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Archive for the ‘Empowerment’ Category

ENOUGH IS A PRECIOUS FEAST

Wisdom-1

“In a gentle way you can shake the world.” ~Mahatma Gandhi

Attending to life is a sacred act of love.

A few weeks ago I visited my home town of San Diego, California in the beach area of Ocean Beach/Point Loma where I was born, raised and brought three sons into the world – with the purpose of spending time with family still living there.

It was like living my life backwards with so many memories arising as I walked my old haunts and the hard packed sand at the waters edge.  On one of these walks I reflected on my entry experience at the airport a day before.

Since it had been decades since I flew into San Diego I found the airport not only larger, but more complex in an organized way.  One of the improvements being that car rentals were now in one building in back of the airport.  To reach this building one needed to ride the 11-minute shuttle to get there.

As the door opened for the shuttle bus I was to ride a beautiful African American woman stepped down from the front of the bus onto the sidewalk with a huge smile on her face and greeted us all with an immense inviting and loving energy, calling us precious as she took our luggage and lifted it into the designated spots within the bus.

As another woman sat down next to me she turned and with a smile on her face said to me, “I’ve never been called precious before!”  In just that one gentle way our bus driver had opened up and connected this woman to herself and to me.

It did not stop there!  Once the bus was loaded and the driver had greeted everyone and stowed their luggage we were under way to the car rental building.  As you know, travel can be stressful and sometimes the purpose of individual’s travel can run the gamut from vacation to attending to immense challenges they may be faced with.

The driver greeted us on the PA system, asked how all of us were doing – waiting for our responses, and then proceeded to tell us a little about San Diego and what we were passing by on our short journey.

In the silence that followed this everyone on the bus all of a sudden started hearing  oldies songs, like Moon River, that were whistled over the speaker system…..by our entertaining bus drive.  And she was good!

Following that she invited us to sing children’s songs that she probably sang with her grandchildren, and which most everyone on the bus had sung as a child.  We went the gamut from “The Wheels on the Bus Go Round & Round” to “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and finally to “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” (with animal suggestions from her captive audience) .

Next on the agenda she challenged anyone who wanted to participate to say tongue twisters with her….and one man from New Zealand standing on the bus with a very large box took it on and succeeded with the most lovely accent!

At this point we were just about to our destination. As I looked around all of the passengers were smiling and connecting with each other.  The entire energy on the bus had changed.  We were connected and enjoying the few moments it took us to get to our destination, the stress of travel forgotten.

As everyone stepped down from the bus our driver handed us our luggage from where it was stowed with a huge smile.  I thanked her for such an entertaining and community connected trip with a shared connected smile.

This woman had engaged us in the short moments we were all together and created something extraordinary from a job and 11 minutes together that could have been quite ordinary simply getting us where we needed to be.

Enough was indeed a feast!

When we as women question whether we are good enough, or simply enough, we are caught in the entanglement of either cultures expectations, or our very own patterns and perfectionism.

What would it be like to simply let go of those expectations, a diagnosis, labels or identities –  and discover who we are as extraordinary, empowered and creative beings in our fullest expressions in any given ordinary moment?

Perhaps we shall find that in honoring our “being enough” it takes us from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Shake the World Sistah and create a feast!

Copyright Gaye Abbott, 9/8/19

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OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

Breathing Spaces

Life At Wolf Creek

 

 

Category:

Authenticity, Empowerment, Finding Your Voice, Seizing the Moment

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Inspiration From Maya Angelou

MayaAngelouFeature2

Uplift just published a short article on this amazing woman of character, passion, transparency and strength.  I am passing some of their words on to you for inspiration – and to challenge YOU to mine the depths of your heart and soul for your own unique answers to these questions.

“Born in St. Louis in 1928, Maya Angelou had an unmistakable rhythm to her soul, a deep strength that held her up and the ability to make words dance. Just like a phoenix, she faced adversity in her life, and rose, again and again, from the ashes.

