365 Thoughts of Healing is my latest book, released in April 2023. It is a book that provides inspiration and hints or even accompanies you through confusing times. The book can be used as a daily inspiration or sporadic input when needed by randomly picking a page. Enjoy the following excerpt:
I am happy to announce that the e-book of 365 Thoughts of Healing is available. The Kindle version is not only a preferred option for many readers but also indispensable for those who are not able to or struggling with reading a physical book. Also, since the paperback is not available on amazon.com.au and .co.jp. this problem is solved with the e-book.
The world urgently needs peace – not only with regard to ongoing wars. The population in general must unite so that we cannot only end wars but also help this planet heal the damage we have caused. That thought reminded me of a post from 2016:
Lately, I came across several posts talking about miracles and coincidences or some conversations turned out to be about them. I love this matter. I also made it the topic of my latest manuscript (which still is waiting in line to be translated and published in English). But what actually is a miracle? Most of us would say: It is an unexpected and sudden change of circumstances for the better. Do you agree? But are they really unexpected?
As you know, I have been helping out in a band for a few months. Lately, we played a gig. One of the songs we performed was “Tu Vuo’ Fa l’Americano”. It is about an Italian from Naples who pretends to be an American by dressing and acting like one (at least in his opinion), which makes him appear completely unreal. He doesn’t even speak American…
Lately, I had an interesting conversation with a friend here on WordPress about how to avoid disappointment. It made me think of a former co-worker of mine.
“Realize your essence and you will witness the end without ending.” Lao-tzu
The unbelievable discovery of our own forgotten Self happens in most cases through a particular situation or a constellation of certain circumstances. These circumstances are so perfectly aligned with each other that we cannot escape the confrontation with the next step of our development. These circumstances usually lead us into the deepest depths of our being. We feel that everything breaks down and that all our dreams run through our fingers like sand. Sometimes we think that we lose everything we have lived for. Often we really have to give up something or make a painful experience that forces us to open an inner door we had turned away from over and over again because now we must go through it. By going through it and listening to ourselves and letting ourselves sink down to the bottom of our inner ocean, the moment arrives when we start to understand. All this often happens within a short period of time. The situation is becoming particularly acute from all sides, and apparently, a radical change is about to come. Then a straw breaks the camel’s back. It feels like a gigantic explosion inside of us, blasting everything away that was compressed in us. It is like the tension between two tectonic plates discharging through an earthquake. All the accumulated, forbidden emotions and frustrations are like a helter-skelter trying to get outside.
When I had my blogging break after Christmas, I used the time too for going through old posts and “renovate” them. I came across this one I posted in 2016. When I went through it, I got that feeling that it needs to be shared again. I hope the person(s) it is meant for will find some inspiration:
To receive the best inspiration I felt like picking a card from my favorite deck of Gateway Oracle Cards by Denis Linn. The card I picked is the one above. The year is still very young, and this card appears as a fantastic message to start it. Dream big and dare to expect the impossible to happen.
It is five years ago that I wrote the following post. I think, reminding ourselves that it is in our own hands to direct our destiny fits well for the first Monday post of this new year.
Lately, I had a discussion with my youngest son about receiving respect and being taken seriously by others regarding the constant competition between him and his older brother. For a teenager, there is a lot to cope with, for example, the changes that happen to your body, and at the same time to your developing confused mind. Then there is the pressure of school and the decisions about what to do after (another school, apprenticeship,…) which goes along with the challenge of getting an apprenticeship place. A lot to deal with that life brings naturally.
Life is indeed THE tool to realize who we are, who we can be, or who we can become from who we are. The instruments to explore life are unlimited. There is a tool for everyone in every possible situation and for every possible point they are in their lives. The tools create themselves out of the situation in harmony with what is around us, our state of awareness, and the state we want to reach.
Yesterday I shared a few things about my life with you. So, for today’s poem, I thought it was fitting to share the lyrics of the song I am currently working on. I spare you unnecessary text repetitions. I hope you like it.
This post is highly inspired by a discussion between Gail, Mark, and myself. The topic of fear never ceases to affect our lives in some way. Be it our own fears or those of people we encounter or are close to.
