Newletter Archive
ASLOR Newsletter, November 2011
Dear ASLOR Member,
Happy 11/11/11 and welcome to the November 2011 issue of the ASLOR newsletter.
Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address
Drawing from some of the most pivotal events in his life, Steve Jobs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities when confronted with life's setbacks – including death itself – at the university’s 114th Commencement on June 12, 2005.
Coconut Flour
Many people are wheat intolerant or simply prefer alternatives to wheat flour, such as rice flour or rye flour. Coconut flour also provides an excellent alternative to wheat flour for baking and cooking. In addition, other products of the coconut, such as oil and milk, help to reduce weight, help with first-aid and are delicious in recipes.
Coconut flour is high in protein and fiber, is low in carbohydrates and has a great texture and appealing sweetness, since organic coconut flour contains natural sugar. Organic coconut flour is fiber from the coconut meat after the oil has been extracted.
Coconut Milk
Traditionally used in Indian curry dishes or Thai cuisine, coconut milk is used in a variety of dishes, and is a healthy replacement for dairy products. Make sure coconut milk is free of sugar or preservatives, and use it up quickly before it spoils.
Virgin Coconut Oil
Coconut oil facilitates the absorption of key nutrients by the body. It helps the body absorb calcium and magnesium, necessary for the development of bones and teeth. The medium-chain triglycerides found in coconut oil not only are beneficial for general health, but may also help those who are trying to lose weight. It has even been found to help prevent those addicted to nicotine.
Extra virgin coconut oil has a slightly sweet taste and fresh coconut scent. Take care when purchasing organic, as cheaper brands or products with false labeling can be denatured, bleached and/or highly processed.
Almond and coconut oil scones
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup date sugar or 5 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 free range eggs
1 cup chopped apricots
1 cup chopped almonds
1 cup dried, shredded coconut
Method:
Preheat oven to 170 degrees Centigrade. Mix dry ingredients. Stir in wet ingredients. Stir in apricots, almonds and coconut then shape scones into small rounds. Bake on pan lined with baking paper for 15 - 20 minutes, keeping a close eye on them.
“May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and everyone of us.” – Mother Teresa.
Have A Great Day and may you choose to live in gratitude and in your passion!
ASLOR Newsletter, September 2011
Dear ASLOR Member,
Welcome to the September issue of ASLOR’s newsletter.
Audrey Hepburn’s Beauty Tips
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed, never throw out anyone.
Remember if you need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.
A Story of Inspiration
Sung-Bong Choi is a contestant on Korea’s Got Talent. He had a very challenging upbringing. He was orphaned at age 3. After running away from the orphanage at 5, he lived on the streets for 10 years. Now in his early-20s, he’s a manual labourer by occupation, but singing is his passion and he desires to one day be a vocalist. See his inspirational video below, in which he beautifully sings Nella Fantasia, an Italian Opera, which translates thus: “In my fantasy I see a fair world, where everyone lives in peace and honesty. I dream of a place to live that is always free, like a cloud that floats, full of humanity in the depths of the soul. In my fantasy I see a bright world, where each night there is less darkness. I dream of spirits that are always free, like the cloud that floats.”
Astonish Me
See this magical tale of adventure and discovery from World Wildlife Fund (WWF) showing some of the extraordinary species recently found around the world. As a member of WWF has said, “Locating and recording new species is vital for conservation – as many species become extinct due to habitat loss and humanity’s impact on the planet, we need to study what’s left to understand their role in the ecosystem so that we can preserve biodiversity – it’s only by understanding can we find the solutions.”
“When you do things from the soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” Rumi.
Have A Great Day and may you choose to live in gratitude and in your passion!
ASLOR Newsletter, July 2011
Dear ASLOR Member,
Welcome to the July issue of ASLOR’s newsletter.
The Meaning of Life
Enjoy the link below:
One The Event
In an effort to transform fear into love through the power of human intention, Seattle firefighter Erik Lawyer has launched a transformational event called One The Event. Erik is the founder of Firefighters for 9/11 truth and is fully informed about information that 9/11 was an inside job. But instead of focusing on the conspiracy of it, he has decided to focus his efforts on moving forward in the spirit of love and positive intention.
Support the shift by choosing to send love on 9/11/11. See www.OneTheEvent.org
Beetroot
Studies undertaken by the Queen Mary University, UK and published in the Journal of the American Heart Association have shown that beetroot juice can lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. According to the research, naturally occurring nitrates in the beetroot produce a gas called nitric oxide in the blood which widens vessels and arteries.
