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Instead
Posted by upliftingthoughts4u
This poem comes from Jan Phillips, The Living Kindness Foundation (858-571-1417), http://www.janphillips.com:
Instead
Instead of rosaries and litanies
I will make every small move
a mindful one
every exchange a kind one
Instead of lighting a candle
I will light the way for someone
stand with a friend facing the dark
hold my torch like an umbrella
over both our heads
Instead of dropping coins in a collection box
I will clean out my closets and
empty my cupboards
giving away all that I no longer need.
Instead of kneeling in a confessional
to admit wrongdoings
I stand and confess my unabashed love
for all my soul mates and family of friends
I confess to an unbearable joy
at the sounds of spring
the sight of a redwood
the feel of a kitten’s fur on my neck.
Instead of processing to the altar
to receive communion
I call this earth my altar
and my intimacy with her creatures
the bread and wine of my life.
Instead of saying “I am not worthy”
I say let me live up to the challenge
TO BE,
let me remember I am One with What Is,
I do not need redemption,
nothing is wrong.
Instead of calling for help from a faraway God,
I sit in silence and feel the roar
of creation churning in my cells.
Instead of waiting for a priest to come
anointing the passages of life and death
I don the vestments of service and love,
I stand with others in a circle of trust.
We raise the chalice in a toast to earth,
we make the water holy with our humble hands,
we baptize ourselves as redeemers of peace,
servants of unity.
Instead of waiting for the world to turn,
we become its revolution
we spin new webs, build new cogs
with our feet in today
and our minds on tomorrow.
Instead of the old,
we bow to the Now
and turning within,
we create the new.
Jan Phillips
This has so many worthwhile suggestions, I wanted to pass it on.
God’s blessings on your journey!
Posted in Uncategorized, Uplifting Thoughts
Tags: challenge, create, Jan Phillips, light, Living Kindness Foundation, Love, metaphysics, new, New Age, New thought, NOW, To Be, today, tomorrow, trust, Truth, turning within, understanding, wisdom
Live, Love, Laugh!
Posted by upliftingthoughts4u
This particular threesome is visible everywhere – on cars, plaques, walls, etc. Sometimes it is:
Live Well
Laugh Often
Love Much
It could be very esoteric (beyond the understanding or knowledge of most people, as defined by the dictionary). It could just be that it is so simple, its deeper meanings are overlooked in the chaotic, busy world we live in. Certainly, many things occupy are thoughts from the second we wake up to the minute we go to bed.
But taking a deep breath and pausing, just looking at the three above phrases, ask yourself, “What comes to my mind?”
Live Well could immediately be translated into a materialistic ideal in lieu of being happy with your life and how you are living it.
Laugh Often could be nullified by the stress you are feeling at this moment over many situations in your life which you do not feel you have any control over, engendering a sense of hopelessness.
Love Much could simply be an erotic invitation to enjoy the flesh and its ecstasies, or it could make you think, “Have I told my loved ones today how very much I love them, appreciate them, enjoy them?” You know, with all the tragedies that have happened in this world in these past few years, I wonder how many people passed on without hearing that simple phrase?
Live, Love, and Laugh are my personal commandment for every moment of my day, every single day I am alive. I want the people in my life to know how very much I appreciate them. I do not want anyone to doubt that, ever. Each one is a gem in his/her own right – unique, special, one-of-a-kind. No matter how small they are, or what age they are, or how I know them. It matters not to me. I want to cherish each and every one, and I want them to know it. Life is too short to do otherwise. I want to look each one in the eye and let them know that I am listening to what they have to say. Each relationship, no matter if it is a busy store clerk who is obviously having a bad day, or a long-term friend, deserves not only my attention, but a smile as well. (You might be surprised at the lift a simple smile can accomplish, or a small act of kindness.)
Life passes us by through simple inaction, words unspoken, feelings unexpressed, and good intentions never fulfilled because one runs out of time. That happens with every minute of every day as it becomes history from this present moment.
You have to ask yourself, “Do I want to write a note today to just say Hi to a lonely friend, or a dear one I have gotten out of touch with, or even a note of forgiveness to someone (whether it is ever sent or not)?” Perhaps even a phone call, an email, or a Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Love is more than a feeling – it is a state of mind. If you are coming from a LOVE perspective, you act differently than you would if it comes from any other point of view.
Laughter, alias Levity, is a cure-all of just about every negative emotion we can muster. Sometimes we feel like the tail end of the dog, instead of the nose or ears. We get wagged a lot – by others, by situations, by things we believe are not under our control. Laughter has so many gifts to share. Yet, in this serious world so many of us live in, Laughter is the exception, not the rule. Isn’t that truly a sad state of affairs?
When I say Laughter, I also mean the state of mind known as JOY or Inner Joy. It is a sense that all is OK in your world. Is it? Or not?
