METTA CENTER

(This article was first published in November 2008 Metta Center email newsletter.) I was asking Spirit about what to write for this newsletter that would be most beneficial for my readers. Spirit answered, "Remind them of their Truth." Hmmm, I didn't know what that meant, to tell you the truth. (No pun intended.) So, I asked for more guidance on it. Spirit showed me that deep inside ourselves, we already know that all is well -- that all has always been well, will always be well and can only be well. Often, however, we don't remember this Truth. Like many of you, I don't always feel that all is well nor do I think that everything is well all the time. Again, I asked for more guidance. And, this time, Spirit asked me a question: "Have you ever seen your daughter having a tantrum and feeling anxious about something and you know it was not as big a problem as she thought it was, and that all is well, because you have the advantage of having a broa...

(This article was first published in May 2006 Metta Center email newsletter.) Joy, I think, comes in two flavors: the euphoric feeling (Hurray! Amazing! Yes! Hallelujah!) and the easy-and-happy feeling (Ain’t life good? Ahh, bliss, life is sweet!) Both flavors are delicious. How do you get to joy, and how do you maintain it? There are many paths to joy, as many as the grains of sand. Recall the various times you felt happy, and at ease. Was there any one formula for your happiness? Or were they varied, and in that variation, you felt alive and happy? What is “joy” to you? Perhaps your joys come in predictable patterns: you love nature, flowers, clouds, winds, water, music, birds, etc. So, by allowing yourself to experience and notice these wonders as much as possible, you feel joyous. Some of your joys may not be so predictable. They might come from your allowing your self to grow in your awareness, to bring healing to yourself, to explore life, to have adventures, to rest, to listen...

(This article was first published in the July 2007 Metta Center email newsletter.) When we embrace the soul's prompting to follow our inner desires and timing, the deeper wisdom of the soul is expressed. Here is an example from a Reiki/EFT session where I had the joy to witness the soul at work. This is why I love my work: when we trust our inner guidance, everyone involved is uplifted --  it is pure magic in action! This client had been a shy person for most of his life.  He came to our session without really knowing what to work on next. So, we decided to leave it to his Higher Self to guide us. As we did our Reiki session, I felt his inner yearning to become more of the person he is capable of being, and yet there was a voice that indicated how shy and fearful he was feeling about becoming who he really is. Here was an inner conflict about moving forward. I mentioned this inner conflict to the client, and we agreed to use EFT to peel the onion and go to the next...

(This post was first published as an article in April 2008 Metta Center email newsletter.) I was outside enjoying myself, reading a book that has captivated my heart and soul. The weather was beautiful, the garden was fragrant, my family was with me playing outside. All is well. I felt peaceful and complete. Despite that slice-of-heaven moment, however, I noticed some quiet stirrings of unease and restlessness in my chest. I stopped my reading, and check inward with myself. I brought my attention to the sensations I felt on my chest, and gently waited for an inner response. "I feel lost. I don't know what to do. I have no purpose," came the answer from within me. I was aware of a feeling of confusion that accompanied the restless energy. This answer came as a surprise to me because I was very clear about what my purpose was on that day. My purpose was to be in love with life, and I was doing it so well, I thought. Because of my self-healing practice in working wit...

(This post was first published as an article in September 2008 Metta Center email newsletter. While my daughter is now 15 years old, and not 11 years old as in this story, the message of this post is still relevant today. I invite you to turn your limiting thoughts around and free yourself into your happiness!)   One of the lessons I have learned is that happiness is an inside job. Do you notice that things can be going really well, and yet you are still unhappy? Or, things might go all awry yet you are cool as a cucumber? Something Abraham-Hicks says really struck a cord with me: "Your primary work is to think, speak and do what feels good to you." I really enjoy learning the process of choosing a better feeling thought from Abraham. Similar to changing a diet where you choose a healthier food to nourish your body, learning to think a better feeling thought is choosing to hold healthier thoughts, bringing yourself back into alignment with Source. It is choosing to nour...

(This post was first published in October 2008 Metta Center email newsletter. The original author of the story is unknown.) A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2" in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The students laughed. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. "Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your childre...

