Mole, Vole, What?

I found suspicious nestiness of a tissue box in my car. I thought it was a mouse. So I got the humane live traps and set 2 with yummy cheese to entice Mickey and/or Minnie. Well. I did manage to catch one...but it was much bigger than a mouse, with pointier, bigger ears and a pointy nose. It looked like a baby rat. OMG!!! It was raining so I took it over to the wood shed and let it out. Then I started feeling sorry for it. Except that I already had to have repairs on my car a few months ago because something chewed through a wire connected to my transmission. The glories of living in the country. So I don't feel THAT sorry. Except I sort of do. Anyway, I was describing it to Mum and she said, "It's a vole." A mole? "No, a VVVV-ole!" Oh. What's a vole? It's like a smaller version of a rat and they live underground. Except when they live in my car. So I'm not as worried about a whole rat family, and today's trap was empty.

*sigh*

Really? This is what I'm blogging about? Perhaps it's time to take a break...or to pull the Blogging-Without-Obligation card....

Quote-of-the-Day

From today's Grasshopper Note:

It's no accident that you are where you are. If you are making the best use of your space, you are feeling more joy and a sense of purpose. If you are not, your space is out of alignment. It may be time to remodel and create more space in your cluttered life.

Day of Rest

Susan in her Cretan/Classical labyrinth.

I'm providing a day-of-rest for other people as I head out wearing my massage therapist's hat. Today is extra-special because it's Susan's birthday. Happy Birthday to my 7-of-Clubs friend! Have a LOVEly day! :-)H.

Blossoming

It's my first spring here, and I am making new discoveries. I was walking up the hill from the post box and was met with the most delicious smell. Oh look! I have a cherry tree! Yay, me! There's fresh asparagus in the v. fancy garden-of-weeds. Yesterday was my first barefoot day and fresh sheets breezing on the clothes line. I am en-JOYing the springiness of spring. It is a time of new growth and new learnings...what are you discovering that was always there that you're just now noticing? Watch how the answer changes through the seasons of your life.

Back tomorrow with tales from a teleconference with John Morgan & fans-across-the-nation!

Ornament Thursday: MOTHERHOOD

I love looking at families and picking out familiar features through the generations. My mother and my sister look like twins from different time periods. I have all these wonderful photos of my mother's side of the fam & I love to get creative with them. I've wanted to do a book featuring family photos with stories, poems, and recipes for a while. And since this month's OT theme was motherhood, I got the inspiration to trace through 5 generations from my great grandmother to my niece.

This was my first attempt at doing an altered book. [Note to altered book artists out there: I welcome your advice & feedback--like what kinda glue do YOU use????] Back to the project: I chose an old Spanish textbook, which is appropriate since my great-grandmother's grandmother was Spanish. I printed out photos in black and white onto matte photo paper and then coloured them with coloured pencils. I used acrylic paints, metalic markers, and sparkley dimensional paint. I used regular glue and glued 5 pages together for each section for the first half of the book. Then I cut out a frame (you'll see) in the last half of the book.

Cover of book.

Mum's mum. Sparkley paint is not translating well in photo!

Niece & grandmother together.

After doing this water theme of Mum, I think I'll turn her into a mermaid!

Favourite photo of Mum & niece on left. Sister Mag & niece on right.

OK, let me splain. The end of the book is a family joke. When we were very young, we used to love to sift through Mum's jewelry box. My youngest sister Mag was about 5 at the time, and she would hold up some trinket and say v. innocently, "Mum, when you die, can I have this?" So that's the punchline at the end of the book.

For links to see the rest of the OT gang, click here.

I'm a right-brained gal . . .

living in a left-brained world. I took this brain quiz. I'm 69% right-brained, 31% left. Here's what it says:

You are more right-brained than left-brained. The right side of your brain controls the left side of your body. In addition to being known as right-brained, you are also known as a creative thinker who uses feeling and intuition to gather information. You retain this information through the use of images and patterns. You are able to visualize the "whole" picture first, and then work backwards to put the pieces together to create the "whole" picture. Your thought process can appear quite illogical and meandering. The problem-solving techniques that you use involve free association, which is often very innovative and creative. The routes taken to arrive at your conclusions are completely opposite to what a left-brained person would be accustomed. You probably find it easy to express yourself using art, dance, or music. Some occupations usually held by a right-brained person are forest ranger, athlete, beautician, actor/actress, craftsman, and artist.

Forest ranger??? Athlete??? Hahaha :-) H.

Anahata Spring

One of many spectacular views down my road.

I love the

new green

of spring.

It's GLORIOUS
and luscious
and sweet.

It's new life
and new birth
and new faith.

From the movie Junebug

God loves you
just the way you are,
but He loves you too much
to let you stay that way.

Day of Rest

Today is wet and drippy-rainy and lushly green. This is the view from my front porch. Ahhh...yeah, I know...poor me, right? Hahaha Have a GORGEOUS day. :-) H.

All right...

let's get comfortable. . . I am out the door with 4 massage appointments. Back tomorrow. :-) H.

19 Ways to Maintain a Healthy Level of Insanity

Received this in a FW this a.m. and I laughed out loud. Perhaps, you will, too. Thanks, John.

1. At lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.
2. Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice.
3. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that.
4. Put your garbage can on your desk and label it ‘In’.
5. Put Decaf in the coffee maker for 3 weeks, and once everyone has gotten over their caffeine addiction, switch to Espresso.
6. In the Memo field of all your checks, write ‘For smuggling diamonds’.
7. Finish all your sentences with ‘In accordance with the Prophecy’.
8. Don’t use any punctuation.
9. As often as possible, skip rather than walk.
10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.
11. Specify that your drive-through order is ‘To Go’.
12. Sing along at the opera.
13. Go to a poetry recital and ask people there why the poems don’t rhyme.
14. Put mosquito netting around your work area and play tropical sounds all day.
15. Five days in advance, tell your friends you can’t attend their party because you’re ‘not in the mood’.
16. Have your co-workers address you by your wrestling name, “Rock Bottom”.
17. When the money comes out the ATM, scream ‘I won! I won!’
18. When leaving the zoo, start running towards the parking lot, yelling ‘Run for your lives! They’re loose!’
19. Tell your children over dinner, ‘Due to the economy, we are going to have to let one of you go’.

Labyrinth Quote

The heart speaks what the mind fears.

This was the message that came to me as I stood at the center of the labyrinth this morning. I don’t leave the center until I feel that sense of Presence and Stillness.

*SIGH* Sometimes I stand for a long time.

It’s easier to get there when I remember moments with Remi, leaning against me. It’s no good trying to listen to the heart in any other state other than stillness because it whispers . . . so that you'll . . . pause . . . to listen. . . .That doesn’t mean being physically still. I’ve gotten these little insights while on a walk or riding my bike. It definitely has to be a present moment experience, tho, with no other thoughts but NOW.

So the question is What are you fearing? And the answer is: SO WHAT.

HAPPY B-DAY JOHN

Among those whom I like, I can find no common denominator. Among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh. ~W. H. Auden

Birthdays are a big deal in the House of Morgan. Make a wish he says when the clock displays the numbers of someone's birthday. At 4:16 on any day, we make a wish for John as he celebrates a new year.

Do you have time for a story? he'll say. At times funny or profound, I always say YES. His intellect and dry humour are infused in his blog, a daily dose of inspiration--especially today! In the 25 years of conducting seminars around the country to a quarter of a million people, he has charmed people with his wit and wisdom, while helping people to stop smoking, lose weight, improve their golf game, get a good night's sleep, and feel good about yourself, in general. AND AND AND he is a compassionate, supportive listener. As I'm blathering on, he'll say, Listen to your horsesh*t. Sometimes the compassionate thing is a kick in the pants!

I cannot begin to describe what his presence in my life has meant. His kindness and generosity of spirit have defined a friendship that overwhelms me with a sense of gratitude and deep appreciation. For the laughter and the lessons and the gift of Presence: THANK YOU, JOHN.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, make a wish!!! :-) H.

Tree Hug

Two trees

side by side

growing

merging

into one.

Yeah, OK. I got nothin'. ;-) Back tomorrow with something L-O-quent.

Just say YES

I’ve been out of the house 4 days in a row. That’s a record; more than I’ve been out in a single month. Bonnie Anthony, this LOVEly massage therapist at Wellspirit in Luray, contacted me a few months ago and asked me if I was available to work at the new Mimslyn Inn spa. Initially I didn’t want to. It takes quite the effort to leave the house. This is not an easy road to travel. That said, it’s a BEAUTIFUL drive, especially now in spring.

So. After writing Divine Midlife Crisis, something in me…shifted. Because, you know, SHIFT HAPPENS. I was really struggling. What is struggling but resisting the situation at hand? You want it to be what it is not. It’s a NO against reality.

You know what? I think Eckhart is sinking in. Anyway, so I decided to say YES this weekend. Yes to everything. I did 3 massages on Saturday. After the last one, Bonnie invited me to see Glick & Phillips at the Performing Arts Center where she was MCing. Ordinarily, I would have declined. I was a bit tired and wanted to get home before dark. But I said yes, and I’m so glad I did! It was a FUN night!

Sunday I had 4 massages, starting off first thing with a woman whose husband surprised her with a massage in honour of her 6oth birthday. We had such a good time! It turns out she works for an osteopath, so I did some percussor work on her as a birthday bonus. I had the rest of the a.m. free before afternoon massages, so I went to the Victorian Inn for breakfast. If you’re ever in Luray, you must go! It’s a beautifully renovated Victorian house. Mrs. Woodruff, the owner, has created such a warm and inviting atmosphere. It’s like walking into a hug. Breakfast was officially over, but the chef v. graciously made the most delicious meal, including fresh fruit salad with mango (my favourite!) Then Mrs. Woodruff joined me for tea and a chat. What a de-Lightful, charming woman!

After my last massage, I went to Walmart for milk before heading home. I was wandering about and passed by Guitar Hero. The guy at Walmart asked me if I wanted to try it out. No-I-mean-YES. It was really fun except I don’t know most of the songs. I settled on the Ramones and did the drums. I sucked. But it was fun. Then I did guitar to the Clash. I was going to get up and Walmart Guy shoved the mike in my hands and said Now you have to sing. Then a little boy came by and wanted to play drums, so he drummed & I sang. To Metallica??? Just say YES! So after that, the band broke up. Artistic differences and we were pursuing our solo careers. Hahaha

So. That’s my adventure in the Land of Yes. Even when I think I’m too tired. YES.

Day of Rest: Tree Trillers

This is a pic of Overall Creek. I asked Fisherman Willie about the trilling sound along the river. I knew he'd know, he knows everything! He said they were little peepers.

Some people call them frogs. ;-) Have a LOVEly day.

A Merrie Heart

A merrie heart maketh glad the day, and there you find your treasure.

I have this on my business cards and on the header of my blog. The story of this comes from an experience with my GSF Kristina a few years ago. She was recovering from bronchitis and asked if I could come over to Reiki her before she had to leave for work. We had about 10 minutes. I started with a tuning fork on an acupuncture point (Lung 1). Then I stood behind her and put a hand on her back and the other on her chest. She was v. tired and congested and her breathing was labored.

What can you do in 10 minutes? 10 minutes of Clock Time is a blip and an eternity all at once when you’re working in the realm of Spirit and healing. It is that place of Presence and Stillness. There is no past or future, but only NOW. We were in her living room completely embraced by God’s healing Light. She breathed a deep sigh. With my hand on her heart, I heard the phrase, “A merrie heart maketh glad the day.” I think there’s a similar quote from the Bible. Anyway, then it was time for her to go to work, feeling much better. We were both completely merrie!

A merrie heart repeated as I was driving down the road. You know those moments of quiet joy and peace? This was one of them. Later, as I was writing my first Healing Labyrinth Path newsletter, and there you’ll find your treasure completed the phrase. It’s kind of like a clue from Spirit. Imagine if everyone had a merrie heart, perhaps the world would be a bit different. Having a merrie heart is allowing God to smile through you. It’s not the concept of human happiness, because that’s so fleeting. It’s also about finding your treasure, your gift from God that you share with the world. What makes you SMILE now? Do that.

This is the smile in my heart: making people feel good. Helping them to relax and take a pause from the stresses of daily life. Whether I’m doing it hypnotically on a CD or in person with a massage, this is the work I was born to do.

Divine Midlife Chrysalis

What the caterpillar calls death, the master calls a butterfly.

Death is the greatest illusion AND the most real. It has been almost a month since Remi’s passing, and things are back to normal. Except they’re not. I am in uncharted territory and having to create a new normal. I am at a loss as to how to do that. I realize I am grieving more than Remi, but all the other little deaths from this past year: my home, my marriage, my idea of who I thought I was. All dead.

I go between wanting to DO something—anything, to wanting to be conscious about creating the next part of my life. “It shouldn’t be this way,” is a sure recipe for discomfort and it creates an illusion that things will be better IF:

If fill-in-the-blank didn’t die
If I had a fill-in-the-blank relationship with so-and-so
If I had a such-and-such job
If I lived wherever with whomever doing whatever
If I were still a caterpillar

This is where I am now. When I remember to accept that, I find peace. The struggle comes when I’m focused on how I think things ought to be or lament that they are not what they were.

