Robbins Hopkins

Spiritual Health: Being at Peace in Everyday Life

spiritual work

The Neggies

I had a neighbor once who when asked how things were going would sometimes reply, we have the neggies.  I loved that because it was so expressive.  The neggies can overtake a whole group when complaining, arguing and bickering breaks out.  For me, the neggies often show up when my body hurts, when I am feeling overwhelmed, unproductive or when I have no time to take care of myself.  This looks like washing my hair at 12:45 AM or trying to dry clothes at 6 AM for the coming day!

Grumpy Rainbow by Jenn and Tony Bot

Frequently when these thoughts and feelings begin to invade my space, all the above feelings come at the same time.  It is as if, when I open that doorway to one little neggie, all the other little neggies lurking in the background gang up on me and have to get their kicks in as well. Recently for example, I was “over” solid booked for weeks with clients.  I contracted a sinus infection, then a major virus over Christmas (ugh) and t0 top it all off, I fell while cross-country skiing and badly sprained my knee.  I think sometimes these things come all together to get me to pay attention and ask what in the world is going on here with me?  The neggies are invading!

Seriously though, when this happens I am not a happy camper.  I frequently am anxious and prickly and don’t sleep well and can’t even be dressed up to be taken out anywhere. That’s the biggest clue that I have succumbed, when I can’t  even be roused to put on a good face to go out.  Alas, time for serious self-searching.

Though I can write about this state of affairs with levity, I assure you when I am in that state, I am really not centered and in serious need of clearing and balance.  I have also noticed people taking wide berths around me and the wearing of velvet gloves.

365:60 ARGH by seq

So having been recently in an expanded state of the neggies, here is what Divine Guidance came up with for me.  Be quiet, have a day of doing little or nothing, get frustrated, get angry, get sad, be quiet again, and then finally ask  WHAT AM I DOING TO ATTRACT THESE EXPERIENCES TO ME ??

Looking at attracting the neggies and manifesting imbalance comes from the spiritual view that we create our own experiences of our lives.  We can be as angry, sad, depressed, fearful, joyful, grateful or as accommodating as we can imagine.  It is our choice. When my body hurts, I have a choice to obsess about the pain or to get some help from preparations, pills or from people.  I also have a choice about how I react to hurting.  I can attend to it and then do something that focuses my mind differently or I can feel sorry for myself and eat.  I can complain to whomever will listen or I can be still and call forth new balance in my body.  I usually do a mixture of haranguing and harumphing before I realize that this does not help me at all.  Then I try to move directly to the deep well within, which is very patient with me I have noticed, until I remember to call forth my I AM Energy for the re-balancing of whatever is setting me off.

Here is what that looks like for me.  There is only One Power, One Presence, One Energy Source.  That Energy and Presence is pure, unadulterated Love which is waiting for me to call it forth.  I say something like this.

I call forth my I AM Energy (Highest Self) to infuse my mind, my heart, my body, my affairs and my home with Love, Light and Balance.  I release all the blocked energy I am carrying which is manifesting as my hurting body and my complaining self.  I command out my blocked emotional, mental, thermal ( self-protective) and spiritual energy which is producing this imbalance in my body and my mind.  I ask forgiveness of my body for creating this imbalance and this hurt I am experiencing.  Come forth.  Let there be balance in my body.  And So It Is.  My thanks.

Why does this work?

It works because we are all, everyone one of us,  Divine Energy regardless of the circumstances of our lives here.  We can command this I AM Energy, our Highest Self, because we are eternally connected to this energy even though we may not be conscious of this.

This works because I am calling out the blocked negative energy which I have created my very own self in my human life.  If my intention is for that stuck energy to go, it will go.  I command it out and that stuck energy goes because I am the total creator of that energy in the first place.

This approach works because I am taking full responsibility for the neggies, I am feeling.  In doing that, I re-engage with my own power and redirect it to the source of the negative feelings and the source of the imbalance or pain.

This way of working with imbalance recognizes the Divine Presence within which is eternal and on call, 24-7.

Try a different approach to the imbalances in your life. Try something you may not have tried before or may have tried not believing it could work for you.  The first time I worked with deep pain in my back in this way,  the pain instantly subsided.  In complete astonishment, I burst into tears.  I could hardly take it in.  The pain was completely gone for 1 entire day.  I was so overcome though by self-” neggie” talk that I began doubting that the shift had taken place at all. I could not trust the shift in energy.   So, the next day the pain was back.  That was a HUGE learning for me.

