Monthly Archives: February 2022

22

A Moment

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 Moment-A brief period of time it is now gone.

A moment is just a moment. What exactly makes something more? When you look at something and suddenly see it from a new perspective and understand its natural beauty. Life transposed through the telescope’s view provided by the presence of someone who has changed you and the way you currently look at the world. It is through the experience of these special people we all find growth. Life is growth, and to experience it makes a moment, not just a moment but something more.

Don’t Be Empty

It seems many people are in constant competition with life to see how well they measure up to others. How much money is good to have? How big is your house? How well known are you? I have no problem with having any of these things due to being who you are, and it is when the pursuit of these material gains is precisely who you are. It represents the shallow side of life.

It is an empty journey to focus on the collection of things. The experience is the experience itself. Each moment provides a stepping stone to understanding yourself and the world around you. I have learned more by spending an hour or so walking around an arboretum than I learned in most years of my formal education, and it was the company and the experience teaching me. Moments like that, exploring the unique design and trees and walking the wooded paths, my memory tells me, are a good thing. I love those memories now and cherish them like they were bricks of gold because they are all that is left—a time of wonder, taken almost for granted, and now gone. The moment is a moment until you realize it is something more.

Holding a Hand

There are few things in life as simple and connecting as holding hands. I once thought it was foolish to show this affection for someone in this manner. Yet now, as I have gotten older, I have realized the great moment and feeling that holding hands can be. It is more than a simple connection, it is a transfer of energy from one being to another. It is a public statement that we are together, which is OK with us. In a word, it is magic, or at least it can be in the moment you realize it.

Once this is taken away, you realize how much you enjoyed it and would spend just about anything you have for one moment only to hold hands again and be together in any natural way. It is that feeling, at that moment that sits in my mind and makes me remember how good things were and makes me want to believe they can be again if only…………. But only time will tell if dreams can be natural or just foolish. Holding a hand can take you high in the sky and out of touch. The moment is just a moment until it is something more.

A Night

Every night the sky goes dark, and if you are fortunate to have a cloudless sky, the world of the stars opens up to you. N w you can see these stars on many occasions, and if you contemplate them and where they place you in the Universe, it can profoundly affect you. B t no matter how much contemplation you exude, how small you feel, or the wonder of your enchantment with the sky, they will be but a little thing compared to the sky I saw with you.

The world opened up to me that night, and the sky never looked that way before, and never has since and probably won’t again. I was not just looking at the stars in a dark sky, but I was swallowed up by them, entirely engulfed by them. There are no words to describe the depth or the beauty of that moment except to say, and I understand more about life having experienced it. I feel grateful for seeing it, and the only thing that made it possible was you and the fact we were together seeing this incredible wonder and experiencing this show of shock and awe. You can see the sky most nights. B t not like that. A moment is just a moment until you realize it is something more. Sometimes we realize this too late.

You Can’t go Back

Even though you can’t go back to the past, it doesn’t mean you can’t move forward. W  should be striving to make each moment in our existing one that we can stretch toward and find a connection to the infinite. There are special people we meet who allow this connection. Perhaps you never realized you were missing it before, but now you know that you were. The moments of love, the moments of kindness, the moments of shared laughter, and fun all combine to create an experience of moments. I never believed they could exist, and when they were there right in front of my eyes, I never thought they would ever end. Now that they have, I feel cheated somehow. That the reality of all the moments combined to rob me of the truth of what might be, those moments were always more.

How could you be ready for someone to change in an instant? How can you ever protect yourself? Unfortunately, the lesson is you can’t. People will behave in their own best interest a lot of the time. Regardless of what they show you over time, a dark side is still there. G eat people have conquered it. O hers are too young, too distracted, or too selfish to see the damage they cause. Y  can never go back and pick up the pieces and put them together again. The view you have developed in seeing the world no longer makes any sense. A  moment is a moment until you are shattered all over the floor.

Time Machine?

