Seasons of the Soul

"I'm Too Busy!"

We’ve all heard this refrain from others, and we often repeat it ourselves. But what does this constant busyness do to us? If we don’t take time for the small things that are important ingredients to our wellbeing and soul nourishment, we are not going to have much energy to give to the seemingly mundane tasks that call for our attention on a daily basis. When we forget to do the things that fill us up, we are operating from a depleted reservoir, and are soon running on empty. Eventually, a toll is paid for that imbalance in our lives, and we have a breakdown in the body, in relationships, or in our working life. All because we were too busy to take time for meaningful moments that fill the inner being that requires our attention.

What do I mean by meaningful moments? These are the small things we do to restore ourselves to a place of balance within. They can be as small as turning to a book with inspirational passages that we read from – taking us less than five minutes, but giving us the reminder and refresher we need to get back on track. It can be a simple thing like standing up behind our desk and doing neck and shoulder exercises that help us to get back to work with a sense of ease to the physical body, or stopping what we are doing to take a walk outside. Sitting mindfully is another small thing to do. We can focus on something that fills us with peace, perhaps recalling a special time when we were at one within nature, or a time when we felt the swelling of love and connection in the beauty of something as simple as a sunset.

Meaningful moments include appreciation for what is. We often are so focused on what we want to see that we forget to look at what is in front of us, and recognize its value. The beauty of a flower, the thoughtfulness of a co-worker all qualify. We can also refresh ourselves with acts of gratitude. Taking a moment to recount the good in our lives – no matter how small, brings us back to Center within. It wipes away the litany of complaints that is always brimming below the surface when we don’t make time for pauses in our lives. Acts of kindness are also refreshers to the soul. We may see that someone is struggling with something, or could use a cup of coffee, or any seemingly insignificant act that would contribute to their wellbeing and recognition that someone else “sees” them. Words of encouragement to another, appreciation for them, gratitude that we have good in our lives, and the ability to reach out and touch another on a daily basis, not because we have to, but because it helps us to bring a meaningful moment into our lives – these are things we can do. They don’t cost much, and the benefit to us is invaluable.

Taking time for meaningful moments is like giving ourselves our daily bread – it is the manna that keeps us going and makes our life a song of celebration. The more we do it, the more aware we become of how much there is for which to be grateful. And a funny thing happens as a result…suddenly, we no longer feel “too busy.”
KJ

Student Bloopers - Humor

It is truly astonishing what happens to Bible stories when they are retold by young scholars around the world.(spelling errors are intended)
Excerpts from reports written by children…compiled by Richard Lederer

*In the first book of the bible, Guinessis, God got tired of creating the world, so he took the Sabbath off.
*Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree.
*Noah’s wife was called Joan of Ark. Noah built an ark, which the animals came on to in pears.
*Lot’s wife was a pillar of salt by day, but a ball of fire by night.
*The Jews were a proud people and throughout history they had trouble with the unsympathetic Genitals.
*Samson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a jezebel like Delilah. Samson slaved the Philistines with the axe of the apostles.
*Moses led the Hebrews to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread, which is bread made without any ingredients. The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterward, Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the Ten Amendments.
*The First Commandments was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple. The Fifth Commandment is humor thy father and mother. The Seventh Commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.
*Moses died before he ever reached Canada. Then Joshua led the Hebrews in the battle of Geritol. The greatest miracle in the bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him.
*David was a Hebrew king skilled at playing the liar. He fought with the Finkelsteins, a race of people who lived in biblical times. Solomon, one of David’s sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.
*When Mary heard that she was the Mother of Jesus, she sang the Magna Carta. When the three wise guys from the East Side arrived, they found Jesus in the manager.
*Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption. St. John, the Blacksmith, dumped water on his head.
*Jesus enunciated the Golden Rule, which says to do one to others before they do one to you. He also explained, “Man doth not live by sweat alone.” It was a miracle when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the tomb stone off the entrance.
*The people who followed the Lord were called the 12 decibels. The epistles were the wives of the apostles. One of the opossums was St. Matthew, who was by profession a taximan.
*St. Paul cavorted to Christianity. He preached holy acrimony, which is another name for marriage. A Christian should have only one wife. This is called monotony.

We Are the Consciousness of the World

In a class the other evening, one of the participants commented that after she read the dreary deadlines and predictions of the day and for the future (invasions of Iran, etc), she always came to the Seasons of the Soul site to see something inspiring. And as I considered her comments, it was further evidence to me of the necessity for each of us to recognize that what we are viewing in the collective on television, movies, Internet, radio, magazines, and newspapers is a compilation of our collective consciousness.

