium intake from over 3000 mg a day to 300-600 mg a day.  I think that is why my blood pressure has dropped.  I feel great and I am eating all the time.  My husband says the food I am cooking now has so much more flavor than my old style of cooking.  That is because we are eating real healthy food with natural spices and NO added salt! (how I love salsa!) I take a Yoga/Pilates class 3 times a week and I find that I can do more and more of the exercises each day.

I feel blessed to have found Genesis Transformation.  I feel blessed that I have Samantha as my coach.  I feel like I am finally on my way to getting healthy and leading a more active life.  This time I plan to get rid of the “fat” clothes that I have always kept in reserve when I have gone on a diet, knowing in the back of my mind that I will probably need them again.  This time I am doing it right, thanks to Sheri and Genesis Transformation!

Wow. This whole section in Katie’s book, I Need Your Love – Is That True?, is about how our lives are governed by our search for approval from almost everyone we know – and even the strangers we don’t know.

One by one, Katie asks us to question our own thoughts and find out what we really believe about these aspects of seeking approval:

• Making an impression
• Pretending to be interested
• Making yourself more likeable
• Minding your manners
• Tact

I love this:

If you haven’t questioned the belief that it’s possible to win people over, and your manipulative charm doesn’t seem to be working, you’ll think there’s something wrong either with you or with your technique (or both). You may buy one of hundreds of self-help books that teach you how to market yourself – for instance, the multimillion-copy best-selling classic How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie. The author’s main suggestion is to make yourself interested in people because, he says, that’s guaranteed to win them over. If you find it difficult to do that, he has an alternative recommendation: Pretend to be interested. How is that done? Smile, remember the names of their children and dogs, write down their birthdays in your organizer so you can send everyone cards, and also pretned to agree with what they say. It’s all about impression management.

Carnegie didn’t stop to ask whether fake interest can win real friendship, because his objective was different: He was teaching a sales technique. And it caught on. You meet the results everywhere. People give you big business-smiles, and you wonder what they want….When someone pretends to be interested in you, do you smile back and pretend to be flattered? Most people cheerily carry on with the playacting, and there’s no problem unless you begin to think there’s any real approval in this behavior. This isn’t friendship – it mimics friendship to get people to do what someone wants. That kind of deception may sell insurance, but what happens when it enters the realms of friendship and your love life?

When you say or do anything to please, get, keep, influence, or control anyone or anything, fear is the cause and pain is the result. Manipulation is separation, and separation is painful. Another person can love you totally in that moment, and you’d have no way of realizing it.

How would I move, act, speak, and decide if I had less concern about what others will think? I see now that I’ve spent all my life in impression management. The gift of my life is that I never really got validated for it. I never had the popular personality, the blond hair, the long legs, the athletic skills, or the plain vanilla inoffensiveness that it required to “win people over”. I had a smile. I discovered this while on an airplane in 1988, headed to Washington DC to perform at the Kennedy Center. A stewardess said to me, “What a BEAUTIFUL smile you have!” It was the first time anyone said it to me. Coming from a total stranger, I trusted it since she couldn’t possibly want anything from me by giving me her compliment. In all the years before that, I had never been complimented for the way I looked. Instead, it had always – since first grade when I was taunted for having the slanty eyes of a Chinese person – been the source of separation and some level of shame that I could never hide, because it was the face I was born with.

I am thankful today for the fact that I could never believe the thought that I needed to make a certain impression. The reason I couldn’t believe the thought is that I could never make the “right” impression. I was too different from too many of the people who surrounded me on a daily basis. Wherever I went, it was obvious that I was not going to fit in with this crowd. It continued after I left Libertyville, Illinois. It continued at Harvard. It continued in medical school. It continued in the business world. And it continues to this very moment. This tells me that this is my reality, my truth, my love. The fact that I never got validated completely is a gift because it means that I have had to keep searching for a better way to live. I could never just settle into the comfortable delusion of thinking that everything was perfect just because I had the approval of people who would pay me money, smile back at me, invite me to join their club, like me for wearing the same clothes, lean on me because I condoned their behaviors.

It has led me to the search for beauty in my own reality. Yesterday, on Thanksgiving Day, I had lunch at a retirement convent for Jesuit nuns. All were over the age of 75. Most were in their 80s and 90s. There were two ladies who were to turn 100 in the next few months. The overarching feeling in this community was joy. There nothing but smiles and clear eye contact and love among these sisters. And yet there were nothing but “problems” if you looked at it from an outsider’s perspective. They were dealing with health problems, pain, decreasing mobility. All were highly educated in their lives, having served as professors at universities, or teachers. Most still stayed active with tutoring, reading, and learning. My favorite room is their art studio, where they paint watercolors for each season of the year and make notecards to sell as fundraisers. After lunch I was told by the nun who invited me there, “Let’s go to the art room. You’re not in any hurry to leave, are you?” Well, it’s true I wasn’t really in a hurry, although I did want to catch the sunset at Half Moon Bay. I ended up going on a walk to see a beautiful gingko tree that was bright lemon yellow, about to shed its leaves. And I thought California had no fall colors! This is the first year I am noticing all the vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows that fill our tree-lined streets right now. Why hadn’t I ever seen them before? I was stuck in the belief that “We don’t have fall colors in California.” So of course I never bothered to look.