You have several life sections which influence each other, a job (maybe more than one), a private life, perhaps you are a member of one or more associations, and more. Each part is meaningful to you and causes responsibilities and obligations. Also, you feel committed to the involved people. There can be those times when some of those parts need more room than usual or begin to expand. It can be a business that you are extending (which needs personal engagement), something in your private life that needs attention, and you may have had additional plans already. It is definitely not always easy to do justice to everyone and, at the same time, preserve your own needs.
I don’t know about you, but I am one of those who tend to push themselves to always have a solution at hand. It may have to do with the desire to help others and to be in control of life. It may also have to do with trained pressure to perform if you were constantly under the expectation to deliver the best results.
I have often thought about this, I know many of us do it, whether the soul or the ego speaks to me in specific situations. Especially when we find ourselves in complicated and challenging life situations or facing important decisions, it can become even more difficult to distinguish between the voice of the ego and the voice of the soul. You want something badly and feel the urge to pursue it. But is it your ego pride that drives you, or is it the flame of your soul that you feel burning? Is it the wisdom of your soul that wants to save you from a painful detour, or is it the ego that does not want you to follow and fulfill your soul’s calling?
A few weeks ago, I wrote About Impatience and Development. After publishing that post, it occurred to me that not only impatience but also patience can get in a person’s way. Both have their origin in a kind of egoism, although the cause of that egoism goes in two different directions. Impatience can mean stress not to miss an opportunity. The more important something is, the more it pushes you. Does anyone remember the run on toilet paper two years ago? Wow, how selfish was that? I need it, I have to have it, I have a right to it, me, me, me… Impatience can cloud our view of reason and make us run blindly toward blinking lights. In this blindness, we can quickly lose our orientation. In contrast, patience has the calmness to wait in the background until the opportunity presents itself to seize it.
About ten days ago, I had a wonderful conversation about unconditional love with Mark of HealingFromWithin. I invite you to read his post about An Unconditional Dilemma. Often we meet people to whom we want to give ourselves completely. They may be in a bad place, desperate, lost, beaten by life. For some reason, there is a sudden connection, a strong attraction, and a deep need to help them heal their soul. Sometimes the encounters happen in such a magical way that you would give a movie a bad rating for being too unrealistic. However, from the first moment on, everything indicates that there must be a higher purpose behind it.
I found a post again that I shared three years ago. It spoke volumes to me, since currently, I have to remind myself of the important fact that only in distancing from life, I find the necessary overview and the needed solutions. My employed job has been overwhelming me in many ways more and more for years. I don’t want to go into details because I don’t mean to please you with my problems. The irony is that I slipped into it for a purpose that does not even exist anymore. But that is life. Sometimes you start something only to be led to the actual lesson. Nothing is in vain, but when something no longer serves the purpose, it begins to show itself in internal and external tensions. Maybe this speaks to more of us than only to me.
It was time again to pull a card from my “Gateway” card deck. It is not that I felt uninspired, but I needed to find the direction. The card I pulled may not only fit my situation, but I could imagine that it speaks to quite a few of you.
When I look out the window now, all I see is a white wall of fog. Outside it is cold and wet. That is the kind of autumn we are used to in November and winter in general. Sometimes the fog even stays for days or weeks. But so far, it hasn’t bothered me that the sun doesn’t shine, and I can only see as far as the nearest bush or tree. I even feel comfortable – at least when I sit here in my office and look outside as I write these words. It may be ugly outside, but it makes it even cozier and homier inside.
Who has not experienced it yet? Life confronts you with something you really don’t like to deal with. It may be something you successfully ignored, or someone else solved it for you. But for some reason, it seems to come back like a boomerang. Again, you don’t feel like dealing with it. May it be because it makes you anxious or forces you to look at a part inside yourself that you have been hiding and maybe even forgot about it. Maybe, you even thought you made it over it – until a situation happened in which you realized you did not. Not at all!
There is this point in life when turning away, wanting others to solve your issue, or distracting is not working anymore. It is that time when life says: “It’s enough. You postponed the task too often and for too long.” And you have no other chance than to look at it, take it, and end it by yourself. It is human that we try to avoid triggering anything that could bring us into situations that put us in the driver’s seat. Where there was always someone around to step in and make you get away, all of a sudden, no one is there any more to take the steering wheel. That can be even scarier. But since you never learned to make it on your own, life needs to take all possibilities to escape.
