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Current mood: excited

Join us for our second annual Nicky’s Week, a fundraising benefit for cancer research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

From May 28 - June 3, RA will donate 100f the proceeds from the sale of all tootsy maki, edamame, pork gyoza, FIJI Water, Red Bull and selected beverages.

Opportunity drawing prizes will also be available at each location throughout the week as part of the Nicky’s Week Fundraiser.  Nicky’s Week will culminate on June 3 with a special evening when the prize winners will be announced.

Nicky Mailliard of Scottsdale, Arizona was a St. Jude patient who passed away on February 28, 2005 after valiantly battling brain cancer.  He was thirteen years old. Nicky was a celebrated student at Pope John XXIII Catholic School Community and shortly before his death was accepted with honors to the Brophy College Preparatory Class of 2009.  He was a pillar of strength and always quick with a joke or a smile.  We will miss him dearly. 

You can read more about Nicky at http://www2.caringbridge.org/az/nickymailliard/.

Each year in the United States approximately 12,500 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer.  Since opening St. Jude Children’s Hospital has treated children from all 50 states and more than 80 foreign countries.  No family ever pays St. Jude for treatment not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay.

St. Jude Children’s Hospital Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.  Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tennessee, St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world.  St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization.

Questions about Nicky’s Week? Contact us at lavery@rasushi.com

        RedBull 

   

I’ve got 8 minutes before I force myself to sleep, so I’ll try to tell as much of this story as I can.  I’m a pretty quick typist, so here goes…

There’s a tile installer named Brad who works for a company that we often sub out jobs to.  I have never met him in person, but I have found that he’s the type of guy who goes above and beyond the call of duty to make sure you get the best results.

My parents just had their travertine floors re-done and wanted a second opinion on their installation.  Brad did me a favor and dropped by the other day to check it out.  He gave the minimal, straight grout lines his professional stamp of approval.  I had heard that he recently moved, so as a ‘thank you’ I got him a Home Depot gift card to help with all the stuff that goes along with having a brand new place.

Today I received a very nice letter in the mail with a few pictures of his latest home improvement project.  He put in misters in his backyard, which will be very useful the closer we get to triple digit weather.  As I flipped through the snapshots, I noticed that I very clearly recognized his house… my parents and I had walked through that spec home when we were considering buying an investment property in the area.

Brad is neighbors with the girl who always sits next to me in choir.  She was the realtor who was showing us the property, some 40-50 miles away from where we live…  I love "coincidences" like that!  I wonder who I’m going to bump into tomorrow.  Namaste 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT: Amy Sun

480-222-0191

amy@rasushi.com

RA SUSHI RAISES FUNDS FOR ST. JUDE CHILDRENS HOSPITAL

Order RAs signature tootsy maki, edamame, pork gyoza or selected beverages
to support the hospital May 28-June 3

PHOENIX RA Sushi is launching its second annual fundraiser this month with a weeklong program called Nickys Week, which benefits the internationally recognized St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital.

RA will donate 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of tootsy maki, edamame, pork gyoza, FIJI Water, Red Bull and selected beverages to benefit St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. Opportunity drawing prizes will also be available at each location throughout the week as part of the Nickys Week Fundraiser. Nickys Week will culminate on June 3 with a special evening when the prize winners will be announced.

The fundraiser was developed in memory of longtime St. Jude patient Nicholas Nicky Mailliard who died February 2005 after a long battle with brain cancer. Nephew of one of RAs founders, Rich Howland, Nicky held a special place in the hearts of RA associates throughout the organization. RA created this benefit in honor of Nicky and as a way to further promote the exceptional attention and support provided to all families with children receiving care at St. Jude, including many families from Arizona.

St. Jude played a critical role during Nickys illness by providing state-of-the-art care and by providing important information to our family. I want to help ensure that the programs at St. Jude remain available to any family that is forced to deal with the extreme heartache associated with the serious illness of a child, said Rich Howland, one of the founding partners of RA Sushi Bar Restaurant.

RA hopes to raise $100,000 for the national childrens hospital, which will help pay for the development of treatment and cures for such diseases such as brain tumors, leukemia, childhood HIV, and other life threatening illnesses in children. All ten RA Sushi Restaurants, including the four Valley locations (Old Town Scottsdale, North Scottsdale, Tempe and Ahwatukee) will be working to raise the dollars for the restaurants second companywide benefit.

