Debra Basham

Living and Loving

Tag: spirituality

  • Electric Heater

    Sacred Stories
    A woman and her husband and 1 year-old daughter were refugees. They had escaped Communist Poland and had made it to Germany but were living in one classroom in a condemned school. There was electricity but no running water or toilet or heat. They had only a thin mattress pad on the floor.

    One night the frost was two inches thick on the inside of the window from their breath. The woman was too cold to sleep and told her husband better they go back to Poland where they may or may not be killed than to die living like that.

    He put on his coat and left the room. She assumed he had left to get away from her nagging when he was also feeling so helpless.

    Moments later, he returned with an electric space heater. He told her he had left because he had received a message to go out and look in the trash on the curb. That is where he had found the heater.

    They plugged the heater in and worked. They had heat the rest of the winter!

    Today they are very successful living in the U.S. in a 3,500 square foot home – but they remember this evidence that our needs can be met in extraordinary ways.

    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.

  • Divine Connections


    Today, I will stop straining to know what I don’t know.
    To see what I can’t see.
    To understand what I don’t yet understand.
    I will trust that being is sufficient,
    And I will let go of my need to figure things out.

    The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

    My heart and mind is so full my fingers must dance around the keyboard so I can sit in my skin. Sometimes you see life’s unfolding right before your eyes as has been my experience in spades the past couple of days.

    I had been invited to join a friend in Sunday’s Apple Cider Century bike ride. We have done it together before and had a great time but it was forecast to be very hot for September in Michigan. I thought that was why I was iffy about whether I was to go.

    Saturday evening I got word about a close friend who was in the hospital in another city following back surgery. She had been doing quite well but ended up having back spasms that they could not mitigate. “This would be a good time for a visit,” was the text message from her fiancé. She was experiencing inconsolable pain when I arrived. This is the same friend who was my advocate and healer when I had surgery in November 2012. It was an honor and a horror to be there with her. And I was not alone.

    Our now mutual friend met me there at the hospital. It was Doris who introduced me to Healing Touch back in the nineties. I choked back the emotion as I began doing the work. What a sacred circle of love we are….

    Thankfully, a whiff of relief came from the combination of medical intervention, energy healing, and grace. Several hours later, she was settled back in bed, her fiancé was with her, so I headed home. Another text from him popped in as I was driving, “She is sleeping soundly now.”

    Before going to bed I sent a my friend a text message saying I was just now home and so I would not be joining her on the bike ride the next morning.

    Sunday morning at 9 am I received a text message from my sister in Texas asking if this was a good time for her to call me. I have not spoken to her in decades…. I told her it was a perfect time for her to call. She was sharing a health situation she has been navigating because it might have an impact on my sister and me and our daughters. She had undergone surgery about 8 weeks ago. Is it a coincidence about that same time I was feeling the need to go to Texas to see her?

    We talked for an hour. It felt like no time had passed. In our heartfelt sharing the chasm of religiosity that had been a greater distance between us than the miles from Michigan to Texas dissipated like a bubble when it pops.

    If I had been on the bike ride I would not have been available for that call.

    After we hung up I sent her this photo that is hanging on my wall here in the tiny house.

    Divine connections revealing themselves….

  • Pauline Court

    Sacred Stories

    She had kept the interfaith menorah with the tall glass oil lamps in her basement for 12 years. Made especially for them by a Carmelite nun, it was a very powerful presence for their interfaith fellowship but the center where their group met had closed in 2005. Downsizing her home now there was no place to store it. She was so relieved Interfaith Center for Spiritual Growth, located several hours drive away in Ann Arbor, had spoken of wanting one and would be glad to have it!

    “Let’s be open to an easy way of getting it safely to you,” she said to the director of the center.

    The following week a friend from Florida was visiting. Chatting about his schedule, he said he would be going to Ann Arbor.

    “I have an interfaith menorah I need to get to Ann Arbor.” He was willing to take it so they began exploring what made sense about him dropping it off or having someone pick it up she asked him the address where he would be staying.

    “My cousin lives on Pauline Court,” he said.

    She made a call to the director of the center and was told a member of the interfaith group lived on Pauline Court and could easily pick the menorah up.

    Her friend was very amazed at the ease of delivery and he mused, “What are the odds? Pauline Court is just a short little street….”

    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.

  • Mediums

    Affirmations:
    I do not know what is the truth for you.
    I know what is mine to know in each moment.
    I trust in my inner guidance to guide me to what is best for me.
    I easily forgive and release what is no longer the best for me.
    Betty Lue’s Loving Reminders

    “What do you think about Mediums?” she asked.

    She had come along with her husband who was helping my husband build a new porch.

    “I love them,” I replied. “Why do you ask?”

