Kahlil Gibran~Wake at Dawn with a Winged Heart

'And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, 

and sharing of pleasures.

For in the dew of little things 

the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.'

Kahlil Gibran

 'Wake at dawn with a winged heart 

and give thanks for another day of loving.'

Kahlil Gibran

'may my heart always be open to little birds 

who are the secrets of living.'

e. e. cummings

'may my heart always be open to little
birds who are the secrets of living
whatever they sing is better than to know
and if men should not hear them men are old

may my mind stroll about hungry
and fearless and thirsty and supple
and even if it's sunday may i be wrong
for whenever men are right they are not young'

e. e. cummings

'May our heart's garden of awakening bloom with hundreds of flowers.'

Thich Nhat Hanh

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For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes letting go and moving forward with life easier than ever before.

If you're interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, sign up for free e-mail subscription.

The Dance of Life: Finding the Courage to Live and Love Fully

Where do You Find Your Courage to Live and Love Fully?

'The moment in between what you once were...

and who you are becoming...

is where the dance of life really takes place.'

Barbara De Angelis

Live the Moment in Between

Dance Joyfully

Let Anger Go

'The more anger towards the past you carry in your heart,

the less capable you are of loving in the present.'

Barbara De Angelis

Be Courageous

'We don't develop courage by being happy every day.

 We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.'

Barbara De Angelis

Live the Moment

'To dance is to be out of yourself~

Larger, more beautiful, more powerful~

This is power and yours for the taking.'

De Mille

Keep on dancing in the moment between and

find the power and courage that is

yours for the taking....

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For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.

If you're interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, sign up for free e-mail subscription.

Healing Laughter is Good for the Soul

Laughter Refreshes Your Spirit

'Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.' 

Victor Hugo

'In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, 

and sharing of pleasures.  For in the dew of little things 

the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.' 

Khalil Gibran

'Laughter can bring a new perspective.'

Christopher Durang

Laughter is the Cure for Ailing Heart

'A day without laughter is a day wasted.' 

Charlie Chaplin

'Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.' 

Mark Twain

'Laughter is the only cure for grief.' 

Robert Fulghum

The Healing Grace of True Laughter

'You can't deny laughter; when it comes, 

it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants.' 

Stephen King

'A wonderful thing about true laughter is that 

it just destroys any kind of system of dividing people.' 

John Cleese

'I am thankful for laughter, 

except when milk comes out of my nose.' 

Woody Allen

Laughter, God and the Universe

'At the height of laughter, 

the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities. '

Jean Houston

'Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God.' 

Karl Barth

'Laughter is the brush that sweeps away 

the cobwebs of your heart.' 

Mort Walker

Laughter, Hope and Life

'To me there is no picture so beautiful as 

smiling, bright-eyed, happy children; 

no music so sweet as their clear and ringing laughter.' 

P. T. Barnum

'Let there be more joy and laughter in your living.'

Eileen Caddy

'I had a list of rules I made up one time. 

It says: Tell the truth, sing with passion, work with laughter, 

and love with heart. Those are good to start with, anyway.' 

Kris Kristofferson

Laughing and Fighting for Freedom

'So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, 

but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. 

Lord, let your laughter ring forth. 

Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, 

rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. '

Molly Ivins

'Laughter can help relieve tension in even the heaviest of matters.' 

Allen Klein

'Laughter is, after speech, the chief thing that holds society together.' 

Max Eastman

Laughter, Hope, and Fear

'So many tangles in life are ultimately hopeless that 

we have no appropriate sword other than laughter.' 

Gordon W. Allport

'Comedy is defiance. 

It's a snort of contempt in the face of fear and anxiety. 

And it's the laughter that allows hope to creep back on the inhale.' 

Will Durst

Laughter Restores Health

'Live by this credo: have a little laugh at life and 

look around you for happiness instead of sadness. 

Laughter has always brought me out of unhappy situations.' 

Red Skelton

'I love life in spite of all that mars it. 

I love friendship, jokes and laughter.' 

Tahar Ben Jelloun

'Laughter heals all wounds, 

and that's one thing that everybody shares. 

No matter what you're going through, 

it makes you forget about your problems. 

I think the world should keep laughing.' 

Kevin Hart

An Extravert's Active Meditation

How does an extrovert rebalance and refresh? This one does it by scanning her environment for words and messages until one speaks to her. 

Today's message 'Healing Laughter' provided me a week's worth of active meditation through studying, contemplating, drawing, painting and putting together a visual display of Healing Laughter and what that means to me. And like a true extravert, I am compelled to share a bit of lightness with the world. 

Wishing you a big helping of Hearty Laughter today!

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For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.

If you're interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, sign up for free e-mail subscription.

Rumi: The Cure for the Pain is in the Pain

Like it or not, physical, emotional and spiritual pain IS the ultimate teacher.

