December 2012
In this issue:
Reflections: Not knowing
Tribute and Guest Article: Susan Jeffers
Inspiring events
Daring to Blossom News
Reflections: Not knowing
Sitting to write to you this month I find myself lost, I truly do not know what to write. I had various ideas, and a guest article - but the permission to use that may not arrive in time to send this out to you tonight.
So I am sitting with my feeling of 'not knowing' and asking myself "What else do I feel?"
I feel tired.
My back aches due to a slip and fall last week.
I feel cold.
Noticing these things I can do some things to alleviate them: make sure I rest over the weekend; change my posture to help my back; turn the heating up.
I ask again: "What else do I feel?"
I feel satisfied that I have had a productive week.
I feel anticipation for the Christmas celebrations approaching, knowing I can choose to be absorbed in that in a way I choose.
Hmmm - that 'not knowing' is still creeping in there somehow.
What else?
I feel - grateful.
Grateful for:
- my family, near and far, scattered around the world
- my friends, every single one of you - those who I have occasional contact with, and those with whom I have regular and deeply thoughtful correspondence. Those I have just met, and those I have known for years
- the natural environment all around me here in Cornwall
- my employment which enables me to do the work I love
- my private coaching and creativity clients who allow me to experiment and grow in ways that help more people
- all the authors whose work inspires me in so many ways
- .......and many, many more 'reasons to be happy'.
I have now arrived at a different place in a few moments of reflection: from emptiness and 'not knowing', to allowing gratitude to flow in and fill me with warmth and thankfulness.
That is the feeling I would like to enter this Christmas season with, a feeling of gratitude that does not require gifts of any kind, rather the recognition that the present of most value of all is the ability to be thankful, and as I wrote last month - to just be, just be in the moment, in the present.
For you: some suggestions for your journal or meditation reflections:
Tribute and Guest Article: Susan Jeffers
Many people will know the work of Susan Jeffers, author of the classic Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway. This and her other books have been an inspiration and support to me over many years. It was with sadness that I read recently that she had died. Her work continues however through her books and team of people around the world offering workshops. Virtually every week I mention her name to someone.
So when I read the article below in the latest newsletter it seemed perfect for a guest slot at this time of year. As I mentioned earlier, I was not sure that the permission to quote would come through in time, but I received a reply from Mark, the CEO, at what must have been first thing in the morning at the offices of Susan Jeffers LLC in the USA. It is with great pleasure and gratitude to Susan that I can share this with you:
His appearing on the scene just when I needed him could have been a mere coincidence...but I choose to believe that it was something more...that it had something to do with what I love to call the "Grand Design" - the Grand Plan for our lives that our mortal minds cannot see. And, while I never learned his name, (he was too busy cursing at me for bypassing the flood barrier in my eagerness to get to a workshop at Esalen Institute!), I often send my Instant Angel thanks in the form of Light and Love for being there when I needed him.
As the Holiday season approaches, I propose that in addition to our focusing on the decorative Angels that appear in our storefront windows, we put our attention on the real life Angels, seen or unseen, who make (or who have made) our lives a little easier, who protect us from harm, who are the embodiment of Love.
I then propose that we thank them in any way that we can...a phone call, a letter, a gift, or just sending them thoughts of Light and Love.
I further propose that from this moment on we all embrace the role of Instant Angels and, on impulse - or with great forethought - we step in to do things for others who need our help. I believe that we can ALL be "used" by that same Grand Design to serve as Instant Angels for others.
An example I like to give is this: I was standing in a pharmacy I rarely go into when I overheard an elderly women telling the pharmacist that she needed her prescription filled but she didn't have her wallet with her. She explained that she needed the medicine very badly to ease her pain and she would bring the money in later, but the pharmacist wouldn't fill her prescription without payment.
Without hesitation, I heard this voice from within myself saying, "I'll pay for your prescription." And I instantly pulled my credit card out of my handbag and handed it to the pharmacist. The elderly woman turned around and looked at me in amazement and exclaimed, "Are you an Angel? I just know that God sent you to me."
I answered, "I never thought of myself as an Angel, but maybe God did send me to you. After all, how come I showed up here just when you needed me?" And I thought to myself, "Why did I show up at just the right time...and in a place I seldom come?" Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not. Who really knows? I do know that as I left the pharmacy I was engulfed with an inner feeling of joy and gratitude for having been there when someone needed me.
That was the moment I came to the realization that...
ALL OF US can become Instant Angels as we step in to offer the gift of ourselves to others who need our help.
This requires that, consciously or unconsciously, we pay attention to the world around us. When we do, it's as though the Light of a Higher Power, whatever that may mean for you, comes shining right through us. And as many of you have already discovered, the feeling is Divine.
