Come Sing a Deeper Song

How Do You Nurture Yourself?

Living Our Deeper Song

Ashe
(“Ah-Shay”)
 The Creative in me honors the Creative in you!

What does the concept of nurturing mean to you? How do you nurture yourself? How do you nurture others?

Nurturing is more than just providing the essentials, it is about caring for yourself at the deepest levels. Not just your physical care, it includes your mental, emotional and spiritual care. Are you aware of how or if you are nurturing yourself in all those areas? What would you like to change? What would you like to do better? 

I like to think of nurturing as cultivation, making sure the right conditions for physical growth are there but also tending to self-awareness, inner growth and spiritual growth. Those are all things we need to do for ourselves.

My most active nurturer is my mind. It takes me exploring and adventuring and it helps me bring new patterns of awareness into my life.  To remain nurturing I must take self-responsibility. I must choose the right foods to eat. I must give my body enough movement to help it keep strong and get stronger. I must establish and maintain a spiritual practice in ways that support me in expanding my awareness as well as my place of service.

List five things you do to nurture yourself. Mine includes using my curiosity and my mind to figure out ideas that call to me and share that with others. I am also being enriched by the people around me who are professional caregivers with a great heart. I nurture myself through my spiritual practice and my body strengthening practices. I am enriched by the love I feel for my mind. I love who I am right now and I love the direction I’m going. 

I see that I am nurturing others when I express an interest in who they are, how they reached where they are, and what they are going through.  As I write this, I realize that the reason I’m not drawn to older people is because in most cases there is no drive or ambition. I have a 10-year plan and I am 90. Who knows, maybe it’s a 13-year plan but I do have a flexible, inquisitive plan. The point is that I have a plan and I have a direction I want to go in. I know some of the steps to get me there and I’m always open to change. 

To nurture means to encourage growth or develop. How do you nurture yourself?

DEEPER SONG AFFIRMATION

I am open to change, I eagerly explore the new paths I am shown.

DEEPER SONG PROCESS 

• Identify several ways you actively nurture yourself and write them down in the order of their effectiveness for you at this point in time.
• Identify one area that is under nurtured and then list two things you can do to nurture it. Do that. 
• Repeat as desired.

===INNER WORK===

Deepen Your Inner Awareness

An Altar Is How You View It

I have several spaces in my small space that can be viewed as altars. An altar can be a simple, personal expression of what you want to focus on.

On my desk is a small wooden tray that is an altar. I have an arrangement of bear figurines and pinecones and feathers and a bell. It just takes a small portion of my desk. I have several eagles which to me is about having overview. I call the three small bear figurines Insight, Intuition and Imagination. 

On the dresser that also holds the TV I have a Himalayan salt lamp that my on-line friends and I turned into a charging station for anyone who comes in here to give them centering and peace and serenity. Across the top of the dresser is a piece of fabric I chose a long time ago as an altar cloth. 

I have another table that has my Quan Yin statue in royal pose along with some plants. She is my reminder of my strong abilities and the power of the Divine Feminine.

All you have to do is set an intention for a space to hold the energy of support, insight, forward motion and gratitude. 

Altars can be made of anything. I could look at the wicker basket that holds my gardening equipment as an altar. It has a specific purpose to nurture plants. 

The idea of an altar is ancient. It is used to help manifest transformation. It is a place of gratitude and a place to focus our intentions. 

You may want to periodically rearrange the altars that you create around you. As you continue to explore, your understanding expands and your intentions may change. Then you may want to re-choose what you put on your altar as well as your intention. Choose pieces that mean forward movement to you.

Used an altar to focus your attention, remind you of an intention, or offer gratitude. 

It can be a tray I use for my meals that I can treat as an altar of gratitude and thanksgiving for the nourisher it provides. I could have an altar beside my bed to watch over me in the night and help me release what no longer serves me. 

There can be many reasons to have an altar in several places.  Look at the surfaces around you and arrange the objects on it with intention and purpose. You have created an altar.

Let Go Of What You Have Outgrown

This time of year is filled with the promise of possibility and new growth. You are invited to reconnect with your own power to create the life you desire. Now is the time to let go of what you’ve outgrown, take thoughtful action toward your dreams, cultivate confidence, strengthen your physical body, and step into greater leadership within your own life.

===SELF-HEALING===

Take Responsibility for Healing Yourself

Pull Out The Weeds

When we garden, we keep making space for the plants to grow. That means we have to not only pull out invasive plants but we sometimes have to trim or remove some of the flourishing plants in order to make room for another plant to grow. 

The same is true in life. Is it possible that you have too many things growing in your garden? What do you need to pull out? What do you need to prune? How are you going to do that?

Sea Vegetables

I am adding sea vegetables to my diet to deepen my nutrition and help heal my body. I sprinkle a little in the miso soup I eat most days. I have begun to experiment with other ways to eat them. I can sprinkle them on salads or potatoes or – I continue to experiment.  I have Dulse (alchaline), Nori (eyes), Spirulina (Immune system), Wakame (blood purifier), and Nutritional Yeast (which tastes like cheese and is great on popcorn and lots more). I have also added in capsule form Irish Moss (edema) and Aloe Vera (boosts immune system). If you are interested in these, do the online research for what you seek to heal.

I’m working diligently to heal myself from the inside even as the medical staff works to heal me on the outside.  

What change in your eating habits will bring you greater health? 

===OUTER  WORK===

Explore New Potential and Possibilities

Pick And Choose

Are you clear about your priorities? When it comes time to choose between two things, what are the criteria you use to make that choice? 

Sometimes we just have to sit down and examine our lives and figure out our priorities. What criteria do you base it on?

Self-care has to come first. It can be easy to put that behind making a living or relationships. But you are the only one who can do that so you better do a good job of it.

Providing for yourself is near the top of the list which includes how you earn your money. If you are not fully satisfied in your work perhaps you need to look for another role to play in the work world.

Relationships are certainly a key element in our lives, whether it is an intimate family relationship or a few valued friendships. Those interactions deeply influence how we feel about ourselves and those we love. You want your relationships to be supportive and encouraging – both ways. Don’t hang out with anyone who pulls you down. 

Take time to thoughtfully investigate these areas of your life and make any corrections that will move you forward. Then pick and choose what excites and motivates you.

Periodically Restructure Your Life

It’s very easy to fall into a pattern that we do not take time to examine or question. Our choices are built on habit, convenience or simply a reaction.  When we take time to examine our unconscious choices, we may very well make new ones. I’m going to begin with what I want to add and let other things go to make room for it.

Things I will add: 

• Time to play my bigger skin drum – I like the richness of its tone.
• Stand and move throughout my day. 
• Do the Qigong forms of self-healing I have learned at least twice a day.
• Set aside reading time each day for the books that are calling me.
• Design a ceremony of well-being for the environment and add it to my spiritual practice.
• Listen to more music.

Things I will do less of:

• watch news
• sit

Periodically restructure your life. Examine how you spend your time and make certain it reaps the greatest rewards.

10 Ideas A Day

I got this idea from Chris Brogan who has been my online friend for years.  In his weekly newsletter he mentioned that in his daily morning ritual, he writes down 10 ideas a day. I haven’t tried this but I think it’s a great idea.  I’m writing this in the morning and my ideas are:

1. Write more about our unfolding role in the world.
2. Write to help young generations face and deal with the dramatic changes that are unfolding.
3. Begin to talk to the young people here about their thinking.
4. Read the Qigong Self-Healing book I have.
5. Stand up more often during the day and move my body.

Those last two are more like a “To Do” list that an “Idea List” 

When I get an idea it’s usually about something to write about and I immediately turn and write about it so I have a first draft. But then I have the luxury of being able to pause to do that at any point in my day.  I just read Chris’s newsletter, and turned and wrote this to figure it out for myself and to share it with you.

You get the idea – it’s your list. What ideas will you put on it each day? 

I don’t act on each of the ideas but writing an idea down can lead to another idea. The act of writing opens doors to new ideas to consider and explore.  It is a great opportunity for a free flow of ideas.

Chris did not say good ideas, he just said ideas.  When you let your imagination go, it may take you down some strange paths but you never know when you will hit the jackpot. I’m going to give it a try.

===DEEPEN YOUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE===

Self-Healing Spiritual Practice and Deepening Awareness of Our Cosmic Oneness

The Power of Journaling

I have begun to journal again and I’m very much enjoying it. I take time at the end of each day to reflect back over the experiences I’ve had, the insights that have been revealed and any new awareness that has presented itself. It is a time for reflection and anchoring of awareness. I don’t necessarily expect to ever re-read it, it is the process of taking time to reflect by recording it that is important. Sometimes it helps me change directions and other times it helps to anchor me in place. Will you make journaling part of your spiritual enrichment? 

===HOW TO BE A STRONG CONTRIBUTING MEMBER OF THE CIRCLE OF LIGHT BEARERS===

Expand Your Role in the Rapidly Evolving Universe

Life Is Not About Luck

Whatever shows up in our life is because we attracted it to us by our thoughts, our choices, 

our actions and where we focus our attention. What are you looking for? What do you expect to happen? What do you think is possible? You can shift the outcome by shifting your attention.

