The Gift We Give Ourselves

What really fills the human being is 

  not the power and the money...it is 

  a full encounter with yourself...a 

  discovery of your own self...and a 

  strengthening of your energy and  

  your manner of life full of activities 

  and satisfactions.”

               Gerardo Moreno

It's Christmas morning and we are surrounded with wonderful presents... things we have really been wanting.  Ice skates, perhaps a Gucci bag, surround sound, tickets to a Nicks game, coffee shop gift cards, CD's, books to read, games to play...yadda, yadda, yadda.  And...Are we happy now?

Well, for sure, we're plenty excited...at first.  I mean we got exactly what we asked for.  Wrapped in a gorgeous box with a silvery ribbon...perfection!  

However, as wonderful as it is to receive exactly what we desire, the shelf life of this pleasure has an expiration date.  It's so nice to know we are loved and thought of and cared about, but as we reach deep inside ourselves, we find that there is something even more important and longer lasting than the affection and regard of others...and THAT something has infinite staying power...loving OURSELVES.  Having what Gerardo Moreno calls a "full encounter" with ourselves...the discovery of who we truly are.  A full on assessment of our hopes, dreams, feelings, reactions, responses, the dark and light of us, what our emotions are telling us, the messages of our body.  And then, after some deep, authentic soul-searching. an intention and commitment to keep ourselves evolving, to strengthen our energy, to grow into the Next, Grandest Version of Ourselves.  

To do this takes effort, activity, releasing, risk taking and, most important of all, giving ourselves a boatload of love and compassion for the many adventures we will navigate in life.

This very personal work IS the Christmas gift we give ourselves.  No price tag on it.  Can't buy it anywhere or have someone give it to us.  WE have to do the work.  We have to care about ourselves enough to look deeply into our hearts, to uncover and release the pockets of pain and satisfy the longing.  

And, beautifully, this challenging work is a very inspiring enterprise.  We are handsomely rewarded for this effort because it "fills our souls" and when we truly love ourselves, this beautiful, grace-filled Joy spills over onto everyone around us and reaches out to help change the world.

              

                       Marie Helena

Image from Watercolor Christmas cards, Christmas... pinterest.com

Mary Oliver’s Question

“

What are you going to do with your one wild and precious life?

           Mary Oliver

“To live in gratitude is to enjoy every moment of this precious gift that comes from God.”

                             don Miguel Ruiz

Yes.  Your one wild and precious life Mary Oliver describes is being lived through a pandemic.  You are being challenged with discouraging and disruptive issues.  Physical, intellectual, emotional trauma.  But it is YOUR “one wild and precious life”.  And it counts.

What are you going to do with it?

You are going to start with facing the reality of what is.  You are going to use your considerable emotional intelligence to see FOR YOURSELF what there is to know.  Not blindly follow the interpretations of others nor the exaggerations and hyperbole of their theories.  

You are going to ask YOUR heart how it wants to respond and see what brings you calm and peace.  What action you can take to make a difference in this devastating experiment your soul has volunteered to be a part of.  

You are going to recognize the profound significance of your participation.  The depth and intensity of this moment.  And the glorious opportunity you have to support, encourage and influence others.  To work with your global family to collectively move planet earth into a new dimension.

Yes.  It is a wild and simultaneously precious time.  There is work to be done.  And you are here to do it.

                                                                                 Marie Helena

Image from i.pining.com

This is SHOW BUSINESS, folks

Do you suffer from a distressing reaction when someone around you is upset and even though it's not about you, it still FEELS like it is. 

 ouch...Ouch...OUCH!  That is no fun place to be, carrying all that gloom.

I've got an idea about how to get OUT from UNDER that web of co-dependency on someone else's emotions.  And it's frivolous and silly and no one else will even get the humor of what you are doing but YOU will be laughing inside (and tickling your funny bone).

Here's my thought.  Become Alice...you know, Alice in Wonderland but this wonderland doesn't belong to the original Alice.  It's YOUR "wonder"land.  And here's what you're wondering about.

You're wondering how these strange characters (your family, your friends, everyone you run into) got into YOUR story...that's YOUR life, YOUR Wonderland.  And, you're wondering about the curious, quaint and sometimes mystifying ways they think and do things.  And so you're enjoying watching them as they go through their individual routines (that's right...I said routines...this is show business, folks).

I wonder if they are there to entertain you with their perplexing and sometimes offbeat moves.  Each one is an original character with a back story and adventures to take on.  How DID they land at your tea party!

Of course.  I forgot you're Alice and you've gone down the rabbit hole they call earth school and now you get to meet these characters, watch their antics, interact (play) with them.  Remember, this is a fantasy drama, a PLAY for goodness sakes.   

                                                                                                                 

NOW...what does your story look like?

                                                             

                                                                                               Marie Helena

 

top image from johoffberg.com

bottom image from movies-wallpaper.net

Do you suffer from a distressing reaction when someone around you is upset and even though it's not about you, it still FEELS like it is. 

 ouch...Ouch...OUCH!  That is no fun place to be, carrying all that gloom.

I've got an idea about how to get OUT from UNDER that web of co-dependency on someone else's emotions.  And it's frivolous and silly and no one else will even get the humor of what you are doing but YOU will be laughing inside (and tickling your funny bone).

Here's my thought.  Become Alice...you know, Alice in Wonderland but this wonderland doesn't belong to the original Alice.  It's YOUR "wonder"land.  And here's what you're wondering about.

You're wondering how these strange characters (your family, your friends, everyone you run into) got into YOUR story...that's YOUR life, YOUR Wonderland.  And, you're wondering about the curious, quaint and sometimes mystifying ways they think and do things.  And so you're enjoying watching them as they go through their individual routines (that's right...I said routines...this is show business, folks).

I wonder if they are there to entertain you with their perplexing and sometimes offbeat moves.  Each one is an original character with a back story and adventures to take on.  How DID they land at your tea party!

Of course.  I forgot you're Alice and you've gone down the rabbit hole they call earth school and now you get to meet these characters, watch their antics, interact (play) with them.  Remember, this is a fantasy drama, a PLAY for goodness sakes.   

                                                                                                                 

NOW...what does your story look like?

                                                             

                                                                                               Marie Helena

 

top image from johoffberg.com

bottom image from movies-wallpaper.net

The Gift of Light

Saturday, December 22, 201

To heal others with light start by drawing in as much light as you can imagine and putting it all around you. Then imagine yourself as clear as a crystal, so that you are a pure transmitter of light. Send the other person an image of light.

Imagine light going out from your hands, your heart, or the top of your head as if you are sending a stream of light from you to him or her.

That is all that is necessary; your Higher Self will handle all the details. You need only to have the intent to send healing energy as you transmit light, and you will.


Spiritual Growth: Being Your Higher Self  
Sanaya Roman



As we connect with our Higher Selves we become aware of new and powerful ways to experience our beauty. One of these is by the transmitting of our love and concern and compassion to others and especially when those others are enduring suffering and pain.

Light transmits energy and we are energetic beings. We can share our energy with others by focusing on this gift and sending it with love to those we wish to help heal. 

(Incidentally, we can also send it to our bodies…to any place where we are experiencing pain or discomfort.)

Light is one of the most glorious ways we have to reach one another.  

We are all vibrating Beings of Light and this kind of communication is natural to our Higher Selves.


May you know the force is with you.

Adaptation from Yoda

Star Wars 

                                 Marie Helena 

All Voices

To achieve greatness you must listen to the smallest voice.  All voices have something to say. ✨

   J. Richard Jacobs

                 

The beautiful melodies of Christmas carols encompass a bounty of musical offerings from the powerful, majestic strains of the herald angels to the whisper-soft murmurings of a silent night.  Many messages are flowing to us during this awesome season inviting us to celebrate, appreciate, honor and, especially, grow in awareness.  A heavenly reminder of the importance of paying attention to everything that is unfolding in our lives.

Including the voices that speak to us.  Some forcefully and with great authority that are impossible to resist.  Some honoring the gifts of the world that draw us into festivity and merriment.  And the much softer voices that can be easily passed by but that represent so saliently the message of a heart.  And, therefore, a truth that can engage and instruct us.

All music celebrates the human spirit.  All voices have something to say.

                                                                                      Marie Helena

image from clipart-library.com

HOME

When I can't sleep, I sometimes listen for the trains that run through Rockville at night.  For some reason, that relaxes me...            

 Duane Brewster

I think the sound of trains is relaxing, too. Unfortunately, I live miles away from a train track!  But when I was a little kid I could hear the trains in the night and it was a reassuring, comforting sound.

Susannah MacDonald

When we finally turn in for the night and settle our weary bodies onto the comfort of an inviting mattress and sumptuous, down-filled pillows, there is an elusive, mystifying silence that seems to overlay the moment.  It's as if this silence has always been there nestled gently under the rush of activities of the day, but now we are finally quiet enough to hear it. 

And this silence has a very dramatic property.  It is a reminder of the beauty of the stillness of our souls, the stillness of peace and serenity when we are not engaged and engulfed by our to-do lists.  The only thing able to flood the stillness now is the treadmill of our mind making its daily run over what remains unfinished or unresolved.  It is now that we desperately need to put that mental exercise to rest.  It is now that we need to breathe into our hearts and surrender our cares.  And it is now that the steady and gentle hum of the passing train reminds us that we are safe...we are "home"...as we fall softly into that peace.

Interestingly, if we could peek under the many sparkling Christmas trees standing tall in our homes filled with gorgeous lights and adorned with our traditional ornaments, we would often see a child's beloved train circling the beautiful "celebration".  

"A Little Child Shall Lead Them" Isaiah 11:1-10

                                                                                               Marie Helena

image from pinterest

pinterest.co.uk

Infrastructure

Close your eyes for a moment, and imagine how you would relate to the rest of the world if  LOVE was always moving through you. 

  Don Miguel Ruiz
 


The sun, the rain and the soil nurture seeds which have been planted, gracing them with the life force to bloom into brilliant blossoms.  

Propellers of planes in motion engage the natural laws of the universe, lifting and moving massive machinery effortlessly through the air. 

The waves of our oceans methodically surge and swell, laying their burdens thankfully upon the sandy shore.  



We, also, are gifted with a spiritual infrastructurewhich has the authority to inspire, nurture, empower and sustain us as we traverse our lives.   It is Love which is our sun, our power.  It is Love that provides the wind beneath our wings. 
 It is Love whose rhythm moves us elegantly through our journey, aligning us with the Truth of the Universe and gifting us with the grace of surrender.

We do not need to engage in the weariness of "trying to make things happen", only 
a tapping in to the force which has created life itself.



                                                          Marie Helena

                                                          

image from sitsshow.blogspot.com