INSPIRATION FOR RECOVERY

Welcome dear adventurer! Lay down your cloak and hat and stay awhile among the beauty, peace, and inspiration for your Soul. As my website develops, I will change this page for updates of my thoughts and ideas to share along your journey through Recovery. Sometimes I will write excerpts from one of my books to help guide you toward the wholeness and self-empowerment you deserve. At other times, you might find a new article of inspiration directing you to take part in a special exercise or ritual we can share together. Come - enjoy the trip!

The bronze artwork displayed is from my sister's website, to receive more information on individual pieces please visit her web site: www.paulaslater.com. As you come upon each inspiring sculpture on this pathway, take a deep breath to clear your mind and open your heart. Then as you proceed down the page allow yourself to feel the strength and Light within your soul. On this journey to healing and recovery, you always have the power of choice to start a new road or to continue on the path you have tread. Look deep into your-Self and listen for the answers to your questions and know you can always "...enter the Now from wherever you are." (Elkhart Tolle)

Look deeply into your true-Self, the one that dwells deep inside. Your journey through recovery from whatever brings you to this page can be a clear active step toward lasting peace. However, this path requires your direct choice to move forward. If the butterfly does nothing to start the motion of flying, it stays earthbound in its cocoon. Take one small step in realizing your potential as a healthy whole creator in life - begin a new project! Start a journal, paint a picture, make a photo album of your favorite places. Action brings results. Here's an excerpt from An Inspirational Guide for the Recovering Soul to help motivate you:

    In the early 1980s, one of the people I found myself admiring was actor/author Shirley MacLaine. Her book Out On A Limb was one of my favorite readings which I faithfully devoured then recommended to all my friends. Looking back on that period in my life, I now realize why Shirley was such an inspiration to me. It was her willingness to act. She was and is one of those courageous people who actually take the steps that pave the way for others. Her need to explore her inner-Self and share her findings, gave millions the 'go-ahead' to dive into their own journey's within. I was one of those who learned that without action, there is no actuality. Ms. MacLaine writes in Dancing In The Light, "Everything we feel, think, and act upon is interrelated with everything everyone else feels, thinks, and acts upon. We are all participating in the dance." It is time for you to dance your dance…[pg. 246]

Spiritual teacher Debbie Ford states that, "Resisting our present reality will not bring us any closer to our desired reality. In fact, resistance is the glue that keeps us stuck in the very circumstances we most want to change." If you are currently reading these words, it is time for you to choose an action to take you one step closer to who you are becoming. Ms. Ford goes on to tell us to surrender our resistance and allow a natural flow to unfold: "Surrender requires us to give up our attachment to how we think our lives should look. It means we have to give up our need to control the situation and resign as General Manager of the Universe. And ironically, as soon as we no longer need things to be different, they begin to show up differently. Surrendering our resistance is like opening a door to another level of consciousness where serenity and ease reside."

Perhaps this is the time to challenge yourself to find one gift - one talent - you have been resisting to manifest. Perhaps the first action to realize your true path of recovery is within this creative action. Imagine that merely making but one choice toward creating something unique for yourself will lead you on a silent path of inward reflection. Allow the God/Goddess to emerge from your soul and take that initial step toward healing and recovery.

Most of us while children played the game of making shadow figures on the wall. We would sit in a darken room with a bright light focused on the wall and hold our hands in different positions trying to come-up with the best animal shadow-figure. Channeled spiritual entity Emmanuel asks us if we look at the shadows on the wall and believe this to be reality, or are we also aware of how the shadows were created and of the brilliant Light that remains behind them. He instructs us in this poem:

Not only are you the shadow
that is dancing on the wall,
But you are the hand
that makes the shadow,
and you are the
Light.

Whether recovering from childhood trauma, the effects of current world affairs, alcohol/drug abuse, or the loss of a loved-one, we are all supporting one another. The truth that all people are connected has been known for some time and written about by many scholars throughout the world. Keeping this in mind, you can be assured there are millions of others ahead of and following you on this journey to recovery.

When I read Augusten Burroughs's best seller, Dry, which is a candid memoir clip of a life on the bumpy road through alcoholism it  touched my heart. His story is one of struggle for sobriety and self-esteem that is shared with honesty and a fascinating touch of humor. One thing Augusten keeps doing along his path that I thoroughly recommend is observing his behavior - being a witness to his own thoughts and actions. This task of "being present" during every day seems easy enough, right? Give it a try, you may find it more difficult than you think! This exercise could lead you to a greater understanding of the fact you have choice in your life and why you make the ones you do, both in your actions and reactions. See what happens, take a chance, risk a change - now is the time to move forward on your journey.