I have to be careful about this because my body is coming up with more physical things for me to fix and I have to make certain that I’m focused on the concepts of wellness and wholeness rather than the opposite.  We get what we believe we deserve and what we believe is possible. And I get to look at both aspects of that. What is manifesting in your life and how do you need to shift your gaze?

===BROADEN YOUR HORIZON – EXPAND YOUR VIEW===

Raise Your Sights and Your Expectations 

Healing The Collective

I have never been an activist in a group but if you have and do, this may be a very good time to get active again. One way is to protest and another way is to educate and advocate.

I had only been in touch with one person whose thinking was totally opposite from mine and there was no point in our exchanging ideas because he was listening to and reading only the ideas he agreed with and supported this belief system – just as I am I suppose. Neither of us were interested in changing our minds. Unless you have a curious mind and you’re willing to explore other viewpoints I’m not sure how to encourage a change in thinking.

Make certain you are exploring several versions of the core cause of a situation and identify new solutions and deepen a new reservoir of possibilities 

===OUR EVOLVING FUTURE===

Support and Encouragement for our Unfolding Role in the Future

Enjoy Life’s Journey, But Leave No Tracks

Are you walking softly on the planet? Are you conscious of your impact in every aspect of your life? I doubt we are, but it would be good if we were.

We know about walking softly on the planet but what about the effect we have on the lives of others? Some we know, some we don’t. We should become more conscious of our impact on others by our thoughts, our words and our actions. Enjoy life’s journey, but leave no tracks.

=== DEEPER SONG PHILOSOPHIES ===

New View – New Path 

20 years ago in Michael Port’s first Book Yourself Solid Coaching Certification, I learned to write a who-and-do-what statement.  My latest one will send me soaring into unexplored territory and take us on great adventures:

I help Transformational Leaders
deepen our relationship with the Unseen World
and expand our role in the New Consciousness.

Now all I have to do is to figure out how to do that…! 

Where your talents and the needs of the world cross, there lies your calling. – Aristotle

===REFLECTIONS OF A DEEPER SONG PODCAST===

Your Role as a Visionary Harp

Listen to my
Reflections of a Deeper Song Podcast on
Apple / Spotify / Googleand the
Deeper Song Website

===CARA’S CORNER===

How Am I To Lead?

It is time for me to deepen and expand my role. It is time for me to turn my gaze and address our role as light worker leaders on the planet. What does that mean? What does that look like? 

It’s time to examine where you are and where you want to go.  How do you plan to make a difference next?

===SING A DEEPER SONG ===

How Do I Make A Difference?

I want to deepen my impact. I want to broaden my reach. I want to make a difference.

I want to deepen my impact. I want to broaden my reach. I want to make a difference. Where do I turn? What do I do?

I want to deepen my impact. I want to broaden my reach. I want to make a difference. Where do I turn? What do I do? The answer lies within. I begin there.

– Cara Lumen, March 203

We create our future with every thought we think, every action we take.  Move forward mindfully as you sing your Deeper Song.

Namaste,

Cara

Come Sing a Deeper Song  

I help Transformational Leaders

deepen our relationship with the Unseen World 

and expand our role in the New Consciousness

Please forward this newsletter to a friend and suggest they
Join the Deeper Song Community

Past Issues of this newsletter are being curated on my site on a page called Insights.

Our Global Deeper Song Community

Our Deeper Song Community extends throughout the planet. Welcome new Deeper Song Explorers. I’d love to hear of your experiences –  caralumen@gmail.com or let’s discuss on the Deeper Song Explorers!

Subscribe to this weekly Deeper Song Newsletter at www.deepersong.com

My Books

Free Yourself Of Limitations

Living Our Deeper Song

Ashe
(“Ah-Shay”)
 The Creative in me honors the Creative in you!

I didn’t like it. It was weaving in concepts and visualizations that are not taught in the original form of Tai Chi and Qigong and yoga.  We are supposed to stick with the original format, right?

Well, after going through the imaginative interpretation that was being given these traditional moves, I realized I had been given the freedom to explore, to experiment and to discover Qigong and Tai Chi are martial arts that are meant to give you the balance and strength and advantage to protect yourself and win a fight. These two teachers that I listened to on the Shift Network Qigong Summit were simply adding imaginative interpretations to the moves. It was much like once having developed the skills of an instrument, you give yourself permission to improvise from your heart and soul.

This may not sit well for those of you who spent years developing your yoga practice or meditation practice or martial arts practice based on centuries old traditions.  

I haven’t exactly made peace with it either. But I am giving myself permission to explore. To use my imagination to deepen and enrich my physical plane practice.

I have gone online to find moves for the kidney meridian. The instructions were to reach down and pull up the energy of the Earth into your body. I love that. I love that image. I find that putting an inner imaginative feeling beneath a specific move enriches it. 

I just heard a metaphor in the Qigong Summit that really resonated with me – being aware of the female and male energy in the move and the image of being in the flow of the waxing and waning of the Yin-Yang symbol as you make the moves. It is a very fluid metaphor for me. 

For instance, Yang energy manifested in the movements that expand, extend, open out, rise up, lengthen, elongate and out, and the Yin energy manifested in the movements of contraction, relaxation, close in, and sink down. I like applying those metaphors as I move. It helps me address the move internally and adds to the experience. It’s just a very strong image for me that will influence the subtleties aspect of the moves I make – beginning from within with an internal feeling. Just having those images beneath the moves adds a fascinating dimension to my experience. 

I’m not sure I am explaining this well. I am both learning the correct form and adding the dimension of my imagination to power it from the inside out.

Is there an area of your life that you are following the instructions so exactly that you have not given yourself the freedom to experiment, explore, and improvise?  Perhaps it’s time to go exploring and free yourself of limitations.

DEEPER SONG AFFIRMATION

I examine my life for places of rigidity and turn my imagination free to loosen it up.

DEEPER SONG PROCESS 

• Look at an area of your life you would like to free up and expand. Let’s begin with a physical expression. The image of the tennis serve comes up because it is a multi-faceted move that needs a fluid execution.  What I place in my imagination beneath it will help direct its flow.
• Experiment with different images and see how it affects the physical plane expression. 

===INNER WORK===

Deepen Your Inner Awareness

Fluid Structures

How does one build a structure that is fluid? If it’s fluid how does it ever get completed? How sturdy is a fluid structure? Or is it simply meant to be a framework for adventure.

I like that idea of my life being a framework for adventure. That means that every day I get to look at my life for a fresh perspective. 

Is this still how our choice are made? What new nudges have you gotten from the universe? Where do you want to go exploring next? Or do you need to finish the path you are on before moving in a new direction? 

Move within to a centered stillness to await the voice of your inner guidance. 

The Spring Equinox is Monday, March 20, 2023 4:24 PM

I suggest we each create some sort of an honoring, refocusing ceremony for ourselves. The obvious metaphor is what are you going to plant? It may be a new crop or it maybe more of what you’ve got growing now but look at this as a time to pause and make some conscious choices about how you want your life to unfold over the coming year. Then plant the seeds to make that happen.

===SELF-HEALING===

Take Responsibility for Healing Yourself

Experiment

The occupational therapist said that my edema was associated with my heart and my lungs. I found awesome Qigong exercises for both. And boy, were they effective. There was much coughing on my part with the lung exercises and a literal shortness of breath on the heart moves.  Remember these are simple moves in which you move the Chi energy and I am getting huge physical results.

If you have a physical problem go online and see what meridian it is on, then type in Qigong for that meridian and see what shows up for you.  Experiment and find something that works for you and you’re willing to do.

Talk To Your Body And Listen Well

My body is going through healing process that is a little on the dramatic side. What I get to do is listen really well and get very creative about how I answer what I hear. 

Do you listen to your body’s needs when it asks for something you’re not supplying. Or something it needs less of than what you are asking of it. 

When you get involved in life, it’s hard to answer your body’s call for a nap in the middle of the day. Getting in an evening 20-minute meditation would help me. I need to get more creative and I need to get more open to different approaches to meet the physical implementation that is being requested. Sometimes it’s as simple as a pause for some deep breaths or a moment to stop whatever forward motion you’re doing mentally. 

How well do you listen to your body’s need and how creative are you in answering it?

The Power of a Jacuzzi

I’ve been in hot tubs a handful of times in my life but I now have access to a Jacuzzi here in Evergreen and it is now my new favorite thing to do. As I read about what it does for you, I see it will help my arthritis, it’s going to help this situation I have with my legs, and it is an incredibly nurturing experience. 

I was offered one my first week here, but it turned out the tub was broken and I hadn’t thought to ask about it since. I was offered one, took it and is now my new favorite thing. What new step can you take to add a special treat your life? Do that. 

===OUTER  WORK===

Explore New Potential and Possibilities

Where Is Your Passion Leading You?

And more importantly is your passion changing?

I can identify a great passion for learning and turning to share what I learned but the focus of that inquiry continues to change. That requires me to be flexible and inquisitive.  I wish I could say that I pay attention to the needs of others but I don’t. My passion is so strong that I simply follow where it takes me and explore what I find and then turn and share what I learned. 

Be aware of what passionately shows up that you need to explore. See if that direction holds merit for you. Explore a little. Try out some possible paths. See what others are doing and adapt what calls to you. Most of all, let your passion guide you into a new adventure often. 

