You Are Totally Acceptable
Take a moment to tally the number of people each and everyday that you would estimate, in the pursuit of self-acceptance, visits a therapist.
It would be a daunting task, I’m sure. Scads of healing-seekers flock to psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, counselors, and spiritualists in pursuit of advice and guidance for living a better or fulfilling life. Many make this perpetual trek to convey the woes associated with not meeting acceptability standards; including those set both for their self, and others. They see themselves, or someone else lacking something that, if “fixed,” would lessen the distress and turmoil that they experience. Taking this idea to a broader scale, imagine how many stories and incidents are being conveyed in person-to-person conversation each day that involve the judgment of someone’s acceptability. To gain an all-encompassing perspective, also include the thoughts that we hold privately about either our personal acceptability or that of someone else. Now sum it up.
To the number of minutes that are privately devoted to just thinking about either our own or someone else’s acceptability, add the minutes involved in conversing with others about our own acceptability and that of others, and again to that subtotal add the minutes devoted to listening to others who do the same. Extend that exercise to include an entire population and the total would be mind-boggling. The daily toxic mental energy devoted either to pursuing one’s self-acceptance or judging the acceptable practices and performances of others is beyond what could be measured. It is way too far-reaching to both fathom and compute. The day is consumed with thoughts and conversation about the idea of acceptability.
Searching for acceptability seems to be a lifelong venture. It can be seen almost everywhere. It is present at work, and home. The pursuit of acceptance is demonstrated in conversation, and game competition. The acceptability of our personality, behavior or performance, or that of someone else, is not left without question for very long before becoming the focus of someone’s thoughts and conversation. Also, the quest for acceptance is more often than not, the seed from which a romantic relationship blossoms. In the pursuit of an enhanced level of acceptability, one romantic partner is targeted by the
Hello Everyone. Is this Love Letter helpful? Please let me know of your input and suggestions. I’m open to whatever causes the Love Letter to bring you insightfulness and make for a joyful read.
- Namaste, Don
And what's a butterfly?
At best,
he's but a caterpillar, at rest.
~John Grey
We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. ~Maya Angelou
other as being the source of good feelings, pleasure and happiness.
In the search for acceptability, we can put ourselves in some very tough spots. We learn early in life about what we are lacking and who we should strive to be. Authority figures tell us to behave better or perform better or look better. One’s personal acceptability is discerned by comparing one’s acceptability rating to that of others. We perpetually compare ourselves to others who possess an acceptability rating that may register at a higher or lower setting than our own. This comparison communicates a message about our self-worth. The comparison gives us feedback on how we are evaluated by our self and others, and as a result of that evaluation it informs us as to how we fit into the world. It causes us to form an opinion of our acceptability, which can often put a person in a compromising or tough position because his or her own acceptability is put on the line. It’s up for scrutiny and criticism; which is intimidating, scary and threatening.
We learn from the world that we could be better than we are. The message is virtually everywhere. We see it in advertisements. We are challenged with it in school. We learn it from parents. We are faced with it at work. Continually our acceptability rating is being evaluated as we view others in our peer group, professional group, neighborhood and church group. We compare ourselves to others while in social interactions. We assess the opinions that others hold for us in our family unit and romantic relationship. Continually we check our acceptability meter for an actual rating, and then compare it to the presumed ratings of another. And in doing so, perpetually we are asking ourselves: Am I okay?
If we determine that our comparative rating is registering at a sub-acceptable level, then we must heed the message as a warning and do something to raise it. One way of doing so is by creating the perception that we are something other than what we are perceived to be. So we can either strive to achieve the aspired level of acceptability, or create an illusion that we have reached it. In choosing the later, we misrepresent the personal effort required for meeting the acceptability standard. This choice will cause others to perceive us as someone other than we really are. Rather than being judged as unacceptable, a false self
Self-Awareness Retreat: June 13, 14
This two day get-together is for those of you who want to become one with that loving peaceful place within. Those who attend will learn the fundamentals for thought transformation. They will learn how to become one with their Ultimate Consciousness. This retreat is a happy, restful and insightful adventure. Retreat attendees will move down the pathway to the discovery of their True Nature. If you would like to make this discovery, then this may be the program to guide you. You will be with others who are curious about taking the same adventure. Email me and I’ll email back to you a brochure.
A self-transcendence mind Has peace.
- Sri Chinmoy
-image is projected to create the opposite perception.
The message that we continually communicate to the self is that we are lacking and must therefore do something other that what we are presently doing, or be someone thing other than who we are presently being. The ability to know our real self eventually becomes inert. The vision of who we really are is blocked by the false, self-created reality. This bogus reality is a distraction that keeps us from recognizing our Divine Reality.
The idea of some person or thing being unacceptable is contrived in the mind of a person who believes he can evaluate something as less than what God created it to be. Nothing or no one is unacceptable. In divine consciousness, lack does not exist. In divine consciousness everyone and everything is one with creation and therefore one with the Creator. In Divine Consciousness we are all one, a perfect One. Everyone and everything is composed of pure divine energy, which is unconditional love. Through unconditional love, God is present in all forms. He is present in a stone as well as a human, a blade of grass and a snail; a tree and a tiger. He is present in all forms because at the very base of all form is divine energy; which is Love.
Our worldly identity is affixed to our acceptability. We define ourselves, in large measure, according to our accomplishments, achievements, successes, importance, significance, capabilities, and performance outcomes. This identity defines who we are and becomes so ingrained in our psyche that it presides as the nucleus of our reality. We can’t see beyond it. It is the eco-sphere in which we conduct our lives. It creates strife and an insatiable appetite for self-acceptance. It is the battleground on which we prove to our self and others, that we can conquer forces that question or oppose our state of acceptability. It is like a scent we lay down as a demarcation to others that this thing we do that makes us acceptable, is our particular area of competency. It’s our badge of acceptability.
The mind that forms from the craving to be acceptable is called the ego. It perceives the world as a place where, through self-acceptance it must figure out how to fit in. The ego does however recognize the voice within that speaks from beyond its selfish limitations. The ego keeps the mind so distracted with the pursuit of acceptability that the other
In Norie Huddle's book, “Butterfly” she writes: "The caterpillars new cells are called "imaginal cells". They resonate at a different frequency. They are so totally different from the caterpillar cells that his immune system thinks they are enemies . . . and gobbles them up - Chomp! Gulp! But these new imaginal cells continue to appear. More and more of them! Pretty soon, the caterpillar's immune system cannot destroy them fast enough. More and more of the imaginal cells survive. And then an amazing thing happens! The little, tiny, lonely imaginal cells start to clump together, into friendly little groups. They all resonate together at the same frequency, passing information from one to another. Then, after a while, another amazing thing happens! The clumps of imaginal cells start to cluster together! . . . A long string of clumping and clustering imaginal cells, all resonating at the same frequency, all passing information from one to another there inside the chrysalis.”
-Source Wisdomways.net
voice is muffled. The ego is the mind within that distracts us from seeing our perfection. The voice of the ego keeps us so keenly tuned to its messages that the voice of our True Self is faint. The thoughts that emanate from Divine Consciousness are ignored, and so we grow ignorant of our true nature. We distance our self from the truth that we are One with God. We become so rooted in a false belief system that we forget that all of creation is perfect. We are perfect. We are totally acceptable. You are totally acceptable. You need not prove to yourself or anyone that what God created needs to be made into a better version. As long as we allow the ego to assume the captain’s role of our minds then we will correspondingly continue to seek out guidance in support of satisfying the ego’s function. Although it conveys the same lesson in various thought forms, the ego continually broadcasts the same message; which is: “You are not what you should be.”
In choosing thoughts that transcend the ego’s reality, the mind becomes opened to a knowledge that is beyond the ego’s limitations. The ego chooses not to see outside its consciousness, so it remains ignorant of Truth. It creates the obstacles that distract us from knowing our True Reality. Author, Willigis Jager explaines it this way.¬ “Hans Peter Durr once proposed the following example in a lecture: Vis a vis the universe we are like an illiterate person looking at a magnificent poem. Since we can’t read or write, we scan the whole thing carefully and note that some letters are continually repeated. So we begin to count these signs, to organize and catalog them. In the end we know that the piece of paper contains so many A’s, B’s and C’s and so on. We are proud of our research, but we haven’t the slightest understanding of the poem.”¬Search for the Meaning of Life pg8.
We are indoctrinated and so deeply entrenched in ego-based thinking that we do not see it as the ever-present obstacle, distracting us from recognizing the truth about who we really are. The ego keeps us from knowing what is beyond its own reality. It keeps us from allowing love’s presence to thrive in our ongoing thoughts, daily routines, special interests, and specific activities. It ever nourishes the desire for acceptability with messages regarding something else that yet needs to be done. (continue next column)
The mind becomes so overwhelmed and preoccupied that the transcendence of ego-based thinking is neither considered nor pursued. The ego tells us that thoughts about transformed thinking are hocus-pocus. They are crazy thoughts. And in our belief of what the ego speaks, the memory of our True Reality is shadowed.
