Have you seen the Netflix movie called The Discovery?
I watched it the other night and it brought up a lot of questions that maybe you have pondered as well – for example –
What happens after death?
I find The Discovery an interesting answer to that question. I would love to hear if you have seen the movie and what you thought of it. In case you haven’t heard of the movie, below is the trailer in case you’re interested.
Feel free to share any thoughts you may have!
Shine On!
xo
I got a note from WordPress today telling me that eight years ago today, I began my blog. It doesn’t seem that I have been writing for eight years to you all, but I’m assuming WordPress knows what it’s talking about, don’t you think? Ah, the benefits of blogging!
In eight years, much has changed in my life. My initial focus was to help other women battling cancer, specifically breast cancer as I endured it myself and I am still here. But as life developed, I have written about other subjects too including: poetry, pets, children, parents, relationships, Mother Nature, horseback riding, Alzheimer’s and Dementia, holidays, angels, spirituality, religion, Rabbit, Rabbit, photography, SendOutCards, amazing books and movies, inspirational quotes, life in general and even death because I had first hand experience with all of those topics. While I was enduring hardships, you were all there for me with your loving support and I am ever grateful. I wrote to share my experiences in hopes that I would be able to help someone else along that path.
I am ever grateful for the loving connections that have evolved through our blogging community which we have grown through our writings and by reaching out in kindness, generosity and always with a loving heart. Friendships have blossomed through our writings that have cemented many of us soul to soul in miraculous ways. From WordPress comments to emails to actual phone calls, I can count many deep friendships which span the world now for which I am honored to be a part of in this lifetime – and yet, we have never met face to face. But the love is there, without ever being in each other’s physical presence.
It’s so interesting to me that I have yet to meet anyone face to face that I met through blogging and yet I count many of you as true friends. What a gift this Presents of Presence has been for me! I pray that you feel the same way – that my writings, my comments and my love for all of you shines its heartlight and helps to raise the energetic vibrations of this world’s energy to encourage peace, love, compassion and understanding along with connections to all.
May your heart be lifted today and may your heartlight shine for all to see, for I see you out there dearest friends and I am ever grateful, as always, for our connections.
Shine On!
xo
I often wonder if those who have not learned of religion, find comfort in prayer. Is it mankind who believes in a force outside of themselves, an ethereal being of the Universe who magically pulls the puppet strings on events or without prior external religious knowledge, do they believe that we ourselves, under our own volition and efforts, make things happen?
What do you believe?
Brought up a Catholic, I believe in prayer as a way of healing, of connecting soul to spirit and of bringing much needed energy, fortitude and possibility into my life. I pray for others. I pray for myself. I pray in gratitude. I find comfort in prayer, be it the Rosary or my own meditative affirmations.
When quietly immersed in prayer, I feel whole, complete and at peace more than at any other time. But, I have also been known to cry out in prayer for help, a strangled beseeching to the ascended Almighty and the Universe Divine in supplication for aid, tears streaming down my cheeks as I beg forgiveness and for peace within my troubled heart.
Do you pray?
I have experienced lives exponentially changed through prayer, though mantras and affirmations, through meditation and through the most important piece – asking for help.
On this Sunday morning, I sit here in my home writing to you. All is quiet except for the occasional chirp and meow of one of the cats. Peace envelopes us here. With sunlight streaming through the windows, stillness surrounds our peaceful abode. My children are nestled asleep, safely in their bedrooms. I am ever grateful that they are with me today. There is a mother’s peace when our children, no matter how old, are sweetly sleeping in their beds. Watching their chests rhythmically rise and fall, their angelic faces void of any tension, I am grateful for how my prayers have been answered.
We raised two amazing children and even though we divorced, I am grateful for the union. Gratitude is always part of my prayer. Family is important and being alone is heartbreaking. The bond I share with my children is like no other and our precious bond has only increased over the years. It is solid. It is full of trust, love, kindness and honesty.
My prayers have been answered. Not necessarily the way I thought they should be, but in a beautiful way that is even better than I imagined. Sometimes we need to let go and let God and the Universe work in tandem to deliver what we could have never thought possible when we were struggling.
