Spirituality for Women Over 40

2006-07-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

The Power Of Choosing In Spirit, Mind and Body

By: Shelly Walker

Okay, I havn't worked out in six months. My back is killing me, my stomach is starting to ripple in a slight breeze, and I feel lethargic and dull all the time. My body is telling me that it's time to work out.

One of these days (tomorrow, right?) I'll listen.

How do we know when our Spirit needs some exercise? Because if we are truly going live healthy, balanced lives, we must exercise not only Body, but also Spirit and even Mind.
We know the symptoms of physical disease. What are the symptoms of Spiritual dis-ease?
Our individual Spirits, just like our bodies, have different needs, different ways to be healthy, and different "alarms" or ways to get our attention. For me, when I'm grumpy, disgruntled, a little blue for "no reason", the reason is usually that my Spirit is out of whack and I need to pay attention.

Because that's really what it's all about. We learn to pay attention to our physical health or else our bodies cry out with pain and disease. We must learn to pay attention to our Spiritual health or else our souls will cry out with pain and disease, which usually shows up in our emotions. And, sometimes, if we keep ignoring Spirit, the disease can eventually show up in our bodies, too.
I am a major advocate for Spirit-Mind-Body health. That's why I'm going to start working out again. From this moment, I will listen to my body, to my mind, and to my emotions, which are all sign-posts. They show me where my Practice needs to change or deepen. They show me the way to create perfect Health.

They show me the magic formula that works for me. The same is true for you. What makes you feel healthy physically? Spiritually? Mentally?

I don't know about you, but I'm choosing Health today!

Shelly Walker is an author, teacher and speaker who believes that every person can heal their past and become a fully empowered, happy individual. Shelly is the author of Awakened Power and the upcoming Parenting Keys. For more information, go to http://www.AwakenedPower.com.

Tell your friends about this site! This blog is provided by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise to go http://GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com.Denise Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, “Testosterone-Free Marketing” for women business owners. Go to http://MarketingForHer.com and click on “Get the Book!”

2006-07-21T14:40:00.000-07:00

Don't Be Afraid Of Those Three Little Words: I Need Help!

By: Shelly Walker

Why is it so hard for me to say those three little words? They just stick in my throat. No matter what I do, it doesn't seem to get any easier to say that one, small phrase:
"I need help."

Yuck! Just looking at the words makes me sick to my stomach! They look so pitiful, so needy.

Aren't I a strong, independent woman with power and intellect enough to spare?

Aren't I so chock full of pride and, yes, fear that I am sometimes unable to admit that I don't have it all together?

As in everything, there's a balance here between the needy, co-dependant self that says, "I can't do this. Someone save me!" and the strong, independent Self that says, "God within me is All-Sufficient. I need fear nothing."

So where do I strike that balance?

One way is by surrounding myself with people who recognize my true strengths...AND weaknesses...and love me despite of them all. Or because of them all.

I have learned to create relationships with people who say, "No, I can't rescue you today, but I can baby-sit your kids for an hour so you can have some time to work this out." Or they say, "Um, Shelly, I'm going to say this with as much love as possible: WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!" Or sometimes, they simply say, "I love you and believe in you!"

Sometimes I get a little resentful at the people who so mercilessly drag me out of my littleness. I was just settling in for a good pity party and here you come drag me out! But I can never stay resentful for long.

So how do I get out of "Superwoman" mode, as I call it, and ask for help?

First, I have to get really clear about what I'm asking. Am I really asking for support, or am I asking for the rescue squad? Do I want help or do I want 911? (And, by the way, when I do want to be rescued, I actually picture myself dressed up in gleaming tin, riding a giant, white horse. After I'm done giggling, I always feel better and more empowered to tackle the problem.)

Once I'm clear that what I'm really asking for is support, it's a lot easier for me to find my voice. I'm not needy, I'm human! Pride doesn't have to have a thing to do with it.

Ask. But don't ask me to rescue you. That shining knight stuff only works from the inside.

Shelly Walker is an author, teacher and speaker who believes that every person can heal their past and become a fully empowered, happy individual. Shelly is the author of Awakened Power and the upcoming Parenting Keys. For more information, go to http://www.AwakenedPower.com

Tell your friends about this site! This blog is provided by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise to go http://GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com.Denise Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, “Testosterone-Free Marketing” for women business owners. Go to http://MarketingForHer.com and click on “Get the Book!”

2006-07-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

Do You Want To Find A Meaning To Your Life?

By: Piercarla Garusi

Then you need to connect with a Higher Power, Someone Higher than you.
We all look for a reason in our lives and wonder why we are here. We look for a deep meaning, and we need it in order to feel fulfilment.

We need to know that we are important, that we have a purpose on this planet. We need to know we are doing something with our lives, that we are making a difference, that we are leaving a legacy, and that we are giving something back.

These are some of the fundamentals needs of human beings.

And the way to find a response to your questions is by connecting with Someone Higher than you, a Higher Power.

Someone who has created you: so you are wanted.Someone who has a plan for you: a plan of love and happiness.Someone who knows you intimately, all your unique qualities and strengths.Someone who love you unconditionally, and is always ready to give you support and encouragement.

And in connecting with this Higher Power you would also learn who you truly are.

And in order to connect with this Higher Power you simply need to open up to love and trust. It is very simple.

And you need to conduct your life by being true to yourself and your values, which gives direction to your choices and actions.

Are you ready to be truly fulfilled?

© Copyright Piercarla Garusi 2006- All rights reserved.

Piercarla Garusi is a Life Coach and NLP Practitioner, Director of PG Coaching Ltd. She is passionate about helping people unleash their power, overcome depression, anxiety, social anxiety, fear, anger, traumas, emotional abuse and just be well and feel good. She is also passionate about helping people connect with their souls and be the extraordinary person they truly are, develop their spirituality and create a life that makes them truly happy.

Tell your friends about this site! This blog is provided by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise to go http://GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com.Denise Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, “Testosterone-Free Marketing” for women business owners. Go to http://MarketingForHer.com and click on “Get the Book!”

2006-07-07T16:07:00.000-07:00

2006-06-30T10:06:00.000-07:00

Benefits Of Guided Meditation

By: Kelly Kauffman

Guided meditation is used by many people not only to relax from a busy day but also to tune into their own bodies and minds. Since days have become more stressful, the world has become more crowded and more worldly problems have risen, many people are finding comfort, safety and bliss in a few minutes of guided meditation a day. With the help of a guiding voice, many people who are new to meditation have found it easy to achieve a much needed quiet moment during the day. Guided meditation can help the user to focus his or her thoughts and block out any distractions in order to experience the pleasure of silence for a moment during the day. The voice assists the user and keeps his or her on track. Guided meditation helps people to follow the stages of meditation, allowing a person to go as deep into the process as he or she decides they would like to go.

The benefits of properly guided meditation can span from relieving migraine headaches to relaxing cramped muscles to a simple moment of pleasure, satisfaction and quiet. Over-stimulation and stress are both problems that many people deal with on a daily basis. These daily stressful situations and the exposure to too many over-stimulating activities can seem to be normal and accepted conditions that everyone takes for granted as standard. Although most people are dealing with these situations on a regular basis, it doesn’t mean that these situations do not still put stress and tension on the body and mind. There are many people who may feel stressed and hopeless about their current home or work situation. Most people think that a vacation or a break from their daily lives is the way to relive this stress. However, a retreat from basic stresses is only a temporary fix from the anxiety of many people’s lives. In order to have the ability to deal with the tensions that life can put on their body and mind, many people are turning to guided meditation to teach them how to handle their daily lives with ease, patience and a clear mind.

By creating a moment in the day to connect the mind, body and soul in a calm and hushed manner, many people are finding their stressful days don’t seem as stressful anymore. Guided meditation can help a person to realize the many options he or she has when dealing with the daily tensions of the workplace or home environment. By possessing the foundations of guided meditation, the situations that can usually seem impossible to stay calm through can now seem easy to think through and figure out.

Guided meditation is a great way to help a person just beginning the process to concentrate better and easily achieve the full benefits of a meditative moment. Guided meditation can also help advanced meditation students to hold their concentration and learn new and more developed techniques to make their minds and bodies go deeper into the meditative state.

Karen Kauffman, a well known freelance writer, prepared this article for Meditation CDs www.meditations.bz/

Tell your friends about this site! This blog is provided by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise to go http://GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com.Denise Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, “Testosterone-Free Marketing” for women business owners. Go to http://MarketingForHer.com and click on “Get the Book!”

2006-06-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

The Process Of Guided Meditation

By: Kelly Kauffman

There are many different methods of guided meditation. Since each person has a different goal when starting the meditation process, there are several ways to achieve these goals with diverse guided meditation programs. There are a few steps that the meditating person must go through in order to achieve a complete meditative state. Most of these steps in the process focus mainly on relaxation and the clearing of the mind. Since clearing the mind can be a difficult task to achieve, people who find interest in meditation turn to guided meditation to help them to center their minds and bodies. The guided meditation process can make meditating seem achievable and can help the user to feel more grounded and in touch with themselves rather than feeling lost while trying to quiet their mind.

There are many different ways to achieve a meditative state but most of these processes start by instructing the person to sit in a comfortable position. It is also very important that the person is in a quiet space with no distractions or sounds around that could divert the concentration that is needed. Guided meditation generally instructs the person who is meditating to quiet and stop the mind. This means that the person should release any thoughts from his or her mind and concentrate on nothingness. The meditating person should also make sure that his or her body is completely relaxed and there is no strain on any body part while sitting in the position.

The goal of a guided mediation session is to achieve a completely empty mind and a clear conscious. This moment of complete silence and peacefulness allows the person to experience what a feeling of whole calmness is throughout the body. This calm feeling usually makes the stress of everyday life melt away for many people. Once this feeling of calm has been experienced by a meditating person, he or she focuses on achieving this feeling throughout the day and not only during a meditation session.

Many guided meditation processes also include a mantra. A mantra is the expression of a sound from the meditating body. This expression of sound can also aid in the calming of the body and mind at once. The most common mantra that is expressed in guided meditation is the “Om”. By releasing this sound from the mouth, the person who is meditating finds it less complicated to eliminate excessive thoughts from the mind. Centering the mind and body in a quiet fashion is easily achieved with a mantra that is shown through a guided meditation session.

