The Plan beyond the Plan

The Plan beyond the Plan

Your Essence always has a grander purpose and never gives you less when it can give you more. So sometimes, when it seems that something is being taken from us, or never happens, the best thing is to just let go of all expectations and let things happen their own special way. If you have made firm and consistent choices, they will happen, in the best possible way and at the best possible time.

I will give a recent example to illustrate how this kind of magic works in real life.

About two to three years ago I had a dream to fulfill. My dream was to produce a Conscious Breath CD with live music. As I was talking toa friend one day at lunch about my dream, she told me she had a son who had a studio at home and was into hip hop and produced music so I went to talk to him. He was fairly interested, going through a phase at which he wasn’t very sure of himself, but we went ahead with the CD, though he produced the music with his computer and then showed it to me. It took me only one afternoon to record a Portuguese and an English version. The music was then added to the voice and about two months later the CD was ready to bring to the public.

This was, however, not entirely my dream. I had a clear vision of team work, of finding someone who would like to play with me and produce a unique piece in the moment, while I also did the same with the Conscious Breath exercise. Whenever I knew of a musician I presented my idea. Many said they loved it and would do it, but at the very last moment, somehow they fled. I realized it was quite a challenge, not only because it required great musical skill, but also because energetically they would have to undergo some sort of transformation. It would be impossible to go through this kind of experience untouched, and since the next theme I had in mind was the integration of the Masculine and Feminine energies within us, it was a deep shift.

I decided to stop looking. My dream was still there, I simply surrendered and let go of trying to look for the right person.

Two years after the first CD had been produced, which is this year, something beautiful happened.

On a soft, sunny Sunday I went to the fresh park in the centre of Tomar, where I live, to present my book “Not just another book about Love – THE BOOK about LOVE”. There was an event there, where people were selling all sorts of things, both used and new and they were also promoting some activities, my book presentation on the theme of Love being one of them. Not many people showed up to hear about the book. Nevertheless the organizer and his girlfriend came to listen. My writer’s name is T. C. Aeelah, and all of a sudden Ricardo (the organizer) asked me what Aeelah meant. At first I was torn between explaining or being evasive. I decided to stand up for what I believe in and explained that it was my Soul’s sound vibration, therefore my Soul name.

“Sound vibration, oh, very interesting. Are you interested in sound?”, he asked me. And I said “yes, in fact I have been intending to produce a CD under the theme of the integration of the Feminine and Masculine energies, which actually goes very well with this Love book, but it has been hard to find someone who would like to play with this and just surrender to their intuitive capacities.”

“Oh, I’d love to participate in something like that. I love sound. I play Tibetan bowls, crystal bowls and other instruments for the purpose of relaxation.”

“Really?” I said, “well why don’t we get together and try that, I’d never thought of that”. “Yes, of course”, he replied, “after all there was a reason why not many people came and why I felt like coming to listen to you. All is appropriate”. I smiled and agreed.

Meanwhile, on the same day and right after my presentation, there was going to be a live concert by Samuel Velho, a young musician who was doing crowd funding for his new CD and was presenting it there too. He had already arrived when I started the presentation and I even played with him, saying he could accompany my presentation with his music, which he was quite willing to do, but since it hadn’t been arranged we just went our own ways.

Ricardo invited me to his house to listen to what he usually does in Meditative concerts with bowls, gongs and so on. My kids loved it as much as I did. Then we spoke about getting a studio to record. I mentioned Samuel as well, since he was a musician and apparently he had a studio at home! We then arranged a meeting with him. He was very interested in the project.

The next thing we know is we were actually producing the CD. In the process we realized we formed a real group and we all of a sudden felt a deep urge to work together, doing live concerts and really taking our work one step further. It was all so natural the way we came to these realizations each one of us, and all together.

