singing down the storm.......

Singing Down the Storm by Vicki Woodyard

There is a way we can sing down the storm, but perhaps it is the unlikeliest way you can imagine. The only way I have found to do this is to be authentic in the moment. Being real is being courageous. I have had reason to study storms, believe you me. The first one hit me when I was thirty-two years old. My daughter was diagnosed with a fatal childhood cancer right before she turned four. Right after she turned seven, we buried her in the dress she wore on her birthday. How did I sing down that storm? I’m not sure I did. Maybe I managed to keep breathing, but that was about it. I took to the spiritual path with a vengeance after her death. We owed money, our son was angry about losing a sister, and my husband’s job demanded all that he had and more. I was smack dab in the middle of a very long storm. I have always been honest to my core and I do believe that is a kind of singing. I wrote oneliners the whole time my child was undergoing treatment. We would be with her as she got chemo and then in the middle of the night, while my husband slept, I would hold the emesis basin as she vomited for several hours. Daylight would come and I would submerge myself in getting my son off to school, keeping house and paying bills. We spent the minimum and paid the minimum on our credit card bills. My daughter’s treatments at St. Jude’s were free, but not the incredible nursing expenses that we incurred during her last days. I sang down the storm with my children as my daughter taught us the true meaning of love. She sat and colored and watched The Brady Bunch and wondered why she was so often sick. On the last trip to the hospital, she asked to look out the window at the sky and the trees. No doubt that is what sang to her in that moment. The spiritual path was singing to me about the great mysteries of life and love. The Book of Mirdad says, You live that you may learn to love. You love that you may learn to live. No other lesson is required of man. I spent many hours reading books about the inner journey. I was going on it, ready or not. Years passed and in 2000, I had another storm to sing down. My husband was diagnosed with a fatal cancer as well. Multiple myeloma is an incurable cancer of the bone marrow. I was devastated. He had been given less than three years to live. A familiar figure - exactly how long our daughter lived. At first I didn’t sing; I was too busy crying and cursing. It was honest, though. As always, I tried to be myself in the midst of the mayhem. Finally, I took hold. I became a caregiver for the second time. I knew the tide would eventually sweep him out to sea, but until it did, I would cling to the shore with him. He wanted to live, not only for himself, but for my son and I. In Christmas of 2004, he left this world. I had sung myself through two storms of my life. As I said, being myself is what has brought me through. I still have anxiety attacks and feelings of loneliness, but I also have the strength of who I really am to carry me through. The notes I write and record are all I have to offer. Two angels would be awfully proud that I still have some harmony left to share.

Rise together...

It's a beautiful time to be alive
And the long walk home is peopled...
We, are everywhere.
Yet the struggle to surrender is where we walk alone.
So the next you fall
look
to either side where you lie
and take the hand
of your dear Sister or Brother
whose own face is muddied.
We can rise together,
even if we fall alone-
for it's a beautiful time to be alive
even
on this long walk home.

Blissful life--its in our hands

Choose Your Frequency by Ann Albers

Realize that on your planet Earth, there are as many frequencies available to you as there are stations on your radio or televion - actually, an infinite number. These run through you all the time. Your life experience depends on which ones you choose to tune into. For example, each one of you can tap into the frequency of gratitude at any given moment. You can look around and say, Okay, I have some worries, but I eat three meals a day and have a roof over my head, and so I am blessed! You can say, Okay, someone is a challenge in my life, but at least I have grown into awareness that I want better treatment. There is ALWAYS something to be grateful for if you look. And if you look for things to be grateful for, you will find more. You can tap into the frequency of beauty at any given time. But, you say, what if my life is a mess? Well, dear ones, have you ever seen the beauty and wonder in a blade of grass or in the perfection of the sky above, or better yet, in the eyes of another? Beauty is always available to be found. You can tap into the frequency of harmony in spite of chaos. Suppose you find yourself in a place where those around you are stressed out. Breathe deeply and tap into God's deep peace with each breath. The eye of the hurricane is calm in spite of the chaos all around it. Most importantly, dear ones, you can always tap into Love because you are made of it. Whether or not those around you are kind, you can make kind choices, choices that honor your true spirit. You can choose to speak truthfully and with compassion. You can choose to be in situations that uplift you and leave situations that do not. You can choose to honor self without judgment of others. Choose to tap into the frequencies that make your life blissful, dear ones. Anger, sadness, jealousies - those exist at all times as well. They can be messages from your spirit to be acknoweldged and used to change your behaviors (for example to speak up, reach out for comfort, create what you want, etc.) but once you receive the message, it is time to tune back into the energies that give you the kindest experience of your soul's journey here upon the planet Earth.

Love Your Body by Ann Albers

We are experiencing unusual effects in your physical bodies as a result of the increased vibrational frequency on our planet. Understand that your body is a beautiful container for your soul. As your soul's frequency increases (and it cannot be avoided during these times), anything less than that light in the body is being brought to the surface for love, acknowledgement, cleansing and clearing. In a way, the light is doing a beautiful job of housekeeping in your cells. Take heart - this is a wonderful thing! Your cells are like computer programs that store a history of your emotions, unresolved pains, stresses, etc. If you have not allowed yourself to be guided by your heart, your body will start to cry for attention, for it is your soul's last resort to getting you to listen. For example, if you are experiencing back pain, perhaps you have felt unsupported in the past, and now it is time to support yourself a bit by defining clear boundaries and taking time to do the things you love. If you are experiencing tightness in the throat and jaws, what is it that you wish to express but have been holding back? If you get headaches, there is likely to be wisdom that you are not yet owning about yourself. If you experience female problems, do you fail to take time to honor the feminine spirit within by resting, nurturing and giving yourself time to just BE? We could go on, but as you know, many human beings have created wonderful references that link the body and emotional patterns. However, what you CAN do to heal yourselves is to remember this one principle: It is your soul, your mind and your emotions that define the body. If you are experiencing tension, stresses or pains, go into a meditation and ask the part of your body under stress, Who is in there and what are you trying to tell me? You might be surprised to find that you at a younger age are in that part of your body, and that you still need love. If so, imagine giving that part of yourself love. If you have allowed another person to define you, control or manipulate you, you might find them in the body. Ask their soul what they need to let go, and in spirit, give them what you can. Cut the cords. What if you find that there are others in there? Beings that you do not recognize? Well, these might simply be faces for the beliefs that you hold. Ask them what they want. Acknowledge their needs as valid, and give them an invitation to move on. The process is the same no matter what. 1. In meditation ask, Who is in there and what do you need? 2. Acknowledge the need of whomever you see as VALID. Do not argue! Something or someone that you let under your skin is crying out for love, and the body is mirroring this. It might be you, another or a metaphorical face for your beliefs. Acknowledge the need as VALID. 3. Negotiate with whomever you see to figure out how you can fill that need in a way that does not compromise your own beliefs. Remember, all this is done on the INSIDE, in meditation. Many of you will be surprised that if you do this on a regular basis and keep your promises that you have negotiated, your body will transform itself! In the words of one of your rather famous singers, All you need is love. We love you so very much! - the Angels