If what I say resonates with you,
it’s because
we are both branches of the same tree.
~ W. B. Yeats
I’m not a “follower” of astrology, but MANY years ago something occurred that led me to respect the wisdom there.
Decades ago now, driving home on a snowy day, the roads were glare ice. Less than a block from home, I was blinded by a cloud of snow by a person blowing out his driveway. I rear-ended the car stopped to make a left-hand turn onto a side street. I was not considered at fault due to the unusual conditions and I did not receive a citation. But when I opened the paper a bit later at home, still shaken, my horoscope for the day read: The highway will not be a happy place for you today. Be careful, even on short trips.
And now a warning?
Perhaps just a coincidence, or more likely something ancient and pure and worthy of being reported in the bible as announcing the coming of Jesus.
Yesterday’s comment by a friend about the current astrological line-up led me to look up The Cosmic Tides by Leah Whitehorse. Here is an excerpt from April 9, 2022: It’s imperative to take time out to reconnect with the emotional body before direct action. That way, we can tune into our gut instinct which tells us where to best place our energy and effort. There will be time enough to conquer goals and fight the good fight. Be tender with yourself. Listen to your feelings. Know where you belong. Never doubt that you are strong enough. Nothing can extinguish your inner flame.
It is valuable to sit in private meditation. It is lovely to walk in the woods or on a warm and sandy beach and enjoy that beauty and sense of connection. Your joy at those moments does offer light, does have real value. But at physical levels it does not touch the fundamental deprivation in the world. How can you allow that connection with spirit to begin to transform the world? This does not mean you should not take holidays, but your work is in the world. How do you bring joy and love back into the stressful situations? Would you worship a hollow god that stands above the world, superior to the world, that will not get its feet dirty? Would you strive to pull yourself up to those heights and leave the world to suffer with itself in the dark alleys? Or do you give your love to a loving God, a God willing to partake in pain through entering the human illusion?
~ Aaron
A couple of days of hard work has rendered our tiny house clean and neat and ready for visitors. It is funny that our seasonal home on Bounty Lane is the larger space. Just as we squeeze back into 1,120 square feet, we continue to share one vehicle (writing all of our “times I need the car” on the calendar hanging on the kitchen wall).
Already this morning I have done 45 minutes of chanting and some yoga. I will at some point go over to the community room and ride the stationary bike while John walks on the treadmill. We await warm weather that welcomes walking and biking in the beautiful Michigan outdoors.
Treasure this day and treasure yourself.
Truly, neither will ever happen again.
~ Ray Bradbury (Gratefulness.org “Word for the Day” April 9, 2022)
Meditation is not only permissible in the face of great suffering; it is a moral obligation.
~ Right Action in the Face of Suffering, by Dan Zigmond,
March 15, 2022 in The Lion’s Roar
Often I use the Yellow Brick Road as a platform to share what is happening. Today I am simply going to share a significant perspective: A lot is happening….
John is doing well. Obviously he is still recovering, but for his 11th week post-surgery-anniversary on Monday he walked 10,000 steps! He has 2 more cardio rehab visits here in Florida and will pick up when we get home to Michigan.
Packing (not quite yet loading), deep cleaning (not yet cleaning myself out of the door).
EVERYTHING is living metaphor.
We are in the “getting ready but not quite yet ready” phase as a collective consciousness.
I just spoke to Stacey. She is navigating sciatica pain. Not able to get comfortable to sleep; painful to sit; painful to stand. John had experienced a severe sciatica flare from the first of November until recovery with the hospitalization for the open-heart-surgery the first week of January.
Today is also the birthday of our grand-daughter-in-love, Christina.
A lot is happening….
Tom Kuhlman and his wife, Delcy, have had the precious Still Waters Retreat Center which has been a part of my spiritual journey for almost 30 years. This just in from Tom about Still Waters having been sold:
Yesterday was the closing on our place. We will have a couple months to find a place and time to move. We will have a few more months to empty the barn and shop.