The illiterate person in the Hans Peter Durr story, did not experience the thought provoking ideas conveyed by the poem, rather he saw only a list that tallied up the number of times each letter is used. The ego would control our perceptions in a similar fashion. It would not allow us to understand the Truth, the beauty of the poem. . It would not allow us to see that there is a level of consciousness that transcends the limitation of ego-based beliefs. The ego believes in conflict, consternation and condemnation. It thrives on conflict. It uses attack and defense strategies to validate its strength. And in doing so it is continually in our face with the message that says: “You are not what you are expected to be. You are not yet acceptable.”
The truth about who you are is beyond the ego’s teachings. You are completely and totally acceptable. Nothing the ego can lead you to do can make you better than what is already Perfect.
-Don¤
¤¤¤BE HAPPY¤¤¤
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
You Are Totally Acceptable
Take a moment to tally the number of people each and everyday that you would estimate, in the pursuit of self-acceptance, visits a therapist.
It would be a daunting task, I’m sure. Scads of healing-seekers flock to psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, counselors, and spiritualists in pursuit of advice and guidance for living a better or fulfilling life. Many make this perpetual trek to convey the woes associated with not meeting acceptability standards; including those set both for their self, and others. They see themselves, or someone else lacking something that, if “fixed,” would lessen the distress and turmoil that they experience.
Taking this idea to a broader scale, imagine how many stories and incidents are being conveyed in person-to-person conversation each day that involve the judgment of someone’s acceptability. To gain an all-encompassing perspective, also include the thoughts that we hold privately about either our personal acceptability or that of someone else. Now sum it up. To the number of minutes that are privately devoted to just thinking about either our own or someone else’s acceptability, add the minutes involved in conversing with others about our own acceptability and that of others, and again to that subtotal add the minutes devoted to listening to others who do the same.
Extend that exercise to include an entire population and the total would be mind-boggling. The daily toxic mental energy devoted either to pursuing one’s self-acceptance or judging the acceptable practices and performances of others is beyond what could be measured. It is way too far-reaching to both fathom and compute. The day is consumed with thoughts and conversation about the idea of acceptability.
Searching for acceptability seems to be a lifelong venture. It can be seen almost everywhere. It is present at work, and home. The pursuit of acceptance is demonstrated in conversation, and game competition. The acceptability of our personality, behavior or performance, or that of someone else, is not left without question for very long before becoming the focus of someone’s thoughts and conversation. Also, the quest for acceptance is more often than not, the seed from which a romantic relationship blossoms. In the pursuit of an enhanced level of acceptability, one romantic partner is targeted by the other as being the source of good feelings, pleasure and happiness.
In the search for acceptability, we can put ourselves in some very tough spots. We learn early in life about what we are lacking and who we should strive to be. Authority figures tell us to behave better or perform better or look better. One’s personal acceptability is discerned by comparing one’s acceptability rating to that of others. We perpetually compare ourselves to others who possess an acceptability rating that may register at a higher or lower setting than our own. This comparison communicates a message about our self-worth. The comparison gives us feedback on how we are evaluated by our self and others, and as a result of that evaluation it informs us as to how we fit into the world. It causes us to form an opinion of our acceptability, which can often put a person in a compromising or tough position because his or her own acceptability is put on the line. It’s up for scrutiny and criticism; which is intimidating, scary and threatening.
We learn from the world that we could be better than we are. The message is virtually everywhere. We see it in advertisements. We are challenged with it in school. We learn it from parents. We are faced with it at work. Continually our acceptability rating is being evaluated as we view others in our peer group, professional group, neighborhood and church group. We compare ourselves to others while in social interactions. We assess the opinions that others hold for us in our family unit and romantic relationship. Continually we check our acceptability meter for an actual rating, and then compare it to the presumed ratings of another. And in doing so, perpetually we are asking ourselves: Am I okay?
If we determine that our comparative rating is registering at a sub-acceptable level, then we must heed the message as a warning and do something to raise it. One way of doing so is by creating the perception that we are something other than what we are perceived to be. So we can either strive to achieve the aspired level of acceptability, or create an illusion that we have reached it. In choosing the later, we misrepresent the personal effort required for meeting the acceptability standard. This choice will cause others to perceive us as someone other than we really are. Rather than being judged as unacceptable, a false self-image is projected to create the opposite perception.
The message that we continually communicate to the self is that we are lacking and must therefore do something other that what we are presently doing, or be someone thing other than who we are presently being. The ability to know our real self eventually becomes inert. The vision of who we really are is blocked by the false, self-created reality. This bogus reality is a distraction that keeps us from recognizing our Divine Reality.
The idea of some person or thing being unacceptable is contrived in the mind of a person who believes he can evaluate something as less than what God created it to be. Nothing or no one is unacceptable. In divine consciousness, lack does not exist. In divine consciousness everyone and everything is one with creation and therefore one with the creator. In Divine Consciousness we are all one, a perfect One.
Everyone and everything is composed of pure divine energy, which is unconditional love. Through unconditional love, God is present in all forms. He is present in a stone as well as a human, a blade of grass and a snail; a tree and a tiger. He is present in all forms because at the very base of all form is divine energy; which is Love.
Our worldly identity is affixed to our acceptability. We define ourselves, in large measure, according to our accomplishments, achievements, successes, importance, significance, capabilities, and performance outcomes. This identity defines who we are and becomes so ingrained in our psyche that it presides as the nucleus of our reality. We can’t see beyond it. It is the eco-sphere in which we conduct our lives.
It creates strife and an insatiable appetite for self-acceptance. It is the battleground on which we prove to our self and others, that we can conquer forces that question or oppose our state of acceptability. It is like a scent we lay down as a demarcation to others that this thing we do that makes us acceptable, is our particular area of competency. It’s our badge of acceptability.
The mind that forms from the craving to be acceptable is called the ego. It perceives the world as a place where, through self-acceptance it must figure out how to fit in. The ego does however recognize the voice within that speaks from beyond its selfish limitations. The ego keeps the mind so distracted with the pursuit of acceptability that the other voice is muffled. The ego is the mind within that distracts us from seeing our perfection. The voice of the ego keeps us so keenly tuned to its messages that the voice of our True Self is muffled.
It would be a daunting task, I’m sure. Scads of healing-seekers flock to psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, counselors, and spiritualists in pursuit of advice and guidance for living a better or fulfilling life. Many make this perpetual trek to convey the woes associated with not meeting acceptability standards; including those set both for their self, and others. They see themselves, or someone else lacking something that, if “fixed,” would lessen the distress and turmoil that they experience.
Taking this idea to a broader scale, imagine how many stories and incidents are being conveyed in person-to-person conversation each day that involve the judgment of someone’s acceptability. To gain an all-encompassing perspective, also include the thoughts that we hold privately about either our personal acceptability or that of someone else. Now sum it up. To the number of minutes that are privately devoted to just thinking about either our own or someone else’s acceptability, add the minutes involved in conversing with others about our own acceptability and that of others, and again to that subtotal add the minutes devoted to listening to others who do the same.
Extend that exercise to include an entire population and the total would be mind-boggling. The daily toxic mental energy devoted either to pursuing one’s self-acceptance or judging the acceptable practices and performances of others is beyond what could be measured. It is way too far-reaching to both fathom and compute. The day is consumed with thoughts and conversation about the idea of acceptability.
Searching for acceptability seems to be a lifelong venture. It can be seen almost everywhere. It is present at work, and home. The pursuit of acceptance is demonstrated in conversation, and game competition. The acceptability of our personality, behavior or performance, or that of someone else, is not left without question for very long before becoming the focus of someone’s thoughts and conversation. Also, the quest for acceptance is more often than not, the seed from which a romantic relationship blossoms. In the pursuit of an enhanced level of acceptability, one romantic partner is targeted by the other as being the source of good feelings, pleasure and happiness.
In the search for acceptability, we can put ourselves in some very tough spots. We learn early in life about what we are lacking and who we should strive to be. Authority figures tell us to behave better or perform better or look better. One’s personal acceptability is discerned by comparing one’s acceptability rating to that of others. We perpetually compare ourselves to others who possess an acceptability rating that may register at a higher or lower setting than our own. This comparison communicates a message about our self-worth. The comparison gives us feedback on how we are evaluated by our self and others, and as a result of that evaluation it informs us as to how we fit into the world. It causes us to form an opinion of our acceptability, which can often put a person in a compromising or tough position because his or her own acceptability is put on the line. It’s up for scrutiny and criticism; which is intimidating, scary and threatening.
We learn from the world that we could be better than we are. The message is virtually everywhere. We see it in advertisements. We are challenged with it in school. We learn it from parents. We are faced with it at work. Continually our acceptability rating is being evaluated as we view others in our peer group, professional group, neighborhood and church group. We compare ourselves to others while in social interactions. We assess the opinions that others hold for us in our family unit and romantic relationship. Continually we check our acceptability meter for an actual rating, and then compare it to the presumed ratings of another. And in doing so, perpetually we are asking ourselves: Am I okay?
If we determine that our comparative rating is registering at a sub-acceptable level, then we must heed the message as a warning and do something to raise it. One way of doing so is by creating the perception that we are something other than what we are perceived to be. So we can either strive to achieve the aspired level of acceptability, or create an illusion that we have reached it. In choosing the later, we misrepresent the personal effort required for meeting the acceptability standard. This choice will cause others to perceive us as someone other than we really are. Rather than being judged as unacceptable, a false self-image is projected to create the opposite perception.
