be whole now » empowerment

for 2010, be an extraordinary machine (fiona apple live video)

rachel — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:55:40 +0000

Today’s Full Moon Blue Moon Lunar Eclipse and end of yet another unforgettable (ahem!) year might have you feeling betwixt and between. Enjoy this great number from Fiona Apple, appearing live on The Today Show in December 2005. The technical quality isn’t stellar, but this tune aways leaves me smiling. For more divas, check out the Video section in the right-hand sidebar under Categories.

clearing prayer for personal sovereignty

rachel — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:02:07 +0000

I began this piece back in July and found myself stumbling upon it this morning and bringing it to completion. These words contain great power for anyone who speaks them aloud. If this energy resonates with where you are now, you might also want to visit (or revisit) “prayer for radical forgiveness,” which resides in the right-hand sidebar in the list of “pages.” As in much of my work, the “you” in this piece may indeed represent a part of yourself that is ready to release and heal.

clearing prayer for personal sovereignty

To the one who bulleted my tender arroyos with the rat-a-tatting of buckshot spray,
I invite you to consider how the weapon was placed in your hand
Who gave you the sharp command to fire at will,
And why you acquiesced without reflection

To the one who laid at my feet a bundle of thorns beribboned by knotted raffia,
I suggest you ponder gently the origins of your wounded heart
The ancient inklings of your foundational fear
And your penetrating need to remain outside the margins of healthy attachment

To you who projected onto my illuminative scrim
a blistering repertoire of gaping wounds,
I offer you a lightsaber of Forgiveness
dipped in a river of uncoiling Compassion

To you who tore into my soft underbelly with rusty and jagged swordplay
intent on inflicting unremitting pain absent the bliss of final annihilation,
I thank you for the opportunity to strengthen the invincible core of who I Am

To the one who feigned shock and astonishment when the mirror of truth
was raised squarely to your visage of affectation and scowled discontent,
Who retreated because you refused to offer access to Love
when it pounded at your door
Who beat back the arrival of Contentment
when it arrived cloaked in naught but a pearly sheen of Peace,

I invite you to turn your attention inward and halt your ragtag march
to bludgeon every supposed exterior enemy along your path

And I release here and now,
into the willing and outstretched arms of a Just and Loving universe,
My unholy attachment to your pain-riddled accusations.

May Blessings and Joy embrace you in every moment
May LovingKindness guide your every step
May we all choose our highest expression
and let Love lead the way.

you are the prayer

rachel — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:00:32 +0000

You can pray
Or be the prayer

Sing
Or be the song

Ask the searching questions
Or live the unmistakable answers in every moment

You were placed here for a purpose beyond all purpose
A hope beyond all hope
You are the very breath of Creation
And the unfolding of Eternity

Nothing is about you
And everything is

Nothing is certain
Save the unequivocal certainty of the here and now

You own nothing because you are the All
Need nothing because within you lies the completeness of never-ending Love
And the promise of humanity’s everlasting freedom

You can talk the talk and walk the talk
Until that unmissable moment that you become the talk

You are the message, the prophecy,
The incantations and the psalms
The ritual is your beating heart
The absolution, the blood coursing through your veins
Your eyes speak the benediction with every blink

No longer must you see yourself
a lowly pawn in the grand game

No longer need you wait, candle in hand,
For the apparition made manifest

The temple lies within you!
Through your holy mouth enter the willing
And return the newly born.

what there is to love about a man: journey

rachel — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:22:51 +0000

This excerpt is from my out-of-print book, What There Is To Love About A Man.
The art is by British artist David Preston-Earley, who adds,
” This image is about a mythical journey where the people of the world
are carried on the back of a turtle. The turtle is a symbol of
fertility and long life. To the Native Americans
it was associated with the lunar cycle and also female energies.
The spirit of the turtle can also teach us about our relationship with time,
it does not move fast, the turtle knows it has all the time in the world.”

Journey, by David Preston-Earley

When a man goes on his true journey,
it’s hard to know who might return.

His quest requires that he strip down to his authentic core,
that he litter his pathway with the baggage he no longer agrees to carry.

