Tag: #belove

Pray for peace

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized

Mother Nature seems a bit pissed off atm… Not just here in America but just about everywhere – 

👉United States: Flooding and severe storms have impacted the Northeast, with flash flooding in New York and New Jersey, and devastating floods in Texas. Wildfires have also been a concern in California. 

👉Japan: Deadly floods have occurred in central Japan. 

👉Africa: Flooding has been reported in several countries, including Chad, Morocco, Algeria, Tanzania, and Kenya. 

👉Asia: Typhoon Yagi caused significant damage in Asia, and Southern China has been devastated by deadly floods. 

👉Central Europe: Storm “Boris” caused widespread damage. 

👉Papua New Guinea: A landslide flattened a remote village, killing hundreds. 

👉Taiwan: A massive earthquake caused casualties and trapped mine workers. 

👉Hawaii: Kilauea, a Hawaiian volcano, has erupted dozens of times in the last 28 days.
👉 Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki erupted again July 7, sending an ash plume 11 miles into the atmosphere.😬
👉Mount Etna in Italy recently erupted
👉Mount Rainer in Washington State has seen dozens of seismic swarms over the past week

👉Panama: A 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the Pacific.  

These are just some of the recorded natural disasters that the Earth has been experiencing over the past few weeks.

According to quantum physics, everything in the world – and the universe at large – is connected.✨

We are all microorganisms in a larger macroorganism, much like individual cells in a human body. Or perhaps, we are more like the bacteria residing in a human body; a population even greater than human cells. 

Given all of the negativity in the world right now, it makes perfect sense that our physical environment would be a reflection of the stress, strife and unrest that so many are experiencing.   

If the negative emotions that we hold in our magnetic field are projected into the unified field, perhaps the mass of anxiety and strife is contributing to the upheaval of the Earth. 

If this is true,  we should also be able to influence the Field positively – to set our differences aside, allow our anxieties and hostilities take a backseat, and focus on the positive.  On healing ourselves and the planet.  On building a better future for ourselves and future generations.✨

Skeptical?🤔

Here’s something to consider➡️

In 1993, a three-week experiment was held where 4000 participants gathered to pray and meditate in Washington DC; at that time the most crime-riddled place in the nation.  (I can attest to this – I lived in DC for several years at that time, and though I absolutely loved it, there were areas where I would not have gone for fear of being shot on the spot).  

The Maharishi Effect in action

The intention of this experiment was to significantly reduce stress and increase coherence(peace), lowering the crime rate in our nations’ capital. 

👉 A 27 member project review board monitored the experiment and weekly crime data gathered from the DC police department.  

👉 During this time, crime decreased by nearly 25%!  The decrease could not be attributed to outside factors such as weather, additional police staffing, etc.  

👉 the probability of this drastic of a decrease happening by chance was estimated to be impossibly low –  (p < 2 x 10-9 )!

This experiment became known as the “Maharishi effect”.  

There are hundreds of other examples of how we influence our environment every day – most of us have had the experience of thinking about somebody and then they call or text, or we meet them at some random and unexpected place.  We have a song in our heads and turn on the radio to find it playing.   We need healing and it happens.  Or we are desperately in need of something; be it money, health, a partner, or just a kind word, and it shows up in a way that feels like a miracle.  Like prayer answered.  And it is.  

✨In most world religions, it is called Prayer.

✨To the spiritualists, it is manifestation. 

✨To the Wiccans, it is spellcraft.  (Spelling=magic✨)

✨In spiritual philosophy, it is coherence with All That Is.

✨In quantum physics, it’s vibrational alignment.

How are you “spelling” your reality?

At the root of our belief systems, it’s all the same, regardless of language, belief system, or philosophy.  We are in constant communication with everything that is, or God/Allah/Shiva/Goddess/Unified Field, etc.  As my favorite “guru” Wayne Dyer once said: 

Our futures are formed by the thoughts we hold most often. We literally become what we think about, and we are all given the gift of being able to write our own story.

✨We can change our story, individually and collectively.  

