Independence Day

Independent:

"freedom from the control, influence, support, aid, or the like, of others."

Being independent

"means being able to take care of your own needs and to make and assume responsibility for your decisions while considering both the people around you and your environment.”

I felt stuck when I attempted to write of late. The words “me” or “we” were bouncing around in my head but I kept hitting a wall. I began thinking about the upcoming holiday, Independence Day, and the characteristic Americans are especially proud of—our right to live as we choose. As I looked up the definition of independent I discovered that I could not relate to it as a interpretation of how we live in the 21st century. Being independent seemed a much better fit. I sat with the words, “assume responsibility for your decisions while considering both the people around you and your environment.”

In this unique time in our history we are called to think, not only of ourselves, but of our place in and our impact on community. Selfish actions are not only thoughtless, they are life threatening. In this escalation of the philosophical idea of “independence” we have forgotten that in truth we are all interdependent.

A community and the people who inhabit it thrive when the population works together for common goals. It is destroyed when people forget that we are linked together by all that we do and how we live in our villages, towns and cities.

Have you ever played this game? Look around your environment and take note of how many invisible and nameless people have provided goods and services to furnish your world. From the person who dyed the wool in your carpet, the carpenter who cut the boards for your floor, the farmer and laborer who harvested your food, and the trucker who delivered it, there is nothing in your world that you can claim sole credit for. You may move independently through your day but each move has been supported by millions of others working and living on this planet.

As we celebrate Independence Day my hope is that we also celebrate our fundamental connection with each other. And that we all focus on bringing more love, more healing and more light into our individual and common world. Let’s celebrate our interdependence with renewed respect and love for one another.

You Matter

You Matter 

Self esteem from the Inside Out

Self Esteem: A confidence and satisfaction in oneself. Self-respect. 

Another definition: Confidence in one's own worth or ability.  Webster's 

What yardstick do you use to calculate your worth? If you assess your value through societal standards you may be setting yourself up for heartache and suffering. Our culture measures worth and value through one's financial success, beauty, and brains. These standards are a surefire path to low self esteem and unhappiness. Over and over in my work I am shown that money truly does not buy happiness, beauty does not guarantee a charmed life and intelligence does not insulate one from chaos and pain. 

In my readings there is only love. A person's value shines through as their "inner core". This core is the essence of who they are, what spark of light they bring into the world and the vibrational energy they were born to share. Core energy can be defined by the qualities of  joy, delight, playfulness, enthusiasm, kindness and compassion.  What would happen if we began to use these intangible qualities as the benchmark for our value and worth?

Self esteem begins to flourish as you accept who you are with your shortcomings and struggles. And it will grow as you encourage the expression of love and joy in all that you strive to create. When you foster unconditional love you will begin to be a gentler and kinder judge. The twists and turns of your life have given you wisdom and compassion. Life's trials have softened your edges and deepened your ability to forgive and let go. You are valuable. You matter. You have the power to help, heal, to create and discover. You have a voice that counts. 

To develop self esteem one must begin with the concept that we are all valuable, we are all worthy. We can then open pathways to forgiving. We abandon self-righteousness.  And we forge a path of appreciation and respect not only of our voyage but of the journey of each and everyone of us.

"You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection" _Siddhartha Gautama

Love and light,

Nora

Packing Up My U-Haul

Packing Up My U-haul

 

"In the end the love you take is equal

to the love you make" 

  The End, Paul McCartney

 While giving a reading a few weeks ago, I listened as a client reminisced about her father. She recalled how he would frequently explain his philosophy of life by simply imparting the time-worn adage,  "You don't see a u-haul following a hearse." The rather comical image of a hearse towing a u-haul lead me to question, if I could take something with me, what would I take and what would I leave behind? It was not long before I concluded that my imagined u-haul held nothing from the physical realm. Love was the substance of value I would carry with me and my expression of love was the tool with which I would leave my mark.

Imagine a world where the most precious commodity is not gold, silver, oil or coal but love. How would we conduct our lives if we knew that we could only "take" with us the love conceived through our actions and our thoughts?  Suppose the earthly assignment of our souls is to ensure that our physical chemistry will be composed of the elements of love, kindness, and harmony as well as oxygen, carbon and nitrogen.