The message that we continually communicate to the self is that we are lacking and must therefore do something other that what we are presently doing, or be someone thing other than who we are presently being. The ability to know our real self eventually becomes inert. The vision of who we really are is blocked by the false, self-created reality. This bogus reality is a distraction that keeps us from recognizing our Divine Reality.
The idea of some person or thing being unacceptable is contrived in the mind of a person who believes he can evaluate something as less than what God created it to be. Nothing or no one is unacceptable. In divine consciousness, lack does not exist. In divine consciousness everyone and everything is one with creation and therefore one with the creator. In Divine Consciousness we are all one, a perfect One.
Everyone and everything is composed of pure divine energy, which is unconditional love. Through unconditional love, God is present in all forms. He is present in a stone as well as a human, a blade of grass and a snail; a tree and a tiger. He is present in all forms because at the very base of all form is divine energy; which is Love.
Our worldly identity is affixed to our acceptability. We define ourselves, in large measure, according to our accomplishments, achievements, successes, importance, significance, capabilities, and performance outcomes. This identity defines who we are and becomes so ingrained in our psyche that it presides as the nucleus of our reality. We can’t see beyond it. It is the eco-sphere in which we conduct our lives.
It creates strife and an insatiable appetite for self-acceptance. It is the battleground on which we prove to our self and others, that we can conquer forces that question or oppose our state of acceptability. It is like a scent we lay down as a demarcation to others that this thing we do that makes us acceptable, is our particular area of competency. It’s our badge of acceptability.
The mind that forms from the craving to be acceptable is called the ego. It perceives the world as a place where, through self-acceptance it must figure out how to fit in. The ego does however recognize the voice within that speaks from beyond its selfish limitations. The ego keeps the mind so distracted with the pursuit of acceptability that the other voice is muffled. The ego is the mind within that distracts us from seeing our perfection. The voice of the ego keeps us so keenly tuned to its messages that the voice of our True Self is muffled.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Our Relationship with thought
“I think; therefore I am.” ~Rene Descartes 1596 - 1650
Our Relationship With Thought
Frequently conveyed in this Love Letter inspirational series, are ideas and numerous reflections that characterize the power of thought. Thought is the core mechanism used to sustain human survival, co-existence and communication. Thought can be a friend and foe, ally and betrayer, savior and annihilator. It can be motivated by love and fear, kindness and cruelty, forgiveness and condemnation. Thought is continually with us, being the permanent force that initiates and propels all rationale. Also, it is the implementer of all our choices.
Thoughts are often illusive representations, and they cluster tightly with emotions to assure they are not easily expelled from the mind. Thoughts seem to come from nowhere, conveying the impression that without provocation they can just magically appear. Often they surprise us by immediately showing up as uninvited occupants. Once a particular topic comes to our attention, thoughts immediately appear in either support or opposition to it.
Thoughts form patterns. We are hard wired, when entering this world, with a certain mental matrix that is formed by our parental gene pool. The electronic
Welcome
To the family of Happy Beings -Jeannie Moore from Baltimore and Gina Marinello from Huntington Beach. db¤
An affirmation you may find helpful to living in the moment is: I am my divine mind: or if you prefer: I am the greater mind; or: I am my higher mind.
Either of these affirmations are exercises in mind training. Either plants in the mind an idea (thoughts) that capture the power of the moment. “I am” does not denote either what was or will be. “I am” is a representation only of the present. The present moment is really all that the mind can work with. It is all we really have. Yesterday is like a canceled check. It’s useless.
impulses (synapses) that fire in the brain cause tendencies for it to work most effectively in a specific functional way. For example, some of us will inherit the tendency to think
methodically, while others are born with a bent toward creative thinking. Genetically some are predisposed to a mind that processes thoughts quickly, while others are more profound thinkers.
Our thought patterns are also formed to a significant degree, by conditioning. We learn to think the way we think, because we learned to think by others who also think. They teach us to perceive, compare and judge just as they do. They also teach us to believe in their thoughts. Through beliefs, thoughts cause us to bond with others. Like-thinkers cluster in support and praise of their likeness.
Belief based thoughts possess a very strong polarization to similar thoughts. In support of a belief, we are taught to raise selected absolutes, principles and truths to continued mental awareness. These teachings are continually called forth as a means to strengthen a belief system with fundamental core thoughts. In a very real sense, we are taught to talk ourselves into valuing a specific viewpoint. This strict adherence to a particular belief system is often altruistic to our persuasive skills, even to the detriment of the planet and mankind. We learn a belief then we convince others that we are trumpeting the “truth.”
Through conditioning we learn to behave. We use thoughts to both act and react. Behavior conditioning, programs the mind to make automatic
Tomorrow is like a promissory note. It is merely a promise and may or may not be collected. Today however is like cash in the pocket. It can be converted to some-
thing believed to be of benefit. db¤
Happiness
But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads? – Albert Camus
That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest. – Henry David Thoreau
Who refreshes others will be refreshed
-Proverbs 11:25
When all is said and done, the one sole condition that makes spiritual happiness and preserves it is the absence of doubt. ~ Mark Twainresponses.
And as such, we learn to set ourselves up for making achievements and enduring setbacks. We learn how to either fail or rebound. We learn to move boldly or fearfully. We learn to either be ethical or calculating. And, we also learn to consort with those who are like us.
The mind absorbs an infinite number of instructional information bytes. We take what we learn from this collection of information units and use it as an incisive instrument to shape both the present and future. So everything that happens in our lives is an effect of our thoughts. In other words, the cause of everything that transpires is the result of our thoughts. Nothing shows up coincidentally. We bring all manifestations into reality through our thoughts. All things good and bad arise because we “think” them into existence.
Change the way you think, and your thoughts will also change. Change the way you think and the effects of your
thoughts, will create different outcomes. Properly change the way you think, and life becomes a never-till-now realized panorama of beauty, harmony, peace and love. Potential is unlocked.
More is coming. Dwell in a new you – for the next Love Letter. db ¤
Treat Yourself to
A Relaxing Weekend Retreat
Begin with us on Friday evening, June 12th. We will have a short introduction and orientation. Hors’ Dourves and wine provided. Saturday the program begins at 8:00 am. and continues until 2:00 pm. Finger foods and beverage are provided. Sunday the program begins at 8:00 am. And continues until 1:00 pm.
We will clear our minds and regenerate our divine energy levels. We will learn how to move through the day with a calm and content sense of Self.
You’ll have fun; meet pleasant people; restore your state of well-being; and open yourself to new possibilities. Email us and we will get in touch with you with more information. Blessings. db ¤
BE HAPPY!!!!
¤¤¤¤¤
Our Relationship With Thought
Frequently conveyed in this Love Letter inspirational series, are ideas and numerous reflections that characterize the power of thought. Thought is the core mechanism used to sustain human survival, co-existence and communication. Thought can be a friend and foe, ally and betrayer, savior and annihilator. It can be motivated by love and fear, kindness and cruelty, forgiveness and condemnation. Thought is continually with us, being the permanent force that initiates and propels all rationale. Also, it is the implementer of all our choices.
Thoughts are often illusive representations, and they cluster tightly with emotions to assure they are not easily expelled from the mind. Thoughts seem to come from nowhere, conveying the impression that without provocation they can just magically appear. Often they surprise us by immediately showing up as uninvited occupants. Once a particular topic comes to our attention, thoughts immediately appear in either support or opposition to it.
Thoughts form patterns. We are hard wired, when entering this world, with a certain mental matrix that is formed by our parental gene pool. The electronic
Welcome
To the family of Happy Beings -Jeannie Moore from Baltimore and Gina Marinello from Huntington Beach. db¤
An affirmation you may find helpful to living in the moment is: I am my divine mind: or if you prefer: I am the greater mind; or: I am my higher mind.
Either of these affirmations are exercises in mind training. Either plants in the mind an idea (thoughts) that capture the power of the moment. “I am” does not denote either what was or will be. “I am” is a representation only of the present. The present moment is really all that the mind can work with. It is all we really have. Yesterday is like a canceled check. It’s useless.
impulses (synapses) that fire in the brain cause tendencies for it to work most effectively in a specific functional way. For example, some of us will inherit the tendency to think
methodically, while others are born with a bent toward creative thinking. Genetically some are predisposed to a mind that processes thoughts quickly, while others are more profound thinkers.
Our thought patterns are also formed to a significant degree, by conditioning. We learn to think the way we think, because we learned to think by others who also think. They teach us to perceive, compare and judge just as they do. They also teach us to believe in their thoughts. Through beliefs, thoughts cause us to bond with others. Like-thinkers cluster in support and praise of their likeness.
Belief based thoughts possess a very strong polarization to similar thoughts. In support of a belief, we are taught to raise selected absolutes, principles and truths to continued mental awareness. These teachings are continually called forth as a means to strengthen a belief system with fundamental core thoughts. In a very real sense, we are taught to talk ourselves into valuing a specific viewpoint. This strict adherence to a particular belief system is often altruistic to our persuasive skills, even to the detriment of the planet and mankind. We learn a belief then we convince others that we are trumpeting the “truth.”
Through conditioning we learn to behave. We use thoughts to both act and react. Behavior conditioning, programs the mind to make automatic
Tomorrow is like a promissory note. It is merely a promise and may or may not be collected. Today however is like cash in the pocket. It can be converted to some-
thing believed to be of benefit. db¤
Happiness
But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads? – Albert Camus
That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest. – Henry David Thoreau
Who refreshes others will be refreshed
-Proverbs 11:25
When all is said and done, the one sole condition that makes spiritual happiness and preserves it is the absence of doubt. ~ Mark Twainresponses.