I sat for about half an hour tying ribbons around the packages of notecards that would be going on sale next week at the school’s holiday gift bazaar. If a 93-year-old nun and her siblings – both in their 80s – could tie ribbons, so could I. On the way out, we met several other nuns who stopped to chat with us. No one ever just walks by another person without looking at them or saying hello. And actually hello is not usually enough either. People stop, introduce themselves, shake hands, and learn something about each other. I became “the talented violin lady” and everyone instantly recognized who I was. The one with the children. The one who’s coming back next week to give the most anticipated event of their year. One of the nuns was an artist, and wanted to show me her paintings. A true artist, when I asked her about her approach and what she was thinking about when she did each one, she’d just say, “Oh, I wanted to just play.” And that’s how it really happens. She showed me the desk where she works, sitting in front of a large picture window facing the courtyard and a beautiful tree. She lived in a single room, very spacious with her own bathroom. Yes, she was blessed. It was just thanksgiving day, like every day at the convent.

I finally left at around 3:30. There was still plenty of light, and I felt light from having been surrounded by such joy. And then I set off for Half Moon Bay, with Mary, my artist/writer/photographer friend who is leaving the country in just about ten days. We stopped at the beach before heading to the Ritz-Carlton. I thought the hotel would either be empty or packed. Turned out it was packed. Lots of families with miserable children dressed in suits and ties and being forced to eat in a hotel ballroom packed with round tables, cheap chairs, and “autumn” decorations like hay bales, baskets of apples, and ears of Indian corn. In the center, a cheesy live music trio doot-doot-dooted away to keep the atmosphere from being as deadly as it all looked.

We found a nook in one of the side rooms of the lobby which has been converted into a wine-tasting area since I last visited. Technically there was no table service where we were (according to the hostess lady). So I went up to the bar and asked if they make hot chocolate. And I pointed out to the bartender where we were sitting. “I’ll bring it up to you,” he said. Wow! I thought. We really can be served! This was perfect. When he brought out our drinks, we went ahead and ordered French fries. They were fine, but we didn’t know what good could be until our bartender brought out an entire other order of fries for us, saying, “Well, we just had some more.” How sweet he was! He probably saw two lovely ladies drinking non-alcoholic beverages on a Thanksgiving night and said, “That’s sweet.” He actually said, “Is this your Thanksgiving dinner, then? Hot chocolate and French fries?” We laughed, saying yes it was. And we loved it!

We sat there for hours, doing The Work, telling stories of how we had shifted situations in our lives by starting to do The Work, and then just stories in general. About life transitions. Moving on. Accepting reality as it is. Learning. Creating. Telling stories. People. Ultimately we were thankful for exactly where we are, because of exactly what we had been through.

I am thankful because now I can end each day by thinking of the gifts each day brought me. I can find those gifts in my life. I can see them in seemingly small moments that may not have made an impression on anyone but me. They are gifts I receive from my own perceptions. They are the gifts that are slowly freeing me to be what I have always been.

Here are just a few of the gifts of my Thanksgiving Day:

Hello everybody,

What a wonderful day! It is the day after Thanksgiving, I am not at the office, nor at the mall dealing with the nutjobs taking in all the wonderful aspects of Black Friday. I so do not miss retail!

Nope, I am at a friend’s home watching over things while his garage door is being fixed, and looking forward to a weekend of rest, relaxation and plenty of great college football. Go Devils, Fork Em’!

Once I created this little blog a couple of weeks ago, I realized I had three friends that have taken on the same endeavor, and made a new friend this week as a result of checking out his blog. All five of us do this for the same reason; a desire to express ourselves in print, but do so in a friendly, non-confrontational manner. Of course you hope someone out there on the worldwide web actually reads the thing, but it is still fun to do and allows me an opportunity to practice the craft of the written word.

Please take an opportunity to read an excerpt or two from these four blogs written by four friends of mine. No, no one has asked me to do this bit of promotion. Call it maybe a feeling of brotherhood?

Be safe, enjoy your life!

Cheers,

Frank

Educated Citizenry. One of my very best friends created this as an outlet to express his philosophies and carry on his work from when he taught U.S. Government. A very informative blog focusing on politics, the idea is for all of us to be involved in the process of government, one of our responsibilities as good American citizens.

Swanda’s Fabulous Blog. A fun blog! The gentleman that created this piece of work is a friend of mine in Seattle, WA. He lives one of the more interesting lives of anyone I know and has created a blog with lots of detail.

The World of Chris Haro. I have known Chris for over ten years, and to see the changes in his life, particularly in the past couple of years, has been nothing short of outstanding and inspirational. This is a very detailed blog with a plethora of great information and thoughts.

Butch Leiber’s World. My newest friend, and a pleasure to promote his blog. Butch is a new member of the personal blog world, just like me. His posts are full of vivid detail, and guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

If you have your own personal blog, feel free to comment and post your link here. We can’t just leave this type of work to the celebrities and schmuckos of the world!

Cheers!
Frank

Nov 27th 2009

I’m sitting here by a glorious fire blazing in my fireplace right now because it’s freezing today! And there is a “That ’70s Show” marathon on, so I’m cozy warm and as happy as I can be watching my favorite show…I never get tired of watching it and the show never fails to just crack me up…Plus as the greatest added bonus, the most beautiful Mila Kunis…Uh! She is the best…

