A Prayer of Healing

My heart is deeply sorrowful.

For the weeping mothers. The heartbroken fathers.

The pain and anger that is sweeping across a country. 

Another day that the world has been forced to face tragedy.

Again, I ask myself, "Why the little children? Why the innocent?"

As tears stream down my face, my afflicted heart hears only one answer. An answer in the form of another question:

"What can I do to to bring healing to hearts that are broken? Hearts that are lost? Hearts that have been hardened, and now seem to hold no value for life?" 

Is it even possible? My soul is met with a confirmation that it is. If one person can affect so many in a heartless and despicable way, what could many hearts do if united in spreading love and healing?

Being fearful paralyzes the mind. It is the opposite of love.

The truth is, as hard as it may be to forgive -- not doing so empowers the hate, and staying angry stimulates the poison that has already contaminated too many. 

Today is a new day. 

A day that you and I have a beating heart, breath, life. 

A light, with the ability to shine in the darkness. 

A power to spread love. 

This is my desire. and my commitment: 

To unite and create a circle of love that spreads further than my hands alone can reach. 

A prayer that is shared, filled with healing and forgiveness, touching more than my eyes can see. 

Please join me in spreading this love. There is great power in many hearts united.

"Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything."

Together let's pray, standing united, holding hands in Spirit, for ALL whom we cherish and hold most dear, as well as for those whom we may never meet... 

TODAY IS A NEW DAY. A MIRACLE WITHIN ITSELF. A GIFT.

LIFE IN WHICH I HAVE THE ABILITY TO LOVE MERELY BY SPEAKING IT INTO EXISTENCE.

WITH THIS POWER, I HUMBLY ASK THAT HEALING WOULD TOUCH ALL THOSE WHO ARE HURTING THIS DAY.

LET THE ARMS OF LOVE BE WRAPPED AROUND THEM, FILLING THEM WITH COMFORT.

ALLOW ME TO SOW LOVE AS I LIVE THIS DAY,

BY PLANTING FAITH AND HOPE WHERE THERE GROWS DOUBT AND DESPAIR.

MAY THIS BE A SPARK THAT IGNITES FORGIVENESS; 

FOR IN THIS LOVE LIES THE POWER THAT CAN HEAL ALL WOUNDS.

LET ME BE AN INSTRUMENT OF PEACE AS I LIVE THIS DAY.

MAY WE COME TOGETHER AS ONE WITH LOVE AND BE A GREATER FORCE, DEFEATING HATRED AND HARDENED HEARTS.

FOR IT IS WITHIN THE SMALLEST GESTURE, THAT LOVE CAN BE FELT,

AND EVEN GREATER STILL, LOVE HAS NO BOUNDARIES.

WITH THIS KNOWLEDGE, LET US MOVE FORWARD, AND CREATE A FORCE OF LOVE THE WORLD HAS NEVER SEEN.

Test of Faith

There are seasons in life that seem to be more challenging than others. Times where it feels more difficult to have faith--and believe that it is all going to "pan out." And just when you think you've reached your limit, and you can handle no more, life dishes out something else. 
It is also in these moments, when our strength, character, determination and faith are truly put to the test. And man oh' man, has it been one of those times for me lately!

It's 5:45am. My alarm has just gone off. I wake up with the dominant thought I've had on my mind all week: Butters.  My favorite dog in the world went missing exactly one week ago today. Questions and thoughts of his whereabouts continue to plunk themselves into my mind. 
Why hasn't anyone called yet? He had his collar on him! Is someone trying to steal him?
I refocus and look at the clock. It's twenty minutes until my train leaves, and Amtrak is a punctual beast. I grab my backpack and hurry out of the house.
Faith. Trust. Uh-huh.
Faith has been playing a good game of hide and seek with me for the last seven days...Faith being the one doing the hiding. And shortly after I hunt Faith down and find her, she seems to want to play the game all over again.

