Expansion - The OrionWisdom Newsletter
Fall 2009


In This Issue:
Greetings from Elisabeth
Orion on Honoring & Accepting and Rebalancing-Recharging Your Body
Wonderous Audio-Video Meditations by Deb Booth
New 'Creative Flow' program at The Monroe Institute
Sharings on the Empaths and Empathy
Empathy References in the News
Aspect Art - Art As The Soul's Journey
Inlakesh
We'd love to hear from you
 
Greetings from Elisabeth

My dear Orion Friends
– I gathered many things in the basket for this newsletter, but my own focus has emerged. This summer I faced another cancer situation, have had surgery, am without cancer cells [yay!] and have recovered quickly and well from the surgery itself.

The journey was revealing
, comforting, full of synchronicities, very emotionally challenging and filled with incredible love and support and even a bit of fun - I died a red streak in my hair as my red badge of courage. 


In June I had the 6th  clear mammogram since my breast tumor surgery. Wonderful! But another routine annual test came back as abnormal.  I urgently had a biopsy which showed evidence of malignant uterine cells of a potentially invasive sort.  As with my breast tumor in 2003, the days waiting for the biopsy result were most challenging.  I found myself in a still place through this, but my husband, Dennis, carried the weight with deep concern and sorrow. 

Once the results were in the next step was to consult with a surgeon who specializes in uterine cancer.  In my situation, surgery could be the complete solution to the problem or we could face finding cancer cells that might need to be treated post-surgery with chemotherapy and other options. 


The heart of this journey occurred during the two weeks leading up to surgery.  I could find my still place.  I would lose it.  I would feel the fear of others around me.  I could feel my own fear.  Words of affection and support came in the mail, in email, over the phone.  Dialogues began and flowed with a permeability. 

Once the diagnosis came in and we knew what we were facing, Dennis anchored and was an ever present, solid presence.  He held me through my fears in spirit and in his arms.  The specter of ‘what would we find’ would rise up again and again.  The possibility of death whispered in the night, culminating in a particularly strong flow when I updated my will.  Orion of course, was supportive through all this in their way of offering support, reminding me of my connections with All and my strength.  But there came the time that I was simply captured by fear. 


Orion then quietly said to me, ‘You will not die from this.’  And yet, my fear would not be assuaged, would not allow me to embrace the comfort from those dearest Orion friends.  I finally laughed and said to Orion, ‘Well, it seems I am simply going to have to be with this fear.  I am going to have to feel it and go through it, just as it is.’  And so it was. 

And as often is the case, once I simply was afraid, sat in that fear and just kept saying, I am really afraid – the energy began to change.  It began to move and lighten and finally sit in the background with ‘not yet known’. 

I found myself again in that still place as the surgery date arrived.  As it turned out, only precursor cells within a fragmented polyp were discovered.  In fact, it is exceptional that the cells were found in the routine test, that the cells had migrated to where they could be found in the biopsy and that once again as with my breast tumor, cancer cells were discovered at the earliest possible moment.  I feel truly blessed.

A synchronicity occurred when I went through a closet looking for the Monroe Institute Surgery Support tapes I used in that past.  I came across an Orion cassette, recorded years ago for my dear friend, Pat Serino, who was struggling with cancer herself.  I listened to these supportive tapes from Orion and was lifted and expanded by them.

This issue’s Orion On... section has transcripts of the recordings – On Honoring & Acceptance and Rebalancing-Recharging..

During this time, I had an earlier synchronicity with Pat, where I came across a wonderful card she had sent me in 1991 which said inside ‘For Elisabeth on her initiation.’  Ah, I thought, this realignment is truly an initiation of some sort.  Pat has been gone now for many years but I felt her embracing me and the next day, I found the Orion tapes.

I am happy that I can now share this with you
and my life has the heightened awareness that can emerge from those times when our attention is brought to an essential focus.  I created a collage journal of my Surgery Journey, which you can read about and see at my art blog.



The Surgery Journal at my art blog...

Orion on Honoring & Accepting and Rebalancing-Recharging Your Body

This text is from an Orion recording designed as a guided imagery.

