Category Archives: Body, Mind & Spirit

Today’s Guest Blogger: Mystery Writer Patricia Stoltey

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Patricia Stoltey

 

 

It is my pleasure to feature Patricia Stoltey as our guest blogger today. I hope you will post your comments or questions, as she is on hand and ready to reply to your comments. And thank you, Pat, for taking the time to interact with my readers today. Your professionalism and talent are an inspiration to many.

Paying Attention Might Change Your Life by Patricia Stoltey

Pat, thanks so much for inviting me to visit Voice of the Spirit. I’m especially honored to be here as I’m a big fan of your inspirational memoir Dance of the Electric Hummingbird and admire the commitment and the hard work it took to get your story published. Everything that happened for you indicates you’re someone who pays attention.

For me, paying attention means observe, notice, listen, and interpret. Instead of charging through my day as if I were in complete control, I need to feel the underlying message, test my interpretation, and then act with confidence.

A few years ago I stayed with my mom in Illinois after her knee replacement surgery. Over the years, I’d tried hard to convince her to move to Colorado to be closer to me, but she couldn’t decide. My brother and his wife lived nearby, and because of their health issues, it would have been harder for them to travel to Colorado than for me to visit Illinois.

Just before her surgery, however, my brother had to move to a town closer to health care providers and Mom was unable to make the move on her own. Now just out of the hospital and still on pain medicine, totally dependent on me, she was at her most vulnerable. I wanted to swoop in, take charge, and move her to Colorado.

It didn’t quite work out the way I wanted. As I watched and listened to what my mother and brother were not saying, which was far more revealing than what they were saying, I realized there had to be a better solution. I had ten days left in my two-week stay, and only seven of those days were weekdays. In that time, I rented the only available apartment in the same complex where my brother now lived, and it just happened to be a ground floor apartment which was critical because of Mom’s arthritis. I found a local mover who could transfer her furniture and possessions immediately. We got the house listed for sale, everything packed, the move completed, and a caregiver to visit each morning to finish Mom’s therapy from the surgery.

I believe nothing happens that fast, without a single hitch, unless I’m 100% doing the right thing. That conviction eased my disappointment and helped banish any regret I might have experienced later, especially during those inconvenient layovers in Chicago’s O’Hare airport.

And guess what. The force is still with me. As I got older and a little more creaky, Frontier suddenly added a direct flight to an airport only 45 minutes from where Mom (now age 93) lives, and there’s a convenient shuttle between the cities. No more all-day travel events with four hours to kill in O’Hare.

Serendipity is often seen as a mere surprise or accident, synchronicity as coincidence. I don’t believe that for a minute. I’ve experienced way too many surprises and coincidences in my lifetime. I think it’s because I look for them, I expect them, and I express my gratitude for every signal and every sign.

Here’s another little story for you. Not long ago, I received an e-mail through my website from a gentleman named Gary Sand who wrote a novel called In Dreams. Out of the blue, he contacted me and asked if he could send me a copy. He had figured out from photos, my website, and my blog that he’d written about my generation and that I now lived in the state where most of the novel is set. He had a feeling I might enjoy the read. Gary doesn’t aspire to be a writer of dozens of books, and he had no expectations for a review or publicity. Being the book lover I am, I of course said, Sure.”

I put the book on the bottom of the To Be Read stack on my coffee table (a stack that seems to grow taller every week), but that particular book kept drawing my attention—I couldn’t help but wonder, “Why me? Why did Gary send it to me?” Finally I pulled In Dreams out of the stack and read it almost straight through. I ended up in tears…twice.

Gary’s novel told of events in my own life experience, events Gary would have no way of knowing. The parallels are stunning. His story was almost like a rap on my head, a reminder that we are all connected and we should pay attention to our instincts as Gary did by asking to send me a book. And I paid attention to the signals that said, “Read Gary’s book now, because you need a reminder to count your blessings.”

There are a couple of books you might want to read if you’re interested in these topics. Rhonda Byrne’s The Magic focuses on gratitude. Alex Marcoux just released Lifesigns: Tapping the Power of Synchronicity, Serendipity and Miracles.

Now how about you? Do you pay attention?

