peace Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Adulting: Second- Half

Your Soul is Whole

“Every soul is whole, no matter how wounded the mind is.” ~ Native American (credit: Native Red Cloud @Native3rd, Twitter)

Your soul is whole, baby, and it is always, always with you. Your soul has been with you since the beginning, and it will be with you until the end of time. How do you get out of your overthinking mind, and into your ever-peaceful soul? Here are some ways:

Take five deep breaths and notice the inhales and exhales.
Think of five people, places, pets, or things which you are grateful for, and notice what gratefulness feels like in your body. (for me, it is a buoyancy in my chest, and an overall feeling of relaxation and relief, much like floating safely in a swimming pool)
Do a body scan. Start at your toes. What are the sensations in your toes? Work all of the way up your body, to noticing the sensations at the top of you head.
Say a prayer to your Higher Power, with just these words, “Let me hear what you have to say to me.” That’s it. Just sit with that prayer, and if your mind starts to wander on to other things, or you find yourself wanting to get into “talky” mode, repeat the listening prayer. Let the peace wash over you. (this is a sort of prayer and meditation, all in one.)
Pick up one object that you like, say a “cherry”, and notice everything about the cherry. What does it look like? What does it sound like? What does it smell like? What does it feel like? What does it taste like?
Think of someone who you love, like you love no other. Imagine hugging that person and transferring all of the love that you hold in your heart, to that person. Now imagine both of you covered in that swirling energy of love. Feel what that feels like. Gift that feeling to the next person you think of, imagining that person all of the sudden getting showered in the beautiful, powerful energy of unconditional love.
When driving and passing people in their cars or on the street, think to yourself, “I love you and I bless you.” (this gives your mind and your heart a good job to do, without getting distracted by worries, or by anger about errant drivers. Your mind is just like a German Shepherd. It’s smart. It needs a job, all of the time. Give it a good job.)

Now if you prefer to stay in your overthinking, judgy, “stressed to the gills” mind/ego, here are some good ways to stay totally in your mindstate:

Think of everyone and everything that annoys you (in detail) and think, with an air of superiority, about why you are right and they are wrong.
Try to control everyone and everything going on around you, and sit in the feeling of utter, quickly growing frustration during this continuous, never-ending lesson in futility.
Think of your own worst fears and worries and think of all of the worst case scenarios that could happen from your worst fears and worries. Obsess on these outcomes. Let them grow exponentially. Use your imagination.
Spend at least two to three hours with Dr. Google, after experiencing a slight, but unusual pain in your neck.
Keep the news on, in the background 24/7, and check other news stories, compulsively on your phone at the same time, just to make sure that your mind is getting fed all of the negative news that is available to you, right in the moment.
Spend a good deal of your time beating yourself up for not being thin enough, or productive enough, or kind enough, or stylish enough, or smart enough. Be your own worst critic. Be creative with your harshness. Add a lot of sarcasm, just to be clever and cruel.
Replay in your mind, every past experience that has already happened, and start making harsh judgments about the whole event. Cut down and criticize yourself, others, and all of the players who you can think of who were involved in the situation, until you are depleted and exhausted. Stew in your gripes. Be sure to be extra nit-picky and passive aggressive. Repeat on a never-ending cycle.

“Every soul is whole, no matter how wounded the mind is.” Your soul is whole, baby. Pick your soul every time. Your mind is just like a German Shepherd. It needs to be redirected to do helpful things for you, in your overall life. Your mind isn’t bad. It just likes to have a job, and to work all of the time. So give your mind some training. Make your German Shepherd mind an excellent working dog that does good, helpful work for you – work that supports you, and guards you from harm (especially from yourself). On the other hand, your soul doesn’t need any training. Your soul is the glorious, holy resting place for you, and your German Shepherd mind. Give your mind lots of breaks, just letting it relax in the whole of your soul. Your soul is whole, baby. It is your source of life, love, peace and replenishment. It is the perfect part of you, and it is available to you, forever.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

The Sweetness

Merry Christmas Eve, my dear friends and readers. I am late in writing the blog this morning, because I slept so soundly and late into the morning. A mama always gets her best rest when all of her babies are nestled gently in her own feathered, welcoming nest. Oh what sacred and delicious sleep I experienced last night!

