In Praise of the Light

In
Praise of the Light

 

Light in my body,
Light in my mind,

Light in each moment
and blessing I find,

Light in my heart
and Light in my hands,

Light where I’m
going and Light where I stand,

Light in each cell
and Light in each word,

Light in each deed
and all that is heard,

Light in you and Light
in me,

Light in everything
I see
,

Light in my plans
and Light in my dreams,

Light in my soul
where Light does stream
,

Light in my wounds
and Light in my pain,

Light in my sorrow
and springtime rain
,

Light in my healing
and Light in my breath,

Light in my living
and Light in my death
,

Light in forgiveness
and Light in the past,

Light in the shadows
that evening casts
,

Light in my doubts
and Light in my worries,

Light in my steps
that needn’t be hurrie
d,

Light in my doing
and Light in my knowing,

Light in my purpose
steadily growing
,

Light in my
stumbling, Light in my dancing,

Light in my pausing
and Light in my chancing
,

Light in the
darkness of doubt and fear,

Light in gratitude,
hope, and cheer
.

 

Copyright Joseph Anthony of the Wonder Child Blog


Breathing Lessons 3

Breathing
Lessons 3

 

Imagine
breathing

With your
mind.

Imagine
cool, clean air

Circulating
through your thoughts.

Imagine
healing oxygen

Filling
your mind

With peace.

Now
imagine breathing

With your
heart.

Let your
heart be soothed

With calm,
gentle breaths.

Let your
heart be held

By hands
of breath and Light.

Let it
beat easy, nestled

In fresh,
vanilla-scented air.

Lastly,
imagine breathing

With your
soul.

Let the
open space

Of the
blue sky

Illuminate
your soul,

Letting
it breathe creativity,

Insight,
intuition

In and
out

With certainty
and grace.

Now
that you can

Imagine
breathing with your mind,

Heart,
and soul,

Do it
for real,

Let it
be so.

Let your
whole being

Be filled
with Life

And with
the laughter

Of pure
joy.

Copyright Joseph Anthony of the Wonder Child Blog


Thoughts From the Heart II

Thoughts
From the Heart II

A
Collection of Random Musings

And Inspirations

*

We are all Lightworkers. With every breath, 

with every act and thought of love,

we have worked with the medium of
Light.

 

Walk through your doubts while breathing
in Light, and as the Light fills you,

illuminating your mind, breathe out the doubts.


 

In addition to exhaling anything
you want to let go of, try exhaling

as a way of sharing your love, creativity, and forgiveness.

 

Breathe with your whole body, and
breathe in more than just oxygen

–breathe in love, beauty,
creativity, forgiveness, the sky.


 

Being able to be the still point
in the
storm, the hub of the wheel,

has more to do with how one
breathes than anything else.

 

Create yourself a wonderful day
and share it with others as you go along.

 

Just as we create dreams from our
minds when we sleep,

so too do we create our lives
while we’re awake.

Think positive thoughts.

 

When I asked for news from my
first graders, one of them said:

“My rose tree is
blooming.”

 

Just as the darkness gives way to
birdsong, so too your sorrow will give way to joy

as you awaken to the blessings
around and within you.

 

Be like the dawn and lift the veil
of darkness.

With every breath and every
movement towards your desires,

it lifts, revealing more Light.

 

Copyright Joseph Anthony of the Wonder Child Blog


Green Man and the Holy Child, A Story for Earth Day 2013

 I first published this story almost two years ago.  In honor of Earth Day 2013, I am republishing it again with a few minor alterations.  Enjoy, and Happy Earth Day!


Green Man and the Holy Child

by

Joseph Anthony

The Little Girl leaned in close staring at the mass of upturned earth and roots that had formed at the base of the fallen birch.  There it was: a face; a man’s face, green-hued, eyes closed, sunken deep into the vast system of roots, soil, and lichen.  She looked at the face for several minutes, both fascinated and horrified (more fascinated than horrified though).  She studied it; wondering just how it got there.  And when he suddenly opened his eyes she fell backwards into the ferns.  And when a moss covered arm stretched towards her, she screamed.  And when he spoke, sending bits of earth and lichen scattering into the air, she couldn’t believe her ears.

 

“Please,” he whispered, his voice soaked with earth and shadows, “I mean you no harm.  Our world will be doomed if you do not come.”

She stepped closer searching his gold-flecked eyes.  They were ancient and filled with a sorrow so visible it cut right through her fear and went straight to her heart.

 

“Why do you need me?” she asked.

