So, I've been out of commission the last few weeks because my family and I have been moving to a new home! Who moves two days after Christmas? We do! And if you've moved before, you know what I'm talking about...
a whirlwind of packing, unpacking, cleaning, keeping the kids happy... still unpacking, living out of boxes in two homes, dealing with an over-flowing dishwasher, broken doors and blinds, trying to keep my psycho-overly energetic border collie happy and not digging in the new yard, a foot problem that just won't go away -shooting and throbbing pain every time I walk or don't walk, and... still unpacking. It's been a really happy move.... seriously, BUT I have been living on overload, and I have been feeling a little sorry for myself.
The first night in our new home, as I lowered my sore, worn-out body and my throbbing foot (which was becoming an entity unto itself) onto the bed, I knew that even though I was exhausted, I still needed a book to read. So I reached into the closest book box and grabbed the book right on top... the one I'd kept for about a year and always passed over for a more exciting choice. But this time I was too stinkin' tired to even think about getting a different one, so I read it. It comes as no surprise to me anymore that we get what we need when we need it... timing is perfect because this book, Mutant Message Down Under, by Marlo Morgan, is just what I needed to kick me in Super Hero Action Mode to finish the move with grace and dignity. AND it has made a profound impact on my life. I want to tell you about it.
It's a true story about a 50 year old Midwest physician woman who went to Australia for a few years to head and teach a patient-education program for preventative health. While doing this, Marlo also created this betterment program working with urban-dwelling Aboriginal adults. So she was feeling pretty good about herself and loving what she was doing for the community. She had even gotten a good reputation in her community and met a man. Marlo was feeling on top of her game.
Instead of getting a trite reward at a hotel luncheon, this ancient tribe of Aboriginals, who called themselves the "Real People," drove her four hours into the Bush to meet the tribe. First thing they did was kindly strip her of all her belongings - including clothes, money, and jewelry and watched as it burned in flames. They gave her a not so fashionable cover up, and they started walking... and I do mean walking... walking barefoot at that! Come to find out, they wanted her to accompany them on a four month walkabout through the Outback - 1,400 miles of crazy intense desert terrain for what reason she wasn't really sure because there was only one tribe member who spoke her language, and he wasn't giving up the info.
So there she was thinking, "o.k., they've just burned my stuff, no one knows where I am, and I can't get any info out of these people, but something about this crazy summoning is extremely mystical and alluring. I don't want to offend them, so I'll walk one day with them and then ask them to take me back to civilization. Marlo knew this was nuts, but somehow felt drawn to this tribe, so she went for it. And as the story goes... she walked the whole way with them.
The intense physical extremes that she faced are amazing. The environment was barren and hostile - too much for humans to bare. For instance, just after her first two hours walking barefoot on the searing ground with piercing thorns (beach grass) covering her feet, she was gently told by her translator to "Forget the pain. Remove the thorns when we camp. Learn to endure. Focus your attention elsewhere. We will help your feet when we get to camp." And guess what? Marlo DID focus her attention elsewhere and she DID make it the rest of the way to camp, and the medicine lady DID soothe her bloody, thorned, numb feet with herbs that night.
And as Marlo continued to walk through the days barefoot, and as she developed thick corn-like skin that deformed her feet to look like hooves, she came to know that the "limitations of her endurance were expanded over and over." And miraculously, every time she thought she couldn't go on - literally couldn't walk another step on her bloodied, swollen feet - a distraction would always come and give her a second wind until she made it to camp. (Guess that puts an end to my foot pain complaining, eh?)
Another example of the crazy conditions of the Outback were the swarms of bush flies. Yes, it is as gross as it sounds. As the tribe walked, the skies would turn black with hordes of bush flies surrounding them... The flies entered their mouths, throats, ears, and noses. They even clawed at their eyes. These were truly Marlo's most unbearable times. She noticed that when the Real People sensed the flies onset, instead of freaking out and fighting the flies, they would stand perfectly still, and close their eyes with their arms hanging limply at their sides.
