August 20, 2010 OF TIME, TWEETS AND SOULS FLYING FREE
With all the Facebook, Tweets and Twits stuff going on, I sometimes feel like it's all too much. Just give me a real live human being with whom to converse while sitting in the shade of the redwood tree in my own front yard. No computers, no cell phones, nothing that needs rebooting or recharging! (Except me!)
Especially this week, I feel deep appreciation for the simple things in life....and for life itself.
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Earlier this week, I spent nearly 72 hours with a dear woman named Jean, a former client. I had the honor of playing the role of "spiritual midwife" as she transitioned from her body. She'd been valiantly dealing with cancer for several years, and at age 74, it was now time to let go, and move on.
After many long hours, during which her body and soul prepared themselves for this transition, I was gifted to be at her side at the moment of release. I was able to witness the look of indescribable joy and awe that shone through her barely opened eyelids in the instant before she left her body.
She'd been unconscious for the better part of three days, so for her to return to awareness just enough to reveal that beauty to me - and to her daughter, Sherrie, who was on her other side - was an unspeakably precious gift.
I don't know precisely what Jean experienced in that moment, but I do know she wanted us to know it was beautiful beyond imagining. A single tear rolled down her parched cheek, and then she was gone.
Sherrie and I sat wide-eyed, feeling an indescribable awe and Lightness of Being, as we both cried and laughed and hugged across her mom's now-uninhabited body. Then, I turned and softly played "Amazing Grace" on my crystal singing bowls, as Jean's soul flew free.
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So, although time marches on at an ever-increasing rate here on this earthly plane, I've been freshly reminded that what truly matters knows not the bounds of time, nor the confines of the body. Who we truly are could never be expressed in a tweet, a twit, a blog, or a book of any kind - Face or otherwise!
As the birds flutter amongst the branches above me, singing their songs with joyful abandon, I find myself joyfully reflecting that each of us has a unique song to sing... and wings with which to fly.
I am blessed with that knowing. I wish for you the same blessing.
Namaste.
Relax Into Healing...
June 6, 2008 NAUTILUS BOOK AWARDS WINNER!!
Spring, literally and figuratively, represents a time of fertility, growth, blossoming.... and boy, is that apros pos for me these days! Semi-dormant seeds of creativity from my subconscious mind have begun wriggling their way up into the light of consciousness. Ideas and projects that have been on the middle burner for months and years now seem to be demanding to be placed front and center. I've been curtailing outer activity levels, to afford time for writing, reflecting, researching, as well as for clearing the decks (again, literally and figuratively) for the next chapter. It's an exciting time.
And speaking of exciting.....I was recently informed that my Relax Into Healing Series collection, comprised of my six most recent titles (Healing Affirmations & Harp; Pain: Softening the Sensations; Surgery: Mindful Mending; Cancer: Embracing the Healing Journey; Chemotherapy: A Healing Solution; and Radiation: Removing the Dross), was named a Silver Award Winner in the prestigious Nautilus Book Awards. Nautilus' slogan is "Changing the world, one book at a time." The category my titles placed in is "World-changing Audio Books." Wow.
This is a big deal on many levels. To begin with, it is very gratifying to be in the esteemed company of the other award winners, who include the likes of Deepak Chopra, Krishna Das, Lynn McTaggart, Julia Cameron, Barbara Kingsolver, Norman Shealy, Dawson Church, Gregg Braden, Gary Zukav, Thich Nhat Hanh...to name but a few.
(Pardon me for name dropping, but to be in this kind of company is pretty humbling, and pretty darn cool...!)
Also, from a marketing standpoint, it is very helpful to be able to use the coveted "award-winning" adjective to describe my work. This kind of commendation will help tremendously to get this work out there to even more people who can benefit from it. Which is, after all, the point of all this.
And yet even way more "cool" and gratifying than the noteriety and marketability aspects, is the fact that this is a testament to the power of belief, the power of intention, and an unrelenting faith in the Higher Power.
I remember sitting at the Nautilus Book Awards ceremony back in the early 90's, when I had one little cassette tape out on the market, and I was stumbling my way around the (at that time known as the) ABA trade show, trying to educate myself on how this whole crazy publishing/marketing world works. (I'm still workin' on that..!) I watched, with a lump in my throat and more than one tear in my eye, as author after author went up and received their award for having created life-changing, consciousnes-changing books.
Something inside me stirred...deeply. And I vowed, "Someday....".
I held that vision, through many ups and downs and ins and outs. Now, with the unrelenting assistance of the Higher Power, (and the addition of a new category this year for audio books!), I am at that juncture in my Path. It's time. And so I head to LA with an overflowing gratitude in my heart for this honor... and this responsibility.
And I pray that the Divine Muse keeps clearing and using me, so that I may be as effecctive a Vehicle as possible, as we all work together to change the world.....one thought, one word, one action....one choice at a time.
I leave you with a quote from the Talmud:
If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If only for myself, what good am I? If not now, when?
collection, comprised of my six most recent titles (Healing Affirmations & Harp; Pain: Softening the Sensations; Surgery: Mindful Mending; Cancer: Embracing the Healing Journey; Chemotherapy: A Healing Solution; and Radiation: Removing the Dross), was named a Silver Award Winner in the prestigious Nautilus Book Awards. Nautilus' slogan is "Changing the world, one book at a time." The category my titles placed in is "World-changing Audio Books." Wow. 
