Gobsmacked!!!

When I was a young girl I was nicknamed “the lawyer“ by my family.  I so loved to consider, explore, analyze, debate and articulate my exciting conclusions.  In those days, I had earned quite a reputation for the delight I took in presenting my case of the moment.

I was inexhaustible in this passionate pursuit.  Mental  exercises were a daily practice for me.  They seemed to satisfy a compelling need I had to  understand the world and how we operate within it.

As I grew older I was drawn to the work of spiritual writers who seemed to be wrestling with the greatest issues of the cosmos.  I noticed they seemed calm and peaceful in their introspection as if they had discovered profound revelations about the universe.

I wanted some of that for myself and that stirring desire began a journey of many years of spiritual investigation and reflection in various subjects of interest to me:    transcendental meditation, energy medicine,  past lives, Kirlian photography, Lifeline, spiritual healing, Hakomi Therapy.     

As I considered the beautiful concepts I was learning about, I began to design spiritual bookmarks reflecting my thoughts and enlisted a web designer to create a website for my work.  

As we co-created together on this enterprise, my web designer recommended I write a blog so that readers could learn about my philosophy (a tempting invitation)  and, almost overnight, my Mystic Marks blog became a feature of the website.  Now, over 600  musings later, I continue to write about what has inspired me.

Most interestingly, the writings in the blog have not been sourced through the mental gymnastics of my earlier years.  Rather, they flow from a lovely wellspring in my heart emanating from moments of stillness and silence I have been influenced to practice.  

Those moments have become a treasured part of my life.  And they have provided the substance of what I have to say.

The  perceptions that reveal themselves to me are incredibly dazzling and original.  And they seem to appear in unheralded moments.  I do not know where they come from but I always feel Gobsmacked when they occur!

By the way, the word Gobsmacked Is actually British slang which means “astounded” or “astonished” and this is what I have been feeling...and it is Glorious!!!  

Additionally, the messages arising from the stillness are also always a blessed harbinger of what will evolve from this “opening act” for I begin to write without  knowing how I will present my thoughts, how they will be connected or even what those thoughts are.  I have learned to trust and to thoroughly enjoy the process of writing without knowing what will come next.  It has become my favorite way to create.

What am I tapping into?

What has Gobsmacked my heart?

I leave this question for you to ponder and I invite you to gently enter into this mysteriously beautiful place of inspirationwhere  apparently there is no limitation...only the infinite intelligence our hearts are seeking.

We have for so long sought action and accomplishment, logic and reason as the pathway to navigating our lives.  Perhaps our real connection to that pathway lies in the incredible experience of stillness where we find respite from our unending  lists and agendas for it is there that the Divine Universe  can speak so exquisitely to us and we can be Gobsmacked by the gift of its tenderness and love.    

   

                                           Marie Helena

image from pinterest

Your Fairy Godmother

“Any unresolved feelings that linger in your cellular memory take shape and form as the temperament of other people.” 

                                          Matt Kahn

                        

We have NOT been left alone to make sense of our lives.  

Although purely energetic in nature, the Divine Universe provides each of us with colorful, engaging and often very challenging reminders of issues we have been vacillating about resolving or have even completely blocked from our consciousness.

Not to worry.  They will make themselves known and  will inject themselves into our lives whether we wish them to...or not.

The arrangement feels like some fairy godmother housekeeping duty.  “Someone” is keeping track of us and that someone wants us to keep becoming the next best version of ourselves. There’s no escaping that kind of brilliant optimism.  We just have to roll with it and see where it takes us.

And where it takes us is to the collection of characters  who populate our lives.  We may be annoyed with the goings-on around us.   Individuals with upsetting reactions.  People who can’t see what feels so obvious to us.  Braggadocios whose egos have run wild.  

Mirrors!!!  They’re all mirrors busy reflecting what is inside us unacknowledged and waiting to be dealt with.    Though they are often caricatures  of the problems we have subconsciously hidden away, there is a kernel of truth in their behavior that is reflecting something in ours. The whole strategy is very clever at that.  It SO looks like “Something is wrong with these people.”  But they are all part of a benevolent system, a grand design to help us see something we have not recognized about ourselves.

