Debra Basham

Living and Loving

Tag: Debra Basham

  • Blood Relatives

    Sacred Stories

    Following his mother’s death, the man who had been his “father” as he was growing up told him he was not his real father.

    Soon, he was also told who his biological father was.

    And he discovered that he had siblings!

    Making contact with those folks, he learned his father and siblings knew about him.

    For years, he had been greeted with a big smile and warm words by the woman who worked at the hospital. That woman was his half-sister.

    In fact, when he had a grand opening of his restaurant, his father and sister had come.

    While he had just lost his mother, he had also received the gift of a larger family.

    The events of our lives might not always be simple, but Divine LOVE is within everything…

  • Screech Owl

    Sacred Stories

    He was awakened from a deep sleep by a very loud screeching sound. He opened the front door and looked out.

    An Eastern Screech Owl was perched on a branch, screeching!

    Owls were messengers, telling of a death. He “knew” immediately his mother had died.

    The following morning he drove to his parent’s home. Walking in the door, his father said, “Your mother is dead.”

    “I know,” he replied.

    “How do you know?” his dad asked.

    “A little bird told me,” popped out of his mouth.

    Pay attention. Nature is one of the ways we receive information.

  • When the Time is Right

    Sacred Stories

    She went to get a hair cut. The salon was intimate, located in the breezeway of the hairdresser’s home. As she arrived for her appointment, the hairdresser introduced her to the previous client.

    They discovered they lived in the same town.

    “We live on a very oddly shaped street,” the client gave her the street name.

    “I live on that street, too!”

    The street is “U” shaped. As the other client described where on the street she lived, it was right across from her, just one house down!

    “Did you just move in?” she inquired quickly.

    “We have been there twenty-three years,” was the reply.

    Although they had not met in all those years of living across the street from one another, her daughter had once many years ago been babysitter for the other client’s child.

    When the time is right….

  • A Little Bird

    Sacred Stories

    She was sitting inside one of the top medical centers in the United States after a doctor’s appointment that had not gone as well as she would have liked. Nothing terribly serious—issues related to age and high blood pressure, etc.

    She was thinking everything over: life, work, family, their recent move to another state. She was wondering if it was the right choice.

    A little bird perched on the chair across from her!


    She had had a rough childhood, and with her mother’s death much that had been unresolved came up for her.

    Peace had been coming. She was realizing the truth that her mother is now in her true form.

    Even though there had been distance between them in their physical lives, somehow there was a present understanding that her mom did love her.

    With so many others in this waiting area, the little bird landed on the chair and sat looking at her for a several minutes before it flew away.


    Her mother loved to bird watch with her father and her mother had shared that love with her.

    She knew her mother’s presence and love were with her right now….

  • Giraffe Chair

    Yesterday while out riding my bike, I found this adorable giraffe chair in someone’s trash. The beauty was complelling, even with patches of dry rot. I pulled the chair out of the trash, moving it carefully to a place of safety until I could get John to bring the van and pick it up.

    The giraffe chair is now sitting in the TV room!



    As I am working on my birthday post for next week, my friend/teacher/colleague, Betty Lue Lieber posted this Loving Reminder:

    Affirmations:
    I choose to see what is real.
    I am open and willing to learn what is really there.
    I seek only the highest truth and see with the eyes of Love.
    Miracles occur when we see what is real.

    January 15, 2020 Loving Reminders- What Is Real! by Betty Lue Lieber

    See What Is Real!

    What do you see?
    We each see and hear what we want to see.
    We think the thoughts we have been taught.
    We hold the thoughts in our mind and perceive them.

    What do you see?
    I seek the truth, the Essence
    I clear my mind with forgiveness of all pre-judging (prejudice.).
    I choose to see what is real.

    What do you see?
    Are you willing to see?
    Do you open your minds to what is there?
    Are you caught in the beliefs of your tribe?

    When we see with the vision of the world around us, we see what they see.
    When we see with the eyes of the child, with wonder and curiosity, we see with openness.
    When we see what we can use to get something, we seek how to use others.
    When we see what we fear and criticize, we avoid and try to control.

    What can you learn?
    When you seek to learn, you must be open.
    When you seek to learn, you must listen.
    When you seek to learn, you must be willing.

    This new movie, Hidden Figures, is from my era of open willingness without media.
    I saw myself as a high school graduate and college student, with equal opportunity.
    This was my world, my loving home, my parenting, my exposure to emancipation.
    I was white and sheltered by innocence and seeing everyone as equal in value.

