I'm dedicating this post to my very dear friend,
Aileen. May it be a reminder that you can escape
life's stressful and distracting moments
when you remember to think about.....
~*~ Your Favorite Things ~*~
With *Love*
Deb
My Favorite Things
Performed by - Lorrie Morgan
New World Philharmonic
The Sound of Music - 1965
Music by - Rodgers & Hammerstein
* Note:
I prefer Julie Andrews vocal rendition,
but this video is quite lovely.
Still, it's one of my ALL time *Favorite* songs.
Dear Friends,
This graphic represents how I hold ~you~ each day.
May you feel the love !
Namaste`
Deb
Last month I wrote to the author of
The Symptoms of Inner Peace asking for her
permission to share this on my site.
The following is her reply and then her writings....
Thank You Saskia for your generosity of spirit. !
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 2007
Dear Deb,
I would be honored to have you include in your blog
The Symptoms of Inner Peace with the additional writings.
Thank you for wanting to share them in this way.
And, no, so far, I don't have a website of any kind, but I am getting close.
It has been a wonderful experience "meeting" people who do have
sites and who have posted "Symptoms," and the desire to create
one has been growing in me.
Currently, I have a few priorities for my time before I can get to the site,
but I look forward to the day when I have one, and I
will certainly be happy to let you know!
Saskia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Symptoms of Inner Peace
Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a
great many have already been exposed to inner peace and it is
possible that people everywhere could come down with it in
epidemic proportions.
This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now,
been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.
Some signs and symptoms of inner peace:
* A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than
on fears based on past experiences.
* An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
* A loss of interest in judging other people.
* A loss of interest in judging self.
* A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
* A loss of interest in conflict.
* A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)
* Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
* Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
* Frequent attacks of smiling.
* An increasing tendency to let things happen rather
than make them happen.
* An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others
as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.
WARNING:
If you have some or all of the above symptoms,
please be advised that your condition of inner peace may
be so far advanced as to not be curable.
If you are exposed to anyone exhibiting any of these symptoms,
remain exposed only at your own risk.
by Saskia Davis @1984
Link to Saskia's web site where a print is available in poster format.
Be SURE to look for the story behind the creation of the poster called:
Poster Miracle. It is ~indeed~ a miracle.
Email contact: Saskia Davis - symptomsofinnerpeace@me.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
History of The Symptoms of Inner Peace
The Symptoms of Inner Peace was written for a newsletter when I was
the Director of the Northwest Center For Attitudinal Healing. We were
providing peer support groups for people with life-threatening and
chronic illnesses and their family members.
May all the blessings that arise from the ground of Inner Peace be yours.
Sincerely,
Saskia Davis
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saskia's comment to an individual who is on a spiritual path.
March 2007
As the author of the Symptoms of Inner Peace, I want to say
that it has been my experience that there are times in some of
our lives when we are growing spiritually, and things can
feel out of control, even good things like Inner Peace.
At those times, I have found there are a few things that are helpful:
(1) To find someone to walk with, metaphorically speaking,
someone who can either relate to what you are going through,
or if not, at least someone who will not judge you in a negative
way or develop fear. This might be a friend or a spiritual teacher
or even a spiritually oriented therapist, someone whose path you respect.
(2) Another thing that is really essential is physical work.
Work helps us to ground our new experience of self in the physical world.
(3) And, finally, a sense of curiosity and patience is required,
because when we are in the middle of transformation, sometimes
it is pretty difficult to see who we are becoming; and it takes a while
before it all begins to make sense. Meantime, curiosity can help keep
us out of fear and judgement against ourselves.
Good luck to you,
Saskia
(Post revised - July 16, 2010)
You are amazing. You are the creation of yourself. You are that which creates. You are the choice to experience existence – beingness. The only limit to what you can be is your self-belief and your imagination. To be born into this reality is to enter a wonderful, shared illusion that grants you complete free-will in the creation of your own personal reality; this is your creatorship. Within the illusion we believe that we are looking at a separate, objective world where we experience self and other; beneath this apparent separation we are unified; we are one.
Reality is a mirror of your being. You are creation exploring itself in a space-time mirror. Through what you choose to believe you create your reality. You change your reality by changing your beliefs about both it and yourself. The eyes with which you look actually shape what you see (this is now shown in quantum physics). Perception is not passive; it is an act of creation. Your choice of perception forms not only how you experience yourself, but your entire reality. Awakening to your creatorship leads your experience of reality to become more fluid and direct. This is to enter conscious creatorship where what you desire is quickly manifest.
