Lisa Overman, A Healed Heart

As I prepare to ring in the New Year there is much to contemplate. I think of my 2008 experiences and what life has brought me. I contemplate where I am, where I have come from and what comes next with the start of a new year.

There has been much to be grateful for in 2008. Many wonderful moments have filled my 2008, with a wonderful man in my life and a website I’m deeply proud of. I’ve reached a place of loving my life and being truly at peace with the direction my life is taking as a writer and healer. At moments there have been big doses of challenge with a house for sale, a relationship, and getting my website going in the direction I desire, while continuing to work toward a published book. There are moments that I really have to go within. When I have to refocus my energy in gratitude. In the darkest moments I try to reflect on what I have survived, what I have healed and how grateful I am to have reached this place of healing in my life.

2008 has been a blessed year for me in so many ways, I feel grateful every day for the life I have, for the gifts I have been given. I know an attitude of gratitude is the way to go. That isn’t always easy, but I focus and refocus as I need to, because I find when I focus on the gratitude and the good in my life I feel so much better. I feel energized and I feel supported by spirit at those times.

As I begin 2009 I will keep my attitude focused on gratitude and make time to contemplate, pray and meditate. I know making time for my spirit and my spiritual practices is the way to go. I have a great life. I wake up every day grateful, feeling very blessed. As I go to sleep tonight, knowing I will awake to a new year I will say a prayer of thanks for what 2008 has brought me and look forward with anticipation of all I can create with the dawning of a new year. May each of your lives be filled with love and the blessings of a New Year!

When we know that we are on our spiritual path there comes a time when we must surrender completely to spirit. When no matter what the appearance of our life, we know that spirit is guiding our direction. This is one of those times in my life. Fighting the tide does not work, it’s like trying to swim out of a riptide, it can’t be done, I must float, release and know that I am safe and provided for.

Right now the challenges of my life are great, but I know spirit is greater and I know that the work that I have done, the open channel I have provided and the efforts of my writing and following spiritual guidance are being acknowledged and will be rewarded. I know spirit put me on this path of writer and healer for a reason. God knew that I would follow my heart, share my story and in the process inspire others to begin looking at their own pain and grief. This is not an easy path, it isn’t easy to pour out your heart for all to see. To write and detail the mistakes you make, the misteps you take. I had to move past all that and realize the greater good in my honesty, in my compassion and know that it would be through both that I could begin to inspire healing in others.

There are moments still when I am touched with fear, with indecision, with pain. I have learned to move through those moments, to accept the feelings and allow them to disappate naturally. I do not allow them to take over, I cry, I pray, I meditate and I write. I allow my spirit to take control and those moments become less and the pain begins to disappear. This week in the midst of my personal challenges I have been reminded twice through a quote that this is my time to surrender. I have done the work, I have expended the effort, now it is time to allow spirit to unfold the blessings and release my concerns and my doubt.

I am a writer, I touch people through my experiences, my truth and the words that spirit guides my fingers to put on this page. The words only come through me, spirit guides my message. This is not the writing I wanted to do long ago, it is the writing that spirit determined I would do. It pleases me today, but there have been many days it did not. I wanted to write romance novels or travelogues. I wanted the exotic and romantic. Instead I got heartwrenching, emotionally draining pieces to write on my grief, on the depths of my pain. I understand now that my peace and inner strength come from what I have faced, what I have healed and I am happy today. I am grateful for this gift, the words spirit provides me to share with others. I’m my happiest self writing and touching lives with this gift. I am grateful every day for my life, for my writing and for the gift of those I treasure in my life. It is a matter of surrendering and allowing spirit to drive your life. You can fight it, you can struggle against it. But eventually surrender is the only answer that makes sense. Your life becomes joyful and your work becomes nourishing to your soul. It isn’t easy, but it’s worth the discomfort. Surrender and discover what spirit has in store.