    I realize now how I was not raised with prejudice or fear.
    I see now how I saw a world clean of fear and doubt, hatred and criticism.
    I saw humanity as a large family of love and respect, open-mindedness and kindness.
    I recognize how I only saw the equality and beauty and unlimited abilities in all.

    What a blessing to know!
    What a beauty to see!
    What a wonder to learn!
    What a joy to be free!

    Let’s clear our minds to see what is real!
    Loving us all, everyone as One!
    Betty Lue

    The only mistake we ever make is when we forget to Love.

    Something is happening that calls for our most profound awareness and commitment: Some of the individuals most dedicated to love and light are making themselves ill over the conditions in our world. They are turning out their lights because of the darkness they see!

    I am not sure who put the beautiful hand-painted giraffe chair in the trash for me to find, but the signature on the back says it was painted by Erica J. Murray.

    I looked up the totem meaning of giraffe: Gentle Giraffe, with its long neck reaching into the heavens symbolizes the ability to see the future and obtain things that would normally be out of reach. When your life is chaotic, Giraffe reminds you to keep your head up and avoid getting entangled in needless arguments.

    Life is certainly chaotic.

    Let’s keep our heads up!

    Let’s keep our light shining in the world. That is the most wise and kind thing to do in the darkness.

    Thank you, Erica…. Thank you, Gentle Giraffe.

  • Our True Nature

    The past two days I have been attending an online intensive with a group of dedicated individuals. Most individuals are dedicated to something. This group is dedicated to opening to awareness, also called “Pure Mind.” This particular series has been meeting weekly for the past year-and-a-half. Many of this group have been studying together for well over ten years.

    Our teacher lovingly reminds us we are not trying to get somewhere or become something we are not. We are simply setting our intention to allow ourselves to experience the awareness that is already our true nature. This was the randomly selected though for the day that came yesterday:


    Deep Spring Center

    Thought for Today

    “These are the people to whom you must talk:

    your neighbors, your coworkers, your parents and children,

    beings with good intentions who want to offer positive polarity

    but also may still be so grounded in their fear

    that when something comes along and shakes them, they react.

    These are the ones who must begin to learn they have a choice,

    and if they react from fear and it causes harm,

    they are responsible.

    And you you who are edging beyond that neutrality,

    more grounded in your positive polarity,

    must be their teachers.”

    For the past 6 weeks I had been unsuccessful trying to purchase a Magic Eye 2020 Calendar. The Magic Eye website announced Walmart as the exclusive merchandiser, but the stores all listed the item as “out-of-stock.”

    A few days ago, I searched ONE more time. The Walmart my brother-in-law shops at while he winters here in Southwest Florida listed the calendar “in-stock.” I sent him a photo, asked if he would check the next time he was there, and now I am thrilled to have one in my possession.


    In the Gospel of Thomas, Patterson/Meyer translation, Jesus said, “The (Father’s) kingdom is like a person who had a treasure hidden in his field but did not know it. And [when] he died he left it to his [son]. The son [did] not know about it either. He took over the field and sold it. The buyer went plowing, [discovered] the treasure, and began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished.”

    One of our practices is simply to look at a tree. We are to notice the branches, and then notice the space between. We are to allow our attention to shift between these, knowing that both ARE: simultaneous existence moving in and out of our awareness.

    The Subtle Communication Systems (SCS) training that Joel P. Bowman and I developed and taught for twenty years included higher sense perception. SCS was a synergy of energy medicine (Healing Touch and Reiki) and NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming). Joel and I studied for many years with Richard Bandler, co-developer of NLP.

    A renowned Buddhist nun and meditation teacher from Thailand Joel and I met at a Bandler training in Orlando read our training manual and said, “Debra, this is a shortcut to enlightenment!”

    Students learned to observe the true nature of their subjective experience: every experience went in as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic stimuli simultaneously! Even if all you noticed was a loud sound, or a flash of bright light, your actual experience (and your internal representation of that experience) includes all of your senses. We played games to help us notice the sensory system we were least aware of.

    One day in class, Joel reached out and touched a locket worn by one of the students. He said, “I see an image of a blonde-haired girl, about 8 years old.”

    “That is who gave me this locket,” exclaimed the student.

    When Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right,” he was giving us a great gift. If you think you are not enlightened, you are right. If you think you are enlightened, you can be in the world with greater wisdom and kindness and awareness.

    Joel and I watched sooooo many individuals wake up to what was within them all along.

    I love the Magic Eye calendar! The easiest way to see the hidden images is to begin looking closely at what you can see. Hold the page close to your nose. Relax your vision: trying too hard makes it too hard. With your eyes relaxed, slowly pull the page away from your face. As you see the 3-D image, hold the page and let yourself enjoy how easy it is.

