|
Love and Light from HEALING Creek
Tuesday April 24, 2007
May this space be a sacred dwelling
For those who reside here.
May those who visit feel the peace
We have received from you.
May darkness not enter.
May the light of God shield this place from harm.
May the angels bring their peace here ...
And use our space as a haven of light.
May all grow strong in this place of healing,
Our sanctuary
From the loudness of the world.
| | | |
|
|
Monday April 23, 2007
I popped by Colo's place today and read her post about compassion and smiled that Valkyrie and Wayfarer have been thinking about Compassion too ... I had already planned on posting this, so it appears that, at least for me, and a few others ...
This is Monday and the word for today is ... COMPASSION
I learned compassion while I raised my children and as they grew, my perception of compassion grew ... not just for my children but for the world's children. I realized that this world will never be truly safe for my children until it is safe for ALL children ... I can give my child every possible advantage and opportunity but if they encounter a child who is desperately lacking those advantages and opportunities, the child without can not help but play out the actions of envy. In playgrounds and neighborhoods near us, envy exhibits itself in the most violent ways. The answer is not to stop nurturing my children. The answer is to offer nurture and support to all children ...
Allowing Our Children To Be
Practicing Nonattachment
Parenting asks us to rise to some of the most difficult challenges this world has to offer, and one of its greatest paradoxes arises around the issue of attachment. On the one hand, successful parenting requires that we love our children, and most of us love in a very attached way. On the other hand, it also requires that we let go of our children at the appropriate times, which means we must practice some level of nonattachment. Many parents find this difficult because we love our children fiercely, more than we will ever love anyone, and this can cause us to overstep our bounds with them as their independence grows. Yet truly loving them requires that we set them free.
Attachment to outcome is perhaps the greatest obstacle on the parenting path, and the one that teaches us the most about the importance of practicing nonattachment. We commonly perceive our children to be extensions of ourselves, imagining that we know what's best for them, but our children are people in their own right with their own paths to follow in this world. They may be called to move in directions we fear, don't respect, or don't understand, yet we must let them go. This letting go happens gradually throughout our lives with our children until we finally honor them as fully grown adults who no longer require our guidance. At this point, it is important that we treat them as peers who may or may not seek our input into their lives. This allows them, and us, to fully realize the greatest gift parents can offer their offspring -independence.
Letting go in any area of life requires a deep trust in the universe, in the overall meaning and purpose of existence. Remembering that there is more to us and our children than meets the eye can help us practice nonattachment, even when we feel overwhelmed by concern and the desire to interfere. We are all souls making our way in the world and making our way, ultimately, back to the same source. This can be our mantra as we let our children go in peace and confidence.
Want more DailyOM? Register for your free email, or browse all articles
|
|
Compassion without attachment is possible.
Therefore,
we need to clarify the distinctions
between
compassion and attachment.
True compassion is not just an emotional response
but
a firm commitment founded on reason.
Because of this firm foundation,
a truly compassionate attitude
toward others
does not change even if they behave negatively.
Genuine compassion
is based not on our own projections and expectations,
but
rather on the needs of the other:
irrespective of whether another person is a close friend
or an enemy,
as long as that person wishes for peace and happiness
and wishes to overcome suffering,
then on that basis we develop genuine concern
for their problem.
This is genuine compassion.
The goal is to develop this genuine compassion,
this genuine wish for the well-being
of another,
in fact
for every living being throughout the universe.
-- from "The Compassionate Life" by Tenzin Gyatso,
the Fourteenth Dalai Lama
| | | |
|
|
Sunday April 22, 2007
Sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of the day, we forget that there is a bigger picture ... that life is more than the current troubles of the day. This past week has certainly left us with moments to pause and consider our place in the big picture. It would be easy to lose hope and become discouraged. Take just a moment to close your eyes and breath in the goodness of this new day. Imagine yourself in the happiest place you have ever been and give thanks for that moment. Calm yourself and continue to breath in and out slowly until you feel the goodness that surrounds you.
