across the universe

I bet I've heard this Beatles song a thousand times.
And this morning, I suddenly understand it at a completely different level.

In honor of that which is unperturbable within us all:



Words are flying out like
endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass
They slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow waves of joy
are drifting thorough my open mind
Possessing and caressing me

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Images of broken light which
dance before me like a million eyes
That call me on and on across the universe
Thoughts meander like a
restless wind inside a letter box
they tumble blindly as
they make their way across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Sounds of laughter shades of life
are ringing through my open ears
exciting and inviting me
Limitless undying love which
shines around me like a million suns
It calls me on and on across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Jai guru deva
Jai guru deva

sacred housekeeping

I learned the song that is playing in my head today at the Dances of Universal Peace. Their version uses the word God, but the voice in my head automatically substitutes Love:

Go sweep out the chambers of your heart.
Make it ready to be the dwelling of the Beloved.
When you depart, Love will enter.
In you, void of yourself, Love will display her beauties.

Some googling revealed that these lyrics are from The Secret Rose Garden by Mahmud Shabistari, a Sufi mystic and poet. In Sufi poetry, the term Beloved typically refers to the Divine rather than a human lover.

To me, the lyrics are a reminder that Love remains present in my heart, underneath and undisturbed by my overactive mind, just as the sun continues to shine behind the clouds. And I can restore my awareness of this Love simply by doing a little bit of sweeping now and then to remove the mental clutter from my attention.

If you want to hear the melody, there's a video of the dance here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5609518534218192931#

favorite things

I'm now on my second or third reading of The Vortex: Where the Law of Attraction Assembles All Cooperative Relationships and I find new treasures to highlight each time. Before I went to sleep last night, my reading inspired me to dedicate today to a new experiment.

I don't think I mentioned here that I cleared most of my calendar this week to go on sort of a mini-retreat at home. I still drive my daughter around, and talk with her, and fulfill work commitments. But I'm not scheduling social visits or chatting on the phone. I'm not listening to any music in the car. I'm not reading the paper or listening to the news. I'm walking about two hours each day, stretching my body in new ways, eating very lightly, and spending as much time as I can in silence.

I've been more successful than I anticipated at wrangling my attention away from my mind and toward body awareness. It's become a fairly consistently effective strategy for settling my thoughts.

So now that I can put my mind in neutral, I want to learn how to put it in gear and go where I want, when I want, regardless of where the people and circumstances around me are heading. (sounds rather grandiose, doesn't it? LOL. This language will make more sense if you are an Abe fan.)

Anyway, my experiment for today is to practice steering my thoughts to topics that feel good. So I was very excited that when I woke up this morning, my first thought was I want to feel good.

Immediately, I kid you not, that song from The Sound of Music, My Favorite Things, started playing in my head. I love when I realize there is profound wisdom in something that's been around for ages and I just never noticed. (this song and Row, Row, Row Your Boat could have been written by Abraham)



All the guidance I need for today's experiment is right in the lyrics: when I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad. But since whiskers and packages aren't actually my favorite things, I think I'm gonna make up my own words.

Here's what Abraham said about it on page 164:

We are encouraging you to focus your attention upon thoughts that please you, even when there is no pleasing evidence to observe.

ps: ooh, and look at today's daily quote!

My Every Thought Is Attracting Its Vibrational Essence...

Whether you are thinking about wanted things or unwanted things, you are still sending out a request to attract more things like the subject of your thought. And all things that happen to you - all people, things, experiences, situations that come to you - come in response to your Vibrational invitation.

Noticing how things are turning out for you is one very clear way of understanding which Vibrational requests you are emanating, because you always get the essence of what you are thinking about, whether you want it or not. --- Abraham

lyrical

I have been mildly, vaguely discontented lately. Nothing is really wrong ... I'm just not feeling as lively and enthusiastic as usual.

While ruminating on this before I got up this morning, I decided that I wasn't going to put any effort into resolving this situation with my mind, as if it was some kind of problem. Instead, I was just going to 'put it out there' and wait to see if a suggestion or some guidance might flow my way.

Within 30 minutes, the response to my request beamed through my car radio. It was in a song I've heard hundreds of times before -- I've Seen All Good People by Yes:

Don't surround yourself with yourself.

I really like this song, and I always sing along with it. But somehow, I had never noticed the wisdom in the lyrics. It's hard to explain what happened as I sang along today. At this line, it was like the volume got turned up, and a little energetic zing jolted through my awareness as if to highlight it. I immediately laughed out loud in recognition and gratitude.

I heard two messages - don't spend all your time with people just like you, and don't get so self-absorbed that you implode. Both were very appropriate reminders for me right now.

I've been paying way too much attention to myself lately. Which is why the post I wrote earlier this week about Nipun Mehta at CharityFocus.org was more for me than you. I need constant reminders to just give, and the rest will take care of itself.

When I surround myself with myself, I get bored, cranky, and overly attentive to the minutia of my experience. It's such a breath of fresh air to take the spotlight off myself by giving, sharing, listening, or creating something for someone else.

Send an instant karma to me. Initial it with loving care yourself.

Message sent and received. Synchronicity rocks.

