life: acoustic & amplified

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Archive for the category “Blog”

Solitude

The Voice in the Garden of Solitude

Solitude is the garden for our hearts, which yearn for love. It is the place where our aloneness can bear fruit. It is the home for our restless bodies and anxious minds. Solitude, whether it is connected with a physical space or not, is essential for our spiritual lives. It is not an easy place to be, since we are so insecure and fearful that we are easily distracted by whatever promises immediate satisfaction. Solitude is not immediately satisfying, because in solitude we meet our demons, our addictions, our feelings of lust and anger, and our immense need for recognition and approval. But if we do not run away, we will meet there also the One who says, “Do not be afraid. I am with you, and I will guide you through the valley of darkness.”

Let’s keep returning to our solitude.

–          Henri Nouwen
http://www.henrinouwen.org/

 

Read the full ‘Alone’ Newsletter at http://songsfromthevalley.com/September-09-2.18-Alone.pdf

Check out William Perrelli’s photography at http://unusualphotos.shutterfly.com/

For me 2012 is: the year of tenderness and vulnerability

Anne Voskamp (www.onethousandgifts.com) ‘names’ her years. My son, Brandon, and I used to have a rhyming theme for each year…ie: 2009 – will be fine; 2010 – time to win, etc. We would chant it and have fun, but overall it really didn’t have much meaning.

I didn’t ‘name’ 2011, but, as I look back on it, it was truly a year of Transformation in many ways (check out the full Songs from the Valley Newsletter at www.songsfromthevalley.com).

Ann has chosen a greek word for ‘communion/community’ for her year 2012 – http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/01/what-the-new-year-needs-most/.  I like it. I even considered adopting it and taking the path with her this year, but as I sat down to write it, I realized that over this past year I have become more and more aware of the lack of tenderness and vulnerability in our lives and in our relationships – and how important it is! I must tell you it is one of my hardest and most challenging battles for me to continue to open my heart and offer tenderness and vulnerability to people who don’t even understand the principle. Yet, that is the heart of God to me, how could I not allow God to use me to show that heart to others?

I believe this so strongly, and continue to try to live it. I know this can only be from God – not me. It is my biggest miracle. I am not naturally tender. I can be very hard, I can set my mind and do very hard things – I have had to do very hard things. I am stubborn and I love fairness – I don’t naturally like to fight, but unfairness makes me want to fight to win! Yet, my belief system continues to challenge my heart. I have experienced much unfairness in my life, and God has used it to break me open and show me the importance of tenderness and vulnerability. ‘Love your enemies’ has kicked my proverbial butt many time! In 46 years, I only have one friend who has ever allowed me to glimpse a return of this principle in action. That friend has made a huge impact on my life, even though the friendship is, in some ways, very distant.

It is one of the most challenging things in my life for me to continue to practice what I believe on this issue, and yet I know it must be done, I want to get so much better at it, but I have a feeling this will always be something I will find difficult – if it was easy everyone would do it, right? All I know for sure is – without it there is no true, unconditional love in the world.

I understand why so many people are hurting and why they have shut down, and I know how important it is to show them they have a choice, and that making those choices are an all important, vital part of love and of living a happy and full life! And so my 2012 is dedicated to this theme of tenderness and vulnerability. It feels right.

This TED talk (I love TED!!!!! www.ted.com) is on vulnerability and it is so good! I want everyone to listen to it! This is a very, very, very, important talk. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html

Vulnerable, Like a Bird
Henri Nouwen http://www.henrinouwen.org/

Life is precious. Not because it is unchangeable, like a diamond, but because it is vulnerable, like a little bird. To love life means to love its vulnerability, asking for care, attention, guidance, and support. Life and death are connected by vulnerability. The newborn child and the dying elder both remind us of the preciousness of our lives. Let’s not forget the preciousness and vulnerability of life during the times we are powerful, successful, and popular.                                                                

 

We are set to Soar into the impossible. – Ann Voskamp

God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible.

What a pity when we plan only the things we can do by ourselves.” – A.W. Tozer

Set jaw, set times, set sights, set back to the windand unfold arms, like wings extending.

A New Year blows in.

I feel that Spirit wind catch, lift.

We are set to Soar into the impossible.

                               – Ann Voskamp
http://www.aholyexperience.com/

Happy New Year!!!

 

2011: One more week!

The year is quickly coming to a close!

2012 is almost here and this is the week to think about our lives and make a plan for the coming year(s)!

I’m not talking about some silly resolution which will be broken in the first few days – I am talking about really making a plan towards happiness.

Begin by thinking about this past year – what did you like – what didn’t you like – about this past year? What can you do differently to make this coming year better? You must start where you are, and you must be very honest with yourself. You cannot make your life better if you don’t. There may be tough bridges that need to be burned. Transformation is not always easy, but it is worth it.

