Your Spirit Has Grown So Big That No Pain Can Hold It Any Longer.

Dear Beautiful Soul...

I looked at your eyes with surprise and delight as I saw stars, twinkling, like pinpoints of light, iridescent, glowing in the center of your pupils. You have gained the ability to see beyond the commonplace and ordinary, beyond those who would judge us for our perceived human faults and frailties, who judge us by appearance alone, or by imagined status, or set our value by our possessions and worldly goods. You can see, with a kind of x-ray vision, into the soul past the perimeter of the physical body. You are finally able to see the real you, the spirit that exists, the essence of you that is so beautiful and perfect it cannot be marred or diminished by those who would try. Look at them gently, feel the sorrow they must carry inside themselves that they must cast their pain and cruelty out to try to harm others in order to seek peace within themselves. They would catch you in their net if they could, but you, my child, are pure spirit, no net can hold you, no darkness diminish your light, no shadow hide your radiance.

You are a child of light, and nothing in your past, no harm done to your body or soul, no arrows slung through your heart, can reach you now. They have fallen away as your spirit has grown so big that no pain can hold it any longer. Nothing can hold you now, nothing, and the beauty inside of you is so bright it shines like one of the most glorious stars in the firmament.

Go to a place where you feel safe, close your eyes and breathe slowly and gently, in and out, feel, see, all of the layers that have built up, like scar tissue, since childhood, and then feel the lightening, lighter, lighter, lighter, as the layers fall away. You are lighter than air. You can walk freely now, you can walk forward, you are like a newborn babe ready for a new adventure.

It's time for you to begin to build the life that you were meant to live, to have and do and be all that you know that you have inside of you. You are not alone, take my hand and I will guide you there. It is a more beautiful journey of greater magnitude than you ever dreamed possible, and it is real, it is here, it is now.

Let's get started...

From "The Deep Listening Soul Guidebook,"
 copyright 2012, Maitri Libellule

I approach this work with my heart, soul, and spirit, and it is a lifetime commitment..

Dear Ones,

I am so fortunate to have teachers and mentors who are fabulous because they have been guiding me, some knowing and some not even realizing, toward hard decisions that I have to make in order to move forward with my business in the new year. I will write more about this but in brief I want much of my work to be open to both men and women and will have this page, books, and other offerings for both men and women because it is a deeply spiritual thing for me. 

 Too, I have to realize that my work has always been for women only and there is a reason for this. It is not because I don't have great love in my heart for both women and men, but because as a woman who suffered terrible childhood sexual and emotional abuse from 4 to 18 I really only feel safe and comfortable in intimate settings with women, and I know many other women that I have taught and worked with over the years feel the same way and can only open up to community and healing with all women. This decision has weighed on my heart heavily because I want to be inclusive, my heart is so open to all. 

 So, essentially in the new year I will be starting private sessions, taking students lovingly and gently, my deepest purpose is to help shepherd women into a feeling of safety and self love inside themselves and then in the world, and to help them shape a life that fits them, no matter how it may seem to the outside world as perhaps out of the norm, when we build a world in which we can both be safe, and productive, and do our soul's work, we have found, as we must find, the path in which we can be true to ourselves. 

 I hope any men out there will know how difficult a decision this is for me, how tender and gentle I know you are and how loved, and that there will still be many offerings for you here. I am trying to balance, as best I can, the work that I need to do, the women I am called to serve. I approach this work with my heart, soul, and spirit, and it is a lifetime commitment. 

 I send my love to all, deeply, truly, and with compassion and loving kindness. You are all beautiful beings on this earth. 

 Namaste... 

... sending holiday wishes to all and beautiful blessings for the new year... ♥

I love you because you are beautiful, and you are willing to hold my hand and walk with me...

Dear Ones...

  I am writing this to everyone here. It is coming from spirit. It is meant for everyone who reads it. It comes through me, not from me, as all of the other messages do. It is from the soul that is a vessel for Divine Guidance. You are loved. If you are reading this, whoever you are, you are loved...

  "I love you because you are you. I love you because you have a tender heart and love without reservation and see kindness as a way of life and do not judge others because of the color of their skin, their spiritual beliefs, the country they live in, and more. I love you because you believe, like the Dalai Lama wrote, "My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." I love you because you believe that no matter what your "religion" might be or if you follow no religion at all. 

I love you because you are as gentle with children as you are with the elderly and everyone in between. I love that you say something kind to everyone you meet, and smile at people on the street that you don't know. 

 I love you because no matter what is going on in your life -- pain, loss, sorrow, heartbreak -- you try to make every day a good day and do the best you can. I love that you don't try to make others carry your burdens while at the same time helping them with theirs. I love that you know that the very best way to feel better is to do something special for somebody else, no matter how small. I love that you are gracious and always say "Thank you." 

