>Marianne Williamson’s Journal: Millennium Development Goals: LOVE IN ACTION

>Straight from the RESULTS organization… It’s throw down time!

Marianne Williamson's Journal: Millennium Development Goals: LOVE IN ACTION

Goals have been set. Take action Now.

>Celebrating Hepburn

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The Philadelphia Story

When it became clear to me early in my career that I was not going to be able to work with Katharine Hepburn on a project due to her advanced age and declining health I was bummed. After expressing my disappointment that the fates could not grant my wish I began to hope there would be some way I could celebrate the life of a woman whose presence on the screen drew me into the movie business, brought a sense of strength and character and whose performances captured the imagination of a young girl enthralled with a glorious era of black and white films. There is no doubt in my mind, through watching her performances I developed a love of snappy dialogue, wicked intelligence and smart pointed action.

To my surprise a formal note arrived albeit a ‘form letter’ from the law offices that represented her through which I had made my initial request…

Dear Ms. Lutz … Ms. Hepburn is no longer in sufficient health to read material and consider projects. That said, she still enjoys getting flowers. Rose Royce Florist (140 Main Street, Old Saybrook, CT 06475; (860) 388-1052 is happy to deliver to Ms. Hepburn any arrangement you would care to order. A few hints: Kate likes lilacs, stargazer lilies, Casablanca lilies, dark pink roses, fire ice roses, larkspur, ferns and bowls of small sweetheart roses, but dislikes carnations, gladiolus or anything yellow. The owner of the florist shop is Susan, and it is open 9am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 4:30pm Saturday–all times Eastern. ~ Regards…

My first thought was what a gift ~ an opportunity to say thank you. My second thought was what a fabulous collection of favorite flowers and I love how Ms. Hepburn was sure and steadfast in her dislikes.

In every community on quaint street corners of this country a florist lights up a neighborhood with its burst of sunshine exploding our tiny worlds with color and inspiration offering a surprise around each petal.

I picked up the phone and dialed Rose Royce Florist and inquired after Susan… She warmly took my order and waited patiently as I thought about what I wanted to say… To this day I cherish the silence and patience that met me on the other side of the phone as I started… Dear Ms. Hepburn… then stopped… tongue tied and started again.

Finally it came to me, a thought from the movie I was working on… and the simple truth.
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Memories are a strange thing, they blip into importance when you least expect it. Wanted you to know your work is an inspiration to us all.

– Melanie

I suggested that Susan send Casablanca Lilies but to use her discretion on the most vibrant and alive fresh flowers in her shop and thanked her for her help. Making the gesture and having that time was the total and complete gift to me.

A simple white envelop arrived from an Attorney in NY. I had no idea that it would bear a short sweet note of thanks….

Katharine Hepburn holds the record for the most Best Actress Oscar wins with four in a career that puts her at the top of any list of the greatest actors of all time.

Having seen all of her movies it is impossible for me to pick a favorite.

Please feel free to search Amazon.com for Katharine Hepburn and find yours…

>Mel Gets Biblical On Friendship…

>The Bible offers two notable examples of friendships. The first is that between Jonathan and David, in which Jonathan walks a slender tightrope between his loyalty to his friend David and his devotion to his father Saul. The second is that between Ruth and Naomi, which gives us the beautiful verse that has been adopted by lovers but in its spirit holds the heart of true friendship….

“Wither thus goest, I will go, and where though lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God, where thou diest, will I die, and there will be buried: the Lord do so to me and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.”

Samuel Johnson, who knew the fragility of friendship and said that “life has no pleasure higher or nobler than friendship,” tended to place friendship on the same level of significance as marriage a joining with a brother in a space of safety and joy and peace.

Friends are the family we choose. Here’s to all our friends, our soul families and all the interconnections that nourish our spirit.

In Rumi’s Frog and the Mouse

A mouse and a frog meet every morning on the riverbank.
They sit in a nook of the ground and talk.

