Being in Touch

In a search for God and a search for self, we always end up coming home. Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, when asked by Glenda what she learned on her journey, replied, "I learned that if I ever lose my heart's desire again, I won't go looking past my own back-yard because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with." Dorothy's search for the wizard ended in the discovery that he was only a man behind a curtain, with all the needs and frailties that she, herself, had.

We can make our journeys endless by seeking God or self outside of ourselves in people, places and things, or we can shorten it by turning inward and looking for them where we are most likely to find them. Exactly how we get there is of little importance. Ultimately the path will fade away behind us, anyway. It is the being there that matters; our willingness to know that our search begins and ends in the same place, within us.

We are the man behind and in front of the curtain.

Hatred

Pretending that painful or negative feelings do not exist doesn't keep relationships more intimate.

Rather, we can actually create inner distance when we act as if our intimate relationships are not strong enough to hold any pain, anger or hate.

Powerful feelings can be frightening, but to deny their presence keeps us from the deeper layers of ourselves.

When our intimate relationships are able to hold these powerful, paradoxical feelings of love and hate, anger and forgiveness, then something deep within us allows us to relax and let go.

If we are not able to do this, then perhaps we may need to withdraw from the relationship, so as to once again become ourselves.

In this era of self-understanding and conscious efforts at parenting, we learn we should not come down to our children's level. That is, we should not be as hateful toward them as they are to us. Yet, if we seal ourselves off they are cheated and burdened by the illusion that anger and hatred are personally inappropriate. Therapists are like parents. When the therapist comes down to their level, both grow from it when the generation gap is reestablished. ~ David V. Keith

An Attitude of Healing

It was Viktor E. Frankl who said that the only thing that we have that cannot be taken away from us are our attitudes, the contents of our minds and hearts. 

Today, more than ever, we are called upon to take an attitude that will promote wellness and healing, to choose life.

When I take responsibility for the contents of my mind and heart, I take my place as a person of value to society.

Quantum physics tells me that we are all part of the same particle mass, interconnected, of one stuff or soul.

Who I am from within affects all that is without.

One very practical thing that I can do for my world is to think positively about it.

I can attempt to live a more conscious life.

Each person who transforms within, who enters into this struggle toward a more conscious life brings others with them.

Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you – all of the expectations, all of the beliefs – and becoming who you are. ~ Rachel Naomi Remen

Living in Spirit

When we think we are only a body, we are in denial of our true source of aliveness. When we think we are only a soul, we forget to be human. We are in this body for a purpose, so that we can further actualize and move toward soul. Soul is not about being a goody-goody, or not making mistakes or never hurting - it's about being alive. There is nowhere to hide from life. We can become numb or deny it, but that only leaves us listless and depressed and makes life feel meaningless. Why not go with the flow and embrace our spirit nature.

The question whether soul and body are identical, therefore, is as superfluous as to ask whether wax and the shape imprinted on it are identical, or, in general whether the material of a thing is identical with the thing of which it is the material. "Is" and "one" have various meanings, but in their most legitimate meaning they connote the fully actual character of a thing. ~ Aristotle

Surrender

The internal position of surrender is a recognition that I am not in control of every event or circumstance of my life. It is a chosen sense of powerlessness, it frees me from my illusion of control.

The take-charge person knows how to work with the natural flow of events and personalities in order to accomplish something; letting providence and individual creativity play a role.

The controlling person attempts to manipulate people and situations to conform to his/her idea of what is right. This person shuts down the creative possibilities.

The concept of surrender runs contrary to the Westernmind. We have been taught to aggressively go after what we want, to make things happen. But surrender asks us to allow events to unfold at their own pace, to get out of our own way and to let go of our desire for control. Surrender is an act of trust in the universe, an acknowledgment that there are forces beyond our own will at work. Most people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can only be felt if you don't set any condition. ~ Arthur Rubenstein

Growing Anew

As we become new - we grow young.

As long as we have eyes to see and ears to hear, as long as our senses are alive, we are here.

We have another chance at life.

Learn something new today or take a fresh look at an existing situation.

The same old information represented in a new way fosters cell growth; new connections are made and we learn.

When we do this we actually help ward off the degenerative diseases connected with aging.

Walk into today with a virgin sensibility. Allow youyself to be surprised and amazed.

Recognize you have not passed this way before.

As long as new perceptions continue, your body can respond in new ways.

There is no secret of youth more powerful.

80-year-old: "People don't grow old. When they stop growing, they become old."

New knowledge, new skills, new ways of looking at the world keep mind and body growing, and as long as that happens, the natural tendency to be new at every second is expressed.

My Life

Bring positive structure to my every day.

Visualize, take responsibility, learn, & appreciate.

Remain focused in the now, refrain from alcohol (or any/all negative influences) - realize these cause my soul to fade into the background and lose sight of my special existance.

Take time to appreciate that everything has its’ place and is beautiful.

Make time for quiet through still and calmness, while retaining my spontaneity.

Recognize life has no boundaries, only those created through self limiting beliefs.

Smile more, have gratitude, and embrace the uniqueness in all.

Live, do things, motivate myself and others around me through action.

Take time to meditate, move, appreciate, and share.

Success

I will not make success my goal today or measure my state of happiness by it.

If I am to succeed, it will be a byproduct of following a path that feels relevant and meaningful to me.

I will try to follow my heart and respond to an impulse or a call from within.

When I move in a direction that is natural for me, that draws and speaks to me, I have more of myself to bring to my work.

Success will come to me naturally if I love what I do.

Loving what I do is its own reward and will give me the staying power necessary to do well. It will help provide the motivation necessary to go the extra mile.

Following my heart, my bliss, will put me on a track toward the realization of my soul's passion.

Don't aim at success - the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue... as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a course greater than onerelf. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Involved with Life

Allow yourself to tend to and take pleasure in every detail of your day.

When we take interest in the activities of our day, we experience it differently.

Instead of managing our day, we live it.

Rather than seeing our day as a series of tasks to be accomplished, we are able to go with the flow of activity.

Happiness is not something that happens. It is not the result of good fortune or random chance. It is not something that money can buy or power command. It does not depend on outside events, but, rather, on how we interpret them. Happiness, in fact, is a condition that must be prepared for, cultivated, and defended privately by each person. People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us can come to being happy. Yet we cannot reach happiness by consciously searching for it. "Ask yourself whether you are happy" said J. S. Mill, "and you cease to be so." It is by being fully involved with every detail of our lives, whether good or bad, that we find happiness, not by trying to look for it directly.
~ Mitaly Csikszentmihalyi

Dispassionate Observation

When we gain detachment from our own thinking process, we are able to be separate from our own obsessive and neurotic thinking. We can watch our thoughts in a dispassionate manner. We can be a witness to our own emotional and mental processes. When we cultivate this habit of mind, we are provided with a wonderful opportunity to learn about what makes us tick. Getting lost in every thought we have leads us away from self. There is no greater teacher than that of our own internal witness. When we look at the way in which we think, we can begin to self-define; to separate from who we have been programmed to be and make choices as to who we wish to become.

We dis-identify by observing. Instead of being absorbed by sensations, feelings, desires, thoughts, we observe them objectively without judging them, without interfering with them in any way. We see them as distinct from us, as if we were looking at a landscape. We calmly observe from a detached viewpoint. ~ Piero Ferrucci