None of us are immune from the external pressures of the world and stress is on the rise.

Economic uncertainty triggers stress, as it cuts to the essence of survival and safety.  Media, unfortunately, tends to target negative drama, predictions of doom, and a host of other fear inducing material that adds fuel to the fire.  Thank goodness there is an antidote to the raging flames of stress!

The Celts talk about thin places on the Earth. Places where Heaven and Earth meet, opening the space for the Divine Mystery to unfold, touching those who have the willingness to receive. While we may not be able to travel to Ireland or sacred places on the Earth, there is another way to create thin spaces wherever we go.  One of these is serving.

My teacher told me once that Service is the highest form of loving. True service is to give without regard for return; to give for the sheer love of giving. It is that un-self conscious expression of loving that opens thin places. Places that nurture, restore, and balance our Spirit.

Service is not about anything other than loving, expressed in action.

I believe that each one of us is called to serve, whether with a smile,
an understanding heart, a donation to those causes that call you, or simply
to pray.  There are as may ways to serve as there are humans!

This Holiday Season, why not “listen with the ears of your heart?” (St. Augustine)
and open yourself to the greatest gift of all…making  a difference, simply because
you can.

Serving at your own expense is not true service, because lack of self care is lack of loving.

Here’s a challenge for 2010.   Are you willing to  take care of yourself first, then take your service into the world?
I invite you to lead with your loving and watch thin spaces open up in your life.

The business of living with fear can be addressed when we turn to the Divine.  Goodness, compassion, forgiveness, laughter, joy, service are keys to connecting Heaven and Earth.

Best wishes or a joyful, Happy and Healthy Holiday Season…

So many miracles of manifestation, completion, and new beginnings have occurred since my last blog post.  The stream of life flows so quickly that it takes  a huge effort to stop, reflect, and consciously let go of what has passed.  This week will mark the two year passing of my dear husband, James.  It has been both an eternity and the blink of an eye.  In many ways the wife, lover, and friend that I was to James no longer exists.  Today I am the product of those two years of letting go and embracing the next chapter in the the Book of Lin.

That’s where the Noble No comes in. To get to the BIG yes, we must say no to anything else.  Temptation tells us that we must settle.  Perhaps that is a big lie.  Perhaps, however, it might just be that sometimes we need to say yes to to something not quite perfect, so that the greater yes can appear.

For two years I have wanted to move.  Rather than rush the process of grief, I lived with it. That included allowing myself to stay where I was until I found something better.  I didn’t know exactly what that would be, I just knew I would recognize it when it occurred. I made a decision to allow the Spirit to bring my new home in the perfect time.  In my mind’s eye, I saw the things that would be part of my new home. During the last two years I have looked at many spaces, none of them even remotely as wonderful as my current home.

The practice of the Noble No is a discipline that allows us to become attuned to the highest and best opportunity in any moment. The effort needed to be still and observe the impact of a yes or no on our body, mind, or spirit opens doors to new vistas. This is exactly what happened, in the most wild and wonderful way, when I said yes to a new beginning.

Just three weeks ago I had a strong urge to walk to the post office.  It made no sense, but the urge was strong and I heeded it.  That was my original yes. To my surprise a vacancy sign hung on an apartment building I had admired for several years. I said yes when I made the initial call to see the vacant apartment.  It was almost perfect, except that the view outside the windows was downright ugly!  I gave a tentative yes, focusing on what I liked about the apartment, and chose to override my visceral response to the ugly view. The building manager said no to my offer to write a check to hold the space.  That was his mistake and my blessing.

I sat with the decision for a week and submitted an application.  Days went by. Each time I wanted to call my intuition told me to “let it be.”  I prayed, “If not this, then something better. Please lead me.” Shortly after, I had a deeper recognition that beauty was important to me, hence my revulsion with regard to the view.  Yet, in spite of that I was willing to move, since this apartment had almost everything I wanted. Some part of me was willing to settle, but a greater part knew that it wasn’t the perfect fit. Yet in the midst of this uncertainty, I was still called to say yes to the apartment.  I was so confident that I was moving that I called the movers and gave notice to my apartment’s management company. Not logical, but a decision that came from the deepest part of my being. I knew it was the right thing to do.

Finally, I knew it was time to call the building manager at the new apartment. He did not return my calls promptly. When he did, he said that he “forgot” to turn in the application, then he made a mistake and it was declined and resubmitted it. There were lots of signs that this was way too complicated. Something was off, and it felt like there was another space. I just didn’t know where to find it! I called an intuitive friend who commented, “I think that you are going to be upgraded to more beauty.  There is no need to search for it.  It is a gift and it will appear shortly.”

The very next morning a dear friend presented me with an advertisement for a brand new apartment building. It had everything I wanted, including amazing views from every window.  The totally unexpected apartment in an unexpected location had everything I had written down as part of my original ideal scene. We went together, I submitted an application, and two hours later I was approved. My new home is six blocks from the beach and I’m surrounded by nature. The view is sublime.