I run up four flights of stairs at the train station, and barely make it on board. Talk about a great way to get your heart pumping in the morning! I take a seat and look out the window. A spectacular sunrise greets me and reminds me that today is a new day, a blessing, a gift. It seems to point out that each day presents itself with two different handles to clutch on to. We can either grab the handle of anxiety or hold on to the handle of faith. 
I open my iphone and read a few notes I jotted down this past week by Saint Augustine, Gandi and Khalil Gibran. 

• "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe."-Saint Augustine
• "If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time and a living faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm." -Mahatma Gandi
• "Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens." -Khalil Gibran

How comforting it is to know that in moments when I don't have the inspiration or strength, I can always find someone who does.
I breathe in deeply and am comforted. When we let faith shape our lives, worry has no stronghold. 

It's an understatement for me to say that I do not like that my favorite pooch is missing. Emotions have run deep in me this week. And, after printing and posting fliers, putting adds on Craigslist, and searching through suburbia, fields and ditches, the only thing I can do now is to choose faith. I am in charge of my attitude. A Greater Power is in charge of the rest.  
Although my prayers of finding this special dog are still strong, I have felt a shift happen as I re-discover my faith and find my "attitude of gratitude." I am reminded of the many beautiful gifts I have been given in life (even two years of love and joy with a wonderful pup).  A change is in motion. From a focus on what I temporarily do not possess, my prayers are now directed towards being responsible of living a life worthy of that which I already have. 

Coincidence??

Sluggish mornings are almost a guarantee after not sleeping well the night before. I drag myself downstairs to make breakfast and start my day off with some reading. I have this strong feeling that today should be spent in prayer, study and meditation. Hmm. Okay. Well, I have a lot to do today, so let's get this party started. 

I wake up my Nook. I envy how it can wake up so easily with just the swipe of a button.
The Power of Intention, by Wayne Dyer pops on the screen where I had left off yesterday. I drink each word in slowly.
I take out my Life Journal--a book where I keep thoughts and notes that I have come across over the years. Its leathery smell fills the air as I open it, and I read what I have written on the cover page: 
"A journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step."
Pondering this beautiful quote, I flip to a blank page and begin to take a few notes. As I jot away tidbits that I feel apply to my life right now, all of a sudden, my Nook starts "acting up" and on its own, decides to flip to the previous page. I grab it disapprovingly, turning back to the page where I was before, and set it back down on the table to finish my note taking.
Then, without warning, it does it again. What in the world is going on here?! It's still to early for problems!  My Nook is obviously not listening. 

Then a third time it revolts-- but this time, almost audibly says,
"Leanna! You are missing something on the previous page!" 

I stare blankly in my frustration and then say out LOUD to my empty dining room, "Okay already--I can take a hint! Let me at least finish what I'm writing and then I'll go back and reread that page!"
Then nothing.
I take my time finishing my notes, just to see if it will turn back on its own a fourth time...but the Universe had heard me, and so it patiently waited for me to manually turn back on my own.
I finally turn the page and as I begin to reread it, the word INTENT really sticks out to me. A word I'm familiar with, but at this moment, feel the need to look up its definition.

Intent or Intention 

-something that is intended; purpose; design

-an act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result

The next sentence that catches my attention on the page is that "in mathematics, two angles that are said to coincide, fit together perfectly. The word coincidence then does not describe luck or mistakes. It describes that which fits together perfectly." As I ponder this thought, my Nook then does something else on its own. It highlights a particular part of a sentence on the page! Tentatively, I begin to read what I had completely overlooked the first time! (I have underlined the part that was highlighted.) 

"When life appears to be working against you, when your luck is down, when supposedly the wrong people show up, or when you slip up and return to old, self defeating habits, recognize the signs that you're out of harmony with intention." 

Whoa.
I read on. The next paragraph stuns me even more. The same scriptural verse that I read the night prior Mark 11:24, just so happened to be the next paragraph that was in the book! My eyes fill with water in unbelief. I flip back open my Life Journal to write this down and as I do, I find there is only one thing written on the top of the page--that I had written there months ago. The SAME exact verse!!
"AND ALL THINGS, WHATSOEVER YOU SHALL ASK IN PRAYER, BELIEVING, YOU SHALL RECEIVE."
A tingly feeling passes through my body. 