Enthusiasm by h. Koppdelaney

Stand fully in the knowing that you have all the power, right, authority, intention and all the chutzpah necessary to command your I AM Energy to manifest balance in your life. When I was learning to do this for myself ,  I tried to embrace infinite possibility with a measure of humility, two nods of passion, a thimble of mystery and a shot of gratitude.  See what works for you and let us hear from you.

Silence for the Dubious

When people say, “you need to be in Silence”, there is usually a vision of sitting, perhaps cross-legged with eyes closed and breathing deeply for 30 minutes or so, while being left alone by the world.  The thought of this for many people is simply a non-starter and blocks our energy before one can even fully consider it.  Sometimes in our lives, such time is non-existent no matter how much we would love to have that experience.

Relaxing by TitaniumDreads

Still, the place to spend time with All That Is/Divine Presence/God is in Silence.  When we show up for this time together, we are the ones who are greatly blessed because we are loved, supported and calmed energetically in ways that generally don’t  happen in the world.  Silence with God is spending time with God without your own agenda.

The main ingredient we need to be successful in making time with God’s Energy is intention.  Here are some examples of how to do that.  One can dedicate 10 minutes of a walk with the dog to being with Divine Presence.

Man and his dogs by Yoshimai

Another option is to dedicate time while working in the garden or the yard to connecting with God.  Open a sacred space by calling in Divine Beings or Divine Light and call God into your time regardless of what you may be doing.   Another place I used to have time with God was in the bathroom.  That was at a time that I could reasonably count on having a few minutes to myself there.  I would seek that time and space at all times of the day and usually that was honored!

We can listen to uplifting music and intentionally invite Divine Presence into our space.  This is not Silence per se but it may get us into Silence with grace and ease.  The more we intentionally connect with Divine Energy,  the more we notice a shift in the vibration of energy around us.   This is the Holy Spirit showing up to be with us because we asked. One could read a spiritual book while asking God to enter into this space and time with you, as well.  If you are reading poetry or prose, take a section, read the piece three time out loud and then sit in the Silence of that energy.  You will be ministered to through Sacred Presence. Usually there is a great calm that comes over us even if we only have 15 minutes.

Any sacred time can be carved out and dedicated to God.  You can be watching children playing a sport and while sitting apart for the crowd, take 15 minutes to dedicate special time with God.  You can arrive early for an appointment and sit in the car listening to classical music or simply recline with eyes closed and ask God to connect with you.  The ways are infinite.

The challenge is to regularly invite God into your life.  Don’t talk about it and despair or simply close the door on it as being an impossibility.  We are in great need of the Presence of God.  That energy is incredibly calming, supportive and filled with Divine Love which is totally different from human support and love here.  However, we need to knock on the door with GREAT determination, seek without giving up and keep asking for connection and communion with God by showing up every day in one way or another.  We are the only ones who can gift ourselves with Divine Grace.  It is all around us but we have to say YES and show up.  So, do what works.

knocking to door by Daniel *1977

For those of you who are finding time in Silence, there is another step which can be taken to expand your conscious knowing of God.   After you have intentionally connected with God, you may come out of that time and realize you have something you want to pray about, ask forgiveness for, call Divine Presence into or clear some blocked energy you have become aware of.  This is not Silence.  This is working with God to call forth this energy for a specific person, situation or purpose.  This is unifying prayer.  Each of these experiences is still being with God but the focus changes to your own thoughts, questions, needs, etc.  This is a natural outgrowth of being in Silence with God.

Muriel was just coming out of a twenty minute session of Silence with God.  She immediately saw the face of her sister in front of her.  Her sister had passed away two years earlier.

Untitled by Nodlem

She did not know what the image of her sister actually meant, but the experience felt uncomfortable within.  She loved her sister deeply but there was an uneasiness when her face appeared to her.  Muriel took two minutes more in Silence and realized she needed to ask forgiveness for the way in which she had behaved when she needed to help take care of her during her illness and when she needed to suddenly do all the extra things for their parents when her sister was sick. Right then and there she asked for forgiveness for those unkind feelings, hasty words and old anger. She felt a perceptible sense of Lightness in her chest and heart area.  She knew she had actually been forgiven in that moment. She was amazed that it was so easy to release that old energy.  In fact, she had not really remembered her feelings until her sister’s face appeared to her. This was the Holy Spirit working with Muriel to help her clear her soul energy from this stagnant, stuck feeling that was still with her two years after her sister had died.

