thank you kelly rae...i am soaring

i wrote this to kelly rae roberts this morning in response to her inspirational e-course Flying Lessons

you have so inspired me to soar above the clouds...i have been in a giant reinvention process over the past two years...i wrote the following on my blog 1/13/2010

During this past 26 months, God forced me to slow down by removing ALL obstacles (a job and income) and presenting me with TIME! Time to reflect. Time to mourn. Time to refresh. Time to repurpose. Time to realign. Time to reframe. Time to release. During this gift of time, I found #1-ME and #2-crystal clarity of purpose and #3-this is the time for me to soar...

"To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders" -Chuang Tzu

It has been a Two Year Retreat, mostly silent. I had no choice but to reconnect with myself…find strength to look at what brought me to this place, find fortitude to survive, find courage to move forward, find hope to rebuild, find bits of my soul that had been scattered about the universe over the years and bring them home.

there is more on my blog here: http://cre8tiva.blogspot.com/2010/01/reflective.html

"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards." -Vernon Sanders Law, 1960 Cy Young Award Winner

this class has finally allowed me to move on with the soaring...as i was ready, just afraid to jump into the air. i jumped somewhere in the second week, it was uncomfortable and i was afraid to open my eyes at first...when i finally did, i saw my one blessed beautiful precious life before me and felt the wind beneath my wings lifting me to new heights that i never even allowed myself to dream of before...and it feels amazing.

i have made some subtle and some not so subtle changes to my blogs...i have written some really inspired posts...i have sold some of my purses to a boutique using your wholesale advice...and i have almost finished my new book for people who color outside the lines!!!

i am waving at you from the heights because i cannot seem to get enough of this soaring!!

reflective...

 "Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards." -- Vernon Sanders Law, 1960 Cy Young Award Winner

As we move headlong into a new decade...I have taken time to reflect about the past decade, the circumstances of my journey, and the enormous blessings that have been given to me...I share today with an open heart filled with joy as this has been time of growing into the ME I was Born to be!!! (see the previous post also)

Wow...oh wow is all I can say about the first weeks of 2010!!! I was up early this morning to receive...and I did!

What stood out above all for me at this time of my journey is:

• You can come to understand your purpose in life by slowing down, feeling your heart’s desires, and demanding to know.

During this past 20 months, God forced me to slow down by removing ALL obstacles (a job and income) and presenting me with TIME! Time to reflect. Time to mourn. Time to refresh. Time to repurpose. Time to realign. Time to reframe. Time to release. During this gift of time, I found #1-ME and #2-crystal clarity of purpose and #3-this is the time for me to soar...

"To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders" - Chuang Tzu

It has been a Two Year Retreat, mostly silent. You have followed my story here and on my other blog, Down, But Not Out (Living Beneath No Means). I had no choice but to reconnect with myself…find strength to look at what brought me to this place, find fortitude to survive, find courage to move forward, find hope to rebuild, find bits of my soul that had been scattered about the universe over the years and bring them home.

And by walking and stumbling and, sometimes even crawling my path the last two years of the decade I was able to learn my deepest passion is to communicate in a major way. A gift revealed itself at the tender age of five when I started my first newspaper. The first headline read: “Young Gril (Girl) Finds $50”…. okay, I still cannot spell, but you get the point. If I had listened then….

• If you are going to ask the questions, be sure to listen for the answers.

How many times in my life was I presented with the answers, but I did not listen? Then, a hurried life is brought completely to a halt...so I could do nothing else but listen!

During this time I have been blessed to be able to walk along the beach in my beloved island sanctuary...and capture the moments of my retreat in such magnificience...i step into my purpose, my future, my path with great peace and the completeness of knowing I am who I was born to be....

the me that i am is...

be your natural, wonderful self...