So far we have looked at and eliminated 12 places and are headed out to look at a “new listing”.
Before we moved to Still Waters, the State would bring us a list of “possible new places” each week. We didn’t go to all they suggested because several were in subdivisions and not what we needed. However we were looking at the 42nd on their list when the neighbor lady came out and suggested this place we have used as home for the last 33 years. This place was not for sale at the time, but when we talked to the owner……. Long story….. he “talked to the ‘MAN upstairs’ and was told to sell to us…”.
We know the Lord led us to this place 33 years ago when the State bought our house in Berrien for the new highway. That is why we believe God will find a place for us now.
She had been practicing meditation for many years. She understood that there was something that she needed to understand—where to go, what to do.
She walked into a bookstore that had a large area of spiritual books and was just standing and looking. Just at ease, standing and looking. Not even taking books off the shelf; looking at the titles.
A man walked up to her, pulled two books off the shelf, handed them to her, and said, “This is what you need.”
She was startled. She looked. The first book was Be Here Now by Ram Dass.
The second was a book of instruction on Insight Meditation. Not on Buddhism, but on Insight Meditation.
She was startled. She looked around a minute later for the man. He was gone. She went to the counter and said, “Where did the man go that was just standing here?”
“There was nobody else here. Only you were in the bookstore.”
Well, of course she bought the two books! She took them home. She read them.
What you need will come to you, sometimes in what seems to be mysterious, but always loving ways.
The group gathered each week for meditation. One particular day, a woman who lived in another area was visiting and also joined them.
At the conclusion of the meditation, she said, “I just kept seeing elephants…. Other animals, too, but lots of elephants.”
Finally one of the other women said, “Well, I did a painting of an elephant. I have it here with me today. I brought it to show a woman who is not here today.”
Coming back to the group, she produced this amazing water color!
How do you make sense of the amazing experiences we are having? To share your sacred stories, send email to debra@scs-matters.com.
She was attending a workshop on the healing power of meditation. During an exercise, she was asked to place in an imaginary bubble something that she saw as a problem or a difficulty or an uncomfortable situation or experience. When the bubble popped, she had an immense feeling sensation of energy leaving her body.
Later in the workshop she asked if it was appropriate for her to use some of these tools with her daughter. As the facilitator spoke of doing surrogate healing meditation with her daughter, the woman received a text message of apology from the daughter.
The woman told the group that she had placed a painful text message received a few days prior to the workshop into the bubble… The text message had come from her daughter.
What an instant confirmation of the surrogate bubble!
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.
When I saw this image on someone’s Facebook page, I knew there was a blog coming….
In the several decades I have been involved in what used to be called Alternative Medicine, but is now most often considered Functional Medicine, I would marvel at how people approached something new. One acupuncture treatment; does not work. One herbal remedy; does not work. One “you-name-it” and the mind shuts down like a steel trap deciding something does not work.
My yoga instructor said a guy came to class once and said yoga does not work for him.
People try meditation and say that.
It all sounds a lot like dusting once and when the dust comes back deciding not to fall for dusting again.
Dr. Lissa Rankin said when she was researching her book, Mind Over Medicine, she stumbled across the Spontaneous Remission Project, put together by the Institute of Noetic Sciences. They collected over 3,500 case studies published in medical literature about people who experienced spontaneous remissions from seemingly “incurable diseases.” (See 9 Key Factors Affecting Radical Remission from Cancer)
So what were the 9 key factors that these patients with radical remissions employed?
Radically changing your diet.
Taking control of your health.
Following your intuition.
Using herbs and supplements.
Releasing suppressed emotions.
Increasing positive emotions.
Embracing social support.
Deepening your spiritual connection.
Having strong reasons for living.
My client has been able to identify the area/s she needs to strengthen and has made a commitment to doing that. My mind went automatically to how if these nine key factors can allow someone to return to health from a diagnosis of cancer, how much might our lives be enhanced by them.
