Power of Connection

The Power of Connection

“Mitakoye Oyasin” is a Lakota phrase that means we are all related.  The award winning Native American Flutist, Douglas Blue Feather spoke on this subject last night at an event I attended.  To be “all related” means every two legged sentient being and every aspect of creation; stone, plant, winged, finned and four legged.  We are all one.  We are all connected. 

Almost a year ago my daughter, who is eight decided she wanted to play the piano.  After contacting my friend who plays the piano brilliantly we set up a time for lessons.  During my daughter’s lesson I noticed a Native American Flute on her table.  When I asked her about it she mentioned it was from a friend of hers that is a flutist.  The first connection began. The man she mentioned had recently met the president of the 

Gathering Thunder Foundation (GTF) with which I have a connection.

Soon afterwards I contacted Douglas Blue Feather regarding a possible flute workshop and fundraising opportunity for GTF.  Here we connected for the first time.  The events were successful as people came together for learning, community and inspiration.  More connections transpired.  After another fruitful weekend we learned that Douglas is connected to the Lakota Nation similar to GTF.  Douglas works with Chief Golden Light Eagle who is from the Nakota Ihunktowan Band of South Dakota and has ties to 11-11 similar to a spiritual organization with which I have a connection.        

The connections continue to happen, one after another.  Where will it go?  Where will it end?  The connection is ever expanding.  What started as a single act, a single question has rippled and touched an unknown number of lives. As the connection grows, the power of the connection grows with it, bringing more and more people into the sacred circle.  Think about your connections.  Ask questions, find common ground and see where spirit leads.  The adventure is in the journey through the power of connections.   

Love, "with a heart of peace,"

Susan

10/21/13 

Original Performance(OM)

Original Performance(OM)

We are in our own original performance.  My youngest daughter is involved in Odyssey of the Mind (OM).  If you are not familiar with this program, it is an after school activity that involves a small group of kids in the same grade level.  The kids select a “problem” to solve.  They need to create an original performance within a set of given criteria.  The skit is then performed and judged after months of planning and preparation.  This process will take them out of their prescribed thinking and beyond their comfort zone.

As a co-coach of the Cannonsburg 3rd Grade OM team, my task is to guide them without instruction.  One of the stipulations of the performance is that it must be done without “outside assistance”, which includes coaches, parents and siblings.  The kids are taught to think “out of the box” and that all ideas are valid.  They must work as a team, supporting each other and building on the suggestions of others to develop their own unique show.  What’s amazing is the creative capacity of the children, if we allow them the freedom and space to explore all possibilities.

Why, as a parent I love OM is the fact that it is a valuable life lesson.  First of all, we are in our own unique, one of a kind, original performance.  We choose our “problem” within the given rules of time and space.  Planning and preparing can take many years and is part of the learning experience.  As we move beyond the comfort zone and past the current thinking of the day, we experience growth.  Helping others often boosts our own progress. In this environment, we are open to the adventures of new realms.

Love, “with a heart of peace”,

Susan J. McFarland

October 9, 2013

Time In

Time In

Whether its winter or a rainy summer day we often need to be inside.  Normally I like to walk in the morning when the world is quiet, the girls are sleeping and the birds are chirping.  Today, it is raining.  Certainly I could walk in the rain and I have done this but I decided to stay inside.  Whether it is a choice or we are forced inside, often it is the best thing for us.  Spending time “within” through meditation and/or prayer if often the yearning of our soul.

My daughter Zara, from the time of birth wanted to move.  At age eight she still wants to move constantly.  She is a ball of energy.  Dinner is a challenge if she is required to sit through it.  When she was a tiny baby I was required to move and hold her all day long to keep her happy.  She did not like swings, or bouncy seats or lying on the floor.  She wanted “time in” with Mom.  If she didn’t have this cuddle time then she would cry.  As she grew older and I attempted to give her a “time out” this would cause trauma.   What she wanted was “time in”.  When she was “misbehaving” instead of trying to single her out and separate her I would often just hold her and give her what she desired and needed, a “time in”.

Just like the infant or small child we need “time in” with our parent, our Creator.  We are all balls of energy like Zara, although as I age my energy ball isn’t as strong.  As our energy is depleted through the course of the day we need to have reserves to pull from in order to function at our best.  How do we acquire these reserves?  The same way a Zara did, with “time in”.  Starting the day with a spiritual practice of going within as a child clings to his parent gives us the strength and security we need to thrive in this world.

Whether this practice includes meditation, prayer, or a walk in the woods is up to the child.  The child knows what soothes him.  The child must decide what is best.  Even though Zara loved movement, the swing did not soothe her.  As a mother I need to listen to the cues from my daughter and respond.  The Creator knows his children even more than a mother and understands what comforts them.  Time in with the Creator brings security, peace and comfort to the inner child.

Time in with the Creator and the spiritual support teams of angels, guides and masters will bring a feeling of safety, harmony and console to your inner child.  A spiritual daily practice is a critical element in this chaotic world.  Time in with your true self brings confidence and stability in your life.  It brings the knowledge that you are never separated from the Eternal, that you are loved beyond measure and that you are not alone.   

Commit today to honoring the inner child and experience the “time in” with your Creator that your child desperately desires.

Love, "with a heart of peace",

Susan J. McFarland

June 2013

Open Space

Open Space

Last week we received new furniture.  Our old couch and chairs, after years of serving as a cat scratching post needed to retire.  After months of anticipating what the new furniture would look like in our house I anxiously awaited its arrival.  The couch color was orange, so I was nervous wondering if we had made the right decision.  Finally the new furniture did arrive, two chairs, an orange couch and a small table.  I loved them all.

Moving the furniture to its new home was exciting and trans-formative.  Once set up the space in my house magically extended.  My mother and my neighbors commented that it looked open, refreshing and even cheerful.  Even though the furniture was actually larger than what we removed the space became more inviting.  How could this be?

Isn’t this true in life too?  When we have something in our life that no longer serves us, although it was useful in the past, we know it is time to remove it.  Upon the release, we begin to plan for the new.  This can be an exhilarating moment of time.  What will “the new” be?  Can we pick what we want?  Often we are also scared of “what it will look like”.  Will it match our current “home”? Should we be conservative in our choices or pick the “orange couch” instead of the grey one hoping to push the current paradigm? Between the moments of releasing the old and preparing for the new we need to accommodate the “open space”.  This space is where creativity and freedom lie.  This is the space of hope. 

In the “open space” in our life we make room for the new and unexpected.  Once the old has left, wait patiently and breathe.  Without rushing into the next adventure however thrilling it may be, allow for the “open space” to enter in and flow through you.  As the “open space” begins to materialize in your mind, body and soul continue to nurture it and allow your true self to fill up and to grow with the space.      

Love, “with a heart of peace”,

Susan J. McFarland

10/01/13