Decision Making

Whenever an answer, a solution or a creative idea is needed,

stop thinking for a moment

by focusing your attention on your inner energy field.

Become aware of the stillness.

Eckhart Tolle

Oneness With All Life 

Whenever we face a challenge, our brains usually kick in searching for resolve.  We may grow anxious during our search which immediately interferes with cognition.  We can then mix and match a few things together forming a band aid for the problem or we resource the entire problem out for someone else to solve.  

The best reaction to a challenge, is to not react at all, but to simply sit with it for a while in silence.  We hold fear and anxiety at bay as we quietly listen to wisdom or nudges we receive from within.  If a resolution does not immediately appear, then choose not to come to a decision for awhile.  Carry on with other tasks until there is time to just pause in silence once again, listening for insight.  Keep drama and unnecessary emotion at bay, while we blend our thinking with our heart to determine the best action for all involved.

Realizing some decisions need to be made immediately, there are others that can benefit from lingering thoughts.  Years ago, a friend mentioned to me that it took Jesus the Christ three days to rise from the dead.  The friend told me to give any problem three days to work itself out.  I felt this was worth trying, and I have used it numerous times throughout my life challenges.

A solution created today, may not be as good as the one made after some time has passed.  We can avoid being impulsive or  repressing our emotions as they are somewhat sitting on a back burner.  If we maintain the attitude of searching for the best calculation and not feel pressured into quick decision, we find ourselves in a very different space, thinking more clearly, after a few days have passed.  I have repeatedly found the decisions I have made after three days have been much better long term remedies for all concerned than the quick fix of three days ago.

So next time we are contemplating an appropriate answer to a problem, simply pause.  Sit with the situation in silence.  Be open to the creative options as they begin to surface. Be still allowing our energy to flow until we feel in balance with our decision.

In Spite of Limitations

        

        

The purpose of life is for the individual

to become greater than

the definitions he has inherited.

James Baldwin

When one of my sons was around four years old, I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up.  His face exploded with excitement and without any hesitation blurted out, "A fire truck!" My first thought was to correct him and say, "Oh, you mean a fire man," but I could tell he very well meant truck.  I begged him to expand and he reflected both amazement and longing to be such a shining red flash of fast.  He mentioned the really huge ladders, long hoses, the screaming siren and flashing lights.   Friends got to climb on in their suits  and even sometimes there was a spotted dog when in a parade.  Indeed, he wanted to be a fire truck.

Over the years whether during parenting or professionally in social services, I have had the opportunity to be confided in with the segue, "You know what I would really like to do?"  My experience with my youngest son had taught me to be an enthusiastic listener and not to blow holes in someone else's dreams. 

There are doctors, lawyers, teachers or other professionals who share  being in their particular profession was their father's dream.  Many talented musicians and artists have been discouraged from their original gifts by well meaning family or elders.  As a small child, if our dreams and desires are squelched we will easily acquiesce as adults as well.  For those who were more rebellious, they may have been used to ignoring the input of others and persevered in spite of lacking support. 

We of course would not bolster a person's desires if they were unhealthy for themselves or harmful to others,, but young children rarely need condescending remarks about their dreams. Their aspirations change along with their development.  If they are constantly critiqued, confidence will never grow.  They will hesitate before sharing out loud, then they will deliberately  repress, and in many cases this results in rage and anger.

There was a young girl who loved to color and had a huge box of crayons.  She equally liked to draw and had a giant box of colored pencils.  Her parents admired her imagination, but knew one day she would be a teacher.  The young girl's aspirations to use her talents outside of a classroom continued throughout her childhood.  Around the age of 12, the young girl was struck with polio leaving her paralyzed on one side.  The parents were extremely discouraged about her future.  The girl regained her confidence and continued her attraction to sketching and colors.  In spite of her parents concern, she entered college as an art major specializing in design.  The last I heard, she was a successful clothing designer in a major city. 

As mentors, parents, or role models, we would do the next generation a greater service if we displayed the courage to step through our fears.  If we can teach others to accent their strengths, and to follow their desires in spite of limitations from false illusions, we will have a better world community.

At A Snail's Pace

It is in our idleness, in our dreams, that the submerged truth sometimes comes to the top.  ~ Virginia Woolf


Today, I seem to be moving at a snail's pace.  I have a list of chores I want to accomplish and I have been carrying it around for days with not one task eliminated.  Perhaps I need to just embrace this slow state and use it for meditation or contemplation or prayer or sending love, energy, and light to those I know who are in need.  This lazy time might then be turned into a productive time worthy of my day.