Your ability to charm others may be heightened today, and you may wonder if this developing allure is the result of some modification you have made to your physical appearance or a trait that has emerged within you. More likely than not, the enchantment others feel while in your presence is the result of your having revealed your true self. If this idea leaves you feeling vulnerable today, consider that your openness can be a valuable tool in your quest to surround yourself with positive, sincere people. Your honesty coupled with your natural charisma will likely serve you well whenever you are called upon to mingle with others.

Winning over others is easy when we make a real effort to be ourselves no matter our circumstances. Though we may feel that society asks us to wear masks in our many outer-world roles, we can only find out who are true friends and trusted colleagues are by letting our guard down socially. As we interact with others without masks, allowing our natural charm to show through, the people around us are given a bird's-eye view into our souls. Those who truly care about us and respect us appreciate this new honesty and will honor it by standing by us even when others choose to distance themselves from us. We then know definitively who our real allies are and who we will be able to count on. When you choose to be yourself today, you will discover that your natural allure is enough to help you win friends and bond with associates.  -my horoscope from daily ohm

as i step more fully into my authentic self and embrace the path i have been led to follow, i find there is grace and ease to the former confusion and chaos...i have been open, or shall i say opened, during the past two years...layer after layer of protective coating has been peeled back and has slipped away...and, gradually, the me that i am is...

this week at sunrise by the ocean

the following post from September 2007 talks about the beginning of this two years transitioning period...and how my life, every event and every day, is stacked on each other like alter stones...


Fellow My Sacred Life journeyer Milton Brasher-Cuningham here wrote Saturday of author Madeleine L’Engle's thoughts about "being every age you’ve been at the same time, life stacking itself up like altar stones, our experiences singing out in chorus rather than speaking one at a time." It so touched my soul at this moment...

Do you feel every age that you have been? I deeply feel that stacking of my life...layer upon glorious layer...day upon day...year upon year...age upon age...growing...joining...fusing into the blessed woman I am today.

It is amazing how one statement can touch our heart...Milton, and Madeleine through him, reached out and touched my soul so completely...IT MAKES SENSE...so much sense that I feel enriched and wise and blissfully stacked...like the metaphor of the alter stones of my life...one resting upon another...stacked purposefully and lovingly by my creator...not straightly stacked...or even neatly stacked...how ever they are stacked, they form me...just as I am...strong yet, fragile...ME!!!

read the entire post

Lord, help us find our way back...

My Sabbath Song today is about our world and the economic path we have taken the past few decades... and i pray...Lord, help us find our way back...

as i pursue my dreams i have often asked the Lord to guide me to my deeper purpose...and He has responded by leading, and sometimes dragging me kicking and screaming, into my deeper purpose...

"Most of the companies I admire in the world I think have a deeper purpose. I've met a lot of successful entrepreneurs. They all started their businesses not to maximize shareholder value but to pursue a dream." -John Mackey, CEO and founder of Whole Foods Market, Inc. in a Wall Street Journal interview

looking to increase shareholders gains seems to have enabled a few blinded by greed people to bring our economy and our very lifestyles to the brink of collapse...

"Over the past few years, there clearly has been an erosion in the country's financial values. This erosion has happened at a time when the country's cultural monitors were busy with other things. They were off fighting a cultural war about prayer in schools and the theory of evolution. They were arguing about sex and the separation of church and state, oblivious to the large erosion of economic values happening under their feet." -David Brooks, The New York Times

we can no longer do business as usual..nor should we look to the past to repair the present and the future...we must look for new ideas and new people to be the visionary leaders who will accompany us on our journey out of this darkness and despair...

"Select capable men from all the people...men/women who fear God, trustworthy men/women who hate dishonest gain." -Exodus 18:21

if we had not been trying so hard to negate and devalue our "one country under God" founding principle...perhaps we could have elected/followed/believed those capable, trustworthy individuals who hate dishonest gain and not have been led to this place we find ourselves in today...

yet i stand firm in belief that we will find those visionary leaders who are out there for everyone to see...

