Charlie Chaplin on his 70th Birthday

Happy Birthday to one of my favorite film artists, Charlie Chaplin.  He was born April 16, 1889.  I was recently introduced to this amazing prose poem at an Urban Possibilities class I was observing and will soon be helping teach. Perhaps, like me, you will find truth, inspiration and areas to work on...

AS I BEGAN TO LOVE MYSELF  
by CHARLIE CHAPLIN on his 70th BIRTHDAY

As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth. Today, I know, this is AUTHENTICITY.

As I began to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody as I try to force my desires on this person, even though I knew the time was not right and the person was not ready for it, and even though this person was me. Today I call it RESPECT.

As I began to love myself I stopped craving for a different life, and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow. Today I call it MATURITY.

As I began to love myself I understood that at any circumstance, I am in the right place at the right time, and everything happens at the exactly right moment, so I could be calm. Today I call it SELF-CONFIDENCE.

As I began to love myself I quit steeling my own time, and I stopped designing huge projects for the future. Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, things I love to do and that make my heart cheer, and I do them in my own way and in my own rhythm. Today I call it SIMPLICITY.

As I began to love myself I freed myself of anything that is no good for my health – food, people, things, situations, and everything the drew me down and away from myself. At first I called this attitude a healthy egoism.Today I know it is LOVE OF ONESELF.

As I began to love myself I quit trying to always be right, and ever since I was wrong less of the time. Today I discovered that is MODESTY.

As I began to love myself I refused to go on living in the past and worry about the future. Now, I only live for the moment, where EVERYTHING is happening. Today I live each day, day by day, and I call it FULFILLMENT.

As I began to love myself I recognized that my mind can disturb me and it can make me sick. But As I connected it to my heart, my mind became a valuable ally. Today I call this connection WISDOM OF THE HEART.

We no longer need to fear arguments, confrontations or any kind of problems with ourselves or others. Even stars collide, and out of their crashing new worlds are born. Today I know THAT IS LIFE!

Happy Endings - New Beginnings

It's the end of the year, and end of an age according to the Mayan calendar. 

An ending is always a new beginning.  

The happy ending in any story marks the beginning of a new era, a new paradigm. The ending of a pregnancy marks a new life with a child, the ending of an argument can mark a new understanding and deeper intimacy between a couple, the end of a threat or completing a responsibility hanging over your head ushers in a feeling of increased confidence, peace and security.

Every new beginning is a chance to see yourself differently, to broaden your perspective, to take action on inspiration that's been bubbling inside you, to take your responsibility to yourself and your gift of love and genius more seriously.

I invite you to look at this time as a turning point in your own life. If you make a commitment to yourself, to understanding your own motivations, to willingness to look at the truth (of a situation or relationship), to prioritize your own health and well-being, you will be able to look back at this time as an auspicious beginning to your new life.  A life more happy, healthy, well-rounded and fulfilling.  

Allowing yourself the 'audacity' of self-love will raise your immunities and give meaning and purpose to your life journey.   Dive in! 

Jewish Mystical Wisdom

In honor of the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) here is some Jewish mystical wisdom - food for thought to entertain and inspire you.

“Try to be as happy as you possibly can. Search for your good points in order to make yourself happy. The main source of strength within is joy.”

Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav

“Our world consists of nothing except the day and hour that we stand in now. Tomorrow is a completely different world.”

Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav

 “Whenever feeling downcast, each person should vitally remember ‘For my sake, the entire world was created.’”

Baal Shem Tov

“Never seek to imitate the spiritual path of another. If you try to do so, not only will you fail in fulfilling your own path, but you will not do as well in the task meant for your neighbor.”

Baal Shem Tov

“Be not a fly seeking sore spots. Cover up your neighbor’s flaws and reveal them not to the world.”  

traditional ethical text

“To shame a person in public is akin to murdering him.”

the Talmud (text of rabbinical discussions - central text of mainstream Judaism)

“Every journey has a secret destination of which the traveler is unaware.”

