Saturday, December 1, 2012

My Cup Runs Over

My Cup Runs Over!
by Patricia Cockerill
 


India was a chaotic bubbling cauldron of overcrowding, poverty, dirt, and unpleasant and offensive smells that I grew to despise. Especially when every morning we made a pilgrimage into the "Basti" a poor neighborhood where Inayat Khan's temple-tomb was located. On the walk through the Basti I saw people living on sidewalks without even a tarp overhead. There were narrow dirty alleys weaving through the hovels with what appeared to be frightened and strange people staring back at me like I was an intruder. In fact, I felt that I was.

I could not understand how these people could live under such horrid conditions. They had so little while I had so much. My heart ached for the barefoot children dressed in rags; for the emaciated animals - goats, dogs, an occasional pig. India for me was not exotic, it was a horror. Each day I found myself withdrawing my heart deeper into my chest so I could walk through this scene without feeling the pain or the fears that were welling up. All I wanted to do was get out - out the dirt, out of the poverty, and out of the pain that I witnessed everywhere I looked.
 
One morning I asked the spiritual leader of our trip, "How can this pain exist on the planet and on this massive scale?" He saw my struggle and said, "Let me get back to you..." The next morning at breakfast he told me the answer had come to him in a dream. He said, "It depends on your perspective. When you see with the mind you are one of the patients filled with the pain. When you see with the heart you are the doctor. Through that love you able to help ease their pain."

Without words, I had been praying for an answer, and praying for help without realizing I was praying for help. When I heard his reply something happened to me. My hardened "protected" heart cracked open and I began to cry tears of joy. Everything changed in an instant. I saw a whole new India I'd not seen before. It was as though my heart grew eyes, ears and nostrils. Yes, the squalor was still there, the smells of raw sewage still existed, and everything was still covered in the pervasive dust. But I was also seeing the color, music and sweetness beneath the canvas that all of India had been painted on.

I felt a connection with every being in every shop, in every rickshaw, and in every humble person sweeping debris on the streets of Delhi. In the ramshackle hovels I  now saw a business enterprise supporting a family and I became part of the ebb and flow of that life. I realized it was the God within me that was seeing India anew. It was not me, nor this ego that judges everything as good or bad while pushing away anything I could not understand.

Because of my fear and anger at the horrors on the streets of India, I had missed almost a whole week of India. I had pulled inside and shut the door; missing out on the Qawali musicians that play chants at the mosques where everyone gathers around and joins in joyously. All that I had been able to feel was the oppressive heat, the crush of strangers invading "my" space, the extreme poverty and the ever present odors.

Our local guide Sanjay who grew up in India though he now lives in Boulder,  explained how life works in India, how the people live, how they think, and what their expectations are. He said, "Notice how everyone smiles. They don't know they have nothing." What he said was true.  I saw more smiles on these faces than I usually see from people at home who have so much. Sanjay's lessons were to continue for most of the trip.

Traveling by bus from Agra to Ajmer, we had to stop and pay local taxes as we went from one region to the next. As the driver left the bus to attend to the taxes, I noticed a small shop on the side of the road. The shop had tree branches holding up a roof made of black plastic and twigs. The counter-top was an old worn wooden plank with a few items for sale. Sanjay explained that the whole family lives in the back of the shop. He also explained that in the East they believe that every guest is God and that it is an honor to serve the guest.

In the hut an old woman smiled at us. Sanjay said she was offering us her hospitality so he got off the bus to sit with her. I watched them laughing and talking. She offered him a small terracotta cup, home made and fired in the woman's cook-fire. She was about to pour hot tea into the cup. But as I watched him he shook his head "no." Instead, he pressed a few rupees into her hand while taking the empty cup. Then he returned to the bus.

When he got on the bus he handed me the terracotta cup. He said he'd told the old woman it was for someone on the bus so she would be remembered.  I held the precious cup in wonder as my heart melted in my chest. Sanjay could see how much it meant to touch such a simple offering from someone who I considered had nothing. Yet, it was the most precious gift that I brought back from India. 
   
In that moment, when he saw my eyes fill with tears, he knew. With this simple offering, I had shared a spiritual experience with a fellow human being - a woman who gave her guest (God) a cup of tea, and a man who understood that a small terracotta cup, made by a strange woman sitting in the dirt, had transformed me.   

Her terracotta cup now sits on my personal altar, reminding me of the indelible life lesson learned on the side of the road in India. 



Thursday, November 1, 2012

12.12.12 Sands of the World Mandala

The Sands of the World Mandala 
12.12.12


12.12.12 brings to a close the last of the once-a-century triple digit dates in the momentous year, 2012. All of these dates, (1-1-1, 2-2-2, through 12-12-12) hold a Healers Network Blank Logo deep meaning for those on the spiritual path where symbolic and esoteric meanings are assigned to the numerical combinations. Most people outside the metaphysical communities have no awareness that the triple-digit dates are precise energetic focal points that open portals from the physical into the spiritual and ethereal realms.

This one (12.12.12) is particularly significant because it coincides with the ending of the Mayan Long Count calendar and the start of a new cycle. The number 12 has historical, astrological, religious, and mystical connotations. It is said 12 governs space and time in the Cosmos. In the Bible the number 12 is featured 189 times and in the Koran 7 times. The bible speaks of the coming times of change on earth, calling out the cosmic implications of an alignment in the heavens on this date. It tells of the 12 gates to the Celestial kingdom (Astrological signs), 12 precious stones in the new celestial city (breast-plate of the heart center), 12 stars (constellations) in the crown of the woman (Divine Feminine) that will rule the celestial city, and the creation of the 12 stones on the "altar" of Elijah representing the 12 tribes of Israel who finally unite in a holy place. When the numbers are magnified three times as they are in these dates, the spirit, matter, and individual consciousness aligns in harmony.

