The Earth and Us

We all come from and return to the Earth.  Yes, maybe we are also made of some distant stardust that has been recycled from millions of years before.  Our bodies are made of the same materials as everything associated with this planet.

I use the endearing term star shine or star dust since this is our primal essence.

We are composed of roughly one-fifth carbon and calcium atoms coming from ancient recycled stars billions of years ago.  These rays were cycled when they collapsed as white dwarfs and exploded as supernovas forming stardust.  Born in a universe 14 billion years old, 93 billion light years wide with over 300 billion other stars.  I guess we are speaking of a finite not infinite universe.

Our planet almost 5 billion years old were life appeared almost 4 billion years and the first hominid creatures showed up a billion years ago

Mostly salt water, carbon, oxygen and many other of the same chemicals, and compounds. Interesting is that our heart is a huge pump that circulates blood and other nutrients so we may function.   With profound humility I find much appreciation when l reflect about my connection to this place and all things that enable me to be here.  The Earth and I are one and the same and my heart celebrates unification .

The word human itself comes from the root as humus, earth.  So too does humble, which makes better sense because the best way of saying humble is to realize you're made of.  Long before science came along to explain the minute details of it happens, cultures all around the world knew that our bodies are made from earth, and when we die our bodies go back to it.*

* The Map of Heaven , Eban Alexander, 20114 xiii

Heart Flow

When I fully open my heart I enter a flow state.  Entering this state of awe I become fully absorbed with all aspects of my moment to moment experience. Entering this flow I find less resistance, and greater rhythm with all aspects of my life.

Greater inner and outer connections happen.   For example I mention to a friend about my sacred relationship with hawks and then I immediately hear a hawk cry outside.  This form of serendipity results when I become more intuitive or right brained.

In this flow, I become more self-actualized, unified and aware.  Entering a more compassionate and trusting state I open to greater possibilities.  Fear based emotions such as doubt, despair, and controlling lessens my flow. Flow is about a zone of effortlessness, and ease.  I experience increased unity and harmonious connection with everything.

It is if I am kayaking on the Shenandoah River and I become the water, absorbed, alert and fully conscious.  The awe of flow brings a form of tranquility, and oneness. No longer is there just the sum of the parts, however, a more vibrant whole.

At times I enter a sense of timeless concentration in this flow state. I even can find stillness in this state of actualized movement.  I become fully immersed in whatever I am doing, however, maintaining a heighten awareness of my surroundings.

There is divine energy or chi when I flow.  This momentous state comes a form of inspiration not desperation.  A more loving  and kind psychic force happens.  An  alignment with the TAO or natural way happens because of flow. Acting in this  Zen place I am unified with a natural pulse. Instead of being with the breath I am the lightness of breath. Great leaders, artistic or athletes exhibit this charismatic zone.  Fully concentrated and motivated work and play become one. 


There are virtuous indicators of flow since I become more open, trusting, fearless, compassionate, sincere and present. Flow Mihaly Csikszenthalyi describes as, "an optimal experience, a state of concentration so focused that is results in absolute absorption in an activity."

When I tap this flow of my heart I touch a higher consciousness and apperception.  I have  unconditionally arrived in this heart filled place.  Flow gives me grace and appreciation of this illuminated way of well-being.

Heartfelt Brain Health

A friend of mine just shared with me a talk she saw on Brain health. Dr. Paul Nussbaum talked about it's a lifelong process to increase brain resilience. The brain has immense power, and you can shape your brain for improved health.

Below gives you 5 basic components of to increase your brain health, according to Dr. Nussbaum:

1.  Socialization : Keep involved, build friendship & family networks, develop purposeful activities. Cultivate what is positive - since our brain dwells to much on the negative. Let go of resentment and anger. Be kind to all including yourself. Compassion, faith, and other virtuous messages give your brain better health.

2.  Physical Activity: Walk as much as possible, engage in aerobic exercise, dance, garden, and even write with your non-dominant hand. Using both sides of your body builds brain resilience. Do routine things a different way than you always have.

3.  Mental Stimulation: Do novel and complex things -- get away from rote, passive activities, Travel, Learn 2nd language,  and play board games/puzzles.  Use the healing power of music and other ways to cultivate wholesome acts.

4.  Nutrition: Increase Omega-3 fatty acids (fish, walnuts, almonds, etc.).  Decrease processed foods, bad fat and sugar; Increase anti-oxidants--  and have 6 servings of fruit/veggies daily

5. Spirituality: Pause, relax and open to a new sense of calm.  First slow down and unplug as much as possible.  Learn relaxation procedures, meditate or pray daily.   Work on breathing rhythmically and slowly several times a day (deep breathing relaxes the body, and betters manage your stress). Power of turning inward is a great medicine.

Improving your brain's health and well being is the best thing investment you can make. Stimulate your like minded and positive relationships:  increase your physical activity; stimulate new mental possibilities; feed yourself healthy foods; and cultivate a relaxed and contemplative spirit by listening to your heart to improve your mind.

The Magic of Noble Friends

Over 18 years ago around 10 of us new meditators agreed to meet every other Thursday in a Kalyana-Mitra group.  We came to sit and learned how to profoundly listen and speak with greater mindfulness for 2 hours. 

It is my understanding that Kalyana-Mitra (KM ) or "noble friend" comes from the Buddhist tradition where wisdom and insight is cultivated when like-minded people meet together focused around a common intention.  Our amazing gatherings began in Takoma Park not far from where I was born. Here, we agreed to explore our difficult emotions.

John O’Donohue writes in Anam Cara- A Book of Celtic Wisdom on page 25-26;

KM or noble friend will not accept pretension but will gently and very firmly confront you with your own blindness. No one can see his life totally.  As there is a blind spot in the retina of the human eye, there is also in the soul a blind side where you are not able to see. Therefore you must depend on the one you love to see for what you cannot see for yourself. Your KM complements your vision in a kind and critical way.  Such friendship is creative and critical; it is willing to negotiate awkward and uneven territories of contradiction and woundedness.
 

One of our deepest longings of the human soul is the longing to be seen. In the ancient myth Narcissus looks into a pool and sees his own face, and becomes obsessed with it. Unfortunately, there is no mirror in the world you can catch a glimpse of your soul. You cannot even see you whole body completely.  If you look behind you, the front of your body is out of view. You can never be fully visually present to your self. The one you love, your anam cara, your soul friend, is the truest mirror to reflect your soul. The honesty and clarity of true friendship also brings out the real contour of your spirit. It is beautiful to such presence in your life.

As I celebrate our KM anniversary with our group this weekend I feel boundless gratitude. What magic it is to have noble friends who have elevated my life with such a priceless heartfelt experience.

Fostering Positive Feedback

Taking care of oneself is a conundrum since self care is required.  Creating an inner feedback loop to change old patterns and stimulate new attitudes is paramount to progressing out of the past "stuckness" through self compassion.  Fostering new behaviors that are none judgmental while motivates me to lessen my pain help encourage my greater well being.  Developing and wiring this internal feedback loop can be thought of as turning on one's inner light switch.

Below gives one example how coaching can help develop this;

You might be asking, “Why would coaching help me with fibromyalgia?” The answer lies in the interconnection and "feedback loop" between the body and the mind. Because being in pain creates a physical sense of stress, it releases stress hormones, which, in turn, can affect our mood and contribute to feelings of depression, trauma, and anxiety. A "feedback loop" is thus created where the pain feeds the stress hormones, which, in turn, create more pain. 

Often, those with fibromyalgia have prior life experiences and events that create stress, anxiety and trauma. This, in turn, can give rise to fibromyalgia, because of the feedback loop described above. But even among those who don't have a prior history, the pain and discomfort, combined with the difficulty in getting a diagnosis and appropriate treatment can, itself create feelings of trauma, depression and/or anxiety1.

So much of my life has been filled with negative self talk and/or unskillful thoughts that distract deter or lessen my happiness.  Finding both people and an environment that encourages more illuminating ways of being and thinking is what I welcome.  As a tennis teacher I have for years coached how to accomplish this feat from a perspective of match and recreational play.  How can I boast motivation or make their instructional time the most enjoyable and productive experience?

I come to a threshold.  I can continue to allow my negativity to further my suffering or I can explore new ways to manage this anxiety and celebrate life.  It is my choice whether my remaining time hear is hellish or heavenly. May I benefit from creating a more supportive way of being.

1 https://innerharmonyhealing.com/pain-chronic-issues/fibromyalgia/

Unifying Art - Transcendelia

Nothing is more powerful then the experience of oneness.  Western culture has instilled us with a sense of being separate, fragmented even at times disconnected.  However, when we become united or the sum of the parts we may feel at one.   At times we can find ourselves in this transcendent state of being, in our recreation or other special settings.  This feeling of awe can manifest as we are watching ocean waves reflecting the light of a full moon or the wonder of watching the sun rise, creating a unified feeling by beauty of nature.

Art is a fantastic medium to portray our non dual nature.  Here we can see how we are all interconnected- body, mind and spirit.  Years ago Abraham Maslow stated that the transcendent experience is a healing force.

In the chapter of Eye of the Artist- Ken Wilbur writes in “Sacred Mirrors : Visionary Art of Alex Grey, Inner Traditions 1990 the following writes about the third perspective of contemplation of the spiritual, transcendental and transpersonal world.  Ken calls this the “Eye of contemplation” which discloses a transpersonal, transverbal, trans-egoic world, of luminous soul and spirit.  He calls this realm as transcendelia, where objects perceived by the soul and spirit.

Mr. Wilbur writes of the three overall realms from matter/body to ego/mind to soul/spirit that is referred in various contemplative traditions as the Great Chain of Being.

