Feeling and Flowing with What Falls in One's Nest

Last week, my heart was heavy and I wasn't even fully aware of it until Dr. Davis asked, "What are you feeling in this moment?"  I lay on the exam table as Dr. Brent Davis, creator of FlorAlive flower essences, sat at my feet testing me.  He had been quietly working for some time before posing this question.   

My reply was, "Honestly?  I feel like I'm dying in my core."

I explained how I can feel deep sorrow but also profound joy.  Only two days prior I had kissed a beautiful blossoming tiger lily at my house in the country and felt joy burst through me.

Dr. Davis then began explaining the importance of not labeling experiences including sorrow and joy.  He referenced eastern beliefs and I replied, "And how are they in relation to the heart?"

I gave him no time to answer.  I quickly shared a vision with him from a couple of years ago in which I saw bubbling gold followed by the face of Mahatma Gandhi, the great peace advocate and leader.  I knew I was being shown that Gandhi had a golden heart.  I find it hard to imagine that Jesus or Gandhi would share this idea of not labeling the suffering in the world.  They like so many people I know today are the golden hearted.

Dr. Davis' face lit up.  He went to his closet shelf and took from it a flower remedy for which he had not yet tested me - the Fuchsia Temple Flower, a remedy for grief.

I drove home the 5-6 miles from Berry Hill sensing something had shifted in me.  Then just before arriving at my street, I realized my car had straddled a bird nest.

I had clients to see, but I quickly turned around to find a perfect spiral of twigs.  Having fallen from a limb above, there was a nest in the middle of the street.

I held that nest like it was a million dollars for it felt meant just for me.

We were both empty. 

That evening after a long day, I lit a candle made by Ayesha with Angel Radiance in Nashville.  This particular candle was dedicated to Sanctuary and held the energy of St. Frances, the patron saint of animals and birds.  I was tired and except for this brief ritual neglected the nest ... as I neglected me.

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The next morning I was awake at 4:45 and made it downstairs to hear the birds but never made it outside.  I raised the windows then was drawn to the sofa where I fell back to sleep only to be awakened by Sun's light.

That's when I finally made it, with the nest, into my small Nashville yard.  There by the blue chair in which I sit every morning were three dove feathers each a different size.  I tucked them into the nest and held it at my heart.  A lone robin began to sing as I was bathed in the most glorious light.  I could feel the magic.  I called for Jerry to take a photo.  He did then I borrowed his phone to photograph the nest.

17 July 2014  - Nashville, TN 

This photo of the fuchsia ray filling the nest still fills me with wonder and joy.  I saw it and knew Light from the beyond permeates our earthly nest.  Into this nest comes Love to fill us and lift us, each of us as well as Mother Earth in this time.  

When I am willing to be empty, I feel and am filled with the power of this light and its love allowing me to feel whatever (joy, sorrow, rage) is placed in the nest that is me.  

I suspect this is how Jesus, Gandhi and the many masters throughout time have done it. They were Masters of Matters of the Heart. Rather than control, they let unfold  whatever was presented in the nest of the times.   They held it all with great love and compassion.

As a Heartist, I am here to feel whatever is laid into this nest that is Me.  There are times this feels unbearable yet I do not do this alone.  I am surrounded by an amazing team comprised of Nature's flowers, birds, animals and trees as well as human team members and this sacred light.  I am here to let whatever I am feeling flow through me so these feelings are altered and I believe altar-ed and honored for their sacredness in human experience.

May all who are Heartists joyfully hold what we find in our nest each day and be open to receiving the Light flowing in so all that is negative may be altar-ed and changed to Love's highest vibration. 

This is the Shift I Imagine.  This is the Shift that is happening.

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This event was a week ago yesterday. Last night after finishing the above I received an email titled "The Violet Flame" from an internet friend. Her message was related to the above photo.  Desiree had summarized Patricia Cota-Robles sharing on the Violet Flame. 

