I woke up this morning singing, “I am so Blessed” by Karen Drucker. It is a song I have loved for years but I felt its truth and my emotions lined up with it so strongly this morning. The last 6 weeks have been one of the worst storms I have weathered personally and with my family in awhile. The rainbow isn’t quite visible yet but like the radio station we’re not tuned into, I know it is there. Our sails are strong and we have faith and love that is stronger then any storm. The rainbow always comes.
My sister, part of my soul, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has another surgery to get cleaner margins, chemo and radiation ahead of her. As many of you know, my brother died of a leiomyosarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer, at 35 yrs old. My dad had lung cancer & mom had colo-rectal cancer. Thank God both are alive and well. To add to the craziness, during a routine mammogram a spot was found on my right breast and I await the results of that biopsy. So why am I feeling so blessed today?
I am so grateful that I have remembered that I don’t always have to be spiritual & positive. The situation my family & I are in right now is too big to be anything but human, authentic and raw. I have given space for my anger, frustration, deep fear, sadness and even…”really, God…..REALLY?” thoughts and feelings. But always in the background is a voice that says…”I am here. All is well. You are not alone,” coming through in so many magical ways.
The first began at the Tony Robbins Event when I met in the bathroom a 69 year old woman who had bilateral mastectomies for breast cancer with reconstruction. She showed me the most beautiful breasts with tattooed nipples I could imagine. She told me that her life began with her cancer diagnosis and that she is now in a pole dancing class. You go girl!! She gave my sister and I a light to focus on and continues to be that inspiration and support for us.
Then at the same event, a wonderful new friend shared a video of a woman dancing in the operating room with the staff before her mastectomy. So my sister and I danced before her surgery and my biopsy. Here’s Madonna, my sister’s, pre surgery dance to Cruise by Florida Georgia Line. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzCxDUZL4j8 or type into youtube.com Dancing before surgery-you have to scroll down to find us. I danced with her to Compass by Lady Antebellum before my biopsy last week. Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nDca5ngbUw&feature=em-upload_owner. What a blast to change our fearful state to a state of JOY and love. The surgeon and techs loved it and it seemed to uplift them too.
Other blessings are all the wonderful people at the hospital & doctors offices that have become family to us. Days of our Lives played for all 4 appts at the Diagnostic waiting area …again?? That made us laugh. I got to blow bubbles with a beautiful 4 yr old waiting to see her brand new baby sister which stopped the tears about my sisters results while waiting for her to come out of recovery. All the beautiful newborns going by us as we waited and worried reminded me of the miracle of life. We had the same biopsy techs for both our procedures that was so sweet gentle and loving. So many winks or ways God & the Angels are making this easier on us & reminding us that something bigger is at work.
My sister knows the lesson of this situation and I know the lesson for me in all of this too. I need to learn how to receive which is so incredibly foreign and hard for me at times. I thought I GOT this lesson but as we know there are layers. I allow people to pay for my lunch and hold open doors for me now. I get regular massages, take days off and share my struggles now. Isn’t that receiving?
Not exactly, I learned. When my sister needed a biopsy I sent out a request for prayers & healing for everyone that was in my iPhone contact list- hundreds of people. When I found out about me, I told a handful of people. This voice asked me…why is that? Why did I so effortlessly and without a thought jump in to gather the troops for her but not for me? Do I think I don’t need it? Definitely not. Do I think I don’t deserve it? Consciously, I would say no and I thought I was passed that spiritual healer hurdle, but obviously not. Do I disguise the not feeling deserving by not wanting to bother anyone? Probably. Do I think as a spiritual teacher I don’t or shouldn’t need help? Maybe…but that is just craziness or BS or a belief system that is such total Bull s&*!.
So I have told God and the Universe and this thing in my right breast that it can go now. I thank its very powerful message but I can help my sister through her journey with extreme self care, compassion & will consciously ask for help at every turn. I am so blessed to know that I deserve the same unconditional love & support that I have offered to my family, patients & clients over the years. I will receive graciously from God, the Angels & anyone sending me love & healing not just now in this crisis but in the days, weeks & years to come.
