The Unfolding

One of the most beautiful gifts we have in our lives is experiencing the natural flow of things.

The Unfolding. 

The rhythm and music and pace of whatever it is that we are witnessing...experiencing...enjoying...and, most importantly, learning from.

This unfolding, if left untouched, is a work of art unto itself.  It carries the truths of the universe, some easy to embrace, some more challenging.  If we interrupt  the unfolding, we lose our chance to take in the special meaning.  If our egos try to influence the flow to move in our direction, we miss what is being presented to us.

A good reason to be an observer and a witness to life and, thereby, a receiver of information about the absolute perfection of the Divine Universe!

   

                                                Marie Helena

Message of the Moment

Love the moment
and the energy of that moment
will spread beyond all boundaries.  

Corita Kent

It was June of 2011 and I found myself standing on a precipice at the American side of Niagra Falls. 

The roar of the falls was mesmerizing. I stepped closer and invited the strapping mist to bless me with its beauty and strength as it danced and swayed with the mighty wind on this clear and cloudless day. This was a moment to be remembered; everything else disappeared into it. TheENERGY was awesome and powerful and I was missing none of it.

The trip to the falls was something I had felt drawn to make. I had experienced such a strong desire to stand at this wonder of nature and feel its breathtaking intensity. It was worth all of the trouble encountered with the traffic that day.

I had journeyed with clear intention to a place of beauty and it had welcomed and rewarded me with its natural warmth and majesty

…as does all of nature…as do all of our experiences…and all of our interactions…as do our moments of solitude…as does all of life.

There is a generous fullness and spirit to all of life’s moments

…if we tap into them, if we are present to their gifts, if we recognize the many energetic strands at work producing them, if we open ourselves up to their FLOW.  

The Niagra Falls moment came with a journey but thisbeautiful JOY is so easily accessible.

Every moment in life is full of invitation and allure and beingness. Every moment is a connection and when we love each moment and connect with it, we accept our sacred invitation to interface with the universe.

The astonishing Messsage of the Moment inspires and propels us to seek more moments of this CONNECTION. And once we experience it, we are captivated and we view everything around us…and in us…with new eyes and from another place of joy in our souls.  

Yet another gift to humanity. The natural high of being truly alive and in touch with all that is!

Remembrance: Why We Should Forgive Ourselves

FORGIVE YOURSELF. 

The supreme act of forgiveness is when you can forgive yourself for all the wounds you've created in your own life. Forgiveness is an act of self-love. When you forgive yourself, self-acceptance begins and self-love grows,
 
Don Miguel Ruiz

As we write the story of our life, our learning occurs in a myriad of ways.  Sometimes the path is straight and clear.  We take action that feels instinctively right...it works beautifully...we benefit and all is well.
 
Sometimes our learning takes a different path.  

Sometimes we are influenced by unhealed pain, hurt, unmet needs, etc. and we choose a path that is not in our best interest.  But, at that time, the choice we made felt like the only way we could go.

And so we went there.  And it was not what we expected. 

All was not well.  And we ultimately JUDGED ourselves for the choice and stayed mired in sadness and regret. 

Writing the story of our life is not usually a black and white endeavor.  Sometimes we are drawn to whatSEEMS like a solution but ultimately does not deliver on that (false) promise. 

 

However, our learning can occur quite brilliantly when we can view our actions with some objectivity...

perhaps uncover what has moved us in that direction...

love ourselves through the pain of self-confrontation,,,

and emerge with a stronger, braver view of what we want to do with our lives.

Judging ourselves (or anyone or anything) is not productive. 

It delays our process of learning.  

What is needed is an open, accepting heart that understands we were trying to navigate some difficulty...a heart which knows that LOVE is always expressing itself the best way it knows how.

What we did is what we knew.  When we know better, we do better.  

And, as we reflect on our choices and their consequences, we begin to know better and we do better.  We pass by judgment, embracing instead our humanity and moving forward with new wisdom and insight.