The key to conscious creatorship is the allowance of change; the birthing of the unknown into the known. The basis of allowance is acceptance. To change your reality you must first accept it. As long as you reject what you do not like about your reality you are in denial of your creatorship, leaving you feeling stuck. To accept that you are choosing your reality, release attachment to any preconception of how life should be and instead love what is. This comes through the taking of complete responsibility for every element of your reality. This is to love your choice. It is to love yourself. You are the choice of yourself.
Release your fear. Fear is fear of the unknown, fear of being limitless. Fear creates limitation. There is a natural, beautiful unfolding to life that can only arise when you let go of the control that arises through fear. To face your fear is to allow yourself to be vulnerable and put down the shields you have used to protect yourself. All shields are a representation of a belief in danger and therefore lead you to the very danger you want them to protect you from. Whilst you are barricaded behind shields (fear) you will never truly feel safe. All that blocks you in life is the manifestation of your fear. The discovery of freedom is the realization that the only force pushing against you is you. You hold the key to any cage you may be in. To cease to judge and control your own being is to release struggle and enter joyful, effortless creation.
You are awakening to your creatorship and the nature of the illusion. This is a natural process and requires no more than fearlessly being yourself. This means opening and following your heart. This is your freedom: believe whatever your heart feels to believe. This is to live in the Now. It is to awaken to the equality of all beingness and release judgment of both yourself and the world. Ever changing truth is the reflection of the ever unfolding birth of beingness that is life. In this state there is no such thing as ‘The Truth’. There is no need of an answer for there is no problem. Just be. There are no limits to what you can be; you are infinite. The joy of this life arises through completely allowing your own being.
Within your heart is a dream. The meaning of life is to live that dream. You can only live that dream if you believe you can. Believe in your dream. You are free to be whatever it is you wish to be. You are an embodiment of all creation. The answer to every question you can conceive is within you, for you are both the creator and perceiver of all you experience. Allow your beingness to blossom without limitation or control and you will experience the limitless love and freedom that you are.
Discover more about these ideas in ‘You Are God. Get Over It!’ and ‘The Messiah Seed’ by Story Waters available from Amazon.com and Limitlessness.com. Also Story’s audio recordings ‘Unleash Your Self. Unleash The World’ and ‘No Rules. A Rebellion of Love’. Visit Limitlessness.com to download ‘Invitation to Remember’ the free monthly audio show from Story Waters and Lee Harris. A printable poster of 700 words is available on Limitlessness.com in the free gifts section. Copyright 2006 Story Waters. This article may be freely distributed provided the full text including these ending credits are included.
http://www.limitlessness.com/700words.cfm
I borrowed this info from the Meet Story Waters
area of his web site.
He has an enchanting and easy going style about him......
Story Waters is a spiritual author seeking to empower people to
experience the light within their own being. “The light to follow is the
light within yourself.” Through his writing he empowers people to
connect with, trust in, and follow their own spirit above any
external person, organization, religion, or dogma. He inspires people
to develop their own inner voice and to love and completely accept
their own being without limitation.
Story has adopted the term 'limitlessness' to describe the state
of being where spirit naturally resides. So rather than encouraging
readers to become 'other than they are' he empowers them
to realize 'All That They Already Are' through freeing the self
from the limited beliefs that it may have taken on in forms such
as fear, shame, guilt, and lack of self-worth. In Story's eyes
everyone is a uniquely special expression of God and he feels
that if we must name a purpose to life then it is to step into
the power of that realization, live in the love that is our being,
and to share that joy with the world. By simultaneously
experiencing our unity as well as our individuality, Story sees
the world transforming into a Unified Diversity where love is seen
as the natural state that occurs when we let go of fear.
Story was born in England in 1972. After studying
Clinical Psychology for five years he left university one year
short of obtaining his Doctorate knowing that it was not his path.
He started channeling his wider-self at the age of twenty,
developing a powerful connection to his spirit in limitlessness.
Though Story still channels he no longer sees it as a separate,
distinct state, but rather as an integral intuitive sixth sense
as important as seeing or hearing.
Limitlessness.com, homesite of channelers
Story Waters and Lee Harris.
WWW.Limitlessness.com
The Meaning of Life in 700 Words
by: Story Waters
Up until now, I've not been a person who readily
accepts change.
Back on June 15th I came to the realization that I
needed to make some changes and define my
personal goals.
In the days that have followed, I can best describe
it all as having a personal metamorphosis.
