What's in a Quote?

by CJ Heck

“I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do. And, by the grace of God, I will.” ~Everett Hale

When I first read the above quote, it touched me down inside on a soul level. I don't know why Mr. Hale wrote the quote, or the story behind it, only that it was a quote one of the college football coaches liked to use to pump up the guys in the locker room before their games.

I thought to myself, if I were to highlight the important words in each sentence, that quote is whispering to ME. "I AM only one, but I AM ONE. I CAN'T do EVERYthing, but I CAN do SOMEthing. The SOMEthing I OUGHT to do, I CAN do. And, by the grace of God, I WILL."

There was something in the quote that whispered to me when I first read it. The quote spoke to me of all of the military vets out there. This was a motto all of them lived by, even if they never heard the quote before, they took it with them -- to Vietnam or Cambodia or Afghanistan or Iraq -- They had it with them wherever our country sent them. They never complained. They did what they had to do. They did what they were trained to do and what they were told to do. They did what they thought was right.

There were several reasons why I started my third blog, Memoirs From Nam. None of the reasons included wanting to cause anyone undue anguish by digging and poking around where veterans, their families and friends had buried so much for nearly fifty years. I started Memoirs From Nam with all of the best of intentions and with gentle whispers from the Universe.

One night, just before sleep, I shared some frustrations with my spirit guide, Dinahh, about needing more closure regarding my first husband, Doug, who was killed in Vietnam. I even wrote a blog about it here on Knowing Whispers a few months ago. Here's an excerpt from that blog:

" ... It was Dinahh who suggested that part of my healing and further spiritual growth would be in helping others who also still carried so much hurt with them. He felt I should invite them to feel the fear and pain of the past, embrace it along with me, so we could all let it go and begin to heal.

Dinahh said, "Catherine, as I've told you before, do this and be patient. Open your heart and share your own feelings. Let your blog be a safe place for community; a place of peace and for sharing; be comforted knowing you are doing what in your heart is loving, and it will be. With us, everything is always as it should be. There is no time, only infinity. You must be patient. Do what you can and ... it will be."

Do what I can ... now THAT is exactly what the quote whispered to me. I am doing what I can, because I can do no less ...


Namaste, my friends!

Memoirs From Nam

The Tide of Life

Expression and Reflection
[The Tide of Life]
by Robert Cosmar

Life is a tide of outgoing expressions and incoming reflections. Daily we are called upon to serve the expressed wishes of others, and then nightly we reflect on our own lives, where we are and where we're going. Nothing is constant; all things change. This tide causes us to examine what we believe, how we think and what we want. It makes us examine our deepest desires and intentions. This tide then asks us, "Are we honestly being true to our real nature?"

Our real nature is not divided or confused. It is clear, intent and its meaning, compact. It knows its self intimately and deeply, with no enemies or detractors. It is linked to the larger chain of life and serves a purpose deep in the bosom of existence. It is the true marvel of our nature. We need this cycle of activity to learn about our self, our life and our role in our existence. It is through opposites that our real nature is exposed and we can choose to accept, or not accept it.

In between the tide of expression and reflection is that thing we call love. Love is the true vibration eminating from our deepest core, and the very essence behind the process of expression and reflection. All things evolve towards this center in time.

Love does not exist in time. Like most of our virtues, love is eternal and belongs to eternity and our real natures. With time, love and all our true virtues become seldom seen or felt, because they are diminished by words, language and ideas. There is no true feeling of it, only an imitation of love spoken or stated. Not until man unites again his heart with the mind, will love be felt, spoken, and seen as true in time.

The tide of life exists so we can rediscover our true nature and express it eternally. This is our choice, whether to accept or reject the tide -- no God stands in judgement to tell us what we should do or what is right. It is our choice, as cells in the universal body, to decide whether we follow that which elevates us naturally or go with that which brings us harm. It is as simple as knowing how we feel and how our bodies react to what we are doing. We are never lost, only misguided and unconscious/unaware -- that is our only sin.

At times, the tide washes many surprises and precious gifts to our shore. It's important we dont resist. Enjoy your expression and also enjoy your reflection. In your moments of deepest despair are the seeds of your next exaltation.

