Whispers from the Universe

December 30, 2007 | 3 Comments

I had a funny experience tonight as I drove home from my prayer group’s meeting. As I listened to music on the radio, I intermittently heard a woman’s voice saying something I couldn’t quite discern.  I admit I was in a receptive state of mind, having just discussed with my prayer group how God conveys messages to us.  After hearing the strange woman’s voice a second time, I entertained the notion that the voice I heard was God or an angel talking to me! In an instant, I thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if God/Goddess was speaking to me through the radio?  Wow – I could receive direct communications from the Divine just by getting in the car!  And isn’t it cool that it is a woman’s voice!” 

You can imagine how I laughed at myself when I discovered the source of the woman’s voice was the new GPS (global positioning system) navigation unit that my husband gave me for Christmas that I had hidden in the glove compartment of my car!  I was more than a little disappointed that my imagined “voice of God” turned out to be the computerized voice of the navigation unit!

It got me thinking about direct communications from the Divine.  As mystics, we need to consider how we receive communication from the Source. There are many ways that we can discern God’s messages, but the manner I’d like to touch on here is what my friend Tim calls “whispers from the universe.” Whispers from the universe are synchronicities that have a bit of an eerie or surreal feel to them (at least for me).  It might be a phone call from someone you were just thinking about, or a piece of information that comes up in casual conversation, or hearing about a book from two people within a few days. 

One example of this in my life is this blog.  I knew that I wanted to write about my spiritual journey and perhaps publish it someday, but wasn’t sure how to get started.  Somehow, the idea of a blog germinated in my brain, and I experienced several whispers from the universe over the next few days.  First, I met with my marketing consultant, Laura, and she told me about the work she’s doing with blogs and membership-based businesses.  She told me that the direction of her practice will be to help her clients with these businesses.  Then, I opened the local paper and found an article on how to create and market a blog.  Then, I received an email invitation to hear a speaker whose blog I had recently visited and liked.  I attended the meeting and happened to sit at the same table as the speaker, allowing me to ask her questions about her business. My friend Tim says he pays special attention when he receives two or more whispers from the universe – and I had received three in as many days.  I knew I needed to sit up and smell the coffee! 

I believe that Spirit sends us these messages when we are ready for them, and it is our duty to pay attention.  In fact, I think we ignore these messages at our peril.  The Universe will sense our ingratitude or indifference if we don’t notice and act on them - and we will no longer receive the messages. Or, it may be that we shut ourselves off from the communication flow when we ignore them. Our privilege is to heed and act on them. 

So, here I am – a blogger.  I am trusting God to show me where this will lead me because I’m not entirely sure why I’m doing this – only that I’m called to do it. 

Remember to notice and act on the whispers you receive from the Universe.  I’d love to hear from you when you do!

Prayer:  Mother/Father God, Guide our feet as we walk on our journey with you.  Thank you for the whispered messages you send us in the form of synchronicities, and help us take notice of them.  Amen. 


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Mindfulness Moments

December 29, 2007 | 1 Comment

I’m always looking for ways to incorporate spirituality and mindfulness into my everyday life (hence this blog), and I’ve found a way that busy people can enfold the spiritual practice of mindfulness into their lives. One technique that I’m working with is to use waiting time (like at the post office, grocery store, lunch counter, etc.) to pay attention to your breath and be in the present moment. I find that by doing this, I am much more relaxed and calm as I go through my day.

You need to understand that waiting is very hard for me to do, for several reasons. Perhaps you can relate to some of them. One is that I am not naturally a patient person – I can see inefficiencies in a process and don’t understand why other people don’t also see it, and fix it! Another reason is that I have years of experience managing call centers in which responding to customer’s calls in a timely manner is the highest priority. Keeping customers waiting in that environment dings the metrics and makes you look bad to management. And lastly, I have taught customer service skills for years, skills that include acknowledging the customer, looking them in the eye and apologizing for any inconvenience. Waiting in line at a retail establishment just raises my hackles.

So, yesterday, I had an opportunity to exercise my “being in the moment” skills when I went to the post office to mail a package. The line was long but instead of internally groaning, I decided that this was an opportunity to experiment (again!) with being in the present moment. I lowered my gaze to the floor, and started observing my in-breaths and out-breaths, counting them to 10 and then starting over at 1. I noticed my feet on the floor and how I was holding my shoulders (I straightened them several times during the wait) and I relaxed my belly which is the place I usually hold tension. Most important, I half-smiled during this time. Not a goofy grin, but just an upturning of the corners of the mouth. This, I decided, was the most important element – the half-smile – because by smiling we feel happier. That’s the mind-body connection at work, in which physically acting happy can lift our mood.

I did OK. My mind kept wandering like a small curious puppy, but I lovingly brought it back to the breath again and again. Small winds of feeling annoyed at the situation and thoughts of how the post office staff could make this better blew through my mind, but I let them blow right on by and returned to the breath. After completing my transaction, I got in my car, took a deep breath and said to myself, “That wasn’t so bad!” Big words for an impatient woman.

Prayer: Holy One, help me to live in the present moment more and more, so I may live fully and consciously, aware of Your presence in my life, moment by moment. I ask for Your help on this journey. Amen.