Having lived her life to the fullest against all odds, Maya Angelou fought to show the world the truth of what she believed– that every life counts and “it takes each of us to make a difference for all of us.” Today, we’re sharing inspiration from the great woman herself, so that we can all rise together.

Inspiration From a Poet that Will Make Your Heart Sing

On life:
My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.

On the power of perspective:
If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.

On what really counts:
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

On the power of forgiveness:
It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.

On having your own back:
I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is be on my own side, be an advocate for myself.

Maya Angelou quoteI’m a woman. Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me.

 

On finding the balance:
A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.

On the importance of courage:
One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.

On personal growth:
We have to confront ourselves. Do we like what we see in the mirror? And, according to our light, according to our understanding, according to our courage, we will have to say yea or nay – and rise!

On the value of each and every action:
I’m convinced of this: Good done anywhere is good done everywhere. For a change, start by speaking to people rather than walking by them like they’re stones that don’t matter. As long as you’re breathing, it’s never too late to do some good.

On aging your own way:
The most important thing I can tell you about aging is this: If you really feel that you want to have an off-the-shoulder blouse and some big beads and thong sandals and a dirndl skirt and a magnolia in your hair, do it. Even if you’re wrinkled.

And finally, on herself:
I would like to be known as an intelligent woman, a courageous woman, a loving woman, a woman who teaches by being.” (Taken from https://upliftconnect.com/)

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Gaye Abbott, Natural Passages Consulting, 2/14/19

Category:

Acceptance, Authenticity, Creative Expression, Empowerment, Feminine Presence, Finding Your Voice, Power and Leadership

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Soul Musings/Day 27: The Catalyst of “Failure”

courage

As the year draws to an end many of us are aware of shifts in our personal lives and certainly planetary. The thoughts of “success or failure” within these shifts takes us into a polarity that isn’t particularly helpful.

As Oprah says in the video below, “Failure is there to point you in a different direction” and it is most often not fatal. Impermanence makes certain that success is never final.

Thus the life continuum that holds a myriad of experiences opens possibilities for the next steps along our life’s path. Without each one of them we would not be willing to embody the courage to walk a little more to where we are called or be who we are today.

As we step into the uncertainty, as Cheryl Strayed did in the recent movie “Wild”, we see how much of a catalyst  “failure” can be. As she reaches her goal and “succeeds” at the end of her hike along the 1,000 miles of the PCT she finds in deep reflection that it is all a continuum…..a continuum that brings us exactly to the place we are in this moment elegantly unfolding the next set of life possibilities.

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NATURAL PASSAGES CONSULTINGphoto58

Inspiring New Possibilities, Living From the Soul of Life While Co-creating Well Being of Body, Being, Heart and Planet….One Breath At A Time

Soul Musings is a 31-day practice for the month of December immersed in deep listening to what is emerging and unfolding day by day.  Eight sentences with occasional resources to explore more deeply.

Each post, invited by Soul, allows the words to emerge unscathed from prior planning, editing, or censorship.  Dwelling in uncertainty and dipping a toe into mystery this union of words is an attempt to resonate within an innate way of Being…. returning “home”.

To receive daily posts simply sign up for this blog and you will be notified through e-mail.  In addition there will be daily posts on the blogs below.  Thank you for being part of this practice with me!

Gaye Abbott – http://www.GayeAbbott.com

OTHER BLOGS:

BreathingSpaces

NaturalWealthJournal

Breath-Book-coverW2(3)Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Preview, Reviews and purchase links can be found here:

http://gayeabbott.com/books/

 

Category:

Authenticity, Courage, Empowerment, Trusting Unfoldment of Life

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Risk or Possibility?

Anaisquote

RISK OR POSSIBILITY?

I don’t know about you, but when I hear the word “risk” I often feel a physical reaction in my body. My stomach clamps down just a little, my breath stops or becomes shallow, and my shoulders and jaw tense.

Upon looking it up in Wikipedia I found there were two definitions that drew my attention:

1) “Risk is the potential of losing something of value. Values (such as physical health, social status, emotional well being or financial wealth) can be gained or lost when taking risk resulting from a given action, activity and/or inaction, foreseen or unforeseen.”

