Redirection

Seeds XI, 22

Seed: Redirection

I’m sure you’ve heard the statistic that an airplane pilot is on course only 15% of the time. What that means is that the other 85%, the pilot is steering.

Cancer doctor Bernie Siegel loves to quote his mother on this steering phenomenon. She says, “When troubles happen, God is redirecting you.” Redirecting is another word for steering.

It’s a 15%:85% ratio, dear one. Play this out with me:

You set an intention. You create your strategy for achieving it. You break it down into small steps and you follow through. What happens?

You go along success following success until some choice, some action, isn’t successful. Then God redirects you, you make a new choice, and you carry on toward your goal.

In my experience, those redirections are some of the most fruitful changes I ever make.

Be joy,

Susan Corso

Dr. Susan Corso

Seeds are remarkable gifts. Sown in consciousness, they bring you to the most important part of your being—your Divine Spark.

Check out the Seeds Archive for past messages of inspiration.

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at susan@susancorso.com.

For spiritual nourishment, please visit my website www.susancorso.com

and my blogs Seeds for Sanctuary, God’s Dictionary,

Ode Magazine, and The Huffington Post.

Bernie Siegel’s mother: When troubles happen God is redirecting you. REDIRECTION *

Fast Food

As a rule, I’m not particularly a fast food eater. No offense to the food, it just doesn’t leave me feeling good, and I like to feel good when I eat. Really, when I do anything!

Because of the agreement I’ve made about my time at Visions Medical Center, I have 30 minutes for lunch. I took my standard raw food lunch the first day, and there simply wasn’t enough time to eat it! I had an upset tummy for the rest of the day because I had to eat fast.

Enter Karyn Bender, registered pharmacist and holistic health coach.

Her blog is Simple Food ~ Sane Life and believe me when I tell you that Karyn truly believes that simple food creates a sane life. The converse is also true … complex food creates a complicated life, and I definitely choose simple over complex every time.

So I slyly asked Karyn to write a blog about healthy meal bars. Here’s her response:

I’m not a fan of ‘meal’ bars. healthy snack bars …. ok! the ‘meal’ idea can be ok on occasion for those who are traveling … and in emergency. real food is best for everyday life. and i do have some that i really do like.

So I wrote her back and copped to my hidden agenda. For what it’s worth, the very best way I’ve found to deal with hidden agendas is to speak them aloud! Karyn, I wrote, these meal bars are for me!

She answered me:

ok, that’s different!

you like raw food … check out LARABAR. they can be purchased in most stores. the other bars that are healthy are really difficult to find: GoRaw and Macrobars.

What a relief! I went on Amazon.com and found the Jocolat package of 18 Larabars for under $20. Now I have some choices that can’t be bought in a drugstore, but will serve as a meal bar when I want one, and the Amazonians deliver.

Just so you know, the other time I need a fast food meal is when I’m wrapped up in my writing and don’t want to stop to fix or eat a meal. It’s taken me years to learn this, but I’m beginning to understand Karyn’s wisdom about simple food and sane life.

I have to take care of my own food needs which means that I have to know what they are. And that means, of course, taking the time to listen to myself, and ask for what I want.

Check out Karyn’s blog Simple Food ~ Sane Life for more food wisdom. She is terrific at helping to transform your relationship to food—and believe me, mine needed it!

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The Tomb of the Unknowns

I can think of no better way to spend 10 minutes of your Memorial Day than to hear what it takes to guard what is known as The Tomb of the Unknowns, as yet unidentified servicefolk who have protected our country. Watch this remarkable story, and with me, please remember in prayer every soldier, sailor, air cadet, and marine, as well as servicemen and servicewomen in every nation.

The Wish-Idas

Seeds XI, 21

Seed: The Wish-Idas

By the time I was ten, I had dreamed many future incarnations for myself. I read The Cherry Ames Books, a series like Nancy Drew except about a nurse. I decided I wanted to be a doctor. Which girls didn’t much do in those days. I wanted to be a diplomat. A mommy. A Broadway star.

Jo McNamara wrote about the Wish-Idas—you know, those sentences that begin, wish I’d have done this, or wish I’d have done that. She inspired this Seed. Here’s the thing: I can’t find very many wish-idas in my life.

I think the reason is because my desires have changed form over the years so there are no regrets. Changed form doesn’t mean I’ve compromised my desires. It means that the desires themselves have changed, morphed, grown, become refined.

Consider hauling out your wish-idas list if you have one, and spend some time contemplating your life. I’m betting you’ll find that your desires have not only been refined, but that like mine, they’ve principally been fulfilled.

Be joy,
Susan Corso

Dr. Susan Corso

Seeds are remarkable gifts. Sown in consciousness, they bring you to the most important part of your being—your Divine Spark.

Check out the Seeds Archive for past messages of inspiration.

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at susan@susancorso.com.