Healers Network Blank Logo There's general consensus that something unique is happening at this time on earth and that we need to step up our intentions of purpose and good-will. An elderly rabbi in Jerusalem recently suggested that world peace was not illusive. He proposed that moderate spiritual and religious leaders come together to craft a workable solution for peace in the Middle East. He was convinced that if there was peace in Jerusalem there would be peace between Arabs and the West and if there was peace between Arabs and the West, there would be peace on earth.

Four years ago leaders in the spiritual community of south-west Florida believed in the promise of the "new Jerusalem" that the rabbi spoke about. In a powerful ceremony on the summer solstice of 2008, they embraced a vision known as The Prism of Light. These leaders, along with 350 participants, anchored an ethereal diamond shaped formation across 65 square miles in southwestern Florida. From Anna Maria Island in the north, Warm Mineral Springs in the south, Myakka State Park in the east and Siesta Key Beach in the west, they held the etheric Prism of Light intact for several hours. They imagined the creation of a New Jerusalem of Light emerging from the center of the Prism where all the world would finally unite as one.

Those thoughts, held in consciousness by the anchors for over four years, inspired a Healers Network Blank Logo blueprint for the physical manifestation of the world coming together as one. In 2012, that blueprint known as the Sands of the World Mandala, will be constructed by the Sarasota community using sand, earth, stones and sacred objects from holy, mythic and historic sites from around the world. Collected and brought to Sarasota by hundreds of people who traveled to these sacred places, this sand, the fabric of our earth, will set into form a pattern for unity for generations to come. The Mandala's geometric form, infused with the very mineral essence of Mother Earth will impress upon the viewer in a tangible way how world diversity within unity might look one day.

The sands have come from Machu Picchu, Angor Wat, the Great Pyramid of Giza, Mt Everest, Haleakala, Mayan Temples in central American, Hopi, Pueblo and Aztec lands, Stonehenge and New Grange, Arama Muru portal in Peru, Maori Tribal lands, Tiwanakku in Bolivia, select volcanoes, Tibetan monasteries, Kwan Yin's Temple in China, Capernaum, among many others.

As we endure unpleasant discourse in the general population, fear and negativity Healers Network Blank Logo between governments and those in need, the Mandala has emerged as a reservoir of hope on behalf of the citizens of the world. It's evident that as the sands from around the world are placed side by side in a sacred mandala, so too can individuals of all religions, races, and belief systems be brought together to live in harmony. All it takes is people believing it can and will be done. 

If small groups come together worldwide, holding the ideal of the raising of human consciousness, a gentle groundswell will create a force field where the ideal will take form. This the formation of the New Jerusalem. It is an ethereal Celestial City of Light that governs the world through peace, balance and harmony. It's within our grasp to create this for the future generations of earth.
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If you are inspired to be part of the creation of this sacred project, join the gathering at South Lido Beach at 12:12 pm on December 12, 2012. The creation of the Sands of the Mandala will take several hours to assemble and will be followed by a ceremonial blessing at 4:12 pm. Everyone is invited to add intentions into the sands for themselves, their families and the planet. Tibetan and Crystal Bowl players, drummers, singers, dancers and children will participate. At the end of the evening, the completed Mandala will be blessed by spiritual leaders, swept up, and carried in a ceremonial procession for release into the waters of the Gulf Stream.

For more information go to www.starsoundings.com or contact jomooy@gmail.com 

Jo Mooy - November 2012

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The Power of Yes!

The Power of Yes 


I never gave the word "Yes" much thought before. It was simply an affirmative reply to a question or the opposite of "No." And surely, "No" is more frequently the word of choice. When uttered, a great deal of energy, cajoling and arm-twisting is Healers Network Blank Logo expended to get from the negative exclamation back to the positive. Consider a twelve year old who wants to go to a rock concert which the parents do not feel is appropriate.

Then one day a highly attuned spiritual teacher suggested using "Yes" as a metaphysical practice. He said the next time you're confronted by a person whose opinions are vastly different from your own, and who wishes to debate, take a stand. Agree with whatever is presented to you. No matter what is presented! If someone hands you a white sheet of paper and says it's black, agree with them. If your views are well thought out, serve you well, and you're firm in the conviction you hold there is no harm in saying to the other person, "Yes, you are right!"

When asked why this practice was so important he said it teaches an individual how to control the ego! Furthermore one will engage neutrally with all impassioned
Healers Network Blank Logo personalities, thereby defusing the situation. And finally, one gains Buddha-like mastery over unpleasant or uncomfortable situations. So I decided to try it the next time a confrontation loomed. It wasn't long in coming!

A particularly volatile individual contacted me by phone one day. In her usual aggressive and argumentative manner I mentally prepared for the coming clash. As her long held angers surfaced and her accusations engulfed me, the words of my spiritual teacher gently eased into my consciousness. Instead of responding in kind which was the normal way our conversations usually unfolded, I said nothing and just listened. The force of her rage continued unabated. Finally she noticed I'd said nothing for over twenty minutes. Seemingly exhausted from the one-sided argument, she asked if I had anything to say. I simply replied, "Yes, you're right!"

