A Message from Dalai Lama

A Message from Dalai Lama

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose don't lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three Rs: Respect for self, Respect for others and Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon. I also know that dreams really do come true and you have my Best Wishes and my best efforts in those.

---

Manifesting

"Offer a vibration that matches what you desire

rather than one that keeps matching what is.”
- Abraham-Hicks.

living in the now

Go for long walks,
indulge in hot baths,
question your assumptions,
be kind to yourself,
live for the moment,
loosen up,
scream,
curse the world,
count your blessings,
just let go,
just be.
~ Carol Shields

if I had million dollars

this is one of my favorite songs.
Peace!!!!
Michele




If I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
I'd buy you a house
(I would buy you a house)
If I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
I'd buy you furniture for your house
(Maybe a nice chesterfield or an ottoman)
And if I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I'd buy you a K-Car
(A nice Reliant automobile)
If I had a million dollars I'd buy your love

If I had a million dollars
I'd build a tree fort in our yard
If I had million dollars
You could help, it wouldn't be that hard
If I had million dollars
Maybe we could put like a little tiny fridge in there somewhere
You know, we could just go up there and hang out
Like open the fridge and stuff
There would already be laid out foods for us
Like little pre-wrapped sausages and things

They have pre-wrapped sausages but they don't have pre-wrapped bacon
Well, can you blame 'em
Uh, yeah

If I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I'd buy you a fur coat
(But not a real fur coat that's cruel)
And if I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I'd buy you an exotic pet
(Yep, like a llama or an emu)
And if I had a million dollars
(If I had a a million dollars)
Well, I'd buy you John Merrick's remains
(Ooh, all them crazy elephant bones)
And If I had a million dollars I'd buy your love

If I had a million dollars
We wouldn't have to walk to the store
If I had a million dollars
Now, we'd take a limousine 'cause it costs more
If I had a million dollars
We wouldn't have to eat Kraft Dinner
But we would eat Kraft Dinner
Of course we would, we’d just eat more
And buy really expensive ketchups with it
That’s right, all the fanciest ke... dijon ketchups!
Mmmmmm, Mmmm-Hmmm

If I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I'd buy you a green dress
(But not a real green dress, that's cruel)
And if I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I'd buy you some art
(A Picasso or a Garfunkel)
If I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I'd buy you a monkey
(Haven't you always wanted a monkey)

If I had a million dollars
I’d buy your love

If I had a million dollars, If I had a million dollars
If I had a million dollars, If I had a million dollars
If I had a million dollars
I'd be rich

Boiling point

We boil at different degrees.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Belief

Mark made this very special picture. Here are some cool quotes from Wayne Dyer. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do! Love, Michele

If you refuse to change your job (if you don’t like it), the only sensible thing you can do is practice loving it every day.

Enjoy everything that happens in your life, but never make your happiness or success dependent on an attachment to any person, place, or thing.

The more you see yourself as what you’d like to become, and act as if what you want is already there, the more you’ll activate those dormant forces that will collaborate to transform your dream into your reality.

Most people are searching for happiness outside of themselves. That’s a fundamental mistake. Happiness is something you are, and it comes from the way you think.

You are in a partnership with all other human beings, not a contest to be judged better than some and worse than others.

Life is never boring, but some people choose to be bored . . . boredom is a choice.

Treat yourself and others with kindness when you eat, exercise, play, work, love, and everything else.

Money—like health, love, happiness, and all forms of success that you want to create for yourself—is the result of living purposefully. It is not a goal unto itself.

The opposite of courage is not so much fear as it is conformity.

Try viewing everyone who comes into your life as a teacher.

Forgiveness is the most powerful thing you can do for yourself. If you can’t learn to forgive, you can forget about achieving true success in your life.