The public will be notified about the fundraiser via advertising, the Internet and through in-restaurant announcements. Anyone wishing to donate may simply order the menu items associated with the benefit. Information about personal donations will be available at each location as well.

Guests will be able to purchase opportunity drawing prizes for a variety of gifts, gift certificates, event tickets and St. Jude merchandise throughout the week. The weeklong fundraiser will culminate on Saturday, June 3 with a special Nickys Week dining event, including the announcement of the prize winners at 10 p.m.

About RA Sushi

RA Sushi is best known for successfully combining distinctive sushi with a trendy, hip atmosphere. A destination for the young and chic, as well as serious sushi connoisseurs, Phoenicians have been long time fans of RAs fresh sushi sliced to order along with outstanding Japanese fusion cuisine in a fun, lively environment. RA has four restaurants in the Valley, as well as locations in Tucson, Las Vegas, Chicago, San Diego, Houston and Palm Beach Gardens. For more information on the RA restaurant locations visit www.rasushi.com.

About St. Jude

St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. St. Jude treats children from Arizona, across the United States and around the world at no cost to their families. For more information about St. Jude, please visit www.stjude.org.

# # #

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… from the Angels

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My dear friends, we love you so very much. As you celebrate this season of springtime, celebrate the rebirth of your very own soul incarnating here upon the planet earth, with each and every breath. Each moment, dear ones, is a chance for resurrecting your spirit, rekindling your own passions, and planting the seeds of your own dreams. With each choice you make, you choose to honor the soul or to negate it. With each word you speak, you come from love or fear. With each action you take, you move closer to life or farther from it.

Dear ones, allow your spirit — your loving eternal spirit — to be resurrected here upon the planet earth with every thought, word, and deed. The world does indeed try to crucify your ever-loving hearts at times. The denser energies would love the pleasure of your company and therefore introduce negativities such as angry vindictive thoughts and doubts as to your worth, value, beauty, intelligence, or dreams. The lonely among you would blame you for their choices. And yet, dear ones, you can take responsibility for walking the higher path, for saying "no" to the negative thoughts and placing your sights on what is truly of value in your life and your hearts. So you don’t like to take out the garbage? Focus on how you feel with your clean house. You would rather not pay the bills? Give thanks for the roof over your head and the hands that can write the check. You’ve been attacked by someone in anger? Be relieved that you are awake enough to desire better treatment, and wise enough to simply move away from that energy.

Dear ones, we understand that each of you has gone through your own share of crucifixtions and yet each one of you bravely resurrects your very own spirit day after day, as you get out of bed in the morning. Realize, dear ones, this is truth - love is eternal and all else will eventually fall away as illusion. You are deeply loved, honored, and cherished for your work here upon the planet.

We love you so very much,

– the Angels

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… from Ann "Not a Coincidence!"

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I spent 30 hours last weekend restructuring and cleaning up the book I’ve been working on for over two years. The urge to finish it was so strong that, with the exception of meals, I did nothing else. The weekend was beautiful and I was tempted to play outside, run errands, etc., but everything in me said, "Finish that book." And so I did.

In the first chapter I talk about a mystical experience I had when I was five years old at a waterfall near Washington D.C. Sunday afternoon I was almost finished but needed a way to end the book, and a picture of a river for the cover. I prayed and let go, knowing God always provides. The prayer was answered quicky! I had no sooner sent the final page of my book to my printer when an incoming email captured my attention. It was from my father. The subject was "GREAT DAY AT THE FALLS" and in the email was a picture of the waterfall I’d written about in the first chapter!

For some "strange" reason, my parents who live 3000 miles away and didn’t even know I was writing this book, had the sudden urge to go that same waterfall, take pictures, and send them to me the very second I finished my book. The book is called "Love is the River: Embracing the Flow of Divine Grace." It is all about letting go and letting God make your life run smoothly and easily. I could not have been more floored by the wonderful timing of that email.