 

You know about circles,” he smiled, little white moths fluttering from his mouth as he spoke.  “You are careful where you walk.  You touch with your eyes and hands with reverence and kindness.  You give my people secret names and run your fingers through the tops of the ferns like your mother running her hands through your hair.  I’ have heard you telling stories to the salamanders and to the stones in the creek.  I heard you use foul language when you found the pile of beer bottles and fast food wrappers by the pond.  I saw you carry the trash home.  And,” he said, lowering his voice, looking into her eyes with a smile, “my bride saw you lay your hands on the wounded deer and heal him.”  The Girl blushed.  

 

“OK,” she said, “but that doesn’t answer my question.  Why is your world doomed?  And who are you?”

 

“Forgive me, I am Green Man, Father of the Earth.  And I misspoke a moment ago.  I should have said, “OUR worlds will be doomed if you do not come.”

 

“But why?” she said, almost shouting, “Why will they be doomed?”

 

“Disillusionment,” he said with bits of leaves falling from his lips.  “There are so few in my world who believe in your kind anymore–so much destruction, poisoning, and senseless ravaging.  There are many in my world who want to destroy your race.  But they don’t understand the circles like you and I.   And so I thought you could teach them.”

 

“Me?”

 

“Yes.  They hardly listen to me anymore.  So I thought if they heard about the circles from one of your kind—one they can trust—then perhaps they would reconsider their plan of destruction.  Besides, my bride, the Green Woman, or, as you call her, Mother Earth, thinks it’s a good idea.  After she saw that deer spring back to its legs and bound away into the woods, she told me if anyone could save us—it would be you.”

 

The Little Girl closed her eyes for several minutes.  The woods hushed to hear her reply.  She knew what she would do.  She took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and then reached out placing her hand in his.  She half expected his arm to crumble like a rotting log, but instead it was strong and powerful.  He smiled and she noticed tears forming in the corners of his eyes like dew forming in the grass.

 

“Now what?” she asked.

 

“We go in,” said Green Man, “this is a door.”

 

“Will it hurt going through? It looks so crowded.”

 

“No child, the door will widen for you.  It will not hurt.  Tickle perhaps, maybe a few little scratches, but nothing serious.” 

 

“Shall we?” He asked.

 

She nodded and then he pulled her through the roots and earth.  She felt sticks and cool, moist dirt pass through her.  A few twigs got stuck in her hair and more than one stone bumped her sides.  The finer roots combed through her body and her soul, removing any last doubts she may have had about herself.

 

When they arrived on the other side she saw a world of brilliant green infused with golden hues.  There were eyes everywhere—every leaf, flower, tree, rock had eyes.  All of them watched her curiously.  Most looked suspicious.  Some filled with tears when they saw her.

 

As they walked hand in hand she saw Green Man’s full body for the first time.  It was completely draped in moss and leaves.  It trailed vines and clumps of earth and stood over 9 feet tall.  His arms and legs were covered with lichen and sticks, leaves and bits of white, curling bark.  His hair was one big mass of ferns and his back was dotted with mushrooms.  She smiled and somehow felt safer than she had ever felt before.

 

“Where are we going?” she asked.

 

“To the council,” he said, stopping suddenly.  Someone was running towards them.

 

“My bride,” he shouted, “what is it?”

 

“It’s begun,” Green Woman said, her voice trembling.

 

“What?!” Green Man shouted, “I was not there for the final vote!”

 

“The council did not want to wait for your return.” Green Woman said.  “They did not think she would come.”  The Green Woman looked down at the Little Girl with eyes dark as night.  “But I knew she would.”

 

The Little Girl looked up and felt as if she were looking into Mother Nature Herself, which indeed she was.

 

Green Woman looked a little like her groom, only her hair was studded with morning glories and her dress of vines and leaves flowed like an elegant river of a thousand shades of rippling green.

 

“We must hurry,” said Green Man.

 

“Is it too late?” the Little Girl said.

 

“There is no such thing as too late,” Green Man said, “nonetheless, we must hurry.”

 

 He swept down and lifted the Little Girl onto his shoulders.  She felt as if she were riding a walking tree.

 

They ran along the grass covered street.  Flowers and trees ran after them on their legs of roots.  Rocks tucked their faces in and began rolling along side them.  Frogs, toads, deer, bears, and many other animals followed with them.  When the Little Girl looked behind them she even saw a river flowing towards them with fish leaping in and out of the water as it moved.

 

Meanwhile, back in the Little Girl’s world, trees were snatching unsuspecting hikers and hurtling them down mountains or devouring them instantly in gaping mouths.  The ground was opening beneath the boots of loggers.  Roots with inescapable grasps were grabbing the ankles of fishermen standing along the riverbanks.  Backyards with swing sets and swimming pools suddenly disappeared in massive sink holes.  Entire rows of houses lifted, heaved, and feel backwards into the waiting crunching mouths.  Storms ignited over lakes and golf courses, sending lighting’s death-inducing fingers crawling everywhere like electric spiders.  Within minutes thousands world over were gone.

