Blustery Raven Day

This morning was a Pooh and Piglet blustery day. I could picture them walking in front of me on their way to Owl's house, about to be around for the destruction of the famous tree house.  After the dwelling is destroyed from a harsh wind, Owl asks Pooh if he did that.

"I don't think so," answers Pooh.

His answer always makes me laugh.

In walking along the bay this morning, I watched an unkindness (that is what a group of ravens is called--I just googled it) of ravens attempting to land on palm tree fronds waving in the wind.  It took them awhile as this is no easy feat.  I read once that our smartest computers cannot figure out how to land something on a tree branch that is jostling about from a brisk wind.  But a bird, with the notorious bird-sized brain, can.  Imagine, a little bird is smarter than the world's smartest computer. I love that thought.

And in watching the ravens, my mind was stilled with a far-fetched but works for me, metaphor.

There is a family relative and a friend, both whom I am close to, who are in the midst of health issues.  They are being jostled about with medications, and doctors, and figuring out the best place to land so as to arrive in a place of health.  The wind is blowing from all directions and landing is not easy.

There is no answer to why the wind came, when it will stop, how hard it will blow, or from which direction it will come from.  It just appeared.

What can I do about this wind for those ravens? I ask myself.  I have no control over the wind.  I cannot reach the fronds to give them a steady place to rest.  I can only watch and hope they catch hold of something soon.

Swooping and diving, hovering and flapping, the ravens eventually find their place to perch.

Being on the ground, mesmerized with the dance they must play, I am helpless to assist them in any formal way.  I send thoughts of encouragement, love and support.  Do they know that I want them to succeed?  Does my love of the creatures that they are help them feel their way to safety?  Does a radiation of positive energy transmit to guiding ravens on their quest to end their journey?

I don't know about the ravens, as they tell me nothing.  But my relative and friend assure me that the love I send does help to ease the pain a bit. So love is what I send.

They each hold their own journey which is theirs, not mine.  My part is to be thankful that they are a part of my life, and that I have the capacity to send love, support and positive energy.

Goddess bless them both.  Angels watch over them.

And so it is.

Namaste,

Heather Leigh

Singing Religion

As I once heard from Michael Beckwith at one of his inspirational lectures, "someday, singing will be our religion."  His impromptu revelation came after listening to his wife, Rickie Byars Beckwith, sing her soul out to the crowded spiritual center in San Diego. She has a voice that shocks your spirit into being alive, present, and appreciative of her every lyric.

Now, I am not an old prude and I do like Rock and Roll from the Beatles and Elvis to the present day stuff my boys listen to, but sharing the gift of spiritually centered music with other like minded souls is like having a speed pass to my inner sanctuary.  When I meditate, I prefer a quiet room to myself.  When I listen to sounds designed to awaken me to my path to God, sitting in a room with others is my preferred option.  I don't know why that is, but somehow being a part of a group in which we are all enjoying ourselves brings about a more intense experience for me.  Must be the combined energy of the people moving along with the rhythm, musicians and the singer.  The energy pieces of each come together to uplift us all into an even greater force. The whole is greater than the combined individual pieces.

What I also gain is that a really good song, one that captures my breath in the first few notes, is crazy fast in getting me to a meditative state.  All of the day's ego filling up the mind with wordy crap can slip away in moments. It's like getting a fast track pass for the highway.  Once in my enlightened state, my heartbeat can pulsate along with the beat of the chords.  My breathing can relax into a consistent peace.  Roles that can cause stress and pressure are jerked out of me like a lover ripping off clothing in a moment of passion.  Yah, it is that good for me.

Of course, I am talking about live music here. A concert in which the singer is experiencing a passion for their self expression.  A singer who forgets that they are there to entertain and expands him or herself to become one with their bliss.  To share with this kind of performer in hopes of wanting a touch of the divine within is religion at its most evolved state.

Religion means to do something religiously, as in all the time. What if the whole world were singing together in a singing spiritual quest for just five minutes.  "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.  I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one"--John Lennon.