 I love that you forge ahead even when you are afraid. You let yourself feel your feelings, maybe be down for awhile, but then you get yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep on keeping on. You are so brave, and so much stronger than you ever know. I love that you are finally beginning to see that and it is helping you to be stronger every day. 

I love that you are willing to admit that you are not all of these things but that you are trying, or at least willing to add some of these things to your repertoire of life lessons and experiences. I love that you walk with an open heart, and are growing and opening every single day. 

 I love you because of all these things but most importantly I love you just the way you are. I hope you will come to love yourself as much as I do, because you are worthy, you are beautiful, and you are willing to hold my hand and walk along with me while we both learn to do all of these things. We are never really alone. 

I love you, because you're you. I really do."

From, "The Deep Listening Soul Guidebook," 

copyright 2012, Maitri Libellule

Make A "Worry Book" That Will Flip Your Worldview Upside Down and Set Everything Right!

Dear Ones,

So much is happening so fast these days that I make a point, several times a day, of sitting down to find the stillness that is present if only we take time to listen for it. Sitting down with a pug in my lap with afternoon tea and a good book is a must at this time of the year. And as I muse during these times I think about the disappointment I felt at not being able to do this blog in the way that I had been, and now I am much happier with it than I've ever been because I feel like we are on a journey together. Someday you may be sitting with my book in your hands and while there will be so much that you never knew about you will come upon these passages that we shared along the way. It delights me just to think about it. I hope it does you too.

Also, I did want to say that I hope you lovely members of my mailing list are not too disappointed that the promised eBook has not been sent out yet. It will be, I assure you, but if you saw the entry here a few entries back you will have seen that, having it nearly ready to go out I knew that it just wasn't right. My work with SARK (Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy, I know you know her books!), my mentor and teacher who is helping me with my book just now, has created an explosion of creativity inside of me and so YES! the eBook will be coming but in a completely different format and very different and very much better. I wanted to give you a handmade gift that you could use and treasure and not just trot out an ordinary eBook! So it is coming, I promise!

Today's piece for the book came to me early this morning and when I wrote it I just knew that I had to share it here because we are worried about so many things at this time of year, but in the end, worry gets us nowhere and there's really no reason to worry at all. Read below and you will see what I mean...

"This morning I watched you moving slowly into your day, doing all the little things you do, and feeling a tenderness toward you as each day comes with its own package of combined fears and hesitations, excitement and the pure joy of unexpected happenings. There is that split second as you open your eyes that you feel it all and it takes an extra bit of energy to leap into the day.

We so easily forget how precious each moment is as we rush through our day. Think back. What was the first thing you did this morning when you opened your eyes? Did you lie there a moment and contemplate the day ahead, map it out, send loving energy throughout the day ahead and approach it with a smile knowing that you could handle anything? You can you know. The thing is that we spend so much time worrying about the things we think we can't handle that precious time slips away all the while the truth is that when things come up we handle them because we have to, and we do. Imagine looking forward to your day with anticipation and happiness, gratitude for all that will come, not fearing a thing because whatever comes you know you can handle when it does, and oh the very many delights you will encounter when you put your worry basket down and walk ahead without it.

Here's a backwards sort of exercise in a world where there are nothing but powerful affirmations coming at us from every direction (... and they are good but so often we get that "yadda-yadda-yadda" feeling and kind of go blank and don't take it in because it feels like someone is just spouting the latest lingo and it will pass like all the rest...) -- write down the things you are most worried about, just for today. You can keep a worry book with bigger, longer standing or farther reaching worries elsewhere when you have more time. And these kind of "worry books" are fabulous because they flip your worldview upside down and set you right!

Make two columns. The first column is labeled, "I am worried about..." and just jot down the list, quickly, as many as come to mind in, say, 5 minutes or less. Now, the second column will be titled, "And I really don't have to worry about it because..." For every single thing you are worried about I can guarantee you you will find something for the second column. Anything from "I can handle anything that comes, as it comes, with ease;" to "I know I can call on ______ to help me;" or I have these resources _________ (write down as many as you can think of) that will make handling this a snap; to realizing that everything doesn't need to be handled that instant and that you can give yourself more time to figure it out. There are a thousand reasons we can handle anything we need to. The worry comes from "anticipatory anxiety" which is fear of something before it happens, and when you think back to these times you will likely remember that no matter how worried you were ahead of time it went just fine once it came time to doing it.

