|
October 2005
“A Touch of Grace”
from Heather O’Hara
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IN
THIS ISSUE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
Letter
from Heather O’Hara
*
Inspiring Quotes
*
Poem:
"Love Story"
*
A Message from Leo Buscaglia
*
A Little
Magic and a Touch of Grace
*
Guest
Article: "Choose Life"
*
The Wisdom of
AXIS: Something to Think About
*
Resources,
Recommendations and Comments
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LETTER FROM
HEATHER O’HARA
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Reader...
Hello
again and happy autumn to all!
This month I
welcome new readers from Croatia, Mali, Norway and Japan, as
well as many other extraordinary people from the countries
already listed on our quickly multiplying and ever-growing
"Journey of Grace" page. For those of you have joined us from
the LivingOnLevel7.com website, if you haven't already done so,
please take a moment over the next day or two and visit the
flagship site from whence this newsletter comes:
www.Quantum-Grace.com
The link to the
"Journey of Grace" page is
http://www.Quantum-Grace.com/journey.htm
and from there you can navigate the site and enjoy its
peacefulness at your leisure.
Once
again, I thank all of you who continue to share "A Touch of
Grace" with your families and friends. As many of you know,
Quantum-Grace.com has never been registered with any search
engines, and yet, because of you, who forward the newsletters to
others, it's readership has grown—
crossing mountains, rivers and seas—with astonishing speed.
Also,
I thank all of you who have purchased the eBook, Living
On Level 7 (Choosing a Life with a View). I hope that all
who read it will share "the wisdom of wholeness" with others by
living who you truly are and loving every moment of your life.
To get to Level 7:
http://www.LivingOnLevel7.com
You
may have noticed that I have lowered the price since its release
last month. As many of you have reached deep into your pockets
and contributed to those who have lost so much in the hurricanes
that have recently swept through the southern United States,
lowering the price of Level 7 is my way of saying "thank
you" for helping those in need.
The
current price for Living on Level 7 is $15.95. If you
purchased it at the higher price and would like the difference
refunded, just send me an email with your name and address and a
refund will be sent to you. (Please do not attach receipts to
your emails—the honor system works beautifully!)
I
truly do thank you all for the warmth and goodness you share
with the world. Even though others may not read what you read,
evolve as you evolve, or see as you see—just
by sharing who you are with them—they, too, will be lifted
higher.
"Givingness"
is the secret to "havingness," and if there is one person in
this world who lived that message, it was Leo Buscaglia.
Rarely do I dedicate an entire newsletter to one person, this
month, however, is the exception. Because today is the
last day of October and tomorrow is the first day of November,
we have autumn on both sides of us—the season of "change" is
behind us as well
as
before us.
And,
as we stand in the center of this magnificent, yet quiet circle
of "transformation," the laughter and joy of this remarkable man
can be heard and felt in the breath-taking colors of autumn; a
season which he loved.
One
of the greatest teachers to have ever lived; a lover of love, a
lover of life and a lover of leaves—may
Leo
Buscaglia rest in rapture as we remember the truth which he so
brilliantly lived.
He
was truly a master and the gift of light would not be complete
without him. May you remember him as I do, with love, gratitude
and a heart that knows no boundaries.
Love
& Light, ...Heather O'Hara
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INSPIRING QUOTES FROM LEO
BUSCAGLIA
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"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 lonely."
* * *
"Too
often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind
word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act
of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life
around."
* * *
"You
have a choice. You can choose joy over despair, happiness over
tears, action over apathy, growth over stagnation."
* * *
"You
know, I'm really convinced that if you were to define love, the
only word big enough to engulf it all would be "life." Love is
life in all of its aspects. And if you miss love, you miss life.
Please don't."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
POEM: "LOVE
STORY" by Heather K. O'Hara
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Love Story
Every
moment of your life
is a
love story,
every
breath,
the
whispered passion
of
your
soul.
Should
you
have but one day,
one
brief
moment
left
to live,
let
it be
the
greatest story
ever
told.
