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 pressureon 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!  

                            Marie Helena 

                                                                                      
                                                                                                  

Deconstruction

Any habit needs all its parts in order to function. If some parts are missing, the habit is disassembled. 

       Carlos Castaneda




Mountains are so difficult to climb.  And yet we line our imaginary landscape with images of ALL of the momentous (and mountainous) changes we are going to make in our lives.  And it feels virtuous to conceive of such worthy undertakings.  Virtuous...and exhausting.  So exhausting we may never even get started.


I love Carlos Castenada’s solution.  It’s simple and realistic...and encouraging.

Break the stronghold of an addictive practice by changing one thing.  ONE thing.  Can you flex that much?  I’m betting YES and, if you do, you get an influx of dopamine as you celebrate loosening the anchor that’s been sapping your emotional and physical energy.

It feels really good to take action.  And, if the action you take isa creative experiment to possibly prove Castenada’s theory to yourself, you become a practicing social scientist with the possibility of gaining important information about how to change and improve your life. 


There is an exciting energy at work here. 

Take charge. 

Change your story by changing its details. 

Then watch how things rearrange themselves when you uproot an essential element.  

ENJOY the rollout of how the carefully orchestrated habit starts to unravel when you choose to loosen the strings.


This could prove to be life-changing, initiating a new practice that is easy enough to do and important enough to shake up old ways and trade them in for more creative and satisfying possibilities.  

    
ONE thing.  A three second decision. GO.



                                                        Marie Helena



image from pinterest
No Thinking Only Daydreaming
Shell  Rummel

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

Harold and the Purple Crayon

a reflection on a book by Crockett Johnson

There’s a Harold in all of us.  But, sadly, he often gets lost when we grow up. Harold (the innocent, all-powerful, all trusting child) is untouched by the “lessons” we are supposed to learn…That we have to be careful…and safe…and do what we are told to do.  Harold knows that he already has everything he needs. To him life is simply a wonderful adventure and he creates whatever he wants to bring into his world by drawing it with his purple crayon and then letting the fun begin.

On a purely intuitive level, Harold knows that he is creating his life. He embraces this gift and is grateful, making choices that are delightful, supportive, adventurous and full of bliss. He is happy and hopeful and his purple sketches reflect these beautiful treasures. So he draws more of “happy” and “hopeful”.  

This delightful creature is not just a fantasy. He is accessible to all of us. Ideally, the journeys of our lives will ultimately lead us back to the realization that Harold is still in our hearts, waiting to be let out to play.


I went for a walk tonight and heard the melodious crickets chirping with
the rhythm of life so I am going to draw more crickets and more musical
notes.


I received some beautiful emails from my friends this week so I am going
to draw more friends and more email messages.


I saw the powerful waves at Grand Haven last week wash majestically over
the pier and so I am going to draw even bigger waves. 


Thank you...is the message of my heart. Thank you…and I’ll have more.  

Harold, the magical creature, is our child heart's manifestation of our desire for connection with the beauty and hopefulness of life…a dream we all share.  

What could the purple crayon do for you?

                                     Marie Helena 


"Every child is an artist.
The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."

Pablo Picasso