Thankful

This past weekend was Thanksgiving here in my beautiful country...Canada.

a wonderful time to reflect on those things I am thankful for
such as...
~living in a freedom where I can openly express my Faith and not have to meet with others in secret
~the abundance of bounty
~the blessing of a home I can call my own

~the gift of family
~the challenge of children who make me grow
~the love of a committed husband and friend

~the joy of preparing a feast for others
~the means to be able to feed many
~the desire to share my life
~the blessing of invested relationships


~I am thankful for a job I love and the possibility of the job to come
~I am thankful for crackling fires on a cold day
~I am thankful for a warm bed at night

~thankful for friends who share their hearts...even if they think it will hurt
~thankful for diversity and that none are the same and yet we are intertwined
~thankful for personal expression

~thankful for freedom fighters of all kinds
~thankful for those who speak their minds
~thankful for amendment rights 

~I am grateful for good health
~I am grateful for a rich life lived
~I am grateful for blessing bestowed

~I am thankful for sister who drove 31/2 hours to come a dine with me
~for friend who send texts of well wishes
~for those who see me

~for music that inspires
~for words that touch the soul
~for Peace beyond measure
~for messages from beyond myself

~for small hands

~for big hands


~for the privilege of soul connections
~for the simplicity of a smile
~the warmth of a hug

~for the vastness of the sky
~the endlessness of the earth
~the glory of Creation, that reminds me everyday of the Love that brought it all to be...


I am thankful for you
I am thankful for me
I am thankful...


Love and Light

Rock Stars, Professors, Glazers, and House Wives....

These were the people I communed with at Sacred Gifts .
An array of beautiful faces; bodies of all shapes and sizes.
Various ages were represented, from the college young to the retired older...they were all present.


My first break through brought me to the place of letting go of the guilt I feel for not loving my role as "domestic engineer". I do it, and my friends tell me I do it well....but I hate it. I am a Mary...I like to sit, listen, commune with those around me. Not like Martha, who likes to do do do. That just is not me. But deep within me, way in the shadows of my soul, I felt a guilt, a guilt I did not even know about.
For the last 8 years or so I have been battling with myself to take this role on with abandon joy. Somewhere along the line in the last 8 years I felt that my joy- or lack there of- in the realm of "domestic engineer", was a direct reflection of my love for my husband and boys.
And you know what? I did not even know this was what I felt. I truly have thought there has been something wrong with me. I have been trying for 8 years to pour myself in to a mold that was not made for me!
That was a huge revelation and one that has set me free.


You'll notice I say "domestic engineer" not house wife or stay-at-home-mom. Because my role as relational mother and wife give me great joy with no strings attached. It is when it comes to the tasks of running a home that the deep sacred joy  leaves me.
Of course this does not mean I now come home and totally throw those tasks aside. A tidy organized home lends to healthy minds, bodies and spirits. No, I will continue to do the tasks that are required of me during this season of my life. The difference is now I can stop trying to be something I am not. I can stop forcing myself into a place that is neither comfortable or meant for me.
When I fight against the Natural Order, things can unravel quickly. But with this new found shift of perception I can do what needs to be done, not really getting joy out of it, but knowing that is in no way a reflection of my love. Once the tasks are done, I can move towards those things that do "fit" and thus tap into those sacred gifts, unleashing that sacred joy.
Make sense?


Another beautiful thing about this workshop is the release of judgment of others that it offers. When we understand ourselves more we then in turn understand others more clearly. When we understand others and their gifts we realize that judgment is neither wise nor purposeful. The Divine design has been laid out so perfectly, but in our humanness we have decided that everyone should be like us. Everyone should see things like we see them and everyone should be doing life that same way we do. And if they aren't we feel the need to label, classify and box!
A classic relationship that reflects these thoughts is the one of husband and wife. How many times do you sit and pull your hair out because he does not see things the way you do? That he does not see things around the house that need to be done? That he wants to chat everyone up that you meet while you want to keep your time just him and you, or vise versa? When he does and says things you just don't understand or when you are talking to him and he looks at you like you are speaking another language? I know some of you will say this is because of the differences between men and women. I say take it a step beyond those boxes of gender...how about what has been written on his heart as a gift is different then yours. And how about if the design is such that the difference is indeed what your seek. Because when you draw those into your life who have the sacred gifts you do not posess balance comes to be. What if all the struggle of making you like me actually goes against the design of The Creator?


I know.
It kinda makes the head hurt a little doesn't it.
Shifting perspective can be that way.
Our natural fleshy tendency is to Label, List, Categorize and Box things...
But I will tell you...This is NOT of The Spirit.
And continuing on in this manor will suck the life out of you, and is.


It comes back to moving from head to heart...head to heart.
A sometimes difficult journey, but when made once gets easier every time and the reward of making this journey is beyond any flesh joy imaginable!!!


