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From Bud to Bloom
God created us to flourish. We are each born with seeds of our highest good inside of us. These seeds, once planted in good soil and nourished, proceed by expanding beyond its shell, growing upwards towards the light, becoming a stem, then buds which proceed to blossom.
Are you tending to your inner garden so your seeds will expand into your reality? Quietness of spirit, enjoying the sounds of birds twittering, watching the natural world around you as it changes daily, and developing an awareness of your possibilities to change and become a reality in your experiences daily…all of these happen as you nourish your spirit.
How do you do that? By getting off the merry-go-round of life. Sounds easy, yes? Actually, it is…but we are so used to the busyness of our life that we never stand still.
Psalm 46:10 says: “Be still and know…”
Can you do that?
That commandment is a key to unfoldment of inner peace and a sense of tranquillity that guides you through everything if you just begin to understand it. It is said that just thinking about something new is the beginning of change.
Meditation and reading on subjects that nourish your inner garden is a wonderful beginning. Use your time wisely. Notice the many ways God brings your attention to the beauty and wonder innate in your surroundings wherever you are. Feed your soul. Every child knows this. Watch their curiosity bounding forth as they explore their world, using all their senses to see, touch, feel, taste, etc. Each one has a passion to really live. You, too, can do that.
Imagine you are living in a box of your own making. You have put a lot of effort into it, including and excluding items with every choice you make. But your box does not have a lid, so peer over the top to see what is out there that the walls of your box has excluded.
Life is meant to be lived…not on a merry-go-round of your own making. Tend to your inner garden faithfully and watch the blooms come forth! Imagine it! Wow!
Bloom where you are planted!
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.
Your Life Is Your Mirror
Your life reflects your words, thoughts, and emotions/feelings. What are you dwelling on, thinking about, speaking, feeling?
“How can this be?” you may ask yourself. “Surely this is a joke!” Sad to say, it is not.
So look around you. Stop for a moment and concentrate on your life as it exists at this moment. What do you see? How do you feel? Is it beautiful or ugly? Are you peaceful or being torn apart by your inner lions? Anger, fear, hatred, and all separating emotions fall into this category. How do you tame them? Do you even want to? Are you so certain that your reactions to outside stimuli command these lions to come forth (so you cannot help or stop them)? Is it worth the price you pay? Are you so righteous that it justifies them?
When you close your eyes at night, what do you see, think about, and remember? Savoring that moment when you discovered something so beautiful that it made you stop in your tracks? Beautiful flowers, sunsets, some kindness that was given to you, a hug, a smile, a kiss perhaps? Life can be magical even in these trying times where so many are suffering from unimaginable tragedies. The question becomes:
What are you dwelling on? Is it one of life’s injustices common in these days? Or would you rather think, speak, and feel about ARK: Acts of Random Kindness that you did for others which were returned to you?
The lions inside of every one of us really do become the kings of our inner beings, dictating our life, reactions, and thoughts toward whatever is wrong with our own personal world. The good things disappear in the mist of our mind. When one looks around and finds hopelessness, fatigue, and sadness, you can rest assured that the restless lions are at work in your particular world.
In order to tame those lions, many suggest that deep breathing in the middle of the daily battle (if battle it be) and meditating on uplifting thoughts can give you moments of the peace you seek.
Bad things happen to all of us on this third rock from the sun. No matter how good or how bad a person we are, what we sow, we reap. In some cases, a few plant bad seeds of discontent, etc. There is enough of a mirage surrounding these few that they seem believable in the extreme, and like the pied piper calling the lemmings to the sea, they are followed willingly, much to our sadness and regret.
But you can decide if you want the lions inside of you to reign supreme or seek a new way to think, speak, and feel. That mirror will bring the wonder of life magically back to your eyes and heart. Are you willing to use that mirror to seek the changes you need so you can experience peacefulness once more? It is, after all, up to you.
God’s blessings on your journey!
Emotions Play a Vital Part in Prayer
Before words come thoughts. These evolve and involve emotions. Thoughts are the engine, and emotions are the gasoline that drives it. So, emotions do, indeed, play a vital part in prayers.
Prayers are more than supplications to a higher Being. They are building blocks towards a better life for ourselves and others. They form the light that guides us on our way each and every day. It is that light and awareness that we share with others who touch our lives, possibly for a moment and maybe a lifetime. It forms the basis of who we really are…before we open our mouths to communicate.
If this premise is true (and I believe and know that it is), it should commend the idea of examining our thoughts and emotions before, during, and after we pray. What is it that you are feeling and thinking right now? These will generate joy instead of sadness, peace of mind vs. experiencing harried, hectic, and unhappy situations.
It is all up to you. Do you choose to throw gas on a fire which is already consuming you or pour water over it, calming reactions and your spirit?
It is within your power every day to choose which ones that will help or hurt you. Words, thoughts, and emotions bring so much power into your life, for good or ill.
It is up to you. Are you willing to look at that idea?
God’s blessing upon your journey.
