The True Spirit of Christmas: The Gift That Costs Nothing

Today I gently allow spirit to awaken me as I open my eyes to daylight. Everything around me seems crazy and all that I can think of is the worst. The season of holiday cheer is close and yet the moment here is all consuming as I relapse into fear. All I can do is breathe and let go as the Holy Spirit fills me up. It is all here, held in the presence. I turn more deeply inward and upward I gaze into the mind that holds no judgment. It is all sacred and holy as I put everything on the altar upon my heart and pray. All the suffering that has occurred because I forgot that everything is part of this experience called life and the presence can hold it all. There is nowhere to go but inside to this stillness where all is and allow the healing to begin. Why do we forget that God is right here waiting for us to return and feel the love that is unconditional?

Peace begins to rise up through the cracks where I sit and witness it all. I am letting go again and again until the fullness of being here is rooted and grounded in my being. I hear the sounds of people singing Christmas carols outside my window. I let the music touch me as I remember being a child, sitting in wonder as I looked around the living room watching my mother decorate our tree as she put the tinsel strand by strand on every branch. It was a sight to see when she was finished. The lights were shimmering and every ornament was perfectly hung. She was an artist and as she focused on the task at hand, our home was filled once again with the spirit of Christmas. My mother gave to us in the spirit of self- expression. In that moment, it was the peace that I felt as my mother let go of all the challenges and anguish that was taking her away from her heart.

Our truest self is completely free and not crippled by our past deeds or even concerned with building itself up through wealth or fame. I feel we have everything in our own power to get in touch with our magnificent self and bring it to light. This is the being that lives and expresses through us right now and this is who God intends us to be. Through love and compassion we do get closer to the genuine star that shines within.

This is the true meaning of Christmas as peace abides within the moment where only love can be shared. In God all things are possible as you let go of the idea that you are separate from your creator.

This is our song to sing as we reach inside and listen to the music of the angels. They rejoice in our freedom to be fully here without the burden of the ego mind that wants to control and keep us in the thoughts of limitation and lack. Oh how many times I have journeyed away from the truth that I am worthy of this beautiful place within where love abides. How difficult my life is when I think I can control what is around me? How sweet it is to return to the comfort of my own open heart where each of us are joined with the same love that created us.

Peace only comes when we align ourselves with our relationship with God, the Universe, Spirit, or Higher Power. This sacred and holy place is where we dwell in Oneness as we decorate our Christmas trees and light up our homes with the ornaments. We bring ourselves inward and breathe into our hearts as we remember what is important. We free ourselves by releasing the past that imprisons us and our brothers and sisters. We let go of the thoughts that keep us guilty or others in guilt. We begin again in joy and celebration as we create a new year that awakens us all into the spirit of love where we see all of our relations as holy. Here in our hearts we are free to give the greatest gift of acceptance, which is unconditional love and share the food that has fed us.

Love is the light that shines through your heart. You become the star that shines into the darkness as you illuminate from the inside and share this love with all that are present. You unwrap the moment as presence fills you up and love is given freely through your receiving. This is the gift that costs nothing. Our lives are gifts from God and what we do with it is up to us.

Today is the day to remember how precious this life is and all who come to share with us during this holiday season.

At this time of celebration throughout our world, we join our hearts with one another as devoted celebrants of diverse ceremonies and celebrations.

Merry Christmas and Blessed and Happy Holidays to All!