2) “Risk can also be defined as the intentional interaction with uncertainty.”

The first definition puts the emphasis on loss by the very first sentence. It makes up for it in the last sentence, but you are left with the overall feeling of potentially “losing something”.

The second definition makes it an effective action that you take with full attention and letting go, or surrendering, into the relationship with uncertainty. This could also be called trusting what is unfolding.

This last brings more spaciousness in the body, whereas the first one could provoke the reaction of clamping down preparing for “battle with the powers that be”. A relationship with uncertainty seems to exist every moment of our lives no matter how much we might wish to control things. It could be seen as the very nature of existence.

Having dedicated the 66th year of my life to “living fearlessly” during a ritual standing in the waters of the Pacific ocean in July, the ever present “risks” are now seen as a vehicle for opportunity and possibility. That isn’t to say that my old patterns of “security” and “survival” don’t show up, but at least they have a louder voice that I can hear versus the stealth maneuvers they have done in the past.

An example of this showed up this past Sunday morning during my Gentle Yoga with Keith at Dharma Yoga here in Austin. Now this class could be seen as a “risk” unto itself as one never quite knows what the focus of the class will be or what the practice will hold. Rather like life…..thank you Keith!

This day the class was focused on risk and exploring edges…. was definitely not all that gentle, and supplied a multitude of opportunities to choose to move into edges or “stay safe”.

The peak of the class for me was in a two partner assist where we were to choose between two poses to be assisted and supported in. One was something that I knew I could do easily and though may take me into some new territory, was definitely not a “risk”.

The other one was a pose that I hadn’t done for years as it takes upper body strength to push into from the floor, which I have let go of as I have aged. There was no going back and forth between the two in the decision making process.

5350316_l-1024x652I knew immediately that the assisted wheel (from standing into a backbend arch coming down with hands on the floor) was to be the one by the energy flow that moved through me when I considered them.

As I felt my two assistants attempt to support me in the best way they knew how I put my total attention on the movement of my spine and the breath. Suddenly there was another pair of hands assisting (my teacher Keith) which created spaciousness for me to celebrate coming into this pose with relative ease and mindful movement.

In those moments a space opened up within. It wasn’t only being in the pose, but the additional after effects from trusting the moment to moment movement of my body, the breath guiding me, and the hands and hearts assisting me.

The joy that I felt and the opening of spaces within spilled over to my assistants who greeted me with brilliant smiles as I came up out of the pose.

Now as some of you know I practice as a yoga teacher/therapist thus in this “risk” I was asked to move out of the “personal” (proving that I know what I am doing, the realm of good/bad, right/wrong, etc..) and instead trust that the unfolding would take me where I was to go.

Let’s just say that is a MUCH LARGER space to play and blossom in!

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NATURAL PASSAGES CONSULTING

Inspiring New Possibilities, Living From the Heart of Life While Co-creating Well Being of Body, Being, Heart and Planet….One Breath At A Time

http://www.GayeAbbott.com

Gaye Abbott, RYT assists individuals to dissolve the layers that cover the natural innate blueprint we came in with and reveal, through a combination of evolutionary energy work, Jin Shin Jyutsu, yoga therapy and breath re-patterning, the larger purpose and co-creative expression that we are here for.

For those interested in receiving private sessions please contact Gaye at: JoyfulGaye@NaturalPassages.com.  Travel to your location in the U.S. or globally is available.  Please inquire.  Skype: gaye.abbott

 

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:
www.BreathingSpaces.net
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com

Breath-Book-coverW2(1)Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Preview, Reviews and purchase links can be found here:

http://gayeabbott.com/books/

Category:

Authenticity, Awareness, Empowerment

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The Rescue Syndrome

rapunzel06

OK, I know many of us got sucked into the fairy tales that we were told as young girls and boys.  Some of them had good things to teach us….and others lead to belief systems into adulthood that caught us in patterns which were not necessarily the healthiest for our whole being.  Many of these tales had the feminine as helpless and/or in a precarious situation so that masculine needed to save her (read rescue here)….and invariably he became captivated by her beauty (perhaps the beginning of a need for make up and designer clothing?)

