The “Light Poem” – I Invite You to Share This Special Gift
For those of you who have a True North bookmark, you will know the “Light Poem”, which is on the back of the bookmark.
For those who may not know it, here it is:
Within each of us, there is a light
A light that shines eternal
It is the light of the rising Sun
It is the light of the full moonTrueNorthBookmark
It is the light of the stars
In the darkest night
It is the light in a mother’s eyes
Gleaming at her newborn
It is the light between lovers
As they embrace
It is the light in the path of souls
On their journey to the other side
It is the light of Love
It is the light of Being
It is the light of God
See the light
Be the light
Shine the light
For all to see.
I share this with you because this “Light Poem” seems to have more applications than I was aware of.
As a volunteer at the Breakthrough Men’s Community, I spend every Wednesday evening helping men work through the issues that have caused their lives to be less than fulfilling. Recently, one of the men approached me at the end of the evening and asked to buy a copy of my book, True North, The Shocking Truth about Yours, Mine and Ours. I went out to my car and brought back a copy which included the bookmark that comes with every book.
My friend shared that he went out to his car, sat down and read the “Light Poem” that is on the bookmark, and immediately called the home of his sister who was dying. When her husband answered the phone, my friend asked how she was doing. Her husband’s response was, “She’s still comatose, and her breathing is labored.” My friend asked the husband to put the phone up to her ear. “But she is in a coma,” the husband responded. “Please, just do it.” My friend insisted.
The husband did as requested. As he held the phone to her ear, my friend read the “Light Poem” to her. As he read the stanza, “It is the light in the path of souls, On their journey to the other side,” his sister took a deep breath, and passed away.
It seemed that hearing the poem gave her permission to follow the light. No one could have known this would happen, but what a glorious event! Looking back, it makes so much sense to me. We are beings of light! We come into this world out of the light and we return to the light. We are not just our physical bodies, but we inhabit them during our journey here on Earth. We are the life force, the light that animates them.
I remember the day I received the “Light Poem”. I was at an Ayurveda Retreat, and had just received a wonderful rejuvenation treatment. While resting afterwards, I began a meditation. Anyone who has a mediation practice will know that it is common for creative ideas and inspirations to come in those quiet, subtle moments as we settle down from the more active thought process into more abstract, deeper levels of the self. It was as though someone had opened a scroll with the “Light Poem” written on it and held it in front of me to read. It appeared all at once.
These inspirations and creative ideas often leave as quickly as they arrive with not a trace remaining after the mediation. I have often had the thought, “I know there was something important that came to me, but I can’t remember what it was.” But in this instance, when I finished my meditation, the “Light Poem” was indelibly etched into my awareness. I quickly got up and found a pen and paper and wrote it down. I think of the poem as a gift that came through me to share with humanity.
I am grateful to have participated in some small way assisting in the passing of my Breakthrough Brother’s sister. I believe that two of the most important events in our lives are when we are born and when we leave this physical plane and return to the light from where we came. I invite you to share this special gift.
See the Light, Be the Light, Shine the Light for all to see!
Blessings to You,
Tom North
Five Benefits of Daily Meditation – Psychological and Emotional Benefits
Most people don’t know how to, or have perhaps forgotten what it really feels like to relax! This is because we live in a society of over stimulation and many of us have our Mudula-Oblangata (the fight or flight part of our brains) stuck in overdrive. We may overreact to the simplest of things. In fact, this is the subject of my presentation, “How to Become the Positive Change You Wish to See in Your Life!” So how can we cope?
Daily meditation gives us a direct experience of what it feels like to be totally relaxed, both physically and emotionally. It helps us turn off that fight or flight response. This form of relaxation is automatic and cumulative, resulting in a calmer demeanor during our daily activities and leads to more balanced emotions. (See Five Benefits of Daily Meditation – Physical Benefits)
Studies show that stress is very damaging and affects our psychological as well as physical health. Meditation can help. Over the past 40 years, more than 350 published research studies have documented the positive effects of the TM technique. Research findings include:
- 40-55% reduction in symptoms of PTSD and depression
- 42% decrease in insomnia
- 30% improvement in satisfaction with the quality of life
- 25% reduction in levels of plasma cortisol, the stress hormone
The emotional benefits of meditation can include:
Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
- Building skills to manage your stress
- Increasing self-awareness
- Focusing on the present
- Reducing negative emotions
In addition, by turning inward we have an opportunity to observe not just our physical bodies, but also our mental and emotional states as well. We can connect with a deep wisdom and light within.