Thanksgiving turned out pretty wonderful…It was so cold, but I went out by the lake and laid underneath the stars around 2 in the morning…There was a dense fog at the lake, and everything was still and quiet, but the sky was crystal clear for stargazing…I saw many stars falling out of the sky and even seen a few stars shooting across the night sky that left very long trails too…It was amazing! For thanksgiving dinner, I went to the beach and spent time with most of my family yesterday…I hadn’t seen some of them in quite awhile…My other nephews (other than my little Ashton that is) have grown up so much, they were practically just babies the last time I saw them…For some unknown reason, my nephew Ethan was quite taken with me, and he never left my side for very long…He wanted us to watch some really cool animated show together, called (Star Wars) The Clone Wars…So we did that for a bit, and of course he had to explain the entire thing in detail, the characters, who was good, who was bad and so on…It was great fun…Actually, it was so far, so good…Until he wanted to know why I didn’t wear girly clothes like other girls do?…I thought it was very entertaining coming up with explanations off the top of my head about my clothing choices, but, my sister-in-law looked mortified though! *Smile* As I said before, I thought it was great fun…And speaking of Alice, she made the best turkey I ever had before…It was absolutely scrumptious indeed…

I am very grateful in my heart for such beautiful blessings as these…And from the greatest blessings to the smallest ones, I’m sincerely thankful for every single one of them…Perhaps only with some maturity and wisdom behind me, can come the ability to recognize and count all of my blessings after all…When I was much less mature, I suppose I was guilty of mostly concentrating on what I wanted, although the truth of the matter is that I probably only focused on what I didn’t have at the time…Therefore I was incapable of comprehending how blessed I’ve been all along actually…In reflection, I wouldn’t choose to change one thing about my life if I was ever given the opportunity…Because as challenging as my life has been throughout, I believe everything turns out for my greater good in the end…I’m indebted to every obstacle that’s been placed in my way, so I would surely stumble over them each and every time until I finally learned the lesson…I’m indebted to every tear that I’ve ever cried, I’m indebted to every time I’ve felt the pain of my heart breaking, I’m indebted to my weaknesses, my character defects and my shortcomings too…Blessings take on many forms, I don’t believe for a moment that blessings are as simple as we perceive them to be all the time…Meaning, simply by being wrapped up entirely beautiful and favorably…In conclusion, getting what we want, doesn’t always turn out to be the blessing we had hoped for…But getting what we need, will forever remain our greatest blessings…As they say, “God is in the details” I trust that is the truest statement of all…

On an unrelated note…I will not be a “guardian ad litem” after all, my schedule will not permit it…Also, I was rather disappointed when I went through the whole process, plus all of the background checks and made it all the way to the classes too find out that my time with the child would be very minimal…I would have been given a case to work on, but it was mostly dealing with the judicial aspects of it, a lot of time spent in the courtroom…So, it look’s like I will be volunteering for abused children elsewhere and in some other capacity…It’s a shame I can’t be a “Big sister” but they don’t allow homosexuals to be mentors for them…Actually they were downright rude to me after they asked me my sexual orientation, and I truthfully admitted I was in fact a lesbian…I didn’t even know that was still allowed in this day and age…But honestly, how sad, because I have so much care and happiness to give a child after all…I have the desire to love (in a non sexual way just to be clear) help and heal a child’s life, but never to hurt and destroy children in any way…I would never desire to hurt or destroy anybody for that matter, especially including animals too…I mean really, c’mon! Oh well, I still volunteer at the gay and lesbian center and help out sometimes at the humane society also…But I really want to make the life of an abused and abandoned child as happy and filled with joy as I possibly can…I pray that can happen sooner rather than later…

Much Love To This Life And To All Of The People In The Whole Entire World…I Wish You Peace…

Most Sincerely…

“In Nirananda state there is no duality left

– is Advaita, is one personality.

That is, you are completely integrated…”

“Ego stops us from understanding where we stand and to know who we really are.”

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

There will always be someone ‘better’ than you. 

If you continue to compare, assess and evaluate yourself according to some external person or ideal, you’ll never create the space for your own success to be revealed through the value of Self-expression and Self-appreciation.  Your success is based on your ability to express your authentic Self without judgment.

Extended commentary:

Radical transformation is the ability and willingness to examine who you think you are in a “critical”, investigative way; with a dispassionate intention that in that examination and enquiry process “you’ll” become “clearer” if that thought, feeling, emotion, perception, association or memory is congruent with Who You Are. 

Ultimately there comes a time when every thought, feeling, emotion, perception, association and memory is recognized to be part of the illusion of “me”; the “me” and “you” that “we” imagine ourselves to be; for with that erroneous identification comes suffering.  The realization that there is no self that can be defined or based on thoughts, feelings, emotions, perceptions, associations, memories or body/mind, provides the space and possibility for subjective freedom to occur.

Radical transformation is not about adding anything more to what you already are; if anything, it is the dismantling of who you thought you were, which creates the space for the “bigger” “you” to appear.  Stephen Wolinsky on speaking of “our perceived work” once said about the “work”:

“…is to destabilize the illusion of boundaries that produce the “experience” of a separate, individual self”

Walden III

The illusion of competitive “me” is a boundary and obstacle; both on an individual and collective level and is a survival based way of being.  All thinking, being, doing and having are based on an attempt to game ones life experience; to survive in better or more sophisticated ways.  The mechanics are straightforward in their stratagy: if I think particular thoughts “I” will be able to survive in a better way; if “I” be a certain way “I” will improve the quality of my experience; if “I” do a particular thing, I will achieve a particular outcome, and if “I” have this or that, “I” will be more happy.

While the mechanics of this approach may appear to work on the level of the mind and out there in the world of form and phenomena, there can be no causal connection with this approach when it comes to finding out Who We Are. This competitive, tribal based way of being will simply contribute to the experience and expression of greater, unmatched levels of individual and collective suffering.     

What benefit do you receive by assessing, evaluating or comparing yourself to others?