"My deepest vocation is to be a witness of the glimpses of God I have been allowed to catch." -Henri J.M. Nouwen

and we can catch a glimpse of them if we are open to the possibilities...

"There are people among us who are ethical, responsible and diligent. I hope your story encourages those who toil in obscurity to know that their reward is simple-- they will be ready when the test comes. We need to try to do the right thing every time, to perform our best because we never know what moment in our lives we'll be judged on." -US Airways Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger from a Wall Street Journal article by Jeffrey Zaslow

so i make a call to those of you who read my musings...to be open...and aware of those visionaries who touch your life and whose words resonate within your heart...

"In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teachings show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about you." -Titus 2:7-8

as i follow my path on this journey of my life i struggle to live by the words above...and of an old Irish prayer my Irish grandparents taught me...

"Three wishes I ask of the King when I part from my body: May I have nothing to confess, may I have no enemy, may I own nothing! Three wishes I ask this day of the King, ruler of suns: May I have no dignity or honours that lead me into torment! May I not work without reward before Christ! May God take my soul when it is most pure!"

all photography copyright rebecca e. parsons 2009

the journey...

dragon fly in bottom right

i awoke this morning hearing something very clearly...as if a voice was whispering "pack...for it is time to go...." i heard it...what does it mean? who was speaking to me? i am always about questions...

this morning at 6:30 am

so i went to the ocean as i do when i am off center...for i find balance there among the sounds of the waves...as i walked and prayed and allowed myself to be open to the possibilities...i felt sad, for i do not want to go...but if i must i bow to God's will...and will continue my journey with hope...

just before sunrise

i love the seconds just before sunrise when the sky and the sea have a pinkish, golden glow...i stand and face the horizon in awe...

after the sun rise

this morning clouds hung low over the horizon...and the sun played peek-a-boo with me...

a shrimp boat with the morning sun

the colors changed to purples and mauves as the sun made its way higher in the sky...my mood lifted as it rose...for how can one remain sad when you are in the midst of such splendor?

i do not want to go...but if i must...i must...i have been blessed to be in this magical place for nearly 10 years now...truly blessed...

happy birthday aimee at creative flutter ...she is having a birthday giveaway to celebrate...today is the last day to enter...this little fellow is for her...

be fearless today...

BE FEARLESS TODAY "We're afraid of failure and we're afraid of success. We're afraid of dying young and we're afraid of growing old. We're more afraid of life than we are of death." -Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"

it is a time of reflection for me each morning as i walk by the sea...i don't believe that i am afraid of much anymore...perhaps being homeless...i have not been afraid of dying since i was 23 and broke my neck...death was very near last year when i developed pneumonia while teaching in north carolina...the doctor said, "30 minutes later and we would not have been able to save you."...yet i am here....and have time for reflection as i walk and breathe by my beloved ocean...

the times are exciting now...each day brings a surprise...as i am clearing away years of belongings i am remembering and cherishing each one for what it is...a memory...and then letting go...

yesterday i launched a new blog...artist needs cash...today! where i am:


I lost my main source of income 16 months ago…and these lovingly-collected items cannot go with me when I close my studio doors for the last time in October of this year…these supplies need creative hands to transform them into the works of art I once envisioned… So it is with great joy that I release them to your creative hearts to fashion the art you now envision… and, if your spirit were so moved, I would love to see photos of the art you create with these treasures... I am deeply blessed and eternally grateful that your purchase will help me move on to the next creative adventure in my life’s journey… With a loving heart I wish profound success to the work of your hands…

so stop by artist needs cash...today! and see if there is anything you might fancy...prices are really low...the stuff is really wonderful...please tell others about it...for i do need cash today...

easy come...easy go...

♥heart♥ week had a crazy sad ending...these are always a mystery to me...i need my friends to send good energy my way...bless you in advance...

