What makes your soul sing?

Yesterday I was sitting looking at a clear blue sky, enjoying a quiet moment. I realised after a while how my mood had elevated, how open, expansive and joyful I felt. So I got to thinking of all the small moments in life that lift the soul, that help it soar and sing.

My list of uplifting soul moments got off to an easy start, then it started to require more thought. But I persevered and suddenly it was like creation itself burst through my mind and an overwhelming array of images and memories came flooding in. For the rest of the day, long after I had put my list aside, random images would pop into my consciousness filling me with joy.

So I share my list with you. If this list doesn't inspire and uplift you try writing your own - allow the joy of creation to flood through you and be acknowledged!

108 THINGS TO MAKE A SOUL SING
The brilliance of clear blue sky                     Birds joyfully singing their praises in first morning light
The sound of the ocean                                 Feeling the warmth of the sun on your face
           The palette of autumn                                   The smell of pine tress
Jasmine garlands                                           A warm glow of a glorious sunset 
         Beautiful butterflies in motion                      Feeling rain on your face 
The Dalai Lama's infectious giggle                          A cats purr
   A starry night sky                                          The radiance and glory of a full moon
A rainbow                                                            Driving in the car with all the windows down
The Love in your Guru's eyes                       A silent night of freshly fallen snow
The joy of a sunflower                                  The first optimistic daffodils of of spring  
           Holding a baby                                              The smell of the earth after it rains
The touch of a loved one                               Warm home baked bread
     Impromptu kitchen dancing                           Dancing naked in the rain
Spreading angel wings in the snow               The velvet softness of a crimson red rose petal
A steaming hot shower                                   Lambs bounding & frolicking in the field
     The green of new spring growth                          Humming birds                                 
A warm summers eve with the smell of honeysuckle wafting in the air
     Feeling warm sand under your feet               The smell of freshly mown grass
Riding your bike down hill hands free and legs out stretched.......whoohooo!
A thunder storm to behold with lightning streaking across a dark, moody, night sky
  Snuggling back in bed on a rainy day                        Wearing brush cotton PJ's  
The glow & warmth of a log fire                         Candle light
Smiling at strangers                                         A conversation through the eyes  
           Paddling in the ocean                                      Splashing in a puddle
Being with Redwood tress                              Singing at top volume in your car
The smell of fresh basil & coriander                         Hammock time
Bursting with love for another                        Recognising the light in an others eyes
Dolphins spiralling at play                                    The sound of crashing ocean waves
Eating with your hands                                    Lying on a sheep skin rug
Relaxing in an outside hot tub            Floating in the sea on your back, looking at the night sky
         Being Free                                       The fragrance of fresh cut flowers in your home
Dark chocolate melting in the mouth              Yoga in nature
A ride in a rickshaw, music blaring, through a crazy dusty city   
               Feeling the pulsating rhythm of the drum inside you          
Standing on top of the mountain taking in the vastness and expansiveness all round you
                Listening to rain on the rooftop                        Playing on a swing  
Soaking in a bubble bath until you go all wrinkly
            Beholding the majesty & purity of a white rose
Wearing your favourite cosy fleece                Walking barefoot on grass
Having a snowball fight                                   An afternoon on the sofa reading a good book  
Getting lost in time browsing in the book shop 
Wearing your favourite thick woolly socks    Experiencing the innocence of a fawn
      Casa soup                                                        
Getting into a bed made with fresh clean sheets just off the washing line     
The smell and taste of freshly squeezed oranges
Girls movie night in                                         Receiving  a foot rub  
Walking in the rain                                          A long catch up chat with a friend
Mount Shasta                                                                   The mystery of a forest
   Christmas presents sitting under the tree         Camping in the mountain
Seeing the clouds from above                                           Feeling the presence
Being in the stillness of silence                 Drinking ice cold fresh mountain water from the stream
  Mango season                                                           Watching a loved one laugh
Watching a child's first tentative steps                          Holding a kitten
Playing chase with a dog                                                 Sitting by a river
The smell of Cinnamon                                    The velvet softness of  a sip of red wine
The smell of your  favourite incense                                     Watching seals bask on a rock
     Carrying an old ladies bag for her                    Fragrant hot steaming chai
Having your hair stroked                            Getting all wrapped up to go out into the cold
Standing under an exhilarating waterfall          Feeling the sea spray on a cliff top walk
  A walk with crisp autumn leaves crunching under foot       A masage with hot stones


                 BEING PRESENT TO LIFE'S SIMPLE PLEASURES AND GIVING THANKS

                                          And I think to myself what a wonderful world!