I pray that yours and mine (prayers) are answered today.
Shine On!
xo
“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
“Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!”
~ 1 Corinthians 13:1-8
I thought this was a lovely reminder on a blessed Sunday. May love and healing light fill your hearts, minds, souls and bodies each and every day. May you continue to shine your heartlights and be grateful for the love surrounding us all in each and every moment!
Shine On!
xo
Happy Valentine’s Day dear friends!
I wish you love and happiness today and always. May you always remember how cherished you are to those who love you (and to me!) and how grateful and honored I feel to be connected with you! May we send out kindness and love to those around us today and always. May we all feel the infinite love of God, the Universe, and the Divine in every moment! May we love ourselves and others. May we cherish our connections (both past and present) and increase them exponentially every day by our kindness, generosity of spirit and gratitude.
May we remember how loved we are, every single moment of every single day.
You are loved, dear friends.
Shine On!
xo
I thought I had scheduled this post to be written this week, but I guess I didn’t do it right…forgive the lateness of it…I’m posting it anyway. I am home and safe, just in a lot of pain, so I’ll resume soon I promise. In the meantime, here’s the one I had ready for you while I was gone. xo
I have my surgery tomorrow so I won’t be posting for awhile. I awoke this morning in a haze, writing in my 1/2 sleeping stupor as I so often do ~ dreaming of 3 posts in which I tell it like it is ~ much like https://misifusa.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/breast-cancer-boobs-oprah-and-dr-phil/.
But alas, I hopped out of bed instead of trying to remember them and now they are lost. Perhaps it is better this way.
I want to make some points though before I endure my 4th surgery this year…not that I don’t believe I’ll be back to write again next week ~ but since each day is a precious gift, I want to make sure that you enjoy The Presents of Presence no matter what…and that perhaps through my experiences and your own, you can feel the preciousness of the gift of today.
There are a few points that I want to make…
I learned with my first breast cancer surgery back in January 2002 that even though we are all connected, you must rely on yourself, for nobody can live your life for you. I remember that day every time I walk into an operating room because the memory in burned into my mind. I hugged and kissed my beloved hubby goodbye, dressed in the 2 hospital gowns and no-slip uniform slippers that they gave me. I didn’t want to let him go and nestled my head into his shoulder with such force as to hope to meld completely into him so as not to have to go in alone. He is my strength you know. But after a few moments, the nurse quietly pulled me from him and led me to the operating room where I walked in, praying that I’d make it through the surgery and walk out.
I had never felt so alone as the doctors and nurses rapidly readied me for my surgery. They were all business-like and I realized that I was alone ~ in my head, in my thoughts and in my strength. I remember saying prayers in my head, ones that I had learned as a child and as the anesthesia took over, they had become the mantra of ‘please help me God.’
One of the hardest lessons I believe that we have to learn is that this is our life and we are responsible for it. We can lean on others for help, for support and for love and happiness, but truly, the job comes down to us. After that first surgery, I realized that I needed to find my inner strength in order to survive and in order make my life, body, soul healthy again.
I also learned that we are only a soul encased in a body shell of the same structures. When you are stripped down to wearing the 2 uniform gowns and generic slippers, you aren’t wearing any jewelry, nor makeup or hairpins. You are just as you were born. It makes no difference how big your ego is, or how much money you have, or how good-looking you are, or how many children you have, or if you are gay or if you are straight or if you are any type of religion.
Your body reacts the same no matter who you are on the outside/inside. Your heart still needs to beat, your lungs still need air and you require your inner strength in order to heal properly. I have found after 13 surgeries, you are not a person usually when you are operated on ~ you are body which needs help and the professionals who surround you do their best to make that happen.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve felt my soul. I’ve had moments where I’ve looked out of my eyes as my soul and seen the world through my soul’s eyes. You can say that I am trying to fix my shell by this current surgery which is very true. And yes, I am doing it for me, so that I live with less daily pain and because it can be done. But I also know that it’s my soul who counts the most, not the shell which encases it.
