“Blessing, at least after the initial learning, and often right from the start, is full of rest. In the midst of the worst tempest, when your lifeboat is rocking wildly, it will calm the waves and you will discover a deep, deep repose.” - Pierre Pradervand, from The Gentle Art of Blessing
Blessing is such a simple practice one wonders why everyone doesn’t do it. It doesn’t require special training or equipment. You need not kneel before an altar or light a candle or recite scripture in order for a blessing to work. No particular faith is required and you don’t need to belong to a certain church or sect. Nothing is required at all, in fact, except your willingness to imagine the highest and best for the person, circumstance or thing being blessed. It’s that simple. Just a little willingness to think a higher thought and a blessing is dispatched.
To follow the Blessing Way Path, you only need to be willing to bless. That sounds so easy, doesn’t it? And in reality it is easy. But sometimes it doesn’t feel that way. That’s because life has conditioned us to fight our enemy instead of bless him, and while few would admit it, most of us consider anything we disagree or disapprove of as an enemy of sorts. As a deeply spiritual expression of unconditional love and acceptance, when it comes loving and accepting those people and things we have previously thought to be unlovable and unacceptable, blessing can quite naturally begin to feel like the most difficult thing one could possibly do.
After all, what are we supposed to do we do when someone makes us angry or a situation is turning out badly and we feel far more inclined to stress than to bless? What are we supposed to do when we are being attacked and the urge to retaliate is so strong we can almost taste it? What are we supposed to do when the idea of blessing a particular person, circumstance or thing seems like the least appropriate action we could possibly take?
What are we supposed to do? We’re supposed to bless anyway. That’s what.
We’re supposed to plant our feet firmly on the Blessing Way Path and start moving forward even when it feels that’s the very last thing we should do. Even when we’re being attacked and every thought in our head screams retaliation. Even when everyone tells us we need to fight back, or condemn, or curse, or at the very least, disregard. Even when we think we can’t possibly… We bless anyway.
We take responsibility for our lives and recognize that whoever or whatever we might be dealing with at any given moment was attracted to us by us as a way of helping us to learn, to love, and return to the reality of our Beingness. No matter how awful, how disturbing or how distasteful any person or circumstance might be, its purpose for being present in our lives is to benefit us in some way. Once we incorporate that Truth into our thinking process, the changes begin. We begin to appreciate, opening ourselves to our own blessedness as at the same time, we open our hearts to the blessedness of others.
And as we push past our resistance and bless anyway, an amazing thing happens. Our lives begin to change for the better. As we focus on blessing others, our lives our blessed.
For the cost of a simple blessing, our lives are forever changed.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Tomatoes in Heaven........
Please tell me there will be Jersey Big Boys in Heaven!!!
This uses real bagels... the large deli kind not those make believe packaged things.
Cut a bagel in half. Scoop out some of the inside--- just put some butter or cream cheese on that and savor it while making the recipe.
fill the hollowed out part with any yummy crumbly cheese. I mix feta and blue but I've also used Chevre
then add fat slices of your succulent, red, Jersey big boys and a sprinkle of sea salt and green chili sauce
top with shaved roasted pork loin (oh, so thin) and cracked pepper.
top with your favorite slice of cheese (optional)
then grill or broil a few seconds.
OMGosh------- serve with homemade bread and butter pickles, circles of new cucumber and fat mugs of dark coffee or Scottish tea.
I wrote about having bagels and tomato in my book. It's on of my favorite scenes.
You are going to love this!!! Send your thank you cards to me :))
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Wisdon of the ages... or is that aged?
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field. I will meet you there.” ~Rumi
My pastures are edged by dark woods. I can see it from my study table, and often while seated there, will catch some motion only to look out the window just in time to see deer moving from the woods into the sunny openness of the cleared spaces. Heads held high, nostrils testing the air, ears keen to every sound and muscles tensed, these beautiful animals approach the pastures warily, even the lure of sweet, lush grass unable to override their sense of caution.