And, once we reconcile ourselves to the fact that these “stories” are really about us, it’s easy to relax and enjoy the game.  Challenging and thought provoking.  Not always easy to discern.  But, oh, when we do, it’s quite an eye opener And definitely worth the effort.

So much fun to see the incredible intelligence at work in our lives.  Don’t miss a minute of the enjoyment the Divine Universe has planned for you. 

The game is afoot!

         

                                       Marie Helena

image from pinterest

More Than the Magic

Several years ago I found myself watching a PBS special presentation of Andre Rieu - Live in Dublin.  

For those of you who haven’t heard of Andre Rieu – he is a violinist/conductor/showman of world renown who usually gives concerts only in Europe but on that day I realized he would be appearing in the states that spring in Detroit.  I was elated to learn this because I had seen several of his concerts on PBS and, in fact, owned several DVD’s of  the concerts and nearly all of his CD’s.


Andre Rieu's music and the enchanting way he presents it speak to my soul.  The camera work  on an Italian production I’ve seen, for example, was amazing - simultaneously capturing the soulful artist center stage, the sweep of an enraptured European audience amid the beauty of an Italian piazza in the moonlit night and a close-up of a grandfatherly gentleman listening to Andre with emotion-filled eyes and a tear sliding down his face.  The thought of being a part of all this was compelling.  Just as I made a mental note to call about tickets the next day, I heard the TV commentator remark that the concert had been sold out, but that a local university was holding a block of tickets for its contributors.


I noticed the number of available tickets was rapidly decreasing each time the concert was interrupted by the broadcasters to make a sales pitch for contributions.  Suddenly, someone was saying there were only ten tickets left and I realized that if I didn’t act now, I would lose this glorious opportunity.  I picked up the phone and suddenly found myself making the $250 contribution to the university, ensuring my attendance at the fabulous concert.

My impulsive decision amazed me.  I had often wondered if  I could be so moved that I would spend the kind of money concert tickets usually cost.  And, here I was, making a $250 contribution to get me to that moment.  God bless the magic that moves us out of our every day lives!


The Andre Rieu concert in Detroit I so anxiously awaited that spring was held at the stately Fox Theater.  When I arrived that evening,I fond it teeming with people streaming into the lobby.  As I found my seat I was mesmerized by the ornate and delicate beauty of the theater’s ceiling.  I was thrilled to be sitting up so high.  Meanwhile, I had been muttering periodically to myself about not having remembered to bring binoculars, but I put that concern aside when Andre and the Johann Strauss Orchestra took the stage, individually marching up the center steps with great ceremony to the strains of “Entry of the Gladiators”. 

Dressed in ebony tuxes and elegant, iridescent gowns, the members of his orchestra looked ready to play for the Queen.  The audience members at the Fox Theater that night numbered five thousand and you could feel the anticipation and excitement in the full house as the maestro raised his violin.  Behind him sat his talented orchestra, heavily favoring violins and cellos, but the evening would prove they were very capably balanced by the brass and drum sections.

As usual,  the maestro immediately struck a warm and convivial note with the members of his audience, including them in his commentary and especially in his musical pranks which were sprinkled throughout the evening.  He and his orchestra and performers were treated to several standing ovations.  Three female soloists (two from Brazil and one from Holland) were flawless in their presentations.  I could not believe the fabulous acoustics in a theatre of this size. As they performed, the obvious delight of the maestro, the orchestra and soloists hung rapturously in the air.  At one point, Maestro Andre passionately proclaimed the Strauss family responsible for the best waltzes ever written, as he proudly introduced “The Blue Danube”.

Sitting next to me during the performance was another university supporter who had an injured back from a car accident.  I lent her my lumbar cushion which I had brought with me but didn’t need at this point and she generously lent me the use of the binoculars circulating within her party.

The magic continued until the last waltz played was hailed with a burst of colorful balloons from what seemed like the miles high ceiling.  I do not know what was more touching…the music or the joy of the people performing and listening to it.  I was so thankful for the intuitive leap which had prompted me to make the contribution and secure the accompanying concert ticket.


