Debra Basham

Living and Loving

Tag: encouragement

  • 21st Century Mystic

    Sacred Stories

    They were on FaceTime, sharing their reentry to the “real” world after having been on retreat for a week. The conversation turned to the awkwardness that can arise when using intuition in our everyday work life, especially in fields that do not embrace this path.

    One mentioned having heard author Alan Seale say, “In the 21st century we will all become mystics or we will be nothing at all.” She went on to mention how spiritual practice historically had been cloistered, where those called to service were likely living within religious community that understood such a calling. On Becoming a 21st Century Mystic: Pathways to Intuitive Living, was written in 1997. Very different from today!

    A few minutes after their conversation ended, the other friend sent a text message with a photo of a paragraph written by the Buddhist nun, Pema Chödrön:


    Along with the quotation was her comment, “I guess women have always had to figure out how to be busy mystics when cloistering was not available for them. Thought this part of my reading was a synchronicity with what we had discussed.”

    From the back cover of On Becoming a 21st Century Mystic:

    Intuition, in its highest form, is nothing less than the voice of God within you. It is one of God’s greatest gifts. Journey deep into your heart. Uncover your innate intuitive gifts. Discover vast realities beyond your outer senses. Experience the oneness of your rational and intuitive minds. A breakthrough book – a clear and practical guide for spiritual and intuitive living in the 21st century.

  • Blue Jays!

    Sacred Stories

    She was out of state, caring for/visiting with her elderly father, when she received a text message from a friend: “Not sure what’s going on with you, but Blue Jays are hanging out here in groups up to a half dozen.” Her friend knew that Blue Jays were often a spiritual visitor for her….

    She wrote back: “I am here at Dad’s, enjoying many ordinary moments. I had many Blue Jays at my feeder before I left and wondered where they would find food while I was gone. I had hoped they would head to your nearby home. Perhaps they have!”

    They both understood.

    EVERYTHING responds to loving intention….

    (Note* – The “totem” meaning of Blue Jay is strength and endurance; we are able to endure difficult situations in life.”)

  • Airbnb

    Sacred Stories

    Difficult as it was, she determined she probably needed to cancel her plans to go to an Airbnb for her birthday. Money was tight.

    Going online, there was a message on the listing: Aaron wants you to enjoy your stay!

    Her spiritual teacher’s name is Aaron….

    “According to Vedanta, there are only two symptoms of enlightenment, just two indications that a transformation is taking place within you toward a higher consciousness. The first symptom is that you stop worrying. Things don’t bother you anymore. You become light-hearted and full of joy. The second symptom is that you encounter more and more meaningful coincidences in your life, more and more synchronicities. And this accelerates to the point where you actually experience the miraculous. (quoted by Carol Lynn Pearson in Consider the Butterfly)”
    ― Deepak Chopra, Synchrodestiny: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence to Create Miracles

  • 1:30 pm

    Sacred Stories

    She used her “walking meditation” time to enjoy a bike ride. Summer was gone now, and winter was closer day-by-day.

    Today was beautiful, and she was debating taking a longer ride — soooo welcome after seven long days of sitting meditation. She could use the time set aside for lunch/rest to log another five miles.

    Observing the practice of noble silence throughout the retreat, she had her phone with her but the ringer was shut off. Something nudged her to check her phone, and she saw a text message from the Zoom host. The message had been sent at 12:52 pm.

    “I have some things to attend to this afternoon. Okay to make you the host starting at 1:30?”

    She immediately sent a text message back: “I am out on my bike right now, and it may be a couple of minutes after 1:30 before I get there, but I’m heading back right now.”

    That nudge to check her phone came at the exact point where she could get back.

    She logged on to Zoom as host at 1:30 pm….

  • Barbara’s Call

    Sacred Stories

    She sent email sharing a funny experience:

      While lying in a yoga pose listening to a friend/spiritual teacher’s (Barbara’s) instructions, recorded at retreat the previous day, almost falling asleep, the phone rang.

      Strange.

      It said the call was from Barbara.

      How could she be calling while I am listening to her giving a talk? It was almost an out-of-body experience.

