Issue 35

In This Issue:

1) Welcome Letter by Sibyl McLendon
2) Letting Go by Sibyl McLendon
3) The Sun Card by Eagle Dancing
4) How To Be A Better Friend from Momscape
5) The Power Of Music
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Welcome Letter
by Sibyl McLendon

Yá'át'ééh and greetings to you all. I hope that your week has been an
excellent one, and that this one that is just starting up is even
better. It has been a good week here, mostly because it has been
raining. Remember, I live in the desert, and to the desert-dwellers,
rain is a blessing from the Creator. You can always tell who has lived
here for many years and who has moved here recently by how they act in
the rain. Newcomers run through it with something over their heads.
Long-timers are out standing in it and laughing.
Bobby and I married a couple on the 4th of July at a five-star resort
that is int the foothills of the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson. We
love to do weddings, they are always such a happy event. This wedding
was even more special to me because of the location. In the few hours
that we were there, I saw quail, hummingbirds, red-tailed hawks, geckos,
a squirrel, a female cardinal, and dragonflies. The wedding was
performed next to a waterfall. It was so serene and beautiful. That
connection to Mother Earth is healing to the spirit, and balm to the
soul. I so encourage all of you to take a little time and to just go
outside into nature for a bit. Sit, relax and look around... really see
what is around you. This is the Creator's hand touching our lives.
Enjoy this week's offering.

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Letting Go
By Sibyl McLendon

"The moving finger writes, and having writ, moves on
Not all your piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line,
Nor all your tears wash out a word of it."
From The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam

As human beings here on the Earth plane, I think that one of the most
difficult things that we have to do is to let go of old baggage and
pain. Every single person here has experienced pain in this life. We
have all been abused in some way, let down by a loved one, abandoned or
lost a loved one to death. We have all been on the receiving end of
anger and harsh words that cut us deeply. We have all been treated
unfairly. The big problem is when we take these events to heart; when
we grasp onto that pain and make it a part of who we are.
The problem can be especially difficult when the person who has abused
us is a parent or a loved one. We tend to believe the hurtful words of
these people, and to internalize what they say to us. We believe them,
even if what they say to us makes us angry or causes us pain. When the
loved one leaves us, abandons us for some reason, the pain lingers and
lingers until it becomes a part of us. We must not have deserved them,
we must have not been good enough somehow. If we had been loveable, we
never would have been abandoned.
Then there is the problem of regret. We have all done things that we
desperately wish that we had not. We have said things that hurt, done
things that we are ashamed of and let opportunities go by that we wish
we had taken. We have all made mistakes. We are all imperfect.
These negative attachments to the past are like hanging a huge heavy
basket on our backs that we resolve to carry with us forever. They
weigh us down, slow us down and generally just make us a beast of burden
to the past. We struggle through life, with a large load on our backs,
bent from the weight of it. We act and react based on these burdens.
Believing that we are not good enough, we arrange our lives to make that
belief true.   Believing that we are not good enough, we attract people
into our lives who will treat us exactly that way. We become the poster
child for the self-fulfilling prophecy. We invite pain into our lives.
It is time to drop the burden basket that we are carrying.   The past is
gone, over, done with and unchangeable. No one can go back and change
one moment of our pasts. The future isn't here yet, so all we really
have is the present. Every moment of our lives is a gift to us. We
have total control over what we will do with the gift. If we are simply
reacting based on old pain and old beliefs, then we are wasting the
gift. If we can learn to accept that the past is gone, and that it
cannot hurt us anymore, then we can learn to live in the moment. And
the moment is all we really have.
It is certainly not easy to take all of the hurts and abuse out of our
burden baskets, examine them with a critical and unemotional eye and
then to let them go. It takes a lot of work to find them and then not
to experience the hurt all over again. But the effort is so worth it!
If we can learn to lay down the burden basket and to move on in the
moment, it is as if someone opened the curtains and suddenly let the sun
shine into our lives. It is as if the weight is suddenly lifted from
us, and we can fly.
There are many techniques available to help us to do this work. One in
particular is available for free to us, on the Internet. It is a gift
from a very talented and spiritual man named Ken Page. His healing
techniques are located at:
http://www.kenpage.com/healingtechniques/mchhealingtech.html I
encourage you to try the "Releasing What You Are Holding Onto" section.
I also encourage you to look around this site and do some reading about
other issues. This can be very enlightening.
Even if you do not fine this site helpful, I want you to keep trying to
let go of your past. Lay down your burden basket and grasp, instead,
the gift of this very moment in time. Live in the moment, experience it
to its fullest, and be free in it. You are a child of the Creator, and
you deserve the best that the universe has to offer.