A meditative state should be achieved by the mediating person for about 15 minutes a day. However, everyone is different and many people will find that a more substantial amount of time is more beneficial for them. Through the use of guided mediation, many users have also found that the advice and process that is shown can be used throughout their day to relive stress and tension or to deal with difficult situations.

Karen Kauffman, a well known freelance writer, prepared this article for Meditation CDs www.meditations.bz/

Tell your friends about this site! This blog is provided by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise to go http://GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com.
Denise Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, “Testosterone-Free Marketing” for women business owners. Go to http://MarketingForHer.com and click on “Get the Book!”

2006-03-23T09:10:00.000-08:00

The Landscape of the Soul

By Sam Oliver

Through the years, we accumulate a series of experiences. Our tendency is to evaluate and simply reflect on what we have been through and what we have learned. This inward site into what we can no longer see with our eyes allows us to see through them through our soul.

The landscape of the soul creates a movement and a synchronistic pattern between our heart and our mind through the inner visions of our soul. When the heart and imagination join forces to look back or look forward, we are deepening our awareness of who we really are. This deepening of who we really are is our soul.

It has been said that "our hearts will not rest until we rest in thee." This is our journey in life. It is our journey home. It is the journey into the spacial quality of existence that brought us into this world. It is the journey of what is leading us through this life. And, it is the journey back to where it all began.

One could say that the infant and the elderly are more soul than body. As you and I develop our personality and ego, we begin to think we are somebody. Ram Dass calls this "somebody training." We begin to think we are real and act on this appearance of being as we move into adulthood. When we mature, we go back into what Ram Dass has called "nobody training."

We spend a great deal of time learning to develop independence from infancy only to lose it again as we die. It is the journey from innocence to grace. The human expression is a journey with many ups and downs. What keeps us on tract and often sane in an insane world is the "landscape of the soul." The landscape of the soul gives us strength to do the impossible and give us hope when there is none.

Even though all parts of the self needs to be embraced with scrutiny and unconditional love, there is something inside us perfecting our true nature. Our authentic self knows we are growing through life and simply going through life at the same time. This delicate balance between these two forces of nature enables us to stay on our path. It is the path a knowing who we are through the various experiences and expressions of our life. Insodoing, we learn to trust in our soul and find direction there when direction in life is not present.

Samuel Oliver, author of, "What the Dying Teach Us: Lessons on Living"For more on this author; http://www.soulandspirit.org

Tell your friends about this site! This blog is provided by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise to go http://GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com.
Denise Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, “Testosterone-Free Marketing” for women business owners. Go to http://MarketingForHer.com and click on “Get the Book!”

2006-03-15T12:29:00.000-08:00

To Thine Own Self Be True

By Sharron Myers

We have looked before on the concept of self-love and I would like to take the time into look into this in more depth.I

f you remember, we said that AGAPE love was an unconditional love and that we needed to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Let us look more closely at why we have so much difficulty in the area of loving and accepting ourselves. We will start by looking at two very basic questions.

1.)Why do we have so much difficulty loving ourselves without question?
2.)Why do we feel we need the approval of others to validate our worthiness?

These are big questions and the basis of our non-acceptance of ourselves. We were not born with a negative self image of ourselves, in fact, we were not even aware that we needed the approval of others. Acceptance of ourselves as individuals was a learning experience from those significant others who were around us. Some people were lucky and had a loving and encouraging environment, while others, sadly, grew up with condemnation and disapproval.

Because of disapproval that may have been experienced in our childhood years, many of us grew up with the generalization that “Since they did not accept me, I am unacceptable.” Through the repetition of key incidents in our lives we learnt to have a negative view of ourselves. The problem arises when we fail to realize that these were childhood events. We still see them retrospectively through the eyes of our inner-child. We must learn to stand back and put them in a different perspective.

As adults we may now realize that those who hurt us with their disapproval and criticism were acting in the only way that they knew how to act. Many did not realize the extent of injury that was caused to our psyche. It is up to us now to rid ourselves of these self-sabotaging thoughts about ourselves and face reality. We have two choices. We can either accept what was said about us and live with self-recrimination or we can choose to forgive those who said hurtful, un-accepting things to us and rethink the situation.

Face it, we were not all perfect children and we are not perfect as adults either. All people can never be all good or all bad. We have to come to the realization that we are human. We need to accept ourselves the way we are. That means accepting the bad along with the good. We all make mistakes, we all have weaknesses. This doesn’t mean that we stop trying to improve ourselves, but we must stop condemning ourselves.

We also must become aware of the things we want to change about ourselves because WE as individuals want improvement in these areas, not because we feel that others want us to change. Accepting a situation is the first step to achieving power over it. We can not live our lives for the acceptance of others. We need to live our lives honestly and freely.

Take the time to listen to your inner voice and find out who YOU really are. You are an individual and you don’t need to conform to what the world around you wants you to be. You need to discover who YOU really are and then gather the courage to let the real you be you. You have the power to be your own person.

Let us stop putting on masks to represent the people we think others want to see. Don’t feel you have to seek their approval. Take time to learn who you are and then let the real you shine through. You are a beautiful person just the way you are and are worthy of love. Learn to love yourself and you will see the world around you change for the better.

This article is bought to you by Sharron Myers Sharron Myers has been a teacher of Spiritual Truth for over 30 years. She also is a Certified Aromatherapist and Personal Development Consultant. Be sure to check out her site: www.sharron-myers.com To Live the Life You Want, Learn the Skills You Need www.sharron-myers.com

Tell your friends about this site! This blog is provided by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise to go http://GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com.
Denise Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, “Testosterone-Free Marketing” for women business owners. Go to http://MarketingForHer.com and click on “Get the Book!”

2006-03-08T16:23:00.000-08:00

Being On The Path..

By: Cynthia Cooper

Coincidences, déjà vu experiences, finding a parking space on a meter in downtown Chicago, are all surface indicators of being in the “flow.” But for more revealing insight, examine the quality of your intimate relationships.Being “on the path” means that you understand the divine nature of man. That is, you realize that there really is no dividing line between yourself and others. The only division that exists is that which is created by the human ego.

It also means that you realize that you are the physical embodiment of God and in so much as you are God, you must accept that you are Love. Therefore there is no need to find Love. Only fear prevents us from knowing this as truth.You believe that you have chosen this physical life to deepen your understanding of Love. You know that this is accomplished through the experience of relationship. With your understanding, relationships become the virtual laboratories where you will either blow things up or create something wonderful.

Each time you become involved, fear will surface to provide you with a choice; to trust or not to trust. You will choose trust. You choose trust because of the confidence you have in knowing that you and your partner are engaged in a sacred assignment; to learn the nature of Love. You have chosen to work together because you both possess the same or similar knowledge and beliefs about Love. You are aware that this is why you are attracted to each other.You will both learn and accumulate additional knowledge by the effect of your interactions. Your emotional responses will help you to determine just how well you are doing.

You discover that disharmony and pain are usually the effects of the ego, while harmony and joy are the effects of Love. Your intuition guides you to the best course of action. As you acquire more knowledge and understanding of Love, a new you emerges. Honest introspection becomes your most valuable tool; as it motivates you to make adjustments and corrections to personal interactions with others.

The more you learn about Love the more loving you become. Your life has new meaning. You immediately recognize the synchronicity in of all life. You realize your unique purpose. You now know that your gifts and abilities are part of the collective and meant to be shared. The Love that you have learned to give yourself, you freely and without judgment or fear give to others. You find that you are patient with those who do not know or have not experienced as much as you. In your quiet moments of introspection and reflection you realize the transformative power of Love.

You have chosen to trust and create something wonderful in your laboratory,instead of explosive and full of fear.A deep sense of love and appreciation emanates from your entire being as thoughts of your loving partner and others, who through their relationship, assisted you "on the path".The path that brought you from seeking Love to being Love.
Article Source: http://www.NewArticlesOnline.com
Cynthia Cooper, well known psychic medium and relationship expert brings insight and inspiration to those seeking to improve the quality of their intimate relationships. For more information go to www.spiritherapist.com or email at spiritual1019@yahoo.com

Tell your friends about this site! This blog is provided by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise to go http://GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com.
Denise Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, “Testosterone-Free Marketing” for women business owners. Go to http://MarketingForHer.com and click on “Get the Book!”

2005-11-24T12:40:00.000-08:00

7 Ways to Stay Spiritually Balanced

by Catherine Franz

When we find spirituality, or it finds us, the experience feels surreal. We begin to feel like we're walking on a tightrope between two different worlds. We become ungrounded and loose touch with the physical side of life. When our spiritual mission becomes clear, it is even truer. Learning to breathe and to walk between these two experiences until they merge can be a tough balancing act. It's easy to choose and get lost in the new experience because it feels so good and so right. Regular aspects in the physical world seem less important and get set aside, many times incomplete. This tightrope doesn't have the same thinness as the rope we think of in the circus. A spiritual path is actually on the ground and wider even though it feels like walking on air at times.

If you step to one side, you engulf yourself totallyin the awe of spirituality. The other, the physical world. And because of its alluring influence, it is easy to understand why we prefer to be there. There are ways to merge the two experiences. Here are seven techniques to help balance the tightrope:

1. Maintain or start new physical activities. Go running, play tennis, take a walk, or workout.
Allow love to pour into the tennis racket. This is a neat experience if you haven't tried it before. Allow the physical activity to merge with a spiritual part. Walk with a loving heart, say your favorite poem or prayer, and feel it in each step. Do the same when making beds, running errands, standing at the copy machine, taking the kids to soccer, or washing the car. This chases the doubt away and invites high attraction vibrations in.

2. Caring for others. Take care of your family, yourself, pets, and others in your life. Allow them the amount of space they need to learn, falter (yes, I said falter), and grow. Place yourself on that list, so, set time, and space aside for you as well.

3. Keep financially stable. It is easy to say, "Do what we love and the money will follow." Lean too much on the spiritual side and you stop taking action and the money dries up. This is like wishing to win the lottery without buying a ticket. One difference with balance the two -- the right people show up at the right time. People sometimes think that when you find spirituality, the money just finds you. This is the furthest thing from the truth.