And as such, we learn to set ourselves up for making achievements and enduring setbacks. We learn how to either fail or rebound. We learn to move boldly or fearfully. We learn to either be ethical or calculating. And, we also learn to consort with those who are like us.
The mind absorbs an infinite number of instructional information bytes. We take what we learn from this collection of information units and use it as an incisive instrument to shape both the present and future. So everything that happens in our lives is an effect of our thoughts. In other words, the cause of everything that transpires is the result of our thoughts. Nothing shows up coincidentally. We bring all manifestations into reality through our thoughts. All things good and bad arise because we “think” them into existence.
Change the way you think, and your thoughts will also change. Change the way you think and the effects of your
thoughts, will create different outcomes. Properly change the way you think, and life becomes a never-till-now realized panorama of beauty, harmony, peace and love. Potential is unlocked.
More is coming. Dwell in a new you – for the next Love Letter. db ¤
Treat Yourself to
A Relaxing Weekend Retreat
Begin with us on Friday evening, June 12th. We will have a short introduction and orientation. Hors’ Dourves and wine provided. Saturday the program begins at 8:00 am. and continues until 2:00 pm. Finger foods and beverage are provided. Sunday the program begins at 8:00 am. And continues until 1:00 pm.
We will clear our minds and regenerate our divine energy levels. We will learn how to move through the day with a calm and content sense of Self.
You’ll have fun; meet pleasant people; restore your state of well-being; and open yourself to new possibilities. Email us and we will get in touch with you with more information. Blessings. db ¤
BE HAPPY!!!!
¤¤¤¤¤
A love letter from Don: 3/18/09
“I think; therefore I am.” ~Rene Descartes 1596 - 1650
Our Relationship With Thought
Frequently conveyed in this Love Letter inspirational series, are ideas and numerous reflections that characterize the power of thought. Thought is the core mechanism used to sustain human survival, co-existence and communication. Thought can be a friend and foe, ally and betrayer, savior and annihilator. It can be motivated by love and fear, kindness and cruelty, forgiveness and condemnation. Thought is continually with us, being the permanent force that initiates and propels all rationale. Also, it is the implementer of all our choices.
Thoughts are often illusive representations, and they cluster tightly with emotions to assure they are not easily expelled from the mind. Thoughts seem to come from nowhere, conveying the impression that without provocation they can just magically appear. Often they surprise us by immediately showing up as uninvited occupants. Once a particular topic comes to our attention, thoughts immediately appear in either support or opposition to it.
Thoughts form patterns. We are hard wired, when entering this world, with a certain mental matrix that is formed by our parental gene pool. The electronic
Welcome
To the family of Happy Beings -Jeannie Moore from Baltimore and Gina Marinello from Huntington Beach. db¤
An affirmation you may find helpful to living in the moment is: I am my divine mind: or if you prefer: I am the greater mind; or: I am my higher mind.
Either of these affirmations are exercises in mind training. Either plants in the mind an idea (thoughts) that capture the power of the moment. “I am” does not denote either what was or will be. “I am” is a representation only of the present. The present moment is really all that the mind can work with. It is all we really have. Yesterday is like a canceled check. It’s useless.
impulses (synapses) that fire in the brain cause tendencies for it to work most effectively in a specific functional
way. For example, some of us will inherit the tendency to think
methodically, while others are born with a bent toward creative thinking. Genetically some are predisposed to a mind that processes thoughts quickly, while others are more profound thinkers.
Our thought patterns are also formed to a significant degree, by conditioning. We learn to think the way we think, because we learned to think by others who also think. They teach us to perceive, compare and judge just as they do. They also teach us to believe in their thoughts. Through beliefs, thoughts cause us to bond with others. Like-thinkers cluster in support and praise of their likeness.
Belief based thoughts possess a very strong polarization to similar thoughts. In support of a belief, we are taught to raise selected absolutes, principles and truths to continued mental awareness. These teachings are continually called forth as a means to strengthen a belief system with fundamental core thoughts. In a very real sense, we are taught to talk ourselves into valuing a specific viewpoint. This strict adherence to a particular belief system is often altruistic to our persuasive skills, even to the detriment of the planet and mankind. We learn a belief then we convince others that we are trumpeting the “truth.”
Through conditioning we learn to behave. We use thoughts to both act and react. Behavior conditioning, programs the mind to make automatic
Tomorrow is like a promissory note. It is merely a promise and may or may not be collected. Today however is like cash in the pocket. It can be converted to some-
thing believed to be of benefit. db¤
Happiness
But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads? – Albert Camus
That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest. – Henry David Thoreau
Who refreshes others will be refreshed
-Proverbs 11:25
When all is said and done, the one sole condition that makes spiritual happiness and preserves it is the absence of doubt.
- Mark Twainresponses. And as such, we learn to set ourselves up for making achievements and enduring setbacks. We learn how to either fail or rebound. We learn to move boldly or fearfully. We learn to either be ethical or calculating. And, we also learn to consort with those who are like us.
The mind absorbs an infinite number of instructional information bytes. We take what we learn from this collection of information units and use it as an incisive instrument to shape both the present and future. So everything that happens in our lives is an effect of our thoughts. In other words, the cause of everything that transpires is the result of our thoughts. Nothing shows up coincidentally. We bring all manifestations into reality through our thoughts. All things good and bad arise because we “think” them into existence.
Change the way you think, and your thoughts will also change. Change the way you think and the effects of your
thoughts, will create different outcomes. Properly change the way you think, and life becomes a never-till-now realized panorama of beauty, harmony, peace and love. Potential is unlocked.
More is coming. Dwell in a new you – for the next Love Letter. db ¤
Treat Yourself to
A Relaxing Weekend Retreat
Begin with us on Friday evening, June 12th. We will have a short introduction and orientation. Hors’ Dourves and wine provided. Saturday the program begins at 8:00 am. and continues until 2:00 pm. Finger foods and beverage are provided. Sunday the program begins at 8:00 am. And continues until 1:00 pm.
We will clear our minds and regenerate our divine energy levels. We will learn how to move through the day with a calm and content sense of Self.
You’ll have fun; meet pleasant people; restore your state of well-being; and open yourself to new possibilities. Email us and we will get in touch with you with more information. Blessings. db ¤
BE HAPPY!!!!
¤¤¤¤¤
Our Relationship With Thought
Frequently conveyed in this Love Letter inspirational series, are ideas and numerous reflections that characterize the power of thought. Thought is the core mechanism used to sustain human survival, co-existence and communication. Thought can be a friend and foe, ally and betrayer, savior and annihilator. It can be motivated by love and fear, kindness and cruelty, forgiveness and condemnation. Thought is continually with us, being the permanent force that initiates and propels all rationale. Also, it is the implementer of all our choices.
Thoughts are often illusive representations, and they cluster tightly with emotions to assure they are not easily expelled from the mind. Thoughts seem to come from nowhere, conveying the impression that without provocation they can just magically appear. Often they surprise us by immediately showing up as uninvited occupants. Once a particular topic comes to our attention, thoughts immediately appear in either support or opposition to it.
Thoughts form patterns. We are hard wired, when entering this world, with a certain mental matrix that is formed by our parental gene pool. The electronic
Welcome
To the family of Happy Beings -Jeannie Moore from Baltimore and Gina Marinello from Huntington Beach. db¤
An affirmation you may find helpful to living in the moment is: I am my divine mind: or if you prefer: I am the greater mind; or: I am my higher mind.
Either of these affirmations are exercises in mind training. Either plants in the mind an idea (thoughts) that capture the power of the moment. “I am” does not denote either what was or will be. “I am” is a representation only of the present. The present moment is really all that the mind can work with. It is all we really have. Yesterday is like a canceled check. It’s useless.
impulses (synapses) that fire in the brain cause tendencies for it to work most effectively in a specific functional
way. For example, some of us will inherit the tendency to think
methodically, while others are born with a bent toward creative thinking. Genetically some are predisposed to a mind that processes thoughts quickly, while others are more profound thinkers.
Our thought patterns are also formed to a significant degree, by conditioning. We learn to think the way we think, because we learned to think by others who also think. They teach us to perceive, compare and judge just as they do. They also teach us to believe in their thoughts. Through beliefs, thoughts cause us to bond with others. Like-thinkers cluster in support and praise of their likeness.
Belief based thoughts possess a very strong polarization to similar thoughts. In support of a belief, we are taught to raise selected absolutes, principles and truths to continued mental awareness. These teachings are continually called forth as a means to strengthen a belief system with fundamental core thoughts. In a very real sense, we are taught to talk ourselves into valuing a specific viewpoint. This strict adherence to a particular belief system is often altruistic to our persuasive skills, even to the detriment of the planet and mankind. We learn a belief then we convince others that we are trumpeting the “truth.”
Through conditioning we learn to behave. We use thoughts to both act and react. Behavior conditioning, programs the mind to make automatic
Tomorrow is like a promissory note. It is merely a promise and may or may not be collected. Today however is like cash in the pocket. It can be converted to some-
thing believed to be of benefit. db¤
Happiness
But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads? – Albert Camus
That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest. – Henry David Thoreau
Who refreshes others will be refreshed
-Proverbs 11:25
When all is said and done, the one sole condition that makes spiritual happiness and preserves it is the absence of doubt.
