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September 1, 2008 |
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Committed to being an instrument in the transformation of world consciousness, Mary O'Malley helps people experience the freedom and joy of being awake and aware no matter what is happening in their lives. |
Inspiration: The doorway to our freedom lies in the ability to relate to what is going on inside of us rather than being lost in it or trying to change it. Intention: Whenever I become upset, I will remember that this is a sign that I am becoming lost in a story in my mind and will stop and ask, "In this moment, what am I experiencing?" ________________________________________________
Featured Offering:
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What would your life be like if you truly trusted yourself? And what would it be like if you truly trusted life? True trust brings us to the place Joseph Campbell calls ‘the rapture of being alive’. In my world this is where I see life heading…more and more human beings seeing through the dream of the struggling self and truly becoming available to life - right here, right now - the moment it appears out of mystery. It helps to see this reawakening into life in four stages. The First is where we are caught in the conceptual world, tumbling from one thought to another all day long without a bit of awareness that maybe we are something much more than just the thoughts in our head. This is where most of the people of the world live most of the time. The Second phase comes when we become aware of the thoughts in our head. What then automatically arises is an urge to change them. This is where therapy comes in, along with a lot of what is called spirituality. Most therapy is about figuring out where all these ideas came from and how to manage them. Most spirituality is about rising above it all (I so believed in the 1960’s that spirituality was all about stopping thought and going to nirvana!) The most popular idea in this second phase is that we create our reality, and if we just change our thoughts, then we will have what we want. This is the ‘mind made me’ at its craftiest! All of these steps are important as we move through the process of awakening, but more of us are now realizing that this isn't the final step, because to fix, change and rearrange our thoughts has never brought us the peace we long for. That brings us to the Third phase where, in Pema Chodren’s words, we befriend all the stories in our head. This is the place where, rather than trying to change what is going on inside of us, we become curious. I talked about this in the August newsletter by sharing with you an email from Daniel in which he described being able to watch his mind as a washing machine and became curious about what cycle it was in. Oh, the freedom of that - the freedom of letting go of the struggle to constantly try to make ourselves be better or different than what we are and simply become curious about what is happening inside of us right now! When we couple that with the ability to recognize that the foundations of most of the stories we spin in our heads were created in our mind when we were a child (Most psychologists say that our view of ourselves and the world was pretty well formed by the age of 6), we can begin to feel great compassion for this struggling, fearful, judgmental, pushy, angry, and sad self inside that we thought was us! As we learn how to bring curiosity and compassion together into our immediate experience and the clouds of our struggling self begin to dissolve, we discover the Fourth phase - the phase of simply being available to life. Rather than thinking about life, we are engaged with life the moment is appears out of mystery. True spirituality is extraordinarily ordinary…it is the ability to simply be open to life right here, right now. And in that opening - which is the safest thing you will ever do - we discover the absolute extraordinariness of the ordinary! When we let go of arguing with life and show up for it instead, we enter the great river of creativity that is life and we recognize that we are being lived by life! That is where we come full circle back into the trust of ourselves and the trust in life that is our birthright! Every day we are alive we all visit the first, second and fourth phases. We all become lost in thought - that is the first phase. We all want ourselves and life to be different which is the hallmark of the second phase. And we all know moments, although they are so fleeting that most people don’t notice them, where we are simply HERE for life - not our ideas about it but the real deal. But the third phase is new to most of us and is only beginning to make sense. The amazing thing is that very few people are curious about what is going on inside of them. May we all discover the phenomenal healing power of simply asking the question, “In this moment, what am I experiencing?” Or, “In this moment what is the ‘me’ inside of me doing/thinking/believing?” May we discover that the doorway to our freedom lies in the ability to relate to what is going on inside of us rather than being lost in it or trying to change it. And may we all again know the trust that is our true home. Quote: “When we let go of arguing with life and show up for it instead, we enter the great river of creativity that is life, and we recognize that we are being lived by life!” — Mary O'Malley |
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To view previous newsletters, please click on the link Newsletter Archives To learn more about this work, please visit our website at www.maryomalley.com Also, please visit http://www.yourgiftmovie.com to view a wonderful 3-minute multi-media presentation about this work. The presentation is also available on CD for $15.95. If you wish to unsubscribe from this Newsletter, please click on the link at the very end. |
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Featured Offering - Wellspring Retreat Discount |
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October 17-19, 2008 Living in the Here & Now Residential Retreat
Cost is
To register, click on the Living In the Here and Now link above, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Registration Form link. Fill-in and submit the form. The link will take you to PayPal where you can pay the full amount by Credit Card. You can also pay by check. |
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Letters From Our Readers |
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Thank you, Mary for sharing your newsletter with me. I find now that I'm looking forward to hearing from you, and that your insight to life struggles has become a very welcoming source of strength in my life. Your wisdom fills me with a deep inner peace and contentment. Kindest regards, Karen |
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Counseling & In-Person Groups |
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Counseling -
In Person & by Phone For information and appointments, please call Mary at 425-889-5937 or send her an email at awaken@maryomalley.com
Awakening
Groups
Weekly Groups are offered, in person on:
The Gift of Our Compulsions
Group
Weekly Group is offered
in person on: You may visit one time to see if a group is right for you. To join a group, an introductory counseling session with Mary is required. If you are interested, please contact Mary at info@maryomalley.com or 425.889.5937 The cost is $120 for 6 weeks (a sliding scale is available). |