Marlo came to understand that everything has a purpose in Oneness. There are no freaks or misfits or accidents, including the bush flies. (it might take me a minute to digest that.) Here's the kicker... a tribe member said to her, "There are only things that humans do not understand. You believe the bush flies to be bad, and so for you they are, but it is only because you are minus the necessary understanding and wisdom." It turns out that the darn bush flies were extremely beneficial to the tribe members. They served a purpose of cleaning out the sand and wax from their ears. The flies cleaned their nasal cavities which help them endure the extreme heat. And they exfoliated all the skin on the Real People's bodies. The Real People believe that "Humans cannot exist if everything that is unpleasant is eliminated instead of understood. When the flies come out, we surrender." So the next time, Margo heard the bush flies coming, she surrendered, and she wondered what else in her life might she be perceiving to be wrong or difficult instead of exploring to understand its true purpose. Wow, good stuff.
The Real People's ideas on healing are beautiful and wise. They performed a type of Reiki ... moving the hands up and down over the injured area without touching to "reconnect the former patterns" of the pained area. They would "talk" to the affected body part into healing itself... and Marlo was blown away when it actually worked. She watched a tribe member heal a broken bone - totally split in two - heal in minutes... not weeks, but literally minutes. This is because they believe healing has nothing to do with time. The healer sent thoughts of perfection to the bone. And so it was. Simple as that.
But let's not forget it takes two to tango... the receiver of the healing was also totally open to receiving the wellness and completely believed that he would be healed. The Real People think that how you feel emotionally is what really registers and is recorded in every cell of your body and in your mind, so it's important to learn to master your emotion. When your thinking becomes flexible, your healing becomes flexible.
And remember how I mentioned that the healer "talked" to the injured bone? Well, the magic goes WAY beyond that. Marlo witnessed, on many occasions, The Real People using mental telepathy to communicate. She couldn't figure out why the tribe was so quiet all the time, but after several of the tribe members answered questions that she was asking in her mind, she realized their amazing talent. They could hear her, and they could hear each other, and they could communicate that way... no voices whatsoever. Their advanced communication was possible because of their child-like honesty. They helped Marlo to see that the only way mental telepathy can work is to accept, be truthful, and love yourself so that you can do the same with others. You have to come to peace with everything. (yikes, that's a pretty big one!)
The tribe believes that mental telepathy is the way humans were designed to communicate. They call it "head-to-head talk." They think our voices weren't designed for talking because when you talk, you tend to get into trivial and unnecessary conversation, whereas, if you communicate from your "heart/head center", the conversation is more spiritual - more of the essence. The voice is best used for singing, celebration, and healing. WOAH!!!! Very advanced stuff here!
The Real People believe that mutants have a hard time defining God because we (yes, sorry... I've officially coined you a mutant) are addicted to form. For the Real People, Oneness (what we call God) has no shape, size, or weight. Oneness is essence, creativity, purity, love, unlimited, unbounded energy. But we have a really hard time defining this because we have been so firmly planted in form all our lives.
They define Mutants as having certain characteristics like 1) Mutants can't live in the open environment. (In other words, we're pansies!!!) Most of us die never knowing what it feels like to have stood naked in the rain, instead spending our time in buildings with artificial heat and cooling. 2) Mutants no longer have a good digestive system. We pulverize, process, and preserve food, and we eat more and more unnatural things. 3)Mutants have unlimited understanding because we measure time in terms of ourselves not seeing the big picture. We fail to recognize any time except today and so destroy without regard for tomorrow (talking about how we're destroying the earth).
And 4) Mutants have a core of fear. According to the tribe, fear is an emotion of the animal kingdom. It plays an important part in survival, BUT if we truly understand Divine Oneness, and we know that the universe is not a haphazard event but is an unfolding plan, we cannot be fearful. We either have faith or fear, not both. They think that "things," generate fear. The more things we have, the more we have to fear. Eventually we are living our lives for things. But the King Daddy concern of the Real People is that we spend way too little time developing eternal beingness... hmmm... point taken.