Orion on Honoring and Accepting 

The winds of  the self bring to me the beautiful color of honoring.  Perhaps the color is the softest gold, perhaps the color is a delicate pink.  Perhaps the color is a clear sky blue.  The winds of the deep knowing bring to me the color of honoring for myself.  Whatever color comes is the color of the moment of honoring. 

 
The winds of the knowing in the self bring to me the sound of honoring.  Do I hear the sea? Do I hear a single tone, a note, a song?  Do I hear a sound I have never heard before? 
 
The winds of knowing bring to me the touch of honoring.  Is it the softness of silk encircling me?  Is the warmth of the sun?  The coolness of a mountain lake?  The winds of knowing bring me the touch of honoring.
 
'I honor the fullness of myself.  I honor that I am part of All There Is and this body, this experience of my physical world, this expression of health and well-being, I honor as having a place in the fullness of all that I am.
 
And through honoring, I come to an acceptance, to an acknowledgment.  I feel the body and I know this is part of All and I am part of it.  I feel perhaps my stress.  I feel perhaps my tiredness.  I feel perhaps my injury.  I feel perhaps struggle or challenge. And I acknowledge and I accept that all that occurs is somehow part of the whole of me.  And that which is part of the whole of me has a place, has a moment in life. I honor,  I acknowledge,  I accept this moment in my life.'
 
The color of honoring and the touch of honoring and the sound of honoring lead me also to know that that which is honored, that which is accepted, that which is embraced and acknowledged as part of the whole, is then secure, is then serene.  And that which is secure and serene can begin the evolution to change. 
 
Honoring is the first step to creating a pattern, a pathway, that can lead to change.  Honoring is an embrace of All That Is.  Honoring is an embrace of that which I cannot see and perhaps will not understand.
 
Honoring speaks to the inner me saying,     ‘I am part of All There Is and all that occurs with me is part of All There Is. And through Unity, the connectedness of all things, we can then create anew, choose other paths, discover other options. I sit in the color of honoring and I feel secure and serene. I hear the sound of honoring and I feel courageous and strong.  I am touched by the touch of honoring and I feel connected and part of All There Is. 

I find the wholeness I know I can open to with feeling, ways and understandings that can lead to change.  I am open to new feeling and understanding  that can lead to acceptance, to insight.  I honor and accept the healing way and I feel comforted and supported. 

And from this place of security, together the all of me can create and lead to ways of harmony and exploration in ways I have yet to imagine and yet to discover.’ 

*****


Orion on Rebalancing-Recharging Your Body


My body knows its own balance
.  My body knows it’s own charge of energy flow.  I am part of All There Is and All flows and comes to me.  I invite the guardian of the body to feel the flow of all of the systems and all of the alignments and all of the connections of the universe of my body into a balanced state, delicately, evenly, gently and strongly.

 
I feel balancing.  Balancing through all the systems.  Through the blood system.  Through the glands.  Through the organs.  Balancing.  Balancing. The muscles.  The skeletal.  The brain.  Balancing. Balancing.  The electrical.  The molecular.  The nutrients.  The energy.  The spirit. 

Balancing. Balancing.  As a community.  As a universe.  I feel the alignment of balancing moving through my body.  The connection of teamwork.  The strength of a system.  The comfort of a community of elements of the self coming together in a universe, my body.  My alignment is unique, unto me, and my body knows with wisdom and knowledge what that alignment need be at this time for me. 
 
Coming into balance may mean a burst of energy.  Coming into balance may require a quiet time of rest. Coming into balance my mean a clarity of the intellect.  Coming into balance may bring a flow of emotion. 
 
I allow all the elements and aspects of balance that may be needed for me in this moment to come present, to be expressed.  I understand that balance can be many things; that balance can be expressed in many ways.  Perhaps there is a forcefulness.  Perhaps there is a loneliness.  I let these expressions flow and know that once they have been expressed, balance shall fill me, shall support me, shall bring me connection.
 
Being out of balance means I am in some way not fully connected to the Whole; the whole of who I am, the whole of All There Is.  If is natural to have times when we are disconnected.  These are the times when a part of you needs to bring great focus to another part of you. 

Balance is not an ideal form of beingBalancing is a natural expression of being.  To rebalance is simply part of the harmonious process of being.  One is never unbalanced.  One is always re-balancing.

