Thought

"I was a free thinker before I knew how to think." George Bernard Shaw

Everyone is influenced by someone, and so am I. To not be influenced is to remain ignorant.Today I do not hinder my thinking, particularly around spiritual matters, because of pride. I may not like change. I may find it hard to accept attitudes and opinions that differ from my own. I know pride keeps me deaf and often stupid. However, the daily program of a lived spirituality encourages a variety of opinions and attitudes. I can learn from different customs, lifestyles, and religions. I can be helped in my understanding of life by the stranger. I know I do not have all the answers.Today I am prepared to listen.

Sustainer of all religions and philosophies, help me discover You in any differences.

Be Ever On The Alert, Ready For Anything To Happen At Any Time (EC)

Never speculate but be ever on the alert and ready for anything to happen at any time. You are living in strange and wonderful times when things can happen very suddenly and without any warning, therefore do not be caught unawares. I have told you many times there are no "off times" in this life. You a must be on the alert day and night, every day of the week. Every day is a holy day, no day is different from another. Live a life of constant prayer, which means being in communion with Me all the time; that is praying without ceasing.

On this day of your life

I believe God wants you to know ...

... that there are choirs singing in your head. If you listen,
you will hear the music. It is the song of angels.

Pay no attention to the sounds of the world. They are

just noises, and even when added up all together they

have no value, make no sense. Strain to hear the song

of angels. Listen to the melody within your soul.

This message is a metaphor.

 

You know exactly

what it is trying to tell you.

Doing for Others (OM)

by Madisyn Taylor In doing service for others, we often find answers to our own questions and solutions to our own problems. When we feel bad, often our first instinct is to isolate ourselves and focus on what's upsetting us. Sometimes we really do need some downtime, but many times the best way to get out of the blues quickly is to turn our attention to other people. In being of service to others, paradoxically, we often find answers to our own questions and solutions to our own problems. We also end up feeling more connected to the people around us, as well as empowered by the experience of helping someone. When we reach out to people we can help, we confirm that we are not alone in our own need for support and inspiration, and we also remind ourselves that we are powerful and capable in certain ways. Even as our own problems or moods get the better of us sometimes, there is always someone else who can use our particular gifts and energy to help them out. They, in turn, remind us that we are not the only people in the world with difficulties or issues. We all struggle with the problems of life, and we all feel overwhelmed from time to time, but we can almost always find solace in service. In the most ideal situation, the person we are helping sheds light on our own dilemma, sometimes with a direct piece of advice, and sometimes without saying anything at all. Sometimes just the act of getting our minds out of the obsessive mode of trying to figure out what to do about our own life does the trick. Many great inventors and artists have found that the inspiration they need to get to the next level in their work comes not when they're working but when they're walking around the block or doing dishes. We do ourselves and everyone else a great service when we take a break from our sorrows and extend ourselves to someone in need.

5 Ways to Stop being a “Human Doing” & Reconnect with our Wild, Beautiful Essential Selves.

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ECOSYSTEM

I’ve got to stop making my to-do list my higher power.

This realization has crept up on me over the past few years. This season of my life is full to overflowing. Mostly in good ways—I’m raising my two amazing kids, I’m reaching new levels in my relationship with my husband, and my work fulfills me. But between juggling these priorities—not to mention my relationships with other family and friends—the significant amount of self-care I require in order to maintain a reasonable baseline of mental health, and the other mundane and various responsibilities of adulting, all my resources are sucked up.

In trying to keep up with it all, I’ve become spiritually unfit and drunk on my to-do list. I’ve put work before my kids’ pleas for attention. I’ve lost time with family and friends because I felt like taking a few hours off of work would sink me deeper into overwhelm. I’ve become boring and bored, assessing my worth by how many items I check off in a given day.

This seems to be the territory of middle age, at least for those of us who struggle with organization, setting limits, or just the expansive nature of being in one of the busiest stages of life—but it’s not working.

