Oprah's Incredible Gift of Inspiration!

My dvr is set to record Oprah every day so that later I may pick and choose which episodes I want to watch by reading the episode description. Recently I was baffled... an entire show dedicated to YouTube.com celebrities. It seemed pretty off the wall to me. So, of course, I decided to check it out and I am once again amazed by Oprah's vision, understanding and powers of inspiration. A topic that seemed at first to be trite and a little bizarre turned out to be incredibly moving and inspirational. Several people on the show were simply following their bliss and through the magic of YouTube.com their dreams and beyond became their reality in no time at all. It was a beautiful affirmation of the Law of Attraction. Self effort and grace will bring us more than we could ever hope for when we learn; how to truly allow ourselves to dream, how to ask for our dreams, and finally, how to love ourselves enough to allow our dreams to come true. It sounds easy but it does require a good deal of love for one's self, a plethora of faith, and a wee bit of motivation. Mix 'em up in your tummy and dreams will come true folks! And if at first you don't succeed keep on tryin' and I promise that when you get the recipe just right it really does work.

Allowing... Accepting with Love

The other day when I was just beginning my hatha yoga practice on the soft grass in my neighbors back yard one of our resident eagles flew over. My neighbors have granted me access to their property which is quite lovely and brimming with magical loving energy. True. Their family were the only people to own the property (since Native Americans didn't claim ownership to land.) They are a wonderful, loving and accepting family and the land radiates with their energy. I paused my practice and sat down to enjoy the breathtaking sight of an eagle in flight. For me it literally takes my breath away to watch an eagle soaring majestically through the sky.

The eagle stuck around for longer than usual and was circling the lake when another eagle showed up and I watched mesmerized as they danced in the air like angels swooping, circling and swooping by each other. Wah! I felt such peace and joy to watch the beautiful couple playing amongst the clouds. As I sat in awe it occurred to me that the eagles flight appeared effortless. I examined the way they allowed the wind to do most of the work while they simply rode the currents. Then I started thinking about the past year and how many times I had seen images of birds in the clouds and actual birds and eagles had appeared at the most strategic moments. I suddenly realized that the message I was being given was a message of allowing.

I have tendencies towards pushing against things that I do not want. My mom was a huge activist and did get a lot that she set out to do accomplished. She is warm and loving as well as strong and intense and I love very much. However I watched her and other activists push against the world to little avail. I have not become a grand activist like my mother but I do still have the tendency in me to think in this manner. I see things I do not like and I want to scream and yell. Sometimes I have, it hasn't been terribly effective. lol Sometimes I look around and I am furious with the things that have manifested in this world. Normally rage turned to despair and I was wracked with pain over things that I could not fix.

So as I watched the eagles dance above the lake I decided that allowing was my new game. It isn't really new, per se, just newly renovated. It is almost the same as self effort and grace (funny I just realized that my design for that of course is a heart with large multi-colored wings) but allowing is even more. I frequently become agitated when people drive past my house very quickly and recklessly. I live on a small country road and there are many creatures and people walking on the road. Now whenever someone drives by in this manner I focus my energy and think to myself that I am a peace bomb. I watch the peaceful energy radiate from me like a nuclear blast and I watch it roll over the car. It is so much nicer than becoming agitated. I don't know if people are driving any more reasonably but I will say that I now see police cars driving by more often and for sure that will help! Yay for the peace bomb!

Another experience I had was when I was driving and in a hurry one day. I was becoming quite irritated with the cars around me and it did not feel good. So I decided to try something new. I started chanting "Vitthale, Vitthale, Vitthale, Vitthale, Jai Jai Vitthale!" which is one of my favorite chants. It is lively, fun and it fills me with joy. As I chanted I thought to myself how much better I felt in only moments and I realized that my hurrying was completely unnecessary. I felt so powerful at that moment. I do not have to be controlled by my emotions. I can allow the world around me to just be okay the way it is right now and I can allow myself to be happy and okay. I can do that.

I do not mean to say that I want to walk through this life blind to the things that I am not wanting. I still am striving to be the change that I want to see in the world. I am just doing it in a much more happy and relaxed state of being! Jai Jai Vitthale!

