Summons

Mark made this clock......it is hanging in our living room.
I read somewhere...and I can't remember where....or I would like to give credit to the source....but anyway...I read that we are going through our life on a sort of clock...and when we hit 6'oclock, this is our awakening. Six o'clock becomes your awakening.....the awakening to who you really are and why you are here. They say that once you reach six o'clock you can't go back to who you were.......you start to become filled with a sense of wonder and connection to those around you....and you evoke this deeper connection with the universe which surrounds you. have a great day and I hope you enjoy the poem below. love, Michele

Robert Francis Keep me from going to sleep too soon Or if I go to sleep too soon Come wake me up. Come any hour Of night. Come whistling up the road. Stomp on the porch. Bang on the door. Make me get out of bed and come And let you in and light a light. Tell me the northern lights are on And make me look. Or tell me clouds Are doing something to the moon They never did before, and show me. See that I see. Talk to me till I'm half as wide awake as you And start to dress wondering why I ever went to bed at all. Tell me the walking is superb. Not only tell me but persuade me. You know I'm not too hard persuaded.

follow that herd......or not!

Sometimes in life it appears that we are at the end of our trail,
when we are really at the beginning.
If you take your direction from social signs,
you will just follow the herd and be programmed
by other people who think for you, and are guided primarily by fear.
But if you follow your joy-inspired inner voice of guidance, you will be led to experiences that far surpass any the sign-makers post. - Alan Cohen

on our growth

super macy to the rescue


You cannot grow spiritually and remain the same.
Understanding that is knowledge. Seeing it is wisdom.
-Gary Zukav

The Rhythm of life

Today was a beautiful day.....Mira and Macy danced in the pink ribbon showcase....
a benefit for breast cancer.....One of the dances was dedicated to my friend Sue Rudo
who is fighting breast cancer. This a picture from that dance. Sue came to the event.
I am amazed by her enthusiasm for life and her ability to be so loving
and so giving during
a period in life which she feels crappy a lot of the time and has to deal
with chemo therapy and radiation and she just keeps on going
.....for sure one of my heroes and teachers in life!!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hope you enjoy the quote below.
Namaste,
Michele



If you want to dance with another, root your self first. Learn to hear you own guidance. Dialogue with the hurt child and divine host within. Practice forgiveness and compassion for yourself. Be with your experience and learn from it. Stay in the rhythm of life. Be open to others, but do not go out of your way to find them. Those who know how to dance will meet you half way. It will not be a struggle. You will feel companionship without effort.
Paul Ferrini

If God invited you to a party

If God
Invited you to a party
And said,

'Everyone
In the ballroom tonight
Will be my special
Guest...'

How would you then treat them
When you
Arrived?

Indeed, indeed!

And I know
There is no one in this world

Who
Is not upon
His Jeweled Dance
Floor


-written by

Hafiz

Suffering

You know quite well, deep within you, that there is only a single magic,
a single power, a single salvation...and that is called loving.
Well, then, love your suffering. Do not resist it, do not flee from it.
It is your aversion that hurts, nothing else.
-Herman Hesse

transformed by love

Mira took this photo with her friends.....I thought it was pretty cool.
hope you enjoy it and the quote below.
have a great day.
Love,
Michele

When we stop seeing the world as a "problem" to be solved, when instead we open our hearts to the mystery of our common suffering, we may find ourselves where we least expected to be: in a world transformed by love.
— Philip Simmons in Learning to Fall

Music

Marko the rocker

Music makes practically everybody fonder of life than he or she would be without it.

-Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Finding Her Here

Macy and I made this cake on Saturday.
I love pink frosting....and I love the poem below....about loving yourself.....and being comfortable in your own skin.....which has been long process for me, but I am now very comfortable with who I am and feel really lucky to be me.
have a great day.
Namaste,
Michele




Finding Her Here

I am becoming the woman I've wanted,
grey at the temples,
soft body, delighted,
cracked up by life
with a laugh that's known bitter
but, past it, got better,
knows she's a survivor-
that whatever comes,
she can outlast it.
I am becoming a deep
weathered basket.

I am becoming the woman I've longed for,
the motherly lover
with arms strong and tender,
the growing daughter
who blushes surprises.
I am becoming full moons
and sunrises.

I find her becoming,
this woman I've wanted,
who knows she'll encompass,
who knows she's sufficient,
knows where she's going
and travels with passion.
Who remembers she's precious,
but knows she's not scarce-
who knows she is plenty,
plenty to share.


Author: Jayne Relaford Brown

joy

You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships.
God has placed it all around us.
It is in everything and anything we might experience.
We just have to have the courage to turn against our habitual lifestyle
and engage in unconventional living.
-Jon Krakauer

Make Bobby Shave!

