Monthly Archives: May 2016

Watching for family patterns

Complementary Therapies, Mending the Mind, ,
hildegard von bingen
Hildegard of Bingen

Rivers of living water are to be poured out over the whole world, to ensure that people, like fishes caught in a net, can be restored to wholeness.
Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen, German Benedictine abbess and founder of scientific natural history in Germany, believed that the Divine pours out living water upon the earth to bring healing to all. She believed people can be restored to wholeness.

It has happened for me. This year I celebrate that I have lived longer than my mother lived.

This is significant in my eyes, because she passed from breast cancer. I, also, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I now have flowed past her last birthday and have outlived her. I have exhaled a huge sigh of relief.

I’m not the only one snared by the family cancer net. My mother was diagnosed when I was a tween. One of my sons was the same age when I was diagnosed with a sarcoma. It definitely appeared to be a pattern. A pattern that needed to be eliminated.

The first step, of course, was being aware of this pattern. On its own, this acknowledgement reduces its strength. It frees us up somewhat from carrying out the repetition compulsion. Now at least part of the burden has been lifted from his shoulders. Of course, this brings me even more relief.

And a restoration of some wholeness.

Thriver Soup Ingredient:

Sometimes families have patterns of illness or of passing. Being aware of the patterns is the first step in healing them.

Source:

http://www.azquotes.com/quote/865103, possibly from Hildegard of Bingen, “Book of Divine Works”, Part III, Vision 3

Image is in the public domain.

Community Press shares Thriver Soup’s message of hope and healing

About, Complementary Therapies, Congruent Care, Conventional Methods, , , , , ,

“There were times when Heidi Bright prepared to die after being diagnosed with a terminal cancer in July 2009.

“Today Bright delivers a message of hope and healing through her book ‘Thriver Soup’ and speaking to groups. This is the third traditionally published book by the Milford author.”

Please read more at

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/local/milford/2016/05/17/milford-womans-book-shares-tips-surviving-cancer/84500320/

Lilies for Mother’s Day

Congruent Care, Night of Mourning, , , ,
Lilies symbolize motherhood.
Lilies symbolize motherhood.

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin. Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Matthew 6:28-29, Christian Bible

The lilies in my neighbor Jennifer’s yard had grown so much that “on a whim” she was outside, digging up a large swathe of them. Just as my son and I were walking by—which we only do once every week or two.

Had we walked by an hour earlier or later, she would not have been working on the lilies and they would not have been available.

The timing of her whim proved perfect. She offered them to me. In time to plant for Mother’s Day.

Lilies are considered by some to symbolize motherhood. This arises from an ancient Greek myth that the goddess Hera’s milk overflowed, and the milk that fell to the earth splashed and formed white lilies.

White lilies often appear in paintings of the Madonna when being told she will bear the Christ Child, once again tying the flower to motherhood and new beginnings. This new beginning extends to restoration of innocence for the souls of the departed.

My own mother is among the departed–I lost her decades ago to breast cancer. And I lost my son Brennan less than a year ago.

These flowers aren’t the first lilies to show up near a holiday. A stylized lily, referred to as the fleur-de-lis, was on a red vase that appeared on my porch in time for Christmas—a surprise package I believe Brennan had a hand in getting delivered. Now bunches of the real deal are growing in my yard.

The connection is clear to me. I believe Brennan, and perhaps my mother as well, had something to do with my neighbor’s “whim” and the timing of my walk, so I would have lilies in his memorial garden in time for Mother’s Day. And there were enough to plant some in the front yard, adorning an area designated for my other son’s plants. I look forward to their summer glories.

Thriver Soup Ingredient
If you would like to grow lilies, here is a guide: https://www.almanac.com/plant/lilies

Sources:
http://www.whats-your-sign.com/lily-meaning.html

http://www.teleflora.com/meaning-of-flowers/lily

Embracing the joys and unbearable agonies of motherhood

Congruent Care, Night of Mourning,

Even if a mother lives for a hundred years,
She will constantly worry about her eighty-year-old child.
Do you wish to know when such kindness and love ends?
It doesn’t even begin to dissipate until her life is over!

“The Kindness of Ultimate Compassion and Sympathy,” The Filial Piety Sutra

summer 2000A mother’s kindness and love remains strong throughout her life. I absolutely loved being a mother. I cherished those little arms wrapped around me, that soft sweet breath in my ear, the giggles as we played together.
That is only part of why losing a child is considered the toughest tragedy a human being can face.
And it makes Mother’s Day particularly painful. There is an emptiness, a hole, that nothing can ever fill. There is an ache that will never disappear. It is like a broken hand that leaves one impaired throughout life.
My first Mother’s Day without my son Brennan is this weekend. I read of another mother who lost her only child to heroin, and another who lost two sons to heroin in one night.
So while my heart aches for Brennan, I feel deeply grateful for my second child. Out of my six pregnancies, he is the only one alive today.
I cherish our time together. I now have a little time to read books he suggests so we can talk about them. We have a weekly ritual of eating out. And we discovered Escape Room adventures during which we are locked in a room for an hour and have a series of puzzles to solve. We’ll be doing one on Mother’s Day.
Brennan would have loved participating with us. I will invite his spirit to join us on this fun adventure. I will make the most of my time with Jason. And I will embrace both the incredible joy and unbearable agony of motherhood.

Thriver Soup Ingredient
One possible way to celebrate Mother’s Day and enjoy connecting with family members is with a Room Escape adventure. There are many companies offering them in major cities across the country.

Source:
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/filial-sutra.htm