by Lori | Oct 1, 2021 | Blog
My right thumb has been bothering me for a couple months. Physically, the condition is called “trigger finger.” The situation has improved, but it isn’t 100% yet. As I continue to look at the metaphysical mirrors to help heal the situation from an energetic standpoint, it occurred to me that some believe what distinguishes humans from most other animals is the opposable thumb and the brain function. (And because I believe my thumb condition is due to too much texting…perhaps my brain function isn’t working at 100% capacity, either!)
Is it my opposable thumbs that make me human? I think it is my ability to experience joy. I believe my ability to appreciate the bee flying around the Russian Sage bush outside my window for the beauty that it creates is what makes me human. I believe my gratitude for a gorgeous Autumn Day makes me human. My joy in listening to music and dancing makes me human. My thrill at picking apples off a tree and harvesting the winter squash in our garden makes me human. Sharing a kind word with a stranger, helping a neighbor, playing with my dog makes me human.
Of course, I realize that all these activities don’t define me as human. They define me as divine – divine but in the human form as the sensory vehicle. I don’t know how all these experiences will feel when I am no longer in the human form, but I know I will still be divine. Next time, I think I will experience all these as the bee.
Gratitude to John Hain for the creative image.
by Ginger | Sep 26, 2021 | Blog
In a 2017 episode of Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul Sunday (1), she featured an experiment on self-perception conducted by BuzzFeed. A group of volunteers each stood for a few minutes in front of a two-way mirror sharing their perceptions of themselves while other volunteers secretly hidden behind the mirror were taped sharing how they perceived that person. Then, the participants were shown their particular video with the other volunteers’ comments. Time and again, those features which the participants disliked or doubted about themselves were the ones that others found particularly striking or beautiful.
One volunteer shared that he was self-conscious of his round face, especially his cheeks, yet his nice cheek bones was one of the features that the secret observers said they liked. Another admitted that he didn’t feel particularly manly, yet one observer saw him as definitely masculine and another as a “cool guy”. One volunteer said that she was self-conscious of her dimples, yet one of the observers commented that he really liked her smile, especially her “cute dimples”.
Upon seeing the strangers’ comments about themselves, many of the participants were blown away by the differences between their self-perceptions and the impressions of others. One participant said, “You’re better than who you think you are. And… you’re enough just the way you are. So be kinder to yourself.” This could be a message directly from each person’s Soul.
Marsha Hankins has twice posted a wonderful blog called The Parable of the Cracked Pot about the beauty of a cracked pot that thought it was lesser than others because it was broken. Then the water bearer pointed out that the water it leaked along the path had helped beautiful flowers to grow for others to enjoy. It is the illusion that we are lesser than, wrong or broken. What we perceive as flaws are hidden strengths that are still lost in the illusion. All we need to do is shine our light of awareness to see the truth and beauty of the perfection underneath. What beauty within are you still hiding from yourself and the world?
1 “Geneen Roth.” Super Soul Sunday, created by Oprah Winfrey, OWN, originally aired April 30, 2017.
picture courtesy of FrankWinkler on Pixabay
by Lori | Aug 30, 2021 | Blog
When I need a little help calming myself, this song usually helps me. Trevor Hall’s performance of East Forest’s remix of A Reminder helps me remember to find my center. I hope you find the beauty and benefit in it, as well. Here is the Youtube Link if you want to experience it yourself. A Reminder
“A Reminder”
Do you remember
When you looked in the water and saw your reflection
The embers
They drew out a map and they showed you direction
Your sender
Is far in the east where your heart is at peace
When you enter
My love it’s just a reminder
Find your center
My love it’s just a reminder
Find your center
My love it’s just a reminder
My love it’s just a reminder
Find your center
Help me recall that first morning
Sunlight adorning
Cracks on the floor well it served as a warning
Everything’s changing
All re-arranging
Felt so familiar
So amazing
Hopped in the car
Drove to the mountains
Cows in the street
Prayer beads you were counting
There was the river
Eternal Giver
Flowing forever
Remember find your center
My love it’s just a reminder
Find your center
My love it’s just a reminder
My love it’s just a reminder
Find your center
My love it’s just a reminder
When you’ve lost your way
Colors start to fade
Take a look within
Find your offering
Hold it to the sun
Let your spirit run
Remember
Remember find your center
My love it’s just a reminder
Find your center
My love it’s just a reminder
My love it’s just a reminder
Find your center
My love it’s just a reminder
My love it’s just a reminder
Find your center
My love it’s just a reminder
My love it’s just a reminder
Find your center
My love it’s just a reminder
Gratitude to the artists of this wonderful song and to Suman Maharjan with Pixabay.com for the image above.
by Ginger | Aug 29, 2021 | Blog
Many of you may have seen or heard about the Apple TV® show Ted Lasso that has created such a huge buzz. It’s a creative and well-written show so it’s easy to see why it has won multiple awards, but have you figured out the deeper reason for its widespread popularity?
