Tag: SCS Matters

  • Red and Blue

    I love color, and I am also fascinated by shapes. In my next life I might like to study sacred geometry. This image came up when I searched “What color does blue and red make?”

    My question about what color you get by mixing red and blue resulted from a recent post-puzzling conversation with two dear friends.

    Here is the photo of Linda and me with our completed puzzle, snapped by our hostess:

    Linda found it incomprehensible that neither Kathy nor I know which US party is represented by red, and which US party is blue!

    Our conversation had begun with questions about what I had learned at the recent Dharma Path Intensive. An inner journey is not easy to explain. When the word ‘politics’ came up, I said I could recall having heard Abraham Hicks say, “Politics is just outside of the vortex.”

    The next question was, “What is the vortex?”

    I was now trying to speak Buddhism, Abraham Hicks, and DebraESE. For this blog post, I will add some WilberESE to the mix!

    Maybe the questions about mixing the colors of red and blue might make things a bit more clear. The answer seems to depend if you are referring to pigment or light. Commonly people think about pigment. Mixing blue and red pigment, would result in purple or violet.

    However, if you are referring to light, which is additive color, mixing red and blue light produces magenta. Yikes….

    I found this reference to magenta online. It comes from Integral Theory (levels of consciousness) by Ken Wilber: Magenta Altitude tends to be the home of egocentric drives, a magical worldview, and impulsiveness. It is expressed through magic/animism, kin-spirits, and such. Young children primarily operate with a magenta worldview. Magenta in any line of development is fundamental, or ‘square one’ for any and all new tasks. Magenta emotions and cognition can be seen driving cultural phenomena.

    I am working with a few others to develop a blog called Words of Light, where the teachings of Aaron (as channeled by Barbara Brodsky) will be made available. This is a snip from one blog entry:

    The whole Earth is in process of growing through from the lowest level of consciousness, which has a very heavy vibrational frequency, to a higher and higher and higher consciousness. Just as you cannot rush the 2-year-old into the next level of consciousness, but must allow gradual transition, you cannot rush the Earth and the sentient life upon the Earth.

    But, just as your willingness to explain to the 2-year-old even though he doesn’t yet understand—to hold the door open to the next level of consciousness—is vital to his shifting into that higher level of consciousness, so your willingness to hold the door open is essential to the shift in consciousness in the Earth….

    We were all two. We were all teens.

    Also in that post, Aaron makes it clear that the levels of consciousness are not like floors in a building. They are more like intersecting planes. When lower levels of consciousness arise in us (Aaron says this happens in all of us), by being able now to see it for what it is, you do not get caught up in those early beliefs.

    Think of an election, not as two forces in opposition to each other, but really the higher consciousness inviting the lower consciousness.

    Higher consciousness is making the clear statement, “You cannot stay hidden there in such early childhood consciousness. You must move out.”

    Now this has my mind going to Wilber’s Turquoise Attitude…. Turquoise is a mature integral view, one that sees not only healthy hierarchy but also the various quadrants of human knowledge, expression, and inquiry (at the minimum: I, we, and it). Turquoise is the first to begin to integrate Spirit as a living force in the world (manifested through any or all of the 3 Faces of God: “I”—e.g. the “No self” or “witness” of Buddhism; “we/thou”—e.g. the “great other” of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, etc.; or “it”—e.g. the “Web of Life” as seen in Taoism, Pantheism, etc.).

    Perhaps I should do a search asking what two colors make turquoise….

  • Healing Stone

    Sacred Stories

    She had been called by a colleague to assist him at the bedside of a patient who was passing.

    She had been gifted a special healing stone that had come from John of God, a powerful healer in rural, central, Brazil.

    She knew she wanted that healing stone with her. She quickly placed the stone in her pocket, and drove to the facility.

    As she arrived, she could not find the stone!

    She hoped it had not been lost.

    Just as she walked through the door to the patient’s room, the patient took his last breath and transitioned peacefully.

    Reaching into her pocket again, there was her special healing stone!

    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.

  • Hay Bale!

    Sacred Stories

    She was driving to a bridal shower in a nearby town when a hay bale fell off a farm truck, bounced off the vehicle directly in front of her, before bursting against her windshield!

    Shredded pieces of hay were in her grill, under her hood, and jammed into every orifice along the front end of her vehicle.

    She did not miss the coincidence that the bride’s family owned a business called Hey Belle!

    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.

  • Lessons from the Mold

    I am just back from a retreat/intensive with the Deep Spring Dharma Path group. This group is a two-year commitment to daily practice, weekly meetings, and twice-yearly intensives. I said this morning I have not yet found my feet, but I know where I left them, and I assume they are still there waiting for me.

    That is how grace works.

    We heard truth articulated over and over. When it is lost, where is joy? Peace? Love? Trust? Hope? You fill in the blank.