It means that you will find it easier to attract what you need if you continue to take action. If this is a learning and growth period, it takes massive action -- action for learning and action for the regular action. As hard as this one is to balance and maintain, nevertheless it is feasible, millionsof people do so daily.

4. Spend more time planning and setting goals. Manifesting what we want still requires action and planning. Spirituality can nestle us so warmly and lovingly it's easyto set the needed action aside.

The level of balance is in the amount of flexibility you allow in the action plan. Complete each action with total openness of all that ispossible for what follows. Ask and allow the universe to send easier, faster steps. And be open to see then when they arrive. Ask, trust, and allow the universe's infinite wisdom to send you the answers. They are usually better than anything we usually arrive at ourselves. The tightrope is to balance trust with flexibility and space for expanded freedom and results.

5. Keep on giving. Spirituality is a gift that needs to flow. It can only continue to do so if people give. Thereare many ways to give and the method you choose will be theright one.

6. Allow room for real people and relationships. Other people ground us and connect us to the physical world. Yet,they must still allow us to evolve. People are another form of giving and receiving -- two necessary parts for good ground maintenance.

7. Receiving remuneration is a gift. Accept it as if it came from the universe asking you to continue the flow. When we receive, water continues to flow into our cup and allows our mission to continue its evolution. Asking for compensation allows both parties to continue the flow. Whenwe shift our perspective and see the need for flow, additional funds to appear. Enjoy spirituality in balance with both feet on the ground!

Tell your friends about this site! This blog is provided by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise go to http://www.GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, "Testosterone-Free Marketing" for women business owners. Go to http://www.MarketingForHer.com and click on "Get the Book!"

2005-11-20T21:05:00.000-08:00

A Fitting Memorial

By Denise Michaels

I just sent this in an email to Karen, my friend who just lost her husband, soulmate and best friend. Ernie and I attended the memorial service and wake today.

"What a wonderful memorial service and wake afterward. You did an amazing job. Everyone I talked to remarked about what a beautiful service it was. And you picked such an elegant space. The chapel was lovely and truly reflected the greatness that is Duncan.

Karen, I have a confession to make. I have a tough time with funerals and memorial services. Dabbing at my eyes in a vain attempt to stop the tears before they spill onto my cheeks. I'm a mess every time. And Ernie and I have been to what seems like more than our share the last couple years. Ernie's come to expect this of me. *wink*

As I listened to the speakers and singers today I thought why the tears?

The word that came to my consciousness was "regret."

I thought - why? What did I have to regret? I didn't have any "unfinished business" with Duncan.

Maybe I was feeling regret because even though this has been a good year - in fact a triumphant year - I'm close to my weight loss goal and finally getting my book out to the world - I know I'm still holding back. I've been acutely aware of that every day since I got the phone call that Duncan made his transition and passed away. Wow - we never know how long we have. It's important to live every day to the fullest like Duncan. But today there was more.

In all the tributes, the kind words and the party afterward, I kept thinking, "I'm not sure I ever told Duncan how much I appreciated his smiling, ebullient self. I would seek him out just to get a terrific bearhug, enjoy his smile and bask in his words of encouragement."

After leaving the wake, we took our mutual friend Art to the airport. I told Art and Ernie as we drove, "I don't think I ever told Duncan that. I can't even think why I wouldn't say those words to him. Gosh, we sure take people we like for granted sometimes."

There are a lot of lessons we can get from a death. It can be a reminder to take care of our health, live life more fully, get closer to God or Spirit or something else. But the lesson from Duncan's death is to be more cognizant about telling people how much I appreciate them and why. Be more present to what I see and like in others and more generous sharing that.

Years ago I took the Dale Carnegie class. The first assignment was to write a letter telling someone we cared about or loved - not just that we cared - but WHY we cared. Be specific in our acknowledgement. As we dropped Art off at the airport I said, "Art, I love you, I appreciate you as my friend and I value your wisdom." He just beamed.

I told Ernie, "That's how I want to honor Duncan - as my personal memorial to him - be more consciously aware of acknowledging others and take an extra minute to tell them why I care." That moment I felt Duncan's presence in the car. It was as if he was squished in our small back seat with his hand on my shoulder smiling and nodding.

Love you,

Denise!!

2005-11-20T00:55:00.000-08:00

Quotes on Immortality by Ernest Holmes

By Denise Michaels

Ernie and I will be attending the funeral tomorrow morning for our friend Duncan. Karen, his wife wants to have a memorial for her late husband that includes snippets from different religions. She asked me to come up with an appropriate quote from Ernest Holmes as a representation of Religious Science that would be comforting to those people there. She asked for quotes regarding immortality and how our souls and our spirits go on even after our lives here on Earth have ended.

These are the quotes I emailed to her last Friday:

"Even the best men feel that their lives here have been marred by incompleteness. Nine out of ten people believe in some type of immortality, which demonstrates that people not only wish to believe, but that – in the face of all difficulties, disappointments and disillusionments - they actually DO believe!"

"Life is good and God is good. Why not accept this and begin to live? No man need prepare to meet his God, he's meeting him everyday and each hour in the day. He meets him in the rising sun, in the flowing stream, in the budding rose, in the joy of friendship and love, and in the silence of his own soul."

"There is something divine about us which we have overlooked. There is more to us than we realize. Man is an eternal destiny, a forever-expanding principle of conscious intelligence... the ocean in the drop of water, the sun in it's rays. Man, the real man, is birthless, deathless and changeless!"

"And so we prepare not to die, but to live. The thought of death should slip from our consciousness altogether; and when this great event of the soul takes place, it should be beautiful, sublime... a glorious experience. As the eagle, freed from it's cage, soars to it's native heights, so the soul, freed from the home of heavy flesh, will rise and return unto it's father's house, naked and unafraid."

All of these quotes came from "The Science of Mind" by Ernest Holmes pages 387and 388 in the chapter on "Immortality." Holmes was the founder of Religious Science. Discover more about Religious Science at http://www.religiousscience.org or at http://www.rsintl.org

Tell your friends about this site! This blog is provided by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise go to http://www.GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, "Testosterone-Free Marketing" for women business owners. Go to http://www.MarketingForHer.com and click on "Get the Book!"

2005-11-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

Spirituality -VS- Religion
(Part 2 of 2)

By Deborah Sexton

The discovery of deeper truths are attainable when we overcome our ego and separateness. Silence within enables knowledge, clear thinking, insight, and ultimately the whole truth we are seeking. When we dwell within the silence we experience how we are one with the whole of cosmic consciousness.

Simple Spiritual Truths and Suggestions:
* Every human being has a purpose.
* Human beings are spiritual by nature.
* You accomplish nothing by comparing yourself to others.
* No human being is without intelligence, wisdom, and knowledge.
* Every human being is the sum of their experiences, and every effect is the sum of its causes.
* The worth of the human species is subject to its complementary relationship with all other life.
* Much of what is believed in religion is based on ideas of humans promoting self-serving agendas.
* There is always conflict between those who are enlightened and those who focus on superficial, material pursuits.
* In order for life to have meaning, knowledge of the Light (supreme universal intelligence) must exist.
* You are the ultimate decision maker of what is meaningful to your mind.
* Once you experience truth for yourself, you are never the same again.
* Human beings cannot exist without affecting those they encounter.
* Realization and transformation are deeper than belief or faith.
* There are always signposts when you are on the right path.
* You alone are responsible for your actions.
* Life is meaningless without Light.
* Spirituality is not religion.
* Life is a reflection of oneself without ego.
* The divine nature of a human being has to be discovered inside oneself.
* Grasp only from society that which is rational and reasonable.
* Spiritual progress and peace only come from within oneself.
* Genius is formed by efforts of original thinking, endeavoring to form new views or truths, rather than by dwelling in the ideas of others.

Copyright Deborah Sexton 2005, Deborah is an Ordained Minister and Reiki Master. She offers Home Study Courses In Reiki with on line Reiki Certification and other healing Modalities She also offers Home Study Courses In The Ministerial field with Ministerial Ordination. Come visit our website to learn more at http://www.TheLightBarrier.Org

Tell your friends about this site! This blog is provided by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise go to http://www.GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, "Testosterone-Free Marketing" for women business owners. Go to http://www.MarketingForHer.com and click on "Get the Book!"

2005-11-14T15:11:00.000-08:00

My Shocking Visit with Karen

By Denise Michaels

Karen called me this morning at 6:30 am while I was out walking. I got the message from Ernie and called her back as soon as I got home. We talked for a little while. She alternates between amazingly strong and understandably teary at moments.

I had a couple meetings but afterwards my intuition (which I always figure is God) told me to go over to the house for a visit. I stopped at the whole foods market first, bought a couple bags of groceries and dropped by unannounced. I knew if I called in advance and asked she would say something like, "Oh that's okay, you don't need to do that."

She looked so incredibly normal. Not tear-streaked, though I know she's cried a lot. Not tired - though she told me she hasn't slept well the last three nights. Her hair was done and she had lipstick on and the shocking part was the straightforward honesty and courage with which she is handling having the man she's loved for so many years wrenched from her life. Her light shines through. She's still Karen: funny, smart, gracious and kind.

Karen has total trust in God that all will be well. Her gratitude for everything she's had in the past and everything she has now is palpable and makes me feel humble by comparison. She has some dear friends staying with her for a couple more days - so she is not alone at this time and she's grateful for that friendship as well.

She's been so busy returning messages, handling phone calls and making arrangements she hadn't eaten since waking up - and it was about noon when I dropped over with crackers, dip fruits, veggies, salmon, chicken and a Dutch Apple Pie. (Karen always liked dessert and got a big smile when she saw the pie in the grocery bag. Something sweet.) She invited Ernie and I back to dinner this evening.

When she hugged me she said, "Denise, this is so weird." I told her I couldn't even imagine how tough it would be. After years of having Ernie in my life every day - talking, sharing, hugging, making decisions, making love - all those normal couple things and then suddenly he's gone - that would tear me up. She nodded silently. But by drawing on her strength and asking for divine guidance during this difficult transition I know she'll be okay. We all can be okay during tough times no matter what the circumstances. It's always our choices that make the big difference.