Merry Christmas!
Long ago and far away, the reason for the season was born. He was a humble man, born in a stable. Life for him was simple. His message was clear, free from complications, and full of love for mankind.
But as we look at the Christmas Season today, it is filled with so many things to do that we drop into bed exhausted by the day’s activities and expectations. Have you ever stopped to think about why?
It should be time filled with good memories, moments of love and good will shared with others we care about. However, it is often a time of great stress, both personally and financially. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why that happens? It is a time filled with overdone to-do lists, stressed out, short breathing, and exhaustion. Does that sound merry? Nope.
When was the last time you took time for yourself to stop and enjoy the fleeting moments of your life? How are you breathing? Is it short and from the chest? Or is it relaxed and coming from the stomach, filling your lungs with life-giving oxygen?
Yes, it is a time for celebrating other people in your life. Does it come from expensive gifts you cannot afford? Or is it gifts from the heart, no matter how small? Is it baked goods, cooked with a happy heart, sharing of your energies and time? Do you stop to actually listen to others? Sometimes, that is the greatest gift of all. People in our world are crying out to know they exist. Is it a smile or a shoulder to cry on?
Life can be so much simpler if you let it be that. Look hard at your to-do lists. Examine them carefully. Is each item coming from a heart brimming with joy or expectations? Hope for a better world, no matter how small an action?
Your attitude of gratitude is necessary from beginning to end. Do you spend even five minutes of your day being grateful for the good in your life? This is vital to your well-being.
It is the way you give a gift and not the gift itself, after all. It is an expression of the love, appreciation, and joy that the gift is given. It is not the amount of money spent on it, but the act itself of remembering.
They say that the first gift you buy should be one for yourself. Do you do that? Have you ever done it?
This is the most beautiful time of year, filled with so much to be thankful for: Eyes that see, ears that hear, taste buds that celebrate the many delights of food made especially during this season, and the touch of others – be it an elbow bump, a hug, or a massage.
Remember: Life is so precious. Take time for yourself so you can relax into the season. Do not overextend your energy levels. Do what you can do each day, and do it with a happy heart filled with the joy of life. What more could you ask of yourself? That takes deep breathing, which goes away with the first moment of stress and anxiety. Stop and query: Is this act/gift, etc., really necessary? If exhaustion is a factor, take care of yourself first, not last. We only get so much energy to spend each day. Make each detail of your day count towards that end. Life will go on, whether you drop into bed at night, still filled with the stresses of the day, or if you relax before going to bed, counting the blessings of the day.
Life can be so much simpler if you put some thought into it. Are you willing?
Warmest wishes for the happiest of Holiday Seasons!
Walk on Water or Sink?
The story of Jesus from Matthew 14: 22-33:
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ”
This story can be applied to our daily lives, not as a myth, but a reality. The key here is Faith and Belief, not only in our Creator but also in ourselves.
When we begin something new, there is an idea that we can accomplish something. Usually there are details towards that end: Perhaps something we had not thought about when we began becomes quite important; sometimes there are people in our lives who discourage us from making changes or taking chances; but often it is a personal attitude that questions everything about it, expecting failure before we even start, and fears/doubts of almost anything our inner self can come up with, realistic or imaginary.
Relating the above paragraph to the walking on water idea: How often do you ask yourself: “Can I do this? Am I worthy? Who do I think I am? What if __________ (fill in the blank)? If only ________________ (fill in the blank) such and such would/could happen. You know the inner drill. This calls into action our self esteem, the role others play in our lives and the resulting decisions of action or inaction, what we expect of ourselves and others, and how we eventually react. Do we shut down and forget the whole thing? Do we pursue it by not expecting success but failure? Can you imagine a successful ending to the idea? Do we press on to the original goal, making adjustments as needed? Do we put forth enough of whatever it takes to arrive at a successful conclusion?
That is why the words Faith and Belief are counter to the Fears we dream up from our overworked imagination. Do you want to WALK ON WATER, going forth with your ideas, goals, and dreams? Or do you want to let your FEARS CAUSE YOU TO SINK? It is a personal decision, after all.
When one begins to make changes and take chances, the unknown takes on an outsized proportion to what it deserves. We really do make mountains out of molehills. So choose: Mountain or Molehill, stop where you are and stay the same or reach out and begin to become the person you were born to be!
God’s blessings upon your journey!
FEAR IMMOBILIZES!
Fear does indeed immobilize one because it enables thought patterns that are based on the worst possible outcome. This, in turn, creates emotions that ensure vulnerability and helplessness. Overwhelmed by all of the above, inaction itself generates a decision from indecision!
Sound crazy? Of course, it is! Does it happen? All the time! Why? Because fear is so strong a negative emotion that it just takes over, mind and body. All one can focus on is the object/idea feared. No other outcome is thought about. Peace is an impossible dream.
Somewhere in the Fear spectrum, Anger enters like a charging elephant! Unstoppable? You bet! This causes one to perform poorly and respond negatively and overactively to outside stimuli.
