My Mission of Love

Within stillness I hear you.

In chaos I invite you.

I listen for your whispers

Into the deepest wells of my heart,

Overriding and subduing the 

Loudness of mind.  

HUuuuuu...

My mission is love, 

To give and to receive.

To be the love that I am,

Indeed have always been.

To serve the ECK

Through knowing, being, and seeing.

Learning to love this self,

The individual

With all its strengths, weaknesses,

Its curiosities, questionable motives,

In its imperfectly perfect bodies.

Loving the emotions 

Through the twists and turns,

The ups and downs.

Cycling through, 

Passing by so fleetingly,

All the while knowing 

It is not really I,

Not the real I.

Loving the mind

In its rigid, primitive box.

Bringing awareness, light,

To the dark places it sometimes resides,

Raising it up and out 

Of its confinement

To a higher home.

Softening its rough edges

With the power of All That Is,

All that I am of,

Huuuuuu....

Coming to know and love

What is infinitely real, true,

What is infinitely me,

Soul.

Drawing me closer

HUUUUU...

Illusions fall by the wayside,

Shattering on impact instantaneously,

Making room for truth

Among the remains of what once was.

I observe,

Remaining firmly planted in the NOW

As I walk upon the ruins

Building anew.

Huuuuuu....

I am strong in my love,

In the power of my true self,

In the power of HU.

Standing in the eternal ECK,

Breathing the substance of It.

Leave me here.

Hold me in your infinite love, 

Mahanta.

For here I am me

In all Its glory.

For here I am you

In all your love.

And if there comes times,

As they mostly do,

When these bodies falter,

Stumble,

In the winds of change,

Blowing powerfully

Let Soul be strong in this knowingness of HU,

Carrying us through to YOU!

In Thanksgiving...

"Thanksgiving is one of the attributes or qualities that come to the person who loves God. To serve others is to love others, and to love others is to serve others."

"Truth Has No Secrets," Harold Klemp


What I am most grateful for:

Mahanta.
Eckankar.
HU.
Being a mom.
Giving and receiving love.
Family.
Friendship.
My furry babies.
Truth.
Guidance.
Honesty.
Inner peace.
Adventures.
The gift of life.
Guidance.
Encouragement.
Laughter.
Protection.
Spiritual Freedom.
Fun.
Kindness.
Capturing the moment with my camera.
Writing.
Spiritual exercises.
Long walks.
Long drives.
The ocean, the sand, the BEACH!
Relaxing and reading a good book.
Helping others.
Listening.
Knowing love never dies.
Serving whenever and wherever I can.
Inner peace.
Contentment.
The Golden Temples of Wisdom.
The ECK Masters.
Dancing.
Hugs.
Going to the Worldwide.
Having dinner with special friends.
Trust.
Believing.
Traveling.
Babies.
Nature.
Animals.
Fall colors.
Sunsets and sunrises.
Birds.
Understanding and being understood.
Being me.
Knowing I am Soul.
Facebook. (It's given me the opportunity to meet so many loving Souls all around the world.)
Dreams.
Music.
Art.
Being connected.
Being present.
Having an open mind and an open heart.

And I could go on and on, but I won't. Not here anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Divine Love vs Human Love: Is There a Difference?

After a discussion about this very topic, I find myself tumbling these ideas around in my mind and in my heart. I came up with an answer that makes sense for now, at least for me. Nothing is written in stone. As we learn, our answers grow. Maybe our questions do, too.

Divine love is limitless. Divine love becomes human love when we put restrictions upon it. Divine love is unconditional while its counterpart has strings attached. One offers complete freedom, and the other restricts to some extent. Even so I do not see one as less than the other because, to me, human love is divine love being practiced. And as long as our attention is on love then we will attract love. One way we can bring more love into our lives is by singing HU, a love song to God.

"Singing HU can:

- Expand your awareness.
- Help you experience divine love.
- Heal a broken heart.
- Offer solace during times of grief.
- Bring peace and calm."

"Singing HU draws one closer to God. With eyes open or closed, take a few deep breaths and relax. Then begin to sing HU (pronounced like the word hue) in a long, drawn out sound: HU-U-U-U. Take another breath, and sing HU again. Continue for up to twenty minutes. Sing HU with a feeling of love, and it will gradually open your heart to God."

"When your day is hard, remember to sing HU. It puts you back in line with the Holy Spirit." Harold Klemp, The Slow Burning Love of God, page 25

For more information about HU and the teachings of ECKANKAR, visit www.hearHU.org. Call 1-800-LOVE GOD or write:
Eckankar,
Dept F28
PO Box 2000
Chanhassen, MN 55317-2000

My Garden

Love blooms in my garden. I have tenderly planted the seeds, watered them with care, and set them in a place where they can receive the light they need. At night I sing softly to them and they respond by sharing their beauty with me.

It dawns on me that it would be nice to be this tender with myself. Carefully selecting the seeds I wish to see bloom within because eventually what I sow, I will reap. My thoughts are like these seeds. Am I nurturing the ones I want to cultivate? Am I uprooting the ones I don't? Weeds can grow so quickly, totally destroying and overtaking a garden if not handled immediately. Insects and pests can eat away at my precious flowers. It is up to me to make sure that doesn't happen.

I am planting love in my consciousness and in my heart. I am singing HU (pronounced hue), a love song to God, to open my heart and allow love to enter. I am showering myself with gentleness and kindness. Ever vigilant I watch, promptly plucking unnecessary thoughts from my mind that might strangle and harm these fragile buds.

And, once my garden is grown, it will be rich with color, delighting the senses. All of God's creatures will be attracted to its warmth and gather. Butterflies fluttering around the bushes. Birds chirping joyfully in the trees. Fish gladly swimming in its pond. Children laughing and playing on its grounds. Such a place of love, Light and Sound I will build.

Opening Your Heart to Love

Hanging from a cliff by my fingertips and dangling over a drop that seemed to have no bottom caused an immense fear to threaten to overtake me. The dizziness of looking downward made my head spin like a top so I chose to gaze upward toward the blue skies. I dug my nails even deeper into the rocky ground, but the weight of my body made it excruciating. A voice projected out to me gently but thunderous at the same time, "Tammy, who will open your heart? Angels?" Sitting straight up in bed, I could hardly catch my breath. "Who indeed?" I thought as I got my bearings. I understood I was being told the responsibility was mine and mine alone to keep an open heart.

Life can be brutal at times. It can make you throw your fists up in the air and scream for mercy. I've been there...more than once. I know I will be brought there again and again, too, but it's different now. I am different. There have been times when I have felt as if I was completely alone. I could be in a room full of people and still feel as if I was the only one there, but I know now that none of us are truly alone unless we choose to be and even then we are not really alone. Hold on for one minute, one hour, one day more because you will break through and a year or two from then you will wonder what you ever worried about to begin with.

It won't be easy. When you have built walls like a fortress around your heart, how can you ever expect to receive love? What can you do to open up after being hurt time and time again? Something that has worked for me has been to sing HU (pronounced hue). HU is a love song to God. It can change your life. I won't give you a discourse on HU because I feel it is something so special to each individual that the only way to truly understand it is to try it for yourself. If you would like to learn more about HU, check out this link: http://www.eckankar.org/hu.html Or you can listen to this short but amazing clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc9N_g2NolA If you decide to try it sincerely, you won't be disappointment. I haven't been.