Empathy in a Time of Uncertainty - Heartful Art by Raphaella Vaisseau

Today is March 31, 2020. Most of us have been staying at home for awhile now as the people of the world come to grips with the pandemic of Covid_19. Anna Galland posted a tweet over two weeks ago on March 16th that I came across today and I feel it's still relevant: "You can safely assume that everyone you talk to today has *something* going haywire personally ..." All of us, around the globe, are finding ways to cope, discovering new ways of being, and for some, enduring the day to day challenges of saving lives. I think we can all agree that gratitude helps. Empathy does too.
     I'm reminded of a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?" Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Merriam-Webster goes further: "Empathy is the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner."
     A friend in Denmark, Melinda Knudsen, offers empathy counseling through her company, Empathy Catalyst. A student and practioner of nonviolent education, Melinda offers empathic support and communication coaching to groups and individuals around the world. A perfect skill for the challenges we face during this unusual time of our lives.
     As Anna reminds us, "Be kind. We're all figuring this out." If you're struggling, Melinda may be able to help. Find her on Facebook.

-Raphaella Vaisseau

Dreams Are Good For Us by Raphaella Vaisseau - Heartful Art

If ever there was a dreamer who made his dreams come true it was Walt Disney. In following his bliss, he created worlds of fantasy and joy for all of us. He told us, "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."

It does take courage. It takes focus and allegiance to our intentions. It takes commitment to the act of dreaming itself, and to not getting sidetracked by what appears to be reality, or real obstacles ahead of us. The transcendentalist author of Walden, Henry David Thoreau, wrote, "I have learned this, at least, by my experiment, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."

Dreaming is an art. It doesn't mean it has to be difficult, however. Move forward, yes, but consider it may be more about believing than action. Many any people have written about the etheric nature of dreaming. Others have written about the importance of keeping dreams alive. Two beautiful poems by Langston Hughes speak to this: Dreams and The Dream Keeper. Eleanor Roosevelt said, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

Allow yourself the luxury of dreaming. Go to where inspiration springs forth within you. Spend time in nature, meditate, practice free-flow writing, and spend time imagining what it feels like to have the manifestation of the dream you are seeking. Abraham-Hicks describes this process as writing the script of the movie you want to see and then watching it, over and over again.

Believe in your dreams. Dream fantastical dreams, filled with promise, harmony, functionality, joy, and prosperity. Dream it real. We all are dreaming our world into further expansion, whether we are aware of it or not. The more we believe in the beauty of our dreams, the more beautiful our world will manifest.
-Raphaella Vaisseau

Law of Attraction: Emotions as indicators by Raphaella Vaisseau

Whoever said we should be real and tell it like it is? What is real anyway? Who is the judge?

The more I study the law of attraction, the more I realize how important it is to tell a new story. Rather than talk about reality, what appears to be real, talk instead about how we want it to be. Become vigilant in thinking and feeling. If a belief is just a thought we keep thinking, as Abraham-Hicks teaches, it may be worth it to make some new beliefs by thinking new thoughts that feel good, thoughts that match what has been created in our vibrational escrows. Thoughts like, "Things are always working out for me" or "The universe gives me what I need when I need it." Ernest Holmes said, "To learn how to think is to learn how to live." Buddha taught, "All that we are is the result of what we have thought." Interesting.

How do we make the shift? Abraham-Hicks teaches us to notice and care about how we feel. Consider that we live in a vibrational universe and we are vibrational beings. Consider also that we each have an inner being who adores us, knows what we want, and knows the path of least resistance to where what we want is. By paying attention to how we feel, we can tell if we are in alignment with or out of alignment with the way our inner beings view a situation or circumstance. Emotions are the indicators. For example, feeling happy might indicate being in alignment, whereas feeling sad might indicate a larger separation from the alignment we seek.

Our inner beings never condemn us or another person, never make us or another person wrong, never push, or ignore us. Rather, our inner beings love us unconditionally and see us and others as who we truly are, as extensions of source energy. If we stand in judgement of another, or irritated by a condition, and if we care about how we feel, we may notice a dip in our emotions when we express judgement or irritation. This is because our inner beings maintain the perspective of the god-self, and do not come with us in the judgement or irritation. We feel the separation that develops between where we are in the judgement or irritation and where our inner beings are on the same subject. Remember, our emotions are our guide.

By telling new stories, we practice thinking and speaking in ways that are in alignment with where we want to go, with who we are. Law of Attraction responds to what we think and say. When we notice we are thinking a judgmental thought, we can stop and focus on something that's easy to be in alignment with (nature, a pet, a song, a loved one). The emotional shift may not happen immediately, but with practice we can get better and faster at raising our own vibration. If we have practiced caring about how we feel, and find ourselves expressing irritation, we can learn to notice this, recognize we are feeling differently about something than our inner beings are, and we can move to a more general focus. For instance, we could affirm how things always seem to work out. Henry David Thoreau said, "Surely joy is the condition of life." He surely knew something about vibration. The universe is elegant in its simplicity. Practice brings clarity, and we have a built-in emotional guidance system to show us the way.

All is well. We can't get it wrong.

- Raphaella Vaisseau

Wise Words of Henry David Thoreau on Heartful Art by Raphaella Vaisseau

This lesser-known quote from the beloved transcendentalist, Henry David Thoreau, speaks to me: "Every leaf and twig was this morning covered with a sparkling ice armor; even the grasses in exposed fields were hung with innumerable diamond pendants, which jingled merrily when brushed by the foot of the traveler. It was literally the wreck of jewels and the crash of gems ..." Every day as I marvel at the extraordinary beauty of this world we live in, I hear Thoreau's words in my heart and head.

I love nature with a passion. I am a seeker, devoted to aligning myself with my best and highest expression of the gift of life and the world we live in. One day, years ago, during a spiritual retreat in Minnesota, we were given an exercise to go outside and find something in nature that reflects who we are. We were given an hour to do this. When the facilitator said to start, I rushed out the door and ran full speed down a country road in the woods, thinking that by getting first to the farthest place, I would be the one to find the treasured thing. I searched frantically for something meaningful. Not finding anything, I was fearful that the time would be up and I wouldn't have discovered the perfect thing I wanted.

It was then a glimpse of a beautiful flower flashed momentarily through my mind. I had rushed past it being first out the door. I turned around and walked back to the beginning, to the building, and there it was, just to the right of the door: a magnificent flower unfurling it's beautiful self. I knew this was the thing I was looking for. I found it and it had been right there all along. I wouldn't have had to go farther than one foot from where I'd started my quest. Again, I heard Thoreau's words in my heart and mind, and understood: "Such is beauty ever, neither here nor there, neither in Rome nor in Athens, but wherever there is a soul to admire. If I seek her elsewhere because I do not find her at home, my search will prove a fruitless one."

The power of the universe is within each one of us. The beauty and wisdom of the ages is inside of me and you, and it is available to us, should we choose to turn the key to and open the door of our hearts, and use the power of our minds. As wonderful, beneficial, and helpful it might be to travel to faraway places, take another seminar, read another book, find another teacher, if we are doing that in order to find the piece that's missing in our own selves, we will not find it. We must first know we are a magnificent creation and the power, beauty, and majesty lie within. Know the truth and the answers are inside.

Look within. Discover the ever-unfolding miracle of being. Step out into the world with the knowing that you, me, and all of us are equal parts of the magnificent creation of our glorious world. What you find, and me as well, will amaze us even more.
-Raphaella Vaisseau

Lady Gaga Defines Living Out Loud and Inspires Me to Express Even More of Who I Am

Up until now, I've never actually listened to Lady Gaga's music. When I've seen clips of her performances on the news or at awards shows, I've mostly been fascinated by the amazing costumes, dramatic staging, the LOOK of everything - thinking how brave she must be to express herself like she does. Thus being so preoccupied, I completely missed her music.

Intrigued, and looking for something to read on a New Years Eve flight to Arizona, I found Lisa Robinson's article in Vanity Fair (Jan 2012), "In Lady Gaga's Wake" which I enjoyed very much. I came away with even more respect for this woman, and even more of a curiosity about what it takes for a person to be so brave, so free, and so strong to express herself so fully.

To live my life fully and express who I am is the very thing I've been efforting to do in my own life for decades. One of my transcendentalist heroes, Henry David Thoreau says, "If I am not I, who will be?" Not, who will I be, but who will be ME if I am not. It's this that has continuously pushed me to take another step into myself and pull out a greater expression of me. Time and time again.

