It’s So Hot Even The Wildlife Are Weary

We are having extremely hot temperatures here for the past few days.  My air conditioners at the house are suffering as they never get a chance to rest and it’s still 80 degrees in here.  But it’s better than the heat outside, so I’m not complaining.

Yesterday, I looked outside and saw this little guy on my patio.  At first, he wasn’t moving and I was concerned that perhaps he was dead, but once he heard my voice, he picked his little head up and when he saw me, off he scampered back into this little burrow under the shed.

Today, he was in the same position and I can’t help but wonder if it wouldn’t be cooler in his home under the ground?  Or perhaps he just felt like being outside in the shade?

He’s little and there’s a much larger version of him as well.  They bolt noisily across the patio when they hear me coming.  But I think it was so hot that he was weary from the heat so he didn’t notice me until he heard my voice talking to him.

I’m thinking he’s a groundhog or a woodchuck.  I researched and found out he’s a marmot (which is the collective word for groundhogs and woodchucks).  He can stand up on his hind legs and look around.  I tried to get a photo of that because it reminded me of those prairie dogs, but he noticed me and ran away.  Such is my luck…but I’ll keep trying!

I looked up groundhog and here’s part of the spiritual message:

Take time out today for meditation and self reflection. Use Groundhog energy to go deeper and to dig out what is unseen within you.

-Groundhog

 

Here is another version as well!  Click here for marmot symbolism!

I’ve named him Digger.  But I need a name for his larger friend.  Do you have you any ideas?  If you get a spiritual animal message from him to me, please share!

Stay Cool and Shine On!

xo

Before You Can “Let Go and Let God”

you have to let Him in!”

Such simple advice for a Sunday, don’t you think?  Traditionally Sunday is a day of rest from the week’s work and a day designed to relax, to enjoy and to be aware that life is good.  It is a day for family, for enjoyment and for pleasure.

Take some time today to pray, to meditate, and to enjoy stillness with gratitude.  If you can, walk outside to experience the gifts Mother Nature brings every single day.  Look up to the sky, notice the clouds, the stars, the sun and the moon.  If it’s raining, feel the raindrops and the gratitude for the water which feeds all life.  Be grateful for the blessings in your life, even the tiniest ones like waking up this morning!  When we begin to notice even the littlest blessings, more blessings come to us because we are concentrating on that which we have and not what we feel we lack.

Letting go and letting God is scary for many of us have that sense of wanting to be in control and believing we can make things happen simply by actions or wishing or even saying affirmations and imagining what we want to come to us.  By all means, use whatever you find comfort in, but don’t forget about God.  Pray for what is yours by Divine Right.  What is yours, comes to you with perfect timing.  We can’t rush what is to be.  We can only allow what we have now to flourish, to do our best in all that we do and trust that the Universe and God will provide.  Just like the birds who find food even in the scarcest of winters, God provides for us.  We just have to let Him in and allow Him to help us by trusting Him.

Don’t lose faith when what you wish for doesn’t come to fruition.  It’s not meant to be.  As they say, you can’t push the river, but you can go with the flow.  Continue with your actions, but be mindful and watch for signs from Above.  Ask if you are on the right path and know when there’s a detour, it’s probably meant to be.

I write for you and for myself as reminders.  I am guilty of trying to push the river, to plan ahead and to take action for what I want and sometimes it all backfires.  Then I begin again because I feel as if I need to be in control.  But it’s laughable at times since control is an illusion.

When we let God in, we allow miraculous healing to occur.  We allow blessings to expand and we allow gifts to be experienced.  We are each blessed.  Be thankful.

Shine On!

xo

 

 

Staying in the Present Moment

Whew, I don’t know about you, but sometimes it’s mighty hard to stay in the present moment.  With all of life’s busyness, I think sometimes we get caught up in the hubbub of what needs to be done today and we let being present fall by the wayside.  Does this happen to you?

I know it happens to me.

Bills, appointments, responsibilities, paperwork and all the roles I play during day to day living sometimes have me running without a break to simply stop and smell the roses.  To be in the stillness of the moment, whether alone or with someone else.  To just feel the gift of being present.

Often, we live in a whirlwind where we scurry from moment to moment without hesitation when our lives are full and then we fall into our beds at night, exhausted from life in general.  It’s hard to find a few minutes of peace to go within the stillness of our hearts.  Meditation helps if we can find the time to still our minds for a respite, but more often than not, unless we are disciplined, other responsibilities take precedence.  But meditation doesn’t have to be a formal time set exercise.  It can simply be taking five minutes to really enjoy that cup of tea or coffee and relaxing our minds.  It can be taking a quiet walk outside and listening to the birds or feeling the earth under our feet.  It can be closing our eyes and enjoying the peaceful silence.  We can think positive thoughts, speak affirmations that work for us, pray or just be grateful for this moment in time.  I find that taking 10 minutes to simply free write helps me to clear the clutter from my brain which builds up after time.  Even writing my blog allows me to be still and get into that place of peace.