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But no worries, the task may appear much bigger and more overwhelming than it really is. It only feels like it because you thought it would be that way. And every time you turned away, you added a bit of the negative thoughts that made it grow. However, once you take it to heart, and just go for it, you’ll quickly see that you actually have help on your side. But now, the help you receive is no longer an ease of your task but help for self-help. You learn to master the matter and find constructive ways alone and with support.
The tasks are not getting easier, but you are becoming stronger.
Erika Kind
How often have I thought that I could slip through again, only to see the wave coming back later again and even a bit higher. After a certain point running away was not possible anymore, and I had to face my fears and demons. Every time we do that, we not only untie a task of daily life but also a knot in our soul’s plan. Of course, we cannot be sure, if there are more knots on the same subject. But each time it gets a little easier. Because each time, we experience again that in the end, we do not emerge weaker but stronger, more self-confident, and more relaxed from a difficult situation.
You are the Phoenix. You are your own salvation. You are more than any challenge you may encounter.
On a side-note: This post was inspired by me reading about Empress Sisi’s life-long desperate attempts to escape the court ceremonial and herself. The older she got, the more she traveled the world – the tragedy of a broken and restless soul.
On Instagram, I saw posts about #NoFilterDay. That got me thinking. Does this mean that a lot of people post pictures of themselves with filters, basically? I am not talking about the funny filters with dog tongues, cat ears, and distorted faces but filters that make them look “better” (whatever that means). I never paid attention to this until now because I don’t use such things myself. Is it because these people want to impress others by looking a certain way that they think will get them more followers, or don’t they simply like the way they look? When I think about our “selfie” society, where people focus on themselves and the importance of what they do and eat all day, this would make sense.
Colin of MeAndRay.com shared the video below with me that moved me to my deepest corner and inspired me for this post. If Nick’s example does not lead to more consciousness, self-awareness, and gratitude for who you are and for what you can make of who you are, then what can? If Nick’s story and journey are not convincing you that you can always be who you want to be, that there is always a way and a solution to be who you want to be, then what can?
I printed Nick Vujicic’s words that “If you don’t get a miracle you could be a miracle for someone else”. What an example of no matter who you are, how you look, or where you were born, you have your purpose. That purpose’s seed was planted in you by the moment you were born. However, you are composed it is exactly who you need to be in order to fulfill that purpose and become who you are meant to be. You only need to be willing to look at it and live it. Then life will expand and give you the miracles you are looking for… because you are the miracle.
Many of you have already experienced it when a child moves out. I also experienced it six years ago for the first time. Now the next move-out is coming up these days. I think I can speak for most of you when I say that we are proud when our children take on the challenge and responsibility for their own lives and take the step into their own independent future.
We hear it so often that we should enjoy life, not put anything off, let our soul unfold and follow the call of the heart. There are commitments, yes, but not all of them are real commitments. Many we do out of habit, even though times and circumstances have changed and the reason we took them on no longer even exists. We sometimes need to stop and examine how we are actually filling life. Is it only filled or is it also felt?
A good friend of mine opened her new store this morning. She has already been self-employed as an interior decorator and designer. But now she has a beautiful showroom tastefully decorated with perfectly matching items to welcome clients. This way, she has not only the possibility to inspire them and give an idea of what she can do, but she can also sit together with them right there and work out some first ideas. No more visiting them, then preparing drawings and offers at home, visiting them again, and only working with catalogs instead of a choice of samples. Of course, so much went wrong the closer the date of the opening came, but she is such a power-woman. Like a magician, she switched to alternatives that turned out as a much better option than the original idea or order.
As you can see from the title, I have decided to expand the range of topics for poems on Tuesdays.For the most part, the poems remain romantic, but I am often inspired by other things that I would like to share. Since I can’t find the time to post more often, I choose this option. Ultimately though, it’s always about love anyway, just not always the romantic kind.
Recently, I wrote a lot about how important it is for healing that we don’t turn away from painful feelings but face them. That, to not push them back again into a drawer but to take them out of that drawer and let them go. The reason they show up is that they are ready to leave, and the triggers in the outside world are only coming to support them surfacing.