He describes this in more detail on page 14[1] below;

The secret of all genuinely spiritual works of art is that they issue from nondual or unity consciousness, no matter what “objects” they portray.  A painting does not have to depict crosses and Buddha’s to be spiritual.  This is way for example Zen landscapes are so profoundly sacred in their texture, even if they are just “landscapes.”  The issue from nondual awareness or unity consciousness, which is itself Spirit.  At the height of transcendence, Spirit is also purely immanent of all-pervading, present equally and totally in each and every object, whether of matter, body, mind or soul. The artwork, of no matter what the object, becomes transparent to the Divine, and is a direct expression of Spirit.

The viewer momentarily becomes the art and is for that moment release from the alienation that is ego.  Great spiritual art dissolves the ego into nondual consciousness and is to that extent experienced as an epiphany: a revelation, release or liberation from the tyranny of the separate self-sense.  To the extent that a work can usher one into the nondual, then it is the spiritual or universal, no matter whether it depicts bugs or Buddhas.

A critical theory of art based on the perennial philosophy would demand at least two scales.  On the horizontal scale would be included all the elements on a given level that influence a work of art.   These elements include everything from the artist’s talent and background, socioeconomic facts and psychological factors, to cultural influences.  The vertical scale, according to the perennial philosophy, cuts at right angles to all these earthy facts and deal with the ontological dimension of Being itself.  The vertical would have several components summarized by the question, How high up on the Chain of Being is the work itself situated?

The great artists of the modern era kept alive the quest for the sacred and the search for Spirit, while all about them the cultural world was succumbing to scientific materialism.  For this we are forever in their debt.  The next great movement in Western art is waiting to be born.  It will not be of the body, or the mind but of the soul and spirit.  Thus we await with much anticipation the great artistic symbols “that belongs on the altars of some future spiritual religion.”

Today we need to shift from our paradigm of being divided to one of being united.  Artistic expression provides countless creative acts how that both unify our collective situation and offers invaluable insight.  The need to heal and become whole is paramount.   May artists of all walks celebrate the unification of our great chain of being.   Connecting our body/mind/spirit to new frontiers of oneness and unity will heighten all things to greater collective experiences.

---

[1] Sacred Mirrors : Visionary Art of Alex Grey, Inner Traditions, 1990

New Beginnings

Years ago I had the honor to meet John O'Donohue speaking at a church across from American University. I will never forgot how I ask a question to him in a very non ordinary way. I said that dying was easy but I found living was quite difficult. He responded with great kindness and blessed me with with some friendly words.

John O'Donohue wrote before he died "The Blessed Space Between Us" in 2008 these paragraphs below,

To live in the creative life, we always need a critical look at where we presently are, attempting always to discern where we have become stagnant and where new beginnings might be ripening. There can be no growth if we do not remain open and vulnerable to what is new and different. I have never seen anyone take a risk for growth that was not rewarded a thousand times over.

There is a certain innocence about beginning, with its excitement and promise of something new. But this will emerge only through undertaking some voyage into the unknown. And no one can foretell what the unknown might yield. There are journeys we have brought inner riches and refinement; but to travel through dark valleys of difficulty and suffering. Had we known at the beginnings what the journey would demand of us, we might never set out. Yet the gifts and rewards become vital to who we are..

When the heart is ready for a fresh beginnings, unforeseen things can emerge. And in a sense, this what a beginnings does. It is an opening for surprises. Surrounding the intention and the act of beginning, there always exciting new possibilities...*

Also he wrote in the last paragraph of his poem, New Beginnings

Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

Further in this book Mr. O'Donohue wrote the shape of the human heart  blends together both a circle and a triangle. He observed the heart space as a triad where the self and its otherness unites into a threefold force-the spirit of friendship. This fellowship becomes greater then the sum of the other two dimensions. May we all benefit from John's wisdom and begin once again with the blessing of a new friendly possibility.


*John O'Donohue- The Blessed Space Between Us, 2008, pg, 2-3

Shenandoah Star Legend

 Shenandoah, Daughter of the Stars Legend

After the Great Spirit had made the world, the morning stars came together on the shores of a quiet silver lake bordered with blue mountains, the most beautiful place they could see.

Hovering above the quiet waters and lighting the mountain tops with their robes of fire, the stars sang their songs of joy and pledged to gather here every thousand years.

One time when the stars were singing, there came a mighty crashing!! A great rock in the mountain wall tore asunder, and through the deep opening the lake waters began to pour out and rush to the sea.

As time passed, the stars looked over the earth for another place to meet. They finally agreed upon a lovely valley through which a winding river ran.

Suddenly the stars realized that this valley had been the bed of their beautiful lake, and the blue mountains around it were the same ones upon which they had cast their robes of light in ages past.

The stars were so joyous they placed the brightest jewels from their crowns in the river where they still lie and sparkle. And ever since that day, the river and its valley have been called....DAUGHTER OF THE STARS

http://www.visitshenandoah.org/About-Us/Daughter-of-the-Stars.aspx

The above old tale elevates me to see my celestial connection here in the Shenandoah.  There is an amazing mind/body insight that  I use to illuminate my spirit.  When I allow my water body to be purified by these star-filled ultra violet lights every atom of my existence becomes awakened. The transmutation of these astral lights forms a union of opposites grounding the heavens with our earth; rooting the soil with water and air charged by this extraordinary cosmic phenomenon. A numinous one-ness is born beyond concepts. Where the river meets the land or air touches the water. The mystery of this whole, where a moment becomes a trillion years. A rare synchronous and numinous events celebrate the unification of our inner and outer worlds. Rays cycle- circulating the elements of all known things, simultaneously dancing light and darkness in unimaginable ways.

