10/27

I have never met Elizabeth, only heard bits and pieces
about her life from my dear friend Monica, one of her
former roommates in Gainesville.
Yet, after reading her story, I feel I must share with
everyone how awed I am by this woman, a woman I have
never even met.

I was touched by the title of the song
Always Coming Home. Then I saw the lyrics:

"Sometimes I go further when I am sitting still
And often go forward and backward together
What seem to be circles pattern my clearest path
And spiral to heaven when I'm not looking..."

And I found myself, in reading her story, moved near
tears, then amazed at her journey, and charged with an
energy, a sense of excitement I usually get when I'm
traveling and drinking in new experiences.

Dear Elizabeth,

I am sorry you left so soon.
I am sorry I never got to meet you and your dear,
sweet, quirky, full of life, one in a million self.
And I am sorry for all the people who knew and loved
you, who are in pain in the face of your departure.

But I am not sorry at all that you came, that you
spent 50 glorious years here on this earth.
Your life, though it brought pain and heartache, also
ushered in such love and joy. You made it all
glorious, for yourself and those whose lives you
touched.
I am so inspired by you, a woman I have never even
met.

God Bless You, Elizabeth, wherever you are.

Love always,
Susannah
The friend you never got to meet

10/23

Hi She Fay (I'm assuming who'll read this....)
I'm Elizabeth and Barbie's friend Monica in Fort Lauderdale. I think you and I met at the Pagoda when I visited there in 2002, shortly after the foundation to their house was poured. First, I want to thank you for being such a good friend to them, and secondly I thank you for making such a beautiful site for Elizabeth. Barbie was able to reach me yesterday with the news, and I am devastated. Several memories and thoughts of Elizabeth are running through my mind, and I would like to have some of them on the memorial site, wherever you think it would be appropriate. Here goes.....

Elizabeth came into my life just as I was in transformation. She became my roommate a little over 10 years ago as I was getting divorced and finding my "self" again. I still have a clear picture in my head of her standing on my porch, answering the ad for a roommate, wearing a tie-dyed shorts jumper. I liked her instantly, and over time came to love her. She celebrated her 40th birthday not long after moving in, and the house overflowed with friends she had already gathered in her short time in Gainesville.
Elizabeth played a large role in helping me through that time, especially in nurturing my stunted spiritual development. She introduced me to alternative ways of viewing God and Spirit than the ones I grew up with, ways that resonated for me more than standard religion had, and I am forever indebted to her for that. I felt honored to be among the first people she told about her life before 1979, and that was one among the many confidences we shared.
As she and I both moved along in life, she was a touchstone for me and I think I was for her, too, to some degree. I shared her joy at getting her first house in Gainesville, and I had the honor of being her attendant at her wedding to Allen. Years later, I heard the awed tone in her voice as she told me about meeting Barbie and their instant connection.
I last saw Elizabeth in March, when I went to see the new house, spend a couple of nights there and attend a concert in Jacksonville. She and Barbie have built a beautiful home, one that emanates love. She was always someone I could talk to freely, knowing that, ultimately, nothing I said would change our friendship. During these past 10 years, she and I have wandered in and out of each others' lives, and I always thought she'd be there whenever I wanted to wander into hers, just as she was always welcome in mine. I feel a large rip in the fabric of my life right now. I will miss her music, her wit, her honesty, her counsel and her unconditional love even as I know she will always be with us. My prayers are with Antonia, her surrogate mother, with Allen, who introduced her to true love, and especially with Barbie, her soul mate for eternity entwined.
Love,
Monica (in Fort Lauderdale)

10/22

dear carly, barbie has just forwarded to me the beautiful, incredible
emails about elizabeth from the findhorn community and i felt moved to
write to you and say THANK YOU for sharing these with all of her newer
friends here in st. augustine.

the past fourteen days for me have covered just about every facet of human
experience, with overwhelming LOVE being the primary focal point of it
all. i don't know if anyone told you that barbie and annie felt
elizabeth's spirit when she left her body and felt her spirit
soaring. yes, as someone asked in one of the emails, i do believe that
her spirit is free to fly and when the time was right, that is exactly
what she did.

while barbie and annie, shefay and michelle, donna, gloria and others were
with elizabeth as she made her transition, i was at harmony house lighting
candles, answering the phones, and just being...when first i entered the
house, an overpowering feeling of love and joy emanated from every corner
of the home barbie and elizabeth created together. it is an amazing
tribute to the love that they shared and i hope that many of her findhorn
family will one day visit.

i think kristin's idea of a tree or seedling as a memorial to elizabeth,
representing her strength and depth, would be the perfect gift for barbie
and harmony house...they were (and barbie will continue to be) in the
process of creating beautiful gardens all over the property; all of their
trees are special, spiritual friends. i can't think of a finer tribute to
Heart.

i'm glad i was able to speak with you, antonia, shari and john on the
telephone - it was a blessing and privilege to feel the strong love that
flowed thousands of miles from heart to heart...with much love, lorie

10/21

Every time that I saw you and Elizabeth together my heart would get all warm. Knowing that you two found each other gladdened my heart so. I am just so sad that I never had the opportunity to come to your new home with BOTH of you to share what you have built together and get to know her better. What a dynamic person and how fortunate you both were to have the times you have had.

Death is so final for us here left behind, but I am sure that Elizabeth's essence is right by you comforting you in Love and peace. Knowing that her last years were spent in such love will give you comfort for all of your days here, until you are reunited in heaven.

