Insights – Melannie Thomas

Archive for the ‘Finding Your Center’ Category

There are a variety of definitions for float. The one I am focusing on is  “…to move gently through or over….”  I chose this word today because I want to re-frame my feeling, my attitude from ‘trudging’ to something lighter.  ‘Trudge’ was the word I was entertaining posting in the Word of the Week.  However the energy of a laborious but steady march through my chores, appointments and other obligations is not how I want to feel.

Because visualization is not a strong point for me, I need to find other ways of bringing the energy of re-framing to fruit.  I have always loved to swim; love  to be in the water, and I have always been able to float really well.  So, when I feel the ‘trudging’ energy flowing through my consciousness, I imagine myself floating in my favorite lake.  I am totally supported by the warm water.  As my ears are underwater, my mind is silent.  I am lifted above trudging and I am able to float through the weekly demands.

Are you ‘trudging’ or ‘floating’ this week?

I recently saw the last part of  a Charlie Rose show where he was interviewing Phil Stutz and Barry Michels.  I saw and heard enough to know that I wanted to read their book, The Tools: Transform Your Problems Into Courage, Confidence and Creativity.

I am almost half-way through the book.  I am cleaning out my ‘tool box’, getting rid of some that are out-dated, adding a couple of new ones: stream-lining my process resources.  Personal growth and emotional/spiritual maturation is no easy task.  However the rewards are priceless.

So this week I invite you to inventory your tool box .  If you don’t have one, create one.  You won’t regret the effort!

On July 4, 1776  our Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress.  The 13 colonies comprising about 2.5 million people now had the freedom to govern themselves.

We have come a long way since 1776, and the Patriot Act definitely changed the face of personal freedom in America.  As we mark this important day in our Nation’s history, I invite you to focus your consciousness on the freedoms you enjoy and the price that was paid for them.

Enjoy the week and celebrate safely!!

This year seems to be the season for hosting friends and family from out of the area, as well as a banner season for Birthday celebrations; and it is wonderful.  I love to entertain. It is one of my favorite meditations.  Planning, cleaning, shopping, cooking, and creating ‘atmosphere’  brings my entire focus to the moment.  Setting the space for relaxed, deep connection, for catching up and  for just loving each other.

I have a dear friend who entertains me in her home.  She is a master at creating a calm, relaxed energy so conducive to the above.  Setting this tone adds an unseen depth to entertaining.  It allows us to fully entertain the experience of others; to be fully present, inviting that deep connection.

I invite you to entertain your thoughts, ideas and plans for creating atmosphere that invites and allows the bonding experience to grow lush and rich.

Many years ago I chose Insights as the business name for my work.  In the past 5 years or so,  I see more and more businesses using the word insight(s).  As defined insight is, ” the power, act, or result of seeing into a situation: UNDERSTANDING….”

As is common to we humans, I move along not giving much conscious thought to the power and intention of naming beyond the initial act.  Like  really comfortable shoes, I slip into them daily without thinking about how well they fit.  Then I read the following in Gabor Mate’s book, When the Body Says No, Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection, “…knowledge and insight have the power to transform….”

Just a few hours later I listened to a voice-mail from a client that I had not heard from for some time.   Among the many  beautiful and insightful things she said was this, “…you give really, really good advice…and I am now advising myself.”  I smiled.  A smile of contentment in the work well done by both of us.

I am extremely fortunate in that I get a lot of feedback from my clients which constantly validates and supports my work; my insight.  These two proximate events brought me a warm reflection and I am thankful to my Creator daily for these precious gifts.

I invite you this week to bring insight into your life.

Last fall I planted a Meyer Lemon and a Eureka Lemon.  I love lemons.  The efflorescence of the Meyer dwarf brought a very pleasant surprise.  The delicate, intoxicating smell of the beautiful little white blossoms.

