Finding My....

This evening around 7pm I took the boys to the pool to get in a swim in honor
of Summer Solstice. Pool was closed. I then convinced them to get the basketball
and go to the park.

For a while I watched them play a pick up game with some other teens that came to the park.

Just sat on the grass playing my djembe and doing very light meditation/mudras in appreciation
to mother earth, LIFE, Spirit....(God)....for my blessings and this beautiful season.

I was about to leave the park when I felt compelled to take a nice walk barefoot through the grass.

Suddenly the conversation I sat in on a week ago popped into my mind.

Someone said that when Dr. Andrew Weil has his new students he takes
them on a walk in a clover field and tells everyone to go find their four leaf clover.

How elusive is that? Well, I thought to myself....or shall I say Spirit said to me....
You will find your four leaf clover. I smiled because I have NEVER found a four leaf
clover before! You know the story.

Anyway I dropped to my knees and began looking...looking and looking...

Then looked up to see who was looking at me because there were lots of
people in the park watching children's baseball games.

I looked more...probably a total of ten minutes.

I was positive without a doubt I would find one. Then I said to myself, without defeat,
I will not find one here, is this clover anyway?

I got up to leave the park but was called over to this beautiful soulmate tree.
It was a tree that spoke to me as I passed by the first time. It was two trees growing
out of one trunk.



I went over to this tree and said hello. The tree told me to look down and I will find my
four leaf clover. So, dutifully and without doubt I dropped to my knees. There I looked
not even a minute...the thought came...will I find my clover? And within seconds of that
thought there was my four leaf clover.

Can not express the joy that I felt. It was like winning the lottery!

My beautiful clover is pressed between the pages of my book... ART PSALMS by Alex Grey

Affirming on so many levels.

Hope my story inspires you!
Peace/Shalom/Om Shanti!

Hugs Are Banned

Today I went for a much needed walk around town with my 14 year old 8th grade son.

My boy took me to the Dollar store for window shopping and then we went over to CVS where he bought a DOVE chocolate bar for his dear mother.

We passed by three late middle aged folks (2 men and 1 woman) chatting just before the entrance to the CVS. One of the men said to my son and me, "Hi, girls."

Mind you my son looks NOTHING like a girl, female or woman.

Well I kept walking but my son stopped and turned his 5'11 frame around and just looked at the man who in turned said, "Oh I mean and boy, sorry!"

It was amusing. Especially to know that I can still pass for "a girl" even though I am pushing 40 years.

We left the CVS and took a nice walk over to my friend's, Marilyn Fox, house. I had two of her jazz cd's that I needed to return.

About a block from Marilyn's house my son proceeds to tell me that hugging has been banned at his middle school.

The announcement went something like how would you like it if the teachers were hugging in the hall. The students are told that hugging should be done on their own time not during school.

Let me tell you that I do not understand this situation. Inappropriate touching such as kissing between boys and girls is one thing...but not hugging a friend? That's another.

Human touch is a fundamental necessity of life. Yes, touch is important. Many a baby has failed to thrive when human touch is out of the equation. No matter how much food and or medication as person is given for what ever ailment if they are not touched they will not make it.

When you eliminate contact with another person there are direr consequence to be had.

I was very happy to know that the kids ignore this rule and give each other hugs anyway.




Yes, I was happy to know this!

A pat on the back, a kiss on the cheek and a good ole fashioned hug are basic and necessary fundamental building blocks of life that can not be over done.

Have you hugged someone today? If no one is around, hug yourself and (the cherry on the top) tell yourself how much you love you!



Another blog post on hugging.....

Love Blossom

Humans love.
Flowers blossom.
Sky blue.
Deep and wide.

Emma Thompson is Brilliantly Beautiful

I am forever grateful and thankful to such brilliant thespians as Britain's Ms. Emma Thompson for the passion and commitment they put into their craft.

A true actor is an artist, a living masterpiece unfolding before our very eyes.

