Healing Light and Shadows: Arica Palms and Banana Plant
by Sheila Finkelstein
Thank you, Jan, for the invitation to participate in these month’s “Nature as Healer” issue. Life’s synchronicities often amaze me. I participate in a weekly writing group. A recent, timed, four minutes of free flow writing fell perfectly into place for this issue.
The prompt was to a quote that unintentionally appeared this day, William Wordsworth’s, “Come forth into the light of things. Let Nature be your teacher.”
The Buddha Chick Life theme of the month was far from my thoughts as I wrote (then edited for this): “What is Nature teaching me as I look out through my patio’s wall-to-wall windows, across the width of my house?
I see a variety of leaves, the dead and live ones of the ginger plant and other bushes. Then there are the Arica Palms, many of the long slender leaves browned and crisp, ready to drop.
During the past six years ago, the palms have grown quickly, blocking out the light that had my first banana plant grow so tall. The latter produced a huge bunch of good-size bananas. My excitement with the growth of this first banana plant, for me, resulted in my taking a couple thousand photographs. The picture-taking actually became part of the healing aspect of Nature for me. Being in it, and with it, as I took photos of whatever called my eye and soul, became a stress reliever as well as a re-energizer. Further healing, relaxation and release of the anger at the impact of Parkinson’s Disease on my husband, occurred as I ran the downloaded photos as a slide show on my computer. Ultimately 100 of these photos, along with healing music, resulted in "Banana Sky" DVD, so others could experience some of the same.
The banana and the palm plants and their behaviors taught me about the beauty of light and shadows... the reminder that in order for there to be shadows there must be light.... I also saw the beauty that's available in death. This visual, visceral experience over several months shared powerfully the cycle of life and death at a time when I didn't really want to be dwelling on it. The fear, in denial, of losing my husband was there underneath it all.
On the more intellectual level, I learned that an individual banana plant lives only as long as its fruiting cycle. Then it dies off. Subsequent to the passage of the first, the palms grew larger and the banana plant had new shoots. Ultimately there were two and three plants with far less light, now overpowered by the palms blocking most of the sunlight.
The next season of the banana plants had one with two bunches growing on each. Albeit smaller bananas, they were still lively and tasty. The plants continue going through their cycles, simply differently and abundantly in their own way, teaching and reassuring us ongoingly of the Natural rhythms of life.
Sheila, www.sheilafinkelstein.com, is a photographer, an author, and a relationship coach who works with individuals and groups, teaching them how to use photography as a tool for creating new ways of seeing their world.
As caregiver to her husband, Sam, of 47 years, who was afflicted with Parkinson's Disease for over 12 of those years, Sheila found the camera to be a tremendous aid in restoring her own emotional balance. No matter what, each day ended with "I love you."
Sheila now passionately helps her clients find - and experience - wonder and magic in their relationships. The individuals with whom she works, together with their partners, build a treasure chest of actions and memories, so they know they are loving fully (before it's too late). They deepen their communication in areas in which they’ve been avoiding. They experience the loving touching that had been missing. Acts of love occur spontaneously, including giving and receiving unexpected gifts. Acknowledgment abounds. See www.LoveWithNoRegrets.com for more information.
Celebrating Owning Ourselves: A Reflection with Photos
by Sheila Finkelstein
Reflection: (photo essay is below)
I felt most honored recently when Jan Lundy invited me to submit an article for “Celebrating the Feminine.” My first thought, “No. Not me. I'm far from feminine.” My internal reaction was pretty strong to this, including the inclination to refer her to other writers.
You see, to me when I think about it, “feminine” represents frilly clothes, lipstick and makeup, manicured nails, pedicures, regular beauty salon visits, special lingerie, undergarments and much more. Even the dictionary affirmed this, when I double-checked. They added “feminine” hobbies to the list - “sewing and cooking” as examples. OK. So I knew that's certainly not Jan's focus.
I, thus, stretched my thinking a little more to reflect on nurturing and mothering. Despite the fact that I do “nurture” others, often, on many, levels, I still go back to my reflective statement of many years ago. I wasn't the “milk and cookies Mom.” My husband would often pack the cereals, canned good and the “goodies” whenever they drove back to college. I finally reassured myself, during those times, that our two sons turned out great. I must have done something right.
As my thoughts continued, pondering Jan’s invitation, I started thinking of my body, equating it to the “feminine.” Of course, I do have all the “female” parts. Does that make me feminine?