Links:

In Dreams (http://www.amazon.com/Dreams-Gary-Sand/dp/B005CHKIAI/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351028939&sr=1-1&keywords=In+Dreams+Gary+Sand)

Lifesigns (http://www.amazon.com/Lifesigns-Tapping-Synchronicity-Serendipity-Miracles/dp/0615627978/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351028775&sr=1-2&keywords=lifesigns)

The Magic  (http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Secret-Rhonda-Byrne/dp/1451673442/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351028863&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Magic)

 

Bio:

Patricia Stoltey lives in Northern Colorado with her husband and two-year old Katie Kitty. She is the author of two amateur sleuth mysteries in the Sylvia and Willie series published by Five Star and Harlequin Wordwide, and she has three standalone suspense manuscripts in the works. The Prairie Grass Murders and The Desert Hedge Murders are now available as e-books for Kindle and Nook.

You can find more about Patricia and her books at her website (http://patriciastoltey.com/) and blog (http://patriciastoltey.blogspot.com/). She can also be found on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/patricia.stoltey) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/PStoltey).

Links:

Prairie Grass Murders: (http://www.amazon.com/Prairie-Murders-Sylvia-Mystery-ebook/dp/B004FGMT0Y/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1351031661&sr=1-1)

Desert Hedge Murders: ( http://www.amazon.com/Desert-Murders-Willie-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00960SI9K/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1351031721&sr=1-1&keywords=the+desert+hedge+murders)

 

Superstition and Beliefs

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I’ve been watching some interesting shows on TV lately, shows about different superstitions and beliefs around the world. Some of them terrify me—exorcisms and people who pierce themselves with hooks that are connected to weights, then climb a hundred steps dragging the weights up the stairs—and all of this to appease their god or gods. And there was a segment about women deemed witches by their peers and driven out of their villages because the crops failed that year or because there was an unexplained death in the village.

A lot of those stories featured superstitions and customs in third world countries, but people in the United States believe some pretty weird stuff too, like “if a black cat crosses your path, it’s bad luck” or “if you break a mirror it’s seven years of bad luck,” to name a few mild ones.

I got to thinking about all these things and how they related to me, because I’ve had a lot of unexplained incidents happen to me over the past decade that some might call crazy. And as I was experiencing those things, there were often times where I wondered if I was simply inventing them in my mind or if my perception of reality had somehow become seriously flawed.

So where does belief in the supernatural get out of hand and cross the border into insanity or in the very least, when does it become an unhealthy belief? Perhaps it’s a matter of interpretation, because in those third world societies, I’m sure they didn’t consider the things they were doing unusual or cruel or wrong in any way. They were raised with those superstitions and that’s the way things have always been done.

This reminds me of a story a friend once told me about a family who had a rather unusual tradition of how they cooked roast beef. Before putting the roast in the oven, they always cut it in half. Generation after generation prepared the roast in this way, until one day, a mother was preparing the meat to put in the oven and her daughter questioned it. “Mom, why do you always cut the roast in half before you cook it?”

Her mother replied, “Because that’s how my mom taught me to do it.”

Unsatisfied, the young girl then asked her mother’s mother and got the same response. Since her great-grandma was still living, she then asked her, “Does cutting the roast in half give it a better flavor or something?”

Her great-grandmother smiled and said, “Well, I started doing it that way because the roast was too big to fit into the pan I had, so I had to use two smaller ones, and I cut the roast in half to fit into the pans!”

And so, a tradition, a sort of superstition, was born.

Often our superstitions are established out of fear—fear of bucking the system, fear of the unknown, of things we cannot see with our eyes. And at the same time, we also have a need to find explanations for the reasons things happen the way they do–it’s a matter of survival of our species. But what do we do when there is no logical explanation? Like why the crops fail or why a seemingly healthy child dies for no apparent reason? Or why lightning strikes a certain man on the golf course—one in particular—but not the others he’s with? Are these circumstances merely random flukes of nature?

It’s times like these that we sometimes turn to our spiritual beliefs, because there is no other way to explain things. But when does believing in the supernatural get out of hand? And where did I get the notion that such beliefs can get out of hand? Maybe it’s because I believe in the importance of balance. In martial arts, I learned that in order to be whole, one must nurture one’s body, mind, and spirit in equal amounts. If one of these becomes more important than the others, it’s time to reevaluate. This makes sense to me.

And yet, there are monks and nuns who do nothing but meditate and pray all the time, but someone has to feed them, house them, clothe them, do they not? Can one’s mind float above one’s body the entire time, even when preparing food, cleaning house, washing clothes, or going to the bathroom? Perhaps. I’ve heard it said that that’s the ultimate state—not to allow one’s self to be distracted by the outside world because the outside world is just illusion. That could very well be true.

