Dearest Readers,
How are you doing? Really, how are you? My own emotions have been on a rollercoaster ride, mostly stabilized in the last week, but definitely up and down. When I am up, I wonder about you, how you’re feeling about the changes in your personal life and in the world, how you’re coping with it all.
When I have these moments, when I wonder about you and if you’re okay, my own fear and anxiety decrease. Thinking of others is such a healing practice. So is caring for others. As the spiritual care worker in a long-term care facility, I am considered an ‘essential service’, and when I am with a resident, there is no thought of myself. The fearful, anxious thoughts disappear.
Deep Presence brings relief.
If you read the last Letter, you will remember my account of the Woodpecker, appearing at just the right moments in time to remind me that the Universe is as conscious of me as I am of It. Three days ago, I arrived back at the house after an endorphin-producing run to the rat-a-tat-tat of the Woodpecker. She was in the tree above our driveway and I stood and watched her hammer her head into the trunk at rapid-fire speed.
Impeccable Timing brings relief.
The above photograph of the snowdrops is evidence of a miracle, really, since the entire front garden of our house was dug up last fall to fix a leaky basement. All of the soil was removed, creating a 6-or-7-foot trench around the wall of the house. The dirt that had been removed was then dumped back in the trench to re-fill it. The result was a big, uneven pile of mud. Now, after a long winter, those snowdrops you see in the photo pushed up through the disturbed ground in the exact same spot as they always do, year-after-year. How?
Life Finds a Way.
In times of crisis, in times of despair, in times of great fear and crippling anxiety, I look to these experiences of Deep Presence, Impeccable Timing and the Unstoppable Life-Force Energy to keep me going and to keep me growing.
And I think of you, and hope that you are accessing your own inner resources and outer practices to keep going and growing, one moment at a time.
From the Fires of Love,
Celia
- 20/20
- 2020
- abe lincoln
- academy awards
- acceptance
- accomplish your goals
- achieving goals
- action
- action steps
- actor director
- addiction
- aging
- agony of nothing
- air canada
- alex lickerman
- alive
- altar
- alzheimers
- amazing grace
- anger
- animal medicine
- anne loree
- anxiety
- anxiousness
- apathy
- art
- art of self-care
- arts in the park
- ashram
- ask for help
- assets
- astrophysics
- astrophysics and spirituality
- atheism
- attitude
- authentic self
- award shows
- awareness
- awe
- B&B
- back of all things
- bahamas
- balasana
- baseball
- be-ing
- bear story
- beatles
- beauty
- become like a child
- be here now
- Being
- being a grown-up
- being enough
- being grateful
- being human
- being of use
- being present
- being the instrument
- be the chooser
- Beyond All Boundaries
- big picture
- big questions
- birthday present
- black st. stairs
- bliss
- bliss divine
- blog
- blogging
- breakdown
- breakthrough
- breathing
- breath prayer
- bryant park
- buddhism
- burial vs. cremation
- burn after reading
- burton watson
- bushwhacking
- cabbagetown
- canada council for the arts
- canada line
- canadian film centre
- canadian war museum
- cander
- canoe trip
- canucks
- cardio
- cardio exercise
- care-taking
- cat
- cat barf
- celebrate courage
- celebrate life
- celebrate victories
- centering prayer
- centre of attention
- challenges
- change
- change is possible
- changing others
- charlie brown
- charlotte's web
- checklist of required materials
- Cheryl Richardson
- child's pose
- child birth
- childhood
- child wonder
- choose light
- chris rock
- christianity
- chronic illness
- chuang tzu
- cicadas
- city vs. country
- cityzenjive
- clarity
- co-dependency
- codependency
- coincidence
- collective healing
- coming full circle
- common ground
- Communion
- community life
- compassion
- conflict
- connect
- connecting
- conscious awakening
- consciousness
- contemplation
- control issues
- coronavirus
- cosmic oneness
- cosmos
- courage
- Courage to Heal
- creating art
- creativity
- creativity coaching association
- creativity conference
- crimes against humanity
- cultivate your courage
- dances with wolves
- dark side
- dead man walking
- dear diary
- death
- death of a pet
- decision-making
- declare peace
- deep talk
- defects of character
- defining moments
- definition of God
- dempsterhighway
- depression
- despair
- development funding
- dis-ease
- discernment
- distraction
- divine
- divine agency
- divine authority
- divine essence
- divine love
- divorce
- dog days of summer
- doing the minimum
- don't deny it defy it
- don't give up
- do the thing you think you cannot do
- do your best
- dr. martin luther king
- dreams
- dress for success
- dwell
- dying
- e.m. forster
- earth
- eckhart tolle
- edmonton
- Eleanor Roosevelt
- elementary school
- Ellen Bass
- embrace life
- embrace the mystery
- em forster
- emmet fox
- emptiness
- encourage others
- energy
- enjoy life
- enoughness
- eric whitacre
- evangelism
- every cloud has a silver lining
- evolution
- evolutionary organizing principle
- evolutionary time span
- existence
- experience strenth and hope
- facing fear
- faith
- fear
- fearless
- fearless means fear less
- fear of death
- fear of failure
- fear of intimacy
- fear of rejection
- feeling miserable
- finding balance
- find joy
- first-class flying
- first blog
- first nations genocide
- footwork
- forgetfulness
- forgiveness
- fragmented societies
- Franklin D Roosevelt
- gardens
- gentle reminders
- get off the couch
- getting help
- giant zucchini
- gift
