“Allow the Light of My healing Presence to shine in to the deepest recesses of your being – cleansing, healing, refreshing, and renewing you.” Sarah Young, Jesus Calling; pp 80

It’s all in the Presence. In His Presence is fullness of Life.

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:19

I’ve been reading Sarah Young’s devotion for about a year now, which has led me down paths that I have not been in my 30+ years as a believer. Just from recalling from memory, there are three overriding themes through the year in her devotion:

• Trust
• Pursuing and maintaining His Presence
• Stillness before Christ

Maintaining Christ’s Presence  has been the thing that has had the most impact in my life. I have become aware of the tremendous difference in each part of my life when I pursue the Presence of Christ.

Being a Christian for so long, I have had many times where I would “somewhat” connect with Christ at church on the weekend, then go about my week without thinking twice or letting Christ into my normal life.

My thoughts about this has completely turned around the last year. Christ may have made an impact to me in church, but that is not where true impact occurred .. it happened in the quiet times of my life. The times when I stopped and just sat in Christ’s presence. The impact there was deep and it can’t help but overflow into other parts of my life. I believe there is much to say about the changes that can happen in a believer that pursues being still, or being quiet  before Christ – daily.

We see parents do this with their teenage children all the time. They mistakenly believe they can control who their children date, what they wear to school, what their religious beliefs are, keep them safe from danger, and a host of other variables that aren’t controllable. When parents try to control choices that their teenage children have every right to make for themselves, they simply drive the behavior underground. They hide who they are dating, they put different clothes in their backpacks and change when they get to school, and so on. Some parents catch on, others don’t.

Then there are adult children who believe they can control what their parents do. Perhaps one of the parents have transitioned and the surviving parent feels ready to start dating. Some of their adult children react very negatively, believing that whomever their surviving parent decides to date is “replacing” the parent who has transitioned. They become angry with their surviving parent for “betraying” the transitioned parent. Some become so angry with the whole situation that they stop talking to their parent – by which time the parent is probably glad for the silence. The adult child acts as if they would be perfectly content to see their parent lonely and miserable if it meant that they could eternally avoid grieving the loss of the other parent. When we aren’t in the middle of one of these situations, we can see that it makes no sense at all.

Variations on this theme play out every day. One partner doesn’t like some inconsequential choice that their partner has made and decides to “punish” them for it. Another person gets nervous because their partner is “getting too independent.” Did they want a partner or a puppy? People get upset about the morality of their co-workers and the things they do when off the clock, they gossip about what so-and-so at church might be doing, and they pay an inordinate amount of attention (which really means paying any attention at all) to the lives of celebrities. When something doesn’t conform to their expectations, they get angry.

Why?

We are terrified of not being in control of our world, which doesn’t change the truth that we aren’t in control of our world. We can spend all the time we would like trying to get everybody and everything to conform to our expectations, and even if it was possible to succeed we wouldn’t be in control. The reason is that it simply isn’t possible to control your world. You would be much better served to devote time and energy learning to cope with the realities of your world.

Every time we try to maneuver another person into complying with our expectations we diminish their humanity. Our children become our slaves, our spouses become our puppets, and people outside our home become the enemy. Those close to us start to feel a distance from us because, even if only on a subconscious level, they know that we fear the fullness of who they really are. If we sense that distance, we become more fearful and attempt to increase our control, perpetuating a very destructive downward spiral.

Happiness lies in allowing everyone, including ourselves, to achieve their full potential. As frightening as it can be, fullness of life demands that everyone be allowed to grow in the fullest person they can. The reward for the discomfort of uncertainty is a life of adventure lived in love – a much better outcome than dull, lifeless predictability could ever be!

It is encouraging to note the growing interest in Marian Price even if it has been slow to materialise. She was recently transferred to Hydebank prison hospital due to concerns over her health. Eight months of solitary incarceration has led to deterioration in her mental and physical condition, so much so, that her family and friends were becoming increasingly worried for her well-being. It is a question of conjecture whether this move will benefit her or not.

What we can be certain of is that Marian will continue to suffer whilst she remains imprisoned. The burden of her predicament weighs heavily on the shoulders every minute of every day. The separation from her family is particularly painful for a woman of her age: As we grow older time becomes more precious. This whole experience has deprived her of so much in terms of her fundamental entitlements as a human being. Freedom empowers us to enjoy the fullness of life which is why the loss of liberty is so debilitating. Only those who have spent time in prison can fully grasp the enormity of this.