There are limits to material growth, but there are no limits to inner enlightenment

Oh Boy

This is the crew that Mark is taking to the Chris Brown concert tonight. They are watching from a loge and Mark is not letting them out of his site!!! Good thing there is a bathroom in the loge and they deliver food and drink there. Also found out that some teenage boys from another party will be in the loge.......good luck Mark.......and thank you so much
Uncle Jim Bob!!! and thank you Aunt Nola for the use of your 8 passenger car!!
Love, Michele



Feelings are our bodies signaling us that we need something we are not getting at the moment. They are the "stuff" of which close, intimate relationships are made. They are the nourishment of the psyche, mind and heart. They enrich and add passion to our experience of being alive. Suppress them and you miss out. Identify and express them and you become a lot happier and more fulfilled. Lloyd Thomas

balance

Sometimes, it is easy to be generous outward,
to give and give and yet remain ungenerous to yourself.
You lose the balance of your soul if you do not learn to take care of yourself.
You need to be generous to yourself in order to receive the love that surrounds you.
You can suffer from a desperate hunger to be loved.
You can search for long years in lonely places, far outside yourself.
Yet, the whole time, this love is but a few inches away from you.
It is at the edge of your soul, but you have been blind to its presence.
Through some hurt, a door has slammed shut within the heart,
and you are powerless to unlock it and receive the love.
We must remain attentive in order to be able to receive.
Boris Pasternak said, "When a great moment knocks on the door of your life,
it is often no louder than the beating of your heart, and it is very easy to miss it."

~ John O'Donohue, from Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

Winter Wonderland

My dad took this picture on his cell and sent it to me this morning.
He titled it winter wonderland.
He said I might want to use this on my blog.
It is a view of their back yard.
I have a lot of really good memories of growing up on this lake.
It is a place of peace for me.
It is so cool that he took the time to notice this beauty and took the opportunity to engage in his creative side.
Thanks Dad....that was a nice gift to get this cold winter morning......
Hope you all like the quote below!
Love,
Michele




The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them;
there ought to be as many for love.

--Margaret Atwood

fire!

"...God likes a partership. It is up to us to help what God has begun.

No one wants this kind of burning, this kind of fire.

We want the field to remain as it once was,

in its pristine beauty,

just as we want life to remain as it once was.

But fire comes.

Though we are afraid,

it comes anyway, sometimes by accident,

sometimes on purpose,

sometimes for reasons that no one can understand

--reasons that are God's business alone.

But the fire can also turn everything to a new direction,

a new and different life, one that has its own strengths

and ways to shape the world."

C.P. Estes-- -the faithful gardener

depth

It is not the depth of this world we are seeking,
but of the world beyond your imagination
-unknown

Abe and Guardian Angels

This is Marko looking so cute this morning. He was all bright eyed and excited for
spirit day.....which the theme was dress like a famous person.
Marko decided like two weeks ago that he wanted to be Abe Lincoln.
He talked about it almost everyday and worked on his costume.
He went on the internet and looked at pictures of Abe and printed them out.
Last night, he said, I can't wait for tomorrow.
He told me he got to school wearing his Abe Lincoln outfit
and kids started teasing him.
He said he wanted to say something mean back,
but did not want to hurt their feelings.
So, he just told a few people to stop teasing him and then just stopped talking.
He then got some tissue and went to the drinking fountain and washed off his beard and was feeling really sad.
He said he kept asking his guardian angel to help him.
His guardian angel must have been listening because.....
Today, I happened to be in the school helping out a teacher by making copies on the copier.
In the middle of my copy job, the copy machine repair man showed up.
He suggested that I go to the computer lab where there is another copy machine to finish.
so ....I went into the computer lab.....and Marko's class just happened to be there.
and that is where I found Marko crying.
He told me he ripped his bow-tie off and took off the hat and coat and tried to wash his face off.
He was so sad and said he had been insulted by so many people and not many people
dressed up, so he was made fun of.
weird how the copy machine repair man showed up....like an angel
in disguise ....although I saw him as a road block because he said he had to do some maintenance on the machine and told me to go to the computer lab and use another copy machine in there.
Otherwise, I would not have even gone in there.
So I took Marko out of school and out to lunch we talked about
being assertive and I had him role play some assertive behavior and I played a bully.
We talked about the difference between passive, assertive and aggressive behavior.
He wanted to go back to school after lunch.
So we went home after lunch and he changed.
When we got back to school, it was indoor recess.
I heard a bunch of kids say "good, Marko is back."
A few greeted him and one boy hugged him.
I stayed and played until the bell rang.
I felt so bad about today, but also grateful that he could turn it around into
a positive experience.
Oh well....he has to learn to be assertive....and how to deal with conflict in a
positive way.
He told me that the last thing he would have ever done was use his fists.
So I am glad for that.

Sometimes being a mom about rips my heart out.
I wonder how I will feel the first time a girl breaks his heart.
I hope I am able to stay neutral and listen to the lesson that life is trying to teach.

