MEDITATIONS

Besides the obvious things that use up our energy each day -- work, family duties, daily chores -- there are more subtle elements that sap your physical vitality as well as your potential for living well. Call them "psychic energy leaks."

These are self-defeating behaviors like guilt or worry that rob us not only of physical energy, but drain our spirits as well. You may be so used to them that you're not even aware of how they force you to row against the tide --but patching those leaks can help you experience smooth sailing!

LIVING IN THE PAST OR THE FUTURE:

If you dwell on the great life you had in college or are waiting for your "real life" to start after you've lost weight/gotten married/gotten a better job, you're throwing away your most important energy resource: the Now. The past is gone, the future isn't here yet, but in the present moment, you have power. Don't throw it away!

HOLDING A GRUDGE:

Carrying around the invisible excess baggage of grudges is as exhausting as lugging around a complete set of Samsonite all day. Many people would rather "be right" than have peace within themselves or with the person that hurt them. The irony is that holding a grudge only takes away from your life. Who are you still mad at? Give it up already -- forgive, forget and move on.

WORRY:

"The fearful die a thousand deaths, the brave only one." Words to live by. When we worry, we tend to imagine consequences that are far worse than what happens in reality. Thus we are literally "making it up," agonizing over complete fiction! Is this any way to spend your time? And since our brains work like a computer, acting on the information fed it, it's likely that obsessing over something may create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Why not feed your brain the information that says, no matter what curves life throws us, we are equipped to handle them and will do so if and when they come along. Then start living in the here and now!

GUILT:

Guilt is a man-made emotional response that, in effect, tells society that even if you do something "bad," feeling guilty about it shows you're still a "good" person. This kind of complicated manipulation is exhausting, plus beating yourself up over something that's locked in the past won't change the outcome. A healthier response is to admit that we will make mistakes, but rather than feel bad about them, identify them, learn from them and go from there.

LACK OF FORGIVENESS:

Studies show that the act of forgiveness has a powerful beneficial affect on the person doing the forgiving. In fact, letting go of old anger and hurts has often helped resolve seemingly unrelated issues like addictions and depression.

Admittedly however, forgiveness is tough -- remember how we'd rather be "right" than have peace? Keep in mind that "forgiveness" doesn't mean you're condoning their actions or letting them off the hook: it means acknowledging that they did what they could at the time with what they knew or understood.

You don't have to call or write every person you want to forgive -- simply picture them in your minds and when you feel that old sense of hurt or anger rearing its ugly head, say to yourself, "I forgive you and release you" and send positive thoughts their way. When you forgive (and this includes forgiving yourself) you're the big winner, freeing yourself up to live a healthier, happier, more productive life!

--From Wellspring's Newsletter/Source: Personal Transformation, Jan.1997

Discover Your Worth

No matter how intelligent,
attractive, or talented you may be -
to the degree you doubt your worthiness
you tend to sabotage your efforts
and undermine your relationship.
Life is full of gifts and opportunities;
you will open to recieve and enjoy them
to the degree that you begin to
appreciate your inner worth,
and to offer to yourself
the same compassion and respect
that you would give to others.
Discovering your worth
sets your spirit free.
---From the book "Everyday Enlightenment, The Twelve Gateways To Personal Growth" by Dan Millman

The Warriors Prayer

I am what I am.
In having faith in the beauty within me,
I develop trust.
In softness I have strength.
In silence I walk with the gods.
In peace I understand myself and the world.
In respecting all living things, I respect myself.
In dedication I honor the courage within me.
In eternity I have compassion for the nature of all things.
In love I unconditionally accept the evolution of others.
In freedom I have power.
In my individuality I express the god force within me.
In service I give of what I have become.
I am what I am:
Eternal, immortal, universal, and infinite.
And so be it.
---Stuart WildeRight Now -