So maybe the villagers who were condemning those women were simply blinded by illusion. And yet, it was “fact” that the crops failed that year and the entire village faced possible starvation because of the loss of food, so they felt compelled to do something about it. They didn’t realize (logic) that by ousting someone, it wasn’t going to provide a means to feed their people that year; they only believed that by doing so, it would prevent the same thing from happening in the future, because it must have worked once before. Maybe that’s a lot of the problem with the world: people feel victimized and powerless, so it’s easier to blame someone else than to accept responsibility.

Perhaps the real solution is to believe in ourselves—believing, KNOWING that we are NOT powerless and that no one is to blame but ourselves. And yet, how does that apply in cases of horrendous things happening to innocent people? They didn’t choose their lot, because if they would have known ahead of time what was going to happen, they likely wouldn’t have chosen to be in that setting. I also know there are those who would argue this point and say that yes, we choose everything in life, including when and how we are going to die—we choose this before we are born. But that’s a whole different topic.

I  personally don’t think those villagers were crazy because of their beliefs; they were simply doing things the same way they’d always been done—and maybe it’s my own fear that makes me think that they were doing something wrong—although hurting others is NEVER acceptable.

There’s a lot to be said for tradition—I think it’s wonderful and important to honor our heritage. However, I also think it’s important to question things and to examine our hearts to see how we feel about the things we unquestioningly accept as true and right, merely because that’s how it’s always been done. Maybe that’s where the border lies between unhealthy beliefs and belief in the supernatural—in the stepping back and examining our reasons for our thoughts and actions and adjusting them accordingly–by restoring personal balance–if necessary.

 

 

 

Once in a Blue Moon

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Well, that explains it. I’ve been feeling especially anxious lately and I usually only get that way around the days preceding a full moon. According to astrology, the moon is my planet.

And this month, there are TWO full moons, the second occurring today, August 31; the second full moon that occurs within a month is often referred to as a blue moon.

Yesterday, I woke up feeling like I couldn’t concentrate; I was distraught and restless and I couldn’t figure out why I was feeling like that since I’d just gotten out of bed! So while the coffee was brewing, I decided to sit down and meditate. Meditation usually clears my head and helps me concentrate, but let me tell you, yesterday, it was difficult to make myself do it for even ten minutes!

Afterward, it was like a veil had been lifted. I felt refreshed, inspired, focused and invigorated–after a mere 10 minutes of just sitting and breathing!

The benefits of meditation never cease to amaze me, and once again, it proved invaluable to me. If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll consider giving it a try one of these days. Many years ago, my tae kwon do sa bum nim (master) taught me how to meditate. “Do not expect anything from mook yum (meditation),” he told me. “Just do it.”

So I did. I sat and meditated daily for six months without expectation and then one day, like a wary deer tip-toeing out from a dense forest, the benefits of meditation began to reveal themselves. And they were profound. I’m not saying that you need to meditate for six months before you’ll notice any benefits; your experiences will be different than mine–but I am saying that you will notice benefits if, like with anything else, you don’t give up!

10 Things You Can Do RIGHT NOW to Have a Mystical Experience

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Baja Rock Pat

I’m often asked, “What can others do to have a mystical experience?”

It is a valid and important question. Spiritual awakening or mystical experience, realizing God, the Divine, or one’s purpose in life are spiritual longings inherent to many of us. And lately, it’s becoming more and more apparent that a lot of us are in fact, having these types of experiences. But what about those who desperately yearn for something like this and it just isn’t happening? Can one make it happen? Are there exercises one can do? Or dogma one can follow to ensure communication with the Divine that resides in each of us?

The answer is no. First of all, there is no one dogma that will satisfy everyone. We all have different spiritual needs and lessons and we do not all comprehend in the same way. You would not explain how to bake a cake using the same words you’d use when talking to a four-year-old as you would to an adult, now would you? Of course not.

But that doesn’t mean that just because there’s no tried-and-true set of rules you can follow to find your answers that you are left completely to the mercy of luck or fate. There are certain things you can do right now to help open yourself to the possibility.

Here are my suggestions:

1. MEDITATE – Even if it’s just for 10 or 15 minutes a day, meditation helps you disconnect from the endless chatter of the outside world (and more importantly, your own ego chatter) and allows you to open the channels of communication with your Higher Self–that part of you that connects you with God. And you don’t have to follow an elaborate ritual either; all you have to do is sit quietly and breathe. More about this in a forthcoming post.