He will pass through uncharted territory with no map
and little understanding of where he’s headed.
The trees will be covered with thorns
Large, lumbering dragons will appear without warning
and breathe hot fire into his face.
Winds will shift
and golden fruit will hang just out of his reach
when he is starving most.

It is a pilgrimage he must make alone,
though able guides are recommended.
He begins when he is ready,
When he can no longer tolerate who he’s become.
When his only choice seems to be
implode or explode.

Loved ones, wait patiently.

When the journey’s complete,
the pilgrim is reborn.

words of the day: be, begin, believe

rachel — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 09:03:29 +0000

To encourage and support your becoming, here are three words excerpted from my book, Words of Wisdom for Women (Barnes&Noble/Fall River Press). Though the book’s title is gender-specific, the content is universal.

If you enjoy these, hop on over to my sister blog, Just Say Yes Now!, for a trifecta including Refuse, Remember, Restore.

Remember that life is in the being, not the doing. Be every bit of everything that you are. Be tough, be soft, be dramatic, be subdued. Be a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Be the one who always shows up on time or be the one who lives according to her own inner clock. Be the one who never forgets a detail or be the one who never remembers. Be happy when you feel like it and be sad when you’re down. Be who you are — not who they told you you should be. Be able to cry in front of someone you hardly know, if it’s time to cry. Be willing to be real. Be talkative if you are; be quiet if you’re not. Be ready to drop your masks and your protective armor and be genuine. Be in the moment, be in the light. And just when they think they know exactly who you are, be prepared to be something altogether different.

Begin

Start something! Put one foot in front of the other and inch forward ever so slightly. Show up. Say Hello and begin a conversation. Ask Says who? and begin a revolution. Write one sentence and begin your novel. Begin again, this time in a different key, at a different tempo. Begin putting yourself first. Begin enjoying it. Begin an intentional community if that’s how you want to live. Begin a reading group and focus on women who made bold new beginnings. Begin a new way of eating, a new way of moving, a new way of getting your needs met. Begin as soon as you finish reading this page. Begin at the beginning and don’t even think about where it will take you. Now begin!

Believe

Believe in the power of believing. Say I believe and believe it. Believe in fairy tales for what they can teach you about real life. Believe in happy endings, and believe that they don’t always happen. Believe in something, anything, that gives you the courage and strength to continue on when it would be so easy to give up. Believe it when a friend says you’re beautiful. Believe it when you hear the words You deserve to be happy. When someone tells you smething, believe the parts that feel right, that resonate in your belly, and discard the rest. Believe that you have choices and that you can choose wisely. Believe your own instincts above anyone else’s. Believe that you can do more with your life than you’re doing, and then do it. Above all, believe in yourself. When something seems truly unbelievable, it may be worth believing. Can you believe that?

meet my new sister blog: just say yes now!

rachel — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:41:09 +0000

After a gestation period of way more than 9 months, my second blog, Just Say Yes Now!, has emerged. Bear with us as we get into the new rhythms that accompany a family with a newborn as well as a very active one-year-old.

The new blog is a bit more directed to women – though all are welcome. I’m seeing it as more of a community effort — and want to integrate more of your ideas, your comments, your art, your writing, and your stories.

The more voices that are included, the more freely we can all inspire, be inspired, and, most important of all — Be The Inspiration That Changes Our World.

The painting is done; the brown paper has been pulled off the windows; and the door is unlocked. Please stop by for a visit and tell all your friends in the blogosphere and beyond to Just Say Yes Now! Click anywhere in this paragraph: How easy is that?

walk your talk: the moment is now

rachel — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 11:55:16 +0000

I have just returned home from a quick trip to Springfield, Massachusetts, where I had the privilege of presenting my “Woman! What Are You Waiting For? ™” talk to a group of over 100 women. (Including “The World Needs You Now,” which you can read right here.)

I was inspired by so many of these courageous individuals!

– Blessings! to the woman who brought the eight caregivers who had helped her care for her dying mother (who passed just 3 weeks ago);

- Courage! to the woman who stood up in front of strangers and in her own shaky voice, pledged to let go of old feelings of unworthiness and start loving herself;

– Yay! to the woman, recently retired, who stood up and promised herself to make that first phone call to become the patient advocate she has long envisioned herself becoming;

– Yes! to the woman who wrote that she no longer will simply envision her organic farm and cows and chickens – but will begin now to garden in a small yet intentional way right where she lives…and to the woman who said she will no longer wait until she is “perfect” to create her own life.