Another awesome ratdog show.........thank you Bobby!!!
peggy-o was out of this world....one of my favorites.....lots of dancing , lots of friends and a very good time!! Love, Michele

I: Jam > Cassidy > Dark Star, Weather Report Suite Prelude/Part 1 > Let It Grow, Lazy River Road, Greatest Story Ever Told, Women are Smarter

II: Peggy-O@, The Winners@, When I Paint My Masterpiece@, Tuesday Blues > Silvio > Tequila > Silvio > Tequila > Silvio > Scarlet Begonias > Stuff > Knockin on Heaven's Door > Dark Star* > Cassidy (reprise)

E: GDTRFB*

*-with Dave McNabb (Guitar); "Stuff" featured Jeff on drums and Jay on keys we stayed downtown last night. This is a view from our hotel on the 23rd floor. Lake Erie looks so beautiful. You can also see the rock and roll hall of fame to the right and the cleveland browns stadium to the left. It was an awesome view!!!

your true path

cosmic mark

Find your true path. It’s so easy to become someone we don’t want
to be, without even realizing it’s happening. We are created by
the choices we make every day.

-Bernie Seigel

peace

Macy made this a few years ago.....I keep it on my desk.....one of my favorites.
Have an awesome day!! love, Michele

Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will be in our troubled world.

Etty Hillesum

love

And the more Jonathan practiced his kindness lessons, and the more he worked to know the nature of love, the more he wanted to go back to Earth. For in spite of his lonely past, Jonathan Seagull was born to be an instructor, and his own way of demonstrating love was to give something of the truth that he had seen to a gull who asked only a chance to see truth for himself. -Richard Bach

Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon.

A happiness weapon.

A Beauty Bomb.

And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one.

It would explode high in the air - explode softly

- and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air.

Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas.

And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight.

Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in.

With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime,

amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile

and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination.

-Robert Fulghum

on being here.....now

We stare so long at our balloon in the sky that we forget we have our ice cream melting on our other hand

-uleb nieto

*The Sense of Wonder*

"If I had the influence with the good fairy
who is supposed to preside over
the christening of all children,
I should ask that her gift to each child in
the world be a sense of wonder
so indestructible that it would last
throughout life,
an unfailing antidote
against the boredom and
disenchantment of later years,
sterile preoccupations with things that are
artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength."

- Rachel Carson

Kindred spirits

check out a kindred spirit's blog:
http://cyrusrumi.blogspot.com/

Let's be grateful for those who give us happiness; they are the charming gardeners who make our soul bloom.

--Marcel Proust

Mindfulness

Isn't this cool? It was taken on our back porch after the snowfall.
have a great day!!
Namaste,
Michele

The only time that any of us have to grow or change or feel or learn anything is in the present moment. But we’re continually missing our present moments, almost willfully, by not paying attention.

Jon Kabat-Zinn

THE ARAMAIC PRAYER OF JESUS

Mark made this at Omega Institute.....an alter in the woods.

below is so beautiful......so poetic.....I love Neil Douglas-Klotz and his translations from Aramaic....I have a few of his books and they are beautiful.......see the lord's prayer below.

have a great day!!!
may peace be with you.
love,
Michele

English Translation of the Aramaic Lord's prayer
as translated from Aramaic by Saadi Neil Douglas-Klotz of the Sufi Order of the West

O, Birther of the Cosmos, focus your light within us -- make it useful
Create your reign of unity now
Your one desire then acts with ours,
As in all light,
So in all forms,
Grant us what we need each day in bread and insight:
Loose the cords of mistakes binding us,
As we release the strands we hold of other's guilt.
Don't let surface things delude us,
But free us from what holds us back.
From you is born all ruling will,
The power and the life to do,
The song that beautifies all,
From age to age it renews.
I affirm this with my whole being





Neil Douglas-Klotz, Ph.D., is a world-renowned scholar in religious studies, spirituality, and psychology, a leader in the International Association of Sufism, and the cofounder of the worldwide network of the Dances of Universal Peace. He is director of the Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Learning and cochair of the Mysticism Group of the American Academy of Religion.

on being playful

Did you get to play today???

I hope so!!!

Love,

Michele

The real joy of life is in its play. Play is anything we do for the joy and love of doing it,

apart from any profit, compulsion, or sense of duty.

It is the real living of life with the feeling of freedom and self-expression.

Play is the business of childhood, and its continuation in later years is the prolongation of youth.

Walter Rauschenbusch

oink

You can't teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of time and it annoys the pig.
-unknown

Peace

do you like our peace pole in our backyard?
Have a peaceful day!!
love,
Michele

Take nothing for granted: watch water flow, the corn grow,
the leaves blow, your neighbors mow.

Set your own pace. When someone is pushing you,
it is okay to tell them they're pushing.

