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:
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!
TM is Proven to Reduce Stress Caused by Trauma of Child Abuse and Domestic Violence
Recently, my wife Connie and I returned from doing our meditation program for a week in the Golden Domes of Pure Knowledge on the campus of Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa. Participating in the daily meditation in the Dome is truly a joy! As soon as we set foot on the campus I felt the profound silence that pervades the area. It is a powerful feeling.
During our stay, I was interviewed by 3 radio talk show hosts and 2 television anchors. (Check out my radio and TV appearances.) Plus, I was featured in a newspaper article in the Fairfield Weekly Reader. The University Alumnae Association interviewed me for an article in their newsletter and I appeared in a video segment for the university endowment department. My presentation and book, True North, The Shocking Truth about “Yours, Mine and Ours,” was well received by the people who attended the book signing that was held at the Revelations Book Store and Café. I also was the featured speaker at the University Business Department students’ monthly seminar. It was a delight to share my experience as a student at MUM and to provide insights about the business world the students will be exploring in the not-to-distant future.
During all of this activity, I was happy to have my meditation time where I could turn my attention inward and enjoy the quite space within. There are many well-documented benefits of Transcendental Meditation (TM). For example, studies show that practicing TM can help improve academic performance.
One of the biggest challenges that most people face is managing stress. Reducing stress and helping to create a supportive environment is another benefit of the practice of TM. Learning and practicing TM is more important than ever as a recent NIH study indicates that overwhelmingly, childhood trauma caused by child abuse and domestic violence has a devastating impact on human development and health, and even leads to disease. TM is proven to reduce stress from this trauma.
I can personally attest to this. After living a life of child abuse and domestic violence, I was a mess – I was depressed, unhappy and ill. When I learned TM, I started on a road to healing and recovery – my life turned around.
The David Lynch Foundation has been sponsoring scholarship programs to help women and underprivileged children learn TM and begin to enjoy the benefits of this program. To learn more about this amazing opportunity, go to www.davidlynchfoundation.org.
Sitting in the silence of the Maharishi Golden Dome of Pure Knowledge is an honor and a privilege I will cherish forever. I thank the hundreds of meditators who gather there each day
I Look Forward to Sitting in Stillness in the Maharishi Golden Dome
My astrologer friends tell me that the recent new moon in Pisces presented us with the perfect time to go within and be in silence while enjoying spiritual connection and state of being. Seems we have all been living in a spell of action-oriented behavior for a while, and we all need to slow down a bit. They also suggest that it is a time for receiving spiritual rejuvenation through silence and stillness.
So, it is perfect that I am on my way to take a meditation course at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa. I look forward to sitting in the Maharishi Golden Dome of Pure Knowledge. With eyes closed and the attention inward, accessing the Bliss of Pure Consciousness becomes the only activity, which is non-activity!
Twice a day, over 1000 people gather in the Domes to practice Transcendental Meditation (TM)
to promote peace and harmony in the world.
The healing power of TM has been well documented in over 4,000 scientific studies conducted over the last 50 years. I have written about TM and my own healing journey in True North – The Shocking Truth about “Yours, Mine and Ours.” I cannot tell you where I would be today if I had not had the good fortune and/or guidance that directed me to learn to practice TM back in 1975. Before I learned TM, I was so angry and bitter that I could not even give a compliment. As soon as I learned to meditate, it was as if a giant burden had been lifted from my soul. I found myself giving compliments as if I had always been doing so. People began to ask what was different about me. They couldn’t quite put their finger on it, but there was a noticeable difference in my demeanor and my tone of voice. They told me there was something new, and it was good. Some of them suggested that whatever I was doing, to keep doing it!
“By enlivening this most basic level of life, Transcendental Meditation is that one simple procedure which can raise the life of every individual and every society to its full dignity, in which problems are absent and perfect health, happiness, and a rapid pace of progress are the natural features of life.”
- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
My observation has been that we are all in a time of transition which has an element of chaos about it. It also has an aspect of dramatic transformation into a higher, broader awareness, both individually and collectively – that is happening whether we like it or not. My hunch is that to attempt to resist the changes we are invited into will bring discomfort. To flow with them will bring a joy and an affirmation of our experience as we grow in our own awareness.
Astrologer Jonathan Cainer reminds us, “There’s a cosmic force that gets unleashed when people reach silently into their hearts to commune with their highest hopes and deepest prayers. When millions of us do this in one spirit, we can effectively alter everything.”
Each of us has a choice to make at this moment. We can either stay connected to the fast and furious pace of activity we have been locked into recently, or we can choose to turn our attention inward and slow down for now. We can get caught up in the chaos, or we can flow with the changes through stillness.
If you feel the need to slow the pace and enjoy the quiet space within, it may be that you are feeling the effects of this magical time in Pisces. Seeking silence is a very good way to align ourselves with what is already taking place. It’s our own choice. I know what mine is. What’s yours?
My Hope is that You Will be Inspired to Shine Your Light
We all need light to survive. Without it, we die. There are two kinds of light we need to thrive; Sunlight and Divine Light. The Sunlight we understand, but the Divine Light is often overlooked. Of the two, the Divine Light is far more important in every way. During a meditation many years ago, I was given a prose poem. I hope that you, too, will be inspired to shine your light.
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 moon
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.