After the performance I hurried outside, hoping to get one of the first cabs I expected would be lining up in front of the theater.  As I looked around, I saw no cabs but instead what looked like a blockade of buses.  (The performance was being presented exclusively for patrons of PBS and it seemed many members of the audience had traveled to Detroit in their respective group transportation.)  Furthermore, there was apparently some sort of minor fracas going on between a policeman who refused to let the cabs double park because of the danger to patrons who might be running out in between buses and the doorman in red tails and black top hat who was trying to find cabs for the patrons.  

A few moments later the handsomely attired doorman confided to us affectionately that the policeman was causing him a great deal of trouble but he promised to help and smilingly continued to search for one of the cabs which he promised were even now circling the block.  Eventually, the two uniforms struck a compromise and the policeman promised to keep all of the buses away from the theaer entrance at the next performance. 

Finally, a cab was found and I climbed into a back seat that was VERY tightly wedged behind a barrier separating me from the cab driver.  As the cab pulled away, I tried toengage the driver in some casual conversation about the traffic and endless construction and he told me in a voice heavy with contempt that Detroit was the worst place in the world in which to live.  He then announced that no one there was human.  When I asked him why he felt this way, he could only repeat his comment two or three more times and shake his head.  Feeling his pain, and because I make it a practice to be especially considerate to anyone whose pain is transforming his life force into cynicism, negativity or depression, I gave him a $7 tip for the five minute cab ride, but he seemed not to notice…or to care.

I was struck by the significance of the gloriousfestivities ending in this way and felt there was most definitely a lesson here.  That evening I had encountered so many faces of humanity:  the artistic genius of Andre Rieu, the joy and talent of his orchestra and performers, the elation of the audience in hearing the concert, the generosity of the woman in the next seat who lent her binoculars for my enjoyment, the jolly red-tail coated doorman, the policeman who eventually came to a compromise with the doorman regarding the “lost” cabs and, finally, the cab driver whose aura (had I been able to see it ) must have reflected the darkness of the night and of his psyche.  In the midst of the artistry, joy and exuberance of those attending and performing at the concert, here was this lonely, lost cab driver who seemed as if he had no drop of hope in the world to sustain him.

I pondered the amazing parade I had witnessed that evening and considered what part we had all played in this drama.


We are all responsible for the gifts and pain of the world. Just that past week I had heard Carl Franklin, an international speaker with over thirty-five years of spiritual/metaphysical research, teaching, lecturing, and counseling, remark that reality as we experience it is shaped by mass human consciousness via the quantum field.  There is no speed limit here, he said.  The speed of thought is instantaneous.


In reflecting on this I asked myself what kind of thoughts and emotions have we all been projecting into the cosmos?  What caring and concern?  When have we ignored the suffering of humanity?  When have we answered its call?  We (every one of us) helped bring the joy of the glorious and amazing music to its manifestation at the concert and, equally, we helped shape the tragic sadness of the cab driver I encountered in the night.


We have all contributed to the collective energy which produced in the same evening the higher vibrations of exquisite artistry and, simultaneously, the lower cadences of hopelessness and despair.  The concert, I feel, represents the awesome joy that is possible and the cab driver the pain that must not be left unattended.


I received more than the gift of music the evening I attended the concert of Andre Rieu, more than just the magic.  I was also given a reminder of our common brotherhood and the responsibility of adding joy and love and, most especially, compassion to life.  As always, my intuition has been my great teacher and friend…and, in this moment, a conscience for humanity.

                                              Marie Helena

                                                                               


orchestra image from galleryhip.com

cab image from chachadiaries.blogspot.com

Forgiveness or Understanding

One of the strongest messages we grow up with and continue to hear throughout our lives from all sources of authority is the importance of forgiveness.

 Forgive yourself!  Forgive everyone!
 
But what if there is nothing to forgive?

What if everything everyone does is merely a forward or backward move or perhaps even a filibuster in the dance of their life, all depending on the stage of their evolution?


What if everything they do has NOTHING to do with us and everything to do with their journey?  A journey which is based on their experiences, their personal growth, their unresolved issues, their unhealed pain.  Given all of these variables, it is truly impossible for us to judge or evaluate the choices they are making.  But, for some strange reason, we seem to think we can interpret their actions and that is our ONLY point of reference...ourselves.