To order a copy of ZEN Shredding please visit:

http://www.trafford.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-000161942

OR

Check out “Living The Dream”, the gift book version of the slideshow/movie that is available to view free on You tube or the ZEN Shredding website; an inspiring read with full color photo’s of Whistler/Blackcomb Alpine…

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AND

When you get a chance, please visit the home of my latest work:

 Soulananda;

The Essentials of a Good Life…

 http://www.soulananda.com

(c) Copyright – Michael Sean Symonds. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

It’s occurred to me recently that going to a concert is no longer the huge attraction it once was. In the past, concerts were opportunities for connection with other performers, with friends and colleagues (both on the stage and in the audience), and to be moved or transfixed by the music.

Nowadays, I feel more reticent to head out. Perhaps this is a result of too many Melbourne Festival tickets bought for performances that failed to please. Perhaps it is a delayed reaction to the many, many orchestral concerts I went to, in the days that I worked for an orchestra. Mostly though, I have to confess that it is a response to the growing sense that I often have after going to a concert (or any other performance) of a kind of blankness, when I wake up the next day and have absolutely no reaction to it. It is simply…. nothing, really. An experience that hasn’t really impacted on me (in the true sense of the word) on any way. It isn’t about ‘like’ or ‘dislike’.

It seems a ridiculously tall order, but I want my performance-going to be life-changing. I want to come home and have it rolling over in my head, again and again. Questions, or issues, or ideas, or challenges, or puzzles to ponder. Or delights, or a remembered experience of connection with the music and the expression of the artists.

It has become a kind of assessment tool, in a way, prior to buying tickets. “Will it be worth it?” by which I mean the investment of effort and the time on my part, rather than the actual cost.

Last week I went to the Melbourne Recital Centre to hear the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra perform three works under the baton of Sir Neville Marriner. Andrew Marriner (his son) played the Mozart Clarinet Concerto.

How was this concert for me, given the above criteria? Well, I know that I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the company I was with, and I very much enjoyed the orchestra’s playing, as I haven’t heard them for quite a few years.

I loved Andrew Marriner’s performance of the clarinet concerto. It’s a piece I know very, very well, and it was truly a delight to hear such familiar lines being performed so well. There is a delightful fluency, or lightness, in the writing. (I know, it is silly to comment on the delicious craft of Mozart’s writing as we all know he was a genius… but truly, this is such a wonderful piece, and as I listened to it I was reminded of this again, and again, and again…). I enjoyed noticing some of the interpretive decisions Marriner made – his choices in articulation, or in cadenza. I know that he studied with the same teacher I studied with for a year, so I listened for ‘Hans-isms’ in his playing too.

But here is the life-changing bit: it made me want to go straight home and dig out my well-loved score of the concerto, and my Music Minus One CDs, and play it again! I think this is a fine concert experience to have. It reminded me of how I loved playing this piece, way back in my classical performing days, how much I love its phrases, harmonies and structures still, and that these are still there for me to return to, whenever I want.

I haven’t yet had time to get my clarinet out, but I shall, very soon. And I am looking forward to revisiting the Mozart Concerto when I do.

On another note, I realised that night that the traditional concert length no longer suits me. I would have been happy to go home after the Mozart, as there was so much to digest and process from the experience of the first half of the concert. This is absolutely not meant as a disparaging comment on what took place in the second half. The second half of the program was a new work by the Melbourne-based composer (and virtuoso organist) Calvin Bowman. He wrote a song cycle, English in tone and turn, with echoes of Finzi, Delius and even Michael Head and Warlock (to my ears) which was absolutely gorgeous, filled with light and shade and colour. We had the treat of hearing the songs performed by a lovely soprano, Jacqueline Porter… so really, it was all quite delightful.

However, as we walked to the car, I commented to John my companion that the first half of the concert now felt like a distant memory, our heads were so full of the most recent piece we had heard.

Thus, I find myself fully in favour of shorter concerts that allow patrons adequate time for reflection and digestion. Or perhaps concerts with a dinner break between the first and second halves.

Here are Ways #s 4 and 5 from the last post which promised you 5 Ways to Be More Great-full (Boost Your Gratitude Attitude)…

#4: FAMILY (or couple’s) GRATITUDE BOOK
We just spent a very pleasant hour doing this great art & writing interactive project. So simple and yet so meaningful and fun! Quality family time!

We do not watch television, nor do our children. We are dedicated to parenting consciously and strive to support a vibration of love in our household. Yet, given that my husband and I are both entrepreneurs, with seven businesses between the two of us, and given that our children are still quite young, we know how important and sometimes challenging it can be to come up ideas (not to mention time, energy and materials) for positive family experiences.

I myself am about the least craftsy person you will ever meet and can draw a stick figure on a good day! So believe me when I tell you: Yes, you CAN do this project, and probably with what’s already available in your home. It really ranks high on simple, high on fun, high on memorable, and low on expense. (I can NEVER do those Origami things, puuleeeeeazzze, can we talk?)

Thanksgiving weekend is the perfect time to do this Family Gratitude Book…but of course so is any day that ends in “y.” Monday, Tuesday…. Enjoy!

Materials:

All you need is:

Some blank paper (we used printer or copy paper, white)

Construction paper

Ribbon or brass brads to secure the book

Markers, pencils, hole punch and/or scissors

Optional: Stickers, stamps, other art supplies, scrapbook, photos

Definitely: A little bit of time and lots of love!