As we abdicate our responsibility – ability to respond – to contribute to the uplifting of consciousness through our choices and our voices, we are allowing the lowest common denominator to prevail. Unfortunately, there is a lot of adrenalin that is manufactured by fear-based messages. There is something within the human being that feeds off that energy, and in return the fear based energy feeds off of the feeders. It becomes a vicious cycle that spirals out of control, and before we know it, we have a world in chaos and at war. We have distrust, mishandling of communication, and all the other unintended results of giving in to the lowest impulses of our nature.

It takes discernment and discipline to rise above chaos. It takes a self-organizing attitude that recognizes that we are walking through a minefield of information. Actually it is a mind field. And that mind field is going to pluck from us what we put our attention to. What does that mean?

Whatever we focus on magnifies. We feed thoughts of fear or faith, depending on what we are tuning in to. What channel is predominant in our lives? Are we titillated by disturbing news? Are we disempowered by stories that seem so overwhelming that we become insignificant? Do we feel helpless in the face of insurmountable odds presented to us daily by the news media? And furthermore, does a sense of futility help us to discharge any sense of obligation because what we see is way too much for us to handle?

If we do a little self-examination, we may find that taking the easier path of falling in to the soap opera mentality of the nation releases us from a burden to take action. After all, what can one person do?  And yet, if we truly understood that the very message that we feel disempowered by is being empowered by our lack of action, we would realize that we do indeed create and are responsible for our reality. And the reality we create affects not only us, but everyone else. When the overwhelming thought process is focused on disease, war, dishonesty, attack, and all the other soul demeaning events, this is a contribution to that consciousness. If each of us said “NO!” to those forms of materialization and turned only to what is uplifting, restoring, hopeful, and life giving – THAT would become the predominant force and consciousness that would emerge.

We are not victims of some outside plot. We are victims of our own creation – and just as we have fallen into a trap of complicity, we can climb up and out of that state by changing the channel – by focusing on what CAN be done to make the world and our lives a better place, and then vocalizing it, acting upon it, and shifting the frequency from helplessness to helpfulness. We are the creators of our reality, and if we don’t like what we see, we have the power to make change. Every small step leads us to a destination. As we bring our intentions into focus and band together as a force for the good, the larger pool of consciousness adjusts to reflect the overriding and predominant view.

The task may seem daunting. But it is not. We know the power of what one person can do for good or ill. We know what was accomplished by the example of a Gandhi and a Mother Teresa. We also know what happens when no one stops a Hitler or the fanatics in Rwanda. Our thoughts and actions support and uplift the good, or allow the fall of humanity into the grips of despair. It is that simple and that hard. It requires an adjustment in the lens with which we focus. But by doing so, we can contribute to the creation of a world we want to see.
KJ

The Jigsaw Puzzle Guide to Life

Have you ever done a jigsaw puzzle? If you have, you know that the pieces are small, cut from a larger form, and sometimes infuriatingly difficult to piece together. However, when they do come together, what had been separate pieces becomes a unity of color/shape/design that brings something bigger to life that holds together through its interlocking parts.

I sometimes do jigsaw puzzles for relaxation, and as I was piecing together a fairly easy one, I noted that while I was focused on one piece, my full attention was there – scanning and searching for just the right “fit”…the place where it belonged. Once found, there was a momentary feeling of “Aha!” and then it was as though that piece never existed. I was off to the next, and the next.

I noticed something else about the jigsaw puzzle. When you look at a piece, isolated from the rest, most of the time you have absolutely no idea what it represents. Sometimes you have to find location by color shading, other times by line value. Sometimes it’s by pure guesswork and attrition. The harder pieces have to wait. You deal with them toward the end.

As I noted in the beginning, once the picture is formed, each piece takes on more significance. You can see what part it played in the overall context. Yet, while in the finding stage, significance is not always easy to determine. And so our lives. We start out in trial and error mode, forging together loose pieces of what we are becoming within a context that doesn’t always make sense or have easily identified markers. It takes time to put us together – to see ourselves in a larger light. And so, it takes patience to become the complete picture of you or me. We can’t rush it, but need to take each moment to relish the experience of each piece as we pull them together. We are becoming – we’re in process. That’s the puzzle, and it’s also the reward." KJ

Another Lord's Prayer

Translated from Aramaic into English ~ Author Unknown

    
O cosmic Birther of all radiance and vibration, soften the ground of our being and carve out a space within us where Your Presence can abide.

Fill us with your creativity so that we may be empowered to bear the fruit of Your mission.
Let each of our actions bear fruit in accordance with your desire.
Endow us with the wisdom to produce and share what each being needs to grow and flourish.
Untie the tangled threads of destiny that bind us, as we release others from the entanglement of past mistakes.

Do not let us be seduced by that which would divert us from our true purpose, but illuminate the opportunities of the present moment.

For you are the round and the fruitful vision, the birth power and fulfillment, as all is gathered and made whole once again. 
Amen.

Book Review - Spiritual Fitness

Spiritual Fitness, by Caroline Reynolds is an excellent workshop without having to go anywhere! I am taking a class by the same title, and when the book came, I thought it was going to be another one of those books that I've seen in the past and found trite or boring. Yet, here was a practical guide to making shifts in perception through easy-to-do exercises that truly DID cause me to see something from a new perspective. And I was very pleased with the results! I've only just embarked on the first two chapters, but already I can see why this book was chosen to be used for the class I am taking. The author is from England, and shares her own story with the reader, making you feel that you're not being preached to, but included in a journey towards becoming more of what you were meant to be. I recommend this book to anyone who would like to make a shift- subtle or major- in their life, in order to be able to express their gifts more freely. This would work for healing crisis, relationship issues, financial and work related problems just as easily - after all, they are each interrelated anyway.

From Young and Old

I recently received a belated Christmas letter from an acquaintance whose 5 ½ year old son had a big revelation while his mother was driving him to school one morning. “Mama, I know what the soul is!” “You do?” she responded. “Tell me about it.”  He was thoughtful for a moment and then from the back seat – these words of wisdom came -  “The soul is like gold in my heart. It’s like fluttery gold. It flutters in my heart and then moves up into my teeth and makes me smile.”

This reminded me of another incredible piece of wisdom from another child years ago. My friend’s son was 8 at the time, and he asked his mother if she knew what the square root of God was. She was taken aback. “No, I don’t. Do you know?” “Yes”, he said. “The square root of God is Love.”

It’s this quality of uncontaminated insight that children exhibit – especially before they are corrupted by the do’s and don’ts of society, media, and peer pressure. That beautiful spark of innocence is so refreshing in the little ones, and it compliments the insight of the elders. If we would allow for the wisdom at both ends of the spectrum we would be a far richer and more substantial people. The little ones and the old ones are the forgotten cast offs. One group is too young to know yet and the other is too old to matter. Yet, it is both these groups that have a vast and rich tapestry to share with the rest of society. One because it is still fresh and unmarred; the other because it has been tested and wizened through the journey of years.

It’s time to create a format for the two to be counted. Let’s encourage the little ones to share and let’s listen to the elders—or if we are an elder—to speak up. Observations of those in the 13-40 year old range may be trendy—and they are certainly plentiful, but they certainly do not reflect in total  the enormous pool of possibilities that are represented by the rest of us!
KJ

Sunday Funnies

LOST IN THE DARNDEST PLACES:
An elderly Floridian called 911 on her cell phone to report that her car has been broken into. She is hysterical as she explains her situation to the dispatcher: "They've stolen the stereo, the steering wheel, the brake pedal and even the accelerator!" she cried. The dispatcher said, "Stay calm. An officer is on the way." A few minutes later, the officer radios in. "Disregard." He says. "She got in the back-seat by mistake."

FAMILY
Three sisters ages 92, 94 and 96 live in a house together. One night the 96 year old draws a bath. She puts her foot in and pauses. She yells to the other sisters, "Was I getting in or out of the bath?" The 94 year old yells back, "I don't know. I'll come up and see." She starts up the stairs and pauses "Was I going up the stairs or down?" The 92 year old is sitting at the kitchen table having tea listening to her sisters. She shakes her head and says, "I sure hope I never get that forgetful, knock on wood." She then yells, "I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who's at the door."

"I CAN HEAR JUST FINE!"
Three retirees, each with a hearing loss, were playing golf one fine March day. One remarked to the other, "Windy, isn't it?" "No," the second man replied, "it's Thursday." And the third man chimed in, "So am I. Let's have a beer."

LITTLE LADY:
A little old lady was running up and down the halls in a nursing home. As she walked, she would flip up the hem of her nightgown and say "Supersex." She walked up to an elderly man in a wheelchair. Flipping her gown at him, she said, "Supersex." He sat silently for a moment or two and finally answered, "I'll take the soup."

OLD FRIENDS 
Two elderly ladies had been friends for many decades. Over the years, they had shared all kinds of activities and adventures. Lately, their activities had been limited to meeting a few times a week to play cards. One day, they were playing cards when one looked at the other and said, "Now don't get mad at me ... I know we've been friends for a long time, but I just can't think of your name! I've thought and thought, but I can't remember it. Please tell me what your name is." Her friend glared at her. For at least three minutes she just stared and glared at her. Finally she said, "How soon do you need to know?"

SENIOR DRIVING
As a senior citizen was driving down the freeway, his car phone rang. Answering, he heard his wife's voice urgently warning him, "Herman, I just heard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way on Interstate 77. Please be careful!" "Heck," said Herman, "It's not just one car. It's hundreds of them!"

Web-Based Microfinancing

Web-Based Microfinancing

By SONIA NARANG

From New York Times Dec. 10, 2006

The idea of microfinancing — small-scale loans to the entrepreneurial-minded poor — reached the front page this fall when the Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize. But now the San Francisco-based nonprofit Kiva.org may have taken the idea a step further: with just a few clicks of the mouse, most everyone can become a microfinancier. At Kiva.org, a schoolteacher in Kansas can partner with an expert seamstress in countries like Kenya, Mexico and Ecuador to jump-start a tailor shop.

The founders Matthew Flannery, a Stanford graduate, and his wife, Jessica Flannery, a Stanford M.B.A. candidate, came up with the idea for Kiva, which means “unity” in Swahili, after spending time in East Africa. They noticed that many people there had no access to affordable credit. By contrast, Kiva.org offers loans to handpicked microfinance institutions at zero percent interest. These microfinance institutions, in turn, screen local applicants and lend money to individuals at an average interest rate of about 19 percent, lower than the 35 percent worldwide average for microfinance loans.

On Kiva.org, a Web site that includes photos of loan recipients and stories about them, lenders can choose aspiring small-business owners and make their own loans. (The current average is about $70.) Since it went online last year, Kiva.org has worked with more than 20 microfinance institutions around the world and enabled more than $1 million in loans for more than 2,000 businesses. (Across the entire microfinance industry, recipients of loans meet their repayment obligations more than 95 percent of the time.)

Jessica Flannery says that one of the earliest small loans helped a Ugandan fish seller take a bus to the Nile River and buy fish for a fraction of the price she previously paid a distributor. “A $10 bus ticket,” Flannery notes, “separated her from vastly expanding her profit.”

A Good Whack on the Head

The other day, I had a moment of despair. What was I doing with my life? How could I make a more valuable contribution? I began thinking about all the things I hadn’t done, or done incorrectly, and pretty soon I was having a pity party with myself. I knew I was helping people – I take care of a one hundred year old great-aunt, and contribute to those in need, volunteer, etc. – but my pity was over the fact that I don’t have anything that is calling me – a project that is meaningful to me as my book was when I wrote it. And in this, I felt that because I’m now over sixty, life is probably done with. I’ll just slowly fade into the woodwork.

After I took time to wallow in self-pity, I cried. Then I got ready to go for an acupuncture appointment and my weekly day with my spry one hundred year old great aunt. I usually do her grocery shopping on the day I go to visit, but because I had an appointment with the doctor first, I did my shopping the day before. The things that needed refrigeration were in my fridge, and the rest was left overnight in the trunk of the car.

As I went outside to the car to put the refrigerator items in the trunk, I noted that I was holding too many things in one hand, and my purse was entangled with the grocery bag, preventing me from putting it in the trunk. I shouted at myself – “You stupid idiot, I’m sick and tired of you doing these dumb things!” As I leaned down to disentangle purse from groceries, I felt a sudden thud on my head. The lid of the trunk had crashed down on the back of my skull, almost knocking me over. I dropped everything, and the water bottle I carry everywhere started rolling down the driveway. I felt a sharp pain and momentary headache, and thought, “Oh, God. Have I really hurt myself? Do I have a concussion?” I steadied myself, got in the car, and sat quietly for a moment.

Almost immediately when I got quiet I saw the interrelatedness of it all. Action/reaction. My negative thoughts propelled me to further negative action and negative response, and then the universe stepped in. THUD! Sometimes we need a good whack on the head to disrupt the energy block, or to remind us to pay attention. I grabbed a CD of one of my favorite televangelists who always gives good advice, and there she was talking about a good whack on the side of the head! Synchronicity? Action/reaction? All of it. Coinciding events that come together in one confluent moment to give us an opportunity to re-evaluate and re-orient ourselves.

In the moment, we might be seduced into believing that we aren’t enough, aren’t doing enough, or not getting enough for what we do – but the truth is that those thoughts are based on limited vision and expectation. When we learn to flow with the down times as well as the up times, and we hold on to that bright inner light regardless of what it looks like outside, life is good. After I got over my “tantrum”, I remembered to be grateful for all that I am, rather than what I’m not, for all the blessings I’m given, rather than what’s missing – and as I did, all kinds of good things have come in to affirm that I’m on the right track.   
KJ