Goal setting and follow through with action is
giving me a much changed life philosophy.
Previously the thought of personal organization
would have sent a magnitude 8.2 right down
my spine.
Today, at nearly all times, I have 3 notebooks
within arms reach.
Notebook One:
Planning My Life
I defined 5 major life goals. I spaced those
out over the pages of the notebook, in the way
an author would create a chapter for a book.
Under each chapter, I'm breaking down the
steps or actions necessary to attain the goal.
Notebook Two:
Cheerleader Notebook
My entries there are encouraging quotes,
thoughts that come to me, coincidences,
or nudges from the Universe that this changed
life philosophy is very good.
I started this second notebook with these quotes:
'Live your Best Life' - from the Oprah magazine
'Celebrate Who You Are Right Now' - Author unknown
Notebook Three:
Day to Day
This notebook is a steno sized one, with
a day to day to do list.
With all this change and TO DO, life
sometimes will throw me a curve.
In those times I'm going with the flow.
If I were to hold so tightly without some
flexibility it would only bring me anguish
and frustration.
I'm a masterpiece in progress with this
new life philosophy.
Change does indeed = Growth !!!
Philosophy has almost as many definitions as there
have been philosophers, both as a subject matter and
an activity, and no simple definition can do it justice.
The word is derived from the ancient
Greek words philo-, to love or to befriend,
and -sophia, wisdom.
From Wikipedia
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I won't be footnoting every single
post under goals by extending
my gratitude to Nathalie,
but IF it were not for her nudge
and tag, I would not be in the
place of awareness that I am today.
~ Thank You Nathalie ~
I'm not back to blogging just yet,
but wanted to share something REALLY
amazing that that happened last evening.
This is confirmation for me
~ from the Universe ~
that I am indeed on a VERY good path. :)
Back on June 15th, I made a blog post -
I started out that post with these words.................
Have you ever heard someone say…
“That was a light bulb moment?”
Well, I have had one of those AND then some.
You want to know HOW then some it is…. Okay.
The light bulbs that went on for me yesterday
morning would be the amount of light generated
to see an entire city from the International
Space Station that is circling the Earth.
YEP…. I’m guessing ABOUT that many light bulbs. !!!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Well... last night the
International Space Station
and the Space Shuttle passed
- DIRECTLY - over our house !!!!!!
I heard it on the news last night a local
meteorologist, Dick Goddard said to look in the
sky between 9:30 pm and 9:42 pm.
He said it would be visable in the North West sky
and would be travelling South - South East at a
speed of 17,500 MPH.
About 9:29 pm my hubby Michael, son Kevin and
myself were standing on our back deck
scanning the night sky. What a SIGHT we
made. The sky was crystal clear. Venus
was clearly visible in the Western sky as it
has been for serveral days.
Michael spotted it first. The time frame
of it's visibility, maybe all of 3 minutes.
I was able to snap a couple of pictures and
will share one here. It's was a clear dot, even
though there appears to be more of it, from the
picture. A tripod might have helped there.
As they stated we did see the shuttle too, but
due to it's size, the light was much less intense.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Space Station Will Be Visible In Sky Tonight
June 21, 2007
CLEVELAND -- The international space station will be flying
My Dear Friends,
To go along with a new direction I need to
develop for myself, I've decided to take a
3 week break from online.
From today until Monday July 9th.
(okay - that's a couple of days over 3 wks)
This is just a little stepping back for me to
re-group. It all has to do with the Goals
post I made.
This is from my blog, and a few other
online sites of which I am a member.
I would welcome ALL good vibes
and prayers at this time. :)
This is also summer time and my son
Kevin - age 10 needs much more
Mom time than I have been devoting
to him.
I am *Grateful* for YOU ALL !!!!
Namaste`
Deb
My pink climber rose bush, and a friend who
dropped by yesterday. I'm quite certain
my friend's name is ~James~
Have you ever heard someone say…
“That was a light bulb moment?”
Well, I have had one of those AND then some.
You want to know HOW then some it is…. Okay.
The light bulbs that went on for me yesterday
morning would be the amount of light generated
to see an entire city from the International
Space Station that is circling the Earth.
YEP…. I’m guessing ABOUT that many light bulbs. !!!
I have Nathalie and being tagged for this meme to
thank for the NEW glow in my brain. !!!!!!!
At first I thought about going along with the meme
and just making up goals. I could not do that.
Trust me, I did not entertain that notion for very long.
I have never set goals for myself …. EVER…. EVER !!!
So here is my first goal.