Power of Blessing

Power of Blessing, Rachel Naomi Remen


We bless the life around us far more than we realize.
Many simple, ordinary things that we do can affect those around us
in profound ways: the unexpected phone call, the brief touch,
the willingness to listen generously, the warm smile or wink of recognition.
We can even bless total strangers and be blessed by them.
Big messages come in small packages.
All it may take to restore someone's trust in life may be returning
a lost earring or a dropped glove.

balance

To walk we have to lean forward, lose our balance, and begin to fall.
We let go, constantly, of the previous stability, falling, all the time,
trusting that we will find a succession of new stabilities with each
step.  The fullest living is a constant dying of the past, enjoying the
present fully, but holding it lightly; letting go without clinging and
moving freely into new experiences.  Our experience of the past
and of those dear to us is not lost at all, but remains richly within us.
               - Robin Skynner

Macho Macho Man

By the time a man is 35,
he knows that the images of the right man,
the tough man, the true man which he received in high school
do not work in life.
Robert Bly


I like the man being real......or anyone being "real" with me.
love,
Michele

Peaceful Warriors

Peaceful warriors have the patience to wait
until the mud settles and the waters clear.
They remain unmoving until the right time,
so the right action arises by itself.
They do not seek fulfillment, but wait with open arms
to welcome all things.
Ready to use all situations, wasting nothing,
they embody the Light.

Peaceful warriors have three great treasures:
simplicity, patience, and compassion.
Simple in actions and in thoughts,
they return to the source of Being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
they live in harmony with the way things are.
Compassionate toward themselves,
they make peace with the world.

Some may call this teaching nonsense;
others may call it lofty and impractical.
But to those who have looked inside themselves,
this nonsense makes perfect sense.
And for those who put it into practice,
this loftiness has deep roots.

-Adapted from a poem by Lao-tzu

completion

COMPLETION

Don’t be surprised when people come to you with the expectation that you make them whole. It is a common occurrence. But don’t take the bait. You cannot complete another, nor can another complete you.
Each of you must find your own completeness.
Each of you must know that you are already enough.

from Everyday Wisdom by Paul Ferrini

my life with a.d.d.......here is my diagram.

Freedom

Martin Luther King Jr. day.
It is not just a day off!!!


Martin Luther King JR. was such an amazing man to me.
He had such a belief within himself that he had the power to make a difference.
He was able to put that belief into action and become a conduit for others to have hope for equality for all human spirits.

This past weekend I was lucky enough to attend a yoga retreat/workshop with Todd Norian.
What a gentle and real soul!!
click here
I came away from the retreat today with a feeling of being expanded.
And with this expansion, comes much gratitude for my past and the path that has gotten me to where I am. also at this moment, I realize this path of yoga is becoming more and more a way of life....I want to embrace my power....rather than give it away to others.....I realize the responsibility I have each and every day to cleanse my thoughts and actions...and direct them towards creating peace within and use it towards the happiness and freedom for all beings.
Namaste,
and much love,
Michele


Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation.

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

our calling

Each of us has a unique vision to bring to the world, a holy purpose, a calling. The accelerated times in which we live beckon us to expand our notions of who we are and what is possible, urging us to make the quantum leap into our magnificence, and offer the gifts of our potential to a world that deeply needs our healing participation.

The maidenhead of innocence
must be broken
for the deeper mysteries to be enacted,
for life and consciousness to be reborn.

Conception only happens
in the darkness of the earth,
of the womb, of the psyche.
Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
- Paradoxes of love

Love, Love, Love

If I could be any bird, I would choose the peacock. I love them.....their beautiful colors,...their feathers look like eyes. They seem wise....but playful. I think my next tatoo will be that color. .....on my lower back.....the "om" sign/symbol in that color.
what bird would you pick if you could be one?
what tatoo would you pick if you were going to get one?
read the quotes below and have a great day!!! Love, Michele



“If you had one phone call to make before you died, who would you call, what would you say, and why are you WAITING?!”- Steven Levine

“The most human thing we have to do in life is to learn to speak our honest convictions and feelings and live with the consequences. This is the first requirement of love, and it makes us vulnerable to other people who may ridicule us. But our vulnerability is the only thing we can give to other people.” – Leo F. Buscaglia

DSO will be in Cleveland!!!!