Hugs & Toddlers

Remember what it was like to be a child? It was something very different from who we are today. It was to believe in love and magic, to believe in fairies, to believe in belief, to be so little that the elves could reach to whisper in our ear; it was about turning pumpkins into coaches, and mice to horses, and nothing into everything, because every child has a fairy godmother in its soul ... and a grandmother for a best friend. ~CJ

Hello Everyone,

Just to give you a little heads up ... I'm going to be out of town for the next week, leaving today. I'll be in Connecticut babysitting two of my grandsons, both preschoolers, while a daughter and her husband go away for a much-needed R&R to rediscover that they are more than a mommy and daddy.

I'll be in Grammy Heaven; however, being a little out of practice with busy toddlers, I'm relatively sure any down time I have while they're napping will be spent doing laundry, cooking, picking up toys, or (I had to admit it), taking a power nap of my own to recoup. There probably won't be much time for the internet and its writing pleasures, including posting here.

Stay with me.  I promise I'll be back online when I return on the 23rd. In the meantime, please think of me knee-deep in much-missed grammy hugs, bedtime stories, night-night kisses, and playing cars and Legos on the floor with two little boys that I love so dearly.

Namaste!
CJ

P.S. I would LOVE to see my email box overflowing with your own thoughts and experiences when I get home ...

Letting Go

My sincere thanks to Sue Batt for the following article which I'm taking the liberty of reprinting, giving her full credit, of course, and to Louise Hay for her poem embedded within the article, and giving her full credit for that, as well.

Interesting, how the poem turned out to be a 'synchronicity', something I've written a lot about here at "Whispers".
Namaste to both Sue and Louise!
CJ


The Art of Letting Go
by Sue Batt
Healing Touch for Health

How many of us are wise enough to stand in our own center and remain grounded when a "drama" unfolds around us, causing us to sway and our minds to work overtime?

We all have them, the "dramas." Whether we have families, or employment issues with co-workers, or financial problems, etc., there is always something that will rock our boats and trigger our reactions, our judgements, our blame, all of our "if onlys."

I've begun to notice that the saying, "Where there is a problem, there also lies within the solution", is really very true. And if we are awake enough to notice, the Universe has a very nice way of bringing you what you need at the perfect time. Yes, Divine timing knows a darn sight better than we ever could.

I had such a "drama" unfold in my own life this week, and in the midst of my own "pity party" a friend who had no idea of that, sent me the following poem. Divine timing! Universal solution! It helped to bring me back to a place of being centered and knowing that to "let go," it will all unfold as it needs to and that others have their own right to their own journey. I hope you enjoy it and that it brings you some comfort too.

Letting Go
by Louise Hay

To "let go" does not mean to stop caring, it means I can’t do it for someone else.

To "let go" is not to cut myself off, it’s the realization I can’t control another.

To "let go" is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To "let go" is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To "let go" is not to try to change or blame another, it is to make the most of myself.

To "let go" is not to care for, but to care about.

To "let go" is not to fix, but to be supportive.

To "let go" is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.

To "let go" is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their own destinies.

To "let go" is not to be protective, it is to permit another to face reality.

To "let go" is not to deny, but to accept.

To "let go" is not to nag, scold, or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.

To "let go" is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.

To "let go" is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future.

To "let go" is to fear less and love more.

Namaste
Sue

Angel in My Pocket: Eyes of a Child

The Innocence of a Child

"May you always see the world through the eyes of a child."
~CJ Heck





Keep that quote in mind ... I know I, for one, am always fascinated to hear what children believe and have to say about the workings of the universe and God.

Children want the world they live in to make sense, and they look at it and study it through such innocent eyes.

I remember I was having a conversation one day with one of my grandchildren, who was about five at the time. Somehow, the subject came up about what a conscience is and we were discussing it over lemonade.

When he asked what a conscience was, I explained in terms I thought he would understand. I told him it was like having a special someone whisper in your ear to tell you when something is a good idea, but also when something might not be such a good idea. Then I asked him what he thought a conscience was.

He thought about it for a few minutes, his face taking on all of the expressions of deep contemplation: the eyebrows squeezed together, his mouth puckered and skewed, first to one side of his face, then the other.

Then his expression changed to one of "AHA!" And he looked up at me with his eyebrows raised high and grinned playfully. "Grammy! I think you're talking about the angel I have in my pocket. That's just what she does!"

When I asked him to tell me more about his pocket angel, he gave me a look of total consternation, as though I should already know the answer.

Finally, with a huge sigh, he slowly explained what I should already know -- his angel always did exactly what I had described, but her whispers to him came from his pocket. He said she whispered to him about everything.