Marian Price has had her freedom removed by the unjust decision of a British government minister without so much as an explanation. Her right to due process has been set aside on a spurious pretext. A crucial document that could secure her release has been lost or destroyed according to Owen Patterson. Where else would you get it? So where does this leave her? At the mercy of a government that views her as a present threat to the state because of her political beliefs. And herein is the real reason for revoking her license.

Never mind the bullshitting of the politicians, Marian Price is a political hostage, plain and simple. She is an example of those who dissent from British rule can expect for their sins. The cost of being a principled, articulate republican has always been high and, in the case of Marian Price, she has paid well over the odds. Left alone the British government will continue to hold Marian for as long as is possible. Without real political pressure being brought to bear Owen Patterson will not be in any hurry to release her.

What is required here is a vociferous public campaign and lobbying strategy to win this woman’s freedom. We did it for Brendan Lillis last year in respect of his licence, let us do the same for Marian now. We have it in our power to get this proud Irishwoman out of jail and back to her family.

Show your support for Marian Price. Join the campaign for her immediate release. Stand against this injustice and help bring her home!

Alex McCrory

WITH MANY THANKS TO : INDEPENDENT REPUBLICIAN NEWS.

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If you find yourself in moments of frustration or irritation, this may be a sign for you to check around you.

Describe how you have spent your recent days

•  Who have you spoken to?
• Are your thoughts heavy? Are you carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders?
• Are you worried about the future? about the past? Have you momentarily lost your connection with the present?
• How many hours have you sat in front of the TV? the computer? What did you feel?
• What did you do to express yourself? How did you feel?
• What were you thinking that made you feel sad? irritated? frustrated?

Once you get a report on what has taken place in the last day or two, you will begin to see the balance or lack of balance that only you have control over.  Take a breath.  If you have been out of balance, try one of the following.

• Play catch with your dog.
• Play Words with Friends
• Send your family a homemade gift even though it is not the holidays, a birthday, anniversary, etc. Send a gift for no reason at all! You’ll feel better.  It’s like magic!
• Take a walk and if you have a dog take your dog along. See how many flowers you can name. Bring your camera along and take pictures to share with your family and friends when you get back.
• Go to the park.
• Find a few friends and play Settlers of Cattan.
• Take a shovel and dig in the garden.
• Rearrange your closet and get rid of the things you can’t wear anymore.
• Watch a funny movie.

Most of all, if you have been a little down lately, chances are you have not been that good to yourself. Once you give yourself a break and balance out, your natural inclination will turn back to well-being and happiness.

Peace.

*Available at Amazon.com now:  Aunt Barbara’s Powerful Little Book of Comfort

Number one:  Plan your day as if it has already taken place.

This exercise might seem a bit strange at first, but it packs a powerful punch. Instead of getting up in the morning and hoping things will turn out, imagine the actions of the day as already having taken place, as if you are watching a movie.  Imagine you are finished with the day.  Imagine how you feel because of the day’s events.

You can rise in the morning with enthusiasm, or you may dread the day.  The first thing you can do is be thankful for your bed, for the body you are in, for your surroundings and for the people in your life.  The best days start with appreciation for what you have.  The second thing you can do is to plan for your day.  See yourself talking to your co-workers in a happy environment of sharing.  See yourself completing your tasks at work with ease and enjoyment.  Imagine all sorts of good surprises for yourself. And, top it off with the thought, that all of your dreams have already come true!  Imagine you are getting ready for bed tonight and enjoying the memories of the actualization of your dreams.

As I said, this may seem a bit strange at first. But don’t give up!  It will bring about happier situations throughout your day as you perfect your skills.  You are beginning to achieve the skill of objectivity.  You are beginning to see yourself and your situations in a new light and gain power over your daily life and situations.  You are in touch with your core of happiness.

Number two:  Be your greatest fan

Have you ever heard yourself singing or read something you wrote long ago and been surprised that it was you singing or writing? Have you ever come across a project from work that gave you an amazing feeling that it was you who accomplished that project?  If so, you have a rare opportunity to be your greatest fan.