While watching the deer today, it occurred to me that we humans behave much the same way when we first consider forgiving those who have hurt us. Like the deer, we approach with great caution, certain that in deciding to let go of our pain, we are putting ourselves at risk. It is our hunger for peace and happiness, however, that beckons us, pulling us past our wariness, into the bright, warm light of this field of love.
As we venture forth into the forgiveness field we begin to understand that forgiving is not something we do for someone else, but a gift we give ourselves. We realize almost immediately that the field is not as fraught with danger as we had feared, nor as filled with complexities as we had assumed. It is, instead, simplicity itself, as simple as stepping first from darkness into dappled shade, and from there into the light of a brand new day.
If the deer never emerged from the dark woods into the bright openness of the field, they might survive, but they would have to adapt to do so. We also adapt when we refuse to come out of the darkness of pain and fear and into the light of love. We harden and become bitter, as inwardly we adjust to the futility of our thinking. The longer we cling to our fears, pain of disillusionment and our hatreds, the more heavy and out of balance we feel. It is only in letting go that we return to center.
We each have our own reasons for not forgiving those who have hurts us. Those who've been so insensitive it takes our breath away. Those who have failed our expectations. Those who have betrayed our trust and wounded our spirit. And many times the reasons are so valid, so totally understandable that the entire world rallies around us and supports us in our unwillingness to forgive. In truth, however, unforgiveness can never be validated because it keeps us from the light of grace. And since that is what we are made of it is, in essence, keeping us from our true self.
Forgiving you is not a difficult as most would think. It is as much an act of imagination as it is anything, It dares us to think of a brighter future, one where no boundaries of right and wrong exist, but only openness and the freedom to be who we truly are.
My pastures are edged by dark woods. I can see it from my study table, and often while seated there, will catch some motion only to look out the window just in time to see deer moving from the woods into the sunny openness of the cleared spaces. Heads held high, nostrils testing the air, ears keen to every sound and muscles tensed, these beautiful animals approach the pastures warily, even the lure of sweet, lush grass unable to override their sense of caution.
While watching the deer today, it occurred to me that we humans behave much the same way when we first consider forgiving those who have hurt us. Like the deer, we approach with great caution, certain that in deciding to let go of our pain, we are putting ourselves at risk. It is our hunger for peace and happiness, however, that beckons us, pulling us past our wariness, into the bright, warm light of this field of love.
As we venture forth into the forgiveness field we begin to understand that forgiving is not something we do for someone else, but a gift we give ourselves. We realize almost immediately that the field is not as fraught with danger as we had feared, nor as filled with complexities as we had assumed. It is, instead, simplicity itself, as simple as stepping first from darkness into dappled shade, and from there into the light of a brand new day.
If the deer never emerged from the dark woods into the bright openness of the field, they might survive, but they would have to adapt to do so. We also adapt when we refuse to come out of the darkness of pain and fear and into the light of love. We harden and become bitter, as inwardly we adjust to the futility of our thinking. The longer we cling to our fears, pain of disillusionment and our hatreds, the more heavy and out of balance we feel. It is only in letting go that we return to center.
We each have our own reasons for not forgiving those who have hurts us. Those who've been so insensitive it takes our breath away. Those who have failed our expectations. Those who have betrayed our trust and wounded our spirit. And many times the reasons are so valid, so totally understandable that the entire world rallies around us and supports us in our unwillingness to forgive. In truth, however, unforgiveness can never be validated because it keeps us from the light of grace. And since that is what we are made of it is, in essence, keeping us from our true self.
Forgiving you is not a difficult as most would think. It is as much an act of imagination as it is anything, It dares us to think of a brighter future, one where no boundaries of right and wrong exist, but only openness and the freedom to be who we truly are.
Perhaps most importantly, though, it allows us to go to a place in our hearts where unkind, thoughtless comments, pain and suffering are
no longer allowed to have the final word.