So why then, did I have to say yes to something that was not 100%?  In my willingness to say yes to the first apartment, I gave myself permission to stretch my comfort zone in many ways. I was in a neighborhood I knew, just six blocks from my current apartment, with friends nearby.  By the time I saw what I really wanted, I was able to say yes to a new neighborhood. The intermediate and tentative yes to change was replaced by a resounding YES!

The sweetest thing of all is that I signed the lease for this apartment on the day of my 10th wedding anniversary.  I get the keys to my new apartment on the two year anniversary of my husband’s passing.  The probability of this unfolding of events, and the timing surrounding them, is something that my angel in heaven would have orchestrated!  He had a sense of humor in life, and I expect that it exists beyond the grave.

In either event, it is a full circle that allows me the grace to say No to what was, and yes to what is to be.

The Noble No is a wonderful container. Pay attention, for it holds the space for your big Yes to manifest.

Let us all live long, say yes, and prosper.  In the words of my husband’s favorite song, “The best is yet to be.”

How has your no led to a bigger yes?  I’d love to hear from you.

A View of the Beach

Miracles of giving and receiving ebb and flow from moment to moment. That Divine flow of goodness is always present when we pay attention.   The caveat is that one must be present in the moment to capture them as they occur.  Sometimes, in reflection, their perfection is breath taking.

Saturday in the parking lot was one such day. Here follows the the anatomy of miracle making.

I awoke abruptly at 7:15 a.m. with a clear thought that I should visit a garage sale.  Now, that is unusual, since I never attend them and I’d been looking forward to sleeping in.  I’d read about a multi-family sale the evening before, so decided I would listen to the inner prompting and see what was there.

Nothing!  I sat in my car, wondering why in the world my intuition had rousted me so early.  In the wondering, a thought popped into my head that I should call my friend Sandra. “Want to take a walk?” I asked.  Sure, come one over, we’ll walk to the beach.  We never got there…

Five minutes into our walk we saw vendors setting up all sorts of goods in a parking lot, and we wandered over to take a look.  It wasn’t yet open, but I spotted a lovely outfit and was told I had to come  back when they opened for  business.  We returned later and at our very first table we met a most delightful woman selling vintage and designer clothing.  I had no intention of buying anything.  A good 45 minutes later I had two bags full of treasures, each purchase more beautiful than the one before. I also had a new friend and after speaking with her husband I’d found a possible partner for a documentary I’m exploring.

That was miracle enough.  But there was more.  As we turned to walk away, my eyes fell upon the most  beautiful hand carved teak screen.  Another vendor offered to sell it with the comment that her mother had given it to her 40 years ago, and that she had just decided to part with it.  I’d been looking for an original screen for my new home, and this was exactly it.  Two amazing miracles of receiving. The price itself was miraculous.

But there’s more, again. Here’s where the miracles really get interesting. Sometimes we are the answer to someone’s prayer.  Sometime that person is a total stranger.  Had I not been there at precisely that time, at precisely that place, our paths would not have crossed.

I asked about the story of the screen, so that their history might become a part of my history.  She began to talk and I listened. The great miracle was that through our conversation she healed a lifetime of believing that her mother didn’t love her.  In the most amazing intimate context, in the middle of a parking lot, a lifetime challenge of feeling unloved dissolved and a major healing of memories occurred.  Her mother, deceased 15 years, came alive to her daughter once more as she uncovered the deep mystery behind her mother’s strange gift.  Ironically, she had just re-read her mother’s old letters to her the night before…

The true gift and peace offering from a mother 40 years earlier was finally received.  There’s a whole lot more that could be said about what occurred in the parking lot on Saturday, but some things are beyond words.

I have a confession to make.  I’m an Odd Duck, and proud of it!

Odd ducks have certain characteristics. Read on to see if you fit the bill…

Odd ducks sometimes feel like they don’t fit in….they are only happy when they waddle to their own inner drummer.

Odd ducks think differently than other folks.  They tend to see and value life differently.

They act differently, frequently spending thousands of hours perfecting something that interests them. They perfect their craft.

Odd ducks take flight in their own timing, oftentimes judging themselves for not flying in formation with others.

Odd ducks are brilliant, love freedom, and wonder about stuff that other people don’t wonder about. They also tend to care deeply.

Odd ducks feel, well, odd.  Throughout history, they have been laughed out, ostracized, ridiculed, or called quacks.

Here’s a curious note about the word odd. It derives from the Old Norse word oddi, which means “point of land, triangle, odd number.”  It has also come to mean, “Deviating from what is ordinary, usual, or expected; strange or peculiar.”

If there were no odd ducks, there would be less artistic expression, fewer inventions, and the status quo would remain just that.  Thank goodness for the odd ducks who preceeded us.  To name just a few: Beethoven, Mozart, Buddha, Mohammad, Jesus, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Leah Walesa, Abraham Lincoln, Mohammad Ali, or the Wright Brothers.  So let’s unite, celebrate, and encourage the odd ducks among us, and get busy with the business of living brilliantly. Odd ducks, you are not alone.  The world is waiting for you to take flight…