RESOLUTIONS

For last year's words belong to last year's language And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.
~T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"

A very exciting time is quickly approaching. New Years Resolution time! With this day comes the promise of a new, super you. I recently read an article about a woman who was talking about meeting her future self. ‘Wait until you meet future me! I am skinny and wise and I meditate and volunteer. Future me is awesome and I can’t wait to meet me!’

I feel like New Years Eve is another great opportunity to getting a little closer to the authentic life we are all searching for. But so is every other day! Last month I signed up for a Yoga conference I have been meaning to attend for a long time now. This morning I went online and registered to take a CPR class that I should have under my belt if I want to be furthering my education in the path I am following. Every morning that I make myself ‘get on the mat’ or go for a run or a walk is a mini resolution to keep working towards that ultimate goal of not being skinny or wiser, but listening to my authentic self who is everyday trying to reveal itself to me. When I choose happiness over drama, kindness over gossip or hard work over easy out I am closer to the real authentic me. There are a million ways to do it. Does it feel right? Does it make you happy? (And not in a fleeting pleasure way but true happiness that you feel in your heart.) I am learning to listen! It’s exciting; every morning we wake up is another opportunity for a resolution. Maybe I should start sporting the paper hats and horns all the time?

Practice

“We learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. One becomes in some area an athlete of God.”- Martha Graham

Practice, Practice, Practice.  Not only is it necessary for you to give everything you’ve got when practicing to be great in the sport of your choosing it is also what we all have to do in everyday life.

Yoga is a practice. It will never be perfect but it’s challenging yourself to give your personal best every time.  As well as understanding that every time is different. Sometimes postures that are difficult will open right up for you. Sometimes, you can’t for the life of you stand on one foot. Who knows why? The important thing is to not beat your self up about what you can or cannot do and move on. Try, try again tomorrow.

This holds true with everything in life. Our faith, our relationships, our own happiness. We have to practice getting it right everyday. No one is perfect. Forgive our selves and each other our shortcomings. Fell off the horse? Shake it off and get back on and don’t look back.

I tell my kids when they are in a bad mood, fake it till you make it. Put a smile on your face. Just try it. It may not feel comfortable at first. That’s ok; you don’t have to be on 100 percent every minute of everyday. You are human, but keep trying.

I conducted a little experiment at the mall the other day.  Its holiday time, stress is high, funds are flying out the door. Not everyone is feeling the Christmas spirit at all times. I certainly didn’t feel like being in the crowded mall. So I walked around with a smile on my face and didn’t avoid eye contact with the people I passed by. My thinking was if my positive attitude could make someone else smile then it would make me feel better about being there. I wasn’t running around staring at people with a big dumb grin on my face, I just casually went about my business with a pleasant smile. I remember my Dad saying to me on picture day in first grade as I was leaving for school he said, “Don’t forget to smile with your eyes. That’s the real smile.” I always remembered that and when I am being my authentic self it shows in the smile in my eyes.

I was waiting on the incredibly long line at Starbucks to get a little caffeine in me with my smile on my face and this nice older gentleman waiting over by the pick up counter said across the store, “What a beautiful smile you have! Don’t ever loose that!” I almost cried! It worked; someone was actually affected by my little experiment. I have to say it put a spring in my step and I went about my business happy to be alive and well and at the mall during another beautiful Christmas season.

Students First

“Too often students are given answers to remember, rather than problems to solve”
 Roger Lewin

Please check out this website and pledge your support. You may have seen Michelle Rhee on Oprah. She is the former Chancellor of D.C. public schools. A controversial figure who took on the cause of changing an antiquated system that clearly is not working, America's public school system. With help from all of us, together we will change the future of our children. Whether they go to Public School or not. If we truly are all connected then wouldn't it benefit all of us to have all the children of the wealthiest country in the world have access to the greatest education? If we raise a whole generation of educated, free thinking, happy, confident children, isn't that going to work in all of our favor? Check it out!   Students First

Acupuncture

You can never worry your way to enlightenment.  ~Terri Guillemets

Interesting... Had my very first experience with acupuncture this week. I went in with an open mind. My husband had just gone to the good Doctor a few days before with help for quitting smoking. And although I don't consider myself a smoker, apparently in reality I am. I have been known to smoke when I'm having cocktails so...if Mark, who is a REAL smoker was quitting, I suppose I could knock out those cocktail hour smokes no problem. He made an appointment for me when he made his own and I went in not really knowing what to expect.