For today I decided to pick a card from Dennis Linn’s Gateway Oracle Cards. I love those cards since they are like nailing messages to show the way out of a maze. The card I picked is “Accepting What Is”:
We all have our dark spots, subtle emotions that show up in certain situations, inner resistance, old wounds that reopen, scars that keep us stuck in a past situation. As I said before, we absolutely cannot ignore them and sweep them under the rug. Just because I don’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t still there. But we must be careful not to look only into the abyss of the soul. That is the same misunderstanding as ignoring them.
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There may be times, when the past catches up with us, and it seems that for a long time, we have only these dark shadows around us. We can’t see the light. But the explanation is actually quite simple. Imagine taking a photo of an object that is in front of the sun. It will appear completely dark because of the backlight. You are actually taking a picture of its shadow. If we focus only on the shadows, we miss the fact that there must be a lot of light behind them. The darker these shadows appear, the brighter the light behind them.
As soon as you realize that you ARE the light, the obstacles you are working through lose their dark color because you shine ON them. Then they are just obstacles to be overcome. With this attitude, you begin to see them as tasks on the journey, but not as obstacles that keep you from your journey. Again, you stop resisting and start accepting. You go from “Why me?” to “Let’s go!”.
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Keep in mind that no matter how many dark potholes you may fall into, you will always be caught by the power of your soul. It knows the way, and its light will let you find the way to get back to the surface, just as you need it. Your life is not meant to be dark, and you are not meant to believe that. It is your strong soul that is determined to resolve as much of the past as possible. Only the strongest are confronted with the darkest shadows. There is so much love in them that keeps them going, that makes them stand up and gives them the courage and determination to go on. And those are the ones who encourage so many others to do the same. Beceause we can!
When you feel like looking into a dark hole then remember that your light must shine the brightest. Continue the journey and know that your light will always attract light to accompany you on the way. I honor you for the wonderful soul you are.
Lately, I am digging into working myself through karma. There is quite a lot in motion in my life that provokes me to look back in my incarnation history. It is so amazing how many links I can draw to relationships, my own attitudes or blockages, and the karmic laws. I know, this is something many are a bit scared of since they are afraid of what they could find when looking into one of the many previous lives. Yes, I was quite a bad guy but a blessing as well. As I wrote about two weeks ago, we are going through all kinds of roles in our different incarnations. We build up karma, and we solve it again. By going through hard times, suffering from repeated disappointments, humiliation, or resentments can be an indicator that we are about to resolve a not that nice part from a past life.
Life is amazing. All life is amazing. All lives in all lives are amazing. Last week I touched on the great field of karma. It forces us to clean out the attic of our soul and leads us to the awareness of who we are. When we understand the principle of karma, it is not even that necessary to know the origin of blocking feelings within us or the burdening circumstances around us. Just perceiving what triggers the feelings over and over again is the clue that we may need to experience what we once did and what we need to balance and resolve by living through the emotions we once may have caused in others. Knowing this helps to accept. Acceptance removes the resistance. We allow the pain to surface, look at it, and then let it go.
I don’t think there is anyone who has never faced challenges, whether they were self-imposed or triggered by something or someone outside – actually, they are always self-imposed, but we’ll get to that later. Also, a challenge to me does not equal a challenge to you. If I’ve ordered a meal and it’s only lukewarm when it’s served, I can make a big drama out of it, politely ask for it to be warmed up, or I can just think, “So what.” A problem is only a problem if I call it a problem. It’s subjective. So, when something is triggered in me to create the image of a problem, it always has to do with me.
It is interesting what thoughts lead to the next one and the next one, and how they take you to solutions or insights you would never expect them to tell from the first thought. Lately, I was helping someone move into a new apartment. They moved into our closer neighborhood. While I was driving to that apartment, I was thinking of how the area had changed only within the past 5 years. Many things came to my mind that changed in general during that time, and my thoughts went 20, 30 years back. I began to think of what my life impacted, what pushed me, what directed me, what guided me, and what I myself moved (with or without the influence from outside). Even though I often think that I got stuck when emotions are surfacing which I thought I had worked out when actually, I was only successfully pushing them back.
Aren’t we all disappointed in ourselves at times? We think we “have it in the bag”, or we are convinced about how something works out, but then it hits us unexpectedly that we are mistaken. It can make us lose confidence in ourselves.
