Tips are good
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Many computer folks are experiencing tired wrists
and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Here is a little exercise
to alleviate the pain and build muscles.
1- hold your hands in the prayer position
palms together)
2- lift hands upwards so the bottom of the palms are
at forehead level.
3- Open and close your elbows, with hands still
held in the praying position, like windshield wipers.
In previous articles, I’ve talked about commitment to our intention in order for success. Here is a different view, prompted by a question from someone concerned that they might not be on the “right” path.
My daughter was visiting one day (my Buddhist monastery daughter), and she said they had a Korean monk who spoke to them at the Zen Center. He said that we westerners are so intent on getting some place. We are results oriented and so mental in our pursuit of whatever it is we think we are seeking. This goes for finding our right path as well. He said we needed to relax our grasp on reality a little, to relinquish the mind control. We are on our right path. We are doing what we are meant to do. Otherwise we wouldn't be doing it.
That's almost too simple. It ought to be a struggle, or bigger, or more meaningful, or more acknowledged, or monetarily remunerative, or, or, or. Yet, where we are, what we are doing, and what's in front of us is our path. It leads to wherever it leads. The road turns. The stream overflows. The sun sets. It doesn't matter. It all goes to the same place. And the only place or space is now.
This is hard for us. We are so oriented to knowing better, doing more, being successful. But what does any of that really mean? What is knowing better? What is doing more? And what is the criteria for success? Beyond that, what IS success, and according to whom???
I saw a homeless person one day and engaged him in conversation. He was so full that I realized he was right on purpose. He was a living example of the homelessness within ourselves. As we strive for more and more and bigger and better...more and more people are left behind. We have no safety nets. Nothing adequate. Only this pursuit of $$$ and other "stuff". I met another homeless person who was empty and .undone. Following his path in the moment, albeit a difficult one.
Who am I to say what the greater path is – the CEO or the person on the street? It’s all subjective, and we don’t really know. We just think we do, and there is one of our major problems. We all think too much in the west. We need to “feel” more. The level of heart disease and mental illness that we experience tells us something, doesn’t it?
We cannot get “there” through the mind. It can only take us to a point, and from that juncture on, only the heart will carry us.
So you are on your perfect path. I am on mine. Now to let the mind quiet so the heart can delight. So simple. So hard.
Ah…Life!
From Seasons of the Soul Spring 1999
There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six- pack of root beer, and he started his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry so he offered her a Twinkie. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Once again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word. As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps; he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.
When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I had lunch with God. But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"
Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, "Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?" She replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." But before her son responded, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally.
~Author Unknown
A prisoner in jail received a letter from his wife.
"I have decided to plant some lettuce in the back garden. When is the
best time to plant them?"
The prisoner, knowing that the prison guards read all mail, replied in a letter, "Dear Wife, whatever you do, do not touch the back garden. That is where I hid all the gold."
A week or so later, he received another letter from his wife:
"You wouldn't believe what happened, some men came with shovels to the house, and dug up all the back garden."
The prisoner wrote another letter:
"Dear wife, now is the best
time to plant the lettuce."
If you are a person who has any doubt about an afterlife or are fearful of death, a must read book has come across my desk. It is Into the Light, by John Lerma, M.D., and presents real life stories about angelic visits, visions of the afterlife, and other pre-death experiences.
Dr. Lerma has been the inpatient medical director for a renowned Hospice, and part of his work involves listening to dying patients as they go through the final days and weeks of their lives. Through this work, he has heard stories that reinforced the notion that there is something beyond our lives that has one major component in common. It is that the only thing that is real on what we call "the other side" is unconditional Love. Everyone is forgiven when they finally come to a willingness to forgive themselves, no matter what they have done in life. Each person is given an opportunity of reviewing their lives to see the importance of what may never have made sense to them previously. Bodies are vehicles for the expression of the soul, and the scripts we follow are designed by and for us to open to greater opportunities to give and receive love. No matter whether we are able to do this in life or not, at the time of death we have a major opportunity to turn our lives around.
Confucious said words to the effect that redemption is possible up until the last nail is placed in the coffin. The enormity of Love is palpable to those who are willing to open themselves to receive the blessings and forgiveness that comes as we make our transition from what we think of as life to the state we know of as death.
This book is eye opening and can be life changing. I have been unable to read any chapter without feeling the enormous love that our Creator has for us. It has made a difference in the way I look at life and my actions of the past. All the perceived mistakes have had purpose and fit into a larger context when viewed from the perspective of time.
