  |
|
|
|
|
A Cuppa Light
|
|
|
Home | Philosophy | Peace Prayers | Golden Rules | For Teens | A Little Cuppa | Photo Album | About Annaleah | Life Lessons | Favorite Links
|
|
|
Welcome!
Sit right down with
me for a good Cuppa Light! A Cuppa Light is Java for your whole being! Most of us begin our day with some morning rituals
including grabbing a cuppa something to get our physical bodies going. I wanted inspiration for my spirit and mind as well.
I found that if I sincerely needed uplifting moments, they would come. They came in dreams, something I’d observe, emails people sent, or things
they would say. I’d read a book, and there was a quotation or passage that lifted or helped me know the right thing
to do. I learned how to recognize, and work with the different parts of myself, and how to help others do it as well. I created
this website as an inspirational place, A Cuppa Light for your whole being. If you're in a hurry just read the blog below
or click on "A Little Cuppa". Maybe one will be just right for you! Invite your friends to come recharge with
a good cuppa light. Add your flavor
to the Cuppa via the guestbook below. Share something that inspires you, and write about it in the guestbook. I'm looking
forward to hearing from you.
Enjoy!
Annaleah
.....
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
International Day of Peace is September 21st
In 1982 the United Nations began declaring an International Day of
Peace on the third Tuesday of September when the general session opened. It is now celebrated annually on September
21st. The resolution "Declares that the International Day of Peace shall henceforth be observed as a day of global ceasefire
and non-violence, an invitation to all nations and people to honor a cessation of hostilities for the duration of the Day.”
It invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system, and non-governmental organizations and individuals
to commemorate, in an appropriate manner, the International Day of Peace, including through education and public awareness,
and to cooperate with the United Nations in the establishment of the global ceasefire. It is celebrated in over 200 countries
worldwide.
In 2007, the Hawaii Legislature established September 21st as Peace Day in Hawaii, making oursthe first
state to recognize the United Nations' International Day of Peace. Each island celebrates this event in its individual
way. The Interfaith Roundtable of Kaua’i is the facilitator here. When I contacted our only mall about hosting it gratis,
I was invited to have more than one day at the mall. A community room was opening to fit 100, and we could have workshops,
classes, crafts, whatever there. We are focusing on creating peace and happiness in our homes and schools. Some of the classes
will be on peaceful birthing, and learning of lullabies and empowerment songs for toddlers and women. At the other end of
the spectrum Hospice is invited to share what they do for families to create a peaceful transition for the dying, and families
of the dying.
We will give the basics of Anger Management, Conflict resolution, positive discipline, non-violent
communication, and even a Qi Gong class to create peace for the organs within our bodies. We will raise funds to support activities
that promote peace in the schools, and honor those who have encouraged others to think peace on our island. It is still a
process unfolding.
I invite you to consider creating a Peace Day event in your town or home. It can be as simple
as people lighting candles and holding a vigil, getting church bells to toll for peace, having a day of fun and play, or inviting
guests to teach and speak about extending peace in our lives. It’s been my experience that everyone I’ve talked
to about this wants to get involved in some way, and the energy of peace will encircle our dear Mother Earth. The United
Nations has created a peace day website to help you get started. It is http://www.internationaldayofpeace.org
But
whatever you do, don’t feel guilty if you don’t decide to create a day of peace. The truth is that in the true
world of spirit, everyone already is experiencing it perfectly. It’s just a fun thing to do!
12:15 pm hst
Monday, June 22, 2009
12:36 pm hst
Oh Beautiful Fragrant Soul
I know that there are those reading this blog who work with younger
children. A young child’s world is based upon the concrete data they get from their senses, their feelings and I believe
some sacred Inner stirrings that they might not be able to express or explain. They are usually focused on the here and now.
They imitate the behavior of those around them. As a Sunday School teacher, I have spent some time thinking about how to explain
the human soul to a child. It is invisible and eternal but it has a presence that imparts an energy to a person.
Well I guess my soul imparted an idea to me about how to help teach about the soul. Essential oils are the concentrated
fragrances of plants, be it from the flower, leaf, root, or bark. Just a few drops in a half ounce of neutral oil base such
as grape seed, jojoba, almond or avocado create a perfume. Essential oils have therapeutic purposes such as healing, uplifting,
calming, or even as an aphrodisiac. Consider how you feel when you smell a rose, or gardenia. Can you still remember
walking into a home where fresh cookies or bread were baking? I know it affects me and my family. I have studied aromatherapy,
and appreciate the gifts of our plant cousins. Some of my Catholic friends have told me that when Mother Mary visits a person,
she has a fragrance of roses.
I’ve gathered fragrances that have calming and uplifting properties, such as
lavender, rose, chamomile, sandalwood, ylang ylang, palmarosa, pine, cedar, and maybe some more. Each child can mix and match
a few oils to make his or her own unique fragrance, something that makes him or her feel good. Their unique fragrances will
symbolize their own unique beautiful fragrant souls. It’s just one seed planted to help bridge the worlds of spirit
and earth.
Google "aromatherapy" to get some ideas about what essential oils you might like to try.
Many health food stores carry them if you should choose to experiment with them, and often they provide a chart of some kind
which might also help direct you. Breathe easy……
8:05 am hst
8:02 am hst
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
An Idea for Creating Peace in the World Moves Forward
Tomorrow my friend is presenting the proposal spoken of in the June
12th posting to the Kapa'a Rotary Club, and I'll be meeting with the Mall event coordinator to discuss having the
Hawaii Day of Peace in the food court there. Things are progressing! I also have to get the schools involved, but in a sense
I was in a Catch 22. Before I could present it to the schools, I wanted there to be some "monetary" commitment.