- Mark Twainresponses. And as such, we learn to set ourselves up for making achievements and enduring setbacks. We learn how to either fail or rebound. We learn to move boldly or fearfully. We learn to either be ethical or calculating. And, we also learn to consort with those who are like us.
The mind absorbs an infinite number of instructional information bytes. We take what we learn from this collection of information units and use it as an incisive instrument to shape both the present and future. So everything that happens in our lives is an effect of our thoughts. In other words, the cause of everything that transpires is the result of our thoughts. Nothing shows up coincidentally. We bring all manifestations into reality through our thoughts. All things good and bad arise because we “think” them into existence.
Change the way you think, and your thoughts will also change. Change the way you think and the effects of your
thoughts, will create different outcomes. Properly change the way you think, and life becomes a never-till-now realized panorama of beauty, harmony, peace and love. Potential is unlocked.
More is coming. Dwell in a new you – for the next Love Letter. db ¤
Treat Yourself to
A Relaxing Weekend Retreat
Begin with us on Friday evening, June 12th. We will have a short introduction and orientation. Hors’ Dourves and wine provided. Saturday the program begins at 8:00 am. and continues until 2:00 pm. Finger foods and beverage are provided. Sunday the program begins at 8:00 am. And continues until 1:00 pm.
We will clear our minds and regenerate our divine energy levels. We will learn how to move through the day with a calm and content sense of Self.
You’ll have fun; meet pleasant people; restore your state of well-being; and open yourself to new possibilities. Email us and we will get in touch with you with more information. Blessings. db ¤
BE HAPPY!!!!
¤¤¤¤¤
Thursday, March 12, 2009
A love letter from Don: 3/12/09
Welcome
I want to welcome four folks from the international community into the family of Happy Beings. Please join me in welcoming: Angelina from Scotland; Karis from Brazil; Herminia and Jorga from Canada.
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision,
But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
- The Sufi, 1200 BC
It all boils down to just this moment. This experience that you are having right now is it.
This moment is life—it’s what is real. And it’s just what it is. You can pile all the thoughts, feelings, and imaginations into it that you want, but it still is just this. And no matter how much money you have in the bank or don’t have, how youthful or old you are, how talented or untalented you are, how successful or unsuccessful you are, you still have just this. No billionaire has any more or less of this. People try to dress it up in ideas, but it still comes down to just this simple moment. You can love it or hate it, but you still just have this. – Gina Lake, author (excerpt from Her book Living In The Now.)
Living in the Moment
From a young age we learn the dichotomies of life. We learn to differentiate good from evil, right from wrong, happy from sad, smart from ignorant, and healthy from sickly. The list that separates one person or group from the other, is continuous and far-reaching, and exists in virtually every aspect of our lives.
Dichotomous thinking shows up in our relationships with family members, co-workers, friends, and neighbors. It also appears in special interest groups, church groups,
FYI
Self-Awareness
Workshop and Rest Retreat
On one weekend in either May or June The Center for Happy Beings will host a two-day Self-Awareness retreat.
We will do several workshops in overcoming life burdening obstacles, and in revisiting/redirecting our individual Lifemap.™ The program will consist of class participation, individual life-mapping exercises, guided meditations, short silent meditations, and private reflection time.
If you are interested, please email me and let me know your most desirable weekend, and if you will be needing hotel accommodations.
Join us. It will be relaxing and participants have lots of fun. They will experience the joy that accompanies spiritual growth and being with others who are doing the same.
You will learn a new way to deal with issues that bug you, and go home with new ideas on how to reduce stress, and experience calmness and peacefulness in your everyday life. And, you will have a new Lifemap™ in your hands.
Send an email for more information and program outline. db ¤
social groups, and political groups. Dichotomous thinking is steeped in a single core thought; which is, this: I have an idea about someone or something that someone else does not uphold or condone. And as a result of this opposition, I feel like I am defending myself against a force of resistance. This core thought predisposes the mind to judgmental thinking.
This kind of thinking then creates unfavorable thoughts; which raises judgments about the opposing person or group. These judgments are propelled by the mental power put behind them. They are empowered by some degree of meaning. And based on the degree to which the judgments are meaningful, the thoughts become part of who we are. They are absorbed into our persona.
The thoughts then travel before us from moment to moment. Because they belong to us, we get attached to their meaning, and choose not to move forward without them. Past thoughts become a point of reference for living in the current moment. Thusly thoughts created by past ideas and events are carried forth into the present. The present is used as a kind of theatre screen on which we project past perceptions and judgments. The carryover of past thoughts alters the present. No longer is the current moment a space-in-mind, where we are availed to a new consciousness. Rather it is filled, till it is saturated, with thoughts that gush into the mind from the past. And as a result we lose our freedom to think and choose. Rather our minds are sunk in a moment-to-moment rut gouged out by experience that stem from the past and extended far into the future. Single present moments that are waiting in the future already are potentially filled with past perceptions and judgments. We need only arrive in the moment to find that our past
thoughts are already there.
There may seem to be no end to the inner torment and stress that we carry with us. It is no wonder. When the mind is trained to carry past judgment forward, it is availed little opportunity to retain the cluttered past from entering the pristine present. All the past junk is jammed into this pure empty, unoccupied space in the mind. Bam! There you have it. Instantly the mind is burdened, electrified by judgmental thinking.
Trinidad Hunt
Life is made of millions of moments, but we live only one of these moments at a time. As we begin to change this moment, we begin to change our lives.
“Do as little harm to others as you can; make any sacrifice for your true friends; be responsible for yourself and ask nothing of others; and grab all the fun you can. Don't give much thought to yesterday, don't worry about tomorrow, live in the moment, and trust that your existence has meaning even when the world seems to be all blind chance and chaos. When life lands a hammer blow in your face, do your best to respond to the hammer as if it had been a cream pie. Sometimes black humor is the only kind we can summon, but even dark laughter can sustain.” - Dean Koontz quotes (American author)
Sunday Morning
Notes from our inspirational sharing program on Sunday morning. We meet on Sunday and speak about an individual topic to reflect on throughout the week. A guided meditation then takes place,
Clearing the “now”
Moving from the rut to the light is possible, but it will take initiative and will. If we can train the mind to worry we can train it to be peaceful. If we can train it to judge we can train it to accept. All mind training begins with recognizing the way the mind is trained. In that recognition first, we are to become aware of how we think. Is the present moment used to rehash thoughts about past events? If the answer is yes“ then the next question to ask is this: Do I want to make a shift in the way I think? Do I want to change the way I feel? Do I want to keep the present moment, open for peaceful thoughts and a content feeling? If the answer is “yes” then here are some suggestions that I am offering you.
Be open to other choices. Creating a new you is based on the willingness to consciously make choices that were not previously made. So these choices will come with difficulty. The mind, being trained as it is, will resist. It has been trained to judge, so it will judge any new idea, by first processing it through its judgmental thinking pattern. It will fight for doing things the old way, and judge new choices as being uncomfortable and unproductive. In doing so, the mind is hoping to convince you to give up on the new choice.
Seek guidance. Guides are available. Personal guides, books and DVD’s are plentiful. Find something that works, and stick with it. Without a guide, it is easier to give up and fall back and not know how to rebound. Proper guidance will serve as a coaching tool to move you to a mental space that is satisfying and fulfilling.
Learn to clear the present moment. Meditation is the best source for clearing the mind. It is a self-created phenomenon, and available to anyone who is on the pathway to inner-peace. Two kinds of meditation practices are available. The first is guided meditation where you follow your own direction or the direction of the meditation leader. During a guided meditation session you will follow instructions that focus your concentration. This helps train you in stopping the mind from instantly
And we wrap-up either in conversation about the program or in a short and quiet time of self-reflection. If you would like to attend please email me and I’ll give you the scoop.
The programs over the last couple of weeks were devoted to returning to turning points in younger years, and also understanding Love, and how we touch the Divine Mind in others through Love and forgiveness.
In our guided meditations we call the presence of God into the room, then we cleared a place in the mind where we viewed God and heard His message. It is quite an uplifting and exhilarating experience. db ¤
Mother Teresa
"Spread love everywhere you go: first of all
in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor... Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting."
filling with distracting thoughts. It can also be a very comforting and reassuring practice. The second is silent meditation or in Zen known as zazen meditation. In this meditation exercise, the mind is emptied of all thought and open to divine enlightenment. The emptied mind is purely accessible to Divine Intelligence. It is open to communicating with the mind of God. Generally in the meditation groups that I conduct, we complete a guided meditation before beginning the zazen.
Keep going. Chances are you will give up. The voice of the past will tell you that you are too busy, or that you are just too tired, or you just can’t concentrate during meditation. It happens to almost everyone. But if you truly want to find the way of inner peace and true happiness, then the way is open to you. Having stopped, you may not want to start again because you feel like you have failed . However, to start again really means that you are faithful and not a failure. You are faithful to the choice that will deliver you to a new you, to a choice that allows true love to be present in your mind, to a choice that allows you to accept rather than judge, to a choice that allows you to realize just how you fit into the Divine Plan, a choice that reveals to you your purpose.