And so I sing out to you: Namaste,

Heather Leigh

Massage Through Gong

On yet another spiritual adventure, I ventured forth to a gong meditation at the spiritual center I attend last week. Sunday morning, as I was putting away the crayons, glitter glue, and crafts that we use in Sunday School, a lovely, gentle woman in a brown flowing skirt asked if I was entering the room to partake in the gong meditation.  It was a ten minute preview of what was to be offered for an hour in a few days time.

Oh, goodness, yes! I knew the Universe had once again set up my timing to ensure that I was in the place I needed to be in order to get in on that preview. Thank you, Universe, for putting together that time/space thing to boost my spiritual frequency and keep me on the path to God/Goddess.

The room was large with a plain brown carpet and a large hanging gong on one side. Chairs were placed in a circle around the gong for fellow relaxation conspirators. The gong expert quickly told us that the gong was able to produce every sound vibration in the world, thus connecting us to everything there is. In connecting through the auditory senses, we are in connection with our highest self.  I was so in now.

When she started the soulful sounds, the traffic in my mind slowed and my heart was being reached. My body sought to bridge itself to the vibrations of the gong.  Muscles relaxed and a stillness was reached. This preview had me hooked but was not long enough to move me where I wanted to be.

The instructor, Barbara Cole, has this to say about gong meditation:

The gong is an ancient instrument and it's healing vibrations can help you to:

• Still your mind
• Achieve a deeper state of meditation
• Strengthen your nervous system for dealing with stress
• support your body to heal naturally 

You can contact her at:  www.projectinnerpeace.org

She also told us that our individual cells would be receiving a massage.  Some people may experience the effects by hearing sounds, such as animals, trains, or people talking. Others may feel the vibration going through their body. If there is a desire to leave the room and the experience, she said, resist doing so. This is your ego wanting to cling on to it's self-serving ways.

So by Wednesday evening, I was anxious to receive more of the gong sounds.  The room for church services held about thirty people, with most sitting on the chairs positioned in a circle starting with the gongs.  A dozen or more of us chose to lie on the ground to allow for greater relaxation. The other ground people knew to bring blankets, pillows and mats for comfort, which I will do next time.

This time there were several gongs of different sizes, all hanging from wooden frames, with gold or bronze colors.  They were beautiful and simple and powerful.

Barbara, the instructor, is a vibrant woman who radiates goodness, charm and health. Her manner and speech is accessible, personal and warm--someone you know you can trust with a gong.  When she hit the initial gong, it was set to relax and soothe and free our minds of the troubles of the day. She knew how to create space for us to reach tranquility and begin to travel to the depths of who we truly are.  Her intention was to reach each chakra, free it of any unwanted residue, and balance each one. 

I experienced hearing a train sound in the beginning.  The start of my journey perhaps? As time progressed, I could feel the energies of my body that were not positive leaving. This corresponded with seeing the demon features that had attached to the negative energy that had accumulated within me. As Barbara had said might happen, my reactive state wanted to leave. I hung in there. Demons left and as they did, love was allowed to light up my true self. My body felt lighter.  Energy was heightened.

After the meditation, several people shared their experience. One woman heard seagulls, several people heard whales, and one man heard people talking.  I saw a squirrel.  Everyone felt deeply relaxed and connected to the Universe.

It lasted about forty-five minutes and I wanted more.  As the world is constantly offering blessings, she will be back at the Center in three weeks.  Barbara had told us that gong meditation is addicting and I so agree.

If any of you spiritual aficionados have the opportunity to relax through gong meditation, this author strongly recommends doing so. It was some powerful stuff.

Namaste,

Heather Leigh

Heavenly Burrito Singer

Through our apartment window we can see into the back of a burrito shop. There is a drive-thru, so we hear the orders being placed through our kitchen window. Sometimes, early in the morning, there is an employee in there who sings into the microphone from inside the restaurant. If I get up early enough (they are open 24 hours), I get a wonderful concert as he is a great singer.

Seems to me that he is not giving the world the benefit of his talents.

This is what I believe an awakened world is all about: everybody doing what they love, sharing their creativity.  While there are many who love to cook and make burritos and serve people yummy food, he is not one of them.  He would be happier entertaining us with his voice.