Self-love is the beginning task for all of us.  To the extent you love and admire your true self you will be able to love others … and not a speck more.   Take time today to find out more about yourself and see if you can be proud to know yourself the same way you would be proud to say you know a rockstar or politician or actress or boss or anyone you admire in your life.  Are you proud to know you?  Are you proud to be you?  That is powerful stuff.

Many people are taught to love their neighbor as themselves.  They may work hard on charity events only to find themselves unhappy and in conflict with those they work with.  They wonder how it is that they can be so charitable and so irritated at the same time.  Of course, you know the answer.  You cannot give what you do not have.  Love yourself and loving others becomes a natural response.

Perhaps today you will take time to express yourself in art, writing, singing, playing an instrument or creating an audio book.  Tomorrow, enjoy what you have created.  Don’t worry if you have not received any feedback from anyone regarding how great you are.  Take time to enjoy and admire who the person is behind the creation …. you!  Allow yourself to admire yourself and you will experience happiness and peace because you will be coming in contact with all that we consider important.

Peace!

I heard recently that I create my own unhappiness. That if I am unhappy, then it is my fault because it is my mind, and only my mind that is creating that unhappiness. I am supposed just to turn it off, or otherwise unhappiness is what I really want, and I therefore I shouldn’t expect any sympathy from anyone else.

There is some truth in this. I can indeed only be hurt by someone else’s words, or be unhappy by situations, if I allow those things into my mind. In short I can only be hurt if I give the thing hurting me the power to do so. But this ignores so much.

First, we are social creatures. Indeed, a large part of our success as a species is not down to opposing thumbs, a big brain, or bipedal motion. No, our success has come because we work together. A group of hunters can bring down game far too big for one person alone. In a group you can take risks, if one person is injured it isn’t certain death. They can be fed and protected by the rest of the group until they recover, and so on. To sum up, we are hard wired to work as a group and therefore are hard wired to know that social acceptance and the opinions of others does matter.

Second, the original argument about happiness is based firmly on the assumption that happiness is the ultimate good. That unhappiness is wrong; ‘evil’ even. The same would seem to be true of pain or suffering. But is this true? Is happiness what we should strive for. Is pain always to be avoided?

Without unhappiness how can we ever recognise or even appreciate happiness?  Happiness needs unhappiness to give it definition. Furthermore, pain and suffering have made me who I am, have made me more than I could ever have been otherwise.

With my martial arts, bruises and pain are not necessarily bad. These things are often a necessary part of learning my art, and are often good things. For example, two guys from my club recently graded. Both passed their grading and were proud of the many bruises gained. These bruises and the pain made them feel good, they felt a sense of worth, they knew they had earned their grading pass.

Happiness and sadness, pain and pleasure, all make up life. To only want happiness, to only want pleasure, is to give up on life: Is to refuse to experience the fullness of life, simply because life isn’t always safe or nice. Well get real! Life isn’t always nice. I don’t want just one part of life; I want life, and life in all its fullness.  I fight tooth and nail, no holds barred, for life; for my life and for others to have a chance at life too.  I am fighting for life,  fighting for my life.

This will mean that I am unhappy at times, I will be in pain, but I will also be ALIVE.

Life means taking a few hits. So, I don’t want happiness or pleasure, at least not as my goal in life. I want to act rightly, do justly and walk humbly with my god. I want a contentment with whatever life brings; to revel in the privilege of life while I can. And after that I hope for an even greater serving of life. But even if I’m wrong, if there is nothing after this life, then I have all the more reason to live my life to the full, to seek to be fully alive, right up to the moment that I’m not!

Yet many days we are caught up in the rough waters of sorrow, fear, defense, and concerns that can lead only to unhappiness. It occurred to me yesterday that a stumbling block to experiencing my happiness is trying to create a projection to others that I think might please them.

At the moment I realize I am who I am, flaws and all, I stop projecting the person I consider passable for other’s approval, and I am immediately returned to my happy state.

The question is this: Is it possible for me to get along with you by just being myself?  You bet it is!  In fact, I am worthless to you if I am not myself.  So, here I am in my natural, free state of happiness. There is nothing so satisfying as being myself.  So what if my house is a little untidy.  So what?!!  So what if my pants have a wrinkle.  So what if my hair doesn’t match the hollywood stars I see.  So what if I don’t fit into the latest fad group.  So what if I occasionally have a grammatical error in my blog.  So what!

