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Wednesday, December 26, 2018

A New Year's "Light" Show



After the magical days of Christmas holidayswhen pine-scented boughs and cranberry candles perfumed the air and glittering lights whispered their grace-filled secrets into our happy hearts…decorating our spaces with joy and celebration…

after these magnificent days have passed and things have grown so very quiet and restful the steady, sure-footed march of the New Year alights on our doorstep, enters our homes and slides into our hearts.

It’s time…to renew and redirect our energy to the wonderful life we have imagined and make the changes that were placed on hold as we made merry and felt merry and loved the "merry" of the holidays.

Now, there is a NEW JOY that awaits us and it is born of reflection and inspiration and discipline…our New Year’s Resolutions.

Much has been said and advised about NYR’s…suggestions that we examine our lives, compiling a list of every change we can imagine…suggestions that we make NO resolutions and not place ourselves under that kind of stress... even a suggestion that we only try to improve ourselves by one percent in the category we identify as “most needed” or, even better, “most desired” and, thereby, let our accumulated steady, slow progress become its own source of motivation.

This morning in the quiet moments when I found myself awakening a different thought occurred to me.

I had been searching for a simple resolution…one that would be easy to hold onto and yet would change my perspective and this is what arrived in response to my request:


As you go through the day and encounter many moments…some relaxing and some difficult and challenging…as you go through the day, just take a moment and imagine how your Higher Self would respond to what is happening. Do not put any pressure on yourself TO DO what Higher Self would do. Only IMAGINE it and TAKE NOTE.

This sounded wonderful to me…and it feels instinctively that just choosing to put myself in the place of imagining a Higher Response would do some subtle, behind-the-scene work for me even while I went busily about my day, impressing my consciousness with a more beautiful, more loving, more joyful way to navigate itand, most importantly, a way to be my own SOURCE of happiness and satisfaction.


And it actually sounds and feels quite practical, too, to become, on a continuing basis, the ANCHOR for my joy.

So I am going to give it a pop!   This means I may pause a few seconds before I react and respond to what is going on…allowing myself the time and perspective I need to call up a Higher inspiration than what would automatically appear on my default button.

It will be very interesting to take this journey and, no doubt, it will have its own BRILLIANLIGHT SHOW as I enter into this universe!

                                                                     
                                                                        


                                                                                     
                                                                            Marie Helena

Sunday, December 16, 2018

What Are You Here to Teach Me?


 

Recently I saw a presentation on OWN, Oprah Winfrey's television network, in which she was telling spiritual writer Gary Zukav about a dream she had experienced.  Oprah said she was flying in the dream and she kept encountering groups of children who asked her the same question: 

Where's the magic?
What are you here to teach me?


Oprah commented to Gary Zukav that every time she was able to express those very words of the children in her dream, she would fly higher.


What are you here to teach me?
Where's the magic?

What are you here to TEACH me?



There is a special innocence and wisdom possessed by children because they have not yet become enmeshed with the more worldly values of society and culture.  Children speak the truth...exactly as they see it...purely, directly, authentically. They are OPEN to learning.  They do not censor their thoughts or words. 

And so it seems perfectly natural that it would be the voices of children that Oprah heard in her dream asking her such an important question...and asking it with such eagerness and curiosityWhat are you here to teach me?


Underlying this question is a MOST POWERFUL PREMISE:   
the promise that everything we encounter in life is here to teach us something. 

Quantum physics tells us that we CREATE our life and, if that is so, then we must be CREATING the lessons we want to learn AND the circumstances that catapult and propel us into that learning.  We are busy, indeed, going about the work of our lesson/creations.  And, we become so engaged and involved with these adventures, that we "forget" we designed them...and with the very highest intention in mind.  As Gary Zukav says, we will never encounter any experience in life that is not designed for the healing of our soul.


Given all of this, it seems very wise for us to be focused and alert as these challenging moments enter our lives.  EVERYONE  and EVERYTHING we encounter are carrying a message for us.  Talk about a five star, Tony winning  Broadway production!  No wasted, empty, boring moments here.  Oh, no...here we live through the MAGIC of what we have imagined and set in motion to keep us on course and making beautiful progress in achieving the dreams of our soul.