Remember a happy, peaceful time in your past. Rest there.
Each moment has a richness that takes a lifetime to savor.

Taste your food. it is to delight as well as to nourish.

Notice the sun and the moon as they rise and set.
They are remarkable for their steady pattern of movement, not their speed.

Talk and play with children. It will bring out the unhurried
little person inside you.

When you walk with someone, don't think about what
you'll say next. Thoughts will spring up naturally if you let them.

Quit planning how you are going to use what you know,
learn or possess. God's gifts just are; be grateful and their purpose will be clear.

Allow yourself time to be lazy and unproductive.
Rest isn't a luxury, it's a necessity.

Listen to the wind blow. It carries a message of yesterday
and tomorrow, and now. Now counts.

Create a place in your home, at your work, in your heart,
where you can go for quiet and recollection. You deserve it.

-unknown author

Strange journey

this is my favorite rumi poem.
it is framed on our table in the living room......where I refer to it often.
have a great day....on your strange and wonderful journey!!!
love,
Michele

compassion and nonjudgement

How true.....how true the below words are. namaste, Michele


Have compassion for everyone you meet, even if they don't want it.
What appears bad manners, an ill temper or cynicism
is always a sign of things no ears have heard, no eyes have seen.
You do not know what wars are going on down there where the spirit meets the bone.
--Miller Williams

Peace, love and tie-dye

Just making tie-dye easter eggs with the kids.......I love the quote below......I really think it is how we choose to see things....you know??? May you see peace, interconnectedness and love on your path. Namaste, Michele Einstein was asked what he thought the most important question was that a human being needed to answer. His reply was: “Is the universe friendly or not?” Joan Borysenko

working together

In the name of that which implants in the seed the future of the tree and in the hearts of humanity the longing for people living in neighborly love;

In the name of the highest, in whom we move and who makes the mother, the father, brother, and the sister what they are;

In the name of sages and great religious leaders, who sacrificed their lives to hasten the coming of the kingdom of peace and justice;

Let us renew our resolution sincerely to be real brothers and sisters regardless of any kind of barrier which estranges person from person.

In this holy resolution may we be strengthened, knowing that we are one family; that one spirit, the spirit of love, unites us; and that our work together for a more perfect and more joyful life leads us on.

-norbert capek

Your light

"I wish I could show you when you are lonely
or in darkness the astonishing light of you own being."
-Hafiz

bull

Men age 60 and over are most frequently killed by bulls in the month of August (57 per cent) as the breeding season starts.

Many animal-related farm injuries can be prevented by following a few basic rules:

--It is unsafe to work on foot inside an animal holding pen or chute system unless there are secure panels or gates to prevent crush injuries.

--Workers should avoid working alone with unpredictable large animals, especially bulls and horses.

--Workers should always have escape routes so they are not trapped in small areas with large animals.



Happy Spring!!!

Spring is coming and awakening everything in Nature.
Let us awaken ourselves for the New Beautiful Life
that is coming to our beloved planet Earth.

-Author unknown

Love

Love is the willingness
to give up a part of yourself
you think you know,
to discover a part of yourself
you never knew existed.

— John Squadra

Eat Pray Love

I am reading Eat, Pray, Love right now.
Anyone ever read it?
My friend Sue and then my friend Gail told me about it.....so I bought it for my mom for Valentines Day.
My mom liked it so much that she gave it back for me to read.
so finally I am reading it..... then I went to yoga class yesterday and my yoga instructor is reading it right now too......love those synchronicities!
Namaste,
Michele

read the quote from the book below:
this is quote from Elizabeth's friend that she met at the ashram:
"Imagine that the universe is a great spinning engine. You want to stay near the core of the thing--right in the hub of the wheel--not out at the edges where all the wild whirling takes place, where you can get frayed and crazy. The hub of calmness--that's your heart. That's where God lives within you. So stop looking for answers in the world. Just keep coming back to that center and you'll always find peace."

Inspiration

A view from my friend Leslie's house. Happy Spring!! love, Michele




He told me that once
he forgot himself & his
heart opened up like a
door with a loose latch
& everything fell out &
he tried for days to put
it all back in the proper
order, but finally he
gave up & left it there
in a pile & loved
everything equally.
-Brian Andreas

may you be at peace

This is the work of those who are skilled and peaceful, who seek the good:

May they be able and upright, straightforward, of gentle speech and not proud.
May they be content and easily supported, unburdened, with their senses calmed.
May they be wise, not arrogant and without desire for the possessions of others.
May they do nothing mean or that the wise would reprove.

May all things be happy.
May they live in safety and joy.

-Metta Suta

Mindfulness

“First you need only look: Notice and honor the radiance of Everything about you... Play in this universe. Tend All these shining things around you: The smallest plant, the creatures and objects in your care. Be gentle and nurture. Listen...” -Anne Hillman

all is a miracle!