                                   

We are the Unifying House of God's Love

I am once again at the Casa de Dom Inacio (House of St Ignatius), home to the Spiritual Healer John of God, in Brazil. Visits here to Be and to serve have become a regular part of my routine over the last 3 years and I think of it now as one of my spiritual homes.

Previously my journeying has also taken me to the feet of Sai Baba, in Puttaparthi, India. I have to say it is somewhat beyond my minds comprehension how many wonderful beings/teachers I have had the good fortune to come across and be with in this lifetime. Although, this has also caused me to stop and ponder the often heard spiritual teaching 'pick one path and stick to it'. It seems, however, that is not my calling this lifetime - I choose to recognise the Truth of Love within ALL paths, and most importantly within myself.

That said, so it was that I was here, at the Casa de Dom Inacio, last Easter when Sai Baba fell seriously ill in India. Among the daily updates on his health was the reminder that Baba would not intervene where his physical body was concerned, for he was the Atman, the in-dweller not the body. He stated that the body was the responsibility of his devotees. So after a few days of reading the news about him and feeling the truth behind it I decided it was my duty to take his photo to the Entity (John of God incorporated), as after all here I was in a healing house of miracles.

I selected my favourite photograph of Sai Baba and went in line on the Friday morning. My request was quite simply healing support for his body, if that vehicle was still required on Earth (for who am I to know what is written!). Anyway the translator took my photograph and some what confused handed it back to me shaking his head in the negative. I wasn't sure what the refusal was for, don't be ridiculous he doesn't need our help, don't be ridiculous he's a Hindu....a fraud...or what. Anyway my resolve was set, so the photo went to the entity who as far as I can remember looked at the photo, then at me and handed it back to the translator. My job was done, albeit the outcome was unclear, and so I let go.

That afternoon there was an announcement that we were invited to hold a special current on the Saturday morning (a non Casa day). There would be no John of God and no lines. We were simply invited to sit and hold a current of Love and send it out across the World to all we knew.

Sitting with a few hundred people and countless entities simply focusing on Love was a breath takingly beautiful experience. During the session Baba was there, and I was left thinking 'of course - what else would he ask for other than we love each other'!!!!! So in my mind the current of Love was from/for him. When I came out I was overwhelmed with the feeling of love, tears were pouring down my face. Then one by one my beautiful friends came out, we simply looked at each other and cried tears of unbelievable gratitude. Finally there were several of us just sitting holding hands, hugging and crying, unable to say anything at all. The energy from the experience stayed with me during what was my farewell weekend, just looking into the eyes of a friend would bring the Love pouring forth once more. In my heart I gave great thanks to Sai Baba and the Casa Entities of Light.

On my return this year I was not at all surprised to find a large collage of Indian Saints & teachers, presented to the Casa by Ram Dass, now had added on the outside of the frame a small picture of Satya Sai Baba!!! And the framed picture has been moved to the very corner where I and the other women had gathered. It has now become my little shrine to Sai Baba and a constant reminder to me of our purpose - as One Heart to share Gods Love!

Last week I went in line to see the Entity to ask for help. There in front of me was a Brazilian man carrying a book of Sai Baba in his hand. I was quite taken a back to find someone carrying a Sai Baba book (although this is not a first), and that for some bizarre reason they were actually carrying it as they went in line to see the Entity. I smiled my smile. Of course when it was time for the spiritual operation in the afternoon who did I get sat next to...and when it was time this week to go back to the entity for revision, who was I stood next to....of course Sai Baba's messenger! It is always reassuring when we are offered outer confirmation of our inner experiences.