No time machine can carry me back to the happy moments or to the times I fell in love or the moments I enjoyed so much. I  m destined to live into new moments and be foolish or wise enough to think there will be good days ahead. I  know this moment is just a moment, as all moments are just waiting for the opportunity to come alive with the right company and emotions. Lo e is that passion, and how you allow it to be applied to your life is vital to your happiness and the ability to see your moments as their most significant potential.

A moment is a moment until you realize it is something more, a game, a talk, a thought, a whisper, an adventure, a relaxing time, a trip, a field, a sky, a mountain, a bench by the water, all provide moments that can swallow you and never let you go. Em race these moments and revel in them, knowing they are something more.

But only for the briefest of moments.

“I’ve always believed in savoring the moments. In the end, they are the only things we’ll have.” Anna Godbersen

“Nothing is permanently perfect. But  there are perfect moments and the will to choose what will bring about more perfect moments.” Mary Balogh

“At the end, one didn’t remember life as a whole but as just a string of moments.”- David Levien

“We make patterns; we share moments.”-Jenny Downham

“Every moment is the paradox of now or never.”- Simon Van Booy

 

22

Let Go Of Everything

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 Let YOUR Attachments GO!

Buddhism contends that all suffering comes from clinging to a specific outcome or experience that leads to problems. We use our minds to create scenarios and methods, which is fine unless you have one particular scene in mind and something different happens. No matter how positive the outcome, it causes us to suffer because it isn’t how we imagined it. Today avoid clinging tightly to situations we are going to experience, possessions we have accumulated, or any outcomes we encounter.

Enjoy the Day

The present moment always has the potential for enjoyment and peace. But too often, we look at a moment and lament the missing things. It is too human to look at something great and complain about missing things. Big days, weddings, graduations, or other milestone moments have this potential. If you build them up so big in your mind, you become attached to this perfect image. One slight variance will cause pain because our attachment is being destroyed.

Let the situation be; the present moment is what it is. There may be rain on your wedding day. Your choice is to embrace it or reject it. To deny reality is delusional, and experiencing pain when happiness is correct is also unsound. Each day has the same challenge rolled up in it. Be angry and upset about what is not happening, or be happy and grateful for what is happening. Let go of the attachment you have built up in your mind.

Things are Things

People make a lot of money to create brainwashing advertisements that make you feel bad about yourself, so you will seek solace in purchasing a product you don’t need. Our attachment builds that we need things to be popular, happy, and essential. Things are just things, and they do not lead to long-lasting happiness. Our attachment to accumulating possessions to build up our feelings of self-worth is one of the main culprits of suffering because buying something to make you feel good about yourself is an unsound equation.

Buying things is not bad; it is the attachment to them and what they mean to your self-esteem that is unhealthy. Your worth is based on what is inside you, never what is outside. Look for your honesty, integrity, kindness, generosity, and love carried around on the inside, and that is where your worth comes from. Stop being manipulated into thinking a new car, house, or bike will solve all your problems. Building attachments to things outside of yourself cause pain and suffering because they are never enough in the end. Let go of the idea that things are what life is all about. Life is about experiences.

Be Open to How Things Work Out

All things in life are going to move down a path. We set intentions for what we want to accomplish, experience, and do. Then we become attached to the method to achieve these things. Even though we may need to learn something to become what we want or have other experiences to make us successful at what we want to be. We often get in our way because we can’t imagine making something we want to come into reality. That causes suffering. But the world has been working just fine for thousands and thousands of years. Life will put you where you need to go.

Then, the choice is to let go of your attachments to the method and achieve the goal. Take action in front of you today and enjoy doing it. Each yard you move down the field will lead to a touchdown, but enjoy the trip and do the work you need to do along the journey of life. It makes no sense to set a goal for something you would like to accomplish and then eliminate the experiences that will get you there. The good stuff makes life enjoyable—learning to experience joy in the daily moments we all have available to us. Let go of the attachment to how you think things should go and allow them to happen as they do. To fight against reality is a definition of crazy.