I forgive you.
Friday, August 27, 2010
A thought.............
"When you remove love and try to replace it with monetary things, you have nothing ...
understand that you must love yourself before you can love anything else." --John Peters (Slow Turtle), WAMPANOAG
It is said, "Love thy neighbor as thyself."
That's the trouble, most of us do.
understand that you must love yourself before you can love anything else." --John Peters (Slow Turtle), WAMPANOAG
It is said, "Love thy neighbor as thyself."
That's the trouble, most of us do.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Zucchini wars...
WHO... thought zucchini and dark chocolate needed to be in the same sentence let alone the same bowl???
In spite of the zucchiniphiles' attempt to disguise the prolific garden disturbance. " they're heeeeeer" !!
May as well try to find some use for them other than goat fodder. So here goes.
DARK CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE:
INGREDIENTS
3 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose unbleached flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, softened
3/4 cup organic sugar, or less, according to taste
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini or summer squash
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch cake pan and dust with some unsweetened cocoa powder.
2. Melt the chocolate along with the oil in a double boiler or in a saucepan over low heat, taking care not to scorch.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium mixing bowl.
4. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk, beating until combined, then fold in the chocolate and oil mixture, and the zucchini.
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for about 10 minutes on a wire rack, then invert it on the rack, remove the pan, and cool completely.
5. May be served plain, iced with your favorite icing, dusted with organic confectioners’ sugar, or with fresh raspberries nestled around it.
In spite of the zucchiniphiles' attempt to disguise the prolific garden disturbance. " they're heeeeeer" !!
May as well try to find some use for them other than goat fodder. So here goes.
DARK CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE:
INGREDIENTS
3 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose unbleached flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, softened
3/4 cup organic sugar, or less, according to taste
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini or summer squash
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch cake pan and dust with some unsweetened cocoa powder.
2. Melt the chocolate along with the oil in a double boiler or in a saucepan over low heat, taking care not to scorch.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium mixing bowl.
4. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk, beating until combined, then fold in the chocolate and oil mixture, and the zucchini.
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for about 10 minutes on a wire rack, then invert it on the rack, remove the pan, and cool completely.
5. May be served plain, iced with your favorite icing, dusted with organic confectioners’ sugar, or with fresh raspberries nestled around it.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Nothing infuriates evil as much as being seen for what it is.
It's vital to understand that angels and devils exist and are always hard at work around us. This fact is no cause for fear, for while their subtle bodies are invisible, their activities are not. The forces of good and evil can easily be seen working their ways in and through human beings; for it is within us that these levels of light and darkness mold life on earth in their image.
Angelic forces are for you in every sense of the word. They are for your physical health, emotional happiness, mental development, and entrance into their own eternal, light-filled realm. Devils want you to think that those forces they wield are also for you. But these dark forces are always against you because devils, by their very nature, are against everything -- including themselves!
Your protection from devils and their dark, deceptive ways is within your ability to recognize them as devils. This specialized power of perception comes to you first in the form of an intuitive recognition: a blend of insight and past experience. Now let's see how to call upon and consciously cultivate this important new power.
Learn to look for signs of the devil at work by staying alert and awake to where it is that devils most commonly like to delight themselves. Then, when suspecting the presence of these dark forces at work -- regardless of where, or in whom you catch such a glimpse, work to meet these moments without fear, righteousness, or condemnation. Your action works just like a celestial beacon, attracting higher angelic forces to your side. And since angels have complete authority over devils, not only is your complete safety assured, but so is the growth of your spiritual strength. Why? Because each time you stand up to the devil in this way, it becomes increasingly clear to you that the only power darkness has is in the absence of the Light.
Thanx Dave.
Angelic forces are for you in every sense of the word. They are for your physical health, emotional happiness, mental development, and entrance into their own eternal, light-filled realm. Devils want you to think that those forces they wield are also for you. But these dark forces are always against you because devils, by their very nature, are against everything -- including themselves!