I am not sure I am making sense today to you. Perhaps I should have made 2 different posts ~ because I know this isn’t the most congruent post I’ve written. I hope you will get my gist though and that it will make you think of yourself and your shell and soul…and your inner strength.
I long to make a difference in this world…to touch the hearts and souls of others through the experiences I’ve endured because without making a difference to one, I feel that it is all for naught. I feel like God gave me this burden to strengthen me, to teach me compassion, love, light and a heartfelt lesson of faith.
I want you to know that I stand by what I say ~ that I am reaching out to you through my blogs ~ to hold your hand when you are feeling down and need a friend. I can’t be your everything, but I can stand beside you and be with you on this journey.
I have had a blessed life, of that there is no doubt. I am loved and I know it ~ and for me there is no greater gift than to send out love. So please, make it a point everyday to send out love to others and most especially to yourself. You are loved. Be the candle that lights the way for another…pass it along and never let the light die out of your life!
Shine On!
xo
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
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
Don’t go through life. Grow through life.
Sometimes I think we mindlessly go through life, continuing the habit of work, eat, sleep, awaken repeat…we get into the routine of doing what needs to be done during each day because it needs to be done. Taking care of ourselves sometimes gets pushed aside in order to take care of everyone else’s needs and we allow routine and the easy thoughtless unmindful ways to take over.
Being that it’s Sunday, I thought this was a good time to broach the subject of taking care of ourselves ~ “the Sabbath is a day of rest” as my Mom puts it ~ is just the ticket to change the routine. If it’s an excuse you need to use in order to allow yourself some time to just ‘be’ and relax, well, then here it is!
Let me remind you that there are 24 hours in a day…and you can spare 10 minutes for yourself. The idea is to start at 10 minutes for you and then add minutes as you go. Perhaps a little meditation could be in order…or some free writing where you can just allow your thoughts some flight…or just taking a little time to look up at the sky and notice the beauty in nature that surrounds you.
Just going through life isn’t a life…you need to GROW through life so that you can experience all that life has to offer! I don’t want to look back at my life and wonder where the years went…I want to stroll down my own memory lane with many stops along the way, enjoying the laughter and even the tears of moments which impact my life and my family…I want to remember fun times and silly moments…I want to smile and feel peaceful for how I lived, how I treated others and even how I treated myself. I want to remember stretching out of my comfort zone to breathe happiness into my soul.
Enjoy this Sunday!
Grow through your life!
You are worth it!
xo
Many of our fears are tissue-paper-thin,
and a single courageous step
would carry us clear through them. -Brendan Francis
Lately I haven’t been sleeping as well as I’d like. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I go through periods of time where sleep evades me more often than not and right now I’ve not been sleeping well. I wake up in the middle of the night, unable to fall back asleep because my mind continues to whir and mindless chatter of what I need to do and what needs to be done by others plagues me. And then there is the fear of not getting everything done properly as I’m in charge of a lot these days…that fear alone can put me over the edge. But what I’ve found is that the fears are usually paper thin and unfounded…but in the middle of the night, they feel like I’m carrying heavy bricks.
So what I’ve begun doing is imagining that each brick is one of my fears and I begin to walk ~ baby steps of course ~ and as I do, I let go of a brick with each step. I simply drop it and allow my mind to tick it off the list that plagues me. I drop the brick of named fear into the abyss below me and I imagine that it goes away into nothingness ~ that it simply evaporates.
Sometimes I imagine that Universe/God catches it and turns it into dust as well, but that’s only if simply dropping it doesn’t actually make it go away. Sometimes those fear bricks have been known to not easily be released and that’s when my stepping out takes control because I’m still walking as I drop them and as I continue to walk, they are further away from me.
We all have fears which is sad because when we allow those fears to manifest, they can take over…which is why, I adore my baby steps! Do you carry fears? Do you sleep well? Can you see that much of what we fear isn’t anything more than worry emphasized?
Join me in our stepping away from our fears and into the light…drop your fears, make them a kite and fly those paper-thin thoughts right out of your head today! Let me know how it works for you ~ and what works for you! I’d love to hear more options for my nightly episodes.
Happy Monday to you! It’s the start of a new week! Enjoy!!
xo
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