This was way before I started my own journey to awareness, and I hadn't thought about this conversation again, until this morning -- I think I mentioned before, I heard whispers, too, when I was a child, and I'm so glad he was hearing and heeding them already at age five.

I've been told that the universe has a sense of humor, and I'm quite sure our spirit guides had a good laugh over our little talk that day ... but, on the other hand, who's to say that he doesn't walk around with an angel in his pocket ...

Namaste.

Write When it's Time

The Spiritual Cycle of Expression
by Robert S. Cosmar

There is a time to write and a time to rest from it. A cycle of creative expression exists in all things and this has to be accepted. It's very rare that one doesn't have to stop once in awhile and realize the time of writing is over for the time being. It would be great to continually express our feelings and thoughts as they pour through us, but then when would we have time to learn and reflect on all we have written?

The dry times, those times when we feel we've hit a wall are merely approaches to the next layer of our preparation to know ourselves more deeply and honestly.

Writing is mostly self-revelation and self-confession. We write what we actualize through creative channels and we wait to write about our pain as we discover that we are not yet a complete person. Fear, limitations, frustration, and even depression continually confront us on our journey to wholeness. These limits to our free expression are the barriers to our true knowledge of self. They hide our true identity and hold us back. But they also reveal our excuses and reasons for failure to grow in awareness of ourselves and our reality.

Until we are whole, this cycle of 'create and wait' will always be there. Enjoy the flow of self as it passes through you and nourishes your heart. Then as the dry days come, as they eventually will, accept them and look at all the excuses, fears and blockages you have accepted to existence and yourself. The more you relax and witness them, the sooner they can pass and reveal the next gift that they are bringing you.

A very special thank you to you, Robert, for writing this article. Besides being my love, you are my best friend. I could read the thoughtfulness in each line and I know you wrote this because you've been watching me experience the 'dry days' first hand. I understand it now, and I'm certain this article will help others, as well.

Namaste and much love,
CJ

A "Little" Vision

Contributed by Hanah

Did you know that children have open hearts and minds to everything? Adults teach, and insist as to what is acceptable in society, so we shut the door to many experiences. My little grandson has taught me this valuable lesson.

At age three or so, and still in his car seat, he was naive and so accepting. Most of the time, I rode in the back seat with him, to occupy him and keep him content while he was in his seat. On one of these trips he began asking me questions about my dad. What did he look like? Where is he? Why doesn’t he come to our house? They seemed like logical questions for a little one to ask.

Soon after, he told me, “Your dad is always with us when we are in the truck.” I thought that was really profound for a three-year-old, assuming he meant in our hearts, since my dad had already passed away.

He continued by explaining that my dad was usually outside the vehicle's window, watching us, and riding along. He asked, “Can’t you see him?” Sadly, I could not. If he wasn’t riding outside by the side window, he was up by the trees, flying along with us. Other times he was sitting behind us, outside in the bed of the truck.

Each time I asked more questions, trying to be nonchalant about his visions. I inquired about his looks. He told me he didn’t have any hair, like Pappy J. I tried to explain suspenders to him. [That was a hilarious conversation that I would not be able to put into words!] So, he did have suspenders on. Ok, I could narrow that down. My GRANDPA is the one who always wore suspenders. Since my grandfather and I were close, I chose to believe it was grandpa he saw, and not my dad. But my grandson couldn’t know the difference, since he had never met either one of them.

As time went on, my grandson relayed his visions to his parents and others. He was told his visions were imaginary; things like that are not real; he had made them up; he had to stop doing that, etc. Sadly, his visions stopped and he told me he no longer saw my “dad” with us. That was a truly heart wrenching day for me.

I would give anything to see my grandfather traveling along with us. It was an intriguing and gratifying experience for me. Maybe heaven is all around us and so are our loved ones. I believe we just need to open our hearts and minds ...

Hanah


Thank you, once again, dear Hanah, for sharing your spiritual journey with us. Your experiences are always welcome. Namaste!
Hugs,
CJ

Finding My Way

Just when we think we have all the answers, we ultimately realize quite bluntly that we don't really know a damn thing.

When we come into this life, we aren't born with a 'how-to' book, you know, "The Complete Guide to the Care and Feeding (food and spiritual) of Catherine J. [Parrish Kempf O'Brien] Heck."