The only way I will fit into this world is if I let myself be me with all the wonderful flaws and creative, free, child-like expressions of joy.

I pass this piece of wisdom on to you today.  Be best friends with yourself.  Stop creating a nagging mother and an unhappy child from within.  When you see a flaw, love the flaw and go on.  It is part of you this day and it is part of your life today.  If you really don’t like a wrinkle, iron your pants, but do it for yourself, not for who you think will be impressed. If you don’t like the way your hair looks, then go and get it cut.  But get it cut for yourself, not for the way you think others will like it.  If you cut it for others to notice, you’ll be disappointed in their reaction every time.  The only person who can please you and compliment you and make you feel important is yourself.  

Give up trying to fit in and LIVE your life with joy.  You and I are marvelous creations.  Enjoy today with your best friend who will always be with you … you!

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Dancing in the spirit….oh the music can you hear it.

I dance

beneath the full moon

in February 2012

To the observer

I am simply taking

out the garbage

But to spirit,

I am taking out

all the garbage.

….all the sorrows,

all the fears,

all the guilt,

all the shame,

of all the years.

I am dumping it

finally….

now

On the way back

from the garbage bin

I gaze into the night sky

sparkling with the love

and fullness of life.

No more “toxic waste dump me.”.

I am happy joyous and free.

Oh , how I dance. 

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This audio/video book sample calms me down even though I produced it. As I listen I experience the peace that is within all of us.  I hope you will share it with your friends and neighbors, especially those who are a little down at the moment.

The audio sample reading is taken from “Aunt Barbara’s Powerful Little Book of Comfort.  I hope it will soothe the pain many may feel on this day.  Hopefully it will guide anyone who has lost their sense of happiness back to peace.  It is a 20-minute reading hosted on YouTube.com.

For those who need assistance, CLICK HERE.

Last evening a magazine salesman came to the door. A silent alarm was triggered within me: someone is ringing the door after dark.  I was filled with immediate suspicion. Everything I write about took backseat to fear. I heard my husband laughing and speaking to the gentleman at the door and I found myself going upstairs to get to a phone in case this salesman was not legitimate. I felt compelled to save the day!

After the salesman left, I felt ashamed of myself for not helping out my fellow man and I didn’t feel good. Even more, I felt I should remain loyal to this shame because of my reactions. I felt it would be dishonest to now turn all positive and happily get on with the moment.  My husband mentioned once or twice to let it go but I felt this strong urge to assess my reactions to a simple ring at the door.  …and I began to notice that I was defending my reactions to my husband who was now focused on a basketball game.

I didn’t realize it in the moment.  Now I do.  I was choosing thoughts that were making me feel bad.

This is one grand opportunity.  I am able to observe from a distance share about thoughts that can take hold and, left unguarded, multiplied rapidly.  Feed Me!  the thoughts pleaded.  Feed Me!  I have important fears that need protection!  I have important guilt you need to pay attention to!

And, then I stopped.  Took pause.  And I realized I did not feel good.  And I remembered that I was wearing fear.  I gently turned away from the fear and the self-guilt and all thoughts that did not make me happy.  Immediately, I experienced the familiar happiness and peace that has become more and more obvious to me.  I am living proof that living in the moment allows me to succeed.

Thank you for letting me share my thoughts with you.