The story got even better on Monday. I had the priviledge of meeting James and Sally Redfield who were being interviewed by Therese Inzarillo on www.acheiveradio.com. James is the author of the Celestine Prophecy and he and his wife are two of the nicest famous peple I’ve met - down to earth, real, and totally practicing what they preach. At this gathering I ran into Liz Dawn who runs Mishka Productions. Liz asked if she could read the book I’d mentioned and since I had finished the previous day, I gave her the copy I’d brought.

Today I was totally blown away when Liz called to invite me to speak at Mishka’s CELEBRATE YOUR LIFE conference which features over 20 of the most popular metaphysical authors including Deepak Chopra, Christiane Northrup, Sonia Choquette, etc. I am beyond amazed at how God works, but the funny part is this is what the book is about! Learn to sense the currents of grace in your life, follow your heart, pray, surrender, let go, trust… trust… trust more. Trust that everything in your life leads to the next step. I am humbled, amazed, and in huge gratitude. These are dreams coming true. The book will hopefully be out within a month or less.

So this week practice letting go and letting God figure out the answers to your prayers. Trust all is well no matter what. Focus on the what gives you joy. And see what happens

Have a great week,

Love,

Ann

PS - I’m being interviewed on www.achieveradio.com (Intuitive Living with Therese Inzarillo) at 6 PM Pacific time next Monday the 17th. If you miss it, you can listen to the archive. The subject is "Bridging the Gap Between Christianity and Mysticism".

PPS - If you haven’t seen "THE CELESTINE PROPHECY" movie yet, it is a phenomenal depiction of spiritual truth woven into a good plot. The movie talks about assuming everything that happens is part of the plan; it shows how we play for energy with one another; it depicts auras, psychic visions, and mystical experiences very well and is great entertainment. It is a wonderful thing to share with others who are trying to understand the mystical side of reality. The message is needed at this time on earth.

Mishka Productions is having a special showing on APRIL 27th, THURSDAY, at Harkins CINE CAPRI. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased here:

http://www.mishkaproductions.com/celestine-april-27.php

There is also a fundraiser for CHILDHELPUSA afterwards which helps to save children from abuse. More info is on the website.

I’ll be there and hope you can join us! James and Sally are beautiful, humble souls, with a message of faith in higher power. I love it!

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… from Jacqueline

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All this buzz lately about books! Recently I received an email from my friend Kitty Wiemelt, speaker and co-author of the #11 best selling book, "Seizing Your Success."  Many moons ago we met at Right Management Consultants after I attended their outplacement program as part of my severance package from MicroAge in 2001.

A bunch of us from that executive networking group put together a compilation of stories and Kitty pushed all this time to make it into a book. Five years later and… on Friday, April 28, 2006, "Laid Off? Don’t Stress! How to Get from Mad to Glad" will go to print! I’m pretty excited about it, in a strangely distant way. I didn’t do much to make any of this happen. Kitty has managed all the heavy lifting. The bonus is that, although I love to write, I haven’t had anything "officially" published since college. In my rule book, blogs and press releases don’t necessarily count as legitimately as a book!

It’s been a long timg since I was introduced to the Celestne Prophecy. I remember that first time through the story, how I loved being reminded that there are no coincidences. Truly I’ve begun to notice that the blessings in my life that come from following the "flow" of doing what I love indeed feel effortless. Like writing a story for Kitty years ago and finding that the small seed planted then will finally now bloom. Pretty cool, wouldn’t you say? Keep trusting, letting go, and living in the flow… Namaste

What a blessing to have people who love me and coach me! I had a wonderful conversation with my girlfriend Layla who I hadn’t spoken with in a long time. I gave her the low down on my "racket" frustration in brief, and she shared with me some unfunked wisdom.

"I could be wrong on this, but I think that this is called karma," she poked with a slight hint of friendly sarcasm in her voice. "You’ve heard of karma before, right?!"

I laughed at the simplicity of the straightforward answer and the earlier pissed off-ness melted away. Yes, if I had a quarter for every time in my teens and twenties I could have been caught for being up to no good… well, let’s just say that with compound interest my retirement savings would be guaranteed! This kid’s guardian angels were working overtime all those years to protect her and those she loves from peril. Now it’s my turn to get the lesson and give back.

