Category: Uncategorized

  • Red-Shouldered Hawk – A Close Encounter

    On Sunday, she received this wonderful blessing from a spiritual teacher who goes by the name Mother.

    I am with you and I will climb on the back of your bike and enjoy the outings with you. If you go past something that catches your eye, just tap me on the shoulder and say to me, “Mother, did you see that?”

    Or I’ll tap you on the shoulder and say, “Did you see this???”

    Monday morning she was out riding her bike when she saw a Red-shouldered Hawk on a power line. Hawks are often skittish, appearing to be almost “camera” shy. Speaking to the hawk, she stopped her bike and began slowly walking closer. The hawk watched her as she took some photos and then flew up, landing in the yard across the street. Still speaking softly to the bird, she was able to stand within about three feet! She was even able to get a video of some ground behavior she had never seen before. An online search said this seems to be a hawk hunting technique: rooting around the dry grass like a chicken.

    When the hawk flew to the edge of the garage, she stood directly below as the hawk looked down, making direct eye contact.

    She felt the Mother’s energy and imagined her saying, “Did you see this!!!”

    It is thought that hawks represent focus, clarity, determination, and intelligence.

    “Thank you, Hawk, and thank you, Mother,” she breathed.

    Hawks symbolize spiritual awareness because these are all traits you need to be more spiritually aware.

  • Hiking in Japan

    The conversation about traveling to Japan started decades ago when his best friend for over fifty years asked him to accompany him to Japan. He had always said no, but as the years went by it became evident that the challenges of getting older would limit their ability to travel the world, and the chance may never present itself again, so this time he said, “Yes, I’ll go with you.”

    While in Japan he went for a hike and came across a woman on the trail who had taken a spill. A seasoned hiker himself, he had supplies in his pack so he stopped to offer her some first aid. She was not seriously injured.

    He told her he was from Florida, USA. She said she was from Holland – not the city, but the country.

    When he mentioned having previously hiked the Appalachian Trail, she quickly added that she had just read a book about a guy who had done that. “What is the name of the book you read?” he inquired before continuing, “My wife and I recently wrote a book about my trip.”

    “Jingles’ Promise,” she said.

    Reaching into his pack, he pulled out a copy of their book!

    Jingles’ Promise: A Father’s Quest for Truth on the Appalachian Trail

    “This is our book,” he was holding up a copy of Jingles’ Promise. “I am Jingles,” he said smiling. They were both so moved by their having made this connection!

    “How did you find out about the book?” he asked.

    “A friend from another country in Europe told me about it.”

    What are the odds these two individuals — he from Florida and she from Holland — would be hiking at the same time and in the same place in Japan?

    They were standing on holy ground. They saw the significance. Even if they had been hiking there at the same time they likely would never have made the connection if she had not taken the spill.

    They could both see clearly there is no “chance” experience….

    Though he and his wife had done nothing to promote their book, here he was hiking in Japan and meets a woman from Holland — not the city but the country — who had learned about Jingles’ Promise from a friend in another country in Europe.

    Amazing….

    (ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF JINGLES’ PROMISE WILL BE DONATED TO HELP PEOPLE RECOVERING FROM TRAUMA AND LOSS.)

  • You Will Come to the Right Decision

    Sacred Stories

    Her husband was having complicated medical issues. The uncertainty with his medications had triggered her habit pattern of distrust and insecurity. Sharing opening about all of this with her daughter and sister, she was brought to tears several times.

    She recognized fully that the conditions were ideal for her to recover (along with her husband) and for them both to reside in that deep core of peace.

    Moments after their sharing, when she checked her email she saw a message from her website. The email associated with the message is advertising a product. Although the message was clearly spam, the words went right to her heart:

    I think you will come to the correct decision. Do not despair.

    “Bidden or unbidden, God is present.” ~ Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus

    From the original Latin phrase: Vocatus atque non vocatus, deus aderit

    The eminent psychologist Carl Jung had this carved, in Latin, over the front door of his house in Zurich, to remind those entering that: Awe of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom (Psalms 111.10). The words are said to originate from the reply given by the Delphic Oracle to the Spartans when they were planning a war against Athens: Yes, the Gods will be present, but in what form and to what purpose? Jung came across this as a student reading the works of Erasmus, the Renaissance scholar and humanist. It is also carved on Jung’s tombstone. (from Wild Goose Studio)

  • Things Are Changing

    Things Are Changing


    Somehow,
    in the process of trying to deny that things are always changing,

    we
    lose our sense of the sacredness of life.

    We
    tend to forget that we are part of the natural scheme of things.

