Sunday, September 27, 2009

Don't put a period where God placed a comma!

I recently sent out my monthly newsletter. I send one every month with information on my upcoming classes, book recommendations and a "Ponder This!" section. September was the first newsletter I sent out after losing Isabella. I mentioned the loss of Isabella in that newsletter and pointed them to the blog. A lot of my newsletter readers hadn't read the blog yet mainly because they didn't know about it. Since then I've had a renewed flurry of activity from people emailing me their condolences. I am always honored to receive those notes and it warms my heart to feel that people truly care. So for that I thank you all.

In one of the email exchanges I had, a friend of mine said to me "don't put a period where God placed a comma". I thought that was a fantastic statement! I thought about all the times that we make a decision that seems so definite only to have the course of our lives altered for the better just a few months later.

In the few months before meeting my husband I had decided that I was going to be about myself for a while. I didn't want to go out with my friends, I wasn't going to date, all I did was do things that allowed me to go within and discover who I was. The last thing on my mind was meeting the person I was going to spend the rest of my life with. During my "break" from the stimulus of the world, I got invited to a friend's annual crawfish boil. This was a party that I had been to for years and pretty much knew everybody. I thought I would decline the invitation but my mom really wanted to go see her friends so I took her. I met my husband that night; we talked all night and have been together ever since. I had put a period where God had a comma.

I love Doreen Virtue's oracle cards. I must own 5 different decks. One of my favorites is "Magical Messages from the Fairies". I also love the Archangel and Angel cards. I'll pull cards sometimes daily. A lot of my cards will say something to the effect of "everything is ok" or "things are working out in your favor". I look at those cards sometimes and think how could that be? How could 3 miscarriages in a row be an ok thing? But what if this is not a period but the comma that we're talking about?

I like to think that the Universe is always on my side and things are working out for my best. Why don't I give God and the Universe a chance to show me how things are working out in my favor? I really don't believe that Isabella will ever come back to us in the physical form. At the same time, what if her work with us is not done and there's still more to come. One of my friends who lost a daughter at full-term to a still-birth thinks that she is now her guardian angel. That’s a perfect example of allowing this experience to be a comma and not a period.

I suggest allowing the Universe to be on your side and looking at everything in your life as an enhancement to it. Allow God, Spirit, the Universe, Source or whatever you’d like to call it to move in your life. I always tell my students and clients to go with the flow; what if God has something great in store for you? Don’t stop before your dream is realized.

Don’t put a period where God placed a comma!

I’d love to hear your thoughts. You can email me to mary@marysalfi.com, find me on Facebook or post a comment below.

By the way, you can sign up for my newsletter at www.marysalfi.com if you’d like.

Comma,
Mary

Friday, September 18, 2009

Living the now

For those of you who know me you know that I'm a thinker or I should say I contemplate things. I may read something somewhere or hear someone say something which will lead me to spend the next few days wondering and contemplating what they meant and what might be the answer to it. I have been contemplating a couple of things lately; life and being in the now.

It seems like I've heard about people getting in accidents or having health issues a lot lately and the prognosis has not been good. I've always believed to some extent that we chose how and when we'll die prior to incarnating. I have also read somewhere that you can have up to 3 exit points or 3 times in your life when you may die. These are times that you may have a near death experience or something traumatic may happen to you which forever changes your outlook on life. I also feel that on some level we know the path we're supposed to be leading in our lives but it's a little foggy along with that fogginess comes the when and how we're going to die. Therefore the conclusion for me would be that life for you or I could end at any second so why not enjoy every single moment that you are alive.

Wayne Dyer (shocker I would quote him) talks about the only time you have to live is now. Everything that happened in your past was only a series of "now" moments and everything coming in your future is a series of "now" moments as well therefore the conclusion becomes there is nothing but being in the present moment. Doesn't that feel good? To be free of the past - how liberating is that? We can't turn back time so let's not worry about it.

Was the day I lost Isabella a possible exit point for me? I was told that I lost 40% of my blood volume and that if I hadn't been in the hospital already who knows what would have happened. I'll never be sure if I chose not to die that day but I can say that my outlook on life has definitely changed since then. I would say that I now seize the opportunity to enjoy whatever it is I'm doing and I don't put off until tomorrow as much. Well I do put off housework but not playing with the kids or a tennis match because that allows me to feel good in the now. I do love a clean house and when that's the priority then fixing beds, picking up toys, doing dishes and laundry is what I do.

My friend talks about a near fatal car accident she was involved in that forever changed her life as well. When people tell her they're sorry she had to go through that her answer is she's not. She's actually happy she had that life experience because it allowed her to have an appreciation for what is now.

I feel that living this way will also eliminate a lot of struggles for you. If you enjoy the now rather than having an expectation of how something needs to look then you are also free of those ties. Does expectation lead to disappointment? I would say that it may be true most of the times.

In her book "Life Touches Life" Lorraine Ash talks about how some people who were her friends or family did not show up for her when she lost her daughter at 9 months to a still-birth but how others did come through for her. The people that did show up for her were not the people she was expecting to. She cautions us who have lost babies prematurely that this may also happen. People simply may not know how to react to our situation or don't know what to say. I can definitely say I've experienced this as well. Some of my family members have not called, emailed or sent me a card yet and it's been about 3 months since I lost Isabella. I can't tell you that it doesn't hurt when someone doesn't show up for you but I can also say that I am going to choose to appreciate and enjoy those people who were a huge support for me and still are.