Right before the Good Friday service at church I had stopped off on some errands. I picked up a FedEx package from Robin Punsalan, an incredible artist in Las Vegas. She overnighted some of her prints to me to donate to the Soul Sanctuary in the Desert. They’re having a fundraiser this weekend with a silent auction to benefit women and their children displaced by domestic violence. This cause has a special place in my heart, having experienced the sadness of the death of a friend who would not take her children and leave her abusive husband. Ultimately she stayed at all costs and paid the price with her life.

I needed a new stylus for my PDA and visited my old friend Pasquale the Great at Pens International. He hooked me up with a fabulous Lamy that’s a mechanical pencil too. It’s perfect! I picked out a new fountain pen as well. I am a pen addict and have so much fun with the colorful inks. Omas orange is today’s new favorite… I can’t wait to write some correspondence this weekend!

Josette Sullins, the director of Soul Sanctuary in the Desert, called while I was at the pen shop to coordinate getting Robin’s artwork from me. Pasquale overheard and in less than a heartbeat had selected a gorgeous pen/pencil set and put it in a gift bag to donate for the cause. Robin and Pasquale are both inspiring examples of people who share their art and creativity with the world from their hearts and without regard for recognition or reward. I have so much to learn from them. 

(As a side note, I would absolutely love to see Robin’s dancer and geisha art published in a magazine or book.  I’m biased and think they’re super awesome.  If you’ve got connections to make this happen, drop me a line or click on her MySpace profile link above to contact her directly)

With the anxiousness and buzz of Bach’s St. John’s Passion performance surrounding, I sat quietly meditating in the choir room, waiting for the 14 stations of the cross to complete and for the symphony musicians to arrive. On the road, I had passed a Lutheran church with Easter signs up. He chose the nails. I immediately thought "Chocolate, vanilla. Choose." I realized that my racket was entirely the product of not choosing, not accepting. I was the struggling and fighting 5-year-old tantrum, "It’s not fair!" Once I returned to knowing that my path is right and perfect, including those seemingly annoying obstacles that I don’t understand (but don’t need to), I found my peace again. Thank you all for being so supportive through my ranting! Namaste

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… from the Angels

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My dear friends, we love you so very much. There lies within each human heart a seed of potential that God has planted within you before the day you were born. In this seed is the knowlege and energy of the Christ consciousness. Each one of you has the potential to become a fully realized being here upon the earth - a being of great love, great compassion and with a great capacity to create.

Take time in this season of spring to sit quietly and ask God to tend to this seed within, to nurture the Christ consciousness in your own hearts into fruition. For indeed, dear friends, the "second coming" begins in your very own hearts. There will indeed be a soul to walk the earth that embodies this love as well; however, dear ones, the point and purpose of the life of Jesus Christ was to awaken this light within each one of you. He did not intend to create belief systems that would foster judgement, separation, and righteousness, but rather to break apart hypocritical systems of the day that promoted the very same, and to bring healing to human hearts.

His message is one, dear friends, not of religiousity but of LOVE, plain and simple. His message was that you could do as He did and more. He never intended that religious persecution be carried on in His name; the abominations in His name do not represent the love this gentle ambassador of peace came to proclaim.

We realize that we are crossing borders and boundaries with this message, dear friends, but it is time to awaken to the truth of who you really are. Dear lightworkers, dear friends, you are God’s love poured into human form, given life each moment by His breath, and directed by His love. Your planet needs your light and all you need to do to ignite this fire within is to sit silently and pray. Ask God to ignite the Christ consciousness within you, to know God’s will for your life, and to trust, dear ones, as we have instructed you for so long, that the desires in your very own heart will guide you along that path. We love you. We realize that you and we are one in God’s creation, working together to tend to the seeds of love within so they can come to full bloom and so that your planet can, at long last, reach a point in history where God’s plan ripens into a beautiful heaven on earth.

This will take time, dear ones. Be patient with yourselves and others. In a way, your planet still lies in the fertile soil awaiting the push of springtime to grow into the light. Dear ones, pray for this awakening. Ask and you shall receive. Knock and the door will be opened.

We love you so very much.

– the Angels & Masters

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… from Ann

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Hi All,

Wow. The energy that came through when I channeled that message nearly overwhelmed me and it was hard to type. I always have a little fear putting things like that out because so many of my friends are Jewish and these discussions are not about religion, separation, persecution or even pushing beliefs. I FEEL the love coming through with these messages and LOVE is the only message they send to us all.

