Life, according to my friend Paddy, is like the softball game she used to play as a child. She remembers that while she played in the position to which she was assigned, she would become extremely anxious if another team member was not able to do what was required, and Paddy would suffer extreme frustration in not being able to change the outcome of the game. She realized at some point in her life, that worrying about what other team members could or could not do, was not her business. She had to learn that she was assigned to hold a certain position on the team and hold it to the best of her ability. That was why she was there.
As in softball, when we become overwhelmed by the tragedies and trauma of our world and feel immobilized by our inability to take care of all that needs to be done (much as we feel as we think of the catastrophic devastation in Haiti) perhaps it serves us well to remember that we are not able to do it all. We are each here to play a part, and to play it in full consciousness, to the best of our ability. We can help others where and when it is possible but just being the best Paddy/Susan/Margaret/Heather that we can be, is why we are here.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Feeding our souls
A New Year's resolution is to make my time more valuable this year by using it wisely. Interesting how we consider time as a commodity - we use it, spend it, waste it, and heaven forbid, kill it. I want to make the moments count and consider carefully what I do with my days. I make a point of having music on while I work and will now not just wait for vacation time to read, but will spend part of each day reading. As I walk on the treadmill or relax in a recliner at the end of the day, I am treasuring the time I can spend reading uplifting prose and poetry to fill my mind with meaningful images to replace the cacophany that television brings into our homes. "Traveling With Pomegranates" by Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter Ann is nourishing my soul at present, as the books 'The Woman Who Named God' by Charlotte Gordon and 'The Joining' by Vishara Veda have done over the past few weeks. I would love to hear what you are doing with your time and what you are doing to feed your soul.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
New beginnings
As of this morning, my blog will appear here and on my website at www.dancinginthefootstepsofeve.com. I plan to update regularly and hope to have some discussion sparked.
From a facebook friend, Marie Tucker comes the following— a favorite quote that she has had for some time
Promise Yourself
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature you meet.
To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds.
To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.
My website blog is linked to others that are empowering for women through the work of artist, writers and activitists. let me know if you would like a reciprocal link
From a facebook friend, Marie Tucker comes the following— a favorite quote that she has had for some time
Promise Yourself
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature you meet.
To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds.
To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.
My website blog is linked to others that are empowering for women through the work of artist, writers and activitists. let me know if you would like a reciprocal link
Monday, December 7, 2009
2010 - an invitation to awaken to conscious evolution
When asked how she is, my friend and mentor, Barbara Marx Hubbard of Santa Barbara responds: “Evolving, thank you and how are you?” I love this response and was delighted to find that Barbara was interviewed recently as part of a 14 week teleseminar that has caught the attention of 30,000 women from all over the world— listening in on the computer or telephone. A gathering of this size, by women all over the globe, is simply astounding— women from all walks of life responding to the call of the process of conscious evolution. We re responding to something we may not be able to articulate but whose validity we intuitively recognize.
At a recent Peace Conference, the Dalai Lama stated that “ the world will be saved by the Western woman.” Inspired by this sentiment and following their intuitive wisdom, in balance with their technological knowledge, Katherine Woodward Thomas and Claire Zamitt (www.femininepower.com) devised and are presenting “Women on the Edge of Evolution”— an invitation to “awaken to the power to co-create our lives and shape the collective future.” The question they pose for us to consider is what our role as women will be, in the creature of our future on this planet— something profound to consider as 2010 opens for us.
In the New year, I plan to start a new conversation for women in the San Luis Obispo area based on this series and will welcome the participation of those who would like to be a part of this exploration. Please feel free to contact me at heathermendel@me.com should you wish to participate and I know we will gather together and watch our combined energy move us forward.
At a recent Peace Conference, the Dalai Lama stated that “ the world will be saved by the Western woman.” Inspired by this sentiment and following their intuitive wisdom, in balance with their technological knowledge, Katherine Woodward Thomas and Claire Zamitt (www.femininepower.com) devised and are presenting “Women on the Edge of Evolution”— an invitation to “awaken to the power to co-create our lives and shape the collective future.” The question they pose for us to consider is what our role as women will be, in the creature of our future on this planet— something profound to consider as 2010 opens for us.