And now I realize the reason why no one showed up earlier was that since this CD dream was a dream from my Essence, from the deep core of me, this grander part of me had much more to give me than I could possibly plan or expect. The amazing thing is how Souls manage to join people in such perfect and beautiful ways. It never ceases to amaze me, even though I know it works that way.

So here it is my dear friends. Very simple. Very real. Very magical.

Equinócio Diferente

Equinócio Diferente

Xi! Já lá vão 4 dias sem publicar magias J

Sábado, dia do Equinócio de Outono, organizámos inadvertidamente uma festa de anos surpresa para uma amiga muito especial que nunca tinha tido uma festa surpresa. E a magia aconteceu. No seu sorriso amplo, na forma entusiástica como pulou de Alegria quando gritámos “Surpresa!”, nas lágrimas que lhe correram pelo rosto de gratidão pelo nosso Amor e por tudo, na verdade por tudo. A magia aconteceu nos nossos abraços e partilha de saberes e sabores. A magia aconteceu no Amor incandescente que nos aqueceu de tal maneira que tivemos que ir tomar ar lá fora! É mesmo, havia tanto Amor, tanta Alegria, tanta Vida ali que ficámos todos cheios de calor, mas sabíamos que não era calor ambiente, era calor de re-união, de nos darmos a oportunidade de simplesmente brincar e celebrar um evento de Ser e Estar juntos.

Não, não houve grande planeamento. Na verdade foi decidido no dia anterior. Não, não deu trabalho nenhum a ninguém, primeiro porque foi feito com muito Amor e segundo porque cada um dos “conspiradores” trouxe algo para compartir.

Coisas simples são as que enchem os dias de sentido real, com pessoas reais e ações reais.

Obrigada a todos.

Fotos já ponho... A aniversariante ainda me vai mandar umas quantas... ;) 

Eventos Curiosos

Eventos Curiosos

Ontem ocorreu um evento curioso. Como sabem, organizámos aqui em Tomar algumas atividades comemorativas do dia Internacional da Paz, com o objetivo de promover a Paz Interior, a nosso ver o único lugar onde ela realmente se encontra.

Estas atividades decorriam no Parque do Mouchão, no centro da cidade. Tinham início ás 18h, daí que eu e os meus companheiros organizadores havíamos combinado encontrarmo-nos lá por volta das 17h.

Cheguei. Sentei-me num banco do jardim, absorvendo a frescura daquele lugar mágico, ouvindo a água a correr em torno da Roda, as folhas cintilando com a doce brisa do sol, acariciadas pelas asas dos pássaros que, longe do bulício dos veículos movimentados mesmo ali ao lado, viviam ao sabor do seu próprio mundo encantado.

Mal me sentei, e após umas breves respirações profundas, ouvi um grande estrondo. Levantei-me e espreitei para fora do parque. As uns escassos metros de onde me encontrava houvera uma colisão que não conseguia bem definir, apenas via uma nuvem de poeira e alguém a sair de um dos veículos acidentados e caindo logo no chão sem forças para se deslocar. Nisto uma multidão curiosa começou a acorrer ao local e em poucos minutos havia gente, muita gente, por ali. Um ou dois minutos depois, por mero acaso, uma ambulância que se dirigia a algum lugar passou por ali e parou, felizmente prestando os primeiros socorros à pessoa que caíra. Alguns minutos depois mais uma ambulância, e depois outra e mais outra e o carro da polícia, enfim, um grande aparato. De tal forma que a rua onde ocorreu o acidente foi encerrada ao trânsito por cerca de 30 ou 40 minutos.

Eu fiquei no banco de jardim onde havia escolhido sentar-me inicialmente, observando a cena e observando-me a mim mesma.

Os meus companheiros organizadores, claro está, nunca mais chegavam devido ao corte de trânsito, e neste caso não podiam vir a pé pois traziam as taças e instrumentos necessários para o concerto meditativo programado.