A few weeks back I was at a gathering of artists (writers, painters, singers, photographers…..) and we were asked to think of a pattern that we would like to let go of and then capture the image/words on paper with pen/colored marker/crayon/paint so that we could share it with the others.  This was just the beginning of the ritual.

Immediately I saw a scene similar to the one above (you will of course remember “Rupunzel, Rupunzel let down your hair”) however, instead of the masculine presence climbing up my hair to rescue me from the tower that had no way out I saw him riding the white horse across the plains as I screamed “Help! Help! (kind of like Scarlet O’Hara with Rhett Butler or the damsel in distress tied to the railroad tracks).

knight_on_white_horse

No, my horse did not look like this…..

Well, my first thought was “I can’t draw!”, but decided right then and there that I would not ask for a way out of this exercise, but instead picked up colored felt tipped pens and started in on my masterpiece.  Now if you put a group of drawings by a kindergarten class up on the wall let’s just say mine would fit right in.  BUT, I actually had fun doing it and laughed all the way through my creation.  (you should have seen the horse!!)

Believe it or not the other members of the group did get what I had drawn when I shared and before the end of the evening was over with we had all gone outside, stood around a fire and tossed our out lived and no longer needed patterns into the flames.

It was very curious to me that this is the pattern that showed up as I pride myself on being such an “independent women”, but when I really got down to it I realized that this pattern has lasted a very long time.  It actually has many levels to it including taking the role of the rescuer as well.  (switch the picture above in your mind and place a beautiful woman with her heart in her hand (no sword baby!) taking off to rescue everyone she can possibly “save”,  but leaving her own needs somewhere behind on the road she is traveling.)

To keep this simple though let’s talk about the one being rescued.

EmpowermentAs I see it there is a “light” and “dark” side to the “rescue syndrome”.  The light is when we graciously accept help when needed and then use it as a springboard for making distinctions and opening to possibility.  Granted there are times in life when we need someone to be there for us and it is an act of self love to allow that person/s to help us.  Just like being able to give and receive love with equal ease.

Now for the dark side of this pattern.  For me I saw it manifest a great deal in the financial realm oftentimes cleverly disguised in credit card use, asking for (or accepting from self identified “rescuer’s”) personal loans, and oh yes taking jobs that did not honor who I was in my fullest expression or promoting other people’s businesses/visions  – all at the expense of trusting my own.

In younger years the rescue came in the need to be loved, desired, accepted and to belong and often came in the form of relationship.   In more mature years that is still present under the surface,  but it goes much deeper – honoring the potential of my own being in fullest expression, creativity and soul purpose.  Trusting that I have all that it takes to be successful in whatever endeavor I take on whether it be a business, artistic expression, relationship or spiritual quest.

This means a weaving of the Divine Feminine and the Divine Masculine – versus the Doubtful and Disempowered e5d8a53b6ca0bfc051753f2a67c7425fFeminine with the Static Masculine.  This tapestry happens inside of us and then is reflected in the outside circumstances and relationships of our lives.

No longer able to walk away from ourselves we instead turn back to face ourselves and take a really close look at the magnificent being that we are.

It may take time to integrate all of the parts, and there may be times when we are about to fall into the “rescue syndrome” once again….but I am willing to bet that once you have seen who you are and the potential that you have there will be no turning back!

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Gaye Abbott, RYT assists individuals to drop the layers that cover the natural innate blueprint we came in with and reveal, through a combination of evolutionary energy work, Jin Shin Jyutus, Reiki, mentoring, yoga therapy and breath re-patterning, the larger purpose and co-creative expression that we are here for.

