GOOD NEWS: I Wish YOU Enough

These words touch me every single time I read them and the original story cracked my heart wide open. When the intention is right even though your words don't always seem adequate, they resonate all the same; Owning your words is that it's all about.


"I Wish You Enough!"
(c) 2001 Bob Perks

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Goodbye."

Visit http://www.bobperks.com/

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The Best Lie Detectors Are Children!

The best lie detectors are children! I sincerely hope you all are aware of this fact. You cannot lie to a child without him or her knowing it.

We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.  ~Stacia Tauscher
 

A murdered child

I read something obscene in one of the newspapers today which has me up in arms, again!

The case involves a twenty-year boy beating a 2-year old baby to death with his fist and a belt buckle. The so-called mother was 21 years old. He was beating her up as usual and she ran out of the house to the neighbour's and left the child sleeping in his crib, and so this piece of shite emptied his rage
on the baby.

Even though child abuse is happening all over the world, it is wrong, obscene every time it happens and in all such cases the perpetrators should be summarily executed or dealt a similar fate. Courts can never do justice, ever, in these cases.

 
A child can ask questions that a wise man cannot answer.  ~Author Unknown

 
And in this particular case, the mother should also be jailed for endangering her child. Her remorse just does not cut it!

The horrifying murder of this latest child was obviously the result of a breakdown in societal and family values with the resulting lack of education on all levels that led to this tragedy.

Stay together for the children

  Children need love, especially when they do not deserve it.  ~Harold Hulbert

At the baby's funeral the pastor exhorted parents "to stay together for the children's sake ". Excuse me?!

Does that make sense to you or is it just me considering the unnatural death of this baby boy.

I haven't heard that type of bullshit in a long, long time and I'm shocked and saddened that that kind of thinking still exists.

It distresses me that this type of religious brainwashing and cultural swill is still alive and prevalent and couples are being counselled to stay in their unhappy relationships, to their detriment, for the children's sake.

What about the children?
 

But why is it that people refuse to accept that unhappy parents create unhappy children? An unhappy couple creates a maladjusted individual in adult life. I'm not a psychologist and even I know that.

What about the damn children in all of this? They have a right to love, happiness and unselfish caring and a safe home.  It is not in their best interest to live in an unloving household.

Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man.  ~Rabindranath Tagore


Emotions are powerful "things" as we all know and they are an intrinsic part of our makeup. So when someone is in the grip of powerful emotions usually negative, it is dangerous for all in the vicinity.

These cowards – men and women – wait until they get home to blow the heat of this volcano on their families and those most vulnerable.


Sensitive beings

When people are angry and arguing and you, as an adult, walk into a room you immediately feel the vibe. It saturates the atmosphere.

So what about these vastly sensitive little beings when they interrupt one of these tense moments?


They inquisitively ask - until they learn not to because mummy and daddy always lie - are you arguing/is something wrong/what's going on?


Children's talent to endure stems from their ignorance of alternatives.  ~Maya Angelou


Then the adults lie and say "oh we're just talking hon/nothing's wrong/go outside and play" etc. etc. etc.

Worse yet when mummy isn't "feeling well right now" or she's sporting bruises or obviously in pain or afraid and trying to hide it and act like everything's normal...

I am not saying that it is this way in most families. However, I am willing to bet that it is much more prevalent that many would like to believe.
Children's rights regardless of country, the USA included, are not rigourously enforced.

The best lie detectors

Listen to me people, you cannot lie to a child. Children are the best lie detectors on the planet and I'm sure if the FBI and other security agencies around the world could "bottle" them and their natural abilities to spot a lie when they hear it, they would.

While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.
~Angela Schwindt


So tell me why would you put a child through this torture of staying in an unhappy or abusive relationship? How could that possibly be best for them? How? Obviously, it is not.


Adults welfare more important than a child's

The fact is that adults in general do not think or put a child's emotional and physical welfare before their own and parents even less so, even though they are responsible for that young human until he or she comes of age and can fly on their own.

They feel they know what is best and they do not in most instances. They rarely treat their child or children as intelligent, feeling human beings.
Children are so very wise and perceptive it boggles my mind sometimes.


It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.  ~Frederick Douglass

Stop telling them it is for their own good when it's really for yours, to make you feel good about bad decisions you make because of what you are living.