Perguntava-me porque é que as situações mais dramáticas suscitam tanta curiosidade. Que teriam todas aquelas pessoas que oferecer com a sua presença ali, a não ser ainda mais confusão? Apenas lhes interessava saber o que se passara, incluindo todos os pormenores mais chocantes. Para quê? Perguntava-me eu.

De facto a tentação de ir e ver era grande. Mas não havia qualquer justificação. Tudo isto mesmo antes de um evento dedicado à Paz Interior, com uma palestra em que um dos temas abordados seria precisamente a necessidade de escolhermos o que realmente queremos nas nossas vidas: Paz ou Drama? E eu ali, fazendo a escolha, mais uma vez, como em tantas outras ocasiões, de não participar no drama, sabendo que apenas a minha Serenidade poderia facilitar a rápida resolução de todo o cenário, enquanto que toda aquela gente por ali a observar apenas atrapalhava, nada mais.

Somos movidos para o drama como as traças para a luz. Sem nos questionarmos onde estará esse interruptor que de repente se liga inadvertidamente. Basta apenas pararmos e tornarmo-nos conscientes desses hábitos automáticos e sermos pro-ativos em ver de reativos. Não é a escolha da multidão que determina o que me parece a escolha acertada para mim e para o bem comum. É a minha consciência. Mas para ouvi-la tenho que estar disponível. Parar, serenar, ouvir e escolher.

É para mim uma responsabilidade social, adquirirmos esta capacidade de parar, serenar, ouvir e escolher conscientemente o que serve o propósito da Paz e o que já não serve mais. Isto é se queremos realmente que exista Paz no mundo. Pelo menos no nosso, podemos fazer a diferença. E depois quem sabe os efeitos que essa Paz terá no teu coração e no dele e no dela e no deles e no de todos…

É que ao satisfazer a nossa curiosidade inexplicável pelo drama, apenas o alimentamos e magnificamos. Intensificamo-lo com os nossos comentários e de cada vez que o mencionamos e contamos uns aos outros. Apenas e tão só servimos a confusão e o ruído, a luta e o desequilíbrio. Nada mais.

Eu escolho a Paz.

Bem haja a todos.

Um Dia Mágico

Um Dia Mágico

Há dias, logo pela manhã, mal me levantei, dei comigo cheia de vontade de fazer algumas limpezas e arrumações pela casa, e eis que prontamente fiz a vontade à Vontade e pus mãos à obra.

Limpa daqui, sacode tapetes dali, lava, estende, arruma… etc…, sabes como é.

Por entre a minha azáfama enérgica, toca o telemóvel. Olhei, mas não atendi. Estava com alguma pressa para terminar antes de preparar o menino para a escola, e de me preparar a mim para seguir para o trabalho. Pensei para comigo “já ligo de volta, agora não tenho tempo, tenho que me despachar.” E continuei como se nada houvesse ocorrido.

Tal como havia previsto, após deixar o menino na escola e antes de prosseguir para o trabalho, liguei de volta. Sabes o que era que a minha querida amiga me queria dizer?

Primeiro falou de algumas coisas acerca das quais lhe fiz perguntas, e depois, como quem tem um assunto bem relevante para abordar, disse-me ela “mas olha, não foi para falar das minhas coisas que te liguei. Liguei apenas para te desejar um dia mágico”.

Sabes como nos sentimos quando nos abraçam com ternura e o nosso coração se enche de suavidade e carinho, de gratidão, amor e alegria? Pois foi assim mesmo que me senti. E imagina lá que não tinha tido tempo para parar e receber tamanha bênção. Recebi-a na mesma, é certo, mas fez-me parar e sentir que na verdade não há nada mais especial que o Amor que damos e recebemos… e para o podermos receber há que nos disponibilizarmos, sem reservas ou desculpas, tal como para o podermos dar.

Não há melhor momento do que este para AMAR e ser AMADO.

E assim partilho contigo o desejo de um dia mágico para ti também!

"What seems to be the problem?"

“What seems to be the problem?”

In English there’s this fabulous expression “What seems to be the problem?”. Words are just words, and each one of us is entitled to hear/read/write or speak them in any way we find best fits our purpose. It’s not the form that determines the content, but the content that determines the form – just as it is with our Human form, which is determined by our Essence… if we allow so to BE.

Well, let me explain why I find this expression so fabulous. To me it says that in actual fact there is no problem, there just seems to be a problem. And that, my dear friends and readers, is what truly happens in life. A so called problem for me is not for you and vice versa. We all have our biased vision of reality, in the sense that we attach emotion, weight, meaning to whatever it is that pleases or bothers us, according to our “experience library”. Therefore in essence, a problem is just an illusion, it all depends on the point of view. That’s why we have such a supportive role for each other. If you tell me what seems to be the problem for you, probably, since it is not my drama, I will see it in a new way and if you truly want to solve it, I will lead you to see several solutions that you could not see from your limited point of observation, attached as you were to the “problem” itself, and lacking a larger perspective. The same, of course, would happen if you looked at what I was judging as a “problem”. This means that “what seems to be the problem?” also sets the stage for the realization that I am open to listen to what the problem seems to be in your perspective, but I am also open to offer a different perspective, a cooperative view that wants to solve, not perpetuate.

From my observation, many times the real problem is that a person might not really be interested in solving a so called problem. In many cases there is more of a need for attention, than for resolution. In this case, any solutions given are immediately refuted by numerous excuses as to why that could not be the way to go. The person presenting solutions then feels more and more exhausted as the conversation goes on, the other person feels better and better, though not willing to release the “problem paradigm”, and then, when these people finally go their separate ways, the one who saw no problem at all, now has a problem: feeling depleted, exhausted to the bone, and why? Because this is one of the many ways in which victim consciousness functions, it is one of the many effective ways to obtain an injection of energy from another – what we generally call “feeding”.

It is, nevertheless, very simple to disconnect from this kind of “feeding” game. You shall see, at the very beginning of the conversation, if the aim is to clear and resolve or just to perpetuate and consume. Then you can choose whether you want to be someone else’s “lunch” or keep your integrity and move on, using your energy for more worthy purposes. The same happens, of course, when you are the “problem child” of the moment. First look inside, release your mind through conscious breath, become Present, observe yourself, let new perspectives come to you, and then, if necessary and only if you are willing to truly resolve a “problem” you may engage in a healthy and creative exchange with another, and both will be feeling energized and fulfilled at the end of your productive conversation.

"Tenho muito tempo"

“Tenho muito tempo”

Hoje, a seguir ao trabalho, com o sol já a alaranjar o céu, decidi ir fazer uma pequena caminhada pela bela cidade de Tomar, respirando o ar fresco do parque, e retomando o fôlego para o resto do dia.

Neste meu agradável passeio, cruzei-me com duas pessoas (muitas, mas duas em particular), um senhor com os seus 70 anos a fazer transações no multibanco, e um jovem de vinte e tantos à espera. Nisto, o senhor mais velho olha para trás e vê o moço ali à espera, pelo que decide ceder-lhe a vez para depois continuar as suas transações na referida máquina. O rapaz, ainda que feliz pelo gesto, diz “temos tempo, temos tempo” e o senhor responde “Eu tenho muito tempo, muito tempo”, com o sorriso de quem sabe dar valor a esse tempo.

Eu sorri também, de mim para comigo. É tão raro e sabe tão bem ouvir alguém dizer que tem muito tempo. É que até mesmo os que o têm tendem a andar agitados na ilusão da pressa, por mero hábito. Precioso este momento. Sim, eu também tenho tempo, ainda que por vezes me esqueça de lhe dar todo o valor que ele merece. Grata.

