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August 2006
“A Touch of Grace” from
Heather O’Hara
In loving memory of Angela Christna Keller
April 5, 1989
—
July 28, 2006
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IN THIS ISSUE
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Letter from Heather O’Hara
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Quotes To Live By
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Shared Spiritual Values
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Joy and Sorrow by Kahlil Gibran
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Slow Dance
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Excerpt from Living on Level 7; Chapter 5
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Poem: "Matthew and Angela's Song" by Heather K. O'Hara
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The Dash by Linda Ellis
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THE WISDOM OF AXIS: Something To Think About
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Resources, Recommendations and Comments
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LETTER FROM
HEATHER O’HARA
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Dear
Reader...
My sincerest apologies for not
sending out a July newsletter... these last few weeks have been filled with
confusion and grief
for my family; especially my youngest son, whose very dear friend, Angela
Keller, who was 17 years old, was tragically killed in a car accident on
July 28.
My time has been spent staying
near him and helping him through the loss of a person he dearly loved; while
struggling with death, once again, myself. As you all know, I believe not in
accidents, and yet... I could find no reason for what seems a too soon,
unfortunate and unfair death.
Yet, as is true of all sorrow
and of all joy, it is not so much a "reason" that has emerged from this very
tearful journey, but a lesson... A lesson to live each day as if it were our
last; to love as though we might never love again; and to cherish our
friends and our families as if it were our very last day with them...
because none of us knows how much time we have here on Earth, or if we will
ever have another morning to celebrate with the people we love.
I have no reason. I have no
answer. I simply trust that there is a perfect plan, although I may not be
able to see it. I can only tell you that Angela Keller was a beautiful
girl who was greatly loved... and what I will always remember most about her
is that she loved to write poetry. Some of you may remember that I published
one of Angela's poems in the July 2005 newsletter, entitled "My Seagull's
Heart." And, if you did not have an opportunity to read it then or if you
would like to read it again now, the link to that newsletter is,
http://www.quantum-grace.com/July2005newsletter.htm
I thank you all for your
patience with me... healing is a journey that requires time and attention.
And because none of us are exempt from loss, in honor and celebration of all
of you, this month's newsletter is not so much about death as it is about
Life.
Even though you may not know
them, I ask that you please send your most loving thoughts and healing
prayers to Angela's parents, Dan and Victoria Keller. Angela was their only
child; and we need to gather up all the healing light and love in our hearts
and send it their way.
In celebration of Angela
Keller's life and all the lives she touched; I dedicate this newsletter to
her...
Love & Light,
...Heather O’Hara
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QUOTES TO LIVE BY...
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“It gives
comfort to read in the Upanishads that our lives are like ripples in the
vast ocean of consciousness; like waves we rise and fall, yet we never
disappear, for the ocean is infinite and eternal, and a wave is nothing but
that ocean.”
―
Deepak Chopra, The Deeper Wound
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“Your joy is
divine and so is your suffering. There's so much to be learned from both.”
―
Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Staying on the Path
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“The morning
breeze has secrets to tell you, do not go back to sleep.”
― Rumi,
Hidden Music
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“Feel the
freedom to love without holding back, without reserve, without condition.
For our lives on this plane are limited ones. We are merely in a school.
When we return home, we take only our thoughts, our actions, our love, with
us.”
― Brian
Weiss, M.D., Messages from the Masters
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“It's only when we truly know
and understand that we have a limited time on earth
—
and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up, we will then begin
to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.”
―
Elisabeth Kübler Ross
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“It's not
enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something.
May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for
the betterment of personkind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the
needy.”
―
Leo F. Buscaglia
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"I could give you all the love I
have and, still... I would not have less."
—
Dan Keller (Angela's father)
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SHARED
SPIRITUAL VALUES ON IMMORTALITY
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by Brian Weiss, M.D.
"Here are some passages from the
sacred writings of some of the world's great religions. These quotes
demonstrate that there is really only one religion; when you transcend the
surface rituals and reach the spiritual treasures lying beyond. . ."
Shared Spiritual Values on
Immortality:
Buddhism
The Self is the Lord of Self.
. . When a man subdues well his self, he will find a Lord very difficult to
find. . . knowing that this body is like froth, knowing that its nature is
that of a mirage, the disciple passes untouched by death. . . He in whom the
desire for the Ineffable has arisen, whose mind is permeated by that desire,
whose thoughts are not distracted by lower desires, he is named "Bound
upstream."
Christianity
That the dead are raised to
life again is shown by Moses himself in the story of the burning bush, when
he calls the Lord, "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." God is not God of
the dead but of the living; for him we all are alive.
You are gods. Those are
called gods to whom the word of God was delivered. . . No one who is alive
and has faith shall ever die.
Hinduism
That knowledge which through
the soul is a realization of both the known and the knower is. . . wisdom. .