I will keep dusting. I hope you will too. Meanwhile, you may enjoy my most recent poem, “Catching my Reflection.”
Catching my Reflection
Blowing my nose with an expensive hand-painted silk scarf
it is clear now my body can be used as a weapon against itself
The cookies eaten as my lunch and
the wine gulped down to dull the inner pain
Razor blades I did not use for shaving that caused
scars I wore as membership in a tragic club
Feeding the pages of my journal into the shredder
systematically three sheets at a time
Decades of broken dreams and promises
chewed into tiny bits
Now lining the bottom of the bird cage
finally good for something
The doorbell rings “Some Enchanted Evening”
perhaps a friend, a stranger, or some gift undelivered
I feel no obligation to answer
no fear that something wonderful could be missed
Catching my reflection in the puddle
lips turned up in a quiet smile
As human beings,
our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world
that is the myth of the “atomic age”
as in being able to remake ourselves.
~ Mahatma Gandhi
(Sign up to receive the “Word for the Day” from gratefulness.org.)
Signing up to receive inspiration daily (via email) is one of the many gifts of being here now during the information and technology age. Today’s thoughts from myriad sources really resonate to the hopes and dreams I have for all sentient beings, so this blog post is dedicated to you.
On this day of your life
Debra, I believe God wants you to know …
… that when you see the light at the end of the tunnel,
it is not beneficial to go out and build more tunnels.
It was John Quinton who observed that politicians do
that. Maybe you’ve caught yourself doing it, too. Just
when things look like they’re getting better, you start
seeing more things that “aren’t right,”
or “could go wrong.”
The Universe is essentially a friendly place.
So friendly, in fact, that it will give you
exactly what you expect it to.
Isn’t that wonderful? Of course,
it depends on what you expect…
Neale Donald Walsch
(Sign up to receive Neale’s “Daily Inspirations” at today@nealedonaldwalsch.com)
For many years my friend has shared the Brahma Kumaris’ daily thought with me. Each of those comes with an image. Today’s image speaks louder than a thousand words:
The message that accompanied the image is: The greatest act of generosity is the ability to see beyond the weaknesses of others, helping them to recognize their innate qualities and core values.
In the USA, visit the Brahma Kumaris at www.brahmakumaris.org/us/o
The final gift I opened this morning was a delightful video interview with Shinzen Young: What is Enlightenment? If you are curious about moving beyond the pain and frustration of relative reality, check him out. His has studied the science and experienced the freedom that comes from making meditation a part of your life. Visit: Meditation is Real at https://www.shinzen.org/
In closing, I will use yesterday’s message from Betty Lue because she is on the West Coast so those come in later in the day.
Affirmations:
Love is the way to peace.
I quickly recognize, forgive and erase all blocks to Love.
It is safe, fun and easy to love, only Love.
All good comes from Loving without condition.
Closing:
Now is the time for us to engage one another in the dialogue of how to love and be loved.
We can begin with our family and ourselves.
We can ask one another: How can I love you better?
We can forgive ourselves for being afraid to love with innocence and trust, as a child loves.
We can choose again to remove (forgive and erase( all obstacles to being Loving always.
We can undo the false beliefs and limited thinking that separates us from one another.
We can choose to live in Love, with Love in our Hearts and Minds as Love in our world.
Health and fitness are just the side-benefits of Hatha Yoga.
Classical Hatha Yoga is a powerful system
to prepare the system for a “cosmic download”
and explore our full potential.
Recently I was smitten by the title of an article by Stephen Cope about yoga: Everything Is Already OK. When I was thirty something, I wore out my copy of Richard Hittleman’s 28 Day Progam. The daily practice sheets in the back of the book were tattered, yellowed, and just looking at them you could almost smell Nag Champa incense.
In some ways, my relationship with my body got off to a shaky start. Another way to say it is that my life has been about bringing together my body, mind, and spirit. (Listen to “Loved and Wanted.”)
