Union with Your Inner Being

Be content with what you have;

rejoice in the way things are.

When you realize there is nothing lacking,

the whole world belongs to you.  -Lao-Tzu

Being here now - worthy and in love with self. It's beautiful here. Right here in this moment now. 

 

Wherever we are is a blessed gift. Even in health challenges or loss. Even when the world outside of us is struggling. Even when our children are hurting. Even when life gives us the worst terrible news.

 

Even when life isn't exactly the way I want it to be, I realize that I wouldn't want to trade places with anyone. I can be content with who I am no matter what. It just helps to surrender to the way things are. 

So, I breathe in and allow life in. Breathe out and let go of the fear of the unknown.

 

How deeply moved I am by nature. It seems to hold me, whenever I enter the garden. Here I sit with my daughter in the backyard. It's Mother's Day and I watch her doing yoga when moments before she was in despair with her struggles about her new health challenges. I watch her like I watch the snowy white egret standing by my table - so close - I can take her beauty in with every detail, bringing me closer to what is real. All she needs is to be listened to and held. This love that has no conditions. This love fills me up like nothing else. 

 

It is this union with my inner being that holds all of me. Here I touch what is so human and real. How easy it is to slip into a mind that can keep me a prisoner of the past. 

 

I watch Lane move through her life with eyes of wisdom. I trust the journey. It's not always easy.

 

Being alive in the Now is what nature shows us. Being here in all our humanness is all we have. The past has been the escort of this presence, bringing us back home, into the only moment that is real. 

 

Life continues to flow and I might as well join the party of creation, as I sit inside this sacred holy place where I commune with what is here. How I look at it seems to be the ticket, to be a part of the flow and momentum that carries me into what will be. 

 

Loss happens to us all. Yet to me, it has served my evolution to become more. I am grateful that the doorway is open. I step through and watch it all unfold.

All my love,

Frannie

Rebirth Into Your Fullness

As the months of inner hibernation have helped you to let go of what was, you will now blossom. The fruits of your labor will bring aliveness and delicious parts of you into the world. Your body is the vessel of this infinite life that will continue to give to the world.  - Frannie (from my upcoming book)

Just a few days ago, I sat beside my friend Charlotte, holding her hand as I received her fully. I was taking her in, every part of her. In my heart I knew this might be the last time I get to touch her physical body. Her smiling eyes reflected back the magnificent beauty of her life. I gazed at her every movement and listened to every word and in the silence of my mind, I felt the love of just being in her presence. I wasn't wrapped up in the fear of her dying. I was held in a love that had always been there since the first moment I met her. I looked into her clear eyes and saw her determination to do whatever she needed to do. She was on her last days and her breathing was so labored especially when she took off the oxygen.

 

Charlotte still believed a miracle could happen. She had faith and hope and surrounded by all who loved her, she was learning her greatest life lesson. She said to me, "I am finally learning to receive." Robert was sitting beside me and together we meditated with her and the peace and illumination of light filled us. We were in the womb of God's loving embrace, not knowing the future. She looked at me and said that she wasn't afraid to die only the panic of suffering.

 

Yesterday, I felt her leave. Maybe not her body fully yet. I felt her presence in nature while going for a walk as I spoke to her. She might have been visiting the other-side and checking it all out in the moments of sleep. The energy filled me and tears rolled down my face. Yet the pain of her leaving wasn't choking me. It was filling me up with an incredible love. I knew her children and family were around her. I had a plan to go to see her with Robert the next day, yet deep down inside I felt she was going to leave. I looked at the clock and it was around 6:00 pm. The feeling came back. I knew I wouldn't see her again. Yet, somehow I just didn't want to take that in. I went on cooking and being with myself, not wanting to go anywhere. My thoughts were with Charlotte and in my way, I believed I was with her. I was in a mindful, prayerful place.

 

Then I got the phone call from Robert, "Charlotte passed, surrounded by her family around 6:00 pm." As the tears flowed from my eyes, I was grateful she did not suffer. I cried as the tears opened me up. I cried because I won't be able to go and have that luncheon date we planned. I cried because I won't hear her laugh and hear the words of wisdom that would spill out of her. I cried because I loved her and in my short time on this earth with her, I knew she was a real friend. She was herself and shared her heart so easily. She wasn't afraid to engage in any conversation. It was intimate to be with someone like that and the quality of time with her was a lifetime of truth.

 

This woman was Robert's best friend and she was the one who brought us together. She was the one who sat beside him the first time he saw me. Charlotte was an angel here on this earth. She was an inspiration to many and just looking at her, you didn't see all she accomplished in helping serve our world. She was a doer. When her daughter died 20 years ago, she allowed life to move her into creating a foundation to send children to camp. Meeting her, you fell in love with yourself because she was pure love.

 

We leave our imprint on this earth. Just like if we laid upon the sand, there our form would be. Just like walking on the beach, our footprints would remain. Just like a flower blooming, it's fragrance would be left for us to take in. Just like the hug from a friend or a handshake, we feel the presence and experience the imprint of our life upon this world.

