Year of Wishes

         This is where we share monthly affirmations from our Year of Wishes Calendar.                    With much love, Lori and Lisa

 

November 2012 

May there be harmony.

 

October 2012

 

May there be peace throughout the world.

 

Lori and I talked today about this idea of peace in the world. Everyone wants it, don’t they? Parties just sometimes disagree about the path to getting there – creating, ironically, more conflict and less peace. Lori noted how the media fuels the fire to create newsworthy conflict. What would be newsworthy about peace?  We pondered how much force and focus is needed for there to be peace. And how do we become clear enough to see the real solutions…

I propose we start within. The prayer below addresses that. Then read Iyanla’s prayer with the beautiful imagery for us to imagine a world at PEACE.

A NOTE: We don’t want you to be scared by “religious” language in these prayers. We believe that language is a way to communicate and people use different languages – all are useful and point to that which is mysterious, larger than us as individuals and beautiful… and yet all words are almost inferior to It as well. So, they’re just words… insert your own if you use different ones.

 

Dear God,

Show me where I am not at peace

So that I may heal all in myself that contributes to unrest in the world.

Show me how I am not gentle

So that I may soften all within me that contributes to harshness in the world.

Show me when I have been unloving

So that I may correct all in me that contributes to hatred in the world.

Show me who I can forgive

So that I may let go of resentment in me that contributes to anger in the world.

Show me what more I can give,

And how I may serve

My brothers and sisters all over the world.

                                                            -Lisa Sarick

 

 

Lord,

Grant us the ability to work without discouragement for peace and encourage peace around the world.  May we beat our machine guns into trellises for grapevines, remake our tanks into tractors, refurbish the Pentagon into a multi-national food court, and make the battlefields into fertile farmlands and fields of flowers.  May our money now spent for defense be earmarked for peace.  May we see the day when wars and violence end.  May we see the face of Christ on each person we meet.

Amen.

                                                            -Iyanla Vanzant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 2012

May everyone find their purpose.

I’ve been thinking about this post and what keeps coming to me is to put gentleness around Finding our Purpose.  

I think there is a lot of pressure on people committed to personal growth to find our purpose- like it will be this one great or specific thing and suddenly, we are living our purpose.  This is a stressful thought, especially when one doesn’t have a clue as to their life’s purpose.  

I once heard Wayne Dyer speak at a conference and he said that our purpose can change from day to day.  The purpose can be showing up for your mother with kindness one day and teaching your children how to bake muffins the next day.  I remember that  made me feel better at the time, since I was struggling with knowing that one big purpose I had to fill.  

Years later, I am a bit clearer on my life’s purpose.  I know that part of my purpose here is to spread love and compassion and to channel source energy and healing through my artwork.  Some days, I believe my purpose is much simpler than that- like listening with my whole heart to a friend or sending a loving text to my husband.

My dear friend, Julia, wrote this poem about acceptance.  I think finding our purpose is easier from the space she speaks of in her beautiful poem, A Perfect Mess.

 

 

August 2012 

 May all people be happy and know their unlimited potential.

 

Where is our unlimited potential? In our minds.

Where is stress created? In our minds.

Where do we begin to imagine a brighter day, an easier way, a beautiful life? In our minds.

Ooh look, a pattern! Our minds!

Our minds have such potential, for good or “evil”, no? They can limit us with thoughts like:

• “I don’t deserve…”.
• “I’m not worthy.”
• “People leave.”
• “I have tight hamstrings.”
• “I’m not good at that.”
• “This is going to be bad.”
• “He always does that.”

… and on and on. Old thoughts that are running on a loop. Our parents (or someone else’s) words on Repeat.

Like Public Enemy said in the 80′s… Don’t believe the hype! Question those thoughts, as comfy and familiar as they may be. More on questioning your thoughts is on a blogpost I wrote here.