I was met by a very nice man of Cuban decent, (he told me). He was a snappy dresser with a very nice office with a receptionist in a professional medical building. No incense or anything else one might stereotypically associate with a man of Chinese medicine and acupuncture. I filled out the usual paperwork when going to a new doctor for the first time and he led me back to a small room with two comfortable chairs facing each other.

What came next was fascinating. We had about a 1-hour conversation, which felt more like a therapeutic session. He asked me about my childhood, my life, and myself now. How I felt when I had that cigarette. I was open and honest with him. I do truly believe that there is no sense in not being completely honest since my ultimate goal is to help him, help me. I said when I sit down at the end of the day and I pour that glass of wine that, (ok, I am being honest…I don’t necessarily want but I have anyway. I’m evolving slowly but surely.) Anyway, I digress. I told him when I sit down with that glass of wine and I light that cigarette, I feel..relief. Like a lot of women, like a lot of people, I suppose, it’s the first time during the day that I give myself permission to relax. A glass of wine and a cigarette equals relaxation time. We had a great conversation, he was very insightful and after about an hour of getting to know why I smoke and why I want to stop he brought me into what he called, the Frankenstein room. The first thing he had me do was stick out my tongue. He brought out a mirror and had me look and pointed out that when I stuck my tongue out it had a slight tremor to it. He explained that this internal wind was showing him that like a duck, I might appear calm, cool and collected on the outside; inside I had a lot of anxiety and stress. REALLY? Who wouldda thunk it? Like most “good girls”, I have forged through life not really dealing with things that potentially gave me stress or anxiety. (Who me? I am FINE!! Tough as nails, right as rain. Thanks for asking!) I don’t think I recognized my natural state as being the least bit stress filled or anxious. How do you recognize true calm if you don’t know what its like not to live with a twinge of anxiety at all times? (And I thought I was so ZEN!) He told me he would help me quiet that wind and not feel the need to self medicate to quiet it for me. INTERESTING! OK, I’m game for any and all enlightenment. Bring it.

I entered a warm room with a massage type table in the center and vials, bottles and jars lining the counter top. He said ok, this is where we make you bleed profusely. I looked at him for a split second and we both laughed and then he said, “No seriously, take off all your clothes and wrap these two towels around your top and bottom. Jewelry goes in the bowl on the desk.” He quickly left the room while I was still laughing, quickly realizing, he was in fact not kidding and I had to take off all my clothes and wrap up in these two what looked to me now like hand towels and lie on the table. I quickly undressed because whenever a doctor tells me he or she will give me a few minutes I race like they are waiting outside the door to burst in on me and catch me with one leg in my pants and one leg out hopping around frantically. Playing doctor jokes. So I secured the towels and was lying there breathing deeply when suddenly I realized I still had my wedding ring and watch on. AHHH! So now its like two whole minutes later and what do I do? He clearly told me to put my jewelry in the bowl on the desk. Shit! So I hopped off the table, clutching both towels but of course both towels fall by the wayside. Now I am holding both of them up while trying to quickly put my jewelry in said bowl. I am flailing around spastically; I hobble as quickly as I can back to the table and jump back up, arranging the towels demurely and wait for my doctor. Apparently I had plenty of time because 5 freezing minutes later he finally walked in.

He put about 3 needles in each foot, 2 on either calf, one right above my belly button 2 or 3 in each ear, 1 in either wrist and the last one was right in the middle of my chest. I immediately felt like my lungs were clear and opened like they have never been before. He left me alone like that for what seemed like a few minutes and then came back in and had me do some visualizations and what seemed like a little hypnosis techniques. 2 hours later I left with some calming tablets he concocted for me that he wants me to take 3 times a day. This is day 2. I feel great. I don’t know if he will be the cure or if it really comes down to making a good decision for myself. In any case I am ready and I loved the experience. Loving this path, its so interesting. Thanks for sharing it with me.

