Breathe.  Breathe and relax.  In the quiet the Truth is known.  Who can tell you the Truth, but Yourself?  How often do we really ask?  Outer directed searching keeps us searching.  In the Silence, Truth is found.  In the Silence, there is no more searching.  In the Silence the Truth is all there is. 

Calm yourself and simply see not only what seems to lie before you.  Your vision is not needed here.  Neither is your hearing or your rational interpretation.  If you will relax and be ... you will have the awareness that you have not "found" the Truth - you will be aware that you quite simply are the Truth. 

It is not necessary or even possible to effort after the Truth.  The Truth of your being has found you!  You have ever been all that You could ever be.  When you are ready, You will awaken and know that all that you are is all that there is.  There is no becoming in Truth.  You simply are. 

Why should it seem easier to stay asleep?  Why do we choose to search endlessly amidst the noise and chaos?  The Truth is as close as your breath.  How simple.  How exquisitely simple.  Breathe and Be.  Know that this is where You are.  Know that here is where I am as well.  Know that right there within you is All.  Who you are is not and could never be contained in the physical body. Perhaps it is helpful to try looking at it not as "going within" but rather "Being within" because you are already there.  There is no "going". 

Can it be that there is actually no journey to take?  In moments that you are able to transcend the thinking mind, there is awareness of Being.  An awareness that the Truth of Who You Are is right here - closer than the breath.  If you relate who you are even to your breath - what becomes of you when you breathe no more?  Can you grasp that? 

A body is something we have.  The body cannot be who we are.  Is it true that the less a thing can be seen, the more "real" it is?  Is it possible that the deeper you look, the less there is to see, but more to know?  Is it possible that you can get to a point where looking and seeing must be abandoned to reach the ultimate field of Knowing and Being? 

Can we live here?  Can we live here in this field of Being?  We do live here. 

We are irresistably drawn to the wholeness of Being what we Are.  Inevitably, we will all be awake and aware of our Oneness.  That blessed day is the day we no longer have the dreams that we call nightmares that look like war and poverty and separateness. 

Can we coax our physical bodies/minds to join us in the spiritual realm - the realm of ever expanding good?  We are all there already.  Here we are in perfection and bliss.  Are you with me?  I know you are with me.  I know that You are Me. 

The news is a dream.  War is a dream.  Poverty and illness a dream.  This body, this life... a dream.  I embrace the Truth of Who We Are and choose gratitude.  Thank you for Being here with Me.  Thank you for Being Who I Am.

Namaste

It seems the news has been filled with violence in the last few weeks.  The kind that is often
referred to as "senseless". Is there any other kind? 

The various killings that have taken place in schools around the country as well as the
recent revelations of sexual misconduct by a Congressman in Florida have been on my mind and heart not quite constantly, but almost.  The underlying problem is what is on my mind. The violence we're seeing is the ugly symptom.
 
As these things are going on in the world, I'm trying to help my 14 year old daughter deal
with the same problem, but as it's being manifested in her group of friends.  She is trying to deal with gossip, cruelty and deliberate alienation of certain people in the group, which right now is focused on her.  My concern is first for my child... that she know how to correctly
interpret what she is seeing and experiencing.  I want her to know how to process this in order to come out on the other side with more wisdom and compassion and not
with callouses on her heart that she had to grow out of necessity to protect herself.  The lesson is to be true to herself, be honest with her friends and to be able to look at the situation through eyes of love and understanding - to have compassion for the pain and
confusion that is driving her friends misbehavior. ( I was so thankful the other day when we were discussing it to hear her say that going through this has taught her even more so how
it feels to be alienated.  It has caused her to be more compassionate.  I have to say that she has always been sensitive to the pain of others, but going through what she is going through is deepening her.  She has recognized this and articulated it! JOY!!!  She was also able to access compassion for her friends that are in a place of feeling the need to be cruel.  These lessons are so valuable! While we would never choose to go through difficult things, nor would we choose them for our children, the truth is these things make you stronger and wiser if they are handled in a heart healthy way).
 