 

Green Man burst open the doors of the council.

 

“How dare you!” He shouted.  “How dare you dishonor me by acting without my voice!  I demand you stop the destruction at once and hear my witness!”

 

The room was filled with enormous mushrooms and trees—all with staring eyes.  Some of the members bent over scratching crooked letters in tablets of stone. 

 

And when the council saw the Girl it fell silent.  She scrambled down Green Man, brushed herself off and walked confidently into the center of the room. She looked back where Green Man and Green Woman stood.  They nodded.  She bent down and all eyes followed her as she lifted a small stone the size of an almond to her face and whispered something to it.  “Thank you,” she said to the stone and then stood up, and to the amazement of the council members, walked behind their chairs and began drawing on the smooth, hard wood floor. 

 

“Is this OK?” She asked the floor.

 

“Yes,” it whispered like a snake, “Yesss.”

 

Slowly and carefully she inscribed a huge circle around them all.  And when she was finished she stood and turned, looking each council member in the eye.

 

“You are blind,” she began, “for every one of my kind that you remove, you lose one tree, flower, or stone.  And my people are just as blind.  For every tree we remove, a person somewhere, someplace, dies.  And so it ever shall be.  You see,” she continued, gaining momentum and strength as she felt Green Man and Green Woman watching her, “we were spoken from the same Word.  The same Word that sang you sang us.  We are formed from the same soil and when the Creator breathed Spirit into us, He breathed Spirit into you.  We are bound with unbreakable bonds.  And so I say again, if you destroy us, you destroy yourselves.”

 

She paused looking around the great room, and before anyone could respond to what she had just said, she started again.

 

“The opposite is also true.  When one of my kind plants a tree or a flower, one of my kind is born in some other part of the world.  When one of my kind is born one of your kind blossoms or hatches from a seed.”

 

“Is all of this true?” interrupted one of the members, “why were we not informed?”

 

“It is.” She replied, “and you were informed.  You knew.  Everyone and everything knows we are connected.  It is just so many of us refuse to believe it.” 

 

Just then the doors to the council room were thrown open and in strode an army of silver and white birch trees, each one carrying a dead tree in its giant branches. 

 

The council members rose and gasped. 

 

One of the birches held a dead sapling, and cried, “Stop the destruction!  For every one of the humans we destroy one of our kind falls.”

 

“So it’s true,” whispered the council. 

 

And as the council members erupted into loud discussions, the Little Girl began walking from dead tree to dead tree, touching their petrified faces.  One by one the dead trees rose up verdant green.  Each one she healed bowed to her and began forming a circle around her.  The council fell silent as they watched her resurrect the fallen trees.  She laughed as the trees entwined their branches and began dancing in a great circle of green around her.  The spruce trees began playing violins that they formed instantly from their own branches.  The bamboo trees kept time clapping their hands like claves.  The rivers flowed around them in rhythm to the music.  All of the animals joined in.  Green Man and Green Woman joined hands and spun around sending twigs and leaves and butterflies sailing around the room.  And the council rose as one and sent word to all corners of the earth to stop the destruction.  It also sent out all the rivers to begin flowing backwards until time turned back to just before the destruction began restoring everything and everyone to its proper, living place.

 

And while there was still work to be done, much progress was made that day by Green Man, his bride, and a Little Girl who knew a great deal about circles.


Copyright Joseph Anthony of the Wonder Child Blog


Breathing Lessons 2

Breathing
Lessons 2

 

Try
This:

Imagine
breathing in Light.

Imagine
the air

Being Light.

Imagine
drawing Light

Into you,

Into the
cells

Of your
cells,

Allowing
it to gradually

Illuminate
your mind,

Your heart,

Your whole
body,

Like the
dawn of a new day.

Let
each breath of Light

Bathe and
cleanse you.

Let the
Light breathe

Into the
shadows,

And let
it be

Like a
cool, summer wind.

Let
the Light

Breathe
into any tension

You may
be feeling,

Any darkness,
any worry.

Imbue them
all

With a
calm, gentle

Healing
breath

Of
Light.

Try
breathing this way

Every day,

All the
time.

Breathe
in Light

And radiate

Wisdom

Wherever

You go.