Gandhi's 7 Social Sins

FREEDOM IS NOT WORTH HAVING IF IT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE FREEDOM TO MAKE MISTAKES.- Gandhi

I was recently reading Gandhi’s seven social sins and I thought it was so timely I wanted to share it. They are…

Politics with out Principle

Wealth with out Work

Pleasure with out Conscience

Knowledge with out Character

Commerce with out Morality

Science with out Humanity

Religion with out Sacrifice

Politics with out Principle. You cannot turn on the television these days without seeing one political party bashing another. It has gotten to the point that every time I see it on TV it reminds me of siblings who are going at it and wont stop. It can make you literally want to scream in frustration for them to both shut up. A Principle is by definition, a fundamental truth that serves as a foundation for a system of beliefs or behavior or a chain of reasoning. Our country was based on this. Natural Law, certain rights, values and morals are inherent in all human beings.

http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/

LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. Go back and read the Declaration of Independence. It speaks so loud but we are not hearing it.

Wealth with out Work. True wealth, which is not monetary but during these troubling times in our economy you could take that as an example. You may have riches but do you really feel WEALTHY?Maybe not, unless you put the time, effort and sweat equity into doing something worthwhile that you truly believe in. If you don’t put authentic effort into raising your children they will still grow up but will they be everything they could be? If you don’t put the time and effort into making your marriage work will you still be married in 20 years? Maybe, but will it be the relationship that you want it to be? Everything worthwhile takes work. That is true wealth.

Pleasure with out conscience. What’s in it for me? Doing something that will please ones self with out caring about the consequence of how it will effect those around you. I don’t even think I need to elaborate on this one.

Knowledge with out character. If you know better you must do better.

Commerce with out morality. What happened to the “Gentleman’s Agreement” of the handshake? If you have to ever justify or explain to yourself or anyone else why you did something, or handled something a certain way then you may want to rethink the way you handle your transactions. Just think to yourself, would my grandfather or grandmother be proud of me for doing that? It simplifies everything very quickly.

Science with out humanity. I think no other example that shows the dangers of this social sin more than the techno age we are all living in and trying to navigate our children through. The Internet is still a baby and already it is a tool very few people can live with out. Facebook, bbm, twitter all remarkable tools if used properly.  As Einstein said, “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. And he didn’t even KNOW about Facebook!! When we forget that real human beings are on the other end of what is put out there it becomes a dangerous tool.

Religion with out sacrifice. Do you attend religous services but don’t exactly live your life according to what is being spoken there? How many people do we know who sit in the front row week after week and justify the way they live their lives by saying, “But I go to church every week and I sit in the front row. I AM a good person! Everyone can see that.” It happens everyday. Should these people be condemned? Lord no! He who is without sin may cast the first stone. No one is perfect and every minute of everyday is a chance for you to start over and be the amazing person you were meant to be. That being said, it isnt always easy to do. No one is perfect but we can keep trying!

We are all human and we all make mistakes. These are my interpretations of what these seven social sins mean. I am no expert on morality, I make mistakes probably more than the next person. But I will never, never, never give up trying. I invite anyone who reads this to leave his or her own opinion or elaborate on what was already said. The beauty of this life is that we do have the ability to learn from our mistakes and we can start over every minute of everyday. It is one of the miracles of life I believe.

Using Social Media

“This is no longer a gimmick. This is how the American people want to receive their news and want to hear from us.” – Nick Schaper, new-media representative for House Minority Leader John Boehner




I know, I know...I just recently wrote a blog on the dangers of Facebook. I still think some people use it for evil instead of good. That being said however, I recently read an amazing book called Crush It! By a man named Gary Vanerchuk. It is a very interesting take on the future of business and how to use social media to make money doing what you are passionate about. The very thought of doing EXACTLY what you want and what you love is like receiving a gift. Being fulfilled and happy day in and day out and having your PASSION be the very thing that allows you to CRUSH IT! AMAZING!!
I am lucky that I found my passion. Think about what your passion is. No matter if its stamp collecting, sports, knitting, wood working or creating new cocktails to serve at parties you can become the voice of your passion through hard work and dedication. This book is very inspiring. I gifted the audiobook to my college age daughter. She is about to make her mark on the world and she knows how to utilize social media. This book was made for her and people like her. (and I don't mean young because regardless of your age you can learn to crush it!) Why do we buy TIDE and SKIPPY and KLEENEX? Why do we stop at Stop signs and not at Green squares on a pole? Because we have been conditoned to recognize these brands and symbols. You could go to another country and see these same words written in a different language and still understand what it means because it is ingrained in our minds. This book explains how with hard work you can literally brand yourself and make your passion your profession. Check it out, maybe gift it to someone you love who has a passion they could easily make into a profession. What a gift! Crush It!

