Still Learning

I was recently asked to give Reiki to a client. This person was someone with whom I've had a tentative relationship. Here's the wonderful thing about Reiki: it's an energy that heals at physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual levels. Also, since it's channeled through the Reiki practitioner, some of the energy stays with the practitioner so they receive healing as well as the client.
This person came to me because of a physical problem. The Reiki definitely gave this person immediate relief and they were very grateful for that. But from my perspective, what I saw happening was that our personal relationship was healing. That is a special and unexpected gift for me.

As I mentioned in a previous blog (Lesson Learned... Hopefully), "When called into service, go with an open mind and heart. Allow the process to unfold the way it's supposed to unfold without getting in the way." Guess I'm still learning.

Love, Paula

What's Stopping You?

I think most of us have dreams of things we would like to do: travel, go back to school, start a business, retire, change careers, try a new hobby, write a book. The list can go on and on. Well...

WHAT'S STOPPING YOU?

That is usually a layered question. If you really want to do something but you just can't seem to get yourself there, ask, "What's stopping me?" Write down the first thing that comes into you head. Then ask it again. Write, Again, Write. Again, Write. Continue until you can't think of another reason. I'm betting I know what the final answer will be.

YOU

Ultimately, the only thing that's keeping you from your dreams is you. Once you are willing to accept responsibility for that, you can begin to change your thoughts and change your life.


Love, Paula

Family Values

I was challenged by something I read to define and understand what family values means to me. With all the political rhetoric being tossed around, it seems more important than ever for me to find my own meaning.


There are the traditional families; mother, father, children. There are the unmarried father, mother, children. There is the married couple with no children. The same sex couple that is unmarried. Same sex couple that is married. The same sex couple with children. There are single people either by choice, widowhood, or divorced with children. There is the extended family. There is family connected by a cause, an interest, a passion, or a shared experience. There is the human family. All of these fall into my definition of family.

I believe the definition of family and family values is personal and should be decided by each person or family individually. This is something that should not be regulated by our government or politicians. It should also not be regulated by our religions. The founders of all of our major religions were kind, forgiving and accepting beings... Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha, God. Are we saying that they were wrong? That we (religions) know better than they did? If so, then why even follow a religion?

And the founders of our country stated that we ALL have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As long as no one is getting hurt, then the government... the politicians... should stay out of it.

Everyone has the right to pursue happiness in their own way and decide their own family values. I personally have my traditional family, a spiritual family, an extended biological family, and of course the human family. Some of those families even overlap.

If we're REALLY a free nation, let "We The People" decide for ourselves our own definition of family and family values as long as it doesn't infringe on anyone else's freedom.

Love, Paula

Everything Old is New Again

As I was washing dishes after supper the other night, the song "Everything Old Is New Again" popped into my head. You see that happening a lot in fashion, but the reason it popped into my head while doing the dishes is because of my newly purchased frying pans.

As I mentioned in a previous blog ("Mom Knew"), I'm very interested in nutrition and good health. In my reading I'm finding out that even the pots and pans we use to cook our food in are important. Research is finding non-stick and aluminum cookware my be a contributing factor to many illnesses - several cancers and Alzheimer's to name a couple. Stainless steel is a good option, but it appears cast iron is the best option. Cast iron was discarded by many people because it is very heavy and also takes a lot of care so that it doesn't rust. The up side of it is that as you cook, iron leaches into the food. Our soil is becoming more depleted of iron all the time and most of us have a least a minor iron deficiency. Women have more of an iron deficiency problem for obvious reasons. I don't know about anyone else, but when I took iron supplements I would get constipated, so I quit taking them. Cooking in cast iron is an excellent way to consume more iron naturally without the side effects.

Our moms, grandmas and great grandmas had it right. With these "new scientific breakthroughs," we're finally catching up with them. "Everything Old IS New Again".

Love, Paula

Potential

We all have our own gifts, interests, talents, missions, inspirations, ideas and insights. Some seem bigger and more important than others, but the truth is that they are all equally important. We all have a job to do so to speak, and the whole won't be complete unless all the pieces are in place. Think of life as one huge jigsaw puzzle. It doesn't matter how big or small a piece is. The puzzle is not complete until all the pieces - big and small - are put together. We all have at least one piece to that puzzle. It's our responsibility to bring it (or them) forth to share with the world and complete the puzzle.

Notice I said "share" with the world. That seems to be another concept that many people struggle with. We're always so protective of what is "ours." The fact is, it isn't ours personally. It's ours as a whole... as a species... as a resident of earth. It's ours to share. We need to take to heart the saying, "A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle." It loses nothing and has helped another candle reach it's potential. We need to share our light and help all those other candles out there to reach their potential, just as they are helping us to reach ours.

Love, Paula