    She went on to share about her niece having recently received a message from Theresa Caputo, the Long Island Medium. The niece was not a believer, but she knew beyond a doubt the message had come from her mother to offer her support and encouragement.

    As the other two women arrived, I whispered, “This conversation probably is best finished now because Marge (not her real name) would likely not be comfortable with the subject.” I knew Marge had a very different world view.

    We all pulled up bar stools around the island in our tiny kitchen. I poured ice water and put some chips and homemade chocolate chip cookies on the counter and stirred the sloppy joes on the stove. Soon the first woman began telling the story about the Long Island Medium’s message to her niece, and before I knew it I was also telling about the time my client blurted out, “So you are the woman with the green fairy hanging above the table!” A medium had told her about a woman with a green fairy hanging above her table.

    I could tell this did not sit well with Marge. She actually got up and walked away as I shared how the medium my client had visited lived a normal life in her community but would travel to other locations to give messages from loved ones who have passed, messages which are always loving and reassuring.

    I went on to explain how the medium tried to ignore the spiritual gift for a long time. One day (several years prior) this medium was at work when the image of a young woman’s face popped into her mind’s eye, along with a message. Not recognizing the face and somewhat accustomed to strange inner experiences, she ignored the message until later that evening when she saw the same face on the 6 o’clock news! A fatal auto accident had taken the life of that young woman the night before and it was obvious she had been given a message to the family.

    Running from the living room choking back tears, she knelt in the privacy of her bedroom and sobbed as she prayed, “God, I don’t know why you gave me this gift, and I really have not wanted it, but if you will guide me I will do my best to share what you call me to share.”

    This morning I was still processing all of this and wondering if I should send Marge a text or a note acknowledging what seemed to be an uncomfortable situation with the subject. Lost in that make-believe world as I was making my bed, I stepped on something. There on the floor was the gemstone given to me a couple of months ago by a woman in my hometown who gives spiritual readings. I had been instructed to put the stone under my pillow, and it had been tied in a drawstring bag and safety pinned to the pillow all this time. The bag was still tied, and still pinned to the pillow inside the case, but the stone had been on the floor and was now in my hand.

    I began to think about the courage it takes to honor our experiences. I remember when a dear friend apologized that I had been “outed” because she had written about me in her blog, saying that I talk to dead people. (See Ella’s Soapbox.)

    As I held that gem stone in my hand, this is what I heard in my head:

    I don’t talk to dead people. I talk to people no longer in body.

    Just because you haven’t had the experience does not mean that the experience is not real. And just because someone’s experience of God does not fit with your experience of God, does not mean it is not a valid experience of God.

    I wonder why the woman told the story about her niece’s message from the Long Island Medium knowing Marge would likely not be comfortable with the subject of mediums. And I am curious about my own sharing the story of the medium who told my client about the woman with the green fairy hanging over her table. We may never know for sure the answers to all of our questions but Marge’s husband passed away one month ago today…

  • Newsletter

    Sacred Stories

    Taking the mail out of the box, her eyes landed on the name and number of her friend on the back of the newsletter. Her friend’s husband was quite ill. She picked up the phone and made a call.

    “What led you to call today?” her friend’s voice was quivering.

    “I got my district newsletter and saw your name and number. I needed to pick up the phone and give you a call.”

    “We aren’t on that list,” her friend said. Looking down on the page, her friend’s name and number was not there!

    Her friend’s husband had just passed away that morning….

    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.

  • Seesaw and Ups and Downs

    I just spoke with a dear friend. She is my sister from another mister. We are soul mates, and we have such sweet sincere respect and love for one another. We were sharing about the privilege of lifting one another up, and being confident we always get our turn. The metaphor that popped into my mind is that of a seesaw.

    Seesaws (also known as a teeter-totter) were commonplace on the playgrounds where we grew up.

    The seesaw is supported by a single pivot point. As one end goes up, the other goes down.

    My heart is filled with compassion for so many in our world. Irma has left many homeless, even if some only temporarily. It will be a long while before things settle to a new normal.

    A friend here in Michigan fell and is now in the hospital in horrific pain made worse by his blindness. He has lost his sister and his brother and now lives alone.

    What is an appropriate response? The following email message came from my teacher/friend, Barbara Brodsky, and her teacher/friend, Aaron. I have not asked permission to share it with you, but I know they will be glad to have you take it to heart and to share it with others.

    Dear friends,

    I have been watching the news and weather through the weekend with sadness, as I know is true for many of you. Harvey caused (and continues to cause) so much suffering as people lost homes, livelihoods and even lives. Irma will continue such suffering. Deep Spring Center is a national/ international sangha. In the past weeks and this week, I have spoken to friends in Texas and now in Florida, who have lost homes, have had to evacuate, and have felt bewildered and afraid. Such pain is a natural consequence of such uncertainty. We cannot fix it for ourselves or others, only hold it all in love.

