Month: December 2010

December 27, 2010

Welcome Home – Sharing a Breath of Kindness and Generosity

“Do a deed of simple kindness; though its end you may not see, it may reach, like widening ripples, down a long eternity.” -Joseph Norris

This being my last post of 2010 I wanted to make it something that we can not only reflect on, but something quite simple really that each of us can take action on every day of 2011.


Be Selfish Be Generous

How many times a day are there opportunities for you to touch someone with kindness and generosity?  I would guess that they are actually unending.  It is simple to bring smiles to people, to lighten their load for the moment, to completely surprise them in a good way, and perhaps to inspire them to pass on the kindness to others.   This of course extends to all living things on this planet as well!

While I was living in the Bay area of San Francisco I would often pay for the person behind me on the Golden Gate bridge.  It is amazing to watch how people receive these random acts of generosity and kindness.  Some would honk as they passed by or hurry to pay so that they could catch up to you to smile through the window…and others would stay at the ticket booth for awhile – I don’t know how long as I had to drive forward – and seemingly argue with the person collecting the toll not quite understanding that they had just been “tagged”.  Letting go of the outcome is part of this “game” too, but somehow there is always an effect that is generated!

Similar to what Jim Norris said in the above quote Mother Theresa said, “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echos are truly endless”.  Words, actions, smiles, creative, spontaneous, and anonymous acts of kindness and generosity all contribute to being the change we wish to see in the world.

I had to put this video on the post as every time I watch it I smile.  Put out by T-mobile it is an example of what can happen when a person is made to feel special.  In this case it is like a virus that runs through an entire airport terminal.  If you get a chance listen to the comments of people afterward that are from passengers that were arriving at the airport.  (separate video on the right side panel)

Welcome Home – Life is for sharing (t-mobile)

Let this New Year be one in which you practice what I call the sharing of a breath of kindness – a breathing space of acknowledging that through these simple kind and generous acts of humanity we are making the life of someone or something else better…. even for just a moment…and in turn it truly does ripple out forever.

Why not make this a New Year’s Resolution.  Below I have given you a link to receive free of charge something that will assist with this commitment.  The site also has great stories from people across the globe to inspire you to take action.

What is a “smile card”? It’s a game of kindness — do something nice for someone and leave a card behind asking them to pay it forward. To date, 861,401 cards have been shipped without any charge.

http://www.helpothers.org

I invite you to share your stories throughout the year on this blog… I know I will!
2011 – a year for acts of generosity and kindness!  I’m in…are you?

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:  www.WildlyFreeWoman.com

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December 19, 2010

In Our Own Being – We Are Enough

What are we here for?? 

Ram Dass says “Our whole spiritual transformation brings us to where we realize that in our own being we are enough”.

“I am enough, there is enough, you are enough” – a mantra spoken by a friend of mine on a daily basis has shifted her life and her perception of “enough”.  Perhaps when we fully embody this fullness within ourselves,  everything else shifts a tiny fraction allowing us to see and feel life in an entirely different framework – exploding our narrow perceptions and beliefs, and expanding our ability to give to others and ourselves from a place of creative awareness, open heart, and deeply aligned self acceptance.

From this place of enough comes the act of generosity.  This act comes not from a place of “have to” , “duty”, or “obligation”,  but a place of wholeness within – a place of fullness where generosity comes naturally as an outward expression of who we all are.

As each of us move through the holiday season, perhaps feeling obligation to give – remember to check in within yourself to feel what is natural and what way of giving enhances the breath and aliveness of another – and in turn to yourself and the planet upon which we live.

Breathing and living from this place gives us opportunity to live fully knowing and experiencing that there is enough.  This can come in the form of simple eye contact, a hug, or as in the video below an awareness that we all share the same humanity.

There was an opportunity the other day in the medical clinic I work at to fully embrace a patient as I called him back to the exam room.  This older man was outwardly a little rough in appearance and smelled strongly of the tobacco that he used regularly.  As he came towards me and moved into an embrace that he  initiated, I fully gave myself to the experience allowing myself to accept and let go of the slight reluctance I had to get “that close”.  As we pulled back from each other I  found myself smiling broadly at him.  The eyes of this Native American man held the love that he wanted to give…and that which he yearned to receive.

This simple act of generosity in connecting with another in whatever form that you feel naturally arising within you is the real gift that we can give each other.  We may not ever know exactly the impact that it has had….but we do know how we feel when in the act – ENOUGH!

You ain’t livin til you givin!

“He who allows his day to pass by without practicing generosity and enjoying life’s pleasures is like a blacksmith’s bellows. He breathes, but does not live.” ~ Proverbs

 

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:  www.WildlyFreeWoman.com

RECENT POST : Women’s Bodies, Women’s Flourishing

December 12, 2010

Words From The Sea – Breathe With The Oceans

The ocean a wise and ageless teacher of breath
reminding you to free your breath to flow as
easily and naturally as the waves
washing onto shore,
washing back to sea.

Easy, liquid wave of breath-
soothing, sensual rhythm
of your own inner being. – Lea Houston

Growing up in San Diego only 5 blocks or so from the beach and ocean has deeply imprinted the feel, sight, smell and tastes of this world inside of me.  It is a place that I am always drawn to, and if truth be told I really need to know that I am close enough to be able to drive to the coast in one day or less.

