Circling the wagons

I remember a long time ago I went through a "Soul's Purpose" journey meditation, and within the visual journey that I went through, I still remember clearly seeing me walk through a theater stage door, which opened to a serene tropical beach at deep sunset, with crowds of people who were happy, and clamoring to be touched by me. Reaching their arms striving to touch me. Each person that I touched at the center of their forehead, glowed at the very center of where I touched them. And when I touched them, they melted into a sigh of happiness. When I looked down at my own hands they were glowing, electrical. My entire being was glowing.

What did this mean?
I had no idea. What am I called to do?
I figured it out finally.

8 years later, it's really happening. Years of waiting, cultivating, growing. Years of being mentored, loved, and listened to, Searching, digging, watching for that wisdom within myself that flows through us all. I'm stepping into my fears. Big time. Scary.

Who am I to be able to inspire others to be their best self? Who am I to be called upon to mentor others to bring forth that inner beauty that resides in the deepest parts of us? Am I wise enough? Do I have what they need, what it takes? Will I fulfill that question, need, discovery, that these amazing souls have within them? Will I help? Cultivate? Inspire?

(shrugs)
I don't know. But what I do know is that it's been calling me for forever. That it drives me to be a better person, to find that tricky and beautiful balance. To stay off that pedestal, and keep my feet firmly planted on the ground, while at the same time reaching up to Heaven to bring down the magic, the dreams, the twinkling stars of hope that shoot through us all. That's what I want.

This picture that I paint for you, this ideal world,  I also know that this is the picture of a person who is standing at the edge of her power. 
A person (umm hello.. me!) who is both frightened and also, incredibly ready to step up, thrilled and so amazingly blessed.

I have started a Women's Wisdom class , a Soul's Journey, and it is filling with the most gorgeous and beautiful and brilliant and precious human beings and I want to be of service to them – real service, deep, meaningful down to the soul service.

The kind of service that creates a platform/foundation off of which they can jump/launch into their own full positive, blessed gorgeous-ity.


I am inspired by others in a way that many don't understand. SO many women out there who work so hard to bring forth the best that is within them, and others, just by touching lives. Speaking the wisdom that they know, that can be life changing to others. The incredible thing is that the people touched already know the wisdom, it's just that it sparks them at the moment the way it never did before.
It's already within you. Someone else just shows a flashlight into that darkness where you are protecting your own soul power, your own wisdom.

There are all these stories that are swirling around my head "I'm too young to hold that kind of power, that kind of wisdom." "I'm not spiritual enough". "I haven't been educated enough". "I'm not following what I'm preparing to teach".
I'm feeling like these stories are told to keep my ego in check, but I'm wondering if it is having the opposite effect, shadowing my purpose, hiding within, because it's so scary to put yourself out there into the light.

Nevertheless, I'm doing it. And I hold all these brilliant, beautiful women in the light. And it's going to be fun, and giggly, and lovely. And it's going to be hard, and messy, and bring stuff up, that maybe we don't want to see. And we are going to do it anyway. And we are going to shed that gorgeous light on ourselves and expose our beauty, and we are going to shine. Because I say so.


Inspired by Amy Oscar, who shares parts of herself, and says things so brilliantly and eloquently that I wish I could write/ say/share. Some of Her words are interwoven into my own.


The Class that I am facilitating is The Anam Cara Journey; A Soul-Book for Women Seeking a Deeper Connection to the Self, the Other & Community written by Kathleen McKern Verigin <----- She is awesome and amazing. 

My new Mantra.

Do I look stalkerish to you? ;)

I was blog stalking today. That is, I was enjoying one blogger who wrote about another blogger, so I clicked onto the next site, and 3 blogs later, 20 posts, and I am in love.
I love people who write with their soul. With passion. With heart.

Tonight I stumbled upon this post from I Can't Whistle. She was quoting from another website herself, but I couldn't reach the link she had. So. I am giving I Can't Whistle the credit until I figure it out.
Anyway. LOVE this, and I wanted to share. I think will be my new mantra for the time being.
Without further ado:

Color outside the lines~ 

Live a gutsy, self-aware life.

