May 2008

I love this story and included it in my book on spiritual healing. It is so simple yet profound.

Thousands of starfish had washed up on the shore. A small girl began to pick them up and throw them back in so they wouldn’t die.

“Don’t bother, sweetie” her mother said, “it won’t make a difference.”

The girl stopped for a moment and looked at the starfish in her hand.

“It will make a difference to this one.”

We can only make a difference in our life and the lives of others in the present moment. Take a deep breath and make this moment count by loving whatever ‘is’ right here, right now.

You are love, you are loved and you are lovable.

With love and aloha,
Susan

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In memory of some friends who have crossed that rainbow bridge.

Sweetie Pie and Mandy

Anna

Muffy

Mr. Red

With love and aloha,
Susan

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Aloha everyone,

I just came back from the third annual Pow Wow here in Hilo, Hawaii. It was wonderful. I could sit and feel the beat of the drums all day long. The head dancer asked to speak for a moment and reminded everyone that the Pow Wow was an opportunity to connect with the Great Spirit, that it was after all a spiritual gathering. When he danced I could really feel his connection to spirit.

Since it was Memorial Day there was a moment of silence to honor all veterans. When they brought the flags in for the opening ceremony I was surprised, at a Native American gathering, to see flags for each of the branches of the US Military. It was after all the US military that displaced Native American tribes in the first place.

When I got home I received an e mail with a quote from Abraham-Hicks which I thought was very appropriate.

Two statements that will serve you very well. The first is: There will always be war. There will always be those who aggravate within others a sense of trouble in order to promote the solution that they already have their mind made up about. And so you’re never going to come into agreement as a mass consciousness that this is “the way.” There will always be disagreements; therefore, there will always be turmoil; there will always be war.

The other statement, that is our favorite is: Well-Being will always abound, so the dominant experience of the majority of people will always be one of Well-Being. So you can decide, at any point in time, in what part of this you want to play. You can use anything as your excuse to align with Well-being, or you can use anything as your excuse to not align. The thing that we think is at the heart of this discussion, is my own personal power. We think that’s what you are, sort of, struggling for and reaching for.

Every moment we do have that choice - to connect with our filter system or with our spirit. We can judge what is or see the perfection of what is. As my Aunty says, “Everything is pono (perfect) until we think otherwise.”

I had the wonderful opportunity to sit here in paradise, watching beautiful dancers and feeling the magic of the drums singing forth. I wouldn’t have had that opportunity if some people hundreds of years ago hadn’t decided to fight over some land.

I continue to bask in the perfection of the moment and to celebrate my life. May your life be filled with love, a sense of connection and gratitude as well, or war, which ever is your choice.

With love and aloha,
Susan

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Aloha,

Some folks have asked me about the little E card on my blog site. A while ago my web magician Zack signed me up for EntreCard. It is a way to meet other bloggers and let people know your blog exists. I have gotten to read and thoroughly enjoy some blogs I never would have known existed otherwise.

It has a long list of blogs with a variety of topics so you might want to check EntreCard out. Right now they are having a promotion. They have just added a new feature so you can link more than one blog to your account and they just released a free e book telling you all about the ins and outs of EntreCard. If your curious you can go to this link and download it.

Entrecard’s official ebook

Anyone familiar with my blog knows I don’t talk much about the business aspect of the Internet but I do talk a lot about dominion and I think EntreCard is a wonderful example of that paradigm in action.

With love and aloha,
Susan

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Aloha,

My longtime teacher, mentor and friend Sister Sarita just passed over into spirit. Most people call her Mother Sarita and she definitely was filled with the energy of the divine mother, but when I studied with her she was always referred to as Sister. She was truly an angel in human form. Her smile would light up a room and fill your heart with laughter and joy.

I had the privilege to study with her while don Miguel Ruiz was still a student. He was her youngest son and she would often scold him as only a mother can. Every time she saw me she would welcome me with such a beautiful smile. She taught classes in Spanish and although I still don’t speak Spanish I learned so much from her. I think the fact that I couldn’t speak the language allowed me to absorb the information at a profound level because so much of the knowledge is beyond the capacity of language anyway.

Ironically word of her passing arrived on the same day as my author’s copies of my angel book. I am sure there is no mistake there!