I wrote a 5 year plan 4 years ago – this year, as I look back,  so much has changed, but I am so much closer to my goal! There will be major updates to my plan this year, based on where I am at this moment. It is so exciting! I love reading where I was and where I am now. It has been a long road home for me – but I have come soooo far!!!!

My hope is that we all begin to make choices to become who we have been created to be, and that on our path of becoming, we join together to share unconditional love with others who are hurting. In so doing we will change the world in every way for the better!

An Irish Blessing for Christmas


May God be with you
and bless you; May you see
your children’s children;
May you be poor in misfortune –
Rich in blessings;
May you know nothing but
happiness
From this day forward!

Thanks: the choice that keeps giving & changing our lives

My Christmas gift this year is a new iphone. One of the best things I like about it is an app from One Thousand Gifts (Thank you, Anne Voskamp, everything about you is a beautiful gift to us all). This app allows me to take a picture, write text and then save and upload my gift of the moment.

Not only am I creating a beautiful reminder list of all the amazing blessings all around me, I can my send my gift at this moment to Twitter or Facebook and share it with others. I can also go to Anne’s site and read the blessings of others. Everytime I click on the app I get a new quote to read to remind me of this thankful way of life I have chosen to take for the past 15 years. It is thrilling to me!!!!

Want to change your life? Want to be happier? Become aware of your blessings and the miracles all around you!

http://onethousandgifts.com/get-the-app

 

Reflecting on the Miracle of Life

The world is an amazing place. I am in awe of all the miracles every day. On a special day like today, it’s important to just take a moment and reflect on all the amazing things that have happened in your life so far.

To give you a starting point, just think about this:

The exact person you are, born to your parents, on the date and time you were born, with the DNA structure you have has about a 1:400,000,000,000 (that’s one in 400 trillion!) chance of existing.

If you don’t call that miraculous, then I don’t know what is!

One of my favorite quotes is from Albert Einstein, and I find it interesting that a genius with such a scientific mind would be talking about life in this way:

“There are two ways to live: You can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.”

Life…unfolding

There is so much that can unfold in your life. You are exactly where you need to be right now and all the things that you’ve experienced have led you to this place. But the future is a blank canvas, waiting for you to choose the outcome you desire. Once you understand how you truly are a creator in your life, and take responsibility for all that you have experienced, you become liberated to dream your biggest dreams. You become empowered to know that the world is ever-expanding and your dreams can come true.

Taking responsibility for your actions in your life means understanding that you have created a lot of your experiences by default. When your worst fears become your reality, it’s because you’ve spend so much time focusing with fear, worry, anger, hurt, shame or any other emotion that is rooted in fear. Most of us do create our lives by default…until we learn that it can be another way.

The emotions based in love include:

  • Contentment
  • Optimism
  • Excitement
  • Passion
  • Joy
  • Love (of course)

When we are feeling those positive emotions, we are in a vibrational level or frequency to attract our dreams and goals.

I have a tool that I’ve developed called the Joyometer, which is a simple scale to check in on your emotions. (You can download one at  ) It’s what I call a mood management system. When you fall into that downward spiral of negative emotions—those based in fear—you are taking a back seat and allowing your life to happen on a reactive basis. When you are in a positive frame of mind—in the emotions coming from love—you are the master of your universe. You make a conscious choice on how to react to situations. You are proactive and aware of your canvas and what you are putting there.

Life…unfolded

Just as a boat without a rudder will be tossed and turned in the ocean by the waves, living in fear has the same effect. But when you put that rudder down into the water, you can suddenly steer the boat and choose what direction you want to sail. Love is that rudder.

One of the definitions of a rudder is “something that guides or directs”. When you choose to live your life coming from a place of love, miracles can become common in your life. It’s time to understand just how powerful we are as individuals and harness that power to create our dream lives.

Just remember: You are a walking miracle.

Take some time today to reflect and be truly grateful for this wonderful life you have.


Karin Volo is an expert in career and personal development, she’s known as a Tough Transition Specialist and a Dream Life Mentor. Karin is the transformational author of the Bringing Joy series and one of the best selling authors of Turning Points.  Her passion is enhancing peoples lives by inspiring and teaching strategies to thrive through tough times, live joyfully, and create their dream lives.

http://www.lifehack.org/

Been thinking about tenderness…

It is an era of toughness. We all have to fight for every inch of ground we get, right? We put up shields and take up swords to fight our battles – in the world and in our relationships. People are edgy, short-wired, always on the edge of a fight. Life is hard, trust is very hard to find and we continue to harden against it all. We seem to have forgetten about tenderness.

I don’t know about you, but I need tenderness. I need to give it and I need to feel it – especially from the ones I love the most. Tenderness is not an easy thing to acheive, it takes openess and trust between people to be able to create it. It is special.

So, I am throwing the question to the universe. Any ideas on how we can begin to bring tenderness back into our lives?

It all starts with a choice, right?