I am in the process of composing a letter to the mothers of the girls in my daughter's group of friends.  The malicious behavior has been going on for years.  It causes so much pain and I believe can warp a personality and a life.  I am hoping that I can reach out to these women and help them to really look deeply at what is going on.  I believe we owe it to
our daughters to help them to understand the tremendous power they have to hurt each other or to heal each other if they choose.  I would love to see us as their mothers teach them their power, their goodness, their potential as women of TRUE beauty and TRUE power in this world.  THIS is where the healing and the cessation of the proverbial "vicious cycle" takes place.  If we can teach our children to be kind to themselves and others... the cycle of violence ends.  I am really praying over this letter, that it be received in the spirit in which it is being sent.  I wouldn't want any of these women to feel that they were being judged or scolded, but what I have to say needs to be said.  I am willing to risk being misunderstood for the opportunity to wake them up to what is going on and the importance of not being idle. It reminds me of the saying "all that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing" (that is paraphrased, I'm sure).   I can't do nothing. 

This morning, I read something so beautiful pertaining to the most recent violence in Pennsylvania.  The following is from an article on CNN.com:

"A grieving grandfather told young relatives not to hate the gunman who killed five girls in an Amish schoolhouse carnage, a pastor said on Wednesday.

"As we were standing next to the body of this 13-year-old girl, the grandfather was tutoring the young boys, he was making a point, just saying to the family, 'We must not think evil of this man,'" the Rev. Robert Schenck told CNN.

"It was one of the most touching things I have seen in 25 years of Christian ministry."'

What that represents is the right thinking that is needed to transcend all this pain.  This grandfather has a depth of understanding in the power of forgiveness and he is TEACHING IT TO THE CHILDREN HE HAS ACCESS TO!  Instead of those children growing up with hatred and bitterness and fear in their minds and hearts over what they've experienced, they have adults around them who will continually "steer" their thoughts to Truth, to healing, to forgiveness.  What this grandfather gives them is an opportunity for healing, to develop a healthy way of processing and thinking about this tragedy.  He is saving not only those that he's teaching, but anyone whose lives theirs will eventually touch.  A cycle of HEALING is born. 

(I read that Pres. Bush is forming a commission or having some kind of meeting with law enforcement experts to talk about how to keep our children safe.  That's great.  That's not the ultimate answer.  The ultimate answer is Peace itself.  Love.  He can help by being an example of NON-VIOLENCE. )

I believe that warping of the personality is at the root of all the crap we see in the world
today.  When people are wounded, if they don't take the time, or don't have the tools to go
about receiving healing, they become warped and the subsequent pain they live in was basically inevitable. This becomes the ugliest of cycles.  Each person who has perpetrated violence on others in the past week, has been violated at one time by others and has never healed. 

I am taking the most recent violence as an opportunity for learning and for inspiration to continue to speak the Truth of forgiveness and healing.  There is no WAY to peace, peace IS the WAY.

I love you all so much.  My heart is full of the deepest love and appreciation that you all stand with me in Truth and a vision of a brighter, healed tomorrow.  We begin with truly loving ourselves and also with teaching our children the ways of love in their DAILY lives.  Let them experience love as a way of living their life on a daily basis and not just for certain people or on certain Hallmark holidays. 

We ARE love.  Let us embrace it whole heartedly, let it wash over us like a wave and sweep us up as we surrender to the knowing that it is what we ARE... and let us continually reach
out to our brothers and sisters and invite them to be swept up with us...

Namaste,

Mary

I felt the need to share a VERY cool website with all of you who love music. 

pandora.com   is a website where you can basically create your own radio station(s) with music that YOU choose.  You give the program direction in terms of the music you know you like and they do play that music, but they also play music that the program interprets being similar... so you'll probably hear cool stuff you've never heard before!  No doubt, you'll hear stuff you want to turn off, and you can do that by giving it a "thumbs down" and they'll never play that song again.  You can even create different "stations" for yourself if you want to keep genres separate, for instance. 

OH!  Did I mention that this music is FREE?  This costs nothing and it is continuous music with NO commercials EVER!  If you love music, you'd love this site.

Much love to all my Zaadz buds.

I love this... just wanted to share it.  I've taken the liberty of putting a * by the ones I am particularly fond of!  (Guys... you can certainly be succulent as well!)