"We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world." Helen Keller

i guess i am learning another life lesson...to be brave and patient...within 6 minutes yesterday afternoon, the intern position i was so looking forward to and had worked very diligently for three days, went kaput...one minute i was skyping with my boss about what i had been working on...the next she was saying there was an emergency...then next thing is that my job description had vanished... this is the exact conversation with times:

[8/7/09 1:18:24 PM] Boss: S----e and I have some major internal issues we need to sort out

[8/7/09 1:18:30 PM] Boss: within the company - client issues

[8/7/09 1:18:50 PM] Boss: i apologize

[8/7/09 1:18:52 PM] Boss: it's unexpected

[8/7/09 1:19:15 PM] Rebecca E. Parsons: okay...sorry

[8/7/09 1:19:25 PM] Boss: sorry?

[8/7/09 1:19:28 PM] Boss: not your fault

[8/7/09 1:19:31 PM] Boss: I apologize

[8/7/09 1:19:49 PM] Boss: it seems C---a wants on full time and we need to speak to her

[8/7/09 1:20:23 PM] Rebecca E. Parsons: okay...i understand...will hold you in good energy

[8/7/09 1:24:38 PM] Boss: thanks Rebecca

[8/7/09 1:24:43 PM] Boss: sorry - don't mean to be flakey

[8/7/09 1:24:58 PM] Boss: but if she wants full time - then we essentially lose your entire job descrip

[8/7/09 1:25:01 PM] Boss: so I need to speak to her

[8/7/09 1:25:12 PM] Boss: i was under the impressiont hat she was having family issues

[8/7/09 1:25:21 PM] Boss: i apologize i will speak to her and see what the deal is

[8/7/09 1:25:22 PM] Rebecca E. Parsons: wow...that hurts

[8/7/09 1:25:41 PM] Boss: i am sorry?

[8/7/09 1:25:58 PM] Boss: i didn't understand? do u mean for C---a or for you?

[8/7/09 1:26:17 PM] Rebecca E. Parsons: for me... :(

at 8:15 PM i received this e-mail from the Boss:

I am so sorry about C---a. She will be on full time – and really needs the money for her husband’s treatment. I am afraid that she will pretty much be doing everything we had set aside for you! It won’t be a “real” intern experience this way. I am just as disappointed – but I don’t want this to be a dead end for you. I am so sorry. I was pretty excited to work with you. We would still love to refer out folks for web copy to you – and utilize your graphic design experience as the need comes.

so the intern position that started with such high hopes on wednesday, officially ended friday...was i wacky to be excited about an opportunity i found over facebook? with people and a company i knew little or nothing about? is the the way business will be conducted in the future? without regard to someone's feelings...with no respect? is it easier to do this to someone because the relationship is virtual? just a see ya???

H E A R T L E S S

i am almost speechless....still in shock..and my heart is broken open...

those of you who have been following me this past 18 months know exactly how much that income meant to me...it meant food and electrical power...although i still believe that everything happens as it should and that i live in the midst of infinite abundance...it is a little more difficult today...

so i am learning another life lesson...to be brave and patient...in the face of heartbreak and hunger...please pray for me...

my heart in my hand...

i love the gifts i find on the beach each morning...today i found this beautiful heart shell fragment...can you imagine my excitement at this discovery?

i am so grateful for the many graces of my life...to be able to walk on the beach every day of my life is a blessing beyond measure...that is why i hold my heart in my hand today...it is bursting with joy...

the changes that are happening in this transition period have been amazing...i am growing so much and discovering just how much strength i have been given...God is indeed good to me and i am believing for a miracle...and best of all i am learning that i need very little to survive and be happy...

ideas are everywhere...job opportunities less so...i am having a lesson on hard work this week...i guess i have always thought that if you worked really hard the money would follow...one of the issues i have about money...