Yes!

youthful exuberance

I reconnected with an old friend at a wedding this weekend. We first met 16 years ago at La Leche League when our daughters were babies. Turns out her daughter has grown into an amazing musician. I just watched her perform an original composition, Change the World, on YouTube. Goose bump city! This girl WILL change the world, no doubt about it.

more about the wedding later.

a catchy tune

a big thank you to Jeff, who sent me the link to this catchy tune because he thought I'd like it. I do indeed! The lyrics are deeply satisfying to me.



Can I get up in the morning
Put the kettle on
Make us some coffee, say "hey" to the sun...
Is it enough to write a song and sing it to the birds?
They'd hear just the tune
Not understand my love for words

But you would hear me and know
I want only this, I want to live
I want to live a simple life.

I dreamed you first
But not so real
And everyday since I've found you
Such moments we steal
Like little thieves, we rub our hands
We hold our hearts between them.

But will you hear me and know?
I want only this, I want to live
I want to live a simple life.

Move on, move on
Time is accelerating.
Drive on all night
Traffic lights and one-ways.

Move on, move on
Parking violations waiting
Turn off the car, breathe the air
Let's stay here.

I'll kiss you awake, and we'll have time
To know our neighbors all by name
And every star at night.
We'll weave our days together like waves
And particles of light.

I want only this, I want to live
I want to live a simple life.

on repeat tonight

The Corrs performing an enchanting cover of Little Wing.
I also love Sting's rendition ...

parting gifts

I was listening to Sting this morning (Mercury Falling) and some lyrics really hit home:

The wounds she gave me
Were the wounds that would heal me.

I get that. Really, truly get it.

These, too:

And out of the confusion
Where the river meets the sea
Something good would arise
Something better would arise

I don't love this version of the song, but it's what was available for embedding from youtube, in case you want to hear it:

lazy sunday

I was chilling out this afternoon, re-reading The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot, when this song popped into my head out of the blue and would not leave me alone until I found it on youtube. I had no idea how many songs I knew by the Stylistics! Brings back many happy memories of my childhood. Okay, hopefully I can get back to my reading now ...

digging

Thanks for all the kind words and wishes you have sent my way. I am quite surprised to find that this grieving experience is not at all like any from my past. Pleasantly surprised, actually.

Maybe I finally have learned enough energetic healing techniques to ease my own way. Or maybe there is some other kind of grace beneath the equanimity and acceptance I am feeling. My friends have certainly been amazing.

Whatever the reason, I am processing the loss quickly, without closing my heart. I am feeling tender, but not bruised ... grateful more than sad ... hopeful more than forlorn.

I can feel my ego trying to play the blame game, like it thinks that if I get mad, I'll get over it faster. But it just can't quite locate that groove anymore, and I end up smiling about it. He's a great guy. I love him still. Our relationship simply came to completion. There's no place for any blame to stick.

I think I will be ready to make some entries in my Wish Book tonight. I want to record the essence of all that was good about us together while it is still fresh, to make sure I never settle for less than that magic ever again.

And my musical connection to the Universe remains blissfully strong. Check out this song by Incubus that was on my car radio just now. The lyrics are below it:





We all have a weakness,
but some of ours are easy to identify,
look me in the eye,
and ask for forgiveness,
we'll make a pact to never speak that word again,
yes, you are my friend.

We all have something
that digs at us,
at least we dig each other.
So when weakness turns my ego up
I know you'll count on the me from yesterday.

If I turn into another
dig me up from under what
is covering the better part of me.
Sing this song
remind me that we'll always have
each other when everything else is gone.

We all have a sickness
that cleverly attaches and multiplies
no matter how we try.
We all have someone that digs at us,
at least we dig each other.

So when sickness turns my ego up
I know you'll act as a clever medicine.
If I turn into another,
dig me up from under what is covering
The better part of me.

Sing this song!
Remind me that we'll always have each other
when everything else is gone.

Oh, each other when everything else is gone.
Oooh
(15x)

If I turn into another
dig me up from under what is covering
the better part of me.
Sing this song
remind me that we'll always have each other
when everything else is gone.

Oh, each other
when everything else is gone.

on repeat today

anyone else's parents have the soundtrack to Hair when we were kids?
I think I know it word for word. Oh, and Godspell, too. And Jesus Christ Superstar. I love those songs! (thanks, Mom!)

apparently, the moon is is the 7th house and Jupiter is aligning with Mars TODAY...

let the sun shine in!



the sound quality isn't great on this one, but the better one could not be embedded here. to listen to that version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toshchjuXR4&feature=related

transform

Transformer by Gnarls Barkley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPzohswI5Tc&feature=related

canon in D as interpreted by a parent of young children

sorry, I tried to embed it so you could play it here but I can't get it to work right:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uISuvTiTYJA

overkill

Hi, my name is Karen, and I'm addicted to Scrubs on DVD.

Last night while watching disc 1 of season 2, I heard the coolest version of Overkill by the guy from Men at Work. I loved that song when I was in high school.

my kids have me hooked on YouTube, so I found the clip today and have been reveling in it.




or see it here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=RZ45xrtNnzk

drivin'

three cheers for my friend drew who posted this cool video and lyrics to one of my favorite songs on his blog. check this out ... if you happen to be next to me in traffic when this song comes on the radio you'll see me singing along with great enthusiasm. :)

http://www.drewrozell.com/53/law-of-attraction-music-incubus-drive