Skyways

 When the world goes all sideways, there are still some things you can count on.

The sky.

Miracles happen. Scary things can produce sweet things.

You can always look up.

When the world seems like an untamed jungle, without a clear path...

Some things remain.

The wind itself can carry seeds of change.

#faith

Blessed week!

Love,

T

Amazing Grace

Letting go of that which no longer serves us can sadden the heart. It was the case for me this week as I changed the direction of some of my plans for my new album and myself. I know new plans will fill in the spaces left by the undoing of old ideas. Confirmation was everywhere.

Church was perfect. The priest spoke of how a seed must die and fall to the ground before it can grow and produce fruit. He talked about allowing old ways to die - like anger, pride and the like. He made an example of John Newton, the author of the hymn "Amazing Grace." John was in the Atlantic slave trade before his spiritual conversion in 1748 when he encountered a violent storm and "called out to God for mercy." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Grace) The priest continued speaking about the newness that would spring forth and the beauty of the new path that would unfold when we let go of old ways. I had already seen some positive effects of being on my new path.

After the service, Zach and I met a woman who gave me a direct message to treasure every moment with him. She had lost her daughter in a tragic accident. We both hugged her before heading out to the monument to Our Lady of Lourdes. I stood in front of that very statue and prayed for Zachary's safe arrival before he came - and I was granted the miracle of life. There we both were, standing in that same spot together. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Lourdes

After a couple of errands, we went back home for lunch and nap time. As he was drifting off to sleep in my arms, Amazing Grace started playing on the station set up in his room.

Amazing grace indeed.

Blessed week to us all...

Namaste,
T

Thanks for Taking Care of That

Doctor: So you have this aortic aneurysm that is descended.

Me: Ok. (Wasn't expecting THAT.)

Doctor: No wait... You're not Sheldon.

Me: Nope.

It turned out that my radiology report showed no issues at all, but that the department had accidentally sent the wrong report to the doctor. When I was leaving the doctor smiled and said, "Glad I was able to take care of that aneurysm for you."

Me too.

Sometimes, when things don't seem to be going my way, I have the presence of mind to stop and think that maybe it's for the best anyway. Sometimes not. Thankfully there are moments when I realize that there are probably all kinds of Blessings I am not even aware of. Like maybe when I'm running late and everything seems to be slowing me down, it's so that I miss a traffic accident that might've been if I had been on the road a few minutes earlier. When I'm on the right side of gratitude and faith, I might feel keenly aware that the Universe is taking care of all kinds of things for me.

Thanks for taking care of that - and thanks for the reminders.

"You have been given a gift worth more than any material gift ever bestowed."

- Joan Goss

Thanks also to Joan Goss (ordained minister and longtime student of A Course in Miracles - http://acourseinmiracleswithjoan.com), whom I heard speak and who reminded me of the power of the mind. The next time I feel like complaining, I'll try to remember to be grateful for all the ways I'm being taken care of.

Namaste,
T

Prayers and well wishes for Sheldon too...

#MiraclesHappen

It would be impossible not to notice the conflict and division that surround us this week...

As a new mom, I am also keenly aware of the miracles that surround us as well...

Through conflict and differences, may we discover opportunities for greater understanding and expansion of our perceived capacity to Love. #WereAllInThisTogether

Namaste,
T

Believe in Miracles

I had forgotten about this Angel that I got last Christmas.

Now when I look at it, in this season of miracles, I'm reminded of all the Blessings that came my way in 2016. It's as if my last-year self was given a message to keep the faith - good things were about to come.

Here's to believing in all the Miracles that are still to come, to keeping the faith.

Christmas and Hanukkah at our house

Continued Blessings to all in the new year...

"There can be miracles when you believe"

- Stephen Schwartz and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds

Namaste,
T

An Alarming Miracle...

I don't remember exactly what the dream was, but when I looked up the meaning in my dream book it meant "all that you need will be provided." That was before I left for L.A.

On my first night out here in California, I noticed that there were no electrical outlets near my bedside. Worried about my dependency on my phone being fully charged, and for the alarm on it to wake me in the morning, I searched for a solution. There seemed to be an outlet behind the bed, but it would not budge from the wall and the outlet could not be reached. I would also need to plug in my speaker and iPod, and the nearest source of electricity was all the way across the room and required moving furniture and disconnecting the television. "I need an outlet right here" I said aloud, motioning toward the nightstand. I thought we would have to buy an extension cord.

We were out all day the following day. When we finally arrived back to the room Russ asked, "Did you buy an alarm clock?" (No, I had not.) There on my nightstand was a brand new alarm clock with two outlets and two USB ports on it for charging. I had not mentioned a thing to any hotel staff, or to anyone at all for that matter.