A client of mine wanted to reinvent herself. I gave her some homework to start her process, and wanted to share the same assignment with you in case you are also in the mood to do a "self makeover." To reinvent yourself, what I found work best is if you start from listening within to your soul's guidance. That guidance can appear in many ways: Dreams Two helpful articles: Dreams that Help Us Make Important Decisions (by Rosemary Ellen Guiley, Ph. D.) and Dreaming the Secret Wishes of the Soul (by Robert Moss) Signs Set the intention that you will receive guidance from the Universe about your reinvention project. Then, as you go about your day, begin to pay attention to the words that catch your eye (billboards, signs on trucks, bumper stickers, t-shirt logos, posters, etc.) and whatever catches your ear (words or songs you hear on the radio, conversations with others, etc.). Notice, too, what makes you feel joyous as you involve all your five senses in the world...

One of my clients commented, "No matter how good I have been, I still get punished!" This pattern often stems from underlying beliefs such as "Life is not fair!", or "It is not safe to love/to be happy/to be good". As my client and I tapped through her beliefs, a thought that we all are free to change Universes bubbled up. It was such an a-ha moment! One where you shout, "of course!" What a liberating and delicious thought it is to consider that we can easily change Universes to a new one that fits us better. Who would have thunk it, eh? Here's a sample EFT script to free yourself from old patterns by changing your universe. Think of a pattern you'd like to let go of, and tap along the script below. In this script, I use the aforementioned pattern which troubled my client as an example. Tapping on the Karate Chop or rubbing on the Sore Spot, say the following Setup Statement either aloud or in your mind. "Even though no mat...

(This article was first published in September 2006 Metta Center Newsletter.) Recently, on a labyrinth walk at Sibley Regional Park in Oakland, I received a profound insight from Mother Earth that I would love to share with you. As I walk inwardly toward the center of the labyrinth, I noticed a yellow jacket buzzing around me. At first, I was apologetic to it. I said I was sorry that I was bothering it. When the insect still buzzed around me, I started to feel angry and told it to buzz off itself. Then, I started wondering if there was a "better", different, way to respond than the ways I had responded: either being apologetic to or being upset by this insect. As I thought that question out loud, I heard this thought within me that said, very gently, "We all have a space here." The yellow jacket came back and started buzzing again around me. This time, I quietly said to it "We all have a space here, you and me." Then, to my surprise, the yellow jac...

"A Child of Crossing Places." I simply love this phrase! It touches me in such a beautiful and moving way. I first heard this phrase when reading "The Seeing Stone," by Kevin Crossley-Holland. It's a young-adult book, and it's about a young boy named Arthur who is given a magical seeing stone. In the book, “crossing places” refers to places where one aspect of life meets another, such as the shorelines, sunsets or sunrises, butterfly cocoons, seasons, and others. Crossing places are mysterious, full of potential, unpredictable and transformative. Our inner conflicts are like these crossing places: two seemingly different and conflicting forces of interests. Unlike nature, however, we often feel uncomfortable with our “crossing places,” wishing that they were not there. We can learn from nature’s ample examples to help us resolve our inner conflicts gracefully. Instead of having to choose sides or somehow force both sides of our inner battles to work...

In one of my recent meditations, I was reminded by Spirit that we bring the energy of hope and love onto the planet, by allowing ourselves to be happy and appreciative of our lives. Like the rain that comes in spring time, inviting seeds to grow into seedlings, our feelings of happiness and appreciation nurture the energetic seedlings of hope and wholeness for the collective consciousness. When I asked how we can best support those who are affected by the latest current events (Japan, Middle East, etc.) Spirit answered, "Appreciate them."  How can our feelings of happiness and appreciation help anyone, or make any significant contribution, especially to people who live far away? At the energetic level, when we allow ourselves to be happy and feel appreciative, we feel amazing! And this beautiful, radiant energy invites everyone across the globe to rise up to that vibration as well. This life-giving energy helps others on the planet permit themselves to hope and love d...

(This article was first published in the February 2008 Metta Center Newsletter.) It is interesting for me to observe that the more I appreciate, adore and accept all of life, the sweeter I find life and the more loved I feel. Of course, it feels so counter-intuitive to feel loved when I am the one doing the loving.  But, here in lies the wisdom of love - when you give it freely, without expecting anything in return, you receive it in return. I believe that when we love, we feel good inside because we are in complete harmony and integrity with who we truly are, Love itself. I enjoy being Love and allowing love to flow through me, or should I say more accurately, allowing myself to flow with the energy of my Source, the Love within me. Sometimes, it feels like my stomach and chest is being tickled with mirth and laughter. So much joy, love and wonder flow through me. I feel expansive, clear, peaceful, safe, powerful, free, playful, soft, happy, compassionate and kind, all at the...