BUT we have to stretch beyond our ordinary mentality to recognize these gifts. 

We have to vacate the role of "victim" and fly to the spiritual level of eagle to metaphorically scan the universe and solve the mystery of the sometimes frustrating and sometimes extremely painful messages that LOOK like the illusion of suffering but are, in reality, the GATEWAY to our enlightenment.  These adversities influence us to step up to a grander, more beautiful, more powerful version of ourselves.


What are you here to teach me?

Asking this question every day...every moment of our lives...with true desire to recognize, to embrace and to master our self-created lessons is THE PERFECT WAY to participate in the awesome journey of our lives in the illusion of earth school.

                                                                                                 
                                                                                             Marie Helena





image from www.list.co.uk

Sunday, December 9, 2018

Once Upon a Time







As little children we often looked forward to hearing a bedtime story as we were being tucked in for the night.





In this story there were often princes and princesses, magical castles, beautiful pastoral settings with fields of flowers and sunshine sprinkled all about. Of course, there was also the evil stepmother or stepfather (or some such figure) who represented trouble but always, always the good prince and princess prevailed in the kingdom. In the end of the story everyone rejoiced and PEACE reigned everywhere.


We loved those stories because they engaged our imagination and desire for drama and also because good always triumphed over evil.


These bedtime stories which soothed the hearts of little children were truly gifts from the angels because the effect of the stories is that little weary bodies relaxed into a place of comfort and safety and let themselves drift peacefully off into the night.



When we grow up, we somehow feel we have to leave our child’s playthings behind. And so we learn to look at the world as a difficult and sometimes jolting place in which we have been planted. And we feel that there are lots of hard knocks to be endured because we are grown up.


And, because we expect that these things will happen, we invite them into our lives. And when they appear, we suffer.

We suffer because we feel someone is doing something to us…Someone is trying to get into our space…or trying to take what is ours…or trying to get us to do something we don’t feel like doing.
This place of victimhood seems to be part of what we believe is our legacy and we feel we just somehow need to endure it.


And yet, an entirely different outcome is possible.


The same loving magic of our childhood still exists and is just waiting for us to recognize it and let it reenter our lives.


This magic is the principle called Changing Our Story.

Alberto Villoldo
describes it so beautifully in his book Courageous Dreaming. And here is how it goes.


When something happens “to” us, we feel like a victim…like what is happening is beyond our control and that we have to somehow LIVE with it or, perhaps, we might choose to put up some resistance. In either case, our reaction translates to SUFFERING.

But, and this is so very important, when we change our role from victim to HERO (think the glorious bedtime adventures of your childhood), everything looks different…feels different…those beautiful moonbeams have fallen on our lives and have given us a look into what is really happening on a soul level.


If we truly believe that everything in our lives exists to teach us something (and I do), this totally changes the story of our lives. Our lives become an adventure of discovering what new wisdom and insight await us in each set of circumstances.

We believe that we are loved and guided and are being led to astounding discoveries. We become the hero who finds the gold (think alchemy) in every new challenge.


In this way, we are not only empowering ourselves to learn life’s lessons we are also comforting ourselves as we did with our childhood bedtime stories. If WE become the heroes of our stories, if we accept the challenge of discovering what there is to learn… we are left with feelings of joy and satisfaction.

Like being tucked in by someone who loves us…who has just given us the gift of the bedtime story... but this time we are giving it to ourselves.


Once upon a time…they lived happily ever after!

Not just a childhood fantasy…but a formula for dealing with life.


                                                                    Marie Helena

Sunday, December 2, 2018

Sleepwalking in Your "Night"



 
If we're sensitive and paying attention, the universe can teach us what we need to learn by tickling us with a feather. 

 If we're resistant to learning and sleepwalking through life, we require the universe to use a sledgehammer to deliver the same lesson.
 

 Gay Hendricks

 



Great artists who produce amazingly beautiful masterpieces seem to hold a profound sensitivity in their souls which informs and directs the expression of their artistry.  They are profoundly aware of this soft whispering.  This voice of inspiration  which we all possess IS the voice which silences all others...the voices of enculturation, limiting beliefs, questioning of self-worth, fear and doubt...when we recognize and embrace it.