1. Learn how to ~take action~ set goals ~ and follow through.
There’s a dear online friend of mine Phil Gerbyshak.
Phil is the author of the book:
Phil’s book arrived to me last year, I looked it over and
said to myself, ‘There are so many ‘great’ ideas here’.
I think I will work some of these into my life.
Phil’s book is a step by step guide outlined in
20 Actions Steps for Making It Great.
The entire key that I missed is the action part !
I sat here this morning and really reflected on
WHY walls go up for me when it comes to setting
goals.
I’ve never been one to boo hoo what my
childhood was like, but in this deep introspection
I heard a thought from the other side….
Chaos, confusion and disorganization these
were all you knew your entire childhood.
This is your comfort zone, and anything that
smacks otherwise is not a comfort for you.
It was early yesterday morning I first started writing
this, and I just had to step aside and come back.
I was in a funk all day. How could it be that I am
the age of 49 and not have come to an understanding
of this sooner.
Thankfully ~Spirit~ stepped in and reminded me
to be thankful for the WAKE UP call .. EVEN NOW. !!
At one point of the day I thought, Ohhhhhhhh
you can’t make a blog post of this, it’s just way
too personal. It’s painful, and it hurts.
Of course reason prevailed, I blog to share,
and that means sharing with authenticity.
If my sharing WIDE OPEN helps one more person
who might be in the place I am with this goal thing,
then I need to move forward and JUST DO IT.
To people who have always set goal, I can hardly
describe to you the depths of how that goes against
my grain, but at the same time I know that I must
re-invent myself here.
To Nathalie, you little sweetie pie, what an
eye opener this tag has been for me.
Kudos to Alex Shalman for originating the meme.
Phil, your generous gift of this book to me will
not go to waste. It will be a starting point and
then some.
Having shared this, I can’t just slide back under
the rock and pretend like I don’t know. LOL
It’s all so fresh…....
Today is a new day…. I stopped the above writing
yesterday because an ending was not there
in my mind. This morning I decided to read through
some quotations on goals.
As soon as I read this one, I knew it was IT.
'If you don't know where you are going,
you'll end up someplace else.'
Yogi Berra
‘A seed once planted and nurtured has no choice but to rise above the soil and reach for the ~light~’.
Deb Estep ~ quote & photo 6/15/2007
Just a couple of days ago, I was web searching looking to connect with others
who are empaths. That search led me to a site where a woman had questioned
why some people can meet someone and know everything about them in a matter
of minutes and how those particular people have total strangers confiding in them.
She went on to say that she considers herself a friendly person, but that did not
happen to her.
The person who was asking had also made mention of this to a group she was
with and one person’s response was, ‘some people are empaths’.
Even though my original search mission was to hook up with others who are in
the know, I felt it important to share my experience and maybe offer some insight
about this all.
I’ll share my comment response in just a moment,
but I first want to touch on where I first recalled hearing the word ~ empath.
Commander Deanna Troi.
For you non Trek types, in the TV show, Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Troi served aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise as the ships counselor.
( Wow – TNG made it's debut September 26, 1987 )
Man, IF that show had delved into Troi’s early days perfecting her skills as an
empath
taken me many years to understand and come to terms with.
I’m still learning as I go though, and no doubt it was meant to unfold in
just this way. Come to think of it, the beauty of a rose ~ IS ~ in it’s unfolding.
Okay………. here is the comment that I shared:
I am one of ~those~ people…An empath.
I came upon this site while doing a blog search on the word empath.
It would be wonderful to meet up with others and share stories back and forth.
First off, let me start by saying I have not always used the word empath to
define myself. I did not even know that I was one.
More than 20 years ago I can recall going to ‘amusement parks’ with my then
husband and young children. (He’s now an EX - Thank God - lol )
It would happen in less than an hour of being there…. my head was pounding
and I felt dizzy.
I tried to deal with the discomfort for the sake of my children, but I always left
with a major full blown headache.
He would rant on the drive home that Mommy is just no fun and does not like
to have a good time.
The truth would not come to me until many years later…
it was not only amusement parks, it was any place I went where there was
a great many people.
The best way to describe it would be like looking at your TV set,
but hearing about 200 different audios at once. Well it’s not like I can actually
hear conversations, but I FEEL them. I feel when others are distressed.
It was about 5 or 6 years ago that an online friend said to me…
‘You are an empath’. He said that because of an email that I sent him …
JUST when he needed to hear from a friend.
This happens quite often. I trust my inner knowing and IF I have someone on my
mind, it could be because of some good thing, or maybe some not so good thing
going on with them.