The power of those words apparently stopped her in her tracks because all she could sputter out was, "What do you mean?" I again responded, "Yes you're right!" It was not what she expected. With no where else to turn, and no opposing argument coming back, the tirade soon subsided and a more pleasant conversation eventually emerged between us.

The word "Yes" only contains three letters, but when spoken, the power of its meaning can Healers Network Blank Logo change the world. In that confrontation I was to learn that "Yes" acknowledges hurts, angers, and untenable positions; that "Yes" eases the lonesomeness that causes others to lash out; and that "Yes" disarms opponents and diffuses angry situations. I still had my own opinions about everything that she said. But by not engaging in the confrontation I was suddenly detached from its outcome. No longer concerned with being right, the pesky ego took a back seat and I was finally free of that endless argumentative cycle.

In the space created by two saying "Yes" a quantum bubble is formed. From that place expectations can soar and anything is possible. Even world peace is attainable! Just say, "Yes, you're right!"

Jo Mooy - November 2012

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

The Walls of They


The Walls of They

Walls! They're permanent solid structures. They hold up roofs or create space. Sometimes they're built for security reasons. They keep others out. And everyone in. More often than not, prejudice can make them invisible. That wall is the mostHealers Network Blank Logopotent of all.

Recently, I witnessed the four-hundred mile long "separation wall" between Israel and the West Bank. I listened intently to the contradictory stories of its purpose and value. "They built the wall to keep us out of our land though my family has lived here for eighteen-hundred years." (A Palestinian taxi driver) "They have no right to this land. It was given to us by God." (A Zionist tour guide) "They are starving us, keeping us from the water we need to grow food." (Gaza resident) "They can't terrorize us any more." (Jewish settler)

The twenty-six foot high concrete barrier is so divisive it has different names, depending on which side you're on. The Israelis call it the "Security Fence" while the Arabs call it the "racial segregation wall." Even journalists had trouble naming it until the International Court of Justice simplified the confusion by calling it "The Wall" and saying it was a "gross violation of international law and basic human rights."

Healers Network Blank LogoLike every situation we confront, there are always two sides. An Arab grandfather pointed to "The Wall" from the roof of his unfinished home. He said he used to visit his daughter before the wall was built. It took him 10 minutes by car but cars were no longer permitted through the checkpoints. So now it took him two hours to walk around the barrier. He laughed when he said Jesus couldn't walk his donkey to Jerusalem if he came back tomorrow.

A Jewish settler smiled as she watched her children playing freely in the hot sun. She said before the security barrier was built there were daily fears of bombs from terrorists. Now, the children could enjoy themselves with abandon because they were protected by "The Wall."

I wondered if "They" on both sides might soften their positions and mend fences. But I wasn't optimistic. That is until I visited a peace group in Nazareth. I watched "they" who lived on both sides of the wall come together in friendship and respect. Listening to the impassioned pleas for better relations, I thought I saw a crack inHealers Network Blank Logothe wall. "They" said the moderates are the majority but they've been silent too long. We have to stop the radicals on both sides of the fence.

It made me think about this country and The Wall we're building between groups, between countries, between religions, between political parties and between families. The walls are physical, psychic, emotional, and more hurtfully, prejudicial. Then I was reminded of something a well respected Sufi spiritual leader said, "It is impossible to think that a country with an up to date civilization would look down on a population."

We are "They." In 2012, as the old ways fall, our work as awakened beings is to heal the rifts between one another and tear down the Walls of They. It is the only way "They" become "Us."

Jo Mooy - September 2012

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

THE SILENT STONES


The Silent Stones


In such a small area of land, ancient religions and cultures collide with what should be 21st century reasons for peace. Yet, despite sporadic periods of dialogue,Healers Network Blank Logoviolence and rigid opinions prove peace is as illusive in the area as it ever was. Into that restlessness we went, charged with a mission to hold a harmonic state of being while withholding all judgment on what was being observed. That was the peace pilgrimage to Israel we embarked upon a month ago.

Most impressions of Israel are based on what we've seen on the news. I'd never visited the country before, nor was it on my "bucket list" so I had no preconceived ideas on what to expect. Which was probably a good thing - for it allowed Israel, Palestine, Jerusalem and its stones to happen to me independent of any expectations.

The first thing I noticed about Old Jerusalem was the stone. It was everywhere. Massive, high stone walls towered above you as you walked on ancient stone roads shined smooth by centuries of pilgrims' shoes. Old Jerusalem is a vertical, walled-in stone city. It occupies one-third square mile of space and is holy ground to 35,000 people of different religions, beliefs, cultures and political affiliation. Arab women in long flowing robes and devout Jews in black and white attire scurry to and fro intent on their daily business, never looking left or right or interacting with anyone not of their culture or religion. Eye contact is always averted. The shops lining the stone walls cast you further back in time. The merchandise spills out onto the crowded stone streets as tourists and residents navigate around the displays trying to avoid knocking anything down.

Healers Network Blank LogoIn daily walks through this maelstrom of behavior and activity I felt the stone-like rigidity of centuries of beliefs and hurts. The people carried within themselves all the competing drama and pain of eons of cultural conduct. Meanwhile, the cold stones above, below and around held and mirrored those same bewildering passions and traditions. The stones felt like a colossal hundred foot high fortress constricting the heart of the city and its people. It was suffocating.