Sitting in stillness, I am surprised what rattles through my consciousness.  I settle deeper within and my mindless chatter disappears.  Being mindful, paying attention to what gentle thoughts float into my quiet mind, I sink into the calm.  My body relaxes and I am at peace.

Throughout my day, my pace remains slow, but it gives me time to let my insights unfold.  If I were racing around completing my chores, I would not be experiencing this wonderful state of just being in the present moment.  By late afternoon I am longing to sit with my journal, to further explore what came to mind earlier in the day.  I feel my creative juices longing to flow. 

I think I shall spend more days at a snail's pace.  The experience has brought the gifts of living into awareness and an enhanced appreciation for all that I have. 

All is good in my world.

Parts of My Hermit Self ...

Which is worth more,

a crowd of thousands

or your own genuine solitude?

Freedom, or power over an entire nation?

A little while alone in your room

will prove more valuable than

anything else that could ever

be given to you.

The Essential RUMI

Translation by Coleman Barks

with John Moyne

More and more I discover new parts of my hermit self.  Little by little, I withdraw into the solitude of life rather than the chaotic motions.  My home and surroundings are important to me, as this is where I spend the majority of my time.

The word  power frequently carries a physical and masculine tone to it which I have never been endeared.  I much prefer the word empowerment which is the power over oneself.  This is the freedom I enjoy.

Even when I travel, I enjoy settling in and enjoying the common activities of the given culture.  I am not interested in the large resorts or hotels or fancy restaurants that somehow lose the ambiance of the culture.  I like to wander to neighborhood eateries, bakeries, and delicatessens where the locals trade.  The elders sipping coffee are always willing to tell the community history in very meaningful ways.

Sitting in my room, I can feel compassion and appreciation for all that has been given to me.  The greatest gift of all has been love ... priceless!

The Nameless Path

The great square has no corners.

The great vessel takes long to complete;

the great note is rarefied in sound;

The great image has no shape.

The way conceals itself in being nameless.

It is the way alone that excels in bestowing

and in accomplishing.

THE TAO TE CHING

Lao Tzu

(translated by D.C. Laus)

Why is it people, places and things being held in our highest regard frequently cannot be described in words?  How is it when bringing to mind a heart rendering event, emotion overcomes our words? 

So much that is dear to us, cannot be described.  There doesn't seem to be a language known to us that would appropriately encompass all particles of description.  Although artistic expression is an avenue just as the written word, neither captures all of our senses in totality. 

In so many situations, we are left to trust in our lack of description, of our inability to put into words all that we intuit,

and to embrace what I term as "knowing".  It could take a life time to describe in depth one person's definition of the Divine.  One could search for days for words totally embracing the experience of feeling a new born baby's breath against the cheek or breast.  Which words would express entirely the isolation or imprisonment of grief and sorrow from a loved one's death?  The nameless passages in life are endless.

In the words of Lao Tzu, translated by D.C. Laus:

     "The way conceals itself in being nameless."

The sense of absolute is one of quick passing.  We rarely

extend the sense of identity for very long.  So much of life

is unidentified purposefully so that we seek our unique and authentic pathway.

The road I travel still remains nameless and my exact direction continues to be unclear.  Teachers and mentors continue to be exacting road signs on this often times isolated journey; but this nameless path continues to lead me inward where I become less and less of self and expand into all that is.





Listening To Your Heart

 

To genuinely discover your spirit,

stop talking,

stop reading,

and start listening to your heart.

Be silent long enough

to feel your Divine self within.

There is no other way

to truly live.

Sonia  Choquette

To figure out life, time is spent listening to the advice of others like good friends, relatives or spiritual advisers and devouring self-help books which can be expensive.  Ironically, the best advice is free and can be accessed at will.  No appointments necessary!

Guidance comes from within and can be accessed in a variety of ways: meditation, therapy, going within, prayer, journaling or dream analysis.  It is important to discover which technique is most compatible and then get started!

To listen to the desire of the heart,  false masks and expectations of others can be removed and replaced by authentic life purpose.  All energy can be invested in new direction that supports unique skills and original dreams.  It is never too late to begin.

Slow down and pay attention to what becomes of interest.  Make notations of opportunities that arrive out of no where.  What may appear as coincidence can be the first step to greatness.  A friend of mine frequently says, "Divine Spirit has a special plan for us, before we ever conceive the idea."

Made in the Creator's image, wisdom resides within each individual and it is the responsibility of each person to develop a rapport with  the Divine.  It is only then that genuine life purpose can be understood, created more fully, manifested out into the world and satisfy the heart's desire.