-somebody is very proud of you.
-somebody is thinking of you.
-somebody is caring about you.
-somebody misses you.
-somebody wants to talk to you.
-somebody wants to be with you.
-somebody hopes you aren't in trouble.
-somebody is thankful for the support you have provided.
-somebody wants to hold your hand.
-somebody hopes everything turns out all right.
-somebody wants you to be happy.
-somebody wants you to find him/her.
-somebody is celebrating your successes.
-somebody wants to give you a gift.
-somebody thinks that you ARE a gift.
-somebody hopes you're not too cold, or too hot.
-somebody wants to hug you.
-somebody loves you.
-somebody admires your strength.
-somebody is thinking of you and smiling.
-somebody wants to be your shoulder to cry on.
-somebody wants to go out with you and have a lot of fun.
-somebody thinks the world of you.
-somebody wants to protect you.
-somebody would do anything for you.
-somebody wants to be forgiven.
-somebody is grateful for your forgiveness.
-somebody wants to laugh with you.
-somebody remembers you and wishes that you were there.
-somebody is praising God for you.
-somebody needs to know that your love is unconditional.
-somebody values your advice.
-somebody wants to tell you how much they care.
-somebody wants to share their dreams with you.
-somebody wants to hold you in their arms.
-somebody wants YOU to hold them in your arms.
-somebody treasures your spirit.
-somebody praises God for your friendship and love.
-somebody can't wait to see you.
-somebody loves you for who you are.
-somebody loves the way you make them feel.
-somebody wants to be with you.
-somebody wants you to know they are there for you.
-somebody's glad that you're his/her friend.
-somebody wants to be your friend.
-somebody stayed up all night thinking about you.
-somebody is alive because of you.
-somebody is wishing that you noticed him/her.
-somebody wants to get to know you better.
-somebody wants to be near you.
-somebody misses your advice/guidance.
-somebody has faith in you.
-somebody trusts you.
-somebody needs you to send them this letter.
-somebody needs your support.
-somebody needs you to have faith in them.
-somebody will cry when they read this.
-somebody needs you to let them be your friend.
-somebody hears a song that reminds them of you.
SOMEBODY NEEDS YOU TO SEND THIS TO THEM......

---Anonymous

FATHERS DAY

I witnessed a reincarnation last night — for those of you skeptics, listen to my story.

David died in 1982 during an especially hot July.

I was many months pregnant and feeling heavy — in body and in mind.

Heavy in mind because my dad who had seemed invincible, was shrinking from his larger-than-life proportions to a frail-looking man in an awful seersucker gown that exposed sagging skin and thinning hair.

I was bringing into life a new personality/creature/love child and life was taking the foundation of my thirty-five years.

Dad was a quiet man who had never been president of Exxon, nor had he ever harmed anyone. He had never flown to corporate meetings, in exotic places, nor had he been too busy to pull my horse trailer or to fix my roller skates.

Dad never made demands on me and was sadly not going to guide my son who would be entering the world.

Dad passed gently, as he did all things, and when he did, I was gladdened his suffering didn't linger. The prayer that he might live long enough to see his grandchild's birth had long since changed into a prayer for a peaceful, pain-free rest.

When my son was born, life once again became all encompassing as the family routine took priority. Pictures of Dad, in family memory scenes, popped up at strange occasions and I was comforted by peaceful thoughts of his heavenly home.

Many times I had wished for one more opportunity to spend time, or re-do the time I had wasted while he was alive. I longed to feel his quiet strength for just a little longer, and maybe show a bit more appreciation for his jokes, even if I had heard them over and over before.

Perhaps, I would admire his carpentry ability, instead of wishing that we could have afforded "store-bought" cabinets and furniture.

So what if the boat he built, in the basement, made us knock out a wall in order to take it on its maiden voyage! How many fathers did I know who could build a boat?

If I just had another chance to watch those hands create...........

There's a new house going up just down the street. The carpenters are doing a great job, how ever they have obviously missed the point of which parts of the wood are the most valuable.

The grandson my father missed meeting made three trips yesterday with a much- used wheelbarrow and returned with his prizes like a Roman conqueror, eyes bright - spirited, with plans for his treasures similar to Donald Trump's dreams for the Plaza.