It's pretty easy to do this...we all do it most of the time...It's our 
habitual response but it causes SO MUCH TROUBLE!  We can end up feeling hurt or angry or sad and depressed and what they are doing is NOT ABOUT US!  We are the subject of the scenario because we happen to be in the picture at this time; we are the scenery and setting for the playing out of someone's latest life challenge.  What if we really GOT that and, therefore, NOTHINGfelt personal?

 
There would be nothing to forgive.  For ourselves or others.  We are merely the playing field where someone works out the latest step in his evolution with any accompanying banging and clatter and others do the same for us when we are engaged in one of our "adventures".

 
I know it's pretty radical to expect everyone to see this...especially when our emotions are embroiled and our egos feel challenged.  But how wonderful it would be if we could navigate our lives from this trekking star:  Nothing to forgive.
 
We are ALL doing what we came here to do:  use the resources of earth school to finally get the Big Picture of our lives.

                                  
                                                             Marie Helena


image from wallpaperswide.com

The Cart Before the Horse

Ev-er-y-bod-y has heard the old adage..."Don't put the cart before the horse". 

And it makes good sense (as all cliches tend to do).  

However,

The Divine Universe doesn't follow ordinary rules.  

It's  so original...and creative.  

What I've discovered in my life (and I'm sure it's tucked into yours somewhere, too) is that the fabulous, infinitely wise, infinitely powerful Universe LOVES to put the cart before the horse...and by this I mean it provides the solutions BEFORE the problems appear.


Let me explain how this plays out in my life.  


Whenever something is troubling me and I am feeling stuck...not sure how to proceed or lacking the energy or motivation to go to work on the issue...as soon as I take a moment to breathe...to relax...a soundless bell goes off (it's something I just feel) and I gently recall something I had read the day before or a comment someone had made to me recently or, even more frequently, I remember a blog post I have written that reminds me of something important I had grasped and understood earlier but have since forgotten.  And that something I have forgotten is ALWAYS exactly what I need to remember now...today...IN THIS MOMENT.


Sometimes the "direct-tions" are even more direct.


Each day I check my blog's list of the ten most popular posts.  This list is changing moment by moment.  It is based on what posts people are reading and the information is coming from around the world as I know that 110 countries have accessed my blog.  I look to see what is being read each morning and, without fail, it's something I need to be reminded of THAT DAY.


How BEAUTIFUL is that!  Individuals around the world are choosing my posts to read and, in so doing, they are ministering TO ME.  They are helping me become the next, grandest version of myself.


Talk about Love circling back to us!  I send out my thoughts and they come back to me EXACTLYwhen I need them.   


Wow!  What a system!  And that's just one example of how this beautiful dynamic works.


I KNOW...I am SURE...
that YOU have a heavenly guidance system in place. ..the CART before the horse.  


Maybe  you haven't discovered it yet.  Maybe it's hiding in plain sight...a little heavenly merrymaking and mischief.  PLEASE look around and tap into this awesome, original and brilliant celestial stratagem.  


We are all so very loved.   : )

        
                                                                                      Marie Helena





image from thesaurus.babylon.com


originally published July 16, 2013  

Perfect Time

One of the most popular occupations of earth dwellers  seems to be the frenzy of staggering preparations that go into the MAKING OF PLANS. 

Oh, what a glorious time we have acknowledging ALL of the circumstances we see surrounding us and figuring out how to accommodate every one so we can accomplish our special goal in the most satisfying way.

 

Parties are planned, important conversations mulled over beforehand, career goals envisioned, sports events practiced for, buildings designed, vacations imagined...

all in the never-ending dream of completing those arrangements in the most perfect, most beautiful, most satisfying way.

 

In our very earnest determination to MAKE THINGS HAPPEN we work so very hard...we struggle...we strive...we exhaust ourselves...
and we often forget that we have a Partner on our planning team.

 
A Partner that never tires...

A Partner that totally supports our dreams and visions...

A Partner that has the advantage of seeing ALL of the parameters of the project...

A Partner that is working within the context of THE DIVINE MATRIX matching   every need and desire with the perfect circumstance to bring them into fruition.