Take a moment today and look at the things you are doing. Are they for a bigger purpose? A new job? A race you will run? A wedding? Accumulation of wealth? Regardless, look at how you feel about it and honestly look at the attachments you have built up about the outcome. Are they rigid? What if you got what you wanted, but it came differently? Would you be OK with that? Or would you be angry? Look at what you are attached to today and practice letting them go. All we are guaranteed in life is this very moment. Learn to find joy in it.

 “Attachment is the source of all suffering.” Buddha

 “Attachment is another name of disappointment and pain. Vishal”

“Things are as they are; we suffer because we imagined different.” Anonymous

 “Accept what comes and allow it to leave when it’s time.” Anonymous

 

22

Words of Power

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Words are weapons more potent than the most destructive of bombs, and they destroy people and lives as quickly as the most violent of storms. We are all capable of inflicting great harm on others and having significant injury heaped into our own lives. Talking is a substantial mode of communication all people use every day, and it is also something most don’t give a second thought to, but they should. How can what you say affect your life and the lives of those around you?

Words have incredible power to express our emotional sentiment and thought to the world. All things are energetic, and comments are exponentially so. You must choose carefully. The words you use in all of your conversations with others and with yourself will determine much about your karma. The energy you create with the language you use will affect your life and those you speak with long after the sentence is uttered and the thought expressed. The effect can be either positive or negative, and the choice belongs to you and the way you deploy your weapon of words.

The Dark Side of Language

The dark side of language can suck you in very quickly, and it is the most powerful weapon you have. Simple little sentences between friends can harm all people involved in the conversation and lead to more negativity in the world. It is difficult to turn back once you start down a negative path. Here are a few of the negative word paths you should avoid.

  • Negative talk- Negativity is speaking poorly about someone or something, looking for the worst, being mean, critical, or using any other negative words toward something. Also, always expecting the worst out of any situation is negative thinking.
  • Lying – Not being honest is the creator of negative energy. People lie because they are afraid of the truth, and it justifies what they are or actions they have taken, others, or even themselves. Lying always brings negative energy.
  • Gossip- Speaking in casual or unconstrained conversation about others using details that are rumors or outright lies. At the very least, you are painting someone else in a negative light for no constructive reason.
  • Judgment- When you judge someone else in your language, you remove their humanity, and you separate them from yourself and usually make yourself feel better.
  • Complaining- When you complain about something, you create a victim’s mentality. It does no good, and keep this in mind. 80% of the people don’t care, and the other 20% are glad you have a problem to complain about.
  • Make Excuses- I have often stated that excuses give your Power away to the most plausible reason you will accept.
  • An exaggeration is a form of lying that can hurt you when you make something more substantial than it is to make yourself look better or feel better; it will harm your life.

Positive Power of talk

Fortunately, weapons work for good as well. You can choose to talk about things positively and leave the negative words and conversations behind them. Bringing positivity and hope to your life and adding to the joy in others. Focus your discussions and terms on the positive forces of words and see the difference it makes in your life. You are shining a positive light on your life and the lives of others. Here are a few points to focus on.

  • Honesty– This is the first test of all words we choose to use. Is it true? If it is and doesn’t hurt anyone, let it out. Honesty is always positive. Being straight and transparent with your words and what you mean will allow others to be honest with you.
  • Authenticity– Being genuine in what you say allows everyone to know what you stand for. If you feel a certain way about something, as long as you are not harming anyone else, then speak genuinely about your thoughts and feelings about topics in your life.
  • Integrity- Sticking to your principles is essential so that your words stand clearly for what you believe in. If your words represent your beliefs and what you think is moral and upright, how can you go wrong?
  • Love- In all things, let your words come from a place of love. All branches of love, acceptance, kindness, understanding, caring, etc., will spread positivity throughout your world. Speak with respect whenever possible.