2. GET OUT IN NATURE – Take a walk in the park or around the block and allow the sights, the sounds, the scents and the experiences of nature to surround you. If you’re able to spend even more time outdoors, such as camping, hiking, horseback riding, boating, gardening, etc., so much the better. Sometimes just sticking your toes in the sand or going barefoot in summer grass can recharge your spirit. The important thing is to absorb what is around you: take a deep breath and really notice the scents, sounds and sights; feel them as they nourish your spirit.

3. OPEN YOUR HEART AND YOUR MIND – Although this sounds easier than it is, meditation can help a great deal in this area. New experiences cannot get “in” to a closed mind. In the practice of Zen, there is a state of consciousness referred to as “Beginner’s Mind.” It is something we are all supposed to strive for. It means that we should approach each experience as though it were something we’d never encountered before. It is in this state that we can know the true blessing of each moment.

4. LOOK FOR JOY IN YOUR LIFE – Take a few moments right now and jot down five things that bring you joy.They don’t have to be things that cost money, they can be simple things like spending more time with your family. And don’t forget to list your hobbies because when you lose yourself in your hobbies, believe it or not, it’s at that moment that your mind is truly in a meditative state and you probably don’t even realize it!

I’ll make it easier for you. List your five things here:

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Now work toward incorporating more of those things into your life.

If this seems like an insignificant suggestion, don’t be fooled. It is powerful. It will change your life. But you have to follow through; that which brings you joy is the gateway to the realization of the purpose of your life.

5. RECORD YOUR DREAMS – Maybe you’re longing for improved health, a red Ferrari, a chance to compete in the Olympics, or whatever, and that’s great, but you have to actually do something to help instigate the process. Here’s a place to start: imagine your goal in intricate detail, as much detail as possible. See what it looks like in the palm of your hand, feel what it feels like to have achieved that goal–the great amount of joy it brings you, and feel your gratitude to God, the Universe and Self that accompanies the realization of your goal. Describe how it tastes and how it smells, and what sounds you notice as you attain your dream. Note how your life has changed because of it. Then write it down. By putting into words your hopes and dreams, you are setting the molecules in motion to help manifest these things into your life. And the more explicit you can be when you imagine them, the better.

Besides recording your dreams on paper, voice recorder or computer, another way to do this is to cut out pictures that show people doing the things you want to do (or have). Then paste them onto a poster board near your computer or work-space where you can see it every day. In the Bible, Jesus said, “Ask and it shall be given unto you.” So while you’re asking, why not EXPECT THE BEST? If you always settle for less because you’ve convinced yourself that that’s all you deserve, then that’s all you’ll get. On the other hand, if you look for the best, you will find it. Or I should say, it will find you.

One of my favorite quotes is by Les Brown. He said, “Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss it, you will land among the stars!”

So WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

The dreams you have while asleep are important too but they sometimes arrive in codes that make sense only to you. However, if you write them down on a regular basis, after a while you’ll begin to see a pattern emerge. This is another way the voice of your Higher Self communicates with you. It’s up to you whether to listen or not, but if your life isn’t going as well as you’d hoped, what have you got to lose by listening to your Higher Self?

6. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY – How many times have you gotten on an elevator when the only other person in the elevator was a person who gave you the creeps? You feel the tension in your body and your gut says, “Something about this situation doesn’t feel right,” but you push that thought away, telling yourself you’re being ridiculous. Then you hop on the elevator anyway, in spite of the warnings from your body. This is how people get hurt. Or worse. Better to look like an idiot than to have something bad happen.

Shamanism teaches that when you become familiar with your own body’s messages, you also become more in tune with your Higher Self. So the next time you’re pondering what to do in a given situation, ask your body! Try on each solution like a big, fluffy coat and see which one feels best. The key here, is to allow your body to speak and not to impose your will upon the message.

The first lesson I learned in martial arts was that before proceeding with anything, you should make a quick survey of the situation and if something didn’t feel right, it probably wasn’t. The best defense is not to knowingly put yourself in harm’s way and to be aware of your surroundings and of what your body is telling you. Nine times out of ten you can avoid confrontation this way.

7. WATCH FOR SIGNS – This goes along with the previous suggestion of being aware. Not only can you avoid danger this way, you will also begin to notice little nuances that lie beneath the surface that may otherwise have gone unnoticed.

