Excerpt from, Diving into the Deep: A Companion Guide / "We come FROM joy. We BRING joy to others. We ARE joy."

Welcome to the beginning of something, which I hope will be truly special, for fellow seekers and Lightworkers who have been attending my workshop ~ Diving into the Deep: Exploration of the Self Through Creative Writing.

In a series of monthly posts, I will be sharing short, but meaningful, passages from my current book-in-progress, so that those who are unable to attend my workshop, can follow along with us, on the journey to healing and self-discovery.  When my work is done, these thoughts and meditations will become a bound copy for many more individuals to use, as a tool for guidance and deep healing.

This week, I will be sharing a few paragraphs from the opening pages.  I hope that these thoughts help you to "dig deep" in your own life, and to reach out to others with a loving heart, on your life's path here on earth.

Thank you for your presence ...

(photo credit: Cristina Norcross, 2011 / Lake Geneva, WI)

Passage from the INTRODUCTION:

There is an unpolished gem that lives inside of you.  Sometimes we let it breathe and glow.  Sometimes we even let this stone shine!  When we ignore that source of Light, which desperately wants to come out and play, to connect with others, to be the beacon for many ships, our inner gemstone loses its luster.

•How do we connect with our inner Buddha, our shining Light that sings and dances so well, while we are fully engaged in a soul-nourishing activity?

•How do we salvage the True Being inside, whom we may have forgotten along the way, while focusing on becoming responsible adults?  Who has time to play, when we are so busy making a life, buying cars, and building additions on houses?

This disconnect, which so many of us suffer from, can be fused and healed.  We have the inner resources to reach inside the core truth of ourselves and rise up.  By identifying what brings you joy, by creating space in your life every day (or at least every week) for this sacred practice of self-care, by engaging in activities that Light you up, by reaching out to others with your natural gifts, by giving back to the world through acts of kindness and creativity ~ we not only heal ourselves, we raise the overall vibration of the planet itself.  This is when a continuous stream of healing begins.  If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes many, many villages of people working together, towards peace, to actually bring about real change.  Find peace within yourself, first.  Bring it to others like a sparkling jewel.  There is a great, untapped river living inside each of us.  Find your flow.

Passage from CHAPTER 1:

We come FROM joy.  We BRING joy to others.  We ARE joy.

I want you to take your shoes off and feel rooted.  Whether you are outside, feeling the grass on bare feet, or in your living room, feeling soft carpeting, it is important that you are connected to the earth for this exercise.

Read the following meditation out loud, and listen to each word.  Listen to your voice, as you become connected to breath and meaning.

A Joy Meditation

I breathe in calm.

I breathe out joy.

I feel roots, from my feet, reach down to the earth.

I feel a white thread of light reach up from my core

to the top of my head.

It travels through me

and beyond me

to the great connectedness of all beings.

I breathe in connection.

I breathe out peace.

A circle of light,

like a white lasso,

moves up and down.

A funnel of energy –

so bright,

that even the stars can see me smiling.

Contentment radiates from every outline

that is me,

and from every path of light

branching out

from the Tree of Me.

In serenity and in thankfulness,

I whisper this prayer to myself.

I will return to this safe space of golden light

again,

and again.

Cristina M. R. Norcross

Copyright 2016 

Random Acts of Poetry & Art!

An Art and Poetry Pay-it-Forward Movement

RANDOM ACTS OF POETRY & ART!

Spread Inspiration on February 20th, 2012

BRIEF DESCRIPTION:

What if you could change someone’s outlook or mood in an instant? What if we all brought art and kindness to others on the same day? Random Acts of Poetry & Art on February 20, 2012 is an international day of inspiration. It is an artistic pay-it-forward movement, with the purpose of spreading light and the pure joy of artistic creation. Wherever you are on this day, please join us in sharing your poems and visual art for all to enjoy!

SOME IDEAS:

*Write a poem on a napkin or a piece of paper, with a special thank you, and leave it behind with your monetary tip at a restaurant or café.

*Print off copies of a beautiful photo of a sunset and leave it behind on the tables of your local coffeehouse with the simple message, “Enjoy!”

*If you have time. Do some preparation. Have some of your poetry or art printed on postcards, or print them yourself at home, and leave them at local libraries, bookstores, galleries, community bulletin boards, community centers and cafes.

*Draw an inspiring design or an impromptu sketch of a scene in your local town and leave it on a park bench. Maybe you will inspire someone else to leave behind some beauty and hope for the next person to find!

It’s up to you what you do! Create, be inspired and share photos of your Random Acts of Poetry & Art on our Facebook event page for our world community to enjoy as well.

Who knows? You could change someone’s day … in an instant of art and poetry!

Yours sincerely,
The Random Acts Inspiration Crew
Cristina Raskopf Norcross, Sonya Shanti Sinha and Shannon Elizabeth Hardwick

A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves. ~Amelia Earhart

Visit us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Random-Acts-of-Poetry-and-Art/383933244955442

"You Are Loved" ~ What If You Could Change Someone's Day Just by Offering a Kind Word?

What if you could make someone smile and feel better about themselves by reminding them how special they are?

This poem that I wrote for a project I was working on a few years ago, became that poem for me, and it has become my "go-to" poem that I give out randomly, when I think the world needs a little more love.

I was invited to give a talk about poetry a couple of years ago for a school in Milwaukee, but was unable to attend, so I sent a box of these "You Are Loved" poems in my place, to let the students know that ~ they are loved.

This poetry postcard also goes out to any new member who joins the National Endometriosis Association. The Endometriosis Association provides support, information and educational materials about treatment for women who have been diagnosed with a painful reproductive condition called Endometriosis. I have had this illness since I was 18 and have had several surgeries over the years. I donated a box of these cards to help other women feel cared for and nurtured at a time when facing a chronic medical condition can be quite scary.

I hope you enjoy this poem too. We are all LOVE. We are all sacred. Be the Light that brings light to others.

YOU ARE LOVED

You are exquisitely made.
With a splash of deep purple at the edges,
and a vibrant center –
you shine.

Like the many layered hues
of a rhododendron
with blushing petals,
you have innate gifts –
both seen and unseen.

The wind whistles a melody,
encouraging the dance of galaxies.
In unison, all of nature
follows the same, beautifully orchestrated score,
and we float forward together.

In another time
you see the outline of this day
in all of its divinity.
You smile a perfect smile,
knowing that –
you are loved.


Cristina M. R. Norcross
Copyright 2008

NOTE: If you know of a non-profit organization that would like to have some poetry, I will be happy to send out these free poetry postcards for their members who need a little love and care. Find my "contact me" page at my website: www.FirkinFiction.com

YOUR DIVINE PURPOSE SHINES

Your divine purpose reaches across every golden field
and every pebbled road to meet the beginning of you.
For you are the world,
and the world exists in you –
in beauty and in acceptance.

~C. Norcross (From the poem, "Loving Your Skin")

When we open up our hearts to discovering and honoring our divine purpose, light pours forth and guides us in directions we are meant to go. When we are walking on our true path, doors open, we are met with welcome smiles and all is well in our earthly world. When we find ourselves pushing a rock up a hill, no matter how hard we persist, if the direction is not in alignment with our higher purpose, that rock is going to fall ... on our heads!

Have you ever felt as though you were repeating the same mistakes, faced with a series of "no" letters, or as if life was just not moving? This feeling of metaphysical mourning for not yet realized goals, is merely a teaching tool - a stepping stone to something beautiful in your life. Listen to and observe the day, the situation, as if it were a wise teacher. The path exists in you, you just haven't found the entrance yet. Or perhaps, you've lost the light leading you down the right path, and you need to find it again.

Set aside time each day to listen to your inner guide. This knowing, nurturing self is always there for you, waiting for you to start a conversation about the present and the future, if you choose. Listening is a very important tool. It opens us up to the beautiful possibilities in our lives, even when things feel "stuck" or without momentum.

I remember feeling stuck at different times in my life, because I wasn't doing what my soul truly wanted to do. Whether it be a job that doesn't quite fit, a group project that doesn't quite resonate or a relationship that feels out of alignment with the holiness of self, sit with your inner teacher and listen. Answers will be revealed in the most stunning ways. New people may enter your life and provide a creative spark. Doors will open and opportunities will suddenly appear, if you are willing to be open to your best self waiting in the wings.

Promise yourself that you are worth it ~ that you were meant for more than dissatisfaction or "just enough."

This is not you –
this is not the you
that was meant to flourish
and drink up the sun.