Beautiful Sermon

My friend Larry shared this sermon he wrote with me and I asked his permission if I could share it with you. He said yes so please take a moment to read this beautiful message. You can check out more of his thoughtful insights at his blog  http://onlyconnectnow.blogspot.com/
We are all human so naturally we will have moments (or even years) of anger and resentment. The thought of forgiving people, (even ourselves) who have deeply hurt us seems sometimes an impossible feat. But like yoga, (and even medicine!), it takes a devoted practice to start learning how to forgive. Read my friend Larry's sermon and give it a try. What have you got to lose? Except carrying around negative feelings that don't do anything except make us feel badly in so many ways. Hmmmmm, why not. Thank you Larry.




Good Morning!

I am delighted to be back here at the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. It is always wonderful to sit in this beautiful sanctuary and it is a real honor to come with an invitation to fill in for my good friend Pastor Bill. I remember having breakfast with Bill last summer when he said right out of the clear blue, “Would you be willing to give a sermon some time at the church?” To which I replied, “What do you have in mind?” and without hesitating he said, “August 23rd is what I have in mind.” Well I did give the sermon last August and after another meal with Bill a few weeks ago I find myself back here again at his request.

Last time when I was here I spoke about how we are all connected and how we all share the common tread of our humanness. Today I was inspired by the scripture reading to talk about Anger and Resentments. A subject that sadly, I know a great deal about.

I love today’s scripture reading. Luke offers some beautiful insights to lead a long and happy life.
He starts off by inviting us to “love our enemies” a very tall order indeed. Historically I have gotten too caught up in my righteous indignation or worse, my anger and resentments to ever consider the idea of loving those that have wronged me.

I was always certain they owed me an apology instead of considering that I might apologize to them for holding these thoughts.

We think that by giving people our worst thoughts, our worst words, our worst actions or the silent treatment that we are hurting them, but the truth is we are hurting ourselves far more. There are many methods for dealing with this problem and one of the very best is a meditation practiced by Buddhists.

In their meditation practice they silently send kind and loving thoughts, firstly, to those they know and love most dearly, secondly, to those they barely know or are complete strangers to and lastly to those who they despise or have anger and resentments towards.

This practice develops a kind and loving attitude towards all people and is one way I have learned to lessen my anger and resentments and hopefully to lead a longer and happier life.

I cannot achieve this healthy, happy life by holding anger and resentments towards others. When I have looked closely at anger and resentments I have come to realize that they are very poisonous. And……this poison has proven to be the most harmful to me.

Anger and resentments are self-induced poison. Like the Buddhist meditation practice of sending kind and loving thoughts to those we hold resentments towards, Luke offers a similar cure. In today’s scripture Luke tells us “…to love our enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.”

This lesson for me came late in life. I was 52 years old when I began changing my story. The story about what a difficult childhood I had and what a sorry, wretched father I had. You could easily detect the anger and resentments that I was holding towards him and it didn’t take much to ascertain how the pain from this poison was eating me up and slowly killing me. By finally realizing this I was able to see how all my bad feelings weren’t hurting him, after all, he’d been dead for many years, but they were making my life and the lives of those around me miserable. Imagine that, I was quite literally making my own life miserable and the lives of those around me miserable, all the while trying to blame it on others, my difficult childhood, and my father. The problem the whole time was directly in front of me. The problem was staring me right in the face. The problem was in the mirror. Finally, and with much relief, I came to realize that the solution could be found in the same place.

Instead of sending angry and resentful thoughts out into this world, I began a practice of sending kind and loving thoughts out into this world. More specifically, I began sending kind and loving thoughts to those I had the most difficulty with and high on that list was my father. Slowly but surely my life has changed. I am happier and healthier. To those around me I have become someone to share a life with. I am no longer stuck in the grip of self-induced pain and---most wonderfully---I have experienced what Luke goes on to say will happen as a result of loving my enemies. He writes:

“Then your rewards will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.”

Well my rewards are unbelievably great and I’ve come to think of myself as a son of the Most High.
My rewards are unbelievably great and far too numerous to share with you now. But…I would like to share one very important reward with you----I am happy---and---I am in love with my father again; my father who resides in me, my father who raised me and the father I’ve become to my own children.