    Barbara Brodsky, founder and guiding teacher of Deep Spring Meditation Center, announced that she had seen two horses in the middle of the road as she was nearing Triple Crane Monastery in Chelsea (Michigan) where the retreat was being held. Barbara, concerned for the horses, pulled into the driveway. Seeing no one around, she honked the horn a few times. Barbara is deaf, and she has some physical challenges walking. She did not deem it feasible for her to leave her vehicle and walk to the barn to see if she could find the owner of the horses. Reluctantly, she drove on to the retreat.

    Aaron, the discarnate teacher whom Barbara channels, spoke to her. I am paraphrasing here. “If you are going to be here, be here. Or get some one to go with you and go back to check on the farmer and the horses. Either is OK, you did what you could. If you decide to be here, let it go, trusting that all shall be well.”

    As this was being shared, my mind had gone to a massage therapist in my office. Just before I drove to Chelsea, we had met with the owner of our building, the property manager, and a mold remediation professional. This therapist’s room was discovered to have an unacceptable level of active Aspergillus mold spores. For people with healthy immune systems, breathing in Aspergillus isn’t harmful. However, for one who is allergic, or those with weakened immune systems, breathing in Aspergillus spores can cause an infection in the lungs or sinuses which can spread to other parts of the body.

    This therapist has a known allergy to mushrooms, and also has some immune deficiency. A perfect storm….

    Many times throughout the retreat my thoughts would go to her. I have great compassion for what she is going through. She has only been in practice for one year, much of that year she has been feeling ill. Financially and emotionally she is drained.

    I also have great compassion for the owner of the building, and truly for everyone affected, including myself.

    At retreat I would gently remind myself to be present with the thoughts and emotions, and to remember to be here now. I was at the retreat.

    I had a precious connection with my roommate, and I worked a lot in the kitchen! One way I deal with stress is to clean. This is going to come in handy with remediation….

    We received Darshan (a Blessing) from ‘The Mother’— a very loving being whom Barbara also channels. I was told, “You are a sunbeam. A sunbeam is not diminished in any way by shining its light. Nor does it wonder, ‘Have I shined enough?’ This is a place for you to release. You are that sunbeam.”

    Oh, my, goodness!

    We received reminders to deepen our intention, and to notice where our true power is. If we feel contracted energy, we were instructed to just notice: fear, sadness, doubt, uncertainty, anger. Say to yourself, “I concentrate this contraction in service to all beings who feel _____.”

    Many years ago, a group of friends worked at another office which flooded (with gray water!) and had to go through remediation. Feelings are close to the surface as I am remembering all of that now. Every day humans are facing threat. Every day humans are experiencing harm. But as we heard—we are not just mammals. We are also awakened beings.

    From my retreat journal: You don’t have to be fully awake to be fully awake! You who can see the light, rest in the light. Guide others without going into the darkness.

    We did quite a bit of sitting, but we also enjoyed learning through play. Here I am STANDING on a balance ball (with the help of others who would catch me if I started to fall).

    And here is one of my Dharma sisters flying a kite.

    Where does joy go? Or humility? Where is justice when it is lost?

    In Buddhism, these fruits of the spirit are called the Paramitas, or the Ten Perfections.

    None are truly lost. All want to be invited back.

    How do I invite something without grasping? “I have set it in motion by my intention. If it is for highest good, it will happen.”

    I was humbled to remember that mold, like a weed in the garden, or the mosquito on my hand, is a sentient being. Can I open my heart to the mold, too, knowing it cannot stay, but cleaning it out with love? Reading about mold: By decomposing organic matter, molds play a big part in material biodegradation, enabling decay and rot necessary in all ecosystems.

    May all beings remember these valuable lessons about life, including lessons from the mold.

  • Angel in a Laundromat

    Sacred Stories

    After her young husband had died, almost 25 years earlier, she had sold their home. Preparing to leave, she looked back into their now empty living room. A folded piece of paper was lying in the middle of the floor.

    She was feeling so lonely, broken, and lost.

    She picked up the paper and unfolded it, and read, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.”

    She never knew where that folded piece of paper came from—it was just lying there in the middle of her empty living room floor. She knew that message was meant for her.

    Twenty five years later she writes about another experience:

    Today, my husband and I were in a laundromat. There was a young boy, dressed in a suit, doing his laundry. He and my husband began to talk. The young man told my husband he had gone to church and was washing and drying his clothes because their dryer had broken. That is the same reason we were there.

    The young man’s dad is was in a wheel chair.

    The young man was such a happy guy, just smiling and doing his laundry.

    I told my husband what a great kid he was, and I wondered aloud how old he was.

    As I was on the other side of the wall folding blankets, and I could hear my husband talking to the young man again. My husband said, “My wife commented on what a nice young man you are, how old are you?”

