…Receiving or Giving?

There have been a few times in my life (and I know you’ve had them too) where I didn’t think I had much to give … times I’ve been exhausted from giving out of obligation, overwhelm, a need to be noticed, or because I felt I had something to prove.

Other times, my giving has been inspired from deep within, from a Love rising through me that I cannot help but share.  I call this Inspired Giving, and it feels like God is giving through me.  When I open to this type of giving, I am nourished beyond belief and have more than enough energy for whatever comes before me.

In the summer of 2009, I experienced a powerful example of this in my financial life.  It was a time there wasn’t enough money coming in to meet monthly obligations. I was in great anxiety over finances and had stopped most of my monthly donations because I felt there wasn’t enough. Fear and resentment had replaced my normal positive outlook, and I was feeling very stuck in the muck. Then a little voice said, ‘give more money to what you believe in’ … so I did. Within one month, two properties that were draining our cashflow sold, and we received an unexpected check in the mail.

It was such an immediate response that I knew it was an important message for me to remember and share: open to greater financial flow through giving. It’s so easy to be in fear with our finances, one of the most basic forms of security. Somehow, the simple act of giving, even a few dollars, says “I know this is important and I’m going to believe there is more where this came from.”

If you’re waiting to receive more time, more energy, more money … more anything, don’t wait any longer. Find something that inspires you and just start giving. When you give from a place of inspiration, you’ll receive all you need to keep the flow going.

The 3-6-12 Giving Challenge
We’re looking for 100 generous individuals to help launch The Grassroots Giving Network. Will you be one of them? Simply commit to give $12 for 3, 6, or 12 months ($36-$144 total) to begin this stream of collaborative giving. (Of course, you are also welcome to give more, but we wanted to make it simple to say YES!)

There’s more info at the website, and the Giving Link is there too. Take a look and then take a leap… or rather a small step that will turn into a nice Leap of Giving when we all join together.

Say YES! Become a Grassroots Giver

I wrote this poem some years ago, and it still brings a smile to my heart as I connect with the images and the memories.  I decided to share it as I send each of you blessings for a joy filled holiday season that shines bright with Love and gratitude.

May you have much to give thanks for, and remember to be especially grateful for the simple gifts of everyday living. ~Sor’a

Gratitude List

Rainbow-trimmed Clouds,
the song of birds outside my window,
a yellow rose that stays beautifully on my
dashboard where I laid it one summer day…

Friendships that bubble up inside me when I’m sad,
laughter…sighs… tears that fall when
least expected, and the golden glow of evening
as the sun takes its final bow.

The hug of kids, dogs, and teddy bears…
sitting quietly with a sun-yellow bird on my shoulder,
her peep waking me when I forget she’s there;

the smell of vanilla and peaches,
the sound of fish swimming,
the color of the seasons as they pass by,
and the colors that grow inside of me
as I awake to the possibilities
of each new day.

Pain.  There’s quite a lot of it in the world right now, so it seems rather trite of me to write about a toothache.  Yet that is what has been grabbing my attention this past week: throbbing, stabbing, intense…and now a raw-skinned reminder of the tooth that is no longer there.  How can one little part of the body cause so much pain?

As with most things, there are lessons to be learned here.  I jokingly say a few of them: call dentist before weekend & take drugs sooner.  But my real aha’s came during two memorable moments of deep letting go. The details of those moments seem unimportant now, but what they birthed in me seems unforgettable: as I surrendered to the pain and to the physical release of the tooth, my heart opened to a more expansive way of loving.

A toothache expanding my capacity to love…really? Somehow when I said goodbye to the tooth, in that single moment, I saw a number of old judgments and beliefs disintegrate in my mind.  In that same moment, a host of other painful events, past and present, flooded through.  It was as if a tsunami was washing out the old so something new could be birthed through me.

I’ve heard it said before that pain expands our capacity to love, but never have I connected with the possibility in such a way. Perhaps this is what is happening with our world right now: we are growing our collective capacity to feel compassion, to work together to rebuild cities, to somehow repair all these breaking hearts.  Perhaps we are birthing the possibility of a new way of loving.

When I look into the eyes of a dear friend whose body is being ravaged by cancer and a number of other complications, I see such a depth of love that I know this connection between pain and love is real.  And while the pain of an infected tooth seems so insignificant in comparison, I am grateful for the lessons it brings.