For those interested in receiving private sessions please contact Gaye at: JoyfulGaye@NaturalPassages.com.  Travel to your location in the U.S. or globally is available.  Please inquire.  Skype: gaye.abbott

photo(62)WEBSITE:  www.GayeAbbott.com

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.BreathingSpaces.net
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com

Breath-Book-coverW2(3)Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Preview, Reviews and purchase links can be found here:
http://www.GayeAbbott.com/books/

Category:

Empowerment, Self Love, Union of Femine and Masculine

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Assumptions About Women – Taking A Stand

TreeGirl_quote

A few days ago I was kept awake off and on all night after reading the memoir – Unbowed – of Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and mother creator of The Green Belt Movement in Kenya, Africa.  Every time I awoke her persistence, commitment and passion for what she stood for was infiltrating into my being.

About six years ago now I missed seeing Wangari at a Global Healing Conference in Bali, Indonesia.  I remember clearly that I had been so excited that she was going to be with us as well as Desmond Tutu, Lynn Twist and other Nobel laureates.  Unfortunately, at the last minute she could not travel to Bali.  I felt a great loss.

I knew that she had passed on in 2011 but did not know why, so the day after this wakefulness happened I found out the cause of her death and the date.  She died on 9/25/2011 – the same day/evening that she visited me so intensely!!

She has re-entered my life through a global organization called TreeSisters – birthed into this world by Clare Dakin.  Clare follows in Wangari’s footsteps as she passionately upholds the importance of reforesting our planet – and by women!!  Part of membership in being a part of this planet Earth is to take a stand as Wangari, Clare, Lynn Twist (Pachamama Alliance), Jane Goodall , Barbara Marx Hubbard and so many other women are doing now as we experience environmental, social justice, economic and deep spiritual crises.

These imbalances have been co-created by splitting off from our true nature – the Earth.  We have forgotten our roles as stewards of the Earth and have become dis-eased in the process.  The rampant incidence of depression, anxiety, panic and other disease processes mirrors the very split from that which has given us life.  Natures cycles are women’s cycles!

We all know the assumptions that have been held in regards to women for so many centuries and now seems the time to upset the apple cart in regards to these very assumptions.  The one that has hurt us the most – and one which we have bought into – is “As a woman I am powerless”.  There were good reasons to think so down through the ages, but not now, not ever again.

Why do I say that?  Because not only are women waking up and coming out in our full embodied expressions, but we are standing with each other to facilitate the changes that so many of us are committed to on behalf of the well being of all life here.  We don’t have to step forward without fear, we simply need to be persistent and form alliances with others that are willing to bring their expression to the creative solutions and innovations.

As Wangari says in Unbowed: “What people see as fearlessness is really persistence.  Because I am focused on the solution, I don’t see danger.  Because I don’t see danger, I don’t allow the mind to imagine what might happen to me, which is my definition of fear.  If you don’t foresee the danger and see only the solution, then you can defy anyone and appear strong and fearless.” 

I love this quote as in her life she faced injury, life threats, imprisonment, gender discrimination, and great opposition from the political powers that were present as she was growing The Green Belt Movement.  Today this very movement has been responsible for 51 million trees being planted in Kenya and thousands of women finding their own power and purpose in life thus affecting the quality of life in her country.

She says about those that have walked by her side: “Throughout my life, I have never stopped to strategize about my next steps.  I often just keep walking along, through whichever door opens. I have been on a journey and this journey has never stopped.  When the journey is acknowledged and sustained by those I work with, they are a source of inspiration, energy, and encouragement.  They are the reasons I kept walking, and will keep walking, as long as my knees hold out.”

Now take some time to think about women that inspire you, whether they are present day or from the past. I have chosen those that are working on behalf of our environment and sustainable living and thriving, however yours may be from any walk of life or focus.  What qualities did/do they possess?  They may have been or are called “heretics” and if they are, take a very careful look at who is naming them.  Assumptions are dangerous and at the core are what got us to the place we are today tipping over into imbalances that will and are seriously affecting us all.

I say to each of you – take a stand!  At our core we all have the “stuff” that is needed to “take a stand” even if that is simply being absolutely true to our own unique expression and unfailingly trusting it.  We are all healers and creators.  Let us trust our soul, honor our spirit, open our heart, transform our mind and heal our bodies. ( Heart of the Healer by Don Oscar Miro-Quesada, Peruvian curandero).