It is only the brave ones who leave for the child/children's sake because people are basically selfish and cowards at heart. They refuse change and prefer their comfort to their children's security.

Therefore the children, our future, will continue to suffer until the village realises that they are our collective responsibility!

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child.  There are seven million.  

~Walt Streightiff 

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Food for Thought: Dishonesty, Insecurity and Lesson Learned

Image via Wikipedia

Food for thought today is about dishonesty, insecurity and lessons learned.

When you lie, cheat, steal or take advantage of people in any way, for any reason, you are dishonest. That's obvious.

When you pretend, boast about what you have, it is tacky and irritating. In contrast, when you boast about what you don't have and pretend about everything else, you are lying.

The thing is though. many of us do this everyday in a myriad of ways.
That's being small, people; but what happens though when you find yourself doing the same shite, like me? I can't very well dismiss myself, can I!

Self-Delusion

For three weeks I was dishonest in exactly the same way, boasting and dropping names and such to "impress" because... I was feeling very insecure.

I so dislike insecure people, don't you. They piss us off because they reflect a part of you (and me) which we recognise intimately and it makes us uncomfortable, hence our negative reaction. 

I grew up in the world of self-delusion and lived there for decades as an adult, and for those few short weeks it felt terrible to be back there disliking my self all over again.

We all want to believe that we are better than "them" but we are not. Reality only comes home to roost when we work our thing out. It is time to decide with Judith Rich Are you progressing or staying stuck?

Insecure people

Insecure people are unhappy people, uncomfortable in their skin, angry at the world in general because they are dissatisfied with the way their life is going, or not.

We spread our discontent around – no one must be happy when we are not – instead of buckling down and taking charge of the situation which is causing distress; thereby controlling our emotions at the same time. Not easy but what is.

The truth is that we are really angry with ourselves because we believe we are not receiving our "just due" in our dysfunctional life. We allow the situation to control us instead of taking charge.

The lies

When I found myself in this angry place I was unfocussed at work. I kept trying to justify my defensive attitude by telling myself that I did not need care about results or the hefty incentive bonus, I just wanted it.

I was lying of course and I was trying to make myself feel better. Note to self: lies to self do not work!

I have done it often enough to know.

Not only that, I like my job because communicating turns me on and tunes me in to people, and I like making people feel good in whatever way I can.

The root of the problem

My biggest failing is that I give up too easily. I thought it had disappeared; another lie to self. In reality, my pain body was just waiting for the right button to be pushed to raise its ugly head.

Bottom line: if you do not assiduously work on yourself nothing improves.
I failed my daily target three days in a row and that depressed me because I was taught that I must never fail so by the time Friday came around, I was convinced that I was a complete failure.

When a thought like that surfaces it is difficult to root it out.

The real issue

This debilitating habit developed during my childhood years where if I didn't perform on demand, doing what in hindsight was impossible for an adult much less a child, I was brutally beaten and severely criticised.

Interestingly enough, I had to deal with the perpetrator of those crimes in the week preceding my first non-performing week. And this time I had to put the vicious, mean-spirited actions to bed once and for all but it hurt me more than it did her.

That is where it all began and my three weeks of emotional disarray were the fallout. Tapping your inner strength in troubling times is essential to moving ahead and leaving the past behind.

Contamination

I am a very gentle creature with an extremely tough exterior and I will only allow certain people in. Be real with me and you will have my undivided attention.

Abrasive and gratuitous violence in any form is unacceptable.

So it is abnormal for me to act harshly with anyone (passed that stage in my younger days) and to have to "verbally" hold your birth mother at bay like a wild animal after a 24-year absence is difficult.

But I refused to allow her viciousness, pettiness and just plain meanness to spread. Despite my best intentions however, it contaminated me and I allowed it affect my job performance.

Lesson for the day

And therein lies the lesson for the day people from a monk I believe – when you are angry it is never for the reason you think.

It is through the process of writing this post that I was able to identify the real problem and work through the unreasonably angry, unfocussed and insecure feelings that I lived through.

I also avoided daily meditation. Eckhart Tolle's Living in presence with your pain body describes my process so well; the bad old times are so seductive because it is all the ego knows and loves until we exorcise the beast by embracing love for one's self.