In the meantime, members of the Interfaith Roundtable
of Kaua'i have been painting beautifully routed out letters on six cedar plaques that spell "May Peace Prevail on
Earth" in Hawaiian, English, Chinese, Japanese, Tagalog (national language of the Philippines), Braille, and Samoan.These
will go on a Peace Pole, which will be "planted" in the Children's Peace Garden in Hanapepe. Another pole has
been completed and will be "planted" at the entrance to the Kamalani Playground at Lydgate Park. Kamalani means
"child of heaven". This playground was built by over 300 community members and some tourists after hurricane Iniki
flattened the island on Sept. 11, 1992. I love
peace poles, standing symbols of peace for all to see. When my husband and I created Spirit Haven near Asheville, NC, we wanted
a Peace Pole for our land. They were over $600, and we just didn't have it. At one of our gatherings we supplied grosgrain
ribbons and permanent markers of all different colors, and asked people to write their prayers for peace on the ribbons. We
then tied the ribbons to a sapling that had to be cut down due to crowding. We "planted" it outside of the Lodge,
and it lasted for two years! We all shared our prayers in a circle before we tied them to the tree. It was a fabulous night!
Over here in Kaua'i, some people make prayer flags in different colors, and tie them to their porch or trees. Here's
trusting that peace will again become the accepted way of life. It's
important to focus on the peace we want, and not on creating a war on war, drugs, poverty or anything else that causes us
not to feel at peace. There's just more power in focusing on what we want to manifest. May you find more and more peace
and joy in your life every day.
Friday, June 12, 2009
An Idea for Peace in the World
The Rev. Paul Solomon used to teach us that “Nothing matters, and everything
matters.” This is because we are children of two worlds. One is perfect. Spiritually we are perfect, made by a loving
Creator as an extension of His Perfect Love. The other world is flawed. The physical world of form and thought is our collective
dream world, and will some day fall away when we have returned to the memory of Who we truly are. Living with a foot in both
of these worlds is an uneven walk. I am extremely grateful to my husband for walking with me. There is wisdom and power in
going two by two.
I’ve discovered in myself that there are times when I need to spiritually spend a lot of
time within, and focusing on that which is spirit. Then my cup is filled. Sometimes I’m given an idea, and off I go
bringing it into the world of form. This world is much slower and denser than the spiritual world, and it can take a long
time to finish a project. My work in this world is dedicated to peace, as I believe that that is the closest experience we
humans can have to knowing Spirit in this world. As president of the Interfaith Roundtable of Kaua’i, (IRK) I’m
blessed that I have a venue to express this peace.
Living in Hawaii also helps. In 2007 the Hawaiian legislature
established Sept. 21st as Peace Day in Hawaii, making this the first state to recognize the United Nations' International
Day of Peace, which is celebrated in 200 countries worldwide. IRK will be hosting Kauai’s event, and I was given a plan.
It may meet with resistance but here it is: Each high school and middle school that can get two thirds of the student body
to sign a statement that they will choose to use the peaceful methods of conflict resolution or counseling when they are at
odds with others in their school will receive $500 - $1,000 (whatever we can raise) to be used for promoting peace in the
school as determined by a two thirds majority vote in the student body. We’ll give out the checks Sept. 21.
Research has stated that violence and bullying decrease and can actually disappear in schools where there is a caring majority.
IRK doesn’t have that kind of money at this time, but we will fundraise it. I’m targeting the churches and Rotarians,
because at least on Kaua’i their website states:
Is it the truth?
Is it fair to all concerned?
Will
it build good will and friendship?
Is it beneficial to all concerned?
I’ll keep you posted occasionally
as to how things are progressing, and as always I pray that you have more and more peace in your lives. Don’t forget
to take time to stop and feel it.
8:36 am hst
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
It is Working
Making choices to support peace and joy in my life are creating
a meaningful life for me. It is difficult to drop a lifetime of knowledge, but what good is knowledge if it doesn’t
bring us what we want? So now when I used to be the first to correct a teacher or friend to impress with my knowledge, because
I was needy for validation. I’ll let it go. When I am certain that I am right in a conversation that is heating
up, I avoid the argument and keep quiet as best as I can. I feel more peaceful. Who wants a friend that’s going to keep
you on your toes? I had a relative that was as naughty and bawdy as can be, and everyone loved him, and he loved them.
When I plan out my day I start first with reading or doing something that brings me to a state of peace, using it
to boost my meditations. If I have to work, I’ll still feel peace first, and do my best to carry it into the day. Whenever
I feel beaten down, that is absolutely the time to relax, empty my mind, and allow Spirit to recharge me. I know that I’ve
gotten off the track, and I’ll correct my path by focusing on Beloved. Since I have given my life to Beloved,
my Source, Higher Power, God, and I absolutely know that God is love, I trust that what comes before me is what is best for
me to reflect for me the state of my mind. I’ve learned to waste less of my precious time in anger, fear, guilt or confusion.
I’ll sit or lie down, and wait until I feel peace again. And yes, I’ve done this in my office, my car, and even
on the airplane when I was a stewardess for Pan Am. But my bed or the beach are my two most favorite places to recharge.
I didn’t write this blog for a while because I wanted to write from my experience of the truth of what I’m
saying. I had one great experience that might have crushed me in the past, but this time it was only a blip in my peace screen.
I wrote the whole story, but decided that it might not create the peace I want over here. The huge lesson that I have learned is that people are going to see what
they want to see. Countless therapists know that we choose what we want to see, and because of that we choose how we want
to feel. How do you want to feel? I want to feel peace and joy, and I’m getting better and better at it.
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