Segui o meu caminho, apreciando os encantos do jardim, do rio, dos patos brincando com a cascata que se precipita, borbulhando pelo açude abaixo, e eis que recebo a “cobertura para o meu bolo”, já de si delicioso. Uma querida amiga manda-me uma mensagem dizendo que tem excedente de mel e que me quer oferecer uns 3 ou 4 frascos, para partilhar ainda com uma outra amiga. Sorrio, novamente encantada. Um presente docemente especial, sem dúvida.

Olho para o meu dia e vejo que sucessivamente escolho suavidade, nas minhas interações, nos caminhos por onde passo… e recebo-a a triplicar. Vale a pena simplificar, suavizar e saborear os doces momentos do tempo que se nos oferece intacto, disponível para ser usado da melhor forma possível, se conseguirmos escolher.

Who can buy or sell the sky, the land?

Dear readers,

Today I shared this beautiful text with my English students, for teaching/learning purposes, but as it is so touching, I decided to share it with you all as well. Enjoy :)

“Who can buy or sell the sky, the land?”

In 1854, the Great White Chief in Washington made an offer for a large area of Indian land and promised a “Reservation” for the Indian people. Chief Seattle's reply, published here in full, has been described as the most beautiful and profound statement about the environment ever made.

Who can buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us.

If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?

Every part of this Earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man.

The white man's dead forget the country of their birth when they go to walk among the stars. Our dead never forget this beautiful earth, for it is the mother of the red man. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows, the body heat of the pony and man – all belong to the same family.

So when the Great White Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land, he asks much of us. The Great Chief sends word he will reserve us a place so that we can live comfortably to ourselves. He will be our father and we will be his children. So we will consider your offer to buy our land. But it will not be easy. For this land is sacred to us.

The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you land you must remember that it is sacred and that each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water's murmur is the voice of my father's father.

The rivers are our brothers, they quench our thirst. The rivers carry our canoes, and feed our children. If we sell you our land, you must remember, and teach your children, that the rivers are our brothers and yours, and you must henceforth give the rivers the kindness you would give any brother.

We know that the white man does not understand our ways. One part of the land is the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. The earth is not his brother, but his enemy, and when he has conquered it he moves on. He leaves his father's grave, and his children's birthright is forgotten. He treats his mother, the earth, and his brother, the sky, as things to be bought, plundered, sold like sheep or bright beads. His appetite will devour the earth and leave behind only a desert.

I do not know. Our ways are different from your ways. The sight of your cities pains the eyes of the red man. But perhaps it is because the red man is a savage and does not understand.

There is no quiet place in the white man's cities. No place to hear the unfurling of the leaves in spring, or the rustle of an insect's wings. But perhaps it is because I am a savage and do not understand. The clatter seems only to insult the ears. And what is there to life if a man cannot hear the lonely cry of the whippoorwill or the arguments of the frogs around the pond at night?

I am a red man and I do not understand. The Indian prefers the soft sound of the wind darting over the face of a pond, and the smell of the wind itself, cleansed by a midday rain, or scented with piñon pine.

The air is precious to the red man, for all things share the same breath – the beast, the tree, the man, they all share the same breath. The white man does not seem to notice the air he breathes. Like a man dying for many days, he is numb to the stench. But if we sell you our land, you must remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also receives his last sigh. And if we sell you our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where even the white man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow's flowers.

So we will consider your offer to buy our land. If we decide to accept, I will make one condition: the white man must treat the beasts of this land as his brothers.

I am a savage and I do not understand any other way. I have seen thousands of rotting buffaloes on the prairie, left by the white man who shot them from a passing train. I am a savage and I do not understand how the smoking iron horse can be more important than the buffalo that we kill only to stay alive.

You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of our grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves.

________________________

This article on the great Chief Seattle, is reprinted from Alaska Bahá'i News, nº 328 (July 1988); in Bahá'i News – January 1989

This photo was not taken in Alaska... it's ten minutes from where I live and it is a living testimony of Mother Nature's grace.