Divine Midlife Chrysalis is the title of the book I’m not writing. I think it’s more of a chapter, now. It is what I have been experiencing over the past year. There are all sorts of cute euphemisms coming out to replace “midlife crisis;” Marianne Williamson says it’s a process, Tony Robbins says celebration. I think it’s a bit…messier. If you were to open up a cocoon, the caterpillar is no longer recognizable as a caterpillar. Nor is it in its future form as butterfly. It’s evolving from where it was to where it’s going. There is no going back, and there is no speeding up of the process. Nature has its own schedule. There was a farmer once who watched a butterfly emerging from its cocoon and decided to help it out by cutting the sides of the cocoon. The butterfly emerged but couldn’t fly and died. It was the work of breaking out of the cocoon that brought energy to its legs and wings and gave it the strength it needed to fly.

This is my Eat, Pray, Love version without having to leave the country. I have been so blessed to be out here in nature. The birds are singing and the mountains are greening and there is this lovely trilling coming from the trees down by the river. Tree frogs, perhaps? I will consult with Fisherman Willie. In the meantime, life goes on . . . .

Fox Hunting

I have a fox hunting in the field in front of my house in the early a.m. His tail twitches like a cat, and his butt waggles like a puppy, and then! He pounces! I haven't actually seen him catch anything, but he's v. entertaining to watch.

Nature Walk

Spring is springing, so I went for a walk yesterday. There's something about being out in nature that lends itself to reflection and stillness. It's v. easy to get into the present moment.

Have a BEAUTIFUL day! :-) H.

Quote-of-the-Day

It only takes one good thing to forget about the bad. ~John Morgan

I sit with a notebook by my phone and I write down important stuff, especially when I'm talking to John because he's so quotable. I made a promise to post every day, which I've done except when I haven't. John teases me and calls my Quote-of-the-Day posts the "I-got-nothin' " posts. The above quote is from yesterday's phone convo. Thanks, John. :-) H.

Eckhart Tolle Quote-of-the-Day

Sunrise lesson on Light & dark

There is only one perpetrator of evil on the planet: human unconsciousness. That realization is true forgiveness. With forgiveness, your victim identity dissolves, and your true power emerges--the power of Presence. Instead of blaming the darkness, you bring in the light.

P.S. Eckhart webinar with Oprah tonight.

Day of Rest

Spooning cats in a tree. This picture came in a FW and it makes me smile everytime I look at it. It's a drizzly, drippy, wet day here by the river. I was going to go for a hike with Apple Cottage Gal. That's not happening. Oh well, cup of tea? Have a nice day-of-rest. :-) H.

Sweet Surprise

I got a sweet surprise in the postbox yesterday. No note, just a heart-shaped rock in a padded envelope. I'm a smiley kind of gal anyway. But this put a smile in my heart. I walked the labyrinth and that little phrase A merrie heart maketh glad the day and there you'll find your treasure came as a reminder as I reached the center. I needed a background to take a picture of the rock and this card seemed appropriate. :-) H.H.

All that glitters...

XM Radio Guy calls it Charity Schtick. You know:

We're just here to raise awareness...cuz it's all about the kids...or the rain forest...or the animals...

The raising-awareness bit is always in there, no matter what the cause or event. Anyhoo, with that in mind, one of my favourite artists, Kathy Cano-Murillo, a.k.a. The Crafty Chica, is on a mission. Ellen recently dissed glitter and called for a ban. Well. Fans-of-glitter-unite! Join Kathy this Tuesday in front of Ellen's studio to picket. She has also tied this in to raising money for charity. Click here for all the sparkley details.

P.S. Blogger has been most uncooperative recently. It is refusing my requests for easy-to-read paragraphs like yesterday's blah-blah-blah Brimhall post, and apparently today's as well. Hehhhh...and today I couldn't log on until...now. Back tomorrow with something sweet.

Brimhall Report

I was able to attend my first Brimhall seminar 4 years ago because I was married to a chiropractor and working in his office. I had signed us up and he ended up not going. "I'm still going, " I said. I was in the middle of debilitating migraines--something that traditional chiropractic should have been able to address. But it wasn't. Have you ever been in so much pain that you wanted to drive your car into a tree? I didn't want to hurt the tree.

Eventually I traveled to Mesa, AZ just outside Phoenix, to the Brimhall Clinic. Dr. Brett Brimhall, Dr. John's son, said, "I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is that you have all 6 interferences to your health. The good news is that I can help." That was the beginning of my road back to health and wellness. [side note here: I would be remiss if I didn't also mention that my husband learned acupuncture in order to get certified in cold-laser therapy, and that REALLY helped with the hormonal migraines].

So, back to Brimhall: that is why I'm all blah blah blah Brimhall. There aren't many locals at the clinic. Mostly people come from out of town (or the country) with serious illnesses. I traveled to the clinic 3 different times for treatment and then I met Dr. Steve Thaxton, who practices outside Charleston, WV. It's still a 5-hour drive, but closer than AZ. So it was sort of funny to listen to a doc from Pittsburgh complain that there was only one certified Brimhall doc in the state and that he didn't have anyone close to go to for his own treatment. I suggested Dr. Thaxton and he then complained that it was a 3-hour drive and it was too far. Really? 3 hours is spit compared to flying to Arizona. OK, then. Don't get treated, Dr. Complainer. No skin off my apple.

"You guys are so jaded. Yeah, yeah. Another miracle."

This is what Dr. John said on the last day of the 3-day seminar. I watched the day before as one of the docs had his father, in the early stages of dementia, get treated by Dr. Lynch, one of Dr. Brimhall's certified docs. He held out his phone to his father and said, "Dad, is this a phone or a pencil?" His father replied, "Yes." He couldn't follow directions. Dr. Lynch went through the laser protocol to reset the cranial nerves. It was like watching this man come back to life. He became alert and could then follow directions.

Most chiropractors have miracle stories. Many become doctors because they had a personal experience that changed their lives. They were in a wheelchair and couldn't walk until they got chiropractic treatment. Going through massage school gave me an even greater appreciation for structural medicine--and structure is just one piece of the puzzle! There's so much more. This method addresses health issues not typically associated with chiropractic: allergies, seizures, diabetes, weight-loss, phobias, MS, endocrine issues, digestive disorders, learning disabilities...the list goes on. It's pretty amazing stuff and I am reminded every time I attend a seminar.

Often it takes only one treatment for something to clear up. A few years ago, Dr. Lo had a sudden onset of vertigo. He'd had all sorts of tests, and the doctors said there was nothing they could do. He went to a seminar and Dr. John worked on him. How many times did I treat you before your vertigo went away? Dr. John asked him this weekend. One, Dr. Lo replied.

Dr. John with Dr. Jesse Liebman & staff from NJ

Dr. Katz can rock the didgeridoo!

Dr. Katz told an amazing story about a patient who came to him after being completely paralyzed after receiving a vaccination. She was a nurse and was required to get a flu shot. She was strapped into a wheelchair, on a respirator and feeding tube. She couldn't even hold up her head. The doctors told her there was nothing they could do. She is off the respirator, can move, and is now using a walker.

I am v. grateful to Nadine Carrick for allowing me to be part of the Nutriwest family. It was great working along side her and Erin, and spending time with Dr. Melissa, Dr. Bruce, & Janell. I was fortunate to get some TMJ work from Dr. Luke Lovick, and then the next day Dr. John treated me with the percussor. My favourite-- THANK YOU!!! All is right with the world when my head is on straight! It was great to see old friends, and to meet new ones, too. :-) H.

Birthday Poem

My prayer for you is that

you'll find your way
through the stress and strife
of every day

That you come to PEACE
within your heart
with the LOVE of God
that isn't far

In all your work
May your soul shine through
with healing LIGHT
in all that you do.

Decisions

I'm approaching my first season of spring, here in the wilderness. I moved here at the end of May and have had some thoughts about what I want to do. Yes, I'm a human BEing, but I want something to DO in addition to the doing that I'm already doing. I have quite a bit of land here with a huge garden from the previous owner, already wired against deer. We grew up with a garden, and I have 2 sibs who are also gardeners. So this will be fun. In addition, I have also decided that it would be fun to have some more animals. I'm thinking goats...or sheep. I've got plenty of grass for them to eat, and a huge workshop/barn that I'm not using for anything. I've always liked the idea of being on a farm, and now that I'm out here, I like it even more. So there you have it: I've decided to become a shepherd.

Happy April Fools, Mum. And here's an added bit of humour, since this is the day for it:

This is from Purple Cow Guy a coupla years ago. Have a laughter-filled day. :-) H.