What helps you to find stillness in the present moment?

Today, try to carve out a few minutes of peace for yourself.  Breathe deeply, stay in the moment, be grateful for all that is in your life and be joyful for the blessings that you enjoy.  Give yourself the gift of presence, even for a few precious moments today.  You deserve the peace and tranquility that comes with it!

Shine On!

xo

 

Be the Observer In Your Own Life

Observation, like meditation, takes practice.  It’s easy to be caught up in the chaotic routine of our own lives, enmeshed in emotions, ego and struggling with the ‘shoulds’ that we place in front of ourselves.  To sit quietly and reflect can be a tiresome task to some whose brains are routinely busy.  But all the same, it is a good practice to help in healing body, mind, heart and soul.  We are bombarded daily with reminders to exercise, to eat right and to get enough sleep.  But in our busy lives, we somehow forgo the benefits of quiet time and refuse to settle our minds to simply ‘be’ in the stillness for a few moments.  We feel that we don’t have enough time.  We delay the stillness for other tasks which we deem to be more important.

How do you define stillness?

For me, stillness is sanctuary.  It’s a few moments when I can simply be with myself, notice how I feel, and check with my body for any nervous energy which may signify something is off in my heart, mind, soul, or being.  Stillness is about appreciating the moment, keeping in mind how grateful I am for this day, for the connections I’ve made and for The Presents of Presence which I enjoy.  Stillness is observance of my attitude, my actions/inactions, my day, my dealings with others and my connections with myself and others during the day.  It is without judgment.  It is in truth for good or bad.  It is with acceptance for mistakes made and praise for what is.

There are 24 hours in a day, which for some is not enough for all the ‘shoulds’ that they have listed in their heads that need to be accomplished.  I understand work, children, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping and taking care of everyone is important.  But what about you?  Taking care of you in the smallest ways is important as well.

Just as we squeeze in exercise, eating right and trying to sleep long enough, we need to squeeze in a few moments of peace in our busy worlds.  It may surprise you the amount of benefits we reap when we sow gratitude, stillness and connection to ourselves.

Do you take a few moments a day to connect with yourself?  How do you fit stillness into your day?

Shine On!

xo

Free Healing Transformation!

Quick Links

Good morning!  I’m posting this free meditation invite as I’d love to connect with others who may be interested in doing this healing meditation for 21 days!  Let me know if you are doing it as well as I’d love to see how it transforms us all!  It’s free ~ come join me as we transform our health!

Shine On!

xo

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Discover Perfect Health.
Join us for Oprah & Deepak’s 21-Day Meditation Challenge!

Are you ready to tap into the wisdom of your body and experience authentic perfect health?

Oprah’s Lifeclass® and the Chopra Center present the best meditation challenge yet—Perfect Health.

Meditate and journal with us each day on this journey toward the triad of whole wellness—body, mind, and spirit. Deepak and Oprah will be your personal guides, every day, as you embrace the vision of your best self, expand your understanding of your miraculous body, and achieve greater balance and wellbeing.

Discover the individual perfection of your intuitive body and its dynamic healing system. Learn to restore balance, live agelessly, practice conscious breathing, and harness the inherent drive which leads the body and mind to perfect health.

Starting Monday, March 11, this ALL NEW, life-changing journey is free and open to everyone—worldwide! We encourage you to invite your friends and loved ones to join you and experience:

• Inspiring words of wisdom by Oprah Winfrey

 

• Daily guided meditations by Deepak Chopra

 

• Practical tips and wisdom to assist you in living Perfect Health

 

• A worldwide community of like-minded individuals exploring the gifts of meditation

There is no charge to participate in this transformational journey. Sign up now for our 21-Day Meditation Challenge—Perfect Health to receive your welcome information and get on the path to perfect health!

Namasté,
The Chopra Center Staff

Time

Have you ever noticed how time can drag on when you watch the clock or how fast it can speed by when you’re busy and not thinking about it?  I think time goes by slowly when we awaken in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep.  Does this happen to you?  For me, there are nights when I wake up in the middle of the night and then I am kept up for hours by my busy mind.  I begin planning tomorrow’s to do list or I begin writing my blog in my head ~ but the worst one is if I hear a noise because then I lay awake debating whether I should go investigate!

Last night I heard the car door slam, and immediately looked at the clock.  5 minutes to midnight and I had just woken up a few minutes beforehand.  I was tossing and turning trying to get back to sleep.  Now my busy brain turned to wondering who was outside.  I said a quick prayer of safety because it could simply be a neighbor coming home and I began breathing slowly, in and out, trying to concentrate so that I could fall back to sleep.  It worked because the next time I looked at the clock, it was 6am! 