You could ask, “What do I have to be Happy about?” Then follow that with a diatribe of complaints. Now I ask you, does that make you feel any better? Doubt it.
In your negativity, may I ask you, “When was the last time you went outdoors to experience Nature at her Best?” I find that even a trip to an indoor area where there are plants helps when the weather outside is adverse. When it is not, step outside. Find something from Mother Nature to admire. You will find your heart lifted like magic, your stress will disappear, and your perspective will lighten and improve.
Are you willing to make the move from the dog’s tail and go up to the ears or nose? You do control your destiny. Declare it to be so.
Look for my three friends: Live, Love, and Laugh in all their fullness. May your step be lighter, your heart happier, your breath much deeper, and your life more meaningful. God bless you on your journey!

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Rocky Mtns CO

Snowy Egret

Wild Sweet Peas

Bee on Flower
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags: appreciate, breath, cherish, enjoy, esoteric, good intentions, hopelessness, inner joy, journey, joy, kindness, Laugh, Laugh Often, live, Live Well, Love, Love Much, magic, meaningful, metaphysics, Mother Nature, New Age, New thought, perspective, stress, thoughts, tragedies, Truth, understanding, wisdom
Light
Posted by upliftingthoughts4u
Light has been of interest to mankind from the very beginning, before men ever wrote down a word. It has been a part of worship since that time. Every single tribe, kingdom, and religion has Light in it somewhere. You can see it in cave petroglyphs and pictographs around the world. In short, you can find it as a basic element of mankind’s history.
Light has even become synonymous with Wisdom and Understanding.
The Mayo Clinic has even researched it as a healing mechanism for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) — a depression that occurs during fall and winter. Their recommendation is to buy light boxes/bright light therapy boxes and use them 30 minutes a day. Amazon and WalMart have models available from $70 to $300 for blue light therapy.
Ergo, light is a component of our physical health as well. Amazing!
Light, of course, emanates from the Sun in all of the above. Hence, the Sun and Moon becomes a part of the mysteries surrounding these stories.
From the Egyptian Ra, Norse Sol, Vedic Hinduism Surya, Greek Helios (Titan) and Apollo, Arabian Al-Lat, Australian Bila and Walo, Hittites Wurusemu, Babylonians Shapash, Cherokee Unelanuhi, Japanese Amaterasu, and Inuit Malina, it turns out that all of the world just has a different name for the same idea. Even Jesus Christ and Christianity is not exempt from it as demonstrated in the Bible as it exists today.
We are all concerned, in our own ways, with the words and meanings that we attach to our belief systems, to the exclusion of all others. Yet, even the Christ was concerned with Unity, including wisdom and understanding.
Perhaps we should be looking more to how we are all trying to get to the same place, even though it has a different name, instead of tearing down anyone who does not “think like us” or the “mini-me” concepts.
I have always wondered how each tiny division thinks it has the only answer and is the only “right” to be had. How could that be possible? How could a God, who created such individuality in every person, giving us the ability to make choices – and suffer the consequences of those choices – be so small as to make one sect “right” and the rest “wrong?”
Look at the differences in the Protestant religions alone. Even the Catholics are no longer just one religion. The Eastern Orthodox Religion, who possess the earliest known transcripts of the Bible, is different still. This does not include any of the names that I started this blog with. God made each of us like the snowflake, each of which is unique and not like any other.
In the Bible in John 12:35,36, Jesus said, “Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.” And in James 1:17, it says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
That is pretty clear to me. I like the sound of “children of light.” How about you?
In the New Age/New Thought/Metaphysics concepts is the idea that God appears to you within your own framework of your understanding. (See my blog archive on God Is A Chameleon.) That does not exclude the idea that Multiplicity is what it is all about.
Dr. Marcus Bach and wife spent their lifetimes, living with different peoples of different religions. He sought to learn how we are all really trying to get to the same place, just a different name. The below Mandala represents his life’s knowledge, which he made into a six-foot Mandala, in his home. Please consider this carefully as you look at it:

Dr. Marcus Bach Mandala
If you were to study this Mandala, it would be clear to you that, regardless of our personal beliefs, we are all driven by the same wants, needs, and desires. We cherish our loved ones, children and families. There are no political lines to be drawn, where someone on this side is right and all the rest are wrong. That is only a myth which drives the power of those who try to control and manipulate the masses, regardless of country.
John Denver sang the song, “One world.” It truly is.
If we are to be “children of light,” each one of us is responsible to make a difference by living the tenets of our belief system, whatever that is. Let us not be concerned with the division principle, but by the multiplication laws.