 

Nature reminds us to return to ourselves. To take good care of our state of being so that when we are filled up we can give from our fullness. Then when we go out into the world we can stay long enough to gaze into the eyes of another without having any agenda at all. Just to receive another and listen and hold them for that precious holy moment is sacred. We can't do it if we are continuing to run around and be distracted with saving the world or thinking in any way that we could fix it.

 

We are here to learn self-love. In receiving every part of our humanity, all the darkness and the lightness, we can stop judging and begin allowing life in.

 

In the middle of the night I woke up to feel Charlotte's presence, brilliantly shining in my room. She was so free and happy. My heart filled up with her spirit.

 

My friend Charlotte has been reborn into her fullness and as Spirit she sees how loved she is.

Her love shines through her imprint that was left on our hearts. She gave to this world selflessly. Now she is in the arms of her God and her darling daughter.

 

In the morning I decided to go to a restorative yoga class a block away. I call Cindy at Island Yoga Space and ask her if there is room. With a yes, I walk down the street with my yoga mat on my shoulder. Looking up at the clear blue sky I hear Charlotte's words that are echoing in my heart, " I am finally learning to receive."

I am finally learning to receive.

 

There is a balance between giving and receiving. Nature receives until it is so full then it bursts into giving us the fragrance and beauty of its presence.

 

It's springtime and Easter. A time of renewal and rebirth. A time to let go and breathe into all that I am.

This life is precious. I can open up and let myself take baby steps into the next moment. With this conscious nurturing, I can... we can flower in an instant.

 

Now open and bloom!

All my love

Namasté,

Frannie

Intoxicated With Life!

Three decades ago I was diagnosed with an illness called Environmental sensitivities. One breath of a toxic substance would put me into a catatonic state and then I would be bed ridden for days. I was told that if I didn't change my lifestyle, I would have a year and a half to live. For me, I had no other place to go but within. This was the journey that took me inside to release all of the toxicity that was calling for my attention.  

  

Breath by breath, step by step, I learned how to listen inside to a voice that called me to show up for myself; I learned how to surrender to a guidance that showed me true love. I cleansed and let go. This love of self brought me into alignment with my inner source. Strengthened by this reconnection, I began to reclaim my true power that became my health of body and mind. Here I let go of the false self and slowly began to live more authentically. This journey continues to humble me daily. 

  

My commitment to living from the inside to the outside has changed me forever. Meditation is a tool that moves me mindfully into my every moment. With self-acceptance I stay focused within as I turn my gaze outward to receive this incredible life that gives and gives unconditionally. It is our birthright to receive this life that has been given as we learn to receive ourselves without judgment. 

 

Unconditional love is the greatest gift we give to ourselves. Can we accept and love ourselves no matter what the conditions are in the external world? Can we remember not to be afraid of these internal feelings that are only frightening when we repress them? 

  

After my husband transitioned, I walked back into my home where everything was a reminder of loss and I let myself feel everything. I was filled with sorrow and didn't think I could ever experience joy again. 

  

Death of a loved one demands your attention to step into dark places that we learned to avoid. Here is where you must accept the hardest unacceptable parts beyond your imaginings. But here in the deepest and darkest valleys inside there is an emptiness so silent that truth does eventually emerge. True love is the divine force that is ever present. This love within never dies and the greatest miracle is allowing it in again and again. Getting out into the world and sharing this feeling is powerful and life changing. 

  

Each of us is unique and precious. We all have our own journey through life's challenges. Maybe today you will walk out into your world with the belief that all is possible and hold the vision in your heart for another as you share in this intoxicating life that gives from the inside.   

 

Be still and breathe into this moment where you awaken to the beauty that illuminates you from the inside. 

Be aware of what is present within as you accept yourself just as you are. 

How worthy you are to be held in this presence that loves you unconditionally.

Give yourself to this moment and allow the healing waters that flow through you to release you from the past.

Let go of what cannot serve you as you accept the truth that moves through your heart this day.

You are a child of God, worthy to be loved and to love.

Today is filled with promise as you give yourself to the moment. 

Stay here and drink yourself in as you are filled with the spirit of life that moves through you with or without your conscious connection. 

This love is in all creation and as you join within, you are joined with all. 

Let go of who you think you are and allow yourself to be fully here. 

You are not the coverings you wear. 

You are not the credentials or diplomas.

You are not your mistakes or your pains. 

You are the one that is connected to a presence that gives life. 

This power would never take away from anyone, it gives from its fullness and shares in the eternal presence of the divine. 

This place of well being is in the center of your heart as you receive yourself fully. 

Every part of you is worthy of love and acceptance. 

Every part of you is here in the center of being you. 

Be yourself! 

Now, fully receive the gift of this beautiful life that is the beloved. 

You are incredible. 

This life that lives within you and all around you inspires and creates. 

Move into your world, open your eyes and stay right here giving and receiving this love that has no conditions. 

Now move from the inside to the outside and allow this light to illuminate through your living. 

You are free to be fully here, intoxicated with the beauty of love divine that is reflected in the world that surrounds you. 

Blessed Be

 

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