Blessings..

May you be at peace,
May your heart remain open.
May you awaken to the light of your own true nature.
May you be healed,
May you be a source of healing for all beings.
- Tibetan Buddhist Prayer

Gratitude - Eckhart Tolle

This was on his Facebook page today.

Dear Friends,
Almost two thousand years ago, the philosopher Plutarch wrote:
"Most people bypass what is good and refreshing in their lives, and habitually focus on the unpleasant, bad elements."
How easily all our attention can get absorbed by our "problems". Thinking and talking about them strengthens a false sense of self. And so we miss the good in our lives. Where's the good? It's wh

ere Life is: in the present moment. It's in the clouds and vast spaciousness of the sky, the air you breathe, the life-giving light and warmth of the sun, the silence of the night. It's in a small act of kindness given or received. It's in the sound of the rain, the intense aliveness of a flower....the same aliveness that you can also feel inside your body.
Another word for acknowledging the good in your life is - gratitude.
And: what you focus your attention on, grows.
With love,
Eckhart

The Path to Love

Deepak Chopra: The 5-Step Path to a Life of Love - @OWNTV

Everyone has a weakness..

I believe in the Golden Rule.  It has been presented in many formats by many religious and philosophical leaders from the beginning of time.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule

Jesus himself, stated that it was one of the 2 greatest commandments and yet some of his "followers" find it difficult, if not impossible to obey.  In fact, I find it nearly impossible to obey in regards to one particular group myself.  It disturbs me more that I want to take action in the form of violence against them than it does the horrific things they do in the name of Jesus.

These people cling to the Old Testament law, which Jesus said he came to abolish and to the laws of Paul, more than to the love of Jesus.

I pray everyday that the Golden Rule will prevail in the lives of humanity, but some people just never seem to abide by it.  It is disheartening.

Happily Ever After

This isn't technically a happy experience, but it is a thought on Happiness based on a meditation yesterday.  I was looking for books on happiness at the church library and came across this book by Marsha Sinetar, Living Happily Ever After: Thrive on Change, Triumph over Adversity.  I have not yet read it, but she made an interesting point in her introduction.

We tend to think of Happily Ever After is something for children's stories and as a adults that it is not real.  However, It is possible to have Happily Ever After, when we view things the right way.

It was always a little troubling that Happily Ever After always stopped at the resolution to a problem and then nothing else happened.  But perhaps it was a Happily Ever After because the characters learned to work together to solve problems together.

The Happiness Project has actually been a good way to demonstrate this and move me toward Happily Ever  After.  By focusing on the good things and looking for them, it certainly makes things seem like they are going well.

Happiness Project: Week 2

The week has not gone as well as week one.  I did not come up with 3 good things the last few days and I only did my 20 minute meditation once.  And now, I am going to turn that 20 minute meditation into my blog post (the first and only for the week).

I spent 20 minutes looking at my walking stick in the corner of my Sanctuary  (I have debated on what to call that little room.  Meditation space sounded wrong, because I don't just use it for meditation.  I read and sit and relax there too.  I went back to Sanctuary).  The walking stick is nothing special.  It's just a crepe myrtle branch that someone trimmed and threw in the woods behind my house.  I tied a amethyst to the top of it.  I have only used it once on my walk.  But every time I see it I think about life as a journey.

Mine has been interesting, but in some ways weird.  I suppose it seems weird because I just kinda went with the flow for a long time and never really considered who I am or what I wanted.  I am glad I know now, even if some dreams are impossible at this point.  It is a much happier existence to be on the journey you are wanting than one you settle on or are led on.

Participating in the Happiness Project has really been for the most part about looking forward for me, rather than back.  I am not sure why, but I have always been plagued by mistakes and missed opportunity and spend a lot of time wishing things were different rather than working on moving forward to the right path.

Still Going...Week 2 Day 2

3 Good Things:

‎Setup the fish tank in my meditation space.
Napping on the couch with the boys.
Picked tomatoes and herbs from my container garden.
Blog about one positive experience, past or present:

Meditate:
Breath in, Breath out, 

Exercise: 


Do 5 conscious acts of kindness:
I helped a friend look for a car today.