For spiritual nourishment, please visit my website www.susancorso.com

and my blogs Seeds for Sanctuary, God’s Dictionary, Ode Magazine, and The Huffington Post.

The Wish-Idas by Jo McNamara, success article 2001 *

Going On Holiday

We’re off to the Big Apple tomorrow for a theatre spree. Seeing shows galore. Seeing dear friends. House-sitting in a luxurious apartment for friends who are in Paris. We never do this. Never.

It’s not because we’re workaholics either. It’s because we love the lives we lead. I am happy as a clam writing and seeing clients. I don’t need to go on vacation. In fact, if you’ll note my title, I’m still not going on vacation.

The reason is because I do not lead a life which requires that I vacate it! For that is what vacation means. Actually, I really don’t want to vacate my life.

So instead, we’ve adopted the Britishism, “going on holiday.” Which is how the Brits go on vacation.

Holiday, etymologically speaking, is a portmanteau word. Holy Day.

How will we make our time away from our usual routine holy?

We will leave space in our time schedule.

We will be sure to eat consciously.

We will sleep late.

We will see those people and do those things that we want to see and do.

We will indulge ourselves.

We will skip daily email.

What this has meant is that I have had to “write ahead” my blogs for this week we are away, and to arrange for a wonderful dear one to post them for me. Thank you, Kasey!

Making our time away holy will be the challenge and the gift. Living in a different place for a week will bring us a different perspective on ourselves and our lives. I hope we come home rested, energized and ready to swing back into all the projects we so enjoy.

One of the ways to guarantee ongoing enjoyment is to view one’s doingness from a different place, a holy place, and that’s why going on holiday is so very lovely.

We’re back next Wednesday more whole than ever …

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Bitter or Better?

Bitter or Better?

Bitter or better,

What’s it gonna be?

What you gonna do?

Bitter or better,

The choice is up to you.

The lyric above came floating out of my subconscious mind as I was reading Markus Flanagan’s book, One Less Bitter Actor. The book was sent to my partner because she’s an acting teacher.

As an invited participant for her advanced acting class audition sections, I am always interested in the latest book on acting—especially on the business of acting, where most of my experience lies. I am of those who has sat on what’s known as “the other side of the table.”

Flanagan’s book is an easy read, full of wise and earned-by-experience advice. Some of my favorites (paraphrased) …

An actor doesn’t get paid for acting. We do that for free. What we get paid for is all the auditioning and all the waiting.

What a great way to look at it! Everyone has to invest in their own career. Everyone. Actors more than most. In the beginning of an acting career, 90% of one’s time is spent looking for work, and an actor considers herself lucky to work 10% of the time.

Your biggest and best competition is yourself. Don’t compare.

Oh, yes, comparisons, to quote that obscure philosopher Fortescue, are odious. As an actor, you never know why you didn’t get the part. Any part. The reasons are legion and very rarely have anything to do your acting ability. Comparing yourself to others is simply self-defeating. Do something different.

You’re not a diva until they start to treat you like one. You don’t get to determine your diva status on your own.

Darlings, really. The Golden Rule applies on a set, in a television studio, on a stage, and in your life. Be nice to everyone just because it’s easier. Diva status is all about spin, hype and other intangibles which ultimately mean nothing. Don’t play diva—even if you are one. Play gracious, mannerly, timely, elegant.

Markus Flanagan has been a working actor for two decades. There must be a reason for this. Talent, of course, but also affability, easy to direct, mannerly. He’s writing to make sure that young actors don’t get bitter.

I’m still with songwriter Jana Stanfield on her album, Brave Faith.

Bitter or better?

The choice is up to you.

Five Simple Rules for Happiness V

Seeds XI, 20

Seed: Five Simple Rules for Happiness V

I read the germs for the next five Seeds in a catalogue.

Five Simple Rules for Happiness. The fifth is . . . Expect less.

So now, you start this path toward happiness with a free heart and a free mind and simple living and giving more. What’s the icing on the cake? Expect less.

That’s right. Expect less. This works in a stupendous way on Earth. When we expect less, we are delighted more. Expectations often carry within them outlines for what we think we want. What that means is that sometimes when our dreams come true right before our eyes, we miss it. Why? Because it hasn’t arrived in the package we thought it ought to.

This is why mystics of all disciplines recommend that we figure out what we want (with a free heart, this is pretty easy), ask (a worry-free mind is a fearless mind), let go (live simply), be grateful (give more), and let go again (expect less).

This was the Google quote-of-the-day as I finished this series of five Seeds:

Happiness is always a by-product. It is probably a matter of temperament, and for anything I know it may be glandular. But it is not something that can be demanded from life, and if you are not happy you had better stop worrying about it and see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness. Robertson Davies

True happiness isn’t something to seek. It’s something to allow to find you.