Coincidence?? Maybe. Just maybe.

The Power of Intention By Dyer, Wayne W. (Google Affiliate Ad)

Puppy Love

I stare deeply into the golden brown eyes that are inches away from my face. Nothing else exists in this exact moment. Just the two of us. He looks at me as if he is just about to tell me how much he loves me, but instead lowers his face onto my shoulder as I wrap my arms around him. Our relationship is the epitome of affection and appreciation--living proof that unconditional love and joy can exist in a relationship between two living beings. No expectations. 
I release our embrace and see that he is now grinning from ear to ear. It's infectious. I smile back. It's as if I just gave him the world by fully receiving his gift, his tail begins to wag so vigorously that he practically knocks himself over.


The embodiment of friendship, dogs are possibly one of the purest examples of what it means to LIVE and LOVE unconditionally. As I sit on the floor and watch my furry friend get distracted by an approaching Rottweiler, I think to myself, "What if we only greeted those we love with that much enthusiasm?" and "What could this world look like if we showed with all our might how much we care about others, simply by living in the moment?"
Trust. Acceptance. Passion.
These canine qualities are only a few of the examples worth pondering and ultimately aspiring to. Imagine the reactions we might receive if we lived by the rules of our four legged friends! 
Would it be possible to receive the same kind of response that they illicit from us? 
They TRUST that we love them, and love us back, just as much or more, even when we don't pay them as much attention as we could. They ACCEPT every inch of our short comings, by choosing to focus on our positive qualities. 
With PASSION, they fully engage themselves on even the smallest events such as smelling the fresh air, taking naps, jumping on the chance to have fun, and always taking the opportunity to greet total strangers with a playful attitude and a giant smile.


The two dogs, nose to nose, let out little whines in their excitement. Then just like that, they part ways and this lovable pooch comes running back to me. 
Lessons on life... 
Could we let Fido (or in my case Butters) be our guide--and let go of our reservations to love others boldly, forgive wrongs almost instantly, always seek to learn something new and find the best in everything? 

Now that's a bone to chew on!

Daily Maintenance

CLEAN-THE-HOUSE. What an intimidating sentence! Hearing those three little words put together can, at times, be comparable to nails on a chalkboard. (Or a fork scratching on a plate in my case.)  Geaaah! Completely un-fun...especially when it's your own mess. And talk about redundant. You know the drill. Do the dishes. Do the laundry. Scrub the bathrooms. Sweep and mop the floor. Dust the furniture...the list goes on and on.

Daily. Weekly. Monthly. 

Oh....and never forget the annual "spring cleaning" that happens only for the truly dedicated. Then finally you emerge victorious. It's clean. It's organized. You know where everything is! And just as you begin to bask in the glory of completion, settling into the organized and clean space of zen ---it gets dirty and messy.... again. Why can't things just stay clean? I lift my eyes to the sky, in a moment of self pity, and ask myself in the most compassionate and loving way possible....why me? 

  

On a mission to cleanliness, somewhere in mid sweep, my mind finds ways to entertain itself. Deeper thinking sets in, as I contemplate how parallel maintaining a clean and healthy home is to maintaining a clean and healthy Self.  Questions like "What keeps my mind and spirit regularly activated and uplifted?" and "What results can I achieve with daily dedication and persistence?" 

Kelly Clarkson blasts in the background "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" as I vigorously vacuum the pet fur off the entry rug. Oh yea. I'm motivated now! My heart rate surges and I start to break a sweat. I start a mental list of some of the "to do's" for living enlightened and invigorated. Hmmm...let's see...we have eating healthy, exercising, stretching, taking time for daily prayer and meditation, reading, attending a good self development seminar once a year...and if that's not enough there's always things that really matter like making time for family, working, and keeping a moderate social life! Also, don't forget to smell the flowers...(which just so happens to be something I deeply enjoy.) 