So I am again reminded I do not have to choose between one or the other, for All are One. It doesn't matter if I sit in Puttaparthi or the Casa De Dom Inacio, or where ever. The thread between us is God's Love, and no matter how chaotic the tapestry may look sometimes this is the thread that weaves the fabric of the universe, that unites us All.

As I close this I am left with a greater understanding that I am the unifying house in which God meets God, we all are!

One Heart, One Love,

Bari x

                                                     

  'There is only one caste - the caste of Humanity                                        

       There is only one religion - the religion of Love
            There is only one language - the language of the Heart'      

                                                                                         Sai Baba  

Re-defining Friendship in 2012

Recently a beautiful being wrote to me expressing her truth that she felt I was an unreliable and inauthentic friend. What a blessing she offered me with those words!!! Since my initial in breath and step back I have been on a fascinating journey of self discovery and soul searching.

What is friendship? How do we individually and collectively define it? What is expected when the honour is bestowed upon you? Does it have to be reciprocal, what are our unspoken terms when we enter into this agreement? And more importantly how is that all shifting and evolving in these times of rapid change and growth.

Personally my first realisation was I am not the 'friend' I used to believe myself to be. I once viewed myself as reliable to a fault and ridiculously loyal - always available, always putting everyone else first, always the great listener, such a rock!!!! Well now I look, ummm......something has shifted......or perhaps it never really was?

I used to understand friendship and basked in the warmth of having a BEST friend! I had the same 'best friend' for over 20 years, she was the one who knew all my dark secrets, saw me at my best and worst, shared all the highs and lows of life. Our lives ran parallel for a long time, career girls progressing in the corporate world, love & relationships coming and going, charting the seas of life knowing the other was always there to help navigate when the seas got choppy. But then I left the corporate world to sail a new ocean, and slowly our parallel lives started to diverge.

And then there are those we connect with through shared circumstances, shared experiences. The people we connect with through our daily life, often times work friends, the ones we celebrate getting through another week with. Or perhaps the ones we sweat with through those grueling yoga classes. It seems shared experience is a bonding process. And some of these friendships develop and grow outside of the shared experience and some fade naturally as our lives move on.

Is friendship then like the leaves on a tree, a seasonal experience which has it's own natural cycle? What happens when we start moving through experiences and circumstances much quicker, when we move through the work place setting more rapidly, when we move around our country and even the world without a second thought? Has friendship moved onto a cyber and global scale with the likes of e-mail and facebook? How do you maintain friendship when you can't even maintain e-mail connection - the obvious answer might seem to be with effort...but....really, is that it?

I once sat with a group of people and the shaman teacher looked straight at me and announced in front of everyone that I was detached! He said it without judgment, a simple passing comment, a reflection out loud. And that's how I received it, and I simply thought 'oh, he does see'. Now my wonderful room mates , my new friends, immediately leapt to my defense telling him he was wrong - I was so loving and open how could he possibly say that, I was a joy to be with. And there we have it I realise, my truth was already before me all that time ago. Of course they were both right! To the girls I was fully present in the moment, open and loving and very happy to be there. Yet I already knew I was not attached to that shared experience, that I would walk away when our course was finished knowing and trusting I was walking out and into other beautiful opportunities to be present with people.

So I wonder how much of friendship is motivated from our fears...our fear of suddenly finding ourselves alone one day, our fear of not being lovable or not being accepted, or our belief that we will not be able to cope with what life throws at us? And what part of friendship comes from Love, from being fully present with another in the moment asking nothing in return? Our old paradigms certainly would have us believe we need friends, it is a basic human need after all isn't it? Or is that all part of the fear picture we have been lead to believe, part of our belief in separation? How are friendships going to transform as we come into Unity Consciousness, into Oneness with all, as borders between 'my friends' and 'not my friends' disappear along with other borders like 'my country, my people, my religion'. What happens when we open our hearts equally to all?