Stop Over-Thinking

I spent several hours trying to solve a problem that actually did not exist anywhere but in my mind. I found lots of different solutions even though none of them would be necessary. But I should have not put any time and effort into overthinking the situation.

I’m not sure how you extricate yourself from that kind of rabbit hole. My plan got pretty detailed and it turns out it wasn’t necessary at all.  I have no idea what happened to “Go with the flow.”

Do you let your mind get carried away? Keep you awake? Do you picture worst case scenarios and try to figure out ways to get out of them? I think we have to learn to be more trusting that the universe will not give us more than we can handle. Trust the universe to give you the lessons that you need and the opportunities that will open new pathways for growth.

Sometimes the lesson is about how much you do not want to take that particular path. That was the reason for the lesson – for you to know that choice was not appropriate to you. 

Learn to have more conversations with your inner voice. It is actually very wise. 

===DEEPEN YOUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE===

Self-Healing Spiritual Practice and Deepening Awareness of Our Cosmic Oneness

Sing And Drum

I’m going to add something new to my spiritual practice. It came from listening to a presenter on a Shift Network Qigong summit who sang and drummed. I don’t know what language he used and it doesn’t make any difference because he set an intention and the experience was very profound – just by singing and later adding the drum. 

I like the idea of singing tones rather than words that I can drape in my intention. But I am going to use my voice along with my drum and see what kind of experience I can create. I think I’ll start by using vowel sounds rather than words and simply set an intention for the experience and see what happens. I have been using my drum and singing songs that I composed to the directions but I think I will let it slowly evolve and see what shows up. I will go exploring and see where it takes me as an introspective experience.  What unusual feature will you add to your spiritual practice?  

===HOW TO BE A STRONG CONTRIBUTING MEMBER OF THE CIRCLE OF LIGHT BEARERS===

Expand Your Role in the Rapidly Evolving Universe

Make Space For New Growth

In gardening we make room for new growth by pruning. We cut back what has gotten too unruly in order to encourage the less vigorous plants to reach their potential.

What does that mean in your life?  It means it is very easy to let one facet of our life take up too much room. It sort of creeps up and crowds out some of our favorite things because we’re giving too much time and energy to one facet of our life.

Has that happened to you? Can you identify a part of your life that needs to be scaled back – pruned if you will. And how will you do that? 

Your job is probably the biggest offender and may be hardest to prune. I spend a huge amount of time at my computer because I really like to think and learn and write. But I need to make time for more physical movement. I will identify several times during my day to do my Qigong and go for a walk or any other form of movement that I choose to do. I should turn and stand and look out the window at nature to change my rhythm and address the needs of my body to shift my attention. 

What will you prune from your life in order to make room for new growth?

===BROADEN YOUR HORIZON – EXPAND YOUR VIEW===

Raise Your Sights and Your Expectations 

The Calling

I don’t know whether it’s the generation or the profession but as I ask the healthcare workers in this long-term facility how they got on this path, their stories share they knew they wanted to help people. Since these are the only younger people that I am around, I have no idea if other younger people are being called into a specific profession so strongly.  

Some of the staff are nurses of course, but a Med-Aide’s work is helping people with their daily lives. That means bathing and dressing and eating and other bodily functions. Some of the people here have dementia. And I have had Med-Aides help me hang my stained glass in my window and also put my sea vegetables in the new spice containers, so the work can vary.

A newly licensed nurse I talked to wants to go work in labor and delivery. Another person knew she was going to become an OB/GYN surgeon. Another wants to work with handicapped children. Another really likes hanging out with older people. Of course the underlying motivation is that they want to help others. 

In my recent trip to the hip surgeon which requires a Med-Aide to accompany me while I get to ride in a wheelchair in the back of the big van, I was escorted by the same person who took me on my first trip. And I remember asking her then what the qualifications were for doing this job. And she said, “You have to be a really kind person.” And they all are. How lovely, to know your own calling and have it beckon so deeply. 

===OUR EVOLVING FUTURE===

Support and Encouragement for our Unfolding Role in the Future

My Foray Into AI

I’ve seen two demonstrations of ChatGPT on MacMost and I’m going to begin to use it. There is a free version. I think I’ll use it a little like I use Google to do research. It sure does get the answers fast.  Welcome to the world of artificial intelligence. 

You can access ChatGPT by going to chat.OpenAI.comand logging in. If you’re on OpenAI’s website, you can log in to your account, then scroll down until you see ChatGTP on the bottom. 

=== ===THE UNFOLDING DIVINE FEMININE=== ===

Explore and Interpret the Guidance and Messages of the Divine Feminine

The Fight

What is unfolding in the United States is very scary. There is a portion of the population that wants to disavow huge other parts of the population – everyone who is not white – and they want to get rid of all women by preventing them from having fundamental healthcare.  

One way to look at it is that the Divine Masculine is fighting to keep the control it has had for centuries.  

What has the Divine Masculine shown us over the centuries? Domination and subjugation. In my cynicism I might say that’s about it. I’m a woman – a woman who has worked to get out from under male domination for a good portion of her life. And we have not achieved that yet.

Even as we fight for our freedom, we must bring forth the feminine traits of inclusiveness and caring. I’m not sure how to do that. It’s a tricky balancing act.

As mothers we can teach our sons about equality and inclusiveness and our daughters about knowing their true value and cultivating their individual path. As wives we can teach our husbands about equal partnership. As daughters we teach our parents how to embrace the new version of the role. As coworkers we can stand up for our rights without running roughshod over our male counterparts. As bosses and leaders, we teach everyone in our lives about inclusiveness.

How do you do that and where do you begin?  

=== DEEPER SONG PHILOSOPHIES ===

On The Shift Network I discovered Roel Crabbe and I am drawn to his work and his energy. Ho is the meditation to connect you with a deeper awareness of the Web of Life. Enjoy

===REFLECTIONS OF A DEEPER SONG PODCAST===

We Are Cosmic Consciousness- A Deeper Song Expanded Perspective   

Listen to my
Reflections of a Deeper Song Podcast on
Apple / Spotify / Googleand the
Deeper Song Website

==== DEEPER SONG EXPLORATION ===

Acupressure For Pain

My friend and gifted healer Christina Gerber taught me these acupressure points for pain.

“Your legs and feet are your thumbs and pinkies on your hands.  Pressing each inch of each hand is like massaging your whole body!  Your pain relates to your middle finger down to your wrist.”

===CARA’S CORNER===

Take Charge Of Your Own Health

I’m going to start learning and doing Qigong exercises for specific organs to assist in my own health. I have found videos for the Heart Meridian, Lung Meridian and Kidney Meridian as starters. These seem to be the meridians that are affecting my current physical imbalances.

Illness is about imbalanced energy and energy moves through meridians that flow throughout our body. What more direct way to self-heal than to strengthen the very channels that carry the energy through our body. What meridian will you start working on today?

Here are two places to start:

Heart Meridian With Lee Holden

Boost Your Kidney System with Alex Hui

===SING A DEEPER SONG ===

Energy Flow

I have to visualize the energy meridians in my body because I cannot feel them directly. 

I have to visualize the energy meridians in my body because I cannot feel them directly. But they are there and I must encourage their clear flow.

I have to visualize the energy meridians in my body because I cannot feel them directly. But they are there and I must encourage their clear flow. I do the work to clear the path for them and I heal. 

Cara Lumen, March, 2023

We create our future with every thought we think, every action we take.  Move forward mindfully as you sing your Deeper Song.

Namaste,

Cara

Come Sing a Deeper Song  

I help Transformational Leaders

deepen our relationship with the Unseen World 

and expand our role in the New Consciousness

Please forward this newsletter to a friend and suggest they
Join the Deeper Song Community

Past Issues of this newsletter are being curated on my site on a page called Insights.

Our Global Deeper Song Community

Our Deeper Song Community extends throughout the planet. Welcome new Deeper Song Explorers. I’d love to hear of your experiences –  caralumen@gmail.com or let’s discuss on the Deeper Song Explorers!

Subscribe to this weekly Deeper Song Newsletter at www.deepersong.com

My Books

Our Work As Light Leaders

Living Our Deeper Song

Ashe
(“Ah-Shay”)
 The Creative in me honors the Creative in you!

We are Light Leaders so how do we do the work? What is our role? How far reaching is our impact? How do we expand our reach? 

I’m thinking out loud here because I have nothing to guide me but my inner wisdom, my curiosity and my deep desire to be in service to help raise the vibration our planet and its inhabitants. 

At the core, our job is to be willing to change our choices and actions to serve the highest good for all. To change thoughtfully. To change creatively – always keeping the greater good for all as our goal. It is an inclusive awareness that we need to keep cultivating.

Where would you like to participate? Where would you like to create change? Would you like to work with a certain group of people to help them through a portion of their life? A lot of expanded and inclusive awareness and heart changing needs to go on in our world when it comes to interacting with each other. We have to cultivate and expand and establish a greater sense of inclusion in our world so that our awareness becomes more about our similarity and is a source of expansion and enrichment.

I am currently being offered an awareness expansion by people who have come from the continent of Africa. How did they end up in the midwest of the United States? It is a mystery to me but there are a lot of people who have come directly from the continent of Africa in service here in my long-term care facility as health professionals on the staff. One staff member recently spelled her name for me and it was truly an unusual combination of letters that created her name. She had come here in her 20’s. I personally am going to get out the map of Africa and begin to understand those countries and cultures. If you look around you for someone who has a different background from you, you have just found a new teacher.