Karen sees this as the next phase of her life to learn and grow from. Not one she would have wished for - but one she said she will figure out and discover as she goes along. As she walked me to the door she said, "I don't want people to think of me as 'the widow.' I don't want them feeling sorry for me. I've been blessed with 17 fantastic years with a wonderful, spiritual man - that's a lot more than a lot of people ever have."

All the best,

Denise Michaels

2005-11-12T23:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the Blessings You've Brought to My Life

By Denise Michaels

Last night I posted in this blog about my friend Duncan. I got the phone call just over 24 hours ago from a mutual friend that he made his transition. For whatever reason his time on planet earth was over.

Duncan and Karen were generous with their heart, their time and their money. They were very successful people. This summer they started a charitable foundation and funded it with over a million dollars. That was his personal mission. I was talking with a girlfriend on the phone today and she said she got chills as she realized that when Duncan announced this accomplishment he said, "Now I'm happy. Now I can relax and take it easy."

Ernie and I lost four people who were close to us in 2004 (this is the 5th). His mom made her transition three years ago. With each transition what I take with me are the wonderful memories of how each person and friendship impacted my life for the better.

The people who said, "You can do it, Denise," Or, "Trust yourself" and "I'm so proud of you." They were God in human form pushing me to do and be my best. Each one - Duncan, Bruce, Mary-Beth, Rhonda and Kenny had their own way. They pushed me to stand a little taller and feel a little more courageous in my own skin to do some of the things I'm doing now as an author, a speaker and a bit of an outrageous and authentic personality. Living my mission.

If you've ever wondered where I get the galloping chutzpah to say and do some of the crazy things I do - believe me I wouldn't have two years ago. I know none of us gets out of here alive. We have one opportunity to make our mark in the world. Life is no dress rehearsal. I don't want to come to the end of my life and say, "If I only had...."

With Duncan's passing I'm sifting through the memories of his encouragement, his bearhugs, his ever-present smile and his corny sense of humor. He was like this God-light in jeans, cowboy boots and a Hawaiian shirt. I always knew I was blessed to know both Karen and Duncan as a couple - both truly stellar people.

Karen now becomes even more dear as a friend. I've made a vow to myself to spend more time with her as she now makes a big unexpected shift - from wife to widow.

As tough as it's been - having all these deaths of important people - there's been a good learning lesson for me. I'm closer to Spirit and relying on that conscious connection with God more consistently. I'm more compassionate and more grateful. I know how to support a person who's just lost a loved one. I'm at ease giving them permission to talk, unfold and say what needs to be said. I also have more patience and understanding about the process of grieving and it's value.

Don't miss an opportunity to encourage another person, see their light and potential (the God inside) and give them a smile and a hug. You might not always see the difference in them right away. It might take awhile for your words to percolate inside until they bubble over and use them for good in their life. But you never know. You might just change their life for the better in ways that go wayyyyyy beyond the reach of your own lifespan.

Thank you Duncan, Bruce, Mary-Beth, Rhonda and Kenny.

Mission accomplished.

All the best,

Denise Michaels
Author, "Testosterone-Free Marketing"

2005-11-11T21:34:00.000-08:00

Please Send a Prayer or
Good Thoughts if You Read This

If you're reading this you may not know me from Adam or maybe you're one of my online friends just surfing through this new site. It's a sad time for me and I feel like I sort out my thoughts best through writing.

Three weeks ago I got a call from my friend Karen that her husband Duncan was in the hospital with cancer. He had been admitted to the hospital ten days before with all kind of problems after going with a group and climbing Mt. Whitney - I believe one of the highest peaks in the US. He wasn't feeling well before the climb - but he wanted to go anyway. He didn't make it to the top before he and a couple others started back down at about 11,000 feet.

Ernie and I just got a phone call a few minutes ago from a friend this evening that Duncan's body stopped fighting and he made his transition today. He was 51. Karen is 61. We're both stunned by this. It was only about a month ago that he started having problems and was admitted to the hospital.

I called yesterday and spoke with Karen's assistant Teresa at their home. She told me the two of them were still at UCLA and doctors were trying to determine what kind of cancer he had so they could figure out the best way to treat it. Apparently Duncan died of a rare form of adrenal cancer.

Karen and Duncan were the most amazing, dynamic couple. They were very successful, charismatic, and extremely giving people. Earlier this year they set up a charitable foundation and happily gifted over a million dollars to help others less fortunate.

You could see their deep, abiding love for each other in the way they spoke to each other. I'll never forget how she would say, "He's my hero!"

He will be missed.

Peace and blessings,

Denise Michaels
Author, "Testosterone-Free Marketing"

2005-11-11T15:48:00.000-08:00

Spirituality -VS- Religion
(Part 1 of 2)

by: Deborah Sexton

Recently when someone asked me what religion I am I was perplexed.

To be a religion means you hold a particular doctrine. I thought about it all day and could not come up with any doctrine that I hold as a religion.

The only religious doctrine I might hold is that if it exists than God created it - I believe in it. As I look at life I see duality in all things, male and female. I see cycles and things that work and operate together. If life was not created by a high intelligence than the things that exist would be chaotic and unable to work together.

Because I do not affiliate with a religion does not mean that I am not spiritual. I am constantly going inward and do not rely on others answers, beliefs, opinions and remedies. I seek what is right for me.

What is spirituality? As the mind moves away from the connections and chaos of everyday life (towards the silence within), the senses utilize higher mental and spiritual faculties able to provide a direct perception of the universal knowledge base of illuminations, intuitions and revelations. By moving deeper within this silence (away from our feelings, emotions, judgments and prejudices), we enter a realm of pure rational thought where integral knowledge and understanding are abundant.

I find that when we hold a doctrine it separates us not only from each other but from God and ourselves. It puts limits on us and traps us in dogma. Through these limits we stagnate because of tunnel vision. Since God's truth is too much for us to fathom (grasp) at one time and must be learned line upon line and precept upon precept, by shutting out other truths we begin to die spiritually. How could anyone think they know and hold all the truth of God? This is in fact what a religious doctrine is telling ourselves and others, that we have nothing more to learn or to accomplish. We than begin to judge those who do not hold our particular doctrine as anti God.

(Please come back and visit this blog again for part 2 of this article.)

Copyright Deborah Sexton 2005, Deborah is an Ordained Minister and Reiki Master. She offers Home Study Courses In Reiki with on line Reiki Certification and other healing Modalities She also offers Home Study Courses In The Ministerial field with Ministerial Ordination. Come visit our website to learn more at http://www.TheLightBarrier.Org

Tell your friends about this site! This blog is provided by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise go to http://www.GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, "Testosterone-Free Marketing" for women business owners. Go to http://www.MarketingForHer.com and click on "Get the Book!"

2005-11-08T20:44:00.000-08:00

Cowboy Spirituality
(Part 4 of 4)

By Phyllis Coletta

The high-powered city boys are unwinding, and laughing loud and plenty by Day Three in the wilderness with Johnny and his buddies. Yet Johnny Ray’s powerful spirituality draws out the pain and fear in people, bubbling troubles to the surface to be healed. By the world’s standards, Johnny’s not an “educated” man but inevitably, after everyone has retired one guy will hang behind, wanting to stay up and unburden himself to Johnny Ray, wanting to reveal a fear, a secret a pain because Johnny is like a shaman and a shrink. No, he’s much better than a shrink because he is free of the shackles of dense theories and years of conformity. Johnny Ray just brings his living presence to the campfire and it’s as real and intense as the flame itself, which draws out the darkest secrets of a powerful big city surgeon.

When I went out on the trail through the Wet Mountains of Colorado with Johnny and seven other folks I was transformed by this man. This is what happens in the presence of truly spiritual people. I have a degree in theology, I have been in churches throughout the world, joined sanghas to meditate and practiced with a Hindu yogi. But I have never met anyone with a more powerful belief than Johnny. He is pure faith in the body of a rodeo man; he is fearless and lighthearted, sure and calm. As we’d wend our way up the magnificent Rockies I’d hear Johnny at the back of the train, leading his pack horses and singing at the top of his scrawny lungs. I’m sure I’ve never heard anything as beautiful as the sound of Johnny singing on the trail.

Johnny Ray will be moving on from his stint in Colorado, living the nomadic life of a real cowboy. Back to Texas to rodeo, then maybe off to Alaska to guide more pack trips. Along the way, he’ll regale everyone with his quick wit and cowboy wisdom. He’ll happily give away his love of life, his faith in God, dispensing deep joy like warm slices of his apple pie.

How does a man who has suffered so much come to such peace and joy? Johnny’s answer is uncompromising: God saved him from his trials. His good Lord created the blanket of stars he watches with wonder, the cold creeks he bathes in and the magnificent mountains he climbs. Staying close to God’s greatest creation, Johnny found a way to forgive himself. There is nothing we can do that cannot be forgiven and Johnny Ray is living proof of this.

We are so lucky to have Johnny Ray here with us. His cowboy spirit is so big it touches you right now, where you live. Through his faith and courage, his simple song of joy on the trail, we are healed. He is the manifestation of the power of love and forgiveness. Who would think that a rodeo cowboy could teach us so much about faith in God? Having already experienced the worst of hell, Johnny is back to help show us how to live a life as beautiful and magnificent as the Rockies he adores. His cowboy spirituality teaches us simplicity and strength.
“The good Lord made these mountains,” Johnny says, his blue eyes sparkling, “there is nothing He can’t do.”

Phyllis Coletta is a "recovering lawyer," cowgirl, writer, teacher, and inspiration to folks in general, especially at Bear Basin Ranch where she and her partner run KB Mountain Adventures. For more info, see http://www.kbmountainadventures.com

2005-11-05T00:03:00.000-08:00

Cowboy Spirituality
(Part 3 of 4)

By Phyllis Coletta

So he has suffered the worst imaginable, accidentally killing his own child. Somehow, praying and pleading and hanging tough he made peace and the man rejoices every single day. As he worked in dark barns with his horses he prayed, prayed for more faith, for the courage to take the next breath and live another day. Living life in a simple way, close to God’s earth and its creatures, Johnny never felt inclined to lose himself in drink or pity.

There was work to be done – horses to be shoed for trips into the mountains. Simple acts of hard work in solitude helped him make it through one agonizing day after another, until he found forgiveness.