No matter what it is you have learned, you can learn something else. The mind is fertile ground, and any thought-seed that is planted in the mind can be cultivated and harvested. You could view the mind as an orchard. Plant the trees that bare the fruit you enjoy. Nourish the trees. Protect the trees from harm, and allow the light to do its thing. Tell your self what state of mind would bring you happiness. Do you intend to harvest anguish or peace? Nourish that intention with appropriate thoughts. Protect the mind from thoughts that are counteractive to your intentions. And allow the light to do its thing. Allow the light of Love to synthesize your intentions into fruition, the fruit that you intend to receive. db ¤
About Zen
Zen can be a difficult concept to understand. Translated by many as meaning "meditation" or "a state of mind", Zen can be perceived as a new understanding on how to live one's life. Demanding persistence, patience and discipline, living a life of Zen everyday is not an easy process but can ultimately prove to be extremely meaningful and worthwhile.
Zen is not a religion. Zen does not tell you what to do. Zen is an approach that has been refined through many years that can be practiced everyday by anyone. The main aim of Zen is to develop self-awareness and an understanding of everything around you. Through the course of one's life, people are conditioned into believing things without thinking about them too deeply. Zen encourages you to release lifelong conditioning and preconceptions and enables you to find a deeper understanding of yourself and reality. Zen frees your mind to live a life of heightened awareness which in turn enriches and improves your daily life experiences.
Source - Everyday Zen
Author: Health Spa Guru, articlesbase.com
I want to welcome four folks from the international community into the family of Happy Beings. Please join me in welcoming: Angelina from Scotland; Karis from Brazil; Herminia and Jorga from Canada.
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision,
But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
- The Sufi, 1200 BC
It all boils down to just this moment. This experience that you are having right now is it.
This moment is life—it’s what is real. And it’s just what it is. You can pile all the thoughts, feelings, and imaginations into it that you want, but it still is just this. And no matter how much money you have in the bank or don’t have, how youthful or old you are, how talented or untalented you are, how successful or unsuccessful you are, you still have just this. No billionaire has any more or less of this. People try to dress it up in ideas, but it still comes down to just this simple moment. You can love it or hate it, but you still just have this. – Gina Lake, author (excerpt from Her book Living In The Now.)
Living in the Moment
From a young age we learn the dichotomies of life. We learn to differentiate good from evil, right from wrong, happy from sad, smart from ignorant, and healthy from sickly. The list that separates one person or group from the other, is continuous and far-reaching, and exists in virtually every aspect of our lives.
Dichotomous thinking shows up in our relationships with family members, co-workers, friends, and neighbors. It also appears in special interest groups, church groups,
FYI
Self-Awareness
Workshop and Rest Retreat
On one weekend in either May or June The Center for Happy Beings will host a two-day Self-Awareness retreat.
We will do several workshops in overcoming life burdening obstacles, and in revisiting/redirecting our individual Lifemap.™ The program will consist of class participation, individual life-mapping exercises, guided meditations, short silent meditations, and private reflection time.
If you are interested, please email me and let me know your most desirable weekend, and if you will be needing hotel accommodations.
Join us. It will be relaxing and participants have lots of fun. They will experience the joy that accompanies spiritual growth and being with others who are doing the same.
You will learn a new way to deal with issues that bug you, and go home with new ideas on how to reduce stress, and experience calmness and peacefulness in your everyday life. And, you will have a new Lifemap™ in your hands.
Send an email for more information and program outline. db ¤
social groups, and political groups. Dichotomous thinking is steeped in a single core thought; which is, this: I have an idea about someone or something that someone else does not uphold or condone. And as a result of this opposition, I feel like I am defending myself against a force of resistance. This core thought predisposes the mind to judgmental thinking.
This kind of thinking then creates unfavorable thoughts; which raises judgments about the opposing person or group. These judgments are propelled by the mental power put behind them. They are empowered by some degree of meaning. And based on the degree to which the judgments are meaningful, the thoughts become part of who we are. They are absorbed into our persona.
The thoughts then travel before us from moment to moment. Because they belong to us, we get attached to their meaning, and choose not to move forward without them. Past thoughts become a point of reference for living in the current moment. Thusly thoughts created by past ideas and events are carried forth into the present. The present is used as a kind of theatre screen on which we project past perceptions and judgments. The carryover of past thoughts alters the present. No longer is the current moment a space-in-mind, where we are availed to a new consciousness. Rather it is filled, till it is saturated, with thoughts that gush into the mind from the past. And as a result we lose our freedom to think and choose. Rather our minds are sunk in a moment-to-moment rut gouged out by experience that stem from the past and extended far into the future. Single present moments that are waiting in the future already are potentially filled with past perceptions and judgments. We need only arrive in the moment to find that our past
thoughts are already there.
There may seem to be no end to the inner torment and stress that we carry with us. It is no wonder. When the mind is trained to carry past judgment forward, it is availed little opportunity to retain the cluttered past from entering the pristine present. All the past junk is jammed into this pure empty, unoccupied space in the mind. Bam! There you have it. Instantly the mind is burdened, electrified by judgmental thinking.
Trinidad Hunt
Life is made of millions of moments, but we live only one of these moments at a time. As we begin to change this moment, we begin to change our lives.
“Do as little harm to others as you can; make any sacrifice for your true friends; be responsible for yourself and ask nothing of others; and grab all the fun you can. Don't give much thought to yesterday, don't worry about tomorrow, live in the moment, and trust that your existence has meaning even when the world seems to be all blind chance and chaos. When life lands a hammer blow in your face, do your best to respond to the hammer as if it had been a cream pie. Sometimes black humor is the only kind we can summon, but even dark laughter can sustain.” - Dean Koontz quotes (American author)
Sunday Morning
Notes from our inspirational sharing program on Sunday morning. We meet on Sunday and speak about an individual topic to reflect on throughout the week. A guided meditation then takes place,
Clearing the “now”
Moving from the rut to the light is possible, but it will take initiative and will. If we can train the mind to worry we can train it to be peaceful. If we can train it to judge we can train it to accept. All mind training begins with recognizing the way the mind is trained. In that recognition first, we are to become aware of how we think. Is the present moment used to rehash thoughts about past events? If the answer is yes“ then the next question to ask is this: Do I want to make a shift in the way I think? Do I want to change the way I feel? Do I want to keep the present moment, open for peaceful thoughts and a content feeling? If the answer is “yes” then here are some suggestions that I am offering you.
Be open to other choices. Creating a new you is based on the willingness to consciously make choices that were not previously made. So these choices will come with difficulty. The mind, being trained as it is, will resist. It has been trained to judge, so it will judge any new idea, by first processing it through its judgmental thinking pattern. It will fight for doing things the old way, and judge new choices as being uncomfortable and unproductive. In doing so, the mind is hoping to convince you to give up on the new choice.
Seek guidance. Guides are available. Personal guides, books and DVD’s are plentiful. Find something that works, and stick with it. Without a guide, it is easier to give up and fall back and not know how to rebound. Proper guidance will serve as a coaching tool to move you to a mental space that is satisfying and fulfilling.
Learn to clear the present moment. Meditation is the best source for clearing the mind. It is a self-created phenomenon, and available to anyone who is on the pathway to inner-peace. Two kinds of meditation practices are available. The first is guided meditation where you follow your own direction or the direction of the meditation leader. During a guided meditation session you will follow instructions that focus your concentration. This helps train you in stopping the mind from instantly
And we wrap-up either in conversation about the program or in a short and quiet time of self-reflection. If you would like to attend please email me and I’ll give you the scoop.
The programs over the last couple of weeks were devoted to returning to turning points in younger years, and also understanding Love, and how we touch the Divine Mind in others through Love and forgiveness.
In our guided meditations we call the presence of God into the room, then we cleared a place in the mind where we viewed God and heard His message. It is quite an uplifting and exhilarating experience. db ¤
Mother Teresa
"Spread love everywhere you go: first of all
in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor... Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting."
filling with distracting thoughts. It can also be a very comforting and reassuring practice. The second is silent meditation or in Zen known as zazen meditation. In this meditation exercise, the mind is emptied of all thought and open to divine enlightenment. The emptied mind is purely accessible to Divine Intelligence. It is open to communicating with the mind of God. Generally in the meditation groups that I conduct, we complete a guided meditation before beginning the zazen.
Keep going. Chances are you will give up. The voice of the past will tell you that you are too busy, or that you are just too tired, or you just can’t concentrate during meditation. It happens to almost everyone. But if you truly want to find the way of inner peace and true happiness, then the way is open to you. Having stopped, you may not want to start again because you feel like you have failed . However, to start again really means that you are faithful and not a failure. You are faithful to the choice that will deliver you to a new you, to a choice that allows true love to be present in your mind, to a choice that allows you to accept rather than judge, to a choice that allows you to realize just how you fit into the Divine Plan, a choice that reveals to you your purpose.
No matter what it is you have learned, you can learn something else. The mind is fertile ground, and any thought-seed that is planted in the mind can be cultivated and harvested. You could view the mind as an orchard. Plant the trees that bare the fruit you enjoy. Nourish the trees. Protect the trees from harm, and allow the light to do its thing. Tell your self what state of mind would bring you happiness. Do you intend to harvest anguish or peace? Nourish that intention with appropriate thoughts. Protect the mind from thoughts that are counteractive to your intentions. And allow the light to do its thing. Allow the light of Love to synthesize your intentions into fruition, the fruit that you intend to receive. db ¤
About Zen
Zen can be a difficult concept to understand. Translated by many as meaning "meditation" or "a state of mind", Zen can be perceived as a new understanding on how to live one's life. Demanding persistence, patience and discipline, living a life of Zen everyday is not an easy process but can ultimately prove to be extremely meaningful and worthwhile.