The truth – I felt so hurt and was devastated by the attacks that I used anger to cover it all up and so, I could not find my bearings. Now, I am licking my wounds.

The decision

I deliberately held off verbalising the decision I made a few months ago and that hesitation is what left me open and vulnerable to attack.

I understand now that this was one of the reasons for my forced return here - unbeknowst to me of course - to see and experience these family members as an adult with the advantage of 24 years distance and growth; to understand, and accept them as they are, and to cut the ties that no longer bind.

I said the fateful words very quietly in another context without conscious thought  -  When I leave here I am not coming back - the silence as they fell was tangible. What a release that was!

"Everyone" heard the portent in those flat words - they went straight to the ether and so it shall be.

The release and the understanding

The incredible disrespect I have been subjected to from a child and throughout my adult years and the incredible disdain for my emotional and physical well-being from then till now is scarily impressive.

If I had an enemy, I would not wish that on him or her. It is devastatingly belittling.

I truly do not know how I survived before in this household so devoid of loving care because nothing has changed! But I understand why I "grew up" so fast as well.

Though it hurts to be treated this way, I still feel compassion a lot of the time for this mean-spiritied, unhappy 72-year old woman who has never accepted responsibility for anything in her life.

With hand on my heart, I repeat the Majestic cleansing and healing with Ho'oponopono:

I'm sorry

Please forgive me

Thank you

I love you

Lessons learned

I hope this lesson I learned which is a major turning point for me helps someone else on their journey of becoming. That is my reason for sharing it:
And remember:

WHEN YOU ARE ANGRY, 
IT IS NEVER FOR THE REASON YOU THINK!

I am very grateful to my Higher Self for helping me expose this wound and expunge the pus that was causing me so much pain. I am very grateful indeed to make it here.

It is wonderful to be alive people, thrive thrive thrive!

 

Related articles

• Honesty, The Only Worthwhile Virtue (socyberty.com)
• Mike Robbins: The Power of Empathy (huffingtonpost.com)
• Learning Life's Lessons (everydaygyaan.com)

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You Gotta Have Faith

Image via WikipediaPeople, you gotta have faith whether it's in God, the Universe, Infinite Intelligence, Mahomet or the little tin man from Oz. Grab it, hold onto it and never let it go. Here's a story from Bob Proctor's Insight for the day that says it all.

Just Two Tickets to Indy

"The first time you accept 'good' is the last time you will see excellence." John Ulmo

We had talked about the possibility and it's ramifications for weeks as test after test failed to confirm or refute the diagnosis. 

But now we sat in my office crushed by the reality that it was true; John had ALS, Lou Gehrigs's disease. The insidious affliction strikes the muscular system of its victim, eventually draining the body of all strength to support even breathing and a beating heart.

John had been my business partner, my friend and my mentor for many years. He was the kind of friend who pushed you beyond what you thought you could do. John always saw you not for what you are but for what he thought you could be, and then he never let you settle for anything less. One time I objected to his expectations and he responded patiently, "Rick, I wouldn't be much of a friend if I let you settle for what you think is your best."

We sat in the office crying and holding hands like two adolescent children, realizing that the crippling death sentence would not allow John to live for more that two years. Finally, I asked him to think about the one thing he had always dreamed about doing, something that he had not done yet. Was there some event he would like to see with Bonnie, his loving partner? 

Would it be the running of the bulls in Spain or would he want to see the Great Wall of China, the Parthenon or the Wailing Wall?

His response was actually predictable. John was a lifelong car-racing enthusiast; he had always wanted to go to the Indianapolis 500. Unfortunately, it seemed that the tickets for the event were long tied up in corporate commitments or with fans that handed their seats down through the family as a legacy.

However, I confidently told John it would be no problem. Many of my clients had connections to the automobile industry from tire makers, to paint and oil producers to parts suppliers; someone was certain to have access to just two tickets to Indy. 

But my confidence was misplaced. Time after time, I was told that even though my request was noble, the corporate allotment was predetermined for years in the future. The 1996 Indy 500 came and went and I was unable to get the tickets for John and Bonnie.

I took advantage of my position as a professional speaker for fifteen months. I asked over 100 audiences for the tickets and my hopes sagged, as the 1997 Memorial Day classic loomed nearer. John's faith remained and his fortitude drove him to lead his hectic life as his body declined and strength drained away. 