Then one night something remarkable happened. Our group visited the roof-top home of one of Jerusalem's inter-cultural peacemakers. The tone of our meeting was gentle and easy providing a tiny breath of hope for right relations between differing cultures. Around 10:00 pm we climbed down six flights of stairs to the street below. As we reached the main stone road to the Damascus Gate, there was a sudden stillness all around us. The shops were shuttered and closed. All the people were gone. The streets were deserted. Even the occasional soldier was barely visible against the dark walls.

The quietness was notable. In that moment I felt something detectable in the air.Healers Network Blank LogoThe ancient stones were breathing. There was a subtle rhythm in the walls that felt like the labored release of eons of weariness. With the people and all the religious and cultural baggage removed from the streets, the living stones could finally take a deep breath. I sensed them wearily breathing in and breathing out. In this brief respite of time the stones could recharge themselves until the next day's onslaught of emotional disquiet.

The ability of these ancient stones to endure humanity's contempt and still renew themselves filled my eyes with tears. The Silent Stones spoke volumes that night. The fortress around the heart of the city could still be eased. And Peace was no longer such a distant concept.


Jo Mooy - August 2012  

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Trust The Messages



TRUST THE MESSAGES

The long seven year routine had been intense and of late, seemingly never-ending. Before it became habitual or lost its fervor, Patricia and I needed a break to Healers Network Blank Logoreplenish sorely drained batteries. So, we decided to take the summer off.  The decision immediately created a sense of relief, joy, and freedom. But, even as the outer intention was easily put forward, hours of disquiet soon followed.

When an eighty-four month routine is suddenly halted, questions arise as to what might happen next. How long should the break be? Will things be the same or different when the break is over? Should all routines be halted or just some of them? Might you lose your way doing this? What if the splendid feelings of alignment with spirit suddenly disappeared during the break? What if, in this quest to do something totally different, you lost what was most precious? That question was the most difficult. Especially because the last time I took a "time-out" it ended up being a twelve year detour from the spiritual path. Yet, what I learned from that detour was there was no detour! Living life was the spiritual path!

Experience and maturity create a useful walking stick on any trek. Armed with that, and the indelible memory of a "Being" who visibly appeared in 1979 during a meditation and announced, "Do you not know that am always with you?" beforeHealers Network Blank Logo disappearing, it was time to make plans for the sojourn. 

Sitting at an outdoor cafe, we talked about where to go and whether or not it would be affordable. Conversation turned to the nature of reality and that life seemed to be a dream construct. We asked abstract questions during lunch, like who was actually doing the dreaming and were we players in the dream? Or was everything an illusion and we were simply a dream? Just then, a young boy came towards us wearing a red T-shirt. The unmistakable answer to our discussion was printed on the front of his T-Shirt. It said:Living Dream. It was the first of many spiritual messages that were about to unfold.

Our first stop? Disney World! Looking back, it was the most comical of choices. Disney is the punctuation mark of destinations after big events like the Super Bowl. One cannot get further away from an immersion in spiritual work than going to Disney World. And yet, the choice was not made by us but by "the Universe." An unexpected free four-day weekend came along just as the last of our classes were over. In perfect timing, we learned that messages were soon to be delivered.
  
It's always wise to remember that wherever we go, it's a spiritual journey, and Disney World was no exception. Surrounded by exotic birds in splendid plumage, Silver-back Gorillas on the Serengeti, Tigers and Komodo Dragons living in close proximity, and surprisingly few tourists, Animal Kingdom was a delightful detour into the world of nature. At Epcot we sailed into a world of hydroponic gardens and symbiotic animal/plant relationships clearly demonstrating that the world could be fed in even the most unlikely climates and terrains. We explored gardens ablaze withHealers Network Blank Logocolor, gentle butterflies flitting around us and the sounds of laughter, drums, dancing, and languages from every corner of the world. We witnessed people enjoying life and realized, that is what living in spirit is about - finding the joy, seeing the beauty, hearing the song that is life.
  
In order to get the free weekend at Disney we had to endure a two-hour Timeshare presentation.  But imagine our surprise when the discussion with the sales staff easily turned from selling a timeshare to matters of metaphysics, dreams, psychic phenomenon and ultimately to the nature of spirituality. After a lengthy discussion without purchasing anything, we left with big smiles in our hearts knowing that meeting those specific sales people had been no accident.
  
While in Epcot, another message occurred in a most vivid way. While in the park, I forgot to get a very necessary map of the venue. The maps were only available at the entrance but we were far inside the park. As the desire became a thought, "wish we had map" a map literally floated out of the sky in slow motion and landed at our feet. If there was any doubt that spirit was going to remain in contact the doubts were quickly fading.
  
But the best was yet to come. As we left the park, we continued discussing our time off, the plans we'd made, and whether this was the right thing we were doing. We knew there was a need that had to be fulfilled, not only for ourselves to come back recharged, but also for those we were leaving behind. As our discussion wentHealers Network Blank Logoback and forth a skywriter appeared overhead. We watched the plane begin to make huge white letters against the blue sky. First a large T, then an R, then a U. In a few minutes, there above us in enormous letters, was the word TRUST written out in the sky.
  
This is what we know as this leg of the journey begins. Whatever happens, it's the right thing. We never know how the universe is lining up the patterns in our lives. All we can do is TRUST, show up for the call, and allow the alignment to take place. For some of us, years may go by before we realize that something that happened a long time ago influenced the activity we're currently involved in. But the most important is to follow the desire, TRUST the outcome, and know the Universe stands ready to serve all needs! Like "the Being" said, "Do you not know that am always with you?"
Trust the messages!
  