So there you are, in bed, the sun is beginning to shine in your window and your eyes flutter open. Imagine starting each day not worrying about a thing but just smiling from ear to ear thinking of all of the good that will come this day, saying "Thank You," out loud and feeling gratitude fill you like an overflowing pool, gentle and cool, and cleansing, and I bet, I just bet, you will find it much easier to spring into your day and move through it with far more ease. I'm going to be watching you with such joy. I can just see what a difference it will make in your life, and this time next week you will have turned a corner and found the yellow brick road. Isn't that grand?"

From, "The Deep Listening Soul Guidebook,"

copyright 2012, Maitri Libellule

 My mother passed 3 years ago this month after a terrible five year battle with cancer. No matter how badly she felt, and even when she was going through the worst of the worst of the worst, when you called her and asked her how she was she'd say, "Every day's a good day, it is what you make it." She was so brave, and such an inspiration to us all, and she was right. Every day's a good day, make it the best you can and realize what a gift it is, and a new one is here to be unwrapped every single morning when we open our eyes...

 

You are watering your dreams with your tears...

Dear Friends...

My work continues, so very deeply, as I work on this book that will be out by my 59th birthday, April 30, 2013. I am writing nearly round the clock now, as if driven. Spirit is speaking to me deeply, and I am listening. As I don't have time to write a lot of entries here just now I do want to share some of the work that will be in the book along the way, in hopes that you can take this journey with me, and know how much I care about you, and how, in sharing these few small gifts from the basket I carry over my arm, I might be giving you a piece of my heart, the part of me that matters the most and is most engaged now. In that spirit I offer you one of the pieces I wrote last night...

"I saw the tears dropping quietly down your cheeks and it reminded me of the leaves falling gently from the trees to cover and protect the ground while fertile things begin to grow underneath. You are watering your dreams with your tears dear one. There is no more important work that you could do.

I saw you outside, pulling your coat close around you, cold, sad, almost unable to move, but I saw your eyes shining, and even in the cold you were wrapped in warmth and standing sturdy and strong. You are the strong trunk of the tree that can withstand the winds that would blow your dreams away. Nothing can stop you. Nothing.

You don't believe in yourself but I do, I believe because I can see the future and you cannot. I can see the seeds sprouting beneath the earth, the tiny sprouts -- your dreams unfurling. Stand close to me, I am always with you, and like the invisible forces of Nature, the mysteries of life are unfolding because you are growing strong enough to have faith in yourself. You know the phrase. "Act as if..."? That is exactly what you must do.

Do you want to be a painter? Go buy art supplies and set them up and have them near you. Don't worry about painting or beat yourself up because you haven't done it yet. Just get things here and there and create a little corner like you were preparing it for someone else, and put wonderful little touches around, maybe little things from flea markets or dollar stores, or from your attic. Wear a feather boa and have tea and say, "Oh look, someone paints here, la di da," and go on about your business. One day someone will be painting, and it will be you.

This is just an example of course. Maybe you want to write. Get any kind of blank book or paper that you like, and start collecting fun colored pens and then doodle and don't try to write The Great American Novel, just scribble and write down words that you like and make smiley faces in the O's and put hearts over the i's like you used to in highschool, or whatever makes you happy.

I don't care if you want to build a spaceship or start a chain of grocery stores, you have to start somewhere and you only have to do little things and make it fun and let it build up steam and when you're not looking, Great Balls Of Fire, someone will be doing it and it will be YOU. I swear. I pinkie swear. I promise.

I saw the tears dropping quietly down your cheeks today and I smiled. I knew you were just watering your dreams, and oh, what beautiful dreams they are, and what an incredible life you have before you. It give me chills."

From, "The Deep Listening Soul Guidebook,"
copyright 2012, Maitri Libellule


Do know that you are watering your dreams in your darkest times, as tears drop down to the fertile ground, like the leaves that fall and come back fresh and bright and green in the spring? We are coming into winter, the deep, soft, soulful time when much goes on under the surface that we cannot see. Know that, and be comforted...

With Deepest Blessings and So Much Love...

I Knew It Was Time For You To Blossom...

Dear Beautiful Friends... 

"I knew that when it was time for you to blossom into who you were meant to be it would happen. It was hard for you to wait, often painful, too much of your life was ruled by fear, uncertainty, and a lack of belief in yourself, but I knew. 

We must move through the world in a unique way, not like any others. We look around us and don't understand, at times feel jealous, or hopeless, or sad. "Why not me?" But you are on your journey and they are on theirs. Some of the most difficult things you will move through, and survive, are the very things that will bear the greatest gifts when the time is right. Some of the people who have survived greater horrors than we can imagine and will never see become people that do enormous things in the world that help to save others, that bring peace, love, and joy to millions. Whatever path you are walking, it is your path, and you will survive, and thrive, and when the time is right the door will open and the moment will be like the one in the movie "The Wizard of Oz" when the scene moves from black and white to full blown technicolor. But there is something you must do. 