 

Copyright Joseph Anthony of the Wonder Child Blog


I Am a Star: A Creative Visualization for Children of All Ages

I Am a
Star:

A
Creative Visualization

For Children

Of All
Ages

 

I originally
wrote this for my first graders but it can easily be applied to any age
children—even grown-ups.  It was
originally written as a song, which you’ll see (hear) in a minute.  I am presenting the visualization here as if you
are going to do it.  That way, you can
get to know it before you share it with any children in your care.  Once you have learned it and want to share it
with say, children aged 5-7, you can dovetail it with a little arithmetic study
and look at the number 5 as a living thing—it’s a star (pentagon), 

and it lives
in the center of an apple cut in half width-wise, 

and in the form of a human
being with their arms and legs outstretched.

That said,
the visualization is short yet profound, especially for those children already
carrying the idea that they aren’t good enough, or that they’re bad, stupid, or
dumb.  This little visualization, when done
regularly, will help such children (and all children) touch their innate
goodness and light.

You can do
this visualization anywhere and anytime you need to feel yourself filled with
Light.
J

OK, let’s
get started.

Watch this
video beginning at 4:13 so you can learn the song.  
Let yourself sing it and freely move the gestures
(or make up your own).
  Young children
especially learn with their whole body, so definitely encourage them to do the
gestures, and you can do that best by doing the gestures first and then with
the children.

The words to
the song are as follows:

I am
star with a Light in my body,

I am a
star with a Light in my mind,

I am a
star with a Light in my heart,

I shine
my Light all of the time.

I shine
for myself and I shine for you,

I
shine my Light in all that I think, say, and do.


*

Find
a comfy place to sit or stand.

Close
your eyes.

Breathe
in slowly and deeply

Filling
your belly.

Hold
that breath a second or two.

Then
slowly let that breath go.

Do
that 3 or 4 times.

Now
look inside your mind.

Find
your star.

Find
the star that lives in you.

Everyone
has a star living in them.

Find
your star.  See your star.

See
your star shining within you.

It’s
there, just behind your eyes,

Right
there in your mind.

You
can feel it

Shining
in your heart.

Be
with your star.

Let
its Light shine in you.

And
today

Let
your star shine

In
your thoughts.

Let
your star shine

In
your deeds.

Let
your star shine

In
the words you speak.

Let
your star shine

In
all that you do.

Hold
that star.

It
is always with you.

Forever
more.

That
star IS you.

Now
be in silence for a few moments

Seeing
your star shining within you.

Now
open your eyes.

Know
that you shine.

Know
that YOU

Are
a star.

*

As you go
through the day with the young children (or yourself) you’ve shared this visualization
with, you can point out times when they share star-thoughts, star-actions, and star-words.  Praise your children as they shine.  Praise yourself as you shine. 

Have fun,
and keep shining.
J

“This
little light of mine….”


 

 

 

Copyright Joseph Anthony of the Wonder Child Blog


Breathing Lessons

Breathing
Lessons 1

 

Try
this:

Imagine
breathing

With your
whole body.

Imagine
receiving your next breath

With every
cell and every muscle.

Imagine
them all

Inhaling
and relaxing.

As you
visualize this,

Focus
your attention

On inhaling
peace and light.

Keep
doing this and the image

Of your
whole body breathing

Will blossom
into reality.

You will
actually feel your body tingling,

You will
feel more alive,

More alert,
more awake,

More full
of praise.

So try
it,

Breathe,

Breathe
with your whole body.

 

 

Copyright Joseph Anthony of the Wonder Child Blog


Honeysuckle Wind: Some Inspirational Thoughts and Haiku On the Glorious Subject Of Spring + A Bonus EFT Video

Honeysuckle
Wind:

Some
Inspirational Thoughts and Haiku

On the Glorious
Subject Of Spring

+

A Bonus EFT
Video


 

Dear Beautiful
Spring Morning,

Thank you for
showing us with your whole being 

that hope and possibilities

are realities
blooming everywhere.


 

 

Seeds recognize
light ~ for it lives within their heart ~ two lights become one


 

Inside the heart’s
mind ~ think thoughts infused with wonder ~ and become the spring

 

 

Stop a moment
and think of this:

the
ever-blossoming sky is moving through you right now.

We all live and
breathe as one

 

 

Sleeping spring
flowers ~ bow their heads in the moonlight ~ dreaming of morning


 

Honeysuckle
wind ~ finds its way into my heart ~ filling me with joy


 

Rise, open your
hands ~ lift them to the morning sky ~ then take and give light

 

 

 

The fresh warm
sunlight ~ is midwife to the newly born ~ flowers of spring

 

 

Blossom spring
morning ~ open your petals to the sun ~ and praise the light


 

 

Dear Creator,
Who thinks in flowers and birdsong,

may my thoughts
be so free and so fresh,

and so abundantly
generous as yours

 

  


                        

Copyright Joseph Anthony of the Wonder Child Blog