Author: listeningtomylife7

I spent much of my career in education, serving in several capacities in the public schools.  I was a teacher, counselor, sex-equity coordinator, introducing and implementing Title IX, and principal. I left a tenured position and started my own business as an educational consultant in organizational change.  At 55 I stopped everything and followed Spirit’s whispers which lead me into a deep spiritual healing. I share my healing journey in my new memoir, "Listening to My Life." It is available on Amazon in both print and e-book format.  I am  a spiritual director living in Tacoma, WA, and continue to enjoy hiking, gardening, traveling , and reading. 

Trees

by listeningtomylife7, posted in nature, spirituality, Uncategorized

I think that I shall never see, a poem lovely as a tree.  Joyce Kilmer

The beautiful Service Berry tree offers gifts each of the four seasons.  After the blossoms turn to berries, the Cedar Waxwings come in droves and denude the tree of berries within two days. It is a wonder to see, especially since I don’t see them again until next year. Do they have a special radar that tells them when and where the service berries are?  The fall gift this tree bestows is vivid fall colors of red, yellow, and orange. Winter offers time for rest. Her leaves have let go and she hunkers down for the winter, renewing her energy.

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Service Berry tree in backyard.

Trees continue to be my solace and my teacher. They are rooted to the earth. When I’m fragmented and unsure, I return to nature and the beautiful trees dotting her landscape. I reconnect with the Universe, becoming rooted, centered–coming home to my core essence.

Visiting Northern California, I saw a mighty redwood standing with a gapping burned out hole in its trunk—surviving, but scarred.  My life has had raging fires that have burned and scarred. I too have survived these fires that have swept through my life.  I stand taller and am stronger for the burning. Trees continue to teach me how to live.

The cypress that bends to the mighty winds–bending but not breaking. It teaches me how to live with the power of the wind and not resist it.  I am learning to flow with the changes that take place. To fly with the wind, instead of pushing against it, diminishes the stress that comes with resistance.  I feel the freedom that comes with trusting the flow of life.

The trees that have died become nursing logs and new growth begins.  As parts of me die, old patterns or habits no longer necessary or useful, space opens for me to create new stories.  Death brings life, and my old ways of being are a nursing log for the person I am becoming.

The tree stands in all its glory—proud, majestic, and strong. It survives the many elements and still reaches for the sun with hope of renewed life.

I continue to reach for the sun, to stretch and grow.  The sun heals me and gives me hope for tomorrow. May you find and befriend the gifts of trees to support nourishing growth within your being.

Spring is Here

by listeningtomylife7, posted in nature, spirituality, Uncategorized

Spring is nature’s way of saying “let’s party.”  Robin Williams

I’m always amazed at how much lighter I feel when we turn the cornerIMG_0951.jpg

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from winter to spring. The burst of color from the first flowers of spring: daffodils, crocus, and hyacinth bring me such joy. Their winter rest has produced such beauty. A good lesson for me in my busy schedule. “Rest in the stillness,” is a thought that comes to me when I get too busy running from one activity to another. When I say this I feel myself slow down and breathe.  Always a good thing.

Spring affirms the changing of the season reminding me that life is constantly changing. I need this reminder periodically in these tumultuous and divisive times we are living through. I use the word through purposefully because we will live through these times as we have other hard times in our history. It is just sometimes hard for me to remember when I am feeling the angst of our country’s divide. Spring is a great reminder that life continues and dark turns toward the light.

It is hard to pick my favorite season, but I think I would have to say it is Spring. The beauty of the flowers, the birds preparing their nests, and the return of sunny warm days.  It is the sense of rebirth and renewal. I wonder what is being rebirthed in me, what wants to emerge? I think of Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote, “Where there are flowers there is hope.”  Yes, Spring opens my heart to hope and trust that all will be well.

Follow Robin Williams’ sage advice, “Party” and enjoy the vibrancy this season offers.

The Healing Power of Letter Writing

by listeningtomylife7, posted in writing prompts

We often have unfinished business with a loved one, a friend, an ex that we would like to resolve but don’t know how. Write them a letter, not for them, for you. It is a letter that you won’t mail. This letter is for you to get all your pain, hurt, confusion, questions, anger out. Whether the person is alive or has passed on, this is a wonderful way to begin your healing process by sharing your thoughts and feelings.