When I was five, I was diagnosed with (and treated for) polio. Thirty-three years later I discovered I had instead one of several mimicking viruses that went unrecognized during the polio pandemic.
Roller skating backwards ushered in a fractured left wrist in fifth grade, then at age 12, a drunk driver misjudged a stop sign, resulting in our vehicle hitting her vehicle broadside at about 50 MPH. I was left with massive facial lacerations, a dislocated hip at the pelvis, and my first bona fide out-of-body experience.
Yoga just felt right. I loved the breath work, the stretching, the feeling of being present. How the best habit of my life slipped through my fingers, I am not sure, but I can say I am profoundly appreciating the benefits of being back in a committed yoga practice now that I am sixty something.
A few years ago, I went to one yoga class with John Orr at the June meditation retreat. While it was impossible to miss my lack of flexibility, being in just that one class sparked a yearning.
Last year, I started attending a yoga class at the Y taught by my good friend, Kathy Zerler. Hatha Yoga is also called Kripalu, Restorative, or Gentle Yoga. I attended faithfully every Tuesday all last summer, but I could feel my body asking for more.
In April of this year (2016) I made the commitment to attend class every Tuesday and Thursday. In June, Kathy also added a small every-other Saturday morning class at the 815 Main Street office.
I was aware I loved class. I would notice the days my pelvis was not able to let me put my legs flat on my mat at the beginning of class but how I could comfortably melt into the mat for Savasana. Also known as corpse pose, this is when you lie on your back and relax your body and mind, reaping the benefits of your practice.
I hear Kathy’s words from class in my head all the time now. Interspersed below are Kathy’s words in italics.
“Let every part of your body now melt into the mat. Just let it all go. The melting, the release, the relaxation in yoga is just as important as the tension and the movement, and the balance and the strength and endurance. It is the rest in a piece of music, the comma in a sentence, so that release is a skill that is integral to the process.”
I began to record Kathy’s audio instructions. I have dozens of voice memos. This is letting me practice on my own when traveling or if I have to miss a class. I intend to practice with those while I am in Florida. I feel a sort of bliss knowing I have those. I appreciate that you can do yoga where ever you are.
“The breath is the connection. Imagine that you can follow your breath into the body part that you are working and soon you will see that you can.”
This year, when I went to meditation retreat in October, the full benefits of my yoga practice revealed themselves so beautifully.
“You are invited, more than that, you are expected to take good care of yourself. Every move is from the inside out.”
A meditation retreat involves a lot of sitting, starting at 6:30 am, and going until after 9:00 pm, with breaks for meals, walking meditation, and brief instruction.
“You are strengthening your spine, but you are also learning to watch what you are doing. You are learning to lift yourself with the core muscles and that includes the big muscles in the legs. And these are important things that will carry you safely or safer throughout every day.”
As I slid onto my chair in the meditation hall that first day, I placed a pillow between the small of my back and the back of my chair.
“Proper posture is the single best thing that we can do for a healthy spine.”
I felt my spine lift gently. My core engaged. I witnessed my shoulders rolling back naturally, with that slight engaging of my shoulder blades. I was not just sitting, I was being present in my body!
“Remember you are encouraged to stop whenever you feel like you’ve had enough. There’s nothing in this class that is mandatory. There are no grades. There are no pop quizzes. This is your yoga, for you, right now, for this hour. And so honor how you are feeling right now, and do what’s right for you.”
That is what this practice is doing for me. The class at the Y is large (30 students), so I close my eyes as much as I can. In the same way that my meditation practice has moved off the cushion, my yoga practice is moving off the mat!
“Letting go… Treating yourself as gently as you would treat your best friend, or a kitten, or a baby. How gently would you treat those people? You deserve that same gentle treatment.”