He would often say, "This disease thinks it has me. Well little does it know, I got it and it hasn't seen anything like me."

For all of his positive faith, I knew in my heart that 1997 would be John's last chance to see the event. By the time I became desperate enough to call them the brokers and scalpers were out of tickets. In a depression for weeks because I had failed to act sooner, I could barely face John and Bonnie. I had failed to make his wish come true. He reassured me that he appreciated the idea and my efforts but said, "You are going to die stressed out over this ticket thing before I die of ALS."

Then, just two weeks before the event, the telephone rang and Peggy Zomack of Cooper Power in Pittsburgh asked the question that stopped my breathing.

"Rick," she asked, "are you still looking for those Indy 500 tickets?" Then she had to ask, "Rick, are you still there?"

I couldn't say anything. My voice was paralyzed. Eventually, I got the words out and through joyful tears assured her she was heaven sent. She put the tickets in overnight mail, and I called Bonnie.

"Bonnie," I said, "tomorrow, before 10:00 A.M. I will have in my hands two tickets to the 1997 Indy 500 for you and John." She and I rejoiced for several more minutes through bouts of more tears. Then a horrifying thought struck me. "Bonnie!" I said, "The 500 is just two weeks from now, I don't know how you will be able to find a room."

"Oh, don't worry about that," she replied, "I paid for the room almost a year ago. I knew if I showed that much faith in Him, God would provide the tickets somehow."

Rick Phillips

Rick Phillips is a motivational speaker and trainer. You can visit his website at: www.rickphillips.com or feel free to email your comments to pssd@earthlink.net

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The Blame Game - Take 100 Percent Responsibility

WE love the blame game. We love to criticise others for our hurts and pains, their lack of giving and caring, their lack of responsibility because we are so precious and sensitive, aren't we; more than anyone else in fact!

Grousing is a popular past-time which has passed its use-by date. It is high time to do away with our favourite catch phrase "after all I did for you..." as well.

RARELY do we take 100 percent responsibility for our present situations, our actions and lack of action.

When you blame someone else for anything that is going wrong or that has gone wrong in your life that you're lying. I expand more 

What happened to you, what you did or did not do or who was involved and their part in the story is irrelevant!

EVERYTHING is a choice and you chose to re-act (acting again and again in the same old way) as you did thereby creating a situation that you did not want! That is the law of attraction at work because you do get what you vibrate.

You believe it is your right to expect others to "do for you" because you are sick and helpless and all the self-pity that goes along with such selfish expectations. 

How come you do not understand that when something is not done out of love it might as well not be done at all. There is no benefit to either party in such a guilt-trip.

STOP playing the waiting game! You are always waiting...for someone to come, for someone to think for you, for someone to act, for someone to fix the problem but there is no one else.

It is up to you and me to get off our arses and be Mr and Mrs Fix-It. Apply the take 100 percent responsibility and principle to your life and banish the problems you created.

When you end up between a rock and a hard place there is always, always a choice and you must choose.

It may not be the most amenable of choices however, as I have learned, it is exactly the experience you need to take you up a notch on the emotional evolutionary ladder. 

James Hillman is riveting about the soul's journey which is what you are living.

WHEN you take 100 percent responsibility for every thing that happens in your life, this simple act changes the way you see the world. 

And even more importantly, it changes the way the world sees you!

You walk to a different beat from there on out. Start living authentically: embrace your truth and live it with gusto.

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Self-Delusion: Going Over The Edge and Breaking Your Arse like a Jackass

I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their own happiness or satisfaction. The Dalai Lama

 

Taking the "High" Road

What happens when you allow yourself to be taken "higher" than you feel comfortable being. And I do not mean lofty ideals to aspire to but more in the line of being pushed or allowing yourself to be persuaded that you can do "it".

The "it" being something outside of your experience that you never considered or gave any significant thought to because you knew it was dangerous and/or life-threatening.
In the Caribbean, they have a saying:

Friends will take you but they won't bring you back.

Lifted By "Talk"
Through constant repetition and insistent badgering, you allow yourself to be buoyed along and "lifted"  by the other person's enthusiasm about their "lofty" ideas, inviting you to come along for the ride.