There are many on this planet that have never been to the ocean, or are even a days drive away,  but all of us share the powerful impact that the oceans have on our very existence – our beginnings in fact – the tides, the weather, food source, diversity of life forms, and a necessary element for the health and balance of our planet and our ecosystems.  All of this and a beauty, power and majesty that cannot be equaled!

About 15 years ago or more now I traveled to the Big Island of Hawaii.  It had always been my dream to swim with the dolphins.  I brought this intention with me to a rebirthing retreat that I was attending on the Hilo side of Hawaii.  On the first morning of the retreat the facilitator and I woke up very early and were drawn to go to the beach to swim before the beginning of the day.  Driving to a nearby beach, where we were told by the locals that the dolphins came to play, we carefully negotiated our way down the cliff side as first light broke across the water.

The waves were daunting and quite a barrier to get past, but our intentions were strong to be in the sea to start our day.  Once past the breakers,  I stopped to tread water closing my eyes and asking for the dolphins to come to us.  My intention was so strong that I could feel the interconnection.

Within 5 minutes, way far in the distance it seemed, I saw movement.  My eyes were riveted on this movement attempting to discern exactly what was moving towards us…until I realized that it was them – an entire pod of dolphins in fact – and they were moving towards us very quickly leaping up in the air as if to greet us and welcome us back into the fold. 

At this point there were tears streaming down my face as they came to us and made us one of their pod.  As we played together on their terms I wished that I could make the sound that they did in response to their seemingly absolute delight at being in our presence.  They touched us with their love, their sense of play, and their wisdom – and confirmed my belief that all forms of life are intimately interconnected.

As my companion made her way to shore telling me that it was time to go back, there was a deep reluctance to part from these creatures of the sea.  As if they knew that it was time the pod distanced themselves a little from me as if to make it easier for me to leave.  As I emerged from the sea the feeling of having been “made love to” permeated every fiber of my being.

Climbing the cliffside I found that my friend had gone to the car already – but I had one more thing to do before leaving.  Standing on the cliff ledge I closed my eyes, held my hands at my heart, and thanked these magnificent beings for coming to be with me.  As I opened my eyes the entire pod was in a “V” formation in the ocean before me as if to say goodbye and thank me for engaging with them!

Needless to say this remains a peak experience of my life.  Some years later I had another completely different experience with dolphins in the wild on the other side of the Big Island, and that too remains as a deeply felt opening within me.

Telling this story reminds me of the magic and mystery of the sea and all the creatures that are within.  Many moments of my life have been spent beside the ocean running, sitting by a bonfire, writing poetry, walking, body surfing, boggy boarding, or simply just being and breathing to take in the elements and the life that lives there.

We all know that our oceans are in trouble, as many ecosystems on our planet right now.  Our deep interconnection with the oceans demand that we pay attention to bringing them back into balance – and stop the practices that upset the natural diversity and wholeness.  This is a breathing space that we cannot do without!!

Dear friends of mine – Lea Houston and David Bayles – have recently created a site called Words From The Sea.  Their story is below and I invite you to watch the video and see how a conscious business is unfolded.  David, as a professional photographer, has taken the gifts from the sea foam and created a beautiful art form that reminds us of the the magic, diversity, and abundance that are the oceans.   In addition, a percentage of any profits made from these ready to hang art pieces is given to organizations that are working on behalf of education, preservation,  and restoration of these life giving waters.

I invite you to see what Lea and David have created here….and to remember that our oceans and the ecosystems that thrive from and with them are a breathing space for us as humans – one that we cannot do without!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Words-From-The-Sea/130955040285076?v=wall

www.WordsFromTheSea.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.WildlyFreeWoman.com

December 6, 2010

Vibration – Another Look At Sacred Geometry

There is a vibration that all living things share.  Each has their own unique pattern and flow – a resonance.  The basic life pulse on our planet has been at 7.8 seconds and now this is changing – speeding up –  which means that patterns of vibration must change to respond to this pulse.  Perhaps the seemingly fast pace of “time” is a reflection of this shift.

We carry these patterns within us and we hold a vibratory pattern within the liquid crystal of our bodies. Our own bodies are comprised of a large percentage of water – up to 60%.  Muscle is made up of nearly 75% water and fat only about 50% water.  Bones are composed of about 50% water.

Each emotion also holds within it a vibratory pattern as shown by Dr. Masaru Emoto’s work with water crystals in The Hidden Messages in Water.  We have all felt the shift in our energy as we experience different emotions.

At the level of a drop of water, as the molecules and atoms dance,  there is an exquisite vibrational art piece being created which is constantly changing – a pattern of sacred geometry into which we live and breathe.

Water droplet sacred geometry

Gregg Bradens video below explains how these vibrations in a drop of water morph into thresholds of resonance in more complex patterns held into place by increasing vibrations.  As frequencies drop the patterns go back to simpler patterns.  This sacred geometry resides in you.

Perhaps our entire planet is realigning in order to return to a healthier state of vibrational resonance. Consider that as a breathing space!  Comments are welcome.

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:  www.WildlyFreeWoman.com

This weeks post:  It Is Our Imperfection That Connects Us