Embracing the pain, the love, and everything in between.  ~Sor’a

Q: How do you keep SHINING when you are in pain?

A few journal wanderings because my BLOG is feeling lonely…

I greeted 2011 in a state of grace, ringing in the new within the sacred space I know as my HeartGate home.  Today, I turn to my calendar and am astonished to see that it’s February already. What happened to the Promise I made myself to write more regularly this year?

Truth is, I’m so used to entering a new year with a flood of enthusiasm and inspiration that I’ve been in quite a bit of judgment toward myself. My body is moving VERY slowly.  I can’t seem to focus on anything for long.  And I don’t really want to DO anything!  Recently, I’ve started to realize what is going on.  Integration.

So much is happening so fast these days that our bodies & minds need space to
B R E A T H E.  We ESP’s (extra sensitive persons) may need a little extra support. Who made up that we’re supposed to launch into the New Year with zest and all kinds of plans & possibilities anyway? I just want to cuddle up by the fire, drink hot cocoa, and read a good book! (And winter in Boise is especially COLD this year, so sitting by the WARM fire makes me happy!)

***
Early this morning, I finished “Traveling with Pomegranates” by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Taylor Kidd.  It inspired me to start writing again.  It also opened a sort of longing in me: to travel, to connect deeply with my daughter and my mother, to be free.

I’ve been thinking of freedom a lot lately. My mother gave me freedom to be myself, and now I must choose to free the limitations of my mind.  My daughter seems free, but are we ever really free of the self-imposed or society-imposed limitations?

Maybe I still care too much what others think of me.  Another change of focus is upon me, and I am afraid it will appear I’m a drifter, but why does it matter?  I am a creative inspiration, and so I will flow with what comes before me.

***
I have a friend who talks about the Ultimate Freedom to wake up each morning and see what shows up to see to.  No goals. No plans. Free to choose in each moment. Perhaps this is what is being called for more & more, as we touch the impermanence of life and remember why we are really here: to dance with God.

Now that I’m writing again, my heart feels lighter.  It’s like a dam is slowly opening and the inspiration is starting to trickle in.  I’m not making any other Promises (or resolutions) but to just keep showing up, as real as I can, in this moment and the next and the next.

And to go on some GREAT Adventures this year!  I’ll share more about that soon!

Happy Now Moment.  ~Sor’a

A Happy Now Moment

My grandson helped fill up his room with balloons … we had lots of magical moments together laughing & playing this month!

It’s the darkest time of the year (here in the western hemisphere anyway … yet some hearts S H I N E more brightly at this time of year than any other.  For many, this is a season of giving, of generosity, of celebrating our blessings, and a time to reach out to family & friends in special ways.

As we enter the final week of 2010, I’d like to share a few simple inspirations from my heart to yours.

A poem I wrote in 2006 that I like to share every year at this time:   Embrace

A video I just watched that really speaks to me:  Spiritual Conspiracy

A lovely Christmas song by a young SHINING Star!:  O Holy Night

Let us remember that the most important Gifts come without all the fancy wrappings.  Unwrap your heart & let your True Self glow this holiday season and all through the coming year.

Shining Love & Light your way,  Sor’a

Think of one thing that breaks your heart open, and act upon that.
This is the way we will change the world: one loving act at a time.

I just had the opportunity to spend 3 days with child right’s advocate, Kimmie Weeks.  I’d like to share my gratitude for the blessing this simple man brings to our world with his message, and with his peaceful, powerful Presence.  Especially during this week of Thanks Giving for Americans, it feels important to SHINE this message out to others.

I’ll admit that it’s not easy for me to hear & see much of what Kimmie has to share.  My normal Way is to look at the joy & beauty of life, and to turn people toward the positivity and the Light side of our world … and I don’t expect to change that.  Indeed, Kimmie Weeks is one of the great Light workers of our time.

It’s not easy to hear his story of being torn from a normal middle class life to face the ravages of war, of being left on a pile of dead bodies when he was just 9 … it’s not easy hear of the devastation he experienced during the 14 year civil war in his home country of Liberia … or to hear of the pain & suffering he continues to see as he commits his life to creating a new story for our world.

While these stories can be heartbreaking, they also demonstrate the power of the human spirit and an uncommon faith & forgiveness that most of us won’t ever have to endure.  Kimmie shares some embarrassing statistics about where the general population is focusing attention & spending dollars.  He believes (and so do I) that if just a fraction of those spending choices are changed, we CAN have a world where no child dies from hunger, lack of clean water or medical attention … this is truly possible in our lifetime.

