Don’t Push the River

EACH RIVER HAS ITS OWN BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY.. moving, flowing, unfolding in its own sacred space and time. 

It may follow a straight, focused path moving forward with determination. 

It may carefully navigate earth fragments...twigs, rocks, trees, boulders. 

It may move forward in near silence, absorbing  with deep appreciation every living thing it encounters.

All  rivers have a rhythm...a wisdom that needs to be honored.  They represent the onward flow of Life itself which animates our spirit.


Listening to our river and RESPECTING its forward movement (whatever that may be) is essential for us to progress through our earthly journey with joy and ease.
 

On the other hand, pushing "the river" produces tension and anxiety.  
 

If we are feeling anxious or upset...if we are frustrated by events or circumstances that trigger us...and we choose to pretend this is not what is happening...we are pushing "the river".   

 
"The river" inside us wants to express itself with the freedom and grace of authenticity.  

If we deny that authenticity, we fight the natural unfolding which is so important to our health and well-being.
 

Like the river, we are designed to be open, transparent, expressive. 

 

When we deny "What Is" clearly going on because of fear or discomfort...because of limiting beliefs or unhealed hurts, we interrupt the beautiful rhythm and flow of our life. 

 
And when we try to force an action or reaction from someone  (or ourselves) instead of waiting for its natural expression (which comes in its own time), we create disharmony. 


 And, by so doing, we not only compromise the health and well-being of the body, we compromise our emotional and spiritual progress and we surely cause disturbance to our relationships.
 

"The rivers" of our life must be welcomed and honored.  If we respect their flow we will feel the beautiful ease of being our true, authentic selves and encouraging others to join us in this Divine unfolding.


And so I offer you this gentle reminder...

As you move through your day and navigate the "scenery" of your life, take a deep breath,  bless the moment, remind yourself of Life's innate wisdom and DON'T PUSH THE RIVER.


                  Marie Helena

image from ClipartHeaven.com

Deconstructing Anger

Rough edges...
gruff sounds...
a voice growing in intensity  

  
Oh, dear....Where can we hide?

Most of us feel like "leaving the building" when the vibration of anger explodes in our midst.  Whether it is our own fiery voice we hear or someone else's, this is not a fun place to find ourselves and we wonder what happened to bring this on?  How did things escalate so fast?  

And, in the face of this growing tension, it is so very difficult to get our bearings, to take that deep breath, to step away from the fray and summon a glimpse of the bigger picture.  But this is exactly what is needed in the heat of that moment for what is transpiring has many possible layers to it and it takes a clear head, a centered consciousness and a calm, compassionate heart to embrace the significance of the event.

Psychologist Phillip McGraw tells us that anger is a masking defense, called out to front the troops which are harboring hurt, fear or frustration.  Where anger feels hot and aggressive, the emotions "behind the scene" are actually full of pain...and vulnerability but they are lacking the courage to directly speak what has caused their siren call.  And that is because the angry person (whether it is ourself or another) has not experienced the trust that it is safe and it is important to name the feelings that are flooding his soul.  

And so anger, instead, emerges as the front guy and anger takes the hit, eventually encountering a counterattack, distressing emotions or even remorse at a later moment.   And all of this drama is not productive because it isn't even the real issue.  But what it does do is bring  our awareness to the fact that there is someone needing love and attention...and, most of all, needing understanding that their heart is unprotected.

The most powerful elixir in this moment is to have someone bravely dance right through the emotional maelstrom of the anger and lovingly embrace the tender heart which is longing  to be heard.  Unconditional acceptance in a safe environment as this soul speaks its truth the best way it knows how.  


Deconstructing anger...cutting edge.


          

                                        Marie Helena                                                                                                         




image from Pinterest.com

Island Metaphor

Imagine you have been selected to appear on the newest reality show which will be taking place on an amazing island where everything you might possibly need has already been provided.  No matter what you decide to do...design something, construct something, invent something…ALL resources are available.  But, and here is the sticking point, they are hidden within the topography of the island.  They are most certainly there, but they are not easy to see.  And they emerge into your view only when you are truly ready for them and not a moment before.

