Plant a Seed

I was sitting here thinking about what I was going to write this Memorial Day, assuming it would have something to do with the meaning of the day and in honor of those who lost their lives on our behalf. Though as many times the case, what came up went in a different direction. Before getting to this week’s message I do want to give my sincere appreciation for the men and women past, present and future who’ve fought for our freedom. Whatever your politics, these brave individuals deserve – at the very least – our recognition.

What occurred as I sat and asked for guidance was that I was reminded of a dream I had the previous night. In the dream I had cut open some sort of fruit – of course I knew exactly what it was while I was dreaming, but on reflecting back while awake I have no idea what it was. This whatever-it-is fruit was filled with seeds, and I remember feeling irritated because “that’s not what it’s supposed to look like”. There were too many seeds. It was overwhelming! The interesting thing was that there was also plenty of fruit to eat, yet because it wasn’t what I expected I threw it away.

When reminded of this dream I realized that it signified to me how staying open to the various ways things (ie, people, work, situations) can show up, and to not be so attached to my preconceived notion of what I think it’s going to look like. Sometimes having a different experience than anticipated can throw us off and cause us to push away what might be in our best interest. It was a pretty powerful message on the importance of open-mindedness.

So go on, take the seeds life has to offer, give them a little love and care, and then watch your life grow in beautiful and interesting ways.

With Love.

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From Over There:

“Plant the seeds that come to you and allow them to grow, focusing on those with the greatest potential. Nurture them with continued focus. Just as a seed that gives birth to a tree cannot sustain life without water, soil and sunlight, so any seed of creation cannot come to full bloom without continued consideration. Although one tiny seed may appear insignificant, understand the gifts contained within. From one seed comes the potential of the forest.”

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Featured Guest: American Forests

We are people who care about – and for – forests. American Forests, the oldest national nonprofit conservation organization in the country, advocates for the protection and expansion of America’s forests. Since 1990, we have planted more than 40 million trees. We restore watersheds to help provide clean drinking water. We replant forests destroyed by human action and by natural disasters. To learn more, and about how to honor the life of a loved one by planting trees in their name, please visit americanforests.org.

No, Thank You

The older I get the more I realize that saying “no” is one of the most positive and liberating things you can do to create the life you want. While “yes” most certainly has its value, it is in what you choose not to allow or to do that opens more room for bringing in what you do want. In a way it’s like clearing clutter out of a room so you can decorate it how you’d like and then having the space to enjoy it.

This ability to say no goes along with a very common theme I see for many of my clients; the installing of proper boundaries. When you turn down something because it isn’t in your best interest, or it conflicts with something you’d rather do, you’re taking charge and giving yourself a more balanced life. Saying no can be difficult for some who’ve been brought up to be people-pleasers, but as the old song Garden Party by Rick Nelson says, “You can’t please everyone, so you’ve got to please yourself”. I’m not promoting egocentric behavior, just trying to drive the point that you’ll quickly burn yourself out if you try to make everyone else happy. It’s a pretty impossible task.

So what can you let go of that’s no longer serving you? Whether you can create an instantaneous shift or release it over time, aren’t you, your time, and your sanity worth it?

With Love.

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From Over There:

“It is as important the things in which you choose as in what you do not choose. Bring that which gives you joy into focus and let the gaze soften upon the mundane. To focus on that which brings you joy is to bring value to life. Is to bring respect for the self.  Opening to your dreams and desires is the path to liberation and freedom. Within this path the mundane tasks become more manageable and less dull. To live life on your chosen path – with joy the ultimate goal – will provide inspiration to remain on path and to a life fulfilled.”

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Featured Guest: Rick Nelson

The song Garden Party. Enjoy!

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If you'd like more information, to book an appointment, or check out the current class schedule, please visit molliejensen.com.

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Waiting On a Friend

I'm foregoing my usual once-a-week post to bring you something a little different. Today is my father’s 83^rd birthday, and for that I am extremely grateful and feeling blessed for the longevity that runs deep in my family genes. Though this day now also marks the anniversary of the passing of one of my best friends.

I can’t believe it’s already been a year since her death and I still have instances where I go to grab the phone to tell her about some crazy life event that I need to share. It’s still so surreal. A few months after her death I wrote a short story about the night she passed. Nothing grand or highly spiritual, just very human. It’s an extremely personal story that was very cathartic for me to write. The circumstances are sad, but anyone who has been through this experience will undoubtedly relate, and on this one-year anniversary of her passing I felt compelled to share it. I’ll be honest, I’m a little nervous posting it as it is such a departure from what I normally do, but hey, creative endeavors are meant to share, aren’t they?