Ignite the spark in your soul and lay down the

tracks to the songs in your heart. 

Define your reason for being;

 go deep, soak up your essence,

then honor your authentic self.

Break the chains that bind you.

Free yourself from your self-imposed restrictions

and be courageous towards all that you dread.

Don’t let the fear of judgment quell your spirit.

Proudly flaunt your humanity,

with all its exquisite imperfections.

Experience the edge of life.

Make mistakes. Color outside the lines.

Go to the brim of what is familiar and jump off.

After all, a vibrant life is filled with stops,

starts and stumbles.

Participate in your dreams and have faith.

You are standing on the edge of bliss.

Do it. Do that next big thing.

Become your own hero. ©

Excavating our beauty-full selves.

They say Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But what does that mean? If I didn't know better I might think that it's what other people think that define what's beautiful. But it's not. At least not in my interpretation anyway. To me it means that everyone defines beauty in their own way, and other people's opinions on YOUR beauty really doesn't matter.

I long for the day when women stop being critical of themselves. One can't get past point A if they are obsessing over how to take that first step to B. Women are beautiful. Truly. Look at her eyes. Look at her smile. Look at her hands. Look at her heart. What makes her tick? Does it matter, the shell that encases this lovely woman? She who is succulent, sexy, strong. If she isn't, then we need to lift her up and show her that she is until she herself believes it.

When I lived out in Washington I took an 18 month women's wisdom course from my dear mentor and friend Jayna Gieber. Every woman that attended was on a personal journey to know themselves. We reached down through our layers, through our hard places, to find ourselves, to love ourselves, and to be dedicated to make a conscious effort to bring about change in a positive way. I fell in love with each and every woman there, and they will always be my life long "Spirit Sisters".

Now that I live in Pennsylvania, I am meeting scores of women that tell me they need this sort of offering, and so far I have not been able to find anyone that is offering it. There's the old saying "If it's to be, it's up to me". So, I am going to offer to facilitate a woman's group. It won't be like Jayna's because authentically I can't duplicate it. But I want to create the same sense of belonging, the same end goal for a woman to truly know themselves  spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

I want to play, journal, sing, dance, learn from others, and create with others. I want to help women to peel back their own layers and know their beauty.
So that's what I am going to do. a 12 month dedication to ourselves. To other women. To create a circle of women, a sisterhood if you will.
If you are reading this and are from PGH, please consider it. I would like to start on the weekend of the Spring Equinox.
If this is something that you might be interested, please send me an email to Rev.Dina@soulfulcommitment.com and let me know. I will add you to a small group mailing list and send you the details.
Beauty is within all of us. We just have to wake up to see it.

 "I am a princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics. Even if they dress in rags, even if they aren't pretty, or smart, or young. They're still princesses. All of us."~ Sarah Crewe from A Little Princess

"Life is a Gift"

Life can be scary, sometimes. We never know what's around the corner, and when things get tough, we often lose sight of what's important as we settle into survival mode to get through whatever adventure we are in. We stress, we cry, we fret... And we forget. We forget what's important. We forget to breathe, until someone reminds us to. We forget that when we are at a low in our life, when we are in our dark nights, and we can't even see the moon, we forget that life WILL get better.
Mother Teresa had it right.

"Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is a beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is costly, care for it.
Life is wealth, keep it.
Life is love, enjoy it.
Life is mystery, know it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it."
~Mother Teresa ~Life Is A Gift




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Honoring intention

I read this wonderful article written by Sharon Salzberg this morning about The Power of Intention. I definitely recommend reading it. One of the most stand out paragraphs struck me, and I have probably read it 5 or 6 times today. I may even print it out. But I wanted to share it with you. She says :

"Often we can achieve an even better result (in honoring the role of intention) when we stumble yet are willing to start over, when we don't give up after a mistake, when something doesn't come easily but we throw ourselves into trying, when we're not afraid to appear less than perfectly polished. By prizing heartfulness above faultlessness, we may reap more from our effort because we're more likely to be changed by it. We learn and grow and are transformed not so much by what we do but by why and how we do it."

