Four Square / Disney II

Seeds IX, 48

Seed: Four Square/Disney II

I have a file in my computer called Seeds Ideas. I add to it whenever something strikes me as a good idea for a Seed. Reading it this morning, I saw two “fours” that appealed to me.

The first is the work of metaphysician Florence Scovel Shinn. She calls it Four Square. The second is the work of Walt Disney. He calls it The Four Words to the Secret of Life. We’re going to explore Shinn’s and Disney’s four words a week at a time for the next four weeks. I think they link together nicely.

The second two are Wealth, and Believe. Wealth is one of those words. Its roots are Anglo-Saxon and they mean wholeness. What makes you wealthy is up to you. Your own definition of wealth is more important than any other, meaning—what you believe about wealth is what makes you wealthy.

It’s always a worthwhile experiment to figure out what you believe about wealth. It can be measured any way you like. A home, friends, money, a partner, fulfilling work. What you value is your wealth. Your values come from your beliefs. Look there to find your own wealth.

Think of Florence Scovel Shinn’s words as a square upon which you stand—the second side of the square is Wealth, and think of Walt Disney’s as the actions to take to get to that solid square—in this case, Believe.

Be serene,

Dr. Susan Corso

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

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at SeedsDrCorso@comcast.net and please visit my blog Ode Magazine.

Political Circus

Is anyone else wondering about the circus-like atmosphere that has “suddenly” hit American politics?

A headline today said, “Oprah is opening act for Obama.”
John Edwards is slamming Hillary Clinton every chance he gets.
Obama is doing whatever he can to discredit Clinton’s record.
Clinton is responding to Obama in kind.

I repaired to the OED to get my bearings around the word circus.

[L. circus circle, circus, ring, circle.]
1. a. Roman Antiq. A large building, generally oblong or oval, surrounded with rising tiers of seats, for the exhibition of public spectacles, horse or chariot races, and the like.

It’s a circle; that’s all.

In Roman antiquity, a circus was for the exhibition of public spectacles. Well, as we approach the ever-earlier primaries (shall we schedule one in early 2007? Just to beat out every state!) American politics becomes more and more a public spectacle. I, for one, am embarrassed—for the candidates, for our country, for myself.

I find myself wishing that instead of taking the definition from antiquity quite so literally current politicians (those who create policy) would take a page out of mega-entrepreneur P. T. Barnum’s book instead. Remember what he called his circus?

The greatest show on earth.

What could possibly make American politics the greatest show on earth? Well, how’s about these ideas?

Honor. Duty. Honor. Responsibility. Honor. Care. Honor. Freedom. Honor. Courage. Honor. Perseverance. Honor. Faith. Honor. Beauty. Did I say Honor?

Supporting Our Troops

I got an email from a dear friend a couple of days ago about something the Xerox Corporation is doing to support our troops. It touched me, and I went online at once and did as they suggested.

If you are intrigued, try this.





www.LetsSayThanks.com

Xerox is letting us send cards to our troops overseas at no charge. The images are children’s drawings and you get to choose your own message.

We’re approaching the myriad Seasons of Light in many of the world’s religions and to be away from all that is familiar has to be heart-breaking at some level whether one believes in the mission or one doesn’t. Holidays can be hard enough without the missing of friends, family, children and all things that mean home.

This little thing made me feel much less helpless about the war. Thank a soldier, a sailor, a marine, an airman today, and see how it makes you feel.

Four Square / Disney I

Seeds IX, 47

Seed: Four Square/Disney I

I have a file in my computer called Seeds Ideas. I add to it whenever something strikes me as a good idea for a Seed. Reading it this morning, I saw two “fours” that appealed to me.

The first is the work of metaphysician Florence Scovel Shinn. She calls it Four Square. The second is the work of Walt Disney. He calls it The Four Words to the Secret of Life. We’re going to explore Shinn’s and Disney’s four words a week at a time for the next four weeks. I think they link together nicely.

The first two are Health, and Think.

We don’t ordinarily associate health and thinking, but I have personal experience which attests to their connection. When I was a child, there was an inordinate amount of focus on my health. I grew up thinking I wasn’t healthy. As an adult, I have worked with this for years.

It matters to your health whether you think you’re healthy or not. Even if you’re not healthy, thinking you are goes a long way toward health. Examine your ideas about your health. What do you actually think about it?

I think you’ll be amazed. As a rule, if we train our minds to think we’re healthy, we are, no matter the challenges. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “The first wealth is health.”