As long as one’s attention is focused on the “bad stuff” of life, which happens daily in most people’s experiences, the “good stuff” is kept locked up and cannot hold sway in your thoughts and emotions.
Focus is the key here. It’s like holding a magnifying glass to look at something. The more it magnifies, the bigger it seems. Reality has not changed, but your perspective has greatly altered.
In order to get off the merry-go-round of this thought/emotion process, one must firmly grab the reins on this runaway horse and firmly take control. One must choose to “get a grip” and change the arena by looking at other possible outcomes, thinking/feeling other alternatives. Only then can your reality change by loosening the hold fear has on you, permitting to you to be more functional in your life and reactions to others. Anger is not generated so one can think better before acting.
The exclusivity of Fear is this example: I was driving a good friend of mine home about sunset. It was the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen, vivid, so many colors! I brought this to the attention of my friend (who was caught up in a negative sequence involving Fear and Anger). She absolutely could not see the beauty of it. She brushed it aside and continued with her diatribe. Nothing in her situation changed because she was “feeding the monster!” The situation became unalterably worse. How else could it be?
If one wants peace to fill your mind and life, your focus has to change. Ernest Holmes said: “What you think about, you bring about.” I would add that thoughts create feelings, which are the engine of the mind. Both create your reality, like it or not. Focus is part of the idea behind Dr Wayne Dyer’s: “Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.”
Do you want to continue down a negative path in your life, or do you prefer peace, adaptation, mobility, and different choices to govern you? It is, after all, your choice. Are you willing to experience something else?
God’s blessings on your journey!
I Am The Doorkeeper of My Mind, Always!
I have known for many years that I Am The Doorkeeper of My Mind!
“Thoughts are Things!” Ernest Holmes…Also: “What you think about, comes about!”
Philippians 4:8 (King James Version): “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
Could it be any more clear?
Yet we stuff our monkey minds with cluttering thoughts during every minute of every day, losing our peace and joy for what purpose? Just like the song, “Windmills of Your Mind”:
“Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel,
Never ending or beginning on an ever-spinning reel…
As the images unwind, like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind.”
Can you choose to stop, hit pause, and just be quiet for a moment? Or is your race so harried that your breath is shortened from stress, possibly self-imposed because of your thinking processes?
Life itself is filled with noises of every kind. Some are important, but most are not. If one does not differentiate between incoming sensory information, overwhelm is a natural outcome. Then if you react to the situations, you are “waking up the devil” inherent in each one, which is a recipe for disaster.
Romans 12:2 states: Be ye therefore transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Why would this be important? Because thoughts create emotions, which are the driving force of your personal engine.
What would a car be like if you had no destination in mind? Or being a ship on the ocean, driven by winds and currents instead of guided on its way? Your life is your ship. If your thoughts linger with worry, anger, loss and other negative emotions, you are feeling all that you do not want to happen…pushing on the accelerator, if you will, but going nowhere. Is that what you want?
If you are The Doorkeeper of Your Mind, you will have a different way of looking at everything. Situations are an outside stimulus which can be separated by your inside sense of calmness. If you are examining incoming data, you can sort it out a whole lot easier. This is especially true of emotions: Caused by outside circumstances or inside responses? Is it yours, or does the problem really belong to somebody else? We can remain human garbage cans, drained of all energy, unable to react appropriately, etc. Is that something you would willingly choose? I think not…yet we do it every day in almost every situation because we do not know of another choice. Yes, it is just a choice.
What do you choose?
God’s blessings upon your journey!
New Book: Just Because I Am Blind Does Not Mean I Can’t See
Linda Joy Wirth’s new book is a delightful inspiration to read. Though Linda is blind, the underlying theme of this book is not really her blindness, but more the experience with a sighted world that cannot see from her perspective. She shares stories which shine light on her diverse educational experiences, college, marriage, children, music, dance, theatre, travel, and career. We become aware of the challenges she faced, adaptations she had to make, the barriers which she overcame, and the dreams she realized. With each new experience, we see her grow as she analyzes, accepts, forgives, and learns from every encounter. She tells her story with honesty, humor, and insight, not dwelling on the difficult situations, but always moving on to the next experience. Through it all, she demonstrates determination, a positive attitude, and a strong spirituality which grows as she does.
Linda is an optimistic and outgoing woman who has been blind since birth. She has a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Denver and worked in the field of geriatric, long-term care for over 28 years. Linda is also a singer and actress, having performed in over 30 plays and musicals. She is an inspirational speaker who has presented to groups of all types from schoolchildren to professionals. She shares her message that, despite hardships, challenges, and disappointments, we must keep going and look for the the beautiful gifts life has to offer.
This is the link: https://www.amazon.com/Just-Because-Blind-Does-Mean/dp/B08C4FTJJ7/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Linda+Joy+Wirth&qid=1598155707&sr=8-1
Give it a peek. You will be very happy you did!
Linda Joy Wirth
upliftingthoughts4u 