This is an example of how seamlessly this Divine Energy can work with us.  Muriel was in a deep communion with All That Is/God and she simply knew she needed to ask for forgiveness.  Without showing up for time with God, she could have carried that draining energy for years and have it show up in all sorts of unhelpful ways.

If we begin our personal relationship with God in Silence, we will be blessed in ways  we can never imagine.  Show up, dedicate time to God, keep the appointment, be in the Silence, and listen.  This is how we come to a place of balance and wholeness through Divine Grace. Even if you have no visual for God, no sense of what or who God is for you, even if you don’t even know if you believe in God Presence,  do this anyway.  There is a deep magic, that surpasses all understanding, whose doorway will open to us.  When this happens all our fears become less powerful, we become more capable of gratitude, we can release that which is not serving us or others very well.  If we have just even a few minutes, we will be ministered to.  We are deeply loved beyond anything we as humans can comprehend. However, we have to chose to enter into the Silence before we can gather this blessing for ourselves and for others.

Expect the Goodness

Holding the space for Goodness in our lives is a powerful mindset and the expectation of Goodness can permeate all aspects of our lives.

Heres to a Summery Week by AtilaTheHun
Here’s to a Summery Week by AtilaTheHun

At the same time, fears can play an important role in calling us to seek further, for Peace.

Have you ever found yourself, even when things are really good, waiting for something bad to happen?  Do you prepare for potential tragedy by running things through your mind to see how you might react?  Have you ever been in a relationship and find yourself thinking about how you will feel when it is over, when he/she walks out,  or when you grow apart?  This process of preparing for the worst, just to feel in control and ready for bad things is very likely to have just the opposite effect we are trying to guard against.

My husband used to commute to another state, 2 weeks a month, early in our marriage.  I dutifully made sure to know exactly when my husband was flying.  However, that increasingly meant I was ill at ease for the duration of his  flight, every time he traveled.  I had emotional melt downs if I did not hear from him within a “reasonable” time after the flight.   I would work myself into a tizzy, with pent up worry and frustration and then erupt when he did finally call for “making we worry” .   I carried some deep fear about losing him.  However,  I was thoroughly busy ignoring the real fear with mind preparation drills for the possibility of future tragedy.   At the time, I really thought I was being responsible, in caring so deeply.  Right motivation, wrong execution.

Foods by amarette
Foods by amarette

I did not realize what I was doing was feeding my worst fears, those which were truly unspeakable.  I was so conscientiously preparing for the worst, that I was really feeding the beast within me, which I had completely created.   I vividly recall the pit in my stomach, the fear in my mind and the tenseness in my breathing of those times.  I was truly capable of making myself sick with fear and dark imaginings.

One of the worst outcomes of this, was that this fear seeped into all manner of situations.  I would worry about my husband going to the store and being run into.  I would obsess about walking around the block at night by myself.   I would even imagine strangers breaking into my home while I was alone.   Clearly, my mind had run amok. Thankfully, I still had some small perspective on what I was doing to myself.  I did stop watching violence on television as one positive step towards more peace.

One day,  years later, a book came to my rescue which I felt was written specifically for me. It was called Fear No Evil, by Eva Pierrakos.  Talk about direct and to the point!  My number was up.  This book literally fell off a shelf before me in a bookstore even though I had let some of my darker fears subside.  It changed my habit of preparing for darkness and fearing evil, for good.

Those months of commuting would have been so much better if I could have faced my fears and focused on the Goodness we had been graced with.  We were awash in Goodness with good health, good jobs, supportive families, good friends, disposable income, a nice home, etc.   I had regularly strayed into the darkness though and did not have the faintest inkling about trying something else.   The fear of losing the Goodness I had been given was instrumental in my spiritual journey but perhaps you may avoid this particular detour.

What I recall from Fear No Evil is that I learned that fear comes from the part of us that is un-whole and hurting.  Fear shows up when we feel disconnected from Divine Peace.  I learned that what we focus on grows.  All the fears that I felt were from the exact places where I was disconnected from God.  I learned that fear was my own creation and therefore wonder of wonders,  I could let it go.