    I heard the young man say he was 14. He and my husband were still talking as I went out and loaded blankets in the car.

    When I came back in to get the rest of our clothes, my husband said the young man had told him he had a message for me.

    The message was:”God has a plan for you.”

    I almost fell over.

    To my husband, that was just something very nice that young boy said to me, but to me it was another direct message to me. I was familiar with the message.

    Thank you, God, for always reminding me you’re in control and have a plan for my life. And thank you to that beautiful angel in that young man whose words touched my heart.

    Angels are always around us if we just listen.

    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.

  • Surrogate Bubble

    Sacred Stories

    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.

  • Power of Choice


    Some days are so humbling…. women I know are going through so much. I am not saying men are without their challenges, too, but women I KNOW are going through so much.

    Three precious women friends are stepping up to work in businesses created by the men in their lives. Two of the businesses came from fathers, and one from a husband. The stepping up is a result of these men having transitioned into spirit.

    The precious woman friend who posted this photo on Facebook is herself a widow, doing a remarkable job raising a child amidst challenging financial circumstances:

    I love the truth of these words about difficult circumstances meaning you are in a powerful place of transformation and transmutation. I wondered if there was a difference of meaning between these two states. Transmutation is the action of changing or the state of being changed into another form (or into another species), and transformation is a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance.

    It seems these women are representative of something that is capable of happening to all beings.

    I stumbled onto an interesting webpage listing a timeline on the History of Women’s Rights in America. The first two entries were shocking!

      1769 – The colonies adopt the English system decreeing women cannot own property in their own name or keep their own earnings.

      1777 – All states pass laws which take away women’s right to vote.

    Gary Zukav’s were the first words I remember having heard describe authentic power. I hope you will take time to look over the ‘Authentic Power Vocabulary’ from the Seat of the Soul.

    Savor these first few definitions from that list and let their energy inspire your own authentic power:

    Authentic power is alignment of the personality with the soul (with harmony, cooperation, sharing, and reverence for Life).

    Characteristics of an Authentically Empowered Personality include humbleness, clarity, forgiveness, and love.

    Clarity allows you to see the world of physical matter for what it is—a learning environment that is created jointly by the intentions of the souls that share it.

    Authentic power evaporates fear.

    Co-creation occurs as individuals bring all that each can offer to a joint effort and at the same time, open themselves to a larger, or higher, idea that may not have previously occurred to them….

    Women (and men) who are capable of living from authentic power might just hold the keys to the kingdom!

  • Shaman Woman

    I got to join my friend, Carol L. Myers, artist extraordinaire, for a gallery walk. Carol’s work is being featured in a one-woman show at the Box Factory for the Arts. Here is Carol:


    Carol’s Solo Art Exhibition, which is titled Embodied: Embracing Spirit, is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

    Here I am in front of Carol’s “Shaman Woman” quilt, which lives on the massage table in the office at 815 Main Street:


    Today like every other day
    We wake up empty and scared.
    Don’t open the door of your study
    And begin reading.
    Take down a musical instrument.
    Let the beauty we love be what we do.
    There are hundreds of ways to kneel
    And kiss the earth.

    Rumi

    Having witnessed Carol’s finding her voice and being able to articulate about her art has been a great honor.

    Wayne Dyer said, “Don’t die with the music still inside you. Listen to your intuitive inner voice and find what passion stirs your soul.”

    Carol L. Myers is a woman who is doing that….

  • Aromatherapy Bracelet

    Sacred Stories

    She had purchased aromatherapy bracelets for Christmas gifts but she didn’t have any essential oils to go into them yet.

    She went to a neighbor’s for a visit. Sitting down on the couch, she pushed a small box out of the way.

    The neighbor said, “I’d like you to have that if you would appreciate it. I ordered two by mistake.”

    It was a sampler set of essential oils….

    These are sacred stories. Notice the way your wants and needs are being met. Do you have a story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.

  • Mulling About the Mundane

    I am working on the theme of Mundane Made Holy for the Mother’s Day service at Pilgrim United Church of Christ. That had me checking online for antonyms for ‘mundane.’ Here are just a few:
    One rainy morning this week, I was moved near tears with gratitude for being able to walk over to the little community center and ride the stationary bicycle. It is not always possible to do what you really desire, but life continuously provides us with wonderful options. I could have grumbled about not being able to ride outdoors in the warmth and sunshine.

    Walking home, as I went past the home one of our neighbors, Mark, I was again awash with gratitude. Shortly after we moved in, Mark came over and helped John with the demo and construction of our new deck. It was hot. The work was hard. We did not know Mark, and he certainly did not owe us anything. Some internal sense of willingness moved him to this generosity of time and energy.


    I hope you can see the list of opposites to the word mundane and find yourself inspired.

    Mother Teresa is given credit for having said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

    This is how you make the mundane holy….