There is always a huge build-up to these last few days of the year. I had to pick up a few things at the grocery store yesterday, and it was the proverbial zoo. I had to ride around the parking lot a few times in order to find a spot, to park my car. The frenzied energy of the holiday build-up was intense. People were seemingly excited, agitated, distracted and gleeful, all at the same time. I think that is what makes Christmas Eve so special. It is difficult to keep up an ardent and vigorous whirlwind of action and emotion for a long period of time. The buildup of this intensity, in all of us, seems to hit a pinnacle, particularly at the end of the year. We are busy in preparation for this moment of celebration. We prepare food, we prepare our homes, we prepare ourselves for nostalgic emotion, we prepare our children that the anticipation is almost over, and in all of this preparation, we often get exhausted and completely overwhelmed. And that is why Christmas Eve feels so particularly restful and peaceful and beautiful. All that is asked for us on Christmas Eve, is to savor in the tranquility, and awe of it all. It is interesting to me that there is such tremendous buildup, escalation and ballyhoo, to bring us to the most peaceful, placid, hopeful, still and quiet, moments of the year. Perhaps it is the extreme contrast of feelings and energy, that is truly needed to fully experience the miracle of the moment. Perhaps to really be able to fully sit still with our hearts, and with our souls, we need to release all of the excess, pent-up “other stuff”, to clear it out of the way. Would the birth of Jesus have been as profound if He had been born in a decked out luxury resort, with flashing lights and announcers, and banquets and showy background singers?? I think that the miracle of Christmas Eve, is that it is the subtle reminder for us, to lose all the “other stuff”, in order to gain ourselves. It is the quietest, most observant, deepest part of ourselves, who waits patiently, and knows that at one point, in this loveliest time of the year, we will be completely spent and overwrought and overstimulated, and we will crash deep down, and we will find the calm. We will find the peace. We will find the hope. We will find the faith. We will find the Love. And we will bask in the glow of it all. We will bask in these best gifts of this lovely, lovely season. How sweet it is!

Peace, Today

My writing ideas haven’t been flowing to me these past few days. Sometimes I get a surge of so many ideas that I have to run to my computer, or to at least to a scrap of paper, so that I can copy my inspirations down to keep up with my racing mind and my surging passion for what lays on my heart. But this week, I’ve been distractible and I’ve been trying to make sense of things that I am probably never going to completely understand during my lifetime on Earth. So this morning, in my perusing of different writers whose work I like to read, I came across this excellent thought by C. Joybell C. The way she describes her mothering is what I have always strived to do, as a mother, sometimes more successfully than at other times. Still, the way that she describes it, is so beautifully put, and it is probably incredibly comforting to her son:

“Kids go out into this world and try to escape everything they know, try to escape the strings they’re tied to, try to escape the pedestals they’re put on, try to escape the spoons shoved into their mouths: why? Why do their souls flee their nests? Because their nests are cages. My son is never trying to flee because his nest is me and I am the sky: a vast blue space that he can fly around in! His nest is me, his nest is the sky. Let me tell you, when the sky is your home, you never want to escape that.”

I reached out to C. Joybell C. once. We share a love of writing (and of perfume), so we had a really nice interaction. Writers love to hear from their readers (this I know). I’ve had some really nice correspondence with authors over the years. If a writer’s words really make a difference in your life, make the point of reaching out to them. I can almost guarantee you, that they will write back to you. Writers love to write, in all forms.

Peace, friends. Give yourself a long, cool glass of tranquility today. When the fear thoughts, or the worry vibes start to take over, stop yourself. Say, “Not today, self. Today, I give myself peace.”

My Friend, Serenity

I woke up in a wonderful mood. I have a sense of well-being that is just calmly buzzing in my mind and in my body, like a happy little bee flitting from one pretty flower to another. I just woke up. Nothing is particularly different about any of my circumstances. In short, this peacefulness has nothing to do with anything outside of myself, other than perhaps a very good night’s sleep.

I am choosing to write about this state of being, so that I can always remember how good this feels. We always remember the intense feelings, right? The high highs and the low lows stick out in our minds, like recipe cards with stains and finger prints, sticking out above the rest of the card catalog, reminding and begging our minds to pick up, and to look at those cards, and to study them, again and again and again. Those familiar recipes of our moody moods, are easy to grab on to, and to ruminate in, and to bake in and to stew in. The easy going moods don’t beg for attention. The pleasant moods quietly slip on in, like our feet sliding into familiar, warm, well-worn slippers, without even having to think about the motions. The relaxed, carefree states of our minds, are when we are most present with ourselves. . . . My friend, Serenity, never plays with Worry or Anger or Fear. Serenity never notices Ms. Inner Critic or Mr. Guilt Trip. Serenity can’t be bothered with What If. Serenity never plays with Blame and Resentment or Agitation. And Serenity knows to stay far, far away from Shame. Serenity will stay with us, as long as we want her to stay (honestly, she never really leaves, but sometimes the Others push her into the background). Serenity isn’t loud and boisterous. She never insists on being the center of attention. She doesn’t need for things to be “just a certain way” in order for her to be her happy, carefree self. Sometimes we think that we are bored when we are with Serenity, but when we really let ourselves be with her, and to sit with her, and to enjoy her company, and to baste in her peace and wisdom and sunlight, Serenity is nothing short of sublime.