Find your most effective and impactful place of service as you walk through your life. Perhaps at the end of your day, look back to review your interactions. What nourished you? How did your interactions affect the people you came in contact with? What could you have done differently? What would you do differently next time? 

Do you see yourself as a light leader and how do you walk in the world? 

DEEPER SONG AFFIRMATION

I am aware of my role as a light leader and continue to define and refine it every day.

DEEPER SONG PROCESS 

• Identify an area of your life in which you see yourself as a light leader. How do you live? Who do you serve? What would you change? What could you improve?
• Identify other light leaders in your life and see how they are doing the work.

===INNER WORK===

Deepen Your Inner Awareness

Cultivate Inner Peace

Pausing to take a mindful, deep centering breath can immediately bring you into an experience of inner peace. It can be done anytime, anywhere, in any situation. We just have to remember to do it. 

I want to add more mindful moments to my day to stop the intensity of my work. I could pause and look out the window at the on-going change in nature, take a few deep breaths, quiet my mind and center myself before returning to work. 

Pausing for a centering breath is important if you find yourself getting agitated or stressed or emotional. In seconds you can return to inner stillness and take time to center yourself and calm your mind before you re-engage.

Trust Your Inner Guidance 

My inner voice is always helpful. When the inner voice in my head offers me guidance in the form of ideas and suggestions and insights, they are always on target and usually take me in a very interesting new direction. I learn to not only listen to my inner voice but to trust what it tells me. Sometimes it’s only an awareness that something new is coming in. And sometimes it’s the full-blown idea.

Whenever your inner voice communicates with you, trust it and consider the guidance it offers. 

What Do You Want To Plant This Season?

It’s nearly planting season. What do you want to grow this year? Do you want to grow more of what you did last year or do you want to plant something new? 

I have a lot of new crops started since I moved to Evergreen. Someone said the other day, “I always learn something new when I come into your room.” I like that because I’ve done a lot of exploring in my life and have a great deal to share. Seed planting holistic concepts is one of my roles.

I have a great deal of physical work to do to get my body healed and repaired and back in shape and I’m not even sure what new roles that will open up for me. Walking outside to make friends with a master gardener who manages our garden is certainly on the list. 

It is not my role in the world to try to change the disastrous authoritarian direction Republicans are trying to take the US other than to work with that trend energetically. Maybe something I say or explain or do will put someone on a different, more inclusive path. 

What do you want to plant this upcoming season that will open new doors and expand your reach and what do you need to sow for your continued well-being.

The Spring Equinox is Mon, Mar 20, 2023 4:24 PM. What will you plant?

===SELF-HEALING===

Take Responsibility for Healing Yourself

We Must Take Responsibility For Self-Healing

I am being treated for edema by doctors and nurses and I realized I was not necessarily doing my part as a believer in self-healing. I’ve got to work on myself. I researched and cut back on any new food that I had introduced lately and actually began to drink more of my Garden of Life Protein Meal in almond milk to see if that would cleanse my kidneys. But the most empowering thing I discovered was a Qigong sequence that I can practice many times during the day.  It’s called Pull Up The Energy of the Earth and I love the concept. You simply bend over and gather energy from the earth and bring it back to your kidneys which are opposite your belly button and a little to each side.  It was very empowering to take steps to help my own body self-heal. 

When you have a physical problem expand your search to include whatever forms of holistic medicine call to you. Take responsibility for helping to heal yourself. You can do it. 

Honor Your Inner Calling

My need to garden and bring more plants into my life is a challenge in the small space I now live in. But I did it and had a lovely hour and a half figuring out my gardening system and repotting the two plants that were suffering from having been shipped by UPS. My garden adventure took place on a tray table filled with potting soil and small pots right here beside my desk. I savored each moment. I have gardened all my life and even managed to have petunias in my apartment window in the middle of New York City’s Upper West side.

What need is calling to you lately and how will you find a way to honor it? Do that. 

Self-Responsibility

I’m listening to my body and trying to do a better job of helping it heal. The hip surgery was fine, but my body has edema, it is holding water that makes my legs swell.  That was happening even before I moved. It is my responsibility to change the choices that are still causing that to happen. I’m going to take self- responsibility for my body’s response and I have some work to do. 

I need to check out my belief systems about what is possible, to identify what beliefs and expectations are holding what physical manifestations in place. Those can be a bit tricky to find. Look at what you see as the physical changes you want to make and get to work to create the changes you want.

I just spent the whole week on the Shift Network Qigong Summit and learned some new ways to direct Chi energy with my mind. The ward doctor who looked at my swollen legs used the image of valves that need to close better in order to push the blood up and out of my legs. I use my imagination to visualize valves in my legs snapping shut with enthusiasm, closing the way they should to help move the blood up from my legs.  

In my Tai Chi practice I have added more visualization beneath the moves, particularly around the softness of an inward feminine move and in the strength of an outward masculine move. It is making a lovely and profound difference in my experience. By encouraging internal images, I am changing the flow of my practice. By taking my time and practicing with conscious visualization and intention I am deepening my experience. What kind of self-discipline will you add to your life and in what area? 

Are you persistent in whatever form of exercise you have chosen? Do you set goals and objectives for yourself that help you increase the impact? Are all areas of your life rewarding? Don’t overdo it, but try to find facets of your life that call to you to be strengthened and start there. It may not be about how many more times you do a specific move, it may be about the accuracy and consciousness and deliberation with which you do it. It may be as simple as eliminating one food choice that contains more salt than you should be eating. It may be finding a different time of day for an aspect of your spiritual practice. Begin with any area of your life and choose one or two elements to examine and modify. Do that one and then turn and choose another one to experiment with. 

What Is Causing Your Pain?

What is the emotion or choice that is causing you pain? I was looking for a reason behind some physical pain I am experiencing and I realized that I should actually be figuring out the cause of it and release that habit or emotion or belief from my life.

On the physical plain I’m looking for the cause of the edema I have and I am examining what I need to do. I’m putting myself on a very monitored diet to see if that will helps. I can looking for more effective food choices to make and specific things to stop eating. 

We can apply that search for the cause to an emotional situation we have identified to something that is rubbing us the wrong way. What in particular is causing you worry or anxiety? What is causing you anger? Look in all areas of your life to identify the cause of your discomfort. 

First you have to realize that something is out of balance. Then you begin looking for the cause. And then you make the changes that will bring you back into balance.

Without doing a treatise on my process, I looked at what has been added recently (Sprite twice a day). I looked at what I had not been doing as much of recently (walking), and I looked at my emotional state (rather happy).

When you are out of balance, begin to eliminate things until you find the cause and can restore the balance. For instance, if the cause is stress you need to find ways to meditate or pause for deep, calming, releasing breaths to center yourself during your day or find whatever helps you change the experience into less stress. Look at what you have added or left out recently that might have caused the imbalance.  

Don’t live with pain. Figure out what causes it and change that.

When you find yourself out of balance in any part of your life, pause to see if you can identify the cause, if you can tell when it started and perhaps even determine the cause. Then get to work and get it back in balance.

===OUTER  WORK===

Explore New Potential and Possibilities

Expand How You See Yourself

I have not thought of myself as a spiritual leader but one of my friends called me that recently and I had to stop and think what I thought about it and what I think it is.

I know I am a rock – capable of standing alone – capable of supporting others. 

I know my calling is very strong and I know that I eagerly listen to my inner voice – and follow it. And I know that I am compelled to share with others what I figure out. So I am in a leader role which feels very organic to me. 

If in fact I have another 12 or so years to go, I get to redefine my role in this next stage. Part of it is about motivating and inspiring the younger healers on the staff here just as they are motivating and inspiring me. 

I feel like a river. I am sending out constant ripples that will touch other shores and have an impact. I don’t send them to specific shores, but I do put them out and trust the universe to deliver them to the right shores.  I’m just a rock doing her pebble thing in the water of life…

Are You Still Going In The Direction Of Your Choosing?

With the world changing so rapidly and new opportunities constantly opening up, this might be a good time to see if you are still going in the direction of your choice. 

My life seems to have unfolded in 13-year cycles so if, in fact, I have just begun a new cycle with this move, even at 90 I get to figure out what I want to do for the number of years.

Look back over your life and noticed the time line pattern and see where you are in the cycles of your life. Build on that.

===DEEPEN YOUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE===

Self-Healing Spiritual Practice and Deepening Awareness of Our Cosmic Oneness

Thank Your Friends

Today, take time to think and acknowledge a friend for being the loving, kind, supportive friend that they are. Hopefully you have more than one person to thank. Don’t just thank them, tell them why they are important in your life and how they support you and how their very existence enhances your life. 

Who will you acknowledge? And what will you say to them?

===DEEPER SONG DISCOVERIES===

Insights and Resources to Explore

What Makes You Happy?

I don’t laugh out loud very much but I wish I did. What makes you stop and smile? What lifts your spirits? What makes you happy?

It’s possible we have to practice being happy by beginning to notice the small grins that come across our face at something we hear or see or experience.