After I read this article, I decided to do a little research and see what kind of woman Ms. Salzberg is. I have to say, she is pretty wonderful. Wise, Spiritual, Mindful, and full of loving kindness.  She apparently was a big part of bringing and teaching the Asian meditation practices to The United States, and she is the co-founder of the Insight Meditation  Society in Massachusetts. 
Wow. Very cool.

Liberation

My music is on my husband's laptop which is with him every day at work. I haven't listened to in forever. Today I wanted.. no, needed to breathe, to center myself, to "chill out". So I grabbed his laptop to find something that might help.
I came across all of my spiritual music. I forgot what I had acquired over the years, and it was like a gift that I had inadvertently given myself.
I am sad that I haven't made more of an effort to listen to my collection, as I truly believe music sets the tone for centering, at least for me.   I think I found it all again as part of my "recalibration" process. As I scrolled through, this popped out at me:
 Om Namo Bhagavate 

It's a song sung by Deva Premal who is an amazing singer who sings sacred chants in Sanskrit, mantras that help to center you and bring you different aspects of whatever it is that you are seeking. This particular song is lovely. From Deva's website it means:

"O m N a m o B h a g a v a t e V a s u d e v a y a (L i b e r a t i on )
Salutations to the Indweller who is omnipresent, omnipotent, immortal and
divine.
 This mantra is called the G r e a t L i b e r a t i o n T w e l v e - S y l l a b l e M a n t r a.

 It frees our minds and spirits from negative patterns in this life. Regular and
consistent practice of this mantra gives us a complete spiritual freedom: it
frees us from the cycle of rebirth and helps us realize ourselves as a
manifestation of transcendent divinity.  It can also help bring in an advanced spiritual soul if chanted by the mother during pregnancy.
Vasudeva is the individual aspect of God that dwells inside of us."

It is exactly what I needed to listen to. It's perfect for this time in my life. But Italso reminded me of the Women's group I belonged to in Washington. This song was played, and I remember all the lovely women stood in a circle and felt the music, led by the teacher/mentor/minister, and we all sang along with her, eyes closed, holding hands, connecting to each other, to Spirit, to the Divine.
It is easily One of my favorite memories of my time in the group. I miss them.
Connection.

I'm feeling pulled, pushed and jostled around a bit right now. But not necessarily in a negative way. I actually feel myself "recalibrating". Finding that time that I didn't think I had to connect to myself, and to God. To think of my words, and how they affect those around me. To try to speak peacefully. To BE the peace in my home.

I will be honest. I have been grumpy a lot during this process. It's a tug of war in a way. I would love to ignore that which is in me to be better, to DO better. To live as the person I want so much to be. Authentic, Peaceful, Honest, Spiritual, and Joyful. It's so much easier to go with the flow, to ignore the goals, the dreams. But I can't. It's there, everywhere. I said YES to this walk, to this journey. Once you say yes, then life seems to take you by the hand and take you for the journey.
If you are a part of my life, I ask you to to help me hold myself accountable. To support me through this process. To not let me forget that which is in me. I need to remember that I am enough. Maybe I will swim up to the surface soon.
Thank you for listening.

Stone Ceremony

A recent wedding that I officiated (today) brought me something new to experiment with. I always love when the bride and groom share a new tradition, or something special that I can offer to future clients as a way to create a unique ceremony.
This time it was a stone ceremony. I didn't know what it was, what it would look like, and I had anxiety about making it perfect for the couple.
It turned out perfect anyway (You can say "I told you so").

6 people were chosen initially to write a blessing or a prayer/word representing what they wished for the couple on a stone to carry with them throughout their marriage. The maid of honor, Best man (who also happened to be the couple's brother and sister), and each parent of the couple. They each stepped forward, presented their word and stone to the couple, and through emotion, explained why they chose that word.
It was beautiful. We also invited each family present to write a word/blessing on a stone after the ceremony.
What a great way to create a visual foundation of the marriage. I explained that the stones are solid, that the blessings and support from their community strengthened it, but that stones together can easily shift and slide, so that it was up to the couple to create a balance when standing on the foundation.

It turned out lovely.

What would be your word/blessing on a stone for a marriage, and why?