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Events |
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Saturday, September 6th Living in the Here and Now Half-Day Retreat Our monthly Half-Day Retreat is on the 1st Saturday of each month. We meet from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm at my home & garden sanctuary in Kirkland, WA. Love Offering ($30 Suggested) To Register and for Directions, contact Judy by email at heyjude763@comcast.net or by calling 206-362-9077. |
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Mondays, Sept 8th-29th Telegroup: Food Compulsion Group This is an interactive group focusing on issues of food compulsion. It is conducted over the phone from 5:55 to 6:55 PM Pacific Time. The cost for 4 sessions is $80. There are three ways to Register. You can register by emailing Mary and sending her a check or paying through PayPal, or to pay by credit card, click on this link and scroll down page (if necessary) to order form and fill out number of registrations you wish to pay for. Click "Continue" and follow rest of instructions to complete registration. We will then send you the dial-in number and access code by email. |
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Thursdays, Sept. 4th-Oct. 2nd (No group on Sept 25th)Telegroup: The Gift of Our Challenges This is an interactive group conducted over the phone from 6:00 to 7:00 PM Pacific Time. The cost for 4 sessions is $80. There are three ways to Register. You can register by emailing Mary and sending her a check or paying through PayPal, or to pay by credit card, click on this link and scroll down page (if necessary) to order form and fill out number of registrations you wish to pay for. Click "Continue" and follow rest of instructions to complete registration. We will then send you the dial-in number and access code by email. |
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Mondays, Sept 8th-Oct 13th This group meets at Mary's home in Kirkland, WA from 7:00 to 9:00 PM on Mondays. The cost for the group is $120 for each 6-session series. (A sliding scale is available.) To join this group, Contact Mary. |
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Tuesdays, Sept 9th-Oct 14th This group meets at Mary's home in Kirkland, WA from 7:00 to 9:00 PM on Tuesdays. The cost for the group is $120 for each 6-session series. (A sliding scale is available.) To join this group, Contact Mary. |
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Thursdays, Sept 11th-Oct 16th This group meets at a private home in Bellevue, WA from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM on Thursdays. The cost for the group is $120 for each 6-session series. (A sliding scale is available.) To join this group, Contact Mary. |
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Saturday, October 4th Living in the Here and Now Half-Day Retreat Our monthly Half-Day Retreat is on the 1st Saturday of each month. We meet from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm at my home & garden sanctuary in Kirkland, WA. Love Offering ($30 Suggested) To Register and for Directions, contact Judy by email at heyjude763@comcast.net or by calling 206-362-9077. |
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Mondays, October 6th-27th Telegroup: Food Compulsion Group This is an interactive group focusing on issues of food compulsion. It is conducted over the phone from 5:55 to 6:55 PM Pacific Time. The cost for 4 sessions is $80. There are three ways to Register. You can register by emailing Mary and sending her a check or paying through PayPal, or to pay by credit card, click on this link and scroll down page (if necessary) to order form and fill out number of registrations you wish to pay for. Click "Continue" and follow rest of instructions to complete registration. We will then send you the dial-in number and access code by email. |
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Thursdays, October 9th-Oct. 30th Telegroup: The Gift of Our Challenges This is an interactive group conducted over the phone from 6:00 to 7:00 PM Pacific Time. The cost for 4 sessions is $80. There are three ways to Register. You can register by emailing Mary and sending her a check or paying through PayPal, or to pay by credit card, click on this link and scroll down page (if necessary) to order form and fill out number of registrations you wish to pay for. Click "Continue" and follow rest of instructions to complete registration. We will then send you the dial-in number and access code by email. |
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October 17-19, 2008 Living in the Here & Now Residential Retreat
Cost is
This 2-night retreat will be held at Wellspring, a beautiful retreat center in Ashford, Washington. Wellspring is a place uniquely suited for healing and renewal. Located at the foot of Mt. Rainier in a beautiful wooded setting, it offers a mountain lodge surrounded by cozy cabins, hot tubs, and an outdoor labyrinth. We will share in providing and preparing our meals. Depending on registrations, you will be part of a 2 or 3-person team taking care of one meal. To register, click on the Living In the Here and Now link above, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Registration Form link. Fill-in and submit the form. A non-refundable deposit of $100 will hold your place. The full amount is due September 1st, 2008. There will be no refunds for cancellations made after September 1st, but any payments may be applied to another retreat (minus $100). To ask questions or request a printed brochure or registration form, please contact MarySue at sumara@earthlink.net or 206-550-2524. You can also download a brochure by clicking on this link. |
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February 21-27, 2009 Waking Up In Paradise Residential Retreat Cost is $1875 Travel is separate and you need to make your own arrangements.
Please click on the title link above for retreat details and the Hui Ho'olana link above for more about the retreat center. The focus of the retreat is on learning how to show up for whatever life brings in each moment. In that process, we will have times of silence and times of exploring together ideas and skills that invite us back into life. We will share both our wisdom and the challenges of learning to quiet our minds and open our hearts. There will be some meditation. The emphasis, however, is not on meditation techniques, but rather on using meditation practices to experience each moment of our lives more fully. To register, click on the Waking Up In Paradise link above, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Registration Form link. Fill-in and submit the form. A deposit of $500 will hold your place ($200 is non-refundable). The full amount is due December 1st, 2008. There will be no refunds for cancellations made after December 21st, but any payments may be applied to another retreat (minus $200). To ask questions or request a printed brochure or registration form, please contact MarySue at sumara@earthlink.net or 206-550-2524. You can also download a brochure by clicking on this link. |
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For more information about Awakening, please follow the links below. To unsubscribe, click on the link at the bottom of this email. Please feel free to forward these emails to those whom you feel would be interested. |
| Contact Mary About Awakening Our Offerings Mary's CDs |
This
2-night retreat will be held at Wellspring, a beautiful retreat
center in Ashford, Washington.
The retreat will be
held at