She wrote "The Violet Flame is a frequency of energy, vibration and consciousness flowing into the mental and emotional strata of Earth.  It's ability is to transmute into Light the negativity that is being pushed to the surface in each of our individual lives.  We each as Sons and Daughters of God need to transmute any pain or suffering we or others have created at any time throughout the ages and ask that this Sacred Fire transmute into Light all of that. We need to make this specific request, asking our I AM presence to utilize the 5th Dimensional Solar Violet Flame in this transmutation into the Light of all misqualified energy which is causing pain and suffering for humanity and all other forms of life.  In this way we give permission for this Sacred Fire to enter our lives and to change them into a frequency of harmony and balance."

Click HERE for more information on The Violet Flame Book. 

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May all who are Heartists joyfully hold what we find in our nest each day and be open to receiving the Light flowing in so all that is negative may be altar-ed and changed to Love's highest vibration. 

-Dawn, The Good News Muse at Imagine the Shift 

25 July 2014

dawn@imaginetheshift.com

To learn more about FlorAlive click HERE.

To learn more about Angel Radiance click HERE.

Rory McIlroy, We Need You !

Having grown up in a basketball town and personally having my own competitive streak, I've been something of a sports fan all my life.  My enthusiasm though for sporting events has waned in the last few years due to the corporate takeover of most sports and the obscene amounts of money associated with them. 

Yet yesterday I, who haven't watched a round on television in a year, got caught up in the British Open as 25 year old Rory McIlroy entered the final day in the lead.  There is something magical about this young man for me for here I sit a day after his victory and although I didn't win a thing, I am smiling.  Yes, I am smiling because something more important than money was won yesterday.   

McIlroy with the treasured claret jug -photo courtesy of ESPN and my tv :) 

This is the story inspired by Rory McIlroy three years ago.  It's message has even more meaning for our world today.  

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Though his victory is a week old, ancient in today’s news cycle, I’ve continued to ponder Rory McIlroy’s winning golf’s US Open. At the young age of 22, McIlroy has I suspect kept golf writers and analysts busy this week dissecting the techniques or secret to his record setting and recording tying win last Sunday in Bethesda, Maryland just outside the nation’s capitol.

For those unfamiliar with this young Irish golfer’s story, it’s not just any story. There are four coveted majors in golf - the Masters, the US Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship.

In April McIlroy entered Sunday’s final round at the Masters with the lead having led each of the three days prior. Then before the golfing world he proceeded to shoot the worst round in Master’s history by any professional golfer leading after the third round. He went from first on the leader board at the day’s start to tied for fifteenth at day’s end.  McIlroy’s play mid-round set the stage for major humiliation when he triple bogeyed the tenth hole followed by two three putts and another shot hit into the water.

The proverbial wheels came off yet McIlroy did as most men do not. With all of golf watching, he publicly owned his disappointment and heartbreak responding in complete contrast to how men generally respond when vulnerable.

I still recall Australia’s Greg Norman in the ’96 Masters blowing the largest 54 hole lead in Master’s history to loose in the last round. Rather than owning his disappointment, Norman chalked it up to a bad day vowing he’d forget about it and go out and play again.

He definitely had a bad day and resorting to analyzing his game rather than owning his full emotional experience led to bad weeks, months and years as his golf game was never the same.

After McIlroy’s meltdown, rather than resorting to positive thinking and rationalizing as happens in our head over heart, disconnected, disown your insides, don’t let them see you vulnerable society, McIlroy owned his insides rather than acting like they didn’t exist.

In our not-so-open society, he spoke to reporters from his heart. He was transparent and real after a devastating loss thus increasing his chances of ultimately winning.

Sponsors will now pursue this young man, needing his commercial presence to capitalize on his recent success and maximize their profits.

I suggest men and many women of the United States need McIlroy. We need his authenticity and willingness to own the spectrum of emotional experience from heart break to joy as was so beautifully displayed at the Master’s and the Open.

We need you, Rory McIlroy, because you won the Open in a society that is emotionally not-so open. When embarrassed and humiliated as you could have easily been, you didn’t deny or hide your emotional self. You named and claimed your full experience.

Americans including many politicians could benefit from this young man’s beautiful example of owning the full array of human experience without shame. The disowning of experience and vulnerability lends itself to an internal disconnect laying the foundation for quiet shame, compulsions and addictions evidenced in politicians and authorities who serve as mirrors for a deeper dynamic In our culture.

