The aftermath of the US Presidential Election

Yesterday was one of those interesting days. The aftermath of the United States presidential election. The day many people exposed their true feelings about President Obama being reelected to power. And the most interesting facet of his reelection was the level of emotion it evoked from people. The polarity it exposed that exists within our psyche.

There were a lot of people who were gravely disappointed that he was reelected. Angry. Frustrated. Furious.  Spewing hatred and contempt for his reelection. There were others who were euphoric. Embracing, Filled with hope. Over the moon that this man went up against the 1% who hold the key to the financial fortune of this world and won. It’s like the David and Goliath story all over again. The biblical battle between the small man and the giant that seems to continue even in our modern age of excess and technology.

I observed that people automatically believe that because of where you are from or what you look like, you are meant to blindly follow the person that is from a similar background to yours and if you don’t that makes you a traitor or backstabber. I also observed that people that come from different backgrounds did not want President Obama to win because they felt he was their enemy.

When I told someone that I had been on the fence with both candidates and I would have found it more difficult to vote this year than years before if I was American, they were outraged. But I felt the race was a tight race. A race that represented different and varying strengths of each candidate. I felt Romney was the better candidate for quickly getting the US back on its feet fiscally because of the contacts he had in the top 1%. Those who were willing to give him whatever he needed to get them back into their position of power. And by doing so allowing the US economy to grow.

 I also thought President Obama has the charisma and empathy necessary to soothe global ills that are occurring outside the US. I felt he gives people hope, a feeling of comfort and most of all a feeling of trust. I felt if there was a candidate who combined the traits of both these men; the choice would have been that much easier.

But what I learned on the day after the election when I listened to the President of the United States' acceptance speech is that more than anything he answers the global call for inclusiveness.  For hope. For faith. For giving the small man and woman, who incidentally represent the majority of the world, the confidence they can make it in this world. The world is not looking for division. It is looking for inclusion. The world has changed so much with the advent of social media that no place in the world is isolated from the other. We all know with the touch of a button on our computers what is happening anywhere in the world. What happens in the United States affects what happens in Africa. What happens in China affects what happens in Russia. What happens in Germany affects what happens in France. What happens in Bermuda affects what happens in Brussels. You get the point.

We have become a far more interconnected world physically in the last 2 years just with Facebook exploding from 500 million users to 1 billion users, than we could ever have done before. Technology is exposing our vulnerabilities because it is allowing us access to worldwide events before we can even blink sometimes. So the age old politics of rhetoric and isolation have become as obsolete as the rotary dial telephone.

What the world is looking for is someone who can lead them through this worldwide web of information with the greatest feeling of hope. With the feeling that though we may not be in the top 1% of the financial giants, we are in the vast majority of people who fall outside of that 1% and we want a say too. To believe we have the right to our say. People want to know they have for a fighting chance to make it even if they are not wealthy. That they have the right to a good education. Good healthcare.

The worldwide web is the physical representation of the spiritual worldwide web we have always shared. The fact that we are all interconnected. Part of a global consciousness showing us that no matter where we come from or what we look like, we are one and we want to be treated as such.

And out of the two candidates President Obama, to me now, is the best man for the job. He is the one who gives people hope that no matter where they come from, no matter what they look like, no matter what their beliefs are, no matter what their sexuality is, no matter what goes on behind their closed doors, they matter. We matter and that is what we are all striving for – to believe we matter.

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Above all else, we are one. We are hope.

“I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting….We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions…,” President Barack Obama at his victory speech in the United States of America.

Hope is that which ignites the fire in us. Gives us the stamina to keep moving. To keep stumbling through the darkness until we find the light because deep down inside, we know there is always light after that darkness. Hope is that inner compass that reminds us. That inner feeling that asks us, wills us, cajoles us to keep going even in our bleakest hour and if we hold on to hope, hope ultimately pulls us through and allows us to prevail. But we have to understand hope alone doesn’t do it. We have got to keep doing the work that needs to be done to get us to the Promised Land. To that place or thing we want. We have to strive for our ambitions but not at the expense of others. But to the benefit of us all because when we do, we realize and accept that we are all part of the unified field in this Universe.

I have to admit I was on the fence about the US election because as President Obama said I have become one of those cynical people who believes that politics gets us nowhere but divided along party lines. That I have become jaded about the effectiveness of leaders because they are so driven by the desire for power that sometimes they forget about all the promises they made to those who put them in power in the first place. That power corrupts. That there are no morals left in politics because politicians will do what they need to do to get elected.

But when I heard the speech delivered by President Obama after securing his second term in office, I knew in my heart he was the right person for the job. I knew and felt he was not just talking politics. He was speaking to the very essence of our being. His words were coming from a spiritual place we all carry. That place where pure unlimited potential comes from. That place that allows us to manifest miracles.