Today I choose to remember the fun times and give thanks for my father’s birthday. And now it’s time for me to grab the phone and give him a call…

With Love.

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Waiting On a Friend

Flying into the parking lot I hit my bumper on the curb with a grimacing crunch that always leaves me apologizing aloud for the pain I’ve perceived my car has endured. The parking attendant glances up, glassy-eyed and unshaken, and immediately goes back to whatever task they were in the middle of before my assault on the asphalt. I zoom around curves, tires screeching a little, spiraling quickly up to the 3^rd floor.  A morbid thought enters my mind that if I do, indeed, cause an accident I’m at the best place for it – a hospital. Slowing down, I lurch into a parking space, I jump out of my car so hurried and distracted I must go back to make sure everything is locked up tight. It is, though the time-span between getting out of the car and locking it the first time has completely vanished from my mind, as if it never occurred. I take a deep breath and quickly start walking toward the entryway, hoping that I’ve made it in time.

As I approach the massive entry doors into the inner-sanctum of the county hospital they open automatically as if I were a Jedi Master willing them with my mind. A funny thought, I think, considering the sad circumstance. I pass through the second set of magic doors into a hallway painted industrial green, allowing myself that last bit of silence before the inevitable chaos of the waiting room and security check in. My expectations are fulfilled as I step through the last set of doors and into a throng of wounded gangbangers, obvious drug-related issues, and sick underprivileged children with stressed out parents. I step up to the guard station to check in as I have multiple occasions over the past week and half, this time no longer shocked by the fact that security staff outnumber medical staff.  Now immune to the sights and smells of what goes on around me, I have one mission and one mission only – nothing and no one else matters. I get my guest badge from the unsmiling guard who doesn’t make eye contact, and head toward the next set of green-gray passageways.

I come to the next guard, who is holding vigil over the door leading to the wing where my friend currently resides. This time, our eyes meet, and while still no smile, he reflects a kindness that I find comforting and am grateful for. He lets me in with a gentle nod, almost as if he knows why I’m there. Another deep breath as I head through the double doors and into a dismal hallway bustling with activity. Patients on gurneys wheeled here and there, all manner of staff hurriedly on their way to some important – albeit life depending – task. I go to the nurses’ station and inquire about my friend. They’re changing her bedding, I’m told, and I can stand outside her room and wait. It should only take a couple of minutes. I stand by the door, head bowed, nervously scuffling my feet on the surprisingly shiny floor, while doing my best to keep tears at bay. Every now and then as I glance up a member of the hospital staff asks if I’m ok, or need anything. I tell them I’m fine, just waiting, and try and muster some semblance of a smile. They smile in return with an air of understanding. They know, and I know that I’m a horrible liar.

After what feels like an eternity, but in actuality is about 20 minutes, the door to her room finally opens. The attendant comes out carrying a wad of scratchy-looking sheets and nods for me to go in. I step inside, acutely aware of how the beep of the oxygen monitor battles her labored breath for attention. The room itself is completely nondescript and represents the general lack of coziness of a county funded institution.  The same green-gray paint as the rest of the interior, no artwork, over-used furniture, and my catatonic friend lying encased in scratchy-looking sheets. Nothing that gives any warmth, everything seemingly cast in an unpleasant dingy yellow – the same color as her skin. Not a place I would choose for anyone I love to die, but we sometimes need to make the best out of whatever situation presents.

I go to her side, stroke her forehead, tell her stories, and sing silly songs from our misspent youth as she stares straight ahead, pupils dilated, and unresponsive. Knowing how stubborn she is I tell her that two can play at this game and I’m not leaving until she does. I’ll stay as long as it takes. I want her to laugh and roll her eyes, and tell me how ridiculous I am. She doesn’t. I settle in with some uncertainty of what lie ahead, waiting for her last exhale, singing her silly songs from our misspent youth.

My Hero

This past week an amazing turn of events found three women alive who had each been missing for nearly a decade. The young women, Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight had each been kidnapped and held against their will in an unassuming house in suburban Cleveland. Although there were a few instances of neighbors reporting suspicious activity, for the most part their captivity went completely unnoticed. That was until the gentleman living next door, Charles Ramsey, heard the panicked shouts of Amanda Berry trying to escape and came to their aid.