      I answered the phone and indeed it was Barbara!

      Duh!

      I told her about it and she thought it was funny, too! (Sort of like dreams I wake up from, feeling they’re so real, that people are with me in the house, so I go to the back bathroom instead of the one I usually go to so that I don’t wake them up! And then I see that no one is there!)


    The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.
    ~ Jean Jacques Rousseau

  • Poppies

    Sacred Stories

    She had just spent 8 days on “virtual” retreat. Her closing remarks included her sharing of Poppies, a beautiful poem by Mary Oliver. As many, this Mary Oliver poem focuses on elements of nature.

    Moments after her sharing of the poem, a friend also attending the “virtual” retreat sent the following photo and message:

    My recent purchase: poppies on glass.

    The following morning, she sent her friend this message:

    Just had to share with you this amazing additional piece of synchronicity with poppies, this one by this year’s Nobel Prize winner Louise Gluck (whom I’ve only recently discovered and like a lot). This came just yesterday, as the poem of the day, but I saw it in my email today. I think it’s interesting that once again, the themes of our retreat and the teachings we receive in general are mirrored in this poem in the voice of a poppy.

    A few lines from Mary Oliver’s poem: Poppies

    There isn’t a place
    in this world that doesn’t

    sooner or later drown
    in the indigos of darkness,

    But I also say this: that light
    is an invitation
    to happiness,
    and that happiness,

    when it’s done right,
    is a kind of holiness,
    palpable and redemptive.

    Thank you, Mary Oliver, thank you poppies….


  • Happy 37th Anniversary!

    Sacred Stories

    A big storm blew through and flattened a huge stem of her cosmos. She found it very wilted along the driveway.

    She brought it in and put it in the vase that friends had given to her and her late husband for their wedding.

    The following morning she was so surprised she excitedly sent this photo and accompanying message:

    “Look what greeted me this morning on my 37th wedding anniversary!”

    The ones who love us never really leave us… J.K. Rowling

  • Toby

    Sacred Stories

    Her beloved dog, Toby, had just passed.

    First, her husband had passed.

    Then both their son and their daughter were out on their own.

    Toby was a rescue, and a rescuer. He was her first dog ever, and he had come into her life when she felt very alone. He had been her faithful companion for 15 years.

    She writes the morning after his passing:

      Toby came through today. I made myself drive to the lake to walk as he and I always went out together in the morning. I had Pandora on. As I was looking over at the empty seat, barely able to breathe in that moment, a hauntingly beautiful song came on. I looked to see the title. It was, “I Am Always Right Here.”

    These are sacred stories. Pay attention to happenings in your life. Do you have a story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.

  • Fifty-Fourth Birthday

    Sacred Stories

    She was working on a very deep poem — inspired by her goddaughter’s birthday — with her four poet colleagues/friends on Zoom. She did not share the poem simply because hers was a personal piece not requiring critique, and others had pieces that did. She agreed to send it after the meeting, just for sharing.

    That evening, after substantial insight, she also sent an edited version to the group with a bit of background, adding, “Oddly, the original version had 282 words, the final 228!”

    “How old is your goddaughter?” asked one.

    “Fifty-four.”

    “The difference between 282 and 228 is 54,” her friend wrote back.

    “What made you ask how old she is?”

    “I figured since you had included the number of words in both versions, it must be significant.”

    She quickly looked up the numerology meaning. (54 reduces to 9.)

    Number 9 is the number of Universal love, eternity, faith, Universal Spiritual Laws, the concept of karma, spiritual enlightenment, spiritual awakening, service to humanity, humanitarianism and the humanitarian, lightworking and lightworkers, leading by positive example, philanthropy and the philanthropist, charity.

    Very significant, indeed!

  • Message from Chuck

    Sacred Stories

    She was attending a grief journey group that is meeting virtually during the pandemic.

    One of the co-facilitators is a man very sensitive to messages from those in spirit. He said he had a message from “Chuck.” He thought it might be for one of the other women but she knew it was for her.

    “My dad is Chuck,” she said.

    “Chuck wants you to know that your nephew ‘landed safely.’”

    Her 35-year-old nephew had just passed away this week!!!