There it was, right on my nightstand.

I remembered that dream's meaning... "Everything you need will be provided." I HAD said, "I need an outlet right here." BAM! There it was.

I looked up toward the sky, smiled and said, "Thank You."

Here's hoping that we all walk with faith this week, knowing that we have everything we really need.

Namaste,
T

P.S.
Three days later, I finally figured out how to get the alarm on that thing to stop going off at 6 AM every morning! LOL xoxo

Loving Spoonful...

Sign me up for Hogwarts! I have taken a workshop in "Spoon Bending" and have successfully bent spoons.

It was an exercise in mind over matter. The greater purpose was to help us realize the artificial limitations we place on ourselves and provide practice in breaking these barriers. (If I can do this to forks and spoons with my bare hands, imagine what I can do to heal my body and soul!)

If you look up "spoon bending" and the related "psychokinesis" you'll find much criticism, skepticism, and evidence of trickery from illusionists.

"For those who believe, no proof is necessary. 

For those who don't believe, no proof is possible."

- Stuart Chase

I don't know how we did it exactly, but almost all of us in Ron Nagy's class did in fact bend our spoons. We used our minds and gentle pressure from our hands. We had been instructed to bring our own stainless steel or silver plated spoons. I brought some new and used stainless, and additional silver plated ones were provided to me after I had already bent my own.

With Ron Nagy

Spoon Bending Work Playshop

Here's the thing... It doesn't matter to me if there is or is not scientific proof or explanation. If the outcome of the exercise is our enhanced confidence in our own abilities to Heal and Empower ourselves, then it is real. If we use that confidence to positively improve our health and well-being, then we have been effectively guided toward love. Therein lies a miracle, a change in perception for the express purpose of our highest good.

"Whether you think you can, 

or you think you can't - you're right."

- Henry Ford

"Man is what he believes."

- Anton Chekhov

There were more workshops in Spirituality and Healing as I immersed myself in studies on those subjects over the weekend at Lily Dale, the "World's Largest Center for the Science Philosophy and Religion of Spiritualism." Click here for Lily Dale's Home Page. I AM always grateful for the healthy dose of peace and serenity I experience there. This quote from A Course in Miracles was mentioned by medium John White, who also reminded us that there is only love and fear - and only love is real.

"Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists."

- A Course in Miracles

Our personal journeys toward our greatest potential are filled with the most amazing moments! Self empowerment and the awareness of pure love can feel absolutely magical. It feels like we're at the place where illusion ends and the real magic begins... Thank you - to all who bring loving spoonfuls and help us on our way.

Namaste!

T

Flippin' Out

I began last week GETTIN' IT ON at the gym and I posted this pic in reference to my fitness goals:

On Tuesday, this blog's viewership reached over 17,000 and I was psyched!  Then, my "Congratulations!" tweet to the creator of a musical that just moved to Off-Broadway and is getting rave reviews was retweeted by him, to my surprise and delight.

I was having a great time!  I thought, "I am going to look for more things to celebrate.  Maybe I'll create more things to celebrate!"  I fully expected this blog to be titled "Happy Dance" or "Celebrate Good Times Come On!" or something like that.

I soon found this Dr. Wayne Dyer quote and it served as confirmation for me that positivity and celebration could be found everywhere if we choose to see it...

"Everything that happens to you 

is either an opportunity to grow 

or an obstacle to keep you from growing.  

You get to choose." 

- Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

After that, I heard a radio segment about Amazon's new version of the assembly line, which utilizes robots to bring the shelves to the workers, instead of the workers having to go to the shelves.  The newscaster mentioned a Yale professor who strongly advocates the idea of flipping things around (as Amazon had done with the robots).  There it was again - the same message...

"It turns out there are potential symmetries all around us – ways of flipping things around that might be just as good or better – if we just look for them." 

- Barry Nalebuff & Ian Ayres

"Did you ever store a ketchup bottle upside down?  How long did it take for Hunts and H.J. Heinz to figure out that they could turn the label upside down?" 

- Barry Nalebuff & Ian Ayres

(Barry Nalebuff is Milton Steinbach Professor of Management at Yale School of Management)

When "one of the worst storms in recent memory" (www.nytimes.com) dumped over seven feet of snow on some areas of Buffalo and its suburbs in three days, it wasn't exactly time to celebrate.  When a relative attending Florida State University texted me to inform me of a shooting in the school's library, stunned disbelief and concern seemed the more appropriate response.  