 
Jo Mooy - July 2012 

Friday, June 1, 2012

A Million Flames


A Million Flames

Many years ago I had a memorable dream. I was in the desert with a dear friend. InHealers Network Blank Logothe distance a dust storm grew in fury and intensity heading towards us. As it neared we saw the cause of the disturbance. Hundreds of long-haired women were riding magnificent horses. Each woman was dressed in flowing white robes and held aloft swords and shields. One woman, more magnificent than the rest, led the riders. She and two other warriors pulled up their horses and came to where my friend and I were standing. They led riderless ponies, one silver and one black.

Speaking telepathically the leader explained the story and mission of the women warriors. She said, "Now is the time. We can wait no longer." Then she pointed to the two riderless ponies and asked, "Will you join us? If so, saddle up!" The two warriors handed us the reins to the horses and directed us to ride with them.

We mounted up and rode towards a huge gathering of women.  Thousands were in a circular ceremony around a presence in the center.  It was the DivineHealers Network Blank LogoMother/Goddess who drew a silver and black highly polished sword and tossed it up into the heavens.  The sword fell back towards the fire where it landed and broke into a million flames.  Each flame illuminated the tops of the heads of all the women assembled.  The Divine Mother was empowering them to remember that they were being called in service to humanity.

A few months ago Gail Sheehy, well known author of Passages, was the keynote speaker at a women's conference I attended. She said women were somehow persevering above the ever-present crises in their lives, by taking on the world and reinventing themselves. In a model of global empowerment, they were stirring the barriers and beginning to understand what activation was all about. The women were re-tooling their skill sets for the new world. They were no longer content to suffer in silence. Instead, they were relying on other women for help in their causes rather than deferring to the government, the military or the entrenched systems. Sheehy called them "fearless women" whose outspoken behavior incited other women to action.

Her words recalled the dream of a million flames empowering women to serve humanity. These are the ones who are changing the world. In the end, that is the true work of women - flourishing together through collaboration and cooperation and making the world a better place for all of us.

Jo Mooy - June 2012 

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Snapshots of a Mother


Snapshots of a Mother

She was formidable but gentle. Practical, yet given to dreams and fantasy. She was Healers Network Blank LogoBritish, haughty, regal and very elegant. She was called "the most beautiful" of eight sisters, all of whom were well-known beauties. She was adventurous, swimming in barracuda infested waters in her thirties and body-surfing into her late seventies. She wrote both prose and poetry, was an artist, articulate, well-educated and well-read. She was a prolific writer, leaving hand-written commentaries in the margins of books and opinionated note-cards about people or current events tucked into nooks and crannies. In the latter part of her life, religious fervor blossomed. Not until the last year of her life did I notice a hint of mysticism. She was often challenging but nevertheless, a strong guiding force in my life. She was my mother!

She sometimes lived in a fantasy world where chivalry was still the norm and ladies dressed a certain way and behaved with elegance and decorum. I remember once yelling out the car window to a friend. With her famous haughty tone of disapproval, she informed me that "Ladies don't shout from moving cars." Over the years I learned that ladies didn't do a lot of things that I was guilty of doing. I told her I was going to put on her tombstone, "Ladies Don't ..." But I never did.

She often talked about the movers and shakers of the world as though she knew them personally. She spoke fondly of Sir Richard Branson's adventures circumnavigating the world by balloon and insisted he wrote her after one of his failed attempts. My two sisters and I indulged the fantasy, rolling our eyes behind her back. She regaled us with stories of her correspondences with Al Roker, KatieHealers Network Blank LogoCouric, Pope John and other dignitaries. We were positive she'd gone over the edge. But after her death we found boxes of letters from all the people she'd told us about. She'd written to correct their pronunciation of a word on a TV broadcast, or to congratulate them about an achievement. In the box we found hand-written response letters or post cards from Branson, Katie Couric, Jimmy Carter, Al Roker, and all the people she'd written. Just like she said! She also wrote commentaries about people in public office that she didn't care about. I found this on a newspaper clipping about Richard Nixon's death: "An outpouring of insincere words for an unscrupulous man. I'll put out the flag not for that rogue but for the Presidency."

She was a feminist long before the word became an anthem for a generation. The Belgian nuns who taught on the island insisted that boys could take art but girls had to take needlepoint. I wanted desperately to take art with the boys but the nuns told my mother it was impossible. Petitioning my grandfather, a formidable man in his own right, both of them visited Mother Superior at the Convent. I never found out what they talked about, but the next day I was the only girl in the "boys art class." She concluded rules should be challenged and lived that lesson to the end of her life. When she was stopped for speeding in a residential area she told the young police officer that she was late for Mass. When he told her she was speeding in a 30 mph area, she summoned her most disdainful tone. She told him he'd be of much better use to society by tracking down real criminals instead of 82 year old women on their way to church. He let her go.
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These stories are the snapshots of a life well taught and well lived. But it was not until her funeral mass that I learned about the deep faith and mysticism that guided her life. We all knew she went to Mass every day and that she donated to charities all over the world by helping the poor and those in need. But it was learning about her personal practices that moved me to tears that day.

When the funeral began a tall, thin, man with ragged clothes, a knotted rope for a belt, long wet hair and a long beard tucked into a rumpled shirt walked into the Church. He stopped in front of a photo of my mother for a full sixty seconds then placed his hands in prayer and began softly talking to her. Then he went to the front of the Church and knelt there for the entire service.