One of the individuals who was dying, who had been part of the Nazi concentration camp death squads, gave a moving account of his liftetime guilt for his actions. He was given the opportunity to experience hell during his pre-dying days, because he believed that was all he deserved. It was only when he felt he had been in hell for more than a hundred years that he was willing to cry out to the light that appeared in a distant corner. What happened next was part of an amazing process that all humanity is being called to. It changes everything.
Read the book and be ready to see and live life in a whole new light. It's time!
Years ago I met a wonderful person named Don Weaver whose mission in life has become the re-mineralization of Earth’s soil. This rare human being radiates love and light in such a way that you just know his purpose has value. Beyond that, however, is a striking series of studies showing that our soil has been depleted as a result of overproduction, use of fertilizers and reliance on pesticides. Food value is diminished as the soil has fewer minerals to impart, and our life systems are weakened as the earth is neglected.
Weaver found glacial and river rock as well as other forms of rock to be an antidote to the loss of mineralization. Pulverized rock in powder form can be ordered with ease and applied to a garden with amazing results. An article in the San Francisco Chronicle stated that crops grown using powdered rock as soil enhancement yield consistent fruits and vegetables of outstanding quality, taste, and nutrient value.
Plants of all kinds that are grown in these naturally enriched soils resist disease and pests because they are superbly healthy. Through re-mineralization, the soil revitalizes and exudes an aliveness that was formerly lacking. Anyone who is sensitive to earth can see a noticeable difference, and if you believe in nature spirits, these are the gardens they love to play in, for here is the true honouring of Mother, the Earth. Companies such as Odwalla Juice and Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley use produce from rock dust gardens. Both have excellent products.
You can obtain information about rock dust by going to www.remineralize.org . or writing to Don Weaver: PO box 1961, Burlingame, CA 94010. He has a list of places from where to obtain rock dust and also his book, The Survival of Civilization, which gives further insight into the growing dilemma of plant and planet survival for those wanting more information about this issue.
For people living in the south bay, rock dust can be found at Common Ground/Ecology Center in Palo Alto. The cost is quite moderate. As we plant our gardens for summer, it is an excellent time to renew our soil as well as our souls!
From Seasons of the Soul 1998
Years ago, my dear friend Alix Taylor, who is Michele in Vision of the Grail, and I were talking about the incredible innovative energy that is evident up and down the west coast. This area is a hotbed of creative thought and vitality, very much linked to the unsettled nature of the earth here...still in a dynamic stage of formation.
We were talking about how different things are on this coast, especially centered in the S.F. Bay Area and north to Washington. In looking at the reasons for this, other than those tied to energetic landmass, the roots of new thought come from a people who were always on the cutting edge of pushing the envelope to the outer limits. The pioneers who came to America continued west as they felt the restless urge to go further, and explore more. As the eastern part of the country was "civilized", traditions developed and thought became more entrenched in a worldview colored by expectations of the community. For those who were uncomfortable with this view, movement westward continued.
Coming to the edge of the Pacific Ocean, there is no place left to go from a standpoint of movement within the continent. It is here where the pioneering spirit has to be directed into a different movement...and so we have exploration and pioneering in the world of ideas and in spiritual or expanded focus. Traditions are sparse in this area. Things are always in a state of change. It is not a particularly comfortable area for those who want to retain the status quo. However, for those who are interested in being part of the push towards the unknown...the West Coast provides that potential.
Much of this conversation came about as a result of a comment Alix made about how often people in America seem to be lonely. In Europe, that is not the case. As a native of Paris, she commented that when she went back for visits she realized as she looked at the buildings that people walked amidst the comfort of history. They were strongly rooted in the past that had endured through hundreds and thousands of years of living. Therefore, they had every reason to believe that they belonged to something substantial, and that as a result there was every reason to believe that there was a future to be part of as well.
In our country, and on the West Coast in particular, that is not always apparent. Because things change so rapidly, we do not have the comfort of knowing where we came from. Once we identify a site as being familiar, it is often torn down to make way for something more modern or economically attractive. There is no luxury in going back to a house your family occupied for several generations. Perhaps in the east, but not in the west.
Alix commented that once when she was young, she was with her father (an American Quaker living in Paris) at the Louvre. There in front of them was a workman in overalls with his young son, standing in front of a magnificent painting. Alix's father turned to her and stated..."That is the essence of the French. The man is a laborer, but he is passing on the richness of his heritage and culture to his son." How many of us can say that about what we give our children?
On another outing, they were coming to a main road that made a very abrupt circular turn to go around a piece of property. Alix's father stopped the car and pointed to the wall separating the property from the road. "You see", he said. "In America they would cut right through that person's property to make a straight road. In France, the property of a family who owned it for generations is respected. The road goes around it."
Talks such as these add texture to our lives. In focusing only on the mundane, we lose something soul edifying. When I reconnect with a soul filled friend, I awaken to the heritage that is meaningful to me. There may be no grand traditions, or magnificent buildings representing human evolution where I live, but there is essence in sharing deeper concepts. This is my heritage. This is what makes me know that there is a rich history, and therefore a vibrant future. This is soul!
Reprinted from Seasons of the Soul Newsletter, 1998
While browsing through an edition of a Sounds True Catalog , I found a great little interview in it with Sophie Burnham, who wrote A Book of Angels. She speaks of investigating love and surrender as linked with mystical experience, and there is one part I wanted to share with you because I think it speaks so well to what this whole journey is about.
The question is posed to her: "In your work with mystical states and experience, you use the phrase ‘piercing the veil.’ What do you mean by this phrase?" She answers that it is a metaphor for the separation between our physical world and the invisible spiritual world surrounding us. She then goes on to add...
"Now we can also look at this invisible world in psychological terms. It isn't independent from us, but is actually encased in the cells of our bodies. Jung said, 'When you know the Self, you know God.' The interior journey leads to the essence of our selves. And the essence of our selves is pure love - vulnerable, unconditional, without any defenses or barriers. Then you build up barriers to protect that vulnerable, trembling, quivering soul - quivering with love. And then you forget how to reach it again. So piercing the veil is also an interior piercing, piercing the veil that we place over our hearts"
Well said!
From Seasons of the Soul 1998
I collected books for the major planting we are about to embark on. Of the group, there are several titles I would like to pass on to you in case you are planning to do a little gardening of your own.
Perelandra Garden Workbook by Machaelle Small Wright, Perelandra Ltd.
This book teaches us how to work with nature spirits to plan and plant a garden that will be alive and vital. The focus is on the importance of each stage of gardening from planning to harvesting for optimum results and greatest integrity with the eco-system.
The Findhorn Garden, by the Findhorn Community, Perennial Library. This timeless classic gives insight into the working of the nature kingdom and provides information about the planting of the Findhorn Community gardens in Scotland. It is an inspiring book for anyone seeking to work with nature, showing that indeed we can make a connection with earth and work in harmony together to create a spiritual garden.
The Feng Shui Garden, by Gill Hale, Storey Books
This beautifully illustrated book presents garden designs, methods for planning and planting, and other information necessary for healthy gardens. It addresses the importance of planetary and other influences that must be considered for optimum well-being and growth. Aside from the practical information, it has many valuable diagrams and pictures to help the reader visualize the results. I highly recommend this book for anyone who lives with a garden or patio.
The Healing Garden, by David Squire, Contemporary Books
This is another lushly illustrated book that allows the reader to visualize and design a consciously created garden. The book shows combinations of colors and explains how the use of scents can enhance moods and attract beneficial insects and birds to the garden.
Herbs, Rodale’s Successful Organic Gardening Series, Rodale Press
A very thorough and richly illustrated book that will give you everything you need to know about herb gardening
"When the World ceases to satisfy our soul’s need for beauty, there is always the Garden"
A question was asked during a discussion about the validity of reading books to find abundance, and there was an answer given that stated that we just have to know that abundance is ours. Reading or stating affirmations merely signifies our separation from wealth or wellbeing. Yet, as I see it, what helps one person is not always helpful to another. We are all quite unique. Who knows what words will trip a switch within us that brings us closer to remembrance of who we truly are and what life is really for and about?
However, when we "try" too hard, we lose the possibility that is given us. Trying is an activity born of separation. In a search for reunion, the action often needs to be subtle and internal. External striving becomes busyness. It is object and results oriented. True inner grace and recognition of purpose/possibility is more often a quiet response born of reflection. Reflection does not occur through trying. It occurs by being still and sitting next to the pool of inner wisdom that is at the core of every one of us. It is part of that still small voice we hear of so often, but which is hard to hear when we are busy devouring all the "How To" books that we accumulate in search of wisdom.
Wisdom does not come from outside. It is an inside job. And that means making friends with who is in there, and overcoming our fears of inadequacy or lack that lead us to judge ourselves and everyone else harshly. We can read all the books in the world, but if we don't believe in who we are as valuable, we will never receive the bountiful harvest that life has waiting for us. Each of us has an incredible inheritance, but most of us have forgotten where to go to claim it. And many of us don't believe we are worthy to ask in the first place.
We are ALL worthy!
From Seasons of the Soul 1998