You allow the talk to wear down your natural resistance aided and abetted by your passive listening because... you are unclear about your own path.

So you depend on being bolstered by their "talk" to achieve the result which they desire. That person of course has his or her own agenda and does not have your interests and well-being in mind or heart.

The selfishness must be discovered and understood before it can be removed. It is powerless to remove itself, neither will it pass away of itself.  Darkness ceases only when light is introduced; so ignorance can only be dispersed by Knowledge; selfishness by Love. James Allen

"Breaking" Your Arse

You discover this later on after you almost "break your arse" as they say here in the Caribbean, like a jackass. Or perhaps after you take the fall.

The less interrogative you are the more embroiled you become in this person's far-fetched plans and the longer it takes to unsnare yourself from their selfish coils.

To understand how you could have been so easily led, read of Eckhart Tolle's
Living in Presence With Your Pain Body.

When men, lost in the devious ways of error and self, have forgotten the "heavenly birth," ... they set up artificial standards by which to judge one another. James Allen

Going Over The Edge

Your so-called friend(s) will commiserate with you after you fall, gently chiding you for not taking care and of course, accepting no responsibility for their part in your predicament.

Incredible as it may seem, they will encourage you to try again; that way they don't have to make any effort to get off their own arses and get a life.

But why should they anyway; they have a jackass to ride – you!

As destabilising as these experiences are, they form part of your soul's journey and the disenchantment and aridity are akin to Judith Rich's Crossing the spiritual desert.

I experienced being hoisted almost over the edge a few years ago when I did not know what the hell to do with my life. I was traversing my own spiritual desert at the time, and a snippet of conversation I heard recently brought it all back.

Meditation brings wisdom; lack of mediation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom. The Buddha

What Awaits Below?

Here's hoping you see the light before you jump off the precipice with nary a scratch since you allowed yourself to be persuaded that it was possible. Even though common sense and a natural sense of self-preservation told you that you would be out of mind to even consider it!
But you did all the same knowing that nothing but the yawning, black maw of death awaited you below.
I can attest that lack of self-esteem – no compassion for self – is the root cause of this problem.
Some people go over the edge and die physically and/or spiritually or both. Others save themselves in the nick of time and then there are those who just will not go there.
Which are you?

Do comment and share your experiences about "going over the edge" at someone else's behest, and if you avoided it, how you did it and what you learned about yourself in the process.

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Perseverence Day: Never Give Up, No Matter What!

Isn't this a fabulous day today?! Today is Perseverance Day with a mega dose of compassion for yourself first and foremost. That's the subject of my food for thought.

When you think love - the caring and sharing, the gentle nagging, the corrections, the acceptance - you become love.

Do you know that? Lots of things do not flow as smoothly as you would like, but so what!

Your Mettle

It is in the doing that you test your mettle; you get to know who you really are. It is through the difficult encounters that you get to meet your worst enemy, yourself. 

When you accept that no one can do anything to you against your will, THAT is when you grow.

The Journey

It took me a long time to understand and accept that the end-game is the least important. It is the journey itself that grows us strong and true.

Sure, the goal you set yourself will eventually be achieved after you fall down and get up and get knocked down and rise up again, and again and again. 

As the great Muhammad Ali says, it is when you're knocked down and stay down, that is when you lose.

Never do that! When you get knocked on your ass and you think you cannot fight anymore, that is exactly when you must find the strength to pull yourself back on your feet.

Persevere through challenges

I grew up with the lesson that giving up was normal. It was pounded into my head day in, day out for years, in addition to the physical abuse. It is quite amazing how humans – parents and caregivers in particular – find effective ways of anchoring a negative message they want to teach.

You must persevere through all difficulties and challenges. Never give up, no matter what! 

You have no choice in the matter if you want a good life for yourself because sure as hell nobody is going to give it to you on a silver platter.

In Your Moment of Need

If there is something that you want, set your mind on it to the exclusion of all else, decide what you are going to do to get it, put yourself in gear, and go for it. 

Some might say "that's easy for you to say but you don't know my situation". That is a cop out plain and simple and a bunch of bull. There is always a way and someone to hold your hand – open up, reach out and I guarantee you there will be someone there to touch.