After the funeral family and friends milled around talking. I caught sight of the homeless man standing alone with a sad smile on his face staring at my mother's photo. I went to him and introduced myself. He told me his name was Jim. When I asked how he knew my mother he said: "Your mother was a kind woman. When no one else cared about me, she did. If you look at me you can see why others would shun me. Your mother never did. She picked me up at Publix grocery store every morning and took me to mass with her. Then she made me come and have breakfast in the church hall with all the ladies. Most of the time it was my only meal of the day, but your mother always fed me. She was a great lady and I loved her very much. She helped me to find the Lord God in my life and to believe in God again."

Healers Network Blank LogoI invited him to eat with us. He felt he couldn't because of all the fine people that were present at the funeral. I insisted he join us, and barely reaching his chest, hugged him. When I pulled back I saw tears flowing down his cheeks. All he said was, "Thank you ma'am! Your mother was a fine lady and I loved her. She saved my life." Jim had lunch with us at the family table. Just like mom would have wanted!

On Mother's Day 2012, I celebrate her life well lived and her life of spiritual influence. Happy Mother's day, Mom! This is for you and all the moms who have left us a legacy to live up to!  
 
Jo Mooy - May 2012  

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Life Do Overs

Life's Do Overs
 
I was thinking about 2012 and all the anticipation its brought to so many people. After reflecting on all the reasons that it's held us enthralled one simple thought rang out. 2012 offers a chance to really start anew with a blank slate. The more I thought about that blank slate, it seemed that like kids or casual golfers, we're looking down the barrel of a real-life Do-Over. Healers Network Blank Logo 

Life is so full of promise and opportunity, especially when you're young. Goals get set and each one seems achievable. You're invincible! You can do anything and conquer any challenge. Then something happens along the way. John Lennon called it life. He said, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." He said that in a song lyric written just before he died.

But what about us? What about the goals and invicibility? As we get older, go off to college, get a job, assume more and more responsibility, perhaps get married and have children, the goals go dormant. All the promises and ideas we had sort of go into limbo. Most of the time, even the dreams get put aside. Every so often we're reminded of them, but usually it takes a crisis - health, job loss, death in the family, or even age - to revive the old thoughts or ideals of our youth. As the crisis unfolds we finally take time to look back on the life journey and wonder how the choices of the past took us to this point.

But what if we took a moment at this stage in life to reflect on what's important now? Is what we're doing now different from what was important in our youth? Can the dreams be re-captured?  What if the dreams aren't lost but were merely shelved? We often ask "God" to help us out of the crisis and usually make promises that go for naught.  But, what if there was a chance to "do over" our life? 

Recently, I read an article about a hospice care-giver who spent most of her time with patients in the final stages of their lives. She noticed most people grow the most when faced with their own mortality. So she undertook a project of asking herHealers Network Blank Logopatients what were the five things they most regretted in life or would have done differently. The patients, knowing they were in the final hours of their lives, wished they had done many things before it was too late.

Their Life Do-Over wishes were more than a list. The Do-Overs were really a philosophy of living. They spoke of being true, having courage, nurturing friendships, and expressing joy.  Their top five said:

 
1) I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself instead of the life others expected of me.
2) I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
3) I wish I had the courage to express my feelings.
4) I wish I had stayed in touch with my old friends.
5) I wish I had let myself be happier. 

2012 opens the gateway to the new world prophecies. We have a clean slate and can write anything on it. We have more than the hospice patients. We have the dreams, the memories, the friendships and the awareness. And, better yet, we have the time. It's not too late for us! 
   
Jo Mooy - April 2012

13 Clanmothers

The 13 Clanmothers


In many ancient cultures the role of mother and medicine woman is honored, butmore specifically, in the northern Native American tribes, the Mothers of the Clans were held in sacred reverence.  These Clanmothers were the historians, the faith-keepers, spiritual advisors, and the ones who chose tribal leaders.  They served in rituals, ceremonies, medicine and spiritual events.  As life-givers, their role was keeper of the culture and history of the tribe. 

The Clan Mother was a leadership hereditary role, passed down from grandmother to mother to daughter.  In a sacred ritual, the baton was passed, impressing each woman with the importance of just rule, honoring the spirit, animal and earth kingdoms, keeping the stories of the lineage alive, and insuring the tribal leaders were functioning in alignment with the great laws of spirit and earth.  Because they were responsible for selecting the chief of the tribe so too would they remove the chief if he was not serving for the good of all.

Solar-Lunar Cycles

The Clanmothers like the Druids, Incas, Maya and other cultures dating back 5,500 years, honored the sacred rhythms and cycles of earth.  It was a natural process for them to follow the moon's rotation every 28 days because 28 days was also the female biological cycle.  This explanation led to a more harmonious indigenous calendar of 13 moons in a solar year.  In time, a specific Clanmother with a distinct role and message was assigned to each moon.

Clanmothers 

Each Clanmother has a purpose and a moon month.  The Clanmothers beginning with January are:  She who Talks With Relations, Wisdom Keeper, She Who Weighs The Truth, Looks Far Woman, Listening Woman, Storyteller, She Who Loves All Things, She Who Heals, Setting Sun Woman, She Who Weaves the Web, Walks Tall Woman, She Who Gives Praise, and the 13th and last one, She who Becomes Her Vision.

Each Clanmother has a specific color associated with her role and her mission.  That color holds a vibration that represents the month of that moon.  The Clanmother also brings a teaching message to men and women who wish to heal themselves and to prepare their own personal cycle for the coming new earth.