My heart was warmed recently by a Zoom call I had with a friend because of some of the things she said about me. She saw me in a role that I’m not aware of and I’m not really sure others are aware of and she elevated my view of what I do. That conversation warmed my heart.

Maybe you feel happy when you are in nature with the wind in your face or the smell of growing things in the air. Maybe just being with your pet or your friend. Or a partner. 

Are you aware of the role you play in other people’s lives? I’m not, but it would be nice to be able to recognize how one contributes to others.

Notice the little things that make you happy and gather more of those around you. Then look at the big things that make you happy and go get more of those in your life. 

===HOW TO BE A STRONG CONTRIBUTING MEMBER OF THE CIRCLE OF LIGHT BEARERS===

Expand Your Role in the Rapidly Evolving Universe

Surround Yourself With People Who Nourish Your Soul

Life is too short to spend any time with the wrong people. Look at your life and who nurtures you and who does not and stop being around those who do not.

I have quit jobs in order to go pursue what called to me more deeply. I have moved cross country when I knew I was complete with a place that I had been living in. 

Friends wander in and out of your life. They serve a specific purpose, sometimes with one exchange, but that impact is never forgotten.

I’m not a believer in long-term intimate relationships because I think we change too much within our lives and that being partnered closely will hinder us from expressing our true potential. I was married twice 40 years ago but I love the feeling of being able to follow my heart in whatever direction it calls to me ever since. 

How good are you at surrounding yourself with people who nourish your soul?

===OUR EVOLVING FUTURE===

Support and Encouragement for our Unfolding Role in the Future

Coming Full Circle 

Years ago in New York City in the 80’s, someone asked me what my power animal was. I barely knew what a power animal was but the word “giraffe” popped into my head. I like the idea of having an overview of the world and my head in the clouds for ideas. About 10 years later someone pointed out the giraffe has no voice. That sure didn’t work for me because I was pretty vocal on many levels.

Over time I have collected several statues of giraffes. They seem to have come with me to Evergreen. 

Giraffes (andI) can see the big picture and clearly understand the situation. The giraffe spirit animal is also a symbol of awareness. I like that part a lot.

Unexpectedly the two giraffe statues that I have are now moved into more prominent places. It seems I have come full circle and I’m ready to work with a giraffe spirit guide again.

Be flexible in the unfolding of your spiritual awareness and let it surprise you every once in a while. 

===REFLECTIONS OF A DEEPER SONG PODCAST===

Expanding Awareness

Journey to the Sacred Feminine

Listen to my
Reflections of a Deeper Song Podcast on
Apple / Spotify / Googleand the
Deeper Song Website

==== DEEPER SONG EXPLORATION ===

The Michelle Obama Podcast is now on Audible. It’s called The Light Way.

===CARA’S CORNER===

A Gift

I was recently given the gift of a new friend. It was a deep recognition on my part and probably on hers.  

According to Michael Newton’s books, when he hypnotized people and asked about their life between lives, we each have a Soul Pod who agree to come in and help us in the life we choose to experience.  If you stop to think of the people who have impacted your life, you will recognize them. I am in regular interaction with some of the people in my pod and it didn’t take me long to realize this new person had also agreed to come here and help me with this shift in my life as my eyesight changes and I have to make very creative adjustments in order to keep on doing my work. It was a very powerful and deeper recognition of two things, that I really did need help to get through this eyesight evolution, and she is a soulmate on an entirely different level. I knew that about three minutes into our conversation. Part of our meeting was a professional intake for potential essential services to be rendered but the first part was pure soul pod mates greeting each other again in recognition. 

Think back on your life at the people who impacted your life and possibly changed your direction. It could be a teacher or a friend or it could be someone you never met whose insights or example resonated with you. We are influenced by many people in our life. It is through our own self-awareness that we create change in our own life. Keep your eyes open and see what gifts are being given to you at every turn. 

===SING A DEEPER SONG ===

The Gift of Our Presence

The gift of our presence is to be given mindfully. It will have a deep and lasting impact. 

The gift of our presence is to be given mindfully. It will have a deep and lasting impact. A phrase, a smile, a meaningful exchange, or even an awareness of the actions of another are part of the gift exchanges we give each other as we move through life. 

The gift of our presence is to be given mindfully. It will have a deep and lasting impact. A phrase, a smile, a meaningful exchange, or even an awareness of the actions of another are part of the gift exchanges we give each other as we move through life. I am aware of myself as both the receiver of this gift and the gift itself. 

Cara Lumen, March 2023

We create our future with every thought we think, every action we take.  Move forward mindfully as you sing your Deeper Song.

Namaste,

Cara

Come Sing a Deeper Song  

I help Transformational Leaders

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 The Creative in me honors the Creative in you!

I’m taking another look at my role in the world. How do I want this next phase of my life to be? What do I want to learn? What do I want to change? What do I want to release? What do I want to create?

The first thing I’m going to do is drop the time limit that is suggested by being 90. I continue to be told I look 20 years younger than my age. My life coach at Evergreen told me that her mother lived to be 118. I’m going to rethink the arbitrary time limit I have been considering around lifespans and get busy redefining my role in the world. 

I begin by looking at what I have just been handed as a new place of service. It is also my new place of learning. If I have 15 or more years, what do I want to do with that? What do I want to accomplish?  What do I want to learn? What do I want to change? 

I have to change my consciousness about not just my role in the world – my very existence in the world. I spent all these years learning and becoming in order to turn and share – what? I am to help those of us who are ready to recognize ourselves as Light Bearers – Way Showers, if you will – to do our work in the world. 

I had a conversation with one of the young people here recently about 3-D printing, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence – all things totally outside of my experience. But boy do I know spiritual philosophy. Perhaps my new role is to seed plant some of those concepts into the awareness of younger people who may not yet have discovered them and give them suggestions on where to go exploring to define their own belief system. This is not to make them believe what I believe, it is about opening a few doors and inviting them to go through and explore. 

I do that by keeping immersed in my own learning process and excitedly sharing what I uncover. My enthusiasm alone will generate some desire in others to explore. 

But I also get to change my own viewpoint for these next 20 years. I choose to see more of us become aware that we are devoted Light Workers focused on helping each other continue to raise our vibration as we work to restore the planet and its inhabitants to good health. From that place of service, we are to define our work in the world. 

Some of us will lead by example. Some of us will lead by teaching. Some of us will lead by explaining and motivating others to expand their all-encompassing work.

I am now surrounded by a staff of people who have committed themselves to a lifetime of service to other people. It is not a role I’ve ever chosen for myself as far as physical service is concerned. I have been in service as an explorer and teacher of philosophical wisdom for most of my life. And that has allowed me to journey on a path of my own choosing. 

I will listen to my inner guidance. I will be aware of the new opportunities that present themselves. And I will stay flexible and open to explore any new places of service that are revealed.

What do you expect of yourself? How do you expect yourself to grow and expand and explore? Give that some thought. Notice what calls to you and be ready to go exploring. Be open to change. 

You are a Light Worker with a new role to play in the world. What exactly will that be? 

DEEPER SONG AFFIRMATION

I look for and define my new role in the unfolding world. 

DEEPER SONG PROCESS 

• Take time to visualize and explore what your next role may be.
• Notice who else is on a similar path and see what they’re doing and what parts of that you’d like to incorporate into your own work.
• Start walking down the new path and see how it suits you.   

===INNER WORK===

Deepen Your Inner Awareness

How To Stop Overwhelm

You can stop feelings of overwhelm in seconds if you stop your mind and your actions and pause to inhale deeply into the center of your being. That singular shift of focus will help you let go of all the tension. Take another meditative breath and just rest in the centered calmness of your inner self. 

They do a lot of pulse and oxygen checking around here and I can improve my readings in seconds by moving into a meditative state.

There are two steps to stopping overwhelm – realizing that you are stressed and in the process of moving into overwhelm, and taking active steps to change that direction and move back into centeredness. 

Anchor that feeling of centeredness by looking out the window at nature. Keep breathing deeply until you are anchored in that centeredness and you feel your inner rhythm change. First notice, then fix. You can do this. 

===SELF-HEALING===

Take Responsibility for Healing Yourself

The Answer Lies Within

Whatever the question, the answers lie within. We must learn to quiet our minds, ask the right questions, and trust the answer. 

My original thought was about asking for guidance on decisions and choices that we make. But then I realized that I need to do that for a couple of things that I have going on in my body. 

What is causing this particular physical response? What active choices am I to make to help it be restored to balance? Is there a lesson for me to get here? 

I’m really good at getting philosophical ideas for myself but I have not practiced getting information from my body as much as I’m going to turn around and do. 

When you ask your inner voice a question, it’s up to you to interpret the answer you get. I may try several forms of questions. What is the root of this information? Is there a message it wants to give me? How or what should I change? What can I do to balance and heal it? 

I have some questions to ask and some work to do. Establish a working relationship with your body and let it tell you what it needs.  

===OUTER  WORK===

Explore New Potential and Possibilities

Express Your Passion

List five things that you are passionate about. I’ll wait.

I don’t exactly have five things, it more like one thing – For me it is my mind, learning, figuring things out (intuitively or by writing), and sharing what I learn. My passion lets me get excited about new ideas and concepts that takes me in a lot of different directions. What did you come up with? What are you most passionate about that is driving your life?

What are we going to do with this passion? What have you been doing with yours? 