With clear intention and awareness we can learn to discern this whisper even amidst the clamor of the world which is "too much with us".   


 

This stunning sensitivity of artists can be found in every human heart.  It may not be uncovered, but this does not diminish its power or presence.  It is the guidance of the Universe which has the governance to bring us into the blossoming of our Spirit Self.
 


I have found that this soft voice will reveal itself after we have bravely observed what it is that disturbs us and how we would like things to be different.


The process of speaking what we feel "in this moment" seems to open the PATHWAY to recognizing the obstacle in our heart that is preventing us from acting with the pure LOVE of accepting "What Is".   Whatever is blocking us always comes from an unhealed pain.  By giving ourselves COMPASSION for the experience we have suffered behind the pain we calm and soothe our souls, clearing away the clamor of default buttons and trigger reactions,  It is then that the SOFT WHISPER can be discerned...and it is ALWAYS the next, beautiful step in our soul's evolution.  In that moment the whisper is feather soft...and profoundly powerful.

Can you sense this exquisite expression of Divine caring or are you  

sleepwalking in your "night"?


                                                                                              Marie Helena




image from crasheconomies.wordpress.com

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Glass Slippers






If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.  Or, maybe not.

I have recently drawn what I consider to be some brilliant conclusions about my life but they were MANY years in the making. They have to do with the Divine Universe and, of course, with the way I perceive things and THAT has been mightily shaped by my upbringing and enculturation.  As has yours.  And also by the very human impulse to draw a conclusion about what is happening and attach ourselves to this belief.

For example, within my limited (very human) perception of things, I had decided that life unfolds in a very straight path.  And that path is often strewn with challenges and obstacles and also rewards. Pursuing it becomes a test in itself and becoming attached to the end result becomes a common default reaction.  And, when things do not progress in the way we desire, we draw the conclusion that we have failed… or have not tried hard enough, COMPLETELY missing the grand and even MORE glorious dreams the universe has for us and the complicated, complex stages of growth we must pass through to attain those dreams.

We can literally spend years in frustration and anxiety about how things did not roll out the way we had hoped.  Like Cinderella, we sadly mourn the loss of our glass slipper, missing the truth that the glass slipper’s trajectory is there to LEAD us to the most beautiful, most wonderful realization of what we hoped to have happen.

When we do experience these precious moments of realization, it is amazing to see how every step was there to help us become a grander version of ourselves and to also see that what we thought was transpiring was not even the true story of what was being  accomplished . Sometimes, we are focusing steadily on our projected goals.  But, sometimes, we are assisting others in their evolution which, ultimately, also helps us blossom and become more ready for what we hope to achieve.

Perhaps our life is a series of what looks like ducks endlessly following each other, steadfastly focused on the careful plans we have laid out for ourselves.  In doing so and by becoming so attached to those plans, we may miss the Glass Slippers which mysteriously seem to lose their way but most assuredly and with great artistry and grace ALWAYS bring us home.


                                                                                  Marie Helena



image from Hey Cinderella by RC DeWinter
fineartamerica.com












Saturday, November 24, 2018

The Best Christmas List of All







It's almost December and time for our Christmas to-do lists.. 
Some especially ambitious individuals have started on their lists many moons ago.  But for those of us who kick into high gear after Thanksgiving...it's time to get down.

And I bet you have LOADS OF ITEMS on your list: 

 buy a Christmas tree (and decorate it), 
 shop for presents,
 plan a holiday party, 
 balance that budget so finances will work smoothly,
 try some new holiday recipes...
oh, and clean the house (including those jobs you've left undone but now have to do because out-of-towners will be staying with you).


I'm guessing you might be exhausted just thinking about these tasks and that's nothing compared to the EXHAUSTION you feel when you start trying to complete the tasks and keep on trying...even when you are stressed
 and tired...and in need of sleep and relaxation and nourishment
In other words, when the concept of BALANCE has gone completely out of your life.
 

Just yesterday I got   a wonderful idea  about this whole conundrum of how do you get the work done and avoid feeling STRESSED to the max.
 

And here it is.

This is probably going to sound radical to you, but after some reflection I am convinced it's the answer to this problem.

The first premise of this idea is:  Christmas (and all of the preparations that go into the holiday) should be fun.  