Stealing the idea from John Lennon, imagine all the people doing what they love.  Think how beautiful this world would be. No one would be stuck in a job that paid the bills but they got little happiness from beyond the paycheck.

There would have to be a world-wide change, by everybody, for this to happen. This is what being awakened means: everybody seeing the benefits of helping each other achieve what they they want, and being open to taking the risk of trying something new for yourself.

There will always be people who love being an accountant, serve food, work in construction. The only snag would probably be finding enough people to clean the sewage system or scrub public toilets, but if we all took turns sharing the responsibility, it would get done. Say, if we all spent a few hours a month doing public service work and the rest of the month on giving of our talents, wow, that would be a world to imagine.

Of course, the only way to achieve this utopia is if every world soul was keen on the concept. Slackers and manipulators of the system would screw it up for everyone. In order for this to work, it has to be at a Universal level.

Crazy optimist that I am, I believe that is what the human race is going toward. Every being who is awakened to our connection to the earth and each other is pulling us one step toward the heaven on earth that Jesus spoke of.

Think positive thoughts and we'll all be on that path sooner rather than later.

This goes out to the burrito shop singer: Thank you for your voice. It is a wonderful thing to wake up to!
Heather Leigh
Namaste

Playful Practitioner

This morning at the Spiritual Center that I attend on Sunday mornings, I experienced a trigger of something I would like to do for children.  The Center offers courses in becoming a Practitioner, someone who learns techniques to assist others on their spiritual path.  What I want to do is to become more knowledgeable about the faith that I have known since I was a child: the power of the mind and of our thoughts. From this learning, I can incorporate awakening, awareness and love for children through stories.

The Narnia series, over the course of seven books, is really about choosing love over fear. I have written previously about the last book in which people chose love by entering an unknown shack that appears tattered small on the outside, but once they had made the choice and entered the dwelling, they found heaven on earth. C.S. Lewis, the author, wrote in a way that was entertaining. He pulled us into his land of Narnia with out ever letting on that this was really a message about accepting love.

What I see in most children's books written today that are about awakening and Divine Love is blatant messages that children tend to be bored with.  Kids want to play, read about adventure, and connect with characters.  I see adult ego at work wanting to feel that their written words are so beautiful that children will be transformed by self-help and inspiring works.  That's not the way of the child.

My vision is to create a nest for my self and my family, a comfortable home, from which I can spend my energies creating stories that will interweave messages of love through story telling.  And I don't want the Little Buggers to ever suspect a thing!

Anyone reading this, please take a moment to share this vision with me. As Jesus was quoted: 'For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.' For me this means that the more of us who are sharing a vision, the more love energy is present for us all.

May you be as playful as a child today,

Heather Leigh

Let's Win This

Remember the last scene of 'Dead Poet's Society' in which the teacher, Robin Williams, had been fired for being too different, too inspiring, invoking too much change in a school built on constancy? How all the students, one by one, declared, "Oh, Captain, My Captain" and stood on their desks?  They were letting him know that his message of discovering life for themselves, of not feeding the mundane roles life had given them, of being what they are capable of being.  They got it all.

The vibration of our world is speeding up. Now is the time to make the choice of love or fear, every day, every second, every moment.  There is no putting off for later the choice.

Recently, I met a man who asked if I wanted to go someplace I have never been. The physical concept, the excitement of getting into a car and driving to some unknown location to experience something new is refreshing, scary and invigorating. My god, what will I wear?

But after a moment's reflection, I realized that is exactly what we are all doing right now--being asked to go some place we have never been. Yes, we've been glimpsing more and more the goodness of humanity, the spots in our lives that are marked and appreciated as times of love's energy being felt.  But, I hope, we are on our way to tipping the world scale to topple over into peace--someplace we have not experienced on a world level.

The only way for this to happen is organically, individually.  Every thought, every choice, do your best to keep it positive.

If we all choose love, we win.