    My first tendency was to think, “I offer you love,” whether it be to a person, place or situation. Aaron reminded me that to offer love is a subtle act of separation. It’s better than nothing, and does help, but it is also me, separate from you, trying to give you something to help your pain. It is a statement that it is your situation and pain though, and I need not experience it directly.

    He asked me to substitute, “I hold you in my heart,” with the recognition that we are one. “Your pain and my pain are one; your loss and my loss are one.” As in that beautiful chant with the lines, “because I am in you, and you are in me.”

    The natural human tendency is to want to separate ourselves from pain, from chaos and from helplessness, and to feel safe and in control. But life is often not that way. Acknowledging this truth, can we allow ourselves to be truly vulnerable and be touched by our pain?

    Please join me opening your hearts to our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, our children, ourselves, in Houston, the Caribbean, Florida, and also in Mexico that has just suffered a strong earthquake, in places where there is war, and in the parts of the world where people go to bed hungry and sick. Please join me with the loving thought, “I hold you in my heart. Your pain and my pain are one.” In this way, the true energy of Love becomes available to all. We are not helpless; this is something real, to open our hearts to our own and the world’s suffering. We are bigger and stronger than we think.

    May all beings everywhere be free of suffering.
    May all beings dwell in the Heart of Love.
    May all beings everywhere find freedom and perfect peace.

    With love,
    Barbara and Aaron

    Some days we are up physically and down emotionally. Other days we are up emotionally but down physically. Whether the storms of life have you at the top of the seesaw where it is high and dry or the bottom where it is flooded with pain, we are able to know the truth of the ups and downs. As Barbara and Aaron expressed, “May all beings everywhere be free of suffering.” We are bigger and stronger than we think.

  • The Shack

    Sacred Stories

    The end of the movie really didn’t make sense to her, so when she took a friend who was having some very hurtful family dynamics to see it (thinking it would be healing for her) she was also looking forward to having an opportunity to maybe understand that last scene.

    When she watched the movie the second time with her friend, that scene was not in the movie.

    She realized immediately the mystical experience working to get her to bring her friend, who was affected by the film.

    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.

  • Dealing with Devastation

      Please be extra gentle with yourself during these highly charged, transformative times. We are all so beautifully sensitive to the collective experience – and especially right now.

      We are sending our blessings to those in the many places where there are wildfires, floods, and approaching hurricanes. Peace, love, and blessings to all people, all creatures, and all lands everywhere. So many new beginnings are underway. ~ Matt Kahn

    This photo was posted on Facebook by my son-in-law, Doug Dodge, along with his comments about yesterday’s hurricane damage: One of my favorite places in the BVI’s (British Virgin Islands). This is a picture of one of the rental fleets. They have total devastation and nothing left. We have met some great people over the years that live there and our hearts go out to them. Their only income is tourism and they have nothing to offer now. Please keep them in your prayers.

    At the time of this blog’s writing many friends and family and people we may never know across the state of Florida and other parts of the southeastern US are dealing with the anticipated devastation related to hurricane Irma after seeing what she has already done. This all makes me aware about the need to plan for dealing with devastation.

    Some will blame God, others will blame humans for accelerated global warming. Many will be second-guessing choices they have made to build, live, visit, stay or go. It is natural to be awash with emotions as we anticipate and/or witness devastation, but blame and remorse are not helpful.

    Perhaps Ira Byock’s book, The Four Things That Matter Most, now updated for its tenth anniversary, can offer us some advise. Byock says four simple phrases “stating the obvious” allow us to experience the benefits of letting old grudges and toxic emotions:

    “Please forgive me.”
    “I forgive you.”
    “Thank you.”
    “I love you.”

    And there are things we can do. We can give money to organizations we know are responsible with their dollars and have good sense about what is helpful at what time. We can pray. We can also do Tonglen to assist in the processing of all of this collective emotion. If you are new to the practice of Tonglen or you will benefit from a refresher, please read “Terrorist Attacks and Tonglen.”

  • Follow the Energy

    Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, way back in the sixth century B.C. said: “You cannot step twice into the same river.” This is because the river is in flux. Perhaps it is also because we are always changing. I certainly was aware of this truth while attending a Level 1 Healing Touch workshop at the VA in Hines, Illinois. I attended my first Healing Touch Level 1 in February, 1995.

    Accompanied to the workshop by my friend, Norleen, my heart was filled with compassion for the nurses whose work days are rife in life-or-death actions. Instructor, Ann O’Malley, tells us to ground and center, attune to the universal healing energy and the person we are working with, and to “follow the energy” because “you cannot do it wrong.”