We started by making a brainstormed list of everything we are grateful for. You can do this any way you like; follow your own creative impulses & inspiration. We have four family members, so I decided to color code what we wrote on this collective page or you could just all write and draw without attributing who said/drew what, or make a chart, have sections of the page, etc. The things my 6-year-old called out first were written in yellow, my 10-year-old chose blue, I picked purple and my husband green. We made a color key on the page and wrote and drew various things we are thankful for: Our dog came first, followed by a lovely torrent such as family and friends, food, a good home, music, the Earth, music, health, God, life and so on.

Then I gave each family member a separate page on which to do whatever they like, the only requirement being that whatever is on the page relates to or represents what they are thankful for. We stuck in some more blank pages, so we can add more later as we are inspired.

The kids each got to pick a color for the front and back covers. The older did the words, the younger did the drawings. We punched holes, added brads, all signed the masterpiece and voila! A Family Gratitude Book.

Not only a wonderful way to spend part of our Thanksgiving Day, but a precious keepsake, and, I trust, a new family tradition as well. We will be sharing this book with family all weekend long and inviting them to add to it as well. And of course, it can be done any day! Every day bears its own gifts if we just open the package.

Today we focused mainly on what we are thankful for in our current lives (now), but we could also include wonderful memories (past) and gratitude for all the blessings on the way! (future)

Alternative for Couples: You can also do this as a Couple’s Gratitude Book or Journal, a beautiful way to show appreciation and deepen connection. So few marriages last or are happy, as we all know, and I am blessed to have a deliriously, deLIGHTfully ecstatic marriage, 12 years strong and better every day. One of the reasons is of course, the selection of the right mate; but in order to do so, we had to do the necessary self-healing and inner preparation to bring whole, healthy individuals to the relationship. Much of this work is presented in my book: The Radical Self-Love Workbook. But it is also essential to nurture even the best of relationships, and my husband and I do so daily in many creative ways such as this.

More tips on love and relationships are at

www.LoveandSpirit.org

and at my love blog: loveandspiritblog.wordpress.com.

Whether you do the Gratitude Book as a homemade book like we did today, like a scrapbook or journal, and whether you do it as a family activity or a couple’s relationship-enhancer, it will help you see your life through the eyes of love and gratitude, and bring you even closer with those you love. Enjoy! And I welcome you to send me a comment or email to share your experience.

#5: Honor the 4 Directions and 4 Sacred Elements:

Earth, Air, Fire, Water

You do not have to be Native American to appreciate one of their traditions, which is to honor the Medicine Wheel, facing each of the four directions, thanking each one for their gifts. This is also a tradition in all indigenous cultures including pre-Christian Europe (a.k.a. Wicca, Druidry, paganism, et al.), Africa, Australia, Hawaii and South America.

In fact, if you scratch the surface beneath contemporary religions on any part of the Earth, you will find an ancient shamanic tradition that honors all the directions and all of nature as sacred.

All things follow this cycle of birth, growth, fruition and quietude, whether we are looking at seasons, a lifespan, a day, or a garden. The beauty of Medicine Wheel ceremony and the paradigm itself is that it can be applied to our lives in so many ways.

So how do you honor the directions and elements, to give thanks for what they give to us so generously? Here are a few ideas:

* Altar: Create an altar to each direction or a Medicine Wheel altar encompassing all the directions/elements. This can be in your home or outside. My husband specializes in creating Medicine Wheels as a sacred practice on the land, and has helped others to do this as well.

* Cherokee Dance of Life – You would need to learn this in person from someone who has learned it, oral tradition. This is an incredible moving meditation to all 4 directions, peoples, and elements which also honors Mother Earth and Father Sky, balances their energies as sacred partners in our hearts, and helps us give away the gifts of Spirit that are our special medicine to share with the world through our right work and service. Occasionally my husband and I share this Dance with our community. If you live near Sacramento, and would like to experience this dance, let us know so we can invite you. Or perhaps Spirit will guide you to another teacher of this beautiful tradition.

* Drum, chant, play flute to each direction

* Give offerings such as cornmeal, tobacco or sage smoke to each direction

* Speak aloud from your heart to each direction and give thanks

* Sweat lodge

* Vision quest

If you do either sweat lodge or vision quest, please do so with the guidance of a Native elder to be sure you do it properly and safely.

* Journal or journey (shamanic meditation) to discover what power animals comprise your personal Medicine Wheel of your own energy field. I love to lead these meditations when I am called to do so. Honoring your own inner Medicine Wheel supports a strong aura and keeps you connected to your spirit guides, if this resonates for you.

Associations with Each Direction

Depending on which culture or even which tribe you consult, there are somewhat different associations with the directions, colors, elements and meanings, the medicine or power that direction helps us receive and embody. The one I am most familiar with follows but this is not dogma, merely a summary of what I have found to be the more universal associations. Follow your own heart and work with any spiritual practice in the way that resonates for your own heart and inner truth.

While I have a small amount of native blood, I was adopted and was not raised in that tradition. I discovered shamanism after my initiation and spiritual awakening 15 years ago. I do not claim to be a tribal elder or teacher of any one tradition. I am an interfaith minister, meditation teacher, hypnotherapist, energy healer and intuitive life coach. I have been on the path of Spirit, studying, practicing and sharing healing and wisdom teachings from many cultures for several decades, so I offer here a simplified summary as a starting point for your discovery journey. You would do well to study more in depth with a local teacher steeped in the particular tradition that calls to your spirit, and of course feel free to research further on the Web, in books, classes, and listen to your own inner guidance. I always say the best way to pray, do ceremony or ritual is the way that feels best to you, with harm to none, of course. But we do need to honor the specific traditions so they are not all diluted through multiculturalism.