. Whenever anything is produced, it is due to the union of the body and the
soul. The deluded so not see the spirit when it quitteth or remains in the
body.
Deep within abides another
life, not like the life of the senses, escaping sight, unchanging. This
endures when all created things have passed away.
The individual soul is
nothing else in essence than universal soul. . . Human beings all are as
head, arms, trunk, and legs unto one another.
Islam
Riches are not from an
abundance of worldly goods, but from a contented mind. Whatever good you do
for others, you send it before your own soul and shall find it with God, who
sees all you do.
Judaism
The Lord is my shepherd; I
shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. . . he restoreth
my soul. . . Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I
will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. . . Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the
Lord forever.
—
Brian Weiss, M.D., from
Messages from the Masters
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AND SORROW
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by Kahlil
Gibran
I would not exchange the
laughter of my heart for the fortunes of the multitudes; nor would I be
content with converting my tears, invited by my agonized self, into calm. It
is my fervent hope that my whole life on this earth will ever be tears and
laughter.
Tears that purify my heart
and reveal to me the secret of life and its mystery,
Laughter that brings me
closer to my fellowmen!
Tears with which I join the
broken-hearted,
Laughter that symbolizes joy
over my very existence.
I prefer death through happiness
a thousandfold to life in vain and in despair.
An eternal hunger for love and
beauty is my desire; I know now that those who possess bounty alone are
naught but miserable, but to my spirit the sighs of lovers are more soothing
than music of the lyre.
When night comes, the flower
folds its petals and slumbers with Love, and at dawn, it opens its lips to
receive the Sun's kisses, bespeckled by quick dartings of clouds which come,
but surely go.
The life of flowers is hope and
fulfillment and peace; tears and laughter.
The water disappears and ascends
until it turns into clouds that gather upon the hills and valleys; and when
it meets the breeze, it falls down upon the fields and joins the brook that
sings its way toward the sea.
The life of clouds is a life of
farewell and a life of reunion; tears and laughter.
Thus the spirit separates itself
from the body and walks into the world of substance, passing like clouds
over the valleys of sorrow and mountains of happiness until it meets the
breeze of death and returns to its starting place, the endless ocean of love
and beauty which is God.
—
Kahlil Gibran, from A
Treasury of Kahlil Gibran, Arabic Writings
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SLOW
DANCE
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This poem
was written by a terminally ill young girl in a New York hospital...
Slow Dance
Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's
erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the
fading night?
You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask, "How are you?"
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not seen his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die?
Because you never had time
To call and say, "Hi"
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
When you run so fast to get
somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting
there.
When you worry and hurry through
your day,
It is like an unopened gift.....
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower.
Hear the music
Before the song is over.
—
Author's name withheld
Please share this poem with
your family and friends; it is a message that we all need to hear, to
understand, and to embrace...
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EXCERPT
FROM LIVING ON LEVEL 7
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by Heather K. O'Hara
Excerpt from Living on Level
7; Chapter 5
. . . Sadly, survival is not
always the outcome; as is life, death is also an agreement. It is an
agreement made silently and peacefully between the "creation" and its
"creator." It is an agreement to change from one form to another—and
it is done with impeccable grace and love.
Death is as much of a beginning
as it is an end. Your acceptance of another's agreement to "change" will
help to heal any latent anger that you may hold against death. Yes, it hurts
to lose someone we love. Death is most painful to its survivors. True
healing, for those of us who mourn, however, will come only when death is
forgiven.
Death arrives, not to punish
those who live. Rather, it comes in honor of a spiritual agreement to move
to another level. Death is also a reminder, for we who remain, to not
choose to die each day, as the moments of our agreements to live slip by.
—
Heather K. O'Hara, Living on
Level 7, Choosing a Life with a View
http://www.LivingOnLevel7.com
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POEM:
MATTHEW and ANGELA'S SONG
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by
Heather K. O'Hara
I wrote this poem in 2002 after
the death of my step son, Matthew... and although his death is still
a very difficult experience for me to revisit; it continues to be the
clearest message for me not to let the moments of my agreement to
live slip by; and that is a gift that I will hold in my heart forever.
In the poetry section of
www.Quantum-Grace.com, or by using this link:
http://www.quantum-grace.com/Matthew.htm, you can print out a PDF copy
of this poem under its original title, "Matthew's Song," or with the title,
"A Whisper from Heaven"... Today, however, I would like to give it yet
another name in memory of a beautiful girl who was loved by many and who
will be greatly missed... Angela Keller.
Angela's Song
Although death has given me yet
another name,
I am the same as I have always
been, ...
I am no further away from life
than life is from itself.
I have done no more than turn a
corner,
cross a bridge, and accept
myself as one who travels lighter, ...
