The Spirit of Water
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Love is in the NICU
An extraordinary expression of love arrived in my email this past month. It was from a doctor who writes a support blog for NICU parents (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). She shared a link to her blog where she has written about water blessing labels and how she used them for her own premature infant and now recommends them to other terrified parents - those who wait and hope their precious infants will survive. Her blog brought tears to my eyes. But it also opened my heart to a new way of offering love to those who face such challenges. Though her blog was written a few years ago, it is still pertinent today. Read it and weep with love!
NICU Support Blog
By Dr. Kirsti Dyer
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Water Blessings for
The Season of the Heart
It's still wet, cold and wintery in the Pacific Northwest, but through the extremes of weather, we are reminded of the warmth of the heart, showing itself in the caring and sharing we do for each other. Use these words and thoughts to open your heart to great gifts
Love Love
Beloved Beloved
Gratitude & Humility
Harmony & Balance
Divine Romance
Heart Opening
Tenderness
Passion
Om
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Love & Water
Go together
I received a letter this past month from Peggy Black, who writes the "Morning Messages" and sends them out to people on her list. Morning Messages
Accompanied by charming drawings, her messages are filled with love. She is one who truly understands love in all its myriad forms - Love AND water. Though she never intended this poem to be about love AND water, I found in reading it, one could substitute the word "Love" for water and the poem would have the same meaning, metaphorically speaking. Water and love are both sacred mysteries that flow throughout our lives. Here is her poem:
Water is holy. . .
it is life
From the newborn's first breath to the elder's last
It moves through our veins, washes our bones
nurtures our cells and flows from our eyes
Water is holy . . .
it is life.
From the blade of grass to the tallest redwood,
the deepest sea creature to the winged ones.
Every living thing depends on this sacred source.
Water is holy . . .
it is life
It meanders, flows, drips, surges and cascades
Changing and transforming every surface it touches.
This powerful force sculpts our landscapes . . . our coastlines.
Yet it can be as gentle as morning dew upon a rose bud.
Water is holy . . .
it is life.
It can shape shift, it can morph, steam to ice . . . solid to fluid.
This essence moves through us, it moves through our world.
It is the common liquid thread that weaves humanity together.
In partnership with Spirit and with breath
It is the carrier of our consciousness.
Water is holy. . .
it is life.
It is our birthright.
It should never be bought.
It should never be sold.
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It's 2009, and you have just crossed
the threshold into a new dimension
where Love & Water
Show you how to find your way
even if everything else looks bleak!
Your canvas is blank.
What new beauty will you create in 2009?
What new love will you reveal? What can water teach you about loving this year?
Before we can claim our journey into the new year, we must first revisit the past year one more time with a new perspective and an attitude of gratitude. Then we can kiss it goodnight and turn out the light!
Looking backward, we may not have achieved what we wanted; and yet, in many ways, we have achieved more than we could ever have imagined. With gratitude and humility, it is plain to see that 2008 gave us many gifts and opportunities for new growth, not the least of which include new possibilities for political change, new ecological awareness, and expanded consciousness - AND new possibilities for loving!
As light beings, in 2008 we buoyed to the surface of life's waters even if sometimes it felt like we were drowning in the unknown. Look around. We have been swimming through a sea of challenges this past year with personal trials and global worries. But, we found the courage to leave the safety of the shore, we faced the storms, and together, we did survive. What love did you bring with you through the raging waters of 2008?
Without hesitation, I can name all the obvious loves in my life that carried me through 2008. I feel them still and rely on those feelings to provide my foundation. But I also feel alive with the possibility of new love feelings. I am reminded of this as we approach Valentines Day. We don't need a holiday to remind us about love, but most people turn to thoughts of love and share the energy on that day because it feels so wonderful to be alive and honor love. Even with challenges ahead, taking a mid-winter "love break" brings a warm glow amid winter storms.