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle.

But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth.

Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize:

a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes.

All is a miracle.

- Thich Nhat Hanh

Buzzard Day with Marko

Sunday was buzzard day in Hinckley.......it is when the buzzards fly back to Hinckley.
Marko and I went. He loved it.
We went for pancakes and sausage....and played some games and met some buzzards......beautiful words below!!
Love,
Michele

The world’s a rollercoaster
And I am not strapped in
Maybe I should hold with care
But my hands are busy in the air

— Incubus, “Wish You Were Here”

aliveness

I did not know I was on a search for passionate aliveness. I only knew I was lonely and lost and that something was drawing me deeper beneath the surface of my life in search of meaning. There is a hunger in people to go to those deep depths; to know that our lives are sacred; that our hearts are truly capable of love. It is a yearning to be all the we can be. A longing for what is real.
-Anne Hillman

on our holiness

The great teachings unanimously emphasize that all the peace, wisdom, and joy in the universe are already within us; we don't have to gain, develop, or attain them. We're like a child standing in a beautiful park with his eyes shut tight. We don't need to imagine trees, flowers, deer, birds, and sky; we merely need to open our eyes and realize what is already here, who we really are -- as soon as we quit pretending we're small or unholy. - Unknown

happy birthday

Happy Birthday to our Macer!!!! Have a great day Macy.
Love, Mom






May God bless and keep you always, May your wishes all come true, May you always do for others And let others do for you. May you build a ladder to the stars And climb on every rung, May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young, May you stay forever young. May you grow up to be righteous, May you grow up to be true, May you always know the truth And see the lights surrounding you. May you always be courageous, Stand upright and be strong, May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young, May you stay forever young. May your hands always be busy, May your feet always be swift, May you have a strong foundation When the winds of changes shift. May your heart always be joyful, May your song always be sung, May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young, May you stay forever young.

- Bob Dylan

Dusty

Poor dusty hurt his paw and kept licking it.
We took him to the vet yesterday and he has an infection so he has to wear this.
He looks so pitiful....I think he is depressed......makes me sad too.
Love,
Michele

happiness

If you observe a really happy man you will find him building a boat,
writing a symphony, educating his son,
growing double dahlias in his garden.
He will not be searching for happiness
as if it were a collar button that has rolled under
the radiator.

-W. Beran Wolfe



This quote reminds me that it is not in the searching that I find that connection....it is in the being...in the now...in the serving...in the creating. I need reminders like these!
Love, Michele

mystery of grace

I do not understand the mystery of grace-- only that it meets us where we are, but does not leave us where it found us.

-Anne LaMott

Macy took this picture of this beautiful baby at Omega last summer. I saw another picture of this baby in the Omega catalog this year......Macy is in the catalog too.......with a dopey face looking through the "O" of the Omega sign.

It made me smile.

Have an awesome day.

Love,

Michele

One

Marko had to make sentences in school for each of his spelling words.
For the spelling word "number"
This was his sentence:
"One is the loneliest number."

It made me smile.
Read below.
Love,
Michele



Although we have been made to believe that if we let go we will end up with nothing, life itself reveals again and again the opposite: that letting go is the path to real freedom.
Just as when the waves lash at the shore, the rocks suffer no damage but are sculpted and eroded into beautiful shapes, so our characters can be molded and our rough edges worn smooth by changes. Through weathering changes, we can learn how to develop a gentle but unshakable composure. Our confidence in ourselves grows, and becomes so much greater that goodness and compassion begin naturally to radiate out from us and bring joy to others. That goodness is what survives death, a fundamental goodness that is in each and every one of us. The whole of our life is a teaching of how to uncover that strong goodness, and a training toward realizing it. - Sogyal Rinpoche

art's purpose

Marko made this picture....it is a picture of raggedy ann and raggedy andy...I used to have a raggedy ann doll.

I love Marko's art.......and the quote below.

...have a great day

Love,

Michele

The purpose of art is not the release of a momentary ejection of adrenaline but rather the gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity.

-Glenn Gould

Born to Love!!

We believe we are hurt when we don't receive love.

But that is not what hurts us. Our pain comes when we do not give love.

We were born to love. You might say that we are divinely created love machines.

We function most powerfully when we are giving love.

The world has led us to believe that our wellbeing is dependent on other people loving us.

But this is the kind of upside down thinking that has caused so many of our problems.

The truth is our well being is dependent on our giving love.

It is not about what comes back; it is about what goes out!

-Alan Cohen

Love

We really have to understand the person we want to love. If our love is only a will to possess, it is not love. If we only think of ourselves, if we know only our own needs and ignore the needs of the other person, we cannot love.
-Thich Nhat Hanh