In addition, beetroot helps liver, kidney and bladder function and helps to improve circulation.
Beet greens are a good source of calcium, iron and Vitamins A and C. And Beetroot is an excellent source of folic acid, fiber, manganese and potassium.
Baby beetroot is around the size of a golf-ball and is slightly sweeter than mature specimens. Beetroot leaves look a lot like baby spinach, with red stems and veins showing through the dark leaves. Often used in mixed salads, they have a peppery taste and a crunchy texture. Use as you would baby spinach leaves.
Choose beetroot that is firm to the touch and look carefully to make sure it is free of mold. Buy beetroot that has the stem and leaves remaining, preferably from an organic market.
Spicy Turkish Beetroot Dip
3 medium beetroot, trimmed
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/4 teaspoon hot paprika
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup natural yogurt (optional)
Boil beetroot until tender, then drain. When cool, peel the beetroot and chop into pieces. Blend the spices and remaining ingredients until smooth.
“This day commit to being genuinely and uniquely you. Let the truth of who you are shine through. Bask in the warmth of your genuine expression and know that you alone can be what you have come into this life to be.”
Have A Great Day and may you choose to live in gratitude and in your passion!
ASLOR Newsletter, May 2011
Dear ASLOR Member,
Welcome to the May issue of ASLOR’s newsletter.
2012 – The Revolution Has Begun
There is no time left to be complacent. The world is changing now. Not tomorrow. Be part of the change for good. The love. Not the fear. Let go your attachment to the old world and embrace the new. See link below:
Thai Style Quinoa with Vegetables
Thai dishes often have coconut milk as a main ingredient and this dish is no exception. Coconut milk and coconut oil are often misunderstood as being “fattening” food. However, they both have some excellent properties that boost heart health, which make them a great option for flavourful, healthful cooking.
The other ingredients in this recipe have health benefits as well. Ginger is an excellent stomach tonic, as it can soothe intestinal and digestive discomfort. Ginger has been known to help increase blood flow to the extremities, and it is also a natural anti-inflammatory.
Quinoa, which is a seed that cooks up like a grain, is an excellent source of protein for vegans. Unlike many other starchy recipe bases, like brown rice and bulgur wheat, quinoa contains complete amino acids. Quinoa is also a great alternative to pasta and wheat for those with gluten intolerance.
The veggies in this recipe, snow peas and broccoli, are rich in chlorophyll, fiber, iron and vitamin C. They add antioxidant value, regulate the digestive system, and are an overall complex carbohydrate energy boost.
Rounding out the recipe, we have another nutritional powerhouse: avocado. Avocado is another food vilified as “fattening”, but actually has plentiful of health benefits. Avocado is rich in omega 3 fatty acids, the anti-cancer nutrient oleic acid, and lutein, which is great for eye health.
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup steamed snow peas
1 cup steamed broccoli
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup natural, chunky style peanut butter
8-10 shakes sesame oil, or season to your taste
1-2 T soy sauce
1/2 T dried ground ginger, or 1 T fresh ground ginger
1/2 small avocado, diced into small pieces
Begin by cooking your quinoa in 2 cups of water. Cook until the water has been absorbed, then set aside. Do not attempt to fluff the quinoa until it is cooled, as it can turn to mush easily when hot.
You may have the snow peas and broccoli steaming around the time the quinoa is done cooking. Vegetables should be crisp-tender so they maintain the majority of their vitamins and minerals, as well as their fiber content. They should have a bright green color when finished steaming.
For your sauce, combine the coconut milk, peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce and ginger in a small sauce pan. Over low heat, blend all ingredients, slowly stirring with a wooden spoon until all are blended into one uniform sauce.
Mix the quinoa, veggies, and Thai style sauce in a large bowl or plate. Add the diced avocadoes to the top.
“Feelings of gratitude are compounded when you share them. There are those you know intimately as well as those you know only in passing who provide for you in large and small ways. A word of appreciation fills their hearts and inspires them to give even more. More importantly, appreciation of others increases your feelings of gratitude because you are reminded of their service and how blessed you are to have them in your life. Say thank you to someone at least once a day per waking hour this day. Then, sit back and marvel at how charmed your life has become.”