I’ve only just started watching the series and am greatly enjoying it. The story immediately drew me in. If you don’t know the premise, Ted Lasso is a folksy American football coach from Kansas played by Jason Sudekis who is hired to coach a British soccer team (also called football in England). His sunny nature, casual style and lack of experience with British football makes him an instant laughing-stock among the team and fans. But Lasso has a secret weapon: his heart-centered approach to leadership begins to chip away at their walls to win them over, which in turn starts to help them work better as a team in order to be more successful on and off the field (or “pitch” as they call it).
In the same way that the character Ted Lasso helps others to reach down and bring out their best selves, the entire show holds the energy of breaking down walls with an uplifting theme and humor. As we’ve all experienced, it’s much harder to hold ourselves apart and focus only on ourselves when we are laughing and opening our hearts.
Ted Lasso doesn’t have a complicated plan for success- he quite simply cares and takes the time to get to know each person he meets, most especially the ones who hold him at a distance or even are actively hostile. This warm and direct style disarms people and helps them to help themselves be their best. He doesn’t aggressively push them to change or give authoritative directives for how to change. He simply holds the door open to their own hearts and invites them to step through. The rest is up to them.
We all have a Ted Lasso inside of us waiting to come out and connect with others. We all have a Ted Lasso inside of us who sees the best in everyone and everything. It doesn’t require a complicated life philosophy or set of practices. It only requires heart. And that is definitely something we all have inside of us.
image courtesy of Pixabay
by Lori | Jul 31, 2021 | Blog
Have you ever wondered if you are on the “right” path for your life? I know I have. Even sometimes when I am checking with guidance as to my next step, I am worried that I won’t “hear” the next step correctly or won’t be able to take the next step.
A few months ago, Marsha Hankins recommended the book Pull Your Self Together: A True Story of Alternate Realities, Spiritual Healing and Dimensional Wholeness, by Rebecca Whitecotton.
I have been reading it for a couple of weeks now. If you haven’t already noticed, I want to bring your attention back to the title. The words Your Self are separated instead of being the compound word Yourself. I am no grammar specialist, but I believe the Whitecotton was being very deliberate in the choice. If Whitecotton had used the phrase “pull yourself together” you might think her intent was to be a self-help book that wants to jolt you out of a rut with a firm “get a grip” concept. But, I don’t believe that it Whitecotton’s intention.
Whitecotton, from the very first sentence in her book’s introduction, shares with you her experience. “An alternate version of me from a different reality reached through the dimensions and showed me how to rescue myself.” (Page 1) She goes on to describe what the book can do for you. “If you choose, Pull Your Self Together can be a blueprint for your healing and discovery of a greater sense of wholeness by connecting with other versions of yourself in alternate realities.” (Page 2) Throughout the book, Whitecotton explores the metaphysical concepts as well as theories from physicists regarding the nature of the multiverse where we are living different versions of this particular life based on choosing one fork in the road over another. The idea is that all forks in the road have been traveled but we might only know about the version we are currently on unless we open ourselves up to experiencing ourselves in the other versions too. (The author does a much better job of explaining, but this is the idea in a nutshell.)
Truly, the title tells you exactly Whitecotton’s intent. To help you merge all aspects of you into the oneness that most people reading this blog (and the person writing this entry) say we want: the sense and knowingness of ourselves as one with all other aspects of ourselves as Source. But wait, there’s more! Eventually knowing ourselves as one with all other aspects of ourselves as Source leads to being One with All Of Source regardless of the dimension or the space time continuum. Pull Your Self Together is about living as the Oneness of Source. It is a fascinating read.
My intent with this blog entry is to point out a few quotes and topics that Whitecotton explores to see if they might speak to you as they did to me.
If nothing else Whitecotton says stays with you, allow yourself the wisdom that as part of pulling her self together she blesses herself of yesterday, herself of today and herself of tomorrow. Throughout the book, she explains the power and energy of something so “simple.”
Two of the ideas that came to me while reading the book is that we are stuck in our own judgment and in our own stubbornness.
In Chapter 40, In Search of an Ideal Life, Whitecotton explores the ideas of the Law of Attraction. This is where the idea of working with and holding non judgment really jumped out at me.
“When we try to create the ideal reality, we assume that the other realities – including the one we currently live in – are not ideal. Living in the third dimension pushes us to believe that one choice is perfect, and another choice is less than ideal. One is right; the other is wrong. We culturally define success as a big salary, fancy car, big house, soul mate relationship, and so on. What if we defined success differently? What if we could see success as simply being love in the world? What if we could see success as being brave enough to make a “mistake” and walk that path to completion even though it is painful? What if we also saw success as being willing to walk through sadness or depression so that we can come out the other side of that with something even greater than we can imagine? From the firth-dimensional perspective, all of those are success.