Your protection from devils and their dark, deceptive ways is within your ability to recognize them as devils. This specialized power of perception comes to you first in the form of an intuitive recognition: a blend of insight and past experience. Now let's see how to call upon and consciously cultivate this important new power.
Learn to look for signs of the devil at work by staying alert and awake to where it is that devils most commonly like to delight themselves. Then, when suspecting the presence of these dark forces at work -- regardless of where, or in whom you catch such a glimpse, work to meet these moments without fear, righteousness, or condemnation. Your action works just like a celestial beacon, attracting higher angelic forces to your side. And since angels have complete authority over devils, not only is your complete safety assured, but so is the growth of your spiritual strength. Why? Because each time you stand up to the devil in this way, it becomes increasingly clear to you that the only power darkness has is in the absence of the Light.
Thanx Dave.
Monday, August 23, 2010
David Whyte........... a genius
Everything is Waiting for You
Your great mistake is to act the drama
as if you were alone. As if life
were a progressive and cunning crime
with no witness to the tiny hidden
transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny
the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,
even you, at times, have felt the grand array;
the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding
out your solo voice. You must note
the way the soap dish enables you,
or the window latch grants you freedom.
Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.
The stairs are your mentor of things
to come, the doors have always been there
to frighten you and invite you,
and the tiny speaker in the phone
is your dream-ladder to divinity.
Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into
the conversation. The kettle is singing
even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots
have left their arrogant aloofness and
seen the good in you at last. All the birds
and creatures of the world are unutterably
themselves.
Everything is waiting for you.
-- David Whyte
Your great mistake is to act the drama
as if you were alone. As if life
were a progressive and cunning crime
with no witness to the tiny hidden
transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny
the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,
even you, at times, have felt the grand array;
the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding
out your solo voice. You must note
the way the soap dish enables you,
or the window latch grants you freedom.
Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.
The stairs are your mentor of things
to come, the doors have always been there
to frighten you and invite you,
and the tiny speaker in the phone
is your dream-ladder to divinity.
Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into
the conversation. The kettle is singing
even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots
have left their arrogant aloofness and
seen the good in you at last. All the birds
and creatures of the world are unutterably
themselves.
Everything is waiting for you.
-- David Whyte
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Opinions are like..................
...........noses. We all have one.
So what is yours? To Mosque or not to Mosque. That is the question. Please feel free to add your honest comments and thoughts. Remember--- it is still a free country. We Americans do have the freedom of................................Opinions !!
So what is yours? To Mosque or not to Mosque. That is the question. Please feel free to add your honest comments and thoughts. Remember--- it is still a free country. We Americans do have the freedom of................................Opinions !!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Because I can...
You Don't Wear The Bells Today?
Cool metal gliding on soft curves makes a tantalizing sound, yes?
Imperceptible to the human ear, baffled in layers of silk and
brushed rayon, tiny silver bells bobbed all day.
First up the hall, then back down.
Each step tapping a staccato message on my yesteryear.
Wooing, "remember me... remember me ?"
The sound was for me--- to remind me.
He heard.
All day a quiet smile danced around his bordeaux lips his head popping
from doorways and around corners with a boyish sparkle.
A week passed and time soared before I saw him again.
His dark brown eyes were tinged with a smoldering glint.
Those generous lips teasing smiles from every angle.
'Midst flushed cheeks and flashes of light he spoke softly, for my
ears only , "... you don't wear the bells today?"
I could barely respond... "perhaps tomorrow."
Oh, my! Dust off your slippers, my dear, the dance has begun.
Cool metal gliding on soft curves makes a tantalizing sound, yes?
Imperceptible to the human ear, baffled in layers of silk and
brushed rayon, tiny silver bells bobbed all day.
First up the hall, then back down.
Each step tapping a staccato message on my yesteryear.
Wooing, "remember me... remember me ?"
