Peace On Earth

It's that time of year again...time to repost one of my very favorite blogs.  To me, this is Christmas.  Enjoy!

My all-time favorite song - not just Christmas song, but ANY song - is the duet with Bing Crosby and David Bowie, "Peace On Earth".  Every year, the first couple of times I hear it, it touches my soul and I cry.

Bing Crosby was my father's favorite singer.  His albums were a staple in my house growing up.  He was like a god.  My father sang and patterned himself after Bing.  You get the idea, he was a BIG DEAL in my life.

I remember when "Peace On Earth" first aired back in 1977.  At that time, it actually upset me.  It was Bing Crosby's last Christmas special.  He died a month before it aired.  I couldn't believe that of all the celebrities in the world, someone decided that David Bowie should be on Bing's Christmas special.  It seemed like a bizarre choice to me.  Bing's Christmas specials were always "warm and fuzzy," a good old-fashioned Christmas.  David Bowie?  REALLY?!!!  Then, when they sang that song, David Bowie was the lead and Bing basically sang backup for him.  Again... REALLY?!!!   I was very upset.

After the song aired, it came out that David Bowie was supposed to sing "Little Drummer Boy" with Bing but refused.  He said he hated that song and just couldn't do it.  Now I was furious.  The nerve of him to give my beloved Bing such a hard time on what ended up being his last Christmas special ever.  Who did he think he was?!!!!!!

Fast forward 25 years or so.  My youngest son sent me a Christmas CD he made for me.  It has songs from many different artists.  Guess what song is number 16?  That's right, "Peace On Earth." I couldn't believe it.  He sent me this song that I had such strong emotions about.  Of course, he had no idea.  Understand, it wasn't the actual song that I had an aversion to, it was the story that went with it.  Truthfully, I don't remember if I actually even listened to the song itself.  Well, I don't know exactly what changed between then and now (it was probably me), but I fell in love.  I could not believe what a beautiful, meaningful song it was.  Like I said before, it touches my soul.

As I think about and read about how this incredible song came to be, it just blows me away. First, this impudent 30-year-old rocker refuses to sing a particular song with BING CROSBY.  So three people get together and scribble something out quickly to take its place.  Then Bing and David Bowie rehearse for an hour and a half.  Next they record it and they nailed it!  The rest, as they say, is history.

I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.  I finally got it.  It wasn't about Bing.  It wasn't about David Bowie.  It was about the message in the lyrics.  ALL these circumstances had to come together to make this beautiful song happen.  The WHOLE thing was so incredibly inspired.

I leave you now with the gift of this wonderful, moving song.  Enjoy.  I wish you all a happy holiday season filled with Peace On Earth.  Merry Christmas!

Love,  Paula

Joy in the Snow

Winter has arrived.  The calendar says it's still autumn, but the weather outside is saying winter.  We had our 1st snowfall of the season several weeks ago.  We thought it was a fluke and would melt and get back to fall.  But it didn't.  It stayed and snowed some more.

The city where I live is on one of the Great Lakes.  Because of the lake, our weather is unpredictable and kind of crazy.  I've lived here my whole life and have learned to expect the unexpected.  It never ceases to amaze me though how people that have lived here more than a couple of years constantly complain about the weather...especially the cold, snowy winter.

People start complaining in September (because they know that winter is coming), and don't stop complaining until April when the warmer weather starts appearing.  Meanwhile people are missing life.  They're missing the beautiful days of Autumn, Winter and part of Spring.

I always talk about how you can find beauty everywhere.  I really believe that.  Winter has it's own beauty.  Snow blankets the earth and kind of insulates it.  Everything seems calmer...quieter.  It sparkles like diamonds and it's absolutely gorgeous!

I read, "If you choose not to find joy in the snow, you will have less joy in your life, but still the same amount of snow."

Find joy in the snow.

Love,  Paula

"Bloom Where You're Planted"

It's my time of year again...Autumn.  I can't help it.  I just L-O-V-E fall!  How can you not love it?  The air is crisp and the colors are vibrant.  There are beautiful flowers.  The trees are adorned in amazing shades of yellows, golds, oranges, rusts and reds.  My whole world is just breathtaking!  There is beauty everywhere...and I mean EVERYWHERE!!!

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I took a walk as we often do when the weather is nice.  As we were walking, I was overwhelmed by the magic that was surrounding me.  When we were getting close to home, I was surprised to see a tree growing out of a storm sewer.  It was beautifully dressed in bright red leaves.