From the East we have the yellow people (Asia) and the gift of Air, Brother Wind, clarity of vision, inspiration, the new day, new beginnings, establishment of purpose and intention, and springtime.

From South, we receive the wisdom of the black people (Africa), Fire. The tools, strength, perseverance and energy to follow through and manifest, midday/ noon, summer, also humor and passion, innocence and trust.

The West gives us the culture of the Red people (such as Native Americans), the setting sun, Water, emotions, the fall season, self-evaluation toward completion, looks-within time, peace, rest and healing.

And the North represents the White (European) people and all their cultural gift. The sacred mountain, winter, midnight, time to slow down, go within and be still to receive guidance for what comes next. Completion, what you keep from the past cycle and all that you have accomplished and learned. It is also associated with the Spirit and wisdom.

Note: You can also honor the other 3 directions: Earth (below), Sky (above) and Center (within).

I hope you enjoyed these five creative ways to give thanks and I wish you abundant blessings on your journey!

Finally, in the spirit of Sufi mystic poet Rumi, I invite you to kiss the ground. Blow kisses to the sky. Bow to everything. Everything is sacred.

With Love,

Sage

More resources for your path, including free special reports on abundance, love, transformational classes, soul and energy healing sessions, intuitive readings, matchmaking and more are at:

www.LoveandSpirit.org

Taylor@LoveandSpirit.org

“Let the beauty we love be what we do.

There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”

- Rumi

Happy Thanksgiving friends! What a great day to celebrate love, kindness, gratitude and the opportunities we all have to connect, be of service, and give. This morning as I was thinking about this I was reminded two inspirational stories I have recently heard. Briefly I will share them with you.

The first is about a 6 year old little girl named Elena Desserich who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain cancer at just 5 years old. Her parents were told she would have 135 days to live. Despite the cancer treatments and radiation therapy her condition quickly deteriorated. Shortly after her diagnosis she lost her ability to speak and eventually became paralyzed. Just 9 months after her diagnosis at the young age of 6 years old little Elena lost her battle with cancer. But the story doesn’t stop there…. Days following her death her parents started to find drawings and notes left behind from Elena for her family to find. The notes were tucked into random little hiding spots and hidden in places such as the pages of books, underneath shelves, dressers, and well basically everywhere throughout the families home . All of which were love notes and drawings addressed to her parents, little sister, grandparents, and even her aunts dog. Come to find out while her parents were praying for a miracle little Elena had an agenda of her own. She was busy at work leaving behind her messages of love and hope. As of today her parents have 3 big containers filled with notes and drawings they have collected that little Elena left behind. Today they continue to find them hidden throughout their home.

The second story I want to tell you about is a woman named Cami Walker who was also diagnosed with a life debilitating disease called multiple sclerosis. MS is an illness that can make the physicality in anything very painful and difficult. Eventually it became very hard for her to walk let alone go to work. She became very depressed. And within this desolate state all her enjoyment for life began to slip away. After visiting her spiritual advisor, an African medicine woman, she was given an assignment. The woman suggested that much of what she was experiencing was because of her negative thought patterns. To help her overcome this she gave Cami the assignment to find something every day to give. Because of some disbelief and probably self centeredness on her illness it took Cami sometime before she tried it out. Just days into this she began witness her health and happiness completely transform.

I kept both of these stories very brief, but I will give you the websites at the end of this so you can get the full story and see how these two continue to touch lives all over the world.

My reason for sharing this with you is because no matter what these people were going through they never let it stop them from living and giving. This is something we all can learn from. Look at little Elena, to this day the love she left behind and still continues to give is profoundly impacting the lives of people all over the world. Even though her parents never told her she was dying there was something within her little heart that knew her days were numbered. But that never stopped her from giving all that she had and that was her love. When Cami took the focus off of her own story and began to search for ways to serve and give to someone else only then did her situation transform and she started to heal. Just 14 days into her crusade of giving she found her self walking without a cane!

Although I can only speak for myself and what others have shared with me I think we have all been there; self centered and caught up in the story of what’s happened or is happening to us. These are the stories we continue to tell that label us the victim. These stories are what keep us from giving and receiving love. The stories that enable us to feel sorry for ourselves because life isn’t fair. The stories that validate the excuses of why we are the way we are and why we continue to limit our capacity to live and love. These are the stories that keep us locked in the illusion of fear. And lastly, the stories that keep us invested in the pain and suffering endured in the past and recreating it in the future.

The truth is as we focus and continue to retell these tales all we’re doing it keeping the peace and healing at bay. Unknowingly we become so caught up in our stories we fail to realize that this experience we are all living called life is much more and greater than the stories we tell.

I invite you to take a look at your life now and where you’re stuck. Is there a time when you felt you didn’t have anything more to give? Is that really true? What would happen if you quite focusing on yourself and expand your energy in ways that give your love, attention, and abilities to make a difference?

I believe we all came into this world to make a big mark while were here and we all have the capacity to leave behind legacy that will touch lives long after were gone. Today I invite you to be inspired by what you have just read and instead of sitting in the pain and suffering of your story…. Ask yourself, what do I have to give?

Much love, many blessings, and may you be healed my friends!. Xo, Lesley

*Please visit the following websites to learn more about how the stories of how Elena and Cami continue to give and touch lives all over the world today.

www.notesleftbehind.com

www.28gifts.org

Giving thanks has been on our minds and lips all week, culminating in today’s feast, celebrating the abundance we are reminded to observe. We take a short break from thinking about all the voids in our lives and feel gratitude for the things between those voids. There is no aspect of life more worthy of a holiday than gratitude, which is why I am breaking my hiatus and blogging about this sacred gift we have: the ability to feel grateful.