Any president who can speak to the division created by partisan politics, who can speak to the inherent prejudices we all carry, who can express gratitude for all those who remained with him and those who left him, who can address the mistakes made, the lessons learned and embrace the tough road ahead by defining it as hope is a man who will always look out for the best interest of the whole. For him to declare that we are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions sent chills down my spine because despite him talking about the United States for all that it matters he could have been talking about all of us around the world. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions. Greater than the sum of individual differences. Greater than the sum of our individual choices because we are one. Connected to one Divine Source. We are our brother’s keeper. Our sister’s keeper and it doesn’t matter where we come from or what we look like or what we believe in. We are one.

Until we recognize that our every action creates an equal and opposite reaction, we will never move forward as a united people. And I know that we cannot and will not always live in Utopia. That we will never all share the same philosophies or beliefs but as long as we are willing to embrace the differences between us all, we will prosper. And flourish.

Any President that can fill me with hope as the acceptance speech of President Obama did last night is a president worth having not just for the United States but for the rest of the world as well. Because at these bleak and negative times, we need all the hope we can get. We need all the faith we can muster. We need all the courage we can harness to climb to the top of that ever steep mountain threatening to keep us down because of fear, pestilence and cynicism. And more than that we need each other globally to survive.

Congratulations to the United States of America for bringing hope back into my heart. For electing a man who reminded me that above all else, there is always hope that something better awaits me as long as I have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting. And restoring my faith in the Universe that we are greater than the sum of our ambitions.

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In gratitude to Deepak Chopra

I love Deepak Chopra. He always seems to know when I need a reminder of the simplicities of life. The very ones that I make so complicated. And he has not failed me this time either. Chopra has come out with his free 21 day meditation that started on November 5.

The theme for this challenge is Creating Abundance. A very timely theme because of all the sense of loss, scarcity and abandonment happening in our world right now. We have a global economy struggling. Putting a sense of financial strain at the forefront of everyone’s minds. A sense of lack creating  a strong sense of pestilence and fear.

We had a super storm devastate the Northeast of the United States particularly New York and New Jersey and the Caribbean. We have many people in those place who at first were grateful their lives were spared who are now faced with the steep climb of rebuilding their lives. Creating a sense of scarcity in their mind. Leaving them to question why?

We have a United States presidential election as well as the possibility of a Bermuda government election going on that is bringing to the forefront all that is negative with the hopes of wooing the undecided to the Promised Land by painting a bleak picture of what has been. Playing on people’s sense of fear. Rather than emphasizing all that has gone right and can go right to ignite people’s passions and sense of possibility.

We have people around the world that are exploiting people’s fears. So for Chopra to come out with his challenge at a time like this is much needed. I am so grateful for his reminder that, “I create my source of abundance from an infinite source.”  In other words, each one of us has a source of abundance because we are all from the same infinite source. Some of us recognize this more than others and in doing so recognize that no matter how bad the situation may appear for us, the source of abundance is always available to us if we believe we are entitled to it.

According to Chopra, “All material creation, everything we can see, hear, touch, taste and smell is made from the same stuff and comes from the same source. This source is the entire Universe.  The Unified Field. …The key to living an abundant life is to embrace the idea that abundance comes from this unified field. Within it lies the power of infinite creativity.”

True abundance begins with a thought followed by an intention. It’s up to me, to all of us, to believe in infinite possibility. To accept it as our divine right. To invite unlimited abundance into our lives requires only awareness, intention and silence. The only thing that stops us from achieving the abundance that is meant for us, is us. Is our desire to hold onto the negative rather than the positive. To allow fear to take us down. Rather than hope lifting us up. To become lost in the darkness rather than seeking the light. We are the only ones who can place limitations on ourselves.

In order to shift the consciousness of our world it begins with each one of us shifting our consciousness and accepting we can create our personal abundance from the infinite source.  And by taking part in this meditation, I recognize it is the infinite source of possibility that has brought Chopra into my life at this time because I asked for guidance and I was answered. Affirming to me the source is always there when I am ready because I am a part of it. As are you. As are we all. The infinite source is always ready and waiting for us to tap into it. To answer our call. And I am grateful for the awareness and power of its existence. And I am grateful that I asked and was answered. Namaste.

 www.chopracentermeditation.com/login

Chopra Meditation Challenge Facebook Community.

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Autumn, the last burst of colours

I realized over the weekend that I really love the fall. Autumn. Even the name sounds romantic. I love the colours. The crispness in the air. The transition where I know the dark is coming and the light is fading but the days are bright. I love the oranges, the yellows. The reds. The golds. The warmth and earthiness of Fall.

The season where a lot of nature is preparing to go to sleep through the darkness. Where some trees can’t sustain themselves through the winter so they decide to sleep through the dark times to reawaken when the spring comes. When the light comes. Fresh. Rejuvenated. Full of life again.

