Below are a few of the blogs that I wrote awhile back . . .
BLOG #1
Have you ever had a seemingly benign moment linger through your consciousness for years and years to come? I would like to share one of mine . . .
Many years ago, in a previous life, I was an elementary school teacher in Brooklyn.I worked in a school where little value was given to the children and families that attended. There were literally no supplies for my kids. No pencils, no paper, and worst of all, no textbooks. Most of the curriculum I was supposed to teach had to be home grown. This meant that I would stay up until all hours of the night creating lessons and such from scratch. As hard as this time was, it was also incredibly exciting for me. I had the opportunity to give my kids the support, attention and genuine caring that they so deserved, yet rarely received at school. My kids blossomed academically, but more importantly, they grew in themselves in ways that empowered them and gave them important lessons for living life. We were all very blessed in my classroom.
I remember a day, not unlike other days at P.S. 9, where I took a walk around the block to clear my head at lunchtime. My school didn't have a playground as we know one to be. Our playground was a slab of concrete and a metal slide. As I stepped around the garbage and crack vials that littered the sidewalk, I came across a tiny miracle.
There, pushing its way through a tiny crack in the pavement was a lovely little flower. She wasn't very big, nor was she very grand in her appearance. No matter. This flower was magnificent! She was glorious! She was downright regal!
I smiled to myself and went on with my day. Except that this day, that day, has lived inside of me for 24 years. Twenty-four years later I can still summon up that image in my mind and have the hope and glory of her divine presence breathe new life into me.
Inside each and every one of us is that same divine pull to fully bloom into the magnificent flowers we were meant to be. How do you push though the cracks in your own life and continue to grow into your beautiful self? We have all come through life the same way, born an innocent being, pure and perfect. Just as that flower prospered in Brooklyn, despite the challenges put in her path, how can you prosper in your own divine self, despite what challenges you?
I hope that with time, you will be able to find some inspiration as you read my blog. I welcome questions, feedback, and personal stories that we can share with one another . . . our own little flower family, so to speak, nurturing one another, providing the rich soil from which to thrive and grow.
Meanwhile, I offer this to you: KEEP YOUR FACE TO THE SUN.
Be that lovely kitty who always finds the sunniest spot to bask in. Refuse to be pulled down by the shadows, the darkness, the dim. LIft your chin to the heavens and sing your own praises. Be that puppy in the front seat of the car, head hanging out the window, loving every second of the sun, wind and sky.
With your face to the sun, there can be no such thing as winter.
Happy summer, 365 days of the year.
BLOG #2
I have been doing some thinking about a follow-up to my first blog. As with everything in life, there are many layers to all things. The first blog spoke to the beauty of seeing the light in all things. So for round two, let's flip that first blog on its tush and see what comes up . . .
We all have bad days. What happens at those times when we simply cannot put our face towards the sun? We may know that this would be best for us, we may want to simply turn our head in a different direction and see the light, yet we just can't get there. What stops us?
How can we find new ways of seeing when our eyes are cloudy?
When we are challenged to see the light before us, it is because we have dimmed our spirit. We dim our spirit by denying the depth and bredth of who we are and what we feel
When our eyes cannot see clearly, when we are feeling knotted up inside, the best thing we can give ourselves is the gift of our feelings. When we feel tight in the body, it is our body's way of telling us that we are containing feelings and emotions that are asking to find their way out again. The body is one smart cookie! By giving expression to our anger or sorrow, disappointment or longing, we find our way back to ourselves. The energy that we use to contain our feelings begins to open up. We become expanded. We are free.
I was in a yoga class awhile back when the teacher spoke about a personal experience. She had recently attended the funeral of her oldest friend’s father. She talked about this friend’s brother, who voiced his hurt and upset about how his rageful father had treated him over the years. My teacher felt that this son, now a grown man, should “LET IT GO.” She spoke emphatically for quite some time. The more she spoke about how he should let it go, the more uncomfortable I became.
Here is the sad truth . . . we live in the ultimate get-over-it culture. You know the one, the one that dictates that we should have no feelings, that we numb ourselves to anything uncomfortable or at the very least, pretend that we don’t feel what we feel. This is the same culture that has come up with “just let it go.
Letting go is not much different than “get over it already!” It is truly impossible to genuinely get over something that we do not bring consciousness to. RELEASE is a very different phenomenon, far more friendly and liberating.