Equinox March 20, 2012 

In 2012, every one of the seasonal cycles becomes more refined, especially by the intentions we are setting forth for the year.  We are part of the great awakening of human consciousness.  On the Spring Equinox of March 20th, the rebirth begins in earnest.

Join in this sacred ceremony at South Lido Beach State Park at 7 pm.  Hear and take into your hearts the message from each of the Clanmothers.  It is the season of renewal, one that calls to us and to all we aspire to be. 
   
Jo Mooy - March 2012  

What's Love Got To Do With It

What's Love Got To Do With It?


It was 1984 when Tina Turner first asked that question in a song. The question hasHealers Network Blank Logocolored the world that I see ever since I first heard it and it's become a pseudo-mantra in raising my own consciousness. When confronting any challenge, life change, large or minor life situation, the mantraWhat's Love Got To Do With It? puts a spin on the event that begs for more careful examination of what's being observed.

While the song highlights the physical, emotional and mental experiences associated with love, other aspects of love are alluded to. For, as the lyrics proclaim, "it means more than that."
Philosophers, scientists, chemists, biologists and mystics all interpret love from the lens of their focus. They say: Love is a chemical reaction in the brain; love is an emotional sensation; love is a religious experience; love is a magnetic energy field; love is God. From each perspective they're all correct. But sometimes, love can't be defined in scientific or metaphysical terms. In fact, when we see the effect it can have on humans or animals those definitions are useless. What's love got to do with those definitions? A whole lot more!
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Worldwide, there are countless stories of compassionate caring and loyalty between species and within the same species. Recently, an internet video with over two million hits, showed a remarkable dog in Chile pulling its injured "friend" out of the way of four lanes of oncoming cars after the friend had been hit on the highway. After the tsunami in Japan, a Springer Spaniel stayed by the side of its injured companion for days, refusing to leave it even when rescuers arrived. Soldiers who have been away for years in Iraq or Afghanistan return home to find their loyal hounds overjoyed in welcoming them back. One video with over ten million hits shows a soldier arriving home from Kandahar, his duffel bags on the grass, as Gracie his Golden Retriever hears his voice, rushes from the house, circles around him and slobbers kisses all over him until the film runs out. What's love got to do with that?Everything! But love still "means more than that."Healers Network Blank Logo

Love is a quality that's beyond the physical, emotional or mental ideas. Love is an ideal. It's a force in life that creates an energetic bond between beings. This force binds us together through loyalty, love, memory and friendship in a common compact. It causes us to risk our lives to save a stranger by rushing into burning buildings, forging raging rivers or standing in front of a shooter. This love which is selfless and unconditional, is the perfection of what we can become.

On this second month of 2012, we celebrate Valentine's Day, a day dedicated to Love. Future generations may look back and ask what really happened in 2012. They may find that Love had everything to do with 2012. In the new world dawning perhaps every day will be a day dedicated to Love. What a legacy to leave the earth. 

Jo Mooy - February 2012  

Two Discs One Message

Two Discs - One Message!

    
Two tiny spacecrafts, Voyagers 1 and 2, were launched in 1977.  Built to last only 5Healers Network Blank Logoyears, their mission was to fly to Jupiter and Saturn.  Then maybe, if everything worked out just right and the mechanical parts didn't freeze up, go past Uranus and Neptune.  Thirty years later they're now poised at the edge of our solar system and headed for deep space.
  
You may be wondering what Voyagers 1 & 2 have to do with 2012.  Probably nothing specific  but maybe everything in the abstract.  Scientifically and philosophically, Voyager was the best earth had to offer the cosmos.  If there were other beings out there, we not only wanted to contact them, but we wanted them to know about us.
Voyager was a messenger representing earth's hope for the future.  Each one carried a Golden Disc time capsule embedded with the sound of 55 languages and 115 images intended to communicate the story of earth to other space civilizations.  We were reaching out to the stars and desperately hoping someone would hear us.

Maybe the Mayan calendar served a similar purpose as Voyager.  It was also aHealers Network Blank Logomessenger out of time that told us about an ancient culture.  The Mayan Disc presented a time-capsule of their recorded history, and shone a light on their knowledge of astronomy and mathematics.  The calendars within calendars explained the governance of their land, how they measured time, and best of all indirectly gave hope to future generations - ours.  

In many ways, the messages of the two discs are universal in scope.  They portray another time on earth.  They ask us to respect the old ways.  They suggest we might consider alternate possibilities for the future and perhaps choose a different path than the one being followed.  When the Mayan Discs were found, interpreters created a stir by predicting the world would end on the Winter Solstice of 2012.  More enlightened minds in the last 10 years disputed that theory by insisting the "end times" were simply that - the end of one long cycle and the start of another.  Instead of our species dying out on 12/21/12 we'd wake up on the 22nd with a renewed purpose.  In the awareness of the date, many of us would go on living our lives but with higher values and in more aligned states of being.

The young engineers who launched Voyager are now grandfathers.  They are being taught by  younger scientists and physicists.  Using newer technology, the young engineers are issuing commands to the two tiny ships so they can continue deep space exploration using less energy than it takes to run three light-bulbs.  They hope that when the spacecraft finally fall silent in the years to come, the message on the Golden Discs that once promised a peaceful earth would in fact be so.

While Voyagers discs have not yet been found by another civilization, it's pleasant to Healers Network Blank Logoconsider another species finding the discs, deciphering the messages, and visiting earth.  Who knows, maybe our great great grandchildren will be the ones traveling to distant galaxies to find the discs.   