Have you ever stood in the wet sand just in front of breaking ocean waves? Your feet get buried beneath the sand and with each oncoming wave they go deeper and deeper into the grainy earth. You would think that as each foamy wave washes against your legs and covers your feet that they would become free and mobile, but not so. Each wave only makes your feet sink deeper, rooting your body to one place. Instead of waiting, hoping, and praying for outside forces (or people) to free you, begin to move the sand off your feet which holds you down. Nothing changes until you lift up your feet and move forward. Once you allow your-Self to shine and move toward attempting the first creative steps, your journey through recovery will lead you to the gifts you were meant to share. Perhaps this short article I shared several months ago will put things into perspective for you:

Teaching Day with The Dalai Lama
"Suffering is in the mind. How we perceive happiness
determines our suffering or not."
His Holiness The Dalai Lama

I am writing in reflection of yesterday -- a day I will forever treasure. A few friends and I were honored with being able to attend a teaching seminar by His Holiness The Dalai Lama. There were only a few thousand people present so I was able to really feel his energy and see the expressions on his peaceful face.

When entering the auditorium my eyes fell instantly upon the stage with it's decorations in honor of The Buddha and the Buddhist tradition. There was a line of hundreds of white candles glowing along the back evenly spread from one end of the stage to the other. Hanging directly over the row of candles were three huge tapestries with images of Tara (the Tibetan Kuan Yin), The Buddha, and one other (perhaps Bodhisattva Nagarjuna since his lessons were to be studied in this seminar.)

On the center stage was a magnificent golden statute of The Buddha, sitting high on a platform it must have been seven feet tall. In front of The Buddha was a structure for The Dalai Lama, six or seven stairs leading to a comfortable sitting- pillow from the right side capturing a dark red carpet. There was a small table or shelf on the left for the sacred tablets of teaching from which His Holiness would so gently handle as if they were his prized children. The tablets were long, about fifteen inches and six inches wide. They looked as if they were made of cherished light wood or heavy parchment paper. Each one fit together in a golden yellow cloth with a tie that wrapped around them tightly to secure their sacred contents. Each time the Dalai Lama came into the room he was given the cloth to unfold exposing the tablets for their instruction. Then before he left the stage, he carefully tucked them in again personally wrapping and tying them lovingly.
Just in front of the seating structure for the Dalai Lama were two great bouquets of Calla Lilies, my favorite flowers.

On both sides of the platform where the Dalai Lama reigned sitting for hours crossed-legged sat his disciples or monks. There must have been two dozen in number. They were donned in their finest of cloths or robes wrapped respectfully in the Buddhist's tradition of respect. The robes were colorful in bright oranges and reds, just a few had chosen white which is unknown to me as to the custom of these colors. We were told by another student that these colors represented the planting and harvest seasons in Buddhism. Most had shaven heads, worn sandals, and a few carried prayer beads or prayer wheels. They sat in silence the entire time except for the very beginning of the morning’s teaching. At this time they performed a most magnificent chanting mantra that made my spirit soar to the very heights of the domed ceiling!

The outstanding interpreter sat close to the edge of the center stage with a small table which held a microphone and a few pieces of paper on which to write his notes as the Dalai Lama spoke. Not knowing whether Tibetan or Chinese language was being translated, it seemed to me this translator did an unbelievable job of getting each and every word spoken just as directed. Only a few times did the Dalai Lama interrupt him to either correct or add to what he was saying. At these times, it was as if to make sure we, the students, totally understood what was being taught.

What was said? What words of wisdom did His Holiness share with us? I have my notes to refer to; I have the thirty page booklet printed by the Buddhist Association that brought him for this one visit to the United States this year. The words in the booklet are written for those who find comfort in learning the wisdom from the past. But for me, the teaching came from inside like a blossoming of ripe fruit it spread within me as The Dalai Lama spoke. He spoke of suffering: "We create causes that give rise to suffering."
He spoke of transformation: "Walk with the Nature of Reality when creating transformation." And, he spoke of intention: "The intention of what you do and say is what matters not the act itself."

I watched and felt the love in the large auditorium illuminate and fill each person with understanding that needed no words. The foreign words came to my ears as His Holiness spoke and brought a sense of aliveness that I had not experienced. The words in translation entered my mind but did not find a permanence that would endure my repeating their meaning. To give you an example of the intellectual teaching which took place the first stanza of sixty to be dissected read: "The minds of those who have transcended existence and non-existence and no longer abide realize the profound absence of objectification that is conditioned existence." No wonder my mind wandered as my soul left my body!

I don’t know what I expected to witness when I decided to attend this seminar, however, every and each minute in the presence of this truly Holy Soul was such a gift I will treasure my entire life. The philosophical teachings were on a level far above my understanding but I know the few words of wisdom I did retain feel like jewels within my heart. Being in the company of The Dalai Lama and seeing his smile with slight embarrassment and a quick apology as he picked-up an orange sun-visor cap to shield his eyes from the glaring stage lights will always be the memory of this day that make my own lips part from ear to ear……….

Namaste'