Each woman who stood and delivered her pledge to Just Say Yes! was supported and uplifted by raucous applause, cheers, and standing ovations! Through the speaking of truth, we created a supportive and loving community in the space of one hour.

I came home reminded of the infinite power, resiliency, and resourcefulness of the human spirit — and have begun creating a sister blog to this one where women (and men, too, of course!) can declare that they are taking their dreams and visions off the back burner, pulling their authentic selves out from the back of the closet…

…and taking small yet intentional steps toward embracing their truth and creating the lives they were put here to live!

Brava! to the women of western Massachusetts who touched me in so many ways. While we await the birth of the new sister blogsite, here are some words to support you in your walk toward wholeness.

WALK YOUR TALK

Anytime you tell others that you are walking your talk, you are talking too much.

Where your feet go is the only true measure of whether you are moving through your life with integrity. When the thread from thought to word to deed is taut and strong, your alignment does not waver.

Every time you do not walk your talk, you create imbalance.
Every time you do not walk your talk, you create struggle.
Every time you do not walk your talk, you come up empty-handed and wondering why.

Do what you are called to do. Listen to your heart and your belly!

It’s not a conversation. It’s not an intention that simply hangs suspended in the air in front of you. It’s not a 5-year plan. It’s an action, taken now, in this moment, to move you forward.

Start the journey with a single step.

Take whatever step shows up for you. If you are drawn to call someone, pick up the phone. If you have an undeniable urge to go somewhere in particular or nowhere at all in particular, go there.

Don’t ask why.
Don’t rationalize.
Don’t waste your mind and your time creating a profit-and-loss analysis.

Follow the thread from thought to action. Follow the action through to its natural completion and then wait until you are called to the next action. In all things living, the outbreath follows the in. Wait with patience, with trust and with no attachment to the outcome.

Then do it all over again.

Every moment gives you the opportunity to check your balance and your alignment. Doesn’t your very life deserve the same attention you give to the tires on your car?

If someone were to trace the thread from what you have said publicly or privately, what sort of trail would lead to your footsteps? A clear, direct path? A meandering walk marked by deadends, switchbacks and roadblocks?

Or would the thread of your words stop short without any connectivity whatsoever to your actions?

Is it fair to hold you accountable for every word you utter?

It’s more than fair.
As of this moment, it’s mandatory.

And the one you must satisfy, the one who will most hold you to that accountability…

…is You.

the 7 words of well-being for men (redux)

rachel — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:16:29 +0000

The ground is shifting under the feet of us all, but perhaps even more so, for men determined to release themselves from old ways of being. Someday, the gender distinction will likely prove itself irrelevant. Until then, this feels like a good time to revisit this post, which originally appeared in April, 2008.

* * * * * * * *

Even though my books and writing may be labeled “for men” or “for women,” these distinctions often reflect publishing-world realities more than anything else.

Each one of us resides (and from time to time, slides) along a masculine/feminine continuum. Much of the work we undertake to be whole now, involves integrating our inner masculine and inner feminine in a divine marriage. Liberation from cultural and family oppression and repression is not the province of any particular gender or lineage: It’s Universal (with a capital Y-O-U).

I culled these 7 words from my out-of-print book, What There Is To Love About A Man (Sourcebooks, 1999). My prayer is that women’s anger and the culturally acceptable male-bashing of the late 20th century are behind us: Let us now see our own reflections in the eyes and hearts and spirits of others, variations in body parts notwithstanding.

The 7 Words of Well-Being for Men

Fire

Something inside a man sizzles. Red-hot coals lie aglow in his belly, waiting for the breath of inspiration that will set them aflame. This is the fire that lives in a man. These are the roots of his passion, his fervor, his fuel to create a well-tempered existence. Herein lies his tinderbox, awaiting to arouse a man to a luminous life. When his fire is tended and nourished and fed, a man can kindle a revolt of his spirit, and awaken a brilliance as bright as the sun. He need only build the proper hearth to channel this white-hot intensity into the energy of action. To build and to dance; to begin and to be. To radiate a light that shines from within and enlightens all in his orbit — and nobody needs to get burned. A man has the power to be a firebug for his very soul, but first he must find his own matches. And then, he must play with his fire.