1. Wake up with the enthusiasm of a child. A child wakes up with surprise, readiness and willingness to explore whatever is around. It can be a toy, a first experience with snow, a shadow, the sun or anything else that presents itself. Before you go to sleep, make the intention to wake up with childlike acceptance of all around you. Be aware the moment you find yourself conscious. Listen. Look around the room and enjoy the delights of your furniture, the light coming into the window, the feeling of your bedding and anything else that catches your attention. Take a moment to feel your toes, your legs, your arms, your hands and your amazing ability to use your eyes!
2. Be grateful for everything you encounter. Forget judging situations as good or bad. Enjoy the rainy weather with as much enthusiasm as sunny days. Enjoy the days you are tired as much as the days you have great spurts of energy. Enjoy the opportunity to be on earth to explore all kinds of experiences. Nothing is good or bad. Everything is. The more you appreciate each moment, the more capacity you will have for happiness.
3. Forget what you should do and just do. Let go of obligatory relationships. Take on relationships that feel free. Love another and actively demonstrate your love to another because the opportunity is in front of you. Let go of thoughts that tell you to demonstrate your love out of duty. Let go of thoughts when you think that performing such actions will make you a better human being. You already are perfect. Act from the core of love and you will always feel good.
4. Remember you come from the same source as everyone else. There is no one better than you. You are not better than anyone else. You are of the same substance as everything and everyone. How you wish to express your being-ness makes you unique and gives you the enjoyment of being on earth. Try not to benchmark yourself with anyone else. It may be difficult to do at first, but with practice you will experience such joy that you will forget the introspection in exchange for the good feelings of satisfaction.
5. Recognize that love isn’t only for the flower-children. Be truly brave and find your sense of well-being. Sometimes it doesn’t seem to be a very popular stance to choose to love over defending one’s position. Most times we get caught up in fighting for some intellectual thought cloaked as morality and all but lose our connection with our true nature. We think we must stand fast if we are to save this nation or ourselves. We fight and stand up for so many ideals that allude us and wonder why we don’t feel well. Choose love and every time you will be saved from feeling bad.

1. The United States has a great, 3-way, check-and-balance system.  It works when each appreciate and respect the purpose of the other.
2. Children who bully and lie about their classmates in the same manner that we witness nightly between candidates are disciplined. Yet our children are watching these demonstrations nightly on TV.
3. Those of us who are smart enough to refrain from watching only commercial-free TV and no news during this year of presidential election will be safe from political pollutants.  Thoughts and words that cover our natural ability for happiness are recognized and carefully discarded.
4. Our Declaration of Independence assures us the right to pursue happiness. How are we to achieve a government in pursuit of happiness when we are caught up in gossip.  It was interesting to see that candidates put a moratorium on negative campaigning during the Christmas season. Is the message here saying that negative campaigning is a necessary evil; at whose expense?  Should not our government prohibit unhappy, disrespectful, and angry political campaigns and potential leaders?
5. When we tolerate the irritation of nightly commercials that all but yell at us about the evils and weaknesses of the other, we, ourselves, are worn down.  We ask ourselves: Are these our intended leaders?  How will we be inspired by them once they are elected?  How will they create an environment that will allow us to pursue happiness?
6. People actually take on one ugly side or the other, and retell the angry stories they have heard on talk-shows, news, or advertisements.  Emails and blogs are written to persuade others to see how the “other” candidate is a creep and their candidate is the only one who can make things better.

Even writing about politics makes me leave my happy zone and enter the craziness.  So, I’m going to breathe and remember a few things.

1. Respect is an attitude that always gives me happiness.  Respect begins with respecting myself.
2. Anytime I hear angry and bullying lies, I must breath and speak freely that there is no love or happiness within negative intentions and only negative outcomes can come from negative words. When I refuse to feed the fire, the fire dies.  When I refuse to give energy to arguments, the arguments die.
3. TV is not the only recreation in this world.  No matter what we may think, we are not more intelligent because we watch the news.  It is possible to watch commercial-free TV via a computer. There is a way to tape programs so that you can bypass all commercials and as long as commercials contain negative, hard-sell and degrading emotions, the advertising market will “feel” the impact.
4. We do have a right to be who we are: happy, loving beings.  We are!  We do not need to be afraid of anything or anyone!  We have all we need!  We do not need to beware of any government or government official.  They are of the same substance as us.  There is nothing to war about, my friends.
5. Effective leaders are mirrors of our best self, our true self.  Effective leaders radiate our happy, loving us.
6. I was first taught the art of debating in fifth grade.  It was taught as a method to help students grow intellectually.  Respect for your opponent was key.  It was understood that all sides would have valid points.  Debates were a way for students to flush out all the facets of a particular subject for the good of the class.  The class would then have a better understanding of the subject and decide their course of action based on the fine presentation of the debators.  It was considered ineffectual and lazy debating for students to rely on disparaging remarks about the other side.  The debater who won was the one who was most clever about producing a clear statement and roadmap for its achievement.  It held humor that was humorous never remarks that were hurtful to the other.  Well, that is my memory of a long-passed art.

I have a favorite cup that has my painting called, Community by Another Angle.  I am happy to hold it and so happy to be living this Saturday with my husband and my dog.  I have happy thoughts of my son and his family visiting the beach.  I am going to clean up our house a bit and I am going to write more on my next book.  I am close to who I am.  That is the challenge of life.  As I keep saying, “All You Need Is Love.”