Also question popular thought, cultural norms and scientific findings. A book I am reading right now describes how most of what is held as true, and therefore possible, is like a mass agreement among alot of people. We can just all agree on something else then, right? How about we agree that cancer is curable… That spinal cords heal and regenerate… That you CAN have it all ? I’m in. You?

You have unlimited potential to be happy. Choose it. It’s Ok. It’s safe. It is good for you… and the world.

Love,

Lisa 

 

July 2012

May all animals be happy and surrounded by love.

Here is a beautiful prayer for world peace from Jane Goodall.

We pray to the great Spiritual Power in which
we live and move and have our being.
We pray that we may at all times
keep our minds open to new ideas and shun dogma;
that we may grow in our understanding of the nature of all living beings
and our connectedness with the natural world;
that we may become ever more filled with
generosity of spirit and true compassion and love for all life;
that we may strive to heal the hurts that we have inflicted on nature
and control our greed for material things, knowing that
our actions are harming our natural world and the future of our children;
that we may value each and every human being
for who he is, for who she is,
reaching to the spirit that is within,
knowing the power of each individual to change the world.

We pray for social justice,
for the alleviation of the crippling poverty
that condemns millions of people around the world
to lives of misery – hungry, sick, and utterly without hope.
We pray for the children who are starving,
who are condemned to homelessness, slave labor, and prostitution,
and especially for those forced to fight, to kill and torture
even members of their own family.
We pray for the victims of violence and war,
for those wounded in body and for those wounded in mind.
We pray for the multitudes of refugees, forced from their homes to alien places
through war or through the utter destruction of their environment.

We pray for suffering animals everywhere,
for an end to the pain caused by scientific experimentation,
intensive farming, fur farming, shooting, trapping,
training for entertainment, abusive pet owners,
and all other forms of exploitation
such as overloading and overworking pack animals,
bull fighting, badger baiting, dog and cock fighting and so many more.

We pray for an end to cruelty,
whether to humans or other animals,
for an end to bullying, and torture in all its forms.
We pray that we may learn the peace that comes with forgiving
and the strength we gain in loving;
that we may learn to take nothing for granted in this life;
that we may learn to see and understand with our hearts;
that we may learn to rejoice in our being.

We pray for these things with humility;
We pray because of the hope that is within us,
and because of a faith in the ultimate triumph of the human spirit;
We pray because of our love for Creation, and because of our trust in the Universe.
We pray, above all, for peace throughout the world.

 

June 2012

May my relationships be harmonious as I appreciate all those in my life.

Here is our conversation about relationship harmony. We touch on a lot of GOOD stuff, like:

• What Lori found from focusing on 100 people she is grateful for.
• Ways we keep positively focused in relationships.
• Loving perspective on not-so-nice people and on challenges in relationships.
• How to get your husband to make you green juice every day.  LOL . Not really, Lori hasn’t revealed that secret yet.

Here is a link to Henry Grayson's book Mindful Loving.

 

May 2012

May I be the presence of LOVE; and wish only good to everyone I meet.

It’s easy to be the presence of love with our peeps, our tribe, like-minded friends…  But what about at the grocery store, or in the traffic jam, or with someone who hurt us in the past?

Maybe we should start in our homes this month, and practice being the presence of love there. When we have that down let’s take it to the post office, the gym, the DMV… wishing good to strangers, aquantainces, those giving us service.  And when we’ve really mastered it, we can try what Elizabeth Lesser proposes in the TED talk below, and take “the Other” to lunch.

We had fun today talking about what places challenge us to maintain our loving thoughts, who gets us riled up, and what “Others” we would take to lunch.

Here is who we think we would be challenged at lunch with. Could we be the presence of LOVE, and wish them only good –  if we met for lunch?

Lisa:

• A fundamentalist Christian who believes Jesus is the only way to God
• Hydrofracking proponents
• White supremacists
• Mitt Romney

Lori:

• A hunter who kills animals for sport (fun)
• Homophobic/anti-gay marriage activists
• Rush Limbaugh
• A person with patriarchal beliefs about women and their bodies

 

How about you? Where are you going to practice being LOVE, or who are you going to wish good to this month?