When another heroine of mine, Oprah Winfrey, interviewed Lady Gaga and her mother for the Oprah's Next Chapter show, which airs on OWN TV, I watched with eagerness to learn more. I was not disappointed.

The segment began with the launch of the Born This Way Foundation at Harvard. "Led by Lady Gaga and her mother Cynthia Germanotta, the Born This Way Foundation was founded in 2011 to foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated. The Foundation is dedicated to creating a safe community that helps connect young people with the skills and opportunities they need to build a kinder, braver world." Pillars of the Foundation appear to the right. Click on the image to see it on the foundation's website where they provide a link to download a printable copy for yourself and ways to get involved.

Throughout the two hours of Oprah's Next Chapter interview, I continued to be inspired with insight into the life and expression of the woman who is Lady Gaga. It is her desire to empower everyone she meets with the courage to be themselves and to know in their hearts they are not only OK, but phenomenal. Including me.

As much as I've grown, learned, and accomplished in my life, I sometimes feel it's too late for me to break through the barriers I still feel hold me back. I often wish that as a child I had had the tools to stand tall in who I am, the power to speak up for my beliefs, and the courage to plunge forward into the world to express the dreams of my heart. These are the very things Lady Gaga offers to us all. During the interview with Oprah, Lady Gaga's mother, Cynthia, read the beginning of a fan letter they'd received recently: "Dear Germanotta Family and Born This Way Foundation, I'm a 66 year old grandmother that dances around the kitchen to Stephanie's music ..." Maybe it's not too late for me, after all.

Fully appreciating Lady Gaga's beautiful spirit and gifts, I'll watch the interview again. Then I'll listen to her music, listening for more clues, and I'll bravely take one more step to express myself more fully in the world, to share my gifts in a bigger way, and to simply BE who I am.
-Raphaella Vaisseau

Henry David Thoreau quotation on an inspirational magnet by Raphaella Vaisseau

One of my favorite Thoreau quotes is this: "Above all, we cannot afford not to live in the present." When I was ordained as a minister in the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness in 1978, a portion of my ministerial blessing was about "giving in to the moment I'm in,” thus allowing my spiritual gifts to awaken (one of which is creativity). I took the blessing seriously and worked at understanding what it is to live in the present. Meditating helped. Practice is key.

Later, when I became a full-time working artist in 1997, I began to create little reminders on magnets (and posters) of words and quotes that inspire me and others. I decorated the words with my art and still look at them every day as I do my work and live my life. I practice continuously to live in the moment I’m in.

I’ve noticed that even while walking on the beach, I sometimes become aware that my head is down and I’m absentmindedly looking for shells on the sand beneath my feet while I’m walking. Then I remember, and lift my head. I take a deep breath, and take note of where I am. I look up and see the clouds in the sky. I feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. I notice the other people around me. I listen to the sound of the waves crashing on shore, and the birds calling out to each other as they glide overhead.

I feel a kinship with Thoreau when I walk. His words remind me to appreciate the beauty that surrounds me and to live in the present, in the here and now. In every moment. Again and again.

Support the Thoreau Society: Buy Heartful Art Gifts of Magnets and Posters with Henry David Thoreau Quotations at The Thoreau Society Shop at Walden Pond

Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1866) was an American author, philosopher, and naturalist who was part of the Transcendentalist movement. He is best known for his "Civil Disobedience" essay, which he wrote after spending a night in jail for not paying the poll tax; and for his two-year retreat to Walden Pond, detailed in his second book, Walden, or Life in the Woods. Established in 1941, The Thoreau Society is the oldest and largest organization devoted to an American author. The Society has long contributed to the dissemination of knowledge about Thoreau by collecting books, manuscripts, and artifacts relating to Thoreau and his contemporaries, by encouraging the use of its collections, and by publishing articles in two Society periodicals. The Thoreau Society Shop at Walden Pond has been offering Raphaella's Heartful Art magnets, posters and prints for over ten years and now they are for sale in their online shop as well.When planning your holiday gift list, be sure to include the inspirational quotes of Henry David Thoreau and the colorful art of Raphaella Vaisseau on Heartful Art magnets and posters. Browse Heartful Art's online store as well, click the search box and enter "Thoreau" and dozens of products will appear. They are all available at the Shop at Walden Pond. Call them at 978-287-5477 to order or if you don't see what you're looking for.