tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83101145845826757442024-02-18T18:18:15.474-08:00Peace of the RiverCentral repository for thoughts about peace in the world and individual inner peace. A place to share tools that bring peace, books, discussions, traveling for peace, and anything else our hearts, minds and spirits bring.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.comBlogger182125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-20484953119751792412015-11-09T14:15:00.000-08:002015-11-09T14:15:14.999-08:00YumWho knew that finding a perfectly fine 1/2 sleeve of Girl Scout Thin Mints in the pantry could change the mood of the day?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-44045996287097032632015-11-02T18:46:00.003-08:002015-11-02T18:46:45.825-08:00Seven DollarsCould make all the difference to more than one person you might meet today. Do something with just $7.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-38246387560952739972015-08-24T20:13:00.005-07:002015-08-24T20:13:58.019-07:00Perfect Bite of Life<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">
My sister reminds me that there are things that need to be said and heard, and that it isn't always the right thing to do to 'keep it to yourself'. She doesn't know that's what we talked about, the subject was a bit less esoteric, and yet the message I got was 'write more'.</div>
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All my conversations with others today have had a similar theme, so now I must pay attention. You know, when the message is repeated and comes at you in lots of different ways, either it's something you need to hear and haven't yet or it's something you're listening for and are now ready to take it in. Well, ok.</div>
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For today I want to say this: Take time to reflect on life. Do it often; do it with purpose. Look for that place, that thing, that way that you are that feels good and right. Look for the 'perfect bite', when everything comes together and for a moment life is magical. Usually this is accompanied by a small smile to yourself when you realize what has happened. No one else will really understand, and you will know.</div>
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Keep breathing.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-69588060167086891332015-05-17T07:48:00.001-07:002015-05-17T07:48:22.416-07:00Running down hillLife is sometimes like running down hill. You get going pretty fast, not thinking things through, not considering the speed that might build up and that you might land badly at the bottom. So, you start down. It feels exhilarating. You're smiling. Things are going well. It's fun. You get going faster and faster. Your legs can barely keep up. You land in a heap. Ow. <div>When we're kids, we climb the hill again, having learned about the hill and our legs and our mind that we forgot to use the first time, then go about it differently. This time we lie down and roll, laughing the whole way to the bottom. </div><div>Let's not forget to do as adults that thing that came naturally to us as kids.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-52127412407697421792015-01-20T10:01:00.000-08:002015-01-20T10:01:00.463-08:00Getting ThroughSometimes life just seems like something you have to get through. Daily tasks and responsibilities need to be taken care of, people need your time and attention, you need to travel from here to there. I'd like to talk for a minute about life being lived on purpose. <br />
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Take a good look at how you spend your time. Inventory, even for one afternoon, each activity you do and how long you spend doing it. Seriously, make a list. Thing I do: Time spent doing it:<br />
Then, add a column. My choice Yes/No, and indicate whether doing that thing was your choice or not.<br />
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Do it before you read on....<br />
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When you get done with this exercise, you will have a really good idea whether or not your life is being lived for your own purpose or someone else's. Then, go back and change all the No items to Yes. Each thing you do all day, every day is REALLY YOUR CHOICE. When we really want something different, we make different choices. Each choice you make that takes you toward the thing that you want moves you forward to a life you love living. Getting through life is no longer how you live. Being in life in each moment becomes your new normal because you are now aware.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-18019012306367559792014-11-17T17:48:00.000-08:002014-11-17T17:48:29.001-08:00Language<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">
Friday evening I had the great good fortune to be in a conversation with a friend. This happens a lot for me as it turns out, and I am very grateful for all the amazing people in my life. One thing we talked about has stayed with me for two days now, so I'm going to share it with you. </div>