Using entire shows from the Grateful Dead's 30 years of
extensive touring as a launching pad, Dark Star Orchestra
recreates the original song for song performance set list
for an entirely new generation of, as well as old school,
Deadheads. Dark Star Orchestra presents its critically acclaimed
live show at esteemed venues from coast to coast and internationally.

Dark Star Orchestra performs Grateful Dead classics
in the same way that an orchestra interprets music of classical composers.
The composer spirit is derived and channeled
as the players capture the excitement and innovation
of the original performances and compositions.
Touring nationwide for nine years to the tune of nearly
1500 shows since forming, the band's determined commitment to
"raising the Dead" has drawn national media attention.


Dark Star Orchestra -
Recreating The Grateful Dead Experience
at The House of Blues. February 15.
Doors open at 8. Show starts at 9.
Tickets on sale NOW at the House of Blues box office,
or online at www.hob.com/cleveland. Advance: $22.50 Day of Show: $25

The core

The Core.
funny, I never noticed this song in our I-tunes library on our computer.
(see the lyrics below).......but now I have listened to it like 5 times now.
I guess Mark downloaded the song.
cool song......resonated with me today.
anyone else ever hear this song?
above picture is something Leslie created for us.
I would always give her Marko's clothes as he outgrew them,
those little levi jeans...I gave her with tears in my eyes...because all three kids had worn them.
well she framed them instead of having Matthew wear them.
The onsie is something we tie-dyed and handed down too.
Here is what she wrote below the jeans.
"one faded pair of jeans, three children..... memories to last a lifetime."
have a great day.....hope we can all feel and be what is in our core......
love,
Michele




The Core
By eric clapton and marcy levy

Every morning when I wake, a feeling soon begins to overtake me.
Ringing in my ears resounds through my brain; it finally surrounds me.
There is fire, there is life, there is passion, fever and fury.
There is love and there is hate, there is longing, anger and worry.

Oh, I am a flame; feel it touch my heart.
And down at my core is the hottest part.
I can run without fear.

If it should become too cold, I know I can endure the frostbite.
Oh, a blanket then Ill wrap around me; I keep myself so close to my sight.
No one then can cause me harm, just as the river runs into the sea.
cause every day, a fire alarm is deafening the silence all around me.

Chorus

It is burning.
It is burning.

You can trust me; we can laugh. together we can share our sorrow.
I will give you secrets too, an attitude that you may borrow.
Gypsy woman said to me, one thing you must bear in your mind:
You are young and you are free, but damned if you're deceased in your own lifetime.

Oh, you have a flame; feel it in your heart.
And down at the core is the hottest part.
We can run without fear.

It is burning.
It is burning.

For My Son Noah, Ten Years Old

For My Son Noah, Ten Years Old
By Robert Bly

Night and day arrive and day after day goes by,
and what is old remains old, and what is young remains
young and grows old,
and the lumber pile does not grow younger, nor the
weathered two-by-fours lose their darkness,
but the old tree goes on, the barn stands without help so
many years,
the advocate of darkness and night is not lost.

The horse swings around on one leg, steps, and turns,
the chicken flapping claws onto the roost, its wings whelping
and whalloping,
but what is primitive is not to be shot out into the night and
the dark.
And slowly the kind man comes closer, loses his rage, sits
down at table.

So I am proud only of those days that we pass in undivided
tenderness,
when you sit drawing, or making books, stapled, with
messages to the world...
or coloring a man with fire coming out of his hair.
Or we sit at a table, with small tea carefully poured;
so we pass our time together, calm and delighted.

creating peace

Creating world peace takes many forms, but surely it begins with individuals. Here are 100 ideas for creating a more peaceful world. I encourage you to play your part in creating peace. It continues to be the most significant challenge of humankind, and requires the efforts of each of us. > Order the 100 Peace Ideas Book

Be generous with your smiles.