 

This Partner is the Divine Universe and this Partner unconditionally loves us  and supports us and gives us exactly what we need.

 

What we get  may not be what we want...what we have envisioned as the "best" way to achieve our goal...but it is the perfect way. 

It takes EVERYTHING into account and ministers to ALL needs.  

It is inclusive.  It is perfect.  It operates whether or not we are aware of its existence.

 

And it moves  in  PERFECT TIME.  This is most probably not the time schedule we have envisioned, but it is the one which BEST serves our needs and desires.

 

How wonderful to have such a magnificent Silent Partner operating in the business of our lives.  And there is no need for competition...for striving to get this Partner working on our side.  

This Silent Partner is already there...for us...and for everyone.

 

This Divine Process does not exactly jibe with our contemporary concepts of commercialism and competition.   It is not concerned with material gain.  It comes from a place of great depth and love and compassion, the HEART of our Creator.

 

Here's an interesting thing we can do:  

Watch how this Partner operates in our life and take note of the astounding Sensitivity, Caring, Intelligence that are present in Its intricate workings.

 

We will probably not see the magnificent, bigger picture at first, but, over time, we may catch it in an Aha Moment and, when we do, we can bask in the supremely beautiful awareness of knowing how very much we are LOVED.

                          

                                         Marie Helena 
                                                                            

The PASSION of Indiana Jones

Don't audit life.  

Show up and make the most of it.   

                                          Regina Brett

There is a very interesting choice often available to students in the college curriculum and that choice is to take the option of AUDITING a course.

 
When you audit a course, you get to sit in on classes as you desire and at your convenience and hear the instruction of the teacher but you are NOT required to complete any assignments or take any tests.  In other words, it's a laid back, easy-as-you-go arrangement.

And this option has its merits.  You can observe from the sidelines from a position which demandsVERY LITTLE ENERGY from you.

 

And while this academic option can offer you a selective glimpse of some new information which is of interest to you in college, choosing this option as THE primary way  to navigate earth school may not be the wisest choice as a method of transit for the adventures of your life.

If you elect to audit LIFE watching from the sidelines you will sidestep the amazing opportunities available for your growth. 

 

No.  I'm thinking more  the PASSION of Indiana Jones...ready, alert and chomping at the bit to taste and see and feel what is out there...to fully experience what presents itself to you in the form of questions, challenges and obstacles to overcome.

There's no auditing here.  There's anticipation, desire,  excitement, energy.

 
Every moment is full...teeming with possibility and wonderful new skills to acquire, new lessons to learn.

 

FULLY engaging with Life takes strenuous energy.  It requires paying attention, taking notes, and testing yourself but it rewards you with a continuing evolution...creative reinvention with constant progression to the Next, Grandest Version of WHO YOU REALLY  ARE.

And the enormous payoff is this:   

You are making ALL the moments of your life count as you open your heart to every experience to see what it holds for you...to find the gift that is waiting.  

When you do this, you are not merely auditing...sort of paying attention...once in a while...when you are in the mood.  You are not splitting your focus.  You are NOT multi-tasking.

You are Present...Aware...Listening...Engaged...and  Responding...
Fully alive...noticing everything...experiencing everything...learning from everything.

Every day holds the promise AND reward of enlightenment...all because you chose to Indiana-Jones-it...show up, dig in and DEAL.

                            Marie Helena 

image from  guardian.co.uk

What Love Can Do

I have two beautiful, brilliant daughters who are making their way in the world leaving love and light wherever they go.  ♥️♥️

It is so wonderful to see their interactions with others and to witness their incredible soul journeys.  They embrace their emotions including the uncomfortable ones as welcome messengers.  They authentically speak their truth.  And they are always seeking to become the next best version of themselves.

The three of us are alike in so many ways.  But we are different, too.  We have chosen different ways of being in the world, of demonstrating our love.  And, of course, we have different ways of processing information and of responding to it.

This is all communicated through our varying personalities and the effect of the experiences which have seasoned our lives.

But even given all of these circumstances it is interesting to note that the true beauty of our relationship can be found in something even more profound:

We HONOR the feelings of each other.