    This class is all women, most nurses working with Veterans here at Hines VA.

    We learn the basic healing sequence, practice on/with one another, and find ourselves changing, just like the river.

    Since my first Level 1 Class in 1995, I have had the honor to help many individuals become aware of the subtle healing energies. I have great respect for Ann, and I am grateful she is still teaching after all these years. I am profoundly aware it is good for each of us to be here in this class and simultaneously good for our world that we can be open and willing to learn and share the truth.

    During the last weeks of my brother-in-law’s life, as he and his family dealt with his increased body restlessness, I offered to share some of the Healing Touch techniques that might lessen or abate some of his symptoms. In our class Ann stresses the ethics of always asking permission before sharing Healing Touch. She tells of a man who sat in her chair for a demonstration at a health fair. When she sensed he was not open, she asked him if he wanted to receive the Healing Touch. He admitted his wife had made him come and he did not believe in it. She suggested he be honest about that and allow someone else to come. He left the chair.

    We must be open.

    We must be willing.

    Sunday morning’s Thought for Today from the Brahma Kumaris seems so very timely: I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief.

    I am grateful my brother-in-law was admitted to Hanson Hospice Center and that he passed peacefully. In the last minutes of his earthly life between 3 and 5 a.m., I was awake. (See Shadow Work)

    I toyed with the thought of getting dressed and going to Hanson Hospice Center, but determined I could just as easily offer support from home. As I settled onto the sofa in the great room here in the tiny house, my heart went automatically to the Healing Touch technique called Chakra Spread, often used in hospice care for the terminally ill. You begin by holding the sole of one foot with the palm of your hand and the other hand on top of the foot or ankle. Then you do the same to the other foot. Next, you do a thumb-lock handshake with your other hand on the back of the client’s hand. Repeat with the other hand.

    Moving gently from about a foot above the head you slowly and tenderly spread each chakra three times: Crown, Brow, Throat, Heart, Solar Plexus, Sacral, Root, knees (done together), and ankles (done together), then slip the “earthy boots” or “worldly cares” off the feet. This entire process is repeated three times before you return to one hand and hold it in the thumb-lock handshake again as you place your other hand over the person’s heart.

    This is often taught to a family member or loved one. Rather than sit in fear or sadness, it is a way of praying with your whole body, mind, and spirit.

    I fell asleep on the sofa after doing the chakra spread and it was shortly before 5 a.m. when my husband came in to tell me his brother hand passed. It was wonderful to have the song No Longer Slaves sung at his service.

    “No Longer Slaves”

    You unravel me with a melody
    You surround me with a song
    Of deliverance from my enemies
    ‘Til all my fears are gone

    I’m no longer a slave to fear
    I am a child of God

    From my mother’s womb
    You have chosen me
    Love has called my name
    I’ve been born again into your family
    Your blood flows through my veins

    I’m no longer a slave to fear
    I am a child of God

    I am surrounded
    By the arms of the father
    I am surrounded
    By songs of deliverance

    We’ve been liberated
    From our bondage
    We’re the sons and the daughters
    Let us sing our freedom

    You split the sea
    So I could walk right through it
    My fears were drowned in perfect love
    You rescued me
    And I will stand and sing
    I am a child of God.

    Yes, I am
    I am a child of God
    I am a child of God
    Yes, I am
    I am a child of God
    Full of faith
    Yes, I am a child of God
    I am a child of God

    I’m no longer a slave to fear
    I am a child of God

    Janet Mentgen, beloved founder of Healing Touch, encouraged all Healing Touch students and practitioners to “Just do the work!” Her personal goal was to have each human on earth bring light with every step that we walk. What gift. We can just follow the energy. We do not have to worry that we are doing it wrong. Hallelujah!

    I am so honored to have spent these two days with my friend Norleen and these other brave women. May all be no longer slaves to fear….

  • Dr. Flamm

    Sacred Stories

    He had finally been able to see a doctor and he now had a diagnosis and a prescription, but he was incarcerated and denied pain medication. He knew people in prison often faked pain to get drugs, but he knew this pain was real.

    He continued to report severe discomfort. He finally saw a neurosurgeon who concurred with the original diagnosis but clarified that his was a nerve sheath tumor. Surgery was too risky for this doctor to consider but he made a referral to another neurosurgeon who had experience with this procedure.

    He felt such relief just being seen by someone who validated the pain he had been experiencing for so long. This surgeon had been trained by the man who developed the procedure that could help.

    Desiring to learn more about the procedure, he asked for the name of the doctor this surgeon had trained under.

    “Eugene S. Flamm, M.D.”

    He instantly recognized the gift in all of the unfolding over the past year, everything having led to this connection. His last name is also Flamm!

    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.