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We were talking about language, and being aware of the words we use; about how a "What" question can take you forward and kick off imagination and creativity, and how a "Why" question just sort of stops things dead and makes us look into the past. Then we examined the Law of Attraction principle that says [paraphrased here] that the Universe doesn't hear the word 'No'. When we say "I don't want to be poor" with the kind of feeling that might reasonably accompany that statement, the Universe hears the feeling and focuses on the concept of "poor" [because WE are focused on the concept of poor] and, being a generous entity, gives us more of of that. We get what we ask for, and what we ask for comes in the form of our feelings. Our feeling energy puts form to our thoughts and wants desperately to manifest in our reality. So, be careful what you say; be careful what you think. Be aware of your feelings, even when they might scare you. They are very informative. The great ocean of abundance will match your feeling and manifest those things about which you feel most deeply. </div>
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So, my hope for you today is that you can find those things in your life that make you happy, and generate more of that! I am so happy that you are in my life. Stay in touch.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-74453155217317815532014-11-11T11:33:00.001-08:002014-11-11T11:33:33.695-08:00Dad<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">So, it's Veteran's Day. My father's service was during WWII where he served in the motorpool in Texas and Japan after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He didn't talk much about his time. I'm guessing he didn't want to think about it. He moved forward, and there was nothing in my childhood that made me think that he was anything less than whole as he was gentle and kind to us kids. He wa</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">s funny and smart and a work-a-holic... maybe that was how he dealt with his experience. I don't know. He just seemed like a regular, nice guy to me.<br /><br />To this day, I cannot accept the need for a military, or for war. I do appreciate that people put themselves physically, emotionally, mentally and morally at risk every day for a purpose larger than themselves. That is what I am thankful for today... We all want a better world. Thank you Roger, and Dawn, and Susan N. and Mickey and Hoy and the hundreds of other people I know who did your part in service and now do your part every day to make the world a better place, right where you are - wherever that happens to be.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzwfSfpemFs_xpIhQzmGuDLKr26qbVhG1IA9k-XpG_hEDQimOd_go27a073FnJ56eFMwlZ5fCFIi7RIBIvjNwx7xyHSAWTUBa-7rK1fiwBRzWSCKLbPmT9rTlfjvE6ie65DvlZAreBB8bT/s1600/mom+and+dad+50th.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzwfSfpemFs_xpIhQzmGuDLKr26qbVhG1IA9k-XpG_hEDQimOd_go27a073FnJ56eFMwlZ5fCFIi7RIBIvjNwx7xyHSAWTUBa-7rK1fiwBRzWSCKLbPmT9rTlfjvE6ie65DvlZAreBB8bT/s200/mom+and+dad+50th.jpeg" width="156" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wayne Burley - 1914-1996</td></tr>
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</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-52983161444123488932014-09-30T12:25:00.001-07:002014-09-30T12:25:43.187-07:00For The RiverThere is a little book by John O'Donohue called "To Bless the Space Between Us". I opened it this morning as I sometimes do, to see what message I would get. It opened to "In Praise of Water". One of the passages is: "Let us bless the grace of water.....The courage of the river to continue, believe in the slow fall of ground, always falling further, toward the unseen ocean." It goes on; there is more, and I stopped there. <br />
The courage of the river to continue. We can look at or remember the nature of our lives... that it is something that flows from beginning to end without really stopping. Life is a lot like water that springs up and starts it's way down hill... moving around rocks and limbs and high places, seeking the way down, finding the easy route. It takes courage to go where the flow is strongest. That route holds the greatest potential for movement, and sometimes we just get tired and want to stop in the eddy. We want to stop to rest, and the danger there is that we get stuck in the swirl, going round and around without forward movement. Resting maybe, wondering what is beyond certainly.<br />
Get back in the strongest flow, be courageous and welcome the adventure that is your life. 'Believe in the slow fall of ground' ahead of you; take that step, knowing it is leading you toward the 'unseen ocean' that is your life's true meaning.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-17776444335500312002014-09-24T07:32:00.002-07:002014-09-24T07:32:22.188-07:00Stepping Out/Stepping In<div>
Last week at this time we were starting our third day of coach training in LA. :) I like it there. The Torrance Marriott is right next door to the first place I worked when I moved to that area....to be with the woman I loved. It was a real adventure. I grew up in a village of 300 [we didn't really live IN the village, but on the outskirts] where the biggest thing was the summer when the resorters would come up to spend their vacations at the lake. Just across the road from my front yard was a pretty little lake and I grew up swimming and canoeing and sailing in a tiny little dingy. It was heaven. Anyway, at age 38 I found myself moving to LA. The two places couldn't be much different, but I've found that people create their small communities within larger ones, and I didn't have to live in ALL of the greater Los Angeles area. Thank god. I had a wonderful time while I lived there and made some big changes in how I am in the world. It was also a time when I met people who would become life-long friends. Not much is better than that!</div>
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This morning I thought about you, and about how it is easy sometimes to lose track of who we are.... that our circumstances take hold now and then, even when we've learned to pay attention and do what we can to NOT be governed by them. My circumstances in LA were initially not ideal [aside from getting to live with someone I really loved and with whom I connected in a very solid way], and it was probably a 'dumb' thing to do. I took that step into the unknown in order to accomplish something beyond what I had been up until that time. I didn't really know that's what I was doing. I was just drawn by something bigger than myself. By stepping out of my comfortable small box, I was stepping into a life that has continued to expand and bring more joy, opportunity, love and freedom.</div>
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So this morning I want to encourage you to do something a little different today. Stretch into something new, talk with a new person or take a different route home after work. Step out.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-28734135004971485332014-07-30T10:26:00.001-07:002014-07-30T10:26:46.249-07:00Ask For ItThere is more than enough in the world for everyone to have what they want. Every moment of our lives we send messages of abundance or lack, confidence or despondence, joy or terror into the energy pool in which we live. Lack, despondence and terror are dark energies that subdue and inhibit creativity, love and freedom. Abundance, confidence and joy release and increase these feelings in each of us. Whether you are a witness to the dark or a participant, there are things you can do to turn that around. <br />
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Ask for relief, ask for energy, ask for joy! Start with gratitude for what you have right now... no matter how 'little' that might be. To begin with, you have your mind - start with gratitude for the simple fact that you can think and change your mind when you have new information.... that's not a small thing, is it? You are still breathing.... that's not a small thing either. :) You are connected to the power to change your life all the time. Remember that, and ask for what you want, ask for a life you love living. Do it now.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-87998192353361575812014-07-12T15:21:00.001-07:002014-07-12T15:21:43.267-07:00The lost is foundI knew it was there.... somewhere in the house. I hadn't seen it in quite some time, and when I finally found it a flood of memories arrived with the finding. I can finally stop wondering where it is. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-28687685519886367102014-07-08T11:31:00.000-07:002014-07-08T11:33:19.820-07:00Down, but Not Out<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4W0cSJ-7nwWvQWd0YfEjaKuoAz47xyljoiwvcLPf35BU3fpuky45sGAyms0714eiufjsNlQuJX6bxFkAxeZ4IVykD74Ptrvh9boIGj3DQMy1Y7NEaWoAS-CLauaTErUGX1qaFpD6Wmk_/s1600/2014-07-08+10.50.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4W0cSJ-7nwWvQWd0YfEjaKuoAz47xyljoiwvcLPf35BU3fpuky45sGAyms0714eiufjsNlQuJX6bxFkAxeZ4IVykD74Ptrvh9boIGj3DQMy1Y7NEaWoAS-CLauaTErUGX1qaFpD6Wmk_/s1600/2014-07-08+10.50.47.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
In this picture you see a branch of the tree in my back yard in full bloom. About a month ago, during a really high wind, the tree let this branch go. Over the days after, it drooped lower and lower... not enough water to the tree I think. Last week it was completely green, just the like the rest of the tree. This morning I see that it is in full bloom, as if it had not fallen out at all. It is holding on and continuing, as if it is still part of the whole. It has not given up. It continues to be optimistic. The song birds and hummingbirds still love it. I am inspired by the tenacity of nature.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-51235877504379635692014-06-17T18:04:00.000-07:002014-07-06T11:05:45.254-07:00Interruption or Opportunity?Sometimes life presents us with choices.... some of these choices are easy.... the 'right' path is obvious and offers joy and ease; it is perfectly aligned with who we are. Some choices are not so easy and the options must be evaluated against a set of standards that each of us set for ourselves. We will typically pick the option that causes us the least pain, or seems to have a higher value. What if the response to the choice could include aspects of BOTH options? What if the response to the choice is that NEITHER of them are a fit and we can come up with something new/different to do? Wow.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-13066506516285337252014-06-11T08:10:00.001-07:002014-06-11T08:10:06.191-07:00Be Do Have<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">