Time Release Detonation

One of the aspects of our words that most don’t consider is that a thought spoken meanly can sit idly inside your head for years and then resurface and do its damage later. When you use insults or negative-minded comments, they may pop out later when you least expect it. A word is spoken, and at first, it doesn’t bother you, but as you think about it more and more, it can infest your mind and cause anger, fear, or even worse.

This time-released detonation can be devastating to relationships of all kinds. Words spoken in anger in the heat of the moment resurface later to harm you and whoever is around you. Be wary of every word you say and conversation you have. Be positive that the terms are what you want to be represented by for the rest of your life. One sarcastic comment can cut a person to the core, totally meant in jest. Be careful of the way you use your words and make sure they are not a weapon harming anyone.

“Be mindful when it comes to your words. A string of some that don’t mean much to you may stick with someone else for a lifetime.” -Rachel Wolchin

“Be careful with your words. Once they are said, they can be only forgiven, not forgotten.” -Unknown

“Words are free. It’s how you use them that may cost you.” -Kush and Wizdom

“Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.” -Rumi

 “…But the human tongue is a beast that few can master. It strains constantly to break out of its cage, and if it is not tamed, it will run wild and cause you grief.” -Unknown

 “The secret of being boring is to say everything.” -Voltaire

 “One kind word can change someone’s entire day.” -Unknown

 

22

My False Self

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MASTERING YOUR Ego

As you move through this day, please take a moment and become conscious of your thoughts and how they affect your emotions, the words you speak, and the actions you make each day.

Your ego is the false self we have created over time to protect ourselves in this world. It is not who we are but who we need to become to avoid pain. Ok, at your thoughts today. Notice the ones that are from a positive space or those that are from your ego. The ego’s voice cares very little about your happiness and certainly doesn’t care about the happiness of others. It cares about eliminating pain from your life. There are three messages to ignore. If you want to find absolute joy in life, you have to learn to move beyond your ego.

Control

The ego loves to send messages which seem to control everything. If you can try to control the people, circumstances, and activities of your life, you can make sure that nothing unexpected that will cause you pain will arise. This, of course, is impossible, and those in your life are not going to be free or happy trying to deal with your constant need for control. Control of this kind is only an illusion and will eventually end badly.

Try to plan for the future as best you can, but live in the present and do not form an attachment with a particular manner in which events unfold. Make positive choices pursue your goals and dreams. Take action toward them, and then allow the journey to guide you. Control is an illusion of the ego, created to make you think you are in charge of things. You are only human and will be disappointed if this is your goal. Let o try to control every aspect of life and enjoy living that will defeat the voice of ego.

Approval

At some point in life, most of us seek the approval of others to justify our value. Parents, peers, or society, in general, are our judges, and we measure our accomplishments according to the positive approval we receive. The need for support and worrying about what others think of us can be lifelong debilitation. If you live to be what others approve of, you never live life yourself. You feel you need or want to do will be pushed to the back. Creativity is put on the back burner because it doesn’t make any money.

Look to follow your heart and not care what others think, and you will defeat your egoic thoughts. The ego wants you to fit in, be one of the crowd, and never stand out or be original because it may lead to minimal ridicule. Better to be ridiculed for being yourself than to live a life never being truly who you are. Be what you are and let the world love it or hate it. That will defeat the egoic voice in your head.

Judgment

The need to judge others and point out their flaws is simple to understand. If you point out the flaws in others, you are automatically drawing attention away from the flaws that exist inside of yourself. If one else is wrong, you have to be right because you are the one providing the judgment. There are a few problems with this. Just because you don’t notice your flaws doesn’t mean they don’t exist. To knock others down to build yourself up is never healthy or helpful.

All people are doing the best they can with what they have to work with. Despite their differences and different choices, understanding and accepting others allows you to get yourself. Often t  flaws we see most clearly in others exist inside of us. All people are a lot more the same than they are different. Look at anyone and understand, there is a modified version of you. If you lived in their experience, you might live precisely like them. Look at o hers and yourself with softer eyes and understand rather than judge, and you will defeat the voice of ego.