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The Sun Card
by Eagle Dancing

The Sun card is a warm and happy card when it shows up in your spread.
It shows a large sun shining over a garden, with a happy child riding a
horse. Its astrological sign is Leo. This fifth house of the zodiac is
associated with creativity, pleasures and romance.

Interpretation
Happiness is coming into your life. You are going to be better off than
you have been, financially, romantically and socially. You are going to
be filled with energy and good health. If you have been confused or
struggling in some way, things are going to become easier. Your mind is
clear, and you will be able to make good solid plans for yourself. Life
is good, there is no need for worry.

Reversed
The Sun reversed brings failure. Doubts surround you. Your
relationship will experience difficulties. A business partnership is
not going to succeed. You may be going to have problems with a child.

Eagle Dancing is Bobby McLendon
He can be reached through http://www.eagledancing.com
or at http://www.keen.com/eagledancing1

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How to Be a Better Friend
reprinted courtesy of Momscape

Being a friend isn't just something that we do. It's a skill that we can
learn and improve upon. Here, eight ways to be a better friend.

Number One: Like yourself
The first step in having a good relationship with a friend is to have a
good relationship with yourself. When we genuinely like ourselves, we
become more attractive to other people. We have more to offer others
because we are not constantly focused on our own image and reputation.

We become better friends because we don't cling. We are secure enough to
spend time with a friend because we want to, not because we need to.

And relax--the journey to self-acceptance is life long. Practice it in
small steps along the way.   

Number Two: Choose wisely
Relationships among true friends take a steady dose of time and
energy--two resources in limited supply for all of us. Identify the
friends with whom you wish to create a closer bond. It's perfectly okay
if not all of your acquaintances make the list. The closeness of your
connections is far more important than the length of your guest lists.

Number Three: Make the time
Friends are important in many ways--so much so that these relationships
often take on a life of their own. You owe it to yourself (and to your
friends) to make these relationships a priority. Carve out some quality
time for one another.

Number Four: Make the first move
This is where I have trouble, and I know I'm not alone. If you want to
improve your relationships, put your fear of rejection aside and start
taking more risks. Invite your friends to lunch. Organize a new
playgroup. Invite them over for dinner.

Too often, we fail to follow up with our friends. Don't miss out-just
make the first phone call. Your friends are just as anxious to get
together as you are.

Number Five: The Golden Rule
Treat your friends as you wish to be treated. Stated another way: "To
have a friend, be a friend."

Focus more on being interested than on being interesting. Be
enthusiastic and energetic. Avoid complaining, gossiping, and
criticizing.    

Number Six: Sweat the Small Stuff
Make your friends feel significant by remembering small kindnesses.
Notice her new haircut. Remember to ask about her mother-in-law's
surgery. Send flowers or a simple email when you know she needs it most.


Number Seven: Listen
Good listeners are hard to find, and honing your skills can be a
long-term project. A few tips:

Slow down. Try not to finish your friend's sentences. If you catch
yourself planning your response while your friend is still talking,
gently remind yourself to focus on the speaker.    

Show her you are listening. Maintain eye contact. Offer nods and murmurs
that indicate you understand her point of view.

Minimize distractions.

Ask questions.

Be careful with advice. Assume your friend wants to just vent her
frustrations, not ask you for a plan of action. Avoid the phrase, "what
you ought to do is..." Offer your opinion only if your friend
specifically asks for it (and you believe she will benefit).

Number Eight: Be loyal
We all need someone in our corner. If your friend isn't there to defend
herself against gossip or criticism, speak up, and know she would do the
same for you.

Reprinted courtesy of Momscape


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The Power Of Music

Angel
by Sarah McLachlan
Spend all your time waiting for that second chance
For the break that will make it okay.
There's always some reason to feel not good enough
And it's hard at the end of the day.
I need some distraction, oh beautiful release
Memory seeps from my veins.
Let me be empty and weightless and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight.

In the arms of the angels, fly away from here.
From this dark cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear.
You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie.
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here.

So tired of the straight line, and everywhere you turn,
There's vultures and thieves at your back.
And the storm keeps on twisting; you keep on building the lies
that you make up for all that you lack.
It don't make no difference, escaping one last time.
It's easier to believe
In this sweet madness,
Oh this glorious sadness that brings me to my knees.

In the arms of the angels, fly away from here.
From this dark cold hotel room and the endlessness that you fear.
You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie.
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here.

You're in the arms of the angels
May you find some comfort here.

© Sarah Mclachlan

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