Honoring the Mystery

When I honor the mystery I liberate myself to a wiser way of being.   Showing up to life’s mystical truth I become awakened.  We all share, come from and return to this mystery.   Also we all are connected by a common spirit of the mystical elements of earth, air, fire, and water.  

Both we and I are one and the same with the cosmos.  Everything is made up of some distant stardust including our flesh; bones, blood and body are comprised of the same things.

Awakening that my heart and the earth are tied together unites me.  When I see the interconnection that allows me to go beyond my suffering.  Love and understanding comes with this realization.  Such inner being is the portal to my oneness and all being.  There is a higher level of consciousness when I see the mystery of all things.  Chaos strangely organizes again into new phenomenon.  I am just a cloud passing in the sky reforming into new water vapor.

Just as a tree nourishes me I exchange with it with the air  I breathe and the oxygen it shares.  All natural cycles exchanges life sustaining properties. All things I smell, taste, touch, hear, and feel have a shared mystical connection. 

Honoring this mystery elevates my well-being, and unifies my consciousness.  Our collective heart guides us to the truth of our mutual connections.  Awakening to my common relationship with all things, comes through stillness and a profound listening. 

There is mystical exchange of love and light in this amazing universal spider's web.  Respecting this mystery gives me guidance and freedom. 

May I honor the mystery since nothing is separate

May I be still with not fully knowing, fully present

May I observe the sacred bonds all things mystical

May I know how all things exchange air, fire, water, earth forms

May I contemplate on how my body and the world act in self organizing chaos.

May I see that even things lifeless have spirit

May I behold how we share the same things

May we explore the deeper truth of the universal mystery

Legacy- Pass it on!

Being a visitor here I wish to leave behind something that speaks to the core of my heart. May I leave behind a footprint that is more like the flight of a hawk than the remains of an elephant.

Passing on better prospects is the best investment I can make. Everyday I attempt to share a kind word or a smile. Investing in some type of positive action is passing on a some form of a legacy. Thus far I have assisted numerous resource conservation programs and taught tennis to thousands of people of all walks.  Also I have helped many people and donated my time to many volunteer causes.

Service to others is the ultimate gift for me.  This form of generosity provides me with enormous benefits.   Taking the time to pause and bond with people I increase my divine connection.  Also meeting folks from where they are allows me to discover what is truly going on.

Everything in life is about relationships.  Treating resources or non living matter as sacred I find grace. This heightens my feelings of being alive.  I find happiness from all the bountiful ways I can my show thanks to this earth. From this I receive what I call "happy returns."  May I pass on the this legacy of appreciation since it is the ultimate gift that keeps on giving. 

 Love the animals, love the plants, love everything.  If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things.  Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day.  And you will come a last to love the whole world.  With all-embracing love. F Dostyevsky

To laugh often and much

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others: To leave the world a bit better, whether a healthy child, a garden patch or redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded- RW Emerson

The Challenge

The greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our disposition not our circumstances.  Martha Washington

Life is filled with bountiful challenges.  How we address or relate to this adventure provides me with a question of what my attitude is at each bend and turn.

 

As a visitor here, I can be a receiver, giver or some other role. What goes around may also come around depending upon what seeds of the future I plant.

 

The magic of my exploration is about what is my intention is.  I create my reality in many ways depending on my mindset.  If I am in a positive frame of mind things tend to be better than when I am negative.  It is not that I have to wear rose colored glasses rather I approach things as opportunities not difficulties.

First- Find a common language. Words can either connect or disconnect people to the same concept.   Many words can be easily misunderstood. What is said and how it is spoken is paramount since communication is essential to quality relationships.

Second- Concentrate on being well.  Paying attention to the wealth associate in wholesome mental states is the best cheapest investment I can make to cultivate future prosperity.  My health is my greatest asset.

Third-  ART or a form of self expression that incorporates- Appreciation, Resolve and Transform.  
 

-Appreciation is the source is true wealth and happiness.

-Resolve activates me to share my creativity.

-Transform is what happens in the artistic process.

Fourth- Listening allows me to access better my intuition.  Hearing from a place of being still and open gives me clarity and insight.

Fifth- Observe Cause and Effect Relationships.  By seeing the nature of how things work and what happens when I do one thing and what results I benefit. 

Six- Celebrate our greater unification and the big picture.  Life's greatest challenge is to remember we are not separate but connected to all things.  My greatest moments in my life are spent when a feel the whole not the sum of the parts.  I celebrate this sense of harmony and oneness with countless loving acts. 

My life is becomes richer when I a relate to its challenge to find how I can benefit instead of the opposite. Coming from an attitude filled with gratitude I see the blessings in any curses that arise.