Kimmie encourages us not to feel guilty about the simple blessings of our own lives … but to be thankful for these blessings, and to consider, every day, how we might share a few of our blessings with others … not just in our own families & communities, but around the world.  We create a world that works for everyone ONLY when we remember we are ONE world community. As my dear friend Pat McDonald sings, “whenever one of us is suffering, none of us is free … a world that works for everyone, is what is meant to be.” (Listen to United in Brilliance, by Pat McDonald)

Kimmie talks of giving until it hurts, and I say, “Give until it STOPS hurting.” Let us GIVE until the only stories we hear are those of a world that truly is working for everyone.

May your heart break open with compassion as you Give Thanks for your blessings.

With Great Gratitude, Sor’a

This is a photo of the baby at the top after just 3 months with adequate nourishment.

Check out THE SERVICE CONNECTION “Virtual BIG GIVE” Event

$20 pays medical care for a child.  If 9 people give just $11 each, a child can go to school.  Most of us can find a way to re-direct this level of funds, and when our giving UNITES, we  spark expansive change for our world.

Listen to Kimmie’s story as he accepts the prestigious Brick Award for his humanitarian work.

It’s International Peace Day today, and I’m celebrating the inner peace that has come from a summer sabbatical.  I thought I’d be writing during this time ‘off’ but the words simply didn’t wish to flow.  My writing has felt rather like a dry river these past few months as I’ve been simplifying my inner & outer world.  But I’m feeling something beginning to bubble inside, and it’s time to put my fingers on the keyboard to see what will come.

Nothing.

Will the flow of Inspiration ever come again?

Silence.

Here I am.  Who am I?

I am a peaceful stream of radiant light, and I shine forth simply in everything I do.  When the words are not here, here I still am, flowing as this silent peace~full stream.

I am reminded of a quote from my teacher, Elle Re: “You must be willing to be empty, to be full.”

Daisy, by D.Franks

Let me be like this humble flower, bowing to the moment.  In this peace, may I lose myself and become the flower to everyone I meet.  The true path to world peace.

Peace be within you, always.  ~Sor’a

(Simplification Sabbatical Post #1)

A caterpillar spends its life eating in preparation to go through a transformation that will completely reveal its essence.  At some point, it begins to form its cocoon, and within this protective encasement, it begins to change…to liquefy before becoming the butterfly that will emerge.  When it’s time, this new form must struggle to release itself from the cocoon, and within this struggle is the true magic.  This is the time when the wings become strong enough to fly.  If someone intervenes to ‘help’ the butterfly emerge too early, it will simply be unable to spread those beautiful wings to complete the journey.  The butterfly will die unfulfilled, a mere reflection of its true essence.

photo by Daniel Franks

We humans go through many transformations in the course of one lifetime, building layers of cocoon after feeding on our various life experiences.  While the caterpillar goes through a single metamorphosis cycle, we may go our entire life feeding and cocooning within a pre-emergent form.  Some individuals never break free…many don’t ever fly.

It seems like every time I emerge from one cocoon, I fly around for awhile then build another.  Sometimes I do this consciously; often it’s just a result of living in a world that seems to require lots of protection.  Like the butterfly, I am strengthening my wings through my own process of personal struggle.  But I’m beginning to realize I don’t have to be like the butterfly…I can open my wings even more fully “with a little help from my friends.”

Like most, I have an immense support system that I don’t fully access.  Our angels (both heaven & earth) are waiting to help.  It’s just that I often forget to ASK and end up feeling isolated, spinning another layer to this self-made cocoon.

At the moment, I’m choosing to go through a conscious cocooning.  While I’m not totally sure what will emerge, I’m getting some glimpses.  I feel so very fortunate to have the space in my life to rest in what IS while I allow the fully brilliant being within to spread her wings.

I look forward to sharing more of the story as it’s revealed to (and through) me!  ~Sor’a

End Note: I just returned from an immersion at HeartGate Sanctuary in Hood River, Oregon.  Guided by mystic Elle Collier Re, the metamorphosis that transpires within each heart during these experiences is more than an individual awakening…it is a collective transformation.  As each individual breaks free, the Holy comes more fully to earth.  Our world is in need of this wholeness.  I encourage you to fly in for a personal or group immersion OR to tap into one of the weekly tele-link gatherings.