    ~ Pema
    Chödrön

     

    This is the last Yellow
    Brick Road
    blog post here at dbashamblogspot.com. You
    are welcome to come back here many times, savoring the stories, browsing the memories, and revisiting the life lessons. You may read and share the over 180 posts
    from December 24, 2011 to July 26, 2016 made here on this platform.

    Bringing my blog onto
    the main SCS website is a dream come true. It allows you to sign up to receive notifications of new posts by email. It  also provides welcome continuity of format and platform with Wholesome Thoughts, Sacred Stories, and Debra’s Wellness Tips. You may also sign up on the SCS homepage and receive those weekly posts automatically!

    Going forward, enjoy reading and sharing all Yellow
    Brick Road blog posts at its new home: http://scs-matters.com/YellowBrickRoad/


  • This was the Thought for Today that
    slipped, almost innocently, into my inbox during the early morning hours. It
    was sent to me by a good friend. I could sign up to receive them directly, but
    I appreciate the connection with a person who touched my life when she lived
    here in my hometown, even though she now is in Florida year round. 
    You spend most of your life running after things, doing
    things. You forget that being comes before doing. Those who remember this
    secret make an effort to “be” and discover that when they stop and
    observe, life helps and brings whatever is needed. Learning to be is learning
    to be at peace. It is our most fundamental nature.
    I had that almost-guilty echo of a
    conversation shared with friends as we indulged in ice cream following dinner
    at one of our favorite Indian restaurants. A friend was talking about her work-related
    stress. I slipped into my “helper” role quite easily, and even drew
    support from one of the others. Reading this “Thought” reminds me
    that a greater ease with all of our lives is available to each of us at every
    moment.
    I really enjoy early mornings, sitting
    out front on my Zen Walkway. 
    I had finished my meditation, and was listening to myriad birds, enjoying the leisure of this late-summer morning. I
    checked email. Joel, my co-author, had shared a link to an amazing video of
    professional singer, Kristin Chenoweth, who was Glinda in Wicked. In this
    video, Kristin calls a member of the audience (Sarah Horn) up to sing with her.
    Youtube user, Mike Kestler, uploaded this video of the duet You will be blessed
    if you take time to listen. 
    I have watched the video several times already, and
    now I can finally watch it without crying. I was crying as I was thinking of my
    friends I had dinner with. I was crying as I was thinking of those I have
    worked with and played with and agreed with and argued with over the course of
    my lifetime. I was crying as I was thinking of how the winds of time have blown
    us together and apart like autumn leaves riding the river out to sea.
    If you are reading my blog, I think
    you will know I am being sincere when I say I wholeheartedly agree with the lyrics:
    Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?
    But because I knew you
    I have been changed for good
    After having seen the video, some of
    you will deeply appreciate reading all
    the words to this powerful song, so wonderfully sung by chance by Kristin and
    Glinda. 
    Truly, this is demonstration of the way chance (you can call it fate)
    blesses the world….
    Here are the words to For Good (from
    LyricsFreak):
    (Elphaba):

    I’m limited
    Just look at me – I’m limited
    And just look at you
    You can do all I couldn’t do, Glinda
    So now it’s up to you
    For both of us – now it’s up to you…

    (Glinda):
    I’ve heard it said
    That people come into our lives for a reason
    Bringing something we must learn
    And we are led
    To those who help us most to grow
    If we let them
    And we help them in return
    Well, I don’t know if I believe that’s true
    But I know I’m who I am today
    Because I knew you…

    Like a comet pulled from orbit
    As it passes a sun
    Like a stream that meets a boulder
    Halfway through the wood
    Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?
    But because I knew you
    I have been changed for good

    (Elphaba):
    It well may be
    That we will never meet again
    In this lifetime
    So let me say before we part
    So much of me
    Is made of what I learned from you
    You’ll be with me
    Like a handprint on my heart
    And now whatever way our stories end
    I know you have re-written mine
    By being my friend…

    Like a ship blown from it’s mooring
    By a wind off the sea
    Like a seed dropped by a skybird
    In a distant wood
    Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?
    But because I knew you

    (Glinda):
    Because I knew you

    (Both):
    I have been changed for good

    (Elphaba):
    And just to clear the air
    I ask forgiveness
    For the things I’ve done you blame me for

    (Glinda):
    But then, I guess we know
    There’s blame to share

    (Both):
    And none of it seems to matter anymore

    (Glinda):
    Like a comet pulled from orbit
    As it passes a sun
    Like a stream that meets a boulder
    Halfway through the wood

    (Elphaba):
    Like a ship blown from it’s mooring
    By a wind off the sea
    Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood

    (Both):
    Who can say if I’ve been
    Changed for the better?
    I do believe I have been
    Changed for the better

    (Glinda):
    And because I knew you…

    (Elphaba):
    Because I knew you…

    (Both):
    Because I knew you…
    I have been changed for good…