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

the different ways in which needs can be satisfied...

"Besides the earth, man's principle resource is man himself. His intelligence enables him to discover the earth's productive potential and the many different ways in which needs can be satisfied." -- Pope John Paul II

in my dreams there is a banquet...and everybody i love, or ever have loved, or ever will love is there...and it is beautiful...and everyone is happy and there is enough food for each to have their fill...no one is hungry or in pain or sad...

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday...i love to get up early to bake the bread that has risen all night...and cook, and cook, and cook...pumpkin soup in tiny pumpkins i baked to the perfect golden glow...my turkey served with tiny ruffled shoes...homemade gravy and the inner parts turned into a feast for the animals...

this year is different...and i pray:

Lord, continue to fuel me with the desire to be productive...and understand the different ways in which needs can be satisfied...

pictorial essay...all photos taken this morning at sunrise...

for these i am thankful

natures' vignettes

a tiny feather in the sun

my great blue heron muse

a great splash photo

a chubby sanderling

a sunrise portrait session by the sea

rippled sand in the sun

surfers at dawn

pelicans flying low over waves

finding a perfect nautilus shell

a flock of sea gulls

colorful sea foam bubbles

haze over the ocean

watching a thanksgiving family photo session by the sea at sunrise

mostly i am thankful for the beautiful friendships i have found during the past 18 months...they have fueled my energy when i had none and filled my weary spirit with joy...you have given to me knowing that i had nothing to give in return... you know who you are and i hope you know how much i love you...and i say simply...

thanks

please read the post below about food banks and what they need this season...if you can help, please do...

Yehudit...

dawn's early light

this is a continuation of the story from last post about a special woman from Jerusalem i met on the beach this week...her name is Yehudit (pronounced yeah-who-deet) Hebrew for Judith...of Hebrew origin meaning "from Judea"...have you ever had an experience where, during it, you knew you life had been touched in such a way that you would never be the same again....that is what happened to me this morning...

Yehudit walks on beach

Yehudit walked with me this morning...slowly as my foot is healing...she is very tiny with a gigantic spirit...she told me of her life and her mission...she is a Jew who believes in Christ...and her mission is to dispel hatred from the hearts of people all over the world...i believe in my heart of hearts i took a walk with Jesus this morning...

Yehudit's sky

she said, "one word spoken in anger can place hate in someone's heart...you may not even know that the seed has been planted...and this tiny seed thought causes damage to the world...."

has anyone planted a tiny seed in your heart?

two jobs thru facebook...leveraging the power of social media

I dwell in the midst of infinite abundance...

inspired by a post by blissstudios (Tuesday 14th July 2009)

i am, as you are, an energetic being...created from energy, surrounded by energy, and using the power of thought to create my world...

this week something amazing happened...an answer to prayers surely...i responded to two facebook posts about jobs...and manifested both of them...the power of positive energy combined with the power of social media...energy radiates forth...to create what i desire...

so how did this happen...two different companies posted a comment on facebook about needing help...one as an social media intern for an Internet marketing company...the other as a copywriter, web/graphic designer for an Internet launch business...i posted a reply of interest...they requested a resume...we corresponded over the weekend...and on tuesday i was told that they both wanted to hire me...

lesson: always conduct yourself with honesty, respect, and integrity over social media because everything you post, or is posted about you, will reflect on the person that you are...and create a personal brand of sorts...what does your social media brand say about you???

Never say anything about yourself you do not want to come true. ~Brian Tracy

my beliefs about who I am and what I can co-create with God are limitless...my vibrational output and my inner dialog must always be focused on what i want, not on what i do not have...for i know:

What i worry about is what i create.

so i am grateful and blessed beyond measure this week...and I dwell in the midst of infinite abundance...

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!

embracing change...The Purpose of Me...

new day...new life...new biz...new haircut...yes i decided to wipe the slate clean & i whacked the hair off...it was draining all my energy...don't you love the flair earring...

change...re-Engineering...transformation...i am bubbling over with joy and excitement to share with you...

i got very quiet and listened to my inner voice...mine has been screaming to me for several months now...so i took the difficult/faltering/hesitant first step, wrapped in the fog of fear, blindly onto my then unknown path...

and that one action, done with little more than blind faith, has aligned my passion with my life purpose...and given me the belief in my power and strength...and, best of all, it has opened the way for me to embrace all the dissonant parts of myself and marry the Inner BEing to the Outer BEing into a single focus...

i have such clarity of purpose now and it comes from a place of love, not fear...

i have been struggling for years with the false belief that i had to keep separate my business life and my spiritual life...while i was getting somewhere in my business, it was taking a discernable toll and stealing too much of ME to get there...because, DUH!!!...i was not operating within my life purpose...

for those of you who have studied with me and read my books and articles, i am sure that my passion for you to succeed did come through...for those who have been to my retreats and/or my  creativity workshops, you came much closer to discovering the inner BEing...when i decided to go into formation for spiritual direction, none of you seemed surprised which helped me realize that the Inner BEing must come through everything i do...the first in a series of BIG aa haa moments for me...

for years i have been trying to MAKE it happen, when all i needed to do was let it BE...and live the Purpose of Me...

once i stopped DOing and began BEing...and clearly understood doingness is the function of the body and beingness is a function of the soul...i leveled up from the default circumstances of my life and stepped confidently out on my path in full trust and belief that i am BEing who i was placed on this planet to BE!!!

Rebecca E. Parsons the Passionate Spiritual Leader and Mentor with a Big Job to do!!!