Have A Great Day and may you choose to live in gratitude and in your passion!
ASLOR Newsletter, March 2011
Dear ASLOR Member,
Welcome to the March issue of ASLOR’s newsletter.
The Rose
The first day of college our professor challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know.
I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?”
I laughed and enthusiastically responded, “Of course you may.” And she gave me a giant squeeze.
“Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked.
She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married and have a couple of kids.”
“No, seriously,” I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!” she told me.
Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk non-stop. I was always mesmerized listening to this “time machine,” as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She was living it up.
At the end of the semester, we invited Rose to speak at our football dinner.
She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. She cleared her throat and began, “We do not stop playing because we are old, we grow old because we stop playing.
“There are only two secrets to staying young, being happy and achieving success. You have to laugh every day. And you’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.
“There is a huge different between growing older and growing up. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change, so you have no regrets.
“The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”
Thus she concluded her speech.
Then, one week after she graduated, Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be.
Have A Great Day and may you choose to live in your passion!
ASLOR Newsletter, January 2011
Dear ASLOR Member,
Welcome to the January issue of ASLOR’s newsletter. May 2011 bring lots of love and positive abundance to all.
Upcoming Events
The next ASLOR Community Evening is onSunday, 13 February 2010, from 7:00pm to 8:30pm. The Community Evening gives members a chance to share Reiki and attunements, and to mix and mingle with like-hearted people. For better health and to feel better, join this sharing of Reiki.
Where: 329B King St, Newtown 2042
RSVP: by email or calling (02) 8090 0304
Excerpt from Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware
For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. They grew a lot when they're faced with their own mortality. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected – denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. But every single patient found their peace before they departed.
When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five.
1. I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself not the life others expected of me.
This was the most common regret of all. Most people had not honoured even half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they made or not made.
It’s very important to honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment you lose your health, it’s too late. Health brings a freedom very few realize until they no longer have it.
2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.
This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. They deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.
By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it’s possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, the ones more suited to your new lifestyle.
3. I wish I had the courage to express my feelings.
Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.
We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with friends.
Often they would not truly realize the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendship slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved.
It’s common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible, but it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. It all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks – love and relationships.
5. I wish I had let myself be happier.
This is surprisingly a common one. Many didn’t realize until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others and to their own selves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.
How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.
Life is a choice. It's YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.
Have A Great Day and may you choose to live in your passion!
ASLOR Newsletter, November 2010
Dear ASLOR Member,
Welcome to the November issue of ASLOR’s newsletter.
Upcoming Events
The next ASLOR Community Evening is on Sunday, 5 December 2010, from 7pm to 8:30pm. The Community Evening gives members a chance to share Reiki and attunements, and to mix and mingle with like-hearted people. For better health and to feel better, join this sharing of Reiki.
Where: 329B King St, Newtown 2042
RSVP: by email or calling (02) 8090 0304
Excerpt from Nelson Mandela’s Inauguration Speech
originally written by Marianne Williamson
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Tempe Stir Fry
1 teaspoon sesame oil 125ml mushroom “oyster” sauce
1 tablespoon peanut oil 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger 2 tablespoons coriander leaves
1 red chilli, finely sliced 40g cashew nuts, toasted
300g tempeh, diced steamed rice, to serve
800g Chinese broccoli, chopped
500g (1 bunch) baby bok choy, leaves separated
- Heat wok until very hot. Add sesame and peanut oils and swirl to coat the side. Stir fry ginger and chilli over medium heat for 1 minute, or until softened. Add the tempeh and cook for 5 minutes, or until golden. Remove the mixture from the wok and keep warm.
- Add the greens and 1 tablespoon water to the wok. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until wilted.
- Return tempeh to the wok. Add the mushroom oyster sauce and vinegar and toss to warm through. Sprinkle with coriander and nuts and serve with steamed rice.
Have A Great Day!
ASLOR Newsletter, September 2010
Dear ASLOR Member,
Welcome to the September issue of ASLOR’s newsletter.
Upcoming Events
The next ASLOR Community Evening is on Sunday, 3 October 2010, from 7:30pm to 9:00pm. The Community Evening gives members a chance to share Reiki and attunements, and to mix and mingle with like-hearted people. For better health and to feel better, join this sharing of Reiki.
Where: 329B King St, Newtown 2042
RSVP: by email or calling (02) 8090 0304
Red Marbles
I was at the corner grocery store buying some early potatoes. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily appraising a basket of freshly picked green peas.
