The Best of Staying Awake Ezine 2004
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January — March
April — June
July — September
October — December
APRIL 2004
A Culture Unconcealed
by Jeannine Seymour
A poignant moment in the Multicultural / Diversity Training I took in
LA (1996) was when my group of 11 trainees had to take a stand (literally)
on prejudice issues (race, gender, homosexuality, etc.)
There were no right or wrong answers. The exercise was meant to flush
out our personal truths... reveal our buried prejudices to ourselves.
We declared our feelings by standing to the right or left of the room
(center for undecided) as each issue was presented.
There was only one person in my group who was not white -- a black man
whose presence changed my life. I will never forget how we met...
On the first day, we sat in a semi-circle, and one-by-one, told the group
why we volunteered for this training.
I arrived late, took the last place open, next to the black man, a handsome,
Denzel-type figure in a suit and tie who radiated a palpable, gentle strength.
We were the last two to speak.
Listening to each of the volunteers, I fidgeted nervously, wondering
what I would say when my time came. You can imagine my struggle as I confided
that the reason for my presence had to do with the fact that my great-grandparents
were slave owners on a cotton plantation in Mississippi ... and for several
generations prior, such was the case.
I was present, I said, to heal the wounds of a bigoted upbringing, and
hopefully, to overcome the guilt I carried about all that. It was a sincere
exposure. There were tears in some eyes, including my own and those of
the extraordinary man next to me, by the time I finished.
Jeannine Seymour
flickerville200@msn.com
Santa Fe, NM USA
Jeannine Seymour lives in Santa Fe, where she and her husband are active
in the filmmaking business.
Our universe is no machine
by David Moorhead
Since this writer is an enthusiast for the wisdom of cosmology (one of
three philosophies comprising metaphysics), I offer a sample exercise
below that I made up as easily as water rolling off the duck's back. You
may use it as a sentient warm-up or as a tip for remembering that the
elegant simplicity of creation is as close to you as your nose! Here we
go...
Pretend you are sitting in the top of three balconies, hearing the most
beautiful orchestral music played from the stage way below you. A lush
blend of musical themes brings tears. Then, suddenly you see yourself
now sitting in the second balcony. Whoa!
Now, zoom yourself into the mezzanine. Are you with me?
Beam yourself into a front row seat... leaning back in the comfy cushions...
looking upward toward the orchestra while listening to the gorgeous harmonies
the strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion are making all at once.
Oh... now, become the fingers pressing the strings on the neck of a violin.
Become the breath flowing through a flute.
Become the heart beating inside the conductor as she waves her baton.
What have we created, now? That very simple imaginative exercise illustrates
the profound experience of being human, shows the ease for making a request
or creating an intention, and not a word was spoken aloud. Well, maybe
you spoke, but my ears are not that good!
As in Jeannine's story above, possibilities for surprising ourselves
with our own manifestations ooze all around, all at once, all together,
all the time, unendingly. What fun, what joy, how stunning. Yes? Our requests
and intentions are things gliding on the whispered energetic flow we call
life.
The energy available to us for our thought process, activity, and creation
is the same energy that is absorbed and exchanged by Earth from the sun.
All are consciously and exquisitely bonded together. Our universe is no
machine.
MAY 2004
A Cop's Confirmation
by Kim Davis
I work alone from my home office, and most days I never see anyone until
time comes to collect my children from school. On this particular day,
I’d showered in the middle of the morning, and a little voice in
my head told me to get dressed immediately. Normally I’d have wandered
around in a towel for a while.
My intuition was obviously working at peak performance that day, because
when I got back into the kitchen and looked out the window there was a
bedraggled young man walking past the window. He was dripping with sweat
with a soaked T-shirt flung over his bare shoulder.
He had come to ask if he was going the right way to the next town - said
he'd been walking 2 hours. Poor kid was obviously suffering from heat
and thirst, but I just gave him directions and sent him on his way.
I felt excruciatingly guilty seeing him trudging up the road and said
a little prayer asking God, the angels, anybody to help him - send him
love and light - and get him a ride.
My eyes were closed while I said this little prayer, and when I opened
them, there was the sheriff pulled up beside this boy. I watched, as the
sheriff quizzed the boy thoroughly, and then gave him a ride. NOT with
cuffs on.
Those events all happened as fast as I could think them. If ever I needed
a sign that there is a Presence who listens...
Kim Davis
kpdavis@usa.net
Kim is an author, publisher, and web designer with a special affinity
for adventurous travel, and her weekly treasures can be discovered at
Extraordinary Jobs.
