Posts Tagged ‘Optimism’
Middle Way
Monday, July 15th, 2013
Over the last several months, I have had to deal with bouts of dizziness. I have had to make adjustments as looking up or down often triggers my dizziness. This is part of an on-going health issue and it has made me slow down. I have learned to ask for help. And I am learning more and more to ask for what I need.
As I sat in meditation, I asked for the message and gift of my dizziness. This is what came through in my meditation:
Maybe you don’t have to look up right now – heaven is right in front of you.
May you don’t have to look down right now – Mother Earth is all around you.
Look in front of you. What do you see?
Your path is right in front of you.
That is your middle way.
As you listen to what is informing you, what is your middle way?
Breathing Gratitude
Thursday, November 22nd, 2012
I am grateful for… 
my breath
my heartbeat
my partner
the sun on my face
wonderful friends
amazing colleagues/co-workers
Toning the OM
being of service
traveling to Peru
giving a retreat in Hawaii
meeting heart-centered people
making a difference
big hugs
lots of laughter
my health
celebrating LIFE.
And you?
How Will You Fall into Trust?
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
After returning from an incredible two week vacation where I had to trust that work would get done while I away and trust that I could leave work behind, I realized how much trust plays in my life. When I started thinking about trust, I remembered how I taught “Trust Falls” with junior high school students about twenty years ago. I was trained with New York City Outward Bound and I worked with youth in the South Bronx on team building. After some ice-breakers and strategic games, the final activity was a Trust Fall. A young person would have to stand on a table with their back to a group who had their arms criss-crossed waiting to catch them. The person doing the falling would shout, “Fall.” The group had to respond “Fall Away” and after hearing that, the participant would say “Falling” and lean back and land into the group who would catch them. The whole group would gently place the person back on their feet. Each one of these trust falls would inevitably end with applause.
The activities took great concentration, teamwork, and of course, trust. For many youth, this was the first time they allowed themselves to become vulnerable with a group or trust someone. If a young person became scared (many did), I would invite the group to share their thoughts and feelings. The teenagers were amazing as they expressed encouragement to their peers. They would share things like, “You can do it”, “We have your back”, or “We won’t drop you.”
Twenty years later, I still remember many youth from IS167 on Webster Avenue and see them close their eyes and drop into the hands of their peers. As we begin a new season, let us turn to one another and say, “Fall.” Fall away……
How will you Fall into Trust?
What Is It to Work with Love?
Monday, September 13th, 2010
As I fully return to my daily routine, I wanted to share a passage from one of my favorite writings of all times, The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. Perhaps it is time to see my “routine” as a way to work with love!
Work is love made visible.
And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man’s hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man’s ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.
Yes, work is love made visible~
Mary Anne
How Are You Returning to Yourself?
Monday, September 6th, 2010
“Empty your mind of all thoughts.
Let your heart be at peace.
Watch the turmoil of beings,
but contemplate their return.” Lao Tzu
September is a month of returning – returning to school, returning to work, returning to a new semester. There’s excitement in the air (at least for most). It’s a time when people have their new wardrobe all ready to go. As we gear up for another month and a change in the weather, let’s ask how we return to ourselves?
What are some ways you return to yourself and flow from the energy of September?
Happy September!
Mary Anne
What Is Your New Story Behind the Rainbow?
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010
Recently, a friend posted a video of the song The Never Ending Story by Limahl. I had not heard that song in years, but have a vivid memory of singing to my 45-inch record.
“Dream a dream and what you will see will be
Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds
And there upon the rainbow is the answer
To a never ending story”
How many times have I told a never ending story? Could there be a new way of telling a story – behind the clouds and upon the rainbow?
Just last week I was telling “the story” of how I started my company, Toning the OM™. I went right into the “never ending story” of how my mom passed away and I needed to find an outlet for my grief. For the past four years, I have told the story of my mom’s death as the reason I started Toning the OM™. In reality, it was my mom’s life that inspired me. It was her dedication to her faith, her friends, and her never-ending belief in me to do anything I put my mind to.
My new story is about how I created Toning the OM™ not because my mom died, but because she lived.
Mary Anne
Love or Illusion?
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
When I look through the eyes of love, the world seems so open with possibility. I wrote in my journal,”If it is not love, then it is an illusion.” So much of life and what we tell ourselves is an illusion. I was meditating on illusions and when I finished, I turned on my iPod and Melissa Etheridge’s song, Only Love, was playing.
As I started singing along, I heard her lyrics:
“Only love is real
Everything is love
Everything you feel
That’s what your world is made of
And when I took a good look around I see
My thoughts are coming back to me
So look around
We are in charge of our own dreams
We have more power than it seems
So look around”
I’m looking around with love.
Mary Anne
What Is Today Asking of You?
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
What is this day asking of you? It’s so easy to get caught up in the daily routines of life. We can mindlessly go about our business – getting our children dressed, having breakfast, commuting to work, running errands, or driving our car – that we forget about all the little moments in between that show us the miracles all around us. Are we willing to listen?
What’s new about today? What would you like to see change and are willing to do one thing to make that happen?
I have often heard people say, “It’s the way it is.” Yes, it is the way it is, until it’s not.
How will you listen to this day and all it brings you?
Mary Anne
Only Carry What Is Necessary
Thursday, August 12th, 2010
My office is going through major renovations. We have spent the past week packing up everything in our offices and can only take with us what is necessary. What a wonderful practice—to only carry what is necessary. It made me look at what I need vs. what I want.
How much am I carrying around with me as a form of comfort or because I want to hold onto it to feel more secure? What am I willing to let go of? Throwing things away or giving them away is such a practice in freedom. The emptier my office, the lighter I feel.
As I was packing my last box, I looked at my desk and saw my favorite pen, my coffee mug, a couple of books, and a Margaret Wheatley poster. The poster was rolled up and looking down I read, “Trust that meaningful conversations can change your world.” What a great reminder that stuff will come and go, but what remains are the relationships built and sustained. Meaningful conversations are necessary and are coming with me on my move.
Next week the walls are coming down—that’s a whole other lesson!
Mary Anne