One of the most pivotal moments in my life was the moment I realised my beloved partner did not love me exclusively, above all else. I was shattered!!!! I put him first, I loved him above all else, wasn't that what we'd agreed to on some unspoken level . But no, he put himself before me and I was left with the painful realisation I had given him full responsibility for my happiness, and he hadn't accepted it! Of course this was another blessing on my journey of awakening, my journey home to the One Self. Finally, after a few years of grief, I got it! I was seeking in the wrong places!!

So, whether it is through friendship or partnership we seek to complete ourselves, to feel safe, to feel loved, I think now of the words of Sai Baba:

''Your deepest innermost urge is to return to yourself - to love yourself to become the BEING, the AWARENESS, and the BLISS, which is all you will ever be. Let go of the past, stop trying to get from each other what you still think you are missing. You will never find anyone who is enough; not even Me. Love yourself, know yourself - Only YOU will ever be enough!''

So am I an unreliable friend, Yes, in the traditional sense I am. This is the gift I have to offer! And I hope to share many more beautiful moments of friendship like this with One as All.

One heart, One Love,
Bari xxx

p.s. I say thank you to the true friend who started this journey for me. I say thank you to her for her willingness to be present, open and honest with me, and for offering me the opportunity to discover and express my own truth in this moment.

I'm a Sinner

There is no one more surprised than I that I'm making that statement. Don't get me wrong, I've looked at my truths for long enough - the choices I've made that I'm not proud of, the choices I wouldn't make again, the opportunities for growth and learning I've experienced along the way....yes, yes....but a sinner? I've always had an emotional response to the phrase sinner and the idea of begging God for forgiveness has always made me feel distinctly uncomfortable.

Recently at the Casa of Dom Inacio I helped a man write a note for the prayer basket. Mark is in a wheel chair with very little control of his body and it's almost impossible for him to write, so when I saw him painfully trying to write a note I offered to help. As he dictated his words I could feel a deep pain and sadness arising in my heart - he was confessing himself a sinner and begging God's forgiveness. All I wanted to do in that moment was hug him and tell him God surely loved him and forgave him all, if only he could love and forgive himself. So as soon as I had finished I politely excused myself and went home to cry! The pain of seeing someone believe themselves to be a worthless sinner was an emotional experience for me.

Then there are the prayers in the Casa, often times spoken by those apt to preach. Each time we are to call our brothers and sisters sinners and beg for their forgiveness something inside me contracts!

So there they were, my little signs along the way, highlighting my emotional charge, showing me I had something that I needed to look at. But I still didn't see it coming!

I have, however, been actively working on releasing my self judgment and transmuting the associated emotions of guilt and shame. Yesterday I had a shift with some tears of release and received the inner guidance 'above all be kind and gentle to yourself'. Wonderful I thought. So today I sat in current with an empty and open mind. I was surprised therefore when at some undefined moment during the current I became aware of an inner statement arising..... 'I am a sinner'.....there it was .....announcing itself as clear and as loud as day........'I AM a sinner'! Wow! The moment of acceptance is now somewhat vague, buried somewhere in that deep state of meditative silence, however the statement arose and stayed there until I recognised it and accepted it as mine.

However, the most surprising thing of all is not the statement itself but what it came with...... it came with the most unimaginable feeling of JOY!!!!

As I sat and did the work of dispassionately integrating the archetypal roles of Saint and Sinner an unimaginable feeling of lightness and joy arose. I felt I was spiraling with joy, like a dolphin at play. I wanted to stand up and sing and dance and tell the whole world about it. I just couldn't stop smiling!

I think on a deep cellular level there's a recognition that in fully accepting and integrating all seeming opposites, pushing nothing away, we are continuing our journey home to wholeness, to Unity! Embracing duality is the road to unity!

So yes, I am a Sinner.... and I am a Saint, for truly I am All things!

In love and acceptance of ALL,
Bari xxx

p.s. to Mark, the prayer preachers, and to all those who have allowed me to play the role of sinner in this lifetime I say thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!