Fertility

This is not about sperm counts. This is about the potent fruitfulness that lives in a man. It lives in his fertile imagination, in his prolific mind, in the seeds of innovation and initiation that he gently scatters like milkweed on the wind. A man’s heart is fertile when it gives rise to acts of perfect love and radical forgiveness. When it sows the seeds of peace and justice. When it flowers and drops its petals in receptive soil strengthened by the sun and nourished by the rain. A man walks upon fertile ground when his every thought and his every action favor compassion over contempt and amity over animosity. This is more about productivity than it is about reproduction. This is about begetting a future void of old, obsolete ideas, and bringing forth new ways invigorated by new truths. This is about creating; this is about life.

Work

It doesn’t matter how many jobs a man may have, unless he’s found his work. Not just the work that pays the bills, but the work that feeds his soul. The real work of a man goes on 24/7/365. The work to define his place in the world, and to help create that world. The vocation that fits him like a glove and that no one else can do exactly like him. If he listens, work will call to a man. But until he’s found right livelihood, everything else may feel wrong. He can work for money or love or sheer satisfaction. He may wear a white collar or a blue collar or a pink collar or no collar at all. He can work for wages or work for himself or work for the company store. A man can work with his hands or his head, but to work at what he loves, a man must work from his heart. He must give freely of the gifts that only he can give. Until he steps into his one true calling, a man’s work will never be done.

Eros

Cupid pulled back his bow and hit a bull’s eye, and now the man is real, real gone. He’s leaking love all over the place and sucking the deliciousness out of life. He’s stopping to smell the roses and sticking around to taste the dripping flesh of a ripe and juicy mango. He sees lovers cavorting in the clouds and alongside the road and he’s trembling with runaway lust. Suddenly, all is sensational! Birdsong sweeter than he’s ever heard lilts across meadows more lush than he’s ever seen. A light rain sprinkles his face and he rises up into rapture. He trades in flannel for silk, and cotton for satin, and finally chucks it all to run naked ‘neath the moon. Love songs spill out of his lips without the slightest provocation, and he stays home from work on account of desire. He craves deep chocolate ice cream with hot raspberry syrup, passionfruit nectar with a twist, and Pavarotti twenty-four hours a day. He’s washing in rosewater and soaking in ylang-ylang. He’s been struck by an arrow, and he’s taken it to heart.

Voice

Listen to the voice of a man. Hear it cry out for freedom and call out in triumph. Hear it keen and bellow and moan and wail. His is the voice that exploded in battle; his is the howl that ignited the flame. Beneath all the babble, he spoke sotto voce ; his basso profundo enveloped the hall. You can hear the entire world in the voice of a man. The bit of brogue, the touch of twang, the patois of the plain, and the elocution of the noble. The changing voice of a boy becomes the unwavering voice of a man. A full-throated man voices his fears and his deepest yearnings. He voices his anger as he voices his joy. If called upon and ready, he voices the conscience of the people. The strongest men’s voices still strain to be heard, while somehow, the lesser are heard over all. Listen to the sound of a man’s voice in all of its glory. It just might be a god, with the voice of a man.

Truth

There’s a lot more to the truth than just facts. Or consequences. Truth be told, it matters little whether a man tells the truth, unless he also lives it. Unless he lives the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth of his life. The genuine article; the very life he was born to live. It is one thing to stand in a court of law and swear to be truthful; it is something else altogether to stand in front of the mirror and commit to live a life without lies. When a man creates a life in tune with his deepest knowings, he lives in his truth. When a man forsakes the agendas of others and lives according to his highest values, he can truthfully say he is living an authentic life. The truth is sometimes bitter, and often strange. To get to the naked truth of his own existence, a man may have to peel away lifetimes of layers of lies. When he does, he will find his truth, his way, and his life.