This is a gift of unbelievable magnitude. Luke knew it and Luke tried to share it with us. “Do not judge,” he wrote, “and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you.” These beautiful, simple words had been available to me for half a century. They are the absolute medicine and the cure for what had ailed me for so long. After years of frustration and poisonous thoughts I am finally beginning to understand the truth of Luke’s words.
Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you.

Two summers ago I was sitting on the beach re-reading The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. This timeless classic, written sometime around 160 AD, has been one of my bibles. I remember reading these words, which very well could have been influenced by the words of Luke: “Discard the thought of injury and the words ‘I have been injured’ are gone; discard the words ‘I have been injured,’ and the injury is gone.”

I felt so injured for so long and now, having discarded the words and the thoughts of injury, my anger and resentments have been lifted. They have been lifted and replaced with kind and loving words and thoughts, for my father, for those around me and for myself.

All great teachers over the centuries have written about the power of love. They have offered their thoughts to cures for anger and resentments. Most notably these have included the practice of loving kindness.

Luke’s simple advice, were it to be taken-up by all, would surely change the world. To love our enemies, to love those who have wronged us, to love those who we hold anger and resentments towards.

The Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote:

Love all of God’s creation, the whole of it and every grain of sand. Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light! Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. And once you have perceived it, you will begin to comprehend it ceaselessly, more and more every day. And you will at last come to love the whole world with an abiding, universal love.

My favorite quote on this subject, one Luke would most assuredly have agreed with, comes from Mahatma Gandhi who wrote these very simple, very direct, very unambiguous words:

Love is the strongest force the world possesses.

Today this force is alive and well in me. It is a very strong force. It is not so strong that I don’t fall prey to anger and resentments, however. But when I find these anger and resentments boiling up in me I try and turn to those that I hold them against and offer an apology. I apologize for holding these thoughts. I tell the other person that I don’t want to hold these thoughts, that these thoughts are poison and I don’t want any poison in me or my thoughts, I only want to share a kind and loving attitude towards this person and I ask them for forgiveness for harboring such thoughts.
By giving this loving force to others it is given to me.

Just as Luke wrote in today’s scripture:

“Give and it will be given to you.

A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”                    

                                       


                             

My Day With the Dalai

My religion is very simple; my religion is kindness-The Dalai Lama

I received an invitation in the mail to go to the arena at the University of Miami to hear His Holiness, the 14^th Dalai Lama give a talk entitled, The Quest for Happiness in Challenging Times.

Being busy doing other things, I never responded and then one day I was feeling like I had not been ‘attending’ to myself for awhile, I took another look at the invite on my desk and decided to call the night before to see if by some chance I could still get a ticket. The woman on the phone told me I could and said there would be a ticket waiting for me at will call. So the next morning I got in the car put in The Four Agreements to listen to one more time, (another blog another day), had a latte and drove the hour and a half by myself down to the University. (Pretty heavenly so far…)

I was so shocked when I went to Will Call and got my ticket when they directed me not to the nosebleeds but right down to the left of the stage. I had perfect view of his chair! WOW! So cool, so I settled in and waited. The front section was reserved for the students and I was so happy to see so many young faces filling up the floor. All around the students were people of all walks of life and all ages. All with the same goal, to listen to this man and find some answers to how one finds happiness in these challenging times. It struck me as I sat and waited looking around that EVERYONE, from the students to the 70something year old woman sitting next to me, was texting or looking at their phones. (Including myself), and I thought I wonder if he will say anything about technology? I turned my phone to silence and shoved it in my bag quickly before he came out so he wouldn’t see me with it and he would realize right away that I was already very enlightened. hahaha (so self-centered!! I have things to work on)

He came out onto the stage, a small man with a huge smile. He was friendly and relaxed and so sweet. You just felt like not only did you know him but he was your favorite old Tibetan Uncle that you never got to see enough of.

He spoke for around 90 minutes. He was charming and funny. He said so many wonderful things but what I came away with was the only way you will ever find happiness is through love. People who have loving families and no money can be much happier than people who have money but not the love and attention from their families. He said part of this is due to technology in the 21^st century that has given us so much knowledge and opportunity but with opportunity comes responsibility and technology has also been the cause of great human suffering. (He was talking more about weapons and bombs not cell phones i"m pretty sure but technology just the same). As well as getting in that cycle of wanting to "have" more for your family because you love them but not spending the time with them because you have to keep working to "have" the stuff.