  

April 2012

May my work bless the world. 

I was a teacher for years and I loved it for a long while.  Then I started working with Early Intervention and I loved that too.  There was a lot of flexibility and I was doing evaluations on children- it was a good change.  I loved the kids. But, I knew it was not the work I was supposed to be doing forever.  I knew I wanted to have a job that was more creative and less clinical.  I wanted to be an entrepreneur.  I started to take classes in art and make art and sell art while I still had my day job.  I went back and forth between feeling hopeful and empowered, to confused and scared.  A lot of the time I felt terrible. I felt like I was doing something wrong because I wasn’t doing work I loved anymore and it seemed to be taking me so long to make a change.  I felt guilty because I was working an important job with kids and parents while I really wanted to be doing something else.

Then something changed.  I realized that there was reason that I was still in my job.  I decided that it wasn’t the right time for me to leave until it was the right time.  In the meantime, there was good work for me to be doing.  I started praying to be of service.  I worked hard to change my attitude.  Some days I was really successful with a new improved attitude, some days I wasn’t.  But overall, I knew I was in the right place in that moment and I found peace as much as possible.

I started working with a family that I felt a sort of magical connection to.  I adored the whole family.  I thought when I met them that the reason I was still in this job was because I was suppose to work with them.  It turns out that there was an important meeting that I attended and I think my presence in the meeting changed the outcome for the future placement of this child.  The parents were so grateful for me and I was so grateful for them.  I knew this family was why I needed to be in my job a little longer.

The timing of finally leaving my teaching job was a really important experience for me.  It taught me about the right timing of things.  It taught me that everything is unfolding exactly as it should.  It taught me to take action towards the work I wanted while at the same time, being grateful for the work I was doing.

Now I am doing work that I love but it is still a challenge and I constantly want to be further along than I am.  I know that I just need to stay clear and focused about what I want and work towards that, but also have gratitude for where I am in this moment.

Lisa wrote this prayer for a work day.  I love it so much.

Prayer for a Work Day 

Divine Spirit, please guide me today.

I am about to go out among the people.

Help me to remember that every interaction is a holy meeting,

That using my gifts and talents is a privilege,

And that if I have nothing else to offer,

I can smile,

Or listen,

Or hold still

and feel You in my heart.

Help me to be open to what you want me to hear,

To all you want me to see,

And to Your Grace in unexpected places.

May I serve with love and gratitude today

In my little corner of the Universe,

And may it somehow bless the world.

March 2012

May I be true to myself. 

Lisa and I talk this month via Skype (using Skype recorder, my new favorite thing!) about how we are learning to be true to ourselves.  I was brought up to be a super nice girl.  For years my truth was often silenced as I worked so hard at being good.  Thankfully this is changing for me.  Lisa talks about how she runs from pain and this has helped her to stay true to herself.  Much love to you all this month!

February 2012

May My Mind be at Peace.

Wow, this is a good wish for me this month.  Just incase you think it is always happiness through art over here, um, I’m here to tell you it isn’t (just ask my husband!)  But I am finding peace in my mind and heart.  I own my mistakes and am learning to laugh at the silliness of it all.  Learning to take life not so seriously helps my mind be at peace.  Here is a little story…

January 2012

May I Appreciate My Body.

A Year of Wishes Calendar

An  8 1/2″ x 11″  calendar, 12 gorgeous art prints (6″ x6″), 12 beautiful wishes for yourself and the world (complete with prayer cards to use liberally), all packaged with care and sent to your door, plus a year of wishes and love from us (join us on the blog each month!)… What more could a person want?!

Watch the video below to hear how it came to be. Stay to the end for the outtakes… We think they’re pretty funny.  :)

 Wishing you a Happy, Healthy, Abundant, Love-filled, Peaceful, Magical year,

 Lori and Lisa

Check out Lisa’s blogsite: