We Are Powerful Beyond Measure

I was a part of a global experiment when the waters of Katrina decimated the beautiful city of New Orleans.  People around the world (linked together by the internet, a true, contemporary gift of consciousness and unity) all prayed together for the cleansing of the waters contaminated by Katrina.

Three weeks later I noticed an article in 
U.S. World Today commenting that authorities were mystified to find that an analysis of the water from Katrina yielded no more sediment than what would be found in an ordinary storm.

And, now, people around the world can pray together for the Corona virus to dissipate.


“Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure." 

                                                    Nelson Mandela





                                                                   Marie Helena



image from pinterest

Buried Deep in the Soul

In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic Congress is struggling with great effort to pass legislation that will provide for the welfare of our country. And it is so desperately needed to keep us safe, healthy and functioning.  But there is an even deeper need that we must all consider during these unsettling times.  An unmet need that is buried deep in the souls of our countrymen and that is sourcing the pain responsible for our widespread dissent.  

We can all play a role in solving this crisis.  And it is difficult work that we must do.  We must access our best self so we can see beyond our own concerns and discern and understand the longing of each individual to be heard and understood.  Just as we would wish for ourselves.

We cannot pass legislation to meet that very human need.  We cannot legislate the answer.  We can require individuals to observe our laws but we cannot make them feel a certain way.  What we can do is address the problems that trouble the heart, offering it compassion and validation.

Here is where we can all make a profound contribution.  

Because we are imperfect and we all come from backgrounds which are dysfunctional to some degree nearly everyone has been raised in an environment where we have been subject to the voice of authority.  From our families, from the community, from schools, religion, government and business.

We learn to acquiesce, to go along, to “suck it up” and somewhere in the middle of this process we lose our own voice.  It becomes muted, distant, and eventually irrelevant.  Consciously, at least.  But, unconsciously, the voice that is not heard still suffers greatly and, because it does not recog nize its own power, it is susceptible to fear.  And it responds to the stoking of that fear. It even joins in the celebration of that fear for now in that celebration it is finally being heard.

When someone is not being heard, it is because there’s no one to listen.  Have we all stopped listening?

Do we listen only to the reiteration of our own ideas?  Are we failing to extend to others the response we so much want for ourselves?  To be heard.  To be understood. To be validated for the feelings of our heart.  

Those who have not been heard and understood and validated harbor a growing sadness which can transform into anger, fear, and, eventually, intolerance.  We cannot give to others what we do not have   We can only project the negative feelings in our heart onto others.  It is a tight circle of dysfunction.

What is the answer to this pattern of behavior which has existed for so long? 

We need to evolve into a new dimension.  We need to leave this practice behind.  It is the old way and we are redefining ourselves, reinventing ourselves in every moment. And we are being profoundly called to do this during the pandemic which has shown us so clearly our practices that are detrimental and need to be released.

In this moment we are on the cusp of a new world.  The lessons we are learning from observing our own behavior are sourcing the transformation into a new dimension.  Those lessons are here for a reason.  They are a profound gift.  They guide us to a higher version of ourselves.  A way to break free from the accumulated dissonance and frustration.

Educator Arleen Lorrance describes her moment of epiphany regarding release and transformation.

“It came in on me loud and clear that I was the only one who could imprison (or release) me, that I was the only one I could do anything about changing. So I let go of my anger and negativism and made a decision to simply be totally loving, open and vulnerable all the time.”

What would the world be like if everyone made a decision like this? What a beautiful dream!

We have the opportunity to become this new dimension where everyone’s voice is heard, understood, and considered.  Where there is  no need to fear anyone.  Where we care for others the way we care for ourselves.

Ghandi showed us the way to this new and beautiful universe:

Be the change you want to see.

                                                                     

                                        

                                                            Marie Helena

image from pinterest

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The Corona Virus and BARDO

In this very tumult lies opportunity to bring awareness into this uncomfortable place and locate mammoth energies from our unconscious.  Such power, not accessible in ordinary consciousness, can now be harnessed to remake ourselves and reconfigure our whole lives... Stephen Ruppenthal Bardo:   Using Pain for Spiritual Gain Because of the Coronavirus many of us have already found ourselves beginning to access the unconscious energies described  by Ruppenthal that source our behavior.  Bardo is the next step in our evolution.  The lives we have been living have been catapulted almost overnight into  “a new normal” we could have never imagined.  Separated from friends and family and from our occupations, we are left to deal with this new landscape...our only choice of action.  And, additionally, we must face ourselves for we have lost the opportunity to be distracted from this quest.  We are essentially alone, left to make sense out of what appears to be a senseless interlude in our lives. It is so interesting to contemplate that history books will surely tell the story of this formidable experience the earth is undergoing.  But WE are living it. And there is something here for us in these moments of darkness.  Something very profound is interwoven into this strange, cataclysmic episode:  the opportunity to discern the tumultuous energies which lie deep inside us.  The Leviathan most of us are never able to “see” In ordinary times. The Bardo Ruppenthal describes is authentic and somatic driven.  It is irrefutable testimony from the soul accessed  through the body. If we are open to its gift, we are able to sense and feel what has been stirring, spiraling, and fomenting our behavior throughout our lives.  And it comes in a lightning flash.  In an illumination so intense it cannot be ignored.  And it connects with stunning clarity the many threads of our behavior which suddenly reveal themselves to be instances of the same unrealized longing.  A longing expressing itself over and over wherever it senses a fighting chance for us to be heard. The stark realization of how these moments of our life are so connected is shocking.  But it is enlightening, too.  We see how intensely we have been pursuing the healing of our issues and how coherent our efforts  have actually been. The clarity of what we need and what has propelled us to seek it is astonishing.  With that clarity, it seems important and urgent to acknowledge and address our pain and to find positive ways to heal it. Now we can clearly see how we have attempted to compensate for our unmet need in our unsettling behavior AND we feel inspired to take responsibility for its healing. The presence of Bardo, though immensely challenging,  is a profound gift in our lives.                                                                     Marie Helena Image from pinterest.com Tips and ideas for Abstract Painting

Mum’s the Word

It’s almost Halloween and I am a holiday junkie.  

The front porch is filled with scarecrows, corn stalks, bales of hay, a black cat and some very big (and I mean big) pots of chrysanthemums in purple, wine, yellow and white. 

 And though I love the color and texture of everything on the porch, the really big deal for me is putting my face right into the flowers and taking in their essence… the touch and smell and coolness…in other words, their vibration! 


I take breaks during the day to go out and do this. It connects me with nature’s bountiful gifts and beauty. It lifts me out of my everyday tasks and says, “We’re right here…just waiting for you to enjoy us.” Yep, those flowers are smiling. I know it. They love to have someone get right in their faces.  

Which reminds me…I am also addicted to hugging trees. I have a particular tree in the neighborhood that lets me feel its roots straight down into the earth. I used to look around before I approached the tree, but, naw…I don’t look around anymore. I just see that beauty and go for it. I hug bushes, too. And have been for many years. 

Although I am no gardener, I think that this is exactly the kind of  high  that gardeners feel when they do their thing.  Now here’s a really interesting fact I learned recently about plants and gardeners.

If you  are raising plants that you will eat, when you tend them with personal, loving care they 
produce for you whatever your DNA requires.

Now that’s mind blowing. And it sure tells you that the universe is alive and wanting to spread its goodness everywhere. 

So have at' em...pumpkins, flowers, trees...the whole works.  They're just waiting for yourperceptive eyes and glowing attention.

                                                   Marie Helena

The Trial

When I was in graduate school pursuing my Master’s Degree, I had a professor who taught an entire course focusing on one single piece of literature:  Franz Kafka’s novel, The Trial.  

 At the time, it seemed strange to me that the entire semester would be devoted to studying just that one novel.  We were required to write a definitive paper for the course about the significance of the novel.  I labored over this assignment for a long period of time but could not seem to determine what it was the professor wanted us to recognize.  Eventually, I had a discussion with a fellow student in the class who explained to me that Kafka’s novel could be read one way to make a very compelling point.  But it could also be read a second way to convey a completely opposite meaning.   


It took a real challenge to my intellect for me to take Kafka’s novel and step back and give it some perspective so that I could  see it from two completely different points of view.  I was finally able to do it, but only now looking at my life experiences do I understand what I think the method was in my professor’s “madness“.


This morning, many years later, I feel I am finally realizing the rationale my professor might very well have had in mind.  This graduate school course exercise seems to me now to be designed to reinforce an important truth about life:  We see what we already believe or, to be more precise, what we are prepared and willing to believe about the world and, most especially, about ourselves.


It is incredibly easy to see what we EXPECT to be there…what we already believe about ourselves and others.  The life snapshots we click on seem so real and so “rational” and so we file them away as objective evidence of the beliefs we are already holding, completely ignoring the fact that they validate and justify the life conclusions we have made to that point in time which steadfastly occupy the submerged part of the iceberg which is our subconscious.

And so, trapped in the tundra of our early life impressions and experiences, how do we emerge to free ourselves and discover what else the canvas holds?

My graduate school professor MADE us look for more and I am left with the prospect of considering whether there is ALWAYS more.  And it seems to me there is and failing to recognize that is to overlook important information that would increase our awareness of the issues that complicate our lives and our empathy for the individuals struggling through them.


What if, as a practice, we made ourselves search for whatever could prove the opposite of what we believe?

Where could this lead us?  Would it make us more empathic?  More open?  More aware?  More cognizant of vital information?  Would it source all of our actions in LOVE?

Without opening ourselves up to the possibility that there is more to the story, we may very well assign ourselves the role of existing in the small, constructed room we have built around our hearts.  We may fail to see the pain that others are enduring.  We may also fail to see the beauty, the caring, the love that is being expressed to us in ways that we do not readily recognize. 

We need to step out of our own limited experience and open ourselves up to the mystery and wonder of the myriad of ways that people respond to life.

I have heard this profound truth expressed before. I have even recognized myself at times as bound to my currently operating beliefs.  But I have not been moved to transcend this practice until today as I, with great curiosity and excitement, recall my graduate course in Kafka.  

I wonder how many things we experience in life failing to understand the power of their significance.  

It seems worth the effort to move past our already formulated, sometimes cursory assessments and open ourselves up to the mystery hiding in the corners of our lives.  The great thirteenth century mystic Rumi advises us to “sell your cleverness and purchase bewilderment.”

Following Rumi’s guidance will undoubtedly lead us to some new wisdom.  Perhaps THIS is the real TRIAL awaiting us.  Will we eventually reach the point where we can see beyond the boundaries that we have constructed for ourselves through the necessity for our survival or by the world itself moving through its own evolution?


                                                                                         Marie Helena



image from pinterest
Imprimer à partir d'aquarelle mode Illustration par Mysoulfly ...

The Observer

IF you could set aside for a few moments ALL of the difficulties associated with the pandemic and IF you could step back and view this experience as a flashpoint in time, I believe you would be looking at an intensely fascinating  experience on the earth plane.  One which you, no doubt, could have never imagined nor  willingly chosen.  But here it is.  And we are left to our own devices regarding how to navigate this “chapter” in our history.

Several issues demand our attention.  First and foremost, we must ensure our safety.  Interestingly, the debate which rages on regarding how to do this is not resolved.  Secondly, there is also the issue of how to concurrently be our brothers’ keeper.  Another quandary being heavily debated.

Already, on the first two primary concerns there is contention with no universal agreement on how to accomplish these goals.

And, while we passionately debate what is needed and important, more questions emerge from the gravitas.  What is the soul view of this pandemic?  What are we meant to learn from it?

IF we can set aside our own personal and distressing experience of the pandemic, we can begin to see the picture of a planet being shaken to its core.  The picture of everyday human life being halted while this scenario unfolds.  The picture of our being directed to social distance, to disappear behind our masks for solitary  contemplation of the ways in which we have participated in  the current state of the grand experiment of earth.  The catastrophic picture of the effects some of our choices have brought about.

If you were a Hollywood writer/ producer  looking for an epic story to portray on the big screen, this could be it.

Can you as the OBSERVER “see” the message of this film?  Can you feel the responsibility of understanding its significance?