 

Life is not matter of holding good cards, but playing  a poor hand well.  RL Stevenson

Going to the Next Level

A wise men makes more opportunities than he finds- F Bacon

To achieve my full potential I term going to the next level. This journey is all about quieting my mind and listening to my heart.

For me giving my best to the world is a gift that is return in what I call "Happy Returns." I have been involved with all aspects of recycling so naturally I refer to the three R’s for guidance.

1) Reduce my suffering by giving my best to the world so to reap its rewards.
2) Reuse my many strengths such as joy, love and enthusiasm.
3) Recycle things with purpose and fully using what is here and now.

Happy Returns is about creating an attitude of gratitude. Also it aids me to explore more creative ways to cherish people, energy and resources. To reach my full potential I must cultivate my virtue, time and or my talents. I intend get more than just the return on my investment but the return of my life investment.

As a lifelong tennis player and teacher I focus on giving "happy returns" both on and off the courts. There are many similarities to playing tennis and serving our beloved earth. One is keeping things in play. Another is to learn how to better serve. The ultimate game in my life now is living to my full potential or giving my best in all aspects of my life.

May I be fearless enough to venture to the next level to go beyond my old patterns that detains me from my higher calling.  Ignoring my negative self talk and past delusions may I attract new opportunities and be of greater service.

I visualize the stars above are melting my icy doubt into new drops of water further changing into a rainbow mist of new possibilities.  Born is attention to "excel" awakening my spirit to an inspired, life-changing, focused awakening. Beyond the mundane, dull, lethargic, mind state to "observe" how my body/mind sensations may let go of my negative unconscious energy. so to now to dazzle. My losses become transmuted into gains only when I realize their lessons as I mentally shifted from my limbic system to my frontal cortex.  I liberate my soul from much of my reptilian mental baggage. A dazzling shooting star of vibrancy comes out of my heart.

May I go to the next level of my potential. Reduce my suffering; reuse my gratitude; and recycle all that I can so to better serve.

No one’s destiny has been written. You are born with potential, not a limited destiny. Whether or not you reach the fullest potential that is available to you is a matter of choices that you make.
Gary Zukav

Unifying Spiritual Cooperation

Throughout our time here on the earth we have sought a spiritual connection. Religious people and institutions have best attempted to meet this need. However, numerous circumstances have resulted. Over  8 out of every 10 people here on earth are members of some sort of religion.

Unity, light, love, kindness, charity, prayer, meditations are common spiritual concepts.

There have been many positive and negative facets of world religions. However the ramifications of organized religions at times may diverge from spiritual teachings.

Honoring spiritual views have an important social, economic and moral role. At the same time due to the misuse of power by many religious instructions many conscious individuals may tend to mistrust or doubts these institutions.

What are the common spiritual beliefs that most humans can agree upon. Are there such a thing? Would this benefit us to share a more unified worldview? If we can agree on some basic principles would this help develop a world community?

Develop some type of basic moral consensus could maybe help best direct the nearly 7 billion people here today. Divergent worldviews, and polarized positions are not just costly but threaten collaboration to address our very future.

A strong set of common interests is paramount to plant seeds of hope for the next few generations. Population growth, climate change, war, global poverty, disease, food shortages are just a few of enormous challenges facing us.

Religion plays a pivotal role in addressing not just our evolution, however, very survival if you check with recent scientific information. Simple natural resource use and consumer growth are not ecologically viable.

Greater spiritual guidance to find purpose and happiness in a material world quickly spiraling out of control is vital. Existential despair and increased self destructive behavior needs to be better addressed from establish a more ethical cosmos.

Without enlightening teachings personal insights to transform one to higher levels of potential will not be developed. Religion has helped many find their way in dark times. Rituals help to people to awaken to the sacredness of all things. Promoting common spiritual themes could influence many to open their hearts and access a new dimension of their souls.

Faith based measures offer new community possibilities toward creating new enterprises to address societal challenges. However past religious history is filled with injustice, violence, ignorance and others that are contrary to their basic beliefs.

Religions engage people throughout this planet with a sense of meaning and are important. They help shape worldviews and what people's place and purpose. Besides creating strong social networks, these institutions have economic and cultural resources to influence people. Advocating for civil rights is just one example. The American revolutions were greatly assisted by our churches.

Two-thirds of today's populations are Hindus, Christians or Islamic. Upwards of 80 percent of us are religious and this social capital has extensive communications, information and community outreach. Over one-third of today's volunteers come from faith based organizations providing invaluable public services.

Presently western culture has been too successful in creating individualism.  We have created much separateness and a form of disconnection. We are losing our ability to socialize and create greater community.  One possibility to expand our social network is coops.  There are some 1000 rural electric coops, 3000 housing coops and 1000 pre-school cooperatives.  Some 6800 credit unions serve today have nearly 100 million members.  People coming together to resolve their problems form coops.  Coops act as socio-economic enterprises to help people's need for improved goods and services.  

Developing a common spiritual language does not mean a complete agreement on all terms. However, the agreeing on what we share in. What do we care for? What has common value for us all? Air, water, land, energy or whatever resources we use. Do not we also revere?

