The Cutting Edge: Soft and Gentle

 

The words CUTTING EDGEtend to evoke a strong, vigorous effort, a high level of energy and a huge commitment to stepping up to meet a pressing need head on.  There are, however, also other ways toengage a cutting-edge approach than with a zealous, strapping enterprise.  Like a soft, sensitive, gentle effort that also requires a strong commitment and enlists a conscious reshaping of energy so that it flows with warmth and compassionate tenderness towards others and also towards ourselves.

This approach is as simple and profound as these three words:  just keep talking.  But the "talking" here  needs to be of a special quality and intention.  Its purpose is twofold…to understand others and to help ourselves be understood.  The outcome it desires is a sense of peace and harmony.


This particular cutting edge approach involves creating a space which invites heart sharing and self honoring and the honoring of others.   This choice of a grace-filled effort enhances the opportunity to resolve pressing issues of discord with mutual intention and cooperation.


Recently, when I have found myself dealing with an agitating incident, I have chosen to sit down with the persons involved and gently talk about all of our feelings regarding what is going on...to listen with an open heart to others and try to understand how each person feels while also authentically expressing how I feel...softly, gently, in a healing way.


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Here are some SUGGESTIONS for how to begin to open this kind of conversation:

I want to share my feelings with you and hear what your feelings are.

I want to tell you what I would like to do and have you tell me what you would like to happen.  

I want to honor my feelings and also honor yours.   

I trust that we will find a way to navigate this moment that will take care of both of us.

I want to give and receive love, support, joy and wisdom.  And I thank you for taking the time and making the effort to do this with me.

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By introducing this beautiful intention and modeling what we wish to accomplish we can set the stage for others to relax into this loving energy.  As Ghandi expresses this thought to us so eloquently:   "Be the change you want to see."

There is great power in accepting the leadership for resolving issues of dissent.  And also great rewards.  This cutting edge approach is a beautiful instrument of healing.  I have found that in these situations as we keep talking and listening to each others' needs with the gentle, soft voice of the soul and, with an open heart, considering their importance to others, we ultimately come up with a solution that honors how everyone feels.  


I have never seen this approach to fail.  Never.  What a beautiful way for all of us to take care of ourselves…together!


                                                             Marie Helena

A Quantum Leap

The Universal Mind is perfection. It perfectly creates what you think about.
How can you best use your connection to this vast, all-powerful force?
You can create miracles by doing ENERGY WORK.

Sanaya Roman
Spiritual Growth: Being Your Higher Self

Much has been written in the last several years about the power of manifestation, bringing into physicality that which we have imagined...and felt strong emotional desire for. Usually, the formula for this process instructs that we imagine the object, relationship or situation in vivid, colorful hues and let ourselves feel our intense yearning for it.  

Currently, I am reading a fascinating book entitled Spiritual Growth by Sanaya Roman which gives a new and different perspective on manifestation.

Roman talks about the immense power of working first with the energy of what we want to manifest before we even envision its physical appearance. Roman asks us to IMAGINE a grid work of light around our heads, connecting upward to the Universal Mind. The higher the grid work extends, the more beautiful and delicate it becomes. (At this point we are moving our awareness into the world of essence.)  

Next, Roman suggests we meet the unmanifested energy and use our imagination to picture it. He recommends considering what this energy would look like…how it would move…its rhythm…its dance…its musicality…its nuances…its strength…its power…its beauty…its texture…its appeal to our senses. Then he suggests we make the energy vision even more flowing, open and harmonious, adding sounds and fragrance, picturing the unmanifested energy as alive and interacting with us. Roman tells us to luxuriate in this vision and bathe in its magic  

Now we are ready to bring this breathtaking energy into physical form. We transform the vision into subatomic particles of light, with as high a vibration as possible. We see the particles becoming form. We bring them together into a shape and mass. Then we open our hearts to receive this very personal energy we have designed from our desire. We greet it with LOVE. We let it next move into our DNA, then our cells and then, finally, into our emotions and mind.