• Be kind.
• Respect the Earth.
• Walk in a forest.
• Plant a tree.
• Contemplate a mountain.
• Protect the Earth.
• Live simply.
• Help feed the hungry.
• Erase a border in your mind.
• Teach peace to children.
• Read Chief Seattle's Letter to the President.
• Be honest.
• Demand honesty from your government.
• Think about consequences.
• Commit yourself to nonviolence.
• Support nonviolent solutions to global problems.
• Speak up for a healthy planet.
• Demand reductions in military expenditures.
• Be fair.
• Pledge allegiance to the Earth and to its varied life forms.
• Think for yourself.
• Ask questions.
• Recognize your unique potential.
• Join an organization working for peace.
• Be less materialistic.
• Be more loving.
• Empower others to work for peace.
• Oppose all weapons of mass destruction.
• Support equality.
• Speak out for a nuclear weapons-free world.
• Support a Department of Peace.
• Listen to your heart.
• Help the poor.
• Fight against militarism.
• Study the lives of peace heroes.
• Help create a community peace park or garden.
• Commemorate the International Day of Peace.
• Help strengthen the United Nations.
• Support the International Criminal Court.
• Read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• Advance the rights of future generations.
• Be a voice for the voiceless.
• Join an action alert network.
• Be forgiving.
• Laugh more.
• Play with a child.
• Support education and the arts over weapons.
• Help educate the next generation to be compassionate.
• Take personal responsibility for creating a better world.
• Sing.
• Write a poem.
• Organize a church service on the theme of peace.
• Learn about another culture.
• Help someone.
• Support the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
• Oppose the arms trade.
• Clear your mind.
• Breathe deeply.
• Sip tea.
• Express your views on peace to government officials.
• Fight for the environment.
• Celebrate Earth Day.
• Think like an astronaut, recognizing that we have only one Earth.
• Be constructive.
• Let someone else go first.
• Plant seeds of peace.
• Work in a garden.
• Change a potential enemy into a friend.
• Be positive.
• Share.
• Be a good neighbor.
• Send a note of appreciation.
• Tell your friends how much they matter.
• Say "I love you" more.
• Don't tolerate prejudice.
• Demand more from your elected officials.
• Walk by the ocean, a river, or a lake.
• Recognize that all humans have the right to peace.
• Respect the dignity of each person.
• Be a leader in the struggle for human decency.
• Be a friend.
• Send sunflowers to world leaders, and call for a world free of nuclear weapons.
• Oppose technologies that harm the environment.
• Lose an argument to a loved one.
• Value diversity.
• Walk softly on the Earth.
• Appreciate the power of the sun.
• Speak out for global disarmament.
• Support a democratic order.
• Teach non-violence by example.
• Remember that "No man is an Island."
• Spend time in nature.
• Boycott war toys.
• Be thankful for the miracle of life.
• Seek harmony with nature.
• Remind your leaders that peace matters.
• Oppose violence in television programming for children.
• Listen to Beethoven's Ode to Joy.
• Celebrate peace.

Remembering

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important
thing I've ever encountered to help me make the big
choices in life, because almost everything--all external
expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or
failure--these things just fall away in the face of
death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering
that you are going to die is the best way I know to
avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.
You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow
your heart.
               - Steve Jobs' Stanford commencement speech

Life

"Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically
on their environment and especially
in their children than the unlived life of the parent."
-=-C. G. Jung

If you learn from your suffering,
and really come to understand the lesson you were taught,
you might be able to help someone else who's now
in the phase you may have just completed.
Maybe that's what it's all about after all...
~ Anonymous ~

patience

“We cannot learn real patience and tolerance from a guru or a friend.

They can be practiced only when we come in contact with someone

who creates unpleasant experiences. According to Shantideva,

enemies are really good for us as we can learn a lot from them

and build our inner strength."

-Dalai Lama
Now, there are many, many peo
-Dple in the world,
but relatively few with whom we interact,
and even fewer who cause us problems.
So, when you come across such a chance
for practicing patience and tolerance,
you should treat it with gratitude. It is rare .
Now, there are many, many people in the world,
but relatively few with whom we interact,
and even fewer who cause us problems.
So, when you come across such a chance
for practicing patience and tolerance,
you should treat it with gratitude.
It is rare.
Just as having unexpectedly found a treasure
in your own house,
you should be happy and
grateful to your enemy for
providing that precious opportunity.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

truckin to where???? I don't know.

so I finally got this book in my hands....
I get excited about things like that.....
I tried to buy it at borders the other night here in
Medina but they were all out....
but I got it today.
at Medina's new gorgeous library......
see photos here: click here

The Faithful Gardener.....read the quote below from it!!!!

