The Cart Before the Horse

Ev-er-y-bod-y has heard the old adage..."Don't put the cart before the horse". 

And it makes good sense (as all cliches tend to do).  

However,

The Divine Universe doesn't follow ordinary rules.  

It's  so original...and creative.  

What I've discovered in my life (and I'm sure it's tucked into yours somewhere, too) is that the fabulous, infinitely wise, infinitely powerful Universe LOVES to put the cart before the horse...and by this I mean it provides the solutions BEFORE the problems appear.


Let me explain how this plays out in my life.  


Whenever something is troubling me and I am feeling stuck...not sure how to proceed or lacking the energy or motivation to go to work on the issue...as soon as I take a moment to breathe...to relax...a soundless bell goes off (it's something I just feel) and I gently recall something I had read the day before or a comment someone had made to me recently or, even more frequently, I remember a blog post I have written that reminds me of something important I had grasped and understood earlier but have since forgotten.  And that something I have forgotten is ALWAYS exactly what I need to remember now...today...IN THIS MOMENT.


Sometimes the "direct-tions" are even more direct.


Each day I check my blog's list of the ten most popular posts.  This list is changing moment by moment.  It is based on what posts people are reading and the information is coming from around the world as I know that 110 countries have accessed my blog.  I look to see what is being read each morning and, without fail, it's something I need to be reminded of THAT DAY.


How BEAUTIFUL is that!  Individuals around the world are choosing my posts to read and, in so doing, they are ministering TO ME.  They are helping me become the next, grandest version of myself.


Talk about Love circling back to us!  I send out my thoughts and they come back to me EXACTLYwhen I need them.   


Wow!  What a system!  And that's just one example of how this beautiful dynamic works.


I KNOW...I am SURE...
that YOU have a heavenly guidance system in place. ..the CART before the horse.  


Maybe  you haven't discovered it yet.  Maybe it's hiding in plain sight...a little heavenly merrymaking and mischief.  PLEASE look around and tap into this awesome, original and brilliant celestial stratagem.  


We are all so very loved.   : )

        
                                                                                      Marie Helena



image from thesaurus.babylon.com

Cutting Edge: The Calling

 

A few weeks ago my podiatrist shared a fascinating anecdote with me during a routine office visit.  We love to have our chats together and. on this particular day, I found myself immensely inspired by something he told me. 


It seems the doc was having a meal alone one evening in a restaurant when he was invited by an acquaintance to join him and four other friends at another table.  Now the interesting thing about this is that the five gentlemen who were sitting together were all very conservative in their beliefs and my podiatrist leans way in the other direction.  


The subjects discussed by the group during the lengthy conversation which took place  that evening were religion and politics...a red flag zone if ever I'd heard one.  But the doc told me that just as the conversation opened, he announced that he does not argue religion or politics.  He just discusses them in order to understand others' points of view.  

 
I was intrigued as I heard his no arguing stipulation and wondered how the conversation had evolved after he made that statement.  With the most delighted demeanor,  the doc informed me that the conversation that ensued (with him on one side and the five gentlemen on the other) had been enlightening and stimulating and gentlemanly in tone.  And, as the doc departed the gathering one and a half hours later, he was informed by group members that he had presented thoughts and ideas they had never considered before.  



Wow...I thought.  And WOW again!


What a profound result had occurred that day from the very sincere declaration of the doc, "I don't argue religion or politics." 

I wondered...
What if no one "argued" religion or politics...or anything else for that matter?  What if we talked to each other to learn about what others believe and why and how their beliefs have affected their lives? What if we listened to what others said without feeling threatened or intimidated?  What if we had nothing to prove and, possibly, something to learn from hearing other points of view?


The world would surely be a very different place than the way it is right now.  It would more closely resemble a gathering of curious scholars and philosophers than often being the hotbed it is of arguments and disputes that sometimes culminate in unrest, injury and violence.


Why do we have a need to compel or persuade others to "see things our way"?  Why is it so threatening to us that others reject our beliefs?  Why do we need to see OUR ideas prevail? And why are some of us sometimes willing to inflict mental, emotional or physical injury on those who do not share our views?  