 You must, through whatever means and no matter how long it takes, and that may be years, let go of your past. You must reach that point where you can draw a line in the sand and step over it, and as you do you will be taking the albatross that has been around your neck, weighing you down, and set it down, and walk forward lighter, freer, and with more space to let in the light and make way for the potent possibilities before you. You must realize that whomever may have hurt you in the past should not be allowed to color who you are today. If you allow it, they win. If you step forward, over that line, and into the present moment, you will be freer than you ever dreamed possible, and only then are the seeds of your dreams truly planted. Like a garden you will move through the seasons and watch them grow as you tend them, and the journey along the way will be the greatest gift of all. 

 I knew when the time was right you would blossom. It is time. Do the work you need to do to plant those seeds. It will be my greatest joy to watch you grow."

From, "The Deep Listening Soul Guidebook," copyright 2012, Maitri Libellule 


Coming Soon: Maitri's "Compassion Line" from Dragonfly Cottage returns. I did this for many years but discontinued it for while. I am going to re-instate it and you can call as often as you like, and even leave me a message after the compassionate message if you are moved to do so. They will be messages like these, and others in this spirit, that are part of my new book, due out in 2013, "The Deep Listening Soul Guidebook." The number for the phone line will be posted as soon as the first message goes up in the next few days...

I will also begin taking private students in 2013. It is a very deep experience and I limit my number of students due to the depth of the work. If you are interested in getting on the waiting list or receiving more information when it is up, please e-mail me at maitri@dragonflycottage.com.
 

A beautiful video from the pug rescue I'm involved in. It made me cry. I just had to share...

Dear Ones,

Over the years I have adopted a total of ten pugs from Mid-Atlantic Pug Rescue and they have my heart. You all know that I live with 4 now. I have taken mostly seniors and special needs little ones because those are the ones usually taken last, but there are so many in need of homes. I think this must be one of the biggest rescues because they go from all the way up in Maryland and West Virginia down to Tennessee and never turn a pug away, and some mixed breeds as well.

I know that these are hard times for everyone, especially this time of year, but I wanted to at least share this beautiful video that the rescue put together because it so touched my heart it made me cry. In a world where so much is painful and hard, what these people do just lifts my heart. 

I dedicate this to all of the babies I have had and do have, and the people who run the rescue, and especially the people who I believe are the stars of the rescue, the many foster families, some of whom take in a number of pugs so they have a warm family home to go to, and some pugs have been in the rescue for years, especially the elderly, special needs and hospice pugs. 

With all the love in my heart to these very special people, and these dear little ones who are filled with more love, and give more love, than I can even express. 

Love to you all,

Because My Relationship To This Blog Is Changing BUT Because I Love It So Much, I Am Going To Share Things I Love & Want You To Know About...

Sweet Ones,

I have been struggling with what to do because I don't want to NOT do this blog which is so much a part of me,  but I don't have time just now to do long entries because I am really very deep into a book that is finally moving along beautifully -- YAY!!! However...

Along the way my research is ever going and growing and I am finding and falling in love with fascinating things, and writing special little pieces for my new Facebook Studio Page and I want to share these things here so that we can stay close and I can take you on this journey with me.

Just now I want to share with you a fascinating video that I have watched 3 times in 3 days and am in love with. It is:

Good Life Project: Flash and the Art of Possibility 

Click on the link above and then go to that marvelous video. You will LOVE it, I promise!!!I will be back SOON. I'm finding a whole new way to interact here.

And now, I want to share with you one of the daily, and sometimes many times a day, pieces of writing that are coming right now. Some are part of the book I am writing, some are not, but I want to give you this little gift from my heart until next we meet which will be very soon...

"I just want to say that...

I think you are magnificent.

And if a perfect stranger thinks that, believes that, with all her heart, someone that doesn't even know you, someone that has never shaken your hand, but someone who, in the depths

of her being, knows this to be true, who are you not to believe?

These are not just words to me, they are gifts from spirit. I have been given eyes to see and a heart that hears. I want you to sit right where you are and touch your cheek softly and say this out loud, "I am magnificent." Now believe it. God doesn't make mistakes, and even if you are a non-believer, if you were a mistake you wouldn't be here. Nature kills off the weak that don't belong, and yet, here you are.

You are magnificent. Don't ever forget that..."

YOU ARE magnificent. Don't ever forget that...

Warm Love & Deepest Blessings to all,