In Ken Keyes, Jr., book, “The Hundredth Monkey,” he very clearly documents the idea that: “When only a limited number of people know of a new way, it may remain the consciousness property of these people. But there is a point at which if only one more person tunes-in to a new awareness, a field is strengthened so that this awareness reaches almost everyone!” In his book, he talks about monkeys learning to wash the dirt off sweet potatoes, until it finally reached all monkeys everywhere due to the Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon. It has been documented by scientists for years that chimps, wild gorillas, etc., also demonstrate the use of tools for various reasons…checking the depth of a pool, opening nuts, etc. But it does not stay with just isolated groups…it spreads!
How about you? Are you willing to be that Hundredth Person to step outside your comfort zone, live by the beliefs you say you have, use them every minute of every day, and be one of the “Children of Light?”
Do you believe you, as just one person, can make a difference? Trust me, you can! Are you willing to try?
Posted in Uplifting Thoughts
Tags: Arabian, Australian, Babylonians, Bible, Catholic, Cherokee, Children of Light, choices, Christ, Christianity, consequences, Dr Marcus Bach, Egyptian, God, Greek, Hittites, Hundredth Person, Inuit, Japanese, Jesus Christ, Ken Keyes Jr, kingdom, life, light, light boxes, Love, mandala, metaphysics, Multiplicity, New Age, New thought, Norse, Protestant, religion, Seasonal Affective Disorder, thoughts, tribe, Truth, understanding, Unity, Vedic, willing, wisdom
Balanced Living
Posted by upliftingthoughts4u
There is a Divine Polarity to all of life. Magnets have positive and negative poles. Most of our learning comes to us in that manner. We find out what we do not want after we get it, and thereby learn what we really do want and need. Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it?
Some examples are:
Joy vs. Sadness
Truth vs. Lies
Peace vs. Chaos
Beauty vs. Ugliness
Life vs. Death
Love vs. Hate
Light vs. Darkness
Laughter vs. Tears
Good vs. Bad
Have you ever been in a relationship with someone, and, after it is over, said to yourself, “Well, I’ll never do that again! I will change my choices. I will ask more questions. I will be able to see that quality in someone else before I get involved.” Yet, sometimes history repeats itself?
We learn by bumps in the road, apparently, as a species.
I love the Pushmi-Pullyu in the Doctor Dolittle series. I have found that life is not all one thing or all another. It is usually a mixture of both polarities. The questions is: Can you separate them out clearly enough to be able to change your choices?
Add in the idea that rarely is anything simple. Usually, it is some of each. Whether it be a job, relationships, raising children, or any other topic that comes to mind. I personally know people who stay in a bad relationship because they have become vested in it–stuff rules as do habits. So they stay in the same old toxic atmosphere year in and year out. You can say the same for a job. Vesting dictates because one cannot afford a lower wage or whatever it takes to make a change. Raising children has its joys and its heart aches because these are little beings with an idea of how they want life to be and seek it out at their level, which may not be the wisest course. In short, simplicity is difficult, if not impossible, to find. That does not mean that one should not seek it. It only means that it is a gem of great price and should be sought after with due diligence.
There are positive aspects of all the above. Having been in a bad marriage or relationship, one can then seek more wisely to find a mate who is more compatible. If one is unhappy with the workaday life they have created, for whatever reason, one can seek that which will make them happier. Some Wall Street workers quit that life style and go to the country, finding a different way to live. Some go to college so they can change their resumes. In short, one can seek that which will give him/her a more positive balance in living.
Life is not like walking a tight rope without a safety net. Mankind can learn, grow, and change at will. Fear keeps us from doing that. It has been said that Fear of the Unknown is the greatest reason for not seeking a better answer. What one knows is better than looking for a challenge. The sameness of daily living is secure, no matter what the Happiness Quotient is.
I have been fortunate because I have accepted the challenges and sought Change and Balance in Living. I know what I want my life to look like. I have had to learn Forgiveness of myself and others in my journey. I have never thought that I would rather live alone than try to find that certain someone who will be my Best Friend for the rest of my life, someone I could grow old with, and someone who will be on the other end of this relationship. After all, relationships are TWO-WAY STREETS, not one-way. If one person is giving all the time while the other is taking all the time, no Happiness Quotient can be found. I have said that relationships are like a waltz, and I would rather dance through life with my partner than have somebody who is out of synch and not on the same page. I have been most fortunate to find my Best Friend. I would wish the same for you.
I started this article with many positive qualities which I consider necessary for my life. I endeavor to achieve my balance with them in some way, every day. I look for them. I accentuate their presence in my life. Instead of dwelling on the negatives, which are also present daily, I look for some way to lighten the day with laughter and the other ideas.
How about you? Are you willing to look at your Happiness Quotient and seek new ways to find Balance in Living? You will find that it is worth the time and effort to think about, seek, and find. Even if your life is good, it can always be better. Are you interested?