 What is this faithful
process of spirit and seed that touches empty ground
and makes it rich
again? It’s greater workings I cannot claim to understand.
But I know
this: Whatever we set our days to might
be the least of what we do, if
we do not also understand that something
is waiting for us to make
ground for it, something that lingers near us,
something that loves,
something that waits for the right ground
to be made so it can make its
full presence known.

I am certain that as we stand in the care
of this faithful force, that what has
seemed dead is dead no longer,
what has seemed lost is no longer lost,
 that which some have claimed
impossible, is made clearly possible,
and what ground is fallow is only
resting- resting and waiting for
the blessed seed to arrive on the wind
with all Godspeed.

And it will.
-Clarissa Pinkola Estés

I am also trying to let go.....let go of wanting things to be different than they are.
I have a friend that is a lot of pain.....
We did reiki on her last night for an hour.
It was very powerful....but I WANT a different outcome.
I am trying to let go and just be with the process and
allow things unfold...but that is really hard from me.
Cancer is such an ugly thing.....
I try to see the beauty....and I see the beauty
in all the love that comes about...
all the support ......but it still hurts.
love,
Michele

laughter

Kabir

Kabir is a poet from India...the 14th century....feels like it could have been written today!!! Love, Michele


Friend, hope for the Guest while you are alive.
Jump into experience while you are alive!
Think...and think... while you are alive.
If you don't break your ropes while you're alive,
do you think
ghosts will do it after?
The idea that the soul will join with the ecstatic
just because the body is rotten --
that is all fantasy.
What is found now is found then.
If you find nothing now,
you will simply end up with an apartment in the City
of Death.
If you make love with the divine now, in the next life
you will have the face of satisfied desire.
So plunge into the truth, find out who the Teacher is,
Believe in the Great Sound!
Kabir says this: When the Guest is being searched for,
it is the intensity of the longing for the Guest that
does all the work.
Look at me, and you will see a slave of that intensity.

-Kabir
(translated by Robert Bly)

compulsive activity

I did not get the script!!!

above is our new studio/office.
and below is a really cool quote.
I have always felt that I was dropped here on earth and did not get the script that everyone else got.
I am reading from my script and it is so "odd" compared to the other scripts.
I guess over the years , I am learning to accept the script error ( or what I once thought was an error) and actually have learned to appreciate it...and love it.
read the quote below.
Love,
Michele

True Self

If we could completely identify with the false self, it wouldn't cause us distress--it would just be who we are. The pain it causes arises from something deeper within us that feels constricted by this identity and suffers when we are not living fully. This deeper intelligence within us feels the pain of being caught in a web of stories and beliefs, scripts and behaviors that cuts us off from our true nature and potential. If we do not realize the expansive possibilities that are our birthright, we suffer.

-- from John Welwood's Toward a Psychology of Awakening,
(Shambhala, 2002, 140).

We're all alright!!

peace, love and tie-dye

My friend Leslie made this for us last year at Christmas.
One of my favorite friends and of my favorite pieces of art in our house!!!
Happy Day!!!
Love,
Michele


"Life is very short
And there's no time for fighting and fussing my friends."
...The Beatles

human race

Do you like our poster?
My friend Lynn gave me that.
I think it is a good reminder for me.
Have a great day!
Love,
Michele

The less you open your heart to others, the more your heart suffers.
Deepak Chopra

I'm Off

as the picture Mark made says, grow happiness....do what makes you happy in life.
listen to your heart.....I loved the note and poem below.
it is about David Keighley trusting his heart and doing what he had to do.
God Bless you David Keighley!!!
You are such an inspiration to others David!!!
love,
Michele

I want to share with you something written by a priest in the Church of England, who is under pressure from his Bishop to conform to traditional Church teaching and practice. He is, so far as I can discern, a faithful priest who is caught in that awkward position where he must violate his own conscience and integrity in order to conform to ecclesiastical expectations. Many clergy live in that place today as the Church becomes more and more closed minded and afraid and as its leaders move to put unity ahead of truth. I was so impressed with his work that I wanted to share it with you.