Here are five ways to break the cycle of being a “human doing” and return to our essential selves.

1. Meditate. I know, everyone and their uncles are preaching the benefits of meditating. But there’s good reason for it. Meditation—which can be defined as simply noticing our own thought patterns—creates a buffer between our thinking brain and our spirit.

Sure, sometimes when I sit down to meditate, my mind flitters from worry to worry. But other times, I drop right into my own essential goodness. This allows me to remember the part of me that remains unchanged—the steady, good-hearted self that is enough simply by virtue of existing here in this moment. It is the animal self, the essence, that part that isn’t distracted by the minutiae of modern life. It’s the person I was the day I took my first breath, and it’ll be who I am when I take my last.

2. Stop multitasking. This is a scary one. If time is our most irreplaceable resource—the one that can never be outsourced, but that steadily drips by—then shouldn’t I listen to parenting podcasts while I’m walking outside? Shouldn’t I make all my personal phone calls while I’m (shudder) folding laundry?

The answer is—not always. I’m not planning on going cold turkey on the multitasking habit, but sometimes it just creates more noise in my already buzzing head. Sometimes I need to stop consuming information—even if it’s listening to a podcast about spirituality or something that might help me level up as a human. To connect with ourselves, we sometimes need the space of letting our minds wander, or even allowing ourselves to get bored.

3. Get outside. Yesterday, I took my daughter to the beach. I’d been irritable, PMS-ing, and, as I often am, overwhelmed. By the time we returned home, I was regulated again. Partly my mood shifted from the rare treat of one-on-one time with my delightful daughter, who giddily told me, upon darting off to stomp her feet in the frigid ocean, “My mind tells me yes, but my feet say no.” But besides the good company and spending time outdoors, being in proximity to the white noise of waves reminds us of how life exists beyond the busywork of our tasks.

4. Treat yourself like you’d treat your favorite pet. In our “worship of busy” culture, it’s easy to lose sight of how much we expect of ourselves—and of how much we’ve come to believe we have to keep up with in order to feel worthy. One way to combat this problem is to think about our favorite petsfor a moment. We generally don’t expect our pets—or for that matter, our best friends—to be industrious. Rather, we value their presence, their love, and their ability to connect with us. Like our pets—like our best friends and our children—we earn our worthiness from simply being. From enduring the hard work of life. From practicing kindness, offering compassionate attention, and simple presence.

5. Think about what matters in the end. At the end of my life, I won’t be wishing I’d spent more time sweeping the floors or publishing more articles. I imagine I’ll be pondering questions like these: was I generous enough with my love and attention? Did I focus too much on the flaws of my loved ones instead of their positive traits?

I will likely wonder why I was so brutally hard on myself so often—why I was less forgiving of my own good heart. Did I appreciate the brisk gift of aliveness, of health, of being in a human body? Did I love and learn? Did I make life into a spreadsheet or checklist, or did I greet it with a wild, open, curious heart?

~

AUTHOR: LYNN SHATTUCK

IMAGE: UNSPLASH/JAKOB OWENS

Learning to Accept Nothing Less—in Life & Love.

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“She used to believe that love
should feel like
a storm,
passionate,
raw and raging

But so many storms
have come
and left her
more broken than before

Now she looks for a love
that feels like
a night
after the storm
is over.”

~ Cynthia Go, “The calm after the storm”

~

I want friendship.

Quick comebacks and laughter, because we share the same sense of humor; inside jokes and winks across crowded rooms; dancing and being playful; not caring about the opinions of others.

I want simplicity.

Heading to the creek with some bait and a six-pack instead of a fancy dinner date; being comfortable in our silence; not feeling the need to make idle conversation, knowing we can just relax.

I want vulnerability.

Discussing our lives and our pasts without fear of judgement; accepting each other’s insecurities; comforting each other if or when the tears fall.

I want freedom.