Take some time today and consciously look at your thoughts in these areas. Let go of your need to control, seek approval, and judge others. Look for the ways you can allow others to be who they are, be who you are, and accept things as they are.

 “Ego judges and punishes. Love forgives and heals.” Anonymous

 “If someone corrects you and you feel offended, then you have an ego problem.” Nouman Ali Khan

“Is that you or your ego?” Anonymous

“Big egos are big shields for lots of space.” Diana Black

 

22

Finding Your Limits

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Limit- a point or level beyond which something does not or may not extend or pass.

LimitWhat can you do in life? What can you achieve? What is the absolute limit of your potential? These questions we are asking ourselves at least subconsciously from our earliest moments of life. We perceive the answers that build this tapestry of our belief.

Woven into the fabric of this belief are our perceptions of how smart we are, how creative or how talented in a particular area we think we are. Mixed in there are all our perceived limits in every area of our lives. It is essential to realize that these images are just an illusion. We are only limited by our thinking and the beliefs we choose to give power to. Most people happily accept their limits and live their lives, never stretching beyond them. I urge you to look at what is limiting you in your life and make a conscious choice to see what lies beyond them. It begins with an awareness of your thoughts, words, and actions regarding your perception of your limits.

The Box

From the moment we are born, other people work to put us into a box. People who care about you can be just as limiting as those who dislike you. Crutches are given to us all the time, and we willingly accept them. They come in the form of excuses, “They are just not creative.” or “Nobody in this family is good at math.” or “That is a nice talent, but can you make a living at it?”  They built the box around us slowly, and most can’t see the world outside of it.

Other people have created this box of limits for us. We accepted their trusted opinion because they were our relatives, friends, teachers, community leaders, etc. The drive to be taken allows for this box of limits to grow all around you, and soon you believe there is no possibility outside of this prison that has been constructed all around you. But you are not limited.

To escape the box takes a change of thought. Become aware of the talents you possess and fabulous things you can achieve in all areas of your life. The limit of those accomplishments is in your mind and the actions you dare to take. Don’t let the thoughts of others and society limit you and what you try to do. There is more to life than working a job for hours to earn money. Thinking, talking, laughing, sharing, growing, improving, creating, and many other things are the actual value that life provides you. Get out of the box; don’t let people limit you. Find your actual boundaries and be the person you were born to be.

Challenges and Opportunities

Every challenge we face brings with it an opportunity. Many will look at a situation and see the limits that it gets, and the rare few will look at the circumstances life throws their way and see the potential for growth, success, and happiness that exists. The mindset of looking past the limits of your events is what separates those who are aware and those asleep at the wheel. It is always up to us to explore situations to see what is possible.

Of course, you can let circumstances defeat you and do nothing. But I urge you not to sit idly and complain about what is happening. Complaining builds a victim mentality, which will limit you in all areas of your life. See the opportunity, take action, and see what develops for you. Life is not an easy road because the easy way never produced anything worthwhile. Only through exercise can a body be designed. The same is true in all areas of life. Don’t let the perceived limitations of your circumstances stop you. You are the only person who can decide where your limits lie.

You Limit You

That leads us to the natural choice involved in our limits—your mind and what you choose to accept. Look at the box around your life. Is it stopping you from earning the money you want, having the relationship you want, or just enjoying life the way you want? Most people live their entire life and never contemplate in any natural way the limits they face, where they came from, and what they can do about them.

Bad childhoods, being miserable, being unintelligent, not having an opportunity, not knowing the right people, any physical restriction, or any other excuse you can think of are just that, excuses. We are only as healthy and prosperous as the weakest excuse we will accept. This limits people in all areas of life. Don’t limit yourself! Find the things you like to do and do them with passion and joy.

Focus your conscious thought on your limits today and why you see them the way you do. