August 2020 Newsletter

by | August 2020

Perseverance

Declutter. Persevere. Keep Moving Forward. Moving
Image by Nina Garman Pixabay

AUGUST 2020 Newsletter   This is moving month. After many wonderful years in our current home, we are downsizing for the final time into a graduated care community in this same town. I originally hated the idea of leaving our beautiful home and wonderful, unique neighborhood, but things have changed and we now have a wonderful buyer for our place and a brand new little cottage to move into! Life is good!  

Those of you who really know me know that my dear and wonderful Mom was a hoarder. It was so terribly hard for her to let go of things so moving her out of her big house into a retirement community was very, very difficult for her, and almost impossible for us, her daughters. I will spare you the details but now it is my turn to downsize for the last time and move into our final home. It is a hard reality but I am excited and ready to roll with this!  

As the daughter of a hoarder, I have the exact same tendencies. I tend to want to hang on to everything: to friendships, to favorite clothes, to favorite books, to photos and memorabilia, well, you get the picture. I have way too much of everything even though my home is neat and not piled with boxes, containers, and piles of clothing the way hoarders get.   It is amazing how much stuff one can pack away into cupboards and closets. We have given away at least 4 truck loads of stuff and more to come. For this old keeper of just about anything, it feels so good to be lightening up.

I was thinking about this the other day and wondering why, what is the difference this time? This time the purging feels so good and I look forward to it whereas in the past it has been heart wrenching to part with things.  

For one thing, I think it is our age. We’ve reached an age where we don’t need a lot of what we thought we did! We don’t use our professional tools any longer. We don’t need huge reference books because everything is online. We won’t be doing our own yard work any longer so all that can go. We don’t entertain the way we used to. We don’t have house guests like we used to. SO MUCH JOY in letting go!  

For another, I think on a more 5th dimensional level we are all letting go of things: old beliefs, old ways of doing things, old patterns, old systems…..there is a lot of letting go in the collective unconscious so I am totally inspired and in sync with what is going on globally. I feel so supported in this and hope you do too. Have you noticed yourself wanting to organize/clean out/declutter?  

Thanks to my Mom and her Mom, I had several very nice things. But life isn’t like it used to be so although they are lovely, I never used them. And we have some nice furniture that we are letting go of. It occurred to me to sell these things but then it didn’t feel right. I was getting a strong message to just let things go and release them into other hands, hands that would love and cherish what I could no longer use. THAT felt right.

  Fast forward to a recent Saturday when my husband took another truck load of stuff to Habitat. There was a line for drop off and while waiting, he opened up the back of the truck and there was a brass planter. The woman behind him, about our age, stepped up and asked if she could buy the planter. Oh, she said, I am from England and I love things like that. Bill replied, No M’am, you can’t buy it but I will give it to you. Then she spied another painted planter and asked if she could buy that. No he, replied, you can’t buy anything. My wife is very generous and she would love that you love her things so just take them. Then he showed her a collection of little things that I always thought I would use with my own grandchildren but it isn’t going to happen so I had sent them away to be treasured and used by other children. Imagine my delight that I now know what happened to those precious things! They ended up with this lady for HER grandchildren and I know she couldn’t have afforded to buy this herself for them. I was THRILLED by all this when he told me. THRILLED! It was much more fun and soul satisfying than keeping them locked away in a closet for years. I love the joy of giving!

You can probably tell how excited I was over this even days later as I write it down.   So what’s my point? (My husband always says I am too long winded and don’t get to the point fast enough but I do love a tale!) My point is to share this experience with you so you might be inspired to pass things along that you no longer use. The general wisdom is if you haven’t used something in the last year and can’t foresee a need for it in the near future, out it goes. I guarantee you, you will make someone’s day!   Further, the more we can do this on the physical level, the faster it will duplicate in the collective unconscious bringing the 5th dimension into our reality faster. Bring it on you guys!     Perseverance “If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl, but do whatever you have to do to move forward.” Martin Luther King, Jr.


For moving forward I would suggest using the blue color spray. The color of water, movement, change. For the challenge of change that could be affecting you negatively, orange is your friend. Find these and all the rainbow colors in my shop!



Photo of Great White Heron by Ken Klancnik

Ken is going to contribute a nature photo for the newsletter for your enjoyment. Can you see the green around the eyes?
This is the Table of Contents for Simply Color for Everyday Living, the latest book in the Simiply Color series. It was written by 25 professionals plus myself and covers all these ways to use color. Dr. Quaranto describes it as a “combination of self developement, feng shui,” and “tons of ideas.” The book is a great gift item, as well as a wonderful book for your own library and reference http://www.lifepotentials.net/media/books

Happy August! Enjoy the last days of summer! Until next month…..
Namaste….xo Copyright © *2020, Life Potentials All rights reserved.