The sound was for me--- to remind me.
He heard.
All day a quiet smile danced around his bordeaux lips his head popping
from doorways and around corners with a boyish sparkle.
A week passed and time soared before I saw him again.
His dark brown eyes were tinged with a smoldering glint.
Those generous lips teasing smiles from every angle.
'Midst flushed cheeks and flashes of light he spoke softly, for my
ears only , "... you don't wear the bells today?"
I could barely respond... "perhaps tomorrow."
Oh, my! Dust off your slippers, my dear, the dance has begun.
Cowgirl Cookies
A cool crisp day in the forest beckons me to bake--- A Navajo friend gave me this recipe. It is soooo
yummy!!
COWGIRL COOKIES
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
16 Tbsp butter (2 sticks)
Grated zest of one orange
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 1/2 cups oatmeal rolled oats (Quaker Quick or Old Fashioned, do not use instant)
2/3 cup DARK chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup raisins ( dark or golden)
********************************************************
1 Center rack in oven and preheat to 375°F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment or Silpats. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon.
2 Combine granulated sugar with grated orange zest, set aside.
3 Heat ten tablespoons butter in small saucepan, place remaining 6 tablespoons butter in large mixing bowl. When butter is nicely browned and has a nutty aroma, pour over the remaining butter and mix until all butter is completely melted.
4 Add the granulated sugar and orange, brown sugar, vanilla and salt to the butter and whisk until combined. Add the egg and egg yolk. Whisk for thirty seconds and let stand for three minutes, repeat this process twice more until mixture is thick and shiny, this will enhance the flavor and texture of the cookies.
5 Working with the stand mixer, combine the wet and dry ingredients. Mix until fully incorporated. Add in the oatmeal, chocolate chips, raisins and nuts and mix well.
6 Spoon dough in 4 Tbsp balls onto baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-11 minutes, until the edges just turn brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to a rack to cool completely. 16 big cookies or 32 regular cookies--- adjust size of dough and cooking time.
yummy!!
COWGIRL COOKIES
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
16 Tbsp butter (2 sticks)
Grated zest of one orange
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 1/2 cups oatmeal rolled oats (Quaker Quick or Old Fashioned, do not use instant)
2/3 cup DARK chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup raisins ( dark or golden)
********************************************************
1 Center rack in oven and preheat to 375°F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment or Silpats. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon.
2 Combine granulated sugar with grated orange zest, set aside.
3 Heat ten tablespoons butter in small saucepan, place remaining 6 tablespoons butter in large mixing bowl. When butter is nicely browned and has a nutty aroma, pour over the remaining butter and mix until all butter is completely melted.
4 Add the granulated sugar and orange, brown sugar, vanilla and salt to the butter and whisk until combined. Add the egg and egg yolk. Whisk for thirty seconds and let stand for three minutes, repeat this process twice more until mixture is thick and shiny, this will enhance the flavor and texture of the cookies.
5 Working with the stand mixer, combine the wet and dry ingredients. Mix until fully incorporated. Add in the oatmeal, chocolate chips, raisins and nuts and mix well.
6 Spoon dough in 4 Tbsp balls onto baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-11 minutes, until the edges just turn brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to a rack to cool completely. 16 big cookies or 32 regular cookies--- adjust size of dough and cooking time.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Rabid Wolves..........
Trying to change ourselves in order to please others -- so that we can feel temporarily whole for having won their approval -- is like cutting a flower into pieces so that it will fit into a vase.
It is our fear of being alone and in doubt, of wanting to feel certain that what we are doing is right, that compels us to seek the approval of others. So this tells us that the chief cause of why our lives so often wind up in the hands of others is not that they are superior or that the world is too strong for us, but that we don't want to face the uncertainty and aloneness we think we are too weak to bear. This is the real cause of all of our wrong relationships in life. We have been betrayed by a belief in our own weakness.