Easy enough to say.  But, you may wonder, how can we have fun doing the Christmas to-do list when we are bone-tired...weary...dragging ourselves around?

The answer is not to do it.  DO NOT make yourself do the things on that list when you are not  IN YOUR POWER and have good energy, a  positive disposition and are ready to be in-the-flow.  
Just DO NOT do that list of tasks when your chin is on the floor.

Instead (and here comes the next premise) do WHATEVER IT TAKES  to get you  back to your place of power.  This might mean taking a  nap, relaxing, having a lovely conversation, enjoying  nourishing food for your tired body (and eating it slowly and tasting and enjoying every bite).  WHATEVER IT TAKES.

Then...when you have reclaimed your power (whenever that is)...do something on the Christmas prep list.
 

You are probably thinking THIS WILL NEVER 
WORK.  There won't be enough time. 

But here's my thought: 

If you've ever pushed yourself to do things when you DID NOT have the energy (physical, mental or emotional) to do them, then I am sure you know there is a hefty price tag on that delightful maneuver.  

And I bet this is when you develop that cold or catch that flu or get so totally out-of-sorts that nobody wants to be around you.  

Then...what good did it do to have the things on your list completed and you can't even appreciate what you have accomplished?
 

I know...I know...this concept will take some reframing of the way we usually tackle our tasks but consider this:  

How wonderful would it be to actually enjoy all of the holiday preparations...to be in such a lovely space that  it felt like you were constantly accessing the joy of Christmas and what it represents?  

How lovely also for all of those around you to engage with the happy, positive person you know you can be!
 

Wouldn't it be worth taking the leap to give this a try and then see how everything plays out?  
And, by the way, this isn't just a wonderful plan for Christmas...I think it's the best way to engage life all year round.

So start making that special list of all of the wonderful things that will rejuvenate you and move you back into that DELIGHTFUL place of joy and power and make that one THE LIST you always remember!



                                                                                Marie Helena


image from vickiblackwell.com

Sunday, November 18, 2018

Dreaming You


  

















  Whatever is happening in your life is coming from an image you hold about yourself.
  The images you send out attract situations to you.  These pictures are absolutely
  available to your conscious awareness.  You can change any situation by looking at
  and changing your vision of yourself.

                                 Sanaya Roman
                                            Personal Power through Awareness



I'm always so clumsy.
I can't cook.
I am never comfortable telling people what I really feel.
 
The descriptions we give ourselves are the source of our behavior.  Whatever we believe to be true determines the course of our actions. 
It's the biology of belief. 


And it belongs to us.  


Granted, we were influenced by our families, society and the world around us.  They all helped by providing us with some predispositions to these images but guess who made the final purchase?  Oh yes, we bought in.  And when we did that, we set a course for ourselves that would play out in a hundred different ways.


Here's the good news. 

We are NOT stuck on those checkpoints.  Even though we may think we are and give up on ourselves ever becoming anything different.


The fact is we have INDISPUTABLE CONTROL over these images and just need to choose their replacements. 


OK, maybe not JUST choose...because there is some work involved.  It includes conscious awareness, creativity, focus and follow through.  But we can handle that...we earth dwellers are constantly reinventing ourselves...we just need to reinvent in the right direction.


Instead of whining about how we are losing our touch...what if we were to SEE ourselves as bright, alert, tuned in


Instead of feeling we lack the motivation to realize our dream, we can begin to see ourselves full of joy and satisfaction, creating something beautiful for the world in physical form or in the beautiful love and compassion we send out.  

We already have the resource we need for this exercise...it's  our IMAGINATION.
 
What if...just for tomorrow...we hold this amazing image of ourselves living each moment with attention and awareness and appreciation and gratitude? And what if our new fabulous image is totally feeling JOY and having FUN exploring the glorious moments we can create for ourselves?
 
Sounds like a winner to me.  High vibration.  Open, aware, connecting with life...someone we would so love to be around.

Ooops....that's already WHO we are and we got there by dreaming
ourselvesNow watch  how THIS  delightful person attracts the most fabulous scenarios into her life.



                                                                                    Marie Helena                                                    



website for the image

1891455-2-dreaming « The New Writers