A wine night with the girls or weekend trips with the guys, without guilt, because we want each other to have a life outside of what we share and we understand we each have our own journey.

I want honesty.

Being truthful and respecting each other for it. Lies lead to pain and no one needs more of that.

I want challenge.

Supportively calling each other out when it’s needed. We are both human and understand that honesty has no gray area. We’re here to help each other grow.

I want security.

Finding comfort in the fact that we choose to share this—not out of duty, not because of a title, but because we recognize the connection and all it has to offer.

~

I have lived through many relationships that were the opposite of these things, and it only led to pain. I accepted what wasn’t meant for me, and clung to it because I had no self-worth and wasn’t honest with myself.

We often hold onto pain, change ourselves, or mute our desires out of fear of rejection or not wanting to show weakness. This type if thinking leads us off our path, closes us off from our own hearts, and deters us from the love we deserve.

Not long ago, a dear friend did me the greatest favor, probably without realizing the impact it would have. He, gently but honestly, called me out on my own bullsh*t. This simple act—just three little words, “No, you’re not.”—changed my life. What followed was a deep introspection that allowed me to examine how I handle pain and stress, helped me be completely honest with myself, and led me to free myself of old pain that has weighed my life down for decades.

It’s a work in progress. Digging up the old stuff to look it in the face and then letting it go takes time and, some days, more fortitude than seems possible. A large part of this process is recognizing how we have contributed to what’s happened or what we’ve missed in our lives. We don’t change overnight, but for me, the more immediate change was finally learning what I want in terms of love and even friendships.

I hope each of you find someone with the bravery to call you on your sh*t, to say whatever it is that snaps you awake and sets you back on your own path.

Learn what you want, know what you deserve, and accept nothing less. And until then—do the dirty work, dig deep, and be unapologetically honest with yourself.

Because if you can’t accept yourself, no one else can either.

~

AUTHOR: EMI KNIGHT

IMAGE: JD MASON/UNSPLASH

The Quote

Death by firearms in the United States is 11.8 per 100,000 citizens—the same as the death rate by automobiles—which we do commonsense regulate to everyone's satisfaction and safety.

United States firearm deaths: 11.8 per 100,000.

Australia: 1.04 per 100K.

UK: 0.23 per 100k.

South Korea: 0.08.

Japan: 0.06.

More guns doesn't equal more public safety.

We have only to look at how we're doing, vs. how other countries are doing. Let's drop the rancor, and find a middle ground where we don't compromise responsible gun owners' rights but ensure the public safety. Get active. Don't stop caring. And, vote.

World

"All wars are civil wars, because all persons are brothers and sisters. . . . Each one owes infinitely more to the human race than to the particular country in which one was born." Francois Fenelon

The disease of addiction kept me separate, isolated, and alone. I was so busy seeing how I was different from other people that I missed the similarities. I missed the oneness of creation by always placing myself above it, below it, or outside it; and I was the loser. Even my religion kept me separate. By being Christian, I was not a Jew, Muslim or Hindu. As such, I failed to see the similarities of these major philosophies. I also failed to recognize what all religious people have in common: the inclusiveness of Love, Truth and Forgiveness. God is found in the difference and sameness of all people.

Dear God, I am discovering that differences, when understood, become similarities.

On this day of your life

I believe God wants you to know ...

... that your agenda for this day has been set in

your soul. The only question now is

whether you will listen to that.

Do you know why you are alive? To give voice and

action and physicality to God. To become the

grandest version of the greatest vision ever you held

about Who You Are.

Everything else is beside the point.

It will involve you, of course. It will grab you and hold

you and make you think it is important today, but it

will all be very much beside the point.

Stay on course. Stay on course.

Trust is always there for you (AB)

Trust came to mind to share about, so I trusted that.

It may seem easier to trust at certain times or in certain situations or with certain people. 