The conscious refusal to go along with what our weakness wants us to do to escape its uncertainty is what invokes and finally delivers real inner confidence. This new kind of strength gradually becomes the cornerstone of a true individual existence -- the life we've always wanted. The stakes are actually eternal --
but self-victory is as certain as the fact that light always triumphs over darkness.
Use the following insights to help strengthen your understanding of these vital ideas. Think about them; welcome their healing insights as "lights along the way" to true self-liberation.
When you don't know what to do with yourself, someone will always be happy to tell you.
Why seek the approval of someone who doesn't even approve of himself?
Fawning before an angry person is like asking a rabid wolf for its approval.
The more approval you get, the more you have to have.
Keeping any person or circumstance in your life that demands you surrender your right to be a whole and happy human being is wrong for everyone involved.
When you are out standing in a storm, don't blame the weather.
Real strength always follows uncovering one of the roots of weakness.
Don't seek yourself. Dare to be yourself.
Permitting your life to be taken over by another person is like letting the waiter eat your dinner.
No human being has any authority over you. Your life belongs to you and to you alone. No scowling face or irritated manner, no challenging posture or threatening tone, has any power to make you feel nervous or anxious, frightened or angry. Your true nature answers to no one. This is a fact, and anyone who is tired of letting someone else tell them how to feel can use this self-liberating principle to win true and lasting independence.
"We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked, and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for is the greatest poverty of all." - Mother Teresa
It is our fear of being alone and in doubt, of wanting to feel certain that what we are doing is right, that compels us to seek the approval of others. So this tells us that the chief cause of why our lives so often wind up in the hands of others is not that they are superior or that the world is too strong for us, but that we don't want to face the uncertainty and aloneness we think we are too weak to bear. This is the real cause of all of our wrong relationships in life. We have been betrayed by a belief in our own weakness.
The conscious refusal to go along with what our weakness wants us to do to escape its uncertainty is what invokes and finally delivers real inner confidence. This new kind of strength gradually becomes the cornerstone of a true individual existence -- the life we've always wanted. The stakes are actually eternal --
but self-victory is as certain as the fact that light always triumphs over darkness.
Use the following insights to help strengthen your understanding of these vital ideas. Think about them; welcome their healing insights as "lights along the way" to true self-liberation.
When you don't know what to do with yourself, someone will always be happy to tell you.
Why seek the approval of someone who doesn't even approve of himself?
Fawning before an angry person is like asking a rabid wolf for its approval.
The more approval you get, the more you have to have.
Keeping any person or circumstance in your life that demands you surrender your right to be a whole and happy human being is wrong for everyone involved.
When you are out standing in a storm, don't blame the weather.
Real strength always follows uncovering one of the roots of weakness.
Don't seek yourself. Dare to be yourself.
Permitting your life to be taken over by another person is like letting the waiter eat your dinner.
No human being has any authority over you. Your life belongs to you and to you alone. No scowling face or irritated manner, no challenging posture or threatening tone, has any power to make you feel nervous or anxious, frightened or angry. Your true nature answers to no one. This is a fact, and anyone who is tired of letting someone else tell them how to feel can use this self-liberating principle to win true and lasting independence.
"We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked, and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for is the greatest poverty of all." - Mother Teresa
Thursday, August 19, 2010
"Do you want to be healed?"
Genuine spiritual happiness and strength dawns within us once we realize that passing dark clouds are as powerless to dim the sun in the sky, as is morning dew to diminish the color of newly blossomed flowers!!
We have yet to recognize the fact that our thinking about any painful event as something real, solid and unavoidable is one of the conditions that perpetuate it. Take one thing out of the conjunction, and it is no longer the same event. When we stop giving our life energy to any moment which seems overpowering, it loses its illusion of power. In that moment is also lost our prior belief that we have to submit to its punishment. Because of our new understanding, we can see through our suffering instead of through its eyes. And what a world of difference this difference makes!
