Journey of the Heart

Questions to Myself                      ~ for Elena   Can you hold close to your bosom the knowing that all will change?   With this understanding, do you have the courage  and the faith to walk out into each new day?   What choice do you have? You have borne the agony and the joy of impermanence.   The response is clear – to face your life with either fear or allowing. Open your hands; let life flow through them.   The primal urge to grasp is futile,  like attempting to contain water in a sieve. It will not give you what you want or need.   Feel the coming and the going;  be exhilarated in the both. Delight in the dance of each precious present moment,  float with the tides as they rise and fall, lovingly held upon the waves of time.   Carolyn Chilton Casas   is a Reiki practitioner and teacher, as well as student of metaphysic...

During these times of the pandemic —when we are all inside our homes—I've found myself looking through my windows at different shades and patches of clouds that were moving by fast, as though attempting to reveal something about the profound truths of life. As I gazed at the sky yesterday during sunset—after a long, strenuous day—I could see different shades of colors and became delightfully filled with a fresh energy of hope, peace and inspiration. Nature heals my wounds, and watching clouds, I’ve found, carries away my burdens, at least for a while.   Clouds   Gazing up at the blue sky absorbed in the serenity of shadowy outlines after a long, depressing day— instantly, my mood is changed! My soul’s longing for peace stimulates my dormant mind nourishing my soul, slowly.   Lost somewhere for a while: Away from the harsh reality of life— Clouds move in patches representing my feelings, in this incredible creation by my Creator!   In the assorted colors of the sky re...

Why The Lotus Blooms: Choosing To Stand Tall " is a memoir I wrote for every woman or mother facing challenges similar to mine. Someone so busy striving to excel in her roles of mother, wife, daughter ... that unknown to her, she slowly loses touch with her inner self.    If some day, forced to face this crushing loss, she decides—as I did—to set out on a journey to reclaim herself, she is likely to face stiff internal and external opposition at every step. This book is a tender offering for her so she does not feel so alone—I hope it will comfort her so she can keep choosing to follow her heart fearlessly.   Each chapter of my memoir begins with a poem I penned contemplating my innermost struggles at the time. 'Why The Lotus Blooms'—the poem I am sharing today—provides the theme for my book, and is one among many that feature in it.    The lotus flower is very precious to me. Whenever I find myself discouraged by the apparent challenges and struggles we m...

During this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, what seems to have created insurmountable uncertainty, our hearts were crack wide open with so many different emotions. I--as I am sure many others did as well--fell into grief, as we all moved through the beginning months of this pandemic and continue to do so now. We learned to lean into love and the love of dear ones around us, but moving through this pandemic, I did hold the hand of grief. Loss of dear ones close to me to COVID-19, the world coming to a complete halt, the grip of it. Yet bearing witness to my grief,  I allowed it to have space. By doing so, grief finds its way to lead me to compassion, to hope, to love. Writing during National Poetry Month, April 2020 and publishing my book, Our Surrendering Pause: 30 Poems in 30 Days , brought me to write so many different kinds of poems. To touch the edges of us, to inspire us, to allow us to find space for grief, for pause, for love. This is why I wrote this book. Please know that a...