Mr. Ramsey is being portrayed on TV and throughout the internet as a hero. I’ve watched videos of this man explaining the circumstances surrounding the escape, and what comes across is a man who views what he did as simply the right thing to do. According to CNN News:  “Within hours of becoming a national hero, and a viral video star, Charles Ramsey talked about having trouble getting sleep. It wasn't because of all the excitement that followed his knocking down a Cleveland neighbor's door, freeing three women and a girl who police say were held hostage for years. Instead, Ramsey told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Tuesday; it was about knowing he had lived for a year near the captive women on the city's West Side. ‘Up until yesterday the only thing that kept me from losing sleep was the lack of money,’  the restaurant dishwasher said, ‘I could have done this last year, not this hero stuff,’ said Ramsey. ‘Just do the right thing.’”

It is his humbleness accompanied by his actions that make him a true hero, as this week’s message relays. The true heroes of the world are the ones who act simply because it is the thing to do, not for the expectation of fanfare or to feed the ego. It’s all of the things we do to help support another when we don’t think anyone is looking. And speaking of heroism, let’s not forget the heroic acts of those women who undoubtedly supported one another, and by doing so, all survived. Those three women, along with Mr. Ramsey, are all my heroes.

With Love.

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From Over There:

“The concept of hero is recognized through the eyes of another, not through self. When one promotes themself in the perception of hero, it is to gain recognition or reward and is not selfless. This individual, while they may provide benefit to others, does not perceive the connection of all.

 It is the individual who understands the value in helping another when there is no expectation of reward or compensation, or need for recognition of the act who greatest matches your concept of hero. This is a mindset based on the principles of a unified existence. This way of interaction is the natural course of evolution. The concept of hero is the way all on the path to enlightenment are meant to be.”

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Featured Guest: Jaycee Dugard & the JAYC Foundation, Inc

In 1991, Jaycee was kidnapped by two strangers from a bus stop in her hometown of Lake Tahoe. She survived years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her two assailants. She was finally reunited with her mother and family in 2009, eighteen years after she was taken.Founder Jaycee Lee Dugard has a vision of providing, supporting and ensuring the timely treatment of families that are recovering from abduction and the aftermath of other traumatic experiences. From that vision The JAYC Foundation was created.The Foundation’s message is “Just Ask Yourself to Care”. We believe that by empowering the whole family you heal the central victim. Our mission is to be of service to families that have suffered a familial or nonfamilial abduction or other trauma and to spread the word of compassion and awareness through educational programs. We connect families to support and services they need in order to recover from the abduction or other traumatic events, such as returning from military deployment or a major natural disaster. To learn more, please visit thejaycfoundation.org.

Trusted Source

This week’s message is about the importance of self-trust. Without it, it’s near impossible to navigate through life and make any decisions. Though as the message below also states, if you don’t first trust yourself it makes it really hard to trust any guidance that may come your way from otherworldly sources. I know that it’s necessary to have a little discernment around things that come floating through our heads, but if you can’t trust any of it – or have difficulty with it – then inevitably you’re going to miss some great help that’s filtering in.

The reason I believe that this message came through to me at this time is that – as those of you who’ve been reading my posts for the last few weeks know – I’ve been neck deep in writing a book, which can be a pretty isolating process. I’ve gone up and down, vacillating between excitement and dread. Ask any writer and they’ll tell you how being “in your head” can make you question what on earth you’re doing and why.

This message is definitely timely in reminding me to take time to listen, and I hope it is for you too. We all get stuck in the spiral of self-doubt from time to time; we just need the reminder that we also have the choice to step out of it as well.  So take a nice, deep breath in, let go, and let your mind blissfully wander for a while…

With Love.

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From Over There:

“To trust in the guidance that comes to you must first trust in yourself. This trust opens channels of communication by which guidance comes through. If the individual does not first trust their ability to make decisions, then it creates a block in receiving information from guidance. This leads to frustration and feelings of separation. 

To work in accordance with the guidance around you it is necessary to build a foundation of trust within yourself of your own capability to be a director of your own destiny.  It is through the building of this trust that you will then trust the guidance that comes to your assistance. It is through this trust that you will recognize valuable guidance to lead your life and your well-being.”

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Featured Guest: Etta James

And yes, this week is again a song. Why? Because I’m still pretty tired from writing in hyper-drive and it’s a beautiful song. Enjoy! Trust In Me

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If you'd like more information, to book an appointment, or check out the current class schedule, please visit molliejensen.com.

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