Besides just looking at the wonder of it all, two thoughts occurred to me:

1)  There's beauty everywhere if you just look for it.  Keep yourself open and you can find beauty...even in the most surprising places.

2)  The will to live is amazing.  This little seed was somehow pushed or washed into a storm sewer.  Instead of giving up, it decided to grow and be the best tree it could be, given it's circumstances.

This translates to all of us.  No matter what circumstance you find yourself in, BE THE BEST YOU, YOU CAN BE.  Don't focus on what you don't have.  Appreciate and be grateful for what you do have.

"Bloom where you're planted."

Love,  Paula

Passion

Have you ever had a passion, but kind of lost sight of it because of life getting in the way?  You get so busy with the business of living, that you kind of forget all about that passion.  Days, weeks, months, and maybe even years can go by.

My Reiki gets like that sometimes.  I occasionally go for long periods of time without using Reiki.  Then something happens that brings me back to it.  I remember how much I LOVE it.

I hadn't been practicing my Reiki for quite awhile when my two youngest grandchildren stayed over night.  My grandson asked if I could do Reiki on him.  He said we hadn't done it in a long time...and he was right.  Of course, my granddaughter wanted Reiki too.  Working with my grandchildren reminded me how much i love helping people with Reiki.  That opened the floodgates.

The next day the family was over to celebrate Father's Day.  My oldest grandson's girlfriend came over with her sister who was visiting from out of town.  Her sister is a Reiki II practitioner.  We enjoyed talking about our experiences with Reiki.  A family member wasn't feeling well.  She was having sinus issues.  The sister and I enjoyed working together on this family member and helped her to feel better.

The next thing that happened was that I got an unexpected email asking me to give mini Reiki treatments at a local senior center for their members.  I have done this in the past, but it's been quite awhile since they've asked me to do it.  I was pleasantly surprised by the email.

Finally, I happened to run into an old friend this past weekend.  We got to talking and of course Reiki came up.  She knew about Reiki and was very interested in it.  We're going to set up an appointment.

I love the synchronicity of it all.  I love how the Universe puts opportunities in your path to help you remember your passions.  Once you remember, the Universe helps to feed and expand that passion.

The same holds true for everyone.  Whatever you focus on will be multiplied....positive or negative.    If you complain about everything, you'll get more things to complain about.  If you're grateful for the good things in your life, you'll receive more for which to be grateful.  Pay attention and observe how this works, then pull into your life what you wish to experience.  The choice is yours.

Love,  Paula

A Sunset's Promise

Many times this spring, we've had overcast days.  Sometimes they would be accompanied by rain, sometimes it was just overcast.  But what these days had in common was that just before sunset, it would clear up over the lake and there would be this incredibly beautiful sunset.  It was such a gift after what most would call a dismal day.

Today was one of those days.  It was cold for this time of year and it was overcast.  It even rained quite a bit during the day.  But around 8:30 PM, it cleared up over the lake.  There was the most gorgeous sunset!  I couldn't take my eyes off of it until the last shred of color was overtaken by nightfall.

As I was watching this amazing show, a thought occurred to me.  Maybe these wonderful sunsets after an overcast, dismal day are nature's way of giving us hope.  Maybe it's nature's way of saying, "Listen, I know that things aren't always the way you want them to be.  I know that sometimes things can seem dark, hopeless.  But if you can just have patience, if you can just hang in there, I promise that the sun will shine again." 

My wish is that we could all see and internalize nature's message.  Hang in there.  Things  will get better. Think of that every time you see a sunset.  It's a sunset's promise.

Love,  Paula

Your Journey

In last week's blog I talked about the Labyrinth.  I was told that my journey was mine and mine alone.  It occurs to me that that is true for everyone.

I happen to be very fortunate.  I have so many people in my life - family and friends - that love and support me.  They don't always understand me, but they love and support me.  Even with all that love and support, I'm on my own journey.  No one can do it for me or with me.  It's mine.

The same holds true for everyone.  It doesn't matter if you have tons of love and support like me, or if you're pretty much alone.  Our journeys are our own.  We may have similar journeys.  Our journey's may even intersect with each others.  But no two people have the exact same journey.

My advice to you is to not worry about what other people do or say.  Follow your heart.  Follow your passion.  Follow your dreams.  Be brave, be bold and follow your journey.