All my love,

Frannie

A Season of Thanksgiving

"Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life."~ Rumi

I remember being an awkward teenager. I felt insignificant and small as I walked through the corridors of my High School. It wasn't easy to fit in at St. Mary's High School for girls. I didn't know many of the students and I didn't feel smart enough or pretty enough. All my insecurities were worn on my sleeve so to speak as I clutched my books in front of me and tried to hide in the corners of my mind. I was already a shooting target because of being a triplet. Someone announced it at lunch and all eyes were on us. The three of us were new at the school and the spotlight brought me deeply into the pain of years of unwanted attention. I wanted to sink into the earth as all the eyes were on us and the horrible feelings were choking me. Embarrassed and alone, I wanted to disappear and so I did until one day I met my counselor at the school. Her name was Helen Gelinas and she took me under her wing and became my friend. Her loving kindness showered me with the warmth of spirit and inspired me just by her presence. She was a safe place to share my inner stirrings and help me find the confidence to move myself into my life. She was an instrument for God as she guided me in ways that no other could. One simple act of kindness inspired me for the rest of my life. She opened me to find my ultimate calling by being herself. Her ability to listen was what I needed. This quality is God like and in the peaceful state of tranquility I had a chance to return to my true nature. This wonderful mentor taught me to express these inner feelings and accept the heartbreak, loneliness and sorrows of my inner landscape. With her loving attention I was able to touch the tender feelings that had been hidden for so long as I began to taste the sting of tears that ached to be let go of. Nothing had to be fixed. I didn't have to be fixed, only held in the loving stillness of an open heart.

This woman paved the way for me and now years later I bow to her for giving to me such a wonderful gift. I realize that being a good listener is one of the highest forms of meditation.

In the silent place within is where we are inspired to feel peace with ourselves.

Allow your eyes to soften as you go inward to gaze or listen without being distracted.

Let the sounds of the birds, trees swaying in the wind, fragrance of the flowering earth, a memory, a picture of a smiling face...Let it all be held without judgment.

Embrace your inner landscape as you breathe.

Be right here as you touch the treasures that surround your being.

Your generous heart begins to awaken and grow larger as your vision becomes clear.

Now sit in this stillness as you say-

"Thank you for my life. Thank you for this day where I can be of service."

With a grateful heart, bow to all those who inspired you to be who you are today.

Let us cherish this new day when our hearts overflow with peace and love as we transform this room of our beloved home with presence and share the blessings of another moment to bring all that we are to this world.

Thank you, God.

November Circle of Light Meditation with Frannie dates:

Upcoming Circle of Light Meditations with Frannie!

True Love : A Tribute to Marylou Baer

Everyone has left the cottage. I am here, alone for the first time since the passing of both my mother and father. I am sitting in their bedroom that is the second story of the house. I have my chair right up against the huge window that overlooks the lake and the birch trees. As I listen to the sound of the wind caressing the leaves and making conversation with all of my senses, I hear the silence of this sacred place pull me deep within to the core of my being where Spirit waits for my joining. Memories seem to pass through like clips from a movie. Feelings move through as well as I let go of participating with the mind. I just want to be quiet.

I sit comfortably deep inside the seat of consciousness where I am aware of Self as everything around me is just being. My heart opens wide to receive the energy that flows through this moment.

My first mother-in-law is dying right now as I type these words. Even though her son Kim and I did not stay married, Marylou has been a constant beacon of light in my life since the day I met her, 38 years ago. She had courage to keep living her life fully even after her diagnosis with cancer years ago. Her love of God and Jesus has inspired me in countless ways as her undying faith kept her going daily. Her selfless love was given to all of us and unconditionally you felt God's light shining on you through her eyes, her touch and her words. I am grateful to have her as a mom, a friend and companion through my life.

I am thousands of miles from her beside yet as I sit in prayer this day, I empty myself to be in communion with the Divine as I feel myself being lifted upwards. There is space between me and the thoughts and emotions inside. How easy it would be to cry right now and feel the sadness of death that is around my loved ones. I fall inside to join with my spiritual being. This pure energy envelops me and takes me to a sweet spot deep within where I am open to the beauty and appreciation that Spirit feels. I feel a love gushing inside of me and filling me up. I share this with her. This state of being is where I want to hang out and experience this doorway to God where a tremendous feeling of love, light and Spirit awakens inside. I feel lifted into the Oneness of God. Here there is no separation and it does not matter what religion we are, we are one with all creation. I seem to merge with all the trees, plants, animals, water, earth and rocks that surround this cottage. I feel I am giving through my heart the love that God is always. As I honor all life that is of this world, I get a glimpse of God and I walk closer to Him.