If you asked me a month ago what I thought gratitude meant (kind of a 3rd grade question), I would say that it meant being thankful, being aware of all the things you are lucky enough to have. Not too bad, right? Today my answer is different. Today, I say, gratitude is an action word and a way of life. I thought I was thankful by passively noticing what I have: the people, the qualities, the job, the clothes, but this never did much for me, this list. If anything I felt more angered by how naïve and ultimately ineffective this act was. It wasn’t until I heard the gratitude pros speak that I truly knew how to express (and reap the rewards of) gratitude.

Last week I went to a work-related author event for the book Living Life as a Thank You: The Transformative Power of Daily Gratitude. I went the week before as well, but decided I couldn’t miss the all-star lineup of this second event (not to mention I wanted to get my book signed this time). The co-author, Nina Lesowitz, spoke alongside poet and novelist Alan Kaufman and author and filmmaker Phil Cousineau. Each speaker demonstrated a whole new way of “living life as a thank you” and why this attitude of gratitude is so vital to them.

For Nina, it is a conscious choice to do a mental version of stop, drop, and roll. Catching yourself in a funk is hard enough, but Nina encourages you to find the strength, no matter how skeptical you are, to flip your funk. This kind of self-discipline requires practice, but the results will be well worth it.

Alan spoke about the life-saving nature gratitude practice has on his life. As a man in recovery, possessing a constructive attitude towards life is vital. In fact, for him his life depends on it. From being homeless and eating out of a dumpster to being an internationally acclaimed author whose words speak right to your soul, Alan is living proof of the wonders of gratitude.

Phil offers yet another experience of gratitude. Waiting for gratitude to enter your life, sweep you off your feet, and carry you into the sunset isn’t quite how it works. He urges us to give our attention to the multitude of miracles that constitute our daily lives that often go unnoticed.

When I heard Nina, Alan, and Phil tell their personal stories, each rang true for me, made me laugh, made me cry, and made me feel grateful.

I consider myself a generally happy person, but since I’ve been trying to make gratitude a daily practice, I’m surprised to find myself elated. It’s not that I’m happier, I just feel more easy going, more generous, less angry, less rushed…the list continues.

I hope this movement continues with me and with you. Be grateful and see how differently the world begins to look and even act.

I’ve found that I’m most grateful for the ability to feel grateful. It’s such a precious gift, I hope we remember to cherish it and use it.

i saw The Merlin at an ATM;

he dropped his gold card and i knelt at his feet.

i tried to hand it back to him, 

but he’d disappeared down the street.

i talked with Saint Lazarus on the crosstown bus;

i thought someone would give him a seat.

he smiled at me and said not to worry that

everyone else looked beat.

Gautama was driving a cab i jumped in;

i probably tipped him too much.

White Tara was shopping on Fordham Road;

She seemed to be a rush.

Milagros was at Barnes and Noble,

Ganesha on line at Whole Foods.

Sekhmet was selling hotdogs;

I was starting to feel really good.

Apollo was sweeping a theater;

La Madama was a CEO.

Lakshmi was giving a manicure;

The Morrighan was taking in a show.

the masters are descending

we’re more open to love now they say

this dimension is  finally bending

i hope to goddess they’ll stay.

I remember a design project at Georgia State where I participated in a team responsible for marketing a lightbulb company. Our ad campaign pretty much got trashed by the judges as unoriginal, but we hit on one thing that I think is worth remembering: the way to sell lightbulbs is to change your focus off the bulbs. Our company sold “100% bulbed light.”

It’s a subtle difference, but I believe perspective makes a big difference in a company. Do people care about the bulbs or the light? At the Threshing Floor last Friday, I was reminded that Hallmark isn’t a greeting card company, but a social expression company. According to George Barna’s Master Leaders, Disney isn’t in the theme park business; it’s in the happiness business. Banks are in the peace-of-mind business. And so on.

A perspective focused on the end experience of the customer is going to meet their needs better and result in a better product. Do you know what your real business is? What is the feeling that your customer will go away with? It’s about vision, and vision starts at the top.

Last month, one of Wycliffe USA’s board members summed up Wycliffe’s business. We’re not in the Bible translation business, but the Bible transformation business — lives changed by the Word of God. That’s our vision.

Back to the design project. Of course it was a marketing campaign. Only a marketing campaign could convince the pubic that incandescent bulbs are anything more than: “80% bulbed heat, 20% bulbed light.”

The pilgrim’s wonder is an awareness of potential, seeing something whole, the spectrum of possibility. These are the things–small ponderables of the individual heart–that we learn to put in the journal along with paragraphs of pain and recipes for carrot cake. –Christina Baldwin

Since today is Thanksgiving, I thought it would be fun to explore ways to give thanks in your journal—even when times are tough! I don’t know about you, but this has been a hard year for me and for my family as well. In fact, I’ve had a kind of hard spell, one that goes back 6 years, to the spring of 2003. There were times when I felt hopeless or angry, unsure that I was able to have anything good in my life, and didn’t feel thankful at all. But…

As it turns out there’s been plenty of good! And not just those days or nights where I had fun (though these are a blessing, too, don’t get me wrong on that!) I’ve discovered in this past year many, many positives that came directly from those hard times that came previously—things that I learned about myself and others, old friendships strengthened and new ones made, and big changes to parts of my life that just weren’t working so that now I have something better. Perhaps some of you have had similar experiences.