And when he had arranged the wood and nail box, I saw ........... my father's hand pick up the hammer and begin to swing.............
---True Story Author: JoAnn of Saint Louis Missouri, USA

A father came home tired from his day at work. His son asked him, "Daddy how much do you make an hour?"

The father says, "Listen son, even your mother doesn't know that....I'm tired now, go away and leave me alone."

The little boy persisted and the father finally said, "I make $20.00 an hour."

The little boy then said, "Thanks Daddy. May I borrow $10.00?"

The father replied, "Is that what this was all about?" And the father became angry and sent his child to bed.

In a short time the Dad was feeling guilty so he went to the child's room to see if his son was sleeping. The son was still awake....and the father said. "Son....here is the money you asked for earlier."

The little boy says "Great...now I have enough!"

The father is puzzled.

The little boy reaches under his pillow and pulls out another $10 dollars and hands the $20 dollars to his father.

The child says "Daddy, can I buy a hour of your time now?"

---Anonymous

Whenever we're troubled, we tend to dwell on the pain. We curse it and rehearse it over and over again. Consider inviting a few trusted friends to remind you when you're
focusing on the problem instead of God. Let them help you lift yourself.
---Rev. Mary Mannin Morrissey

Prayer is the one thing that can make a change in your life. If you will go direct to God in simple, affirmative prayer, you can heal your body, bring peace and harmony into your life, and make well-being a reality.
---Emmet Fox, Around the Year with Emmet Fox

How is love going to show itself through you? Consider knocking at love's door and asking, "Who is it that you want me to contact? Who needs me to reach out to them this week?" And someone will occur to you. It may be someone from your past with which you've become estranged, or it may be the person closest to you whom you've taken for granted. Send a card. Write a letter. Make a phone call. Let that person know he or she matters and has made a difference in your life.
---Rev. Mary Manin Morrissey

We cannot let ourselves off the hook by thinking that the world will improve by somebody else's effort. Martin Luther King didn't sit back and say, "Somebody ought to fight for civil rights." Gandhi didn't say, "How can just one Indian attorney transform a nation?" There is a power in you, a Soul Force that can make changes for the better. That fire is burning in you, right at this moment.

Do you know someone who feels betrayed? Today, reach out to someone who is hurting. Call that person and say, "I know you're going through a tough time right now. I just want you to know that I believe in you. I'm going to hold you in prayer all week." What we give others is a gift to ourselves.
---Mary Manin Morrissey

(A visualization for when your feeling a little down, frustrated and sad.)

Once a Drooping Flower

Imagine you are a flower that has drooped and your petals are closed. Gently feel a rain shower fall quenching your thirst. The sun comes out warming your petals, leaves and stem. Slowly you begin to strengthen, lifting, straightening your stalk.

Ever so slowly your petals begin to open to greet the sun. Your standing straight and tall now gently swaying in the breeze. With your petals open your centre or heart begins to warm, expanding and lifting towards the sun.

As it lifts towards the sun it expands filling with the sun's love and warmth. Then in the very centre of your heart seeds of love grow and as they grow they push towards the sun. Suddenly each one bursts forth into the air joining with millions of other seeds in the breeze spreading their love. As the seeds land gently they take root and grow.

Now wherever you look all that you see is a sea of wondrous flowers swaying gently in the breeze spreading their love.

The paradox of control is simple. The more we try to control life, the less control we have.
Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., Minding The Body, Mending The Mind

Teaching at Twilight

When my father was in Vienna,taking post graduate courses in Medicine under a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, he befriend a young medical student from Japan. On one occasion, he was invited to dinner at this young man's apartment. The hostess for the evening was this man's sister: a geisha. As the dinner progressed and everyone was engaged in lively conversation, and eating a superb meal, this lady began to play a Japanese string instrument. The tone was high and indeed painful to some who were not used to the pitch and the music.

One guest, German officer, got up and flatly stated he would not sit there and listen to cats in heat. He left only to return a short time later. Everything was as he left it but the dishes were empty as was his glass. He had ceased to be. No one spoke to him. No one served him. No one acknowledged his presence. In one second he had become air. His voice still because it went unnoticed. After a while, He stormed out of the party never to be seen by any of the people invited again.

