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Passages through time
Unwrap hidden treasures.
Open to the miracles in your days.
Awakened again, as you live in gratitude.
Receive these precious gifts and savor their perfection.
I invite you to touch and feel your way
Into the heart of life.
Here we receive the deepest of blessings &
The love that sustains our aliveness.
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We arrived home last night to find a package sitting at our front door. We opened it with anticipation this big box was addressed to my husband yet there was no definite address from the sender. Inside were more boxes and photo albums filled with old pictures dating as far back as 1893 affects documenting the life of Mildred May Stevenson.
Months ago my husband Steve received an inheritance from Mrs. Stevenson, a distant relative of his mother. When the lawyers asked him if he wanted any of her belongings that were left in the estate, he innocently asked for a few pictures & now, in our living room, was a trunk full! Tucked inside the albums were love letters she wrote to her husband when he was stationed abroad, complete with bright kisses where she planted her lips on the end of a page; and journals filled with her thoughts and feelings. As we looked through these pieces of her life, in some way I felt uneasy, like I was intruding on her privacy. Her intimate thoughts and feelings, packed away in one big box.
I left the room to go to bed. The unexpected events of the evening were bringing me inside for some introspection. I thought of the countless journals I have filled with parts of me that no one knows. It is a daily exercise I have committed to for years. My journaling helps me access deeper places inside myself as I strip away whatever is covering up my truth. Safely hidden between the covers, these pages contain my most intimate thoughts and feelings. I have always felt free to express these vulnerable parts of me after all, no one else would ever see it &or so I thought, until today.
I move on to touch the place within my mind that continues to search for the meaning of life. I struggle to understand our purpose here and to bring more focus and attention to the feelings and thoughts that are surfacing now.
My inquiring mind begins to ask all kinds of questions. Will my children one day be sitting in their living rooms, looking through my personal belongings? Will they reach deep into the words written on my private pages, just to know and understand what is being hidden? Or will they already know me? Will the writings allow feelings of grief and joy to bubble up inside their hearts and minds?
My focus shifts to thoughts of Mary, my dear friend who passed away already a year ago. Mary's belongings had been put into boxes for her children, her mother and I to go through. I can look around my house right now and see some of those special gifts that she gave me - like the chimes that hang in my doorway, a pillow with Sister embroidered delicately upon it. One of my most treasured gifts is the birthday card she wrote to me just a couple of weeks before she transitioned.
Through her written words, her loving voice whispers into my heart:
My cherished friend
Nor time nor distance
Seen or unseen
Speak to me of what is real
The pure innocence of your love for me reminds me of
The only thing that sustains my aliveness.
You are always with me.
I celebrate your birth.
Beyond any words
I shall always be loving you.
Mary
I cherish these gifts that remind me of the love that simply is here, living inside me. The sadness of Mary's absence echoes inside my belly as tears flow through me, running down my cheeks, emptying me of what was. Yet each time I read them, I celebrate the beauty of our authentic and intimate relationship. Nothing had to be hidden. We shared so much of ourselves. We were not afraid to be unveiled with each other.
I miss her. I am grateful for the moments of being loved by her. I can enter inside and feel her, beyond this physical world-then all of a sudden in my full attention inward, I see her hands, her elegant, beautiful hands, and I know she is writing with me. I know in my heart that she is giving me the inspiration to touch deeply the experience of life.
She joins with me, as her spirit is free, giving me permission to join with her. Just like before-the months and weeks before her transition, when I would sleep with her and we would soar into the heavens, free from the attachments of this world, beyond the pain of a sick body filled with cancer. Here is where we practiced letting go of what was in this world. Here is where we visited the Home to where she would return. I feel her here now, inside of me in the love that will never die.
Sometimes it takes a bit of unraveling
To get to the space within the mind and heart.
Breathe inside to that which is calling for your attention.
Hold yourself in acceptance of what you are right now.
Allow the moment to bring you to a part of yourself that does not want to be hidden.
Listen deeply to your feelings as you feel the release.
Surrender now to a space within
Where you are open to communication.
Be open to receive spirit
As you let the truth as you know it rise within you.
Gather the sweetness of the moment
As you see clearer what is inside your heart today.
Enter your day with compassion for your humanness and clarity within your mind.
As you move through your day, let what is true fill you and feel the love that sustains.
July 3,2007
I woke up today &
Knowing it is a year since I held you in my arms,
And looked into your eyes for the last time.
This bittersweet moment is imprinted upon my heart.
Oh how I want to relive it over and over again
If only to understand why you had to go.