In the New year, I plan to start a new conversation for women in the San Luis Obispo area based on this series and will welcome the participation of those who would like to be a part of this exploration. Please feel free to contact me at heathermendel@me.com should you wish to participate and I know we will gather together and watch our combined energy move us forward.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Signs and symbols, lost and found.
In his new book, The Lost Sign, Dan Brown informs us that the world is certainly stranger than we know. Members of the ancient fellowship of Free Masons are divided as to the meanings of the symbols of their tradition. Ancient signs are mythic and multi-layered and meet the observer at whatever level they are encountered. It was ever thus and is as timely as it is timeless. Quantum physicists are showing the validity of this concept as they explore the world on a subatomic level. The observer may affect the results of laboratory experiments. Are we seeing the meeting of science and spirituality?
Nothing is as it appears. Surface and substance — which is real? An ancient Buddhist teaching reminds us that the finger pointing at the moon is not the moon, and unless we move our focus away from the finger, and focus on the direction of where the moon is, we miss the splendor in the night-time sky. In a totally contemporary setting, we are confronted with the multi-layered world of twitter. As novices, what appears as a disconnected cacophony of signs and symbols carries layers of information. One ‘tweet’ does not follow another in conversation-like fashion of she-says, he-says. The short bursts of no more than 140 letters contain cryptic codes, apparently random events sent out to invisible audiences of people we have never met and likely never will. These messages contain strata of meaning and information that initiates are able to follow, at lightening speed no less.
In learning the language that connects them, people are able to find like-minded compatriots all around the globe and share information that is important to them, from the most mundane, such as where to get the most delicious chocolate in the neighborhood to satisfy the body, to the most profound concepts that inspire readers with courage, hope and empowerment to satisfy the soul.
Our language and communication skills are getting shorter and faster, closing vast distances of geography and society, as the communication net we cast out reaches further than before. Long gone are the days of the pleasure of receiving a long awaited letter in the mail. So much is changing so quickly. News is no longer news 24 hours later, which means newspapers were replaced by TV news, which is now getting its instantaneous information by e-news. Shopping in stores now being conducted online, and like-minded people all over the world connect through a gadget that fits into the palms of our hands.
Authors are discovering that it is no longer the reviews of professionals that build readership, rather it is the words of readers, you and me, that will encourage one another on enjoy what we have found meaningful.
For some, this is daunting, for others exciting. There are benefits and dangers to this e-age, multiple possibilities that are affected by the senders and receivers of these apparently cryptic messages. A strange new world indeed!
Nothing is as it appears. Surface and substance — which is real? An ancient Buddhist teaching reminds us that the finger pointing at the moon is not the moon, and unless we move our focus away from the finger, and focus on the direction of where the moon is, we miss the splendor in the night-time sky. In a totally contemporary setting, we are confronted with the multi-layered world of twitter. As novices, what appears as a disconnected cacophony of signs and symbols carries layers of information. One ‘tweet’ does not follow another in conversation-like fashion of she-says, he-says. The short bursts of no more than 140 letters contain cryptic codes, apparently random events sent out to invisible audiences of people we have never met and likely never will. These messages contain strata of meaning and information that initiates are able to follow, at lightening speed no less.
In learning the language that connects them, people are able to find like-minded compatriots all around the globe and share information that is important to them, from the most mundane, such as where to get the most delicious chocolate in the neighborhood to satisfy the body, to the most profound concepts that inspire readers with courage, hope and empowerment to satisfy the soul.
Our language and communication skills are getting shorter and faster, closing vast distances of geography and society, as the communication net we cast out reaches further than before. Long gone are the days of the pleasure of receiving a long awaited letter in the mail. So much is changing so quickly. News is no longer news 24 hours later, which means newspapers were replaced by TV news, which is now getting its instantaneous information by e-news. Shopping in stores now being conducted online, and like-minded people all over the world connect through a gadget that fits into the palms of our hands.