I often wonder if a child was born today to a humble contractor and this child grew up and preached about LOVE being the only way to God, owned the fact that he was a son of God, and said we were too - would anyone recognize this as the Christ energy? If we embrace love instead of the division, judgement, hatred, and separation that the world seems to promote, will the world recognize our goodness? Some will and some won’t.

The angels have been working with me diligently to be strong enough to go more public with these messages. I had a huge cry with a good Christian friend of mine a few weeks ago because I discovered I was afraid she wouldn’t accept me as part of her life as I went more public with my beliefs that aren’t always in sync with hers. I’ve received more emails as of late from good religious people trying to inform me that I am "deceived by Satan, dear lady" and that surely I had never read the Bible. Although my human side felt like responding, "I’ve read the Bible, Kabbalah, Koran, and Book of Buddha, the Bhagavad Vita, and more," I prayed over what to do and refrained from any response as a result. When I chat with Jesus, angels, Buddha, Archangel Michael and more deceased relatives than I can count, the message is always the same:

- Be loving even when others are not.

- Recognize others’ rights to their point of view as well as your right to your own.

- Don’t argue. Listen. Understand. Acknowledge. This does not negate our own point of view.

- Share from your heart. If people accept you, great. If the don’t, pray for ones who will.

Embracing this - that there is no need to defend or justify my personal beliefs in religion, life, or simply perspective - has freed up tremendous energy in my life. All of the sudden I am feeling bliss again. I’ve had the energy to start a major website upgrade, finish the first draft of another book, start a different one, clean out my house, make time for dating, friendships, family, tai chi, clients, emails, and energy sessions. When you give up trying to please the world and you give up the need to judge the world, a power within - the power of God’s LOVE - is unleashed in your life and freed up to help you create your own dreams.

Free your spirit this week Try to give up any need to justify or defend yourself and see how much more energy you have when you simply choose to understand your own heart rather than trying to make everyone else ‘get’ you.

Lots of love,

Ann

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… from Jacqueline

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I have been very behind on reading and responding to emails. I finally saw this one from Ann this morning, which she wrote over a week ago. Of course, as always, her insights and the angels’ message seem to align magically with me.

Sunday was the beginning of a hectic Holy Week, where most of my free time will be spent at All Saints through Easter and the Bishop Kirk Smith’s visit the Sunday after. I was asked the other day if I would go to church as often if I didn’t sing in the choir. Most likely I’d choose to participate in other ways. Wednesday night meditation. Thursday night Kabbalah classes. My mom volunteers and prepares meals at Andre House. Maybe I would help serve them and go with her.

It may seem like a lot to some that I commit my Wednesday nights and Sundays to the choir. Yet for me, it is a joy and privilege to sing in the midst of angels. The few hours each week feel truly minimal in that respect. On Good Friday 4/14 we’ll be performing Bach’s St. John Passion at 12:30 PM with the first chair players of the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. It’s one of my favorite concerts of the year… and it’s FREE To join us, directions are at http://www.allsaints-phoenix.org/our_location.htm.

I mused with my old roommate that if we took a scientific, historical count of time spent over our "adult life" (say, in the past 15 years) divided into segments for work, fun, etc., we’ve probably logged more cumulative hours in bars and clubs than I have at church, yoga and meditation combined. And between those activities, what has furthered my personal enlightenment, growth and development the most? $1 Redbull-vodkas at Axis or Pussycat Lounge? Yeah… tough call ;)~

All in all, I just really dig (in no particular order):

- high mass with incense

- the bishop’s pointy hat and the verger’s floppy one

- openness to mysticism

- group meditation and prayer

- feeling loved and accepted

- dancing colors from sunlight streaming through stained glass

- powerful vibrations from the pipe organ that shake the loft

- hanging out with the angels and beautiful spirits

- letting pastors be people too

- singing in Latin or other languages

- wearing black and white robes

- super old traditions with a modern liberal twist

Does anybody else ‘get’ that?! Ha ha ha, taking Ann’s advice, I don’t care if you do! Just kidding… I love you! Namaste

As the Sunday afternoon program continues to sell out, we’ve added a mid-week option one Tuesday a month at Ken McDonald Golf Course in

Tempe

. The first Tuesday afternoon program will be on April 11^th at 2pm.  To kick off the new day and new venue, we have lined up some massage therapists and a Square 2 demo day. 