BEING A SUCCULENT, WILD WOMAN   by Sark

Bathe naked by moonlight

**Marry yourself first - promise to never leave you

**Buy yourself gorgeous flowers

**Practice extravagant lounging

**Invent your life over if it doesn't feel JUICY

**Cradle your wounded places like precious babies

**Be delicious

Eat Mangoes naked... lick the juice off your arms

Discover your own goodness

Smile when you feel like it

Shout:  I'm Here!  I'm Succulent and I'm Loud!

Be rare, eccentric and original

Describe yourself as marvelous

Paint your soul

Investigate your dark places with a flash light

Make more mistakes!

Weave your life into a net of love

**Tell the truth faster

Celebrate your gorgeous friendships with women

You are enough, you have enough, you do enough

******************************************************************
I read some of Sark's stuff years ago.  I love one of her phrases "radical self acceptance".  Her stuff is all about loving, adoring, appreciating your SELF! 

Although a few of the above ideas may seem on the verge of silly (how dare we be silly!?) I do think it's so valuable to embrace ourselves and our experiences whole heartedly.  To do so will undoubtedly cause the inevitable shift in consciousness we all see on the horizon.

I'd like to quote from a book I'm reading right now called Perfect Love, Imperfect Relationships by John Welwood:

"Behind all the evils of the world is the pain of a wounded, disconnected heart.  We behave badly because we hurt inside.  And we hurt because our basic nature is wide open and tender to begin with.  Thus all the ugliness in the world can be traced back to turning away from our raw and beautiful heart."

Makes me want to break out the mangoes!

Loving you all and hoping you all have a most succulent weekend!

For the last few weeks I've been enjoying exploring the possibilities of a deeper experience of non-judgment. 

I recently had the pleasure of a phone "session" with a Zaadz brother named Scott Schwenk.  I had read about various other Zaadzsters great experiences of healing with Scott, and although he's in California and I'm in Chicago... we got together via telephone.  I would encourage anyone who might feel a little stuck in some area to get in touch with Scott.  (Although I don't have him as a "friend" yet, I'll invite him today so you can click on him and look into the gifts he has to offer if you feel drawn.)

I'm experiencing what feels like a new level of acceptance in my life since that conversation.  I began to entertain the possibility of not expecting or longing for anything to be different in my life than it is.  One of the things I talked to Scott about was my seeming inability to release weight that I'm holding on my body that I've interpreted as being unhealthy.  I've felt that it represented unreleased pain (which it very well might), or maybe just lack of self-control. 

During our conversation, Scott recommended that I try out the thought that I'm ok, perfectly ok, right NOW!  Wow, what a concept.  Isn't that what I've really believed for many years now?  Yes, it is, but there are areas of my life that I've continued to judge.  He suggested that I consider it being ok if my body never got smaller.  That was an interesting thought.  I can't say I'm quite there yet, but since our talk, I have been much more relaxed with and accepting of myself physically. 

I anticipate that this will be a continuing unfoldment of acceptance.  Right now, I definitely feel peace.  I am thankful to the Universe for all of my experiences and believe them to be teachers for my greater good. 

Thank you, Scott, and every one else in this beautiful place, for being the mirror that you are, reflecting the Light of Truth... I see God in you, I see God in me.

Namaste!

Many years ago, I saw a man wearing the coolest shirt.  It was an image of a human face and half of the face was a white person and the other half was a black person.  It said "One Race... Human".  At that time, I was too shy to go up to him and find out where he got that shirt.  I've spent years trying to find it!  If anyone has any idea where they sell that shirt... I would love to know!

It's important to me to find as many ways as possible to remind people of the value inherent in all people... simply by virtue of the fact that we are HERE!  It is absolutely ridiculous to think that any one of us has greater value than any other person - because of color or any other reason. 

A beautiful black woman - a new member here - asked me how I thought we could use this forum to make a difference with the problem of racism.  I'm not sure.  So far my efforts have been limited to bumper stickers, t  -shirts, holding the hand of my black boyfriend proudly in my mostly white community and just plain holding a consciousness of equality in my being.

Anyone else have any brilliant ideas? I'd love to hear 'em and the world needs the wake up call.  We are ONE.

Loving you all,
Mary