One Small Place

           

"What was done in the past is done

and it is over now.

This is the present time,

and you now have the opportunity to treat yourself

the way you wish to be treated."

Louise L. Hay

YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE  

Today is a new day and we can choose to begin our life anew.  It is one thing for others to treat us poorly, but to treat our selves poorly is totally unacceptable.  If we treat our selves without respect why should any one else address us respectfully?  If we do not honor our personal code, why should any one else? 

Boundaries and limitations for our selves as well as for others need to be clarified.  I believe there may be a book entitled "Where You Stop and Where I Begin."    In order to know our own limitations, we must pay attention to our body, mind and spirit.  We need to know who makes us feel good and who sucks our energy right out of us.  We need to be mindful of how much we can physically do before we are exhausted.  We need to know these things prior to navigating out in our world. 

If we feel as though we have no life of our own, then we need to push our boundaries further out  allowing our selves more space and limiting time with others.  We can be more mindful about using our voice so others know when enough is enough.  When we are ready for more participation in our lives, then we can pull our boundaries closer in, allowing others to approach.  Boundaries and limitations need to be flexible so they can be adjusted for different situations. 

Our desires must be formulated and retained crystal clear and to do so, one must spend time alone to truly discover what is in their heart.  We can take an active part in our life, working with the Divine attracting like energy to our selves.  If we just sit back and wait for our desires to come to our door step, we will receive random deliveries hardly appropriate ... junk mail.  If we care about who and what or where we welcome people and activities into our personal lives, we need to be specific in our intentions. 

If we know our likes and dislikes, we can spend our time earnestly nurturing our selves.  If we are longing for someone to bring us flowers, go to the store and purchase our own flowers.  If we are yearning to eat at a new Thai restaurant, invite a friend and go.  It is false thinking when we depend upon someone else to provide our pleasures. 

Every day is a new day.  Every day we have the 'choice' to begin again.  No matter how miserable we find our lives to be, there is one small place ... if we look for it ... where we are welcomed to begin again.

Psychological Resistance

 

 

 

 

Pain is a relatively objective, physical phenomenon; suffering is our psychological resistance to what happens. Events may create physical pain, but they do not in themselves create suffering. Resistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is... The only problem in your life is your mind's resistance to life as it unfolds.

 

Dan Millman 

 

 

 

There is much in life we resist, primarily change that could possibly alter our comfort zone.  We like to feel safe as we can feel more creative and exploratory.  When unknown change abruptly appears, we meet it with resistance rather than facing what it brings. 

 

Even when the change has been initiated by our own merits, there is some element of risk.  The change may even be welcomed, but there will be a small part of us lingering in the familiar with the slightest resistance.

 

Resistance can be based in fear and lack of trust.  In life, change is a constant teacher.  The greater the resistance, the more complex the lesson becomes. We can strive to face change with an open heart and not simply react out of fear.

 

Every morning upon awakening, we can ask Spirit to help  us be alert to the challenges brought to us.  We can trust what is brought to us means us no harm, but deeper understanding of our selves and the world.  This does not mean condoning every change, but pausing to make decisions without fear.

 

Greeting life with resistance rather than trust keeps us in choppy waters instead of being in the flow.  It is like  trying to swim up stream, going against the current, and avoiding what will only resurface another time.  Resistance makes life more difficult and we are not as capable of remaining in alignment with body, mind, and spirit. 

 

We are referring to psychological resistance, not physical.  Psychological resistance is a choice based in fear.  Feelings that surface are often rooted in our past from other experiences.  These unresolved emotions from the past can easily distort our present reality.  This is why there is great importance in living in each moment ... not the past, and not the future ... in the present moment.

Congruent with Body, Mind, and Spirit

 

                                             

 

 

 

Flow with whatever is happening and let your mind be free.  Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing.  This is the ultimate.     ~ Chuang  Tzu

 

 

An oxymoron suiting me quite well is an "organized procrastinator".  There are areas in my life where I am highly detailed and disciplined, but other areas where I will put things off for absolutely no reason.  One minute totally focused and another minute drifting into unrestrained loftiness. 

 

This generates the conversation regarding being spontaneous and going with the flow or being disciplined so life has been lived to the maximum.  The obvious would be to balance discipline with spontaneity.  The not so obvious would to be so totally connected with the inner Spirit that we simply follow the guidance.  If we are truly in touch with our higher self, we can just allow life to unfold.

 

For a long time I stated I could only write the first thing of a morning.  I was very disciplined and wrote every morning.  As life has it, however, there were times my mornings were interrupted and I would wait until the next morning to write.  Put quite simply, this was nothing but an illusion.  It was a story I told myself and therefore became very rigid naming it discipline.  In reality, I can write any time I want to be disciplined to do it ... morning, afternoon, evening.  When I am connected to my inner Spirit, I know what is best for me to do.  If I am open to the idea of cleaning, I can sail through my tasks easily.  If I resist the nudge to do something, it grows heavy on my mind and I resist all the more.  Finally when I give in, I do the task begrudgingly and it takes on more time and displeasure. 

 

The point I am trying to make is this ... I want to be a verb for Spirit to use me when and where I can best contribute.  I want to maintain an awareness so I can be guided. By being congruent with body, mind, and spirit, I can be a force to create positive energy in what I do or where I go.  I can be an instrument bringing peace and calm.

 

 

 

Music and the Body, Mind, and Spirit

Music is a cry of the soul.  It is a

revelation, a thing to be reverenced.

Performances of great musical works

are for us what the rites and festivals

of religion were to the ancients -

an initiation into the mysteries

of the human soul.

Frederick Delius

Excerpt from:   EASTERN BODY WESTERN MIND

                           by Anodea Judith

"If chanting, toning, and mantra meditation have the capacity to affect our innermost being, then music must have a profound effect on our entire mind-body system.  Music can move us to tears, fill us with joy, inspire our body to shake and dance, or calm and excite us.  Music in the background of movies and television plays our emotions like an instrument.  Music sells products in advertising, and entertains, teases, inspires, and unites.  Songs are the spiritual record of humanity, recording its trials and triumphs, and a binding thread of communities, religions, and political movements."

                                                               ********************

If you are wondering about the impact of music, put on some fast paced rhythms in a room with small children.  Just watch them go!  They will be like little wind up toys...no batteries needed.  When the world appears to be dismal and depressing, if you listen to old love ballads, you will stay stuck in the heaviness of your mood. 

Participating in cultural dance accompanied by ancient music, or attending a symphony or a high mass, the sounds take on an art form.  Music can transform our breathing, heart rate, circulation, and other body functions and transport us into a different state of consciousness.

Sound therapy is gaining recognition with the healing process.  Whether using tuning forks, singing bowls, or other vibrational methods, the soul of the body can be more readily united with the mind and spirit.  Melodies and lullabies can calm the body, mind, and spirit.

Identify your mood ... angry, depressed, bored, hyperactive, or happy.  Match your music accordingly helping to harmonize your home as well as your body, mind, and spirit!