Sunday, January 22, 2006

The Lord's Prayer (Aramaic to English)

This version of The Lord's Prayer was read as part of my Atlanta women's circle graduation ceremony Sunday evening. I think it is very profound and eye-opening. It really spoke to me, so I wanted to share it with you. (It is translated directly from the Aramaic to English - rather than from Aramaic to Greek to Latin to English. Found in the November 2003 issue of PASHAA.)

O Cosmic birther of all Radiance and Vibration
Soften the ground of our Being
and carve out a space within us
where Your Divine Presence can abide.

Fill us with Creativity
that we may be empowered
to bear the fruit of your mission.

Let each of our actions
bear the fruit in accordance with our desire.

Endow us with wisdom to produce and share
what each Being needs to grow and flourish.

Untie the tangled threads of destiny that binds us
as we release others
from the entanglement of past mistakes*.

Do not let us be seduced by that which diverts us
from our true purpose.
Illuminate the Opportunities of the present moment.

For you are the *ground and fruitful vision,
the birth-power and fulfillment
as all are gathered as one and made whole again.

Amen

*Discrepancies in what was read and what I found on the source website. (Still researching for where the "read" version came from.)

Here's to continuing the Journey.... and offering new food for thought....

-Becky

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Self-Sabotage Habits

In my continuing efforts to make 2006 the best year of my life… this morning I was thinking about how I’ve gotten into a self-sabotage habit in my piano practicing.

To begin with, I tend to not even look at the piece until about a week later than I should (estimating the amount of time it will need before its performance.) Then, about two or three days before the event, for some reason or other, I won’t get around to practicing on those days. Which sends me into a panic the day of the performance.

As I was contemplating all this…. and (finally) cleaning my bathroom, I was thinking how good it would feel to walk into a non-disgusting looking bathroom again (… I won’t even say how many weeks… months?.... I’ve let it go … justified, of course by my busy schedule!)

Anyway – I realized that this self-sabotage spills over into just about all areas that have to do with taking care of myself and giving myself the things I know I need…..

So…. I wrote another singing affirmation…. which, actually turned out to be more of a little song…… (one of these day’s I’ll figure out how to record it and get it online…..)

I’m giving up all my self-sabotage habits,
I’m giving up all the things I do that make things hard on me!
I’m giving up all my self-sabotage habits,
And I’m giving myself all the things I know I need.

I give myself love…
I give myself peace…
I give myself joy…
I give myself time to take care of my needs!

I’m giving up all my self-sabotage habits,
I’m giving up all the things I do that make things hard on me!
I’m giving up all my self-sabotage habits,
And I’m giving myself all the things I know I need.

Here’s to continuing the Journey…. giving yourself love, peace, joy and TIME to take care of YOU!

Friday, January 06, 2006

Wanted More Than Anything Else

I’ve been reading Debbie Ford’s book, The Best Year of Your Life. She talks about how we are all “chasing” some feeling – how everything we do, every action we take (or don’t take) is ultimately done because of how we think it will make us feel.

This feeling thing not a new concept. It’s actually been around for thousands of years, as Gregg Braden discovered when he helped translate the Isaiah Scrolls. The scrolls talk about a mode of prayer that has been forgotten through the centuries. In The Isaiah Effect, he explains how this lost mode of prayer – the one that creates miracles in our lives – is praying with the feeling that the prayer has already been answered.

Medical research is now proving that how we feel about ourselves, our experiences, our world, has a direct affect on our bodies. Cell biologist, Dr. Bruce Lipton states that in our evolution from single-celled beings to multi-cellular beings, our brains developed a two-way system of communicating with this “community” of cells. This two-way communication system is our emotions, i.e. our feelings. Emotions color our perception, which shapes our experience of the world around us. The reverse is also true, in that how we perceive our life experiences has a great impact on the emotions we feel. And as he explains in The Biology of Belief, our perceptions stem from our beliefs.

But…. I digress….

As for beliefs…. Being adopted as a young toddler, I’ve always had an “I’m not wanted” issue (i.e. limiting belief). I realized that the feeling I’ve been “chasing” most of my life has been the feeling of being adored, cherished and wanted... or rather, not just wanted, but wanted more than anything else!

My epiphany this morning was the realization that all these years…. I haven’t wanted myself more than anything else either! (duh!)

I shutter to think how many times I’ve given my Self away for the (hoped for) feeling of being wanted more than anything else…. when all I really had to do was want ME, value my Self more than anything else. BE first place in my own life!

Now, I don’t mean the narcissistic, hey look at me kind of self-absorption.

I’m talking about the healthy, self-esteem kind of inner worth that radiates from the inside out.

Being first place in your own life isn’t really valued in our society – especially for women. The religious and cultural training is to put others first and yourself last. But every time I fly on an airplane, I’m reminded that this ain’t necessarily so! In the safety instructions, they always say when the oxygen mask falls, put it on yourself first THEN help the ones around you.

They never say work quickly and help as many people as you can before you pass out.

I’m wondering if perhaps it is part of my mission in life to learn to want my Self more than anything else so that I can teach others how to value themselves more than anything else…..?

Here’s to continuing the Journey…. being wanted and learning to want my Self more than anything else!

-Becky

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Ready to Move Forward?

I am ready to move forward in a BIG way.

The last two weeks have been sort of an “incubation” period recuperating from the hellacious fall semester and regrouping for the next one…. And now I’m Ready!

So, with goals in hand, giving me a clear direction of where I want to go in 2006, the first thing I did was hire a coach.

Some of the things I want to accomplish have been on my goals list for years and for one reason or another, I keep letting “life” get in the way of accomplishing them - like being a working, PAID composer!

Several weeks ago I had one of those epiphany moments and realized that all my life, I’ve been waiting for it to magically happen. Sure, I’ve continued to write music and other people know that’s one of the things I do, but the “paid” part of it has been extremely lacking!

And I’m ready to get paid for it!

I have some ideas of how to make that happen. However, history has proven that I can not do it by myself…… and there’s nothing wrong with that. One of the first steps in any kind of change is realizing you need help.

So I called my coach and mentor, Coach Kathy, and said, “I’m ready… let’s get to it!”

How about you? Do you have a clear direction? A specific focus? Do you know where you want to be this time next year?

If you don’t know where you’re going, you will probably end up somewhere else. - Laurence J. Peter

Here’s to continuing the Journey…. choosing a specific path, saddling up for the trip, and taking that first step!

-Becky

P.S. If you’d like help choosing your “path” and setting up your top three goals for 2006, you can get a FREE Goals Report here. It comes with an optional FREE coaching session with Coach Becky :)