For all those years, I had thought fear was real.  I felt as though someone had released me to Goodness, to the very real possibility that Goodness attracts goodness.  I learned when bad things happen, the Goodness is still present even when it seems covered by the darkness.  I felt that “Someone” had rattled my cage and helped me remember Goodness.

Step by step I took a look at the real fears behind those manifesting in my life. I was afraid of my husband dying because I myself was afraid of being alone, unloved and bereft.  I was afraid of being attacked and losing my safety because I was afraid of losing the Goodness of my life.  I was so into thinking it was all up to me that God was a way distance second to ME.  These real fears propelled me front and center into dialog with the Divine Presence.  When I realized I had created and grown my own fears, I could let the fears go, and focus on the Goodness of Life.

I now highly recommend the  practice of Expecting Goodness.  Train your thoughts to expect the Goodness, think about it, nurture it, focus on the Goodness you have and see it continuing.  As I slowly learned to do this, Goodness beyond my wildest imaginings showed up.  To date, the Goodness given has always been infinitely better than what I might have envisioned.  It’s a God thing!!

Steps towards Expecting Goodness

1. Name your presenting fears, those showing up in your life and then seek the deeper core fears fueling the feelings and actions in your life.  (I am afraid my spouse and I won’t be able to have children.  Core Fear-  I am afraid I will miss out on one of  Life’s irreplaceable blessings and that my spouse and I will grow apart. )

2. Release the fears you no longer want, to Divine Presence.  We are never alone in facing our fears. ( I release the fear that my spouse and I will suffer and remain sad by missing out on one of Life’s blessings which will cause us to grow apart.)

3. Train your mind to see the goodness in all situations by actually speaking about it out loud to self and others. (My spouse and I will find infinite ways to love in this world, in ways we can equally share. )

4. Expect the Goodness — I  call forth the Goodness of Life into all aspects of my thinking, feeling, acting self.  I expect the Goodness of Life in whatever way it chooses to manifest in my life.

How Does Spiritual Healing Work?

Spiritual healing is the healing of the unseen energy in our energy field.  It is not magic!  We know that we are out of balance if we become angry or afraid about something in our lives.  Anger, fear, shame and guilt each have a unique vibration which is different from the vibrations of joy, laughter, contentment and love.  When we carry anger in our energy field regardless of its origin, the vibration of anger permeates our body.  That vibration leaves our body when we reach resolution regarding the anger.  Or, the anger vibration may remain in our energy field for years,  if it is not completely resolved, released or the person forgiven, who is related to the anger.  Spiritual healing is the process of releasing blocked energy which is not serving us well in our lives.

Not merely an absence of noise, Real Silence begins when a reasonable being withdraws from the noise in order to find peace and order in his inner sanctuary. -- Peter Minnard by Fountain_Head (Extremely busy.....)
Not merely an absence of noise, 'Real Silence' begins when a reasonable being withdraws from the noise in order to find peace and order in his inner sanctuary. Peter Minnard Photo by Fountain_Head (Extremely busy.....)

Spiritual healing recognizes that our thoughts, feelings, actions, memories, experiences and bodies are all one interrelated flow of energy impacting each other in thousands of ways every day. This is the mind, body, spirit connection. Every thought and feeling we have resonates throughout our bodies.   If we experience trauma, sadness, abuse, fear, abandonment,  our body registers this emotional content in the body.  When we are stressed, out of balance, we are more vulnerable to contract infection, virus, parasites, etc.  When we are out of balance emotionally or mentally, this ALWAYS shows up in our bodies, sometimes immediately and sometimes years later but it ALWAYS shows up.

The way to stay healthy and in balance is to do our inner work. This  work most powerfully consists of  identifying and releaseing blocked emotional, mental and spiritual energy which is manifesting as pain, hurt, anger, broken relationships, poor communications, repeating confrontations, back pain, cancer, ADHD, depression, infections, irritable bowel syndrome, etc. and all other types of imbalances in our physical bodies.