 

Perhaps the forgiveness which Don Miguel Ruiz is talking about can really be called the simple act of KNOWING that we are on a journey with some distracting side paths which ultimately can lead us to our true destination...a REMEMBERING of the glorious perfection of Who We Truly Are and an acceptance of how learning can occur in a dualistic world.

                                                     Marie Helena

image from salliesart.blogspot.com

The Rainbow Connection

InMeteorology Today author Donald Ahrens describes a rainbow as "one of the most spectacular light shows observed on earth".

Descartes called the rainbow an interaction between water and light.



Here is a spiritual take on a physical phenomenon in which we look to the earth for a metaphor of the work of our Higher Self.


In Co-Dependency it is very challenging to keep ourselves separate from the emotional states of those around us.

We very easily take on their sadness, irritation, displeasure and let them affect the state of our emotions. (On the positive side, we can also be wonderfully affected by their happiness and joy.)

But the real issue is how to keep ourselves separate and not be enmeshed with another’s issues. 

Our creativity and imagination can help us here.

When we awake…and start moving through our day…we can imagine ourselves surrounded by a colorful energy which best describes how we are feeling…for example, yellow for sunshine and lightness, blue for deep emotions, red for upset and anger.


We can take note of the color (emotional state) we recognize and decide from there what we would like to do next.


Perhaps we need to give ourselves a boatload of compassion because we are going through a difficult time. Perhaps we want to do something calming to help us get perspective. Perhaps we need to have a good cry or journal some thoughts that are distressing us.


Next, we use the same process on others when they arrive on our radar.  


We take note of the color of energy we perceive them to be projecting and decide accordingly how we would like to proceed.


If we first acknowledge their state to ourselves, we will naturally be supportive even if we perhaps at that moment lack the energy to interact with them and ask what we can do to be of assistance, if needed.


Just the awareness of the other person's disposition will produce a sense of HONORING and it will also help us remember that each of us is a separate color…emotional state…PERSON.



Sometimes we may want to have a conscious interaction with another and this is where the rainbow colors can merge and produce even more subtle hues…the hues of connection and caring where two minds and two hearts (or more) look at our life journey together and, perhaps, create a wonderful, inspiring way to move forward.


The Rainbow Connection in this interpretation is the way we interface and express our love for one another.


But, the fact that each of us owns our own color (which can and will change as we change) reminds us that we are individuals with the responsibility of finding our own way through earth school and of bringing to and mixing our energy with others when we consciously choose to do so…not merely because their color got near us and blurred our own hue. 


The Rainbow is made up of separate, distinct colors each operating according to its own inner guidance.


When we are strongly aware of that guidance we can enter the Rainbow Connection Dance when we have rested and prepared ourselves and have consciously chosen to partake of this particular interaction.


As Descartes described, Rainbows are an intermingling of water and light.

Water carries our emotions and Light directs us how and when to engage with others.

                                   Marie Helena

                                 

Drifting

Now that the beautiful blush of spring is finding its way onto the universal earth campus, there will be a myriad of opportunities to indulge our awakening senses.  

Gazing at the beautiful blossoms gently emerging on the branches of welcoming trees.  Spying the sprightly, chattering birds returning to their home bases.  And lazily watching the cottony clouds roll by. Rolling in a soft, billowy fashion… Drifting… gently drifting...quietly finding their way.


Just contemplating the drifting clouds feels like a meditation to me.  And I wonder if it has to do with the very concept of drifting.  That word feels like ease to me.  Sprezzatura... the Italians might call it...effortless elegance.


Does the effortless elegance I perceive here manifest itself to me because the clouds have aligned with their nature and are simply...and profoundly... being who they are?  


What if we, like the clouds, were to align with OUR nature:  Divine beings playing on our verdant, lush planet of infinite possibility?


If we could recognize our magical playground, perhaps we would find it easier to embrace our self-designed challenges and gently direct ourselves into a reframing of what feels like difficult circumstances from our earth school view.  
,
Perhaps then we could move on to envision and embrace the gentle changes, the shifts in behavior, which could incrementally bring us into alignment with our Higher Selves.  In the most loving, harmonious way. DRIFTING  back into the beautiful beings we truly are. 