The day after my mother’s funeral, I looked out my window and there were about 20 flickers (a type of woodpecker) on our tree in the backyard. I thought it rather odd, then called my neighbor to see if she was experiencing the same thing. She wasn’t. She came over to see all the flickers and by the time she arrived a few minutes later, my entire backyard–along with the trees and houses of my nearby neighbors–was black with robins. The flickers were gone, but I didn’t see them fly away. Nor did I see the robins arrive. At the time I was still in shock over the death of my mother and it barely registered in my brain that this was something unusual. However, I couldn’t escape the feeling that the robins were trying to be near me because as I looked out the window, they kept landing on the gutter outside right above my face and when I opened the door and stepped outside, they didn’t even try to fly away.They just sat there staring at me. Thousands of them.

There are signs like this around us all the time. And by paying more attention and giving them more credence, we open our minds, thereby allowing a new set of awareness to enter. (And meditation will help you notice these things as you’ve never noticed them before.)

8. BELIEVE! – NOTHING is impossible. “How do you know?” you may ask. I know because the impossible happened to me. And it’s still happening. I also learned that what we believe is more important than any sort of scientific justification. I learned this the hard way because every time I tried to disprove or validate my supernatural and mystical experiences, it always turned out to be a complete waste of my time. So trust your heart. You know the truth.

9. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP! – There’s a Japanese proverb that says, “If you fall down seven times, get up eight!” Yes! Maybe all you have to do is turn the next corner and you will find what you’re looking for. However, you’ll never find it if you don’t keep walking. Remember, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE. It’s only our minds that tell us so. Our minds and spirits are powerful tools, but like anything else, when we learn to use them properly, we can accomplish so much more!

10. LET GO IN ORDER TO GAIN CONTROL – Sounds like a paradox, doesn’t it? But my entire book is about this very concept. I wasn’t looking for a mystical experience when it happened. It found me. And I have discovered that the more I try to force things, the more resistant they become. That’s often because we are looking in the wrong place for our answers. Our answers (and God) aren’t “out there”; they’re inside of us, and as long as we keep looking “out there”, we won’t find what we’re looking for. When I step back from my ego mind–that part of me that thinks it’s in charge and will fight to the death to maintain that position–and allow things to come to me, that’s when the magic happens. Every time. This too, is easier said than done, but it is important. It’s the same as the expression “Let go and let God.”

I know all these things because I lived them. The circumstances in my life arranged themselves in such a manner that it was as if I had no choice but to abide by their principles. Technically, yes, I had a choice, I always have a choice, but in this instance, my mind and spirit would not allow me to choose to go against the very truths I had sought my entire life and suddenly discovered had been deposited at my feet. The interesting part is that they revealed themselves to me backwards. I was living them before I understood what was happening to me, i.e., I was enjoying the finished meal (which I had somehow unknowingly prepared) but I had to figure out the recipe if I cared at all to understand or explain how I was able to make such a splendid meal in the first place!

So, this is my advice to you. Open your eyes. Open your heart. Be aware of what’s around you. Listen. Taste. Breathe. Love. Laugh. Trust yourself. Allow–and the magic will find you.

Podcast of Planetary Spirit

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Jeff

Host Jeff Ferrannini reads excerpts from Patricia’s book on the air, expounds on Patricia’s portrayal of Sammy Hagar who, despite his role as a legendary rock star, also has a deeply spiritual and caring side, and then moves on to discuss the implications Dance of the Electric Hummingbird has for the ordinary person in today’s world. Says Ferrannini,

“Dance of the Electric Hummingbird is probably going to open the doorway to a lot of people who wouldn’t be approaching this at all if you didn’t open that door and say ‘here’s another way of looking at it.’ And it’s not a holier-than-thou-type of perspective … it’s so natural, so down-to-earth, so unabashedly personal and honest that I really would find it hard to believe for most people who take the book and at least get to page 60 to not take it to heart.

This book has so many surprises for me. You’re very open and honest and playful about your sexuality.  It almost feels like an innocent person who’s awakening to that … and they’re surrendering in the moment to what feels good and pleasurable and we get taken along for the ride. Not in a dirty or titillating kind of way. It’s more like you present it like it’s something sacred: ‘This is my awakening to something so much deeper to what a human being is really all about.’

The honesty that you bring into this, it gives people permission to be themselves and to also embrace their spirit as a beautiful thing as opposed to something that needs to be bridled and controlled.”