MONEY does not equal hard work

and

HARD WORK does not equal money

while walking along the beach this week in meditative prayer i have learned the parable of shark's teeth...i always invite Jesus to walk with me...and i open my heart to receive His guidance...

i love to linger in a shell bed right where the waves are washing the shore looking for shark's teeth...if i look with deep intensity and concentration, i usually find a few...if you have ever walked along the shore with me you have seen me spot one out of the corner of my eye, bend down and pick up a beautiful specimen...

so why do i sometimes labor over a shell bed when i could walk along and find the shark's teeth that i am meant to find...laying there for me as if placed by the hand of God...it is not difficult or time consuming...it just happens...all i have to do is be quick enough to grab it before the water washes it away...

is the same not true about your life and your business...if you try so hard and labor frantically for success it seems illusive...but if you let go of the need to succeed and steadily work in the flow...it seems so much easier to accomplish your goals...and find the successes of life...

and these are the life lessons i so need to learn...asking for help when i need it instead of shouldering the entire burden myself...going with the flow instead of fighting upstream...letting go of the need to be in control all the time...walking steadily toward my goal and taking the time to enjoy the journey...

a turnaround orchestrated by your soul...

this will chnge your life...

Neale Donald Walsh in the 7/3/09 I believe God wants you to know...

....that it could seem like you are losing something right now, but do not be fooled. This is simply a turnaround orchestrated by your soul.

Even before this, you were. And even after all this passes away, you shall be. All the Rest Of It is stuff and nonsense. The accoutrement. The flora and fauna. Pretty, perhaps. Shiny and sparkling, perhaps. But having nothing to do with anything.

Let it go. Release it. If it was not supposed to be removing itself from you now, it would not be doing so. It will never return to you in this exact form, and it is not intended to. If it returns at all, it will be in a higher form. That is the purpose of its leaving. All of life only improves itself. It can't do anything else. This is called evolution. Trust it. And now, smile. Tomorrow is coming! Tomorrow is coming!

your heart's passion...

passion is the life blood flowing forth from you to connect to the world...

what is your burning desire...

what keeps you up late into the night without regard to time or space...

what fuels your soul?

You must be able to passionately describe your vision. You must have a fire burning inside you. You must be driven by your dream. I received this question from a former coaching student. The following is the question and my answer...it describes my feeling about passion...

I am a fan ... read you in the The Faux Finisher all the time ... you have the life I should have had ... and hope to have something similar soon ... thank you for your inspiration and your advice ... M

M:

Thank you for your kind words. I pray that your dreams come true soon. You can always start part-time while doing another job. I did!! It takes patience, but is worth it in the end. If you have a passion for painting and believe in your skills, you can do what you love every day...I promise.

To help you do this, I will share a Secret Plan to reorienting your life around your passion. This is actually a session from my Mini Business Workshop. The plan begins with passion and leads to success.

The first step in the plan—starting from the heart and discovering your passion—by identifying your dreams. Start from any other source and you set yourself up for frustration and regret. Fulfillment comes only when the results you seek and the activities you embrace are in accordance with the person you are. You cannot look to reason or judgment for insights into your soul. Who you are is what’s in your heart.

Make A Decision, Make A Commitment

You have probably thought and dreamed about having your own business for years. All too often people convince themselves that you could not succeed. You fail to make the DECISION TO GO FOR IT.

This is the simplest step to take for your future, but many people fail to take it and live their lives with regrets. Just decide that you are going to go for it and make a commitment to make this goal a reality. It’s that simple! Do you know how many great artists are working jobs that they hate, dreaming of something else, but refusing to take this one step? It costs nothing to decide. Commitment is free. You are limiting yourself. Why?

You must be able to passionately describe your vision. You must have a fire burning inside you. You must be driven by your dream.

My second little secret to achieving your goals is writing them down. Take a sheet of paper and write the following - "I must be a decorative painter and I am committed to making this a reality." That is all you need to do now. You have taken the first step toward your dream, you have put it on paper. Now your brain can start working on how to achieve it. I am proud of you.

