We All Bleed Red

 

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When I heard this song on my Itunes playlist on my way to work this morning, I knew I had to learn it as soon as I returned home this afternoon.  It is so timely, with all of the pain we are experiencing today.  I couldn’t wait and do it proper-like, recording it in the studio and letting Danny do his magic on the recording and video – I just had to send the message out now, without a minute to waste, so I settled for an Iphone recording.  There is so much pain and hurt and suffering.  But we cannot heal pain by inflicting more pain.  We cannot heal hurt by inflicting more hurt.  We cannot eradicate evil with evil.  We are all human beings, all children of God who share one Father and one Mother Earth.  None of us can be completely healed until we all are healed.  And that can only be done with love.  God bless you.  #orlandostrong

Thank you Ronnie Dunn for recording this beautiful song.

April 28: The Intuitive Sense

pinkpalmtreesIntuition is a spiritual faculty, and does not explain, but simply points the way.  Florence Scovel Shinn

Sarah refers to intuition as “the subliminal sense Spirit endowed us with to maneuver safely through the maze that is real life.”  We have all experienced the positive results of listening to our intuition, as well as the negative results that come when we ignore it.

When I decided to move to Florida from upstate New York in 2005, I knew, deep down in my gut, that it was a move I was supposed to be making.  Intellectually, it made no sense.  I had a great job.  I had just bought the house I was in and renovated it barely a year before.  I was a single mother.  I had no idea how I would find the energy or wherewithal to do everything it would take to sell my home, find a job a three-hour flight away, find a new home, and have all of the pieces of the puzzle work in such a way that I could make it all happen.  I couldn’t imagine how it would all come together, I just knew deep down in my spirit that I had to do it.  I forged forward in a total leap of faith, and the entire process went off without a hitch.  My house sold the day I flew to Florida for job interviews.  I had a job offer before returning to New York at the end of that weekend.  My new employer was willing to wait three months for me to start so that my son could finish the school year.  I somehow found the energy and strength to pack up the house, find a new house, and get everything moved 1300 miles away. During that period, I heard a sermon at church that couldn’t have rung more true:  When you listen to where you are being led, and you follow, you will find yourself in the zone. Continue reading “April 28: The Intuitive Sense”

February 27: “Committing to Your Spiritual Awakening”

Suzette1“If you commit to your spiritual awakening as the most important part of the process, something marvelous will happen.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

The impact that I see from this spiritual awakening is subtle and substantial at the same time.  I notice it most often at times when I would normally have found myself frazzled or tense, like when I need to be someplace and the dog is taking forever in the yard, or I am in traffic and want to hurry up and get where I am going.  I don’t have the same frenetic response that I would have had six months ago.  I am (mostly) no longer scolding Abby to hurry up; rather, I am enjoying the fresh air and listening to the birds sing to me while she finds the “perfect spot.”  I am peaceful in my driving, no longer rushing the person in front of me with frustrated words mumbled under my breath.  I am, simply, more relaxed.

“With each day of the journey, you have become more open to the mystery, the magic, and the majesty of the Master Plan because you are committed to your spiritual awakening.”  SBB

I am no less busy, nor am I working any less hard.  I am just less stressed about it.  I am relaxed, feeling the presence of Spirit, and paying attention when I get the message to take some time to feed my soul.  Tonight, for example, after enjoying dinner with friends, I took one of my guitars off the wall and played for two hours – the first time I have played in months.  There was work to be done, but I chose to listen to the whispers telling me that the work can be done tomorrow; for now, it is time to create.  I find that creation, artistic expression, is a beautiful form of prayer, and I am grateful to have awakened my soul enough to heed the message that this certain prayer time is long overdue.  I am transported to heaven, bowing my head over my guitar, smelling its varnished wood and listening to its melody while I sing with the voice that God gave me.  It doesn’t get much better than that.

Shalom!

February 25: Reordering Your Priorities

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“Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose.”  Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

How have you been doing at taking your quiet meditation time each day? I hope you have been doing better than I have recently.  I am sorry to admit that these last few weeks, I have not spent enough time in silence.  I am living at this harried, frenetic pace, so much to do and so little time.  But then, once again, I hear the now familiar voice coming from within … “Relax.  Enjoy the moment.  All will be done as it is supposed to be.”  I smile to myself during those moments, recognizing the progress that I am making on this journey of transformation.

I took one of those moments last night, enjoying my grandsons for a few hours and ignoring the work I had planned for the evening.  I have been working so much I have barely seen them in recent weeks, and they were so excited to see me (and I them!) that I couldn’t leave them.  So I stayed.  I stayed and let my heart fill with the joy of listening to one after the other say, “Nana, watch this!”, so excited were they to have my attention.  They have no sense of time.  These beautiful little spirits live in the moment and enjoy it to the fullest, with no thoughts about needing to hurry up and finish what they are doing because it will be bath time soon.  They don’t worry about that.  They don’t worry about what is waiting for them.  They are completely, wholly in the present and loving every minute of it.  Oh what we can learn from them, and what a gift it was to myself to allow myself time to be still and enjoy their presence without thinking about the work that was waiting for me.

“Today make getting in touch with the Silence within your first priority.  As you do, you will be amazed at how everything else seems to find its own order.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

I didn’t get here overnight, and the transformation isn’t going to happen overnight either, but as long as I am moving in the direction of positive change, I can be satisfied.  I will try harder to learn the lessons my grandsons teach me about enjoying the moment without worrying about what is next.  And I will work harder to get my butt in that meditation chair every day.  Maybe if I write it on my schedule that will help …

Shalom!