The real question though, that permeates my brain like a ray of sunshine is: "What am I going to do about it?"

First off, I thoroughly enjoy living in a clean environment. I love the way it makes me feel; I know I think better when the space around me is in harmony with itself. Not to mention, getting up close and personal with the stuff I have accumulated over the years, tends to give me a good reality check on all that I have been blessed with--and there is much to be grateful for.

I scrub harder on the stainless steel pan I used earlier for breakfast. Why do they make cookware out of this material again?? Food always sticks to it! I stop myself mid thought and remember that at least I have a pan to cook in. 

Gratitude = Perspective. Always.

I'm back on track...but I wouldn't say I get excited about doing dishes, laundry, sorting mail, and spending several hours of my day tidying up every week, to keep it looking top-notch...I just love the way it feels when everything looks its best! Yes, it may seem daunting, to look at ALL there is to do, in order to experience the sparkle--but that only happens when we procrastinate on our daily, routine maintenance. 

Like our home, when we focus on the desired end result, daily self-maintenance is the pathway to living each day rejuvenated, filled with clarity, and peace of mind. 

The truth is, regular upkeep is a part of life. And I've found the best way to handle anything, is to first accept it, then create a way to make it work, and ultimately find the joy in the process. It is always good to remember, if it's meant to be, it's up to me and my committed action.

While having a clean home can bring inner peace and a sense of accomplishment, my thoughts lead me to a more meaningful inquiry. What kind of euphoria would we experience daily, if we faithfully polished ourselves and insisted on excellence? Just think of ALL the possibilities!

So heres to living clean!! In the home. In the mind. In the body. In the heart. 

P.S. If today is the day that that you're searching for that extra boost in perspective and motivation, this fantastic book I just finished reading will absolutely give you a jump start.

The Travelers Gift By Andrews, Andy 

An early morning thought (or two...) on friendship...

Life. Friendship. Love. These were the subjects that thumped around in my brain like a runner on steroids at 4:30 this morning. What does it mean to be a true friend? Do I have an unrealistic view to what that means? Have I been a good friend over the years? How is that so many people enter our lives, we have fun with them, laugh with them, cry with them? Then we grow up, or move away and frankly can't remember the last time we actually spoke with them on the phone...or even crazier still, spent time with them in person! Are friendships only meant to last a season before you go your separate ways?
4:55 a.m.
Should I get up? No. Its still too early. Can I fall back asleep? I'd sure like to. I hear the birds beginning to faintly chirp through my open window. More thoughts stream in like a runaway freight train. Disagreements. Misunderstandings. Lack of communication. They are so far in the past and all seem so petty now, but at the time they acted as a propane tank to a flame, igniting stubbornness, resentment and sometimes even the death of a friendship. What could I have done to prevent certain things from going bad? Was that something within my power as a human being to change? I feel sad that they are no longer a part of my life. I wonder how life is treating them. Are they happy? Do they have their own families yet?
5:15 a.m.
Agh! Okay. I need some inspiration. I open my iPhone to Dr. Wayne Dyer. The first thing that pops up is "Be thankful for everyone." Wow. Coincidence? I think not! I read on... "Every single person who's drifted in and out of your life is a part of your Divinely chosen experience....give thanks for all these people, and take a serious note of what they brought you." Thank you Wayne! What a great reminder! I feel a burst of joy as the cool morning air breathes on my face. What great lessons I have learned from making mistakes, and saying or doing the wrong thing!! How much better can my relationships be NOW that I have become conscious to my choices and actions that follows them, in this human experience? Now I'm awake. Theres no stopping it. It's 5:45 a.m. and excitement for life is rushing through my veins. The world is waking up on this side of the sphere. I can hear nature bustling as I close my phone and jump out of bed. I have a new day in front of me. New challenges to overcome! Relationships to nurture! Dreams to fulfill! But first things first....a soothing, hot cup of goodness.  :)