When we come into presence with ourselves, we bring opportunities for new awareness and understanding. Engaging a full and listening heart, we can transform that which causes us pain. How magical it is when we sit in presence with our deepest and truest selves, even when those selves (and we have many) may not be comfortable to attend to. With loving attention to our feelings, we bring healing to those places inside us that so badly need our care. This is called RELEASE. Release allows for the natural order of things. It cannot be forced, and it does not point fingers. Instead, we can move through our feelings, free to turn our face to the sun once again.
I invite you to take a moment and reflect on what happens for you when you are having a bad day. How do you dim your spirit? What do you do? What do you tell yourself?
How can you begin to make friends with your deepest feelings? What can you do the next time you are struggling through your day, so that you can shift what is happening inside of you? Instead of trying to quickly “get over" what ails you, can you sit in friendship with yourself, making room for the many parts of you?
The journey is not about getting over. The journey is about MOVING THROUGH. We call this grace.
Sometimes I will place a hand over my heart and breathe slowly and deeply.
You can tell yourself, "I see you. I care about how you are feeling. I am here to listen." Breathe deeply into your hand, your heart, your life.
On the wings of your breath, you can and will come home.
With gratitude to all days, the cloudy and those bright with the sun.
BLOG #3
Many years ago I was struck by a metaphor used by New Age guru, Louise Hay. Louise spoke about the importance of choosing thoughts that nourish us. In doing so, she asked us to imagine going out to a fancy restaurant where waiters carried platters of food on silver trays. What will we select from those platters? Do we choose the meal that is delectable and makes us feel good, or do we want to consume food that is rotten, making us ill? Louise tells us that thoughts are like food. We get to choose what we feed ourselves. It was from this seemingly simple idea that Ms. Hay became the reigning queen of AFFIRMATIONS, the use of positive statements to enhance our inner and outer world.
Keeping with this notion of what we ingest from day to day, I propose another area in our lives where we must become vigilant to “ingest” only that which makes us feel good. I am speaking about culture and what our culture tells us about being a woman and a human being. I have become very mindful over the years as to what I want to put into my orbit. I no longer watch films that contain violence, for example, because I am proud to say that I remain extremely sensitive to acts of unnecessary cruelty. If I see a movie where there is gratuitous acts of violence (which is 99% of all violent films, in my opinion), I am left feeling shaky and triggered. I notice that I feel more fearful and have more anxiety, even if I cannot connect the dots at the time. For what purpose, then, would I want to witness this degradation, however fictitious it may be? How does this feed my spirit and soar my soul? I can choose to seek that which elevates me or that which brings me down.
This can also be said for the many fashion and celebrity-studded magazines I consumed in my younger years. That is, until I became profoundly aware of the connection between my own negative body image and my appetite for magazines that left me feeling inadequate, confused, angry and self-hating. How does one compare with literal make-believe? How is it possible for women to feel they are enough, better than enough, when the bar for beauty, a bar that still says beauty is currency in our culture, has become unobtainable? Teenagers model clothing that we cannot afford. Models are air-brushed, digitally manipulated to appear flawless. The endless display of perfect noses, fake breasts and eyes that bare no residue of emotion become scary once we allow ourselves to break our trance and see popular culture for what it is . . . fake, false, manipulative and created for profit. When we can acknowledge the fall-out, it becomes harder to pour this negativity into our very being.
I invite you to become mindful of what you pour inside yourself. Pay attention to the images that you choose to see . . . the nightly news is not a great thing to watch, for example, as you drift off to sleep. Who wants to waste precious sleep time having images of war and devastation working through our unconscious at 3 in the morning? Better to listen to a meditation tape or read that which inspires you or makes you feel good. Then you allow your unconscious to work in your favor.
I thank Louise Hay for the transformative work she has given the world. Go to Utube and type in Louise Hay. You will see many inspiring videos to lighten your spirit and feed your soul. You can also read YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE (gift edition) which is available on Amazon and a great introduction to the power of affirmations. Louise has also made an amazing film, also available on Amazon, entitled, YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE, THE MOVIE. I promise this to be one of the best films you will ever see because of its ability to transform the way you walk in this world. It guarantees a lightness in your step and a song in your soul.
Speaking of beautiful and inspiring images to put in our path, I have recently learned of a fabulous site: karmatube.org. Prepare to have your heart open miles wide!
To yummy food, positive thoughts, and a well-lived life, each and every day.