by admin | Jan 20, 2020 | Self-kindness
Even when I have been wronged or betrayed, I can look at people through the eyes of our creator and see their innocence and their fear. I can see that it is like my own. God loves each of us.
When I get fed up with negative thoughts, I can work actively to forgive those who cause me pain, keeping in mind that it was not me so much as their fears and insecurities that drove their actions.
If I recognize my humanity and my tendency to believe what my ego tells me about fearing this or that, I can work actively to forgive myself for my mistakes instead of repressing them.
If I can examine myself, my motives and my learned behavior, I can work towards keeping my ego from getting in the way of my developing a conscious connection with my true self.
I start by extending to myself the same compassion I have for those I love. If I can forgive myself, I can forgive others. When I forgive, I am free to focus on my Self, my inner divinity and love and work towards cultivating it in my life.
by admin | Jan 20, 2020 | Recognizing Growth
Some days I feel like I am running in place in my spiritual growth. I don’t seem to get anywhere. The same obstacles, grievances and self-centered thoughts seem to keep me bogged down working on the same problem again and again and again. I do have deeply entrenched patterns of thinking that I’ve developed over a lot of years, but I feel like I’m working hard to change them every day.
I begin my day praying that I may maintain conscious contact with God in the present moment. There I have none of the negativity and resentment massaging. They don’t exist in the present. They exist in the past and in plans for retaliation for the future. Several times during the day I have an alarm vibrating on my wrist intended to get me to pause, take stock of what I am doing and thinking and pray to choose the fork that requires surrender of the ego thoughts that require I get even. I pray for help in cultivating love for the individuals who have wronged me, remembering that they are innocent in God’s eyes and loved as God’s children same as me.
After two diligent weeks or more of this practice, I notice that the prayers are feeling more natural and my willingness to forgive stronger. Perhaps I’ve made steps in healing and spiritual growth after all.
by admin | Jan 5, 2020 | Letting Go
I was reminded again today of the power of surrender, that ceasing to struggle against what is, is freedom. When I surrender, I understand that all is well. I am open to thinking in a different way and that may be all that is required for peace and a return to joy.
When I start my day with a prayer to be shown God’s will for me, when I return my focus to seeking the wisdom of my true self, the place of divine love within, I can let go of my expectations and perceptions and remain open to seeing things differently. When I am willing to see things through divine eyes, I am free from fear.
Only practice and diligence will get me more often to the experience of grace in my life. Discipline is my start on that today. It is a journey of incremental steps and much learning. It is through the lessons that I grow. Bring them on!
by admin | Jan 2, 2020 | Using our Toolbox
I set reminder alarms on my Versa today to stop and take note of where my thinking is and offer a prayer to remain in the presence of God about every 1.5 hours in the workday morning or three times each day. Remaining in God’s presence requires remaining in the current moment. God cannot be in the past or the future. Hopefully, I will be successful in spending more time in the present. That is the goal.
Already I think I am better at staying in the present when I am swimming. It is a time period I can fall into negativity, regurgitation of past wrongs or fears of what might happen or fantasize about retribution for perceived wrongs done to me. It is a time in my day that I am not required to entertain purposeful thoughts as I am at work; therefore, I often let my mind drift where it will to my detriment. One of Eknath Easwaran’s 8 points is learning to focus my attention purposefully, so I have been engaged in that activity during my swim time and have noted some results.
The plan is to extend the focus in the present to my workday, but with not too heavy a hand. Thus the reminders at 1.5 hours three times a day to stop, note my thoughts and pause to pray for what I want. Don’t you have to ask for what you want in order to get it? It is my hope that I can non-judgmentally notice my thoughts and purposefully change them three times during my workday.
by admin | Dec 27, 2019 | The Daily Compliment
What is it about people who always seem upbeat and quick with a smile? Today I acknowledged such a person saying, “I can tell you are smiling in your voice. Hearing you smile put a big smile on my face this morning. Thank you for that!”