Through my work I am granted a glimpse of the unique light that resides within all my clients. The core essence of each individual shines through as an expression of beauty and grace no matter how blind they are to it. What blocks the awareness  of this exquisite light is an attachment to unrealistic standards measured by a flawed yardstick. The measuring device is often composed of criteria rooted in the physical world.

 

Do you believe that you missed out on success because you are not rich or beautiful by today's standards? Do berate yourself as you reflect on what you should have accomplished, achieved or created? Imagine that life is a stage furnished with various props and set designs. It is on this ephemeral stage we express our gifts and learn our lessons. Ultimately, it will be of little consequence where we live, the fortunes we have amassed, what school we graduate from or how many honors have been bestowed upon us.  What will matter most is the harvest of love we have engendered while occupying our unique space on the planet.

How would we live our lives if what multiplied our worth was the action of love rather than the accumulation of wealth or the strength of our might? Decide to practice the art of love. Instill your thoughts with kindness. Breathe and be patient.  Return again and again to that imaginary u-haul and fill it with the brilliance of your unique light of love.

Love and light,
Nora

I am an illumination of light, my love shines.

It Begins and Ends With Love

All Roads Lead to Love

All roads lead to love. That is the message I have been receiving lately, in my life, in my meditations and in my work.

While researching for my tele-class I discovered an interesting book titled "Beyond Forgiveness, Reflections on Atonement" by Philip Cousineau.  In it he writes, "The act of atonement, the experience of at-one-ment, allows you to be conscious that you've never really been cut off, that you've always been one with the only power that is." What struck me while reading the stories of atonement, contributed by a variety of people, is how through a transcendental understanding of those who had injured them the writers accomplished total healing. They embraced "at-one-ment" and by doing so were able to begin a healing journey that brought each person to a deeper and more meaningful understanding of their purpose in life. Often the atonement was so profound that it shifted their entire life path. Think of Nelson Mandela inviting the very guard who gravely mistreated him to join him for tea.

Love is the foundation, the undercurrent, the mystical force that fuels forgiveness and atonement. Love is the power that enables us to transcend our own limited views.

A friend and client recently suggested that I read the book "Dying to be Me" by Anita Moorjani. In it the author echoed the idea that we are all one through the sharing of her near death experience. She states, "I became aware that we're all connected. This was not only every person and living creature, but the interwoven unification felt as though it were expanding outward to include everything in the universe, every human, animal, plant, insect, mountain, sea, inanimate object and the cosmos." In the book she recounts the experience of complete and all encompassing love.

The message of oneness and love is more often spoken of on Sunday mornings than acted on in our every day life. We tend to find ways to habitually separate ourselves from others. Our neighbors build fences; we see the world as "us and them".  There are the democrats and the republicans, the sinners and the saints, the rich or the poor. We find ways to look down our noses at the individual, the group or our community in order to feel superior. What kind of world would we live in if we could begin to understand that when we judge others we judge ourselves? When we see lack in someone it is a reflection of a fear or sadness that resides within.

How can we begin to train our eyes to see the need for love in others, rather than reacting in judgement or condemnation? One tool or method to strengthen and instill the power of love is to choose to focus on the virtues that grow love. First, through the love of Self, the careful nurturing of our soul and spirit, we may build the muscle that manifests love. Daily attention to a practice of living the virtues that open avenues toward love will strengthen the foundation. If you practice forgiveness, you build love. When you experience gratitude you expand love. By creating harmony you grow love. When you act with kindness and compassion you reflect love. Live in ways that open the door to kindness, harmony, compassion, forgiveness, creativity, and joy and you will be spreading love throughout your day.

As Dion Warwick once sang, "What the world needs now is love, sweet love." and it has never been more apparent. As you begin to reflect love in your day be kind to yourself. Do not judge or criticize your efforts. Each conscious act of love can only build on the next until you one day discover that you are expressing your inner light in a more dynamic, beautiful and loving way.

It takes courage and creativity to be on this planet. I so appreciate all of you who are partnering with me on this exciting journey.

Love and light,
Nora

My actions and my thoughts create love.

Suggestions:
Read anything by Philip Cousineau
Read "Dying to Be Me" by Anita Moorjani