In the next four weeks, think of Florence Scovel Shinn’s words as a square upon which you stand—the first side is called Health, and think of Walt Disney’s as the actions to take to get to that solid square, the first action is Think.

Be serene,

Dr. Susan Corso

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

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at SeedsDrCorso@comcast.net and please visit my blog Ode Magazine.

Emotional GPS

Abraham, through Esther Hicks, talks about an emotional spectrum that all humans share and how to use it as a tracking system in creation. His premise is that how we feel indicates how much of Source we are allowing or resisting.

I got myself all tangled up in the notion of feelings. Not that I don’t have them, and not that they’re not valid, but I know myself well enough to be aware that I can resist my own feelings. I can manipulate my own feelings, and so feelings to me aren’t always a safe measuring stick.

The measurer I can always trust, however, is bodily sensation. My body knows and she doesn’t hesitate to tell me when something I’m thinking isn’t helpful to me or the world. These sorts of feelings are more akin to sensations. Body knowings.

But no matter, says Abraham, when in doubt or question about feelings, there’s a default position that always allows more Source than you were experiencing just the moment before, and that is appreciation.

So as we approach our national holiday of giving thanks, let us use appreciation as our emotional destination. For this holiday week, let everything you do be guided by appreciation. If what you’re doing takes you away from appreciation, do something different.

This Thanksgiving, put APPRECIATION into your GPS device, and discover where that takes you!

Outrageous Joy

I’m reading Ask and It Is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks. It is a compilation of the teachings of Abraham, a non-physical family of energies determined to remind us all of who we are. I read a book of theirs years ago, and didn’t connect with it. This time I could underline every word. Readiness is everything.

Although I’m only a few pages into the book, the phrase in my title here stopped me in my tracks. Abraham says we’re all here to experience outrageous joy.

Outrageous joy!

Can you imagine what that feels like from your own insides to live in outrageous joy? Can you imagine what it looks like to live on a planet full of people living in outrageous joy? Can you imagine what a planet feels like when its inhabitants live in outrageous joy?

I’ve known for a long time that joy is our birthright. I’ve spent much of my life joyful, and a lot of it less-than-joyful. There are myriad reasons why. The reasons aren’t of value. They weren’t then and they aren’t now and they won’t be in the future.

What is of value is the idea that we can live in outrageous joy and that as we commit to the whole world living in outrageous joy, our personal joy will increase. There are actions to take to create joy. Simple ones. Daily ones. Useful ones.

The next time you’re inclined to give someone a compliment, even a stranger, do it!
The next time you see something beautiful, stop and savor it.
The next time you read a book that touches you, tell someone about it.

The fastest way to create joy for yourself is to give joy to others. Really. It’s true of all the outrageous wonder that is possible on Earth. Wonder. Joy. Peace. Love. Honor. Truth. Beauty. Freedom. Wisdom. Fun.

Outrageous joy! Give it and receive it now.

Earth Heart

Seeds IX, 46

Seed: Earth Heart

Unity makes me think of our planet, blessed Earth. We, as members of our nations, have a stewardship responsibility for our planet. Her resources are ours to use and we must be aware of how we use them

One way to be aware is to listen. Look at that word earth. See the ear in there? To steward the resources of Earth, we need to listen to what Earth is saying to us. I know this sounds a little woo-woo for some readers.

There’s another way. Earth’s letters can be rearranged to spell Heart. It’s what’s called an anagram. See the ear in heart as well?

Listening to your own heart about the earth is the first step to responsible stewardship.

Be serene,

Dr. Susan Corso

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

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at SeedsDrCorso@comcast.net and please visit my blog Ode Magazine.

Conspiracy Theory

I have a pet conspiracy theory. Many of us who see meaning everywhere do.

Mine is that the universe is a conspiracy for our good.

Research for my books takes me all kinds of places I never expect to be consciously. The latest led me to researching soul retrieval. It’s a technique used by shamanic healers to reclaim energetic parts of ourselves that we need.

Let me tell you about the conspiracy.

I had a birthday weekend in New York this year. At Sunday brunch, a friend told us about a healing he had experienced with a woman from Peru who lives in Utah.

A week later, I decided soul retrieval was the healing modality I wanted to use in my next book.

I ordered the three major books on soul retrieval and waited for them to arrive from used booksellers.

I read two of the three books.

A book midwifery client, and the same friend who was a brunch with us, had a session. I told him I was studying soul retrieval.

Two weeks later, he put it together that the Peruvian healing woman was doing soul retrieval and he put us together.

I have had two remarkable sessions with her. And my book will be immeasurably richer for knowing her.