 

A Way of Living

Zig Ziglar, has a way with words. He said, “When I speak, people will occasionally say…’Zig, I loved your talk, but for me, motivation doesn’t last!’ I always tell them…bathing doesn’t either. That’s why I recommend it daily.”

I recently read a book called, ‘One Thousand Gifts’ by Ann Voskamp http://onethousandgifts.com/, which is about living a life of thanksgiving – no matter what your circumstances.

It is an amazingly beautiful book which is now on my short list of all time favs, along with The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho http://harpercollins.com/books/The-Alchemist-Paulo-Coelho/?isbn=9780061122415 and The Shack by William P. Young http://theshackbook.com/.

There is a thought which makes perfect sense, even though in today’s world, it does not seem to be very popular – in order to get something different, you must DO something different. Along with this thought, the truth of Zig Ziglar’s statement resounds through the air, it must become a way of living. Much more important than bathing, if we are going to create happiness, we must always be in awareness of our choices.

Each of our lives are valuable and important. Our living demands and deserves our attention. We are responsible for our choices and for our own happiness. We must stay aware of what we want in our lives. If you are not happy and you want to be happy, then you must do something differently than you are doing now if you want happiness in your life. This is not about easy – anything of value is never about easy, but it is possible! Our lives have so much more value than most of us even consider.

When I set out, many years ago now, I was a mess. I still am – but now I know the truth, I am a beautiful mess with God as my helper. I have nothing to brag of on my own, but I am the apple of God’s eye. I was broken into millions of pieces by abuse, control, manipulation, loss mistakes, grief and disillusion. With God’s help, I was determined to do it differently than I had seen, and done, all my life. With the words of Jesus in Matthew chapters 5, 6 & 7 to help me with my choices, and by taking Psalm 37 to heart and not trusting to my own selfish way of thinking, I decided I would not fight for ‘fairness’ from others, but instead I would try only to work on my own heart and life. I was determined to refuse bitterness, anger or victimhood in my life. I knew I had a very small and limited view of life and so my faith was in something bigger than myself.

In order to do this I had to stay in a place of constant awareness. I had to choose to face my truth. Choose to battle the darkness within my heart. Choose forgiveness for myself and those around me. Choose to look for the good. Choose to look for the miracles everyday, and everyday I found something good to smile about. Miracles abounded! Many of my wounds have healed, my scars remain. I have learned to love them – as they are the reminders of what God has done for me. They keep me on this path of learning and sharing with others what I have I lived.

Life continues to challenge and every day I must ‘bathe’ in inspiration, I must continue to choose to make the choices towards happiness. This is my life and what I do yesterday is not really very important – it is what I do today that always matters! Every moment matters. Over and over I have made the choice towards love and forgiveness. Every time I make the choice it leads me further into joy, peace and the unconditional, unlimited love of God. I am determined, with God’s amazing grace, to continue.

It is very good!

The Treasure

Someone you know was walking through the woods alone,
just following his whims, when he looked down into the hollow where a dark
stream flowed. On the other side of the stream he saw something gold glinting
in the darkness. It was out of his way, and looked difficult to reach, but the
mysterious thing beckoned to him. So he left the well-maintained path, and
descended the steep bank. He made his way, with great effort, through painful
brambles and resistant thickets. Beyond the stream he could see the gold thing,
shining in a tiny shaft of sunlight. As he stepped into the stream he realized
that it was much deeper than he had imagined. He paused, thinking this was a
silly obsession. What would people think of him going to all this trouble just
to find a piece of trash beside a creek? But that thing seemed to be calling
out to him— not from across the stream, but from within him. And he thought, “What
better have I to do than to pursue this mystery?” So he plunged into the
stream. It was over his head, and cold, and the current was surprisingly
strong. He imagined what would happen if he drowned, and they found his body
here. How would they explain that? It made him laugh. But he had resolved to
make this little journey, so he swam across the current.

On the other side he waded through the mud to the treasure. It was certainly nothing that anybody else would want. It was an old picture with a gilded frame, dirty and mostly caked with mud, but shiny along one edge. He wiped off the glass. What he saw astonished him. It was a portrait. To someone looking on it might have looked like nothing but vague
shapes of light and shadow. But among the dreamy shapes, he saw a portrait of
himself! Only it was more noble and beautiful than he could have imagined. In
this picture he had purpose. There was a look in his eyes of deep joy and
wisdom. And it was clear that whoever had painted the picture had done so with
great love and tenderness, with respect for even the tiniest and most ordinary
details. Amazed, he stared at it for a long, long time. The afternoon passed
away.

Finally, clutching it to his heart, he returned across the stream. But in the strong current the picture slipped from his hands and it sank into the unreachable depths. At first he wanted to dive down and find it; but then, floating on the water, he realized that it did not matter. He had seen the picture, and it was engraved in his heart; that was all that mattered to him. He crossed the stream and found a new road, eager to go home and,
though it seemed impossible, to tell his wife.

______________________________

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light    www.unfoldinglight.net

 

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