Overcome anxiety and gain strength and resilience from within.
When we meditate, anxiety is transcended as the mind accesses inner reserves of energy, creativity and intelligence. One comes out of meditation feeling refreshed, rejuvenated. Worries are less. Mind and emotions are clearer and we feel more at ease. Life itself is more fulfilling.
As you may know, because of growing up in an abusive and violent household, my life was filled with stress and anxiety, fear and depression. When I learned to meditate 40 years ago, after the first session, I went to visit my sister and she immediately wanted to know what I had been doing. She noticed that I seemed so much more relaxed, not my usual nervous, uptight, depressed self. This was only the first day of my mediation experience!
Is it a Case of, “All You Need is Love”?
Recently, an art exhibit of the work of John Lennon visited the Carmel Plaza in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The title of the exhibit is “All You Need Is Love.” Interestingly, a film of the same name was shown on cable television the same week. A European film, it stars Pierce Brosnan as an embittered widowed businessman whose wife was killed by a drunk driver. He meets a Danish woman recovering from cancer (and her unfaithful dolt of a husband), whose daughter is betrothed to Brosnan’s character’s son. Leading up to the wedding, they embark on a love affair, learning to overcome their emotional wounds and get on with life.
The theme of “All You Need Is Love” is inspirational, whether in the context of the art exhibit or in the film. In an unbounded expression of creativity, John Lennon inspired listeners of his music and viewers of his art to find their own personal power.
The film by the same name as the art exhibit inspires viewers to deal with their pain in whatever manner they can, as the characters in the film have done, and get past the anger and disappointment of loss, for beyond the pain is love.
What a wonderful message! The most challenging part of getting in touch with our own creativity and finding out that all we need is love, is overcoming our emotional wounds which is really not as easy as wishing it were so. Each and every one of us who is still on the path to realization has emotional charges attached to memories that are stored deep in our sub-conscious. When we are presented with opportunities to be happy or to move forward in some meaningful way toward our own fulfillment in life, it is common for our thought process to run that opportunity by our wounded inner-child. It is that hurt child bringing up an unresolved issue who may very well say, “No! I’m not ready to let go of that memory or that pain,” or whatever might be the emotional charge still buried deep within the psyche.
Commonly, we don’t even have an awareness that there is something to be dealt with. We just find a way to unconsciously sabotage ourselves so that we don’t have to look inside at our own process.
I had this experience not long ago. I have observed over many years that my relationships with men have been less than satisfactory. Until recently I have kept up my barriers to genuine closeness. I was always on guard. Suffice it to say that I suspected I was sabotaging myself, because I wasn’t sustaining loving, fulfilling relationships with men.
So I went to talk to my therapist. We did some work on the issue and I had a huge AHA! moment. I found that because my father died and left me when I was only 6, and my mother re-married a man who was an ultraviolent pedophile, I distrusted men and kept them at a distance. It wasn’t the men’s fault necessarily; it was my own perceptions that created the distance. A few weeks after my breakthrough, I began to notice more love, more genuine feeling between myself and my male friends. The love had always been there. I just had to let it flow.
So when you are feeling unfulfilled in some aspect of your life, ask yourself the question, “Am I blocking my own success?” or is it a case of “All You Need is Love?” I suspect it may be both, because before we can access all the love we need, we have to unravel our own resistance to fulfilling our heart’s desire.
“Should you perceive a problem, you surround that problem with love. You define it in love. You recognize that it is caused by the lack of love that lies behind all problems. And with love, you introduce the understanding that provides the solution.” -Ken Carey
My Wild Alaska Adventure – The Big Dipper and the North Star Pointed Me to a Safer Harbor, Within
I was recently speaking to a family friend. He’s in his mid-twenties and has been reviewing my book. He spends a lot of time outdoors and he told me he really likes the chapters about my wild adventures in Alaska (Chapters 13 and 14 in True North – The Shocking Truth about “Yours, Mine and Ours“). He loved reading about the action-packed life on a fishing boat and thinks it’s awesome.