    Where was it when you could not see it? Right there. It already is. The branches and the space ARE.

    If you are working too hard trying, relax, let yourself see what is already there. You are a soul. Every individual is a precious child of god.

    You already are that which you seek.

    That is your true nature….

  • Weather or Whether?

    Sacred Stories

    He had planned to travel out-of-state to attend the memorial service for his nephew. A couple of days prior to departure, at his sister’s urging, he made the decision to not travel because of a severe weather forecast.

    Turns out there was another reason for that guidance….

    He had severe forearm pain and went to the emergency room near his home town.

    Blood clots were found in his arm, a result of having been taken off blood thinners due to a recent GI bleed.

    He was transferred by ambulance to a large hospital in a nearby town he was familiar with, and after a team of doctors reviewed his history, he will be having an “open” surgery today to remove the clots.

    He and his family are so grateful he can be closer to home and that he is working with doctors that know his history.

    This is another example of how LIFE takes everything into consideration.

  • Hello Old Friend, Welcome New Friend

    Sacred Stories

    My husband and I were out enjoying our afternoon at a local winery. When we left there, he suggested we stop by a brewery on the way home. This brewery is not our typical, “let’s stop” place and we’ve never been there on a Sunday, but the day was a great day to be out. Getting out would lift my spirits.

    He knows that I’ve been missing my friend who transitioned quite a bit lately. She was my bestie for like 18 years, and she passed several years ago from colon cancer. Sometimes the missing can get intense.

    Another friend of mine has suggested that I try the Bloody Mary at this brewery, so we sat at the bar and I ordered one.

    A woman sitting next to me started up a conversation. She asked me how my Bloody Mary was and told me how she loved one of the beers there. She had come from out of state to get that beer before it was gone.

    We exchanged names. Her name was the same as my friend!

    I had to smile at the timing of this meeting. My husband understood the importance of this as well. He brews beer and years ago had named a wheat beer after my friend and her miniature donkeys. She loved having a beer named after her, and we all laughed about how cool that was.

    This woman was really nothing like my friend, other than she sounded very independent and matter-of-fact like my friend had been. During our conversation, we had so many things in common and I had the same feeling that I had when I first met my late friend. Both times, I had a knowing, “I have to be friends with this person!”

    The meeting even got more funny as this new friend asked how my old friend had spelled her name.

    She looked me in the eyes and said, “My name is spelled the other way with an “ie.”

    When I first met my old friend’s sister, she had introduced herself as Kelli with an “i”. My first thought during that meeting was an internal chuckle and that she had two eyes. I didn’t choose to say that at that initial introduction, but from that moment on whenever I referred to my friend’s sister, I always said, “with an i.”

    My new friend’s reference to the spelling of her name really hit home with me. I felt my old friend might be setting up this meeting, and it definitely was emotionally uplifting.

    Before we left the brewery my new friend asked me to put her number in my phone so we can get together again.

    Pretty cool…Hello, Old Friend, and welcome, New Friend.❤️

    (Shared by a friend on Facebook.)

  • Spirit is Everlasting

    Sacred Stories

    Packing Christmas away she happened upon a photo of her husband. She had cut out and placed in the frame with the photo these words from Unity’s Daily Word on his birthday seven years after his transition:


    “Physical forms are temporary. Spirit is everlasting. When your journey on Earth is over, you will set down your body and free your soul. This is a normal process. Those left behind may feel sorrow, but this transition is a joyous event in the soul’s journey. After your human life, your soul will be reunited with the source of unconditional love and continue its work in the spirit realm.”

    Soon after seeing the photo, she received this photo of two mints which had just been picked up for her by her friend’s husband at the barber shop just minutes earlier.


    She responded: Arrived at a perfect moment.

    Read more about the way these sweet treats became one of the ways her husband sends her assurance his spirit is everlasting in the Sacred Story, “Mints,” published on December 27, 2014.

    It is so important we are able to honor these assurances….

  • Happy 2020

    What a difference a day makes!

    You have to appreciate how quickly life changes. One day it rains, the next day the sun is shining. Loved ones are with us in body, and then they are not. Health is here, gone tomorrow, back again the day after.

    Each day is significant. The changing of a year is big. Moving into a new decade is HUGE.

    Happiness
    Underneath
    God-awful
    Experiences

    I saw a quotation on Facebook attributed to Brad Paisley: Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.

    The most important resource offered by a New Year is that blank slate.