Love,  Paula

Labyrinth

While I was visiting my son and daughter-in-law recently, they took me to a nature center where I had the opportunity to walk a labyrinth.  I hadn't done that in many years, so I was excited to have that opportunity.


For those of you that have never walked a labyrinth, you start at a specific point on the outside of a circular pattern and follow the path to the center.  Usually you pause in the center before you start your journey back out.  It's meant to be a meditative experience.  For me it's usually spiritual.


To me, starting from the outside and moving toward the center symbolizes a journey of going within yourself.  The center is where and when you tap into your inner wisdom.  I usually get some kind of message there.  The walk out allows you to reflect on and be grateful for any message you might have received.


My experience this day was interesting, informative, and kind of humorous.  I was so excited about walking the labyrinth that I think I got my son and husband excited about it too.  I don't know for sure, but I don't believe either of them had done this before.  I started my journey and I could hear that I was being "followed" by two sets of footsteps.  Pretty soon there was only one set of footsteps.  Shortly thereafter, it was only me. 


When I got to the center I paused, hoping to receive a message.  I was "told" that although I have support from my loved ones, this journey is mine and mine alone.  I almost laughed out loud because what had just happened in the physical world was reflective of my message.  It was perfect!


Love,  Paula

L-O-V-E

Whether you're aware of it or not, we had a wonderful surge of "love" energy this past weekend...The Royal Wedding. 


If you're not a fan of such things, you're probably screaming, "ENOUGH ALREADY!"  But if you are a fan, you can't get enough.  It's not a problem for you that the whole thing was televised, recapped for hours, then rebroadcast for those who missed it earlier.  It's been all over TV and social media for days...and we still can't get enough.  To see two people from two such different backgrounds fall in love and profess that love so openly on the world stage...well it was the stuff of fairy tales. 


There is another thing going on here though.  It's something that most people aren't aware of.  You see; words, actions, thoughts, and focus are powerful tools of creation.  Over one billion people from all over the world were focused on LOVE for that one incredible day. 


Normally the media focusses on anger, hatred, bullying, murder, war - all kinds of fear.  If we watch the news, we also start focusing on those things.  By doing so, we give our energy to the things that we say we do not want in our lives and in our world.  We unwittingly help them grow. 


On this special day and weekend, those over ONE BILLION people from around the world were focusing on LOVE and therefore putting their energy on LOVE and helping LOVE grow. 


Wouldn't it be wonderful to have more and more days like that?  Wouldn't it be wonderful to help love grow world-wide?  Well...what's stopping us?  If each individual would take responsibility for their own focus on love, their world would change.  And as more and more people do that individually, the whole world would change.  Let's do it!  Let's change our world.


Love,  Paula

Clean Your Closet

I think most of us, if not all of us, have that place - or places - that just aren't as neat and tidy as they should be.  You know what I'm talking about:  junk drawer, table, end table, corner of the room...you get the idea.

For me, it's a closet.  When there is something I don't know what to do with or where it should go...if I don't want to deal with it right now...it goes in my closet.  You wouldn't believe the junk that fits in that small space!

While meditating I was "told" to clean my closet.  I found this odd.  What kind of spiritual message was this?  I was meditating after all.

It was revealed to me that what is going on in my outer world was a reflection of what is going on inside.  The act of stuffing things in my closet was an outward expression of how I stuff things I don't want to deal with or don't know what to do with deep inside myself.  Doing this doesn't mean that these things don't exist, it just means that I'm ignoring them or hiding them.  They're still there and still need to be addressed.

Spring is just around the corner.  Maybe this year we should all consider doing some internal "Spring Cleaning" along with our normal spring cleaning.  What do you think?

Love,  Paula

Valentine's Day 2018

In the United States we celebrate a holiday called Valentine's Day.  Every February 14th, everyone's attention is turned to thoughts of love.  We buy presents, make special meals, and do nice things for those we love.  We not only do these things for our romantic partners, but also for our children, grandchildren, parents, favorite aunts and uncles... anyone you love.  We spend time, energy and money proving our love.

There's nothing wrong with this, but if you love someone - or many "someones" - I'm sure you show it all the time by the loving things you do with and for them daily.  You don't need a special day on the calendar to tell you to show your love.