As our future shows limitations so will our need to be ingenious in how we all share the same things. From this experience we may learn how we similarity will benefit us all in better communicating our spiritual similarities rather than our differences.   Being kind, generous, tolerant, accepting, forgiving are virtues that unite not divide us as human beings.  Finding what we agree on and how we can better live together are in all our interest.

Managing Best With Less

Focusing on using less I best expand my possible options.  A simpler life style translates for me into a richer life.  It is the old KISS acronym, "Keep It Simple Sweetheart."  Such ingenuity increases my creative spirit. When I focus on less rather than more I best manage.

Advancing my well being happens when I micro manage best taking care of both me and a my higher sense of self.  Micro manage is simply me attending decisions and actions within my circle of influence.  Taking care of my personal matters allows me to best focus on what requires my most immediate attention. Then whatever larger issues I address I do so with greater skill.

When I try to macro-manage or what I call "save the world" I spin out of control of being of greater service. Global warming, poverty and other injustices outside my control I can address by being the change on a micro level. 

I prosper when I pay attention how I can benefit and be of service directly to what I can.   I fulfill my basic needs this also allows me to help others in getting some of their needs met.  However, doing this requires care and a wise understanding of consequences of my actions. Leading by example demonstrating by deeds not words I give and get my best. 

 “How can I love all things in this world with such profound compassion and empathy while have a small sense of loathing about myself?”   I create such separation increasing my suffering.  Lessening my resistance around any pain will allow me to champion greater effectiveness.

Over the years  my inner critical voice has put me in much turmoil.  This unkind voice makes me feel inadequate, and damaged with such a fearful other thoughts.  Today I am careful how I relate to my thinking or how I identify with my mind.   My thoughts do not define me, however, may confine me depending on my present attitude whether I see the world as a blessing or a curse.

Simply my freedom is tied to how I can make the best choices.  Such decision require discerning how things will play out and what path gives me the greatest benefit. Managing best with less liberates me to my highest potential. 

Investing In WellYes

WellYes is about strengthening my well being in my connection to all things and my higher self. Developing greater interpersonal experiences opens the doors to new ways and types of relationships.  This in turn enriches every aspect of my life. Such encounters broaden my fellowships with all things and expand my well being because I am further sharing with others.  

Cultivating these values expands all my relationships since I tap into a kindness to be with whatever may arise. By forgiving  I learn to better go forth from my mistakes.  The key is to be steadfast and find out what brings me greater happiness and freedom.  Willingness, enthusiasm and inspiration take me to the next level.

Finding my greater self is an act of radical self-love.  When I go into the woods for example I can reconnect to something that makes me feel more one and in harmony with my higher self.  Horseback riding for me is another.  Connecting to this earth, the stars or whatever thing that gives me this feeling of “wow” or “awe” paramount to this united feeling of returning to my ultimate home. 

Also this helps me see what is true about many difficult and uncomfortable issues and realities with life.  It is welcoming way for me to see new potential and new ventures.   Such exploration reveals what my critical virtues are and how I value them.  Further examination of these illuminate and recharges my energy.Instead of harming myself I benefit myself. This elevates my sense of purposefulness.  

Becoming more fearless to face my uncomfortable stuff I cultivate new courage. Then, I can transmute certain behaviors that no longer serve me and cease greater opportunities.  Keeping myself open is fundamental. Also taking things less personal expands my perspective to see the bigger picture. 

Thus I lessen my inner critic but instead use greater positive self-talk. Less judging helps me create greater realistic goals.  Greater observation allow me expanded possibilities and my dreams to happen by deeply listening to whatever arises. This aids me to best integrate my genuine self.  When I celebrate my blessings and exercise gratitude as a daily ritual this keeps my wellness in check. Also I prosper when I  focus on being centered so to best serve. What results is an increased sense of tranquility, joy and  harmony. 

Paramount is that I micro not macro manage.  Showing  by example adds to my  fun, grace and sense of new awe. Expanded responsibility liberates me to new possibilities.  I find the wealth right here and now since each moment of life is a present.  Surrendering to greater unconditional love I receive and enjoy my happy returns when I give it my all.

Below are examples of ways I exercise WellYes:

May I give my thanks to all life's gifts, and further count my blessings.

May I pay my respect to how all things are interconnected.

May I give thanks to the air and my lungs that I breathe.

My I give thanks to the sun and my heart that provides energy.

May I give thanks to my body and water that provides life.

May I give thanks to my spirit and the land that sustains me. 

Thanks to all my ancestors and future beings. 
Thanks to all the things on the earth that make life happen.

Thanks to our amazing web that unites all together.

WellYes Now!

Well-being happens by enacting a realistic action plan making more with less in three ways. 1)  Creating greater possibilities.  2) Celebrating developing new prosperity.  3) Keeping appearances up and expenses down.   This quest is done around several ideas with the theme of - Promoting life assurances not life insurances.

* How can I live everyday as my last and leave this world better from my actions then I found it? Or give the best to the world, show my greatest potential to be more alive, here and in the "wow."