✨We can make the earth a place that we all want to live in. 

✨We do not have to accept as norm the destruction or downfall of our civilization and the strife, upheaval, divisiveness and warfare we are currently experiencing throughout the world.  

Here’s how we can change things, from the inside out: 

✅Start with gratitude. Before you fall asleep and when you wake each morning, take a few moments to acknowledge all of the good in your life.  This not only projects into a magnetic field, but also sets our neurobiology to release happy chemicals such as dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin, rather than stress hormones. (cortisol, adrenaline, norepinephrine) 

✅Request good in your life.  Every spiritual tradition has the equivalent of “Ask and ye shall receive.”  It works. 

✅ Focus on the good.  Spending too much time focusing on the negativity of the past and present, or holding anxiety for the future only decreases our personal power.  Perhaps one of the reasons why there’s so much focus on it in the media; a term called hijacking the amygdala.  The amygdala is the area of the brain responsible for emotional regulation.  When we are in a place of stress or fear, the amygdala overrides the rational thought and decision-making part of the brain; the prefrontal cortex.  This can create a vicious cycle of stress and anxiety.

✅ Reset – when you’re feeling stressed, anxious, or dysregulated, your amygdala is likely in control of your emotions.  Take a moment to center.  Breathe deeply into your lungs and diaphragm.  Hold for a few seconds followed by a slow exhale. Put your mind’s focus on your heart rather than your head.  This resets the parasympathetic nervous system from flight or flight into rest and create.  👉You can also use havening or anchoring techniques to create greater peace and calm – cross the arms and gently stroke down the length of the arms from shoulder to fingertip.  Alternatively, gently stroke the tops of the thighs.  Feel into your body and really notice the sights, sounds, and feel of the body and environment of your immediate vicinity.👈

✅Connect.  Spend time with others who make you feel good and raise your vibrational frequency. Hug often. Physical touch not only increases serotonin and oxytocin (the “love hormone”) but lowers stress hormones, increases immunity, and just makes us feel good.🥰

✅ Spend time outdoors.  Henry David Thereau said “We need the tonic of the wilderness.”   The disconnection from our natural world and into one of rampant technological use is one of the reasons why we are becoming more sick and unhappy as a population.   Being outside reminds us of the beauty of our natural world, but it also exposes us to negative ions, which increases positivity and immune function, decreases stress, increases cognitive function and creativity and can even prevent disease.  

✅Empower yourself.  We have all heard the adage “knowledge is power”.  Pay attention to what is happening in the world, but don’t involve yourself emotionally to avoid the “amygdalic hijacking” I referenced earlier. (Stay frosty😉) 

  • 📰 If you wish to be involved, crossreference everything! Truth has become more and more subjective and even that which should be true must be questioned with the advent of AI, deepfake technology, and increasingly sophisticated psyops employed by governments, tech giants and individuals looking to influence the population to one particular mindset.  
  • Look to your values.  Whether it is a personal relationship, spiritual leader or political figure, the people you spend the most time with should be a reflection of your personal value system.  If you are seriously questioning the alignment of your values with someone else, there is probably not only an energy drain but a potential future disaster. 
  • 🥋As a martial arts instructor and longtime practitioner, I highly recommend at least rudimentary self-defense classes as an excellent way to gain confidence, a deeper sense of personal empowerment and self knowledge.  I also teach and practice yoga and can not recommend it highly enough for the deep sense of calm and connection it creates in the mind and body. 
  • 🖌️🎨Self expression through any form of art – painting, sculpture, dance, writing, cooking, fashion, etc., is an excellent way to not only create greater authenticity and self empowerment, but also can dramatically escalate the level of joy we feel on a daily basis.
  • Power Pose! Tune in to your stance and walk.  How are you resting in your body?  Are your shoulders hunched and back curved, decreasing range of motion and putting you into “prey” mode?  Or is your spine long, shoulders back and head high; all signs of confidence, strength and power? If you are needing an extra dose of confidence, try taking a Wonder Woman/Superman pose – back straight, feet wide and hands on hips.  Studies have shown this to reduce stress and improve cognition and new research indicates decreased cortisol and an increase in levels of testosterone when we “step into our superhero”.  Here’s another interesting fact – our primitive brain does not know the difference between reality and what we create in our minds, see on a screen or dream up on ChatGPT.   A fun tool is to use  AI to create a superhero image of yourself and put it somewhere you can see it daily to remind yourself of how amazing and powerful you are, and to begin to rewire your neurocircuitry to build a more confident, radiant version of yourself.  Here’s one that ChatGPT built for me using one of my favorite photos:

Cool, right?  Here’s the prompt I used: “Please create an image of me, using my photo, as a superhero in a classic hands-on-hips pose.  My chest emblem should be a heart with a sunburst radiating outwards.”  And I’d say AI absolutely nailed it! I’m thinking I might use it as a future book cover…😉

How is your field potentially affecting the mindset of our population – and Mother Earth herself? 

Big Love. 

  • Terah 

Label Less, Love More.

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized

We are all narcissists, to varying degrees.

I  know this goes against current popular opinion which loves to vilify anyone they view as self-centered, but hear me out. 

I had an unexpected experience today that left me feeling quite sad.  It is not because anything awful has happened; really, just the opposite. I have had a particular abundance of blessings in my life recently.  As  a result, I try to share a little extra of that abundance whenever I see or feel someone in need.  

Today was one of those days. I had been doing some shopping at Safeway in Lynden. A man passed me in the produce area, and at first, I didn’t see him so much as I felt him. I felt a sense of darkness that was connected to a deep sadness. I glanced up to see where those frequencies were coming from, and saw a young man passing me, walking away, maybe four feet past. He was dressed all in dark colors, his clothes shabby and his shoes falling apart. He held himself like somebody who has experienced deep pain; his shoulders hunched and head down, hood drawn deeply over his face though it was a gloriously sunny afternoon.

{ This is not the person that I had this experience with.  Just an illustration. }

It’s rare to see someone so broken in the tiny NW Washington hamlet Lynden. I don’t necessarily think that the town has any less dysfunction than anywhere else – I just think that the powers that be tend to make sure that anyone with extreme outward signs of mental disorders, addictions or emotional trauma is either well hidden or… elsewhere.

Please note that I am not in any way disparaging the town. I lived there for several years, raised my children there, and owned a business. I made many happy memories there and still have a large part of my most loved community in the area.  I love how clean and safe it feels. 

But in order to create that sense of cleanliness and safety, there is just not going to be outward evidence of anything that does not support that feeling.

If I want my flower beds to look their best, I’m going to pull the weeds, right?  

The problem is, sometimes it can be easy to forget that most weeds have just as much value and often greater medicinal properties than the flowers do because they don’t look as pretty.

But back to the man at Safeway. 

I felt such a deep sense of sadness as he walked away.   I don’t think that drugs were the issue, but there was definitely some mental illness.  I have often wondered how someone becomes so very broken – what  child ever decided that they wanted to be homeless when they grew up? I don’t think this man could have been more than mid 20s so childhood wasn’t that far away.😣

I wished that I could do something to help him in that moment – but it was pretty clear that he did not want to be approached. 

But I had an opportunity to try to help a little later when I got up to the register. 

He had finished his shopping just before me, and was at the register directly across from where I checked out, digging through his pockets; ones spread out on the counter as he searched  for coins to pay for the last of his groceries.  The cashier looked on in impatience and low-grade disgust.  (We do love our petty judgements, don’t we?🫤).  I happened to have a $100 bill in my wallet, so I walked over, handed the cashier the money, and said “I would like to help“ and then walked back to my register to continue to check out.  

My heart felt a little bit happier, knowing that maybe I might have made some small difference in this man’s day.  

He did not look up at all, and left shortly there after. I finished my own checkout and walked past the register where he had been.   The cashier stopped me to hand me my money back. He said the man would not accept it. 