I also know that there is another purpose to all this. I am angry that cancer has taken & is taking the quality of life of so many people I know… family members, friends, clients, 4 next door neighbors, friends & family of all of you my Angelights family that I have & continue to pray for & on it goes. Anger is power & makes me want to change this in some way. I can’t bury my head in the sand & hope this doesn’t keep happening to all of us. So what can we do to lower our risks? The obvious stuff is eat organic & alive foods, lower our physical & emotional stress as this directly effects our bodies ability to correct imbalances, think positive thoughts, words, actions, meditate and have regular screenings. But how do we lower the environmental exposure to pollutants, chemicals & toxins without dwelling in fear or making ourselves crazy?
On the breastcancer.org site I was shocked out of my complacency & given a course of action with the information I read about the chemicals we slather on our bodies & babies. Realizing what we are doing is a huge way that we can take back our power and make conscious, healthy choices. On average, women use 9 different personal care products everyday which expose us to over 100 different chemicals. In the US 10 ingredients are banned as harmful for humans while in Europe 1,400 are banned. WHAT?! Yes, that blew me away. The FDA doesn’t regulate our personal care ingredients. I also read it would be safer for us to swallow these chemicals then to apply them to our skin. Think about how powerful medication patches are and how they go directly into the bloodstream.
Women are the first environment for the next generation. This isn’t a legacy or environment we want to put our babies or bodies in. What are we really doing everyday unconsciously as we think we’re nourishing our bodies but instead stressing our bodies with these toxic chemicals. So after I got mad and informed I thought…where do I begin?? A lot of the toxic chemicals are in products at Whole Foods, which was my easy, trusted choice to make healthy choices. As God works, within hours I was sent a link from an Angelights’ friend, Ashley, showing me healthy, non- toxic personal care & home products. God is quick!!! So my next unfortunately, negative but human thought was, I bet it is really expensive.
I am happy to say that I went on the site and the products are less expensive than the Oil of Olay, L’Oreal, Estee Lauder, Neutrogena products I have been purchasing. I got very excited and now will be selling these products. Here is the site so you can check it out. www.avaandersonnontoxic.com/jackie-eaton. What I love most is that the founder, Ava Anderson, was 15 when she started this company as she tried to find affordable, non-toxic alternatives. She’s now 19 and in college. Thank you Ava for your fearlessness and commitment to our health and wellness!! That is such an Indigo teen success story there!! Her company is RI based, which is a wonderful thing too but products can be shipped all over the country.
I plan to host some gatherings so you can check out the products but feel free to order now as I did to start lathering your bodies & families in love, healing and nourishment. This isn’t about fear but empowerment. Our bodies deserve healthy non-toxic products. I am grateful that Ava stepped up so I can just order the products & not have to figure it all out from scratch! Margaret Mead said it well, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Amen, Margaret!! If you want to become a consultant like me to get the word out & change lives, you can sign up on the above site too.
As we walk into Thanksgiving week, join me in feeling so incredibly blessed and perfectly alined with the whole country in gratitude. We are one. Despite all that is going on in our lives, gratitude can well from within us everyday if we stop to breathe it in. Please don’t send any sad, frustrated or worried thoughts our way. We need you to send us gratitude and your KNOWING that all is well for both of us no matter what the tests show. Play this song, watch the beautiful video and join us in singing. “I am so blessed. I am so blessed. I am so grateful for all that I have.” Here is a youtube video of it: I am so blessed by Karen Drucker.
I wish you all the Happiest of Thanksgivings and that you are surrounded by family, friends and love in all its forms. If you are grieving a deceased loved one, I ask them to make their presence known & that the Angels help you to be present in each moment so that you will feel their loving blessings.
Love, love, love you all,
Love your work!