May your journey be blessed in every way. 🙂
Posted in Uplifting Thoughts
Tags: bad, Balance in Living, Beauty, Best Friend, change, chaos, children, choices, dance, darkness, death, find, good, Happiness Quotient, hate, job, journey, joy, laughter, life, light, Love, marriage, metaphysics, negative, New Age, New thought, partner, Peace, polarities, positive, questions, relationships, sadness, seek, simplicity, tears, think about, thoughts, Truth, understanding, vesting, waltz, wisdom
I Am There
Posted by upliftingthoughts4u
Poet James Dillet Freeman wrote this some years ago. A copy of it is now on the moon as it was carried there on the Apollo XV voyage by Astronaut James B. Irwin and left on the moon for future space voyagers. It has always touched my heart and comforted me when I need it. I share it with you as it has been one of my guides for a long time.
I Am There
“Do you need Me?
I am there.
You cannot see Me, yet I am the light you see by.
You cannot hear Me, yet I speak through your voice.
You cannot feel Me, yet I am the power at work in your hands.
I am at work, though you do not understand My ways.
I am at work, though you do not recognize My works.
I am not strange visions. I am not mysteries.
Only in absolute stillness, beyond self, can you know Me as I am, and then but as a feeling and a faith.
Yet I am there. Yet I hear. Yet I answer.
When you need Me, I am there.
Even if you deny Me, I am there.
Even when you feel most alone, I am there.
Even in your fears, I am there.
Even in your pain, I am there.
I am there when you pray and when you do not pray.
I am in you, and you are in Me.
Only in your mind can you feel separate from Me, for only in your mind are the mists of “yours” and “mine.”
Yet only with your mind can you know Me and experience Me.
Empty your heart of empty fears.
When you get yourself out of the way, I am there.
You can of yourself do nothing, but I can do all.
And I am in all.
Though you may not see the good, good is there, for I am there.
I am there because I have to be, because I am.
Only in Me does the world have meaning; only out of Me does the world take form; only because of Me does the world go forward.
I am the law on which the movement of the stars and the growth of living cells are founded.
I am the love that is the law’s fulfilling.
I am assurance.
I am peace.
I am oneness.
I am the law that you can live by.
I am the love that you can cling to.
I am your assurance.
I am your peace.
I am one with you.
I am.
Though you fail to find Me, I do not fail you.
Though your faith in Me is unsure, My faith in you never wavers, because I know you, because I love you.
Beloved, I am there.”
If you would print this off and post it in a prominent place where you would see its message often, you would ponder its Truths. Then you could begin to find ways to make your life more worthwhile, change your perspective, which would then effect positive motion in the right direction. Answers would come more readily as you seek them. Happy Hunting! May God bless your every endeavor.
Posted in Uplifting Thoughts
Tags: alone, assurance, assurance fail, awareness, beloved, change, faith, fears, feelings, God, good, James B. Irwin, law, life, Love, metaphysics, mind, New Age, New thought, oneness, pain, Peace, pray, stillness, Truth, understanding, wisdom
Love Yourself
Posted by upliftingthoughts4u
Mark 12:30,31 “Thou shalt love the Lord Thy God with all thy heart…first commandment…Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Interesting thought, isn’t it? Please notice emphasis is on the “AS.”
It seems to me that too much attention is paid to: “Love Thy Neighbor.”
In other words, you send out love to everybody else.
Yet, when it comes to actually loving ourselves, we so often fall short in that department.
“I’m fat.” “I’m too skinny.” etc. Something is always wrong.
We look in a mirror, and we do not like what we see.
We condemn, criticize, castigate, etc. When do we feel good about ourselves?
We are taught as children that we must not “get too puffed up” because that is a sin.
Why do we forget the “AS”? It goes on to state that there is no commandment greater than these. Yet we do not ever act as if that is true. Do we believe that could be a possibility for us?
In other words, LOVE actually begins within us – for ourselves.
Only by accepting ourselves, complete with our faults as well as our gifts, can we then actually love others.
We all have gifts to share with the world…unique, special, and one-of-a-kind.
Yet it is only when we stop beating ourselves up for our shortcomings that we can actually grow, learn, and become who we were intended to be.
When you look in a mirror in the morning, what do you see? Do you like your reflection?
Can you begin by saying, “I love me!” and give yourself a hug? Can you compliment yourself and actually mean it?
No matter how silly that sounds, it is actually the beginning of your change in attitude, towards yourself, as well as others.
Don’t you agree that this world would be a much better place if there were more LOVE in it?
It can only begin within you. Are you willing to give yourself a fresh start, NOW?
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags: begin within, change in attitude, commandment, condemn, criticize, fresh start, gifts, Love, Love Thy Neighbor, metaphysics, New Age, New thought, send out love, shortcomings, thoughts, Truth, understanding, wisdom