In walking meditation, I can feel that same sense of my shoulder blades engaging. I feel my core engaged when I ride my bike. While there is no goal or effort to attain in meditation or yoga, as I watch my breath, I know my heart is opening! I am benefiting body, mind, and spirit.
“It is the breath than connects your mind to your body. In yoga, the breath is the spirit part, so we’re working all parts of you. This is your yoga, designed to work your mind, your body, and your own sweet spirit.”
My friend Ray, a Zen practitioner, tells me when you get the posture right, you have the practice. I did not really understand what that meant until now. I can feel it in my precious body, and I am deeply appreciative.
“Without your body, where would you live?”
I will close with these wonderful words about Hatha Yoga Benefits, the science of using the body to ‘hasten your evolutionary process.’
When you experience everything as oneness in your consciousness, then you are in yoga. To attain that unity within you, there are many ways. You work with the body, then you move to the breath, then to the mind, then to the inner self. Like this, many steps have been created, but they are only different facets of yoga. It is important that all of them are addressed in a very balanced way, all at once, as one single unit. There is really no division as such; yoga employs all aspects of who you are.
“You have it all. We have everything we need to take great care of ourselves.”
It feels amazing to be present to this holy relationship of my mind, body, and sweet spirit.
If you are a fan of the Chicago Cubs, you know that the events happening at this time are a very big deal. The Cubs won back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908, becoming the first Major League team to play in three consecutive World Series, and the first to win it twice. While the Cubs have appeared in a total of ten World Series, their most recent was way back in 1945, before I was born….
I find watching competitive sports an interesting activity, mostly because I want everyone to win. I celebrate a good play regardless of who made it. I appreciate the commitment, the dedication, and good sportsmanship. One of the things I treasure about the dancing reality shows (So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars) is what I perceive as genuine support they express for one another in the midst of the competition. In spite of the fact that it is obvious only one person will win the coveted mirror ball trophy, or the quarter of a million dollars and the title “American’s Favorite Dancer,” they seem to truly care about the outcomes for each of them. Several of the professional dancers are in relationship to other professionals. Some are married. It is a fascinating model of possibilities.
If you don’t watch the show, you might be very impressed to watch a brief video of Terra Jole, the first “little person” to be on the show. (Subscribers to my blog should use the following external link to watch Terra Jole and Sasha Farber doing the jive.)
We can bring commitment, dedication, and good sportsmanship to all of life. I imagine this cooperative competition as our way of being in the world—including the world of politics.
If you agree, you might wish to join millions of people on Sunday, November 6, 2016, at 7:00 pm Eastern time. James Twyman is inviting folks for a synchronized meditation to lift the energy of the upcoming presidential election. He says, “THIS IS THE MOST POSITIVE THING YOU CAN DO! Please share with everyone you know.”
Here is a brief (2 minute) video about the meditation opportunity: (Subscribers to my blog should use the following external link to view the Lifting the US Election video.)
I am certainly thinking of my father in heaven watching his Cubbies. Whatever the outcome, pay attention to who’s team you are on. We are all in this game of life together. (My dad is the one right in the middle of this photo of him with his siblings.)
The client entered the session a bit frantic. She had mailed a package to her daughter in another country, and, although she had received confirmation of delivery, her daughter did not have the package. She expressed thoughts about the neighborhood not being safe.
The therapist shared a story about a friend’s experience.
A friend of mine went grocery shopping, and when she had everything unpacked and put away, she realized her wallet was missing. She immediately called the grocery store but was told no one had turned the wallet in.
A meditation instructor, she knew how to tune into her highest good. She sat down and began to meditate on universal truth, using the mantra what is mine comes to me. In less than half hour, her phone rang. Her wallet had been turned in!
As she drove to the store, she continued to affirm what is mine comes to me.
Her credit cards and all of the cash was still in her wallet!
As the therapist finished the story about the wallet being returned intact, the client had a text message pop it. Her daughter’s neighbor had seen the delivery and had brought the package in for her!