The beauty of it all is that being an Instant Angel is not just a Holiday kind of thing...it's a year-round kind of thing. This means that the Divine feeling of the Light of a Higher Power coming through us can embrace us every day of the year...How blessed we are!!!
(Important: To use all or any part of this article, go to admin@susanjeffers.com for permission.)
Inspiring events: 10 week course with Mira Love
If you are in the West Cornwall area, you may be interested in this course with Mira, I was drawn to it, even before I saw that she has used the Anais Nin quotation that inspired my business name!
Mira says:
"My aim is to inspire and support you as a woman to break free from your limiting belief patterns and deep conditioning that has kept you suppressed and to reclaim your power.
Take this opportunity to give yourself time to embrace and enjoy the journey for a life-changing experience if you are looking for
Self-Worth Confidence
A sense of Well-being Energy and Enthusiasm
Clarity and Focus Your Life Purpose
Self-Esteem Abundance Happiness
"There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful that the risk it took to blossom" Anais Nin
Tuesdays 2.00pm - 4.00pm for 10 weeks
from 22nd January to 26th March 2013
The Natural Health Centre, Penzance
Investment - £125.00
Contact mira@miralove.co.uk
Daring to Blossom News
Coming to end of my first year of expanding 'Dare to Blossom' outwards into 'Daring to Blossom', I am reviewing before deciding what to offer next year. Thank you to those of you who have attended workshops and given me such valuable (and valued) feedback. I have been told that the word 'daring' has at the same time a gentler and a more active feel. For me the change gets past the 'hardness' of the challenge of 'dare to blossom!', and when people ask me (as they have quite often!) - 'well, have you dared?', I can answer, yes, I am daring. It is a work in progress, a life-long practice like any other such as yoga or meditation (and, for me, daring to blossom uses both those practices, for others it may be dancing, drama, surfing or sailing).
Once I have reviewed I will be deciding on new activities for 2013. At this moment I am in the 'not knowing' stage of this - so this will be a time of discovering for me. Thank you as always for reading and being my support and inspiration. I am grateful to every one of you, whether you read every newsletter or just the occasional one.Please do leave any comments or feedback if you feel inspired!
very best wishes
Mary
In this issue:
Reflections: Not knowing
Tribute and Guest Article: Susan Jeffers
Inspiring events
Daring to Blossom News
Reflections: Not knowing
Sitting to write to you this month I find myself lost, I truly do not know what to write. I had various ideas, and a guest article - but the permission to use that may not arrive in time to send this out to you tonight.
So I am sitting with my feeling of 'not knowing' and asking myself "What else do I feel?"
I feel tired.
My back aches due to a slip and fall last week.
I feel cold.
Noticing these things I can do some things to alleviate them: make sure I rest over the weekend; change my posture to help my back; turn the heating up.
I ask again: "What else do I feel?"
I feel satisfied that I have had a productive week.
I feel anticipation for the Christmas celebrations approaching, knowing I can choose to be absorbed in that in a way I choose.
Hmmm - that 'not knowing' is still creeping in there somehow.
What else?
I feel - grateful.
Grateful for:
- my family, near and far, scattered around the world
- my friends, every single one of you - those who I have occasional contact with, and those with whom I have regular and deeply thoughtful correspondence. Those I have just met, and those I have known for years
- the natural environment all around me here in Cornwall
- my employment which enables me to do the work I love
- my private coaching and creativity clients who allow me to experiment and grow in ways that help more people
- all the authors whose work inspires me in so many ways
- .......and many, many more 'reasons to be happy'.
I have now arrived at a different place in a few moments of reflection: from emptiness and 'not knowing', to allowing gratitude to flow in and fill me with warmth and thankfulness.
That is the feeling I would like to enter this Christmas season with, a feeling of gratitude that does not require gifts of any kind, rather the recognition that the present of most value of all is the ability to be thankful, and as I wrote last month - to just be, just be in the moment, in the present.
For you: some suggestions for your journal or meditation reflections:
- Explore how you are really feelling right now, perhaps starting with 'not knowing'
- Write your own gratitude list
- Choose how you want to be at this time of year.
Tribute and Guest Article: Susan Jeffers
Many people will know the work of Susan Jeffers, author of the classic Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway. This and her other books have been an inspiration and support to me over many years. It was with sadness that I read recently that she had died. Her work continues however through her books and team of people around the world offering workshops. Virtually every week I mention her name to someone.
So when I read the article below in the latest newsletter it seemed perfect for a guest slot at this time of year. As I mentioned earlier, I was not sure that the permission to quote would come through in time, but I received a reply from Mark, the CEO, at what must have been first thing in the morning at the offices of Susan Jeffers LLC in the USA. It is with great pleasure and gratitude to Susan that I can share this with you:
BECOMING AN "INSTANT ANGEL"
by Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.