Authors are discovering that it is no longer the reviews of professionals that build readership, rather it is the words of readers, you and me, that will encourage one another on enjoy what we have found meaningful.
For some, this is daunting, for others exciting. There are benefits and dangers to this e-age, multiple possibilities that are affected by the senders and receivers of these apparently cryptic messages. A strange new world indeed!
Monday, August 10, 2009
It is all about choice
Having just returned from an enjoyable and enlightening trip to the Balkan Peninsula, I am conscious of the importance of choosing to let go. Visiting the countries of the former Yugoslavia, the hope and aspirations for a better future were as tangible as the physical evidence of past conflicts, recent and ancient. The wounds from the recent homeland war in Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Albania were still fresh, both in the physical landscape and the hearts of the people. Geopolitical boundaries are permeable and shift while ethnic divisions remain deeper than any marks on a map.
As visitors, we are reminded of the ethnic pain suffered over the globe in far-off lands and close to home. Whatever our own ethnic background, we feel each other's pain and are reminded of our own familial stories. What do we do with our own historical and ethnic pain? What to we pass on to the next generation? With the blessing of becoming concious, we realize that we have choices. We can teach our children not to forget and at the same time to forgive, as we forge a new pathway forward. Our challenge is to find ways of releasing the past instead of living in it in the present moment.
The Balkans are a complex interweaving of histories, ethnicities and cultures. Visitors marvel at medieval walled cities, now vibrant with internet cafes and people sipping coffee and chatting on cell phones. Museums are filled with ancient weaponry and swords— instruments of death, irrespective of their beautiful mother-of-pearl and inlay designs, for those deemed different. Just as buildings of ancient stone, partially destroyed by earthquake or human greed and fear of the 'other' can be left to accent the landscape, they are also used to rebuild new lives and start anew. Can we each learn to take past memories, remnants scattered over the terrain of our individual inner landscapes, and build something new, creative and hope-filled? By letting the past go, we can become conscious in the present moment and build a new and different future of mutuality, respect and celebration of diversity. It is challenging, possible and worth our striving.
As visitors, we are reminded of the ethnic pain suffered over the globe in far-off lands and close to home. Whatever our own ethnic background, we feel each other's pain and are reminded of our own familial stories. What do we do with our own historical and ethnic pain? What to we pass on to the next generation? With the blessing of becoming concious, we realize that we have choices. We can teach our children not to forget and at the same time to forgive, as we forge a new pathway forward. Our challenge is to find ways of releasing the past instead of living in it in the present moment.
The Balkans are a complex interweaving of histories, ethnicities and cultures. Visitors marvel at medieval walled cities, now vibrant with internet cafes and people sipping coffee and chatting on cell phones. Museums are filled with ancient weaponry and swords— instruments of death, irrespective of their beautiful mother-of-pearl and inlay designs, for those deemed different. Just as buildings of ancient stone, partially destroyed by earthquake or human greed and fear of the 'other' can be left to accent the landscape, they are also used to rebuild new lives and start anew. Can we each learn to take past memories, remnants scattered over the terrain of our individual inner landscapes, and build something new, creative and hope-filled? By letting the past go, we can become conscious in the present moment and build a new and different future of mutuality, respect and celebration of diversity. It is challenging, possible and worth our striving.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Cultivating Soulful Self Care
The words of the Desiderata, purportedly written several hundred years ago and found in a church in Baltimore, remind us:
Whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the Universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you consider God to be. . . . . with all is sham and drudgery and broken dreams it is still a beautiful world.