This morning at my church, Harmony Metaphysical in Tampa; my minister did something wonderful for our congregation as we prepare to go into 2009. We were handed paper when we entered the sanctuary and told to write down the things we would like to manifest in 2009 and the things we want to release as 2008 ends. We have done this in previous years and each time I love it! It gives me a peaceful, focused time in the loving environment of my church to review the things I want to release and the things I’m creating as the new year begins.

Reverend Dee Jay recommended starting our 2009 affirmations with I am. For example, I am healed, and I have good health. I am abundant and I am creating greater abundance with my writing. I am creating a workshop to help others in grief begin to work through the healing process.

Writing my affirmations and listing the things I want to release gives me clarity and reminds me how far I have come from the moment I found Harmony back in the spring of 2006. Harmony is my spiritual home, it’s the place that reminds me I’m responsible to create the life I want and to be grateful every day for the gifts spirit provides. Thank you Reverend Dee Jay and Harmony for creating a healing, loving spiritual home for all of us. I love being a part of Harmony.

The True Power of Water By: Masaru Emoto is a book that I find deeply interesting and that I recommend. It is one of several books that Masaru Emoto has written on the effects of vibration, energy, prayer and thought on water. When I was flipping through it this morning, reading randomly I came across a piece I wanted to share. Along with this is a YouTube video with Dr. Emoto

A family that subscribed to our magazine conducted an interesting experiment. They put the rice in two glass jars and every day for a month said “Thank you” to one jar and “You fool” to the other, and then they tracked how the rice changed over the period. After a month the rice that was told Thank you started to ferment, with a mellow smell like that of malt, while the rice that was exposed to You fool, rotted and turned black. Pg 97

To give your attention to something is a way of giving energy. By receiving attention , life can get the energy to move in a better direction. Pg 98

With our economy in such flux and with the emotional upheaval so many people have experienced I was reminded by The True Power of Water just what we as people can do to focus our energy and our intentions to begin bringing love and calm to the distress and upheaval we see and feel. This morning as I read pages 90 to 104, I was reminded that we can create with our focus and our intention. We can begin to create a calm, healing around us by focusing our gratitude on everything good around us. Energy goes where we put our attention. We want to give energy and focus to the good in our world and in our lives. Focus on gratitude, Be grateful, be filled with love for everything in your life. Being grateful creates an energy that eventually opens the door to more good in our life.

For example, my house needs to sell, so rather than focus my energy on feeling a desperate need for a sale, I focus my energy on gratitude for what I have, for having a beautiful place to live, for having the abundance of owning a home and I release it to spirit. Another example, with the economic situation many families are feeling strapped financially and are not able to meet all their financial obligations, rather than focusing energy on all the things that are not paid, and getting more distressed focus on what you have paid. If you paid your rent, or your phone bill, think of the money you used or are using to pay this bill and say a prayer of gratitude for the fact that this money is in your hand and that you are using it to pay something that needs to be paid. A grateful attitude for the abundance in our life helps create more abundance.

There will naturally be moments of distress and stress. I can attest to this…laughter with a house for sale and still for sale long beyond what I can afford. But what I am seeing in my own life, with my own intention and gratitude is a subtle positive shift in my abundance with keeping my focus in GRATITUDE and using my thoughts in an uplifting way to say THANK YOU for everything I can pay and for EVERYTHING I have. I can assure you with two houses of bills this is a real test of my focus and intention.

There are more days than not that I could just spin out in the anxiety and stress of paying for two houses. Instead I’m learning and seeing positive results by saying THANK YOU to God and the universe for everything in my life. When I awake in the morning I say a prayer of gratitude for my house, the man in my life, the money I have, for my family and friends. I refocus through the day, for a minute or so and I say another prayer of GRATITUDE and THANKS for all these things and for any abundance that I find coming into my life on that day. I know there will be readers rolling their eyes, some in my own family I’m sure, but it’s working.

GRATITUDE is THE RIGHT ATTITUDE to change our experience, to change our lives. We know that greed and corruption are not working, we can see that every day on the nightly news. We see the direct result of the economy in our investments and our bank accounts. We know what doesn’t work, so lets focus what can work. AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE AND LOVE.

The greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being.
Dalai Lama

Photo Credit: Lisa Overman Indian Shores Beach, St Petersburg, FL

Through http://www.wanderlustandlipstick.com a travel website I write for, I got involved with a charity raffle to support Heifer International; a non proft organization that helps reduce poverty.

To make a donation and enter for a chance to win one of MANY WONDERFUL PRIZES that Passports With a Purpose and sponsor donors have made available, click here. The proceeds from this charity raffle will support Heifer International.

The giving is two fold, you do something wonderful for an amazing organization and you have the opportunity to receive a gorgeous gift donated by one of many great Passport With a Purpose Sponsors!!

PRIZE LIST
Prize ID Description Blogger
Destinations
D01 3 Nights at the Wyland Waikiki in Hawaii ($400+) NerdsEyeView
D02 Harlem Food and Cultural Tour ($190) FarSightedTravelGirl

D03 Seattle TourSaver and Alaska TourSaver ($180) AlaskaTravelGram
D04 $100 Gift Card for any hotel in the Mr. and Mrs. Smith Hotel Collection ($100) Mr & Mrs Smith Luxury Hotels
D05 Two night stay for a family of four at The Wildflower Inn in Lyndonville, VT ($400) TwoAndAHalfTravelers
D06 $100 gift certificate towards any Ciao Bambino property ($100) Ciao Bambino

D07 2 night stay at B&B in CA($495) TheBlendMagazine

D08 Cooking class and dinner for 4 in NYC ($600) Collazo Projects

D09 Culinary Tour of Greenwich Village led by Addie Tomei ($240) Things You Should Do

D010 PhotoWalks walking tour of Boston for 4 ($120) Things You Should Do

D011 Horseback riding on the beach in Bradenton, FL ($120) Things You Should Do

D012 Fairmont Hotel Package, One night in a suite, parking, dinner ($299) Fairmont Hotel

Photography
P01 Flip Video Camera ($150) MotherOfAllTrips

P02 $150 Gift Card to B&H Photo (valid online and in store) ($150) EscapeFromNY
P03 Eye-Fi Wireless Camera Memory Card ($130) WeJustGotBack
Clothing
C01 $200 shopping spree with ExOfficio & $100 lunch ($300) WanderlustAndLipstick
C02 1 set of ExOfficio his/her shirts ($148) Around the Bloc

C03 Merino Wool Long Underwear from Jones Wear ($120) Nerd’s Eye View
C04 Mountain Hardwear Women’s Mynx Jacket (medium, dark adobe), Eagle Creek Messenger Bag ($265) Away.com
C05 Merino Wool Long Underwear from Ibex ($120) Nerd’s Eye View
C06 Clothing items (one outfit) from Earth Creations Travel With Purpose
C07 His and Her Shirts from ExOfficio ($170) Wanderlust and Lipstick
Gadgets
G01 Casio Wave Ceptr WR10 Bar World Time Watch ($100) MomMostTraveled
G02 Solio Charger – portable solar charger ($170) Trusty Pony
G03 WordPress Premium Theme ($90) Coming Soon from TravelRants!
Kids
K01 Medela Swing Single Electric Breastpump ($149) JetWithKids
K02 Maclaren Techno XLR ($350) JetWithKids
K03 Britax Boulevard Car Seat ($330) JetWithKids
K04 CARES Flight Safety Harness (sponsored by Kids Fly Safe), signed copy of Travels With Baby ($97) TravelsWithBaby
K05 $100 Gift Certificate with Babies Travel Lite (sponsored by Babies Travel Lite), signed copy of Travels With Baby($122) TravelsWithBaby
K06 Sit-n-Stroll convertible car seat and stroller (sponsored by Lilly Gold), signed copy of Travels With Baby ($272) TravelsWithBaby
K07 Ergo Hands Free Baby Carrier and iPod Shuffle ($213) DeliciousBaby
K08 Peg Perego Primo Viaggio Infant Car Seat ($290) Cookie Magazine and Going Places blog
Gift Bags and Baskets
GB01 Grab Bag of fun travel-related gifts including the Funkey Finder, hair products from Tassi, a Carson Lens Pen, luggage tags from BonjourFleurette.com and an Eastport Natural Collection Duffle Bag. ($155) TravelingMamas
GB02 Grab bag of travel-related gifts from the Moms who participate in GNO Coming Soon from GNO!
GB03 2 Indonesian sarongs, 2 matching Indonesian pillowcases, 1 Indonesian pillow cover, 1 Chinese bottle cover ($120) HammockInParadise
GB04 Gift bag of travel goodies Matador Travel
GB05 Gift basket from SkinStore ($200) Just Go!
GB06 Makeup and Beauty Package from Erwin Gomez Salon and Spa ($300) Things You Should Do