Although there is very little that we can do about what is happening around us, who we are and how we feel about this moment is completely within our control. Like the commercial says, life comes at you fast ... but you have within you the power to be your own hero.
Every experience, good or bad, will give you insight that you can use for the rest of your journey ... and because I do believe that everything happens for a reason ... There is something in every conversation, every argument, every experience, whether it is great or small, that will prepare us for where we are going next.
It is too much for us to absorb every single truth that comes our way ... but if we consciouly look for those truths, we are probably going to see more than if we didn't look at all. Don't worry too much if you miss something important. God, Spirit or whatever you choose to call your higher power will continue to send you information and insights to prepare you for whatever is coming up.
But to receive those insights and find meaning in the midst of the chaos, we have to find a way of ...
Allowing Spirit In
Clearing Your Mind
After a full day out in the world, stories, words, images, and songs from any number of sources continue to play in our heads hours after we encounter them. Even as we lie in bed, in the quiet dark, our minds continue noisily processing all the input from our day. This can leave us feeling unsettled and harassed. It also makes it difficult to take in any new information or inspiration. Like a cluttered house that needs to be cleared if it is to have room for movement and new life, our minds need clearing if they are to be open to new information, ideas, and inspiration.
Too often, the activities we choose to help us relax only add to the clutter. Watching television, seeing a movie, reading a book, or talking to a friend all involve taking in more information. In order to really clear our minds, we need a break from mental stimulation. Activities like yoga, dancing, or taking a long walk help to draw our attention to our bodies, slowing our mental activity enough that our minds begin to settle. Deep breathing is an even simpler way to draw attention away from our mental activities. Once we are mentally relaxed, we can begin the process of clearing our minds. Most of us instinctively know what allows our minds to relax and release any unnecessary clutter. It may be meditation or time spent staring at the stars. Whatever it is, these exercises feel like a cool, cleansing bath for the brain and leave our minds feeling clear and open.
Setting aside time to clear our minds once a day creates a ritual that becomes second nature over time. Our minds will begin to settle with less effort the more we practice. Ultimately, the practice of clearing our minds allows us to be increasingly more open so that we can perceive the world as the fresh offering it is, free of yesterday's mental clutter.
( This article was found at this web-site: DailyOM - Browse )
Speaking of staring at the stars, April will inspire you!
Have you ever seen a meteor shower?
TONIGHT could be the night!
This year the Lyrid meteor shower is predicted to peak around 6PM ET on April 22nd -- good timing for Asia but in daylight for North America. The shower is generally at least half as strong as its maximum for about 30 hours, so North American observers should be able to catch its rising and falling phases in the early-morning hours of April 22nd and 23rd, respectively.
The Lyrids are usually weak, with a typical peak rate of 20 meteors per hour or less visible under ideal conditions. But the shower has exhibited surprise outbursts in the past, so it’s well worth monitoring.
While you are looking towards the sky ...
Have you ever seen a comet?
On March 15, Terry Lovejoy of Thornlands, Queensland, Australia, discovered a 9th-magnitude comet in the southern constellation Indus the Indian. In reporting the find to the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT) in Cambridge, Mass., Lovejoy described the comet as having a coma that appeared distinctly green in color, with a slight extension to the southwest.
Remarkably, Lovejoy made the discovery not with a telescope but using an off-the-shelf digital camera! In fact, it appears to be the very first case of the discovery of a comet discovered in this manner.
The images were obtained during a comet-hunting survey that Lovejoy has been conducting for more than two years.
The first independent confirmation was obtained by John Drummond (Possum Observatory, Gisborne, New Zealand) on March 16. He used a 41-cm reflector and visually estimated the magnitude as 9.5 -- about 15 times dimmer than the faintest sky objects that can be seen without optical aid. Drummond estimated the coma diameter as 2.6 arc minutes (roughly equal to about 1/12 that of the apparent width of the moon).