As we look around us, it is only with an innate optimism and unswerving faith that we can hold this vision. As the slumbering giant of the Eastern hemisphere awakens to the promise of all that consumerism can bring, the West looks at the emptiness that consumerism leaves in the soul and seeks answers to life’s questions in the wisdom of the East. As Nature is despoiled to the point of suffocation we are all finally forced to look at our place in the Universe and ask those embarrassing questions about what we individually are doing to help and what we are doing to hinder the realigning balance that is so out of kilter. We think we know so much! Science has provided incredible insights about the working of the natural world and gifted us with a corporate machine that clogs our world with plastics and aluminum, and our infests our bodies with parabens and other chemicals that we can’t pronounce that poison our bodies and we wonder at the number of cancer–related illnesses, numbers of children with being diagnosed with autism – all in the greediest, most consumerist nation on the planet. As American’s, as women, how do we find any sense of balance and soulful ways to live our lives? Just as the crew in any airplane instructs: In the event of any emergency, "please place one over your own face before trying to assist another." Audre Lorde reminds us too that caring for ourselves is not self-indulgence, it is self –preservation. Hillel stated us :If I am not for myself, who will be for me
John O’Donohue, mystic poet, has some fascinating ideas about living soulfully. “The more I've been thinking about this, the more it seems to me actually is that the visible world is the first shoreline of the invisible world. And the same way I believe with the body and the soul. That actually . . . the body is in the soul, not the soul just in the body. And that in some way the poignancy of being a human being is that you are the place where the invisible becomes visible and expressive in some way.”
Our scientific bias has blinded us to what indigenous people all over the world knew and know that nature – rocks, plants, animals, the stars, planets and universe is alive with a consciousness, different but equal in all ways to our own. When we go out each morning, silently and listening, in O’ Donohue’s words with “an open heart and a watchful reverence” we are amazed at what we can learn. Being aware of the vitality of nature and her cycles connects us into the rhythm of the universe. If we consciously attend to this energy we start to open to life in anew way in which the following can enhance the soulful quality of our days. Reading O'Donohue is taking the oxygen mask he offers.
Whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the Universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you consider God to be. . . . . with all is sham and drudgery and broken dreams it is still a beautiful world.
As we look around us, it is only with an innate optimism and unswerving faith that we can hold this vision. As the slumbering giant of the Eastern hemisphere awakens to the promise of all that consumerism can bring, the West looks at the emptiness that consumerism leaves in the soul and seeks answers to life’s questions in the wisdom of the East. As Nature is despoiled to the point of suffocation we are all finally forced to look at our place in the Universe and ask those embarrassing questions about what we individually are doing to help and what we are doing to hinder the realigning balance that is so out of kilter. We think we know so much! Science has provided incredible insights about the working of the natural world and gifted us with a corporate machine that clogs our world with plastics and aluminum, and our infests our bodies with parabens and other chemicals that we can’t pronounce that poison our bodies and we wonder at the number of cancer–related illnesses, numbers of children with being diagnosed with autism – all in the greediest, most consumerist nation on the planet. As American’s, as women, how do we find any sense of balance and soulful ways to live our lives? Just as the crew in any airplane instructs: In the event of any emergency, "please place one over your own face before trying to assist another." Audre Lorde reminds us too that caring for ourselves is not self-indulgence, it is self –preservation. Hillel stated us :If I am not for myself, who will be for me
John O’Donohue, mystic poet, has some fascinating ideas about living soulfully. “The more I've been thinking about this, the more it seems to me actually is that the visible world is the first shoreline of the invisible world. And the same way I believe with the body and the soul. That actually . . . the body is in the soul, not the soul just in the body. And that in some way the poignancy of being a human being is that you are the place where the invisible becomes visible and expressive in some way.”
Our scientific bias has blinded us to what indigenous people all over the world knew and know that nature – rocks, plants, animals, the stars, planets and universe is alive with a consciousness, different but equal in all ways to our own. When we go out each morning, silently and listening, in O’ Donohue’s words with “an open heart and a watchful reverence” we are amazed at what we can learn. Being aware of the vitality of nature and her cycles connects us into the rhythm of the universe. If we consciously attend to this energy we start to open to life in anew way in which the following can enhance the soulful quality of our days. Reading O'Donohue is taking the oxygen mask he offers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