The incredible Helen Keller was born deaf and blind in the 1900s  and she did not let that or the nay-sayers stop her from achieving her goals which included earning her bachelor degree.

And there ends my food for thought for today peeps, have a grateful day and as Mahatma Gandhi said BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD!

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GOOD NEWS: Love For Your Fellow Man (Chilean Miners Rescue)

Image by WarzauWynn

Shores on the road to hope

Good news does not get any better than the Chilean miners rescue and Cara Barker's article What the Chilean miners can teach us about hope. 

Here's a snippet from the article:

Most of those who've rolled up their sleeves for the cause of liberating 33 miners trapped since August 5 in a Copiapó mine have never met those imprisoned below.

They are love in action, laboring in their cause. Their devotion is compelling. Here, there is no "your family" or "my family," but only "our family." Never before have human beings survived being buried alive for such a long time.

Because these awakened human beings have continued to pour their skill sets, hearts and souls into the work, the news is that freedom is imminent. It's an big story of the heroic. But there's a bigger story going on here than meets the eye.

The rescue after 69 days is really all about love for your fellow man and it is a perfect reminder to us of what is really important in our lives. It does not get any better than this people!

Let us celebrate this event every day in some form to keep that light shining bright in our hearts and minds.

In this vein here are Cara Barker's 8 tips  - from the article - for coming through on our own during times of collapse: nothing but good news...

Image by locket479 via Flickr
1. Anything is possible if we let go of fear and refuse to fight paper tigers in the dark.
2. Faith in what transcends adversity comes by focusing on what is present, and by taking action based on the highest possible outcome.
3. Our history of doubt need not dictate the present outcome for what's troubling.
4. Collaboration creates celebration.
5. Awakening is preceded by time in the darkness.
6. Treasure lives where we least expect to find it. This is at the heart of the alchemy of human transformation.
7. Courage defeats catastrophic thinking.
8. Help is on the way, even when it may be invisible. As Chris Williamson sang, "Open my eyes, that I may see, Spirit of Life, illumine me; Open my eyes, Spirit Divine."

Another excerpt from the article (my favourite part): 

The gift of choice is the one thing that we must remember if we are to rekindle hope in our own tight situations, be they abuse, unemployment, poverty, poor health, failing relationships and even loss. 

When we find ourselves in the tightest quarters, may we recall, as they have illustrated, that we are not laboratory rats, condemned to react as our reptilian brains might indicate. We have choice.

We can ruminate about the future or waste our energy, time and oxygen fighting paper tigers. We can operate at a lower level of the brain stem. Or we can remember that we are more than that, that we can employ our limbic system and our neocortex in a much more appealing way.

We can turn within, to a deeper wisdom, and respond accordingly, in harmony with a higher order.

 Is this woman, Dr Cara Barker, connected or what!

Related articles

• Miners' rescue brings global community together
• You: Chilean miner: 'We were waiting for death' (washingtonpost.com)
• Steve Jobs Sends Chilean Miners New iPods (gizmodo.com.au)
• Dr. Cara Barker: What the Chilean Song of Soul Has to Teach Us (huffingtonpost.com)
• Letters: Miners' indomitable human spirit (guardian.co.uk)
• Chilean miner kept on running (boston.com)
• Drill reaches Chilean miners (americablog.com)

»»  read more

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: The World Is Our Mirror

Image via WikipediaThe world is our mirror through which we learn to see ourselves. If we keep ourselves in isolation, we may lose our place in our own story, like a book that has been dropped. 

Through our interactions with others, we learn about our choices and constantly refine them, finally choosing those who best reflect our ideals as companions on our path. 

We remind each other who we are when we are lost and keep each other in balance so that we can enjoy all that life has to offer. 

Enjoy the reflections you and your friends share today as you connect with life through each other.

DailyOM

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Consciously Seeking The Truth: Find That Open Door

Image by Leonard John Matthews
Why is it that when people find themselves in difficulty they turn to religion?
While it is true that people are searching for what they feel they lack, religion is not the answer. 
It is simply a path to something greater; YOU in your entirety.

Religion is man-made. Sure it was born out of the need to connect with something greater than ourselves but dogma is what all religions spout, and it is a trap for the unwary.

Spirituality on the other hand has always been here. We are spirit after all living a human experience.

