Dolce Far Niente

In the midst of the holiday season when so many preparations are being made…Christmas trees bedazzled with shimmering lights, ingredients assembled for an array of culinary pleasures, on-line shopping planned to catch the latest sales, spotlighting of porches and roofs with illusionary reindeer…

In the midst of all of this, does it seem strange that I would wish you Dolce Far Niente... 

The Sweetness of Doing Absolutely Nothing!

And yet, what more perfect time to just BE in the midst of all of these treasures?

Time moves so quickly now as we hasten to finish our self-appointed tasks for the holidays and, if we don’t pause to take in the ambiance and flavor and spirit of these moments, they will be gone before we know it. We will be left with crumbled Christmas wrappings to clean up, dishes to wash from the fabulous dinner we have prepared and an exhausted body for our reward. 

So let’s imagine another dimension to our celebration.

I invite you (and myself as a reminder as I write this), to not miss a single breath of this breathtaking season. To allow the brilliant red poinsettias to nourish and sustain us with their glorious color and powerful presence. To honor the trees populating our landscape outside as they abide winter’s passing and keep their spring secrets warm inside their roots for us. To enjoy the delicately flavored herbal tea and gingerbread one sip and one small and succulent bite at a time as delicate snowflakes descend outside our windows. To watch the faces of the young and young-at-heart as they embrace the magic of families gathering and the waves of joy layering the room as gifts expected (and surprised) are revealed.

Let us all fully embrace the beauty of this season, honor its festive and joyous rhythm and reverence the  MAGNIFICENT MOMENTS  being given to us!

                                Marie Helena                                                                                             

For our experience to feel whole, our body must be allowed to permeate our experience, BE our experience, entirely. And our awareness must be released from living in our heads and allowed to flow into EVERYTHING.

Meredith Murphy

EXPECT WONDERFUL

Identity Crisis

One of the important journeys we all eventually undertake is the challenge of trying to make sense of our lives.

We become very intrigued with this consideration, viewing ourselves as  the main character in OUR story…

wondering about who we are and what we are doing here.   About our many “adventures”…the choices we make and their consequences.  

We find ourselves deeply involved and fascinated with this main character.  

 It’s WHO we believe we are.

What’s so interesting about this approach is that we expend so much energy invested in understanding this soubrette but fail to recognize the role we are REALLY playing.  And it is not the main character in our story. 

We are something far more interesting and far more powerful.  We are the ENERGY that is ANIMATING the lead character.  And that energy is our Higher Self.

This changes things in a very important way.

As we play this main character in our story, we no longer need to feel alone with our confusion, our sadness or disappointment, our frustration or our suffering.  We are ONLY the “character” experiencing these things.  We have given ourselves the opportunity to experience life’s  challenges as this character.  And while we (as this character) take these challenges on, the beautiful animating energy that WE REALLY ARE is there to offer support end guidance in moments of grief or confusion or frustration. And it is also there to celebrate with us when we find our way back to the LOVE that sources the universe.

We are this stellar coach and cheering section, encouraging our “character” to grow and stretch beyond our usual boundaries, to expand our awareness and to make new connections for ourselves and other earth travelers. 

We exist on the leading edge of evolution.

Though our story may be intense and unpredictable, we are never in any danger.  

And we are never alone.

         

                                   Marie Helena

image from      SmallBusinessify.com

The Basque System

The Glossary of Chessdefines the Basque System as a chess competition in which the players simultaneously play each other two games on two boards, each playing White on one board and Black on the other.


If we were to adopt the classical interpretation of Black and White,  we could see the color Black as a representation of the discrete, finite, earthbound and white as the picture of the spiritual, the ethereal, of higher dimensions.  When Black and White come into play simultaneously, we have the potential for a most exquisite example of earthbound evolution. 

Capturing, now, this metaphor within the interplay of our every day lives with others, we can clearly see the limitations and travails of earthbound experiences that often occur such as tension, stress, frustration, hurt...the well-worn human paths we encounter. 
Playing Black chess on a board.

And, as we walk ourselves through a contemplation of the maze of alternative moves on that board, we only "see" those which vibrationally match the state of our emotions and that is exactly what we attract to ourselves.  More of the "limited" options.  More difficulty.  More Black.

But, the very decision to simultaneously play White on another board represents our desire to transcend our earthly choices EVEN while we make them.  Our desire to WITNESS our behavior signals the yearning to take in the complete horizon...to see the inter-workings of every element in the picture...each person, each action...and to see how we fit into and are affecting what is transpiring.



And when we are able to observe the part WE are playing in the drama, we have the opportunity to recognize, appraise and choose to redirect the energy flowing through us.  We can transcend the drama, and, choose, instead, to RESPOND from a choice of peacefulness and acceptance, still speaking our truth but allowing our heart to shift the vibration we have encountered from unrest and agitation into a gentle response of honoring the emotions so clearly being felt and expressed by ourselves and others.