Honestly, I was a little bit crushed. I know this probably sounds strange, but when I experience either happiness or sadness, I often feel it as a physical sensation in my heart center. When I am happy, my heart feels buoyant. Sparkly.✨. But at that moment, I felt my heart drop and compress a little. The heaviness there doesn’t feel good.

His shoes had been barely held together and he obviously did not have enough to pay for his groceries, so why wouldn’t he let me help? I didn’t understand, but as I walked out to my truck, I saw him walking quickly across the parking lot, carrying his one bag of groceries; head down as before, but clearly swiping at his eyes with his free hand.  I am certain that he was crying. 

I think maybe he was just so sad to be in that position, but  still had enough pride that he didn’t want to accept help from a random stranger.

I found myself weeping, too. Honestly, I’m still in tears and my heart heavy, an hour later, thinking about it.

And here’s where the idea of narcissism comes in. Each of us exist in our own private little universe. We can only truly understand or relate to that which we have personally experienced in some way. We have others in our life who we care for, of course, and those who care for us, as well. Most of us generally wish well for others and I believe want the best for those around us in the world at large.

But how much of that is self-centered? How much of our desire to “save the world“ or care for others comes from a place of wanting to live in the best world that we can as individuals, or be cared for by others?  Just look at the rampant hate that has happened in the last few years.  We often don’t even try to understand other people’s perspectives. We just hate because they are different. 

Because they are “other“.

There are 1000 different ways this manifests (racism, sexisx, ageism, political polarization…the list goes on), but all of us have experienced it one way or another.

When I help someone who is in need, usually, it is because I am deeply empathetic, and I literally feel other people’s pain as my own. It is also easy for me to put myself in another’s shoes and imagine how it might feel to be them. I help people because I want to help, but I also help people because I don’t want to be in pain. Does that make sense?

I’m not saying that there isn’t altruism involved with me or anyone else. Of course there is. But it is also true that some of the source of that altruism is really selfishness – what many right now like to label as narcissism .  

I’m also not saying that there are not people in the world who are genuinely narcissistic. I have known some who just lacked empathy so profoundly that nothing existed besides themselves, unless it was someone or some thing that was there because they served a purpose.

But actual, pathological narcissism is estimated to be less than 1% of the population. So the hundreds of thousands who are on the “pin the tail on the narcissist” bandwagon are spearing a whole lot of innocent bystanders…

We have become so accustomed to throwing around labels such as “narcissist”, “snowflake”, “boomer”, “Karen” or “Chad” that it feels to me that we have lost much of our ability to be compassionate towards others, and the “education” we receive (largely on social media) in understanding psychological behavior has swung so far to one side that we are hurting more than we are helping.

 And I guess that is the purpose of this particular blog, though it is made in a roundabout way.  

If my desire to help others comes at least in part because I want to alleviate the emotional and physical pain that I  experience as a result of another’s suffering, does that make me a narcissist? 

 According to many folks’ definition of the term right now, I believe it would.  And perhaps I am, to a degree; though my guess is that most who know me would say the opposite to be true. 

But my point is that maybe, rather than being so quick to judge or label another, perhaps we might take a step back and try to ask where that judgment might be coming from, and recognize some aspect of it in ourselves. 

Or, at least, try to understand and have compassion for another’s experience and perspective. We all know the old adage “judge not, lest ye also be judged”, but I think a more appropriate version might be “Judge not, for when we judge another, we are really just judging something we recognize within ourselves.”  

We are all stars reflecting each others’ light, and like the stars that light up the night sky, we are all beautiful, bright and shiny – in our own way. And also like the stars, we hold the power to warm – or to burn – those around us.

This beauty, warmth, and capacity for destruction is true for everyone, and everyone is deserving of compassion, value, and care.

Even the homeless person that we avoid downtown – who is likely there because past trauma has broken their spirit.

Even the Karen throwing a tantrum at the cafe – likely because her inner child just wants to be heard.  

Even the Chad that acts like a dick as an adult because he was bullied as a child.  

Even the “Trump supporter”, looking for a better America.  