The pandemic is not just a random occurrence.  The profound and beautiful Intelligence of LIFE itself is speaking through its machinations.  And it is speaking in a devastating way.  And so there must be a devastating message behind this unfolding.

History will ultimately record the story of this cataclysmic chapter in our lives.  Our children’s children will read about it.  But WE have a ticket to ride.  Our souls have volunteered for duty.  And It is only the strongest  spirits who walk the earth at this time.

As an individual participating in the pandemic which has taken over all of our lives, have you yet understood what the planet is trying to say and have you joined with others for the common purpose of healing all passengers on this gripping voyage? 

Take a moment as the Observer and see what you can discern.  You came here for a reason.

                                                                                                    Marie Helena

image from pinterest

The Modern Observer Group

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Dreaming

Dreaming

The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.

 Henri Bergson

Quantum physics tells us that our consciousness constructs what it is we see before us.   Therefore, what we are willing to conceive of and entertain is what we will experience.


Do you wish to stand before a landscape of beauty and vibrance? 
Do you wish to see individuals generously sending and receiving love in every moment? 
Do you wish to sense Divine intelligence treasuring all of creation?


What are you prepared to comprehend? 


Is it the gift we have been given to live in this magical playground on earth?  
Is it the exquisite design of nature and all of her inhabitants? 

Is it the beauty of every human heart which has the potential to see the world through eyes of love and feel the happiness this brings?



Can you still dream your child-self's dream of being loved sodeeply and so dearly that everything you encounter and experience is a gift for your journey?  


                                                Marie Helena  


image from jefusion.com 

Holding Our Light

Everything changes when you emit your own frequency rather than absorb the frequencies around you.

                                                      Barbara Marciniak

We are all aware of what it’s like to “feel the vibe” when we encounter someone who is struggling with some upsetting emotions.  It is so easy to absorb that vibration. 

Suddenly, there it is surrounding us, cloaking us if we let it. And it’s hard to escape, difficult to be unaffected.  But what an awesome opportunity to hold our own light, even in the face of what might feel heavy or negative.  To emit and sustain our own beautiful frequency.  

What if we were to hold space and clarity for our own intention and vibration?  What if we were to see ourself in a luminous spotlight...an emanation that moves when we move...that goes where we go...beautifully illuminating our corner of the world?    

This SPOTLIGHT is a physical expression of our BOUNDARY.

From this vantage point we can view all the many other spotlights around us, each shining on other persons. We can be an OBSERVER as each individual lives his life...writes his own story.  And, most importantly, we can clearly see the difference between their spotlights and ours.

When we are able to hold our own light, it does not matter what kind of situation we encounter.  It is irrelevant because it is not ours.

We are not held at the mercy of what is going on around us. We are Creators… not reactors and not victims.  We create the space in which we wish to exist and we choose to sustain it. 

And, in doing so, we demonstrate for others the beauty of PRIMEcreation.  In this space, we also grow in strength and spirituality and are more able to extend compassion to the individuals in the spotlights where it is needed.

We are here to learn and practice the holding of our light until it becomes an effortless and ongoing sharing of unconditional love.

And everything changes.

                                        Marie Helena

    

image from ArtHearty

Easy-to-practice and Fun Watercolor Painting Techniques

Let the Waters Settle

Let the waters settle and you will see the moon and the stars mirrored in your own being.

                                                            Rumi

The energy we are now experiencing from Covid 19 is immensely bold and powerful. Whipping its way around the planet...pulling back... then lashing forward again with renewed impatience. Nearly helpless, we watch the DRAMA and struggle to make sense of it, hoping to tame the gravitas of this adversary.

But it will have its way. And it will not desist until we have heard and held its message. Some of us are listening and some of us are not yet capable of this. The veracity of life is speaking. And we must open our hearts to hear her.

The ISSUES and corresponding questions are clear. They have always been clear but we have not been willing to acknowledge the effect of our choices. And now we must move in that very direction.

What has influenced our disregard for our Brothers and Sisters when the resources of the earth have always been enough to care for everyone? When ALL of earth’s inhabitants could live and prosper in this paradise of natural opulence?

Why have we continued to seize and squander this gift of our planet even while enduring the resulting malcontent of “never enough”?

We are out of alignment. This is our problem. Profoundly out of alignment with Who We Really Are.

We have forgotten the story of love from which we were created. We have agreed to the forgetting but now it is time for us to remember and return.

We are being shown the way. Let us be amazed at how the Universe is doing this. Every time she moves, she calls out to our hearts, hoping to retrieve them from our compromising measures.

Let us pause and consider what is the true source of happiness in our lives and what is the true source of our pain.

Returning to Love will quiet our souls and quell the dissonance. And, while we make our way there through the intelligence of our hearts, we Let the Waters of Covid Settle. And they will. They have awakened us and, one by one, we are arriving. A tempestuous but ultimately joyous journey.

                                                                                                  Marie Helena

image from pinterest

Turbulent Sea by Frederick Judd Waugh

Voices Buried Deep in the Soul

In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic Congress is struggling with great effort to pass legislation that will provide for the welfare of our country. And it is so desperately needed to keep us safe, healthy and functioning.  But there is an even deeper need that we must all consider during these unsettling times.  An unmet need that is buried deep in the souls of our countrymen and that is sourcing the pain responsible for our widespread dissent.  

We can all play a role in solving this crisis.  And it is difficult work that we must do.  We must access our best self so we can see beyond our own concerns and discern and understand the longing of each individual to be heard and understood.  Just as we would wish for ourselves.

We cannot pass legislation to meet that very human need.  We cannot legislate the answer.  We can require individuals to observe our laws but we cannot make them feel a certain way.  What we can do is address the problems that trouble the heart, offering it compassion and validation.

Here is where we can all make a profound contribution.  

Because we are imperfect and we all come from backgrounds which are dysfunctional to some degree nearly everyone has been raised in an environment where we have been subject to the voice of authority.  From our families, from the community, from schools, religion, government and business.

We learn to acquiesce, to go along, to “suck it up” and somewhere in the middle of this process we lose our own voice.  It becomes muted, distant, and eventually irrelevant.  Consciously, at least.  But, unconsciously, the voice that is not heard still suffers greatly and, because it does not recog nize its own power, it is susceptible to fear.  And it responds to the stoking of that fear. It even joins in the celebration of that fear for now in that celebration it is finally being heard.

When someone is not being heard, it is because there’s no one to listen.  Have we all stopped listening?

Do we listen only to the reiteration of our own ideas?  Are we failing to extend to others the response we so much want for ourselves?  To be heard.  To be understood. To be validated for the feelings of our heart.  

Those who have not been heard and understood and validated harbor a growing sadness which can transform into anger, fear, and, eventually, intolerance.  We cannot give to others what we do not have   We can only project the negative feelings in our heart onto others.  It is a tight circle of dysfunction.

What is the answer to this pattern of behavior which has existed for so long? 

We need to evolve into a new dimension.  We need to leave this practice behind.  It is the old way and we are redefining ourselves, reinventing ourselves in every moment. And we are being profoundly called to do this during the pandemic which has shown us so clearly our practices that are detrimental and need to be released.

In this moment we are on the cusp of a new world.  The lessons we are learning from observing our own behavior are sourcing the transformation into a new dimension.  Those lessons are here for a reason.  They are a profound gift.  They guide us to a higher version of ourselves.  A way to break free from the accumulated dissonance and frustration.

Educator Arleen Lorrance describes her moment of epiphany regarding release and transformation.

“It came in on me loud and clear that I was the only one who could imprison (or release) me, that I was the only one I could do anything about changing. So I let go of my anger and negativism and made a decision to simply be totally loving, open and vulnerable all the time.”

What would the world be like if everyone made a decision like this? What a beautiful dream!

We have the opportunity to become this new dimension where everyone’s voice is heard, understood, and considered.  Where there is  no need to fear anyone.  Where we care for others the way we care for ourselves.

Ghandi showed us the way to this new and beautiful universe:

Be the change you want to see.

                                                                     

                                        

                                                                                Marie Helena

image from pinterest

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