A client, who is currently in Japan, emailed me her personal experience. It is such a beautiful story, I want to share it with all of you. Thank you, N.M., for giving me the permission to include it in this newsletter! It was a long weekend, so we went to Kyoto to our favorite temples. I went to the Tenryuji temple, which is the Zen Buddhist temple, but it was so crowded-I didn't feel that peaceful. My Buddhist monk moment came right here, in Okayama, in front of Big Camera, one of the biggest electronic stores. Often times, I see monks doing a standing chant in random places with a bowl for donations. (They are holding it, so it must make their arm sour -- that what I think about.) There was one in front of the Big Camera.  It was so hot, and I kind of felt sorry for him since nobody was giving any money, so I gave him 1000 yen (about 10 dollars) as I was walking, without slowing down. Then he yelled, "Stop!" And when I approached, I saw his monk hat had duct ta...

(This article was first published in the Oct/Nov issue of Metta Center email newsletter.) When I first heard "Energy follows thought," it was all "hocus-pocus" to me. Life, however, is a great equalizer and teacher. After several "unhappy" life conditions (illness, relationship issues, etc.), I looked deep inside myself and, sure enough, I found that I held many negative beliefs that matched these "conditions". Apparently, I had been manifesting negative thoughts. When I decided to shift the thoughts connected to the issues, I noticed that my outer situation changed as well. Often times we manifest negative results unconsciously. What we feel, think and believe the most is what we will attract. Have you found that your positive affirmations don't always work? The problem is that these affirmations are not your prevalent thoughts. They are just a very thin veneer over a bunch of outdated and perhaps negative habitual thoughts. Just saying...

Spring is here! I love watching all the new buds and branches shooting out from plants. It has been magical indeed to watch my plum tree blossoming and then, poof, the blossoms fell and new green leaves came out to adorn the tree. How did the tree know how to do that? Nature's designs are amazingly intelligent and graceful. Do you ever wonder how we grow? Our bodies just grow, from infant-hood to childhood to adolescence to full grown adult. For most people, the process of growing is very effortless. You don't wake up each day and say "OK, now, I am going to grow 1mm today" or "I am going to grow one more new cell for my nails". It's just done. Simple as that. Most of us need to enlarge our self-concept. We may see ourselves as a bag of bones but, in truth, we are eternal, multi-faceted and multi-dimensional spiritual beings having a human experience. It's time to think of ourselves as much larger and grander than just a physical and emotional be...

This morning, I was thinking how so many of us (including me) are afraid to be a fool or make a fool of ourselves. Then, all of a sudden, the word "full" just floated in my mind, replacing the word "fool." And with that simple change I saw things with a different light! It dawned on me that when we are afraid of being a fool, we are afraid to be a full or abundant being in our own right. We are afraid to make ourselves full and be filled with our own Spirit. Hah! What a new thought for me! I was painfully aware of the various (and creative ways) I have chosen to stay small and withhold the fullness that I am because I didn't want to be a "fool." I know I have patterns where the "fool" in me got pushed aside for the voice of reason. So with this realization I have decided to no longer be afraid to be either a fool or "full" anymore. I choose to fully embrace the fool in me and honor the gifts of this archetype. I choose to liv...

"Each moment is actually a stepping stone--another chance at bliss." ~ N.M. Last Friday, I had the opportunity to see "Man of La Mancha". In one of the scenes, Don Quixote was observing that as he held dying comrades in his arms, their eyes seemed to ask him why. He said: "I do not think they were asking why they were dying... but why they had ever lived." That line struck a chord inside me. Why do we live at all? I have been contemplating that question. Why do we bother to live at all? Why do we come here? Many of us might think that we didn't choose to be here and were just plunked down by happenstance. We could have been dropped on a different planet, but here we are on Earth right now, reading this newsletter. But, what if we did choose our presence here? Why did we come to live in this body, in this particular time-space? A few days later, as I was walking in nature, enjoying the spring-like weather, I found my answer. I was walking o...

This article was first published in Metta Center email newsletter (October 2, 2007 issue.) "Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself, and know that everything in life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from." ~ Elizabeth Kubler-Ross A while back, a client asked me, "Do you ever get overwhelmed?" To which I replied, "Of course!" I have come to understand the teachings of this emotion we call "overwhelment." I have learned to appreciate and celebrate its message, and its energy can be harnessed to gain powerful clarity into what is needed to bring my life back to balance. Feeling overwhelmed is an indicator that we are not centered in our being. Think of it as being out of the range of joy, love and appreciation that is our natural element. When we heed the message of this emotion and choose to apply its wisdom in our life, we can turn our situation around for the better,...