We could all learn a lesson from this young man’s playbook. The lesson of taking the risk to be authentic in the face of vulnerability would dramatically alter our daily personal interactions potentially influencing global interactions.

Rory McIlroy, wherever you are, I encourage you to stay open. Continue to be a model of emotional authenticity. Continue to experience the light in a child’s eyes as I’ve read you did in Haiti and take time off from tournaments as you’re doing presently. If you continue to be true to yourself and not what others want you to be, you are already a Master of the secrets to a deeply satisfying journey.You’ll stay atop life’s leader board, the one that counts far more than the one holding Sunday’s scores. 

-Dawn, The Good News Muse 26 June 2011

and joyfully again  21 July 2014

dawn@imaginetheshift.com

The Champagne Shift - Cycles of Sharing and Thoughts on God

Inspired by champagne, locks of hair and the many ways we share, this is one of the first Musings I ever posted at "Imagine the Shift."  Enjoy and share.....

It started July 4th sitting near Nashville's riverfront awaiting the yearly fireworks display. From my folding chair on the sidewalk, I looked around at the masses many of them drinking beer and heartily socializing before the evening’s colorful climax. I looked around and was embarrassed to admit what crossed my mind for I found myself thinking, ‘I really don’t like people.’ I eventually confided my judgments in the person with me who confessed he was thinking likewise.

Upon further shared wonderings, we determined it wasn’t necessarily people we dislike as much as unawareness and our materialistic culture where consuming and competing trump consciousness and connecting the dots.

I wondered what it might be like to celebrate an event such as the fourth somewhere in Europe. Certainly in France for example there would be drinking, but surely it would be more refined as in wine.  Earlier in the week I intended to buy a bottle of champagne not necessarily for this particular evening but for a celebratory moment.

As I sat wishing for that particular drink, I heard a voice call out, “Who wants champagne?” The voice belonged to a woman in a nearby group. None of her friends were takers.  They all drank beer.

To her surprise, I called back, “Now I know why I sat by you guys. I’d love a glass of champagne.”

Mary Beth could have easily ignored or dissed me, but she didn’t. We toasted in lovely glasses then talked for a bit. I sipped shared champagne acutely aware that this woman’s generosity altered my attitude as well as reminding me of synchronistic times when the very thing I was thinking arrived as if the Universe or God was saying, “You asked and here it is.”

Some people might say: If God or a spiritual being provides champagne on demand why can’t this Being end strife and suffering in the world? I don’t have that answer.  What I do know shared champagne suddenly created a shift in the lens through which I experience life.

The next day as I ventured out for my morning walk, I heard familiar voice from across the street call, “Dawn, I’ve some clothes for you.” Some people pay personal shoppers to assist in their wardrobe selection. I have Judy a neighbor who periodically shares clothing finds with me from her excursions to area yard sales. The week prior I had worn two shirts and a skirt courtesy of Judy that received several compliments.

That afternoon I remembered owing a bit of money to the young woman who designed my website. I hurriedly sent her an email promising I’d place a check in the next day’s mail. She suggested instead that I give the money to a cause I support. The local Humane Association received a check from me on behalf of Leslie for sharing her time. I then asked someone consulting with me if she would do likewise. My client happily in turn donated the fee for my service to an area family shelter continuing the cycle of sharing time and money initiated by Leslie.

Suddenly everything I saw or heard was related to sharing. My friend Yvette told of sharing eleven inches of her newly cut hair with a children’s cancer hospital for wigs. Another friend related her story of connecting through different websites with two young people in Kenya with whom she now shares a small monthly donation, allowing one a college education and the other food and clothing. These two young people, born into opposing factions, have now met thanks to shared connections with their mutual friend half way around the world.

Another friend navigating a major health crisis asked if she could share in the healing presence of my kittens. I gladly agreed although my kittens seemed more interested in tumbling and entertaining my friend than sitting in her lap as I envisioned.

Shortly after this, I returned from a walk to find my neighbor and his friend on my roof cutting tree limbs that I had said thirty minutes prior needed cutting. They shared their time and energy and in turn I shared gratitude and pay.

I even discovered the unobtrusive way in which nature quietly and persistently shares with us. One morning as I sat with my eyes closed in the gliding chair on my deck, the birds sang and insects hummed. Nature shared its song as well as its vibration as I not only heard but felt the palpable presence of everything alive in my backyard.