                                             Marie Helena

image from pinterest 

                                           

Let It Begin With Me

 A truly peaceful mind is very sensitive, 
    very aware.

                Tenzin Gyatso

Have you ever noticed that some individuals are especially conscious of the beauty they see around them?  To be in their presence is to experience the continual expression of JOY and WONDER.  They are curious, mindful souls, awake to the innocent and guileless nobility of nature...bountiful, brilliant, fragrant blossoms, the astoundingly intricate navigation of the hummingbird, the metaphor of majestic thunderheads presaging a clearing of deep emotions, the merriment and mirth of the monarch butterfly dancing its delight with the celestial scenery.  Gifts of the universe presenting us with a playground of unparalleled splendor!

And it is not only nature that sings to these perceptive creatures.  They easily discern every gesture of love and good will of being expressed to and around them.  And, having recognized these gifts-of-the-heart, they cannot help but laud their elegance and grace and the engagement of the souls which are sourcing them.

Conversely, when these glorious individuals encounter dissonance and distress, they immediately open their hearts, ministering to the unhealed pain that is being manifested.  They are patient and receptive while the troubling emotions are expressed, releasing their iron grip upon the chambers of the heart.

These sages see beauty in and through everyone's journey, however it is being expressed.

This is the gift of Peace… a recognition that all is right with the world and with everyone in it. A recognition that each of us is following a path of our own choosing, a journey we have willingly embarked upon for the purpose of gaining experience, insight and wisdom through life in this glorious, precarious dimension.

When we fully comprehend the nature of our earth school sojourn, every action and reaction we feel or witness, every emotion we or others express, every event we experience becomes a thing of beauty… The story of the odyssey of our souls.

Though it is often difficult to ascertain the significance of what is unfolding in, around and through our lives, there is concord and serenity in the recognition that each of us has the opportunity to create experiences that enhance our wisdom.  And each of us can choose how we want to respond to our own "adventures".

The beautiful gift of Peace comes from awareness and understanding of the nature of our journey.  Once we fully recognize this fascinating opportunity we have chosen to experience, we cannot help but acknowledge with great sensitivity and appreciation the evidence of every grace-filled moment.

How lovely to imagine a world of "peace"ful earth dwellers!


                                     Marie Helena                                                                                                                                                



Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.*


                                                                                        

 *song by Jill Jackson Miller and Sy Miller
  image from mymospot.com

Divine Feminine Energy

As we celebrate the beautiful occasion of  Mother's Day, my thoughts are drawn to the power and beauty and significance of Love as it is expressed in Divine feminine energy.  This beautiful Grace which streams so elegantly from the hearts of women.  Such an exquisite blessing.  It seems to be their birthright . . . their gift to the world.

Somehow, women intuitively know that when someone is experiencing pain, in that moment there is nothing more powerful, more healing than for that person to feel understood.  To have someone mirror back to them an understanding of the intensity of their pain or distress and how it is affecting them.

This essential longing to be understood is a vital part of the human condition.  Without this loving kindness it is difficult for an individual to move forward into an acknowledgment of what is transpiring.  And, without that acknowledgment, that acceptance, it is impossible to move through the experience to the other side. . . . to the peace that comes through Surrender.

The feminine heart holds the key to the unfolding of this process.  We are all so in need of this exquisite form of compassion.  When we receive it, we find the energy to lead ourselves through the dark night of the soul.  This precious feminine offering is the antidote to loneliness, to abandonment.  It promotes caring, a sense of safety, connection.

Because our world is changing and evolving it is wonderful to note that feminine energy is now being expressed by males as well. And, in return, masculine energy is leading by example the demonstration of the importance and value of steadfastness and devotion.

How wonderful that we an all minister to each other, sharing the precious and pleasing endowments of our earthly lives!


                                           Marie Helena

                                                             
image on Pinterest
Joyce Hicks watercolor