February 24: “Now That I’ve Gotten Your Attention”

“Sometime in your life you will go on a journey.  It will be the longest journey you have ever taken.  It is the journey to find yourself.”  Katherine Sharp

Hopefully everyone will take this journey at some point in their life, before it is too late for them to do so.  I wish I had done so earlier, but I am glad that at least I am doing it now.  Some days it is easier than others.

“I know how easy it is to find heartfelt excuses for why you can’t begin something new even if you yearn to, desperately.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

There have been many days in these past two months were I have spent time searching my soul, searching my memories, and listening to my heart and Divine guidance in this quest to become the person that I was put on this earth to become.  There have also been many days when I’m just tired.  My real estate business is important to me, and I am committed to making it a success.  I’m busy with my mind going in multiple directions, and sometimes I find it hard to remove that distraction long enough to be still and do the soul work that is so important to me right now.  But at least I am moving in the right direction.

“How many times in the past have we chosen not to change our lives for the better simply by not choosing?”  SBB

I have chosen.  I have chosen to become the very best version of my authentic self possible.  It is a commitment that I have made to myself, and I am sticking to it.  I may have days of lapse, but they are only temporary, and I know that the next day I will be back in my chair, meditating and listening to the voice of God whispering in my ear, leading me in the right direction.

“Keep your eyes on the horizon.  Or stay on shore.  But choose.”  SBB

I pray that you are keeping your eyes on the horizon with me.

Shalom!

February 20: “The Authentic Dig”

photo (18)“Sometimes a person has to go back, really back – to have a sense, an understanding of all that’s gone to make them – before they can go forward.”  Paule Marshall

If I think back to when I was young, to when I was a teenager who allowed herself time to just be, it is easy to see the common threads between the girl I was then and the woman I am now.

“The events in our lives happen in a sequence in time, but in their significance to ourselves they find their own order.”  Eudora Welty

Though I have 52 years’ worth of memories, the ones that come to the forefront if I stop to think back are the passions that I had as a teen and still have today.  I can still see and feel the thick, light green, spiral bound notebook that I used to do my writing, the poetry and short stories coming to life on those lined pages.  I can see its tattered cover and smell the pages of that book that I held so close to my heart, carrying it with me so that it was always available when I was inspired and had the opportunity to write.  I regret to say that I no longer have it and have no idea what became of it.  But what I do have is its memory, still dear to my heart, a reminder that writing is indeed an integral part of who I am and what I was put on this earth to do.

“What you are searching for is a pattern of personal, authentic pleasures and preferences.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

Close behind the memory of that notebook is a memory of the hours I spent at the piano, so many hours in fact that my poor family would ask me to please stop practicing, as the piano shared the living room with our television.  I practiced with joy, never growing weary of it as I worked to perfect the song I was learning.  My passion for it has waned somewhat in adulthood though, with the life and responsibilities of a wife and mother getting in the way.  After having lost so many years of playing, it is difficult to get the skill level back that once was there.  I still enjoy it though, especially since Danny bought me a beautiful baby grand a few years ago.

It’s funny how things start flooding back as you go through this process, memories that you had entirely forgotten.  I used to buy graph paper and draw layouts for houses, my passion for architecture starting at a young age as well.  I had forgotten about those drawings until just now, and it makes me smile to know that I have come full circle to those things that came naturally to me when I was young.  Here I am at 52, working in the real estate business to work with architecture that I have a passion for, and writing more than I have since I was a very young woman.

The transformation has truly begun my friends, and it feels good.  I hope that yours has begun as well.  I would love to hear about it!

Shalom!

February 17: A Safari of Self and Spirit

ResortpicsOct12th009“Uncovering the source of the Nile or charting the course of the Amazon are outward parallels to the inner journey you are on today – a safari of the self and the spirit.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

This sounds so serious, doesn’t it?  I think that Sarah is right though, and it makes me want to take this journey of self-discovery to yet another level.  I feel as though I haven’t worked quite hard enough, or given myself enough time each day to go deeper.  I realize that I have only scratched the surface.

“You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition.  What you’ll discover will be wonderful.  What you’ll discover will be yourself.”  Alan Alda

I have accomplished so much already on this spiritual journey, but like a healthy diet that leaves you wanting to be even healthier, I am ready for more.  I am ready to take this thing to the next level.  I am ready to head to the wilderness and slay any dragons that may still be lurking in the dark.

Are you with me?

Shalom!

February 15: Meeting the Inner Explorer

meditation“There is only one journey.  Going inside yourself.”  Rainer Maria Rilke

I am having trouble reconciling Sarah’s advice to fantasize about creating a travel excursion, complete with picking up travel brochures, with going inside yourself.  I see nothing wrong with fantasizing about your dream destination, I just don’t see how that helps me to find my authentic self.

Since today’s passage doesn’t really resonate with me personally, I will share a quote that does:

“To experience peace does not mean that your life is always blissful.  It means that you are capable of tapping into a blissful state of mind amidst the normal chaos of a hectic life.”  Jill Bolte Taylor

Being able to remain calm and blissful in spite of everything happening around us is really the key to living a happy life, isn’t it?  I think I do a fairly good job of this, although like everyone, I do have times when I let external circumstances get me down.  I don’t stay in that space for long though.  I am by nature a happy and optimistic person, so for me, living authentically means maintaining a positive attitude even when the car breaks down or something doesn’t go as planned.  Life happens, to every one of us, and if we can learn to maintain our peaceful center in spite of it, what a difference it can make!

“Many marvels await discovery as we continue on the path to authenticity.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

What have you learned about yourself so far?

Shalom!