Everything that I experienced that day with you
Seems so unreal...
Like a dream.
So many feelings locked up in my heart.
I feel the tightness in my chest
I want to stray from the feelings and listen to my busy mind.
As I surrender to these emotions that are calling me
They rush through me like a river.
My mind screams out to you.
Where are you?
Are you here?
Why did you leave me?
Why did you have to leave so soon?
The tears wash me.
Tenderly I hold myself with compassion.
There is a stillness rising within me
As I surrender in this silent embrace.
Now the memories flow through me,
Calling me to see the beauty of my life with you.
I relive these moments as I witness the last days...
Your faith in God brought you
To the greatest acts of love.
You are the one that left before us
To show us the way, to let go.
Leaving us was your greatest challenge.
Maybe your physical body was weak and frail
But there was strength in your trust in God's love.
Courage, that is what it took for you to leave us.
I watched you take your last breath
As you surrendered into the hands of the angel of death.
Your spirit moved through our hearts
As you lit up the room
With the peace
That is beyond all understandings.
This peace touched us all.
It anointed us
In the holy sacred moment
You became more,
So much more than the body.
Many, all over the world, felt your sweet love.
There are countless stories.
Sharing these love stories opens us greater and touches us deeply.
This love is what is real.
It lives on in all of us.
I feel the strength of your love moving through me,
Helping me each day to move forward
And share the gifts of spirit.
How blessed we are to know you, sweet Mary.
And the greatest gift of your life lives on in us all
As we again see the miracle of life
In your precious grand baby, Emma Mary.
Emma Mary
To read the inspirational story just published in Charlotte Parent magazine by Mary's daughter Kristen Behlke go to www.charlotteparent.com, then go to articles and features: My Pregnancy-An Emotional Journey.
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I will be traveling during July and August to California where I will be one of the presenters at the Heart of the Awakening conference in Mt. Shasta from July 12th -15th. I invite you to this 4-day conference that is brought to you by Shalomar. It is one of my most powerful places to be and it is always life changing. A lot of the presenters are my dear friends who have inspired me to be who I am today. I am so honored to be participating with them all. Some of these loving souls are Grace, Eric Bergland, and Matisha. Also the event features Dannion Brinkley, William Henry, Dr. Richard Boylan, and many others. For more information visit www.ShalomarProductions.com. I am looking forward to seeing you there!
I will also be in Kelowna, B.C, Canada, where I have been asked to officiate a wedding for my children’s best friends J.P. and Kelsey.
Then I’ll continue east to my childhood home in Northern Ontario to be with my family and also to facilitate a retreat in Mississauga, Ontario on Aug.7th. For more information click here or visit my website, www.franniehoffman.com. I will be back in my office on Aug 14th. |
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by Sarah, Jodi's daughter
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Frannie's Circle of Light guided meditations
Serenity Gardens of Venice is hosting Frannie's ongoing Circle of Light meditation on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month starting April 25th (7-8pm, $10.00).
Frannie is also available for sessions these Wednesdays at Serenity Gardens- Call for appointment
Serenity Gardens
602 E. Venice Ave.
Venice, Fl
Tel-941.486.3577
We're at the I Am Healing Arts Center in Sarasota the 1st & 3rd Wednesdays of the month (7:15pm, $10).
I AM Healing Arts Center (1918 Robinhood Street, Sarasota, FL Tel-941.927.6798
Starting May 10 The Circle is held at Frannie's office in Bradenton the 2nd Thursday of the month (7pm, $10 donation).
ARAYASUN
4301 32nd St. W. Unit D-4
Bradenton, Fl.
Tel-941.782.0770
Whispering Winds presents
Break Free & Return Yourself to Love with Frannie Hoffman
August 7 in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
The workshop will be in the evening from 6pm-9pm and Frannie will also be doing private sessions on the 7th and 8th during the day. Contact Lanee at 905-820-5775 or lanee@sailsentient.ca to sign up.
4-Day Women's Workshop
I will be co-facilitating a 4-Day Women's Workshop along with my two triplet sisters - Colleen Hofffman Smith and Philomene Hoffman - in Angel Valley, Arizona November 1-4, 2007. For more information on this spectacular autumn retreat, click here.
The Circle of Light guided meditations are available for purchase on CD. Call the office, 941.782.0770 to place your order. Downloadable meditations will be available soon through www.MyCircleofLight.org.
Private consultations and sessions are available at the Bradenton office or by phone. Call 941.782.0770 for more information or to schedule an appointment. Frannie will be back in the office on Aug 14th. Have a great summer.
All of My Love, Frannie |
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