I love watching the leaves drifting to the ground. As if they are doing their last dance. Their last pirouette before they succumb to the soil. The gracefulness in the moments before they dance no more.

I love the unfiltered light of the day when the haze lifts and goes away. Because the humidity recedes. Where greens become greener. Blues magical. Reds scarlet. Oranges pumpkin. Where everything is so vivid that you can almost feel the soothing of the cooling air replacing the wretched heat of the summer.

I was driving down the South Shore along the stretch by the Botanical Gardens and the beauty of the changing trees took my breath away.  The sight was totally unexpected because we don’t see many fall colours on the trees here as most of our trees are evergreens considering we are subtropical. But having that experience of seeing the colours of autumn even if for a short while filled me with joy.  Giving me space to breathe again. To inhale. To appreciate. To see the abundance of nature all around me.

I slowed down and took my time allowing the feeling of change to wash over me. To witness that nature knows there is a season to everything. A time to live and a time to die. A time to rejoice and a time to cry. A time to grow and a time to stagnate. A time to love and a time to hate. A time and a season for it all but knowing all the time that as the seasons change, everything and everyone has a turn at some point in their lives.

And then I drove on feeling nature embracing me after feeling my embrace. The memory of that special moment forming a permanent picture in my brain. And for the seasons and my awareness of them I am truly grateful. Because I know that sometimes I will be up and sometimes I will be down in  this journey called life but if I remember everything has a season including me, I will ride through each one just fine. That 's why I love autumn because it's the season where nature gives us her most varied and vivid colours. The last burst of colours just before she fades and goes to sleep for the winter. Namaste.

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In the presence of wonder

There is definitely a shift in consciousness going on in our Universe right now. People everywhere are searching for meaning. Searching for the spiritual connection. That which connect us to the Divine spirit. That which provides us with the comfort that we are not alone in the Universe.

I read a poignant story last night about a man who lived on the shore in New York who has lost everything. How he can see his house on the television but can’t get to it. How he knows he will never be able to live there again. And I felt a deep sense of empathy for that man who had lived in the same home for the last 35 years and now all that he knew is gone. What must that feel like? To have your whole life turned upside down. To have no sense of belonging. No sense of security anymore.

And then I thought could it be because there is more than the physical to our lives? Is there more than the material possessions to our lives? Is  every devastation that is occurring around our world at the moment forcing us to come face to face with that fact? Are we  being asked to find that inner sense of being? That inner state of peace. Are we being asked to examine who we truly are as sentient beings?

There are many more stories like the man in NY. Too numerous to mention. But there are also stories of people becoming more neighbourly. People who have lived side by side who never spoke to each other before are now getting to know each other. Helping each other because the everyday conveniences like electricity have been taken from them. Opening them up to be there for each other. This is the beautiful side of human nature. The shift in consciousness that is opened when we share common tragedies. Common stories. When we are taken out of our comfort zones, we are given the opportunity to examine who we are and who we are not. Allowing us to open ourselves to compassion, empathy and love. As is happening in NY, NJ and other parts of the world struck by the devastation.

There is definitely a shift in consciousness going on now for many of us to be more in tune with our spiritual and compassionate nature and I am so happy to be aware of it. A part of it. And I will continue to try to spread the light as much as I can.  Because as E.B. White says, “Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.”

We are always in the presence of wonder even on our darkest days. Just as the tragedies are unfolding, a kinship is forming. May the shift in consciousness continue. And may we continue to be aware.

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Embracing the Choice Point Movement

November is the month of Thanksgiving in America and it is touted as the month when we are to be thankful for all that we have. To be in a good space for all the abundance in our lives. To shift our consciousness from a state of lack to a state of abundance. A state of joy from a state of apprehension.

Last night I was on the verge of overload. Of feeling tremendous pressure and responsibility for the burdens I felt had been placed on me. Feelings of anger, despondency and lack. Feelings of regret. Feelings of failure. Worrying about whether I would be able to meet the NANoWrimMo challenge. Worrying I am moving far from my passion if I can’t meet the challenge. Just worrying. Creating a black cloud about me. Allowing the cloud to grow larger and larger until all I could see was the darkness.

But my children were so full of possibility. So full of joy. So full of energy that soon their energy started to seep off into mine. Replacing my darkness with light. Allowing me to shift to feeling their joy. To feeling their excitement. To living in the moment just as they were. And then they went to bed. And a silence enveloped the house. A silence that seemed to scream so what next? A silence that seemed to challenge me to ask, was I going to allow the darkness seep back into me or was I going to try to find the light? Realising I was at that critical point of making a decision about how I was going to feel.