As I look back at the Alaska adventure chapter in my life, I am reminded that deciding to go to work on a fishing boat in Alaska was truly a step of courage – a leap of faith. Though the sheer distance didn’t remove the damage that had been done to my psyche, my heart and my life, after all; I had finally broken free from the family, the “big lie”, and the life of violence and depression.
Once again, the healing power of nature stepped in and took over without my even knowing it. You see, when one is on a fishing boat on the water in the middle of one of the most pristine environments in North America, there really is no escaping its call. With every breath and thought, or non-thought, I was communicating with, and connecting with the wild – mountains, whales, eagles; even the stars – the Big Dipper and the North Star shining brightly in the Alaska night sky on my Alaska adventure served to point me to a safe harbor, within.
Adventure? Yes. A growing and learning experience? Yes. But most of all, my Alaska adventure was one of the greatest gifts I could ever have given myself and received, especially at that point in my life.
As we Celebrate WORLD OCEANS DAY, I am Forever Grateful for the Healing Power of Mother Ocean.
When I was a boy in grade school in the 1960’s, I remember watching one of the first animated/live action films. It was an educational piece featuring an animated blood cell with cute little eyes and mouth as a character who interviewed a wise old bespectacled man. The blood cell character asked the wise old man which one liquid on planet earth most resembled human blood. The wise old man smiled broadly and said, “Seawater”. The animated blood cell bowed and said, “You are truly wise, sir.” In fact, about two-thirds of our body is made of what is essentially seawater – there is no doubt we are connected to the sea.
The ocean has therapeutic effects. From just being on the shore listening to the waves, feeling the sea breeze, smelling the salt air and becoming exhilarated by the negative ions created there, to utilizing the healing qualities of sea salts, seaweed, algae and minerals, the ocean has healing power. It even affects our brains, emotions and mood.
In True North, the Shocking Truth about “Yours, Mine and Ours”, I write about how my own mother was emotionally unavailable to me. When I was 13, I miraculously became a scuba diver and in many ways, the ocean became my surrogate mother. Being in the depths of the ocean was like being in the womb, suspended in a liquid environment, listening to my own breathing and heartbeat. Whether it was the serenity and security of being surrounded by this living liquid, or the total distraction of the adventure of the unknown which took me far away from the daily weight of the child abuse and violence at home, I sank beneath the surface, and if only for those few moments, was free.
The ocean was curative for me then and even now continues to sustain my spirit. Just last week I was diving and I thought about how much the ocean has meant to me in my life, to my survival and my continued recovery. Every day I’m filled with gratitude for the healing power of Mother Ocean.
Go Outside for a Dose of The Healing Power of Nature
When the domestic environment I grew up in was extremely toxic, I found myself going to the ocean, the rivers, the forests and the mountains. I didn’t know it then, but I do now – nature kept me sane when I might have gone crazy – in many ways it was my only escape.
Nature is a remarkable healing force. Few people think about our primal connection to it. What happens when we go for a walk outside – to the beach or a park? What’s the attraction? I can say that I always felt connected to the earth and sky, and though I didn’t consciously realize its healing force, at least for those few moments, I felt safe.
Studies show that spending time in nature provides physical, mental and spiritual health benefits. Ecotherapy (also known as green therapy, nature therapy, and earth-centered therapy) is proving to help children and adults – from ADD to cancer to depression, getting daily doses of the healing power of nature is recommended more and more by natural health practitioners.
I really don’t know what would have happened to me if I hadn’t lived where I lived – the ocean was a short walk from home, and I was lucky enough to hike in the woods in Carmel Valley. Then, when I got older, I went scuba diving and found another escape into the deep. I still dive and I still marvel at how exhilarated I feel underwater, and how refreshed I am when I return. I can’t imagine not having nature to turn to every day.
The benefits of trees, rivers, mountains and oceans go way beyond just creating temporary balance in life. This is where adventures are found and inspirations seem to come out of nowhere. I see and do things there that I would miss otherwise. I try to keep this in mind when I’m feeling down or stressed. Sometimes the solution to a problem or the cure for a minor tension is found just outside my front door, or in the woods, or at the beach. I am grateful for the magic, mystery and majesty of nature – my loyal friend and companion – always there, welcoming and waiting for me to come; to be healed.