Blog Archives
God’s Paint Brush
As I am sitting on our back porch, watching the sun go down, the promised Peace That Passath All Understanding fills me to the brim and beyond.
The quiet breeze ruffles the wind chimes as the beautiful gold color in the clouds becomes more prominent, moment by moment, spreading near and far. The magnificence unfolding is beyond a human’s paint brush because of the beauty it reveals.
I am reminded of the beautiful colors in birds and fish, all serving a purpose in nature.
As the colors begin to fade, I hear someone playing a flute.
Yet I carry the wonderful memory of these moments, captured in my heart.
I am grateful to have seen it, to cherish these feelings of peace and joy in an uptight world, rushing by, unseeing and unaware of the magic that is now mine.
So few stop their furious pace even for a moment to see the beauty that surrounds them: God’s messengers of Peace and Joy if one just stops long enough to behold the wonders and beauty of this world.
What do you choose, moment by moment?
God’s blessings on your journey.
Thanksgiving and Christmas – New Year
First, let me take this opportunity to give you warmest wishes for the happiest of Thanksgivings and Christmases, as well as a Happy New Year. God bless you and yours with the highest good for each person. Whatever has happened in your world since this time last year, you have to go on believing that this season and next year can be filled with that highest good, with forgiveness where it is so needed of self and others, and with the joy of living each day the very best you can, doing one thing at a time. May your stresses evaporate and peace replace the space in your being that all the stresses sucked out of you.
That being said, attitudes about Thanksgiving (especially gratitude) and Christmas (joy of Life and givingness in all ways, big and small, to ones you care about deeply, whether it is time, effort or helpfulness in all its many forms) actually begin inside of you…the Heart. If you look inside of you instead of outside at all the commercialism, you will find peace in lieu of stress, joy instead of the rush to find the perfect gift–which you may or may not afford–for someone else, the gift of time spent with loved ones and really active listening to what they have to say to you in lieu of forming a response in your own mind–be it defensive, un-asked-for advice, or anything else.
These Holidays will pass so swiftly that you will wonder where the time goes. It is up to you if you incur stresses beyond your imagination or glide with a smile through your days, enjoying this time of year as it was meant to be.
Our rule is as follows for gatherings:
- “A dry crust of bread eaten in peace and quiet is better than a feast eaten where everyone argues. Better is a dry morsel with joy, than a house full of victims with strife. Better is a dry morsel and quietness therewith, than a house full of feasting with strife. Better a bite of dry bread [eaten] in peace than a family feast filled with strife.”
Having said all this, know that your choices will create your reality at this time of year as well as the rest of the year. Choose wisely what is best for you as well as others for these days will pass and soon you will face the challenges of life that the New Year brings.
God bless you and yours during this time of year. Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Seeds of Thought
Seeds of thoughts are powerful things…for out of them one makes choices, which is the Power of God in Motion in our lives! Thinking generates emotions, which is the driver of our reality.
These seeds we plant in the soul of our lives. From them come the plants that feed and nurture our souls. From them comes the strength to meet our daily vicissitudes with calmness, knowing God is helping us every moment of our day, no matter the situation.
One of God’s names is Emmanuel, which means God With Us. That means we are not alone…except for the idea that we can shut that God off because we don’t turn within and listen. God has not left us. We simply turn our attention to other things, like loneliness and feeling separated from others. Instead of taking His Hand as our Companion, we let go of that Hand and walk according to our own understanding of our reality. How does this happen? One thought at a time.
My personal motto which I live by:
I will plant my seeds for today the very best I can because they are the fruits and blossoms of my tomorrows yet to be.
The reason the present is so vital is because this moment is all we have to live in…our PRESENT.
God bless you on your journey.
Livingness
How many times have you stopped whatever it is you were doing, thinking, or saying because you had a flashback to your past, be it either good, bad, or somewhere in between? I can honestly state that about half of my life, conservatively, has been spent with my mind elsewhere instead of in the present moment. However, are you aware that it is like a thief in the night, robbing you down to the depths of your soul? We ruminate about what could have been, what should not have happened, etc., almost always from a negative viewpoint. Because that moment, that memory is gone…even if it was just a second ago or perhaps years long gone. The emotions generated from this can hurt as much or more than they did at that time. The only difference is that you are no longer in the present moment, reacting to your current reality. Would it occur that it is a true waste of time and energy? Worse yet, it is bringing it forward into your present so you experience it over and over again in the current timeframe!
One can read about mindfulness (a/k/a this moment which is passing right now…being aware of the place I am in, what I can see, how I feel, looking for beauty , awe, and wonderment at this second in time) but it never arrives for so many people who are over-stressed, tired, and so aware of the many items that consume their waking time…and sometimes even their sleep. Outside influences command our every moment like a runaway train until we fall into bed at night.
Livingness can indeed be recaptured one breath at a time. Stop movement. Use your senses to see, hear, and taste your reality. Take just seconds to look for something special in your surroundings.
By breath, I do not mean that stressed out, upper chest breath. I am talking about the belly breath that expands outwards and comes inwards, pressing towards your back, slowly. It does indeed create miracles!
Are you in need of a miracle to change your life? It is your choice. Look for a class in yoga or any of the ideas that are out there to assist you in living a more creative reality, happier, handling stress better, able to respond more appropriately to anything that comes up in your daily occurrences. It is there for the asking. Are you willing?