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Everyday interruptions

December 28, 2007 | 1 Comment

Last night, I sat down in my special prayer corner (which is in a large walk-in closet) to meditate. It was late and I was tired, but I really wanted to meditate and pray before bed. Normally, my teenagers are asleep when I meditate, and they know to leave me alone when I’m sitting in my prayer corner, but it’s winter break and they are up much later than usual. Soon after I began, my sixteen-year-old daughter came into the closet, sat down, and said, “Can you talk to me before you start?” Of course, I said yes, knowing that teenagers don’t often ask to spend some time with their parents. She put her head in my lap, which is short-hand in our family for “Please scratch my head”. I scratched her head while we chatted about nothing much. Then the dog came in, parked himself right next to me, looked me in the eye and started whining – another short-hand message for “Please scratch my head”. So, I scratched both my daughter’s and the dog’s head, one with my left hand and the other with my right. Then, my son came in. Sensing a party, he lay down next to his sister, had some choice words with her (they are either fighting or best friends – go figure) and asked to have his head scratched. The dog left because I couldn’t scratch his head any more. The three of us talked for a bit, then the two teenagers left and went to bed.

My meditation time had been usurped by a very special mother-and-kids time. When they were little, I would pray with the kids every night before tucking them into bed. Appropriately, that no longer happens, so when I get a moment with them before bedtime, it is precious. For just a moment after they left me, however, I despaired of ever having a significant spiritual life. Then I realized what a gift I was given – the gift of quality time with my teenagers, of just being together. Because it was very late by that time, I quickly said my intercessory prayers, asked for God’s blessings for the folks on my prayer list, and I went to bed.

When I was in my twenties, I visited an Episcopal priest who happened to be my boyfriend’s sister. She shared a nugget of wisdom that I still remember. She explained that the Christian cross is a symbol for how we can experience God: the vertical or upright bar of the cross represents our direct communication with God, and the horizontal bar represents our interactions with other earthly beings. (Susan Klein, if you are reading, thank you for your inspiration.) Last night, instead of experiencing a direct communication with God through meditation, I experienced Spirit through interaction with my children.

And that is what Brio Leadership is all about – appreciating all the blessings we are given, everyday.


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Christmas Eve Meditation

December 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Here is a meditation for Christmas Eve, from my heart to yours:

Sit comfortably, with back straight and feet on the ground, or on a meditation cushion or bench. Gently close your eyes. Take several deep breaths to relax your body. Quiet your mind by focusing on the breath for several moments. Let go of any tension in the body – relax your stomach, shoulders, leg muscles, even your face.

When you feel centered and relaxed, imagine that you are in Bethlehem on a cold winter’s night. You are walking on a dark path from a warm house to the barn that is tucked under the hill in back. In one hand, you carry a lantern that sheds a soft light along your path; in the other hand, you carry a basket of hot food. Carefully, you pick your way down the narrow path to the barn door. As you approach the barn door, you notice that light seeps out around the closed door, telling you that someone is inside. You carefully, quietly open the door and behold the scene in front of you: in a clean stall sits Mary on a bed of straw, cradling her new baby, with Joseph keeping vigil close by. You enter and close the door behind you, and reverently approach the holy family. Bowing low to them, you present them the hot food inside the basket, which they acknowledge with a grateful smile and a nod. You leave them the lantern and the basket, and back away from the family, pausing once to appreciate the scene, then quietly leave.

As you close the barn door, you pause, drawing your coat more closely around you and looking up at the sky. The full moon is surrounded by many stars. You lean against the barn wall, pondering these questions:
• What do I wish to birth into my life at this time?
• What have I labored for, in order to prepare for the coming of something new? What might that new thing be?
• What blessings can I bring into this world?

Linger at the barn door until you hear or know the answers, then gently ascend toward the light of the home on the hill. When you are ready, open your eyes, take a deep breath and smile. You may wish to write down the answers that you received at the barn door.

Prayer: God of many names, bless the world on this Christmas Eve. May we bring our special gifts and talents to the earth, may we bring love and joy into our lives and to those around us. Amen.


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Hello, and about me

December 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Welcome to Brio Leadership! I’m delighted to have this opportunity to share this blog with you, and that you came to visit with me. My goal is to write 3-4 times per week for a year and see what happens.

This blog serves two purposes: 1) to share my spiritual journey with you so you may find courage and inspiration on your journey and 2) to develop my voice and my spiritual awareness. I hope that I might touch your heart, and maybe even make you smile once in a while. And, I will be writing for myself, writing about the things that I want to increase or improve in my life.

I am just an ordinary person who seeks to deepen her understanding of her spiritual path. I am in my early 50’s and have been married for over 26 years to a wonderful man who is my best friend. We have two teenage children, ages 16 and 18, and a miniature poodle who rules the house. I have been a consultant and trainer for the past 10 years in the area of technical services (www.krconsulting.com). I was raised in a liberal Christian family that was intensely involved in our Methodist church. As a teenager, I was at church at least three times a week, participating in youth choir, Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF, for those of you who remember) and Sunday School. I went to college as a music major and met my husband, who is a professional musician, in Boston. Soon after we were married, I starting attending church again after a college-induced hiatus from any religious affiliation. My husband is Jewish, so I went to church alone for the first several years of our marriage. We now are active in a Unitarian Universalist church where our whole family feels comfortable.

I am taking a sabbatical right now to study, pray, meditate and figure out what I’m going to do when I grow up! Part of that discernment process is writing this blog.

Thank you for sharing in this journey. Check back on Monday for a Christmas Eve meditation, which will be my Christmas gift to you!

Prayer:
All-pervasive one, I dedicate this blog to you. May my words touch other’s hearts and souls, may they encourage others to persist on their spiritual paths, may I strengthen my dedication to walking with You hand-in-hand. Amen.


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