— Heather K. O'Hara
from AXIS, The
Song in the Center of the Soul
http://Quantum-Grace.com/books2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A MESSAGE FROM LEO BUSCAGLIA
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"To
laugh is to risk appearing the fool." Well, so what?
Fools have a lot of fun.
"To
weep is to risk being called sentimental." Of course I'm
sentimental. I love it! Tears can help.
"To
reach out to another is to risk involvement." Who's
risking involvement? I want to be involved.
"To
expose feelings is to risk showing your true self." What
else do I have to show?
"To
place your ideas and your dreams before the crowd is to risk
being called naive." Oh, I'm called worse things than
that.
"To
love is to risk not being loved in return." I don't love
to be loved in return.
"To
live is to risk dying." I'm ready for it. Don't you
dare shed one tear if you hear that Buscaglia blew up in the air
or dropped dead. He did it with enthusiasm.
"To
hope is to risk despair, and to try is to risk failure."
But risks must be taken, because the greatest risk in life is to
risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has
nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing—he may avoid suffering
and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and
grow and love and live. Chained by his certitudes, he's a
slave. He's forfeited his freedom. Only the person
who risks is truly free. Try it and see what happens.
— Leo
Buscaglia
from, Living, Loving and Learning
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A LITTLE MAGIC AND A TOUCH OF GRACE -
TIPS
FOR LIVING AUTHENTICALLY
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asking yourself empowering questions and answering them honestly
and without guilt is perhaps one of the most important things
you can do to increase your awareness of yourself and the world
that you create.
In
Leo Buscaglia's book, Born for Love, he calls the
following questions "end-of-the-day" questions. Experiment with
them—make
a list of the questions and go over the list every night for a
week and write down your answers.
This
experience, by itself, is an incredible eye-opener. I took it a
step further though and, after a week or so, I renamed the list
"beginning-of-the-day" agreements and instead of
reviewing the list at the end of the day, I reviewed it every
morning as if it had already happened.
My
challenge to you is to try it for a week...
You
will be amazed at what happens! Please email me and let me know
the results—I
hear the sounds of a more peaceful and loving world already!
End-Of-The-Day Questions
1.
Is anyone a little happier because I came along today?
2.
Did I leave any concrete evidence of my kindness,
any
sign of my love?
3.
Did I try to think of someone I know in a more positive
light?
4.
Did I help someone to feel joy, to laugh, or at least, to
smile?
5.
Have I attempted to remove a little of the rust that is
corroding
my relationships?
6.
Have I gone through the day without fretting over what I
don't
have and celebrating the things I do have?
7.
Have I forgiven others for being less than perfect?
8.
Have I forgiven myself?
9.
Have I learned something new about life, living or love?
Answer the above questions with a simple yes or no answer. In a
day or two, you'll begin to recognize the many opportunities you
have that will enable you to answer "yes" to all, or most, of
the questions. After doing this for a week or so, turn all
the questions into "agreements" and read the list in the morning
instead of at night. When you experience the power of this
exercise, you will soon be writing your own questions and making
your own life-changing agreements.
Beginning-Of-The-Day Agreements
1.
Someone is happier because I came along today.
2.
I have left concrete evidence of my kindness and a sign of
my
love for someone who needs it today.
3.
I am now thinking of ____________ in a more positive
light.
4.
I helped someone to feel joy, to laugh and to smile today.
5.
I have removed a little of the rust that corroded my
relationship with ______________ today.
6.
Today I am joyfully celebrating all the things I have.
7.
I have lovingly forgiven others for being less than perfect.
8.
I have lovingly forgiven myself.
9.
I am happily learning something new about life, living
and
love today.
And I
would like to add one final, very important agreement to this
list—something
that everyone should say to themselves every morning...
I
love myself today
just as I am.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARTICLE: "Choose Life" by Leo Buscaglia
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You have to take the responsibility
for choosing and defining your own life.