- gifts
- GITA
- GITA: God in the Army
- giving anonymously
- giving birth
- giving thanks
- gladys aylward
- glass half full
- goals
- go big or go home
- God
- god and science
- go deep or go home
- golden globes
- good enough
- good morning good morning
- google map app
- grace
- grace cards
- grandparents
- grant
- gratitude
- gratitude list
- Great Mystery
- Great Silence
- grey mountain
- grief
- group dynamics
- growing old
- Guan Yin
- guidance
- gurus
- hadron collider
- hafez
- hafiz
- happiness
- harold s. kushner
- have faith
- have fun
- having babies
- havingpurpose
- healing
- healing cards
- healing from healing
- healing journey
- healing path
- Healing Power
- healing shame
- healing tools
- healing trauma
- healing with nature
- healing work
- hear
- heart
- heaven
- hell
- helping others
- henry van dyke
- henry wadsworth longfellow
- hiding your talent
- Higher Guidance
- Higher Plan
- higher power
- highest good
- hiking
- hindu
- hold on to faith
- home movies
- home sweet home
- honor your feelings
- honour life
- honour your needs
- hope
- hospice yukon
- how to be brave in the face of fear
- how to feel better
- human
- human race
- human species
- humble pie
- humiliation
- humility
- humour
- i'm alive
- I am
- I am enough
- i am known
- i am not my thoughts
- if a tree falls in the forest
- I love therapy
- imperfection
- indentify your feelings
- independence
- inherent racism
- inner critic
- inner journey
- inner life
- inner racism
- inner terrorism
- inner work
- inn of the sixth happiness
- insensitive
- inspiration
- inspiring
- inspiring blog
- inspiring coach
- inspiring coaching
- inspiring light
- inspiring message of the day
- inspriation
- integrate the experience
- intentions
- interconnection
- interspiritual
- interview
- in the process
- into each life a little rain must fall
- Ireland
- is hollywood racist
- it's all relative
- jann arden
- jarvis collegiate institute
- jeff bridges
- jennifer berezan
- John Crossan
- john irving
- john lennon
- john travolta
- joining the masses
- journey
- joy
- jr.
- judgmental thinking
- jules in pulp fiction
- julian of norwich
- Justin Trudeau
- Katrina
- keep a journal
- keep growing
- keno city
- kevin costner
- keynote address
- kitchener
- LaGuardia
- Lake Pontchartrain
- Lake Pontchartrain Causeway
- laptop
- last stop for miles
- Laura Davis
- leanne coppen
- lester b. pearson
- let freedom reign
- let go
- let go and let go
- let go of judgment
- let go of your but
- lethargy
- let it be
- let it go
- let sleeping dogs lie
- letting go
- lga
- life-giving
- life coaching
- life insurance
- life is hard
- life isn't easy life can be challenging
- life lessons
- light vs. darkness
- listen to the burn
- live and let live
- liveinthemoment
- living in the light
- livingthequestions
- loneliness
- long-term care
- love
- loving yourself
- low energy
- low self-esteem
- lucy van pelt
- lviing with breat cancer
- MacBook
- mac davis
- magnetic north theatre festival
- making amends
- making decisions
- making friends with shame
- making mistakes
- making the best of things
- man's search for meaning
- manifesto
- Marcus Borg
- marianne williamson
- marriage
- marten berkman
- martin luther king jr.
- masks
- matthew 18:3
- maximum wellness
- mayor of casterbridge
- may two-four
- meadia solutions
- meaning
- meditate
- meditation
- meditation practice
- memoir
- memories
- mental health
- mental illness
- mercy
- metaphysics
- militant atheism
- millenium trail
- mindfulness
- mindfulness practice
- miracles
- missing link
- mob mentality
- Montreal
- montreal bagels
- montreal to ottawa
- mother teresa
- motivation
- murphy's Law
- mysticism
- mystics
- nakai theatre
- names will never hurt me
- naramata center
- Naramata Centre
- Nathan Kotylak
- national theatre school of canada
- Nature
- nature as god
- NDE
- near-death experience
- needs
- negativity
- neil deGrasse tyson
- never enough
- newborn babies
- newman
- New Orleans
- New York
- new york city
- new yorker cartoon
- non-duality
- NYC
- obstacles
- offerings
- offer it to God
- offer love
- old belief system
- old bs
- one day at a time
- one genetic family
- one love
- oneness
- one single organism
- one true self
- one yellow rabbit
- opening monologue
- open mind open heart
- oscars 2016
- oscar speech
- ottawa
- outward bound
- over-giving
- overcoming depression
- overcoming fatigue
- overcoming fear
- overgiving
- overwhelm
- owen meany
- pandemic blues
- parachuting
- paradise island
- paradox
- parents
- patience
- peace
- peace and justice
- Pearl harbor
- Pearl Harbour
- pema chödrön
- people-pleasing
- perfectionism
- performance art
- perseverance
- personal growth
- persons of colour
- physical fitness
- pit of despair
- planet earth
- playwrights guild of canada
- playwriting
- poetry
- positive self-talk
- positive thinking
- poustinia
- poutine
- power
- power and control
- powerofnow
- power of now
- power of oneness
- power surge
- power through constructive thinking
- pracatice
- practice
- praise
- praises for the world
- pray
- prayer
- prayer and meditation
- prayer of saint francis
- prayer works
- presence
- procrastination
- progress not perfection
- proverbs
- psychology today
- puja
- pure consciousness
- push assembly
- push festival
- quakerism
- quantum leap
- rabbit hole
- rage
- randon acts of kindness
- re-birth
- re-entry
- real connection
- realignment
- recovering perfectionist
- recovery
- recycling
- regret
- reiki
- reincarnation
- relationship garden
- relationships
- relax
- relaxation
- religion
- remembering
- resisting love
- respond with compassion
- rest
- right thinking
- road trip
- robert service
- rouge by julie andree t.