Each morning, the second they see each other,
they open easily, telling stories and dreams and secrets,
empty of any fear or suspicious holding back.
To watch, and listen to those two
is to understand how, as it’s written,
sometimes when two beings come together,
Christ becomes visible.

It is said–

They don’t have spiritual friendship without the ocean:

Nicholson translated less literally, “they feel no spiritual

Joy without the Sea.”

This post is sourced material for Mel’s new work VANESSA BY THE SEA.

>Sign the Petition to Restore the Gulf!

>Click here to Sign the Petition to Restore the Gulf

Sandra Bullock throws down some Gulf love can you do any less…..

>Mel’s Capra Inspiration of the Week…

>”Liberty is too precious to get buried in books. Men ought to hold it up in front of them — even on the screen — every day of their lives, and say ‘I am free–to think–to speak.  My ancestors couldn’t. I can. My children will.'”

–Frank Capra from his beautifully crafted emotionally tense and ultimately uplifting presentation of the spirit of democracy in the classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington….

Capra got a lot of heat from the critics and Washington for this film he did before he was drafted into the Army to fight WWII…

The London Daily Herald sums it up “… Frank Capra attacks democracy” I saw one critic wrote… The truth is that democracy can stand any attack upon its weaknesses…”

An editorial in New York’s Daily Mirror “Frank Capra “holds a mirror” up to America… his achievement in translating America into film is all the more remarkable, because… he was born in Sicily. Let his simple devotion to America be an example…”

One man doesn’t ‘make’ changes, he merely steps into the space of truth and offers it up for review, so the people, all the people, can move into a higher thought pattern, a space of humanity above the ‘battlefield’ and petty tyrannies of fear… No matter what the cause

Our founding fathers gave us principles. principles of freedom. The first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence shouts out the most basic of all truths…. “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

These principles permeate every level of our existence.

On the back of our one dollar bill is the great seal of our country…

Two Latin sayings adorn the seal, surrounding an all seeing eye.

Two universal statements offering a promise:

novus ordo seclorum = new order of the ages

annuit cœpto = eye of providence is looking at us with favor

Radical equality and foundational freedom for all the people.

Take advantage of the meaning, the moment and the energy offered up. Today, and every day.

>Embody Joy and Peace This Week!

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>American Wildflowers

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It’s the start of a new cycle. The beginning of a new week. A renewal is in the air after the celebration of our independence!

I was lucky enough to pick up a tiny book from Hastings House Americana entitled American Wildflowers over the weekend and found a Walt Whitman classic …

(excerpted from the book)–

Walt Whitman, in one of his poems, takes a country walk, gathering branches and flowers which he sees as symbols of friends present and departed. 

(From Leaves of Grass published in 1900 and quite controversial at the time for its overt sexuality)–

These, I, Singing in Spring

THESE, I, singing in spring, collect for lovers,         

(For who but I should understand lovers, and all their sorrow and joy?       

And who but I should be the poet of comrades?)     

Collecting, I traverse the garden, the world—but soon I pass the gates,      

Now along the pond-side—now wading in a little, fearing not the wet,               

Now by the post-and-rail fences, where the old stones thrown there, pick’d from the fields, have accumulated,  

(Wild-flowers and vines and weeds come up through the stones, and partly cover them—Beyond these I pass,)  

Far, far in the forest, before I think where I go,        

Solitary, smelling the earthy smell, stopping now and then in the silence,    

Alone I had thought—yet soon a troop gathers around me,   

Some walk by my side, and some behind, and some embrace my arms or neck,      

They, the spirits of dear friends, dead or alive—thicker they come, a great crowd, and I in the middle,    

Collecting, dispensing, singing in spring, there I wander with them,

Plucking something for tokens—tossing toward whoever is near me;          

Here! lilac, with a branch of pine,        

Here, out of my pocket, some moss which I pull’d off a live-oak in Florida, as it hung trailing down,       

Here, some pinks and laurel leaves, and a handful of sage,  

And here what I now draw from the water, wading in the pondside,          

(O here I last saw him that tenderly loves me—and returns again, never to separate from me,       

And this, O this shall henceforth be the token of comrades—this Calamus-root shall,          

Interchange it, youths, with each other! Let none render it back!)   