* Who can I partner or find allies with to share in this adventure.

* What will be the best way I can help myself and others so I can better serve my time here?

I feel more alive when I am kind and gentle. This act of forgiveness and acceptance increases my inner love. This accounts, corrects and transmutes my mistakes as lessons and my curses into blessings. Exercising  my value I build my wealth

Now I venture out to discover what best serves me.  Sailing out into the new seas of discovery, I must navigate around the huge icebergs of those hidden habits that used to enslave me with their dark patterns.

Focusing on key questions, and then reframing them guides me better forward.  Using the momentum of my past successes I illuminate future prospects by further tapping my inner wealth.

The key to my venture is awakening to my choice point.  I can either remember or not.  If I pause with the intention to activate some greater fearlessness, I can liberate myself into a field of new possibility and light. Showing my value and my wealth of spirit increases all facets of my life with bountiful new possibilities of prosperity.

 Set the Intention 
1) Make it happen -  Increase friendship, projects and interconnection activity
2) Celebrate another great day of living with new art, creations and inspirations
3) Recharge my energy
4) Have fun and laugh a lot along the way
5) Show up in a more vibrant and skillful manner
6) Practice/Play/Be/Become/ Clean House and Let Go

Pay Attention to Principles
1) Awakening to value- Listen to what really matters and see it's profound worth
2) Interacting to show it- treating things with kindness, respect and wisdom, for example leaving things better then you found them, showing people I really care about all things. Take time to fully arrive to the present.
3) Maximize and minimize- Use both what I have and be productive- output over input show I use more/waste less, effectively  find grace so to  minimize my footprint and maximize my contribution. Be more blessed and leave no mess.
4) Employ the Prefix the 4 RE's -REframe to see the opportunity, REnew with gratitude, REfine your situation, REcreate whatever presents itself,
5) Transmute the Possible- Create the Intention You Never Know Until You Find-Out while you Pay Attention to Cultivate Further Virtues
6) Enjoy the Happy Returns- It’s not about the outer; it is about the positive inner feedback you get that returns and returns.

Well Yes, Well Being = Wealth

Well being for me is a wisest form of wealth. However, it takes courage to change my old habits and focus on ways I may prosper. Transforming my words into deeds is paramount to my future happiness.

It is time to ACT- ACCOUNT, CORRECT, TRANSMUTE to dig up the buried treasure.

Account- First, how may I show by action? By taking inventory of my strengths  I can tap into what inspires me instead of tires me? What lightens me instead that which weighs me down I can best get pass my weaknesses.

Correct- Second, how I may correct my past mistakes so I can invest in new ways to care for myself and others. How may I be more focused and less distracted?

Transmute-Third how may I transmute my circumstances since well being truly equates to  wealth.  Once I see the virtue of my new attitude, this gratitude fully applies to what I presently have here and now.

For me I use the word "WellYes" as an ultimate way for self care.  Also this allows me  to better serve myself and my world.  Sailing out into the new seas of personal discovery, I must navigate around the huge icebergs of those habits that turn my dream boat into a ship wreck.

Willingness powers the winds of change for my voyage. Asking and honestly answering wise questions directs me to my buried treasure of new riches thanks to WellYes.

My old inner critic can quickly spark a mutiny.  However, finding which directions the warms winds of heaven may gently blow is my challenge.  What works better to go with the winds of change or against them?

What's better? WellYes or Hell No? The simple notion to richly pay attention to the the treasure map of well being is how I chart my course.

My lucky stars above are my guide if only I may trust their guidance. Such fearless trust  fosters new possibility and light.

My buried treasure is a profound joy and peace unveiled within my heart. WellYes acts with both divine guidance and protection to liberate and elevate me better serve myself and others. What's your treasure map to dig up your true wealth?

Aspiring for Higher Possibilities

By expanding my communication and social skills, I can explore humorous and artistic ways to engage our greater interconnection and show our basic oneness.  This unites me with other people and helps all of us attain greater joy. Innovative group dynamics allow us to share our common truths while attracting new awareness and possibilities.

For example, years ago I had a profound insight.  “How can I love all things in this world with a bountiful heart while still having a small sense of loathing about myself?  Even such a tiny separation negates the entire truth of my compassion.”  I used to identify with my inner critical and unloving voice.  This voice lied to me, constantly pointing out my inadequacy, not my potential and how I might thrive. Today, I see that my thinking can be either a blessing or a curse.  My thoughts do not define me; however they may confine me.

My basic freedom is my ability to make wise choices.  How can I best go forth without causing harm?  How can I cultivate grace and beauty?  Asking the right questions can help me do this.  For example, what limits or boundaries could I concentrate on, in order to lessen my distraction, and stimulate the attraction of a better situation?

Paramount to my progress is asking the best questions.  If success is tied to both communication and relationship, how can I listen more closely, so that I could repeat back the words that have been shared?