Comet Lovejoy will be progressing north during April and will soon become favorably placed for observation for observers in the Northern Hemisphere. Comet Lovejoy will (unfortunately) not become a naked-eye object; it probably will get no brighter than magnitude +7.5. That's still about two and a half times fainter than the faintest naked-eye star. But it still should continue to be an interesting object to follow with binoculars and small telescopes as it moves north during April.
For most northern observers, it will not be until the second week of April that Comet Lovejoy will emerge from out of the dawn twilight and be positioned low in the southeast sky.
If you would like to view the comet on-line: SLOOH - AOL Promo Signup
For those interested in astronomy, you might also looking at your star map. Just enter your ZIP code and this interactive sky chart displays the night sky for your area. (Free Java software is required to view the chart.)
Sky Chart Instructions and Stargazing Sky ChartAn interesting site that features comets photographed by people including Terry Lovejoy: C/2004 F4 (Bradfield)
| | | |
|
|
Saturday April 21, 2007
This message has been removed by the author.
| | | |
|
|
Thursday April 19, 2007
|
This week has been an engaging week. I have been working on a few really interesting projects that were rewarding and exhausting at the same time.
Life 101 doesn't come with a workbook! It's an independent work study ... and each of us learns at our own pace.
But it's not all work! Once in a while, we have a had the chance to revisit some of the things we have learned. I can remember struggling through so many things only a few years ago. Watching myself do things I couldn't have done a decade ago, made me feel grateful, once again, for the recent turns my life has taken.
Some of what I've been doing this week has involved helping other people and I REALLY like that. It feels good to give to others when life has been so good to me. I have been thinking about the impact others have had on me and the impact I would like to have on others. More than once, in recent months, I have wondered where my life experiences are taking me?
I want to be the kind of person that leaves a blessing on people's lives. I want to help people feel stronger, by example and by empowering them. I want to be the kind of person that charges them up and gets them going. I want to have courage on loan. I want to arm them with knowledge. I want to help people find ways of healing their broken spirits.
That sounds like a tall order, but it isn't like I'd be doing all that on my own!
I am absolutely fascinated by the way we get to be the people we are. It is amazing to watch the way our minds and bodies work together to keep us safe. There are so many physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual systems within each of us that really are working most of the time. Perhaps that sounds overly optimistic to some of you who can quickly point out examples of people who have been short-circuited and whose lives that are a mess. I am not talking about that, but if you want to ... I still would say that even your very worst examples would have been even worse if we ALL didn't have some healing properties inside of us! And that idea is exciting to me.
I know that no matter what else I do in life, I want to be the kind of person that leaves a blessing ...
Leaving A Positive Footprint
Blessing Spaces = Peaceful Places
Physical space acts like a sponge, absorbing the radiant of all who pass through it. In blessing each space we enter, we orchestrate a subtle energy shift that affects not only our own experiences in that space but also the experiences of the individuals who will enter the space after us. While we may never see the effects our blessing has had, we can take comfort in the fact that we have provided grace for those that follow after us. When you bless a room or an entire building, you leave a powerful message of love and light for all those who will come after you.
Whether you feel more comfortable performing a solo blessing or prefer to call upon your higher power for assistance, visualize each space you enter becoming free of toxins, chaos, and negativity as you speak your blessing. Even a quick mindful thought of love can bless a space. This type of blessing is cumulative and will grow each time you bestow it. Try blessing every home, business, and office you visit for an entire week and observing the effects of your goodwill. Your affirmative energy footprint will help brighten your day as you contemplate your blessing's future impact on your siblings in humanity and your environment.
Want more DailyOM? Register for your free email, or browse all articles. |
| | | | |
|
|
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151
| |
Have you checked out the
new Blogstream site,
Question Stream.com?
Many Blogstream members are there
already! Quotes from members: "It's like blog lite!" -- "I like the instant
gratification!" -- "Stop spectating, get in the game!"
If you have not joined in, you are really missing out!
|
|
37074 Visitors
|