You are in my thoughts and prayers,

Love,
Venessa Fairbairn

10/21

Dear Elizabeth, Dear, Dear Elizabeth
You've had a far greater impact on my life in your death
Then you ever had on my life in your life!
I know you so much better now then I did then.
Your written words mesmerized me, enlightened me
They made me laugh, and they made me feel
Your warmth
In a way
I never had.

I'll be honest, I didn't appreciate some of your finer qualities
While you were a breathing creature on this earth. Sometimes your
Directness scared me. Your confidence and insights into things
I didn't understand made me uncomfortable. But now those qualities
Shine for me, and I know you are still shining too. Oddly,
I feel your presence now, urging me on,
Daring me
To be a
Better me.

I called Harmony House a few days gone by; the machine
Picked up and Elizabeth spoke to me. It was such a nice
Recording I hope Barbie keeps the tape on. I love the way Elizabeth
Said Barbie's name, sort of like the Outback commercial..made
Me think of shrimp on the Barbie, which made me burst out to
Myself in laughter of the impure thought I had.
And I knew
Elizabeth was
Laughing too.

-Shari Silk

10/20

Dear Barbie and friends,

I am one of Motherheart's Findhorn friends and wanted to offer this piece for the website, in addition to the Findhorn Circle sentiment (among others) that you will have gotten. I read this at my father's
memorial service, and it still touches me deeply.

My heart and prayers are with you and Motherheart during this time.

Many blessings to you,

Kathy Carr

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.

--Mary Frye (1932)

10/18

Barbie,

our thoughts and prayers are with you at this tremendously painful time.
May all the love and caring you have shown to others come back to you now and enfold you in tenderness and bolster you on strong and loving shoulders. There are many who love you and want to be there and offer help. Please call on us, so we may contribute to easing your pain.
We love you and wish you peace,

Susan and Gilda

10/18

Dear She Fay,
I just want to say "Thank You so very much."
Your web site tribute to Elizabeth should be read by all of our "Rainbow Family." I'm overwhelmed with her story, the depth of her soul and her passion for life. She was an amazingly talented and deeply spiritual woman. Please send a link to your site to everyone in Michael's list.
We all need to read who she truly was.
In gratitude,

Diana DeVita

10/13

Dear Kathleen and Michael,

We've been reading all the information about Elizabeth that Internet search engines can gather.
We feel this page she wrote is awesome. Elizabeth obviously is a very evolved being. Just wanted to share this with you and those who are receiving news today about her condition.

Love and Light,

Diana and Gioia

Be!
How to live fully in the present moment
Simply Flowing As Divine Love

Elizabeth Papapetrou

Many times I've been asked about spiritual awakening and what it means to me and I've found myself answering differently almost every time, with a sense that I'm not quite "getting" it. It seems that, despite my knowing it for the trickster it can be, I have depended on my mind's view of its experience and that changes as I go along. Then I realized what I had experienced and was describing, wasn't spiritual awakening at all, but the initial awakening to awareness of the true nature of our being and the process necessary to bring us to that spiritual awakening. Now I know how to express it. Through that initial awakening, I came to know that: There is only one Self and that is Divine Love. We are, therefore, all incarnations of that Divine Love. Ergo, we have nothing to learn -- nowhere to grow. We just need to fully "let go" of everything that limits and defines us in order to realize our true Self. When we "let go" and become fully "in the moment," we need no knowledge, no preparation, no expectation... no-thing. We come into alignment with our Selves and simply flow as Divine Love. Realization is that simple. Having said that, it is (as I'm sure all are aware) not easy to embrace such simplicity. We avoid being in "the moment" because our minds do not trust that which they cannot control (the divine flow) and so engage in incredibly complex manipulations and justifications in order to maintain control -- sometimes tight control; sometimes just enough to keep us "safely" imprisoned away from full liberation while telling us that we are "there." All the wisdom of all the ages and all the sacred texts of all the cultures are designed to lead us to the simple truth that truly letting go is IT. Nothing more -- nothing to learn or to achieve. Our karma is simply a way of describing that which we have difficulty letting go of. If we but fully realize this truth and put total trust in God/The Divine, the little reality of our mind-prison disappears and we are revealed as Divinity itSelf.

Now, my observation and experience is that we tend to practice this "letting go" in stages. We learn to release certain things in our lives that we are used to controlling and, sort of, experiment with the effects. Often, this is unsatisfying because our minds at least provide some sense of order -- even if it is a manufactured order -- and letting go some can make the world seem chaotic because, while even a little of our mind holds on, we are suffering the effects of our incarnation being out of alignment with the divine. Then we might think -- "Oh, this attempt to let go is no good as I feel worse and it seems as if my being is no longer effective in the world, to boot." To this I say, "Good!" When you begin to let go of something or some concept that has made you feel "safe," there is a long moment of imbalance and insecurity when you truly feel "out of control." This is critical. For at that time, it is easy to lose faith in oneSelf and think -- "I must be doing this wrong so I better go back to clutching my "safety net" because that, I know, will at least allow me to exist ." And so we continue on our imbalanced way, preparing for the perfect moment when it is the right timing for us to release our "safety nets" and allow the Divine Love that is our true Self to be revealed.

Elizabeth Papapetrou is also known as Motherheart,
which is the name of her wonderful website.

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