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Showing posts from February, 2013

Wisdom from Rumi

"People want you to be happy. Don't keep serving them your pain." --Rumi

Au Revoir New York!

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A view of the city from my sister's rooftop in Queens, this was our first view of the city, and also our last. Fare thee well New York, until we meet again.

Wisdom from NYC

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As I get closer to the big 5-0, I am starting to feel my age. This quote from an advertisement at JFK makes me feel hopeful that there will be things to hope for and aspire to at every age.

Wisdom from Ben Affleck

"I want to thank my wife...for working on our marriage, for ten Christamses. It is work, but it's the best kind of work. There's no one I'd rather work with." -- Ben Affleck in his Best Picture acceptance speech for Argo One of the best Oscar acceptance speeches EVER.

Life, The Universe and Everything

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I took this photo in the 42nd Street subway station underneath Grand Central Station , but I didn't know why. Now I know. My baby sister turns 42 today - Happy Birthday Sis ! Thanks for being my go-to girl for conversations on LIFE, THE UNIVERSE & EVERYTHING. I love you!

Liberté

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Perhaps the greatest symbol of freedom in the world, Lady Liberty still stands as a beacon of light in New York harbor. And she still stirs feelings of total freedom and expansion in my heart. May she do the same for you. [Today's post is in honor of my brother-in-law, whose birthday it is today and who may know better than all of us what this lady means to those who come to her shores. Happy Birthday Tani! PS If you need some professional painting in NYC, check out his work ]. 

Some Thoughts on Success from NYC (And a real celebrity citing!)

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 Aside from (a photo of) Tony Danza at the top of the Empire State Building, I thought we would be leaving New York without a true celebrity citing, but while sitting at Gate 9 in Terminal 5 at JFK waiting for our flight to be called, we saw a young man surrounded by paparazzi and soon learned that he was none other than Phillip Phillips (in red plaid). What struck me about him was how young and how average he looked. He was no one you would expect to be followed by a crowd of people all documenting his every move. And it occurred to me just how random celebrity is. Not that he isn't talented. He is . Probably very talented. But he's also just a person. Like all of us. And, like him, we are all talented, each in our own way. Some of us in ways that are quiet and go mostly unnoticed, others of us in ways that are loud and can't help but be seen and heard by all of the world. Whatever your talents, may they be noticed and appreciated. And as you move about the worl

Even more JOY

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One of the thrills of visiting New York City is the celebrity citing. This one filled me with joy. Tony Danza, looking so happy to be at the top of the Empire State Building . (Full disclousure: this is a photograph of a photograph of Mr Danza, but it looks like the real deal!)

A little JOY in Midtown

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Right next to Subway, where my son wanted to eat lunch, was an Indian restaurant simply called JOY. Though we didn't eat there, it made me happy to stumble upon it nonetheless.

LOVE FROM NYC!

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I spent the weekend in New York with my sister and my younger son. Usually when I travel in the United States I do not find as much positive symbolism in the environment and advertisements as I find in Paris , but this time I was pleasantly surprised that there seemed to be a lot of L<3VE, JOY and GOOD VIBES all around the city. This week....L<3VE FROM NYC!

Wisdom from Steve Guttenberg

"Your thoughts become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your character. Your character becomes your destiny." -- Steve Guttenberg in Energy Times , October 2012

Wisdom from Prison

"I don't know about enlightenment, but most of what the dharma teaches is just good common sense and most people don't follow good common sense." --An inmate to Pema Chodron from Unconditional Confidence

Wisdom from Leonard Cohen

"The less there was of me, the happier I got." -- Leonard Cohen , speaking about his music career, as quoted in Unconditional Confidence by Pema Chodron

Wisdom from the Power Path

"Be present, be playful, be flexible, pay attention, be spontaneous, expect the unexpected, be inspired by the surprises, allow love, allow change, allow growth and allow deep healing!" -- The Power Path February Forecast 2013 by Lena Stevens Excellent advice for any time of the year, it appears these admonitions will be especially appropriate for February according to www.thepowerpath.com , my favorite new source for information about what is happening on an energetic level in our world. To learn more, click the link above and HANG ONTO YOUR HATS!

WRITE YOUR YEAR - SESSION 4 - WRITE YOUR YEAR

Wednesday night we ended this session of WRITE YOUR YEAR. I am so grateful for the group of writers who joined me for this session to do their inner work and write their year for themselves. Here's what we did in the last session: WHITE STONE MEDITATION This meditation is based on the White Stone Ceremony which is held every year at Seattle Unity and other Unity churches in the United States. In Jesus' time a white stone was given to prisoners when they were to be released. It was a "get out of jail free" card, a new start, a clean slate. In the same way, every new year is a clean slate for each of us. A chance to create a new life for ourselves. We each chose a white stone, then moved into meditation, asking Spirit to give us a word that defined our purpose for this year. As we sat and breathed into our hearts, we were given our word for the year, which we then wrote on our white stone. WRITE YOUR YEAR " Happiness is the consequence of personal e