Come into ritual space with each other and co-create Earth centered living from the heart ignited by soul and spirit….We can have a gentle birth to the next stage of evolution by accepting, trusting,  and stepping into the innate power that we have been given by simply being born a woman.  You are both the midwives and the ones that are giving birth!!

I Am

We Are

Here Now

One Within

The story of the hummingbird by Wangari Maathai:

Taking Root trailer – The story of Wangari Maathai and The Green Belt Movement

http://www.takingrootfilm.com/trailer.htme

…AND ONE MORE TASTY GIFT!  GET UP AND DANCE!!  DON’T FORGET THE PASSION!!

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**NOTE: If you live in Austin, Texas or near by please join us for a showing of the film Taking Root on 10/27/13 co-sponsored by the local Sierra Club, global TreeSisters, and me – Natural Passages Consulting.  A representative from Pachamama Alliance will also be with us!!  Go to htt://www.GayeAbbott.com and click on the EVENTS tab.

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941546_10201139084457154_1085573193_nWEBSITE:  http://www.GayeAbbott.com

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.BreathingSpaces.net
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com

Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Preview, Reviews and purchase links can be found here:Breath-Book-coverW2(3)

www.GayeAbbott.com/books/

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Category:

Be The Change, Empowerment, Finding Your Voice

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Relationships and Money

I have never done this before, but because I feel it is vitally important that women are empowered in all aspects of their being I am posting here on WildlyFreeWoman the same blog post that I just published on Natural Wealth Journal.

It is women in partnership with conscious men that are at the heart of the evolutionary global shift we are currently in the midst of.  Let’s clear the way for our clarity of purpose and whole hearted expression to shine forth!

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two-hearts-of-money2Nogie King in The Currency of Connection states beautifully:

“I believe that we sit at the edge of an evolutionary impulse that can move human kind into a radical and collective realignment with wholeness, purpose and grace.  Life has always been an extraordinary  process for creative potential.  What is different now is our growing ability to perceive and then actualize engagement that is our natural birthright.”

With curiosity I invite you to enter the world of money as a vibrant, loving relationship just waiting to connect us to not only our own potential, but also to the creative genius of just about everything on this planet of ours.  If you are like me, you most probably have had, or are still having, a rocky relationship with money. Not your idea of the ideal loving, respectful, and trusting relationship that we all yearn for I bet!

What has helped me tremendously over the past few weeks after quitting a job that I allowed to rob me of creative juice and flow, is to remember that money in and of itself first came into being with the purpose of fostering and celebrating human relationships.  It has now become something else for many people – something that adds stress  to daily life – perhaps unnecessary stress at that.

Looking at money through the lens of relationship can be a fascinating journey and can provide insights that just may surprise you!  Relationship with yourself, with others, with our planet, and with money itself most probably deeply embedded in scarcity and lack in some form or another.

I am reminded of the days growing up that we used to play Monopoly.  Loved handling all that play money and buying the primemonopoly-money properties while hoping that one of the other players would land on my high density housing prime space and have to hand over more money for rent!

We needed to be in relationship in that game.  Face to face, throwing the dice to see what would happen next in our relationship with each other and our money.  Out of necessity it would often go on for hours as money  changed hands back and forth.

Life lessons were tucked in there as well like landing in jail and hoping for a “Get Out of Jail Free” card to release you back into the game and back into relationship with the other players.

Well have you ever thought that we put ourselves in jail and restrict the easy flow of money and vibrant alive relationship in our lives because of deeply engrained patterns that were put down early in our tender lives for what we thought was survival?

Here is a part of my story to make this more personal and to highlight the fact that how we use money is an opportunity for our own spiritual awakening and an expression of our fundamental interconnectedness.

counterfeit-money-funnyI was either in a state of worry and fear around where the next dollar was coming from, or when I did man-chasing-money2have money it rather slipped away from me. I was always trying to find ways to get more back into my bank account.  This went on for many years even through times when I had plenty of money to support myself and my growing children.