{fear – worry – tears – anxiety – sleepless nights}

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-

You see, If this would be a few years ago, I would worry myself sick and cry myself to sleep….but no – not anymore.

{surrender – hope – faith – trust – peace}

It is in surrendering to Him, that I found a deeper and stronger faith – which gives me hope and inner peace. Trusting fully in His will took away all my worries and fears.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” Luke 12: 22-26

I might have nothing but I have Him. A loving, caring, faithful, understanding God….

A closer and deeper relationship with Him.

“Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Ephesians 3:17-19

{trusting heart – deeper faith – peace of mind}

What about you, what good have come out of you having nothing? Out of your trials?

Will you love Him still if you end up with nothing or just because you have everything?

Nothing but Him….

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

All good things,
Charina

Last night, I was asked a question: “how much time of the day do you feel happy?” I answered: “All the time except moments when there are disagreements.” Then, I asked back and I received the answer: “I was upset about things I had not done right in the past. Even though I should let go of the past, but they keep bothering me most of the time.” I was worried. So I said: “You never know what would happened if you had not done it the other way. It could be better or worse. And if you had chosen the other way, you might wish you had done it the way you already did.”

I believe there’s no such thing as absolutely right or wrong. It is all in our mind. We believe we’ve done things wrong because we imagined and assumed the best result we want to achieve. We think we’ve done things right based on the results we wanted to avoid and to not happen on us.

To let go of the things we regret and the things we think we could have done it better, I do the following practices.

Offer ourselves acceptance. Accept we cannot make everything “perfect”. By saying perfect, I mean the “perfectionism” defined by ourselves. Each person has his/her own take on perfect towards different things and there’s no ultimate perfectionism. We want to keep away from struggling with our own minds.

Offer ourselves thankfulness. Our life doesn’t have to be right and perfect to be grateful. Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough. As we live in gratitude, we live in abundance.

Offer ourselves compassion and love. Once we accept who we are and be grateful of what we can do, no matter the results we were given, we deserve to be loved and cared by ourselves.

I said in my wishes for you in 2012: “May you take from the past years whatever has worked out for you. May you leave in the past anything that has not worked out for you and will not work for you. ” I guess it’s easier saying than practicing. But there’s no easier way than really practicing in our daily life. I encourage we take the initiation to practice and notice the courage and power it brings. I believe if we practice so more often, we will own our darkness instead of running away and we get to choose to live the brighter life we want, powerfully.

I am reading a book “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brené Brown. It has been very uplifting to me. I want to share with you this video speech by her. She first talked about the dark emotions that keep us from achieving a fuller life and then the cultivation we can apply to our life. I encourage you take some time and listen to what she said, it will impact your life in many ways.

Interaction with the banquet’s chef is most helpful.  For a satisfactory meal you need to choose your courses.  If you neglect to order (choose) exactly what you want, you will receive what you previously ordered. This chef is not aware of what makes you feel good or bad. The chef will serve up platters that contain old, poisonous food, food that leaves you with suffering and indigestion if this is what you have eaten in the past. The buffet must go on. The more you eat similar dishes, the more frequently these are served up to you.  The imaginary conveyor belt drops off the same old food over and over with a few new platters left somewhere in the periphery

The new platters with fresh servings are overlooked, however, as the familiar poisonous servings fill your appetite.  Sometimes you remember you can eat anything you wish, but it seems almost impossible for new dishes be eaten ….  the chef has grown accustomed to serving up the old dishes, and, you keep forgetting that there is any other kind of meal.  You continue to suffer with indigestion and sometimes wish for new dishes yet you willingly eat the same old dish when it is served up.

In this imaginary game, we would need to stop the conveyor belt and become conscious of all the awesome possibilities before we eat another thing.  Only then could we choose a new dish that was healthy for us, the one that makes us feel good after we eat it.

Your thought process is a banquet of ideas that can lead to possibilities and to creation.  A banquet of thoughts are served up continuously.   You have the power to order whatever you like. With your thoughts you can accomplish anything and everything you wish. The thought-chef does not care what you choose.  But remember the banquet story: if you don’t choose, you’ll be dished up with the same old negative thoughts that you’ve listened to all your life.