    If you, like me, appreciate ritual, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are perfect. I saw a webpage titled “3 New Year’s Eve 2019 Rituals To Wrap Up The Decade With A Magical Touch.” These were very complex, heavy-duty rituals…

    Some people like to make things difficult. I think life itself offers ample difficulty. My preference is to notice what is easy, kind, and wise.

    What is easy about New Years is to realize things do change. If things are pleasant now, cultivate a precious sense of appreciation, and an honest recognition of how tenuous our human experience is. When things are not pleasant, realize no matter how unpleasant, things could be worse. Mostly remember things often get better. A sore throat, a lost job, even a broken heart….

    An amazing aspect of anything kind is how it takes into account more than just one view, person, or perspective. In an argument, it is kind to both people when you just stop saying mean things or say you are sorry this has been difficult.

    Wise actions draw from more than intelligence. Often I will hear words come out of my mouth that make a difference for someone, sometimes me! This is not something I thought, or knew, or identified as helpful. Wisdom flows into us and through us into the world.

    I was thinking how it must be to have been born at the change of a century. For that to have been the case I would have to be now 19 or 119 years old. Neither of those are very appealing, so best to appreciate what is.

    Let’s do what we can to receive all the gifts this new day, year, and decade offers.


    I hope you will have a very happy and healthy and wholesome new year. Enjoy reading Robert Waldron’s 2020 in View:

    Year 2020—The Emperor

    2018 was a year focused on Self-renewal through creativity and strength.

    2019 was focused on breaking destructive and limiting patterns in your life.

    2020 is the year of the EMPEROR.

    This is a year to discover and experience your personal form of leadership in life. During the year 2020, you will probably start new projects or move in new directions where you can own your own power and leadership. It is a good time to work on father issues, whether it is your father, you as a father (or father figure), or clearing ways you lead or take care of others or want to be taken care of by others or the world. This is the year to recognize and appreciate the high standards you have set and to live your own truth.

    During this year, you will be faced with opportunities to become aware of ways in which you allow yourself to be led or overly-influenced by others in your life to the extent that you shut down your own visioning, doubt your inner direction or fail to do whatever is necessary to manifest the visions which are inside of you. This could cause you to give away even more of your authority in your own life, unless you recognize that the gift of 2020 is the energy and support to change these patterns. Begin to discover your own personal leadership style through the integration of your mind, body and spirit. This year may bring some initial frustration as you experience the limitations of old, time-tested strategies and approaches. Remember, you cannot change an old pattern without first becoming aware of what it is and its impact in your life. Celebrate these awarenesses and use this energy to re-create your life and your world.

    The key: Be willing to have expansive vision and put your ideals and visions into form. Use your visions to empower yourself and others.

    “I see and I create.”

    “I have the confidence and power to manifest my highest visions in practical form for the good of all.” “I have the power and discipline to achieve my highest ambitions.”

    2020 is also a year focused on Individuality. True individuality comes from moving out of defensive patterns of withdrawing and dependent relationship with the world and into more assertive patterns. Know your true relationship with the Divine and recognize the strength, guidance and abundance which are yours in that relationship. You can use the energy of this year to transform any defensiveness into being at cause in life. You must see yourself as hard working, a defender of truth, a teacher and an idealist in the quest for a more perfect world. In promoting and supporting improvement for others, you move out of self-consciousness and into more independence, originality and spontaneous creativity.

    “I am free to be me.”

    “I confidently release the past and free myself to fully, creatively and spontaneously express my unique gifts and talents to a loving and receptive world.”

    The primary support tools available in 2020 are:

    • The Magician—When you find yourself following others and not clearly visioning, you must communicate your truth
    openly and authentically and re-awaken your ability to inspire and motivate others.

    “My thought creates.”

    “The power of my thought and word magically manifest the creation of Spirit.” “I am a willing channel for the manifestation of Spirit in the world.”

    • The Builder of New Worlds—This is the passion for universal well being and freedom from old established ways of doing things. It represents new ideas, concepts and values. Your best work is for some ideal or for the benefit of mankind.

    “I know, and all is manifest.”

    “I create my ideal world for all through the strength and clarity of my vision and the power which flows through me for its manifestation.”

    • The Neutral Mind—This is the mind of service. The neutral mind takes information from the positive mind (all good, what we want, etc) and from the negative mind (the potential problems, fears, avoidances, etc) and chooses based on what is truly in the best interests of everyone involved.
    “I serve only the truest call.”

    “I set aside all fears and desires coming from myself and others and respond only to support the highest and best for all concerned.”