Jan had also suggested, in her note to me, that I might have one or more photos for making a photo essay. Not a surprising request, since she knows me mainly from my photography and my commitment to inspiring “Seeing with New Eyes.”
I then began to reflect on the recent self-portraits I'd been taking recently for two different courses I was in. Turning color photos into black and white was the context for one of the two. Where some of the participants found the portraits challenging, I was pleased with the freedom I felt around it. I had started doing videos last year of me speaking my business or on things I loved. It was quite awkward for a long time. Then I got my iPhone. I started having fun with the camera, particularly loving the feature where you simply push an icon and the lens faces you. It's especially fun when I am talking on my hands-free, speaker phone handset.
Over time, I've noticed I've been less concerned with the “perfect” look. Ironically, as I've become relaxed about it, I've started looking better and enjoying and appreciating myself more.
What if, being “feminine” were simply being ourselves, fully allowing ourselves to be however we are and however we're not, accepting and loving ourselves completely? Then by writing this article, sharing my whole thought and artistic process here, I AM Celebrating the Feminine me. I invite you to do the same for you! Thank you, Jan, for seeding this breakthrough for me.
Photo "Essay"
View Sheila's photo montage, featuring self-portraits that invite self-exploration and embracing of the Feminine.
Sheila, www.sheilafinkelstein.com, is a photographer, an author, and a relationship coach who works with individuals and groups, teaching them how to use photography as a tool for creating new ways of seeing their world.
As caregiver to her husband, Sam, of 47 years, who was afflicted with Parkinson's Disease for over 12 of those years, Sheila found the camera to be a tremendous aid in restoring her own emotional balance. No matter what, each day ended with "I love you."
Sheila now passionately helps her clients find - and experience - wonder and magic in their relationships. The individuals with whom she works, together with their partners, build a treasure chest of actions and memories, so they know they are loving fully (before it's too late). They deepen their communication in areas in which they’ve been avoiding. They experience the loving touching that had been missing. Acts of love occur spontaneously, including giving and receiving unexpected gifts. Acknowledgment abounds. See www.LoveWithNoRegrets.com for more information.
This painting and poem were both created by Mary MacGowan for her blog about women and life and being happy.
Mary says, "The woman in this painting embodies the feminine. She sings, she gives herself flowers, she writes about love and poetry, and in that way she opens up to ever-increasing feminine Love."
Mary MacGowan was born in Michigan, moved out east where she raised three children, now she's back in Michigan, singing and painting about love and lakes. She studied music and composition at Interlochen Arts Academy and NYU. She’s a widely published poet, with poems in over forty literary journals. She has a master's degree in Art Therapy and Creativity Development and sits by a lake every summer day to watch the ducks swim by. Her blog is: http://57andthensome.wordpress.com
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Many of us started our spiritual journeys with Shakti Gawain by our sides. Her landmark book on spiritual awakening, Living in the Light, gave us permission to walk bold new life paths.
Shakti was a pioneer in this field, along with her creative partner, Marc Allen. Together they formed one of the premier spiritual growth publishing companies in the world—New World Library—all at a kitchen table with just a few dollars in their pockets and conviction in their hearts.
Living in the Light was the book that guided us as we came to know ourselves as spiritual beings. Along with her other book, Creative Visualization (published in the 1970s), we felt well armed to move through the world in a more authentic way, opening to our inner wisdom, living with divine guidance at the fore. This book was important then and it may be even more important now, evidenced by Shakti's recent statement about her book:
"What I write about in Living In The Light, in some respects, feels even more timely and relevant than when I wrote it. I believe we are in a global healing crisis on many levels; financially, emotionally, spiritually and physically (as a planet). We are struggling with how to resolve the multiple levels of chaos we are experiencing. The path through is the same, to become conscious of how we are living and in the choices we are making. We can do this through connecting with our inner guidance and to also look honestly at what is holding us back from that connection.
Big changes can feel out of control and disastrous. However, these changes can bring attention to what has been hidden, can bring light to what has been swept under the rug, and ultimately can be our path to freedom. This is true healing, which is to reveal the issue or problem, to acknowledge it, and then accept it and bring balance and consciousness to the process. Our inner guidance it what leads us through this process and brings us into balanced living."
We are delighted to help Shakti and New World Library celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Living in the Light.
We are Giving Away one copy of the keepsake, 25th Anniversary Edition. Leave a comment and you'll be entered into the drawing to win!