When my relative at F.S.U. immediately informed me that she was alright and perfectly safe and sound at home that evening, though, I was naturally overwhelmed with gratitude for that.  While the events of that day were undeniably tragic, and our prayers continue to be with the student in critical condition and with the family of the troubled, there is also much to be grateful for.  So many students, teachers, parents, relatives and law enforcement officials are surely grateful to be safe and for the safety of their loved ones.  We can all be reminded of how precious life is and to appreciate and celebrate every moment of it.

I was scheduled to drive to Buffalo on Thursday and was watching the weather forecast very carefully.  As I saw the terrible conditions and even heard the death toll rise, I was also hearing that relatives and many people I know were out of harm's way and doing well.  While we prayed for those in need and for the families of those lost, we were also grateful for the health and well being of so many others.  

Families all over Western New York were making the most of their situations, and stellar examples of neighbors helping neighbors were everywhere.  (Buffalo is called "The City of Good Neighbors" for good reason!)  Miracles were taking place when a little "Lucy Grace" came into the world at a firehouse.  Just prior to her parents being unable to make it to the hospital for her delivery, her dad just "happened" to meet up with a stranded woman who was a labor and delivery nurse.  Shortly after their meeting, another stranded nurse (this time a maternity nurse) found her way to the same firehouse where little Lucy was born.

click here for CNN's coverage: "Father of baby born in snowstorm: It's not odds; it's God":

click here for for WIBV's (Buffalo's news channel 4) coverage: "Storm Baby 'Lucy Grace' born in Buffalo Firehouse"

Social media was flooded with the humor and good spirit of Western New Yorkers flipping their predicaments around into seeing the bright side of things.

click here for ABC News' article: "Social Media Has a Sense of Humor About the Ridiculous Amount of Snow in Buffalo"

We only delayed our trip to Western New York by one day, making it through cleared roads on Friday.  On Saturday, we attended an ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL middle school performance of Seussical Jr.  Those kids were fantastic to see!!!  Two of my cousins were among the performers and I was so happy and proud to see them up there on stage.  I loved every minute of that show.  I smiled the whole time and when it was done I told Russ, "THAT was the best show I've seen in a long time!"  As the kids hurried off to their cast party to celebrate their accomplishment, I smiled for them.  They deserved a good celebration for an outstanding job well done.

As we begin another week, we'll celebrate our dear friends as we record new songs in the studio.  We'll all celebrate Thanksgiving and family and a whole host of other things that we remember to be grateful for this time of year.  We'll celebrate the fact that there's ALWAYS SOMETHING to be grateful for.  I will be looking forward to all of the wonderful experiences that await.  When challenges come, I'll look for a way to flip them into opportunities of growth.  I'll flip out.

:) :) :)

Here's wishing you all a most joyous holiday!

Namaste!

T

"Choose to be in close proximity to people who are empowering, 

who appeal to your sense of connection to intention, 

who see the greatness in you, 

and who live a life that gives evidence 

that Spirit has found celebration through them." 

– Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Kool and the Gang - live performance of "Celebration"

featuring Buffalo's own (Lackawanna native) Shawn McQuiller, 

who has been a member of Kool and the Gang for the last 23 years!

Change Change Change...

Has the world gone mad?

I attended a meeting in the city where a woman stood up and wanted to discuss the rights of pixels.  Yes, pixels - the little dots that comprise the picture on your television and digital images everywhere.  Apparently, people worry about the rights of those little dots.  I was almost convinced the evening would prove to be a complete waste of time, and was teetering on the fence between amusement and irritation.  It seemed I had trudged my butt all the way into the city for no apparent reason.  Thankfully, my attitude turned all the way around when a lovely and perfectly sane casting director got up to speak.  She was inspirational and motivational.  I was fortunate enough to meet her and she invited me to submit my résumé to her.   Suddenly, I was launched forward into résumé updating, photo shoot scheduling and online submission forms, etc.  I felt good leaving the city that night and had a nice sense of accomplishment.  It turned out to be a wonderful way to start the week after all.  I fully expected this blog to be about forcing yourself to just put one foot in front of the other until something makes sense, as it had done that night (Just keep going!  One step at a time...), but as the week evolved that idea changed.

It was a busy week of travel and photo shoots, but I also managed to spend some time in nature...

"Speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee."

- Job 12:8

I don't normally think of this as my favorite time of year.  It seems kind of depressing when it gets cold and dark.  The winter coats come out of the closet and the patio furniture gets put away.  I start thinking about shoveling and I get the snowblower tuned up.  Air conditioners, bikes and summer dresses are put away.  (Sigh)  I wanted to get out and take some pictures of the pretty trees before all the leaves disappear. 

Funny how nature reflects everything...

Change and growth...

The beauty of things...

The climb...

Out of the darkness and into the light...

The sometimes ominous look of things...

The fork in the road...

Crossing that bridge when we get to it...