Have we not come to this earthly dimension to learn, to experience, to discover for ourselves what there is to know?  And are we not gifted with the company and comradeship of other earth travelers who are also here to discover FOR THEMSELVES what there is to know? 

Why argue with each other when everyone has been given this same calling?  Why not stay open to learning what has been noticed, accepted, embraced and assimilated by others and try to understand what they have learned that has felt so important and appealing to them?


"I do not argue.  I discuss so I can understand."  

 
Can you imagine the wealth of sharing and mutual support that would take place if every man clearly embraced his highest calling "to understand"...perhaps one of the most powerful and needed changes that could ever occur on our planet!

                                    Marie Helena

image from pinterest.com

         

Attraversiamo

  

The Italians have a beautiful word which translates as "crossing over"

...Attraversiamo.  

To me it means moving through 
and moving on.

As I looked through some interesting comments I have saved from my readings, I came across some lovely impressions of how this process happens.
 
Lauren Gorgo tells us that 
"we are not here to own or hold experiences but to fluidly move thru them so as to continually embrace the next experience...and the next, and the next."
 
When I attempt to visualize the  process  Lauren describes the scene I see is filled with gently moving images that are translucent...they are effortlessly transforming into new images (read experiences).  The feeling is one of lightness and the most beautiful energy vibrating joyfully.

According to Lauren Gorgo this is Conscious Co-Creation and it means to live in the moment and create the next moment from the moment that preceded it.
 

As I reflect on this picture I see that  LIFE looks very purposeful.  Every experience we have holds the gift of a sacred lesson which anchors the next step in our spiritual evolution.
 

Does this image of moving pictures seem difficult to engage...to stop fixating on or obsessing over our experiences...especially the ones that feel difficult, uncomfortable or painful and move instead into the on-going  grace of transformation?
 
 
Here are some words of encouragement I feel are especially inspiring to help us develop this approach to life.  They describe a gentle process, a habit we can cultivate that will facilitate this spiritual exercise. 

I do not have the author's name recorded in my notes but the tone of the message sounds a lot like the words I read from Meredith Murphy's Expect Wonderful and I share it with you in the hopes that it will spark your motivation and, oh, so gently touch your heart:
 
“Continually allowing myself to let go of things without resistance just opens up ease and makes life so happy.

I let things come into my life.  I let them go.  I stop trying to control this or take it personally.  I just am.  Amazing.  So simple, isn't it?”

 Can you SIMPLIFY the moments of your life?

 
                                                                              Marie Helena

image from art-saloon.ru

The Flower in My Hair

Ever since a rather serious encounter with a rogue candle resting on the kitchen counter, I have been a dedicated convert to the battery operated version of this venue of light.  I have several colored lights arranged on a wall bookshelf, all beaming in a luminous, verdant, brilliant shade of green.  To me, that beautiful color represents the luxury of stability and safety.  

Recently, I realized that there was something else I wanted to bring into my life as a subtle yet constant reminder that I aspire to keep transforming into a more glorious version of myself.  And so, one of those magical green glowing tapers has now been transmuted unto a rotating color bearer gently flashing rose, ivory, lavender, blue...reminding me that I aspire to embrace the ever changing face of life:  the surprises, the perplexity, the compression and the expansion, the pleasures AND the pain.

And, in that willing embrace, I aspire to allow myself to fully feel the power and impact of each moment and let my body entrust to me, as I am ready to receive it, the message and accompanying inspiration of the moment.

For this same reason, I have begun wearing a flower in my hair each day.  Whenever I pass by a mirror and glance into it, I see a lovely offering of nature tucked into the wisps of hair surrounding my face, bringing a freshness into my consciousness and the lovely scent/ reminder of the beauty of an open heart.

Simple gestures...the gentle arrangement of candles and flowers.  Simple but also profound for they signal a tender aspiration to connect more deeply with the challenge and joy of returning to the love-filled creature Who (underneath our earthly disguises) We Truly Are.