Ah, The Japanese are so polite to rude people and they give such clear, concise and practical lessons, don't you think?
---Anonymous AngelScribe

"When one becomes disconnected from the Divine Flame, that one becomes an isolated spark." Some of us feel like lone sparks. If we operate entirely by our own will, little can happen. But if we connect with our Soul Force, we partner with God and begin to connect with others who feel that power, and the lone spark rejoins the Divine Flame.
---Ernest Holmes

"God is pulling us toward some kind of celebration, so have your eyes open to commonalities in ALL the religions and paths."
---James Forbes, pastor of the Riverside Church (NYC), from a tv interview

If I have committed myself to God, I am free to commit myself to another person in a way that creates the deepest kind of love between two human beings. Because my happiness is not dependent on you, I am free to love and serve you in the most joyous, exciting, and most rewarding way; I am free to give you all my love because, through my foundation in God, I know that the more love I give, the more I have to give.
---Alan Cohen, Rising in Love

In all persons, all creatures, the Self is the innermost essence. And it is identical with Brahman: our real Self is not different from the ultimate Reality called God.
---The Upanishads, As Translated by Eknath Easwaran

I am learning to patient and compassionate with myself as I gain the courage to be true to myself.
---Shakti Gawain, Livingin the Light

"Your life and my life flow into each other as wave flows into wave, and unless there is peace and joy and freedom for you, there can be no real peace or joy or freedom for me. To see reality--not as we expect it to be, but as it is--is to see that unless we live for each other and in and through each other, we do not really live very satisfactorily; that there can really be life only where there is, in just this sense, love."
---Frederick Buechner

"You have the idea that only certain people hold the key to the Kingdom of Happiness. No one holds it. No one has the authority to hold that key. That key is your own self, and in the development and the purification and in the incorruptibility of that self alone is the Kingdom of Eternity."
---J. Krishnamurti

Roles - and How We Play Them

Whenever I'm disappointed with my spot in life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott. Jamie was trying out for a part in a school play. His mother told me that he had his heart set on being in it, though she feared he would not be chosen. On the day the parts were announced, I went with her to collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining, with pride and excitement. "Guess what, Mum," he shouted, and then said those words that remain a lesson to me: "I've been chosen to clap and cheer."

"Your life and my life flow into each other as wave flows into wave, and unless there is peace and joy and freedom for you, there can be no real peace or joy or freedom for me. To see reality--not as we expect it to be, but as it is--is to see that unless we live for each other and in and through each other, we do not really live very satisfactorily; that there can really be life only where there is, in just this sense, love."
--Frederick Buechner

Abstinence

Holding a Notice from my 13-year-old son's school announcing a meeting to preview the new course in sexuality. Parents could examine the curriculum and take part in an actual lesson presented exactly as it would be given to the students.

When I arrived at the school, I was surprised to discover only about a dozen parents there. As we waited for the presentation, I thumbed through page after page of instructions in the prevention of pregnancy or disease. I found abstinence mentioned only in passing.

When the teacher arrived with the school nurse, she asked if there were any questions. I asked why abstinence did not play a noticeable part in the material.

What happened next was shocking. There was a great deal of laughter and someone suggested that if I thought abstinence had any merit, I should go back to burying my head in the sand.

The teacher and the nurse said nothing as I drowned in a sea of embarrassment. My mind had gone blank and I could think of nothing to say.

The teacher explained to me that the job of the school was to teach "facts" and the home was responsible for moral training. I sat in silence for the next 20 minutes as the course was explained. The other parents seemed to give their unqualified support to the materials.

"Donuts, at the back," announced the teacher during the break. "I'd like you to put on the name tags we have prepared-they're right by the donuts-and mingle with the other parents."

Everyone moved to the back of the room. As I watched them affixing their name tags and shaking hands, I sat deep in thought. I was ashamed that I had not been able to convince them to include a serious discussion of abstinence in the materials. I uttered a silent prayer for guidance.