Nine and Wine is a very fun on-course mentoring program in which a mentor joins each foursome to play up to nine holes of golf.  The mentors are seasoned golfers who are willing to share their experience, insight and passion for the game with other golfers.  Nine and Wine is a safe learning environment, perfect for brand new golfers and those who want to get their games back in shape.  We gather in the clubhouse after golf to share our lessons learned over hosted appetizers.  This is the “wine” (not “whine”) portion of the program.

Invite a friend or business associate to join you! 

To register or get more information:  http://golfforcause.com/nine.html  or call 602/840-0607.  Cost:  $35, $30 EWGA members.

Ken McDonald Golf Course is located at

in

Tempe

.  It is west of

between Guadalupe and Elliot. 480-350-5250      

In addition, we’re always looking for experienced golfers to join us as mentors.  If you’re interested, please let us know!

Thanks for spreading the news!

Warm regards,

Debbie Waitkus

Golf for Cause, LLC

570 W. Southern Ave.

Tempe

,

AZ

85282

602/840-0607

dwaitkus@golfforcause.com

www.golfforcause.com

Business-Golf Coach, Speaker, Consultant

"Turn Golf into Gold." ™

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… from the Angels

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My dear friends, we love you so very much. We continue our discussion on taking time in stillness. There is so much that occurs in your spirit, dear ones, when you take the time to slow down. You reconnect with your heart. You notice what is working in your life and what is not. You notice how you have changed and can take time to give thanks for your growth and your blessings. You will feel the longings of your heart and can pray for assistance in bringing them into fruition. You feel your anxieties and can ask us for help in healing them.

Dear ones, time in stillness, however great or small, is time that is richly productive for the soul. While you can’t point to any finished "accomplishments" with down time, nor can you cross items off your "to-do" lists, you are taking time to nurture the one thing in your life and lifetimes that is eternal - your soul. Dear ones, if you have a car you maintain it. If you have a garden you would water it. You have an eternal spirit and must take time to nourish it.

Those of you who are sensitive would also do well to create a small routine at the end of your day to release any energies you have inadvertently taken on from the world around you. This can be as simple as washing your hands under running water and praying to release any frequencies that don’t serve you. You can also take a bath with salt sprinkled in the water. You can sit upon the earth palms down and allow excess energies to drain into mother earth who gladly uses them to good end. You can simply pray to release anything you have picked up.

You have a tendency, dear ones, many of you on this list, to take on the world’s ills and woes. And therefore many of you find yourself a bit drained from time to time. It is not selfish to release the energies back to those who created them, using simply intent.

Doing these two things - intending to release the frequencies that are not yours and taking time in stillness to refill your cup - will keep your spirit maintained, will keep your body healthier and stronger, and will help your mind be at peace.

Take charge of your energies, dear light workers. The world is about to become even more chaotic and yet you can find great peace, indeed even heaven on earth, if you take the time to reconnect with the light and release the denser energies.

God bless you all. We love you so very much.

– The Angels

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… from Ann

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Hi All,

I really needed this angel message! A week ago I took time off to get my house painted. I thought I’d take the time to write more of the next book I’m working on. Instead I crashed. I was so exhausted I couldn’t walk to the mailbox without resting for twenty minutes afterwards. I realized I had slacked off on my own energy maintenance.

Luckily these things can be fixed rather quickly. I put everything in my life on hold, slept a lot, juiced veggies, and paid attention only to my own life. I took a weekend off to have time in stillness, without agenda, schedule, or to do list. And quickly my energy flowed back into my spirit. I also visited Dr. Shawn (480-429-9433) whom I call the "shaman/chiropractor" who helped patch up a few leaks in my field. It’s amazing how quickly we can lose or take on energies, and also astounding how quickly we can refill our spirits.

The angels always seem to reward me with humor when I do something right again. I was en route to my book signing when I got cut off by a car that had the license plate "Chris10s". Wouldn’t you know it, the lecture was on "Bridging the Gap betwen Christianity and Mysticism!" Gotta love that angel humor. They are always with us but sometimes they wait patiently for us to do our part before stepping in again to help!