The challenge then becomes how does one get ready to receive these resources?  And this cannot be done through manipulation, force or trickery. Only authentic responses ensure their accessibility.

Welcome to the reality show of your life!  And it is simultaneously amazing and magical whileconfusing and challenging, too.


And this is because we perceive that we live in linear time but, in fact, there is only the NOW.  The past and the future are only an illusion but we are so convinced of them that we can only recognize things within the context of logical progression.  And so we fail to see that the opportunities… the resources… are ALWAYS available but, because of our programming, they are hidden in plain sight.

Wondrously, it appears the Divine Universe is designed to accompany us on our journey and offer us support precisely at the moment we are ready to receive it.


        Isn't it amazing how so many of the things we need arrive at just the opportune moment.
       Almost like magic or a miracle.  
       But it can't be a miracle if it is already there.  
       It just must be something in us has let us see what we need.

                                               Paradigm Shift


In the reality show of our life we move through a series of challenges designed by our soul to learn lessons and help us develop character traits. If we authentically embrace whatever is being presentedto us and offer no resistance, we are "ready" and the Universe  makes accessible to us whatever ideas or resources are necessary to navigate our path.


What so often appears to be a coincidence or good fortune that has just occurred, in reality, has been residing in the eternal NOW, awaiting our awarenessand receptivity.
.

If, indeed, everything we ever need to grow and evolve is available to us whenever we are ready to "see" it, could we possibly live in a more loving and compassionate Universe?  Cerebral, provocative, emotionally rich and intelligent.  Profound in conception.   Home.

                                                                                              Marie Helena



image from pinterest.com
Caribbean islands and island life

Unspeakable Kindness

 

Bestselling American author 
Geneen Roth tells us that whenever we feel an upsetting explosion of emotion that arrives unexpectedly and without invitation, it is a holy moment.  Sacred information is being revealed to us and it is our being triggered that opens this fascinating door to our awareness.

This triggering is not an easy moment for any of us.  It is messy and confusing and unpredictable...but it is real.  We can feel it in our bodies and now we can no longer pretend that nothing is wrong.  It is here and it is running the show.

Yikes, we think.  This is not how I want to express myself.  But the intensity of the moment has revealed our truth... something is very wrong and disturbing us and it wants to...it demands...to be heard.

How do we deal with this maelstrom

of emotional turbulence?

We WELCOME the messengers.

But who are these strangers who have burst into the middle of our lives?

Geneen Roth has chosen a mysterious and compelling image to describe these characters who are presenting the epiphanies  to us.  She calls them Ghost Children.  And we all have a cache of them waiting in line to be recognized and heard.

I think Roth calls these characters ghosts because they are the couriers of unresolved pain and she calls them children because they represent our innocence as we enter the world and also because they are persistent as all children are in wanting to be heard and acknowledged.

And what are we to do with these internuncios...these  emissaries of the soul longing for acknowledgment and release? Roth has a remedy to suggest.  She instructs us to welcome, love and question our ghost children.

Further, she passionately advises us to be unspeakably kind to them 

for they represent our unhealed hearts and, left unattended, they will affect the way we view life and ourselves and how we interact with others.

This may seem a very challenging way to deal with our own storm surges  and the emotional explosions of others because the very act of being triggered or of triggering others is fraught with grave tension and anxiety and the survival protection of defensiveness.

But, when a triggering occurs,  it is unhealed hurt that has gathered the courage to speak and it needs to be honored.  Hence, the unspeakable kindness Roth proposes for when our tears, metaphorical or otherwise, are attempting to show themselves for release and resolution, we will always do this more easily when we have been met with loving kindness.  When an open heart responds to our pain, we are gently encouraged to examine the circumstances that have inspired it.

When moments of Intense and disturbing gravitas are met with beautiful  tenderness, love and “unspeakable kindness” we move together through an incredible 

transmutation and healing. 

This vision of Geneen Roth is beautiful and  inspiring.  We have the ability to dream it and, having dreamt it, we can more easily manage to make this a hallmark of our lives.

                            Marie Helena

Image from pinterest 

Stuck in Your OwnTraffic Jam!

  

It's 5:03 p.m. and you have just left work with high hopes of scooting into traffic before the usual dinnertime craziness strikes...but, unfortunately, it's forming ahead of you. 


 One block up and there you are...stuck in a traffic jam. 
 
We ALL know what this is like.  

The frustration of being frozen in place when every cell in our body wants to move.  But we are constrained by the circumstances of the moment.  We are wedged in on every side.  Our annoyanceand irritation are growing  because we are stuck.  There is no motion or movement and it's making everything worse.  : (


You have just read my metaphor describing what happens in our body when a pain occurs and we choose to contract.


Here are some examples of what "contract"ion looks like:

You think, 
                      "Oh no, what's happening to me now?"
                     "What's wrong?"
                      "I hate when this happens.  I thought I was over this."
                      "What next?"
                       "I have to fix this...where is the aspirin?"
                      " This is __________'s fault for talking to me like that."

and your body records the frustration with increased stress and tension.


All of these thoughts tend to make us contract...from anxiety or distress.  They either express our exasperation, our attempt to "fix" something or our tendency to find someone else to take the blame...in effect, causing the "traffic jam" in our body to Intensify and the pain to worsen.

And by choosing the route of contraction we miss the traffic "signal" of our body (the pain) which is there to help us navigate our way through the impasse.  We fail to recognize...to hear the body's message and honor it...and that message is..."Something is STUCK and we need to help it move."

 
AND HOW DO WE ACCOMPLISH THIS?
 
We accomplish this by sitting quietly and observing the pain...experiencing  how it is expressing itself.  

We watch it softly...non- judgmentally...for however long it is present and we patiently track its movement,  paying close attention to what it feels like.   

Over time, with our acceptance and patience, in my experience the pain WILL move and change its expression several times and...eventually... it will release its hold on the body.


This journey of release is the path energy takes when it is allowed to move.  When it is kept hostage by contraction (just like when we are caught in the unyielding traffic jam),  it grows more intense and more upsetting and, yes, more painful.


The ancient Hopi tribe was very aware of the powerful effect of moving energy and used this principle in its healing rituals.  Unfortunately, in contemporary life, we often choose outside sources to help us when the body itself is its OWN healing agent if we but listen to its message and get out of our own way.


By allowing our energy to disengage from the point of pain and move of its own volition we can honor the exquisite wisdom of our body when it is stuck in its own traffic jam and begin the beautiful journey of release.

                                                                                          Marie Helena 

image from science roll.com.  

Me and My "Shadow"

The plaintiff lyrics of the wistful  ballad, "Me and My Shadow", describe the loneliness of being "all alone and feeIin' blue".  It's a beautiful song, with a melodious refrain, but it's the stereotyped version of the shadow.

The Divine Universe has something else in mind..

The SHADOW which the Divine Universe provides us with is none other than our own HIGHER SELF and there is nothing sad or lonely about this companion. 

Our HIGHER SELF embodies unconditional love, mastery, brilliance, compassion, sensitivity, power.  The list goes on.  

This significance of this "shadow"  is the fact that HIGHER SELF is ALWAYS with us.  We can choose not to be aware, to fail to connect with this power...to go alone on our own path, but support and assistance and wisdom ARE within our reach in this glorious, yes..luminous, "shadow" which we all possess.

HIGHER SELF reveals itself to us on so many occasions...IF we are listening.

Recently, I did some reading on the concept of  Surrender...something which has intrigued me greatly and, in this moment, I WAS listening carefully.   Up until that point I had thought that the guidance to Surrender (which I had read in many different places) meant stop trying to solve the problem.   But now I saw a new interpretation of Surrender...and it was Surrenderingto the experience itself (and not just to the issue of discovering the solution).