Sanctuary

In the woods, beside the creek. High on the mesa, beneath the ruins. Down in the cellar, behind the furnace. At his desk, late on Sunday. Back at the woodpile, chopping, chopping. Out on the range, running the horses and racing the wind. Over at the levee, skipping stones. Hangin’ at the garage, tinkering with tools. Men without women. Men deep within. On the floor of the library, flipping through art books. Up on the roof, watching the sunset. At the tip of the island, building castles in the sand. Down on his knees, surrounded by Spirit. Underwater. Alone in his den, gathered at the lodge. Lost in his music, seeking the silence. Finding his song, quelling the voices. Behind the wheel. At the controls. On the road. Off the grid. Below the surface. Beyond the din. Far away, men go within.

seek no longer: creation is your only purpose

rachel — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:10:08 +0000

"Creation", acrylic by Lexi Sundell

There comes a time when it is no longer enough to seek out the transformative life.

There comes a time to listen deeply and to say Yes! to the faintest inklings of your heart.

That is the time when you become a creator in your own right. When you answer the Call without reservation and with fulsome heart.

It may not be convenient or practical. It may make no sense to your family or friends. Yet if you have stepped – however hesitantly – onto the byway of your true destiny, every door will open and you will know that you have arrived.

Your God will greet you at the threshold. You will embrace and be embraced. You will feel the soft flutter of wings about your face.

It will matter not whether you know exactly what you are to do or how you are to do it. It will matter not whether money awaits you. It will matter not if your cupboard is bare; your clothes threadworn; your pockets brimming with emptiness.

You will begin anyway.

You will tremble as an utterly remarkable sense of belonging echoes into the deepest chambers of your heart. An unfamiliar feeling will wash over you, and before you recognize that grace surrounds you, you may wonder if you are dreaming.

You are not dreaming.

You will feel responsible, yet not burdened. Wildly passionate, yet fully grounded. Support will swoop in from every direction and you will fly even though your feet remain firmly rooted on the Earth.

Seek no longer: creation is your only purpose. Complete your unfinished business and prepare to begin anew. Prepare for something far more glorious than you have allowed yourself to imagine. Vaster than you have allowed yourself to dream.

You are no longer dreaming.

Your time has come and you may hesitate as fear clutches at your throat. You will wonder if your breath has stopped completely, as doubt and fear race helter-skelter through your body. Try as you might, you will forget your original instructions and the box they came in. You may feel dazed and confused — unsure of who you have been and who you are becoming.

You will begin anyway.

You may need to crawl until you walk, but you will begin. As you do, you will begin to remember precisely what you forgot. And why.

And once you begin, you will seek no more.

i’m not telling you anything you don’t already know

rachel — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 18:37:11 +0000

I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know!
You approach the altar time and again
Only to retreat under the weight of your own misgivings,
Your feet falter, caught in the glue of ego and indecision
And you retreat once more into your lone and empty cell.

You know I’m not making this up!
You muster a weak smile for the woman on the sidewalk,
While those pesky concrete walls encircling your heart
Rise up repeatedly in triumphant separation,
Signs on every floor flash by in hypnotic contempt
Me, Them. Self, Other. Yes, No.

How often do you ache and preen in the name of Love
Yet push back the gentle beckonings even as Love calls your name?
Entangled in the thorns, you miss the scent of roses,
Steeped in old words and painful recollection,
Creation’s most rapturous melodies pass by unheard.

I am merely mentioning what you may have forgotten:
It is time again to listen.
To unloose your grasp on all that is dying
Sweep out the dust of disappointment and regret,
Wipe clean your soulwindows of no-longer-useful residue
And surrender to the insistent Call that bears your name.

Have faith that all is safe now,
That you may take up the linoleum covering your spiritfloor
And liberate the tender interior surfaces yearning to breathe deeply once more!
The light of your brilliance has reduced bushels to ashes;
What you have protected for so long is now ready to provide.

Take a moment to remember what may have slipped your mind:
In you rests a wondrous seed that can never be duplicated
A boundless capacity for passionate living
And a never-ending supply of unrestrained Love
It’s yours if you want it,
You are worthy, deserving…

…but surely, you already know that.