And twigs of maple, and a bunch of wild orange, and chestnut,      

And stems of currants, and plum-blows, and the aromatic cedar:    

These, I, compass’d around by a thick cloud of spirits,        

Wandering, point to, or touch as I pass, or throw them loosely from me,       

Indicating to each one what he shall have—giving something to each;        

But what I drew from the water by the pond-side, that I reserve,    

I will give of it—but only to them that love, as I myself am capable of loving.

American Wildflowers are a treasure in spirit and beauty. 

Start something magical… 

Buy American Wildflower Seeds – Lotus

1 Oz American Lotus (Nelumbo lutea) Bulk Wildflower Seeds 

Check out products inspired by American Wildflowers.

Search Amazon.com for American wildflowers 

>Mel’s favorite Romance Cookbook

>Fifty Ways to Feed Your Lover: America’s Top Chefs Share Their Recipes And Secrets For Romance
 

Incorporating luscious recipes, Love notes on food preparation and sensual foods to deliver the perfect home made menu for a soul nourishing night at home.

Guaranteed to spice up any kitchen.

  
From Cafe Annie in Houston, Texas Chef Robert Del Grande’s offering for a wooing night at home…

Menu

Filet Mignon with Avacodo and Sea Salt

Cilantro and Serrano Chile Rice

California Chardonnay – Newton Vineyard Napa Valley 1997

Coffee Ice Cream with Meringues

Catching the love of your life is easy with Robert Del Grande’s recipes for romance. Chef Del Grande is a “big fan of simplicity, simplicity that resonates with a tremendous power.” Instead of smothering your dishes in heavy sauce or extra spices, strive to bring out the essence of just a few ingredients.

Enjoy!

>Happy 4th!

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I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free
I won’t forget the men who died who gave that right to me
I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today
There aint no doubt I love this land
G-d bless the USA!!!

 Check out posts from a past Independence Day.

>Emotional Independence Pledge!

>Today… I’m sharing a gift from one of the coaches, the lovely and passionate Debbie Ford…. Enjoy!

Close your eyes and have the intention that you can be free, that you can be loved, that you can be abundant, that you can be healed, that you can be inspired, that you can be passionate, and that you can help change the world. And then open your eyes and please join me in taking the vow.

The Vow of Emotional Independence I, ______ ________, am committed to living free of the strangulating grip of fear, shame, doubt, worry, anger, and sadness. I promise to give my power to the force greater than myself rather than some food, substance, bad habit, or disempowering craving. I will stand for my highest expression rather than allowing others’ judgments to define who I am. I will always make sure to please and take care of myself instead of succumbing to any people-pleasing habits. I will listen to the voice of my soul rather than listening to the voice of my critical internal judge. I will find joy in each and every day of my existence rather than get caught up in the insanity of my world. I will take care of my planet and let my voice be heard instead of waiting for someone else to do it for me. I will choose powerfully each and every moment to make choices that leave me feeling inspired by myself and will graciously let go of my self-defeating behaviors. I take this vow NOW as a positive stand for my soul’s highest expression and for every man, woman, and child on this planet today. As I set myself free, I am freeing myself and others from the violence of my darkest thoughts, my negative projections, and my limiting self-image. And now I ask all the powers that be to support me in living this vow each and every moment of each and every day. As I surrender my will for the higher will, I know that I will be guided from my darkest thought to my greatest dream, from my head to my heart. Today, I commit to living in full accordance with this vow. And so it is. Live as if this is your birthright and your destiny – because it is. © Debbie Ford, July, 2010

Take a deep breath. Read this vow to yourself and allow it to nourish you. See yourself filled with all the light of the world. And if your heart desires to share it, send it on to others.

With love and blessings… You can check out Debbie Ford’s website here.

For more products Search Amazon.com for debbie ford