Years after an event that would paralyze most folks, Johnny takes his train of packhorses into the Colorado mountains. As they wind up any summit, revealing more gorgeous cascading mountains and endless verdant green valleys Johnny Ray whoops like a little kid. Atop his horse, arms outstretched, his cowboy hat tipped back to God, “Thank you, Jesus,” he says.

On these pack trips, Johnny hauls out in the wilderness with uptight doctors and stressed out corporate executives. There, after a long day riding scary mountain trails Johnny soothes their souls with monstrous cowboy cooking – steaks the size of Texas, mounds of mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables, butter-fried bread and fruit.
“Y’all people got to EAT now!” he yells at his shell-shocked clients.

Johnny Ray’s cooking slows you down in a comfortable, warm way. You can feel yourself slipping into soft openness in your belly after a Johnny meal. Then he’ll stoke the fire and talk about growing up in Texas, wild and crazy stories about roping bulls and rodeoing, killing his precious injured horse and raising a house-trained donkey who watched TV. The corporate execs have to roar laughing, picturing Johnny and his donkey on the couch watching Jeopardy.

Phyllis Coletta is a "recovering lawyer," cowgirl, writer, teacher, and inspiration to folks in general, especially at Bear Basin Ranch where she and her partner run KB Mountain Adventures. For more info, see http://www.kbmountainadventures.com

Tell your friends about this site! This blog is provided by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise go to http://www.GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, "Testosterone-Free Marketing" for women business owners. Go to http://www.MarketingForHer.com and click on "Get the Book!"

2005-11-01T14:41:00.000-08:00

Cowboy Spirituality
(Part 2 of 4)

By Phyllis Coletta

Johnny Ray’s eyes sparkle like Santa Clause but damn, it would take three of him to make one Santa, he’s so wiry. His cowboy buddies make fun of his “bony, pointy butt” but that little butt can ride a bull like nobody’s business. Johnny is strong and lean because he holds onto nothing – no grudges, anger, resentment, or fear except for the New York subway. Funny that a man who rides wild animals and confronts bears in the wilderness would wither like a little girl when faced with the scary humans underground.

He is so in love with his God and his earth that he just can’t fathom the anger and ugliness that keep his fellow humans in chains. His hands can clench a rope to knot up cattle but they hold tight to nothing inside himself. He can see people who grip fear and anger with white knuckles because when you sleep under the stars, you know things that others don’t.

Johnny Ray’s arms are battle guns, themselves mini-mountains built from years of saddling horses, clearing trails, holding tight to the bull. The chest that houses his big cowboy heart has been cracked open more than once and it too comes in various shades of hairless white. A shorn and uneven mop of brown hair covers his near bald skull in the unburnt places. He is a beautiful man.

“They want me back for more skin grafts,” he says wryly, “but I want none of it.”
The grin is endless, the bad-boy-let’s-wrassle-you-ain’t-seen-nothin’-yet grin as wide as the sky he sleeps under. Yet, when you hear the whole of Johnny’s story, you wonder how he can be so happy, given his litany of suffering. Explosions, fires, and mean bulls are not the worst of it. Johnny Ray has lived every parent’s nightmare. When his son was four years old, Johnny backed over him with a truck, killing him instantly. The little boy is buried near Johnny’s home. Etched on his gravestone is a picture of Johnny, his horse, and a cross.

When Johnny talks about this unthinkable accidental killing of his child there is a peace in him, now several years after the event. He has two other children, lovely daughters whom he adores, and he is a loving father. After the accident, many times he thought about jumping off a bridge but the thought of his little girls held him until God could rebuild his heart. He attributes his present state of happiness to the power of God’s love that lit the way to self-forgiveness.

Phyllis Coletta is a "recovering lawyer," cowgirl, writer, teacher, and inspiration to folks in general, especially at Bear Basin Ranch where she and her partner run KB Mountain Adventures. For more info, see http://www.kbmountainadventures.com

Tell your friends about this site! It's provided by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise go to http://www.GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, "Testosterone-Free Marketing" for women business owners. Go to http://www.MarketingForHer.com and click on "Get the Book!"

2005-10-30T20:46:00.000-08:00

Cowboy Spirituality
(Part 1 of 4)

By Phyllis Coletta

It’s said that religion is for those afraid of hell but spirituality is for those who have been there. My friend Johnny Ray is a rodeo cowboy from Texas, not someone you might equate with spirituality, but having literally been through the fires of hell, he is closer to God than anyone I know. He wears dirty old cowboy boots - no preacher’s clean vestments or collars - but I have never met a man more deeply devoted to the service and the glory of God. His life is a tribute to these immutable spiritual laws that have sustained him: there is nothing we can do that is “unforgivable,” and there is no place, time, or state where God is absent.

Johnny Ray’s long-suffering momma says he has more lives than a cat. At five years old he suffered third degree burns over most of his body when he and his brother decided to make a gasoline fire under the house. The medical guys declared him dead four times but you just can’t kill Johnny Ray. Not only did he survive, but he spent a year in the hospital, raising hell.

A rodeo cowboy and wanderer, Johnny’s way of life is an accident waiting to happen. A few years ago he was kicked in the chest so hard by a bull that a hematoma the size of a honeydew melon mushroomed over his heart. Once again the doctors panicked but they just don’t understand. When your heart’s as big and strong as Johnny’s, a measly bull kick won’t make a dent.

A cowboy’s heart is different that way. It sees and senses things from below the earth, and then it gets stronger, peaceful, giving. Maybe it’s from long days in the sun, shoeing horses or rustling cattle. Somehow, these men are deeply connected to truth and their wisdom is simple and more powerful than any college philosophy tome:
“Make yourself happy in your heart,” Johnny says smiling.

Because of the burn, Johnny’s face is a weathered patchwork of different shades of tight and wrinkled white skin, like a beautiful mountain flower. His one remaining eyebrow is always raised up, like he’s in a constant state of surprise. The other eyebrow he lost, not in the childhood fire, but in a construction accident, when welding a propane line that he was told was shut off.

Phyllis Coletta is a "recovering lawyer," cowgirl, writer, teacher, and inspiration to folks in general, especially at Bear Basin Ranch where she and her partner run KB Mountain Adventures. For more info, see http://www.kbmountainadventures.com

Tell your friends about this site. It's provided by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise go to http://www.GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, "Testosterone-Free Marketing" for women business owners. Go to http://www.MarketingForHer.com and click on "Get the Book!"

Going Beyond - Freedom from Religious Hierarchy (Part 3 of 3)

2005-10-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

By Tony Cuckson

When you honour your soul experience by refusing to allow any authority other than your own you will arrive at the homeplace of our heart. You will arrive at your birthright that is joy.

Joy is not essential within the institutional mind. Order is essential. This order is brought about by the orthodoxy of words. Within the institutional mind words often lose their essence. Lovers and poets cannot carry such words. They refuse to carry the burden of historical words that have been pulled up by their roots and made to fit the institutional creed.

Hierarchy likes the political mind. It does not like the heart of the mystic. The mystic within all hieratical organisations has always been given a hard time. Einstein had a hard time within the orthodoxy of science.

The mystic dances life. The mystic lives the paradox of life. He/she looks crazy. They love the flow of the unknown. You cannot tie the mystic to a creed, a book or a place. The mystic belongs nowhere and thus paradoxically the mystic belongs everywhere. They are the free flow of love.

As Jelaluddin Rumi (1207-1273) the Sufi mystic reminds us: -
Love lit a fire in my chest, and anything that wasn’t love left: intellectual subtlety, philosophy, books, school.

All I want now to do or hear is poetry.

Translation by Coleman Barks. From Birdsong.

A mystic is free of all institutional learning. They drop all knowledge. They are empty. They allow the Divine to pour through them. They know that life is enough. All through history the mystic has been forced to come into line with orthodoxy. Often this has been accomplished through brutality.

One of the most beautiful mystics was Jesus. He was a beautiful, crazy Divine filled, feminine, angry man who had one authority. This was his experience of at-one-ment with the source. This was not a creed. This was the living of love. This man of beauty was crucified. Romans or Jews did not crucify him. He was crucified by the institutional mind. This is the fixed mind that will not and cannot surrender to the beauty of unknowing. The institutional mind is still crucifying his teaching.

Come out of the prison of the institutional mind and into the circle of love! You need no other authority than that of your heart. You alone need to learn to trust it. It knows the place you long for and the place you have never left. To know this is to know that the blessing is already here. This is the blessing of knowing who you are. It is to know that you are beyond anything and everything. There is nothing that can contain you. You are the dance of forever enough.

© Tony Cuckson 2005 Tony is a writer, storyteller and Anamcara. This Celtic term means “Soul Friend.” He specializes in providing insight for the spiritual journey, Blessings for YOU, words of wisdom and finding inner peace. Visitors to Irish Blessings Matter website and Tony’s Blog get the opportunity to develop a purpose driven life through articles, newsletters and other programs.
Get your free report called “7 ways to it’s a wonderful life” at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.com/, or go to Tony`s Blog at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.info/

Tell your friends about this site. It's provided by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise go to http://www.GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, "Testosterone-Free Marketing" for women business owners. Go to http://www.MarketingForHer.com and click on "Get the Book!"

Going Beyond - Freedom from Religious Hierarchy (Part 2 of 3)

2005-10-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

By Tony Cuckson

Hierarchy and the institutional mind keeps you from being a lover. It ties you up in words. It keeps you from the real journey. Allegiance to any hierarchy can make you, over time, institutionalised. There comes a time when you cannot stand-alone. You cannot stand the experience of no-thing-ness that is beyond ego. You cannot go beyond what is fixed. You cannot go beyond the idea of God into the knowing of God.

The Divine loves you unconditionally. The Divine knows love through you and you know the Divine through love. You are both seeking each other. However, you have to go alone. Lovers always have to go alone. This is not a ménage à trois. You, as a lover, go along the path trodden by no other than yourself. You sing your own song. This is the song that only the Divine recognises. You are a unique vibration of the Divine. The Divine harmonises with you and is always in harmony with you. You will not find your uniqueness within the institutional mind.