Be in the now - it's the only moment you've got!

I'd love to hear your thoughts. You can email me to mary@marysalfi.com, find me on Facebook or post a comment below.

In the now,
Mary

Monday, September 14, 2009

So ... who am I?

I have been going to a hot yoga class lately which I have been enjoying tremendously. Through all the movement that I do in a hot room, I get to contemplate a lot of what's going on in my life and release that which doesn't suit me anymore. I love doing things that are symbolic in that way. Today's instructor asked the question us the question "Who are you?"

I smiled inwardly because that is something I ask myself and teach about all the time. It is also a question I have blogged about as well. I thought to myself well this is easy today - I know the answer. I have contemplated this question a lot and here it is; I am a person who loves company, who loves being outdoors, I love hanging out with my kids, I love going out to dinner with my husband ... among other things. I realized though that as I was going over those in my head that I am not only that. I am also what I desire to be in the future as well as the person I was when I was 10 years old - that pure being that hadn't had a lot of life experiences yet. This brought up a whole new perspective for me on this question.

Esther Hicks channels an entity called Abraham. The teachings of Abraham are quite amazing. They talk a lot about the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction says if you desire something, desire it and expect that it will come to you then it must come. I thought about that with Isabella a lot. I really did want her to come but she didn't. Does that mean that the Law of Attraction doesn't work or does it mean that for whatever reason this manifestation did not come to fruition in the way I wanted it to.

Wayne Dyer takes it one step further and says if your desire does not manifest then assume that it was for your best. Abraham also takes it one step further by saying that it is ideal if you use the Law of Attraction to hold the intention of manifesting joy into your life. Therefore, if you desire joy, feel that you can attain joy and expect joy to come into your life then it must come. This thought process will then lead you to experience joy in everything you encounter. No longer will you work on manifesting a new car or new job or a relationship rather if what will bring you joy is a new car then it will come into your life and so on. Allow the Universe to give you the gifts that give you the greatest happiness. Allow yourself to receive that ultimate gift of joy.

So ... who am I?

I realized after all this contemplation that who I really am is a very compassionate and happy person. Once I said those words to myself I felt a smile forming on my face and I have carried that feeling ever since. My husband had said those words to me in conversation the other day. I didn't realize that he was giving me a gift of realizing who I am one step further. As a child, I helped everyone I could and as an adult I do the same always with a smile on my face.

What do you think? I'd love to hear from you. You can email me to mary@marysalfi.com, find me on facebook or leave a comment below.

In the spirit of yoga ...
Namaste,
Mary

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Inspiration. Where is it?

It seems like I went through a period of being uninspired for a couple of weeks. It just seemed like I was going through the motions of the day; one thing leading to the next without my usual umph for life. I don't really know the cause of it but since I am not one to stay in that mode I decided to do something about it.

For those of you that know me well - you know that I LOVE Wayne Dyer. I never go to Maui without openly hoping that I'll just happen to run into him on the beach. Wayne Dyer is known as the father of inspiration so I thought to myself what better seminar to attend then "Excuses Begone!".

The seminar is about eliminating excuses from your life and to just get on with what it is you desire. I've been reading the book "Excuses Begone!" and that has been shifting a lot of thought processes or mind viruses as Dr. Dyer calls them. Wayne Dyer to me is truly inspiring; his style of lecturing just has a way of seeping into my being and becoming part of it. It has been helping tremendously just reading the book and looking forward to actually being part of the workshop.

The greatest thing about making a choice to become inspired is seeing what experiences have come my way since. Esther Hicks, who channels an entity known as Abraham, talks about aligning yourself with what it is you'd like to manifest in your life. I truly believe that is true. When you truly align yourself with what it is you want then it seems like the Universe responds 10-fold and brings you the necessary experiences. My choice of becoming inspired and then following it up with actually buying my ticket to the workshop was the sign the Universe needed to bring me those experiences.

My kids go to a school where the first grade class starts their day with a morning walk. I've been going on these walks these past few days and it's just amazing to me how inspired I'm getting from hanging around a bunch of 6 and 7 year-olds. Today's task was to try to run as fast as you could so that you could jump and touch the branch of a tree. What great fun and excitement this brought. Pretty soon all the boys were running to try to see who could get that branch. We also walked in front of a patch of sunflowers. I mean we're talking about Jack and the beanstalk type sunflowers. These things were huge and overflowing in this beautiful garden.

I thought about that walk and the zest that these kids have for life all day today. I'd like to carry that type of energy with me throughout every day. Why wouldn't I let a giant sunflower inspire and awe me? The yoga class I did today was fantastic, the reading I did this morning was amazing, the tennis matches I watched at our club, my kids running around playing football, my sons' hugs and kisses ... the list is endless of things I can look at to inspire me. I just need to be aware of all the experiences the Universe is sending my way and they are plenty. The key is to pay attention to everything coming my way; both small and big.

What do you think? What inspires you? Are you doing it? Let me know what you think by emailing me to mary@marysalfi.com, posting a comment to this blog or commenting on my Facebook page.

With joy,
Mary