The Cure for the Pain is in the Pain~Rumi

I hate pain. I'm a wimp. I'll do everything to avoid it until I'm forced to realize pushing into and through the pain IS the cure. Ignorance isn't bliss when it comes to pain. Ignoring the problem only prolongs and often worsens the pain. But somehow that never stops me from trying to ignore it for as long as possible.

Like it or not--and I don't--physical, emotional and spiritual pain IS the ultimate teacher. 

If we fail to pay attention, and take positive action in a healthier direction~our wise bodies take out the ruler to slap us. There's nothing like a bit of discomfort to make us listen up--but sometimes it takes more than a few whacks to get our attention--especially for us 'enlightened souls'.

Recently I've been dealing with painful and weakened hamstrings (muscles on back of thigh). True to my nature (read the 'enlightened person's' path to denial) I've been trying to just relax and let my body figure it out as I continue in my 'normal' activities, including daily walks and trips to the gym . 

Wouldn't you know it, by unconsciously avoiding what hurts, suddenly I discovered I stopped going to the gym, stretching, and walking up hills. So much for continuing my normal activities. And guess what? The pain intensified.

These pains you feel are messengers. 

Listen to them.

Rumi

The Wimpy Pain-Adverse Enlightened Soul's Path 

Yep, I'm a wimpy pain-adverse enlightened soul who often takes a bit longer to take care of the painful issues due to my clever use of 'higher order' avoidance techniques. Time and again my body treats me like a mere commoner and slaps me back to attention until I give in to following through on jumping through life's hoops just like everyone else.

Like you, I indeed have everything I need inside of myself to handle whatever life throws my way--including the painful parts of it. The tricky part is getting myself to access that wisdom when I need it most. That's when this enlightened soul finds it helpful to apply Jack Kornfield's wisdom: 'imagine everyone else is enlightened except for you.'

By imagining everyone else is enlightened except for me I can reach back through the ages to tap the wisdom of those who've come before me, and also seek the sage advice from my peers today. Through this truly enlightening activity I can better open my mind to the wisdom that resides within me and act on it. My biggest strength is recognizing the wisdom of others--so why not use it?

Today as I let go of my greatly coveted inner title of 'enlightened one' my mind wandered to the advice I received from my sister-in-law, Lee, three months ago when I complained about my weak hamstrings: 'Have you tried stretching your muscles by resting your leg flat on the table with your knee bent?' '

'No, enlighten me.'

The minute she demonstrated the exercise I had my AHA! moment and began applying the helpful stretch. But somewhere along the way I stopped persisting--perhaps because I thought the issue was resolved or because the stretch was always initially uncomfortable as my shortened muscles relaxed (I told you I was a wimp).

You have to break your heart to open it.

You have to push into the pain to cure the pain.

You have to quit being sad for one moment to hear the blessings.

I Know You're Tired, But Come this is the Way~Rumi

The hardest thing for us wimpy enlightened souls to do is to push into the pain--and keep it up. We want our AHA! moment without the hard work of persisting through the life lesson. We want to look composed, relaxed, and be unaffected by life's little pains.

Years ago as I was dealing with an emotionally painful experience, I got my AHA! moment as I saw the pattern that existed in my life. I asked my good pal, Karen King, who I refer to as my personal guru, 'Now that I see the pattern, how do I make it stop?'

'You don't,' she replied. 'Now you sit in it.'

It's tiring dealing with persistent pain--whether physical, emotional or spiritual. Yet it is only through persisting...first through sitting in our awareness of 'what is' then taking action in the here and now...and also in the future that we get through the pain.

'I know you're tired, but come this is the way.'

Woman cleverly disguised as

an enlightened soul 

What Pain are You in?

💙  What Physical, Emotional or Spiritual Pain have you been dealing with lately?

💙  If everyone else was enlightened except for you, what words of wisdom would you pick up to help you push into the pain?

💙  If you were to persist in dealing with the pain, what steps would you take? Take one now.

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For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.

If you're interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, sign up for free e-mail subscription.

Mindfulness: Steal Moments of Attentive Silence in a Busy World

OPENNESS 

'What the world needs most is openness: Open hearts, open doors, open eyes, open minds, open ears, open souls.'

Robert Muller

LISTENING ENLIVENS THE HEART

'Whatever difficulty you face, there are time-tried ways you can listen your way through. Because listening is the doorway to everything that matters. It enlivens the heart the way breathing enlivens the lungs. We listen to awaken our heart. We do this to stay vital and alive.'

Mark Nepo

A LOVING SILENCE

'The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen.  Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.... A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well-intentioned words.'

Rachel Naomi Remen

MINDFULNESS OPENS THE HEART

'I counsel thee, shut not thy heart nor thy library.'

Charles Lamb

'Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart.'

Carl Jung

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For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.

If you're interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, sign up for free e-mail subscription.