After you come to terms with your Dream, it is time for reasoning and rationalizing. You must clarify your purpose and define your actions—you need to think. Because the world can often dissuade you from pursuing your passion by presenting roadblocks. You must pursue it with forethought and care. Careful and thoughtful planning can help you define a purpose and set a strategy for following your Dream. This is our Business Plan

Once you have felt you passion and thought it through, it is time to act. Equipped with both your passion and your plan, you will begin to make changes in your life. This is Taking Care of Business.

If you remain true to your passion and follow these steps, you will find the results you seek. And you will also reap rewards you never anticipated because passion can take you to another level of living. It can open worlds and expand horizons. It can bring new awareness and heightened perceptions. It can empower and improve. Your idea of Success may change as you begin to fulfill your potential, but your passion will propel you onward to even greater achievement and happiness.

so what point am i trying to make with this? last night i spoke with one of my mentors. He asked me about my new business model and asked me to describe it. I faltered at first and then went on to describe 2 or 3 business models i am trying to marry... He listened and then said, "Rebecca, you have a track record and an established brand with the Doing What You Love. You have credibility and name recognition, why do you want to change that?"

this was written about me a few years ago:

A master decorative painter, widely-read columnist, popular motivational speaker and instructor, Rebecca E. Parsons has spent over 30 years honing her craft. For the past fifteen years she has been advising, mentoring, and consulting creative entrepreneurs worldwide. Her knowledge of the business and her passion for successful entrepreneurship have made her the industry’s most recognized advocates for business success. Her book “Do What You Love–Love What You Do, The Step–by–Step Guide to Creative Business,” is hailed as the best business guide on the market.

so i am wondering why i have lack of clarity and focus at this time...i need to follow my own advice and teaching...i opened my book this morning searching for the passages about passion and realized i need to sit down and read my own book!!! and do what i have always told students to do -- ACT!!!

my heart is open...

i stand on the threshold of something big...i know not what it is as yet...and that is the adventure...a surprise awaits me...it is a promise to be kept in my future...


my heart is full of joy and acceptance...i know that i am growing and stretching myself beyond any self-limiting beliefs i once held as truth...i am trusting that God will hold my hand and lead the way...

my heart is open and waiting in joyful expectation for the next journey...

i BeLiEvE

i TrUsT

i LoVe

the courage to stand in my own truth...

for those of us in the midst of realizing that our plans for ourselves may be different from those of our destiny….life can be confusing, exciting, terrifying, enthralling…and more than a little off balance…so I ask for the ancient path…and walk in it…

at a crossroads...which way to go??

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient path, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6:16)

to the reflective mind, i am in the midst of a major spiritual transition where i am to grow my higher wisdom…i have created all the experiences in my life…to learn specific lessons, hopefully gaining wisdom and understanding within the process…if learned, i integrate the lessons into my being…if not, i am bound to repeat them until i do…

i must admit that my perception of a perfect world may be skewed…i have been searching for a way of fitting or molding my future according to the conditions unfolding in my life…i did not choose them…i did not even see them coming…but they happened nonetheless….

in 2008 the focus of my energies shifted to survival…my long-term goals dissolved into immediate life-saving concerns…and my personal world became very small…job loss leading to bankruptcy and foreclosure does this...

practicality is the main goal of each day (and i am so not practical)…forward visioning has been put aside until i become more centered…i find myself betwixt and between reality and possibility… the confusion, illusion, and delusion can get the better of me if i allow it…i choose not to allow it…

so i am embracing the prospects and possibilities of a destiny much different than what i had planned…

during this journey i have been forced to take inventory and open baggage that had been so carefully tucked away….i am confronting my worst fears-loss of security, my job, my home…but i am discovering a new strength…a new wisdom…even a new power (if i dare to speak it)…

i realize that i am moving into a new paradigm where my sense of restriction is vanishing…my fading commitments and obligations have become obstacles to my getting to my new and improved future…

i thought trust was my only issue…but i have learned during this time of bankruptcy, foreclosure, and job loss that i do not know how to receive…

earlier this month a friend became very upset with me over my inability to accept the offers of help i have received…she said i was like the man standing on his roof in a flood who kept refusing help…of neighbor on a cow, a man with a rowboat, people in a power boat, and a rescue helicopter…all the while he prayed for God to save him and kept saying, “No thanks, I have faith in the Lord, the Lord will save me.”