Take a moment today to identify all the familiar thoughts that create obstacles to enjoying life.  If you wish to locate your happiness try to order a positive, fresh thought or two upon rising each morning.  You’ll find a richer, happier day awaiting you.  One positive thought of gratitude will bring a serving of another, and another.  Fill your banquet table with thoughts of happy anticipation, appreciation and presence of nature; learn a new language; exercise or dance! Don’t worry when you notice your thoughts have been argumentative, painful, and downright poisonous in the past.  As soon as you order a different meal, and consistently order meals of positive thoughts of gratitude, happy planning, wishing and doing, the negative thoughts will be a thing of the past.  Stay with it and you will find your life is healthy, wealthy and happy!

No Matter What You Just Did You can Turn Everything Around!

It’s is true that you never have to stay in an unhappy state.  No matter what just transpired.  No matter how sad you are about the loss of a loved one.  No matter how angry you are about an auto accident.  No matter what mistake you just made. No matter what, you can change things right now!

Choose anything to be grateful for.  Anything at all.  Your dog.  Your cat.  Your home.  Your breakfast.  Your coffee.  Anything.  Think about how grateful you are for your eyelids!  Rubbish, you say?!!

Then think about how grateful you are for the little garden you have outside and think about how good it will feel to put your hands into the dirt and play like a kid.  Don’t stop until you regain your joy.  And, whatever you do, don’t go back to the thoughts that put you in the unhappy state. Your thoughts can create more like-situations.

When you think about what you are not grateful for, you are welcoming all those events into your life once again. Let go of those thoughts right now by replacing them with much lighter, happier and pleasing thoughts.  You see, happiness is really all up to you!

Once we understand and accept this concept everything changes. No longer can we blame life, others, lack of attention as a child, bad breaks or poor health on our situation.  We create our situation by continuing to project dissatisfaction, discrimination and anger to all that is in our world.

We go from one enemy to another.  We blame the government.  We blame corporations.  We blame our bosses.  We blame our neighbors.  We get the impression that it is intelligent to know who our enemies are and be able to discuss this at work and at parties.  We are caught in a quagmire of negative thoughts, thoughts of defense, thoughts of uneasiness.  And anyone who does not agree with us is naive and must be lacking in intelligence.

Hopefully, somewhere in our lives, we will come to understand that there is no enemy except the enemy we have imagined and therefore created.  The only real person who is a threat to my life is me.  The only person who can ultimately save my life is me.  No one else can do it.

Most of us don’t create many singular enemies so we imagine that we are happy, civilized people leading the best lives we know how to.  Most of us adhere to group ideas of enemies. We are sold an idea of who the enemy is and we become fearful and grateful that we have been notified so that we can protect ourselves.

If you watch the nightly news you will become educated to the enemies you should be aware of.  Since the beginning of our birth, newspapers, radio and television programs have identified our enemies for us.  I am reminded of seeing an ad on a bus when I was in high school with the picture of Kruschev shaking his finger at me and the words on top of his picture said, “We shall bury you!”  That was enough to make me fearful. Years later I began to think about that ad and I wondered who placed it.  Surely Kruschev did not have the time or desire to place an ad on a bus in Oakland, California, all the way from Russia. From a high school girl’s point-of-view, this man was mighty powerful and could reach right into our homes.   Who really was trying to scare people like me?   I began to see how we “sell” ideas of enemy.

When I come to believe there can be no enemy unless the enemy is me, I am able to make the first sustainable peace agreement in my world.  I am able to make peace on earth! With daily practice, I channel the energy used to defend myself against myself into a much more pleasant and productive reality. Peace is possible.  I’ve seen peace and, oh yes, peace is me.

Have you used this key?  Can you share the results?

You can find more about Daniel Waples here, and my chosen song of the week is his MMXI.

First seeing the above video through another blog, I’ve listened to more of his music since, and loved that on his website header it says…

… a different way to look at things eh?

God of laughter, song and dance, in your goodness we experience the fullness of the joys of life.  May we worship you with gladness and live lives marked by smiles and laughter.  And even when trouble comes knocking, may we rest in your hands, knowing that, like a shepherd, you will gather us in that we might again experience joy.  In Jesus name we pray, AMEN. 

Close with the Lord’s Prayer, speaking it slowly and deliberately.