What we see is that our perception produces what we experience, and our experience is made up of many different small elements that by themselves mean nothing. When our perception combines and organizes these events, and connects itself to them through an expectation or desire, the thing takes on a kind of life. It appears to us as a whole, dark, permanent entity that has the power to hurt us, but it isn't that at all. It's only a conjunction of events that has conditional dependence, and the primary condition that gives it power is our perception. When all these conditions are stirred up and "baked in a cake," that cake has reality to us. But in fact, the cake is made up of individual facts that will simply pass if we let them.
Can you see what good news this is for those of us who wish to free ourselves from false suffering and find the higher life? It means that all those conditions that seemed so real and painful are just the creation of faulty perception. Our belief that the event had the power to hurt us is what made it so punishing and continued its existence, but now we understand that if the events are left to themselves, they must move on. The expression "This too shall pass" is now revealed in all its wisdom. Every temporary conjunction of events must pass as long as we don't keep it going through our own thoughts.
Now that we know negative events are not powerful in themselves, we can turn away from what we perceive as permanent punishment toward what can be called permanent pleasure. This is the same thing as turning toward Truth.
Everything passes. There is great beauty in this, both in the passing of pain and in the passing of pleasure. When things present themselves to you as permanent, don't believe it. Exercise a reasonable doubt. Discover from your own experience that the negative event that seems so overwhelming is not the power it presents itself to be.
When we go beyond the places where we have become numb, we feel life again. When we learn to feel again, we can heal.
Jesus asked the question, "Do you want to be healed?"
John 5:1-18
We have yet to recognize the fact that our thinking about any painful event as something real, solid and unavoidable is one of the conditions that perpetuate it. Take one thing out of the conjunction, and it is no longer the same event. When we stop giving our life energy to any moment which seems overpowering, it loses its illusion of power. In that moment is also lost our prior belief that we have to submit to its punishment. Because of our new understanding, we can see through our suffering instead of through its eyes. And what a world of difference this difference makes!
What we see is that our perception produces what we experience, and our experience is made up of many different small elements that by themselves mean nothing. When our perception combines and organizes these events, and connects itself to them through an expectation or desire, the thing takes on a kind of life. It appears to us as a whole, dark, permanent entity that has the power to hurt us, but it isn't that at all. It's only a conjunction of events that has conditional dependence, and the primary condition that gives it power is our perception. When all these conditions are stirred up and "baked in a cake," that cake has reality to us. But in fact, the cake is made up of individual facts that will simply pass if we let them.
Can you see what good news this is for those of us who wish to free ourselves from false suffering and find the higher life? It means that all those conditions that seemed so real and painful are just the creation of faulty perception. Our belief that the event had the power to hurt us is what made it so punishing and continued its existence, but now we understand that if the events are left to themselves, they must move on. The expression "This too shall pass" is now revealed in all its wisdom. Every temporary conjunction of events must pass as long as we don't keep it going through our own thoughts.
Now that we know negative events are not powerful in themselves, we can turn away from what we perceive as permanent punishment toward what can be called permanent pleasure. This is the same thing as turning toward Truth.
Everything passes. There is great beauty in this, both in the passing of pain and in the passing of pleasure. When things present themselves to you as permanent, don't believe it. Exercise a reasonable doubt. Discover from your own experience that the negative event that seems so overwhelming is not the power it presents itself to be.
When we go beyond the places where we have become numb, we feel life again. When we learn to feel again, we can heal.
Jesus asked the question, "Do you want to be healed?"
John 5:1-18
Thursday, Thursday.....
....or is that Monday, Monday? Does it really matter? There's a chill in the air and the horses are beginning to get fuzzy. I used to think that was because it was getting chilly. Not so. They start putting on winter fuzz when the sun gets closer to the horizon! It signals the season change and so "fuzz" starts growing. Isn't that amazing? Well, I find that amazing but I am easily amazed by those sort of 'natural' phenomena. When the horse was created it was programmed to protect itself during colder temperatures. My herd sheds out when the sun starts to creep up higher on/from the horizon. Wakan, The Creator, thought of everything. Amazing.