Heather Leigh

Shirodhara Bliss

What combines a deeply relaxing scalp massage, intensive hair treatment, is a form of Ayurveda therapy, and a possible opening to your third eye? If you read the title you know it is Shirodhara, a treatment that has been gracefully given in India for centuries to bring relief for stressful living.

The first time I had the extreme fortune to try this wonderful stream of tranquility streaming down my forehead and into my scalp, I was learning how to perform the service.  My long-time friend and fellow therapist, Olivia, was my teacher. Now let me tell you that I am a complete sucker for any type of scalp massage, but have it combined with dosha specific oils designed to bring about the wholeness of being and I am completely sold on the process. What I was not expecting was the intensity of relaxation.

Lying face up on a massage table, with my hair flowing off the table, a covering was placed over my eyes to prevent oil intrusion. A copper bowl held the oil and was hanging from a, forgive the analogy, wooden stand that looked like a hangman’s apparatus. Once I was comfortably in position, Olivia placed the hanging bowl above my forehead. The top of the copper bowl is wide for the oil to be poured in, but has a small opening at the bottom that is opened when the therapist is ready to give the gift of utter relaxation. A warm, thin, continuous cascade of scented oil drifted out of the bowl, to a point just above the middle of my eyes, and down my appreciative scalp and fell into a waiting bowl.  A simple towel waiting to absorb any noise that would interrupt my time of tranquility ingeniously hushed the sound of oil hitting the bowl.

Slowly, gently, Olivia dragged the copper nozzle back and forth along my forehead, always returning for prolonged interludes at my third eye. As the oil escaped my forehead, it was sent to mingle with my hair, greedy for the moisture and benefits my skin was reveling in.

I have held a meditative practice for over a decade, but the deeply relaxed state that I was put into at this point was deeper than I had ever experienced.  This is the point where visions may arise and inner awareness can be fully experienced—all in about fifteen minutes!

With the oil gone, the bowl is moved away and Olivia began the loving art of scalp massage.  Ever so gently, she rolled strands of my hair into rows that allowed the oil to sink into my skin and infuse into my hair. Having prior knowledge of the product being used, I was aware that my hair was gaining benefits of strength, durability and shine.  The touch of her practiced fingertips perfectly entwining the oil to my hair caused my whole body to feel so relaxed I was on an unknown realm of stress free living. It was bliss on a massage table. 

Once the oil had permeated my scalp and flowed out to the tips of my hair, her hands began to massage my head.  She followed a slow rhythm with pressure perfectly aligned to some unworldly knowledge of just what I needed.  The Shirodhara had been akin to a spiritual relaxation; this was more on the physical realm as my body sunk into the table and every muscle loosened into jello.

At the end of the treatment, she snuck away from the room, allowing me a few moments of contemplation before venturing out to the real world.

Shirodhara has been used to treat a variety of conditions including eye diseases, sinusitis, graying of hair, insomnia and psoriasis. It can also benefit premature graying or thinning hair. (These statements are not evaluated by FDA and are not meant to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.)

Now that I have completely drawn you into a desire to book the treatment at the nearest spa, here are some tips:

·      Find out what kind of oil is being used and research what they tell you. Cheaper spas will use cheaper oils and you want something that will benefit your hair and scalp

·      See what they are using to hold the oil. I’ve heard tell of spas that will skimp and use something that resembles a water gun—I’m not kidding!

·      Be sure that the oil will be released in a steady stream. Dripping on your forehead is awfully close to water torture

·      Ideally, you want a spa that is going to discover your dosha and then use the oil that is best for you.

·      Plan to just go home and relax after the treatment. The oil in your hair, if it is the good stuff, will benefit you even more if left in for an hour or two. I often leave mine in over night.

·      When you take a shower, rub in the shampoo before getting your hair wet, then rinse. A second or even third shampoo is often needed to remove all of the oil. Leave your hair conditioner for another day, you won’t need it.

·      Try to schedule this service on a day in which you can relax for the remainder of the day.  This kind of peace should be relished and fully absorbed before heading back into the land of reality.

Best wishes on your day of hair therapy, scalp massage, and Shirodhara experience. 

Heather Leigh