Death is part of life. When I learned of her passing I was sad for a moment and then in the next I could feel her love and her presence. Sarita I am so grateful you shared your love and knowledge with me. I will always do as you told me, to go and teach in my own way.

My first book Dance of Power is all about my studies with Sister Sarita and Miguel. What an incredible journey and a gift that has been. Here is a short excerpt from Dance of Power that describes our meeting.

from Dance of Power:

The blue eye inside the large pyramid stared out at me as I nervously approached the building. I was outside the temple of Sister Sarita, a Mexican healer who performed psychic surgery and was well known for her miraculous cures.

I paced back and forth, struck by the contrast between the pyramid on one side of the door and the large, colorful fruits painted on the other side. The building, a converted laundromat, was in the barrio of a southern California city.

I felt out of place, like I was in a separate reality, having just moved to California from rural Vermont. The large, extremely colorful paintings of Aztec warriors and Mexican laborers on the huge freeway columns at the entrance to the barrio had already made me realize that I was about to enter a world that was totally unfamiliar to me.

Even though I felt excited, my fear would have driven me away except for the fact that I totally trusted Mary, the woman I was waiting for. I had only met her a few weeks before when I had accidentally attended the “wrong” spiritualist church.

. . . I began to notice the rest of the temple. At the front of the room stood an altar, framed by dusty and faded gold velvet curtains. Behind the altar was a painting of a pyramid with a blue eye in the clouds. Shafts of light streamed outward from the pyramid, and a shadow of a cross loomed over the clouds. On the altar was a variety of old glass jars filled with fading gladiolus and wilted mums.

In a corner, by the altar, sat a short, round woman with a radiant smile. People congregated around her as she lovingly reached out and held each person’s hand. She seemed to be blessing them. I realized this must be Sister Sarita.

Mary came back to my seat and led me over to Sister Sarita, who stood up and gave me a big hug. I again felt very welcomed. She spoke to me rapidly in Spanish. Even though I didn’t understand a word I intuitively knew I had some sort of a profound connection with this woman.

Sarita I love you and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your presence in my life. May my life be a reflection of the love and light you so freely shared with me and everyone you met.

With love and a fond farewell,
Susan

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Aloha everyone,

When I first began my spiritual journey I really thought it was about learning lessons. And believe me it felt like I had a lot of lessons to learn! The funny part was as long as I thought of my process that way life felt like it was a series of tests and I kept getting poor grades.

Then one day while I was meditating I realized it was a matter of remembering my true nature. There was nothing I needed to learn. I just needed to surrender my old limiting beliefs and remember my limitless nature.

That realization made a huge difference in my life. No more tests, no more suffering, just a wonderful journey in which I continually deepened my connection with who and what I really am. My life became a blessed journey and the universe became a much more loving and supportive place. When I had to learn lessons the universe seemed more like an opponent than a wonderful environment specifically designed to help me reconnect with my limitless nature.

Are you still learning and being tested or are you ready to just remember?

With love and aloha,
Susan

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My favorite place to meditate a top Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. Way above the clouds.

With love and aloha,
Susan

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I have received this as an email several times. Each time it touches my heart. I have no idea who the author is but it is beautiful.

I talk a lot about dominion and the perfection of everything. In the Hawaiian tradition my kumu (teacher) talks about everything being pono - a word that roughly means perfect. Her grandfather used to say, "Everything is pono until you tell yourselves otherwise."

Puppies For Sale

A store owner was tacking a sign above his door that read "Puppies For Sale." Signs like that have a way of attracting small children, and sure enough, a little boy appeared under the store owner’s sign.

"How much are you going to sell the puppies for?" he asked.

The store owner replied, "Anywhere from $30 to $50."

The little boy reached in his pocket and pulled out some change. "I have $2.37," he said. "Can I please look at them?" The store owner smiled and whistled and out of the kennel came Lady, who ran down the aisle of his store followed by five teeny, tiny balls of fur.

One puppy was lagging considerably behind. Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging, limping puppy and said, "What’s wrong with that little dog?"

The store owner explained that the veterinarian had examined the little puppy and had discovered it didn’t have a hip socket. It would always limp. It would always be lame. The little boy became excited. "That is the puppy that I want to buy."