Martin Buber

“At every step we take, there are worlds upon worlds before us.”  

the Zohar (a book of the Kabbalah)

“As the human body consists of members and parts of various ranks all acting and reacting upon one another so as to form one organism , so does the universe consist of a hierarchy of created things, which, when they properly act and react upon each other, together form literally one organic body.”

the Zohar (a book of the Kabbalah)

“The wise person is one who, by the power of his own contemplation, attains to a perception of profound mysteries which cannot be put into words.”

the Zohar (a book of the Kabbalah)

“… one should naturally be able to teach himself, understand and reason with his intellect… However there exists another means of gaining knowledge… This is what we call ruach ha-kadosh… In this manner, one can gain knowledge that could not otherwise be gained through logic alone.

"This includes such things as information concerning future events and hidden secrets.”

Italian mystic Rabbi Moses Luzzatto

“The essential thing is to habituate one’s mind and thought continuously so that everything one sees with one’s eyes - the heavens and the earth and all that is therein - constitutes the outer garments of the Holy One.”

Rabbi Schneur Zalman

Soul Satisfaction & Staying Young: Positive Life Lessons from PINA & OVO

In one week I had the pleasure of seeing two rather spectacular performances that touched my heart and moved my soul. They were very different experiences, but in a weird way also had a lot in common, and both gave me a lot to think about. 

First was PINA (see trailer below).  PINA is a dance documentary in 3-D, by the wonderful German director Wim Wenders, who is best known here in the U.S. for his beautiful haunting movie WINGS OF DESIRE.  (That’s a must-see for metaphysical and spiritually minded people.) 

PINA is much more than a documentary, and for me was much more than a movie.  It’s a tribute to a brilliant German choreographer, Pina Bausch, with her dance troupe Tanztheater Wuppertal performing her beautifully staged choreography in various locations and sharing brief impressionistic memories of working with Pina. Like one of her dancers says, it’s as if she invented her own visual language.  That’s what makes her powerfully expressive dances seem almost like a new art form.  There are also snippets of tantalizing conversations with Pina herself, which left me wanting more. Being in the company of a great artist, even at the distance of sitting in a movie audience, is putting yourself in great company indeed.         

I was also lucky enough to see OVO, Cirque du Soleil’s show about the secret world of insects.  This was my first live Cirque du Soleil experience and boy oh boy, talk about pure fun and amazement.  The explosion of creativity – between the set designs and the costumes, plus the spectacular physical feats of the acrobats and trapeze artists – it’s a true feast for the eyes and absolutely awe-inspiring for the ‘inner child’.  And I wasn’t the only one - several times I heard a grown man behind me gasping in awe, shouting and clapping with abandon - just like a five year-old boy.  The whole audience was pretty much reacting the same way.  It was so cool!

Both OVO and PINA in their own different ways left me with a feeling of being wonderfully ‘full’ – that is - a genuine soul satisfaction.  If you haven’t had that feeling in recent memory, I recommend both of these shows, or any Cirque du Soleil show… or in general, just saying ‘yes’ to any experience that can appeal to your inner sense of wonder, and could possibly provoke a feeling of awe. 

Trust your intuition and the promptings from your inner child as you explore life with an open mind to this type of experience.  It’s rejuvenating for your soul, opens your imagination and keeps you young at heart.  Even a five-minute walk through a natural setting with your eyes and heart open can get you there very quickly if you let it.  Or try strolling through any type of museum with a child - it could be about science, natural history or art and see if their curiosity and amazement rub off on you.

The way I see it, we have several choices in our overall approach to life.  It’s very possible to age without gaining wisdom, to get stuck in certain ways of thinking, being and doing – this is how to turn old and crotchety before your time.  Or we can resist the changes that come, trying to hold onto youth, which is also going to hasten a downward slide because what you resist persists.  If you believe aging is a bad thing then that will become your experience.  

Or we can remain curious, continuing to learn from our experiences throughout life, continually gaining in knowledge and wisdom, so that we can remain vibrant members in our community and have a lot to offer when we become elders.   Part of how to do this is to keep your inner child alive to the awe and wonder and magic of life.  The soul is what can keep us ageless and timeless, so if we stay connected to our own soul, life can be a marvelous journey despite the bumps and stumbling blocks in the road.  