Our survival as a community (and by community he really is saying humanity is our community) will come from love, respect, kindness, compassion and tolerance. If we have love from our families and choose our friends wisely we will have the self-esteem to have all of these qualities for ourselves and others. What he considers the downfall of humanity is self-centered behavior. He said we would only achieve peace through inner peace. He can’t give it to us; we can’t get it from a book or a spa. It is only through love and self-esteem can we achieve this peace and then have the confidence to allow each other to be who we really are without judgment.

I could go on and on reiterating all of the wonderful things he said but that was the nutshell of happiness. Love from an early age and keep it coming. It’s the simplest and hardest thing to do, just put everything else aside and give your love to your family and wisely chosen friends and your quest for happiness will be right there. He ended with a joke…what is Birth Control for violence? Produce more Monks and Nuns!

Reiki

Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease.- Hippocrates


Over the summer I received training to become a Reiki practitioner. It was an amazing experience and I am very thankful I have this "tool" in my pocket for me, for my family and friends and for my clients. Every Reiki practitioner describes Reiki differently, since it is never the same thing twice and always different for everyone. Sometimes is deeply relaxing, other times it can give you a feeling of calm energy and rejuvenation. Its basically like a drink cozy for energy, it gives you what you need when you need it. As an old friend used to say when pondering the magic of the drink cozy, "How do it know? How do it know when you want something to stay warm and how do it know when you want it to stay cool?" Although there is an explanation for the cozy, there is no explanation for Reiki. You don't even have to believe in it, you just have to relax and have an open mind. Personally I would describe Reiki as a way to coming back to who we are really meant to be. Reiki brings balance and clarity and just makes you feel better. I don't know how it know, but it do.

So enjoy the Reiki prayer today and if you ever get a chance to have the experience please do. You stay fully clothed, sitting in a chair or laying down. it is non invasive and you don't have to say anything or do anything. Just sit back and come back to who you really are.

Just for today, do not worry.
Just for today, do not anger.
Honor your parents, teachers and elders.
Earn your living honestly.
Show gratitude to every living thing.

2012

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.-Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

I recently went to The Beach Hut in Hampton Bays for a sunset dinner with my family and a few friends. It was heavenly, steamed clams, fried shrimp, cold beers, a guitar player and beautiful views of the Peconic Bay. Such a nice night. A man and his daughter were enjoying the same scenery and struck up conversation with a member of my family.

This man with his young daughter proceeded to tell this member of my family that the little girl, who could not have been more than four, was a psychic. She had predicted the earthquake in Haiti among other things,(Really? When my kids were four they didn’t know earthquakes existed but ok…) and he claims she has also predicted a 1000 foot wave of water will be coming in the future at some point after 2012. Hmmmmm. Don’t know about that…What I do know is I agree, a ‘wave’ is definitely coming. If this kid does indeed have some sort of gift then it was actually very appropriate for the little girl to interpret what is happening as a giant wave.  What I believe the giant wave to be is a shift in our consciousness. We are all changing and evolving and whatever happens in 2012 what the wave will be is almost like a renaissance. Getting back to being who we really are meant to be in this world. Knowing what is important and shedding the things that are not. So if a child who has psychic abilities sees that a giant wave is coming it is a very childlike, simplistic way of looking at the shift that is already taking place.

So if you have had any fear based moments thinking about 2012 please put them out of your minds. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. It was true then when FDR said it as our country was facing the great depression and world wars. (Sound familiar?) What grew out of the rubble were opportunity, growth and wisdom. We are back to that full circle. So going forward if you look at things from a different perspective it is inevitable that if your change your mind about the way you choose to view something that is seemingly a bad situation and start to look at it as your opportunity for growth then no matter what happens it is a spiritual learning experience. With every fiber of my being I truly believe there is nothing to fear but fear itself. And if someone starts talking about 2012 and you start to worry, stop! Don't listen and walk away or turn off your tv and take a few deep breaths. As I have said before if a great belly laugh is like a mini vacation then a few deep belly breaths is like a psychiatric consult. You will feel better in no time. Stay positive!