Now is the Time

from Pinterest, where else?

 

I have some free time this morning.  There are plenty of things I could be looking after at my house and at the studio.  Plenty.  But the sun is shining.  The sky is blue.  It’s about 55 degrees outside.  My bicycle is just outside the back door….   I’m thinking about that sunshine on my face.  The breeze on my skin.  My beating heart.  The scent of the river, the dirt road, freshly cut grass, the warm air mingling with the cool earth…  That’s it.  I’m skipping the other responsibilities.  They’ll still be there when I get home tonight (sometime after 8pm…). I’m gonna go for a bicycle ride.  Gonna seize the moment and the day.  Now is the right time to do something good for myself.  The time is now.  How about you?

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Letting Go

Over 20 years ago I saw a movie called “Mission” with Robert DeNiro and Jeremy Irons. It took place in South America, probably in the 1800s. Irons was a Jesuit monk. DeNiro was a man convicted of murder, travelling with the Jesuits to their mission work deep in the Amazonian rain forest. As punishment and penance, DeNiro’s character made the grueling trip on foot (as they all did) with a huge rope sack tied to his back. The sack was filled with boulders. Each step was cumbersome and grueling, dreadful just to watch. Knee deep mud, incessant rain, mosquito-thick air, unimaginable heat. Their journey lasted days, perhaps weeks. At one point they made a harrowing climb up a massive water fall. An almost impossible climb and they were all struggling miserably. Irons pulled a knife from his robes and reached to cut the sack from DeNiro’s back. But DeNiro pushed his hand away. He refused to lighten his load. He insisted on reaching the top with his burden, or die trying.

I was reminded of this scene yesterday when a friend and I were talking about letting go of and releasing painful experiences and memories. I thought of DeNiro and how so many of us are like him, walking through life weighted down with our bag of hurts, fears, anger, and regret. This creates prime breeding ground for illness, disease, and dysfunction. A friend told me once that we all carry that sack. We spend the first 40 or so years of our lives filling it up

Celestial Shaman

Forrest Green & Mystery

After this morning’s 9am Meditation Circle, I’m headed to Spirit Hollow in Shaftsbury, VT for a session with the Amazing Forrest Green.  I call him my Celestial Shaman.  I’ll travel to the stars and through time in my session, healing and expanding my life.  Sound wild and crazy?  Maybe.  Actually,  I hope it does.  What I know for sure is that I’ll leave my session refreshed and renewed, healthier and clearer in body, mind, soul, and spirit.  It’s going to be a wonderful day.  Check out Forrest’s website.

Winter Vacation

Home

This past week my girls were on their Winter Break.  It really felt like a vacation, even though I continued seeing clients and holding meditation circles as usual. I feel nourished and rested.  My blogging mentor asked if I’d retired from blogging because I haven’t posted.  (hopefully you noticed too.)  But I’ve been reconnecting with my girls, with friends, with family, and with myself.  I wanted to share with you the events of the week.  Hope you like it.

We spent a weekend in Maine visiting my sister

Janet & Jelly

The snowstorm kept us from visiting the beach,

massive snowbanks in front of her office at LLBean

but we had fun talking, catching-up, eating, and watching movies.

Enjoyed a magnificent view at dusk from what feels like The Top of the World driving home, overlooking VT, NH, & MA

Standing atop the Green Mountains in VT

Had hot chocolate with Maria & Nancy.  They’re always present with support, encouragement, brainstorming, and innovative ideas.  Thank God for these two friends

Nancy & Maria at the Central House in Salem, NY

Went museum-ing and lunching with my Delaney in Williamstown, MA.  We talked, laughed and just absorbed the artwork.

Delaney & The Rabbit, Williams College Art Museum

Visited my brand new grand niece Nora!  Amazing miracle.  My sister was present for the birth, but she didn’t get in the photo.

Nora & Grandpa Marty (my brother-in-law)

Had a raucous Game Night with big family of friends.  Laughed, yelled, hooted, slammed, and battled our way through many hands of Spoons.  Who ever said board games are dull never played with this particular group.  Sadly, we were too disorganized to take any photos.

Experienced having an only child.  Delaney went away for a few days.  Marleigh and I bonded over Pinterest, AC Moore, and painting and craft projects.  Good heart-to-hearts.  We also realized how much we miss Delaney.

Have flowers, will travel. 🙂

Had dinner and gaming with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece visiting from D.C.  I love my family.

Went to a skin care party and experienced a wonderful facial.  Do any of you use Kara Vita  products?  I’d love to hear your reports and experience with this product if you do.

Winter vacation week is winding down.  The girls are putting the finishing touches on vacation assignments and projects.  We’re heading out shortly to have spaghetti with my parents. We didn’t travel to Hawaii, or Bhutan, or Rome this past week, as much as we;d have loved to.  We stayed near home.  But together and apart, we had days of rich, happy experiences.   We slowed down, we didn’t have long days of scheduled events.  We took each day as it came and chose what we wanted for each day.  We talked, resolved issues, ate good food, absorbed beautiful scenes and art, laughed, played, connected with good people, created and completed projects.   I feel tired, yet refreshed at the same time; nourished in body, mind, and spirit.

The Art of Slurping

In between meditation circle and afternoon clients yesterday, I met with my dear friend and shaman, Bonnie, for tea.  We had a lot of catching-up to do, so it was a good thing we had two whole hours.  We talked, laughed, and shared our stories over her home grown and brewed licorice tea, and we ate ginger cookies.  He kitchen window has an expansive view of the rolling hills of Shushan and the Green Mountains of Vermont:  Equinox, Mother Myrick, Snake Ridge…  It was a nourishing time together in so many ways.  But maybe the best part was when she cut an orange into quarters and bit into it, making a really loud slurpey noise.  Exactly the kind of noise our moms discouraged when we were kids.  The kind of sound we avoid making in public.  She was the first to comment on it, between big juicy slurps.  Then she encouraged me to try it.  I did, of course.  It took a little practice, but I caught on pretty quickly.  She said I had a talent for it.  So we sat there slurping and laughing, orange juice dripping off our fingers and running up our wrists.  Who would have thought I’d add slurping oranges to my list of healthy things to do, but I have.  I highly recommend it.  Best with a good friend.  (And perhaps in the privacy of your home.)