I could go on and on about their "knowingness," but I'll wrap it up with a few of my favorite ideas that we could incorporate into our own lives.
Manifesting: The Real People perfected the art of manifesting. First thing they do is request, then always expect it to appear, and then they are utterly grateful when they receive it. The tribe begins each day by saying "thank you" to Oneness for the day, for themselves, their friends, and the world. When asking for something, and this is key... they phrase it, "if it is in my highest good and the highest good for all life everywhere." I Love this so much!!!
Multi-talented: They believe that each tribe member is multi-talented and progresses through a series of strengths throughout his/her lifetime. They spend their entire lives exploring themselves as healers, cooks, musicians, storytellers, dancers, herbalists,etc. But they don't stop there! They give themselves promotions and new names when they feel like they have discovered a new attribute of themselves. How cool!
No Happy Birthdays... Just "Getting Better" celebrations: This is definitely one I'm going to incorporate into my Mutant family's lives. Forget celebrating getting older... The Real People celebrate "becoming better"! They honor people not by age but instead acknowledge tribe members' talents, contribution to the community, and personal spiritual growth. And here's the fun part... only the specific tribe member knows best when he/she has hit the new level of "betterness," so he/she tells the rest of the tribe when it's time to have the party. They know their strong points and aren't afraid to let other's know them and celebrate them.
The Real People use their dreams to guide them. They are the ultimate recyclers leaving nothing wasted. They laugh a lot. They have no competition. They believe "there is no limit to what you can release and what you can acquire." They believe you are never too old for worth. They live to the fullest without any material attachments. They believe that life and living is all about movement, advancement, and change. They believe that the world is truly a place of abundance if you are open and receptive to it. They believe you cannot hear the voice of Oneness when you are busy talking. They believe that Divine Oneness plans no suffering to any living creature, except what the creature accepts for itself. They believe there is a difference between observing what is taking place and judging it. And finally, that everything is an opportunity for spiritual enrichment. Brilliant, I say... just brilliant!
As I finished this beautiful book, amidst the chaos of cramming all my material possessions into my new home and whining about my inconvenienced life and an aching foot, I realized what a pansy I was being. I also noticed that so much of what I have strived for spiritually and learned on my personal path was culminated in this book... I have connected to a group of very evolved yet simple humans... all the way across the world. I won't ever know them in this life, but hopefully in many to come. The Real People touched me from far far away with their ageless values and simple truths. This Aboriginal tribe had, since the beginning of time, remained truthful and peaceful people who have never doubted their connection with the universe. I am in awe of them and thankful for them.
And I leave you with a quote from Marlo that I adore...
"I came from a left-brain world. I was raised on logic, judgement, reading, writing, math, cause and effect; here, I was in a right-brain reality, with people who used none of my so-called important educational concepts and civilized necessities. They were masters of the right brain, using creativity, imagination, intuition, and spiritual concepts."
Boy, that was really lengthy. Thanks for sticking it out.
So today, I will allow the peaceful release of some of my Mutant values and open my heart to the simple yet brilliant truths of a people thousands of miles across the earth. I will expect abundance and be totally thankful for it when it arrives. And when I ask for something, I will say, "if it is in my highest good and the highest good for all life everywhere." Oh, and when the flies come out... I'll just surrender.
Stacey
They define Mutants as having certain characteristics like 1) Mutants can't live in the open environment. (In other words, we're pansies!!!) Most of us die never knowing what it feels like to have stood naked in the rain, instead spending our time in buildings with artificial heat and cooling. 2) Mutants no longer have a good digestive system. We pulverize, process, and preserve food, and we eat more and more unnatural things. 3)Mutants have unlimited understanding because we measure time in terms of ourselves not seeing the big picture. We fail to recognize any time except today and so destroy without regard for tomorrow (talking about how we're destroying the earth).
And 4) Mutants have a core of fear. According to the tribe, fear is an emotion of the animal kingdom. It plays an important part in survival, BUT if we truly understand Divine Oneness, and we know that the universe is not a haphazard event but is an unfolding plan, we cannot be fearful. We either have faith or fear, not both. They think that "things," generate fear. The more things we have, the more we have to fear. Eventually we are living our lives for things. But the King Daddy concern of the Real People is that we spend way too little time developing eternal beingness... hmmm... point taken.