I
really believe most people are afraid of life. I don't
know why it is. We're afraid to be what we are! We get
marvelous, insane feelings and we don't act on them. You see
someone really attractive and you think, "I'm going to tell her
she's really beautiful." And then you think, "Oh, I
couldn't do that." And then she goes all of her life not knowing
she's beautiful! It's a shame because if we really don't live
fully we keep other people from living fully!
We're
afraid of living life, therefore, we don't experience, we don't
see. We don't feel. We don't risk! We don't care! And
therefore we don't live—because
life means being actively involved. Life means getting your
hands dirty. Life means jumping in the middle of it all. Life
means falling flat on your face. Life means going beyond
yourself—into
the stars!
But
you must decide yourself, for yourself. "What does life mean to
me?" I'm convinced if we spent as much time—no, one quarter
as much time each day thinking about life and living and loving
as we do planning a meal, we'd be incredible!
But
life has a wonderful way of solving this problem. It's always
very fascinating to me because when life is not being lived, it
explodes in us. It's like trying to hold the lid on when
the steam is ready to blow. Something will happen, I'm
convinced of it. You'll either turn to extremes of fear,
pain, loneliness, paranoia, or apathy. All signs that you are
not alive, you are not living! So if you're feeling any of these
things, roll up your sleeves and say, "Let me live." The minute
you start getting involved in life, the steam lets off,
and you're safe. It isn't easy, but life lets us know that it
must be lived. How wonderful!
People come to me and say, "You seem to have things all
together. If life is so great, how come we have death, pain,
misery, and all these negative things? Why must children suffer?
Why are there murders and rapes and wars? Why, why, why?"
I
say, "How the hell am I supposed to know?" Greater men than I
have been asking these questions for years. But you know what
I've done? I have stopped asking the questions, and I've started
living into the answers, and it's made all the difference.
Why
death? I don't know why death. Why pain? I wish it weren't
there, but I don't know "why pain." If I spent my life wanting
answers about those things I would never live.
But I
tell them I do know a little about life. There is such a thing
called joy, because I've felt it. And there is such a
thing as marvelous madness because I've lived it. And I
know there is such a thing as loving because I have loved.
And I know there is such a thing as ecstasy because I
have known ecstasy. And I also know—because I have known
people who have experienced it—that there is such a thing called
rapture. Oh, I love the word rapture! Reach
for rapture! I
refuse to die until I learn what rapture is!
— Leo Buscaglia (1924 -1998)
from Living, Loving & Learning
Yes, Leo, ...
We refuse to die until we learn what rapture is!
In
honor of "rapture," please read ANY book by
Leo
Buscaglia in the month of November;
and
when you are done,
please pass it along to a friend.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE WISDOM OF AXIS...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Something to think about...
When you decide to let go,
when you decide to trust,
there will be no fear to face.
— Heather K.
O'Hara
from The
Wisdom of Axis
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RESOURCES, RECOMMENDATIONS & COMMENTS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INSPIRING BOOKS BY
LEO BUSCAGLIA:
- The Fall of
Freddie the Leaf
- Born for Love
- Papa, My Father
- Loving Each Other
- Living, Loving &
Learning
- Personhood
- The Way of the
Bull
- Because I Am Human
- Love
For
more information or to purchase books, visit
www.buscaglia.com
I
believe that a portion of the proceeds go to the Felice
Foundation, founded by Leo Buscaglia in 1984 "to give special
aid to those who have dedicated themselves to the betterment of
personkind through the dynamics of helping one another."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please feel free to email me personal stories, poetry or
inspirational material you have written. Everything I receive
will be considered for publication in "A Touch of Grace" from
Heather O'Hara:
hkohara@Quantum-Grace.com
hkohara@LivingOnLevel7.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“A Touch of
Grace” is a Heather K. O’Hara world wide publication 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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If this
newsletter has been forwarded to you by a friend and you would
like to sign up for your own copy, simply click here to
subscribe:
http://www.quantum-grace.com/news2.htm
IT’S INSPIRING. IT’S EMPOWERING. AND IT’S
FREE.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2005, Heather K. O’Hara. All rights reserved.
www.Quantum-Grace.com
www.hkohara.com
www.LivingOnLevel7.com
|