Gem's Discovery and her Myopic Condition

This post came about after being twice accosted by an exuberant, thin-skinned, big-hearted and very young twenty-two year old girl I met recently who proudly claims that she has found... Jesus.

Without being prompted Gem explained that in her very large and prosperous family she never felt loved. Kudos to her for being so honest; few of us are!

She said she discovered three years ago that Jesus loves her and she offers to pray with and convert all in her vicinity with unflagging zeal. 
 
I find that kind of myopia deeply offensive and it is typical of these so-called born-again Christians.

Needless to say but I will say it anyway, I throw cold water on those embers any time I see a spark to prevent it from turning into a blaze!

Sadly, it is so obvious that she does not love, like or even respect herself at all and that is a crying shame. Clearly, the young lady has to live the experience in all its myriad forms. 
Consciously Seeking The Truth 

When you are consciously seeking The Truth, somewhere along the way you become aware that religion is a conduit to spirituality and not a destination in and of itself. 

 
You need to know however that what you are seeking can only be found inside of you. 

You cannot connect with Source or whatever you call it through external means. That is impossible!

If you believe I am lying then that also means that you consider yourself to be just flesh, blood and bones.

"The greatest good," said Spinoza "is the knowledge of the union which the mind has with the whole nature."

And if we take this a little further, you are also saying that your internal guidance system, gut instinct, that knowing that you know without knowing how, is bogus. 

This then begs the question "what is the origin of this "knowing"?

If you really believe that "a man upstairs" is talking to you, well... The thing is that you already have all the knowledge you need. 

You just have to tune yourself into the right frequency and trust yourself in what you know to be true and right for you.


I hope you all realise as well that the mind is not a physical entity. It sure as hell is not in your head, so where is it? And where do those "other" thoughts and ideas come from? 

Seeking Source

Yes, it is inside of us all. When you reconnect with Source – your internal guidance system – you connect with all that is – Infinite Intelligence or that which you call God, Yahweh, Jesus, Allah, Buddha or whatever. That is simple to understand, isn't it.

We are ALL one and the same, you know. Together we make up the whole and complete each other. Where there is night there must be day. There can be no light without darkness, positive without negative or good without evil.

I bought into that shit about sin when I was six or seven years old - kids will believe what adults tell them until they begin to think and reason for themselves. 

Swiss Village Fresh Water Fountain

By the time I was ten however, I knew it was all bogus and this phrase made me think of Bogus the movie.


And by the way, we humans are the one who create evil not some invisible entity separate from us. So think on that as well. 

"Know in thyself and All one self-same soul," says the old Hindu poem "banish the dream that sunders part from whole." 

Experiencing Evolution

You create what you need to experience so that you can evolve and grow and putting religious connotations on it diminishes the gains you have made. 
And that too is part of the individual's experiment. 

I am not saying don't be grateful - gratitude is essential. Just be true to who you really are and pat yourself on the back for each and every time you succeed, no matter how small.

We come from the same place, are experiencing a new reality in physical form, are learning and growing.

Yet we are fighting change and getting bumped and bruised in the dark as a consequence. We seek enlightenment, and... are all heading toward the very same destination.

Do not doubt that for a second – so why all the goddamn fuss! It is simply because you do not know what is going to happen from one day to the next.

You certainly did not plan for it and the unknown creates fear which creates resistance, and then you apply the brakes, to no bloody avail.

Yes, I have been there and I am sure you have as well. But guess what, there is no choice but to live it.
No matter how dark a situation may appear there is always a glimmer of light somewhere, always; I can attest to that as well.

However, your eyes have to be open to see it. The beauty of going within and tapping into your well of stillness acknowledges that Infinite Intelligence exists.

Presence and Meditation

Eckhart Tolle coined the term "Presence" in A New Earth (it could have been earlier...) and it is so apt – it encapsulates who we truly are. And when the Presence in you and I reconnects with the whole it is too large for our consciousness to encompass.

Yet, at the same time, it is so incredibly nourishing and fulfilling to be in that quiet out of space and time.

You need to understand that no thing of power exists outside of yourself! 
I say this particularly to those who label themselves "Christian" to underline the fact that Jesus Christ brought Christianity to the world. 

It follows therefore that everyone is a Christian from the get go. Stop with the labels already, they limit your thinking!