One way to look at success is to remember these three things, in this order. <span style="line-height: 1.5;">I'll talk about this in the first person, so we all know I'm on this journey too. :)</span></div>
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First I become, in my imagination, the person I want to be. I set my vision as clearly and in as much detail as I can manage. I write down the characteristics of that person [the ideal me] as they relate to relationships, health, work, leisure time and giving back to my community. I write <em>all</em> that down and put it in a place where I see it regularly. Some people make a vision board for this, some use sticky-notes, some write things on their mirrors... use whatever works for you. <strong> I set the intention and imagine myself being that ideal me.</strong> </div>
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Second, I start doing those things that the person I want to be would do, because I've got lots of ideas now that I've put together the vision. I work on improving my relationships; I start bringing bring more of myself to my current job; I pay attention to what I'm eating and to my exercise routine [or lack of it]; I find ways to serve in my community. <strong> I spend more time doing those things that 'my ideal me', would do.</strong> Things that are not in line with my ideal person get squeezed out... there's just no time for them now.</div>
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Third, I allow myself to have the success. I look around my life, my world, and see that I have much of what I want already. I am grateful for that, and I acknowledge all of my successes <em>right now</em>. I acknowledge and celebrate the little things I accomplish every day.... more than the usual kind words to a child or a partner, more focus on doing things that help me create the ideal me. <strong>I see what I have and what I'm creating every day </strong><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><strong>and celebrate every small step.</strong> This builds an awareness and appreciation of all that I have and all that I am in each moment, and makes it easier for the 'future me' to emerge with ease....step by step.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">Success takes time and attention. It takes awareness, focus and intent, action and evaluation. It takes willingness to go beyond what I know now, learn new things, meet new people, and to take some chances. Pick one small thing, if some huge success seems too difficult. Use the three steps<em> today</em> to try it out. Really immerse yourself in making something happen. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">If you don't make the change you want in your life today, when will you?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">I congratulate you for the successes you have today, and for those that are still only dreams.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-7152289747304982122014-05-31T08:22:00.001-07:002014-05-31T08:22:56.083-07:00Life's Little EventsMy mother is now 95. She lives alone and drives now and then. She lives in a very small town and knows where she's going. She still keeps the house clean and has found reliable folks to care for her yard and do big projects around the house. She sometimes uses the internet and has an iPhone on which she takes pictures and writes the occasional text. She's pretty groovy.<div><br><div>Her brother died in World War II trying to save his plane from an enemy attack on the airstrip in the South Pacific. Memorial Day is always a big day for her, as she remembers him as her big brother and best childhood friend. We talked about how letting go is the best memorial... That holding on and dwelling on things that can't be changed end up poisoning your life and holding you back from really living the life that person would want you to live.</div></div><div><br></div><div>So, we move on... Knowing that each life event, whether it feels big or little at the time is just that - a life event. Things happen all the time that change us; make us stronger or weaker, richer or poorer, smarter or not. We put these things into the perspective of a life to be lived as a whole, not just a series of random events. We incorporate each thing into a larger context and see what there is to learn. The events are the threads we weave together sometimes skillfully, sometimes with great effort and sketchy results. Nonetheless, a whole life emerges. Every now and then, on birthdays and Memorial Days or any day, it helps to stop for a minute and look at life as the big whole thing... And be grateful for all of it.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-80707166449504231572014-05-22T07:46:00.000-07:002014-05-23T06:18:08.208-07:00I am Invincible Part 2If you read my last post, you might be asking yourself how it really works... What needs to be done after you've noticed that something isn't right? How do those new thoughts and behaviors get created? Once you've decided, and I mean REALLY DECIDED, to make a change and become the person you know your are meant to be, you start with forgiveness. We have to forgive ourselves for letting others distract and redirect us away from our true nature; we have to forgive them for doing it. Take a deep breath. Take another one. Really forgive yourself, and 'the other guy'. You'll know you've done it when you start to smile and relax.<div><br>