 And then I sat at my computer and started to search. Search for what I did not know but my instincts told me I needed to search. So I did. I just searched. And there on my face book page I found exactly what I was looking for via a post by Malathy Drew. And it was this wonderful, uplifting and all inspiring movement:

By the time I found this post it was about 10pm and I had promised myself I was going to have an early night because I had been feeling defeated and tired. But my instincts told me that despite this film being over an hour long, I had to watch it because I was meant to watch it. As I am a great believer in following my instincts, I watched it in its entirely. Feeling my consciousness shifting with each moment I watched the film.  Because I knew without a doubt, I was being given a gift from the Universe. A message from the Divine. A message to accept I am where I am because of the choices I have made.

A message to know that at any point in my life I have to power to change anything I want. That when we come to a choice point in our lives, the transition can feel like a real struggle but like the caterpillar turning into a butterfly, if we make it through the transition we will transform into the beautiful person, creature we were always meant to be.

And I felt that message resonate through my whole being. Goosebumps from head to toe. Allowing me to be receptive to the Divine message. Opening my consciousness to something profound. Einstein said, we can’t solve any of our problems with the same consciousness that created it. We must shift our consciousness to make room for the solution(s).  We can not run away from the fear of change because that fear is allowing us to realise we are at a choice point in our lives. Allowing us the window of opportunity to take a leap of faith and move through our fear in order  to embrace the miracle that we are.

So I will say no more. Instead I am sharing the gift that was shared with me when I needed it the most last night with the intention that by passing it on, I will help to shift someone else’s consciousness as well. And for the gifts of the Divine, the power of the Universe, and the power of intention I am truly grateful. Namaste Malathy Drew. Namaste the Choice Point Movement.

Choice Point Movement

Malathy Drew

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Can I face the NaNoWriMo challenge again?

[NaNoWriMo] 

Okay so it’s November 1 Nano write month. For all of those aspiring writers out there, you know what that means. Nano Write Month is dedicated to writers from around the world who discipline themselves to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I did it last year for the first time and shocked myself because I wrote every single day and ended up with a novel with over 50,000 words on November 30.  This year I am struggling with whether I can do it again. Whether I want to do it again. Whether I have the time.

Or should I change tactics and just write my blog every single day and write it to a theme? Not sure how to go about the Nano challenge this year because my life is very different from where it was last year. Last year I had no job and was not sure where I was going with my life or where I was going to work so it was very easy for me to challenge myself to meet the challenge. To spend each day in front of my computer writing. My mind was more open because I was searching for answers. Much the same as this year but from a very different perspective.

Some days I sat outside in the wonderful fall sunshine writing to my heart’s content. Other days I sat at my desk at the computer staring at the screen. No words coming to my mind so I would get up and do something else until inspiration hit me once again. Then there were days when I could not face writing but would eventually get the bug and just start writing. Losing myself to the chatter of the characters that had become a part of my psyche.

This year I am working full time with many more demands on me than I ever expected. This year my creative juices are not flowing as much as they were last year because my mind has become more analytical considering that is what I do every single day at work. Analyse. Compromise and Analyse some more. Over and over again. Depression setting in.

So instead of beating myself up because I feel like I can’t commit to writing this morning, I am going to give myself the day to fulfill my analytical role then when I come home tonight if I sit at my computer and my creative juices flow,  I will begin. I will just let my mind direct where I am going to go. So as of this moment I am surrendering to the moment. Not projecting. Not placing undue expectations on myself.

But then ego took over when I looked at one of my friend’s Facebook posts. She had not only started the Nano challenge but she had already written nearly 2000 words! Despair and exasperation quickly replaced all thoughts of surrender for me. She had a head start and I had not even begun.  The competitive, egotistical side of me wanted to scream because she was just doing it while I was still in the contemplating stage.  All romance about surrendering flew out the window as I thought, Oh my God, I am never going to be able to do this because my mind is not there. Giving room for fear and self doubt to creep in and sabotage my feelings of surrender. Feelings of inadequacy. Feelings of desire replacing all feeling of surrender and hope.

So I stepped away from my self induced panic and thought for a moment. Telling myself to breathe and I did. To think positive thoughts. And I did. Then I felt proud of my friend for starting her story. Proud of her for just doing it without projecting. Then my mood shifted and I felt better because I realized without a doubt I am where I am because this is where I am meant to be and as long as I sabotage myself I will never accept there is no there because I am always here.

And then I remembered a quote I had seen the other morning, a quote that was hidden on my desk that had been waiting for the right time for me to really see and understand its meaning. And the quote appeared in plain sight for me this morning and it said, “Self is the only prison that can ever bind the soul.” Henry Van Dyke.

And then I surrendered again. Breathing again normally. Telling myself if I am meant to meet the challenge this year, I will and that’s all there is to it. So I now wish my friend  and everyone else embarking on the NaNoWriMo challenge the best of luck and all the creative juices needed to finish the month with 50,000 words.

nanowrimo.org 

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