The Spirit is Still Here

I live in the suburbs of Chicago, IL. You may have seen the photos of what we received last week, over twenty inches of snow in less than twenty-four hours. It was amazing and wonderful and awe inspiring and big. Very big.
What we were given was a chance to help and help we did. If you watch the nightly news you will see people killing people, people cheating people, people hurting people. This nightly stream enters our sub- conscious and we begin to believe the spirit of kindness is dead, the spirit of good is gone and the spirit of helping has been buried. Believe me when I tell you, the Spirit is alive and well.
People opened their hearts, shared their snow blowers and lent a shovel and a pair of shoulders to dig out cars and clear driveways. People waved at each other. For a day or two our nightly news showed people helping people, people helping pets, people not complaining.
The Spirit is alive and well. You need not have twenty plus inches of snow to find evidence of this Spirit but you do need the snow and the hardship to make the nightly news.
Have a beautiful day.

What is Success?

The following was submitted by our dear friend, Sherle Stevens. Sherle is a woman who makes an impact on her environment and in the lives of all those who are lucky enough to know her. Sherle's business cards read:
Sherle Stevens
Intuitive Life Strategist

   Guidance and support for remembering your Soul's Purpose

   And creating a Life you love

www.theherosjourney.net

Somewhere on her cards, those of us who know her, would like the word amazing to appear. Ms. Stevens is a testimony to living life fully and is an example of how to add years to a life without growing old.

She may be reached through her website www.theherosjourney.net or by email  cabaretjazz@hotmail.com

Enjoy Sherle Stevens take on success.

SUCCESS

I have been abused -physically, sexually, mentally and emotionally. I have been abandoned, rejected and betrayed.

I have also been loved, respected, cherished and adored – and fully supported. Great gifts have been bestowed on me.

Amazingly, all these actions, behaviors and attitudes have been perpetuated by me toward myself! All the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ – all the ‘light’ and the ‘dark’. Yes, they began in childhood and originated with other perpetrators, but as I grew up and grew older, they all became an internalized part of me – my own voice, my own actions, my own beliefs, my own behaviors, my own choices.

And yet here I stand at 72 – happier and more fulfilled than ever before in my whole life, and looking ahead to a radiant future. How is that possible?

After years of questioning, therapies of various types (some healing, some not) – I have finally stepped fully into my Life’s Purpose as set forth in my original Soul’s Contract.

I could say I wasted 40 years in a ‘successful’ career as an artist that brought me applause and a comfortable lifestyle, but no joy or sense of fulfillment.

But looking back on that time, 12 years after the end of it – I can see that I was always living my Life’s Purpose. I was just not giving it any acknowledgment or much shelf space. It was my sideline – helping others – while I spent most of my time drawing and painting, my own heart empty of expression as I did.

Now I see that I have always had one hand reaching forward into the future, and the other reaching back to try to hoist someone I loved up to the next rung of the emotional/psycho-spiritual ladder. Usually by insisting on reading a passage from a book that was inspiring me or sharing an AHA from whatever healing therapy I was currently practicing.

I had spent my childhood feeling suicidal while pinning my every hope on the possibilities I saw in the movies, of families who were different than mine. I became determined to find the people who were living the life I longed for.

Let me assure you that during these years anyone looking in on us from outside would have seen a safe and financially adequate situation;  a home with two parents, only one child (me), who always received food, clothing and an education – even college.

It was a long road to uncovering the source of my pain and lack of self-esteem in such a ‘good’ family. In the various therapies I pursued I was always surrounded by others whose stories were of horrific loss and neglect. It was difficult not to compare my life and feel that I should simply stop hurting and shut up. But I stayed with it until I could unravel my pain, understand it, and finally – forgive it.

And what did I find at the bottom of the barrel? A severe shortage of self-love. There. It’s as simple as that. And yet that is everything.

I’ve come to believe that everyone simply wants to be seen, and then loved for what is seen. If you’re lucky, you may find this mirror in the eyes of someone who does see you – and loves you for what they see. Or you may have to make this discovery all on your own.  Either way – you must claim it for yourself – your own love for what you see in you.

Once understood and made aware of the power of the old pattern– I found that this is an ongoing pursuit, and that I must continue to choose to affirm myself with love. Unconditionally.