And…… yes, people stop me ALL the time even in places like a grocery store
and out will spill a life story.
Only very recently like in the past year or so have I been able to ‘bubble myself’
and shield out some of the constant stream of emotions from others.
Hmmmm that makes me think that maybe I should post about this on my own
blog in hopes that empaths would find me.
I hope you don’t mind the extent to which I have written here to explain about it.
One more thing, I think we ALL have the ability to ~tune~ in other people.
You are a radio, but are you only tuned in to your OWN channel ?
You can adjust the dial to tune in to others and develop those empathic skills.
But let me add… it is a blessing and at times a curse.
The gal responded to me:
Thanks for your post. It was very interesting,
especially the part about all of us having the ability to tune in other people.
I then commented back saying:
I was just telling a friend this yesterday in an online conversation......
Recently I read a line by author Caroline Myss…to Paraphrase her she said…
~~ We ALL have abilities. Do not refer to them as gifts. They are skills.
Skills need practice to fully develop. ~~
I am in agreement with Myss…..
I mean, who would think they could pick up a bowling ball for the first time and
bowl a 300 game.
Who knows this about me? Well up until sometime about a year ago
only a select few.
I mean who would go about extending one’s hand and saying…..
Hi – my name is Deb and I’m an empath.
I would not be sitting here today and talking about this if it had not been for my
~Deb~utante post back in early April.
Speaking of the learning part of it all, it was in June of 2006 that I removed
myself from an online Air Force Parents support site of which I was the
group moderator. In explaining to the group my reasons for
leaving, I told them this:
THOSE of you who know me WELL know that God has blessed me with a GIFT.
I call that 'gift' empathy.
An ACTUAL ABILITY to FEEL the emotions of other people. But with this gift comes......
a personal weight of sorts.
I take in so much and at times I am mentally and even physically
BOMBARDED by emotions.
Even to the point that my own mental health is at risk.
My best friend tells me I look tired all the time....
my Mom and Dad are worried to no end and keep asking
ME IF I am okay. 'You look so tired'.
I am being TRUE to ~ME~ and myself in this decision.
Once I came to this decision....... I have not asked God for prayers for myself in this,
but I have asked him for prayers for all of you... !!!! FOR your understanding.
A VERY long time ago, when I was a teen deciding what to DO with my life...
I choose not to go on to higher education. At the time I thought, "nothing I will ever
do can change the world."
I've learned in the past 11 or 12 years how VERY wrong I was in stating that.....
I've learned I have the ~ability~ to change the world EVERY single day...
Maybe a smile to someone, or a cheerful word... EVERYONE of us has that ability. !!!!!!!!
All I can say is that IF something of me has touched your heart and life then you
need to bring that ~spirit~ out into the world and SHOW that ~spirit~ to others.....
Love
Deb
and also having a few select folks email me privately saying I just could not leave,
I dropped off the site completely. Choosing to put my needs first.
I will have to say that not so many people questioned me on exactly WHAT an
empath was….hmmmm maybe they are Star Trek fans too. LOL
Or maybe they felt it’s one of those taboo type subjects that you just don’t
want to even bring up, certainly not on a group site, and maybe not even in
a private email.
It was since that time in June of last year that I have come to a new
understanding, thanks to Caroline Myss, that being an empath is a skill.
I have also come to know how to ground and shield myself so I can function
as an empath without having to just totally close down.
I knew shutting down would be very wrong. Something like cutting off my
arm because I had a hang nail. The shielding and grounding I’m still
learning how to work with that.
Stayed ~tuned~ I feel another blog topic coming about shielding and grounding.
No doubt some of you have written on this subject already, and please do link a
comment back to your site if you have.
I also want to share that 6 months later, I was able to sign back on the group,
but I did not take back the moderator duties. This way, being a member of the
group I can pull back in times when I can not always keep the emotions
from crushing me.
So if you are an EMpath, let’s talk about it. Here would be great,
but if you are not so comfortable sharing publicly, please do email me.
afmomdeb@gmail.com
IF you have Googled your way here… I’ve been looking for you too. Wink ;)
If you know someone in your life who seems to have this kind of ability to
KNOW YOU or read you, reach out to them like my friend did and say…..
“You are an empath”. Then point them to this post. :))))))
In ending …. my ~gratitude~ to Slade in an email yesterday he said this …
You are so "receptive" -- you pick up -- you're a receiver for sure.
Philco Cathedral Radio ~ 1931