PINA and OVO were both celebrations of the human body and what it can do.  The sheer joy of movement that we tend to give up the more time we spend in front of the computer, the TV and inside our own heads.

Pina’s dancers and the Cirque du Soleil cast are amazing examples of flexibility.  I always remember a dance teacher saying that just rolling on your spine every day helps keep your body young.  That is lying on your back, arms wrapped around your legs or holding your ankles and rolling back and forth.  It helps keep your spine flexible and guess what, a flexible body helps you keep a flexible mind.   Flexibility in the body, the mind and our emotional responses is one of the most important components of the ageless, young at heart approach to life.

Hear more life lessons from PINA & OVO and music from both on Soul Connect Radio.

Soul Swag

Recently, I have been riding on the bullet train of transformation; my Higher Self strapped me in and hit the gas before I could even catch my breath.  

I lived in an apartment that I was unhappy about for 11 years.  I stayed at a job for over 6 years that failed to inspire me and that I failed to bring inspiration to.  I prayed and asked for change on a regular basis and before I knew it, I got what I asked for.  I am no longer in that apartment and I no longer have the job. 

Although I have no regrets, this new landscape does not look quite like I imagined.  My Higher Self decided to “act as if” on my behalf.  I feel like the higher part of me is squeezing me emotionally and spiritually, trying to mine the gold within me that leads to health, emotional prosperity and joyful living.  My Higher Self has communicated to me – very clearly and in a loving way – that it will no longer allow me to drag my feet.  I know that I have an important job to do while occupying this physical body.  For a long while now, I have been denying my blessings by failing to deliver my gifts.  

Last week, I dreamt of myself in a swimming race where I was the leader.  About one-third of the way through the last lap, I just stopped and gave up.  I was in the lead, still had energy and just stopped cold turkey and failed to reach the finish line.  I see dreams as the Higher Self communicating with me and assisting me with my spiritual development.  Right now, I am unsure of exactly what this dream means.  Someone said to me that it sounded like a 'fear of success' dream. 

For now, I am just going to sit with it and allow more to be revealed to me as I am still not sure.  Right now, a part of me does feel afraid to step into the power of my soul, or as I like to call it, that swagger that comes with really trusting my instincts and intuition. 

When I trust myself, magnificent things happen.  I am challenged by the apparent conflict between what I see around me and what I know is possible.  Since I had this dream I'm more motivated to see my problems and doubts as opportunities to utilize my tools and reinforce what I know about the laws of the universe.

Creativity paired with intuition generates what I call soul swagger: knowing you're a part of the essence of everything, therefore negative judgement about yourself and others has no place.  Instead of breaking down, comparing and critiquing, you're focused on celebrating life, love and accomplishment.

I have been blessed with the ability to see things with my third eye.  I am a clairvoyant and intuitive.  I possess the natural ability and I have done the work and acquired the tools to make sure that what I read and see is based in truth.  From this day forward, I chose to embrace that and do all that I can to share these gifts to help myself and others to become more in alignment with our soul swag -the authentic and highest part of ourselves that works to deliver tangible magic. 

For the rest of the year, I will be helping Soul Medicine practitioner and my business mentor, Laurie Lamson facilitate energy clinics and follow-up group transformational healings to increase personal & collective soul swagger (more info.)

Lately, I have been inspired by one of the Queens of Soul Swag, Ms. Erykah Badu.  Talk about a Goddess radiating pure love and light.  She speaks directly to my Higher Self and my heart.  I am so grateful for her music and her energy.  Her music inspires me and reminds me how much powers lies within feminine creativity.  

Also, I would like to share with you some insight from my brother and one of my biggest supporters and role-models of ‘soul swag’, Mr. Emmanuel Dagher.  Check out one of his Energy Forecasts explaining the divine transformation that is taking place with our collective masculine and feminine energies titled: What is ‘Really’ Happening Right Now?  

Listen, read and meditate… get your soul swag on.