Emma Thompson is an artist.

I've never been a "star worshiper" or into celebrities.
But as I said before Emma Thompson is no celebrity or a star. She is an artist.

Thank you Ms. Thompson for following your dreams you have blessed humanity with beautiful works of fine art. Gaia will be proud of you once she is able to comprehend all that her mother has and will accomplish both on stage and at home.

She is definitely someone with whom I'd enjoy sitting with and having a cup of tea. Every character she has become she has made believeable, alive, real and deep.

Even when she did the voice over in that Will Farrell movie where she place the author attempting to write her latest novel. Stranger Than Fiction.

Start with Dead Again and move forward to Much Ado About Nothing...ain't she grand? Then sit down with tea and lots of hankies when you absorb Wit.

And I even liked her as Nanny McPhee ;-).

Then you will see what I see. Then you will say...Thank you Sister Emma, you rock!

above image courtesy of: TheAge.com.au Read the Article

this image courtesy of Flickr

Purpose of Meditation

What is the purpose of meditation?

Sitting there in seemingly torturous and utter silence all alone...

It is to bring you back to the ultimate ground zero.

To bring you to that moment before the moment of your "creation" in this material existence.

To allow you to insperience the indwelling presence of the Divine, of YOUR spark of the Divine.

Because it is only in the insperience of that moment are you able to touch true joy, true nirvana, true bliss...heaven.

Then...it is in those moments where you are in complete peace (shalem/shalom) that you are able to truly KNOW.

From there you are able to over come seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Only from there are you able to answer the questions for which you need answers.

The purpose of meditation is to be still and know that I AM.

Go back to the time where you are confronted with a question...even seemingly simple trivia and you KNOW the answer... you know that you know the answer...it is on the tip of your tongue but you can not bring forth the words. Try as you might, strain...groan but nothing comes out.

Only when you let go....you stop striving....you have a moment of mental silence and then...only then does the answer spring forth.

Imagine what you will be able to answer, accomplish if you purposely sat still....be still and know that I AM.

Just imagine....

image courtesy of: Raja Yoga


This work by Tamu Ngina is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Energy Therapy-For real

Energy therapy: for real.

I know... I am being just a little facetious with my subtitle.

Energy is real. We are real. Energy therapy is also very real.

Dictionary.com definition of therapy: 2. a curative power or quality.

Did you know that you contain within yourself the power to heal yourself? You have the power to assist others in healing themselves.

Wait a minute, before you know you start asking for lab results...Healing can and does happen on ALL levels of being...mental, physical, emotions and spirit. Not necessarily on all the same time.

But, suffice it to say, there are all sorts of healing. If you ask me my personal definition of healing I would say that healing is when you come to a place of peace and balance within. Therefore one can be healed emotionally or spiritually even if their body may still be attacked by cancer. Something to think about.

Something as simple as saying I love you has the power to heal. Even a simple greeting like Hello and a smile has the power to heal.

Mother Earth has the power to heal. Just trying walking in the grass barefoot. Not a quick brisk walk but a slow meandering enjoyable enjoying of the soft green grass and even the deep brown of the soil. All of these have the power to heal.

But you must be still. Healing can only come about when there is a balance, a peace and a centerdness of being.

Dictionary.com definition of Heal:

1.	to make healthy, whole, or sound; restore to health; free from ailment.

2.	to bring to an end or conclusion, as conflicts between people or groups, usually with the strong implication of restoring former amity; settle; reconcile: They tried to heal the rift between them but were unsuccessful.

3.	to free from evil; cleanse; purify: to heal the soul.

Energy heals. Calm, peacefilled energy helps to bring you to state of balance where healing can begin.

Everything we do and everything we are has a vibration...a healing vibration.

I read a really interesting article in the Tahaastu magazine over the weekend. The article is discussing using the flowers to heal. Well everyone knows about giving flowers to someone who is ill. And many people know about Bach remedies and the use of herbs in healing.