At the same time I was creating relationships with men in much the same way.  Two marriages, another long term partner, and quite a number of other relationships later I finally found myself taking a look at both my relationship with money and with men.  Bet you won’t be surprised that there were some underlying beliefs that were interwoven in both relationships.

When my mother died suddenly at the early age of 39 when I was only 14 years old I of course felt abandoned by someone that I really needed at that time in my life.  The connection had been broken and I took it on as something that I must have done.  My underlying belief at this time was that I must not be worthy which was unconsciously supported by my father who went into a deep depression leaving me to take on the responsibility of my younger brother and the household.  In a way he had abandoned me by not honoring that I had needs too.

What did I do?  I created a belief system and pattern that lasted until just recently.  Work hard (read struggle here) to take care of others to make certain you are appreciated and loved, i.e worthy; push down your own needs, desires and passion (stay hidden); create relationships with people and money where “rescue” is needed (so that I could prove I was loved); and not only attract unavailable men, but leave relationships first before they can leave you.

Can you draw a parallel between these patterns and my relationship with money?  Essentially not feeling worthy in my own essential self (money slipping through my hands and creating “rescue” scenarios), taking on others desires and passions as my own (struggling to bring money in through others businesses/visions that were not in alignment with my whole hearted creative expression ), and setting up the abandonment before I can be abandoned (I am not worthy).

I think you get the picture here.  We are in a very powerful time on our planet right now where each one of us has the opportunity to repattern into “wholeness, purpose and grace” in a way that honors our own highest potential as well as that of every other life form on this planet.  If we don’t do this our species has the potential to disappear!

connection20This time is about creatively connecting and collaborating within the deep interconnection that sustains all of us – every single life form on this planet.  It is called Unity – the yoga of life.  In order to open to this way of being each one of us must take the inner journey of clearing anything in the way of truly being ourselves in the world.

Since money is a large part of our life, and always will be present in some way, why not create a trusting, flowing, sufficient, honest and loving relationship with it.  It really does want to love you back and is the currency of connection!!

SOME SUGGESTED BOOKS:

The Currency of Connection: How to Create An Exquisitely Kick Ass Relationship With Money by Nogie King

soul-of-money-paperbackThe Trance of Scarcity: Hey! Stop Holding Your Breath and Start Living Your Life! by Victoria Castle

The Soul of Money: Reclaiming The Wealth of Our Inner Resources by Lynn Twist

The Prosperous Heart, by Julia Cameron

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photo(43)NEW WEBSITE!!!!:  http://www.GayeAbbott.com

JOINT WEBSITE:  www.ResonanceWithLife.com

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.BreathingSpaces.net
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Authenticity, Empowerment, Self Love

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The Love Ethic – Politics As A Spiritual Journey

“What we don’t engage we cannot transform.”  Marianne Williamson

Less than a week ago we had a national election in the United States.  As I saw it, as women and on behalf of the environment, we  potentially had a lot to lose.  This is why I was so stunned by some women I talked to that had decided not to even vote because it appeared they lacked the passion and motivation to really get involved in making an informed choice.

Some said that their vote wouldn’t count anyway because of our antiquated electoral college system, or even that they lived on the West Coast and it would already be decided before they could even vote.  There wasn’t even a thought about their own community issues and elected officials.  Has “politics” disillusioned us so much that we have become apathetic?

I have to admit that I have been one of those disillusioned ones and have left the arena of politics for others with a stronger stomach.  At the same time I  realize that this is avoidance which results in a lack of change or transformation to the very systems and beliefs that are making us unhappy and imbalanced.  As individuals, as communities, as countries, as a global society.

Many individuals feel that if you are following a spiritual path then politics is something to be avoided.  If Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and many others throughout our time here on Earth had thought that quite a lot of transformation and change would have been completely left undone.  The quote above by Marianne Williamson invites us to ENGAGE with what she calls the “love ethic” in all that we do on behalf of what is important to us.

If we really want a change to happen in our political systems,  a shift in how we steward this planet that shares it’s riches with us, a change to a peace ethic instead of war, or whatever else is vitally important to you, then we really DO need to become engaged and make it a part of our spiritual journey.

