I'm Ready

My husband had a project to do in our basement.  It involved cutting into some concrete to make an opening larger and more convenient for us.  Consequently, there was a fine "construction" type dust all through the house despite efforts to contain it.  It wasn't horrible, but it was there.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not an obsessive type.  I pretty much go with the flow.  I can have plans but can change them in the blink of an eye if I need to.  Overall I'm pretty easy going.  I wasn't worried about cleaning the house until he was totally finished with the project.  Why do the deep cleaning more than once?

Well, he finished the project and I decided that I needed to clean my healing space.  It's located on the finished side of the basement.  Understand, I don't have any clients or classes scheduled, but it felt really important for me to get that space cleaned up... and I mean REALLY cleaned up.  I washed walls, all the furniture, curtains, blankets, sheets; rearranged furniture, moved wall hangings (after I washed them)...  EVERYTHING!!!

There were several things going on.  I was being obsessive about cleaning the space, which is totally out of character for me.  While I was cleaning, the words, "You have to get ready.  You have to BE ready." kept going through my head.  And while I was cleaning, there was this feeling like I was cleaning a "sacred space".  It was odd and VERY interesting.  I don't know what it all means, but I can't wait to see what comes up.  I'm sure something will.  That's just how my life goes.  It's exciting and full of surprises.  Whatever comes up, at least I know... I'M READY.

Love,  Paula

I Did It!

On August 13, 2012 in my blog "Goals", I decided I should volunteer at a hospice so I could learn more about how they work.  Well, I FINALLY decided which hospice to volunteer for.  I won't mention the name here because the purpose of this blog is to inform and discuss, not advertise.

As previously mentioned, I am a Reiki Master Teacher.  I was looking for a hospice that would allow me to use my Reiki skills in my volunteer work.  Admittedly I didn't contact all the area hospices, but I did speak to people from four of them.  Three of the four didn't appear to know anything about Reiki.  Their response was, "I'm sure we'll be able to let you use that."  But the fourth hospice I spoke with not only knew what Reiki was, they were very excited at the prospect of having a Reiki person on board.  Apparently they had a Reiki person before who moved out of town.  They said that the patients and staff LOVED it.  So, my decision was made.

I'm so excited!  I've had two training sessions so far.  Another is scheduled for tomorrow.  I believe 20 hours of training are required before I can work with any clients.

So far it's been an enjoyable experience.  I've met many interesting people.  They have stressful and sometimes emotionally draining careers, yet they seem happy and upbeat.  I'm honored to be able to work along side such selfless individuals.

Love,  Paula

The Christmas That Never Was

Sometimes, no matter how well planned, things don't work out.  Well, our Christmas this year was a great example of that.

Here was the plan:

12/22 - My grandson's birthday.  We go to my daughter and son-in-law's house in the afternoon to celebrate.  That evening after the party, my daughter-in-law will go to Pittsburgh to pick up six of her family members who were coming from Honduras for a Christmas visit.

12/23 - My mother-in-law's 81st birthday and my husband's family's Christmas get together.

12/24 - My kids and their families - and my daughter-in-law's family - over for dinner and Christmas gift exchange.

12/25 - Over to my daughter's at 7:30 AM to watch the kids open their gifts from Santa and then have breakfast.  Over to my son's at noon for dinner, to see their gifts, play games and enjoy the company.

Here is what happened:

12/22 - My grandson's birthday party went exactly as planned.  The little guy turned six and had a great time.  When my daughter-in-law left the party, she travelled to Pittsburgh to pick up her mother, two sisters, two nieces and a nephew.  Only one sister and her nephew made it.  The others missed their plane in Houston going through customs.  They got boarding passes for the next evening, but they were  also on standby for the earlier flight.

12/23 - The only problem was that they didn't have international phones, so they couldn't call my daughter-in-law to let her know either way.  Because of security, the airlines wouldn't let her know if they made it on the earlier flight or not, so she had to make the trip to Pittsburgh.  They weren't on the flight.  So my daughter-in-law was late for the Christmas gathering, but she made it.  My sister-in-law who did most of the planning couldn't make it because she had the flu.  Another sister-in-law didn't come because she threw her back out.  My mother-in-law almost didn't come - to her own birthday party - because she was in a lot of pain.  She mustared up the strength though and made it.  After the event, my daughter-in-law went back to Pittsburgh to pick up the rest of her family.  Three round trips in 24 hours, but they FINALLY all made it.

12/24 - My husband and I were up early to get dinner ready for our 17 dinner guests.  My daughter called to say that her son had a temp and they weren't sure if they'd make it.  Then my husband got a call that his mother had fallen.  He had to go to her home to see what he could do.  I kept working on dinner.  My husband's mom ended up in the hospital.  His brother went so he could be home for company.  My grandson rallied, so my daughter's family ended up coming.  We had a lovely afternoon of food, gifts, conversation and playing.  Around 3:00 my husband left to relieve his brother at the hospital so he could be with his wife - the one that threw out her back.  Everyone left around 6.  My husband got back at 6:30.

12/25 - My daughter called.  The kids were up early and we could go over as soon as possible.  She would try to hold them off.  We got there to watch the kids open their gifts and had a good breakfast cooked by my son-in-law.  My grandson wasn't feeling good, but he tried to have fun.  He ended up having the flu.  We went to my son's later for dinner and a fun family gathering.  We had a lovely afternoon.

12/26 - Our furnace quit working.  We were without heat.  Fortunately we were able to get someone there fairly quickly.

When people ask, "How was your holiday?", I usually say, "The things that were wonderful, were wonderful.  And the things that weren't, weren't."

I think the lesson in all this is that it's okay to plan things, but you need to stay flexible.  Sometimes life will throw you a curve.  Sometimes the plan changes in mid stream.  If you're flexible, your holiday (or whatever "day" it is you're planning) won't be ruined, it'll just be a little different.  And as the Grinch said,  "Christmas came.  Somehow or other, it came just the same."

Love,  Paula

15 Minute Meditation

In my blog "Guided Meditation" dated May 21, 2012, I wrote about a Meditation I got while preparing to meet with my grandson Luis to meditate.  While meditating on 12/12/12, I received an expansion of that meditation.

The first step is to accept the love of the Universe.  On the "in" breath, visualize that love entering through your crown chakra.  Feel it travel through your body.  On the "out" breath, feel the love exiting through your feet releasing love to Mother Earth and all her inhabitants.  In breath - receive love from the Universe.  Out breath - send love to Mother Earth and all her inhabitants.  In, love.  Out, love.  In, love.  Out, love.  Continue doing this for five minutes.

The second step is to reverse the process.  On the "in" breath, receive love from the Earth.  Feel it enter through your feet.  Feel it travel through your body and exit through your crown chakra, sending love to the Universe.  In breath - receive love from Mother Earth.  Out breath - send love to the Universe.  In, love.  Out, love.  In, love.  Out, love.  Continue doing this for five minutes.

The third step is to simultaneously take in love from the Universe AND from Mother Earth on the "in" breath.  Feel the energies mix together in your body.  Feel the love of both.  On the "out" breath, send Mother Earth's love to the Universe AND the Universe's love to Mother Earth.  This step is a little tricky and may require some practice.  But when done correctly, it feels wonderful.  Continue this step for five minutes also.

That's it, a fifteen minute meditation.  I hope you enjoy it.

Love,  Paula