Through meditation, you can become more aware of when emotions arise so you can take some time to chill out before they take over. Ed and Deb Shapiro 


The living breathing cosmic mind is here to sustain us; to support and guide us when we connect with it.

Go inward by practising meditation in order to expand outward. It is the only way the Presence in you can go "home" for the rest and succour it needs. That is why meditation works you see.

Meditation IS for everyone. Make it a 15-minute habit every single day. Ed and Deb Shapiro share 8 ways meditation can change your life.
When the Presence in you recognises the Presence in another, it is magical.

Powerful Beyond Imagining

Marianne Williamson reminds us that Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. You are powerful beyond imagining.

It is your power to reach beyond your tiny human shell, to connect with and embrace the magnificence that you are.

You create magic in whatever you undertake and that is what intimidates you and makes you afraid and so you retreat, preferring to remain in stygian darkness. It is time to cut that shit out.

I am an exceptional human being and so are you! Do you get what I am saying here?

When you start thinking maybe this is too much; I shouldn't aim too high; Aim for the sky yeah right, and burn up on re-entry... understand that you learned these fearful thoughts from those around you.

It is high time that you rid yourself of that dark, sour, stinking, invisible miasma you wear.

And at the same time, rid yourself of those around you who do (family members included) not support you and your dreams. Your mental shackles are keeping you in lockdown.

DECIDE RIGHT NOW with the smallest of steps that you will take your life back and start living as the magnificent human being that you are. Go find that open door and let your light shine through.

Life Is A Choice – Make It

Be full of wonder. Embrace the glory of life in the here and now, blessed by all the stars in the Universe. 

Know with absolute certainty that EVERYONE is on your side. This is the only way to live your life people.

Thank Mother Earth every day for her bountiful offerings from a simple, life-sustaining glass of water and embrace all that is because YOU chose it – yes you did my dear! 

Judith Rich's Growing through adversity: victim or victorious clearly and beautifully illustrates this subject for us. LIFE IS A CHOICE.

Make the choice every single day to accept what comes your way unless you decide to permanently take yourself out of the game of life, leaving those behind to grieve your loss. That too is a choice.

I don't know where these words come from but I sure am grateful to the Universe for sending them my way.

Some more fine reading

• Cara Barker: Do You Know Your Love IQ?
• A novel about Mohammed, by Deepak Chopra
• Andrew Z. Cohen: Spiritual Practice Is Spirit Lived
• Must Christian life involve religion? | Shirley Lancaster
• Deepak Chopra: Real Belief Is A Personal Search for Truth
• ROGER KOSKELA | Spirituality Gaining; How About Religion?
• Swami Kriyananda: The Real Issue: Reconciling Science With Experience
• How Meditation Affects The Gray Matter of The Brain by David R Hamilton 
• Ervin Laszlo: Why Some Religious People Fear (and Fight) Science -- And Why It's a Sad Mistake

»»  read more

10 Favourite POSTS Rx-ing for the Soul: Sip, Pause, Savour and Reflect

Image by giobi via Flickr

Here's my good news for the day – 10 favourite posts from the incredible Dr Judith Rich that knocked my socks off. I suggest that you sip, pause, savour and reflect to allow the full taste to bloom in your mouth. 

Her words strike a chord on first read even when you're tempted to dismiss them out of hand but they stay with you, making you think.

Then come the aha! moments and that is the beauty of her words.

1. Kitchen table wisdom 1.0
2. Crossing the spiritual desert
3. Are you available for miracles? 
4. Does life always conspire for our highest good? 
5. The power of conscious forgetting 
6. The power of conscious forgetting, part 2
7. The soul of relationships 
8. Soulful living: why is cultivating the soul so painful? one of my favourites
9. Solitude for extroverts: medicine for a weary soul 
10. Happiness is overrated 

I don't know how she does it so beautifully - must be her connection to Infinite Intelligence otherwise it wouldn't be possible. She always has the subject and us human beings dead to rights! Definitely Rx-ing for the Soul...

Do comment and tell me what specifically touched you or do you think I'm just full of it. Feel free to let me know.

Some more goodies:

• Dr. Judith Rich: Are You Planning for Life or Living It?
• Dr. Judith Rich: How to Love A Curmudgeon

»»  read more