That's what happens when you meditate and pray. You begin to notice Spirit and allow the qualities of the Divine to expand within you. It is all beautiful. This is true love. That's how a mother loves her child. This is how I love my children and my mother loved her children. This selfless love is like God's love for all humanity and all creation.

I speak to Marylou almost every day, even though it might just be for a moment as she is very weak. She has moved into the Hospice House which she had helped build in her home town of Burlington, North Carolina. We would cry on the phone together as she ends the call the way she always has over the last 35 years, "be careful, I love you". The next day when mom was not speaking and only sleeping now, my sister-in law, Karen told me that Kim had walked from the outside into their mom's room and a butterfly was on his shoulder. It stayed in her room while she lay quiet between the worlds. Marylou loved butterflies and felt that she would make her spirit known to us all through the butterfly.

I got off the phone and knew within my heart that Marylou would communicate to me in some way. My niece was visiting and I was sharing the story as we were in the dining room setting the table for dinner. As I spoke of the butterfly story that Karen had shared, the music began to play from the frame on the bookshelf that had the picture of my girlfriend Mary who passed away over 6 yrs. ago. Her picture was surrounded by butterflies. Lindsay and I felt energy move through our body. Truth chills I like to call it. I immediately looked at the clock and it was 5:45 p.m. Maybe Marylou had just passed, we thought in that moment. Later that night I got a call from Karen saying that they didn't feel that mom would make it through the night. She died that morning at 5:45 a.m.

How blessed I am to call Marylou, mom. She has loved her children and has given to her children and the people in her life like God's nature. I bow to this undying love that moved her into the ocean of Divine Oneness where we are always together. I am so grateful to the many gifts that death teaches. How precious life is as we live in this love of Spirit.

Come here my precious one, where death pushed you to the edge

Let go of the veil of fear where we begin again so aware and grateful

The sun paints the earth with the light of a new day as the little bird sings

This is another moment to awaken to the miracle of life that just happens

Drink in the nectar of this presence

Be filled with the Source that is unlimited

Now sit for a while within the heart of consciousness

Awaken to the light that illuminates and lifts you upward

Into the heavens where you listen deeply to the silence

We meet here as the Beloved where nothing is hidden

There is nothing separating the inside from the outside

All is participating with creation as you are touched by God's power

The hand that holds us all in this Holy and sacred moment beyond time

Who are you?

Oh, but a part of all that is

When the broken pieces of life open up to reveal all that exists within

As peace renews

Now simply, in your thoughts and actions

Return to the Source of Being.

Marylou Baer

May 11, 1930 - September 14, 2012

Your Own Secret Garden

BLOOM INFO FULLNESS!

I love this time of year when I can open the windows and doors and invite the glorious outside in. The fragrance of jasmine and honey suckle fill the room as the sounds of nature call me to move to the meditation garden I have created.  As I sit here in my comfortable chair with my writing pad on my lap, I allow Mother Nature to nurture me.  I receive the beauty of all that is blooming in loveliness for me. The colors and shapes of the flowers are lush, reminding me of all of the abundance that is present in my life.  I begin to reach into the pots and pluck out the weeds as I acknowledge the thoughts of lack that can hold me back.  

When we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but on the abundance that's present, the feelings of lack fall away and we can experience the joy in our ordinary day.   

As I breathe consciously the moment becomes an entry way inward. Dissolving into all that is in the moment allows me to feel or just be with myself without judgment. I come to this place countless times yet as I enter through my heart I am like an innocent child awakening to a new experience. This is where I anchor in the present moment as it opens me up to receive the spiritual food that brings me life. I bathe in the love as I lose myself in this state of being. I retreat into my own secret garden inside.