Does this ever happen to you? 

What do you do? 

Do you get up and go to the kitchen to make a cup of warm milk? 

Do you read in hopes of getting sleepy again? 

Or do you turn on the television to watch something boring? 

I’ve tried all of the above, but breathing in and out in a measured fashion and quieting my mind works best for me.  I’d love for you to share if this happens to you and what you do about it!  I figure the more solutions we share, the longer our night’s sleep is tonight! 

Because TIME Is On My Side ~ a la The Rolling Stones! 

Enjoy a little official version of their song ~ Happy Saturday!

Sweet dreams my friends! 

Shine On!

xo

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/02/16/daily-prompt-clock/

http://determined34.wordpress.com/2013/02/17/daily-prompt-the-clock-digital-awakenings/

http://edwardhotspur.wordpress.com/2013/02/16/slam-a-daily-prompt-post/

http://hopethehappyhugger.wordpress.com/2013/02/16/tick-tock/

http://retiredruth.wordpress.com/2013/02/16/daily-prompt-the-clock/

http://dianarasmussen.com/2013/02/16/hope/

Free Chopra Creating Abundance and Musings from Misifusa

Register for Chopra 21 Day Meditation Challenge

Day 1 ~ “Today, I behold all the abundance that surrounds me.”

Day 2 ~ “I create my personal abundance from an infinite source.”

With Hurricane Sandy having blown through my life, 3 surgeries thus far and another coming up in December, plus my Dad’s passing and being responsible for closing out an almost 50 year law practice by myself…I’ve been a bit overwhelmed these days…and now there’s a Nor’Easter (another bad storm) on its way, ready to hit tomorrow.  UGH!  Double UGH!

So I am giving myself a pass today because I didn’t send this particular post out last week when I had planned to do it.  Without power, there wasn’t much I could do about it!  Perhaps there’s a reason for it…at least that’s the thought that I’m comforting myself with right now.

All is quiet in my home this morning.  I awoke with a migraine (darn weather changes) and still, I wanted to use the stillness and freshness of the morning to enjoy the meditations that Deepak Chopra has so generously given to all.  Today is Day 2 so I was behind already, but I am happy to report that I am all caught up.  Like one of my sons in school, I feel that relief that my homework is done for the day and I can move on.

But something interesting happened today when I did the 2 meditations.  I realized how stressed I am these days, how I’ve allowed my body to be encased in a hard pressured stressed feeling that is so tightly bound inside of me that I didn’t even realize that it existed.  It had become my normal after so much stress in my life.  And I can assure you, I am stressed with all of the responsibilities which have fallen onto my shoulders.  I am in charge of everything and everyone right now ~ dealing with a body which is enduring more than its share of surgeries and traumas.  I just keep pushing through to the next event, the next task and I’m not taking care of me.  I’m too wrapped up in what has to be done, wishing I could skirt some of the mess and just be taken care of instead of taking care of it all.

There’s food to be bought because of the power outage for 6 days, we lost everything in the refrigerators/freezers.  With the looming storm, I need to make sure that I replenish (but not too much) supplies.  Then there’s the fact that Mom hasn’t been to her house in a week so I need to drive her there to make sure that things are ok, plus I believe she wants some new clothes having only packed for a few days.  Boys still don’t have school and there’s the added burden of how to drive about 45 minutes away when there are still trees down, power out and gas rationing going on (which today’s not my day to fill up so I have to be careful).

I could go on and on and rehash all that is on my plate these days, but instead, I’ll leave you with what I learned.  I am planting the seeds of abundance in my life through Deepak’s meditations.  I am determined to unleash the synchronicity of blessings which are infinite and given to all.

I am blessed I know…but I am tired.  I long to rest, to quit worrying and to just ‘be’ at peace.  Perhaps with the start of the morning meditations, I can accomplish my goal.  I am handing it all over to God/Universe/Infinite Spirit…I am letting go of my control and just allowing life to be.

Hugs to all of you…

Enjoy Deepak’s gift!

xo

A New Dawn

Good Morning to YOU!  I awoke early this morning and I have truly enjoyed such a delightful few hours that I don’t care that I’ve not had much sleep as they were so wonderful to experience that I am feeling even more blessed than usual.  In the quiet of the very early morning (think 3am!) I began my day today, enjoying a fresh cup of my favorite  Breakfast Blend (best price I’ve found thus far so thought I’d share), flanked by ‘the girls’ (our 2 cats) and the peaceful quiet of the early morning.