You do not need institutions to tell you who you are. You do not need the prison of the known that is belief. Your soul longs to fly into eternal unknowing. It wants to fly into the ever creative becoming. It wants you to die in each and every moment so that love can be born anew within you. Love cannot be institutionalised.

We will as a species mature when we commit to authorising our own lives. When we commit to be who we are we will leave the safety of the institutional mind and enter real communion. There will be no one between the Beloved and you. When this happens you are graced. You are grace. You become the dance. We become at one with it all. The ego becomes a thin place. This is the thin place where you cross over into eternity. This is happening right now. It is always happening right now. This happening is heaven within.

© Tony Cuckson 2005 Tony is a writer, storyteller and Anamcara. This Celtic term means “Soul Friend.” He specializes in providing insight for the spiritual journey, Blessings for YOU, words of wisdom and finding inner peace. Visitors to Irish Blessings Matter website and Tony’s Blog get the opportunity to develop a purpose driven life through articles, newsletters and other programs.
Get your free report called “7 ways to it’s a wonderful life” at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.com/, or go to Tony`s Blog at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.info/

Tell your friends about this site! It's provided by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise go to http://www.GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, "Testosterone-Free Marketing" for women business owners. Go to http://www.MarketingForHer.com and click on "Get the Book!"

Going Beyond - Freedom from Religious Hierarchy (Part 1 of 3)

2005-10-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

By Tony Cuckson

In my homeplace of Corrogue there is hierarchy. There is the hierarchy of two becoming one. There is “little me” and the Divine. Two lovers needing each other. Two lovers needing and wanting each other beyond all else. The two becoming the experience of at-one-ment. There is the experience of "little me" coming home to a place I have never left and can never leave. This is the place of the lover.

Lovers mistrust the hierarchical. Lovers are their own authority. Lovers do not need clergy, gurus, priests, churches, and temples in order to go beyond. Lovers only need life and the life of abundance. Lovers do not need belief. Belief, for the lover, is a prison. Lovers only desire to know the Beloved. Their longing is to be love. What to believe when you know you are love?

Hierarchy by its very nature is dogmatic and orthodox. Within hierarchy there are strata and there is the strategic. Hierarchy clings to the word and to the accepted creed. It is a fixed thing. Hierarchy abhors change. By its very nature it cannot flow. It is often over burdened by the law – the word. With hierarchy is the law and usually this law becomes the one way. This is what I call, “the institutional mind.” This institutional mind smothers the very thing it professes to love.

For many people the embrace of the hierarchical is a safe bet. It means you are not required to authorise your own knowing. You are not required to know the beauty of the eternal as a living experience. You can deny your uniqueness. You can give over the responsibility for your soul to another.

The institutional mind does not invite wisdom. Wisdom embraces metaphor, poetry and paradox. The institutional mind cannot contain paradox. Paradox is illogical. Paradox is heart centred. Fact and the literal is all that the institutional mind can allow. The institutional mind does not embrace the poet, the lover, the dancer and especially not the feminine. At least not for long. The institutional mind loves the fixed. It loves that which can be contained.

Hierarchy makes the lover’s heart ache for that which is higher. The holy longing gets quashed amidst all the words, all the ritual that becomes repetitious rather than joyous. Ritual becomes not a place of threshold but a key that locks that very door of threshold. The door to beyond is locked because hierarchy and the institutional mind lies to you. It tells you the Divine is beyond you. It tells you that life has meaning only beyond the threshold of death. It promises you a future it does not know. It promises you something that only the lover can know – the one courageous enough to go naked and alone into a place of unknowing.

(Parts 2 and 3 of this article will be uploaded with the next posting.)

© Tony Cuckson 2005, Tony is a writer, storyteller and Anamcara. This Celtic term means “Soul Friend.” He specializes in providing insight for the spiritual journey, Blessings for YOU, words of wisdom and finding inner peace. Visitors to Irish Blessings Matter website and Tony’s Blog get the opportunity to develop a purpose driven life through articles, newsletters and other programs.

Get your free report called “7 ways to it’s a wonderful life” at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.com/, or go to Tony`s Blog at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.info/

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Spirituality: The Missing Link in Mind-Body Medicine

2005-10-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

by Anonymous

May 30, 2005 -- It is becoming increasingly apparent that the missing link in the evolution of traditional mind/body medicine, including the treatment of mental illness, may very well be the use of spirituality and religion.

Karen Ryan of Asheville, NC, knows firsthand the miraculous impact that spirituality can have on the successful treatment of illness and disease. At the age of forty three, a sudden and unexpected epiphany led Karen on a continuing series of spiritual realizations that enabled her to transform her life away from the unrelenting pain of mental illness toward a reality that is now fully embraced by healthful living. Karen was able to courageously turn a devastating illness into a triumph of healthy success! From an early age, Karen began experiencing the trauma that is often created by mental illness from her own father's battle with Bipolar Disorder. This trauma continued after her father's death from cancer when she was twelve, by her new stepfather's abusive behavior and treatment. By the time Karen was entering college, she began feeling the unrelenting impact of her own Bipolar Disorder, as well as the backlash effects from previous family dysfunction.

This trend of escalating mood swings and personality disorders continued for many years, and resulted in a never-ending stream of crushed hopes, failed relationships and employment instability. Using traditional models from psychologists such as Carl Jung and core teachings from Spiritual Masters from various religious disciplines, Karen was able to realize her way to healthy living through a process that also employed personality integration and cognitive remodeling.

Through a cooperative relationship with her medical doctor, Karen was completely removed from all prescription medication in just two years time and she did so without any therapy outside of her own spiritual practices. "Mental Illness is really quite treatable through this process," said Karen, "There isn't much difference between spiritual alignment and re-adjusting habitual mal-adaptive thinking toward more constructive thought patterns. "You can learn more about Karen and her work as well as receive a free copy of her 28 Days to Peace program by visiting www.iamcomplete.com

This blog was set up by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise go to http://www.GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, "Testosterone-Free Marketing" for women business owners. Go to http://www.MarketingForHer.com and click on "Get the Book!"

Two Types of Spirituality ... Faith and Knowledge

2005-10-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

by Edward B. Toupin

The term "spirituality" is a confusing term. Usually, when one mentions "spirituality", the first thought in many people's minds is that of "religion". While religion is an aspect of spirituality, spirituality is not an aspect of religion. Spirituality covers other areas of belief as well.

Put simply, spirituality is the all-encompassing arena of "belief in something greater." This can be a god, oneself as the greater being, or simply, the life-force or essence that surrounds us all. But, society and religion lead their followers in many different directions replacing the core meanings with moralistic and idealistic terms in hopes of garnering attention by answering those "big questions" pertaining to life, death, the after-life, and a god.

Faith vs. Knowledge:
While many religious zealots view the idea of knowledge-based spirituality as "agnostic", indeed, it is not. As a matter of fact, even agnosts believe in something, which provides them an alternative stance to organized religion and gods. You have to believe in something to take a stance!

Faith-based spirituality is the belief and trust that things will be as they will be in the future. It is the acceptance of the "great mysteries" of life and death for which religion and society teaches that there are no "definitive answers." Such an approach to spirituality creates a fear-based environment based on gods who are vindictive and uncaring. Believers place their lives into the hands of an unseen being in the hope that all will "work out for the best."

Knowledge-based spirituality is the understanding and kinship of all and the desire to achieve and progress through life toward one's own vision and goals. The "great mysteries" become topics of personal research and, with an open mind, answers can be acquired from the environment and the Universe. This type of spirituality invites one to set aside fears and examine the information and entities of the surrounding environment. One has the chance to take life into one's own hands and guide it along a path to one's own desires.

Hatred and Faith:
One of the problems of today is that, in our world, wars, hatred, and bias begin in the moral grounds established by religion and society. Religion creates a solid separation between different factions of humanity. These factions take the core ideals of society and mutate them to suit the needs of their particular beliefs. In the end, when societal boundaries are breached, and control languishes over the ranks, uprisings and bitter conflicts begin to restore order. The stronger of the factions wins and forces their beliefs on the weaker.

In faith-based factions, fear is instilled and faith that a great hereafter exists. People fight to maintain their beliefs because they've finally "forced" their conscious minds to accept the unanswered questions based on invisible and unfounded guesses by their "noblemen". The battles are fought to ensure that their foundations and comfort zones are not affected by the infidels of the intruding factions.

However, with knowledge-based factions, fear is minimized and the great hereafter is right here and now and continues on forever. Knowledge provides the mind with a greater degree of processing information arriving at our many senses in many contexts. It allows us to look beyond the basics and outside of the accepted "comfort zones" to comprehend the ideas and ideals of other entities, both physical and spiritual.

Opening Your Mind:
As part of our being, we all have the need to believe in something greater than ourselves. There is a part of us that "has to belong." Many people fall deeply into organized religion because it provides the camaraderie and a focal point for their community as well as a basis for the moral code of the community. These, in addition to the faith-based answers to the "big questions", provide a comfort zone and a foundation for many. However, by opening one's mind and examining the many facets behind these "big questions", one can develop and acquire the true answers within one's own context.

What is the key?
Context-free rationalization. Of course, "context-free" is a little strong as we must all have a context, or a point of reference, that we can use to compare information and apply our rules and belief systems. However, open experience and vast knowledge can provide us with multiple contexts that we can use to devise a wider view of a particular piece of information. This wider view is what is called an "open mind". The open mind has no safety zone as it is always risking it's "comfort zones" in search of new information and new ways of examining situations and other beings.

What's next?
Acquiring this knowledge and ability to move across many contexts is not a simple task as it requires the ability to acquire, accept, and process information outside of our current context. It is a "chicken or the egg" situation; however, it is a decision that we make as humans to initiate such a move.

By opening our minds and perceptions, we allow our conscious minds the ability to communicate more freely with our subconscious minds. In doing so, the vast amounts of information available in the collective unconscious, "The Grid", "The Universal Library" is available to us, simply by "looking." Consider the idea of opening the mind as a primer for what follows once you are able to use your mind to its fullest capabilities and acquire immeasurable knowledge from all entities across the Universe and throughout time.

This is the true meaning of spirituality. The knowledge and desire to exist with and within the Universal essence. To accept and acquire knowledge that is freely available to you through time and space. Finally, the knowledge to use this information in a way that is beneficial to you, as protecting and projecting yourself, you are providing a pathway for others and the betterment of your communities.