I live where I have always
lived, ...in the thoughts of others,
in the magnificence of flowers,
...in the center of the wind.
I am well, ...
for there is no greater honor
than to be carried forward
by those I cherished before I
was given another name,
and I am better knowing that my
gifts
will journey further by way of
gentle hands, ...
my light, my love... my joy, ...
these gifts, I know, ...will
touch the children of tomorrow
through all those whom I have
loved.
We have always been one, ...
we are not more separate now
than when we walked together
beneath the stars.
I am here, beside you, ...
I am in every blade of grass,
...I am in the laughter of every child, ...
I am in the songs of the
sparrow,
the music of the rain, and the wings of a butterfly.
I am the sunlight on the river,
the soft blue of the sky,
and the cool lavender shadows,
which bend along the mountainside.
Yes, I am here, where I have
always been, ...
within the promises I have kept,
...the dreams I have shared,
and within the hearts of those
who I carry within mine.
I am here, because this is my
home,
and this is the place where I
can always be found, ...
right here, where I am loved,
...right here, ...
next to you.
— Heather
K. O'Hara
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THE DASH
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by Linda Ellis
Please gather those you love
around you, turn up your speakers, and then click the link below...
http://www.TheDashMovie.com
My wish for each and every one
of you is that your dash be filled with love and happiness...
"Live simply,
Love deeply,
Laugh often..."
Thank you all for being here
with me.
Love and Light, ... Heather O'Hara
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THE
WISDOM OF AXIS
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Something to
think about...
The magic of the circle, ...
is in its endlessness.
— Heather
K. O'Hara
from AXIS, The Song in the
Center of the Soul
http://www.Quantum-Grace.com/books2.htm
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RESOURCES,
RECOMMENDATIONS AND COMMENTS
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Books I highly recommend:
The Fall of Freddie the Leaf
Leo F. Buscaglia; SLACK, Inc.
The Deeper Wound
Deepak Chopra; Harmony Books
Staying on the Path
Dr. Wayne W. Dyer; Hay House,
Inc.
A Treasury of Kahlil Gibran,
Arabic Writings
Edited by Martin L. Wolf; The
Citadel Press
Messages from the Masters
Brian Weiss, M.D.; Warner Books
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LAST CALL for eBook
submissions!
Submission
Guidelines for our 2006 Quantum-Grace eBook:
Please submit
your stories, articles, poetry, quotes or other inspirational material via
email to:
hkohara@Quantum-Grace.com
For safety
reasons, the Quantum-Grace email does not allow me to send or receive
attachments. If your submission is too long to be typed into the body of an
email, please mail to:
Heather
K. O’Hara
Founder &
CEO, Global Inspiration, Inc.
P.O. Box
22646
Denver,
Colorado 80222 USA
All
submissions must be received before August 31, 2006.
Please try and keep your stories and articles
between 400 and 850 words. Poetry should be no more than 30 lines and please
remember to include the following information on all submissions:
Your full name, Your Country, State and City,
and your current Email Address (in case I need to reach you – it will not be
published).
You may also include your occupation and/or
website address if you have one.
No submissions will be returned and all
submissions will be considered and/or released for publication by Heather K.
O'Hara/Quantum-Grace.com/Global Inspiration, Inc. without written contract. You may submit as many pieces as you like―they must, however, be
submitted individually and books will not be accepted.
Please take action now... the world is waiting to hear from
you.
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In closing, I would like to thank you again for
helping Quantum-Grace.com become the highest example of people helping
people. Only by inspiring, encouraging and supporting each other will we
evolve into a new and higher level of awareness.
Your good energy and positive thoughts are not
only the best gifts you can give yourself, they are also the greatest
contribution you can make to the spiritual evolution of humanity. Know you
are important and that you count in a very big way. Live your love, trust
your joy―stand up and say your name!
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” ―
Gandhi
May you walk with impeccable grace, my good
friend.
Namaste, ...Heather K. O’Hara
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“A Touch of Grace” is a Heather K. O’Hara
worldwide ePublication brought to you by Quantum-Grace.com where healing,
insight, transformation, awareness and flight are the treasured expressions
of a life well lived; brilliantly, authentically and overflowing with
Quantum Grace.
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If this newsletter has been forwarded to you by
a friend and you would like to sign up for your own copy, simply click the
following link to subscribe,
http://www.Quantum-Grace.com/news2.htm
IT’S
INSPIRING. IT’S EMPOWERING. AND
IT’S FREE.
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Note: I never sell, trade, rent or give away
your address to others. Your information is always kept in the strictest
confidence. That’s a promise you can count on.
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Copyright
©2006, Heather K. O’Hara. All rights
reserved.
www.Quantum-Grace.com
www.LivingOnLevel7.com
www.hkohara.com
Global Inspiration, Inc., P.O.
Box 22646, Denver, Colorado 80222 USA
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