- roz chast
- rude awakenings
- rumi
- sacred centre
- safe passage
- samuel l. jackson
- SAND conference
- savasana
- science and non-duality
- second degree burn
- secrete
- seeing things differently
- seek the light
- seinfeld
- Self
- self-acceptance
- self-care
- self-compassion
- self-forgiveness
- self-help
- self-improvement
- self-loathing
- self-realization
- self-reliance
- self-validation
- self-will
- selfish vs self-centered
- selfless service karma yoga
- seniors
- sense of humour
- serendipity
- service
- sexual impropriety
- shakti gawain
- shame
- shame-based culture
- share DNA
- share the love
- share your feelings
- sharing
- shift in perception
- shining your light
- shortcomings
- show and tell
- showing off
- silent retreat
- silent witness
- simplicity
- sins
- sister healan prejean
- sivananda
- sivananda yoga
- Sivananda Yoga Retreat
- sivananda yoga teachers training course
- sivananda yoga Vedanta centre
- slave trade
- sleeping in
- small talk
- smartphone use
- snowmass
- social media
- somerset maugham
- soul care
- soundtrack for a revolution
- sour brides theatre
- speaking up
- spirit of unity back of all things
- spiritual awakening
- spiritual care
- spiritual direction
- spirituality
- spiritualjourney
- spiritual journey
- spiritual messages
- spiritual not religious
- spiritualnotreligious
- spiritual practice
- spiritual solution
- spiritual tools
- spoke-word
- spring in the yukon
- stage fright
- stand up for something
- stanley cup
- st benedicts monastery
- sticks and stones
- stillness
- still small voice
- stonehenge
- storytelling
- stratford festival
- stress
- success
- summer lab
- sunny days
- support
- surrender
- surrender to win
- susan b. anthony
- Swami Sivananda
- swimming badges
- swimming lessons
- symbology
- synchronicity
- syncronicity
- taking action to feel better
- technology
- technology vs. nature
- teleclass
- telefilm canada
- temple
- Terrel House. mardi Gras
- tess of the d'urbervilles
- tess on bbc
- thankfulness
- that of god in everyone
- the breath
- the butterfly dream
- the child within
- the experience of being
- the great silence
- the healing path
- the historical Jesus
- the Miracle of Life
- the nature of being
- the new yorker
- the oprah winfrey show
- the power of now
- therapy
- the razor's edge. of human bondage
- the return
- the thinking mind
- the universe is participatory
- the weight of the world
- the year of living dangerously
- the year of living spiritually
- this is happening
- thomas hardy
- thomas keating
- thomas merton
- to be or not to be
- togetherness
- tolerance
- Tom Hanks
- Toni Morrison
- tool kit
- tools fro daily living
- Toronto
- to thine own self be true
- transcend the darkness
- trauma
- travel
- travels
- trees
- Treme
- triggers
- true awareness
- true nature
- trust
- trusting
- truth
- tv talk show
- ultimate reality
- unconditional love
- underbeing
- understanding
- Unified Field
- Unitive conciousness
- universalconsciousness
- universe
- unknown
- unmotivated
- urban kids
- US billboard hot 100
- vagueness
- validate someone else
- validation
- vancouver
- vancouver riots
- victoria day
- victories
- viktor frankl
- virtual choir
- visions
- voices of dissent
- waiting and seeing
- waking up
- walking through fear
- walk rhough fear
- walk the earth
- walk through your fear
- war and peace
- war artist
- we're alive
- wedding anniversary
- welcoming fear
- welcoming prayer
- wellness
- what is the spiritual journey
- when bad things happen to good people
- white cliffs of dover
- white culture
- Whitehorse
- whitehorse chamber of commerce
- wholeness
- willingness
- willing to live
- wonder
- worry
- wounded healer
- writer's block
- WWII
- WWIImuseum
- Y2K
- yes open the gate
- ymca peace medal awards
- yoa
- yoga
- yoga practice
- youtube
- yukon
- yukon arts centre
- yukon film society
- zoom out