Write down what just popped into your head. Pause. Write down what else has just popped into your head. Now write down five ways you are going to explore and expand on that awareness. Ask to be shown places to serve. 

Knowing that my passion is all tied up in learning, my biggest challenge is isolation. I will have to discover how I can adapt to that, accommodate that, work around that. I will listen more closely to the nudges of the universe by way of the unexpected ideas that show up. 

How are you expressing your passion in the world and what new forms could it take? 

Take Time To Organize In Order To Save Time

I just kept adding “To Do” notes to one increasingly long document on my computer.  It has my daily reminder list that I have titled “Action” but it has gotten so full of things that finding anything on it is cumbersome. I put everything in there like stuff about astrology and keeping track of money and acknowledgments and birthdays. It was a big hot mess! 

Then one day I decided to split that up and create a separate document of resources and keep the daily reminder as a more accurate and mobile document. 

It took a while. But in the long run spending time to organize will save you time.

Because I work on my computer so much I find that using headings to create a table of contents is a very powerful way to access what is in the document. I still have too much variety in the second document but I don’t want to divide it up anymore and lose track of anything. I could put them in one separate folder. I’ll think about that.

Don’t forget about the search feature to find some keywords that you set in place.

If you ever have taken time to organize the tools around your workbench in the garage or in the kitchen drawers to make things more accessible, you know how important it is to keep your ideas in a well-organized format. Figure out what works for you and take time to organize in order to save time.

 Organizing To Gain Clarity

The desktop of my computer was overrun with documents. I needed a better system. I decided to take time to re-think and re-organize – to establish a clarity purpose as well as develop a streamlined way to handle the details.

I have a couple of folders that are working very well. The newsletters are in one and it contains a subfolder containing the completed ones. I have a folder called “Tribe” in which I put all the emails that I write and receive that I want to keep into folders with the name of that person. I have folders for Recording my journaling and journeying in a folder called Inner Adventures. 

See how this works? Cluster similar things together and you have less clutter. 

Another organizing trick I heard was to turn the hangers of your clothes so they’re open toward you and when you wear them, you turn the open side away from you and at the end of the season you can tell what you wore and what you did not wear and decide whether to keep what you did not wear all season. 

One of the best ideas my daughter and I discovered about downsizing is to think “up” as in shelves that are not very wide but offer higher stacked surfaces to put things on.

Especially if space is limited, you need to take time to organize. I’m beginning to do a little gardening in my small space and found a bag with handles that is high enough for me to reach to hold the watering can and plant food and spare pots that I will need.  It takes up about a square foot of floor space. I’m thinking up, not out.

You might take everything out of your kitchen and put it in the garage and only bring in what you need and after a certain time, donate what is not been used to a good cause. 

Look closely at what you use often and what you seldom use. Put what do you use the most in close proximity to where you stand according to their usage. 

Pick a spot and organize it. In Feng Shui they start with an empty space and add one thing at a time until it feels balanced. Create balance in your environment by organizing and downsizing.

===DEEPEN YOUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE===

Self-Healing Spiritual Practice and Deepening Awareness of Our Cosmic Oneness

Setting Up A Sacred Space

I have several places in my small space that I consider sacred spaces. In them I have arrange items that have specific meaning to me.  

I have a great statue of Quan Yin in the royal seated pose that I have moved to a more prominent place and have begun to put some meaningful objects around her base.

I honor the elements during my spiritual practice so I have a pointed orange calcite crystal to honor fire, a fossil to honor earth, a shell to honor water and a feather to honor air. 

I have a four-tiered bamboo shelf that holds the crystals I was able to keep and other objects that I use in my spiritual practice. And I have my drums and native flutes right beside it. 

I begin my spiritual practice by picking up my drum to play to the outside world before moving into the songs I made up for the elements.

As you begin to set up your sacred space, take time to ask what items want to come be in it. Keep it simple. Keep it meaningful.

===HOW TO BE A STRONG CONTRIBUTING MEMBER OF THE CIRCLE OF LIGHT BEARERS===

Expand Your Role in the Rapidly Evolving Universe

Allow Others To Walk Their Path

I look in amazement at some of the beliefs held by other people that are totally unfounded in fact. I watch some people try to impose their personal beliefs on the entire world around them.

Each of us is responsible for our own spiritual growth and development, but what do I do when I think the other person’s ideas are harmful and wrong? I move into protection mode. 

I feel strongly about the caring for the environment. I have been a vegetarian for 40 years because it is a healthy lifestyle and because I don’t want to harm animals. I have followed my own eclectic metaphysical path for most of my life. I share my discoveries in order to open the door if someone is curious.  But I still leave your choices up to you – unless they impact me. 

We get in trouble when we try to impose our beliefs on others. For instance, I think it’s great when we make laws to protect a species or the environment.  That benefits us all. But I am furious that the white male population in the US is trying to restrict a woman’s right to make choices about her own body. 

Then there are those who are trying to censor entire cultures. I may not be drawn to ancestor worship but there are cultures that hold that as an important aspect of their daily life and teach that belief to their children. Our cultural mores are our inheritance and they have deep value.

What do you do if you feel the other person is totally wrong?

You can share your ideas if you can have a discussion in which you try to listen to what the other person is saying and learn what their beliefs systems are. Try to turn it into a learning experience in which you exchange ideas and get to know each other better. Even when you leave common ground, try to listen with the other person’s heart. Perhaps your job is to help them find their heart, not their mind.

Look at an exchange in which you delve into unfamiliar beliefs as a learning experience and try to see the belief systems from the other person’s viewpoint. Leave space for your individual belief systems to be enriched.

We can exchange ideas with those who are receptive to consider alternate ways of doing things, to consider our ideas or path of reasoning. Know when you can no longer find common ground and need to end the exchange.

Walk your path mindfully, hold your light high. Be open to new experiences but protect yourself as you also allow others to walk their own path.

===BROADEN YOUR HORIZON – EXPAND YOUR VIEW===

Raise Your Sights and Your Expectations 

How To Work With the Formless Energies Of High Frequencies For Transmutation And Healing

Just read Sandra Ingerman’s Transformational News 

===OUR EVOLVING FUTURE===

Support and Encouragement for our Unfolding Role in the Future

Artificial Intelligence

I just had my first demonstration of artificial intelligence when I looked at MacMost teaching us about ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer). You can use it to generate plots or expand on a character’s qualities but what I was most impressed with how fast it is. 

For me, the whole joy of writing is to learn, to figure out what an idea means to me and how I might apply it to my life. I write for clarification. I write to deepen in my thinking. I like to trust my inner voice. I write because I have a very strong calling to do so. The writing is my form of self-discovery and growth. Artificial Intelligence won’t bring us that.  

=== ===THE UNFOLDING DIVINE FEMININE=== ===

Explore and Interpret the Guidance and Messages of the Divine Feminine

Women Leaders are gathered together for the International Women’s ConferenceMarch 11. See also www.knowyourvalue.com 

Repercussions From The Expansion Of The Divine Feminine

I watch this huge effort to deny the existence of other religions and races by the conservative white population in the United States and I wonder about the philosophies upon which they base their actions. I was Christian as a child and I learned we are to love everyone. However, I must admit that all pictures of Jesus were of a white man. There was no discussion about color or race or even belief system. As I began to explore other philosophies, I paid no attention to their country or race of origin. I simply embraced the philosophies that I resonated to. And all of those religions or philosophies were older than Christianity. 

I took a comparative religion class in college in 1954 and was totally surprised to learn about all the other religions since I had simply been brought up in Christianity. I remember writing a note to the teacher saying how do we know if we are right? She left that for me to figure out for myself. 

So here’s a little research I did on the Internet:

Top 6 major religions in historical order: 

• 2300 BCE to 1500 BCE – Hinduism.
• 600 BCE to 500 BCE – Judaism.
• 600 BCE to 400 BCE – Buddhism.
• 1st Century CE – Christianity.
• 7th Century CE – Islam.
• 16th Century CE – Sikhism.

Major religious groups

• Christianity (31.2%)
• Islam (24.1%)
• Irreligion (16%)
• Hinduism (15.1%)
• Buddhism (6.9%)
• Folk religions (5.7%)
• Sikhism (0.3%)
• Judaism (0.2%)

I kept exploring:

Who is the oldest known God?

Inanna is among the oldest deities whose names are recorded in ancient Sumer. She is listed among the earliest seven divine powers: Anu, Enlil, Enki, Ninhursag, Nanna, Utu, and Inanna.

What is world’s oldest religion?

The word Hindu is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as Sanātana Dharma (Sanskrit: सनातन धर्म, lit.

What religion came first?

Sometimes called the official religion of ancient Persia, Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest surviving religions, with teachings older than Buddhism, older than Judaism, and far older than Christianity or Islam. Zoroastrianism is thought to have arisen “in the late second millennium B.C.E

With this much diversity, one religion cannot be better or more important than another. Humanity needs religion and it is as varied as the people on the earth.

It is a good idea to explore other cultures and other religions to define facets that resonate with you and bring it with you along your path.

I am quite drawn to Taoism. I like a lot of Buddhism. Many of my core spiritual practices are from Sherman. 

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran was a core book for me. It both deepened and broadened my spiritual exploration. I discovered that in my 40s and it was a major turning point for my philosophical development. 