My thoughts were interrupted by the teacher's hand on my shoulder. "Won't you join the others, Mr. Layton?" The nurse smiled sweetly at me, "The donuts are good."

"Thank you, no," I replied.

"Well, then, how about a name tag? I'm sure the others would like to meet you."

"Somehow I doubt that," I replied.

"Won't you please join them?" she coaxed.

Then I heard a still, small voice whisper, "Don't go." The instruction was unmistakable. "Don't go!"

"I'll just wait here," I said.

When the class was called back to order, the teacher looked around the long table and thanked everyone for putting on name tags. She ignored me. Then she said, "Now we're going to give you the same lesson we'll be giving your children. Everyone please peel off your name tags."

I watched in silence as the tags came off.

"Now, then, on the back of one of the tags, I drew a tiny flower. Who has it, please?"

The gentleman across from me held it up. "Here it is!"

"All right," she said. "The flower represents disease. Do you recall with whom you shook hands?"

He pointed to a couple of people.

"Very good," she replied. "The handshake in this case represents intimacy. So the two people you had contact with now have the disease."

There was laughter and joking among the parents. The teacher continued, "And whom did the two of you shake hands with?"

The point was well taken and she explained how this lesson would show students how quickly disease is spread. "Since we all shook hands, we all have the disease."

It was then that I heard the still, small voice again. "Speak now," it said, "but be humble." I noted wryly the latter admonition, then rose from my chair. I apologized for any upset I might have caused earlier, congratulated the teacher on an excellent lesson that would impress the youth, and concluded by saying I had only one small point I wished tomake.

"Not all of us were infected," I said. "One of us...abstained."

I create my reality
including the "wars"

perceived illness
is just that
a simple thought in darkness

there is no Truth to dis-ease
you either believe in it or not

all in the "dark' is a cover up
a mask...a sheild...to Love's prescence
that's all

I live in Love's awareness
which is my True Idenity

I AM ALL THERE IS
in the Highest Knowing

It is egocentric
to think at all

It is the eternal Knowing
that is my Truth

a sense of completion
of Love
of Joy
of God

Peace with mine
for my peace in yours

In Devotion to Love
I AM
---Jo Ann/Ananda

If you have make mistakes . . . there is always another chance for you . . . you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call "failure" is not the falling down, but the staying down.
---Mary Pickford (1893-1979), American Actress

It is the friends that you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter.
---Marlene Dietrich, b. 1901, German actress

We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.
---Anais Nin (1903-1977), American Writer

"The realization that all the phenomenal worlds, including our material plane, are virtual realities created by Absolute Consciousness leads to some very interesting questions."
--- Stanislof Grof, from his new book The Cosmic Game

Prayer is the one thing that can make a change in your life. It matters not what your religion may be or whether you adhere to none. If you will go direct to God in simple, affirmative prayer, you can heal your body, bring peace and harmony into your life, enlarge your social contacts, and make prosperity a reality.
---Stake Your Claim, Emmet Fox

All of us have occasionally felt only half-present. We have told half-truths, supplied partial answers and engaged in limited thinking. Our soul may have felt fractured, but in truth we are whole. At your very essence, you are a complete, unblemished being with all the pieces intact. (And, it is through this common fragmentation that we all feel, that we are connected and "real".)
----Rev. Mary Manin Morrissey

"...Life is a whole journey of meeting your edge again and again."
--- quoted without name on a subscription flyer from Tricycle, the Buddhist Review

Choose this day how you will live. Choose this day to release all struggles. If you re-lease, you get a new lease on life. If you release, you move into real-ease. It's in the letting go that you find what you possessed all along.
---Rev. Mary Manin Morrissey

"Thine own consciousness, shining, void and inseparable
from the Great Body of Radiance, hath no birth, nor death
and is the Immutable Boundless Light."
--- Padmasambhava, The Tibetan Book of the Dead

"You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves...

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things."
--- Wild Geese, a piece of a poem by Mary Oliver

FOR KRISTEN MAGIERA
1971 - 1997