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Celebrating Diversity

I was shocked by the events that took place yesterday in Orlando, Florida. It is hard to conceive that a human being would go into a public place and start shooting innocent people at random. A few years back, I saw video footage of a shooting at Kenya’s westgate shopping mall and it terrorized me. I realized at that moment that the terrorists had won since they were able to upset me. Terror provokes fear and the more suffering and fear we feel, the more terror prevails.

So, when trying to come to terms with the shootings at the gay nightclub in Florida, I realized it was time to do something else. Instead of switching to fear and suffering, I decided to pray for the families of the victims and for those that are still in the hospital. My hope is that you will pray with me.

Universe/God/Divine Love (you choose), please help the families of those who left their bodies last night in the Pulse night club in Florida. While seeking to have fun and to celebrate who they are, they were abruptly stopped in their tracks by someone that didn’t understand that what makes us humans beings are our differences and the ability to see through them and be compassionate. Please also help the family of the attacker since I am sure it will be very hard for his parents to reconcile their love for his son with the violence that was perpetrated by him. Please also help the LGBT community, make this act of non-sensical violence strength its sense of community. Also, please remind us with every breath that a single person won’t be able to steal from any gay, lesbian, bi, or trans person the natural joy and uniqueness of who they are. Please bless us all with your love so that we can turn any feelings of anger or hate into love. And so it is.

I once heard that violence is anger in action. And what happened in Florida was a huge display of the power that anger can have when acted out. Like water thrown into a fire though, I believe love is much more powerful than anger. And so, when talking about the violence that took place in Florida or attending a vigil for it, put out your fireman hat on and put down the fire within and without with love by praying as we just did. You can also imagine golden light enveloping the city of Orlando, the state of Florida, the US and the entire globe. While you do that, remember to take deep breaths.

Diversity is what makes the Universe expand. If we were all the same, there would be no diversity. And so, let’s use this horrendous episode to reinforce where we stand as a nation and as people, let’s celebrate who we are and our differences. In doing so, let’s exercise compassion and loving kindness.

The Miracle of Life

It is unusual to see an animal being born these days. Most of us live in big cities and we are so concerned with our lives that we take for granted that babies are being born around us all the time. And, I don’t just mean human babies, but baby spiders, baby mice, baby chicken and baby giraffes. Well, for a giraffe, the gestation period is 13 to 15 months and so, seeing a baby giraffe being born is quite special. So, guess what? Today it was my special day. As I am writing this, it is still hard for me to believe what I saw. Luckily, I have pictures to prove to myself that it happened, a few feet away from me.

I have been living in San Diego for over 15 years and have been to its world famous zoo probably twice or three times during all these years. Today, as I had the day off, I decided that it would be a great idea to visit the zoo. It would be a great way to be outside and enjoy the beautiful day while communing with nature. And so, I made my way to the zoo with very few expectations other than having a good time. It was amazing to see a hippo sleeping in the water two feet from me. I could follow its breath as its tummy expanded and contracted. I wondered if the hippo was meditating or sleeping. I also spent quite a bit of time watching the resident pandas. Very cute, especially when given lunch. I had a great time watching them eating bamboo. The koalas were also cute. At some point, I sat down next to the crocodile exhibit and was treated by lots of crocs swimming by next to my head. Yes, very cool! It was a long day and towards the end of my day at the zoo, I decided I would pay a visit to the giraffes. As I was getting close, I saw a huge crowd in front of their enclosure. I wondered what was happening but decided it was just a group of tourists that had come out of a bus nearby.

So, there I was among the crowd looking at the giraffes when I noticed something coming out from one of them. I couldn’t believe my eyes since it seemed like feet were coming out of one giraffe’s ass. After a few seconds, it dawned on me. The giraffe was giving birth, and the crowd around me was here for that reason and that reason only.

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And so it was that after a few more minutes, I saw a head coming out. Try to see it in the picture below.

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The crowd around me got excited. I could feel the energy as more and more cameras were being pointed at the baby giraffe who could now see the world for the first time. The interesting thing is that the giraffe themselves, including soon mom to be, seemed very relaxed. I realized that they were present! The giraffes were not worrying that the baby wouldn’t come out right or soon enough. They were simply there, living in the now, waiting and being still.

Soon enough the miracle of life happened in front of everyone’s eyes; I saw mom push a few times, and suddenly, the baby came crashing down into the earth below. It all happened in a matter of a second or two. Oh my God! I felt a huge relieve for its mother and the entire giraffe population around the world! I also felt a jolt of appreciation. Appreciation for being at the right place and at the right time to witness such a fantastic event.

In the picture below, you can see the placenta still hanging out from mom giraffe as she caresses the baby with her feet, very gently.

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It was interesting that the crowd around me started cheering and clapping. 14 months of gestation had come to an abrupt end. The baby giraffe was now out of its mother’s womb and on top of mother earth.

And then the struggle started. Baby giraffe made several attempts to get up. Mom tried to help as much as she could, by leaking and using her front feet to gently propel the baby to get going.

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I left after a few unsuccessful attempts. But, every time, the baby giraffe tried to get up, it got better. I imagine that it is super important to get moving as soon as possible in the wild.

And so it was, that a new giraffe came into this world. Note above the watchful eyes of the giraffe family towards the newborn.

Apart from the crowd watching, there was no noise or drama. All the giraffes were there, witnessing the arrival of their new family member, one step at a time, in the present moment. And, it all worked out. No need for worries or negative thoughts. Well-being is everywhere; it is up to each and every one of us to tune to its vibration through positive feeling thoughts.

Happy baby giraffe thoughts to you!

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In the Hot Seat with Abraham-Hicks

Wow! What an amazing day! I woke up at 4 am in Palm Desert and tried to get my act together as fast as I could. I debated if I should shower but a voice inside me simply said “NO”. I realized I needed to get going if I wanted to make it to the 9 am Abraham-Hicks seminar in Phoenix. I thought to myself, though, no problem. The navigational system on my phone said it was going to take less than four hours to get to Phoenix and so I would have no problems arriving before the workshop starts. Or so I thought.

I finally got in the car and left at 4:22 am. I decided I was going to listen to Eckart Tolle on my way to Phoenix and that’s what I did. I found a recording with more than 3 hours of compilations of his lectures and I am happy to report that it enlightened my path from dark to dawn. It was fascinating to hear him talk about manifestations and that we need to be happy first in order to realize them. In his words, a desire needs to be approached at as a preference. According to Abraham, everything we want, be it a lover, a new car, money … is simply because we believe that in the having of it, we will feel better/happy. The secret is to feel happy in the now. So, Abraham and Eckart Tolle are actually saying something very similar in regards to being able to manifest.

Eckart Tolle went on to say that some people view and utilize the present moment (the Now) as a means to an end, but since the end never comes (when I win the lottery, I will be happy – kind of end), life just passes by and the Now slips away without being fully lived. We need to find a way to be fully present.

And so it was, that I crossed the border with Arizona listening to teachings on how to be in the Now, just to realized that California and Arizona are in different time zones. The Now was one hour ahead and I had missed it. I may have known that before, but it didn’t cross my mind until I looked at the navigational system on my phone. Yes, all of a sudden I was late for the workshop. I mentally send Abraham a note. Wait for me!

I arrived at the hotel in Phoenix where the workshop was taking place just after 9 am. I ran to the registration desk and the women behind the desk told me that Abraham had started speaking 11 minutes before. I grabbed my badge and got inside as fast as I could. Esther Hicks was on the stage – Abraham giving his introductory speech before opening the forum for questions. I noticed that as I was coming in, I was noticed by Abraham. Were they waiting for me?

I just had enough time to find a seat on the very back of the room when Abraham finished the intro speech and opened the floor for questions. I raised my hand. Normally, my hand doesn’t feel like an energy field, but this morning it did. I felt like I was holding a torch. The energy was vibrating from my hand in all directions. And then Abraham looked at me and said. YOU!

Note: If you haven’t been to an Abraham-Hicks workshop, it is composed of four hours. The intro speech is followed by participant questions. If Abraham selects you to ask a question, you walk to the stage and sit in a chair in front of them and the whole entire audience.

I got up and dragged myself to the stage to sit on the hot seat. Unfortunately, I got nervous and told Abraham about it. They simply said: DON’T!

My question was: “I just resigned my job and given that you are infinite intelligence, now what?”

And, I can’t remember much of the answer. I was nervous and it all made sense at the time, but it all now seemed like a dream. I remember looking at Esther’s eyes and seeing Abraham. Her eyes conveyed a depth that was very noticeable. It was a depth of connectedness, something I had seen before when being looked at by Amma, the “Hugging Saint”. I felt naked but also at home. I also remember thinking how beautiful Esther looked and that her black and blue garment gave her an ethereal vibe.

I will be counting he days until I get the recording and find out what Abraham had to say. I promise to write down the answer here when that happens. So, keep tuned in.

Resources:

  1. To learn more about Abraham and Esther Hicks, see Esther’s wikipedia page
  2. To find out about upcoming workshops, check out abraham-hicks.com