The store owner said, "No, you don’t want to buy that little dog. If

you really want him, I’ll just give him to you." The little boy got quite upset. He looked straight into the store owner’ s eyes, pointing his finger, and said, "I don’t want you to give him to me. That little dog is worth every bit as much as all the other dogs and I’ll pay full price. In fact, I’ll give you $2.37 now, and 50 cents a month until I have him paid for."

The store owner countered, "You really don’t want to buy this little dog. He is never going to be able to run and jump and play with you like the other puppies."

To his surprise, the little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted, crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace.

He looked up at the store owner and softly replied, "Well, I don’t run so well myself, and the little puppy will need someone who understands!"

We ALL need someone who Understands!!

Imagine a world in which we all had that kind of love and compassion for everyone including people we think are evil or wrong!

With love and aloha,
Susan

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Anyone familiar with my story knows I suffered from depression for years and was pretty miserable and suicidal. I have learned to retrain my mind so I can be happy no matter what is happening in my life.

While writing my latest book on angels, saints and ascended masters I had the opportunity to do a lot of research on Saints. I created a file for each saint, compiled all the information and then one by one I would spend time with each saint.

One morning I was sitting in my car waiting for a friend. I opened the file for Saint Agatha. She had her breast cut off and was rolled over hot coals and broken pottery. I apologized to her and closed the file. I told her it was too early in the morning for so much suffering.

When I finally got in touch with her I was deeply moved. I learned a lot from all the saints. Yes, they endured physical torture but as I got to know them I realized they never suffered. They had such a profound connection with their spirit, with their divinity, and with God that they were sustained by that connection.

The magistrate had Saint Agatha’s breasts crushed, cut off and then had her thrown back into prison. She prayed and St. Peter came to her in a vision that night and healed her breasts. The magistrate was enraged that she had healed so he had her rolled over hot coals and she died. My first reaction was to the physical suffering and my thought was why do pious people get persecuted?

Then I meditated with St. Agatha and I realized she never suffered. She didn’t feel persecuted she was filled with peace and love. She just loved God. Witnesses mentioned the look of peace in her face when she died.

Life is and then we tell ourselves a story. We spend most of our life thinking about life instead of experiencing what’s really real. This world is a vast energy system and we are all connected. We are one but when we believe our mind we feel separate. We have what I call a filter system - a collection of beliefs, agreements and assumptions.

When I was depressed I believed my filter system was reality. My inner dialog would have made anyone miserable. When people tell me they are unhappy I ask them what they are telling themselves. No matter what is happening around us we can reconnect with our spirit and see life through the eyes of love.

St. Agatha was so connected with her spirit and able to see everything, even the magistrate through the eyes of love. Her love was so powerful and her spiritual connection so deep that people who have connected with her have experienced miracles in their own lives.

From the perspective of our spirit we are limitless beings and anything is possible. When we see life through the eyes of our filter system and listen to our inner dialog we are often miserable, lonely and depressed.

We can live life like the Saints and experience bliss. We can live in heaven or hell - it is all up to what we tell ourselves moment by moment and as nothing to do with the events in our life.

So how do we battle depression? How do we create happiness? Moment by moment, thought by thought we choose love instead of fear.

With love and aloha,
Susan

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I have heard several versions of this story. I will include both endings because I think the original ending invites us to see life in a richer, more expansive manner.

A man was walking through the bush when he heard a low growl and something moving through the bush. He realized it was a tiger hunting. He ran as fast as he could and came to the edge of a rugged cliff. He looked down and saw a branch jutting out just as the tiger appeared out of the bush.

He jumped and grabbed a hold of the branch thankful to be alive. The tiger paced back and forth looking hungrily at the man just out of his reach. When the man looked down he saw two more tigers standing on the rocks right below him. He looked to the left and saw some ripe, red berries. He loved strawberries so he took a deep breath and smiled broadly as he picked the berries and ate them. They were the best strawberries he ever tasted.

In the original story. He reached out, picked the berries and ate them before he realized they were poisonous. He looked out at the horizon and enjoyed the view.

Life is best when savored fully and we can only do that in the moment.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor of your old thinking. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain

With love and aloha,
Susan

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