Now we give thanks for this gift and make a place for it in our lives. We are ready to recognize and receive it when it appears. We feel the CONNECTION to it. It is becoming part of us.  

A quantum leap? Acceleration of our spiritual growth? More joy, harmony, peace and love?

You decide.

                                       Marie Helena 

Irish Taxi Drivers

“Hello, luv…good morning to you…and are you here on holiday?” 

This is the beautiful way I was greeted nearly every time I stepped into a taxi in Galway, Ireland.

I had just returned from a trip abroad to visit my daughter Rachel on sabbatical there and I truly must say that the taxi drivers in Ireland so warmed my heart. I was able to sit up front with them in what we would call the driver’s seat here in the U.S. as the steering wheels there are placed on the right side of the car and so I got the wonderful opportunity to ask a few questions and learn so much about their lives.  

I heard about pride in their families, about their wives and children (names, ages and personalities), about how the college aged kids were driving them to the “poor house” and how they had learned to step out of the fray and, thankfully, let their brilliant wives negotiate with their teen aged daughters. I heard about last night’s christening celebration that threatened to turn into a brawl until the taxi driver stepped in and told the offending party to get his priorities straightened out. I heard many comments about the recession and how it had dampened somewhat the spirits of the Irish. (I can hardly imagine what they were like before!) And, when I mentioned that I was visiting my daughter but leaving soon, I heard the comment, “Not to worry for we’ll be keeping an eye on her.”

The sense of living life in the Present Moment and embracing it with such passion are so strong in Ireland it is truly amazing. If I had known what I could find there in the open hearts of the Irish, I would have gotten myself to the Emerald Isle long before this.  

Whenever I left the taxi, I always commented to the driver my wish that he have a beautiful day. And I always received a beautiful smile and blessing in return.

Irish eyes sparkle with fun and mischief…and delight in what the day will bring. What a lovely inspiration!

I am now determined to find the “Irish” in everyone I encounter and am set on uncovering this beautiful gift embedded in every human heart!

                                                                                                Marie Helena

Eat, Pray, Love, TRUST

 During the last week I watched one of my favorite movies…yet again.

I  simply cannot get enough of this compelling drama and, if you haven’t discovered it yet, I highly recommend you make this connection.  

It’s based on a 2006 memoir by American author, Elizabeth Gilbert and its title is: Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia.

  

At the end of the movie the title character gives a deeply felt expression of the philosophy she has developed in her life.  She calls it The Physics of the Quest and it goes like this:

If you're brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting which can be anything from your house to bitter old resentments and set out on a truth seeking journey either externally or internally and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher and if you are prepared most of all to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself then the truth will not be withheld from you.

This truth seeking journey that Gilbert describes is no easy task.  Especially when you are jolted out of your comfort zone by a totally unexpected and undesirable occurrence.  Trying to make sense of the why always seems to prove a futile and hopeless task.  And the reason is that the “sense” of the SURPRISE is not something that comes from a place of intellect.  The mind CANNOT save the day.  Try this and you will see how much energy and time you will have wasted.

No. the “sense” here comes from the HEART and it emanates from a very basic, cardinal place…a place that MUST be accessed to gain THE WISDOM OF LIFE…the place of TRUST.

This means giving up control ofunderstanding the reasons for the SURPRISE and it’s no small task..  It’s easy to feel like you are free-falling…and hopeless…uttterly lost on this quest.  And the reason is that the knowledge being sought does not reside in the intellect (our usual plan of attack to gain information); it is a soulknowledge and we have to develop FAITH that it is here and operating.   (This may easily be the most important part of our earth journey.)

Two days ago I received a message on my email that was channeled from an Ascended Master, El Morya Khan, entitled A Simple But Effective Remedy.and it spoke to my soul.  It gave me deep comfort.  I printed out a part of it…the part which felt so very important... folded  the paper and placed it under my pillow (a variation of sleeping with books under my bed).  

I would like to share this passage with you.  Perhaps it will bring you the peace it brought me. Perhaps it will resonate with your heart.  Perhaps it will help you see more clearly the Light that we are and the beautiful way that we can awaken to this wonderful truth.

It is as if you are being asked to climb a mountain, but you have no idea what you will find at the top. And that is fitting. You do not know -- and we cannot describe that for you. The reason we cannot describe it is because what you are experiencing now in every moment has been very uniquely designed by you for one reason only: To bring you, a sovereign Being of Light, into a full realization of that Light that you carry within.

That is the truth. It is the one and only reason that you are choosing any course of action that you are taking at this time. But how you choose to awaken will be unique to you and you alone. And whatever that course of action might be at any given moment, it is perfect, absolutely perfect for you right now, in this moment.

We know that is a difficult answer for you to accept. And it does not seem to do much to alleviate any worries, fears, or concerns you might have about what you are choosing to experience. We understand that as well.

But we ask you to trust this process. Do not have expectations how things ought to unfold and do not berate yourself if things do not turn out as you think they should. Do not come to conclusions regarding “success” or “failure” as you cannot see the whole picture.

 “Success” or “failure” are terms bound to the Earth plane; from where we observe you, such terms are irrelevant. The only measure of “success” on the higher planes is the degree in which you allow the Light to flow unencumbered through your being.

Having embraced this message through my heart instead of my intellect it seems to me that - 

If we choose to positively embrace what is given us and honor it as a Divine spark offering us guidance on our life path, our journey promises to be the amazing adventure we have dreamed of!

In the beautiful Italian phrase of Elizabeth Gilbert spoken at the end of Eat, Pray, Love as she finally finds the message of her life:  Attraversiamo!

Let’s cross over!

                                    Marie Helena 

image from en.wikipedia.org

Masquerade

Deepak Chopra,world renowned mind-body connection guru, tells us that "All great changes are preceded by chaos."

It is only when our usual, predictable methods of handling our life problems FAIL and we are feeling LOST that we step outside the box and search for new inspiration regarding how to reframe the issues and, thereby, change our perspective, our beliefs and ultimately our feelings.  

 
This point in time is extremely valuable to usbecause without the turmoil and tumult...without the agitation and frustration of the chaos... we would keep doing what has always worked for us...

we would ride the high...

but we would stop growing.

 

And that is why we need to BLESS these moments.  The Divine Universe is sensing we are READY for the next cutting-edge change in our life.  It has upped the ante, sizing us up as capable of dealing with the distress and, even more importantly,  capable of making it work in our favor.

 

In Alberto Villoldo's COURAGEOUS DREAMING he gives us an inspired suggestion regarding how to change the story we are telling ourselves about the chaos.

 

Villoldo says we tend to see ourselves in one of three roles:  victim, rescuer or perpetrator. 

If, however, we can vacate these roles and fly instead to the spiritual level of eagle in our version of the story...we can successfully REFRAME its significance...how it affects us...and what we are able to learn about ourselves.

 

If the chaos we are experiencing makes us feel victimized...

if the fallout of the crisis feels personal...

know that it IS personal but it is not meant as an attack on us...

it is a personal, unique-to-us  OPPORTUNITY to reach deep inside and find the strength and resilience to transcend the experience and find within ourselves the courage...the creativity...and the conviction to see the bigger picture and to nurture a character trait that we have not yet developed.

What brings  us angst, fear, distress, frustration... ALSO brings us the very  powerful occasion for transcendence and release from that suffering.

Chaos is the ultimate MASQUERADE.  What looks like pandemonium  is, in reality, a perfect strategy.


An always-brilliant plan to help us evolve  into the Next, Grandest Version of Ourselves...from the highest state-of-the-art personal development bureau, The Divine Universe!

                                  Marie Helena

                                                                                    

image from ayrerabbitry.webs.com

Proof Positive

Earth Life is such an interesting combination of the fascinating and the mundane.