We have no hard and fast rules to refer to, other than those society has bestowed upon us. Even who we pray to is most often inherited from our parents, so we acquiesce and behave as good little souls. Even the laws we must follow have been set up by others who think for us. In actuality, the only real guidance as to the spiritual path we take on this earthly plane is our own personal one.

We have spiritual guidance to help us, to a point. We're given subtle whispers of intuition and precognition, synchronicities, just to let us know they're there and helping, but when push comes down to shove, most of it is really up to us. We choose the paths we take and the kind of life we want. The decisions are all ours.

Admittedly, it's been a while since I've had a lengthy discussion with Dinahh or Micah. Oh, I've had a few dreams and visions, most of them I've written about here, but after speaking to Robert and my friends, I've come to understand that this happens. Spiritual guidance is just that ... guidance. We aren't meant to rely on them for everything.

Dinahh and Micah have introduced me to a lot of valuable insights since they entered my life. They've shared so many wonderful things -- the natural tendency of us humans is to rely way too heavily upon our guidance, and be overly dependent. I've come to realize, they've left me to sort things out for awhile and make some decisions, based on what I've learned. They're expecting me to take a few awkward steps alone and when I can function by myself again without relying on them, they'll be back.

Please bear with me as I do this -- I will lean on other spiritually-minded people to help out with blogs to fill in during my absences. As always, I am extending the open invitation to any and all of you to submit your own experiences to share here. Hey, look at me ... I've written a blog entry without their help ...

Namaste.
Hugs,
CJ

The Art of Waiting

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting,
by Robert Cosmar

It is so frustrating to wait. We wait for our dreams to manifest; we wait for a direction to take; we wait for an inspiration to write. It doesn't seem fair to have to wait, and it brings up aspects of ourselves that are not always pretty. We like having control over our lives and having what we want, when we want it. Yet if we don't learn patience, the impatience can blossom into a demanding and stubborn state of mind.

Good things do happen when we are ready for them and, when it's time, they manifest effortlessly. No inner struggle is needed, it just happens, and we're grateful for it. However, the mind and ego are never satisfied. Selfishly oriented, they seek to fulfill themselves immediately and give little consideration to others, their needs, or the wisdom of timing. Actually, part of the problem is this idea of time. Our egos and minds are taught to obsess over time and dwell on it as if our lives were all about time. Time is how people conduct the business of living, but time is not living.

Surrender to what is -- this is necessary to overcome the threat of time. Acceptance of what is, is also necessary. A realization that everything is happening perfectly, just as it should be, is the cure for waiting -- and it's the only cure. The mind and time never give answers, only demands. They are never your best friends in life, but necessary tools in which to live and maneuver through our daily living. There's an old saying that people use: "You'll understand in time"; however, this is only true for those who become aware that everything happens for a reason and when it is supposed to. Nothing happens by chance.

Love is eternally patient because it knows it will get the desire of its heart eventually. It may take a thousand years, but it will achieve its desire. Time exists to give the illusion that somehow we have a right or destiny to control things and make them happen when we want. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Unless you are surrendered and aware, the opportunities and gifts hidden in delays or waiting are never seen. This puts the heart in danger of shutting down. In the end, it isn't a matter of getting what we want, when we want it, but rather what we have become and realized. Are we more aware? Or rather, are we more bitter, as a result of our limited ability to have things our way? Only the heart knows ... what does yours say to you right now?


Namaste, and thank you, Robert!
Love,
CJ

Choices

"All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me . . . You may not realize it when it happens, but sometimes, a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." ~Walt Disney


Choices
by CJ Heck

Life's journey
is full
of crossroads,
those hard
lefts and
harder rights
we're asked
to choose from,
and each turn
has other
smaller pathways
and curves
going this way
or that.
Each way
holds its own
set of bumps
and potholes
and even an
occasional
hairpin turn.
Each is
a new chance
to learn
and grow
and gain
in awareness.
Never alone,
our guidance
whispers
by our side.
Dusting
myself off,
I've wondered
at times
how my life
might have
differed,
had I taken
a different route.
Lord knows,
I could have
used a few
more straight
stretches
along the way,
but at least
I did make
choices,
some good,
some not
so good,
but each one
perfect
for me
at the time,
creating
the being
that now is.
How sad
for those
lost souls
who merely
hitchhike
through life
never daring
to choose
at all.


Namaste.