To hear more, please visit: http://www.planetary-spirit.com/Guests/248_PatriciaWalker%20.html

Realizing I Have a Choice Even When It Doesn’t Seem Like It

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This time of year is difficult for a lot of people, including me. Several years ago, my dear father passed away right before Christmas, and 51 days later, so did my mom. So after the hustle of the holidays is over and I’ve taken down all the decorations and packed them in boxes for next year, pawned off left-over cookies on my visiting sons and anyone else who will take them off my hands before I eat them all (I was raised to believe that wasting food when people were starving in the world was simply unacceptable), like many others, the starkness of winter often hits me like a slab of icy concrete.

The other day I had a particularly tough day. I was scheduled for a radio interview, was all hyped-up and ready, but for some reason, at the last minute, it didn’t work out; we had to reschedule.

Things went downhill from there. It wasn’t any one thing that seemed to contribute to my bad day, it was a combination of a lot of small things.

I felt as if my brain was in a fog and my body slowly sinking in a very deep sea. I tried really hard to make myself accomplish something because sitting around doing nothing is not something I take kindly to. Besides, I already had my day planned out—I would organize the papers in my office—make folders for all my book files, get the laundry done, catch up on the bills and bank accounts, ship a copy of my book to my aunt and finish the grocery shopping. These are not difficult tasks, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t put my body or my brain into motion. Plus, I’d been reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s book “Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage”, her follow-up to her #1 best-seller “Eat, Pray, Love” and “Committed” made me ponder all sorts of things, like my identity for instance. But that’s another post.

I was also pondering things like, What else should I do to help promote my book? and I wonder if we can afford for me to go to the dentist this month and Why the hell has my arm been hurting so bad for two weeks now? All rather trivial things, to be sure. None of them are major stressors like losing one’s job and not being able to pay the rent, or finding out one’s teenage daughter is pregnant.

Nevertheless, my mood darkened by the second, until I found myself no longer treading water; now I was going under. That was when, by some miraculous visage of strength from the back of my brain, I told myself I had a choice: I didn’t have to let those negative feelings overtake me. And I knew this, but I kept sliding into that dark abyss anyhow, and the further I slid, the less I felt able to grasp that knowledge—that I truly did have a choice. I also realized that there were thousands of people in the world suffering from full-blown depressions and all sorts of similar conditions and I was beginning to see how that could easily take root in one’s psyche when one felt like that. Perhaps, just like what was happening to me, it started with the little things and before long, those little things overpowered you like a swarm of piranhas. And as I was thinking all these thoughts, through some remaining shred of logic, I wondered—what can I do to pull myself out of this?

A very big part of me said to tough it out, to push forward because after all, you’re damn lucky to be where you are right now; you have so much more than a lot of people—a house to live in, food in your belly, clothes to wear… How dare you feel so sorry for yourself! Of course those thoughts didn’t offer any solace; they just made me feel worse, because then I felt guilty for feeling down when I had so much to be thankful for.

Right about that time then, guilt, which needs only the tiniest fissure in which to creep in and wrap itself around me like a familiar coat (or a boa constrictor—whichever image you prefer) took a firm hold of me and made things even worse: I should be accomplishing something today. I shouldn’t feel this way. What’s the matter with me? Why am I such an ingrate?

It was at that moment that some semblance of self-empowerment took over. I can’t rightly say where it came from, but somehow I managed to step back from my insistent ego-mind to remind myself all over again, that I had a choice. I could let the darkness sabotage me, drag me down further, maybe even into a full-fledged depression, or I could listen to what my body and spirit were trying to tell me, even though I kept dismissing them for all those reasons of guilt. So I leaned back in my chair and asked my body and spirit what they needed.

And this is what they said, “We’re exhausted.”

“What? That’s ridiculous! I slept just fine lastnight; how could I be so wiped out?” It was my ego-brain attempting to rationalize things again.

I decided to listen to my body and spirit. I took a nap. And when I got up, I popped a bag of popcorn in the microwave and got myself a real Pepsi, not the diet version I usually have, but a real one—loaded with sugar—and proceeded to polish them both off, even though my ego-mind was jumping up and down in the back of my brain like a bratty kid and telling me that it was almost time to fix dinner; if I ate all that stuff, I wouldn’t be hungry for dinner. Besides, sugar wasn’t good for me.

After that, I went upstairs and sat in front of my computer, and as I glanced out the window, I realized that the sun was going down behind the mountains, but I also realized something else: those last few rays were shining on my face and they felt warm. They felt like love.

My darkness melted.