Readers are Finding Their Own True Story When They Read My True Story
Since the release of my book, True North-The Shocking Truth about “Yours, Mine and Ours”, I’ve received many emails and I’ve had many conversations with readers who have expressed their feelings to me about the book. What I find amazing and gratifying, is that as I read these emails and listen to each person, I hear how readers have found a connection to my story that resonates with their own – each person has brought their own story, and some have even found their true story when they read my true story. I believe there are two reasons for this:
First (unfortunately), the incidence of domestic violence and child abuse is so common in our society that either we have had a personal experience with it, or we know someone very close to us who has. Second, because we all have so many experiences that we share, True North is not just my story. It is a story for everyone.
I believe that as human beings, we have far more in common than that which separates us. Yet in spite of this, the stigma of silence that surrounds the issue of domestic violence and child abuse shrouds victims in shame, guilt and most seriously, isolation. Many people often end up carrying unresolved childhood emotions into adulthood not knowing what to do with them and not wanting to talk about them. Many feel like they have done something wrong, or it is even their fault. Nothing could be further from the truth!
I believe, and experts suggest that the most important realization anyone can have in this regard is to realize and accept the fact that they are not alone and there is help available to them. (If you are new to my blogs, please see the resource section of the website.)
True North – The Shocking Truth about “Yours, Mine and Ours” is a story that seems to have something for everyone. If it isn’t one part of the book, it is another. For example, some people like the real life vs. “Yours, Mine and Ours” section; some like the adventure stories; some like the heart-touching stories about my visit with the North family; some like the spiritual-meditation section. Many are shocked by the story, and some have actually reached out to me with kindness and sympathy telling me they are sorry for what I went through and glad I made it.
One thing is perfectly clear: Readers are touched and many have stated that reading the book has been an important step on their own healing journey – they are seeing the light.
Whatever your life circumstances are that led you to read True North -The Shocking Truth about “Yours, Mine and Ours”, I hope you will find the inspiration you need to carry you forward on your journey, and that you find courage, as I have, to reach out and make a difference, in your life and in the lives of others, especially abused and neglected children.
Transcendental Meditation can help Victims of the Silent Epidemic, Traumatic Stress, which can be Caused by Living in a State of Fear, Child Abuse and Domestic Violence
At the age of 22 when I had just learned how to mediate, I went home to visit my family for an afternoon. Some of them said they noticed a change in me that they couldn’t figure out, and they were puzzled by this. I told them I had learned how to meditate and was really enjoying it. It made me feel better. The difference in my behavior and attitude was so remarkable that I was asked to arrange for an introductory lecture so that my family could understand what was going on with Tom, and to find out if maybe there was something in this for them, too. After the lecture, some of my brothers and sisters learned to practice Transcendental Meditation (TM), and eventually eleven of the 22 family members began to meditate!
At that time in the 1970s, it was also the cool thing to do. After all, the Beatles and the Beach Boys were meditating! (In fact, the Beach Boys’ last album for Reprise, M.I.U. Album (1978), was recorded at Maharishi International University in Iowa, my alma mater, which I write extensively about in True North – The Shocking Truth about “Yours, Mine and Ours”.)
Some of the earliest writings on the subject of meditation, around 1500 BCE in the Vedas (large body of texts originating in ancient India), refer to the unlocking of the secrets of the universeand all the Laws of Nature within the individual as a result of the periodic and regular practice of TM. The Vedas were also the description of direct experience of God. Even the Christian Bible quotes Jesus who said, “The kingdom of heaven is within.” (I don’t believe he meant within a church.)
It is believed as individual awareness expands through regular practice of TM and going within, a naturalinfusion of undifferentiated pure Beinginto the body-mind takes place. Over time, this change in the functioning of the meditator’s consciousness is experienced as Bliss. What is Bliss? Imagine sugar taken beyond sweetness. In that same way, happiness taken to an extreme and beyond itself is Bliss. The great yogis and masters from all spiritual traditions teach that, this Bliss, is the source of all existence.
I certainly understand how practicing TM can help victims of the silent epidemic, Traumatic Stress, which can be caused by growing up in a state of fear, child abuse and domestic violence. Though I wish someone had helped us with that when we were kids, I’m grateful to have had the good fortune of being led to TM when I was. It was truly a turning point in my life, and even today, I know that practicing TM is important for my ongoing recovery.
I encourage you to look into TM, a life skill that can serve you as long as you want it to. In fact, the longer one meditates, the more Bliss they will infuse into their body-mind. The more Bliss they infuse, the more they will radiate that into their environment, thereby making the world a less violent and better place for everyone. And isn’t that what we all truly desire?
Within each of us
True North – The Shocking Truth about “Yours, Mine and Ours” is a story that seems to have something for everyone. If it isn’t one part of the book, it is another. For example, some people like the real life vs. “Yours, Mine and Ours” section; some like the adventure stories; some like the heart-touching stories about my visit with the North family; some like the spiritual-meditation section. Many are shocked by the story, and some have actually reached out to me with kindness and sympathy telling me they are sorry for what I went through and glad I made it.
I certainly understand how practicing TM can help victims of the silent epidemic, Traumatic Stress, which can be caused by growing up in a state of fear, child abuse and domestic violence. Though I wish someone had helped us with that when we were kids, I’m grateful to have had the good fortune of being led to TM when I was. It was truly a turning point in my life, and even today, I know that practicing TM is important for my ongoing recovery.