You were meant for greater things
than atrophy –
than ennui.
You were meant for life!

~C. Norcross (From the poem, "You Were Meant for More")

GIVING YOURSELF PERMISSION TO WRITE

Finding Time to Write:
Feeling Overscheduled?
Give yourself permission to say, “No”


Our calendars are filled to the brim with bells, reminders, things underlined or highlighted in orange – a neon banner of endless obligations. Some of these appointments and tasks are necessities. Others are tasks that we have either foisted upon ourselves, or that we have unwittingly agreed to do, simply because we feel obligated or guilty. But what about the times we feel drawn to do something that would benefit others? Yes, this is definitely a good thing, but not when our own calendar is so filled that we haven’t left enough time for our own lives, our family or our spirit. Put your “dedicated writing time” into that category called spirit. If you are a creative type, then your writing time is vital to your spiritual well being. Don’t allow everything else to come first. You will ultimately regret it.

My family is primary, then my daily responsibilities, projects, poetry readings, hosting literary events and volunteer work. My writing is stuck in there, when I can fit it in time-wise. I try to schedule writing time late at night or for those 2 precious hours per day, when both of my children are in school at the same, overlapping time. I am a happier mother and wife, when I have the right balance between “everyone else” time and “me” time. Writing makes me whole. It helps me to have vision. My heart relies on writing time to function. Having uninterrupted time to create, based on how I am currently processing life experiences and the world is vital for me to feel centered. I can breathe easier when I get things down on paper. Poetry might not solve everything, but it gets the images and thoughts out of my head and productively down on paper in a hopefully coherent, sometimes beautiful way.

Being able to say “No” releases the Girl Scout in you (I quit after Brownies. I’m not really a “joiner”). It’s freeing to put yourself first for once. We writers should do it more often. How am I ever going to write another book and get it out there into the world, if I don’t sit down and write? Sorry, that was meant to be rhetorical. It's empowering! Now, say it to yourself. How am I ever going to finish X,Y,Z … writing project, if I don’t just put bum to chair, fingers to keyboard and write?

Just DO IT!

Think of this blog entry as your personal writing cheerleader. Read it when you need to give yourself permission to create from the heart without stopping!

Cheerfully yours,
Your fellow wordsmith

"Once You Were Dreaming of a Future That is Now Your Present"

Sometimes I feel like I am desperately trying to learn how to live. Is working hard the path to fulfillment? Is achievement going to fill the void of the soul? Should I be more self-sacrificing and gain happiness only from taking care of others? Do I need to slow down more and pay attention to each act of living in a loving way, regardless of the end result? Aha! This is the sentence to pay attention to - right now.

Eckhart Tolle (The Power of Now / A New Earth / Stillness Speaks) writes about living in the now, fully appreciating each experience as it is lived. Living in the past has never been one of my problems, but I do struggle with living with an eager eye towards the future and how much happier I will be “when” I can have more time to write, “when” my husband and I can have more time together again, “when” life will feel more balanced as a mother whose actions and thoughts are constantly interrupted by small (adorable) children.

My mother and I had a discussion recently about this concept of always wishing for the life you see just down the road. This is the golden kernel that stayed with me from that conversation. “Once you were dreaming of a future that is now your present.” I just did not know that those dreams would happen, and that I would wish for other things - for a different future to take shape.

I think this insight can be valuable to the soul of a writer too when the ever-too-present restlessness, that we all feel as artists, starts to gnaw away at one’s peace of mind. There is waste in discontentment. It takes far too much energy to analyze why life could be better three years down the road: if only that magazine would publish your story that you have been submitting everywhere, or how you will only feel complete when you write a full length novel, or that there is never enough personal time in a day to finish all of your beloved writing projects. Engage in your present with fervor. Be thankful for what you are able to write, knowing that it is a gift to bring inspiring ideas together on the page. If others enjoy what you send out into the world of writing, then this is a blessing too, but it is not the goal. It is a pleasant side effect. Making connections in spirit with others through writing may never bring recognition, but it will make a difference in the life of the reader who engages more fully with their own world, because you have shown them one of life’s golden keys.

Keep sharing – keep writing. Don’t look back on your past with angst or regret. Don’t look ahead to your future life with longing. Bring to the page what you are meant to create – right now.

This is the most fruitful moment and tomorrow’s moment will be just as ripe.

Keep writing!