I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr Miller (the store owner) and the ragged boy next to me.
Hello Barry, “How are you today?”
“H’lo, Mr Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus’ admirin’ them peas. They sure look good.”
“They are good, Barry. How’s your Ma?”
“Fine. Gittin’ stronger alla’ time.”
“Good. Anything I can help you with?”
“No, Sir. Jus’ admirin’ them peas.”
“Would you like to take some home?” asked Mr Miller.
“No, Sir. Got nuthin’ to pay for ’em with.”
“Well, what have you to trade for some of those peas?”
“All I got’s my prize marble here.”
“Is that right? Let me see it,” said Miller.
“Here ’tis. She’s a dandy.”
“I can see that. Hmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?” the store owner asked.
“Not zackley but almost.”
“Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble.” Mr Miller told the boy.
“Sure will. Thanks Mr Miller.”
Mrs Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said, “There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn’t like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, when they come on their next trip to the store.”
I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Colorado, but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering for marbles.
Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr Miller had died.
They were having his visitation that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.
Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts. All very professional looking. They approached Mrs Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her, and moved on to the casket.
Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the basket. Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes.
Our turn came to meet Mrs Miller. I told her who I was and reminder her of the story from those many years ago and what she had told me about her husband's bartering for marbles. With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket.
Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim “traded” them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about colour or size. They came to pay their debt.
“We’ve never had a great deal of wealth of this world,” she confided, “but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho.”
With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red marbles.
The Moral: We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds. Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath.
Today I wish you a day of ordinary miracles. A fresh pot of tea you didn’t make yourself. An unexpected phone call from an old friend. Green stoplights on your way to work. The fastest line at the grocery store. A good sing-along song on the radio. Your keys found right where you left them.
It’s not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.
Have A Great Day!
ASLOR Newsletter, July 2010
Dear ASLOR Member,
Welcome to the July issue of ASLOR’s newsletter.
Upcoming Events
The next ASLOR Community Evening is on Sunday, 1 August 2010, from 7:30pm to 9:00pm. The Community Evening gives members a chance to share Reiki and attunements, and to mix and mingle with like-hearted people. For better health and to feel better, join this sharing of Reiki.
Where: 329B King St, Newtown 2042
RSVP: by email or calling (02) 8090 0304
Life is like a Cup of Tea
A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together with their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests tea, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of tea and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite. He told his guests to help themselves to the tea.
After everyone had a cup of tea in hand, the professor said: If you notice, all the nice looking, expensive cups have been taken up leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
Be assured that the cup adds no quality to the tea. In most cases, it is just more expensive and in some cases, even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was tea, not the cup. But you consciously went for the best cups and then you began eyeing each other's cups to see who had the best one.
Now consider this. Life is the tea. The jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just the tools to hold and contain life and the type of cup we have does not define nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes by concentrating on the cup, we fail to enjoy the tea. Savor the tea, not the cups. The happiest people don't have the best of everything.
Live simply, speak kindly, care deeply, love generously.
Spicy Chickpea and Vegetable Casserole
330g (1.5 cups) dried chickpeas 2 tablespoons olive oil
3 teaspoons ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon allspice 400g tin chopped tomatoes
375 ml (1 cups) vegetable stock 150g green beans, trimmed
300g pumpkin, peeled and diced largely 200g baby squash, quartered
2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Soak chickpeas in enough cold water to cover overnight. Drain.
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Add cumin, chilli powder and allspice and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add chickpeas, tomato and stock. Bring to boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the pumpkin, beans, squash, tomato paste and oregano. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, then remove the lid and simmer, uncovered, for a further 10 minutes to reduce and thicken the sauce slightly. Serve hot.
Have A Great Day!
ASLOR Newsletter, May 2010
Dear ASLOR Member,
Welcome to the May issue of ASLOR’s newsletter.
Upcoming Events
The next ASLOR Community Evening is on Sunday, 13 June 2010, from 7:30pm to 9:00pm. The Community Evening gives members a chance to share Reiki and attunements, and to mix and mingle with like-hearted people. For better health and to feel better, join this sharing of Reiki.
Where: 329B King St, Newtown 2042
RSVP: by email or calling (02) 8090 0304
ASLOR Finances
The Committee would like to thank Alex Topic for canceling the debt owed to him by ASLOR as part of the expense incurred in starting up the Association. This amounted to $4,000. His generosity is warmly acknowledged by the Association.