And, often, we place our consciousness on those everyday tasks and responsibilities…cleaning, cooking, earning a paycheck, paying our bills (and our taxes), keeping up with the news and the neighbors.


What we often take for granted is the fascinating, the miraculous, the wondrous phenomena thatsurrounds us and quietly anchors our everyday life.


I am talking about the body…that same body that can get tired and feel aches and get a cold. We can become so caught up with these body sensations that we miss the message right in front of us.


And that message is:

The body is a work of art...a masterpiece.
This wonderful body that can process emotions…sadness, for example, that permeates our every cell and take that sadness and change it into chemicals that move through the body and release themselves through the shedding of tears.

This wonderful body that can harbor an embryo and nurture it so carefully on a beautiful heavenly timetable so that a fully developed infant is born with all of the chemistry and growth patterns intact to help it become a mature adult.

This wonderful body that can produce super-human strength through its resource of adrenalin, aiding a grief-stricken mother to lift machinery that weighs many times her weight to save the life of her child.


This wonderful body that can do all of this and much, more more has the capacity to heal itself...IF we don’t get in the way.

But it’s so easy to do that…and so human to get lost in the duality of our life and the problems we have taken on.

It is our work to see beyond the mundane and our suffering and to trust in the sacredness, the gift of life.  

It is our work to keep our hearts and emotions clear by acknowledging our feelings, accepting them, valuing and not judging them and speaking them in a loving way to ourselves and to others.

It is our work to clear the way for the body to do what it has been designed for…to provide radiant health. 


It is so very clear. There is  Proof Positive that our body has the capacity to do this if we look at the miracles that already happen.


All that we have to do is get out of our own way,
enter into the flow of life
and connect with the LOVE that governs the universe!

                                   Marie Helena 

Changing the Default Button

Eckhart Tolle has become a well-known guru of Living in the Moment. 

Tolle's book, The Power of Now, instructs us regarding the importance of releasing our fear and anxiety about the past and what the future may bring and concentrating solely on what is occurring in this moment. Quantum belief says that time is an invention of man and that, if you change the present, you've changed everything (what you have already done and what you might choose to do in the future). If quantum belief is correct (and I believe it is), we are not bound to our past choices, decisions and actions. What those past choices, decisions and actions represent is the opportunity to learn from experience. (Of course, if we don't get the lesson, then we get another opportunity to "seize the day".) 

The mindset we bring to the present moment is critical to what it brings to us. Somehow we always find what we are looking for. If we are looking for the difficulties we anticipate to be inherent in a situation, we will be able to find them like flashing neon lights. If we are open to learning new truths or experiencing new insights, they will be there. Our choice of focus will be borne from our most basic view of whether the universe is a friendly place to be. Let's say we recognize that the concept of a friendly universe is not and has not been our default button. Rather, we have been disappointed and hurt and have come to expect disappointment and hurt in order to protect ourselves. Now, let us imagine, we wish to change what we have realized about the way we view the world.

Enter Abraham Hicks and some very simple, very practical advice.  

"If all you did was just look for things to appreciate you would live a joyous, spectacular life."

The more we practice finding the beauty and love in everything around us, the easier it is to do so. It may not come naturally at first, but what a great way to begin to see the world's color and passion and light. If we notice the delicate flight of the hummingbird, the roses scenting the air and the insect colonies building their fortresses, we can be delighted in the gorgeous setting of the Play of Our Lives. If we can find love in someone's action (even if it is in the intention and not the behavior), our life view starts to change. We begin to expect positive things to happen. We expect beauty and goodness. We expect love and, in expecting love, we begin to radiate it. The giving of love lifts our hearts. Then, experiencing our Present Moment feels like a gift...waiting to be opened and reopened whenever we desire.

Live in the moment and let that moment bring you an appreciation of all that surrounds you...the beautiful, miraculous, intelligent world we take for granted. Revel in its beauty. Savor its sweetness. Honor your LIFE and the joys awaiting you!

                                    Marie Helena