Then, start acting like yourself.... say the things you really want to say, resist saying things you don't really want to say, stop being polite, start saying 'no thank you'. Start saying 'yes' without trying to justify it. If it feels right to say 'yes', that's all you need. When you're saying 'yes' or 'no' from that true place inside you, it is easier to stand firm in your word as the outward expression of who you really are. "Yes" is a complete sentence. So is "No". Period. Practice them.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-89653700213350459092014-05-20T18:56:00.000-07:002014-05-31T07:54:51.685-07:00I am Invincible...as long as I'm alive. Those are the words to a song, and whenever I hear it, it just sounds odd. Well, yes of course, we are all invincible until we die... at least in a material sense. <br>
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But what about emotional or spiritual invincibility? It is possible to become immune to emotional death or spiritual disconnection - to become invincible on that level while we remain alive? Part of our aliveness is our ability to experience events and people at an intimate level. To do that there are a lot of challenges. The first is to see that we may no longer have the depth of feeling for others that we once had, that it is hard to get excited about anything and that now and then we 'just don't feel like it', we don't feel that we belong or have a part to play in life. To be honest about how easily our hearts and spirits may have been damaged takes a close, hard look and a lot of courage.<br>
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It takes courage to look at your own life and say "This isn't really me. This isn't who I am or what I want to do. I am more than this." These are hard statements to make and hard conditions to change. Our first inclination might be to minimize or altogether deny that there might be a problem. But we must turn on the light of awareness. When we can see what's going on can we create new thoughts and behave in a way that leads to the invincibility of our minds and spirits.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-12387810525556324172014-05-08T08:40:00.000-07:002014-05-08T08:40:45.044-07:00Love you like a dogSome things I want to say about that... <div>
1. My dog always treats me the same, no matter what mood I'm in.</div>
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2. My dog doesn't comment on how I look naked. </div>
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3. He can eat the same food twice a day for YEARS and not complain... in fact, he's always excited about it and acts like food is the greatest gift ever.... maybe it is. He always comes to find me after he eats to get a little pat on the head.</div>
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4. My dog doesn't speak an unkind word, criticize, complain or whine about how clean the house is, how many dishes are left in the sink, or how much clutter is on all the 'flat surfaces' around the house.</div>
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5. He likes to rest near me, yet out of my way.</div>
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6. He conducts his life on his own schedule and lets me know when I can help him.</div>
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7. I try to make his life easy and let him know I love him.... he seems fine with that.</div>
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We should all have someone, dog or human, who can be this way in our lives.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-78247903787841793022014-05-02T11:01:00.001-07:002014-05-02T11:01:03.433-07:00Fear - that's still here?Yes, well, of course. Fear lurks around us all the time, and this is what I know: it is my job to see it. It is my job to name it. It is my job to honor it as a message from my life that I have a chance to grow. I am grateful for my fear, as it lets me know that I am at the edge of my life 'up until now'. There is something greater than my current circumstances that is calling me forward. The unknown can become known, the unexperienced can be experienced. A limited life can become unlimited when we decide to say Yes, Of Course. "Navigate into the storm, do it afraid." I know that I am not alone; I know that my limitless life is beyond that storm, waiting patiently for me to arrive.<div>Albert Einstein said; "Match the frequency of the reality that you want, and it must be yours. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy, this is physics." I want an expansive life, a possibility life, a life of abundant health, wealth and service. I will match THAT frequency.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-23137559641894616792014-04-29T08:32:00.000-07:002014-04-29T08:32:47.602-07:00What Love IsI know what love is. It's big. Anytime loves looks small to you, it's not really love. Anytime something holds you back, or constrains you in any way, it's not love. Anyone who tells you they love you and attempts to keep you from fully expressing who you are does not love you. When you feel full, expansive, free, generous, happy.... then look for love. I'm not convinced we can really feel another person's love in the way they want to give it... I only know that we can feel our own. Often it is unexpressibly immense.... at which point we as pitiful humans lose all our words. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-33254099304625350252014-04-27T07:09:00.001-07:002014-04-27T07:09:22.780-07:00Being smallMy mother is the master of taking up less space in the world than she deserves. Growing up, I watched this powerful woman put herself down, defer to the men in her life and generally deny her own greatness. I could tell she wanted to be bigger, to be more in charge of her own life, but she never spoke that out loud. She has yet to show the joy that comes with claiming her space in the world. She seems resigned to being the quietly suffering victim, denying the forgiveness for herself and others that would set her free. I am very glad that she is my mother and very healthy.; it makes me sad that she is not happier. She has inspired my work.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-11659671265938694302014-04-22T12:31:00.000-07:002014-04-22T12:31:14.899-07:00Life's Little ChallengesSometimes life just shows up as a big surprise. Out of nowhere, something occurs or a new person appears that just sort of makes you stop in your tracks. You get a chance to take a deep breath, look at what's going on and say to yourself "Wow, what do I do now?" This may feel uncomfortable, because you may be asked to move into some new territory, it may feel like 'this again?', it may feel like you just want to run away. OK; take that good deep breath and sit still for a minute. Open your mind and your heart to the possibility built into the challenge. Create your own resonse, make up something new, do that thing differently, decide to treat that new person like you've never treated another person. It's your life, make it what YOU want. It's OK to experiment. Make it yours, make it good.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-3262673176657567232014-04-17T08:40:00.000-07:002014-04-17T08:40:03.047-07:00Vision and VacuumIt occured to me the other day that if nature abhors a vacuum, and the vision that I've built so far isn't big enough to create space/vacuum between what I am now and my vision, then nature can't help me.... there is no place for the new vision stuff to land. I've got to go BIG. Bigger than I have imagined so far. The result is that I have been able to get very specific about my next car. I'm not in need of one today, and when I do get one, I now know what it will be. My ideas so far have just not been exciting enough. This one is. The vision has got to be bigger.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-45823223461566184552014-04-13T07:21:00.000-07:002014-04-13T07:21:36.436-07:00Thursday's BananaIt's Sunday. There is a banana that I picked up on Thursday. It was the perfect combination of ripe and not yet too ripe. The perfect color and texture, the perfect weight, hardness/softness, size. I didn't eat it when it was perfect. I waited until Friday.... there were a few spots, I didn't pick it up at all, I was busy. On Saturday the peal appeared with more dark spots and lines along edges... the stem looked a bit thinner. I didn't pick it up. I thought to myself "it's past the point I want to eat it. I'll put it in a smoothey." I didn't do that. It's Sunday, the banana is where I left it on Thursday, looking a bit worse for the wear. I'm almost afraid to touch it and mostly want to throw it away. For some people, this banana NOW is perfect.... the perfect color, size, ripeness, texture. Not for me. I should have eaten it Thursday, now all I have is regret.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310114584582675744.post-69122644396067411522014-04-10T00:34:00.002-07:002014-04-10T00:34:46.338-07:00Every morning<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Each morning I get 4 regular e mails. Two of them come from my coach trainer, one is an inspirational video, the other is more of a thought provoking idea, or affirmation. The third is usually a beautiful picture of a person or place, with a challenge to really think about what I'm doing in my life. The fourth is sometimes a short story about the weather, or pets or breakfast. My favorite is the fourth. It comes from a person who I know loves me just as I am. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00678791611948754795noreply@blogger.com0