Each and every one of us is here to learn to be in greater states of Peace and Joy. Some of us recognize this and others among us do not.   We can choose to ignore our inner work but eventually we have to do the work to find Peace and Contentment in our daily lives.   We can spend lifetimes on the externals of what others think of us, on material possessions and on public attributes of prestige and success.  The externals however have next to nothing to do with feeling successful, peaceful and balanced inside.   The goal of spiritual healing is Peace and Wholeness inside. Then our lives, our relationships, our jobs and our bodies come into greater and greater balance.

Inspiration by h.koppdelaney
Inspiration by h.koppdelaney

When we release deep sadness, un-forgiveness, resentment, hatred, judgement, shame, fear, etc. our minds and bodies come into greater balance.  When I open a sacred space, I call Divine Presence into this dimension to work with me to help others who are in need.  As I begin to work with another,  I don’t know in my “human mind” exactly what blocked energy may be manifesting as infection, inflammation, Parkinson’s, Alzheimers, Crohns or Grave’s Disease.   I do know that some set of blocked energy is manifesting as imbalance in the body.   I also know that Divine Knowing knows all. Through listening, with the intent to come into balance, we will learn to identify the imbalances and then they can be cast out of our energy fields allowing the body to heal.

Some people come to me for a “quick fix”. Those rarely manifest.  We have to steadfastly seek to connect with Divine Energy because the outer world is more visible, more tangible and seemingly more real to many of us.  Until we have real experience with Divine Presence, the thought of this Presence is a vague possibility.  We can experience Divine Presence though other people, nature, creations, etc. but we have to eventually go inside and have a dialog with Divine Presence and ourselves to find Divine Connection. God/Divine Presence/All That Is  is within.  Our  I AM Presence, the part of us which is wholly connected and balanced, is within.   If we seek with the attitude that we will get our body fixed and go right on with our behaviors and thoughts which have brought us to imbalance,  we won’t be able to sustain any form of balance, mentally or physically.

Our bodies and more importantly our souls won’t allow us to be out of balance without letting us know in very powerful ways. We get as many chances as we need to release resentment, rage, blame, self-punishment and un-forgiveness but there is no way to fool the body into balance.  We come into balance when we are done with giving our power and attention to negative energy which is manifesting as imbalance.

At the Gate by h.koppdelaney
At the Gate by h.koppdelaney

To Begin Inner Spiritual Healing Work:

1. Relax into Silence with the spoken intent to connect more deeply with Divine Presence.  I intend to connect with Divine Presence.  I open a Sacred Space for healing and wholeness. Wait there a while and be.

2. Identify a negative draining thought, feeling or emotion which is in your immediate energy field such as rage, for example.  Or name the diagnosed imbalance you want to clear blocked energy for,  such as breast cancer.

3. State aloud with conviction,  With the Energy of the Most High, I command out the blocked core source of the rage I am feeling, (of the breast cancer, I am manifesting) through all time and space, with the intent to come into greater Balance and Peace.   I affirm my desire to connect more deeply with Divine Presence in my life.

4. I offer my deepest thanks for this support and for the power of this healing within me.

__________

It may seem easier to get medical drugs, therapies and pills to take care of a situation. However, the same imbalances that brought the last sinus infection, the last back ache, the last heart attack, the last cancer stay with us unless we release the thoughts and feelings that have caused the imbalances in the first place. We get all the chances we need to come into balance.  If you want to be done with chronic imbalance, go inside.  Work with Divine Presence with the intent of creating more Peace and Balance, Health and Wholeness.  All healing modalities can be supported and strengthened with inner spiritual work.  Release that which you know is out of balance and all else will follow.

Begin Today.  Sit today in Silence and cast out that which is manifesting as imbalance in your life. Repeat these processes frequently until the negative emotions have left your being or until the physical imbalance is re-balanced.  Healing comes a little at a time.  Keep calling out the imbalances, a little at the time.


Wholeness comes from the Silence

Before I learned to go, first thing, to Divine Presence when in need, I would observe an imbalance or pain in my body and immediately begin arranging whom to go see about it.  I lived in doctor’s offices often going 2-3 times a week for a number of years. I was a medical junkie, literally looking for a high.  I thought I was taking care of myself.  I was physically.  It was wearing on me completely though, looking back on that time.   This was my response to chronic pain.  I went to have all sorts of therapies tried on me, seeking some sort of relief.  Usually the relief helped for a couple of days but in some cases, I felt the pain return driving home from the appointment.   If I could have taken the practitioner home with me, perhaps that would have extended the sense of well being!