What about trust when life throws you a curve ball, when you feel doubtful/confused/betrayed/fearful/when something or someone doesn’t feel trustworthy…?

And with self-trust... ever notice times or areas your self-trust wavers, why, and how that shows up?

Firstly, don’t seek trust to 'fix', bypass, numb, coat over or avoid your feelings. Allow yourself to feel whatever's there to be felt for processing. Honour your feelings and your humanness, be honest and intimate with yourself, accept yourself just as you are, and take responsibility for your being and life.

Trust is an opening and generating energy.

You can always trust... something.

You can trust love.
You can trust the All Loving Infinitely Intelligent Universe/God-Goddess/Loving Presence.
You can trust your heart.
You can trust whomever and whatever you wish or feel drawn to trust.
You can trust the resources of your mind, heart and spirit (trust being one).
You can trust that you are loved, guided and supported every step of your journey.
You can trust in a bigger picture, whether you have any idea of what that is or not.
You can trust your loveability.
You can trust the everlasting beyond the veils of illusion.
You can trust in who and where you are right now.
You can trust your intuition.
You can trust that it's OK to make a mistake.
You can trust trust itself.
You can trust that the universe trusts you.

You can lean into trust and get a sense of it. How do you feel when you trust? Experience and get in touch with the energy of trust and allow it to support you.

What can help with trust?
Acceptance, love, responsibility, surrender, flow, as a few examples.

Acceptance and love include embracing all of yourself, without judgement.

Wherever you’re at, lovingly accept that.

What can stand in the way of trust?
Fear, control, victimhood, doubt, perfectionism, blame, as examples.

By trusting I’m not talking about naivety, trusting where it feels inappropriate to trust, or 'pretending' to trust what you do not trust or do not believe is trustworthy.

Listen to your feelings with trust. You can also explore any beliefs, patterns and stories around trust.

Get in touch with the energy of trust and what trust feels like to you, see where and how you wish to apply it, and allow trust to support you.

You can trust in a loving universe that is ever on your side. You can relinquish control and allow yourself to be carried along a river of trust and flow.

Trust in yourself, your love, and the love the universe has for you.
Trust in your heart, your hunches, and what feels true.

Much love,

Aine Belton

Everything Is in Divine Order (OM)

by Madisyn Taylor It is during the most difficult times that we need to trust and find solace that, in fact, things are in divine order. We can only see so much from where we sit in our particular bodies, in the midst of our particular lives, rooted as we are in the continuum of space and time. The divine, on the other hand, is not limited to the constructs of either space or time, and its wisdom and workings often elude us as we try to make sense of what is happening in our lives. This is why things are not always what they seem to be and even the best-laid plans are sometimes overturned. Even when we feel we have been guided by our intuition every step of the way, we may find ourselves facing unexpected loss and disappointment. At times like these, we can find some solace in trusting that no matter how bad or just plain inexplicable things look from our perspective, they are, in fact, in divine order. Even as we take our places in this earthly realm, a part of us remains completely free of the confines we face here. Regardless of what is happening in our lives, this part of us remains infused with joy and gratitude, connected to the unbroken source from which we come. Our small self, on the other hand, who is caught up in our false identity as a being limited in space and time, regards happiness as the result of things going the way it wants them to go. It is this part of us that suffers the greatest confusion and upset when the logic of events does not compute. And it is to this self that we must extend unconditional love, forgiveness, and compassion. In order to do this, we tap into our inner divinity, holding the space of a tender authority, extending love and light to our ego as a mother extends her love to a troubled child. There are many ways to access our inner divinity--meditation, prayer, chanting, channeling, and conscious breathing, to name a few. It is helpful to develop a regular practice that provides us access to this all-powerful, healing presence, as it can be difficult to reach once we are in a stressful position, if we have not already established a connection. The more connected we are with this part of ourselves, the more we share its unlimited vision and the secure, knowing that all the things of our life, no matter how they appear, are in a state of divine and perfect order.