Zen is not a religion. Zen does not tell you what to do. Zen is an approach that has been refined through many years that can be practiced everyday by anyone. The main aim of Zen is to develop self-awareness and an understanding of everything around you. Through the course of one's life, people are conditioned into believing things without thinking about them too deeply. Zen encourages you to release lifelong conditioning and preconceptions and enables you to find a deeper understanding of yourself and reality. Zen frees your mind to live a life of heightened awareness which in turn enriches and improves your daily life experiences.
Source - Everyday Zen
Author: Health Spa Guru, articlesbase.com
Thursday, March 5, 2009
A Love Letter from Don: 3/5/09
The Cure is a Place Within
A few of the more recognizable names for the inner-emptiness disease are described as one’s inadequacy, loneliness or boredom. When a person feels inadequate, he either smothers his self in thoughts about his inadequacy or he compensates by proving his ability through some activity. Or maybe he first does the prior and then the later. Loneliness affects people in a similar manner. One may feel fidgety, isolated, or abandoned because she does not have someone to share her space, communication, thoughts or feelings with. Boredom is much the same. A person is feeling bored because he or she is not stimulated or is unfulfilled by what he or she is currently experiencing.
So, inner emptiness is demonstrated in one’s own thoughts of personal inadequacies, loneliness or boredom. These thoughts prompt us to overindulge in the habitual reliance on addictive antidotes such as: work, socializing, romantic pursuits, drugs, drinking, sex, watching television and many more. It’s not unusual for a person to manifest their inner-emptiness in some form of addiction. But what is both unusual and seemingly extremely difficult is for a person to acknowledge their dependency on the addictive behavior (medication).
A Zen Thought
If I am holding a cup of water and I ask you, "is the cup empty?" you will say "No, it is full of water." But if I pour out the water and I ask you again, you may say, "yes, it is empty." but, empty of what?... My cup is empty of water, but it is not empty of air. To be empty is to be empty of something.
The things that we love
tell us what we are
-Thomas Aquinas
"When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion."
- Abraham Lincoln
We have been taught and thusly programmed to conform to the specific expectations of those in our inner-circle.
And, we also search for our individual way of fitting into the world in general. This continual barrage of thoughts causes us to think we are not who we should be. Something is missing. So a large segment of mental energy is devoted to appeasing other people as a way to feel a sense of belonging.
We form the habit of trying to be acceptable in the eyes of others. And that repetitive pursuit becomes so deeply imbedded in the psyche that it creates an internal program that runs continually. The feelings associated with being unacceptable tug at the mind and cause us to believe that we are missing something that we should have. This line of thinking then leads us to believe that something that exists outside the self will provide what is missing or lacking in our lives. When we feel like we are missing something we should have, an inner-void is sensed. This empty feeling causes one to endure a very sad and discomforting experience. When these feelings are fed to the psyche, we become worn out. Little by little, the hope for self-acceptance carves a deep gully into the mind, and we are left to see our lives only as what is remaining in that eroded, hollow gully. We see nothing. We only see emptiness. Through the distorted view caused by this sense of inner emptiness, we experience lethargy, futility, or depression. These are but three of the more common feelings we experience.
BE HAPPY!!!
FYI
Self-Awareness
Workshop and Rest Retreat
On one weekend in either May or June The Center for Happy Beings will host a two-day Self-Awareness retreat. We will do several workshops in overcoming life burdening obstacles, and in revisiting/redirecting our individual Lifemap.™ The program will consist of class participation, individual life-mapping exercises, guided meditations, short silent meditations, and private reflection time.
If you are interested, please email me and let me know your most desirable weekend, and if you will be needing hotel accommodations.
Join us. It will be relaxing and participants have lots of fun. Participants will experience the joy that accompanies spiritual growth and being with others who are doing the same.
You will learn a new way to deal with issues that bug you, and go home with new ideas on how to reduce stress, and experience calmness and peacefulness in your everyday life. And, you will have a new Lifemap™ in your hands.
How do we put a stop to experiencing these problematic symptoms? How do we find a peaceful, content space within the mind? How do we forego the seemingly involuntary response to a voice that says we are lacking in something that we should have?
In order to answer these questions we must first visit the real unmasked cause of the problem. By doing so, the real source of our self-inadequate, lonely and bored feelings is uncovered. The cause of our inner-emptiness is then exposed.
Lets work it out backwards. Symptoms of a sickness lead to the remedy. The symptoms (Lethargy, futility, depression) are often remedied through self-medication. For example Joe feels lonely. When he’s home, Joe misses having someone to talk with. This lack of having someone to chatter with causes Joe to become “antsy.” So he goes down to the neighborhood bar where he can be with others and take his mind from the emptiness that he experiences when at home. Mary is bored. Her husband and her do not share mutual interests, and communicate only on a superficial level. This causes Mary to feel hollow inside. She becomes depressed, so to suppress her sadness, she spends most of her day buried in work. To keep her mind off her boring marriage, when home, she thinks and speaks mostly of her work duties and prospects. Jean feels lethargic. She has no ambition. Her thoughts are almost always centered on how wrong her romantic life is going. So Jean keeps a lover. She fills the empty space within, with either guilt about her last sexual encounter, or anticipation of the next.
With the persons in all three examples addiction has set in. Joe cannot stop his drinking and socializing. He possesses a compulsive bent toward his barroom pursuits. Mary cannot control her incessant focus on work. She is obsessed with her career obligations. And Jean has become addicted to longing for romance. She is obsessed with thoughts about her romantic affairs.
Each person has elected to treat the symptom of his or her problem. Instead of seeking true spiritual relief for the loneliness, boredom or inadequacy, each one tries to minimize the symptom. But doing so is like trying to treat pain caused by a brain tumor with aspirin.
There is a peaceful place within every mind. It is where love resides. This place in me had once been reduced to a tiny corner. The light that radiated from this speck of a spot was enough to fill my mind. But because I had learned to cover the light with thoughts and behavior that did not include Divine Love, the light could barely shine through the shroud that covered it. It had nowhere to go. The best thing that I possessed, the Light of God’s Love, was reduced to an inert existence.
We get beyond our feelings of inadequacy, loneliness and boredom by understanding that in the dimension of Divine Intelligence inner emptiness is nonexistent. This means that inadequacy, loneliness, and boredom, and all other forms of an inner-void are aberrations. They do not really exist, and appear to do so only because they are given meaning by the deluded mind.
In the spirit realm, only love is present. Only love exists. Knowing this, we can get beyond any concerns that arise, by allowing love to prevail. Understand that in the framework of the big Cosmic, Divine picture, all small and large problems have no meaning. Within the context of this reality you are not lacking in any way. So there is nothing you can do to fill an empty space within. Simply, the emptiness is an illusion.
Since inner-emptiness in any of its forms is an illusion, then both the symptoms of the problem and the medication used to treat it are also illusions. What is not existent cannot manifest itself in the form of a symptom, nor can an antidote treat it. Overworking, over-socializing, over-romancing, and slothfulness will not cure what does not exist. Neither will alcohol, drugs, sex or television addictions.
We can put a stop to stressful, all-consuming behavior by first recognizing that we are not experiencing life through spiritual awareness. We may choose to see our thoughts and behavior differently. We may consciously choose to make a change in the way we think. We can voluntarily shift from human, worldly consciousness to Divine Consciousness. We can voluntarily ask God to take control of our thoughts.
You can do it. You can make the choice to give your thoughts to the Mind that knows only Divine Intelligence. It knows how to lead anyone down the path of peacefulness and contentment.
When we are reacting to stressful feelings, in some way we are responding to self-judgments. We are responding to thoughts that tell us we are not who we should be, something is missing in our lives. Divine Intelligence does not lead us to believe that we are lacking in some way. It does not communicate to us that we must do something or behave in a certain way. Devine Intelligence gives us the knowledge to be cognizant of the illusion that we perceive to be real.
If you make self-judgments, and judgments of others, then here are some ideas you may consider. Become cognizant of who you really are.
Realize that you are a unique expression of God’s love. God manifests himself in countless forms of which you are one. Every moment is available to each of us for making a single choice. We either choose to be as God created us, or we choose not to. We choose to either extend love or choose not to. We either recognize that we are created full and complete, One with Divine Intelligence. Or, we may choose to see that our lives are lacking in some way, and therefore we must make “right” what God did not. Remember God is but one thought away. And we are always one choice away from allowing God into our minds. When we do not choose God, we can choose again. Devine Intelligence is in waiting; we only need to choose it. db ¤
Excerpts from 26 Steps to Self Love
Be Willing. I am willing to do whatever it takes with dignity and pure motives, to help me shine from the inside out.
Let Go. I let go of the expectations of others, along with my doubts, and replace them with what feels true for me.
Follow. I follow my truth every moment, and I follow through in my actions everything that represents my highest and deepest truth.