We not only celebrate the ways our paths come together, we honor the places they diverge.  We are so very curious to understand each other’s adventures and experiences even if they differ from our preferences and choices.  We reverence the investment each of us has made in life and, when we feel drawn to their discoveries, we consciously tap into the learning and wisdom they have  acquired.

Love and honoring have prompted this way of relating to each other.

And it is a beautiful residence in which to reside.

What if everyone in our world could find their way to honoring and learning from each other!  What if we understood that we are ALL

traversing the universe on an  important mission in many different ways and that each way has something to contribute to the collective consciousness.  The wisdom acquired would be epic.  And we could actually enjoy sharing the planet instead of trying to amass our own individual kingdoms.

Is it really that simple? 

                  Marie Helena 

The Website of Your Life

from 2010

The wonderful Internet has bestowed upon us so many unanticipated opportunities.  Recently, I have had the privilege and responsibility of helping design a website for my Mystic Marks bookmarks. I have worked diligently and excitedly with my web designer, Renee Bledsoe, of Fort Myers, Florida. Renee has a very poetic web name: She Who Weaves the Web. As I was first searching for a web designer a couple of years ago, I happened upon her website, read her philosophy, saw her web name and immediately fell into what I call Grace with her. A few weeks later I was visiting my sister who lives in Bonita Springs, Florida and went to Fort Myers to meet Renee. I knew immediately that this was the web designer for me. The moment was electric and inspiring and, at the same time, peaceful and gentle. Two years later I was ready to leap off the endgrain and share my thoughts with the larger arena of the world stage.

Renee and I worked on the website over the course of a few months. Several delays occurred. One because of a seven week illness I experienced this summer. Another came because I was asked to design bookmarks to meet a special need of several clients and everything stopped while I addressed that request. During this time, Renee intuitively knew that we needed to gently wait out the Divine messages that were coming into the picture and that they would, of course, enhance the website’s design.  

When we were finally able to direct our energies full-force on the project, we were both delighted to find how beautifully our visions merged in this creation at every turn. We share the same spiritual view of life and this led us to amazing discoveries and inspirations that evolved as we talked and worked together. Renee is a masterful artist and teacher and she was determined to make sure that I would LOVE the website design and every part of it. We took great care with each choice of color and font and design and, as we worked, new and wonderful ideas kept entering the scene.  

When the website was completed, I discovered that this accomplishment was exerting great power in my life. I was intrigued by the dynamics of how this was happening. I found myself waking up in the morning calmed by some aspect of the website or one of the messages on it. It was teaching me, mentoring me, soothing me and, most important of all, it was inspiring me.  

One of these mornings I awoke with the words Gentle Reminder singing in my heart. I wondered where they had come from. I thought about the beautiful, calm blue green of the website design and it made me feel gentle. I realized then that the website was working its magic. Next, I found myself applying these words to my life approach, and, in particular, to the times when I would berate or judge myself for not living up to my expectations. I am a deeply sensitive, intense person and whenever I am dealing with something, it tends to pop up in bold, technicolored hues. Now, the blue green of my website was showing the concept of gentle to me and I realized that at these times I only needed to whisper the words Gentle Reminder to myself and to tell myself that I only have to make some course corrections in my life. The sky was not, indeed, falling.  

(Interestingly, my daughter Valerie told me that before she had seen the blue-green backdrop of the website design she had imagined what it would look like and it was the very same color Renee had chosen!)  

Over time, I realized that this website which had been labored over with such care and love by both Renee and me represented my Higher Self, the self I aspire to and that I was being treated to the joy of seeing that Higher Self in living color and design on the world-wide web! I discovered that when I needed to strongly connect with that special guidance I could go to the computer to tune in.  

Which brings me to the title of this message:  The Website of Your Life. I am not assuming that everyone has the inclination nor the reason to produce a website for the Internet, but I do think that everyone could IMAGINE what the website of their life would look like… what colors it would have... what design... what message... what inspiration... and be able to use that vision to find the Divine Guidance we all need.  

I want to close with this suggestion to you and, hopefully, it will ignite your emotions, your dreams and your aspirations which sometimes lay hidden… and bring them beautifully into the full vision of your imagination:  What would the website of your life look like?

                                 Marie Helena