God’s blessings on your journey! Have a great 4th of July!
Relationships’ Harmony Traces
Many people have already read “The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts” by Gary Chapman. They are:
- Acts of Service
- Words of Affirmation
- Physical Touch
- Quality Time
- Gift Giving
This book is so very worth the time to read as it has good, practical methods for filling each other’s love tanks and bringing peace to the home.
However, to this I would add another idea: Harmony Traces
When horses are pulling a load, their strengths and weaknesses are balanced by hooking them together using Harmony Traces. This can be seen in the “Ten Commandments” with Charlton Heston as he rearranged the sheik’s horses so each one could pull with its particular strength, making the pulling more powerful and equal.
Relationships are the same. If two people are in Harmony Traces, whatever the goal, both can pull their share till success is achieved because pulling together multiplies exponentially the pulling power and shortens the route to completion. The opposite then is also true, when little of the quality of Harmony Traces is utilized, it takes a lot longer, produces more friction, and perhaps prohibiting reaching any goal at all. It can be quite the conflagration in that case, perhaps ruining the good feelings one has and eliminating any future possibilities.
No matter the goal, both need to agree on how to achieve it. It includes everything from money goals, cleaning a house, who takes out the trash, or anything from a small task to a major one. Communication is key here, with no “magic thinking” where the other just “knows what to do.” Writing things down actually helps because it solidifies the goals. If one is aware that dirty dishes or refrigerator is just abhorrent to the mate, just honor that by quickly cleaning up the problem as an act of love. Discuss the use of money but do not argue. Discuss planned spending and personal values. Leave nothing to chance. If one demands money to spend while the other is striving to save, anger and resentment will arise and show its ugly face.
Reciprocity is vital! Relationships should be a two-way street. One horse cannot do the work of two. Each has the responsibility to share the load/duties.
Listening to others has become a lost art. Usually, when one person is talking, the other is forming a response–that is not Active Listening. Make an effort to hear what the other is saying, and do not let your own emotions get in your way. One suggestion is to paraphrase what you just heard so that the other knows you actually heard what was said. If yelling starts, it is because that person thinks one has to accelerate in order to be heard. Acknowledging the anger and what you heard can decelerate the situation to talking level again, like pricking a balloon with a pin. Anger cannot be maintained.
Many couples have problems because they treat their friends better than their loved one. They are more respectful to a friend while being disrespectful to a loved one. That makes no sense. “Please!” “and “Thank you!” are always frequently applied in a good relationship. It’s like “a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down!” as in “Mary Poppins.”
In short, using the 5 Love Languages’ techniques and intentionally (with forethought) using Harmony Traces, the love tanks of both can be readily filled. This enables Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” to be met more easily and self-actualization for both parties of a relationship can be accomplished.
Lastly: LAUGH TOGETHER OFTEN! OPEN YOURSELF TO SEE THE BEAUTY OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS!
God’s blessings on your journey.
Hub of the Wheel = Peace
Imagine a large wheel like on a Conestoga wagon or a bicycle. It is round with spokes of metal or wood going to the center hub. All the motion takes place on the circumference or outer edges of the wheel while the hub center is still.
Now think of all the activities you do each day. Think of how busy you are from the time you get up until you go to bed. These are on the circumference. Some days you feel like you have been run over or left behind.
The world today is filled to the brim with doubts and fears of so many things. How can you maintain your center in this crazy world?
The answer lies in what you are focusing your attention on and what emotions and thoughts you are reacting to. Sound simple? Actually, it is. Strangely enough, it is demonstrated on a column in the Temple at Karnak in Egypt. There is a figure shown there who is moving its head from one cheek to another. Jesus said to “turn the other cheek.” Somehow, this lesson has been abused so badly that it interprets to a “It’s OK to hit me again!” mindset. What it literally means is: Change Your Focus!
So how do you manage to perform this task when every minute something more is added to your “To Do List” for the day? It begins and ends with your thoughts and emotions.
Do you long for PEACE and Stillness of Heart and Mind? It is yours immediately when you move from being on the circumference of the wheel to its center! Take deep breaths! Close your eyes! When your monkey (busy) mind draws your attention to things on the circumference, take another moment to brush that thought away without resistance or dwelling on it. Begin to imagine a place with great beauty and quiet. It could be a majestic memory, a mountain cabin, or a peaceful beach. Mine is a wondrous garden filled with scents from the fabulous flowers. I am sitting on a bench, quietly absorbing my surroundings. All else is dimmed like a person in a balloon who can hear sounds from far away till that, too, fades away. This excursion of your mind can take but a few moments, but it will move you from chaos to peace.
When you open your eyes, your perspective is changed. You have found your center and become a spectator of the things on your circumference in lieu of being a participant in the craziness. With that, you can choose to act calmly instead of reacting to outside stimuli. As you continue to breathe deeply, you can then take whatever actions you deem appropriate to those activities on your circumference, but your heart and mind are at PEACE!
Can you imagine a greater gift that you can give yourself? I think not. Peace is yours whenever you stop for a moment and move from the circumference to the hub.
Choose wisely for the choice is yours alone.
God’s blessings on your journey.
upliftingthoughts4u 