If you're like me, however, I'm betting there is one person you forget to treat lovingly...YOURSELF.  We're always ready to jump in and help anyone and everyone when they want or need something from us.  We put ourselves on the back burner.  We allow ourselves to get worn out physically, mentally and emotionally as long as our loved ones are happy and taken care of.

How about doing something different this year?  How about on this Valentine's Day, besides doing for everyone else, do something for yourself.  It can be anything - big or small.  Take a nap.  Relax in a hot bath.  Schedule a massage.  Take a walk.  Read a book.  Do some writing.  Take yourself to lunch.  Do ANYTHING that is just for you.  Take an hour or so for yourself so you can have more energy to take care of others.  It's not selfish.  It's probably the best thing you can do for your loved ones

Wishing you all a Happy Valentine's Day!

Love,  Paula
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Forgiveness

This week I've been working with forgiveness.  Forgiveness is another form of letting go.

There are several people and events from my past that I need to forgive, but I just can't seem to get there.  Some of the people have passed away, but I STILL need to forgive them.  You see, by holding on to anger, hurt, betrayal or whatever other feelings you're feeling toward a person, people or event, you're not hurting them, you're only hurting yourself.  When you hold these feelings inside, you can make yourself physically sick.  These pent up emotions can cause ulcers, anxiety, heart disease, arthritis, depression, and even cancer.  I know this is something I have to do, but this darn being human thing keeps getting in the way.  Some lessons are more difficult than others.  This is a hard one for me personally.

We're all "works in progress"...no matter how young or old we are.  I know with perseverance and help, we can learn to forgive and be set free.

Love,  Paula

Letting Go

Lately I've been working with letting go.  Letting go can mean different things to different people.  You can let go of possessions.  You can let go of people.  You can let go of expectations.  You can let go of the need to control people or situations.  You get the idea.

In my case, I'm working on letting go of the need to know what, when, where, and why things are going to happen.  It's so difficult for me.  I know that I can't control everything in my life, but being human, I always want to try.  I use the Serenity Prayer as my mantra.  It goes:

Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

During one of my meditations this week, the guide I was working with asked me to step into a black hole that was in front of me...to step into an abyss.  It was my choice to do it or not, but since I trusted her, I did as directed.  I found myself suspended in dark nothingness.  Then I heard the familiar voice of my teacher guide and felt her presence and the presence of other beings of light.  She said, "We've got you.  You were never alone and never will be alone."  What a comfort.

I felt led to share this with you because I believe that this is true for EVERYONE!  Whatever your belief system; God, angels, guides, gods, goddesses, ancestors - whatever - we are never alone.  There is always help for us whether we're aware of it or not.  They're just waiting for us to ask for their help and guidance.

Love, Paula

PS.  Week 2 of my non-resolutions complete and I'm still hanging in there.

Guides and Angels

In future blogs, I may be referencing Guides and Angels. I'd like to give you my definition so you understand where I'm coming from.

To me, a guide is a being that has lived before and comes back to help people.  They're often family or friends that you knew in your lifetime, but they don't have to be.  It could be your mother, father, grandparents, siblings, in-laws or some other close relative.  This could be very comforting.  It could also be a great, great, great grandparent, aunt or uncle that you never knew.  It doesn't really matter.  What matters is that they're here to help you if you let them.

To me, angels are beings that have never had a physical body.  They have always been, and always will be in spiritual form.  They have a sweet, gentle, comforting presence, but they are very powerful.  They're all around and are just waiting for you to ask for their help.

Guides and Angels are beautiful beings and are good to keep in touch with.  Most people have had experiences of some kind or another:  seeing them, feeling their presence, hearing a song, smelling a fragrance, watching a movie, hearing a phrase...just at the right moment.  They're all around.  Pay attention and you may experience them.

Love,  Paula

PS.  Week 1of my non-resolutions down and I'm still going strong.

Happy New Year 2018

As I've mentioned in previous blogs, I really don't believe in New Year's Resolutions.  I feel like it's just something that makes you feel bad about yourself when you quit doing it...a week later...

This year starts with a super full moon.  When there is a full moon, you're supposed to use that energy to improve something in your life.  Because this full moon starts the new year, you're supposed to set your intentions for the year.

My intentions for the new year are:  meditate more regularly, blog and write more regularly, and take better care of myself by exercising and eating better.  WOW...that sounds like New Year's Resolutions.  Oh well...intentions set.  I'll let you know how I make out.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, prosperous 2018 filled with wonderful surprises and magic!

Love,  Paula