Contest runs through Feb. 29. A winner will be chosen on March 1st.
We're also pleased to feature a choice excerpt from Living in the Light for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
"Becoming a Creative Channel"
An Excerpt from the 25th Anniversary Edition of Living in the Light
by Shakti Gawain
To whatever degree you listen to and follow your intuition, you become a “creative channel” for the higher power of the universe. When you willingly follow where your creative energy leads, the higher power can come through you to manifest its creative work. When this happens, you will find yourself flowing with the energy, doing what you really want to do, and feeling the power of the universe moving through you to create or transform everything around you.
In using the words creative channel, I am not referring to the psychic process of trance channeling. Trance channeling involves a medium who goes into a trance state and allows another being to speak through him or her. When I use the term channeling, I mean being in touch with and bringing through the wisdom and creativity of your own deepest source. Being a channel is being fully and freely yourself and consciously knowing that you are a vehicle for the creativity of the universe.
Every creative genius has been a channel. Every masterwork has been created through the channeling process. Great works are not created by the personality alone. They arise from a deep inspiration on the universal level and are then expressed and brought into form through the individual personality.
A person may have great technical skill, but without the ability to connect with a deeper source, his work will be uninspiring. The difference between a technician and a channel was clearly demonstrated in the movie Amadeus. The composer Salieri knew how to write music but he didn’t know how to tap into the creative source. Mozart wrote music that was both technically perfect and wonderfully inspired, and he did so easily, spontaneously, without thought or effort. From his early childhood on, music just seemed to bubble up and overflow from within him. I’m sure he had no idea how it happened and could not have explained to anyone else how to do it.
Such genius has always seemed mysterious and unexplainable, a God-given talent possessed by only a few. It seems to come and go at will — sometimes it’s there, sometimes it’s not. Because of this, many creative people fear their talent will suddenly disappear. They don’t know how they got it so they have no idea how to recover it if it vanishes. Creative people often function as channels in only one area of their lives (such as one of the arts, science, or business) and may have no idea how to do it in other areas of their lives. Thus, their lives can be terribly out of balance. (See the section “Highly Intuitive People” in the chapter “Trusting Intuition.”) This is one reason that we often equate genius with emotional instability.
I believe we are all geniuses — each in our own unique way. We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own or other people’s models, learn to be ourselves, and allow our natural channel to open. Through trusting and acting on our intuition, it’s possible to bring our natural creative inspiration into every moment, into every area of our lives.When I speak of a channel, I have an image of a long round pipe with energy flowing through it. It’s somewhat like the pipe in a pipe organ, with the music coming through.
This channel image has three important features:
1. It is open and unobstructed inside so that the energy can move through freely.
2. It has a definite physical form; a structure surrounds the open space so that the energy is directed in a particular way. Without this structure, the energy would be free-floating, without any focus.
3. It has a power source — something that moves energy through the channel. In a pipe organ, the power source (the organ) sends energy through the open pipes. The particular combination of open space inside each pipe and the structure — the size and shape of the pipe — causes a certain note to be sounded. The power source is the same for all the pipes and the energy moving through them is the same, but because each one is a different shape, each one makes a unique sound.
We can think of ourselves as channels similar to these pipes. We have a common power source (the universal life force), and the same creative energy flows through each of us. Our body and personality form the structure that determines the unique direction and function of each of us as a channel. It is up to us to keep our channel open and clear and to build and maintain a strong, healthy, beautiful body/personality structure as a vehicle for our creative energy. We can do this by constantly tuning in, asking where the energy wants to go, and moving with it.
A strong body/personality structure is not created by following anybody else’s rules or good ideas about what you should eat, how you should exercise, or anything else. It is created primarily by trusting your intuition and learning to follow its direction. When deciding what to eat, how to exercise, or anything else, gather information from reliable sources, then check in with yourself to see what feels intuitively right for you, and do your best to follow your own inner guidance.
Shakti Gawainis a bestselling author and a pioneer in the field of personal growth and consciousness. Her many books have sold more than ten million copies in over thirty-five languages worldwide, and she has facilitated thousands of individuals in developing greater awareness, balance, and wholeness in their lives. She has appeared on such nationally syndicated shows as Oprah, Good Morning America, and The Larry King Show and has been featured in Cosmopolitan, Time, and O magazines. Along with Marc Allen, Gawain co-founded New World Library in 1977. She lives in Marin County, California. Visit her online at http://www.shaktigawain.com.
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