When I look at the Law of Attraction from the perspective of this one life I am living, it is logical to make this one life the “best”… What if the alternative versions of ourselves could team up to create a stronger whole? Rather than seeing life as a competition between those various versions of myself to see who could be the best, I could envision these other versions of myself as a cooperative team, with each version playing a different part that complements the whole. None of us can do it all. Only together can we be whole.
In one of my meditations, when I blessed the me of yesterday, I saw her handle a situation with more strength, confidence and personal power than I had when I faced the situation in my reality the day before. She was able to fully bring her power because the me from this reality sent her love and let her know that it was safe to shine her light fully in that moment. Once I saw her strength and what she was able to accomplish with it, I brought that feeling forward into my reality, and I know now that I am capable of what she did. I can own that powerful experience and tap into its memory, even thought it was not this version of me that experienced it. This was, indeed, a powerful use of alternate realities.” (Pages 216 and 217)
Whitecotton continues to discuss the Law of Attraction with the perspective that we know from the Kris Duffy quote of “It’s Not the What. It’s the Why.”
“This is not to say that I don’t want to consciously create for myself what I perceive to be a more fulfilling, happy life. Of course, I want a happy life, and knowing what I know, I would be a fool not to make use of this power to pull things into reality. It is, however, a difference of perception from the outset – an acceptance of all realities as equally valid and necessary, and a sincere gratitude for those versions of myself who are willing to take a hard and painful path so that others of me experience more joy. I don’t want to categorize as imperfect the versions of me who chose a simpler life, or who made a mistake and hurt someone, or who got so mired down in sadness that she could not function. Each version is an integral part of the plan of my universal self, and I love them all. I chose the path I am on because I want to experience it. At any moment, I can choose another path, but I don’t have to believe I am on the wrong path. I don’t have to beat myself up for taking so long or getting distracted or losing opportunities altogether. I have nothing to regret.
My heart felt a sense of peace when I thought about how much easier it is to envision a beautiful, amazing future for myself when I do not hold on to regrets about things I did not do earlier. I thought about how much different I felt about myself when I knew that even the most mundane, boring version of me was necessary and important to the whole. I thought about perceived mistakes that disappointed me from my past, and I loved myself for doing exactly what I did because it brought me to today. I smiled as I thought about how much easier it was to imagine a bright future if I started in this moment with total love for who I had been. I was exactly where I needed to be. I could choose any path I wanted to travel, knowing that one of me will be able to accomplish my highest visions even if this version of me falters.” (Pages 218 and 219)
These paragraphs made me want to look at how I have been too stubborn to “start in this moment with total love for who I had been.” Do I want to allow who I have been, in this reality or any other reality, to define who I will be going forward regardless of the reality I am living? I need to stop giving my power away to the old version of me, the unhealed version of me. I need to stop judging the old version of me, the unhealed version of me. I need to “bless the me of yesterday, the me of today and the me of tomorrow.” I need to eliminate the stubbornness and judgement of the me of yesterday, the me of today and the me of tomorrow.
I need to start in this moment with total love for who I have been and for who I am now – Source. To have total love for who I am as Source – Source yesterday, Source Today and Source Tomorrow. I AM SOURCE.
Here is the link to Pull Your Self Together on Amazon.
Thanks to Gert Altmann on Pixabay.com for the image.
by Ginger | Jul 29, 2021 | Blog
Just after Simone Biles announced her withdrawal from the USA women’s gymnastics team competition, NBC journalist Cynthia McFadden broadcast a piece on the pressures and expectations at Olympic competitions. She offered some points to ponder on the recent conversations around everyone’s right and need to nurture their all-around health and well-being. And this is how she closed her story:
These young athletes are all too human. And that makes what they accomplish all the sweeter. Perhaps our message should not be “Win gold!” but “Enjoy this moment. We are proud of you already.”
I immediately thought of the metaphor of each of us as Olympians in this grand game called the Experiment in duality where we have all chosen to play. We put pressure on ourselves to compete and perform and meet all manner of expectations, both internally and from the outside world.
What these brave athletes such as Michael Phelps, Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles are modeling for all of us is the truth that they are much more than their external accomplishments in a specific area, no matter how phenomenal those may be. They are reminding us that we are all whole beings with many facets and aspects which are equally important for our self-expression and total wellbeing.
What if we each took this opportunity to ask ourselves where we might still be competing for some elusive “gold medal”, some sort of seal of approval that we measure up? What if we started believing that we can be proud of who we are just for showing up?
Maybe it’s time to take a few moments connecting with your Soul and the spiritual hierarchy and ask to feel the unconditional love and acceptance just for being you, a beautiful and whole aspect of Source.
~ quote from Cynthia McFadden, NBC Nightly News broadcast aired on 7/27/21 at 7pm ET
image courtesy of pinterastudio on Pixabay