Here is a list of possible journal prompts or activities for your Thanksgiving holiday. Whether you’ve been on the up-cycle or down, there are numerous ways to explore Thanks in your journal. Just remember: Have fun!

• Think about some challenges or obstacles you’re currently facing in your life. What good has come of these challenges? What good might come of these challenges? Can you find Thanks even in the hard parts?

• Practice Wonderment–Christina Baldwin in her amazing book, Life’s Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest, lists 3 “Wondering Questions” in her chapter about writing joy, ecstasy, love, and transfiguration:

1. How could you respond to what’s happening now in your life with wonder? with joy?
2. What are you willing to contribute to allow more joy into your journal and your life?
3. If life is neutral, what are you going to color it?

• If life is going great, describe what you are thankful for–did the good come from someone you love or someone new you met? Perhaps an unexpected opportunity came your way. Maybe you made it happen by your hard work or your kindness. Or maybe you can’t explain it at all, a kind of miracle happened. However it was, take time in your journal to give thanks:

1. Freewrite–set a timer for 7-30  minutes and just start writing about the topic. Allow whatever you think to come out on the page and don’t worry if you repeat things. Sometimes surprising insights come out of this method.
2. Collage–get out your scissors, magazines, paste, and colored pencils/crayons/and or markers! Hold what you are thankful for in your mind as you pull out beautiful colors and images that make you happy. Mentally send thanks as you make your collage. Or sing aloud!
3. Unsent letter–write a letter of Thanks to a person, situation, Higher Power, or your Self. Pour your guts out! Don’t worry about anything but your feelings…you don’t have to give this letter, it can stay tucked away in your journal, safe and private.

• Forgiveness: I feel this is an important element of Thanks, especially when times are tough. Stephanie Dowrick suggests writing for 20-30 minutes on one of these topics:

1. Forgiving yourself. What have you learned? How can you move on?
2. Forgiving others. Explore letting go of the wish that they might suffer.
3. Forgive God, or Life itself, for hurts that have come your way. What feelings come up when you write about this? What lessons do you think are in these hurts?

• Finish this sentence: I am grateful that…

I’m grateful to have this blog and to all of you who read it. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Joy for the Journey: Welcoming Change

Thanksgiving table is set. But where is the turkey?

You have heard the saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt!” But for many people, and perhaps for most people, familiarity breeds comfort.

We humans are creatures of habit and so we find comfort in familiarity, sameness and routine. Some would go so far as to do everything possible to resist change so we can hold on to traditions and habits: because we feel a sense of security and being in control when everything around us stays the same.

In 1998, Spencer Johnson wrote a parable, Who Moved My Cheese, about human reaction to change in the workplace. He uses mice with different personalities to represent the variety of reactions to change. As you can already guess, those that embraced change were the ones that eventually found their cheese for food.

Today is Thanksgiving Day in America. Traditionally American families would have a menu of roast turkey with bread stuffing, cranberry sauce, candied yams, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Within this tradition, different families may tweak the menu slightly for their regional and familial preferences. Over the years then, American adults who grow up with a certain tweaking of their tradition have become attached to this. For my husband, turkey stuffing without celery and chopped walnuts would not be Thanksgiving, because that was the way his mother had always made the stuffing. For me as his Chinese bride who grew up in Hong Kong, I have no emotional attachments to any particularly tweaking of the menu or the recipe. My horizon is wide open and I am ready to tweak in a thousand and one ways, or more.

After 27 years of marriage, change, customization, improvisation and adaptation seem to have become the hallmark of our holiday dinners.

Today our 21-year old daughter and her boyfriend are joining us for Thanksgiving dinner. To accommodate our daughter’s vegetarian taste, our menu includes tofu with black bean garlic sauce, steamed fish Chinese style, oven-fried sweet potatoes American style, Shepherd’s Pie Scottish and vegetarian style, and Japanese mochi for dessert.

What a glorious fusion and confusion!

What is significant here? Not the fact that we have such a conglomeration of ethnic cuisines in one meal, all eaten here in America! What’s significant is my perspective about the change, the customization, improvisation and adaptation.

A Thanksgiving menu like ours could cause many Americans grave grief because it is such a radical departure from tradition. But what are some other priorities at work besides my and my husband’s attachment to traditions, habits, and familiarity?

These other priorities are many: the opportunity to build relationships, to explore a new experience, to create new and positive memories for our family album, to stretch our ability to adapt, and to create positive fusion out of confusion. Change is an opportunity to create: to create a new dimension to relationships, a new level of adaptability in us, a new perspective about life and family interactions and much more. We unleash our creativity when we welcome change; we experience joy instead of grief.

In comparison of these priorities, perhaps holding on to what is familiar is not automatically the thing to do on Thanksgiving Day. It may not even be the thing to do at any given time.

The image in this blogpost is attributed to jondis on www.flickr.com.

Today I add “Grace” to my transformation tree as it is the Angel Card I randomly selected yesterday.  I’m not sure yet what I’m to make of this word, but am intrigued by all the flavors to it’s definition.  I trust that I will find many ways to live gracefully during this Thanksgiving Holiday, especially with some special downtime I have set aside with my husband.

Definition: 

1. Seemingly effortless beauty or charm of movement, form, or proportion.
2. A characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or refinement.
3. A sense of fitness or propriety.
4.  
   1. a.     A disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill.
   2. b.    Mercy; clemency.
5. A favor rendered by one who need not do so; indulgence.
6. A temporary immunity or exemption; a reprieve.