A conspiracy for good.

May I recommend to you . . .

Elena Radford?

Her sessions are 60-90 minutes for $90, and WOW. Already I feel a difference in my physical energy and my experience.

845-901-9986 (MST). Say I sent you!

No More Shame

In the past two days, I’ve read two “shame on you” blog posts. One was by Steven Weber on Huffington Post and the other was by Rocky Peterson on a Salt Lake City newspaper blog. Both were political, both were intended to shame “the American people,” whoever they are.

Both took the line that we need to do something about the political situation in our home country. Maybe we do. Maybe we don’t. That’s not the issue.

The issue is that shame never prompted anyone to make a positive change. I mean it, never. Shame comes from early Scandinavian roots meaning sham. When we feel shame, we feel like we’re false, fake, not real. How could behaviors based in a feeling like this possibly help us make new choices? They can’t.

So here’s the antidote to shame: pride. Not hubris, or pride that wounds, but genuine pride in our land, our people, our system of government. Pride comes from Latin roots that mean brave.

The USA is the home of the brave. Are you brave enough to care about our land, our people, our system of government? Do you follow politics? Do you vote? Is your vote something that makes you proud?

Pick one thing, dear one, one that you care about and do the thing that makes you proud. Voila! No more shame.

Unity

Seeds IX, 45

Seed: Unity

I had a strange introduction to politics, one I never would have expected. My sweetie bought me the DVDs of Aaron Sorkin’s, The West Wing. It was an hour-long television drama about a top team in the White House. Admittedly, Mr. Sorkin’s political bent matches my own quite liberal one, but that’s not what I got from the DVDs.

What I learned was how the process of politics works in Washington, D.C. It’s a fascinating, frustrating, valuable process. Learning about it has helped me get clear about what I value politically. It can be put pretty plainly in three words:

Unity, not uniformity.

I appreciate those whose ideas and opinions differ from mine, if only because they make me clearer about what my own are. What I want for our country is dialogue, interaction, a bigger solution than that of just one person, or one majority.

Not uniformity, unity.

Be serene,

Dr. Susan Corso

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

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at SeedsDrCorso@comcast.net and please visit my blog at Ode Magazine.

Diligence

I’ve written elsewhere that I’ve been the project manager for our porch renovation this fall. What a lot of work! I’ve been surprised.

Diligence is what has been required of me. Serious diligence.

I looked it up in the OED. 1. Of persons: Constant in application, persevering in endeavour, assiduous, industrious; not idle, not negligent, not lazy.

I decided, based on the experience of friends of ours, that constant in application meant two things to me: accountability and transparency.

Every single day of this project, I have written a report to the six Trustees about what happened that day. They were a little surprised at the reports at first, but now, thirty-seven days into the project, they're grateful.

Diligent comes from a Latin verb which means to value or esteem highly. An old adage of my mother's came to me as I wrote this: Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well. Turns out it wasn't my mama's at all. Lord Chesterfield get the credit, and the proper quote is:


Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well.

What's Dear To You?

A dear friend of mine had an unfortunate, close encounter with a deer this week. He was driving and a deer leaped in front of his car shattering the windshield and bruising my friend mightily.

My friend will be fine. His car, bar the windshield, is fine. The deer will go on to its next incarnation.

When something like this happens, what are we to make of it?

In a phone conversation, I made my friend laugh by asking:

“What’s dear to you?”

We are surrounded by signs and messages if we’ll learn to read them.

The Symbolism of Politics

Seeds IX, 44

Seed: The Symbolism of Politics

It’s a few days before the one-year mark prior to the Presidential election in the U.S. as I send this. As I write it, though, it’s just after Summer Solstice. This Seed came to me via an article called “The Politics of Symbolism.” When I read the title, the words, as you can see, reversed themselves.

What does it mean that our current president has lower approval ratings than any president ever?
What does it mean that corruption is being discovered in the Justice Department?
What does it mean that an immigration bill has stymied the congress?
What does it mean that our country is still involved in a war that almost seventy percent of voting people disapprove?

Does any of this have personal meaning to you and me? I think it does. I think the government, in all its aspects, is a mirror to each of us. Want to help out our governing bodies?

Where within are you disapproving of your own leadership?
Where within are you corrupt or unjust?
Where within are you denying yourself amnesty?
Where within are you at war despite your better judgment?

Make peace, dear one. Make peace within yourself about all these things, and behold a remarkable change in our governance.

Be serene,

Dr. Susan Corso

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

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at SeedsDrCorso@comcast.net and please visit my blog Ode Magazine.