How can I better show up to fully experience what is happening?  How to see the blessing hidden inside whatever grey cloud or misfortune may come my way, generating gratitude and enthusiasm?  What brings greater light into my life? What is my plan/intention?  How do I pay attention to my intention?  What gives me more grace and less stress?  How can I fully show up to this gift of presence?  What lessens the drama in my life and maximizes the fun of it?

My prosperity and happiness are closely tied how I answer these questions above.  Advancing my highest potential has a direct relationship to my very well being.

Heart Path

What is a wise way to live?  Giving my best and being of service is what comes up for me. However, many old patterns and current anxieties can distract me from honoring this path.  I need to remember that causing no harm also extends to radical self-care.  I can make a decision that serves the greater good while advancing my own well-being.  My best choices are about micro managing my own actions, within my circle of influence.  Taking care of my personal matters allows me to focus on giving my best to the world.

This allows me to help others while also getting my individual needs met through skillful planning.  However, doing this requires care and a wise understanding of the consequences of my or others' action.

It is easy to get diverted.  A situation may arise were a person portrays their victim story.  I have a choice; I can either sit there and give my freedom away, interacting with this person, or I can graciously take my leave in a kind way.  It is critical to remember that only I have the ability to decide whether to lessen my anxiety or add to it.  I call this the micro-game or eye of the hurricane practice. I can either keep an inner calm or get pulled into the wild winds of outside phenomena.  Leading by example requires me to fully listen and concentrate upon what has heart and purposefulness.

Numinous Possibilities

In the silence of the stillness I see the earth and
sky interconnect. Thick roots intertwined and a miraculous
circuitry runs through the black earth, and rocks.
Another neuro-network anchoring a gigantic grey oak trunk.

Solar bound this tree's huge branches reach in vast community of
organic arms into the cosmos.  These branches lifted skyward spinning
an amazing web of connection similar to their sister’s roots system below. 

Tiny green leaf buds are nurtured by trillions of rays of star shine.
Brilliant and illuminating bands of white, yellow, orange and red
traveling millions of years greeted these future leaves.

Lucidly I observed that this tree is us. Carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and
other nutrients electrified this cellular organism by a mysterious
particles wave. Our amazing water bodies are being purified by these
celestial ultra violet lights influencing every atom here.

The transmutation of these astral lights forms a union of opposites
grounding the heavens with our earth; rooting the soil with water and
air charged by this extraordinary solarized phenomenon.

Out of darkness chaos roots recycle new leaf life. A numinous one-ness
is born beyond concepts. Where the sea meets the land or air touches
the water. The mystery of this whole, where a moment becomes a trillion
years. A rare synchronous and numinous events celebrate the unification
 of our inner and outer worlds.

Rays cycle- circulating the elements of all known things, simultaneously
dancing light
and darkness in unimaginable ways.

Celebrating My Divergent Micro-Being

When I first visited Sparky, my therapist, I had diagnosed myself with acedia, historically “the bane of solitaries” (Hermitary.com), since my spiritual apathy was equaled only by my existential angst.  His insights became precious touchstones for me in a sometimes emotionally perilous, moment-to-moment existence.  How can I go forth amidst the overwhelming information of loss, despair, ignorance, and destructive injustices that characterize world affairs?  My cynical mind-set toward our doomed society was imprisoning me in the lethargy of a victim mentality.

Since Sparky is a divergent thinker like myself, he enabled me to see and deal with my life on a micro level.  To begin with, I was unaware that I was a “divergent thinker”, attempting to fit into a convergent, deductive thinking, mind-set.  The dominant process here is to follow logical steps in order to arrive at one solution.  My free-flowing, divergent mind is spontaneous, creative, and non-linear.  I emerge with unexpected interconnections.  My thinking is more contemplative, persistent, non-conforming, and inspired by my curiosity.

Attempting to repair damage from the macro convergent perspective creates gridlock.  For example, if I attempt to assess what can be done about government waste, I am met with the political reality, known as “use it or lose it”, a stance that recognizes that maximum spending today increases the expectation of future dollars coming our way.  Emotionally, my circuit breakers shut off and I become estranged.  However, if I just focus on my own individual ability to “use what I have and prosper”, I am free to use less, to respect my air, energy, water, and land.  And I personally benefit.

This practice of Micro-Being allows me to best exercise my talents for cherishing and appreciating life’s gifts instead of being distracted by my anxieties, this macro circle of concern.  It requires me not to ignore or deny what is going on in the larger world, but rather wisely to filter the constant barrage of negative news.  The key is to let go of what I have no power over and to act with a pure heart.  Now I may humbly concentrate on deeds that make a positive contribution.

My practice of Micro-Being involves three remembrances:

     *Be kind and generous to all things, especially myself.

     *Honestly and humbly evaluate what is in front of me right here and now.

     *Once distracted, forgive myself and return to the creativity of my divergent Micro-Being.

 

My three prayers:

      *May my choices honor and enrich my micro world and well-being.

      *May I be blessed with a Micro-Being Positive Feedback Loop.

      *May my choices benefit the macro world, lighten it, and never prey upon it.

I am not the predator or the prey, just a kind and wise Micro-Being!