We all have days like this once in a while, but this experience showed me how even small negative thoughts can easily turn into HUGE negative thoughts. Negative attracts negative just as positive attracts positive. But sometimes it seems easier to wallow in the negative, to let those thoughts pull us down rather than to search for the energy to claw our way out of the pit and into the light again. So what can we do?

I’m sure medical experts would say that I shouldn’t have had the sugar, but according to a recent article about the wintertime blues, for the most part, I did a few things right, which is perhaps the reason my bad mood didn’t swallow me whole. For one, I saw that I had a choice, and for another, I exposed my face to sunshine. I also sat back and tried to determine the cause of my bad feelings: I listened to what my body and spirit had to say, even when my ego mind told me there was no reason I should have felt that way. And when I listened, my body and spirit knew exactly what they needed.

Shamanism taught me to use this technique in other aspects of my life as well. If I’m pondering what to do in a given situation, I ask my body and spirit and notice how they react. Sometimes the reactions are so slight that I can’t detect them and sometimes they’re blatantly obvious. But the more I listen to my Higher Self, the more in tune I become with my own sense of what it is I really need, and that is one of the keys to true happiness.

I always have a choice.

My Father’s Spirit’s Christmas Gift

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This is coming from my heart. Unedited.

Six years ago today, I was stepping into my car, getting ready to go to work, when the phone in the garage rang. It was my brother, telling me that paramedics were working on Dad and it didn’t look good.

But it was too late; they couldn’t save him.

My precious father left this world just days before Christmas in 2005. We were a close family. Mom joined him 51 days later.

To me, Christmastime is family time. A time to relish the blessings I have in the form of my loved ones. And every year, I go overboard in spoiling them. I figure, what good are material things if not for sharing with others? According to my husband, I spend too much money on my family and friends at Christmas. I bake too many cookies and make too much candy; I have too many decorations and too many corny Christmas CDs. It’s true. I do. I can’t help it. It’s not because I think giving material things or causing people’s waistlines to expand are the most important aspects of the holidays, it’s because I use these things to honor those I love. Because to me, it wouldn’t be Christmas without the cooking, baking, gifts, and decorations, but mostly, it wouldn’t be Christmas without my friends and family.

And because of this, coupled with the fact that we lost Dad right before Christmas, I miss my parents more than ever during the holidays.

So last night, before I sat down to meditate, I was thinking about how much I missed my dad and I wrote in my journal about how badly I wished I could see him again—hug him, smell him, look into his eyes. And as I meditated, drifting to that place of serenity in my mind, I “saw” a black tunnel about twelve inches in diameter. The opening was small and it grew wider on the opposite end, like a funnel with the small end facing me. The inside of it was swirling and there were wisps of white stuff floating in it like threads of cotton candy. And suddenly within the tunnel, like the image from an unseen projector, was my dad. He was much smaller than in human form and he was walking toward me, calling me by the pet name he used to call me when I was a little girl.

Was all this just my imagination? I wondered.

Still maintaining the controlled breathing I use during meditation—slow, rhythmic, even, measured—I opened my eyes. And then I saw it—the outline of something moving and transparent like liquid egg whites. I could see primarily just the edges of it near the dresser in my bedroom. It was the shape of a human, but I didn’t recognize it as anyone in particular. And it was about eight inches shorter than an average adult.

A tingling sensation went down the back of my head and down my spine. Tears flowed from my eyes. I knew then, that the sensations I was getting, were my body’s way of telling me that this apparition was the spirit of my dear father.

I said out loud, “Is that you, Daddy?” as tears ran down my face and my nose began to run.

There were no verbal or intuitive messages from the spirit, so once again, my mind told me, “You’re just imagining all this because you want so desperately for it to be so,” but at the same time, a part of me knew. My body knew; the chills I felt were not imagined.

I told my father that I loved him. I told him how much I missed him. And the spirit lingered for a long time, as if it was working very hard to make itself more recognizable to me, but it never quite accomplished that.

Before I knew it, I laid down on the bed and fell asleep. I never sleep soundly, but last night I did. I slept like a rock.

Perhaps this sort of thing happens to other people on a regular basis, but it has never happened to me before, which was why my mind kept telling me it was just my imagination. But I’ve heard it said that imagination is the bridge to the world of spirit. I also believe that at Christmastime, there is a kind of magic in the air even more so than at other times of the year. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve believed this. And what we believe is more powerful than any amount of scientific justification, is it not?

I believe this was the greatest Christmas gift I could ever have received—the gift of love from beyond what I see with my eyes—the gift of love, which never dies.

Wishing you and yours the blessings of love and joy in the coming year.

–Baja Rock Pat

Holiday Blessing

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As the holidays approach and many of us find ourselves over-extended in so many ways, I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you, a message that was sent to me recently, as it reminds us of what is really important–the gift of self. We can’t shine our light into the lives of others unless we nurture that light within us. Enjoy.

 

May the Light nourish your eternal and internal longing
to reach toward the Spirit.
May you recognize the unique and powerful contribution you make
to the world and to those in your life.
May the Light shine in you, and show you who you really are.
May you be loved by someone who sees you.
May the Light transform any shame, guilt or unworthiness,
and fill you with qualities
like self-respect, confidence and compassion.
May you be at one with your own body,
recognizing it as the home of your beautiful and alive Spirit,
And may it teach you to care for yourself.

May you befriend all of your emotions.
May the Coming Light enlighten you to your inherent nature.
May you live more and more from that place:
a nature fully creative, fully powerful and intelligent,
full of awe and wonder,
completely connected to yourself and others
in loving cooperation.
And may you,
with me,
extend this wish to all beings.

-Written by Rosen Body practitioner Dorothea Hrossowyc 2011-

Loss of Legends

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Posted July 1, 2009

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There are so many things I should be doing other than writing about this, but the unexpected death of Michael Jackson has thrown me into a tailspin. Death does that to us. Just when we think we’re going on our merry way, thinking we need to make sure we put the trash out on Tuesday, or get the bills in the mail before they’re late on the 15th, suddenly we are body-slammed by something much more powerful, something that makes us realize how very precious each day is.

I was expecting Farrah Fawcett’s death, but it was still a tragic loss. What a beautiful lady she was; she had indomitable class and she presumably maintained those qualities right up until the end. I used to love watching her on “Charlie’s Angels” in the ’70s and my brother had her famous poster on the wall in his bedroom. Farrah and her fellow actors back then—Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson, showed us that women can be both sexy and strong.

Unfortunately Farrah’s death was overshadowed by that of Michael Jackson’s…

farrah

My youngest son came home from work and told me the news. As when I heard about the death of John Lennon, at first I thought it was a joke.

And to a lot of people, apparently it is a joke. While I was in the grocery store the other day, I overheard a man at the check-out telling jokes to the clerk—jokes about Michael Jackson’s and Farrah Fawcett’s deaths. I can take a joke with the best of them, but when I heard what he was saying, something cold and slimy seemed to crawl up my spine. I wanted to say, “Have some respect for their families, will ya?” but I knew if I opened my mouth, I’d be inviting trouble with a man who had already passed judgment on a person he didn’t even know.

The fact remains that none of us will ever know what really happened with Michael and the boys he was accused of sexually molesting. Sure, like O.J. Simpson, he was acquitted. But I have a different opinion of the O.J. case and I won’t go into that. Michael, on the other hand, was a different story. While he was obviously an eccentric person, I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt about the molestation. (I am in no way condoning his behavior however.) Not because he’s dead, but because from what I’d seen on television and the news, Jackson was robbed of his own childhood. Because of this, he seemed to spend his entire life searching for it. I remember seeing an interview with him once. Michael climbed up in a tree and the reporter on the ground below him asked, “You’re 45 years old, Michael, aren’t you a little old to be climbing trees?”

“It’s fun!” Michael chirped, “you should come on up!”

MJ2

Eccentricities aside, Michael Jackson was and always will be an icon. I saw him carry the huge responsibility of being frontman for The Jackson 5 when they first appeared on TV with their huge afros. How cool that was! He was the same age as me when they became famous. I can only imagine the immense burden this role would be on anybody, much less a child. And he went on to change the world; Michael truly did bridge a gap between races. His music appealed to all; his dancing talent inferior to none.

What makes someone a celebrity in the first place, is the fact that their personification reveals a part of ourselves many of us have a hard time getting in touch with; it doesn’t matter if we like them or not.

And whether one feels disdain toward him or awe, the name of Michael Jackson has affected us all. Let us not dwell on the negativities associated with his name, especially since the worst of his accusations was never proved. Perhaps it is our own insecurities and inequities that produced the sad and lost soul that tormented him in the first place. Let’s heal his wounds right now by not carrying them, in the form of our judgments, any further. Let’s remember the man for the gift of love and immeasurable talent he gave the world.

May you rest in peace, Michael, thank you for brightening my life with your music.

May you rest in peace, Farrah, thank you for showing me that true beauty can also be strong.