Edward B. Toupin is an author, publisher, life-strategy coach, counselor, Reiki Master, technical writer, and PhD Candidate living in Las Vegas, NV. Among other things, he authors books, articles, and screenplays on topics ranging from career success through life organization and fulfillment. Check out some of his recent print and electronic books as well as his articles covering various life-changing topics! For more information, and to find out about his upcoming title on book publishing, e-mail Edward at etoupin@toupin.com or visit his site at http://www.toupin.com

This blog was set up by Denise Michaels. To see more blogs by Denise go to http://www.GreatIdeasForWomenOver40.com Michaels is author of the myth-shattering book, "Testosterone-Free Marketing" for women business owners. Go to http://www.MarketingForHer.com and click on "Get the Book!"

Masculine Energy vs. Feminine Energy

2005-09-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

By Skye Thomas

I have been reading a lot lately about the concepts of masculine and feminine energy. It all sort of goes along with the yin and yang definitions of masculine and feminine. I do not think I need to define the differences for you. The ideas I feel called to address today have more to do with the finger pointing and blame going on in the spiritual communities. Some religions believe in a masculine God and others in a feminine Goddess. There is this snobbish assumption that only one is correct and that the other belief is foolish and misguided. Each believes that if everyone would subscribe to their particular vision of power, then all would be right with the world.

There is a lot of talk among the new age communities about a return to feminine energy and a return to feminine leadership. Somehow, it is believed that with women in charge we will somehow clean up all of the world's problems and magically bring civilization back to a place of beauty and harmony living off the land in a peaceful nurturing way. I even read an article recently written by a new age man asking where we women were and when would we be coming back to fix the mess that he feels the men have made of our planet. Wow! What a big responsibility!

My first response to reading this man's well written essay about how men had really screwed things up with their greed and testosterone filled war like natures, was to say "It's not my job to fix your mess! Where do you get off making a mess and then asking when someone else is going to clean up? Why not ask the men when they're going to clean up after themselves?" Once I calmed down though, I got to thinking about the feminine energy and how it works. I re-thought my answers and thought that I should say, "Feminine energy by definition is gentle and nurturing, healing and loving. You won't see us come charging in like warriors gone to battle. Our effects will be subtle and beautiful like the breeze blowing the leaves of a tree."

Having stewed over the topic for a few more weeks, I have some more enlightened thoughts to share. Why is it even referred to as masculine or feminine? Have you never seen a female fight to the death to protect her family? Have you never seen a man cry for the magic of seeing his child born? Do you think that women aren't capable of being greedy and selfish? Do you really believe that men aren't capable of being healers?

Whatever happened to the belief that both energies lie within all of us? Men didn't create these problems any more then women did. It takes one to agree to be victimized. If women truly wanted to take power, they're smart enough to overcome the physical strength differences. The truth is, we agreed to a philosophical view that men were smarter, stronger, and closer to God then we are. We chose to subscribe to that just like they did.

Perhaps the deity in charge is better than us and is a perfect blend of all energies, masculine and feminine. Perhaps it doesn't require an immature split of energies and a need to blame the other for the state of things. Perhaps 'God' is more grown up than that and understands that we all have free will to screw things up or fix them however we choose. Perhaps the 'Goddess' is waiting for us all to figure out how to play nice together.

If we are completely honest, we have no proof whatsoever that there is a male God or a female Goddess. We have no proof that there is a husband and wife team either. And atheists have no proof that there is no higher power in charge either. None of us can prove anything other than the history of our belief systems and even that we screw up and argue over them. All we have are millions of miracles that have happened in the name of every deity ever known to mankind and we have a lot of stories passed down through the generations. Other than that, we don't know squat about who or what God is. It's beyond us and probably ought to stay that way. I suspect the answers to God and the heavens is hidden in the answers to who we are and why we are here. Until we know for sure that we are absolutely positively right, we have no business fighting. I believe that when we do find out for sure what is going on, that we won't need to fight over all of the 'what if?'s anymore.

I for one, refuse to blame the men for where we are at this point in history. For every story of a rape, there is a story of a woman taking a man's children from him. For every story of a man treating a woman like she is stupid, there's a gold digger proving that women are just as vicious and deceitful. For every Dali Lama, there is a Mother Theresa. For every Gandhi, there is a Joan of Arc. Gender does not make you more or less spiritual. You make yourself spiritual.

There is nothing holy about a holy war and there is nothing spiritual about blaming one gender over another for the problems we face. It takes both genders to create life and it takes both genders to make it holy and sacred. The solution is in taking a 'we' and 'us' type of an approach. We screwed our planet up. We created this dynamic and we have to fix it. All of us need to work together, regardless of gender and regardless of whichever form of godlike energy we have chosen to favor. The root of every religion is that god is love. So, love one another.

Skye Thomas began writing books and articles with an everyday practical approach to life in 1999 after twenty years of studying spirituality, metaphysics, astrology, personal growth, motivation, and parenting. After years of high heels and business clothes, she is currently enjoying working from home in her pajamas. Go to www.TomorrowsEdge.net to read more of her articles and to get a free preview of one of her books. Copyright 2004.

Ten Soul-Tending Principles for Women

2005-09-09T22:38:00.000-07:00

By Cheryl Lynch Simpson

Feeling restless? Is part of you calling out for change, though you don't yet know what that looks like, or what you most need?

Well, maybe, just maybe, you need a little soul nurturing. Try one or more of these nurturing principles on for size:

1.) Change expands soul. When the winds of change blow storms into your life, welcome them as much as possible, for what comes will free you in some vital way and make room in your life for newness.

2.) Hope feeds soul. We can endure anything if we have hope. Without hope, we die, body first, then soul. Do not give up!

3.) Proaction moves soul. Reacting to situations and events binds you to someone else’s agenda. Choosing proactivity sets your own soul’s needs into motion.

4.) The unexpected (atemporality) enlivens soul. Unexpected events break time wide open and reveal to us the fragility of existence, yet they also refresh, revive and make more room in our lives for soul.

5.) Dreams and the unconscious (personal and collective) reveal soul. Night and day dreams reveal to you the conversation your soul whispers to you all the time. Your personal unconscious reveals to you what your soul needs but you have been denying yourself. The collective unconscious reveals to you what society needs but is afraid of acknowledging.

6.) “Wild grace” and atmosphere welcome soul. “Wild grace” is the playful part of soul that longs to be welcomed into day-to-day existence. If deliberately expressed in your surroundings, “wild grace” will create space in your outer world for the sacredness you carry within.

7.) Community connects soul. As we connect with each other on deep levels, we connect our souls - that is the kind of intimacy we are all most drawn to. The simple truth is that we need each other to survive and thrive.

8.) Balance honors soul. When we are out of balance our soul suffers; in balance our soul can feed us as our Maker intended.

9.) Boundaries protect soul. Soul can be damaged, scarred and poisoned by life if we live unconsciously. With awareness and firm boundaries, we can protect what is most precious within us and those we care about.

10.) Creativity expresses soul. Creativity is the essence of life, so if you are alive (and you appear to be!), then you are creative. There is no escaping this part of your heritage as a human being. You were created to create. Doing so sets your soul free.

Cheryl Lynch Simpson is a Spiritual Director and Solutions Coach who helps women discover and create the life they've always wanted to live. Cheryl is the author of over 30 print/Internet articles and the founder of Coaching Solutions For Women, a coaching website that produces and showcases career, business, and life solutions that improve the life balance of today's busy women. For a complimentary copy of her latest e-book, Ten-Minute Stress Zappers for Women Service Business Owners, visit http://www.coachingsolutionsforwomen.com

This article has been brought to you by Denise Michaels. Visit her site at http://www.MarketingforHer.com

The Courage to Follow Your Wisdom

2005-09-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

By Katherine Martin

Courage. Is it the domain of a special few? Are courageous people any different from me or you? As people are naturally, uniquely different, of course. But do they have some courage gene that you and I do not possess? No. In fact, the term "courageous people" is an oxymoron. Courage is in us all, ebbing and flowing. It breathes. It calls. Sometimes, we answer that call. Sometimes, we don’t. That call often comes from deep within the recesses of our soul, a stirring of our spirit. Step up. Be heard. Be seen. Your life matters.

We may not want to hear that calling. At times, we turn away from courage because we’re afraid and, even further, because we’re afraid of our fear. We turn away when we’re unwilling to make mistakes, to be wrong. When we guard ourselves so carefully that we avoid being seen, really seen, outside a preconceived notion of who we’re supposed to be or what we’re supposed to do.

In moments of courage, we are seen for we are. We stand out. In those moments, we have the capacity to let life get messy, knowing the power of chaos and trusting that out of chaos comes order, often divine order, and I use that word divine in the broadest sense to mean the sacred beyond us. Being courageous comes from keen intuition and listening to it carefully even if it appears to make no sense. It comes from being able to live with the irrational, the illogical. From paying attention to synchronicities.

In the deepest spiritual breaths we take comes courage. A far cry from bravado, it derives from the French word coeur, meaning heart. And, yes, courage is always a matter of the heart. Courage is a matter of people claiming themselves, bone deep. It’s about people demanding that freedom for others as well. It is loud and noisy and messy and mouthy. It is also quiet and intimate and vulnerable and fragile. What a paradox. Courage takes us far and wide into the very meaning of life.

Let me tell you a story about one woman who listened to the seemingly irrational, who followed her intuition when it seemed nuts. Her name is Dr. Marcy Basel.

~ ~ ~

“What are you doing?”

He was a small man, glaring at me, mean looking.

What’s his problem, already, I thought. I was standing at the counter of the pharmacy at the Emperor’s College of Oriental Medicine in Santa Monica, California. I felt like crap. The last thing I needed was this Korean guy and his who-are-you-and-what’s-in-that-paper-bag attitude.

“Come over here! Let me look at your tongue.”

I was sick. I didn’t need him to tell me that. I’d simply come in to get some herbs. I stuck out my tongue, which was coated sickly white.

He didn’t like the looks of it. “Let me feel your pulse. I’ll give you the herbs you need.”