Shortly after this I found myself unable to find my way through a difficulty of some magnitude.  I decided to try "Surrendering to the experience itself" and was astounded to discover that no sooner had I taken that step, the wisdom of many insights began to enter into my consciousness.  

I had acknowledged the challenge facing me and accepted it (surrendered to it) with amazing results. 

Which leads me to the questions:   

Is it our earthwork to realize that in this illusion we call LIFE it is our job to "see" we are not alone and open the door to guidance from HIGHER SELF?  

Is  the door closed until WE open it by acknowledging the power and wisdom we already possess and which is housed in our HIGHER SELF?

Later I had still another experience of HIGHER SELF support. 

At this time I found myself affected by a comment which triggered an emotional memory of pain.  I chose at that point to be completely aware of my body's reaction and to stay in that place of great mindfulness until my body became calm so that my hippocampus could have the time and opportunity to reframe the experience of pain. 

Here again I found my "Shadow", HIGHER SELF, stepping in to help me see that the pain I had been experiencing was only the result of the earth journey I was on (with its accompanying lessons to be learned).  

The truth is that I am (as are you) ALREADY perfect as embodied in HIGHER SELF. 

It is only in this experience (life) that we take on the veil of forgetfulness  that we are ALREADY perfect... ALREADY whole...luminous and loving....and courageous enough to take on our earthly journey to learn lessons within this dimension.

And, as real and as intense as they may feel, our experiences here are ONLY the illusions of our earth journey.

What magnificent wisdom is possessed in that glorious entity, our heavenly "Shadow"...what brilliant insights...what support and affirmation...what reassurance and peace!

Know that this most wonderful Shadow is unconditionally following your life...with curiosity and delight and unquestioning support.

You are NOT alone..  

                     Marie Helena 

image from thornesquest.com 

Yutori

The Japanese have a word for the beautiful concept of

spaciousness...Yutori. 

Writer and story coach Sally Fox describes it as: 
living with enough time and enough space to allow the world to fill you, often in simple ways.

Seems easy enough to do, doesn’t it?  But so often we find ourselves rushing to an event or appointment arriving exactly on time or, perhaps, even a few minutes late and, thereby, leaping directly into the scheduled activity, missing the beautiful ambiance of the moment.   And, yet, it is in this wondrous and mystical ambiance that the world speaks to us and fills our souls with the energy of every element that is a part of each scene we enter.

We live truly enchanting lives.  Each new setting we find ourselves in holds vibrational  character and potential personal impact.  Each setting is just waiting to interact with us having been assembled by the Divine Universe to address the issues we care about and are concerned with.

But we must trust our hearts to be the connectors, inviting them to listen, see and feel the moment.  Every living thing has an animating spirit.  Every animating spirit exists to support our journey.  All we need do is invite and engage the support we seek.  We are surrounded by thousands of opportunities, by animating spirits excited for us, joining together to help us evolve.  Everyone and everything is BREATHING this joyful ministry.

Messages are waiting to be delivered to inspire and motivate us. The scent of a beautiful flower may evoke a tender feeling in our hearts.  The sight of a child’s playfulness can remind us of the purity and power of authenticity.  The coldness of the steel we touch may evoke the memory of a news report of immigrant children sleeping on cement floors.  Any or all of these moments may stir our hearts to take action in the direction we wish to grow.

But to SEE all of this, to not pass it by we must invite each moment of our day to speak to our hearts and we must create the spaciousness for this to happen.  We must pause in our valiant efforts of DOING to choose BEING instead.  Being present.  Walking into a moment and breathing it into our hearts.  Feeling ease.  Seeing the love and support awaiting us.  Inviting the spirit and beauty of all things to engage with us in our SPACIOUS lives. 

YUTORI 

                                                  Marie Helena 

image from Pinterest