In other words “take a stand for another possibility”.  If we do not engage, transformation is truly not possible.  Women in particular have a lot of power to create change in this realm – change that is desperately needed.   This beautiful older woman in the picture above has taken a stand. Her bare feet upon the bark of a tree engaging with her own and nature’s life force on behalf of another possibility.   What is it that you want to take a stand for?  You are never too old…..your actions in whatever unique form DO make a difference!

 

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Be The Change, Empowerment, Finding Your Voice

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Feminine Force Transforming Fear Into Love

Several years ago I was privileged to study with many curandera’s high in the hills above Mexico City.  Hardly knowing any Spanish at all I found at the end of 12 days spent there that I was dreaming in the language! This is a testament to the deep healing and opening that occurred as I sat, communed, ate, observed and learned from these very wise people.

I love the face of Grandmother Margarita here as it reminds me of the wisdom, love and passion that women grow into as they age.  Sometimes I don’t quite know how to take steps in this elder life of mine as it seems so different from what came before, but the words below remind me of what is so vitally important for women to remember.  Thank you to Awakening Women Institute for sharing this on Facebook!

Wise words from Grandmother Margarita Núñez García, Curandera and Wisdom Keeper, Mexico (Ingles y Español):

1. The awakening Feminine power corresponds to the heart and affects men and women equally. We are born with two possibilities, love and fear, and this feminine force is urging the transformation of fear into love.

2. Change will occur at the hands of women. For thousands of years (during pre-patriarchal times) woman was considered equal to man, and Earth was never poisoned, then both circumstances changed. The role of women is to honor and value herself and to teach men to love and respect the Earth.

3. Sex is sacred and it is being trivialized.

4. Older people are “like spun gold” for society — at that age it is an ideal time to share experiences and wisdom. According to the Mayan cycles of 13 years, when people turn 52 years of age [note: meaning 4 cycles of 13 years], they “open to universal fatherhood-motherhood,” so any feelings we have of victim-hood should stop and we should say “here I am.”

5. Death does not exist, our consciousness, our spirit, survives the physical body.

6. We are all sacred beings and we should honor ourselves.

7. Our thoughts have the power to create our reality.

8. Joy is an important ingredient in life. Shared with deep respect and prayers for the well being of Grandmothers and Wisdom Keepers of all traditions.

Translated from the Spanish, by Grace Alvarez Sesma.

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Be The Change, Empowerment, Feminine Presence

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Arise, Sisters!

Yesterday I attended a rally to protest what is being called “The War On Women” here in Austin, Texas. (with many men and government officials present as well!) Today I received an e-mail about this experience which is reproduced below.   In addition, I was reminded again about how powerful the media can be to undermine women and girls in the way we perceive ourselves by a video called Miss Representation which I have posted on this blog before.

All of this points to the absolute necessity for women to become active on behalf of themselves and all other women and girls on this planet.  Without our direct individual and group participation in countering this backward slide into the “dark ages” for women’s rights and basic human needs we will become complicit instead of empowered.

E-mail regarding the “War On Women” rally:

Yesterday there was a rally at the capitol to protest the War on Women.   It was a far smaller turnout than I had anticipated.  As speaker after speaker said, the gains of the past 40 years are being pushed down the drain by a very active radical right.  Little by little, our rights are being eroded, from the loss of equal pay in Wisconsin (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/18/scott-walker-equal-pay-repeal_n_1434886.html)  to the intrusion of vaginal probe ultrasounds being required prior to abortion (Texas).  Each of us needs to decide what our comfort level is regarding these changes, and regarding our own actions in response.  If these changes cause you concern, you might want to contribute to Annie’s List, a Texas organization dedicated to getting women elected who share the same concerns.  http://annieslist.com/Default.aspx

And a video that shows how the media is undermining women.  Let us all think about what kind of action we can take to shift this very negative long term trend that is greatly effecting our young women and girls world wide!

WEBSITE:  www.ResonanceWithLife.com

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Be The Change, Empowerment, Finding Your Voice

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