the waters rose higher and higher and eventually the man on the roof was washed away and drowned. Upon arriving in heaven, the man said to God, “Heavenly Father I had faith in you. I prayed to you to save me and yet you did nothing. Why?” God shook his head and replied “I sent you a cow, two boats and a helicopter, what more did you expect?”

this week i spoke to a friend who was in Spiritual Direction formation with me…she said i needed to let others minister to me so that when i am able i, in turn, will be able to minister to others…

so simple, so profound…i am learning to open my heart and receive…

why is this so hard for me? i have always been the one with the solutions…a helper, a giver, a fixer…i ‘prided’ myself on being the one with the God-given wisdom to serve others…

P R I D E that nasty little fault of mine…so the inability for me to find the right, best or any solution has shattered this prideful self importance which is really rooted in low self-esteem…yet i was standing within the pool of prideful self-pity refusing to see the offers of help for what they were…OFFERS OF HELP!!!

a hand of help offered by those who care about me…and i was stubbornly refusing to receive…

“There are so many opportunities available to you in your world. All you need to do is be open to see them. Complaining about life and your circumstances blinds you to what is right in front of your eyes – and that is the possibility of you being “in-charge” of your life and not your complaints running it for you” -Yvonne Rice

this is a big one for me as i am struggling between trying to control everything and letting go and letting God be in control…and i am not even sure how to do this…

i remain conflicted…i know God helps those who help themselves and i also know i need to get out of the way and let God work…but i am unsure exactly how…how to get out of His way…

any suggestions?

short of sitting on the couch until ‘they’ come and put me out of my home…i do not know how to stop working toward bankruptcy, foreclosure, and trying to find employment

each morning i ask for guidance and direction and i believe that what comes to me is what God is sending…even though it feels uncomfortable and unpleasant…and i would prefer to be anywhere else doing anything else, yet here i am 13 months past my job loss still holding on somehow…

if i stop and allow myself to sit with this for a moment, i am amazed…how on earth am i still here in the home i love when my saving account is depleted, foreclosure papers sit on my desk, collection calls overwhelm my phone line, and i am surviving on raman noodles…yes, one can survive on nothing else but raman noodles for several months…but that is another story…

God has indeed been good to me this past year…He has sent me help exactly when i need it…a small commission job…help from my church…help from my family…nothing in excess, but just enough to survive another few days or weeks…and that is how it has been…

i believe that i am going thru this so i can help others in the future...allowing people to minister to me so i can minister to others...does this make sense...and i have decided to stand in my own truth even if i am judged...

this is my path at this time and i claim it and embrace the fruits of it to come...

if you know of anyone who would benefit from reading my blog recounting my adventure in foreclosure, bankruptcy, and job loss please pass the link along...

down...but not out blog!

if God brings you to it he'll bring you through it...

a beloved friend said this to me today...another friend told me i could not keep open a door God has closed...that's been me for a long time now...trying to hold open a door God closed...

For those feeling alone on their journey...

"God, I don't understand why you're allowing me to feel distant from you right now, but I trust that you will always do what is best for me. So I place my prayer life in your hands, and I accept whatever it is you wish to do with it. "  Mark E. Thibodeaux, God, I Have Issues

from Neale Donald Walsh's  I believe God wants you to know today...

....that the sage awakes to light in the night of all creatures. That which the world calls day is the night of ignorance to the wise.