But at the end of the day, or cycle, or time-line, the message from both discs is that the inherent human spirit is creatively alive and filled with hope;  that we look to the stars for inspiration; and there's the ultimate message of hope.  It is one that says wherever humans reside or interact with other species, spiritual peacefulness will prevail not just on earth but across the galaxies.

The message of the discs suggests that we have the power to form a new consciousness.  In a world view we can acknowledge differences yet embrace the one-ness of all people.  We are on the threshold of a glorious and peaceful universe.  It's ours to create.  And that is the biggest message of 2012 and beyond!   

Jo Mooy - January 2012  

Next Year Things Will Get Better

Next Year Things Will Get Better!

  
At the end of each year it's a Rite of Passage to look back on the predictions made at its start and see which ones were accurate and which failed to materialize. I was especially interested in 2011 because it was supposed to be Healers Network Blank Logothe transformational eve for the major prophecies about 2012. So I took a journey into the history of predictions and was surprised where I ended up.  
   
Annual predictions have been part of every culture on earth far longer than recorded history. Geologist found star systems mapped out on cave walls dating over 25,000 years showing that ancient people looked to the stars for some sort of guidance. The movement of the constellations dictated the building of temples, the planting of crops, or the start of a war. So, I followed the trail from ancient times to the present to find out why predictions seem to be such an important part of our collective heritage.  

It's a natural behavior to contemplate the end of one season while preparing for the next one. Animals, birds and even the elements do it - storing up food, migrating to greener or temperate environs, air and temperature changing from hot to cold and back again. But humans add one more aspect to the process not evident in the other kingdoms. That aspect is Hope. It's an inherent trait evident in our species. Hiding behind the obvious prediction, humans assess their current situation but are generally hopeful things will get better the following year.      

Healers Network Blank LogoWell publicized predictions through the ages are easy to find but not so the more subtle evidences of 'hope'. While preparing to write the December article a story found me. It's depth and scope was heart-warming. It was a story that showed how Hope remained kindled in the hearts of a group of men for more than 70 years even as their numbers dwindled. Their story is an indicator of human patience, conviction and finally justice. It's evidence of humanity's belief that "it will get better next year." From that perspective all the predictions of 2011 came into focus.

Most have heard of the Tuskegee Airmen, a squadron of African American pilots who served in World War II. But there were thousands of other African Americans who joined the elite Marine Corps whose stories were kept under wraps until 2011. "The Montford Point Marines" as they were called for the segregated boot camp they trained in, faced discrimination from the time they signed on until they were discharged. In the racism of 1941, the commandant of the Marines, when ordered to enlist the black recruits, said he would "rather take 5,000 white soldiers over 250,000 blacks."
  
The "Montford Marines" were sent to different boot camps from the white soldiersHealers Network Blank Logoand kept in segregated units. When deployed, they sat in segregated trains. If the "black cars" were full, they had to wait for the next train, even if the white cars were empty. Their service was restricted to support services like defending the base or hauling ammunition to the front lines of battle. In the South Pacific these Marines carried their injured white counterparts back to safety while others readily picked up the weapons of the white Marines who were killed in battle. They stayed and engaged the fight before being ordered back to the rear at the conclusion of the battle.   
  
At the end of the war they faced more humiliation and discrimination when they returned home. The Red Cross routinely set up Welcome Home Stations with music, banners, coffee and sandwiches at the train stops for the soldiers coming home. Yet when a train with black soldiers entered the station locals closed and shuttered the food booths until the train left the station.  
  
Because they were not encouraged to remain in the service, the "Montford Marines" quietly exited the stage of national consciousness feeling unwanted and unrecognized.  But none of them ever forgot they were once "proud marines." For 70 years, though the Marine Corps refused to recognize them, they met every year to honor themselves, always hoping that "next year it will get better."   
  
Healers Network Blank LogoAmid all the financial, political, and environmental predictions about 2011, no one paid any attention to the dwindling number of Montford Marines, now in their 80's and 90's.  That is until the current Marine Commandant heard about them and looked into their story. It so captured his attention he wanted to rectify the wrongs of the past.  He ordered that all new recruits be taught the history of the Montford Point Marines along with the rest of the Corps' legacy. He incorporated their story into the curriculum of advanced classes for senior officers. Then he went a step further.   
  
He rounded up the remaining "Montford Marines" some in wheelchairs, others using canes, to Washington D.C. where they were feted at a banquet hosted by the commandant and served by young marines in crisp blue uniforms. They watched a parade in their honor with the Marine Corp commandant and other military dignitaries. They met black officers who were now commanding the Marines. In a rare showing of bipartisan support, the US House of Representatives unanimously approved the Gold Congressional Medal for all the "Montford Marines" formally recognizing them for their proud service to the country.
   
The outpouring of support overwhelmed the aging veterans. One, struggling with hisHealers Network Blank Logoemotions said, "At last I feel like a real marine!" When their bravery in the jungles of the south Pacific was mentioned, one said, "We did everything to prove our mettle, but it never seemed to be enough until now." One of the Montford Marines told a black officer "I feel so much pride seeing you in that Marine uniform. It's enough to make an old marine cry." The officer responded, "I owe it all to you, Sir!  I stand on your shoulders."
  
It took a stodgy military seventy years to make things right. All the while, the dwindling "Montford Marines" kept hoping that "next year things will get better." Then in 2011 a shift in consciousness occurred and things did get better for the remaining Marines. It was just a matter of patience and hope. 


Jo Mooy - December, 2011