Words cannot truly express the feeling of becoming one with all creation. Mystics and poets try to describe the beauty of it all yet never to quite touch it through expression. To be it is like finding a jewel in a pile of rocks. It takes your breath away and yet when you arrive; you know in every cell of your being that this is home- your true state of being.

Living in this state is what we all long for. The outside world can bring us to the doorway yet the true experience is inward. It is an inside job for sure.

In a holy instant, as we  let go and surrender to the ocean of love it will sweep us up or even swallow us whole.

To sustain this state is a challenge as life outside continues to pull us away. My open and grateful heart brings me to union with the silent language of spirit that speaks. I listen to what  arises up through the moment of complete acceptance.

The jewel is held tenderly within the heart. The light illuminates and fills the entire moment with a feeling that lifts me up into higher consciousness. The sounds of the world begin to sing the praises to God.

 I silently shout out without making a noise, celebrating the very moment of union with the Divine.

Here I am filled with all that I need. Here I know that this life is unfolding just as it will- spilling into every part of this journey. As I accept myself with all that is good and bad without judgment, I am allowing my true self to emerge and be the vessel for love to now bathe the world. In all sorts of ways I can be authentically Me. Sharing myself as a beacon of light, illuminating the path that unifies and joins with all I meet.

The fullness of the moment gives without conditions as it shares love. To be love is truly the state of being that heals the past and allows the future to arrive.

There is no other day to begin but today, as you bloom like any flower in your garden of life. Let yourself become the fullness of your loving heart and the essence is the fragrance that touches this world like a breath of springtime.
 

All My Love,

Frannie

A New Year

“Nothing in all creation is so like God as stillness.” -Meister Eckhart, the 14^th Century Mystic

To my family and friends, I bow to you for being companions on this life pilgrimage with me as we enter into 2012.  We have practiced embracing everyday of our lives with more consciousness as we shift into each moment waiting for the new with great trust. We are blessed in this time to be human beings- grateful and awake. Life invites us to stay awake as we pay attention to what is true in the moment, in our hearts, and make choices from this place.

As members of one human family we can accept our flaws and shortcomings in each honest present moment. Let us rise up out of bed this day and as we place our feet upon the earth, we breathe deeply inside where we can drink in the feeling that is beyond any language, where we are enough.

With the house empty after a busy holiday season, the quiet solitude pulls me to the couch where my cat Angel sleeps beside me. As I breathe consciously, I begin to touch the inner landscape of these tender feelings that have been hidden away. Listening to my heart comes easier when I am quiet and patient. Whenever I move into stillness I seem to meet some forgotten grief, sorrow or even joy. Today I let myself taste the tears that long to be shed. There is nothing to fix here or change in any way. Allowing a space of stillness seems to soften the gaze inward as a wise and ancient truth begins to rise up.

The outside world becomes brighter as this larger part of me seems to emerge from deep within the canyon of myself. I hear the wind pushing through the screen of the window as the sounds of people walking to the beach catch my attention. I hear them laughing and calling me to open my eyes. I see the colored lights twinkling on the Christmas tree as the memories of the past year flow gently through my mind’s eye. Each ornament hangs like a road sign from the past to the present.

Without such stillness of attention, how could we possibly know the treasures that surround us in every moment? I bathe in the rich, loving silence where I recognize that we are all one body, one mind, one heart, and one spirit. It is a new year as we wake up to a new life of Oneness.

Listen, child of God…

You are enough just as you are.

Receive the gift of the moment

for you are worthy of the love that is present.

There is so much to be a part of, and it is all within you.

Stop and feel the breath move you into the emptiness

that fills you with everything that you need.

Nourish yourself with the energy that exists.

You are here in the stillness where God meets you.

Awaken to the blessings of a single day for it is

a gift to be opened.

Happy New Year To All!