I could go on and on about their "knowingness," but I'll wrap it up with a few of my favorite ideas that we could incorporate into our own lives.
Manifesting: The Real People perfected the art of manifesting. First thing they do is request, then always expect it to appear, and then they are utterly grateful when they receive it. The tribe begins each day by saying "thank you" to Oneness for the day, for themselves, their friends, and the world. When asking for something, and this is key... they phrase it, "if it is in my highest good and the highest good for all life everywhere." I Love this so much!!!
Multi-talented: They believe that each tribe member is multi-talented and progresses through a series of strengths throughout his/her lifetime. They spend their entire lives exploring themselves as healers, cooks, musicians, storytellers, dancers, herbalists,etc. But they don't stop there! They give themselves promotions and new names when they feel like they have discovered a new attribute of themselves. How cool!
No Happy Birthdays... Just "Getting Better" celebrations: This is definitely one I'm going to incorporate into my Mutant family's lives. Forget celebrating getting older... The Real People celebrate "becoming better"! They honor people not by age but instead acknowledge tribe members' talents, contribution to the community, and personal spiritual growth. And here's the fun part... only the specific tribe member knows best when he/she has hit the new level of "betterness," so he/she tells the rest of the tribe when it's time to have the party. They know their strong points and aren't afraid to let other's know them and celebrate them.
The Real People use their dreams to guide them. They are the ultimate recyclers leaving nothing wasted. They laugh a lot. They have no competition. They believe "there is no limit to what you can release and what you can acquire." They believe you are never too old for worth. They live to the fullest without any material attachments. They believe that life and living is all about movement, advancement, and change. They believe that the world is truly a place of abundance if you are open and receptive to it. They believe you cannot hear the voice of Oneness when you are busy talking. They believe that Divine Oneness plans no suffering to any living creature, except what the creature accepts for itself. They believe there is a difference between observing what is taking place and judging it. And finally, that everything is an opportunity for spiritual enrichment. Brilliant, I say... just brilliant!
As I finished this beautiful book, amidst the chaos of cramming all my material possessions into my new home and whining about my inconvenienced life and an aching foot, I realized what a pansy I was being. I also noticed that so much of what I have strived for spiritually and learned on my personal path was culminated in this book... I have connected to a group of very evolved yet simple humans... all the way across the world. I won't ever know them in this life, but hopefully in many to come. The Real People touched me from far far away with their ageless values and simple truths. This Aboriginal tribe had, since the beginning of time, remained truthful and peaceful people who have never doubted their connection with the universe. I am in awe of them and thankful for them.
And I leave you with a quote from Marlo that I adore...
"I came from a left-brain world. I was raised on logic, judgement, reading, writing, math, cause and effect; here, I was in a right-brain reality, with people who used none of my so-called important educational concepts and civilized necessities. They were masters of the right brain, using creativity, imagination, intuition, and spiritual concepts."
Boy, that was really lengthy. Thanks for sticking it out.
So today, I will allow the peaceful release of some of my Mutant values and open my heart to the simple yet brilliant truths of a people thousands of miles across the earth. I will expect abundance and be totally thankful for it when it arrives. And when I ask for something, I will say, "if it is in my highest good and the highest good for all life everywhere." Oh, and when the flies come out... I'll just surrender.
Stacey
Stacey, congrats on the new home! I hope you are settled soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this amazing book as well! I am very intrigued! It sounds SO enlightening... and REAL.
Hope your foot is healed soon too!
Wow, your best post EVER! By far!!!!!!! I LOVE IT! Love the book too... thank you for the overview... everything you read and conveyed was break taking! So happy for your new transition into a new phase of life... happy new home!!!! xoxo, Laura
ReplyDeleteStacey,
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written and moving. Thank you for sharing. You have such a gift. I had no idea you were moving! Message me where!
Best wishes and congrats, Janice