Chickadees Bring Joy

Picture of chickadee sitting on Judy’s hand – picture by Judy Hirst.

A while ago, I walked into Burnsmeade Woods with my dog, and right at the start of the path into the woods, we were greeted with cries of “chika-dee-dee-dee! Dee-de-dee. Dee-dee.” 

It sounded like “Welcome! Hi Judy!” I was surrounded by twenty little friends, all joyfully singing and saying, “We missed you!” What was really fun was that while I was getting out their treat of black seeds, they sat on my arm and sang, to me, my dog, to the world in general.  One little chickadee flew up on a high up branch, and sang as loud as he could—with words that sounded like, “she’s here, she’s here”.  Within two minutes, three nut hatches and two downy woodpeckers came to join the party.  The noise was glorious – much like any cocktail party sounds!

As the chickadees lined up on my arm for their turn at the seeds, I felt so humble in the presence of such great trust.  I felt so at peace and at one with each of them.  Passersby commented that they could not believe that all these birds would be around me and on me with a dog present.   My explanation – we have been friends now, my dog and the birds and I, for about three years now.  
Several of the chickadees stopped before they took their seeds, and looked at me, and sent me a message.  The message was – we love you and appreciate you – even without the seeds.  You are our friend.  I was profoundly moved!  The message made me think that we often do not appreciate ourselves, our families or our friends, or even the beauty around us. 

Chickadees gift was the reminder to be even more aware and present than ever before.
Have a beautiful day.

Many blessings,

Judy

Affirmations are a Gift!

The image below is from www.mysticmum.co.uk.  What a wonderful poster!

Yesterday, I watched a short movie called “THE STRANGEST SECRET”.    The key point in the movie is that by changing what you think about and how you think about anything, you can change your life.  This same thought was the theme of the movie “A KNIGHT’S TALE” starring Heath Ledger.  In fact, the theme was – You can change your stars!

Listening to Nightingale talk sent me back to a sales and marketing course that I took many years ago.  In that three day workshop, I learned ten affirmations that I still use today.  Here they are:

1. You like yourself unconditionally. You really like yourself. 
2. You always speak in positive terms about yourself and others.
3. You enjoy and appreciate everyone you meet. You like them, and they like you.
4. You always decide for yourself what is best for you, and you allow others the same right.
5. You accept complete responsibility for your life, and for your reactions to all situations.
6. You enjoy excellent health, and you are easily able to relax at any time.
7. You are always calm, confident, and self assured in your interactions with others, with groups as well as with individuals.
8. You are very creative in all areas of your life, always tapping more and more into your super conscious mind.
9. You have an excellent memory, and you easily recall names, numbers, and information.
10. You are a total winner and you are completely successful at everything that you undertake to do.

When I say them, I change the word “you” to “I”.  When I listen to them as a meditation, I keep the word “you”.  Repeating each affirmation five times solidifies the meaning in your mind.  Five is the number of “getting things done”.

I asked my guides if affirmations work.  They responded that affirmations are simply mantras.  In a recent blog, I gave this explanation of a mantra.

Mantra repetition simply means  repeating a sentence or group of words that have a phonetic significance. 

Mantra is intrinsically related to sound. Mantra is sound, and sound is reverberating in everything in this universe. When water flows, the gurgling sound it makes, is mantra. When wind blows through the trees, the  rustling sound it produces is mantra.  When we walk on the earth, our footsteps produce sound, and that too is mantra. 

Many eastern mantras are repeated 100 times at a sitting.  Imagine the change in your body, mind, and spirit if you repeated the above affirmations 100 times a day.  Why not try it? Start with five repetitions of each affirmation, and see what change happens for you.  Let me know the results.

Many blessings,

Judy

The Sound of OM

Before Covid I was teaching a beginner’s meditation class, and as part of the workshop, explained the concept of the word/sound “OM” to the participants.  Then we did some experiential learning with the sound, both with only me saying the sound, and then with all of us saying the sound.

Students felt the vibration from the sound whether I did it or whether they did it. And, they were profoundly moved!

 

Picture of OM from omgayatri.com

'ॐ' is a kind of shortcut of the word 'ओम' in DevaNagari and other Indic scripts – from omgayatri.com

 

 

Here is part of a slide that I presented on “OM”.  

Mantra repetition simply means  repeating a sentence or group of words that have a phonetic significance. 

Mantra is intrinsically related to sound. Mantra is sound, and sound is reverberating in everything in this universe. When water flows, the gurgling sound it makes, is mantra. When wind blows through the trees, the  rustling sound it produces is mantra.  When we walk on the earth, our footsteps produce sound, and that too is mantra. 

According to ancient Indian belief  in the beginning there was sound, which  reverberated as Om and from that sound everything came into existence.

I believe that the sound OM, pronounced A-U-M and strung out (Pronunciation: aaaaauuuuummmmm), really is the the sound of Divine creation.  I have seen people chant this for a while, and then suddenly break out in hard sobbing, because, through the chant, they have been reconnected to The Divine, and the person feels an incredible blessing and release.  I know that when I have an issue that I can not seem to move with other tools, that I can generally move it within ten minutes by using the OM chant.

 

OM or Aum is a Sanskrit root word or seed-sound symbolizing the creative divine intelligence which creates ands sustains all things: It is also known as the cosmic vibratory intelligent word of God that sustains all the created universes. Aum of the Vedas became the sacred word Hum of the Tibetans; Amin of the Moslems; and Amen of the Egyptians Greeks, Romans, Jews and Christians. OM symbol  and info from www.astrogems.com

One of the stories that I shared in the workshop was about using OM out in Nature. Quite a few years ago, before our park got so busy, my husband, Roger, and I walked out in the park almost every evening during the summer.  Often, we would find a big log beside the river sub-channel, and sit and OM.  Often while we sat there chanting, the beavers would bring their supper of sticks, and come and sit on the river bank, close to where we were sitting, and chow down and listen to the concert.  When we were done, they would swim off.  The beaver’s actions told me that they, too, enjoy the sound of The Divine.

If you have never tried to say the sound “OM”, I invite you to try it now.  Try it several times a day.  It is a wonderful pick-me-up!

Many Blessings,

Judy