My mother died suddenly when I was in my early thirties. At the time I still held a lot of unresolved anger and resentment toward her. Not only was I in deep grief, I was crushed by the guilt of my feelings. I decided to write her a letter sharing my hurt and confusion regarding our relationship. It was surprising how long the letter turned out to be. I went to the cemetery and read the letter to her. I then put it in an envelop and saved it.

Over the years I have periodically read the letter and added to it. Each new addition showed my growth and understanding of our relationship. Over forty years these moments with my mother, through letter writing, have been very healing. The last letter I wrote was this past Mother’s Day and it was filled with love, compassion, forgiveness, and understanding for both my mother and myself.

I invite you to think of someone you would like to write a letter to expressing your sense of unfinished business between the two of you. Write them, sharing your feelings and confusion regarding your relationship. Writing this type of letter is not about them, it is about you and your desire to heal yourself.

Whose Voice is it Anyway?

by listeningtomylife7, posted in spirituality, Uncategorized

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Your North Star

One of the hardest questions for me to answer is, “How do I discern when my ego is talking or my divine guidance?”  This is a question we all ask at times.  I listened to a wonderful interview with Dr. Joan Borysenko, by Devaa Haley Mitchell of the Shift Network.

Dr. Borysenko and her husband interviewed several spiritual leaders from all faith traditions asking this exact question.  There are no easy answers, but all agreed upon one point, that there is a deep sense of knowing. I’ve definitely experienced times in my life when I felt I was being called to something new, and struggled with letting go of the known.  I left a tenured position at the age of 43, with no idea of where I was heading, but I had a “deep knowing” I had to follow this voice. I closed out a successful business when, again, I had a deep knowing I was being called somewhere but didn’t know where. I don’t want to make it sound like it was easy. The ego wants to be safe. It took two years of bartering, ignoring, denying this “knowing” before I closed my business. Each new experience created an internal battle between my ego and soul. Once I said Yes, new opportunities opened that I had never envisioned, opening a whole new life.

There are signs to look for when you are not sure which voice is talking:

  1. Look for synchronicity.  We’ve all experienced events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connect.  I often have books show up just when I need them.  Follow the trail. These show up often one after another and are leading you somewhere.
  2. Notice your body sensations.  Notice when you feel a big Yes or a flow of energy when you hear or see something.  I’ve learned to notice when my body constricts or expands, clearly pointing the way.
  3. Pay attention to your dream life. I used to keep a dream journal and was amazed at the synchronicity of my dreams to the questions I was pondering. Ask your dreams to give you insight to a question you are grappling with.

Two major blocks that stop divine guidance are: 1) Not having enough time to slow down and pay attention. We can’t pick up the cues if we are rushing from one thing to the next.  2) When we have old traumas not dealt with, we create a box of safety. We see life through the lens of that box. This keeps divine guidance out because guidance comes in the present time.

May you tune into your individual guidance system and learn to discern the difference between your ego and  divine guidance. Trust your internal GPS.

 

 

 

Memoir Writing

by listeningtomylife7, posted in writing prompts

I attended a workshop yesterday on spiritual memoir writing presented by Phil Cousineau, author of “The Art of Pilgrimage.” I’d like to share some of his insights for writing a spiritual memoir, plus some questions for you to ponder.

—Memoir is interior, there is an entire universe in a memory.

—Spiritual memoir is about a soul struggle, sharing your inner truth. The inner war is the engine of memoir. The heart of memoir is “Did you change and how.”

—Do you feel an inner necessity, an urgency to write your story?

—What is the necessity, the urgency?  This is your need to write the story.

—Does writing your story move your spiritual quest forward?

—What would you write if you were not afraid of your own soul?

—Write about what you didn’t talk about at the dinner table.

—What would you write if you weren’t afraid of what family or others would say?

Memoir is your truth and only you can tell it. May these questions support you in your quest to write your story.  If not for others for yourself.