I believe the impulse to RETURN to this place of pure radiance is present in every human heart.  What is your very special way of inspiring and directing your cosmic journey?

                                                 Marie Helena                                                                                

image from pinterest                                                  

More Than the Magic

Several years ago I found myself watching a PBS special presentation of Andre Rieu - Live in Dublin.  

For those of you who haven’t heard of Andre Rieu – he is a violinist/conductor/showman of world renown who usually gives concerts only in Europe but on that day I realized he would be appearing in the states that spring in Detroit.  I was elated to learn this because I had seen several of his concerts on PBS and, in fact, owned several DVD’s of  the concerts and nearly all of his CD’s.


Andre Rieu's music and the enchanting way he presents it speak to my soul.  The camera work  on an Italian production I’ve seen, for example, was amazing - simultaneously capturing the soulful artist center stage, the sweep of an enraptured European audience amid the beauty of an Italian piazza in the moonlit night and a close-up of a grandfatherly gentleman listening to Andre with emotion-filled eyes and a tear sliding down his face.  The thought of being a part of all this was compelling.  Just as I made a mental note to call about tickets the next day, I heard the TV commentator remark that the concert had been sold out, but that a local university was holding a block of tickets for its contributors.


I noticed the number of available tickets was rapidly decreasing each time the concert was interrupted by the broadcasters to make a sales pitch for contributions.  Suddenly, someone was saying there were only ten tickets left and I realized that if I didn’t act now, I would lose this glorious opportunity.  I picked up the phone and suddenly found myself making the $250 contribution to the university, ensuring my attendance at the fabulous concert.

My impulsive decision amazed me.  I had often wondered if  I could be so moved that I would spend the kind of money concert tickets usually cost.  And, here I was, making a $250 contribution to get me to that moment.  God bless the magic that moves us out of our every day lives!


The Andre Rieu concert in Detroit I so anxiously awaited that spring was held at the stately Fox Theater.  When I arrived that evening,I fond it teeming with people streaming into the lobby.  As I found my seat I was mesmerized by the ornate and delicate beauty of the theater’s ceiling.  I was thrilled to be sitting up so high.  Meanwhile, I had been muttering periodically to myself about not having remembered to bring binoculars, but I put that concern aside when Andre and the Johann Strauss Orchestra took the stage, individually marching up the center steps with great ceremony to the strains of “Entry of the Gladiators”. 

Dressed in ebony tuxes and elegant, iridescent gowns, the members of his orchestra looked ready to play for the Queen.  The audience members at the Fox Theater that night numbered five thousand and you could feel the anticipation and excitement in the full house as the maestro raised his violin.  Behind him sat his talented orchestra, heavily favoring violins and cellos, but the evening would prove they were very capably balanced by the brass and drum sections.

As usual,  the maestro immediately struck a warm and convivial note with the members of his audience, including them in his commentary and especially in his musical pranks which were sprinkled throughout the evening.  He and his orchestra and performers were treated to several standing ovations.  Three female soloists (two from Brazil and one from Holland) were flawless in their presentations.  I could not believe the fabulous acoustics in a theatre of this size. As they performed, the obvious delight of the maestro, the orchestra and soloists hung rapturously in the air.  At one point, Maestro Andre passionately proclaimed the Strauss family responsible for the best waltzes ever written, as he proudly introduced “The Blue Danube”.

Sitting next to me during the performance was another university supporter who had an injured back from a car accident.  I lent her my lumbar cushion which I had brought with me but didn’t need at this point and she generously lent me the use of the binoculars circulating within her party.

The magic continued until the last waltz played was hailed with a burst of colorful balloons from what seemed like the miles high ceiling.  I do not know what was more touching…the music or the joy of the people performing and listening to it.  I was so thankful for the intuitive leap which had prompted me to make the contribution and secure the accompanying concert ticket.


After the performance I hurried outside, hoping to get one of the first cabs I expected would be lining up in front of the theater.  As I looked around, I saw no cabs but instead what looked like a blockade of buses.  (The performance was being presented exclusively for patrons of PBS and it seemed many members of the audience had traveled to Detroit in their respective group transportation.)  Furthermore, there was apparently some sort of minor fracas going on between a policeman who refused to let the cabs double park because of the danger to patrons who might be running out in between buses and the doorman in red tails and black top hat who was trying to find cabs for the patrons.  