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Ding Dong Merrily on High

by | December 2016

xmas-bells

 

We are just about the two luckiest people on the planet. We live next door to two very artistic people, one plays the oboe and one is a painter/pastel artist. The other night we were invited to a little Holiday concert in their home and one of the songs was the Christmas carol, “Ding Dong Merrily On High”. Its jaunty little tune is one that sticks with you and lifts you up over and over.

A few nights ago, Bill and I actually did “ding-dong” for two hours as we stood outside a local grocery and rang the bell for the Salvation Army. We had such a great experience. First of all, I am floored by how generous Americans are. There were by far more givers than not. Even the ones who had little to spare would chuck in a little change. We could tell that they could very well use that change for themselves, but no, they chose to give.

Most folk, even if they couldn’t give or chose not to, were very friendly. Of course there are those who walked right by not acknowledging our “Merry Christmases”, not daring to make eye contact or even crack a smile. There were those who smiled and said “I already gave today” or who would greet us back with a hearty, heartfelt greeting. We had no expectations that everyone would give, far from it. But by the end of the two hours, the pot was full to bursting with the generosity of our community.

There is something wonderful about how giving blesses the giver. Last month we spoke about gratitude and how it prepares us to give. Gratitude begins to open our hearts to all the blessings we have received. Remember the story of the Fleas from last month? And how even seemingly bad things can end up being blessings? Well, with feeling thankful comes the added benefit of the heart opening. When the heart opens, even a crack, it lets in the Light and the blessings begin to enter. The more this happens, the more our beings want to pour out gratitude and generosity to the world. It is a beautiful cycle.

The energetic pattern behind this is so amazing. You can find images on the internet of what this looks like: the energy forming a big figure 8 of the in and out movement of energy through the heart, out into the universe and back again. The idea is that the more we give, the more we receive. Isn’t that just the most amazing thing? What a blessing.

Whether it’s the familiar Salvation Army red pots or your community charities, or any one of a number of worthwhile charities, I encourage you to give whatever you can. The gift of giving blesses the giver at least as much or maybe even more than the recipient. It is a wonderful way to open your own heart, and feel the blessings rush in.

The Blessings of the Season to you……..

Gratitude Begets Generosity

by | November 2016

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Gratitude and Generosity

Inspired by One Simple Act by Debbie Macomber

 

I have written extensively about gratitude over the years and have had a gratitude practice for ages but it wanes at times and I admit to being inconsistent with it. By inconsistent, I mean I don’t always do it the same way day after day but I vary it. There is rarely a day I don’t do something at all about gratitude, even if it is only giving thanks for our food.

But Debbie Macomber writes eloquently about how important it is to have an “attitude of gratitude” before we even begin to think about generosity. Because to her, it is the foundation of giving.

FLEAS:

In the first chapter she mentions one of my all time favorite books, The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten-Boom. In the book Corrie tells us of how she and her beloved sister hide escaping Jews in Holland and are eventually found out, placed in Ravensbruck, and end up in a barracks designed for 400 people but jammed with 1400. They have a forbidden Bible with them hidden in their barracks and it is this Bible that they all turn to and read from to sustain their spirits while in this horrid place.

Of course the barracks becomes contaminated with fleas, who bite and chew on the inhabitants relentlessly. It is Corrie’s sister who insists they all be grateful for the fleas because their presence is what keeps the guards from inspecting the room, thus preserving the presence of their Bible. Corrie resists this for a while but later realizes her sister is right, and begins to give thanks for the fleas.

“Fleas” in our own lives can be any one of a number of inconveniences, disappointments, things we don’t like or want in our lives. But to Corrie, and to Ms. Macomber, “Fleas” are things that appear in our lives to help us, not hurt us. We are not meant to judge the wisdom of nature or the will of God but find the silver lining in things and trust that all in the end will be well.

 RESEARCH:

Ms. Macomber highlights the research on gratitude by R.A. Emmons of the University of California, Davis, and M. E. McCullough of the University of Miami. These researchers found that those who kept a gratitude journal “exercised more regularly, reported fewer illness symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week…..” p. 14

She also states on pp. 15-16 the findings of Stephen Post, PhD. and professor of bioethics at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine. He found the following 5 things that gratitude does:

  1. Gratitude Defends (increases your body’s natural antibodies)
  2. Gratitude Sharpens (helps our brain focus and helps avoid depression)
  3. Gratitude Calms (which in turn helps our blood pressure and heart rate)
  4. Gratitude Strengthens (helps us in stressful conditions: think of the Fleas)
  5. Gratitude Heals. (when we are sick, we can heal faster when we focus on gratitude)

Ms. Macomber states: “When gratitude becomes a habit, then generosity seems to follow naturally.” P.15 So giving becomes a natural outgrowth of our gratitude practice.

GIVING AND GENEROSITY:

Here is a basic truth about generosity:

“Cultivating the habit of good deeds will not only affect those around us, it will improve our own emotional well-being” p.49

TO BE CONTINUED……

We will address GIVING in the December issue of our newsletter. Meanwhile Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your gratitude practice!