Although brought up as a Maronite Christian, Gibran, as an Arab, was influenced not only by his own religion but also by Islam, and especially by the mysticism of the Sufis. When I read The Prophet, I began to go exploring.

My spiritual path is eclectic and I would never ever expect anyone else to believe what I do unless they happen to. Go exploring and read the works of the masters from different cultures and see what resonates with you. 

I like the Tao Te Chin, translated by Stephen Mitchell, The Essential Rumi,  translation by Colman Barks and I like Deng, Ming Dao’s books  that I first read 30 years ago. I’m currently starting Tai Chi with him on The Shift Network. 

For me a great deal of my spirituality came together when I found the Center for Spiritual Living and became a spiritual practitioner and member of the clergy there. That spiritual philosophy is based on the work of Thomas Troward who studied all the world’s great religions. 

My spiritual path is an eclectic mix of philosophical exploration that I have turned into my own unique spiritual journey. There is no one way, there is a general direction and one very broad path to get there. Allow everyone to have their own spiritual journey – including you.

===INTENTION BLESSING===

May we hear and heed the call of the Divine Feminine. 

May we expand our hearts and our expectations.

May we walk the Path of Light with a sure foot. 

May we keep our gaze on the summit.

May we take this journey with a full heart. 

I entwine my light with yours as we move forward to guide the way.

===REFLECTIONS OF A DEEPER SONG PODCAST===

Expanding Awareness

Are You Afraid of Change?

Listen to my
Reflections of a Deeper Song Podcast on
Apple / Spotify / Googleand the
Deeper Song Website

==== DEEPER SONG EXPLORATION ===

I am encouraging everyone I see to sign up to The Shift Network as a source of major learning. They have amazing week-long free summits filled with fascinating teachers and broadening information. It is where I learned what Shamanism is and found my teachers. It is a major source of learning for me. I have just finished a fabulous week on a Qigong Summit. I have studied online with them for years. Just get on their list and see what shows up that calls to you.  

===CARA’S CORNER===

Choices and Need

I actually spent two days online trying to decide what specific plants to add to my small space. I wavered from a 2-inch, seven dollar container with three plants in it that can be separated into separate containers, to wanting to invest in a tall slender plant stand so I can have more plants. I am undoubtedly hungry to be outside. All of my gardening supplies we left behind when I moved and I have to carefully choose what I bring into this small space. What I really want to do is drive a mile down the road and get a red coleus that’s not going to even be ready for six weeks.

Have you ever had a hunger that you could not fill? I need that was calling only to you? An excitement about a possibility that you had to manifest? 

So far, I have not purchased a single thing and I’ve been at this for a couple of days. If I would just pause, it will be nice enough to go outside in the very nice garden outside my window.

A few days later I discovered there is a man named Ron living here who has lots and lots of plants in his window in a set up that was made for him by his son. I have asked my social worker to help me go visit him to talk gardening and so I can figure out how to add more plants to my space. 

It’s interesting to get a very strong need and try to figure out how to fill it. And when to fill it. Or even if to fill it. 

What did you cut out of your life that you want back in and what are you going to do about that?

===SING A DEEPER SONG ===

The Empty Space 

It was a hole that needed filling, a need, a desire, so I went exploring. 

It was a hole that needed filling, a need, a desire, so I went exploring. I have much less space now so I need to choose thoughtfully.  

It was a hole that needed filling, a need, a desire, so I went exploring. I have much less space now so I need to choose thoughtfully. What is the need that created this vacancy and how do I fill it?

Cara Lumen – March 2023 

We create our future with every thought we think, every action we take.  Move forward mindfully as you sing your Deeper Song.

Namaste,

Cara

Come Sing a Deeper Song  

I help adventurers who are ready to explore the new possibilities in the emerging energy of the Divine Feminine to align their dreams and choices with what is emerging as possible today so that they go beyond their own expectations.

Please forward this newsletter to a friend and suggest they
Join the Deeper Song Community

Past Issues of this newsletter are being curated on my site on a page called Insights.

Our Global Deeper Song Community

Our Deeper Song Community extends throughout the planet. Welcome new Deeper Song Explorers. I’d love to hear of your experiences –  caralumen@gmail.com or let’s discuss on the Deeper Song Explorers!

Subscribe to this weekly Deeper Song Newsletter at www.deepersong.com

My Books

How To Be A Positive Voice of The Future

Living Our Deeper Song

Ashe
(“Ah-Shay”)
 The Creative in me honors the Creative in you!

Artificial intelligence is redefining the workplace and that means it is time for each of us to re-examine and repurpose our own unique gifts. 

A technical friend of mine said this was like the industrial revolution when everyone thought all sorts of jobs would be lost. Many forms of work did disappear but they were replaced with new jobs using different skills. 

There’s no question that artificial intelligence has entered the workplace and is in the process of rearranging how we do things. It is possible that your entire profession may be altered forever.

How you need to change

Most of all that probably means you need to develop a different gift than you’ve been using. And it probably means you get to get creative on how you get your training for this next form of your profession life. 

All of my friends are in the vicinity of sixty and some of them are busy redefining themselves as independent business people often times in fields they have not been in before and that often have developed out of hobbies or secondary interests. 

When you stop to realize that when you were 60 years old you have another 30 years of productive life ahead of you, you do indeed get to redefine your place in the world perhaps by starting a new business in a new profession.  

Examine your entire life for ideas

So far in your life you have explored and developed a variety of interesting skills. Now is a good time to look closely at which ones of those interests particularly resonated with you to see if they are a potential new source of income. 

It could be a fairly new interest or it could be a secondary interest you’ve had all your life. It could be you need to repurpose a gift. I’m a writer and I can turn in any direction and write. What about a gift you have not used for many years? Examine your litany of gifts and interests from the standpoint of their potential as a new source of income.

Develop a new view of your value in the workplace.

Be as creative and imaginative as you can possibly be in imagining potential sources of income. Give some thought to creating your own online business. Downsize your living platform so it is more affordable to support. Look at a secondary career choice that you wanted to make years ago and see if that’s feasible now. Talk to people you know to find out how the job market is changing and what that means they need in the way of employees. A temp agency might be an interesting place to have a conversation on the changing labor demands. Perhaps do some temp work in the fields that interest you to learn more about it. I had a great time temping all over New York City and got to work in a myriad of businesses. 

This is the perfect time to reconsider how you want to contribute in the world.  

Depending on where you are in life and your financial circumstance, planning your next 30 years is an exciting place to begin. Examine how you want to contribute further to the world and explore the ones that call most to you. There might be a cause you want to become more involved with. You may want to turn a hobby into a business.

Be creative. Be flexible. Be adventuresome. Enthusiastically design your next place of service and source of income in the world.

It’s time to redefine your place of service in the rapidly changing workplace

DEEPER SONG AFFIRMATION

I examine my entire life to find out how I am to be in service in the world next. 

DEEPER SONG PROCESS

• Examine your entire life and choose three fields in which you would like to contribute next. 
• Go exploring to find out what opportunities there are and what training you need. 
• Identify other people in that field and contact them to find out how they developed their business or where they got their training or whatever facet of how they are showing up in the world that you would like to manifest. 
• Explore more deeply into those paths that call to you. 

===INNER WORK===

Deepen Your Inner Awareness

Journal To Look Within

Sometimes we have to look deeply within to find the answers we seek. One of the ways to do that is to journal. When we write down one idea, we seem to feel that we have that safely captured and that allows us to look at the idea underneath it. When we write down the second idea and once again feel we have safely captured that concept, we can find whatever is under that layer. If you are seeking an answer, perhaps use this capture-one-layer-at-a-time method to move more deeply within to locate your excitement, your apprehension, and even unfold and consider some new possibilities for action. You could do this by drawing pictures too. Stick figures will allow you to follow the gist of the concept. 

The point is to capture one layer of insight so that you can reveal the layer underneath it and go exploring in the inner world. There are many adventures there. And answers.

What Are Your Gifts?

I have rediscovered one of my gifts that I apparently have not been using and it’s good to see that in action again.  Something about the kind, caring people in this long-term care facility in which I now live has brought up my wise cracking, always curious, always-happy side.  I create a lot of smiles and that is a good thing. I may have had this gift all my life but I have never seen it in such healthy action. It surprises me at times. 

What situations and circumstances bring out the gifts that you enjoy sharing? 

===SELF-HEALING===

Take Responsibility for Healing Yourself

Take Stock

Periodically it’s good to pause to take stock of how you’re doing on many levels. Taking stock of how you’re doing physically is one of the most important self-care steps you can take because the changes can be subtle. I haven’t done this but I think the idea of doing a quarterly check in on all levels of your life would be a good idea. Actually write them down and put a date on it so you can keep track of what still needs work. I think I’ll start a wellness journal today and do a check in to see what needs attention. Then I’ll put a reminder on my calendar for three months down the line to see how I’m doing and what I need to do more of or less of. How will you design your wellness check in process? 

===OUTER  WORK===

Explore New Potential and Possibilities

How Do You Make Choices?

Are you an impulsive person or do you need a bit of time before making a choice? Or are you somewhere in between? How do you make your choices?

I am an intuitive, trust my-instincts-in-the-moment person and I’ve made some very large decisions in seconds that have been perfect choices. 