The Wise Owl

I have seen and I have heard a lot of owls lately. I heard one early this morning when I was taking our dogs out. We live near a nature preserve, so we are fortunate to witness owls more than the average people come across them, I think. So, I have seen and I have heard more than a few gorgeous owls in the last couple of months and I have even noticed more of them in artwork and websites, as of late, it seems. I know that some old wives’ tales suggest that owls are a horrible omen of death, but I think that they are more a symbol of wisdom, clarity, change, and intuitiveness. I think that owls are majestically beautiful.

I need quiet today. I need to quiet my mind. I need to quiet my interactions with others and the outside world. I need to take some time for calm introspection. All of our infinite wisdom lies within, I think, and I need to tap into that vast, knowing, loving reservoir of being-ness and light. I hope that you can find an understanding of what you need today, and I hope that you find the courage and the ability to give that to yourself, whatever that need is for you. Stay well. Sending peace, love and clarity from my heart to yours.

Sunday Soul

I’ve been haughty and I’ve been humble.

Humble feels better.

I’ve been valid and I’ve been vulnerable.

Vulnerable feels more connected.

I’ve been smart, salty and sassy.

But that was all to cover and soothe

My sweet simple soul.

I dined by myself last night.

Table for one.

It was

Delicious.

“Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.” – William Wordsworth

“Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn. ” – Thomas Gray

Readers, I’m feeling like today is a good day for poetry. Please take the time to write down the poetry flowing from your heart today and please post it to my Comments section, if you have the inclination. Love, peace and poetry are my wishes for you today. Tranquility.

The Little Flower

Prayer of st Teresa of Avila saint Therese quote prayer Wall image 0

I was reminded of this prayer in the Sundance catalog yesterday. St. Therese was known as “The Little Flower of Jesus.” I thought that it was apropos post for a Sunday and a good post to come to again and again, when we come upon days of fear and doubt and worry. Know that the peace within, the infinite possibilities, and the love that has been given, are the birthrights of all of us, all children of God. It really is that simple. St. Therese is known and honored for “the simplicity and practicality of her approach to the spiritual life.” In a complicated world, full of the complexities of the mind, it is a beautiful thing to come back to the beautiful, simple, flowering bloom, of the heart and of the soul.

Everlasting Peace

This was posted on Twitter’s Think Smarter today. Is this really true though? We all say that we want peace more than anything, yet so many of our actions vie for attention, appreciation, applause, adulation and approval. Our actions show that we are addicted to the a-words, yet seeking peace outside of ourselves, by depending on what other people do and think, and relying on experiences outside of us to go exactly how we want them to go, almost always never happens. These things are not within our control. Being out of control makes us feel anxiety, not peace. Depending on outside influences and circumstances, does not brings us peace. Why do we always get so confused on this matter?

I think it may be because if we are honest with ourselves, we are more likely to get appreciation, applause, adulation, positive attention, and approval from other people (no matter how fickle and fleeting) than what we give to ourselves. I read this statement recently, scratched in one of my old notebooks:

We are much harder on ourselves than life is . . .

I am currently re-reading one of my favorite spiritual books of all time – The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer. The premise of the book is that the peace that we are seeking lies within every single one of us, if we get past all of the layers of self-chatter, self-recrimination, judgments, beliefs, fears, pains. If we stop and observe all of that constant self-chatter, we are reminded that there is a very peaceful, non-judgmental observer who is seeing our “monkey mind” at work – the part of us that can actually observe our thoughts. That tranquil, loving observer is inside of every single one of us – the soul/spirit/God part of us, who just quietly experiences everything going on. It watches the things going on outside of us and takes in our physical sensations. It watches our minds and our thoughts, our brains trying to calculate and to make sense of everything, to give everything a story and meaning and a connection to our prior experiences – trying to give the illusion of control. This tranquil observer then experiences the emotions that the thoughts and the sensations from our experiences, evoke in our bodies and in our hearts. It makes no judgments, it makes no conclusions. This tranquil part of us is just aware. It is our awareness. It is our peace and it is always a part of us. It never goes away. We just have to get still enough to remember that it is there for us Always. Be still and know that I am. (Psalm 46:10)