GB07 Original Oil Pastel Painting by Lola Akinmade ($250) Geotraveler’s Niche

GB08 TravelMuse Travel Journal, “Inspire Me” T-shirt and $100 Shutterfly gift certificate ($135) TravelMuse

GB09 $100 gift card from American Express ($100) Uptake.com
Equipment
E01 Eagle Creek ORV Duffel and Eagle Creek Messenger bags ($210) Away.com
E02 REI Vagabond Travel Pack and PackTowl UltraLite Towel (XL) from Viking River Cruises ($130) AlmostFearless
E03 Carry-on luggage from LuggageGuru.com Go Galavanting
E04 Tour Pack from Mountainsmith ($70) Go Green Travel Green
Tickets
T01 2009 Tampa Buccaneers home game tickets! ($170) What Boundaries!
Books and Music
B01 Spain: A Culinary Road Trip by Mario Batali w/Gwyneth Paltrow
1,000 Places to See Before You Die-by Patricia Schultz
Immersion Travel USA-by Sheryl Kayne, Diners
Drive-Ins and Dives-by Guy Fieri
Frommer’s 500 Places to See Before They Disappear-by Holly Hughes
($100)
MidWestGuest
B02 Gift pack of Barefoot Books ($100+) BackpackToBuggy
B03 5 books from Lonely Planet

The Travel Book
Best in Travel 2009
The Big Trip
Lonely Planet 2009 Wall Calendar
Travel Journal
($94)
EverTheNomad
B04 Lonely Planet Travel Book
5 Time Out city guides of the winner’s choice
2 Alastair Sawdays Guides
1 Pocket Comm Communications tool
2 Paperblanks 2009 diaries
HeatherOnHerTravels
B05 5 sets of Moo postcards by collage artist Lia Hadle Lia Hadley
B06 $100 Gift Certificate for Amazon.com ($100) MVOnTheSpot
B07 2 items: Travel with Kids: The Definitive Guide to Family Holidays Worldwide AND A Magnetic Travel Art Kit for Children ($40) LizAndTobi
B08 Where to Go When: The Americas, DK Brazil, DK Peru, DK Argentina ($120) WanderMom
B09 Signed copy of Sacred Places of a Lifetime ($40 plus signature value National Geo Intelligent Travel Blog
B10 Lonely Planet Guide of YOUR choice and copies of The Travel Book ($100) RoamingTales
B11 A Journey into the Transcendentalists’ New England A Journey into Ireland’s Literary Revival Walking Boston. ($45) OpenPage-OpenRoad!
B12 Travel guide bonanza:

Lonely Planet’s Syria & Lebanon
Frommer’s 500 Places to See Before They Disappear
Frommer’s NYC Free & Dirt Cheap
Frommer’s Cancun and the Yucatan
A Mindful Christmas
($100+)
WanderingEducators
B13 $100 worth of Creative Memories Scrapbooking Supplies ($100) TwoKidsAndAMap
B14 Set of 3 CDs from award winning Native American flutist, Evren Ozan
1 CD from cowboy poet, Mike Moutoux
1 CD from Americana musicians Steve Smith & Hard Road
1 CD from Nashville singer/songwriter Jon Roniger
1 CD from from Phoenix-based Michael & Spider
($102)
The Blend Magazine
B15 Putumayo World Music CD’s
Women of Africa
Asian Groove
Samba Bossa Nova
Turkish Groove
World Hits
($75)
Wanderlust and Lipstick
B16 Signed copies of Getting Lost and Globejotting: How to Write Extraordinary Travel Journals AND a one-hour writing consultation with Dave Fox ($100) Dave Fox

See Passports with Purpose FAQ

Sometimes we take for granted the things in our life that work. When I logged into my website last night and I was able to upload photos easily and quickly it gave me a surge of pleasure. It has taken a long time to get everything on the site as it should be and I realized today it’s when we have to work through the challenges that we truly appreciate the sweet moments of everything falling into place. There is nothing like feeling the warmth of the one we treasure next to us or feeling the sweet pleasure of a successful project, knowing everything is in order and life is good. Namaste

Cami Walker\'s 29 Day Giving Challenge

29 Gifts is a wonderful movement “designed to revive the giving spirit in the world.” Cami Walker started this movement during a dark period in her life; when a spiritual teacher suggested she give away 29 things in 29 days in an effort to get out of her own struggle for a few seconds each day.

Wow, the very concept touches me deeply. I love the spiritual idea of getting out of our own pain and struggle by creating joy and giving to others. It’s generally when we are giving that we realize how good it feels to help another and bring a little joy to another’s day and life. Cami created a website called 29Gifts.org where you can visit and learn more about her experiment as well as sign up to join the movement and see what changes come to your own life during and after giving kindness, help and gifts to others for 29 days. I joined today and I urge each of my readers to join this spiritual movement to give kindness, smiles, support and gifts to 29 people in 29 days.

Life shifts sometimes inperceptibly and at other times the shift is so dramatic that we feel it, see it and everyone around us notices it. So what causes our lives to shift? In my opinion shifts occur when we have either a spiritual change in our life, or a healing of emotional or physical pain. A shift can also occur when we have an “Ah Ha” moment; when suddenly we “get it” and we can stop repeating old patterns and move into a new way of living and being.

Shifts happen whether we’re aware of them or not. Shifts can happen when we feel loved, when we feel supported and when we understand that we have no need for our old habits or insecurities. Shifts can change our lives; they open our minds to new ways of living and new ways of doing things. Some shifts happen gradually because spirit knows that’s all we can handle, that too much transition is difficult for many people.

In my own life I have had dramatic shifts and gradual shifts. Sometimes the shift was self inspired, ie a move to a completely different culture and country. Nothing shifts your life than faster than getting on a plane and living full throttle in a culture you don’t understand, where they speak a language you can barely comprehend. Moves like that shift your perceptions and life dramatically in both good and bad ways. Through years of living overseas, in situations where I had to adapt I now feel comfortable traveling most places and am willing to embrace cultures and overseas experiences with ease.

Every shift is different and they are not all warm and fuzzy or comfortable. Sometimes a shift takes us far out of our comfort zone and we have to learn to adapt to a new way of thinking. That process of learning to think differently is the shift taking place. When we become at ease and we see our life expanded we realize the shift has occured and it’s usually an exciting time with opportunities and new experiences.

Spirit is always guiding our life, whether we are willing to realize it or not. Some days we fight it, and other days we flow with it. The shifts are a natural progression of our life and knowledge expanding. As we follow spirit and listen to our internal voice of inspiration and love we can make some dramatic shifts and find our life going in some amazing and exciting directions. The secret is letting go and releasing the need to have all the answers. The shift will happen, spirit will guide it, answers will come just as we least expect it.