I am grateful for the love that carried me, like a river, through the canyons of the past; but today, I see more of love everywhere I look and it's a different kind of love than I expected to see. Right now, love is in the creek where I go to contemplate. It's in the stormy ocean and the beach where I take long walks. It's in the eyes of the homeless man sheltering out of the rain. It is in the trees that are still bare, but getting ready to bud. Love is in the people who serve me, and those I serve. As I gaze upon the rain-swollen creek today, its swift current mesmerizes me for a moment and soon I realize somewhere between Jan. 2008 and Jan, 2009, my heart has broken open wider than ever and love is pouring out for me to examine as rapidly as the swift creek water makes it way down the stream bed. Not all expressions of love are poetic or heroic. Some are quiet, subtle and almost invisible. And yet, they are all divine. All expressions and recognition of love produce a subtle rise in our mood, our heartbeat, and our dreams. Love is everywhere - you simply have to look in any direction and you will see it. And yes, love is in the rocks, the bugs, the mud, the fires, floods, perils and pain. Enter into your silent heart and find love in each breath and every experience. And rejoice! Be grateful you are able to see beyond the illusion into the sublime.
LOVE YOUR PAST:
Give
it the honor it deserves. It was beautiful, horrible, tragic, painful,
boring; and now something new will take its place. Count your blessings
and your challenges of 2008 and drop each one into the vast sea of
potential in front of you as if they are stars in a dark moonless sky. They illuminate the darkness. They glimmer
beneath the surface. Cast the past to sea with a grateful smile and remember, your past made you what you are today. Love it!
NOW YOU ARE READY for love in the new year! You are standing alone on your personal mountain created with your love, your sweat and your hopes. Start to build your peak even higher using all the power you've amassed up until this moment. In front of you lies the vast ocean. There is nothing between you and that holy God of all Creation. Your life and your future, (though invisible right now) lies right out there. Repeat your precious desires as a mantra and then trust they are coming . . . and let go. Give your dreams and your love to the sea. Open your heart and let the water rush in. With it comes precious love that flows into your soul like an endless stream. You'll need that for 2009.
NEW & OLD WISHES:
No matter how dark your life may seem, there are brightly twinkling wishes swimming within your consciousness that still glow with hope. Focus on those instead of the darkness. Love your wishes and love your goals. They are a magnificent part of who you are. Imbue your water with your wishes and drink your magic elixir. Love is there for the taking.
FIND OUT WHO YOU ARE:
Step back and find what has been hidden. Accept that you are not merely a drop of water in the ocean. You ARE the ocean. You have everything the ocean has. Detach from the anchor that prevents your freedom. That anchor has been YOU and only YOU. The rest is an illusion. Detach from who you THINK you were in the past and lovingly accept who you are today. When you accept the truth, good or bad, your anchor will drop on its own. Love is all there is to you . . . really!
FORGIVENESS:
With all your heart, forgive yourself. You've made mistakes. We all have. Forgive yourself for holding others responsible for your suffering. Forgive those who caused suffering on any level, even politicians, world leaders, businesses, and those who cause terror. Forgive your partners, your children, your bosses and your neighbors. Open your heart to all. To carry the past around with you in the form of anger, remorse, fear, or blame only keeps your dreams from materializing. Stand on the mountain-top and give it all to the sea for holy transformation. Water loves to cleanse that kind of residue.
CHALLENGING LOVE RELATIONSHIPS:
Your relationships are based on karma. When you have forgiven those special ones in your life and learned all you can from their participation in your journey, identify the love that remains and then let the relationship go to the sea where it will become something beautiful in your memories. The ocean cleans up your memories, while it is GRATITUDE that transforms it into pure gold.
THANK YOU:
As you pass your past to the sea, let your mantra become: "I love you - Thank You!" Say it often and sing it out loud. These are two of the most beautiful sentiments in any language. Thank everyone who swam with you in up until now. Recall them with love. Thank yourself for making it a beautiful year. Love yourself. Take a deep breath. We know, 2009 will be even better because you are much more open to love in all its forms. Your heart is ready. Your heart is open.
Now . . . Get ready to jump in the waters of love and swim again! Make your life a thing of beauty. Dance, sing, and trust the water to hold you up. You are light and will always bob back to the surface. Dive! Dive! Dive into the heart of 2009! The waters of love are waiting for you!
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