I was also giddy with excitement to see the first blossoms on my tomato vines and hail hearty blossoms on my strawberry plants.  In a moment of sadness as I recalled how the rain ruined all the blossoms on the Santa Rosa Plum tree for the second year in a row.  Then happy again because the pollinators are here, dutifully fertilizing my little backyard garden.  Then looking again at the beauty of the lemon tree, I thought about the saying, “…bloom where you are planted.”  Quite appropriate for me after a week of difficult insights and attendant decisions.

For me the lesson of the Lemon tree and the Plum tree, is experienced in a blossom of truth. When one tree fails to blossom in a season, another gushes with a sweet abundance.

As I enter the seventieth decade of my life, stretch takes on some new dimensions for me.  Beyond stretching the body, which now occurs automatically in every morning, because I need a good stretch just to be able start walking, there is the stretching of my mind.  Having grown up in a time without computers, or television for that matter, the age of technology is a challenge.

My first computer arrived in the mid-nineties was used, and had a green screen (or was it blue?).  I never took a formal computer class.  A couple of friends showed me how to long on and off.  Then I put that PC through trials of fire.  I had no fear of ruining anything because it was so old.  I went into all the drives…greek to me.  Learned to crudely navigate windows and found a degree of comfort and functionality; all without really ‘knowing’ what I was doing.

Fast forward to 2012.  I can manage my PC pretty well, although I am still often surprised when I end up somewhere, in some program or ‘net’ and I don’t know how I got there.  Then came my iPhone.  Uh….  My number one Grandson got me hooked up to the app store, installed code and safety features along with Skype (which I have not yet used), instagram, iTunes, game center (which I love), Facebook, and Vtok all in about ten minutes.  It took me over a half hour just to install the square.  I will be making a date with the geeks at the Apple store cause things keep popping up that I am interested in, but can’t get into (like wi-fi) and the self picture-taking, which I can’t seem to control. Then in my momentary bravado I loaded Dragon Naturally Speaking onto my PC.  Uh….

It is common knowledge that as one ages it is important to continue to exercise, not just the body but also the mind.  So I find myself stretching my grey matter into the techno-age in a way that makes my Grandchildren giggle and my Great-Grandchildren wonder what’s wrong with me that I just can’t  seem to ‘get it’.  But I am determined to muddle through.

What are you stretching?

Community is many things.  Essentially it is a group coming or being together, as in a community of plants or a village of people.  This ‘coming together’ is on my mind today for a variety of reasons.  Saturday’s events included a “Nifty Fifty’ party for my middle daughter.  It was held at our favorite Community Club in Forestville.  I was, as always. impressed by the coming together in celebration.

My thoughts also extend themselves to the family of a dear friend whose little daughter is gravely ill.  A community of family, friends, medical/hospital staff have come together to support each other and this precious little girl through this scary and uncertain passage.

I invite you to ponder on the examples of community in your own life and in the world around you.  What does your community look like?

Yesterday was Mother’s Day and Father’s Day is June 17.  What perfect moments to reflect on what we have inherited from our parents and our ancestors.

Beyond the passing down of ‘things’ there is a trove of traits and characteristics that we are heir to.   We hear catch-phrases like he is just like his father; she got her good looks from her mother.  As we age I think we all can begin to identify with certain looks, manner of speech, traits and talents (good or not so good) that have been passed on to us through our genes.  And we will pass similar tendencies on to our children.

But beyond the genome  is nurturing; how we are treated within our family of origin, our community, our culture, and our environment.  These are powerful factors that contribute to the shaping of our individuality; our uniqueness.

These respective special days give us an opportunity to honor, to forgive, to nourish and to embrace our inheritance.

As I was planting a new herb garden and deciding what vegetables to plant this year, I began to muse on garden as metaphor.  Gardening is a true joy for me.  As I’ve grown older the emphasis has shifted from the intensity of backyard food production to flowers.  I have my favorites.  Petunias, hydrangea, azaleas, begonias, iris, poppies, cyclamen, carnations, roses and ornamental grasses to name a few.

The analogous garden of life, of family and of friendship came into my meditation.  How similar they are in terms of the beauty and richness they add to our lives if we cultivate them with loving care.  All gardens need tending, weeding, fertilizing, watering and loving attention.

Are the gardens in your life thriving?