Love from Above and Below

I had a glorious day today. As I sat to write in my Gratitude Journal my itty bitty kittie, Little Buddy, came to my feet and let out a tiny mew. I picked him up and held him like a baby in my arms. His little body offered no resistance. He flopped back and proceeded to fall into a deep sleep in the crook of my arm. Gratitude poured out of my soul and I felt a couple of joy filled tears running down my cheek. I was moved by his complete trust and I felt totally loved.

A little later on I was walking by the lake with my Beagle, Duda, and listening to a really beautiful Coldplay song, "The Speed Of Sound". The lyrics I was listening to go a little something like this:

"Birds came flying at the speed of sound to show you how it all began. Birds came flying from the underground if you could see it you would understand. When you see it you will understand."

The song and particularly these lyrics really move me. I stopped to admire the beautiful scenery with the perfect soundtrack and Duda sat at my feet. As we gazed at the beauty of the far end of the lake, where it meets the trees and sky, I felt a deep quiet joy. I imagined the birds flying out of the lake at the speed of sound to enlighten the world! I looked up at the sky where these birds would be soaring and lo and behold there was a huge cloud in the shape of a soaring bird spanning almost the entire sky. I had to step back. I felt so incredibly loved and I felt so much gratitude that I full on cried tears of utter bliss. I'm not makin' this up gang it happened.

My friends, That is one pretty fantastic day in my book. As if that was not enough, for the next couple of weeks everywhere I looked were heart shapes. The first one was a piece of old wood emerging from the melting snow. I wish I had taken a photo of that, it was stunning. Then my friend Tina was over and she pointed out a piece of stuffing from one of Duda's toys that she had unceremoniously pulled out. It was a perfect heart shape. (The photo you see above.) I only got photos of four or five of these hearts but you get the point. The heart cloud photo doesn't even capture the perfection of the heart shape when I first saw it! The funniest was the dog pee heart you see here.
Although I must say that the fried calamari heart that came to my friend Mario and I, in the marinara sauce, was also pretty stellar! I ate that heart, of course, but not before taking a photo with my phone... Crazy? Perhaps... but there is never a dull moment in this girl's life. And you can take that to the bank folks!


http://www.amazon.com/X-Y-Coldplay/

http://www.templegreen.com

Self Effort & Grace

My teacher once spoke about self effort and grace being the two wings of the bird. I don't know that I really understood what she meant at the time but it got filed away for subsequent review.

Well that review came when I found myself desperately trying to get work as an assistant stylist in NYC. (Which was for me and is generally a freelance position.) I did all of the footwork. I made all of the phone calls, saw all of the people... I did everything I could possibly do to no avail. I started to feel really desperate.

Finally one day I went for a walk and while I walked I prayed to my teacher. I told her that I really needed to work. I said that I didn't even care what kind of work it was I just needed to make some freakin' money! I poured my heart out to her and then I just let it go. I was gone for about twenty minutes. I arrived home and as I was turning the front doorknob I heard the phone ring. I opened the door jumped over my roommate on the couch and answered the phone. It was a woman I had never met before offering me an assistant styling job in Phoenix, Arizona for two weeks. Oh, and we stayed at The Biltmore and it was fabulous!

About six months later I found myself in the same predicament. Late one night just before bed I was reading Jnaneshwar's Gita. I don't remember the exact passage but it related to giving up doer-ship to God. So, I silently stated that I was giving up my job search to God and drifted off to sleep.

I awoke the next morning to a phone call from a stylist. She hired me virtually without references or even an interview. All of her previous assistants had been named Jennifer and she knew that I was her next Jennifer. We have been best friends ever since and she is one of the best people that I have ever known.

Another six months went by and again I found myself jobless for over a month. My dear old Dad was over for a visit and we were talking about my previous experiences. He told me, "Come on Jen just do it again!"
So I said out loud, "Okay, I give it up to God!"
We went to lunch and as we were walking home I received a page. We stopped at a pay phone and sure enough...

Self effort and grace... It's not easy but if you get it right you can almost set your watch by it.

http://www.amazon.com/Jnaneshwars-Gita

http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/09/25/stories/10250906.htm

http://www.templegreen.com