What is the problem when someone is craving love? That person is convinced that love is outside of them, something that needs to be earned. They think that they don’t have it and therefore are in a place where they experience a lack of love. When we think we don’t have something, it causes us to feel a lack. That energy is sent out, and the universe will answer with the same energy. It is the energy of the feeling of “not having”. What we send out will come back: not having! The irony is that in not understanding that universal law, those people feel even confirmed by the experience of the consequences, and a long-lasting vicious circle can be the result that affects all parts of their lives.
Insecurity usually manifests itself as shyness, subservience, or weakness in decision-making. But at least as often it shows itself in the form of oppression, arrogance, envy, and dogmatism.
We all are always to discover our potentials, the limitations we set, our abilities, our higher and personal purposes. With everything we see and experience, that journey continues. We find inspiration, pass so many lessons, we feel the joy of life and encounter its challenges. Life can become a routine.
Lately, I had an interesting discussion with my business partner. He told me that on the way to work, he heard about a study on the radio. When you smile at someone, something begins to change in the brain cells of the other person. They are more responsive which has an effect on that person again who smiled in the first place. Also, there something changes in the brain cells which, in the end, makes both experience feelings of happiness. A smile does indeed connect, but it seems that is is a result of a switch the brain makes. And we know what an influence the brain has on our feelings.
So often, we don’t start a project because we are afraid of failing. We are afraid of being questioned even before we started, or before a result is shown. We are afraid of being criticized for how we do it or even THAT we do it. We are afraid that people are making fun of us because we are doing something they might have never dared to do themselves. Or we are afraid because our project also means to show a part of us which we kept hidden for so long. But there comes a time when all those fears are not strong enough anymore to keep us from going for our dream. They cannot keep us from stepping out of our comfort zone anymore. We are full of excitement and enthusiasm and yes, we try it with all our hearts and passion. And then it happens…. the door opens up!
In my post The Opposite Of Fear Is Love I quoted Charlie Chaplin and remembered his beautiful poem. I also remembered a post I wrote about it a few years ago and decided to share it again. Charles Chaplin delivered this speech on his 70th birthday. So much wisdom and experience are lying in these words, reminding that we can lift the curtain of illusion to find the beauty, love and all the answers we have been looking for.
No mountain too high, no river too wide when it comes to realize our dreams. It may not be easy but as long as we pursue the goal there will be possibilities. I wrote a short metaphoric story regarding this topic and will share it with you today. Whatever is now does not define what will be. You can make it, if you only believe.
I took a walk through the forest. It was a beautiful early summer day. The sunlight found its way through the tiniest spaces between the already leafy treetops, and nature seemed to reach out its arms to me, full of energy. I perceived the humid, spicy scent of the forest air, which gave me a feeling of connection with this place. Although birds were chirping exuberantly and something was rustling in the undergrowth now and then, the atmosphere was so peaceful and harmonious that I almost had the feeling of being in a different world.
“We have always done it that way. You cannot make money with what you would like to do. You don’t have the money to do it. You have to stick with our kind. It is the tradition. It is the culture. The family won’t let me.”
Carol Anne asked an interesting question about a week ago: If you could be totally amazing at just one thing, what one thing would you want to be amazing at?My first thought was I want to encounter obstacles, challenges, and life’s tests without pushing me through fear first. Then it made me think.
I think there is no one who looks back at life and can say that there has never been a time when they were hurt by someone. Perhaps from the outside, it may have looked like a trifle but inside that particular person, it reached a very weak point. When more of such trifle episodes happen it becomes a wound growing wound which even becomes infected. Each tiny thing that adds to it can hurt so much more than if it had fallen on healthy ground. Even years or decades later, a single thought can trigger the memory and those hurtings can feel as if they just happened.
There are so many projects living in my impatient heart to be realized. Although I would love to go for each one immediately they have to take numbers because I am only one woman ( who is already working two jobs, has a house and garden, is managing a family, and is starting a 3 years education next year,… to mention only a few). Each one of the additional projects in my pipeline is “burning under my fingernails” as we say in German. But each one is also pretty time consuming and would actually need my full attention. Of course, I don’t want to stress myself completely out. But, as I said in Dreams – Reminders Of Your Soul, you cannot silence the calling only because it doesn’t fit in your current agenda. It only gets louder over time. It is who you are and it wants to be lived. It is worse to be unhapp