Have a great week!

Ann

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… from Jacqueline

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This week marks the start of Lent for many. The liturgical season of Lent lasts for 40 weekdays in remembrance of the 40 days and nights that Christ spent fasting in the desert, tempted by Satan. Ash Wednesday (March 1) is the beginning and the day before Easter (April 15) is the end.

A common conversation heard around this time sounds like, "What temptation are you going to give up for Lent?" In years past the easy answer has been to give up a physical "bad habit" - chocolate, alcohol, caffeine, fast food, red meat, etc. Then I switched to giving up things like complaint, negative comments/thoughts, gossip, procrastination…

I have been reflecting on what my Lenten promise might be this year. In alignment with the angels’ message, I’ve noticed what I hear has been to give up "busy-ness and noise" in my life. I have had such a hard time quieting the very loud monologue of my to-do list running in my head lately. It’s crazily chattering when I wake until I sleep.

Father Peter’s sermon during Ash Wednesday service was about fasting. Not in the sense of withholding from food, but "fast on those things that have us go too fast." The phrase triggered my memory to my New Year’s intention… Wasn’t it Solitude? Well, that’s not what my calendar looks like. I’m already booking events into April and May.

One of them, however, is specifically about slowing down. March 10th weekend I’m attending a meditation retreat at Holy Trinity Monastery in St. David (http://personal.riverusers.com/~trinitylib/retreats.html). Sometimes I just have to force myself to physically be in a place where I can’t be reached by email or voicemail. I hope to bring that peaceful quiet back with me when I return.

For more information about retreats at the monastery contact:

Tolomei Retreat House

Holy Trinity Monastery

P.O. Box 298

St. David Arizona 85630-0298

(520) 720-4016

guestmaster@theriver.com

In December 2004 I was in Los Angeles for a week for an AMX training course. While I was there, I visited with friends and we went to a Liberatin Yoga class together. I tried Iyengar yoga for the first time and loved the experience. I signed up for their newsletter and enjoy the insights:

"True love, that which fulfills and illumines, is not the love one receives but the love one gives." - unknown Indian author

The meditation of the month at Liberation is Unconditional Love. Practice a few minutes each day of complete acceptance and love for yourself - in this way it will spill from you to all those around you and back to you again in a never ending circle of shared compassion and joy.

Liberation Yoga

124 S. La Brea Ave

Los Angeles, CA 90036

email: inside@liberationyoga.com

phone: 323-964-5222

web: http://www.liberationyoga.com

This weekend I found myself in an unfamiliar space of sadness. Somehow in the path of the journey it seemed like friendship no longer held a place of priority.

The Story

For weeks we had been planning a girls’ night celebration for five of us who used to be inseparable, hanging out up to 6 nights a week, but who now rarely get together. The last time had been almost a year ago in March. On Friday night I got a voicemail that one of them decided that day to leave for Vegas in the morning with her boyfriend.

What I Made It Mean

I was crushed and disappointed. She had already confirmed the week prior that she would be there. The indignant voice in my head screamed, "They see each other almost every day and go to Vegas every 3-4 weeks. Can’t they just go next weekend?" I felt slighted, that being with your best girlfriends was not important enough to reserve one Saturday night for catching up. I made it mean that she didn’t love us enough.

What’s So

Each day includes hundreds of choices, conscious and unconscious. One of my personal resolutions is to try my best to consistently choose my priorities in the following order:

- my well being

- my immediate family

- my church, song and spirit

- my work and creativity

- my friends and community

- all the other stuff

I noticed that on my own priority list, several things came before girlfriends. There will be times that I choose to not go out because I’d rather have dinner with my parents or be alone for some quiet time. Just as I hope others understand those choices aren’t meant to make them feel less important, I realized that my friend deserved the same consideration.

Possibility

The possibility that I’m creating for myself and my life is the possibility of being understanding.

In the game of remember/forget, I sometimes forget to take the time to see a situation from other perspectives. I forget my space for understanding.

When I remember to stand in another’s shoes for a moment and consider the view, I remember that we are One. I find that peaceful place in my heart. I know without doubt that all is well, right and perfect. And so it is. Namaste