A few moments later the handsomely attired doorman confided to us affectionately that the policeman was causing him a great deal of trouble but he promised to help and smilingly continued to search for one of the cabs which he promised were even now circling the block.  Eventually, the two uniforms struck a compromise and the policeman promised to keep all of the buses away from the theaer entrance at the next performance. 

Finally, a cab was found and I climbed into a back seat that was VERY tightly wedged behind a barrier separating me from the cab driver.  As the cab pulled away, I tried to engage the driver in some casual conversationabout the traffic and endless construction and he told me in a voice heavy with contempt that Detroit was the worst place in the world in which to live.  He then announced that no one there was human.  When I asked him why he felt this way, he could only repeat his comment two or three more times and shake his head.  Feeling his pain, and because I make it a practice to be especially considerate to anyone whose pain is transforming his life force into cynicism, negativity or depression, I gave him a $7 tip for the five minute cab ride, but he seemed not to notice…or to care.

I was struck by the significance of the gloriousfestivities ending in this way and felt there was most definitely a lesson here.  That evening I had encountered so many faces of humanity:  the artistic genius of Andre Rieu, the joy and talent of his orchestra and performers, the elation of the audience in hearing the concert, the generosity of the woman in the next seat who lent her binoculars for my enjoyment, the jolly red-tail coated doorman, the policeman who eventually came to a compromise with the doorman regarding the “lost” cabs and, finally, the cab driver whose aura (had I been able to see it ) must have reflected the darkness of the night and of his psyche.  In the midst of the artistry, joy and exuberance of those attending and performing at the concert, here was this lonely, lost cab driver who seemed as if he had no drop of hope in the world to sustain him.

I pondered the amazing parade I had witnessed that evening and considered what part we had all played in this drama.


We are all responsible for the gifts and pain of the world.  Just that past week I had heard Carl Franklin, an international speaker with over thirty-five years of spiritual/metaphysical research, teaching, lecturing, and counseling, remark that reality as we experience it is shaped by mass human consciousness via the quantum field.  There is no speed limit here, he said.  The speed of thought is instantaneous.


In reflecting on this I asked myself what kind of thoughts and emotions have we all been projecting into the cosmos?  What caring and concern?  When have we ignored the suffering of humanity?  When have we answered its call?  We (every one of us) helped bring the joy of the glorious and amazing music to its manifestation at the concert and, equally, we helped shape the tragic sadness of the cab driver I encountered in the night.


We have all contributed to the collective energy which produced in the same evening the higher vibrations of exquisite artistry and, simultaneously, the lower cadences of hopelessness and despair.  The concert, I feel, represents the awesome joy that is possible and the cab driver the pain that must not be left unattended.


I received more than the gift of music the evening I attended the concert of Andre Rieu, more than just the magic.  I was also given a reminder of our common brotherhood and the responsibility of adding joy and love and, most especially, compassion to life.  As always, my intuition has been my great teacher and friend…and, in this moment, a conscience for humanity.


                                         Marie Helena 
                           
                                                                                                   

orchestra image from galleryhip.com

cab image from chachadiaries.blogspot.com

Holding Our Light

Everything changes when you emit your own frequency rather than absorb the frequencies around you.

                                              Barbara Marciniak

We are all aware of what it’s like to “feel the vibe” when we encounter someone who is struggling with some upsetting emotions.  It is so easy to absorb that vibration. 

Suddenly, there it is surrounding us, cloaking us if we let it. And it’s hard to escape, difficult to be unaffected.  But what an awesome opportunity to hold our own light, even in the face of what might feel heavy or negative.  To emit and sustain our own beautiful frequency.  

What if we were to hold space and clarity for our own intention and vibration?  What if we were to see ourself in a luminous spotlight...an emanation that moves when we move...that goes where we go...beautifully illuminating our corner of the world?    