Tending the Fires

The fire that greeted me when I opened the furnace door this morning.

I just stoked the fire in my outdoor furnace.  It’s 5 degrees below zero outside.  Thanks to the that fire, it’s cozy and warm in our home.  I’m headed down to Stairway Healing Arts Center for 9 o’clock meditation.  When I sit in meditation, I’m stoking my inner fires of well-being, wellness, and health.  It’s physical, emotional, mental, soulful, and spiritual.  Some days it’s more one of these aspects than others.  But it doesn’t matter.  It’s good, no matter what I feel or sense.  After meditation, I move into a day of massage therapy and energetic bodywork sessions, helping others stoke their own inner fires.  Life is good.

Marleigh and Me: A Healing Journey Begins

A simple chime.

So my darlin’ daughter Marleigh was unhappy, even depressed.  Crying frequently.  Having great difficulty focusing and concentrating.  Her grades at school were suffering.   I was scared, feeling helpless.  I wanted to help and support her but didn’t know how.   Until I finally started looking at the situation as a massage therapist and energy worker.  How would I handle this if she were a client coming to me for these issues?  Big a-ha moment for mom.  More like a great big “DUH!”   A line from some 1970s sitcom or movie kept running through my head, “We have the technology to heal her” (was it the Bionic Woman?  Star Wars?  no matter)    I realized I actually did know how to help her and I developed a little treatment plan.  And that felt really, really good.

Phase I:  Shift the Energy

The first thing to do was shift the energy around her.  The heavy energies of sadness, anger, strife, and unhappiness can get stuck in us, and in our living and work spaces.  Sound waves can help to move these heavy, damp, stuck energies.  I decided to start helping Marleigh (all three of us, actually) by clearing the energy in our home.  I have a wonderful little brass chime with a clear, strong ring.  Its sound waves resonate long after it’s been rung.   It’s an awesome tool for clearing energies and I use it a lot in my work, as well as to signify the beginning and close of every Meditation Circle.  So I brought the chime home and rang it in every room, every door way, every window, under each bed, and in every nook and cranny of our home.   It was like opening a window on a breezy sunny day into a room that’s cold and damp.  I did this each day this past week.  My daughters roll their eyes when they hear the chime and say, “Mom’s going all Fig Leaf again”.  And that’s okay.  Because, honestly, there was a lightness, calmness, and genuine warmth between us this week that I hadn’t felt in several months.  I’ll continue to clear the space at least twice a week from now on.  But now the stage was set for the next phase of my treatment plan, which we began Thursday evening.

Morning’s Blue Light

 

This morning when I walked outside with my dogs the air was filled with a luminescent blue light. The sun wasn’t  up  yet, and the crescent moon was hovering over the mountains in the SouthWest sky.  There was a ringing quality to the cold air.  It took my breath away, and at the same time filled me a sense of vitality.  It felt magical and divine.  I stood out there in the midst of it and thought of the day ahead, the people I’ll see and the work we’ll do together. I’m excited to head down to Stairway Healing Arts Center.  The day will begin there with a Meditation Circle at 9, followed by massage therapy and energetic bodywork sessions.  The beautiful morning will imbue all the work that I do today.  It feels great.

Mandy Meyer-Hill, BA, LMT

Stairway Healing Arts Center

1 Washington Street

Cambridge, NY  12816

518-265-7889

StairwayHealingArts@gmail.com

Getting Help

When the cartographers of olden times reached the end of known territory they’d simply write, “Beyond this place there be dragons.”   Sometimes we still find ourselves in those uncharted places.  When we do it’s time to ask for help.  (This photo is Ann with her wonderful dragon puppet outside Stairway Healing Arts Center.)

When my daughters were small I took them with me to visit my counselor, Ed.  Not because we were having any problems at the time, but because I wanted them all to get to know each other.  I knew there would be times that we’d need his help and I didn’t want the foreign-ness of an appointment to add more stress to whatever we might  already be experiencing.  Last week, in the midst of a heated argument , my older daughter and I looked at each other and at the same time said, “Maybe we need to talk to Ed about this one.”  It was such a relief.  The issue was an important one to us both, and I did not know how to resolve it.  We both recognized that we needed help.  Fortunately, we both also knew where to find it.

Addressing our problems, whether they be physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, or interpersonal is part of good health.  It’s part of taking good care of ourselves.  Unresolved problems eventually impact our health.  Finding good help is the next piece.  If you’ve never done it before it can be overwhelming and intimidating, not to mention a bit of a game of roulette.  Through my work and personal experience, I’ve gathered a wonderful network of professionals to help with any of these issues.  Connecting people with the assistance they need to further help them along their path of abundant health is an important part of my work.  I’m happy to help you find the help you need to take good care of yourself.

Mandy Meyer-Hill, BA, LMT

Stairway Healing Arts Center

1 Washington Street

Cambridge, NY  12816

518-265-7889

StairwayHealingArts@gmail.com

Good Morning World

I’d love to hear about something, or many things, that you’re going to do today that is/are good for your health.  Could be your physical health, your emotional health, your spiritual health, your social health…  Doesn’t matter.  It’s ALL good.  Please share-  I want to get a great list going!  Share the health!  Maybe your action will inspire someone else to do something healthy for themselves.