A New Year’s “Light” Show

After the magical days of Christmas holidays…when 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 changewe can imagine…suggestions that we make NO resolutionsand 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 it…and, 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 BRILLIANT LIGHT SHOW as I enter into this universe!

Dolce Far Nienete

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, shopping excursions 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 expe...rience, 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

Tapping In

For the last two days I have sent out the intention to understand why we sometimes make choices that are not in our best interest…why we react sometimes out of sadness or anger or hurt…why we comfort ourselves with things that do not enhance our well-being…why we are trying to fill up some space inside that feels empty.

This morning (when I usually get my most creative connections) I got a spectacular mega-image that is giving me an explanation of what I am trying to understand

It’s like we’re living in the center of a city that is teeming with vitality…there is action…there is adventure…and connection…and wisdom…and beauty…and insight. Marvelous, mind-blowing opportunities everywhere but we are sitting at home, unaware of what is around us. And the reason we are doing this is because we feel essentially alone.

And it’s difficult to feel alone…our struggles seem bigger, the burden heavier…we get tired…it’s easy to give up and it’s especially easy to feel sorry for ourselves.

The amazing concept that came sailing in to me today is not something I haven’t heard before. Oh, yes, I have heard it many times, but I have never HEARD it the way it came in this morning.

It all has to do with THE ENERGY around us and THE ENERGY that comes through us…and it is unending…spectacular…fourth-of-July fireworks…mind-blowing.

But we don’t see it or feel it or connect with it sometimes because we are living in the space of our own, private, singular lives. And the point is…our lives are not singular, even though they seem to be. They are not separate from all that is going on around us. They are so finely interconnected as to make EVERYTHING available to us…if we open the window to this realization and our eyes…and, most importantly, our hearts.

There is an ENERGETIC FLOW going on around and through us ALL OF THE TIME. And we have the capacity to tap into it. But we have to "see" it first…we have to know it is there. And it’s fascinating…

When we step out of ourselves and our singular lives and plug into the cosmos, suddenly, we are a part of it all.

Can you hear the teenagers snowboarding down the hill with screams of laughter as they navigate a curve or crash into each other? Can you sense the steady, protective energy of tree roots, holding strong while they wait for winter to complete its cycle and the eternal promise of spring to arrive once more? Can you smell the delicate skin of the new baby who is filled with wonder and awe at the depth and brightness of the sights he sees and senses around him? Can you intuit the unfolding of wisdom in someone’s eyes?

Wow! It’s all there…happening around us. All we have to do is tap into the vibrations…and all that it takes is the intention.


We are not alone.

We are interconnected and ALL that is occurring is there for us, too. It’s part of us.


When we know we are not alone, our loneliness is replaced by wonder and connection and curiosity and excitement. All because we’ve been born and are here.

Oh, yes. We’ve got a ticket to ride. Have you checked your pocket lately? 

                                                                Marie Helena