A piece on peace: a tip on what's popping
by David Moorhead
Imagine how many of us global citizens have been requesting peace. It
really ought not be surprising the United Nations has recently released
a list of neglected news, and would you bahleeeve Peace is Popping Up
on Planet Earth. That peace phrase is one of my contributions to the movement!
It has been reported that too many of our global neighbors are demanding
peaceful means resulting in too few trained peace makers to fulfill the
governments' requests for help. Women are being recruited. Yes, you read
that correctly!
Trust your quiet intentions for peace, and acknowledge you are quite
literally making a request that will manifest as elegantly as in Kim's
experience, above.
Trust, request, stay awake. Repeat.
Trust, request, stay awake. Repeat.
JUNE 2004
Cuddles on the Couch
by Lisa Olson
We had a blackout last night during some violently passionate, powerful
storms. It's funny, the things you notice when the power's out. Like how
we enter a room, still flicking on the light switch, time after time,
knowing consciously that the power is out, yet by rote repetition and
routine, still flicking that switch.
My daughter has been confused by the loss of power -- asking if the toilet
will still flush, or if the sink will work, assuming all household conveniences
come from one power source. To her, power is power.
And, how nice it's been to be temporarily released from the computer
and our master / slave relationship (one in which it's unclear to me who
is slave and who is master). Whereas I had planned working through the
night, and probably would have stayed up too late, that was not to be.
Instead, I had no choice but to cuddle on the couch with my husband and
daughter. Without an ounce of guilt.
For what is a blackout really, besides permission to take a time out
from your life and do nothing? We played charades while snacking on sunflower
seeds by candlelight. Lightning decorated the sky in silver flashes and
the thunder was our dramatic, unpredictable music.
I ask the Universe for messages, and again and again, I get the same
ones. Pay attention. Slow down. Be here now. The storm continued, and
I listened.
Lisa Olson
Dallas, Texas
lisa@sparkyourpassion.com
www.sparkyourpassion.com
Lisa is a Life Purpose Coach, Speaker and Co-Founder of Spark!, a Dallas-based
organization providing outlets and opportunities for women to live passionate,
powerful and purposeful lives.
Our Hearts' Wisdom
by David Moorhead
Letting Lisa's reminiscence spark your memories, I took to a bit of relaxing
reading and an eyes-closed moment while listening to Liszt, and here is
the stream of insights that appeared...
I remember watching Deepak Chopra lecture on video tape years ago when
he reminded us that our physical hearts hold all wisdom, and those pumpers
are more masterfully designed gatherers of cosmic information than we
could possibly imagine. Not just gatherers, but instant alerters of couriers
for those messages, as well.
Oh yes, think of these ideas as matters of the heart and matters of art,
because through all art forms, the Earth reveals to us and to itself the
passion of joy for our captivating, collective creations!
Imagine for a moment that you have performed piano solos in public. Yikes,
you say! You are dressed to the nine's, briskly approaching the piano
keyboard from stage right, feeling the cushy wooden stage beneath your
feet. You seat yourself on the piano bench, take a deep breath, rest your
fingers upon the ivory keys...
Your brain focuses on the heart pumping in your chest, remembering the
heart's brave intention while you watch your fingers pressing the keys
(hopefully playing all the right ones) at lightning speed...
you feel the sturdy pedal under your right foot blending only certain
sounds, and the other foot comfortably resting to balance the rest of
your body while...
your ears monitor every milli-second of piano sounds swirling into the
air while...
your brain and muscles together coordinate years of formal training with
the memorized Mozart score while...
your face and torso emote, moving to the music's drama while...
you notice your breath while...
you notice your heart beat while...
you remember the next item for the grocery list while...
your body monitors the stars. Yes, indeed, our bodies are made of star
dust, and our cells cannot help but remember where they came from. Uh-huh,
I was groomed from childhood to perform piano in public places.
Do you now sense our hearts' remarkable orchestrations of intentions?
Aren't bodies and brains and hearts absolutely astounding arteries of
cosmic art?
We observant, compassionate citizens of Earth are waking to the profound
elegance in noticing how quickly our intentions blend into our actions.
The universe is sentient, and with grand, silent pleasure fosters its
wisdom within our hearts.
January — March, 2004
April — June, 2004
July — September, 2004
October — December, 2004
Our constant curiosity
is key
to watching what’s being created.
~ David Moorhead |