It’s at once an empowering and humbling awakening, and has finally evolved into making my Life’s Purpose my everyday vocation – professionally and personally. I love it so much that I am never ‘off duty’. And what is my Life’s Purpose? It is to be the Reminder – to remind others who choose to work with me of their greatness, of who they are, to remind them of their dreams for themselves, to connect them to their Life’s Purpose through reading their Soul’s Contract in their Birth Charts.  And if they choose – coaching them to reach into their pain from the past, to crack open the door to living from the joy of their own being. To healing their hearts so they may truly love themselves, and become fully alive! I rejoice along with them in their transformations. I am fulfilled. This is success.

What If Up?!

On August 28, 1963, before a crowd of more than 200,000 people, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a 17-minute speech that changed the world. Although he did not live to see his dream come to fruition, and indeed we are still en route to that mountaintop, the dream remains as a guiding light for those of us who seek to create a more just and peace-filled world.

Today is the celebration of the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr. Perhaps he is one of the finest examples of what one man can do. But, are there things we can do, ways of thinking, feelings to nurture that would move us closer to seeing the impact each of us has on this extraordinary world we live in?

Part of our community building weekend, What One Man Can Do” includes an opportunity to participate in an exercise we call “What If Up?”  It give us the chance to see new possibilities for ourselves and others. This technology was developed by my friend, Mindy Audlin, who is making a huge difference with her organization, the “What If Up Club.” Check out Mindy’s work - she is a bundle of energy and possibility!  http://whatifup.com/

The exercise we do is energy-filled, and an exciting prospect to think in such positive terms. It seems as though it’s the “natural” thing to do is to focus on “What if Down?” “What if I fail, what if I don’t get the support I want, what if I make a fool of myself, what if I’m wrong?” What is stopping us from looking in the opposite direction? “What if I am the one who is meant to create peace in the world, what if it all goes right, what if there is no difference between me and MLK, what if we could say what is on our mind and still be loved anyway?” It’s like a muscle that we need to exercise in order for it to be stronger and more useful to us.

So what stops us from moving in this positive direction? Are we afraid that we would then have to be responsible for what we say? Are we afraid that it’s going to be too much work? Are we afraid that if we spoke our minds that someone might make us wrong or perhaps even harm us for our beliefs? All of these thoughts and fears have run through my mind at one time or another. It always comes down to, “What is my commitment?”

Some of us are happy to make a difference in our families or with one person at a time. Or perhaps it’s just perfect if we are able to take care of ourselves and let peace begin inside of each of us. However we choose to live our lives, can we focus on the upside as opposed to the downside? The answer is, of course, we can! But again, what are we committed to, truly?

Another difference-maker I greatly admire is my friend, Jan Garrett. Jan is from Aspen, Colorado and is committed to making a difference through songwriting. She collaborates with her talented husband, JD Martin. 

She and JD, along with their associate and friend, Ester Nicholson, wrote a most moving and inspiring song called, “I Believe This Belongs To You.” Some of the things written about their music are:  

A feast of Musical Endorphins!

Masterfully cohesive, well-being made audible

Deep optimism, unmitigated fun

Wise lyrics, kick-ass harmonies

Tasty tunes performed & recorded with a twinkle

and decades of soulful experience

If you do nothing else today, please do yourself the great favor of listening to the song. You can find it through this link: http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/167463/4ca337bffd/6000315  

I promise you, it’s a life-changing, thought-provoking song. Let it in...it will be well worth it. Check it out...

2011 is My Year of _________!

2011 - a new year! A new year means new opportunities to commit or re-commit to all sorts of things - health regimens, daily rituals, education, personal growth (is there any other kind?), etc. As someone who is passionate about life, I have designated this to be My Year of Peace.
I intend to make Peace my yearlong priority in several ways: writing about it in articles, blogs and journals; speculating (and asking others to speculate) on what might occur The Day Before World Peace (don't you love that concept - I do!); asking others to consider how they might attempt to win the Nobel Prize for Peace (again, just thinking in such terms has to make a difference); and ending conversations and emails with my word of intention: Peace!
If this appeals to you at all, I invite you to find the answer for you to fill in the blank:
2011 is My Year of ______. Allow the answer to come - do not think!
Then, let the actions that emerge from your heart lead you through the year. New habits, new rituals, new expansions for yourself.
Peace!