John Shelby Spong


LEAVING HOME

I'm off!
I must leave the political and ethical compromises that have corrupted the faith of my Jesus.
I must leave the stifling theology, the patriarchal structures.
I must leave the enduring prejudices based on our God-given humanity, the colour of my skin, my gender or how my sexual orientation is practiced.
I must leave the mentality that encourages anyone to think that our doctrines are unchangeable.
I must leave the belief of those who insist that our sacred texts are without error.
I must leave the God of miracle and magic.
I must leave the promises of certainty, the illusion of possessing the true faith.
I must leave behind the claims of being the recipient of an unchallengeable revelation.
I must leave the neurotic religious desire to know that I am right, and to play at being God.
I must leave the claim that every other pathway to God is second-rate, that fellow Hindu
searchers in India, Buddhists in China and Tibet, Muslims in the Middle East and the Jews of Israel are inadequate.
I must leave the pathway that tells me that all other directions will get me lost.
I must leave the certain claim that my Jesus is the only way to God for everyone.
I must leave the ultimate act of human folly that says it is.
I must leave the Church, my home.
I must leave behind my familiar creeds and faith-symbols.
I can no longer stay in an unliveable place.
I must move to a place where I can once again sing the Lord's song.
I must move to where my faith-tradition can be revived and live on.
I must move to a place where children don't tell me what I believe is unbelievable but tell me they can believe what I believe.
I must move to a place where they are not playing at moving the deck chairs on the decks of an ecclesiastical Titanic.
I can never leave the God experience.
I can never walk away from the doorway into the divine that I believe I have found in the one I call the Christ and acknowledge as "my Lord."
I must move to dangerous and religiously threatening places.
I must move to where there is no theism, but still God.
I'm off! But to where, God only knows.

David Keighley, An English Anglican Priest

Proper steps

I only do this until I get dizzy
& then I lay down on my back &
watch the clouds, she said.
It sounds simple
but you won't believe
how many people forget the second part.

© Brian Andreas


www.storypeople.com

Listening

passion

above is Macy and her friend, Peyton from Washington D.C.
This was taken at Omega Institute last summer....of course....where else?
I am feeling really bad at this moment because I sent out this note to a couple of friends about this megachurch here in Medina....and the "country club" church they are building. A friend had forwarded me the link to this church. I let it eat at me and I was very judgemental about their plush building........I don't know why.
When they know better, they Will do better.
I know better..... I know that I should not make fun of their new building with water fountains and coffee bars......we are all one and all trying to learn while we are here.....so if anyone reads this that read my email.....I am sorry for being so arrogant.
love,
Michele

There is no end.
There is no beginning.
There is only the infinite passion of life.

_Frederico Fellini

ha-ha

Old Milwaukee Ice!!!

I felt bad for all of the stuff we cleared out of the house.
so much garbage!!!
so I left this for our sanitation engineers this morning.
then I watched out the window.
they were happy and did not complain about all the trash we had out.......plus they stacked our cans up in nice order when they were done.
I should have got them microbrew!!!
Happy Day!!!
love,
Michele

Shake my hand!

We are all the same person trying to shake hands with our self.
-Wavy Gravy

Go Bucks!!!

A vintage photo taken after the OSU-Michigan game.
This was taken in 1984.
hey....wasn't that a book written by George Orwell???
Anyway......Go Bucks!!!!!!

Set them free

Let us set the children free, break the traps
of fear that history has fashioned for them,
free to grow, to seek and question, to dance and sing,
to be dreamers of tomorrow's rainbows
-from A poem of the heart
by Manitongquat

Ponderings

Good day!!
I have been off from work more than two weeks now.....spending more time in silence and realizing things that I have been putting off for way too long.....like clearing out stuff in our house that we don't need!!!
so I guess the answer to the below questions (see below) would be:
1. this morning after yoga....I meditated for like 20 minutes in silence.....before Dusty barged into the room and sat on my lap.

2. go visit a friend of mine that I keep putting off because I "don't have time." He is paralyzed from the neck down and has this beautiful attitude about life.....I am amazed at his ability to not be angry at life......also want to start working with my friend Paul on Fridays and visit the homeless.

3. Yoga......Yoga, and Yoga, playing harp, walking in nature, watching the girls dance, listening to live jam band shows, sketching, meditating, reading to Marko before he falls asleep at night, ....baths....camping,
.....okay....I have said enough.......read below.
Namaste,
Michele

When was the last time you were alone in silence (no TV, book, music) just getting in touch with how you are feeling?

What is one thing you have always wanted to do that somehow keeps getting put off?

What activity do you love so much that when you’re doing it you feel truly alive and time seems to fly?

-heart.com