Some of you have asked for me to list the 24 gifts, which I so want to do. The problem is if I give you the list they will just become labels and limits. Without the work that goes along with them you will not be able to see the vastness of each gift.
There are so many human things that need to be left at the way side in order to truly see the difference between something you are good at or something you are sacred at. Like I wrote in my last post, Talent is different that Sacred.


For example, at the workshop Monique spoke of a woman who would go to hospice care to do Healing Singing. Monique was a nurse at this particular hospice and one day came when this woman was there with a family. The woman was not a good singer...not good at all. But what Monique witnessed in that room was someone using their sacred gift for a need that needed to be met. Her singing,though she was not great, brought joy and peace to this family. Brought them together during a time when they needed to be brought together. Brought them healing during a time when they needed healing. Brought them Hope when they needed Hope. Because this woman was operating on a Spiritual level, the human level of are-you-good-at-it was null and void.
Spiritual always trump physical! Always.


Another example.
One of the Sacred Gifts is Teaching.
When I say that word what do you right away think of?
A school teacher...do you see how words can limit our perception?
There are 24 gifts but within those 24 gifts there are 24 aspects to those gifts and with in those 24 aspects of those gifts lys another 24 aspects.
Do you see what I am saying...it is Divinely limitless!


So, what I say to those who are seriously interested...and truly you all should be. Click here: Discovering your Sacred Gifts to get to the web site. This is something you need to walk through yourself, for yourself. She does offer an on line version of the workshop and I can assure you, you will not be disappointed. I can assure you, this will assist you in taking you from head to heart. I can assure you, you will find Freedom by doing this for you.


I will leave you with this inspiration:

My two strongest Gifts right now?...Writing and Challenge...


Thank you for being here.
I Love you


Love and Light

Sacred Gifts

"We are not here to fix...we are here to love." ~ Cat

Sacred Gifts.
We all have them.
Stitched inside our inner selves.
These are not talents...and maybe even things we are not that good at...but when we use these gifts...
Joy
Joy that surpasses all Joy
Bubbling up and filling us so full that it spills out all around us, saturating anyone who is touched by it.
Joy that makes the world right
Joy that makes all seem possible
Joy that makes you believe


I attended a workshop this past weekend called...
Discovering your Sacred Gifts.
And with out sounding corny...though I am going to anyways...it truly was a gift to me.


Where to start. 
I sit trying to unpackage all that came to me this weekend, but even as I write that I know it is impossible to do on one post.
So I begin with some information...


There are 24 possible gifts in you.
Your gifts equip you with what you need...to do what makes you feel on purpose, energized and affective in ways that even you can't explain.
You know them by the results they being and by the fact that they show up over and over again in your life.
Gifts are not the same as talents or skills. And separating this kind of thought process really takes intent.
Sacred Gifts are always outward focused for the benefit of others.
The area you are gifted in can sometimes be the area that is most screwed up or lacking in your own life...like the shoe maker whose kids run around with out shoes!
We are meant to open and give our gifts and be willing to receive that gifts of others. 
Your gifts can be in direct contrast to your personality and your human walk...again causing us to stretch beyond the immediate, beyond the flesh of life and into the spiritual.
Many people don't see their own gifts because they're too busy wishing they had someone else's....how much time do we waste in our life time wishing for what others have? Such a waste.
Most people block their own gifts because of their fears and many people go through their entire lives with their gifts...some or all unopened.
Your gifts have the capability to grow from what appears to be ordinary to something extraordinary....that is up to you.
They sometimes appear after a crisis has occurred to you or to someone else.
Some of you who are reading this are currently already in alignment with one or more of your gifts, you just don't know it....yet. : )
Your gifts are your way of bringing healing to the planet and they are your way of being in service to this Life.
From a Spiritual perspective all Sacred Gifts have equal value, power and when engaged they are equally extraordinary.


When we add our Gifts to a meaningful need the out come is us feeling on purpose...and this friend is where Joy comes in.
Have you felt that?
When you have engaged in something, where you gave of yourself to help, assist, give and you walked away from it feeling so full, and satisfied? That would be a clue to one of your Sacred Gifts...
Other clues are:
Feeling: did you feel energized?
Effort: did it feel effortless?
Results: did it benefit others or something?
These are things to look at when searching out your Sacred Gifts.


These Gifts hold power of the super natural kind. When we use them, even in a limited capacity, amazing, unexplainable things happen. We unleash The Divine out into the world to touch those around us. We open ourselves to be a vessel, and when we do that, things shift, hearts open and the world heals.
When I heal, you heal.
When I sing, you sing.
When I hurt, you hurt.
When I live open, you live open.


Is this something that intrigues you? interests you?
I would love to share more...
but for now my soaring mind and spirit need to rest.
Spiritual journeying really takes it out of me! (In fact I had to have a nap today! And a heavenly nap it was.)


I leave you with this quote from Maya Angelou~
"When we cast our bread upon the waters, we can presume that someone downstream whose face we may never see will benefit from our action, even as we enjoy the gifts sent to us from a donor upstream,"




Love and Light