But what about using the pure unadulterated energy from flowers to heal? I mean not even cutting, drying or distilling flowers but keeping the whole and intact on the flower and only harnessing (read: bottling) their energy!

The idea just blew me away. But you know it something to ponder. As I was cleaning my living room yesterday I went out to my small mother earth garden and plucked some of the zinnias and my 6ft marigolds and put them about the house to harness their energy so to speak.

The marigolds, my favorite from my ISCKON ashram days, were set on a speaker directly in front of the blowing fan. And after being open to the idea of just accepting the energy from the flower...I could indeed feel the vibrations coming from the marigolds as they sat in front of the fan.

Makes me wonder...take this one step forward...with purest of intent, is it possible to call upon the energy of......to utilize for healing?

You know, think about it...the world, the Universe, your Spirit....INFINITE... filled with Infinite possibilities.

Take a moment. Be still. Insperience.
Explore: Indian Flower Therapy Article from Tathaastu

image courtesy of Sacbee.com

Insperience I AM

Today was/is a beautifully radiant day. Slow and easy as I enjoyed, with my children, the last official (if not technically speaking) day of summer.

Sat out in the garden on my blanket and beach chair enjoying the fresh grass, bumble bees, fuschia and red zinnias still blooming while reading a good book- Tree of Life Meditation System by Ra Un Nefer Amen.

I then did some much needed dusting in the living room, dabbled with the dishes, the battle of never ending laundry and a pit stop at the local grocery store to stock up on weekly staples. See, each and every day I pack my children's lunch for school as there is no kasher lunch plan besides my homemade is healthier. ;-)

I did enjoy watching a few episodes of MONK and just a half of one of Star Trek:TNG. Gotta love those all day television series marathons.

Dinner was pulled off without a hitch. Some fresh local Romaine and Green Leaf lettuce, chopped beets, zucchini, fresh from my own little farm tomatoes and homemade salad dressing. Okay, I may as well detail the dressing: EV olive oil, hot curry powder, tamari sauce, a pinch of cane sugar, fresh lemon juice and a dash of water.

It was the soup that helped my eldest boy feel his best! For some reason today he was feeling under the weather, perhaps a little to hot in his upper bunk bed during his nap time. But after the Adzuki bean soup that I made with love for him he is feeling a bit better.

I've enjoyed the two chapters that I have read thus far from T.O.L.M. It is from this reading that I have for the first time encountered the word insperience.

How beautiful and so deeply meaningful is this word insperience which is counter to the so much sought after and Webster defined experience.

Can you feel it? Can you insperience it's meaning, it's being.

I find it profound indeed.

This word is a useful term to almost describe what happens deep within ones being. It is indeed the being still and knowing.

Generally we are all seeking to experience. We experience hot or cold. We experience relationships and going.

How oft do we consider what we insperience.

Experience can be defined and quantified, grasped and dissected.

What of insperience?

It is that infinite state of which words can not describe?

It can not be bought, traded, sold or categorized.

It is.

Be still and know that I AM...within which you may begin your insperience...after that...there are no words.

My Garden

This morning I spent time in my garden.

Blessed Sun caressing my sun-burnt skin,
beaming rays of ultra violet love to nourish
my bronzed melanin.

Zinnias, daisies, butterflies and bumble bees
thank you for blessing me with your amazing
colour and flutter of your wings.

This morning I spent time with my garden.


Copyright © Radiant Swan

Now

Now is all there is.

There is no yesterday and there is no tomorrow. The only gift we have is this moment, this now.

We have two choices.

We can choose to be in fear right now. To worry, to fear that we are not being heard. To worry, to fear that we do not have enough money. To fear that we are right and that they will take it away from us.

We can choose to be in love right now. To trust that all is ok, that all will be ok. To trust that we are heard and will be heard. To trust that we will be accepted. To trust that the money is there and that we have more than enough.