Be joy,

Susan Corso

Dr. Susan Corso

Seeds are remarkable gifts. Sown in consciousness, they bring you to the most important part of your being—your Divine Spark.

Check out the Seeds Archive for past messages of inspiration.

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at susan@susancorso.com.
For spiritual nourishment, please visit my website www.susancorso.com
and my blogs Seeds for Sanctuary, God’s Dictionary,
Ode Magazine, and The Huffington Post.

No. 1 Priority: Harmony

Tibetan school children are taught that the primary value of their society is harmony writes Maureen Healy in the May-June 2009 Spirituality & Health, and what a breath of fresh air that is! The author was invited to teach Tibetan refugee children at Yongling Creche and kindergarten in Dharamsala. She very much wanted to see how children responded in a spiritually-based community.

Here’s what she learned:

Start with Spirit. Children are introduced to Tibetan home altars within the first week of their lives. Before language, Spirit.

The idea of a home altar is a wonderful one. It clarifies the values practiced in that home. I have one, and so does my spouse. Consider what it would take to dedicate a place to make clear where your dedication truly lies.

Practice harmony. I looked up the word in the OED wondering why I’d never done so before. It comes from Greek roots that mean joining, agreement, concord. I especially liked concord … as opposed to … discord. Harmony and its practice is about “us-ness,” not “me-ness.” Martin Buber wrote eloquently of this in his classic text, I and Thou.

Healy writes, “Tibetan parents praise the act of giving and creating peace among siblings. Other nationalities of parents often focus upon who is ‘right’ and ‘wrong,’ … creating a sense of ‘justice’ versus ‘harmony.’” I loved that she let those nationalities remain nameless—to protect the guilty.

I grew up with three younger siblings who happened to have XY chromosomes. Harmony was nowhere near my childhood except when I was alone and hiding out in the pages of a book. I can’t help but think how things might be “altared” with me and my siblings today if harmony had been a value we were taught to hold dear.

The OED’s first definition of harmony is “a combination or adaptation of parts, elements, or related things [siblings?] so as to form a consistent and orderly whole, agreement, accord.” There was a lot of contention in my upbringing and not so much accord. Fairness, or its illusion, was much more important than peace. Is it any wonder I grew up to be an inner peace activist? Just teaching what I so desperately needed to learn ….

Healy continues:

Make everything meaningful. Celebrate achievements lavishly. First smile. First step. First word. It is thought that this keeps children closer to beginner’s mind. I think my entire family could have used a huge dollop of beginner’s mind. By the time I was a sentient being, aware of what I needed and capable of expressing it, the family pattern was too entrenched to change it. I have spent plenty of time in therapy undoing the pattern.

Fortunately for Ms. Healy, her smoldering career candle was relit by this Tibetan opportunity. Fortunately for me, I am able to take her recommendations and apply them not only to my life, but to those of my clients as well.

Got kids? Harmony first.

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Mother’s Day and The Universal Law of the Garbage Truck

If my clientele is any indication, many of us have psychospiritual garbage around our mothers. A client sent this story to me via email. It seemed perfect for the aftermath of Mother’s Day.

“One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!

“The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, ‘Why did you just do that? That guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!’ This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now understand as The Universal Law of the Garbage Truck.

“He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they dump it on you. Don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.

“Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

So what does garbage have to do with Mother’s Day? Plenty. Ever heard the adage … forgive or relive? It’s true. Forgive your mother. Do it for yourself, not for her. Otherwise you’re stuck in recycling your garbage about her.

Think of it this way: your mother is not just your mother. She is a person in her own right, and she’s doing (or did) the very best that she can with what she’s got (or had) at any given time.

Have a blessed, garbage-free week!

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Five Simple Rules for Happiness IV

Seeds XI, 19

Seed: Five Simple Rules for Happiness IV

I read the germs for the next five Seeds in a catalogue.

Five Simple Rules for Happiness. The fourth is . . . Give more.

So now, you start this path toward happiness with a free heart and a free mind and simple living. What’s next? Give more. What interests me about this is that the what is not specified. Give more what? More of whatever you want for yourself.

More peace? Give more peace to others.

More money? Give more money to others.

More time? Give more time to others.

When we give out of a sense of true abundance, what happens is that we create more of whatever we give. It’s a universal law. How about giving more focus? Giving more stories? Giving more listening? All those wonderful intangibles that good memories are made of.

Giving more doesn’t have to “cost you,” but it does have a cost, and that is learning to stretch yourself so you can receive more. What happiness giving more brings.

Be joy,

Susan Corso

Dr. Susan Corso

Seeds are remarkable gifts. Sown in consciousness, they bring you to the most important part of your being—your Divine Spark.

Check out the Seeds Archive for past messages of inspiration.

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at susan@susancorso.com.

For spiritual nourishment, please visit my website www.susancorso.com

and my blogs Seeds for Sanctuary, God’s Dictionary,

Ode Magazine, and The Huffington Post.