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I Care To Receive
I woke up from my deep sleep to the smells and sounds of bacon being cooked. While I no longer choose to eat it, the scent of bacon frying in the pan immediately brings me to memories from my childhood. My father was a butcher and owned a meat plant so we were abundant in meat. Sunday mornings my mom would fry up mountains of bacon. I would eat as much as I wanted.
To this day, remembering our family meal times warms my heart. My mother’s cooking was one of the many ways she shared love. We always came together for the meals my mother lovingly prepared. It was a time of closeness and intimacy, full of lively conversation.
Warmed by this sweet memory, I sleepily came into the kitchen where my husband, Steve, was busy preparing his breakfast. With coffee mug in hand, he greeted me with a “good morning” that told me, “You are loved.” I made my way into his arms and savored his loving embrace. With an open heart, I am conscious and open to receive all that is offered in this present moment. When we allow this nurturing energy that God is always giving into our own hearts to enter, it generates a fullness of life that desires to give to another. |
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I stayed in the kitchen with Steve and participated in the morning rituals we perform before we move into our day. As I listened deeply to him, I felt something holding Steve back, though he had not expressed anything to me. Listening deeply to another can be a beautiful meditation practice. Can we listen deeply to what we are hearing without getting caught up in our own reaction? Can we help another as we ask to understand and know more?
I asked Steve what was going on inside of him. Was there anything that he was not sharing with me? I expressed that I felt his words more as a covering over something that wanted to be felt. He did not have to share with me, yet as a partner I intuitively felt a part of him that needed caring. I wanted him to know that I am here for him to open up and allow himself to be loved just the way he is. I invited him to express himself deeper because that is what I desire in our relationship. I want to know him and I am learning to help him feel safe to touch these feelings that are sometimes difficult to connect with, especially when we are so wrapped up in doing all the things we feel we have to do to accomplish life outside ourselves. To have the courage to move beyond our own comforts and reach into those intimate places within each other is sometimes a great challenge. I desire intimacy because here is where we do not have to hide our feelings. What ever they might be, can we let another into our hearts? Receiving another is a gift that can change our relationships.
After awhile I heard him say, "I was feeling my mother a lot. Buying the Mother's Day cards yesterday brought up a lot for me." He didn't have to say much more. Immediately I felt what it was that I sensed earlier...I dropped into that same place within my own heart. Today was his mother’s birthday and almost 2 years since she passed away. I felt my own sadness of missing her and blessed to have my mother still living. I also felt the compassion and understanding of what is now not hidden between Steve and me. I can now love him greater. In his sharing with me, I can feel a lightness within him and a deeper place within my own heart where we can move together in life today. I don’t have to guess what is going on with him or think that I am a cause of his pain. I share in this opening where he has brought me into his heart.
Nurturing and caring for myself can be a challenge. Why is it so easy to give to another what I know I desire for myself? To receive myself fully and to give to myself; to allow myself to be a priority, knowing that I am worthy, is a great gift that continues to give me life.
I love being a mother. I love caring and being cared for. Yet most importantly, I desire to serve in this expanded love that I receive daily through my connection to God. The world changes when we change the way we are being. There is no greater gift than seeing another as they accept the gift that they are worthy to live life fully alive in love's embrace.
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Silence is the soul’s oxygen.
Silence is the one and only voice of God.
Let it penetrate deeply into your soul and touch every cell of your being.
I care to move into silence...
It’s not just about stopping to talk.
This is not silence, for my mind busily keeps chattering away.
Inside I hear myself scream...STOP!
That did not work.
My mind is still voicing the ideas and opinions of what I think.
Silence wants to be touched by me.
It calms the cluttered mind,
Becoming the open space of nothingness.
 Here there are no distractions.
The outside world moves me inward to something greater.
A feeling of letting go of what was.
As I relinquish my hold of the world,
I begin to dissolve into the chambers of God’s loving heart.
I observe the thoughts.
Slowly the mind becomes silent.
Feelings well up inside-
I have been too busy to feel.
I feel the coldness of my fearful human nature...
Where my body has been moving along in life,
Just doing what needs to be done.
I finally am feeling the tired body;
The pain of moving so quickly in the world.
What is it that I am crying out for?
To feel nurtured, cared for...appreciated.
I remember when I gave myself the nurturing moments at the beach.
Laying on the sand, I listen to the voice of the waves singing a sweet love song.
I am held here as I allow myself to receive God’s grace.
Now I can trust myself to listen to the silence calling my name.
My mind wanders to the moment yesterday,
As I witnessed a man from India who has surrendered his life to God.
Like an innocent young boy, his light shines forth giving from his receiving.
He lived in a surrendered state of receiving the moment just as it is.
Like the scent of a flower’s fragrance,
I take it all in and allow myself to welcome the moment here now.
Silence.
I receive when I enter into the chambers of my soul.
Silence.
I can hold my center even when I am in the chaos of my life.
Silence.
Here I receive grace.
This energy fills me with luminous awareness.
I am infused with a force greater than my own.
I receive the invitation to change my life,
To be a powerful instrument of God’s love.
I move into my ordinary world now.
I am ready to receive you,
Because I care.
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I invite all my Florida family to come to my son Luke’s CD launch on June 1st.
His music will open your heart and ignite you to feel the beauty of love made real through his sweet presence.
I hope you can join me in celebrating him this night.
If you can’t make it and you would like a CD, you can order through me. There is also food here at this venue. It will be a fun night!
Love Frannie
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Luke Andrews Live at Mookey’s!
4821 Placida Road
Englewood, FL 34224
Get Directions
CD Release Party
June 1, 2007, 7pm
Debut CD only $10
www.lukeandrewsmusic.com
www.myspace.com/lukeandrewsmusic |
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by Sarah, Jodi's daughter
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Frannie's Circle of Light guided meditations
Serenity Gardens of Venice is hosting Frannie's ongoing Circle of Light meditation on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month starting April 25th (7-8pm, $10.00).
Frannie is also available for sessions these Wednesdays at Serenity Gardens- Call for appointment
Serenity Gardens
602 E. Venice Ave.
Venice, Fl
Tel-941.486.3577
We're at the I Am Healing Arts Center in Sarasota the 1st & 3rd Wednesdays of the month (7:15pm, $10).
I AM Healing Arts Center (1918 Robinhood Street, Sarasota, FL Tel-941.927.6798
Starting May 10 The Circle is held at Frannie's office in Bradenton the 2nd Thursday of the month (7pm, $10 donation).
ARAYASUN
4301 32nd St. W. Unit D-4
Bradenton, Fl.
Tel-941.782.0770
On Thursday, June 21st Frannie will be at Elysian Fields facilitating the monthly meditation group (6-7pm).
Elysian Fields
1273 Tamiami Trail South
Sarasota, Fl.
Tel-941.361.3006
Frannie has been asked to join the group of presenters at In the Heart of the Awakened in Mt. Shasta, California. This year s gathering, to be held July 12th to 15th, is a 4-day conference featuring Dannion Brinkley, William Henry, Dr. Richard Boylan, our own Frannie Hoffman and many others. For more information visit www.ShalomarProductions.com.
The Circle of Light guided meditations are available for purchase on CD. Call the office, 941.782.0770 to place your order. Downloadable meditations will be available soon through www.MyCircleofLight.org.
Private consultations and sessions are available at the Bradenton office or by phone. Call 941.782.0770 for more information or to schedule an appointment. |
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