From a purely energetic point of view, the most important thing each of us can do especially when we are sick or out of balance is to go into intentional Silence in the Presence of the Divine.

Life Goes On by Peyman
Life Goes On by Peyman

What we usually do is go to the doctor, chiropractor, therapist, gym, masseuse, a movie, etc.  We don’t generally go to God as our first response when faced with a physical or mental ailment.   This is a curious reality.   Seeking Divine Presence through Silence is much easier than making an appointment, getting dressed, finding transportation, maneuvering through traffic, sitting in the doctor’s office, all to don a paper gown for examination!  Further, after getting the help, we have to get dressed again,  pay the bill, usually head for the pharmacy, and then retrace all our steps home.  Alternatively, sitting in Silence is our own private route to Wholeness.

When we go to a practitioner, we usually go because we hope for help, relief, medicine, reassurance, caring touch, attention and information.  Why don’t we go first to Divine Presence when we are out of balance?  We can get the same loving assurance, help, relief, attention, and care in the comfort of our own home with Divine Presence.

Cathy did not enter into Silence because she was afraid nothing would be there. Burton said,  ” I get in there and am afraid I won’t get out or won’t want to get out.”  Sharon shared, “I am afraid of what I will find out about myself. ” Amelia revealed, “I am always so concerned about what I need to do, I just get antsy sitting there getting none of it done.”  Rob said, “I am afraid of all the anger I am carrying around.  It might get opened up and I could not put it back in. ”

Any of these feelings familiar to you? These are strongly felt feelings, yes, but with not one ounce of lasting truth in them.  The feelings seems powerful and real, because they are charged with emotion.  However, there is a deeper truth in Silence which amazes everyone I have ever spoken with who intentionally enters into Silence.

There is Lasting Truth in Silence.  It is the core of our own True Selves. There is more love and acceptance in Silence than anywhere else in the Universe.  The more we experience this, the more we can bring that love and acceptance into our daily lives.

Another way to look at this is, we live in a spiritual world which we are trying to experience physically.  We get as many chances as we want, to try and experience this earth dimension solely on a physical basis.  Something BIG is missing  though, if that is what we keep trying to do.

Pink autumn girl by Nuuttipukki
Pink autumn girl by Nuuttipukki

When I began to meditate I sat outside up against a large walnut tree which grew up through our second story deck.  I remember days of just sitting and realizing I was just sitting.  I felt safe and supported by that old tree.  The sitting in and of itself felt like a gift to myself.  Then I began to experience currents of energy I had not experienced before.  I remember one early day of sitting,  it began to snow.  I realized I was liking the Silence.   I got up to get some cover from the cold.  I found my bright pink and blue serape and hat, bundled up and returned to sit.  I thought, I must be meditating, why else would I be sitting here in the snow?  It was a great sense of peace and calm.

Silence is a self- teaching process.  If you rest into Silence, you rejuvenate.  If you float in Silence, you set down your burdens and responsibilities and when you come out you can reexamine what you want to pick up again.   If you enter Silence and “bad things” come up, you can name them out loud and command them out of your energy field. They are already there affecting our sense of peace and balance every day, anyway.  Feelings and thoughts are not our core being.  Welcome to you own true self, that part of you that is basically Silent at the core and from that Silence all else is generated.  Most of us spend 95% of our time with the “stuff” that is generated and next to no time with the core of who we truly are.

Peace by alicepopkorn (in and out)
Peace by alicepopkorn (in and out)

The entire idea here is when we enter into Silence, we will get the help we need, in the way we need it, when we need it. The inner space is not about being alone, it is about connecting with Divine Source, Infinite Love and Boundless Possibility.  Why are you not availing yourself of this space of Utterly Available Wholeness?  It is the shortest way I know of to health, happiness, laughter and peace.

Check in with your “stuff” around avoiding Silence.   Begin by is sitting with Divine Grace/The Oneness/Spirit of the Living God who loves us each completely, thoroughly, just exactly as we are.  Take 10 minutes (by the clock) each day to begin with or join others in Stillness and Silence.  We don’t have to put on our best Sabbath behavior, clothes or manners.  We are already loved, we just need to show up to feel it reflected back to us.  Knowing Wholeness comes from the Silence.

“There is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your room, your garden or even your bathtub.”   Elisabeth Kubler-Ross