Either choice has action to follow. Action follows thought. Inaction is action.

We can choose to do nothing.

We can choose to accept Krishna's words to Arjuna...that is our duty to do (act) our part in the world.

Will we do our duty through the lens of fear? Will we choose to do our duty through the lens of love?

Love is trust. Love is tolerance. Love is seeing the positive.

Now is all there is. I choose to exist in Now with Love as my partner. Accepting myself. Accepting you. Trusting that I will be fine no matter what you choose to do. I choose to act in Love. And should I falter, should I miss the mark what will I choose. Should I choose fear? Be angry with myself and ashamed of myself.

I will forgive myself. I will then choose to accept myself through Love.

Love is forgiveness.

I choose love now.

Just for Now.


Copyright © Radiant Swan

Love Personified

My youngest son's favorite colour is Green.

Green is the colour of growth, renewal and love.

The heart Chakra is represented by the colour green in Western
thought.

My youngest son is a Taurus and he has green eyes.

He is fierce in all he does. He is passionate and loving.
His love is quick and his temper is quick. Yes, he tries my patience
at times.

At other times, most of the times he gives me love like no other.

He brings tons of smiles to my heart.

Today he saw an elderly gentleman playing lovely tunes on his harmonica.

He asked his eldest brother for a dollar to give to the man, his way
of saying thank you for the music. I told him that I do not think the
man takes donations. My green eyed bundle of love was adamant about it
and his loving older brother more than willing to oblige and sponsor this
act.

So I consented.

The boy with the tosseled chestnut brown silky hair, who normally likes to moan
"I'm too shy", walked over to the gentleman and handed him the dollar bill
and thanked him for the music.

My heart chakra swelled with love and pride that I AM his Mamma.


Thank you Source of Love, Joy and Life for allowing me to be the vessel through
which this beautiful boy...soon to be beautiful man, came into the world in this life. Bless me to be open and humble enough to be the best mother he needs to help him reach his goals in this Life.

I AM.

I AM so thankful for LOVE.

Unconditional Love

*sigh....

What are the steps to unconditional love? I mean truly realising and actuating unconditional love.

Dare I say that there are NO steps to unconditional love. Why not? Because you already are unconditional love. It is about remembrance. It is about allowing the dry husks to fall from around you.

What was my "aha" moment?

Unconditional love is....

When you cease the desire or need to hold another accountable.

Then I thought to myself...could I imagine being constantly held accountable for all the crazy, inane, ridiculous and out right wrong paths I have taken in my life?

Wow! What a daunting and scary prospect.

Yes, I must let go the need to hold other accountable.

It is the process or part of the process of just letting go.

Breathe.

Breathe the Breath of Life....stop holding your breath and exhale.

Only when you exhale can you let a fresh breath of Life in.

Needing to hold other accountable is like holding your breath!

Think on this and let it sink in.

I love you.


This work by Tamu Ngina is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Awaken

east
luminance rises

casting it's gilded rays

magnifying ecstasy

serpent coils

seeking to climb

ladder to gold

kiss the third

receive her blessings

dandelions daisies

alfalfa to balance


beautiful breath of life

water of waters

(c) Swan

This work by Tamu Ngina is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Today is Beautiful

Today is a beautiful day.

Today, I spent a bit of time reflecting on my Grandfather's passing, thinking on him and then realized that it is one month day of crossing over and that it is the 21st yahrzeit of the passing of his youngest daughter my Aunt Terri Inez Griffin, she was the dancer.

On my computer at work I have a post it note that says:

I love you Grandaddy, I hope you are happy.

I shed some tears. Let the emotion out. And after much self talk I became full of a lot of Love and Joy. I wanted so much to give our financial advisor a hug...just cause I really wanted one...I refrained cause I did not want her thinking I'd lost my mind. However, I am sure she would have obliged me, she is very sweet and kind. But I absorbed that feeling within and hugged myself. :-)

I released it all to Spirit.