Find something that amazes you today.
Find something that amazes you today.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
A thought
Clinging to a handful of anxious, worried thoughts that promise to protect you from what they point to as needing to be feared, is like wrapping your arms around the anchor of a sinking ship because it's all that's left on deck for you to hang on to.
What are we actually talking about when we speak of letting go? After all, no one wants to let go of something that has proven itself to be satisfying! Whatever it is that we wish to let go of must be something from which we wish to be free. This may be unpleasant or troubling relationships, a problem-filled past or fearful future, any form of addiction, recent painful events -- or any of those disturbing thoughts and feelings about these same troubling things that we no longer want in our lives.
The truth is that troubles like these come with being human. We all know how it feels to want to let go. The problem is that wanting to let go, and actually being able to, is still light years apart for most of us. But it need not remain this way. The gulf can be sealed permanently once we understand that all that separates us from our intention to let go are those mistaken ideas we carry around about the nature of what’s actually weighing us down. This is why we need new and higher self-knowledge.
For instance, no thing in itself -- no event, no relationship, no regret-filled thought or feeling -- has any real weight of its own with which to pull us down. The nature of what really weighs on us is something altogether different. This can help to explain a deep mystery: Why is it that regardless of everything we do in our exterior life to rid ourselves of this or that problem, person, or contrary condition, we have yet to genuinely shake ourselves free? The answer begins with this next insight.
The real act of letting go is first an interior action, followed, if needful, by a wiser exterior action. After all, what is it that binds us if not where we are blind to some unconscious need to either maintain or keep forming these painful attachments? To see the truth of these findings is to realize why there can be no substitute for self-illumination. After all, no one frees themselves by laying down with one hand what they unknowingly cling to with the other! This explains why the aim of all true spiritual teachings has always had a dual purpose: 1) to reveal to us that no condition in our life exists apart from the consciousness responsible for its continuing creation, and 2) to bring the light of this higher self-knowledge into the unexamined darkness of our consciousness so that we no longer make the mistake of clinging to anything that compromises our integrity.
What are we actually talking about when we speak of letting go? After all, no one wants to let go of something that has proven itself to be satisfying! Whatever it is that we wish to let go of must be something from which we wish to be free. This may be unpleasant or troubling relationships, a problem-filled past or fearful future, any form of addiction, recent painful events -- or any of those disturbing thoughts and feelings about these same troubling things that we no longer want in our lives.
The truth is that troubles like these come with being human. We all know how it feels to want to let go. The problem is that wanting to let go, and actually being able to, is still light years apart for most of us. But it need not remain this way. The gulf can be sealed permanently once we understand that all that separates us from our intention to let go are those mistaken ideas we carry around about the nature of what’s actually weighing us down. This is why we need new and higher self-knowledge.
For instance, no thing in itself -- no event, no relationship, no regret-filled thought or feeling -- has any real weight of its own with which to pull us down. The nature of what really weighs on us is something altogether different. This can help to explain a deep mystery: Why is it that regardless of everything we do in our exterior life to rid ourselves of this or that problem, person, or contrary condition, we have yet to genuinely shake ourselves free? The answer begins with this next insight.
The real act of letting go is first an interior action, followed, if needful, by a wiser exterior action. After all, what is it that binds us if not where we are blind to some unconscious need to either maintain or keep forming these painful attachments? To see the truth of these findings is to realize why there can be no substitute for self-illumination. After all, no one frees themselves by laying down with one hand what they unknowingly cling to with the other! This explains why the aim of all true spiritual teachings has always had a dual purpose: 1) to reveal to us that no condition in our life exists apart from the consciousness responsible for its continuing creation, and 2) to bring the light of this higher self-knowledge into the unexamined darkness of our consciousness so that we no longer make the mistake of clinging to anything that compromises our integrity.
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