This dual engagement is a beautiful and challenging path leading to our personal evolution.



Still in earth school...experiencing the BLACKemotions.  But, simultaneously, being guided by Higher Self on the ALABASTERarchetype.  With stunning results and transcendence.  CUTTING EDGE.



                                                                            Marie Helena

Always Something MORE

There is ALWAYS more to the story.

No matter what we think we know about something that has happened, there is ALWAYS more to the story.  Always something MORE that explains a person's motivation for what he does, has done or is considering doing.  And it is ALWAYS a story of how he has been affected by what has already transpired in his life.  What is happening in this moment is contingent upon what has already been. 

Imagine the trillions upon trillions of events that are occurring because someone's need has gone unrecognized or unfilled.  Or...perhaps the need has been generously and magnanimously met and this gift of caring has, therefore, helped shape and form an even greater effort of love

WE are all a part of this human tapestry.  Everything we experience is contributing to and shaping our world view and the world view of others and, extending even further....into the formation of the universal consciousness.

Nothing is lost.  Every choice - every effort, every decision not to choose to act - is playing a role and joining with other variables to produce a new occurrence.

What place do we hold in this process?  What do we bring to contribute to this cosmic brocade?  How well do we understand our role as co-creators?  And do we acknowledge the subtle, powerful and fascinating influence we have the power to bestow upon each other?

                                                                                                    Marie Helena



image from exalted-beauty.blogspot.com.

The Birth of an Addiction

Addiction is an attempt to relive the past.

               Ken Porter


Some of the moments we experience in our lives are breathless in their reach.  They satisfy a core longing, mask a painful pictureor fill a pressing need and they can be intoxicating to the soul.  Often we see them as a pinnacle...an epic event in our lives and we refuse to emotionally separate ourselves from them.  We become attached to the feelings we have experienced and, because of that attachment, we consign ourselves to their remembrance. And our emotional memory of the event becomes a default during times of stress...and, eventually, births an addiction.

But it is impossible...and unwise...to continue to  try to re-experience events exactly as they occurred because we are NOT the same individuals who experienced those original moments.  We are constantly reinventing ourselves, reacting and responding to new stimuli, developing new perceptions and insights...and, hopefully, growing stronger and wiser.  We are encountering opportunity after opportunity...blocks building one upon the other…all available to us for our consideration.

If we persist in our attachment to past moments and become addicted to reliving their significance, we pass by magnificent opportunities appearing in our lives, offering us new adventures and experiences designed to help us grow even more.

What could becthe source of this addictive behavior?  What is it that might prevent us from experiencing each moment in our lives as an original scenario...one in which we are focused, alert, centered, willing and eager to address each new issue or question with clarity and compassion for ourselves and others? 


The ability to effectively deal with what is presenting itself to us in this moment depends upon whether we have steadily and consistently aspired to become the next, grandest version ofourselves and have matured through our encounters, eventually remembering the nature of Who We Truly Are.  Once we have reached that remembrance, we naturally move toward expressing our loving response within every circumstance we encounter.


This is a worthy and amazing challenge...to respond originally and authentically and lovingly to every "invitation" that crosses our path.  The spiritual growth we achieve would be amazing and exponential, contributing not only to our evolution but to the evolution of all earth dwellers for everything that we do adds to the collective unconscious and becomes accessible to all.


Are you in?  Are you content to constantly replay your back story, reliving that moment of comfort or contentment...or ARE YOU READY for the starring role you have been given to be a creator and light the way for others with your original thought, tenacious exploration and curious and loving heart?


                                                          Marie Helena

image from Pinterest
The history of Bohn S Printing Pictures

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

Balloon Prints

The funny little balloons we see above the heads of characters in the comics are the place we look to see what words the personalities are speaking.



They appear to contain the "message"...the information we are meant to have. And, it is true, they do contain a message...just not ALL of it.



In the same way, the words we speak in real life contain a message but they actually do much more than that...they emit energy, sending a vibration out into the immediate vicinity and even much further on...to the universe.


It's interesting to imagine our words hanging above our heads in a balloon and wonder what kind of impression they would make. 

If we could view them objectively, would they appear to be direct, friendly, well-considered, kind? 

Would they be slapped together without much thought or consideration for the impression they would create?

Would they notice the beautiful things in life and express gratitude?

Most of all, would they enhance someone's life?

Would it make a difference to someone that WE were there...that the words we spoke felt affirming....showing the warmth of our hearts?


When we make the choice of which words to speak we are also determining what kind of energy we send out. Is it loving energy? Is it truth? Does it take into account the person to whom we are speaking and how that person will be able to receive the message?


Do our words affect someone's life in a positive way? Does the environment feel lighter and more beautiful because of what we have said?


What kind of balloon prints do we really leave in our wake? Are they skirting the air with ease... bouncing and bowing in pleasure and joy?

The effect of what we say lingers long after we have left…to delight or disorient someone's heart.

                             Marie Helena