Opening my eyes the first thing I noticed were the flowers nearby, impatience to be exact. Several blossoms seemed to look at me as I looked at them. It was in this mutually shared moment that I realized sharing is inevitable. We cannot not share. We are constant participants in a cycle of sharing the tangibles and intangibles, be it our money, time or energy or our quiet judgments and critiques.

The only thing within our control is the quality of our awareness. We choose to be open or closed, live on autopilot or practice presence. My autopilot was definitely working the night of the Fourth as I sat in judgment of those around me thinking they weren’t connecting the dots forgetting my only task is to connect my dots, the ones within me impacting my experiences.

This realization prompted me to connect other dots, the ones related to God’s seeming non-interventionist attitude toward the world. What if our inattention is a primary cause of discord not only in our personal lives but in the world? What if the fabric of community and culture unravels as we neglect presence? What if God or a creative power is waiting, waiting for us to wake up to the many ways in which we can share with one another and increase understanding, empathy and compassion? What if we are agents and angels meant to diminish strife and suffering on earth? What if we don’t have to go it alone, but we’ve partners in one another as well as in the spiritual realms to assist in manifesting our desires and needs?

I contributed to the unraveling of my internal fabric as well as the greater whole while sitting in judgment the Fourth of July and hopefully began to mend my portion of the tear through having the presence and courage to acknowledge my judgments and realize our shared journey on this shared planet.

How beautiful that a strangers graciously offering a synchronistic glass of champagne initiated a shift prompting me to hear and see the many threads we weave in life’s fabric, threads that whether we’re aware of them or not, we are continuously sharing. For we journey as individuals separate yet together connected through shared threads of conversation, smiles, glances, money, pets, children, hair, energy, thoughts, stories, ideas and inspirations, and yes, champagne.

Imagine a world in which we're aware and grateful for the many opportunities and ways in which we share the tangibles and the intangibles. Let's toast to that.

Dawn, The Good News Muse at Imagine the  Shift 

4 July 2014
first posted August 2008

dawn@imaginetheshift.com

Feel the Shift of Flowers

The lilies, coneflowers and balloon flowers gracing my yard reminded me of this brief but powerful bit about flowers and the visceral shift they brought me one day.  

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As I took the photo below something shifted inside me. I felt comfort as a thought came to mind.  

'This is why we bring flowers to the grieving.'  

The day prior I had posted a story that encouraged people to "Go outside, hear the birds sing."  Shortly after this I had gone outside and walked around the corner of my house to find feathers on the ground, black feathers with bright yellow tips. 

Two days earlier under the same tree the feathers were red, cardinal red. That day I cried.  I sat on the ground and wept.  The second time though I was stunned.  I was angry and busy.  I had too many things to do to take time to cry and if I had time I couldn't.  I felt numb inside.  I went on autopilot.  I began running errands which included buying a granular product that supposedly keeps cats away as well as cat collars with bells on them for neighboring cats who venture into the yard.  And I'm not a violent person but I felt an emotional current within that made me think this is how folks feel who rush to war.  

During this manic running of errands,  I pulled into the parking lot of the office supply store and saw this exquisite row of blossoming trees.  As I snapped the photo above I literally felt something shift inside me.  I felt an inner sense of comfort and immediately thought, 'This is why we bring flowers to the grieving.'  

In that moment, I was no longer distressed.  All I felt was gratitude to Mother Nature and my unknown human kin who grew, planted and tended these trees.  In that moment they felt especially meant for me and my hurting heart. They lined a path bringing me back to peace.

*****

On this day over two years later, I am not grieving the loss of birds. Actually this morning I found one entangled in netting I had around my garden and I was able to free it and feel it fly from my open palm.  (I threw away the netting.)  Today I am not grieving in the same way but for me at least to be alive means to feel loss as it ebbs and flows in my life in a myriad of ways. Today and I hope always flowers, the pinks, purples, yellows and oranges of Mother Earth's children of summer keep me in a place of peace, a peace that passes understanding. 

-Dawn, The Good News Muse 18 March 2012 and 1 July 2014

dawn@imaginetheshift.com