The Bhagavad Gita says that, and it is right.  This scripture means that when all creatures are living in the illusion of darkness, the sage sees things as they really are, and awakes to that vision, praising the perfection. Conversely, what the world calls "day" (or "bright" or "real") is an illusion...the "night of ignorance"...to the wise person who sees how pointless and worthless the shiny stuff of life that most people seek truly is. 

Peer deeply into the darkness, then, and you will see the light.  Yet turn away from the brightness of what others call "day", for they mistake the bright for the good.

pink skies in morn - sailors be warned...

God...i have issues...trust, belief, fear...and my friends have been pointing these out to me recently...as has the universe (see the posts below)...as i travel on this journey of my life, i step forth not having a clue where i am going

along comes Neale Donald Walsch

I Believe God Wants You To Know by Neale Donald Walsch

On this day of your life, dear friend, I believe God wants you to know....

..that the greatest enemy of individual freedom is the individual himself.

Saul Alinsky said that, and he was right. In almost every case, nothing is stopping you, nothing is holding you back but your own thoughts about yourself and about "how life is." 

Your personal freedom to experience yourself and life as you wish is not being limited. Step into your choices and stop telling yourself that you can't, when what you really mean is that you don't want other people to feel the way you think that are going to feel when they see you making the choices you really want to make. Got it?

Every morning I receive a note from Neale Donald Walsch. Do you see a pattern in the messages this week? I BeLieVe God is thumping me on the head!!!

along came Marianne Williamson

from Oprah.com

MiracleThought: What Does Weariness Mean?

"Weariness means you're hanging onto something--it's time to let go. Shed your old skin and grow a new one. There's an old world falling down all around us, making way for the new," Marianne Williamson says. Hear the podcast.

Is there a spirit of weariness upon us?

we are all weary of being who we have been longer than we should have been...it is not longer appropriate to do so...you are holding on to something it is time to let go of...it is time to be reborn into something new...

it is no longer useful to hang out in weariness...to be the person i used to be...it's over!!! let die what needs to die...let be born now what is begging to be born...

be today who you were not yesterday...that you shall be tomorrow who you were born to be!!!

along comes Ali Brown

from ali magazine June/July issue page 121 by ali brown...

it's time to let your light shine

This purpose is your destiny. You know it because you've shared it with me. Your playing small denies God, who created you. It also denies all the other people in the world who you are meant to help in this lifetime. If you stay where you are and keep covering up your greatness, they will never be influenced by your teachings. You are not only hurting yourself, but all those people who will never be graced by your inspiration.

long night's journey into day..

Let us pray with those who are anxious for the light at the end of the tunnel. "Only those who walk in the dark see the stars."  Mark E. Thibodeaux, God, I Have Issues

long night's journey into day...

this is a powerful post...my Sabbath Song...those of you who follow me know that the past 18 months have been a time of much trial for me...every level of my life has been affected and i have been shoved way out of my comfort zone...

yesterday morning in a coaching session with my Jack Canfield coach Dave...everything was going along fine until he asked me, "Do you believe 100% that you can change the circumstances you find yourself in right now?" 

POW  WHAM   ZAP....a moment of perfect clarity...this is why i find myself struggling right now...i am only about 50-50%...and that, my friends, is exactly what is holding me back...

you know the saying by Napoleon Hill, "What ever the mind can conceive, and believe, the mind can achieve."

well idea generation has never been my problem...i have a BIG imagination and can brainstorm with ease...and i have a seemingly endless supply of clever ideas pouring from me...but the piece i am struggling with is the belief...and belief is what is holding me back from achievement... believing at 50% will get 50% results...DUH!!!!

belief in the idea and my ability to achieve the end result has somehow been damaged during this long dark night of the soul i have been in for 18 months...it must be repaired...

i asked God during my morning meditation for help and guidance...when i looked up i saw the above image i titled "long night's journey into day..."

a few minutes later this image appeared...

i send rays of light to lead you out of the darkness into a new day rebecca

believe...believe...believe