Pillows and Glitter

I feel like I'm stuck in one of the tragic episodes of Little House on the Prairie. No, not just on one, but on an endless "tragic episode" loop without any of the happy-go-lucky ones where Nellie gets her comeuppance. With all of this doom and gloom we are dealing with in the forms of Climate Change, the ongoing pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and whatever looming illness (I read this morning that the cereal Lucky Charms recently made hundreds of People sick) or event is on the Horizon, we need to actively cultivate more Love, more Compassion, more Empathy, and give more Blessings out into the World.

Let me define what I mean by the word "Blessing." Speaking to those of you who are Catholic, it does not involve a priest. What I am talking about is using your Inner Voice, your Mind, your Will, your "Higher Power," your Heartfelt Love, in order to consciously Bless another Person. You can do this for anyone - not just for the people you are closest to, but for Perfect Strangers. Whether you can see them or not does not matter. Start with the next ambulance you hear/see and Bless the Crew. Bless the Person/People they are speeding forth to help. The Universe doesn't care as much about specifics, location and details as it does about Intention.

Let me give you some examples from my arsenal of Blessings, and also allow me to explain why I'm capitalizing words here that are not necessarily proper nouns, names, acronyms, or titles of a Little House on the Prairie episode. I think we are at a crucial enough point in time now to start capitalizing important words like "Blessings" and "Universe." Other words important enough to Herald: "Earth," "Yoga," "Mother," "Intention," "Woman," and "Love." Any Positive noun can and should be capitalized in order to help awaken us from our sleeping state of "non-Blessingness." (I credit and thank the radical feminist philosopher and theologian, or as I like to call her, "Goddess of the Matriarchy Movement," Mary Daly, for this capitalization Inspiration-technique.)

While driving, I Bless anyone walking or standing within the range of my somewhat blurred moving vehicle-view. When I am on a Zoom-Yoga call, I Bless my Students. Homeless people; bit fat Bless. Doctors, Nurses, People in the waiting room; Bless. As I mentioned before, you can do this remotely as well. Visualize your Child or any Loved One who is not in your vicinity and Bless them. One of my favorite Blessing Intentions is to Kiss my Son's Head several times. I do this to Soothe his Mind from worries. I feel like I can reach him with my Blessings all the way to Japan and anywhere in the Universe, for that matter.

If I know someone who is experiencing a specific Mental, Physical or Spiritual problem, I visualize dumping a bucket of Glitter on their head as a form of Blessing, as opposed to the usual light-sprinkling/dusting I use in everyday circumstances. I got this idea from the movie Birdcage, where Nathan Lane's character is rehearsing a number using his microphone like an aspergillum sprinkling Holy Water, (there you go, Catholics!) saying, "Fairy dust, Fairy dust, Fairy dust."

If someone I know is travelling or doing something that to me falls under the "risky behavior" category, I Mentally place Pillows all around them. Marshmallows might be another good image; piles of Soft Pine needles, a Nest of sheared Wool, a Mountain of Cotton Balls, a Pool filled with Silk Sheets (Water can bring up an image of drowning); you get the gist.

Try it. To begin, choose a specific day of the week as your "Blessing Day," and have at it. See how Blessing the World makes you feel. Pay it forward. Pass it on. We are all on this Earth-Ship together. There are plenty of Lifeboats and no icebergs in Sight. Let's look out for One Another, leaving all judgement out in the hall with our shoes.

Blessings,

Melanie