I definitely believe in "Instant Angels". What is an Instant Angel? As I
describe in Life is Huge!, I was once saved by a tow-truck driver
who happened to come around the bend in the road just as my car was about to be
pushed over a cliff by flood waters in Big Sur, California. An Instant Angel,
indeed!by Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.
His appearing on the scene just when I needed him could have been a mere coincidence...but I choose to believe that it was something more...that it had something to do with what I love to call the "Grand Design" - the Grand Plan for our lives that our mortal minds cannot see. And, while I never learned his name, (he was too busy cursing at me for bypassing the flood barrier in my eagerness to get to a workshop at Esalen Institute!), I often send my Instant Angel thanks in the form of Light and Love for being there when I needed him.
As the Holiday season approaches, I propose that in addition to our focusing on the decorative Angels that appear in our storefront windows, we put our attention on the real life Angels, seen or unseen, who make (or who have made) our lives a little easier, who protect us from harm, who are the embodiment of Love.
I then propose that we thank them in any way that we can...a phone call, a letter, a gift, or just sending them thoughts of Light and Love.
I further propose that from this moment on we all embrace the role of Instant Angels and, on impulse - or with great forethought - we step in to do things for others who need our help. I believe that we can ALL be "used" by that same Grand Design to serve as Instant Angels for others.
An example I like to give is this: I was standing in a pharmacy I rarely go into when I overheard an elderly women telling the pharmacist that she needed her prescription filled but she didn't have her wallet with her. She explained that she needed the medicine very badly to ease her pain and she would bring the money in later, but the pharmacist wouldn't fill her prescription without payment.
Without hesitation, I heard this voice from within myself saying, "I'll pay for your prescription." And I instantly pulled my credit card out of my handbag and handed it to the pharmacist. The elderly woman turned around and looked at me in amazement and exclaimed, "Are you an Angel? I just know that God sent you to me."
I answered, "I never thought of myself as an Angel, but maybe God did send me to you. After all, how come I showed up here just when you needed me?" And I thought to myself, "Why did I show up at just the right time...and in a place I seldom come?" Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not. Who really knows? I do know that as I left the pharmacy I was engulfed with an inner feeling of joy and gratitude for having been there when someone needed me.
That was the moment I came to the realization that...
ALL OF US can become Instant Angels as we step in to offer the gift of ourselves to others who need our help.
This requires that, consciously or unconsciously, we pay attention to the world around us. When we do, it's as though the Light of a Higher Power, whatever that may mean for you, comes shining right through us. And as many of you have already discovered, the feeling is Divine.
The beauty of it all is that being an Instant Angel is not just a Holiday kind of thing...it's a year-round kind of thing. This means that the Divine feeling of the Light of a Higher Power coming through us can embrace us every day of the year...How blessed we are!!!
From my heart to yours,
Susan Jeffers
Copyright © 2012 Susan Jeffers, Ph.D. All rights reserved.Susan Jeffers
(Important: To use all or any part of this article, go to admin@susanjeffers.com for permission.)
Inspiring events: 10 week course with Mira Love
If you are in the West Cornwall area, you may be interested in this course with Mira, I was drawn to it, even before I saw that she has used the Anais Nin quotation that inspired my business name!
Mira says:
"My aim is to inspire and support you as a woman to break free from your limiting belief patterns and deep conditioning that has kept you suppressed and to reclaim your power.
Take this opportunity to give yourself time to embrace and enjoy the journey for a life-changing experience if you are looking for
Self-Worth Confidence
A sense of Well-being Energy and Enthusiasm
Clarity and Focus Your Life Purpose
Self-Esteem Abundance Happiness
"There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful that the risk it took to blossom" Anais Nin
Tuesdays 2.00pm - 4.00pm for 10 weeks
from 22nd January to 26th March 2013
The Natural Health Centre, Penzance
Investment - £125.00
Contact mira@miralove.co.uk
Daring to Blossom News
Coming to end of my first year of expanding 'Dare to Blossom' outwards into 'Daring to Blossom', I am reviewing before deciding what to offer next year. Thank you to those of you who have attended workshops and given me such valuable (and valued) feedback. I have been told that the word 'daring' has at the same time a gentler and a more active feel. For me the change gets past the 'hardness' of the challenge of 'dare to blossom!', and when people ask me (as they have quite often!) - 'well, have you dared?', I can answer, yes, I am daring. It is a work in progress, a life-long practice like any other such as yoga or meditation (and, for me, daring to blossom uses both those practices, for others it may be dancing, drama, surfing or sailing).
Once I have reviewed I will be deciding on new activities for 2013. At this moment I am in the 'not knowing' stage of this - so this will be a time of discovering for me. Thank you as always for reading and being my support and inspiration. I am grateful to every one of you, whether you read every newsletter or just the occasional one.Please do leave any comments or feedback if you feel inspired!
very best wishes
Mary
