Talking to God

There are many ways to talk to God!

A grandfather was walking through his yard when he heard his granddaughter repeating the alphabet in a tone of voice that sounded like a prayer.

He asked her what she was doing. The little girl explained:

‘ I’m praying, but I can’t think of exactly the right words, so I’m just saying all the letters, and God will put them together for me, because he knows what I am thinking.’

God knows what you are thinking, just show up and be present.

A hundred silent ways

I don't know who wrote this, but I wish I did! It's beautiful.

 

''As you fill with Wisdom, and your Heart with Love,
there's no more thirst. There's only unselfed Patience
waiting on the doorsill, a Silence which doesn't listen
to advice from people passing in the street.
I closed my mouth and spoke to you
... in a hundred silent ways.'' ♥

Say thank you!

I was really intending to go to the sunrise Easter service this morning, but woke up at 2 am and could not settle down again. I felt out of balance and when I got up for work, I was full of fuzziness. I went to my little altar which is now white, and lit my white candle and looked at the delicate white orchids that are on there.
I made my coffee, greeted the furry friends, and decided on a white shirt. I then drew a little angel card for the day. The word was "gratitude".

I think if someone would ask me the one single piece of wisdom that has played the largest part in  making my life so joyous and full of light, it would be that- "Say thank you."
I was 19 when I did my first self awareness course with a lady who I love and respect with my whole heart. Our homework on the first night was to write down 50 blessings.
We all looked at her with utter horror. 50 blessings??
I think I got up to 14 that evening and hit a blank. By the last night of the course, I was coming up with more that 50 without much effort.

I now do my thank you list on a regular basis. It grounds me and helps me to see things that I would not have noticed otherwise. I have also found that the more thanks I express, the more abundance I attract.. which give me more to be grateful for. Sometimes this even works instantaneously. It is a wonderful circle of  miracle and blessing.

It also helps me to see that even troubled times, pain and fear can be blessings.
I have a girlfriend who has a dreadful toothache at the moment as a result of giving up smoking. She wrote to me and said,

'This toothache problem is awful but it proves, how smoking has been destroying my body, so it is a negative which is actually a huge positive.'

Usually when I hit the creeping doubt like this early morning, it is because I haven't expressed my heartfelt gratitude for a while. I was so happy to be reminded, to be pulled back onto the path, eventhough it cost me a really uncomfortable night.

If any of you are feeling unconnected and unfocussed, try this little trick. Look at the things you are grateful for, even the teeny tiny creature comforts that make your life so cosy.

The truth will set you free but at first it will make you a little miserable.

On Spirit fire and sentient trees

It is Easter and I am thinking about how we treat each other. I pray that our eyes open and that we may recognise the divine spark that connects all of us...that we may truly perceive the spirit fire that we share and respect each manifestation of life and God's creation, speak to each other gently and listen with care. I am thinking of Jesus, my lifelong example and role model, and how I admire his humbleness, his love for mankind, and unwavering trust in his destiny.

I wonder what you are thinking about these Easter days.

I just had one of the best weekends ever, nothing special happening, cooking, television, snuggling with the loved one- a deep sense of connection and real conversation and also the intimacy of silence.

May you find space to be still with your true self for a few moments today and may you catch a glimpse of the miracle that we celebrate tomorrow at dawn.

My favourite Note from the Universe ever. Thanks Mike Dooley, www.tut.com.

Whenever conferring with another,
either face to face or across the miles
whether a human being
departed spirit
or sentient tree,
always speak to the highest within them.

Seeing what IS

I have found myself getting wrapped up in thoughts about the future in the last few days, anticipating positive and negative events, reacting to those events...like a big epic film in my head.
It happened to me driving to work this morning. As I stopped the car, I heard my mother's loud voice in my head,
"Ma se blom, Look at what IS".
Wow, I shot back into the present in a flash and realised how crazy and beautiful it all is. No drama, no expectations, no tiredness, just me and everything right now.
I think it is important to dream and visualise and pray, but without pressure!

I came walking out of class and one of my dearest student friends was sitting outside in the sun wearing sunglasses with bright green rims. I had to laugh and comment, as she is usually quite conservative.
She answered, "But I am having such a crazy day, Miss".
I am happy to report that my rose-tinted sunglasses decorated with unicorns and hearts are  working very well for me on this April day just before my Middle Eastern weekend is about to begin.

It is not what you see, it is what you SEE.

Everyone sees the unseen in
proportion to the clarity of his heart.Rumi ♥

Rekindling the flame

I also want to tell of a moment with a student that really touched me. I have never taught her, and we only see each other ocassionally, but we have real conversations. I was walking with her down the stairs yesterday, making small talk, when she said,
"Do you remember the first conversation we ever had? You told me that I had fire in my soul and that I could do anything I wanted".
I answered that I certainly remembered and how was the fire doing?
She answered despondently that she thought the fire had died.

I then remembered a clear cool moment in the early tranquil morning last weekend when the loved one was carefully scratching ash off the fire he had covered the night before. He wanted to get the flames going again for breakfast. He commented that if you cover the fire with ash, it will stay warm; and lo and behold, the little flames started licking at the twigs he laid on the coals in no time at all.

I asked the student to look me straight in the eye and said:
I can promise you emphatically that your fire has not died. You have allowed yourself or someone else to scratch ash on it, and it feels like it is gone. Please go and think about what small comment or criticism or incident has allowed this to happen, and scratch open the fire, so that it may be rekindled again.

I wish you all that you may recognise the things that happen to make you feel as though your fire has gone out, and the clarity to scratch it open again lovingly and rekindle your passion and trust in life.

Real food and turtle moments

So many lovely things have been happening to me, I feel truly blessed, especially  with the tiny moments that turn into beautiful canvasses that decorate the mind.

As I was driving home on the main road yesterday, I caught a glimpse of my loved one on his motorbike, stopped at a traffice light, travelling in the opposite direction. My heart swelled in that moment just at the sight of him.

Matthew, who is visiting from London, and I visited my all time favourite hotel, the Chedi, at sunset. It was incredibly peaceful and the sea was light pearl grey. As we walked down the tidy beach with a hushed atmosphere, a little group of turtles started bobbing their heads above the water. It was a cameo moment, being in touch with nature and sharing the stillness.

Completely by chance.. not that I believe in chance, we met my artist friends there. Matthew had met them on his previous visit , and the flow of the evening continued. Their rosepetal baby who is now two, came to sit on my lap and fed me little titbits of food with her fingers. This sharing of tiny morsels felt almost like a kind of ritual and I left that place feeling truly fed.

I wish you all small moments of beauty to decorate the mind and truly feed the soul.