Upon returning home from work around noon I discovered that the reliable postal service delivered the book I ordered by Rabbi Gershon Winkler entitled "Magic of the Ordinary: Recovering the Shamanic in Judaism".

For well over the past year I had been contemplating purchasing this book. What took me so long, I do not know. A fellow blogger posted a YouTube video of Rabbi Gershon in which he is being interviewed and then proceeds to play the hand drum. On his drum he points out several symbols related to one of the four archangels. Lo and behold one of the angel symbols was the very symbol that came to mind when I received my second Reiki One empowerment! Needless to say I was completely blown away. For the past year I had been wondering what the symbol meant.

Not only that but his book has already answered or shall I say confirmed some other questions that had been burning.

Today is a beautiful day.

Tribute to Theophilus Griffin

On May 5, 2008 my grandaddy, Theophilus Griffin, passed away at home. We believe it to be a heart attack. My granmom was there with him. By the time the paramedics arrived it was too late. He was two months shy of his 80th birthday and he died in his home with his wife of 59 years whom he had known for 67 years.

By all appearances and American standards my Grandaddy and Granmom for that matter were an amazing couple who achieved the American dream. And through all of our ups and downs I love them both very much and proud of what they represented in our American culture.

They were both college educated people. My Grandaddy graduated from Tennessee State University where he was a Q-dog Omega Psi Phi and a Jazz alto-Saxophone player. He even played jazz saxophone at Carnegie Hall. In high school he was president of his senior class. He was tall, about 6'2, very handsome and everyone loved him. Yes, he had lots of friends.

He married my GranMommy, a model and wonderfully creative woman, in 1949 and they had 4 lovely children. One daughter, my Mother, is the hippie/creative who taught me unconditional love, the middle daughter a debutant and medical student and the youngest daughter a groundbreaking beauty pageant queen, actress and Broadway dancer (42nd Street, Chicago, Cotton Club movie-only to name just a few) and the son became an electrician whose two sons will son be signed to major league baseball teams.

They played bridge often with their club. They belonged to the Epicureans. And I remember while growing up as a young child they would often host cocktail parties. They lived the quintessential upper-middle class lifestyle. For a Black American couple having been born in the late 1920's this was an achievement beyond measure.

My Grandaddy worked for Western Electric and then AT&T as a supervisor where he retired after 39 years. He was known as Mr. T. He wisely invested in land and stocks so that when he and my Grandmommy, a Registered Nurse, retired they moved to a 5 acre rural lot and enjoyed their remaining years together. They indeed lived the "good life".

My fondest memories of my Grandaddy was traveling around in his 1975 brown (his favorite colour) Lincoln Continental (his favorite luxury car which he returned to in later life even after having two Cadillacs) and watching him use his CB radio to communicate with truckers. He handle was Big T and I fancied myself as Little T.

I could go on and on about my Grandfather and Grandparents achievements in this world, they were numerous, but I will not belabor the issue. I'm proud of their accomplishments and what they represent in American society.

Thank you Grandaddy for leading your family the way you thought best. Thank you for not being afraid to be yourself. Thank you for not "selling out". Thank you for representing strength. Thank you for being you the only way you knew how. I love you.

I wish you well on your journey in the next world. I wish you well in the lessons you have learned, the love you have gained and where ever you will go to next. Yes, I too will be there after I live out my lot in this life.
*********************************************************************************

Being with my family as we prepared for my Grandaddy's funeral was a very emotional time for me. I had so many issues and thoughts that needed resolving. After returning home there has been one song that I have been unconsciously singing for the past two weeks. That song is Whitney Houston's Greatest Love of All.

As I drank my yerba mate that song came to me even stronger so I looked it up on YouTube. All I could do was cry as I watched Whitney belt out this beautiful and spiritually edifying song. The lyrics of this song are profound, they feed my soul, thank you Whitney.