Excerpt from The Dance by Oriah
I have sent you my invitation, the note inscribed on the palm of my hand by the fire of living. Don’t jump up and shout, “Yes, this is what I want! Let’s do it!” Just stand up quietly and dance with me.
Show me how you follow your deepest desires, spiraling down into the ache within the ache, and I will show you how I reach inward and open outward to feel the kiss of the Mystery, sweet lips on my own, every day.
Don’t tell me you want to hold the whole world in your heart. Show me how you turn away from making another wrong without abandoning yourself when you are hurt and afraid of being unloved.
Tell me a story of who you are, and see who I am in the stories I am living. And together we will remember that each of us always has a choice.
Don’t tell me how wonderful things will be someday. Show me you can risk being completely at peace, truly okay with the way things are right now in this moment, and again in the next and the next and the next.
I have heard enough warrior stories of heroic daring. Tell me how you crumble when you hit the wall, the place you cannot go beyond by the strength of your own will. What carries you to the other side of that wall, to the fragile beauty of your own humanness?
And after we have shown each other how we have set and kept the clear, healthy boundaries that help us live side by side with each other, let us risk remembering that we never stop silently loving those we once loved out loud.
Take me to the places on the earth that teach you how to dance, the places where you can risk letting the world break your heart, and I will take you to the places where the earth beneath my feet and the stars overhead make my heart whole again and again.
Show me how you take care of business without letting business determine who you are. When the children are fed but still the voices within and around us shout that soul’s desires have too high a price, let us remind each other that it is never about the money.
Show me how you offer to your people and the world the stories and the songs you want our children’s children to remember, and I will show you how I struggle, not to change the world, but to love it.
Sit beside me in long moments of shared solitude, knowing both our absolute aloneness and our undeniable belonging. Dance with me in the silence and in the sound of small daily words, holding neither against me at the end of the day.
And when the sound of all the declarations of our sincerest intentions has died away on the wind, dance with me in the infinite pause before the next great inhale of breath that is breathing us all into being, not filling the emptiness from the outside or from within.
Don’t say, “Yes!” Just take my hand and dance with me.
Have A Great Day!
ASLOR Newsletter, March 2010
Dear ASLOR Member,
Welcome to the March issue of ASLOR’s newsletter.
Upcoming Events
The next ASLOR Community Evening is on Sunday, 11 April 2010, from 7.30pm to 9pm. The Community Evening gives members a chance to share Reiki and attunements, and to mix and mingle with like hearted people.
Where: 329B King St, Newtown 2042
RSVP: by email or calling 02 8090 0304
Quiet
Hold still, be silent
Listen, stay quiet
Withhold your opinion
Allow truth as dominion
Expand your view because
Truth knows what to do
by Tara Lea Moffat
Trust And You Shall Receive, If You Choose To
After heavy rains which caused massive flooding in a town, a rescue boat comes up to a house with a man inside offering a ride. The man refuses saying he trusts God to save him.
A few days later, this man was in the upper storey of his house. Another boat comes offering to rescue him. Again he refuses saying he trusts God to save him.
A few days later, this man was on the roof of his house. Another boat comes offering to rescue him. Again he refuses saying he trusts God to save him.
A few days later, he was surprised to find himself in the afterlife. God was also surprised to see him there. He asked God after all the trust he had on Him, why He did not come and save him. God said but I sent three boats to you, why did you not go with one of them?
Have A Great Day!
ASLOR Newsletter, January 2010
Dear ASLOR Member,
Welcome to a new and exciting 2010.
Upcoming Events
The next ASLOR Community Evening is on Sunday, 7 February 2010, from 730pm to 900pm. The Community Evening gives members a chance to share Reiki and attunements, and to mix and mingle with like-hearted people.
Where: 329B King St, Newtown 2042
RSVP: by email or calling (02) 8090 0304
Bring: a plate of food or nibblies to share (preferably vegan).
How to Dance in the Rain
It was a busy morning, about 8.30am, when an elderly gentleman in his 80s arrived at the hospital to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9am.
While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health. He told me she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimers Disease.
As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him, "And you still go every morning even though she doesn’t know who you are?"
He smiled as he patted my hand and said, "She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is." I had to hold back tears as he left and thought, That is the kind of love I want in my life.
