Mum's the Word

 
It’s almost Halloween and I am a holiday junkie.  

The front porch is filled with scarecrows, corn stalks, bales of hay, a black cat and some very big (and I mean big) pots of chrysanthemums in purple, yellow and white. 

 And though I love the color and texture of everything on the porch, the really big deal for me is putting my face right into the flowers and taking in their essence… the touch and smell and coolness…in other words, their vibration!  


I take breaks during the day to go out and do this. It connects me with nature’s bountiful gifts and beauty. It lifts me out of my everyday tasks and says, “We’re right here…just waiting for you to enjoy us.”  Yep, those flowers are smiling. I know it. They love to have someone get right in their faces.  

Which reminds me…I am also addicted to hugging trees. I have a particular tree in the neighborhood that lets me feel its roots straight down into the earth. I used to look around before I approached the tree, but, naw…I don’t look around anymore. I just see that beauty and go for it.  I hug bushes, too. And have been for many years.  

Although I am no gardener, I think that this is exactly the kind of  high  that gardeners feel when they do their thing.  Now here’s a really interesting fact I learned recently about plants and gardeners. If you are raising plants that you will eat, when you tend them with personal, loving care they produce for you whatever your DNA requires.
 

Now that’s mind blowing. And it sure tells you that the universe is alive and wanting to spread its goodness everywhere. 

 So have at ‘em…pumpkins, flowers, trees…the whole works.  They’re just waiting for your perceptive eyes and glowing attention. 

                            

                                                                                             Marie Helena

Who Writes the Story?

Don Miguel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements, tells us thatRESPECT is one of the greatest expressions of LOVE...and that, if we love someone, we respect that this person is a good artist and can write his own story. 

Ruiz further says that  this person was, in fact, BORN to write his own story and if we respect him, we do not try to write his story for him.

What is even more important is that imposing ourselves in someone else's story is a blatant example of our lack of faith that the other person is capable of learning for himself what there is to be learned and applying those lessons to his life.  The consideration of how and when and if he does this is not In our job description.

 

I do believe that we can communicate to others in a gentle, positive, loving manner any suggestions that we may have about the turmoil they may be experiencing BUT that is it...just SUGGEST...not expect and not punish if someone does not wish to embrace what we are envisioning as an answer to a dilemma.

We are NEVER in the place of knowing all of the factors involved in how someone's life is playing out and  to act as if we are and to envision what we think is the perfect answer is to exalt ourselves and fail to honor the other. 

It represents the giving of affection with CONDITIONS, falling short of a truly loving response and indicating a lack of respect.

Truly understanding our place in the world and the place others occupy is a challenging task for us.  It requires clear boundaries for ourselves and others  but it frees everyone involved to make life choices in an atmosphere of support and caring.

Expressing our faith in everyone else's right and ability 

to listen to the guidance of his own heart...

to  decide issues for himself...

to experience the consequences of his choices and to learn his own lessons when and if he chooses..

is a most beautiful and pure expression of love and caring.  

It also frees us to use our energies for the selection, welcoming and experiencing of our own adventures.

                              Marie Helena 

image from tootsiegrace.blogspot.com

A New Dimension

“I don’t do anything unless I’m inspired.”

                                 

                                           Fenna Diephuis

Visions of sugarplums, dainty silver bells and silvery fairy dust danced through my bewildered mind one wintry afternoon not long ago when my friend Fenna made this comment to me.  What a wonderful world it would be to live like this, I breathlessly imagined. 

Then, after my initial reaction of Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole, I tried to seriously visualize myself living in this radically magical way Fenna had described.  My first and very logical reaction was No Way.

Too many things to take care of.  Too big of a To Do list.  And the inevitable sense of disappointment in myself if I didn’t finish my self appointed tasks of everyday life. Lots of real work needs to be taken care of whether I am in the mood or not.

But, despite my left brain, lawyer- like rationalization, I found myself clearly enchanted with the dreamy possibility of living life in this glorious fashion.  If everything I chose to do felt like I was living out a spontaneous wish, I would, of course, truly enjoy doing it, I reasoned.  What a wonderful way to experience my life.  But how to access this intriguing state of Inspiration and to take up residence there...those were the questions I pondered.

I asked myself what beautiful ambiance, what mystical setting gives birth to inspiration?  Or, to put it in more colloquial terms, what actually goes on in this mysterious and magical “hood”?

Seems like there has to be some dancing...real (for dancing always raises our vibration) or metaphorical (a dancing spirit).  

And, borrowing from the name of a critically acclaimed movie, the Incredible Lightness of Being must be present.  There has to be a connection with the Universe, a trusting that we are cared for and guided.  That we need only let go of “trying” and let ourselves receive.  That we choose to move through life openly and gracefully in this state of anticipation and appreciation before these gifts are even delivered to us.

And, most certainly, there must be curiosity about this incredible quantum world in which we find ourselves.  And a sense of wonderment about what we have still to learn.  How all of life’s creations interact with each other.  And how we are all a part of this continuing network and dialogue of caring and cooperation.

With this dancing spirit, curiosity and wonderment and an incredible lightness of being, how could we not be inspired to enjoy and appreciate and to want to learn more about this magical playground of our lives?  And, as we move in the spirit of love, we draw more love to ourselves.  The wondrous law of vibrational attraction, yet another fascinating gift of the Universe in which we live.

Is that fairy dust falling ever so gracefully in my heart as I contemplate the Joy of inhabiting this new dimension of possibility?

                                             Marie Helena

image from Pinterest Watercolor Fantasy and Fairy art by Sarah Pauline

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