September 18th, 2012
As I was leaving the office of my spiritual teacher, she said, “I’ll stay up here and will listen if the door is locked.” And all I heard was, “I will listen if the door is locked.” I paused and looked up. Laughing, I turned to her and said, “Now, there’s a great metaphor of life.”
“That’s good. I will listen if the door is locked,” my teacher repeated.
“And guess what?” I shouted up.
“The door is open,” my teacher said.
“Yes, the door is open.” The door is open.
And so it is.
Posted in Letting Go | Toning the Om
September 13th, 2012
I have noticed how listening to my heart has yielded some changes. Rather than reacting, I am responding. I am no longer saying yes when I really want to say no. And I am opening to people and work that has meaning. It’s a path of uncertainty that I am opening to more and more. I feel like I am in the wild territory of my heart. I am an adventurer in my own life, digging deeper, exploring the unknown. The exploration of my wild heart has me curious, scared, vulnerable, humbled, hopeful, and grateful. It’s a journey of the heart and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
And you? What is the wild territory of your heart saying to you?
As Pema Chödrön said in her book, The Wisdom of No Escape, “Wholeheartedness is a precious gift, but no one can actually give it to you. You have to find the path that has heart and then walk it impeccably….It’s like someone laughing in your ear, challenging you to figure out what to do when you don’t know what to do. It humbles you. It opens your heart.”
Tags: Explore, Meditation, Open Heart, Pema Chodron, Spiritual Story, The Wisdom of No Escape, Uncertainty
Posted in Letting Go | Toning the Om
September 12th, 2012
The easiest pathway of light is to remember our breath – to remember ourselves.
The easiest pathway is through the breath.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Effortless.
Always effortless.
Mantra: Breathing in, I am the light.
Breathing out, I shine my light.
Let’s shine our light today.
Be peace.
Photo taken by Mary Anne Flanagan
Posted in Meditation | Toning the Om
September 10th, 2012
“When we know how to create peace in our own mind, we can transform the world.” -Sakyong Mipham Runpoche
Posted in Meditation | Toning the Om
September 7th, 2012
The classroom of life is teaching me to: Take more risks. Learn from many teachers. Give more than expected. Be inspired. Rest. Be kind. Relax. Dream. Do it afraid.
I am enrolling into a new semester of life.
Posted in Learning | Toning the Om
September 4th, 2012
Over twenty-five years ago I did some volunteer work in the Bahamas. I always joked that if I am called to volunteer in the Bahamas, who am I to deny the call? The volunteer work involved working with school-age children and building their library and playing games. We would go the school early in the morning and the youth would line up for assembly. Each morning the principal would ask, “Who would like to share some good news of the day?” Many hands would go up as children as young as six would share their good news. Their announcements would include everything from getting a new baby brother or sister, to losing a tooth, to getting an A on a test. Every morning we would start our day by celebrating the good news.
I took that lesson with me into the workplace and with clients and I find myself asking folks, “What’s your good news of the day?” For some this is a real struggle because no one has ever asked this question to them before. For others, it is a way of sharing their gratitude.
What’s your good news of the day?
Posted in Fun | Toning the Om
September 3rd, 2012
My work is to enjoy life.
My job is to question any stressful thoughts.
My vacation is waking up every day and hearing my breath.
My career is love.
My retirement is life.
Posted in Fun | Toning the Om
August 30th, 2012
As I sat in meditation, the word receive became my mantra. Receive. Receive. Receive.
I went on with my day and looked for ways I could be more open to receiving. As I went to get something in my workbag, I pulled out a recent blog I had printed out by Jennifer Boykin, PSST. Sweet Pea – You Suck at Receiving! Right in front of me was the message I needed to hear (again!).
In her post she refers to her friend, “the Rock”, as someone who needs a little pampering because she was going through a rough patch. Her friend’s response to this was, “Nope. I’m fine. I don’t need a thing. I’m all in. I’ll figure this out. There are LOTS of people with greater needs than I. Help them instead.”
Isn’t that how many of us respond? Don’t tend to me – tend to “them.” They need it more – and don’t they always? As my beloved friend said to me three years ago, “We all have our Haiti.” We all struggle and we need to receive.
I loved Jennifer’s response to her friend. (Read the excerpt from her blog.)
“Listening to this exchange, of course something popped out of my mouthy mouth: To the Rock: “You SUCK at receiving!”
“And we all giggled. Because every one of us sort of sucks at receiving.
In general, each one of is The Rock. Our Rock-ness means we don’t receive. We give. We don’t yield. We provide shelter. We take the hit so others can get filled, be safe, rest, heal, etc.
But it’s ALSO true, that we each need to give.
Because giving reminds us that we have enough, we are enough, there is enough.
And, if none of us ever receives, the rest of us never get a chance to grow in selflessness.
And I humbly suggest that when the Rock to your right offers some help, you consider receiving it. Because that shared compassion erases the illusion of disconnection between us all.”
Message received. I’d rather give than receive. The lesson was now in my face. Time to receive and receive and receive. There, I said it.
How about you? How are you with receiving?
Tags: Be Open, Jennifer Boykin, Mantra, Receive, Spritual Story
Posted in Learning | 2 Comments »
August 29th, 2012
My meditations have shifted from listening to receiving. I find it so much easier to give and have struggled with receiving. I have lived from a place that dreads asking for help. My role as a giver comes from my work as “a giver” and my role as a healer, a coach, a mentor, and a teacher. And now I am ready to shift it. It’s time to receive. I’m open to receiving.
As Byron Katie says, “Have you noticed how many times you try to control what comes in by giving rather than receiving? What happens when you just stand there and receive? The receiving is the giving. It’s the most genuine thing you can give back. When someone comes to hug me, I don’t have to hug them back. To receive it—you can die in that! To receive it is to die to pain, and to be born into love and laughter.”
How are you at receiving? What are you open to receiving?
Mantra: I am open to receiving as a form of giving.
And I am ready to receive a hug too!
Tags: Byron Katie, Listening, Mantra, Meditation, Receive, Spiritual Story
Posted in Letting Go | 2 Comments »
August 28th, 2012
My spiritual teacher and I randomly picked pages from Emmanuel’s Book II: The Choice of Love and read them aloud to each other. We sat quietly and shared what word or phrase spoke to us. Then my teacher decided on her turn to read the words of the page backwards. It read like this:
Love own His of
Name the in
created has He
things all to relates God as
compassion With
chosen have you lessons the
beautifully and clearly
given been having for
gratitude and joy With
knowing own your of
heights the from
humor with and
understanding loving With
[Start from the bottom and read right to left.]
It was perfect. It is perfect. Changing perspectives. Opening hearts.
Enjoy.
Posted in Channeling | Toning the Om
“That’s good. I will listen if the door is locked,” my teacher repeated.