True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be and will not be. The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.
Have A Great Day!
ASLOR Newsletter, October 2009
Dear ASLOR Member,
Welcome to the October 2009 issue of ASLOR’s newsletter.
Upcoming Events
The ASLOR Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Sunday 1 November 2009, from 7:00 to 7:30pm. The President and Treasurer will be presenting their reports for the past year and officers will be voted in. All members are invited to attend.
Where: 329B King St, Newtown 2042
RSVP: by email or calling (02) 8090 0304
The AGM is then followed by the next ASLOR Community Evening from 7:30pm to 9:00pm. The Community Evening gives members a chance to share Reiki and attunements, and to mix and mingle with like-hearted people.
Bring: a plate of food or nibblies to share (preferably vegan).
It’s All About Character
Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.
Pasta for the Gang
1 packet of noodles (cook as per packet instructions)
½ cup tahini Juice of 2 lemons
½ teaspoon cumin 2 tablespoons mirin
1-2 tablespoons shoyu Sea salt and pepper to taste
A handful of your favourite herb Sunflower seed to garnish
- Mix the sauce ingredients together and taste and adjust.
- Mix with cooked pasta and serve with herbs and toasted sunflower seed as garnish.
Have A Great Day!
ASLOR Newsletter, August 2009
Dear ASLOR Member,
Welcome to the August issue of ASLOR’s newsletter.
ASLOR Community Evening
The next ASLOR Community Evening is on Sunday, 6 September 2009, from 7:30pm to 9:00pm. The Community Evening gives members a chance to share Reiki and attunements, and to mix and mingle with like-hearted people.
Where: 329B King St, Newtown 2042
RSVP: by email or calling (02) 8090 0304
Bring (optional): a plate of food or nibblies to share (preferably vegan).
Excerpt from Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth
There are two Zen monks, Tanzan and Ekido, who were walking along a country road that had become extremely muddy after heavy rains. Near a village, they came upon a young woman who was trying to cross the road. Tanzan at once picked her up and carried her to the other side.
The monks walked in silence for five hours until they were approaching the lodging temple. Ekido couldn’t resist any longer and asked, “Why did you carry that girl across the road? We monks are not supposed to do things like that.”
Tanzan replied, “I put the girl down hours ago. Are you still carrying her?”
Now imagine what life would be like for someone who lived like Ekido all the time, unable or unwilling to let go internally of situations, accumulating more and more stuff inside, and you get a sense of what life is like for the majority of people on our planet. What a heavy burden of past they carry around with them in their minds.
Nothing ever happened in the past that can prevent you from being present now; and if the past cannot prevent you from being present now, what power does it have?
Have A Great Day!
ASLOR Newsletter, June 2009
Dear ASLOR Member,
Welcome to the June issue of ASLOR’s newsletter.
ASLOR Community Evening
The next ASLOR Community Evening is on Sunday, 5 July 2009, from 7:30pm to 9:00pm. The Community Evening gives members a chance to share Reiki and attunements, and to mix and mingle with like-hearted people.
Where: 329B King St, Newtown 2042
RSVP: by email or calling (02) 8090 0304
Bring (optional): a plate of food or nibblies to share (preferably vegan).
Excerpt from The Invitation by Oriah
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals, or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes, without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself, if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul, if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty even when it is not pretty every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon “Yes”.
It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
Have A Great Day!
ASLOR Newsletter, April 2009
Dear ASLOR Member,
Welcome to the April issue of ASLOR’s newsletter.
ASLOR Community Evening
The next ASLOR Community Evening is on Sunday, 3 May 2009, from 7:30pm to 9:00pm. The Community Evening gives members a chance to share Reiki and attunements, and to mix and mingle with like-hearted people.
Where: 329B King St, Newtown 2042
RSVP: by email or calling (02) 8090 0304
Bring (optional): a plate of food or nibblies to share (preferably vegan).
Comment received about the evening: “It was great to meet some of the happy Reiki team and share the warmth, a very fun and strengthening evening!”
The Jar Of Life
In school, a teacher took out a big jar and filled it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. And the students said yes.
Then he took out pebbles and poured them into the jar. The pebbles occupied the spaces between the golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full, and the students said yes, starting to wonder what the teacher was getting at.
Next he took out sand and poured it into the jar. The sand occupied the spaces that were left. He then asked the students if the jar was full, and the students said yes, certainly now it must be full.