This SPOTLIGHT is a physical expression of our BOUNDARY.

From this vantage point we can view all the many other spotlights around us, each shining on other persons. We can be an OBSERVER as each individual lives his life...writes his own story.  And, most importantly, we can clearly see the difference between their spotlights and ours.

When we are able to hold our own light, it does not matter what kind of situation we encounter.  It is irrelevant because it is not ours.

We are not held at the mercy of what is going on around us. We are Creators… not reactors and not victims.  We create the space in which we wish to exist and we choose to sustain it. 

And, in doing so, we demonstrate for others the beauty of PRIMEcreation.  In this space, we also grow in strength and spirituality and are more able to extend compassion to the individuals in the spotlights where it is needed.

We are here to learn and practice the holding of our light until it becomes an effortless and ongoing sharing of unconditional love.

And everything changes.

                                                 Marie Helena

image from ArtHearty:

Easy-to-practice and Fun Watercolor Painting Techniques

Ichabod's Night Life

It was a windy night in Galway, Ireland 2010.  I was visiting my daughter Rachel who was on sabbatical there and I was sleeping in her guest bedroom. Rachel’s apartment house is located on a peninsula on Galway Bay. It sits literally in the middle of the harbor and, if you look outside of her window, you can see sailboats of all sizes lined up and moored to the docks.

On this particular evening I was awakened by the sound of someone apparently working on a boat in the middle of the night. There was a persistent clanging, actually two different clangings…and it felt like one was agitating the other. My daughter had told me earlier that she slept with earplugs because of the harbor noises, but I didn’t feel a little background sound would make a difference to me. I was wrong.

That night I tossed restlessly for hours, growing a strong frustration that vibrated every time I heard another sound. I could hardly believe that someone had decided to work on his boat at this hour. The logic was beyond me. I went to the window of the bedroom and parted the curtains. The boats were sitting in the water, magically illuminated by the mooring lights. The scene was breathtakingly beautiful…and there was no one to be seen working in the area. Confused, I looked further and discovered that the wind was willfully whipping the branches of a very tall tree against the night sky.

So, I thought…it’s the wind I have to deal with and decided I would try to use my consciousness to slow it down. (I had read on a couple of occasions that it is possible to move a cloud so I thought I would try changing the wind speed.) I was finally able to slow it down enough so that I could get some sleep but decided I needed a better plan as I am not yet practiced in the art of cloud/wind transport.

We checked the anticipated wind speed for the next night and, sure enough, a very windy evening was in the offing. I decided to see what resources I could call up because I did not want to go the ear plugs route.

Remembering a very important lesson I had learned from a book called Courageous Dreaming by Alberto Villoldo I decided that I had to change my storyabout the clanging. The first night it had represented a series of constant intrusions into my night of peaceful sleep. Now I decided to call up my imagination and create a new story. In this scenario the clanging actually was coming from a phantom sailor called Ichabod. I was asleep on the lower deck of a boat with several sailors. Every night the phantom Ichabod made an appearance on the top deck and proceeded to adjust the masts and moorings, clanging away as he worked. Everyone on the boat knew Ichabod and held a great affection for him. Ichabod’s appearance each evening signaled that all was right with the world…and with the clanging reminder of his presence, everyone slept soundly. Including me.

The next morning I ecstatically celebrated the beautiful way I had been able to “dream” myself into a peaceful place.

Telling myself a new story has become for me a new way to deal with the challenges that present themselves in my life. And it’s not always easy. And sometimes I forget to do it. But, oh, when I can remember this lesson and make it happen, I am overjoyed with the knowledge that I can change the way I perceive my reality. I was over the moon about Ichabod. Rachel, too. She has even adopted him as a guest in her harbor home.

In creating this story I followed Villoldo’s advice to create my story (or dream) by flying to the level of eagle which is spiritually based. I framed the sound as a peaceful resonance and that is what it became.

If you have a story in your life that is bringing you suffering, I invite and encourage you to call on your power to paint a picture that will soothe and comfort you, delighting your soul and bringing you the peace of Ichabod

                                         Marie Helena