I dedicate this song to my Grandaddy, Theophilus Griffin, and to myself, his granddaughter.

---

---

Learning to let go is one of the greatest lessons. Letting go of pain, of expectations, of worry and letting go of what you think is right or wrong.

Death is the greatest teacher of letting go.

---

The Decree of Faith

Take faith with you as you inquire and exact your actions.

Faith is the mightiest tool ever given to humankind for transformation
and for turning dreams into realities.

The Decree of Faith

I no longer confuse what I seem to be with who I really Am.
Knowing Who I Am, I still my mind, greet my courage, and seed myself
With faith.

Here in my solitude, I Am not burdened by thoughts of the past.
I have no fear of the future.
Divorced from past and future,
I have faith that Life in all of its infinite wisdom will take care of
me.
Holding positive faith, I know all situations will be resolved in Divine
right order
without my control.

The Consciousness that brought my Spirit here
is the Consciousness that will guide me safely through my life
the instant I allow it to.
My path is illuminated by Divine Light
as I take each step toward my Divine nature.
Every question I have is met with an answer when I still my mind to
listen.
I have faith in the power of the Love that I Am
and my way is made clear.
I take each step forward with faith and love.

This moment I bind myself to positive faith and allow the power of good
to surge around and through me.
I Charge myself with radiant I Am Light
and embrace all power given to me from above me and within me.
My faith and courage dispel the limits and inhibitions of my past,
and I intend to live each day from this moment on in faith,
elevating my consciousness and being lifted into the future of myself.
I Am indeed blessed
. . . and so it is.

Please feel comfortable to pass this on along with The World Puja
website
http://www.worldpuja.org

Life Is Beautiful

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!!

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!!!

Sure, along the windy path of life you can have TONS of curve balls...

Believe me I do not live in a rose garden with tinted lenses. And, I have had
more than my share of...devastating and hurtful things happen to me.

But one thing my mother instilled in me, the beautiful love of my dearest
eemah (hebrew for mother) is that you must roll with the punches. You must
cross those bridges when you get to them. And you must keep moving forward.

Whether you have made wrong choices. Whether someone you trusted completely
and thought was an honourable person (poor judgement) completely crushes you
and blames you for it.

Whether you hurt your best friend (apologise from your heart and let it go).

Whether you lost your best dog!!

Life is still beautiful. There is still a chance to make a difference in the world. There is still
a chance, as long as you have breath, to make a change in your life.

So ignore those who try to tear you down. Ignore those who revel in cursing and hurting you.

Always, but always take the high road.

Bless them, for they know not what they do.

Because if they really knew, they wouldn't
do it to you. And two wrongs make nothing right.

Reality is merely perception and each must answer to his/her own conscience.

Each must be able to fully like him/herself in the mirror and LOVE, Like and RESPECT the
person they see staring back at them.

And should they cringe, should they not have love for themselves...truly deeply and madly
then that is their own private hell of a punishment.

Life is beautiful. Keep your eye on the prize. If you need a friend or a loved one to help
remind you, do not hesitate to ask for help.

No wo/man is an island! I don't care what that song said!

Radiant Health

“The secret of radiant health and well-being is: to keep a positive,
fearless attitude. By affirming the highest good, you will attract it to
you always.”

--Secrets of Radiant Health and Well-Being by Swami Kriyananda

Photo by XaiLo

My Eemah, My Mother

My mother is so beautiful.

Inside and out!

My brother calls her "special".

That makes me laugh and her

say we are ganging up on her!

It's ok that its taken her nearly

4 years to figure out what an

"email address" is or where the

"top" of the browser is!

My mother taught me unconditional

love, a lesson I am still learning.

She taught me unconditional acceptance.

She taught me to listen to my body

and to trust my intuition.

She taught me to heal with herbs and to

see with my third eye.

I love my mother, my eemah, and she is

VERY "special".

My mother circa 1969 Hyde Park, Illinois.

photo by Charles Ivester.