I am excited because things are starting to roll for me again…I can see the new dawn and a new beginning for me.  I am feeling a new-found energy which I had lost and I think that the taking care of me which I have been deliberately planning is beginning to work its magic!  Yesterday,  I met with my friend KAngel who in her infinite and patient wisdom helped me to re-see my vision that I had formed awhile ago.  I am excitedly working on something new which I’ll unveil soon ~ and KAngel’s been a big part of it.

But since I had so much me time that I hadn’t planned on, I thought I’d just peruse a few blogs this morning that I follow and what a beautiful gift this morning’s array of blog posts was!  In fact, some of them were a few days old and then as I went through the archives, I dug deeper into a few that I hadn’t seen before and the next thing I knew, it was 6am and time to awaken the troops!

Ahh…but I received so many gifts this morning that I thought I’d reblog a couple of them.  This is a first for me so I’m not quite sure if I am doing it right, but here goes!

From Lead.Learn.Live

a-star-is-born

I ended up bookmarking the site www.calm.com and enjoying a bit of the other scenes as well…what a magnificent way to enjoy my coffee this morning!

Thanks for the inspiration of song choice from sunday-songbird-5 which is from Andrea Kelly (sorry, I wanted to put in the lyrics!)

All to the tunes of

I wish you a beautiful day as well!

Enjoy!

xo

Face the Sun!

Strength. Turn your face to the sun and shadows fall behind you.

Many of us have had tough times.  By a certain age, most of us have endured moments or longer of hard times and with that, have some experience in disappointment, sadness, fear, loss and such.  What I find most interesting though is how some people have endured hardships and yet they don’t allow those moments to define them.

Having been dealt the hand of breast cancer at age 34, I have experienced sadness, fear, loss and disappointment among other things…but that’s not to say that I haven’t been able to enjoy every sunrise, every cloud formation, every season and the precious moments of spontaneous hugs from my sons and family.   I’ve seen the darkness and I’ve seen the light.  Perhaps you feel that it’s not easy living on the roller coaster of life, a sentiment which I understand.  However, what brings me comfort is that with every nightfall, I know that in a few hours, there’s a sunrise waiting for me and it’s that sunrise I choose to concentrate on and ‘turn my face to’ everyday.  I feel grateful that I am here to experience it all ~ for without having experienced the darkness, how would we ever know how spectacular the sunrise is?

You own the power to choose everyday how you are going to face the day…

Turn your face to the sun and shadows fall behind you.

You’ll be glad you did!

xo

5 Minutes of Solitude…

It is only when we silent the blaring sounds of our daily existence

that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us,

as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts. K.T. Jong

For those of you who are energized by a challenges, I challenge you this week to give yourself 5 minutes of uninterrupted silence a day ~ not multi-tasking silence where you turned off the radio while driving to work ~ that doesn’t count nor does taking 5 minutes on the toilet and instead of reading, you sit quietly ~  nor does the 5 minutes before you actually fall asleep and have your head on the pillow ready for sleep to envelope your mind ~ but 5 minutes where you are conscious, quiet, without doing something else and you just sit.

I recently started doing this myself and at first it was hard for me as I like to either zone out in front of the tv if I’m going to be quiet or I like to read if I”m not chatting.  However, sitting quietly for 5 minutes without doing anything is a challenge.  I started making lists in my head of what I needed to do, wondering what the noises I heard downstairs were (did one of the kids drop something?) and the continuous thought of  ‘oh man, is 5 minutes up yet?” looped in my head.

So what I’ve done is started free writing during my 5 minutes which is akin to meditating, but offers my busy body a way to keep quiet for 5 minutes while doing something.  I am not quite sure if 5 minutes of solitude allows for free writing, but for now it’s working like a charm for me and perhaps it will for you as well.

Free writing for me has been me typing on my computer for 5 minutes uninterrupted, just allowing whatever words that begin to show in my head, a space on paper.  It’s just typing (or writing if you prefer) the stream of consciousness or unconsciousness that exudes from my fingertips without constraint.  And boy oh boy has it been interesting to read.  In fact, there have been times recently that I’ve gone over and beyond the 5 minutes as the words simply type themselves on the paper and continue to roll out in long, waves of sentences and paragraphs.

Sometimes it’s been just drivel that my fingers have typed, but some of the words/meanings that have come to fruition have been quite meaningful to my life and present situation.  The thoughts have had insight to my experiences and have been able to give proper responsibility where its due.

My Monday post today is simply to TRY for 5 minutes to be quiet and just listen to yourself…take a few moments for you.  Use it as an experiment.  You have nothing to lose except 5 minutes of worry, work or multitasking…give it a week and let me know how it goes…I’d love to hear if you already do this as I’d love the feedback…and if you’re just starting, let me know if you’d prefer I keep my challenges to myself!  Ha!

Happy Monday to You!

You’re worth 5 minutes…and more!

Be good to YOU!

xo