Everything I saw inspired thought.  I thought about that fence between amusement and irritation and how easy it is to go over the brink.  I thought about falling back (just like the clocks) into old habits and how effortless it is to just write off other people when we don't understand them.  (I'd been battling irritation all week and posted this link on Thursday:  "Sometimes, the first step toward forgiveness is realizing the other person was born an idiot" -DJTOD.)  I was searching for a way to keep from sinking into the negative and to keep a bright, positive spirit - even in the face of challenge.

On Sunday, I met the most wonderful and amazing woman.  She wrote a book, "From Stage IV to Center Stage."  She was diagnosed with stage IV cancer in her throat/neck, and was given three months to live.  Twenty-two months later, she sang the National Anthem at Fenway Park.  Nine years later, there I was, sitting in church listening to her story and hearing her say, "Challenges are nothing more than doorways to transformation."

"Denise DeSimone is an ordained interfaith minister, an inspirational/motivational speaker, a singer, and is also certified in multiple alternative healing modalities.  She is a wellness coach to cancer patients.  Denise also created Pray Peace, a multimedia offering of personal and global peace."

- from the back cover of her book, "From Stage IV to Center Stage"

click here for Denise's website

I attended her workshop on sound healing and had a most wonderful experience.  Before beginning a guided meditation that utilized vibrational sound energy, we set deliberate "intentions" for the experience.  My intention was "love space" - the place of positive energy.  I don't want to be in a negative space, or think that other people are idiots, or waste ANY time being anything but joyous.  I know that we can transform any thought, any idea, any pattern.  I know we are capable of letting go of old ideas and habits, and capable of change.  I wanted to bring in the happy and the new, and weed out all sources of irritation at the core.  As Denise introduced us to sound healing, she spoke about how easy it can be to transform an irritating sound to the point that you don't even hear it.  :) :) :)

Perfect!!!!!

This week, I'll continue the meditation practices she taught us and learn more.  (I bought her book and her CD.)  I will not have to resort to thinking of anyone else in a less than favorable light just to make myself feel better.  I'll train myself to hear joyous sounds and see miracles everywhere.

"There are two ways to live: 

You can live as if nothing is a miracle; 

or you can live as if everything is a miracle."

- Albert Einstein

"We cannot love without evolving 

and we cannot evolve without love."

- Denise DeSimone

Namaste!

T

Girl Power, Miracles and Perception (sorry guys)

Angela and I returned to the house Wednesday evening to find the driveway completely covered with ice and totally impassable.  To make matters worse, the plow had gone by, leaving a three-foot tall pile of solid ice chunks across its entrance.  I could not pull in and we would not be able to pull her car out.  It wasn’t a surprise, but on Thursday morning, we had to get to work chipping it all away.  It was just the two of us.

After a while of “ice picking” and after we had fallen into a routine of slamming down a shovel and a hole digger to break up the rock-like surface; after scooping and lifting and after several rounds of me singing “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” – just when my shoulder blades were starting to feel the sting, our conversation went something like this…

               Tan: “Why don’t we have any men around?”

               Angela: “[‘Cause] we can do it ourselves.”

               Tan [smiling]: “Right.  Thanks Angela.  I got lost there for a minute.”

               Angela: “No problem.”

Then after a few more minutes of back-breaking efforts to loosen the solid mound…

               Angela: “It could be worse… We could have MEN around.”

               (cue laughter)

First of all… sorry to all the wonderful men out there who are reading this.  :)  Despite our sense of humor, I do believe we would have very much appreciated someone with some muscle to have helped us out there.

Secondly, the way our conversation swung from wishful thinking and a sense of lack to a sense of empowerment, appreciation and gratitude made me remember that…

Sometimes a miracle doesn’t necessarily mean a change of circumstance, 

but instead a change in perception.

Here’s wishing you all a week filled with miracles (miracles and safe driving).

Namaste

P.S.

With the driveway sufficiently cleared, we were free to go to The Metropolitan Museum of Art where we remembered the women of Ancient Sparta who “were famous for their independence” and “reared much like boys, including physical fitness training.”(1) We also remembered Ancient Egypt where, contrary to other societies of the time,  “men and women of equivalent social status were treated as equals in the eyes of the law”(2) and the queens of Ancient Egypt who, while the King was around, played a supportive role but in his absence might be called upon to rule.  A few queens even “managed to overcome centuries of tradition and prejudice to rule their land as female kings.”(2)

Here are a couple of the books I got in the gift shop there:

                                   

 

Should be good reads.

Much love to all the beautiful strong women and to the beautiful strong men… love you too.

Ref:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_ancient_Sparta

2. Tyldesly, Joyce: “Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt,” Thames & Hudson, 2006