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August 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: Awakening is waking up from what Eckhart Tolle calls "the mind-made-me" - i.e., the belief that the story in our heads is who we are. Intention: Whenever I become fearful or agitated, I will remember that this is a sign that I am believing a story in my mind, and I will stop and become curious about the story. ________________________________________________
Featured Offering:
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What is awakening? In my world, it is waking up from the belief that we are what Eckhart Tolle calls “the mind-made-me” – i.e., the belief that the story in our heads is who we are. Waking up is realizing that who we really are is that which can see the stories. Who we are is Awareness, and it is much more creative, intelligent, compassionate and connected than any story we have ever had about ourselves and life. I have been working with a man who had an extreme personal crisis in his life which led him to my book The Gift of Our Compulsions. The book became a guide for him on how to see through his “mind-made-me” and how to open to the joy of truly being awake to LIFE again! He has been sending me emails that are truly amazing. In these emails I have watched a person move through the various stages of awakening. In his last email, he is talking about the wonderful awareness of realizing he is not his mind, and he has given me permission to share it with you. Here it is. The most striking image I see that describes much of my mental activities on a daily basis is the agitation cycles of a washing machine. My mind churns very hard. It whirls and spins. It splashes water all over if I carelessly leave the door open. But it is primarily mundane, repetitive, compulsive and involuntary. The washing machine is void of any creativity, deep awareness or intelligence. It is just a machine to solve mechanical problems. And it is astounding to me that now I can see my mind as a busy washing machine. It feels like for much of my life, I was inside the washer when it agitated and spun. Once it started, I could not get out. Have you ridden one of those carnival rides where it spins fast at the same time it rotates and your body gets pinned like glue to the mesh rim so you could not even lift up your feet or move your arms? Once my compulsive thoughts started, they gained momentum and created their own internal tornado. One thought triggered by something starts the cycle, then another, then all similar or related thoughts come pouring in feeding the momentum. If caught in the midst of it, I am almost powerless to stop it by choice. Now I can categorize those agitation modes in my own life just like there are different modes on a washer for different kinds of fabrics. There is this anger mode when thoughts about my wife and a brother and other people trigger and feed upon themselves. Then there is this mode where I fantasize about how successful I would be with various projects. Then another mode in my mind about what I expect to happen and then compulsively insist on my vision. Or there is a daydreaming for nothing mode. And finally the spaghetti mode when anything and many things go all at once. In all these modes, all these years, I was sitting squarely inside the washing machine, going through the complete motions of it, thinking I was the machine itself. And I let that washing machine run my life. Worse yet, I thought I had to depend on it for my life's direction. Who would have voted for a washing machine to run one's life? Now I can make a little game out of it. Now I am the master standing outside and when I see a cycle starts, I am curious to identify which cycle it is. It is more fun this way: "Anger" or "Spaghetti" or just plain agitation, and then I reach for the knob of the washer and shut it down. This game puts me on the offensive and I have a little fun. The washing machine is only a tool, not the person I am. What a discovery!!! I own the machine and not the other way around. Why did I let it run my life without my knowledge for so long? Because I was not aware of it. A change in management is sorely needed and long overdue. May we all, with great compassion, learn to be curious about what our mind is doing rather than believing its stories! Quote: “May we all, with great compassion, learn to be curious about what our mind is doing rather than believing its stories. ” — 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 - Two New TeleGroups |
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Mondays, Sept 1st-22nd 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.
Thursdays, September 4th-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 |
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Letters From Our Readers |
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Mary, I am so grateful to be a part of this telegroup and definitely want to continue when you start up again in September! I am already wondering what I'm going to do without the group during August!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your incredible wisdom and talent in leading these telegroups! It takes a very special skill to lead sessions like this over the phone, especially with the kind of ease and grace that you do. I think these sessions are absolutely fantastic and exactly what I need right now. I am so very grateful you offer these telegroups because it just isn't realistic for me to travel to Kirkland on a weekly basis yet I need this kind of support so badly. So thank you, thank you, thank you. I am amazed at how deeply you are able to touch my heart and it blows me away at how right-on target you are time and time again. Tonight, for example, when you suggested I post sticky notes all over the place with "It is safe to be here". Nothing could be more perfect than for me to see those words over and over and over again right now. And I've already written out the sticky notes. All I have to do now is start tacking them up everywhere...which I'm going to go do now. A few weeks ago I thought I was ready to let go of the struggle, but I'm having a harder time letting go than I thought. I can hear you now telling me to not struggle with struggle so I will just breathe and remember that it is safe to be here. Ahhhhh. That feels much better already.... Bless you, Joan |
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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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August 21-24, 2008 Unity Western Region Retreat at Crystal Mountain, Washington Mary's Workshop: What is In the Way Is the Way: The Doorway to True Joy Workshop: What would it be like if the challenges of your life - whether they are showing up around health, finances, relationships or yourself - rather than being something wrong, are doorways into the aliveness and joy that is who you truly are? Over the years, Mary has helped many people get in touch with their own innate joy and trust in themselves and their lives, no matter what is showing up. We invite you to come learn how to transform your challenges from problems into possibilities for experiencing more joy in your life. In addition to the workshop, Mary will be offering the much-beloved Cherokee Dance of Life each morning before breakfast, outside the lodge, with the mountains all around. This year's Unity Western Region Retreat is is titled Restory Your Life and Restore Your World and features Christina Baldwin, author of Storycatcher: Making Sense of Our Lives Through the Power and Practice of Story, and the incomparable Rev. Richard Levy. And if you've never been to Crystal Mountain in the summer, it has been compared to being in the Swiss Alps - a truly memorable experience of inspiration, community and natural beauty. To ask questions or request a printed brochure, please go to www.nwunityretreat.org |
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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 1st-22nd 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, September 4th-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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October 17-19, 2008 Living in the Here & Now Residential Retreat Cost is $325
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. The retreat will be held at Hui Ho'olana, a beautiful retreat center on the island of Molokai. With panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean and nearby islands, the center is surrounded by trees, fragrant flowers, luscious ferns, spacious open lawns, and scenic hiking trails providing an ideal environment for inspiration and a safe haven for the growth and nurturing of the spirit. 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 |
It is a gift to
ourselves to set aside time from our busyness to reconnect with
ourselves and with life. An Awakening retreat is about opening into
that place of healing and renewal, and learning ways to continue to
live from there as we go back into our daily lives. Two
powerful tools that aid us in re-awakening to this sacred and
mysterious process we call life are keen attention and the healing
balm of mercy. When we put these two together, we have compassionate
curiosity, the art of being open and available to all that life
offers us.