Even the Biden supporter, also looking for a better America.  

Even the neurodivergent, just trying to get by in a word of “normies”. 

Even the gender-alternative. 

Even the person of another race or color.

Even the addict.  

And all the other Evens and Odds out there that make this world an infinitely interesting and varied place – and thank God for that, right? 😎

Loved one, I hope that wherever you are reading this from, you are safe, and happy.  I hope that your life is filled with love and blessings. 

And I also hope that the next time you find yourself beginning to label someone in a way that negates all of who they are, you pause for a moment, and send love instead of negativity.  I hope you can see that perhaps who they are reflects a little of who You are, and you are able to love yourself a little more for that understanding.  

And if you are able to share a little bit of that love, or some of your own abundance, you just might make someone’s life a little bit better, their day a little bit brighter, and do some good for yourself, all at the same time.🥰

Big love.💖

  • Terah

All One

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized

We sleep.

When we sleep, we hold the illusion of separation – that each of us

Is a completely isolated 

And separate being, 

Drifting purposeless

On a giant rock in space.  

But then we Awaken.

 To realize we had been dreaming.  

And the dream often was a nightmare

Constructed by Illusion

By Ego

By the Dream itself. 

We dreamt we were alone.

We dreamt we were broken.

We dreamt we were “sinners”,

Destined for a dark hell.  

But it is the dream that is hell.

The dream that is the lie. 

The Truth 

Is that there is no separation.

No isolation.

No sin.

No hell.  

No brokenness.  

There is only the All That Is;

The All That Is is Us.

Separation from the Divine;

From “God”  

Is the illusion.  

This Awakening from 

The Dream,

This Remembrance 

Is the point of this existence.  

The Divine is Us

And we are the Divine.  

The Lover and the Beloved in one.

We are here to be the struggle

And the release.  

The conflict 

And the resolution.  

The battle and the peace.  

We are Arjuna in his struggle  – 

And Krishna/Shiva in his Wisdom.  

We are Christ and the Apostles.  

We are Mohammed, and Allah.  

The Divine 

Is every molecule of who we are

Of nature

Of the atmosphere  

The Divine 

Is the fabric of Reality

And Reality Itself.

Every experience 

We are given here 

Is an opportunity 

To remember this. 

Every sweet strawberry 

Tasted on the tongue

An opportunity to remember.

Every glass of wine

Every  lingering kiss 

Shared with a Lover

By a peaceful river

Or surrounded by green trees

An opportunity to remember.

We are the Divine.  

Every tiny hand held in our own.  

Every Child’s Innocence 

And Laughter, Tantrum and Terror.

The Divine. 

Every moment of Beauty; 

Every moment if Hope

Every moment of Joy.  

The Divine.

Every moment of Sorrow

Every moment of Despair

Every Conflict and Struggle.

The Divine.  

It is only in remembering

That there is no separation 

Between Us and God

Between Us and the All That Is 

That we find freedom.  

We are the Buddha

We are Allah, 

We are Elohim/Yahweh/God. 

We are the Mother, the Father, 

The Son 

and the Holy Spirit

And the Daughter.  

It is only in Awakening

In remembering 

That we can begin to 

Play with life

With reality.  

It is in remembering 

That we can create Magic.

It is in remembering 

that we experience Holy fallout.

It is in remembering 

that we fill our mouths and palms

With Joy. ✨

Today and all days, 

Beloved, 

My greatest wish 

Would be that you might 

Open yourself 

To the possibility 

That you are not alone.

That you are not isolated.

That you are not broken.

But that you are 

God Incarnate

Having a human experience 

On this beautiful 

Holographic Reality 

Of a planet called Earth.

I would wish you to see 

That you are Beauty.

That you are Wholeness

That you are a 

Rare and unique jewel;

A perfect expression 

Of the Divine. 

You are love

And you are loved.

The Lover and the Beloved

All wrapped up 

In one gorgeous package

Of infinite potential.

I see you.

I am You.

You are we

And we 

Are

Love.

– Terah