The teacher then filled the jar with tea. And then the jar was full!
He then explained that the golf balls represent the important things in life, like family, friends, hobbies and other activities that you are passionate about. The pebbles represent work or activities you have to do. And the sand represents the little things in life.
He said, always fill your life with golf balls first, so that you have space to add more. But if you fill your life with sand first, then there is no space for the golf balls.
One student then asked, what about the tea? The teacher answered that there is always time to have tea with friends.
Have A Great Day!
ASLOR Newsletter, February 2009
Dear ASLOR Member,
Welcome to a new and exciting 2009.
ASLOR Community Evening
The next ASLOR Community Evening is on Sunday, 1 March 2009, from 7:30pm to 9:00pm. The Community Evening gives members a chance to share Reiki and attunements, and to mix and mingle with like-hearted people.
Where: 329B King St, Newtown 2042
RSVP: by email or calling (02) 8090 0304
Bring (optional): a plate of food or nibblies to share (preferably vegan).
Surfing with Reiki
Reiki, I could compare it to how a Surfer would feel about her board.
As I cruise along with the love of life and then ... just as I turn around, here it comes ... The swell, the BIGGEST wave of life YET, I’d compare it to ... well, nothing is as big as the swell of the wave that is rising in the Now!
Thank Goodness I’ve got Reiki. Like a Surfer and her board, I ride the waves of life.
The waves of emotion that life sometimes white-waters us with, I take my Reiki and use it like a surfboard, skimming across and through the barrel as I can hear the crashing behind me of the thunderous possibilities of what could have been ... phheeeewwww.
Like a Surfer holding onto her board, I hold onto Reiki, duck diving beneath the surface and plunging a little deeper, a little braver head first into the deep ocean that is life.
by Taralea Moffatt
Have A Great Day!
ASLOR Newsletter, December 2008
Dear ASLOR Member,
Wishing you all the best for the Christmas season and may 2009 bless you all with joy and positive abundance.
Upcoming Event
The next ASLOR Community Evening, our first for the New Year, is on Sunday, 18 January 2009, from 7:30pm to 9:00pm. The Community Evening gives members a chance to share Reiki and attunements, and to mix and mingle with like-hearted people.
Where: 329B King St, Newtown 2042
RSVP: by email or calling (02) 8090 0304
Bring (optional): a plate of food or nibblies to share (preferably vegan).
Annual General Meeting (AGM):
The ASLOR AGM was held on 2 November 2008 and listed below are the elected committee members, including the officers, of the ASLOR Committee:
- President: Di Edwards
- Vice-President: Paula Blaker
- Secretary: Alex Topic
- Treasurer: Teresa Easter
- Ordinary Members: Ronald Jore and Tara Moffatt
During the financial year 2007-2008 the President, Di Edwards, reported that ASLOR experienced a blossoming through the following achievements:
- Increased membership numbers
- Better documentation including marketing materials
- Increased support from Friends of ASLOR
- First Teacher's Meeting was held successfully
Di Edwards
President ASLOR
ASLOR Newsletter, October 2008
Dear ASLOR Members,
Here is ASLOR’s newsletter for October 2008.
Upcoming Event
The ASLOR Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Sunday 2 November 2008, from 7:00 to 7:30pm. The President and Treasurer will be presenting their reports for the past year and officers will be voted in. All members are invited to attend.
Where: 329B King St, Newtown 2042
RSVP: by email or calling (02) 8090 0304
The AGM is then followed by the next ASLOR Community Evening from 7:30pm to 9:00pm. The Community Evening gives members a chance to share Reiki and attunements, and to mix and mingle with like-hearted people.
Bring: a plate of food or nibbles to share (preferably vegan).
The Present
One day, a little boy named Sean asked his father for a small box of lego so he could build a boat. His father said no, he was unable to afford it.
All that day and for the rest of the week, Sean kept on asking for this small box of lego, but the father continued to give the same excuse.
Towards the end of the month, when Sean’s father received a bonus from work, he decided to buy Sean a present. He bought a large box of KNEX. With this box, he could build tractors, boats, Ferris wheel and all sorts of exciting buildings.
But when Sean received his present, he was disappointed, all he wanted was a box of lego. He threw himself to the ground and wept, and never played with his present.
Every moment is the present. It simply requires the ability to accept that you can play with it and have fun, and then life might turn out better than expected.
Have A Great Day!