And as I allow balancing to find its way of expression, as I allow balancing to find its way of being, flowing within is also the energy of connection that brings the experience of recharging.  And as all the aspects of the body balance and rebalance and dance the dance of coming again into harmony, which is an active state of being, in that rebalancing comes a flow of energy.
 
A flow of energy in the realignments of the energy systems and the components of the body.  A flow of energy from without, as ‘In balance I connect with more than my physical body.  I connect with All There Is.  With Unity. The connectedness of all things and let that energy also be recognized, be known within the self.  I feel the energy of Unity.  I feel the energy of balancing. And I am recharged.’
 
Sometimes the recharging is an uplifting, invigorating, filling sensation.  Sometimes the recharging is a subtle, gentle touch of energy.  Sometimes the recharge need be followed by rest  or contemplation.  Sometimes the recharge need be expressed through movement or exercise or dance. 
 
I allow myself to lead me
to whatever need be expressed and the recharge and the rebalancing level will be present, will be within the fullness of self and I will use this energy and I will use this state of being as fuel; fuel for the spirit, fuel the body, fuel for all the ways of being that I am, even those I do not know of. And when it comes time to fuel again, this I shall know.  And perhaps I shall think on rebalancing and recharging or perhaps I shall draw to myself all of the myriad choices I make that rebalance and refuel.  I connect with a friend and rebalance.  I listen to a symphony and rebalance.  I dance to music and rebalance.  I read a book and recharge.  I walk in the country and recharge.  I speak my heart to the one I love and rebalance and recharge.  I share my stress with friends and rebalance and recharge.
 
Already in the wisdom of your life you have found many ways that bring rebalancing, recharging.  And when you look at these ways with new recognition and acceptance and honoring, ‘Oh this is rebalance, recharge,’ you enhance the power of each of those choices and actions as you link the intuitive with the conscious knowledge, ‘I am now rebalancing, recharging.’  Life then feels even more full and sustaining and you feel more connected and linked to the many elements of life and through those many elements, to the fullness, the security, the strength of linking to the Unity, to All There Is, where you are always rebalanced, recharged.
 


MP3 files of Orion on Honoring & Orion on Rebalancing-Recharging 
are available for free download at my site on MediaFire.com

 

 

Link here to Orion on Honoring & Orion on Rebalancing-Recharging

Wonderous Audio-Video Meditations by Deb Booth

Deb Booth has created two more glorious mediation DVDs.  Rushing Wings of Dawn is a visual and audio meditation using images of the skies throughout the course of a day - from glorious sunrise to dramatic day's end - set to the beautiful music of the same name by the well-known composer/musician, Tim Janis.  Deb contacted him by email, they made a connection and he was happy to give permission for his music to be part of her beautiful DVD. 

Also new is Come Home To Me - a celebration of all things green and gorgeous - leaves, fronds, curls and furls as you've never seen them before, up close in breathtaking detail.

View a sample of these moving DVDs at the link below.  Be sure to sign up for Deb's free e-newsletter.  You will find it delights you in each issue. differentlightstudio.com.


Sample the DVDs here at DifferentLightStudio shop...

New 'Creative Flow' program at The Monroe Institute

Friends of mine have shared
about different creativity programs in the past, but recently my great friend Leslie shared her experiences with the new Creative Flow program at The Monroe Institute

TMI describes the program as ‘designed to explore the rich and exciting realms of creative consciousness, using Hemi-Sync tape exercises, hands-on “studio” sessions, group sharing and support, and multi-media presentations.’ 

Leslie, who is a digital  graphic designer and computer tutor, found new levels and arenas in her creativity, as well as deeper understanding and insight into some introspective issues. 

This week-long in-retreat program at the beautiful TMI center in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia may be a special moment for you to give yourself.

Learn more about Creative Flow....

Sharings on the Empaths and Empathy


Awhile back I had a wonderful e-conversation with Karly Pitman about how Dancing Between Realms touched her.
 
Karly wrote:  'I ordered your book on Amazon this winter after struggling with my empath energy and feelings of overwhelment. I picked your book out of many options on Amazon that explored this subject and am so very, very glad that I did. Your book was like a bright, shining light --- I underlined text, wrote in the margins, received confirmation on steps to take to help myself and am now sharing your work with others.  Thank you so much for sharing this work with fellow empaths. I have benefited tremendously from your observations, insights and perspective.'


Karly herself is doing special, supportive, healing work with her website firstourselves.com, where you’ll find the support, nurturing and tools that you need to heal emotional eating, sugar addiction, and a negative body image.


In another email, she shared, ‘In my work with sugar sensitive souls, I find it interesting that nearly every single woman who has struggled with sugar addiction characterizes herself as sensitive, as someone who picks up easily on others' emotions and energy. It almost makes me wonder if the overwhelming feelings of others' emotions and energy is what leads us to sugar and food --- to tune out, ground ourselves, and buffer the energy.’ 


I see this as a most possible interesting correlation with Empath sensitivity.  Perhaps when an Empath feels particularly off-balance, exploring if there is a sugar responsiveness might be worthwhile.

 

 

Explore firstourselves.com - Helping women create emotionally, physically and spiritually nourishing lives.

Empathy References in the News


This is definitely an era of empath/empathy awareness and Jane Batt is my chief empath reference collector.  She sends me bits and pieces such references as she comes across them. 


Some recent ones: 

  • The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio had a ‘Chief Empathy Officer’, now alas, changed to Chief Experience Officer. 
  • The Defense Department is studying self-compassion meditation for returning veterans.
  • Quote under a photograph in a Washington Post article on photography, 'I value empathy and compassion because I have found they are the most useful tools available to navigate this complex world.’
  • A workshop called ‘Walking the Empathy Labyrinth’ offering tools to teach compassion communication, by Marc Weiner. 
  • Also from the Washington Post, in a cartoon by Art Spiegelman, on the infamous voyage were 900 Jews fleeing Nazi Germany were denied haven in the USA,  a character comments that ‘…people – just had a failure of moral imagination…of empathy.’
  • In Ted Andrews’ ‘How to Develop and Use Psychic Touch’, there is a chapter on the Power of Empathy and he lists Myths, Legends and tales reflecting empathy, such as Chinese Tales of Kwan Yin, Celtic Tales of Bridget and Morgan Le Fay, Central African Tale of Ki and the Leopard, Tales of the Mayan Goddess Ix Chel, the tale of ‘Beauty and the Beast’.
  • And finally, a Congressional debate on empathy! 
When all seems dark, we can find light.

And a recent Google search has turned up Dancers Between Realms referenced on many sites, including Squidoo, the Meet-up site and more.  If you find us out on the web, please forward the link to orionwisdom@gmail.com.  As Orion says, we are always speaking to and for each other.



Aspect Art - Art As The Soul's Journey

One of the last things I did before my surgery, was complete my book, Aspect Art - Art As the Soul's Journey.  My dear friend Helen and I have collaborated in the studio for many years now.  Conversations about our work, life and the further world led to this book.  It is fully illustrated with pages of our individual and joint altered art assemblages.

We coined the term 'aspect art' to reflect our sense of exploring individual facets of one's psyche, which include one's own awareness, and the influences and responses to the whole of one's life.  These aspects are discovered, expressed and sometimes, resolved through the creative process. 
 
The text flows from our conversations on the principles we bring to our work, our ideas of the symbology we are drawn to use in our pieces, to sharing the impetus behind certain pieces, as well as feelings which emerged from the pieces. 

Art and spirituality are the twin windows we look at life through and we share how we comprehend and understand that dance of energy.


You can see some sample pages and an excerpt at my art website, alterede.com and through the 'Look Inside' feature at Amazon.com.


Aspect Art - Art As the Soul's Journey at Amazon.com

Inlakesh


And
let me close with Inlakesh
- a Mayan greeting that means, 'We are very different faces of each other - you are another My Self.'  I read that there is really no real eloquent
English translation, but in a nutshell, it means we are all one.

I found this lovely phrase searching for the website of Inlakesh, musicians of extraordinary world/trance music created with purely acoustic tribal instruments.  They also make incredible didjeridoos which are so beautiful, they are really art working as instruments.

Treat yourself to Inlakesh music & didjeridoos…

We'd love to hear from you


Reach us at orionwisdom@gmail.com



Visit  www.orionwisdom.org  for archive Orion material, the OrionWisdom bookshop, links and other news.

See the
About Us... page for information on arranging personal sessions with Orion


Elisabeth Y Fitzhugh
Waynesboro, VA 22980



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