Any other day, I probably would have squared off with him: “Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but this is none of your business.” Today I didn’t have it in me. I held out my wrist. He felt my pulse and scurried behind the counter. Oy, I just want to go home and crawl into bed. Setting three herbs next to my small paper bag, he brusquely said, “Take those out.” I spilled out the herbs I’d just picked from the shelves of roots and herbs and medicinal potions to treat whatever it was that was making me feel horrible. They were the same herbs he’d just set on the counter.

“How did you do that?” He was really upset.

“I don’t know, I just looked at the shelves and picked them.” Who is this guy?

“I’m Dr. Kim, this is my college,” he said, seeming to read my mind, his tone softening. “Would you come with me, please.” I followed him into his office. “Please sit,” he said, indicating a chair as he eased down behind his desk. “I’d like you to meditate with me.”

Talk about strange. He closed his eyes. Because I’d been on a spiritual path most of my life, meditating wasn’t foreign to me. Don’t ask me why; I closed my eyes and sank into meditation. The thought that disturbed the stillness in my mind was, Why is he so familiar?

When we finished, Dr. Kim looked at me with a startling clarity and said, “You’ve been coming back for two thousand years to be a healer. I’m here to facilitate that. I will pay for your studies for a year. If you see that it’s right, you can stay and continue the program.”

The program? Me? Oriental medicine? What’s he talking about? I’m an artist! I couldn’t make it through a medical textbook if you paid me.

I left his office shaken. How weird.

Later that night, at home, I startled myself by remembering the most profound meditation I had had a year earlier during a spiritual seminar. In the meditation, I was in a huge place of worship two thousand years ago. High stained-glass windows were everywhere, letting in warm colors. It was very sweet. Standing by a fountain in the center of this sacred place, I saw two very old people. They had those brown eyes that turn blue with wisdom. They were healers. “We’re ready, now, to leave our bodies,” they said to me. “May we give you our healing practice?” They wanted me to carry on their tradition. I said no, I wasn’t qualified, I couldn’t heal the way they did, which was primarily with light and color and water. I don’t remember what they said in response, if anything, but they gave me a small stained-glass window on a little stand.

As I thought about that meditation and about picking out those herbs at the college pharmacy and about the meditation in Dr. Kim’s office, I began to consider the possibility that, maybe, possibly, perhaps, I should think about his suggestion and not dismiss it. Listening to something that has absolutely no reason or logic, letting myself be guided by, I’m not even sure what, I began to think about the idea of studying Oriental medicine. Oy, not only am I right brain, I’m forty. That is hardly the right mix for medical school.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind. It was so different that, quite possibly, it was right. As I went about my day, teaching my private art classes, I’d find myself thinking about it. I even said something about it to my teenage son. “Whatever,” he shrugged.

I began to feel drawn to the idea as though someone had hooked it behind my heart and was gently pulling. Finally, I went back to the college and talked to Dr. Kim. “Okay, I’ll try.”

Fear came rushing in. I’m not smart enough. I’ll fail. I’ll make a fool of myself. I’ll be humiliated. I’ll never make it through four years. In fact, the stress would be tremendous. I’d hear horror stories about the state boards, which ate people up and spat them out, forcing them to reconsider or sit again for the exams. To think about what was in front of me was daunting.

My first day of class is burned into my memory. The “History of Oriental Medicine” was taught by Dr. Kim. I felt awful, out of place. I was totally claustrophobic in a room with closed doors and thirty people sitting stiffly at their desks, taking notes. No way am I going to be able to do this for four years. Toward the end of class, Dr. Kim said, “I’m going to call three people to the front, and I want you to come up, take a look inside my body, and tell me what you see.” He must have noticed that I was tormented. “We’ll start with Marcy Basel.”

I went up to the front of the class and looked him over, head to toe. Believe me, I surprised no one more than myself when I told him about a problem on his left side and, in particular, the left part of his lung. He called two other people, who came up and surveyed him and gave their assessments. When we were done, he looked at me and said, “When I was a child, I had a problem with the left part of my lung, and it has never healed quite right. How did you know that?”

I felt an odd sense of calm come over me. This was right. I’d be okay once I was working with people, if I could just get through the books.

That first year was the year from hell. I was living in Malibu, a coastal town just north of Santa Monica. Three months into my studies, Malibu went up in flames during the worst fires in decades. It started while I was in school. My son was at his school in Malibu. When I heard the news, I panicked. That feeling of separation was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. Frantically, I called friends who had kids in my son’s school. The children had been vacated and sent to a safe place north of Malibu. I was beside myself, racing north on the Pacific Coast Highway. Police blockades were up. No one was getting through; it was a mess. I went back to the school, where I was supposed to take a midterm that day. “I can’t take the test,” I said to Dr. Kim, “I can’t do this; my son’s just been caught in the Malibu fire.”

“Is he safe?”

“Yes.”

“Then, take the test, it will be good for you to use your mental focus.”

I took the test. And barely passed.

Not long after, Malibu was hit with some of the worst floods in decades. All we needed now was an earthquake. It wasn’t far behind. And it was big.

That was my first year of medical school. Full of natural disasters, which is how my inner landscape felt. I couldn’t get my brain to work. I couldn’t remember data, and we had floods of information to memorize, a plethora of herbs and roots and how they affected the human body, acupuncture points and what they stimulated and healed, on and on, ad nauseum. I tried all kinds of tricks, copying study habits of other people in class. Nothing worked. Either I was an idiot for thinking I could do this or something else was going on that I clearly wasn’t aware of yet. It was breakdown or breakthrough time.

That I didn’t quit still surprises me. The last thing I needed was a big challenge. Raising my son alone was challenging enough. I didn’t want to be bothered with difficult things. Looking back, though, I think I was worried that, if I dropped out, it would be one more thing I didn’t complete. So staying was a big lesson in persistence and in the meaning of progress. I came to appreciate that I didn’t necessarily have to get great results or even do so well. Progress could be measured in teeny-weeny steps, which, put together, became an evolution.

At one point, maybe a year and a half into school, I realized that since I was by nature an artist, I would probably be able to remember facts better with a visual or physical sensation. I started making charts, gluing herbs on boards next to information about their properties. I’d set these around my apartment, so that I’d see them frequently as I walked from room to room.

Everybody digests information differently. It was key for me to recognize this, to stop hitting my head against the proverbial wall trying to learn in a way that didn’t work for me and to develop my own way. On my daily morning walks, I took flash cards and pictorial information and studied while I walked. I took books into nature and read in between gazing up at a tree or turning my face into a breeze. I took long hikes in the mountains and thought and pondered, and if something didn’t make sense to me, when I got home, I researched until it did. I needed to know why something existed in a certain way, rather than simply that it existed. I became a voracious reader and researcher. In time, I reached a level of understanding much deeper than memorization. And this understanding kept deepening into the levels of the emotional and psychic and of how those aspects of a person affect the disease and the diagnosis. It reached the point where if somebody gave me a physical complaint, I would hear the different things they were saying and tune into the problem on an intuitive level. At times, before even asking the patient what was wrong, I’d touch a place on her body and she’d say, “I can’t believe you touched me there. That’s exactly where I have a problem.” It made me think of the moment when Dr. Kim said to me, right after our first fortuitous meditation, “All you need to do is pass the boards, because you have a gift, a level of intuition, and you can heal people using your intuition.”

That’s when it all came together, and I started excelling.

I went from barely passing to getting an A in physics and then straight A’s across the board. By the time I got to a lab and actually saw inside a cadaver, I was in heaven. Everybody in class was saying, “It stinks in here, it’s disgusting.” But for me, it was art.

What it took to get me here was the courage to step up to a challenge that was greater than I had ever humanly felt capable of. We all have our ideas about who we should be, what we should do, and how we should do it, ideas about what our past says about us, what we’re capable of, what friends and family say about us. I had mine about this idea of becoming a doctor of Oriental medicine. But somewhere deep inside me, I knew I was in that college for a reason, I knew on some profound level that it was going to work. I put aside my interpretation of myself to achieve something greater, something more than I’d ever envisioned for myself. And that’s where the real transformation took place. Having the courage to let go of all the stuff that had tied me up in a small identity. So that no matter what happened to discourage me — fires, floods, earthquakes, the fear of being dumb, the failing of tests — I could still hold the idea as right and continue to move through barriers and, eventually, it was as though I came to a critical mass. An opening. A place where I was in the flow and everything made sense.

Achieving something that I thought was impossible gave me a new feeling about who I am. I have a different kind of faith in myself. I don’t get as easily discouraged, because I know that with persistence, the right idea will unfold. Nothing seems beyond my reach. I know that, with courage, I can follow my heart no matter what.

One of the most rewarding things I’ve done since passing my state boards and being certified a doctor of Oriental medicine is to treat my mother. She called saying she had terrible lower back pain. It was sciatica. I flew home to Philadelphia and worked on her. She was scheduled for surgery in May. She never went. And I think it was this experience that began to change my entire dynamic with my parents. In fact, my whole family structure changed. They never thought I’d finish medical school. The Jewish acupuncturist from an East Coast upper-middle-class family. Oy vey. You just don’t do that. Now they call me if anything is wrong. My mother recently phoned, saying her tongue was funny and she didn’t feel good. She had thrush, which shows itself with a white coating on the tongue and aching in the joints. For two months, I told her what to do, changed her diet, got her treatments with an acupuncturist, and after two months, the thrush cleared up.

Every time I walk into my office, I am reminded of the power of inner knowing, guidance, our higher selves. When we take the time to be quiet, to listen to ourselves deep within, a whole sea of answers can be found. But it’s hard to hear when we’re running around like mad. My first whisper about working in the healing profession came from a deeply spiritual place, that meditation in the sacred place with the two healers asking me to take their practice. Although I didn’t follow it right away, it was a clue that, fortunately, was buried close enough to the surface for me to see it again. Following it is my most tremendous accomplishment so far.

Katherine Martin has spent the last seven years researching, speaking and writing of courage. Sold-out theater performances and two ground-breaking books are the result of her work: Women of Courage: Inspiring Stories from the Women Who Lived Them and Women of Spirit: Courageous Stories from the Women Who Lived Them. Both books feature first person stories from the famous and the not so famous. Find out more bout her at http://www.katherinemartin.com