Wait. I have patience with an ever-unfolding process in my life, and I remember to enjoy the process rather than just live for an outcome.
Experience. I am experiencing all I first decided to, and now I am living completely in the moment, enjoying this journey called my life.
BE HAPPY!!!
Hi everyone. I wish you well. I’ve got something to share.
I’ve been thinking about a few things this week; one of which I will speak of now. That “thing” that I’m referring to is in the form of this question: How does one get beyond his or her own hollow feelings?
We realize that it is difficult to feel happy when the dead weight of a grey looming void is expanding within. This inner emptiness is a disease of the psyche, and is usually accompanied by amongst others, these symptoms: feelings of lethargy (I’m not motivated), thoughts of futility (What I do does not matter anyway), or feelings of depression (I’m so sad, I can’t do anything).
Here are a few addictive medications that we self-administer for the treatment of this disease.
An obsession with work
The desire to socialize
The longing for romance
The use of vices
Sleeping and inaction
A few of the more recognizable names for the inner-emptiness disease are described as one’s inadequacy, loneliness or boredom. When a person feels inadequate, he either smothers his self in thoughts about his inadequacy or he compensates by proving his ability through some activity. Or maybe he first does the prior and then the later. Loneliness affects people in a similar manner. One may feel fidgety, isolated, or abandoned because she does not have someone to share her space, communication, thoughts or feelings with. Boredom is much the same. A person is feeling bored because he or she is not stimulated or is unfulfilled by what he or she is currently experiencing.
So, inner emptiness is demonstrated in one’s own thoughts of personal inadequacies, loneliness or boredom. These thoughts prompt us to overindulge in the habitual reliance on addictive antidotes such as: work, socializing, romantic pursuits, drugs, drinking, sex, watching television and many more. It’s not unusual for a person to manifest their inner-emptiness in some form of addiction. But what is both unusual and seemingly extremely difficult is for a person to acknowledge their dependency on the addictive behavior (medication).
A Zen Thought
If I am holding a cup of water and I ask you, "is the cup empty?" you will say "No, it is full of water." But if I pour out the water and I ask you again, you may say, "yes, it is empty." but, empty of what?... My cup is empty of water, but it is not empty of air. To be empty is to be empty of something.
The things that we love
tell us what we are
-Thomas Aquinas
"When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion."
- Abraham Lincoln
We have been taught and thusly programmed to conform to the specific expectations of those in our inner-circle.
And, we also search for our individual way of fitting into the world in general. This continual barrage of thoughts causes us to think we are not who we should be. Something is missing. So a large segment of mental energy is devoted to appeasing other people as a way to feel a sense of belonging.
We form the habit of trying to be acceptable in the eyes of others. And that repetitive pursuit becomes so deeply imbedded in the psyche that it creates an internal program that runs continually. The feelings associated with being unacceptable tug at the mind and cause us to believe that we are missing something that we should have. This line of thinking then leads us to believe that something that exists outside the self will provide what is missing or lacking in our lives. When we feel like we are missing something we should have, an inner-void is sensed. This empty feeling causes one to endure a very sad and discomforting experience. When these feelings are fed to the psyche, we become worn out. Little by little, the hope for self-acceptance carves a deep gully into the mind, and we are left to see our lives only as what is remaining in that eroded, hollow gully. We see nothing. We only see emptiness. Through the distorted view caused by this sense of inner emptiness, we experience lethargy, futility, or depression. These are but three of the more common feelings we experience.
BE HAPPY!!!
FYI
Self-Awareness
Workshop and Rest Retreat
On one weekend in either May or June The Center for Happy Beings will host a two-day Self-Awareness retreat. We will do several workshops in overcoming life burdening obstacles, and in revisiting/redirecting our individual Lifemap.™ The program will consist of class participation, individual life-mapping exercises, guided meditations, short silent meditations, and private reflection time.
If you are interested, please email me and let me know your most desirable weekend, and if you will be needing hotel accommodations.
Join us. It will be relaxing and participants have lots of fun. Participants will experience the joy that accompanies spiritual growth and being with others who are doing the same.
You will learn a new way to deal with issues that bug you, and go home with new ideas on how to reduce stress, and experience calmness and peacefulness in your everyday life. And, you will have a new Lifemap™ in your hands.
How do we put a stop to experiencing these problematic symptoms? How do we find a peaceful, content space within the mind? How do we forego the seemingly involuntary response to a voice that says we are lacking in something that we should have?
In order to answer these questions we must first visit the real unmasked cause of the problem. By doing so, the real source of our self-inadequate, lonely and bored feelings is uncovered. The cause of our inner-emptiness is then exposed.
Lets work it out backwards. Symptoms of a sickness lead to the remedy. The symptoms (Lethargy, futility, depression) are often remedied through self-medication. For example Joe feels lonely. When he’s home, Joe misses having someone to talk with. This lack of having someone to chatter with causes Joe to become “antsy.” So he goes down to the neighborhood bar where he can be with others and take his mind from the emptiness that he experiences when at home. Mary is bored. Her husband and her do not share mutual interests, and communicate only on a superficial level. This causes Mary to feel hollow inside. She becomes depressed, so to suppress her sadness, she spends most of her day buried in work. To keep her mind off her boring marriage, when home, she thinks and speaks mostly of her work duties and prospects. Jean feels lethargic. She has no ambition. Her thoughts are almost always centered on how wrong her romantic life is going. So Jean keeps a lover. She fills the empty space within, with either guilt about her last sexual encounter, or anticipation of the next.
With the persons in all three examples addiction has set in. Joe cannot stop his drinking and socializing. He possesses a compulsive bent toward his barroom pursuits. Mary cannot control her incessant focus on work. She is obsessed with her career obligations. And Jean has become addicted to longing for romance. She is obsessed with thoughts about her romantic affairs.
Each person has elected to treat the symptom of his or her problem. Instead of seeking true spiritual relief for the loneliness, boredom or inadequacy, each one tries to minimize the symptom. But doing so is like trying to treat pain caused by a brain tumor with aspirin.
There is a peaceful place within every mind. It is where love resides. This place in me had once been reduced to a tiny corner. The light that radiated from this speck of a spot was enough to fill my mind. But because I had learned to cover the light with thoughts and behavior that did not include Divine Love, the light could barely shine through the shroud that covered it. It had nowhere to go. The best thing that I possessed, the Light of God’s Love, was reduced to an inert existence.
We get beyond our feelings of inadequacy, loneliness and boredom by understanding that in the dimension of Divine Intelligence inner emptiness is nonexistent. This means that inadequacy, loneliness, and boredom, and all other forms of an inner-void are aberrations. They do not really exist, and appear to do so only because they are given meaning by the deluded mind.
In the spirit realm, only love is present. Only love exists. Knowing this, we can get beyond any concerns that arise, by allowing love to prevail. Understand that in the framework of the big Cosmic, Divine picture, all small and large problems have no meaning. Within the context of this reality you are not lacking in any way. So there is nothing you can do to fill an empty space within. Simply, the emptiness is an illusion.
Since inner-emptiness in any of its forms is an illusion, then both the symptoms of the problem and the medication used to treat it are also illusions. What is not existent cannot manifest itself in the form of a symptom, nor can an antidote treat it. Overworking, over-socializing, over-romancing, and slothfulness will not cure what does not exist. Neither will alcohol, drugs, sex or television addictions.
We can put a stop to stressful, all-consuming behavior by first recognizing that we are not experiencing life through spiritual awareness. We may choose to see our thoughts and behavior differently. We may consciously choose to make a change in the way we think. We can voluntarily shift from human, worldly consciousness to Divine Consciousness. We can voluntarily ask God to take control of our thoughts.
You can do it. You can make the choice to give your thoughts to the Mind that knows only Divine Intelligence. It knows how to lead anyone down the path of peacefulness and contentment.
When we are reacting to stressful feelings, in some way we are responding to self-judgments. We are responding to thoughts that tell us we are not who we should be, something is missing in our lives. Divine Intelligence does not lead us to believe that we are lacking in some way. It does not communicate to us that we must do something or behave in a certain way. Devine Intelligence gives us the knowledge to be cognizant of the illusion that we perceive to be real.
If you make self-judgments, and judgments of others, then here are some ideas you may consider. Become cognizant of who you really are.
Realize that you are a unique expression of God’s love. God manifests himself in countless forms of which you are one. Every moment is available to each of us for making a single choice. We either choose to be as God created us, or we choose not to. We choose to either extend love or choose not to. We either recognize that we are created full and complete, One with Divine Intelligence. Or, we may choose to see that our lives are lacking in some way, and therefore we must make “right” what God did not. Remember God is but one thought away. And we are always one choice away from allowing God into our minds. When we do not choose God, we can choose again. Devine Intelligence is in waiting; we only need to choose it. db ¤
Excerpts from 26 Steps to Self Love
Be Willing. I am willing to do whatever it takes with dignity and pure motives, to help me shine from the inside out.
Let Go. I let go of the expectations of others, along with my doubts, and replace them with what feels true for me.
Follow. I follow my truth every moment, and I follow through in my actions everything that represents my highest and deepest truth.
Wait. I have patience with an ever-unfolding process in my life, and I remember to enjoy the process rather than just live for an outcome.
Experience. I am experiencing all I first decided to, and now I am living completely in the moment, enjoying this journey called my life.
BE HAPPY!!!
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