It’s fine to examine your options but it’s not good to overthink. My instincts to make major moves across the country were made in minutes and I never questioned them even though they’ were huge choices. And it happened three times in my life. 

Sometimes I only get a knowing that gradually emerges. When I moved into assisted living, I knew that I was entering a new path of service but it did not begin to take form until I realized that my interaction with this kind, loving staff is at the core.

Practice trusting your intuition. I remember being in a grocery store once when a woman asked me where the mustard was and I got an instant inner voice that said it was on the fourth shelf down. I told her that and it was true. No contemplation, just an intuitive answer that I spoke out loud. Practice trusting your intuition and your inner voice will get stronger. 

Are You Still Going In The Direction Of Your Choosing? 

Are you getting closer or further away from the goals you have set for yourself? Have you discovered a new direction you’d rather move toward? Are you still going in the direction of your choosing?

I don’t have a particular timetable for doing this kind of a check in but I probably should. It’s very easy to go off on a tangent and end up someplace you had no intention of going. It’s also possible to discover a new important detour you must take from the direction you’re going to purposely explore and possibly decide to alter your directions entirely. Those decisions need to be made consciously and mindfully.

I like to choose the solstices and equinox as organic times to thoughtfully examine where I am, if I am still going in the direction I intended and if it is still where I want to go next.

Getting off course can happen organically if you find a new aspect to examine and explore. Sometimes it is a conscious choice. Sometimes it is the result of curiosity. But we do periodically need to pause to re-examine and assess where we are, where we’re going and where we want to go.

How deeply should I go exploring? I might examine areas like my spiritual and physical status and see what I still need to learn.

The Spring Equinox is Monday, March 20, 2023 4:24 PM. How will you reset your sights then? 

How Curious Are You?

It is good to be curious. It is good to wonder how things work, why things are showing up in our life, to wonder how you might help make a change.  Even if you are just a little bit curious, go exploring and see what that idea means to you in your life and your potential choices. Become a curious explorer and see what adventures it takes you on.

I love to learn so I’m forever taking a whisper of an idea and exploring it more deeply. If anything interesting shows up, I look to see how can I add it to my life to make it more powerful and meaningful. 

Perhaps this week you can go exploring a bit. Wander down a few unmarked paths and let your curiosity guide you into some new ventures and see what calls to you. 

===DEEPEN YOUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE===

Self-Healing Spiritual Practice and Deepening Awareness of Our Cosmic Oneness

Acknowledge The Gifts Of Our Day

There’s something very satisfying about coming to the end of your day and reviewing the gifts and lessons and decisions that you made. 

Take time to contemplate the opportunities and insights offered. Perhaps even meditate on the ones that particularly resonate to see how much deeper you want to go in that direction. And of course give gratitude for the insights and interactions you’ve had throughout the day and the unexpected gifts you received. 

Before I moved, my window looked out at the setting sun. That is a really interesting time to contemplate your life and your day. You can make a ceremony out of it by lighting a candle to bless your day and to give gratitude for the day that has passed and to bless the day that is coming. 

How will you begin to acknowledge the gifts of your day?

===HOW TO BE A STRONG CONTRIBUTING MEMBER OF THE CIRCLE OF LIGHT BEARERS===

Expand Your Role in the Rapidly Evolving Universe

Live As A Light Being

One of the ways that I help myself feel empowered and useful is to see myself as light. I have to go deep within to a meditative state to feel that but when I lose myself, I understand that I have new work to do. I am being asked to join with others to raise the vibration of our planet. As a Light Being I can bring love and harmony and serenity and peace when I direct my attention. 

Do you see how I am encouraging myself to participate in the world at a whole new level? We are all light but sometimes we let ourselves get in the way of that awareness. 

In your meditation experience yourself as a light. When you stand in nature dissolve yourself into the harmony of the energy of the planet and do some healing work. Center and nourish and nurture and heal wherever you go about your day. You are a Light Worker. You are a being of light. Keep doing the work. 

===BROADEN YOUR HORIZON – EXPAND YOUR VIEW===

Raise Your Sights and Your Expectations 

We Must Do The Work!

I have been going through physical therapy since having hip replacement surgery which dramatically changed my entire posture into a more upright view of the world. I have had physical therapy and occupational therapy and although in the beginning it was very challenging, I now look forward to it as an opportunity to work with them to increase my stamina and stability and strength. It is totally up to me to do the work. I am the one who must find time to stand and straighten and stretch throughout my day. 

The physical therapists are good at saying, “just one more” and then you try one more time. They seem to know when to ask you for a few more minutes at one task and also when to stop. I have learned to trust them. However, I am the only one who can do the work and the only one who can make the change happen.

At what point do we stop trying? Is it that it gets too hard? We forget to do it? We lose interest and motivation? It makes no difference. We have to work through those stumbling blocks and get the job done.

How do you want to age? Do you want to stay strong or do you want to allow your body to gradually stop supporting you?

Do the work. You are the only one who can. It’s your choice to make and what you choose will greatly impact the quality of your life. 

A Major Hole In My Education 

I am in a slight state of shock because I have just discovered an entire area of ignorance on my part that I didn’t even know I had. I had just never given it any thought. 

A good number of the Med-Aids here are from Africa. Now that alone is very interesting since this is Kansas, the center of the United States. How did so many people from the continent of Africa end up here? But what I learned recently that for some reason I never grasped is that there are 54 countries in the Continent of Africa and I have not given that any thought until now. I just thought of Africa in relation to apartheid as one big continent, which it is, but I never thought about where Kenya and Nigeria, and all those individual countries were. That’s when I went on Wikipedia and realized how little I knew about the countries in Africa. I’m going to start studying it. Nothing like deepening my education at the age of 90. It’s definitely a hole in my awareness that I plan to correct. 

So I have begun to go online to Wikipedia and began with Ethiopia because that’s where the person who prompted this new adventure is from.

What new area do you want to explore and will you do it? 

===OUR EVOLVING FUTURE===

Support and Encouragement for our Unfolding Role in the Future

A Feeling of Helplessness

We must be aware of the repercussions of our actions – how our choices affect not just others but the impactful consequences they have on the future. 

The Republicans in Congress in the US do not want to fund Social Security or Medicaid or increase that debt ceiling. That would mean that a percentage of the population would have no source of income, no food stamps nor Social Security in their old age. Can you imagine yourself in that situation? 

I’m 90 and totally dependent on Social Security and am in no condition to go provide for myself. This long-term care facility is full of people who have no way to provide for themselves.

Before you go about changing anything in the world, look closely at the impact it will have on others. Think it through to see how it impacts even those in the furthermost corners.

I’m watching scared old white men try to control women by controlling our bodies. They are scared of the rise of the Divine Feminine. I’m not sure what the reasoning is of those who want to defund the poor and old. They certainly are not trying to care for the over-arching population.

Before you take any sort of an adamant stand on any topic, make sure you examine the repercussions to everyone involved. Educate yourself about their situation and their needs.  You can give them a choice, but you cannot mandate. It is not your place in the world. 

===REFLECTIONS OF A DEEPER SONG PODCAST===

Spiritual Practice

Three Ways To Raise Your Vibration

Listen to my
Reflections of a Deeper Song Podcast on
Apple / Spotify / Googleand the
Deeper Song Website

===CARA’S CORNER===

Is Your Who-And-Do-What Still Accurate?

I learned the Who-And-Do-What statement in Michael Port’s first Book Yourself Solid Coaching Certification class (It’s in his book Book Yourself Solid). It is a very powerful way to condense the purpose of your entire business into a statement that makes people immediately identify and understand that they are someone you could help.

I had not thought about mine for a while even though I periodically help my younger friends with theirs. But they’re in their 60s and are actually still doing business online. It was quite helpful for me to write my new one. 

My Who and Do What

I help people who are actively contemplating their aging process

to expect and plan for a fascinating, productive aging experience

so that they can be impactful all their lives.

Who and Do What Statement

I help (who you help)

To (what you help them do)

So That (what they accomplish).  

What is your Who and Do What statement? 

===SING A DEEPER SONG ===

My Purpose

My purpose in life has changed over time and then again it hasn’t.

My purpose in life has changed over time and then again it hasn’t. I have always loved to learn and turn and share what I lead.

My purpose in life has changed over time and then again it hasn’t. I have always loved to learn and turn and share what I lead. My audience and I are aging together and our role as Light Workers is to open new paths and show others the way.

—Cara Lumen, February,2023

We create our future with every thought we think, every action we take.  Move forward mindfully as you sing your Deeper Song.

Namaste,

Cara

Come Sing a Deeper Song  

I help adventurers who are ready to explore the new possibilities in the emerging energy of the Divine Feminine to align their dreams and choices with what is emerging as possible today so that they go beyond their own expectations.

Please forward this newsletter to a friend and suggest they
Join the Deeper Song Community

Past Issues of this newsletter are being curated on my site on a page called Insights.

Our Global Deeper Song Community

Our Deeper Song Community extends throughout the planet. Welcome new Deeper Song Explorers. I’d love to hear of your experiences –  caralumen@gmail.com or let’s discuss on the Deeper Song Explorers!

Subscribe to this weekly Deeper Song Newsletter at www.deepersong.com

My Books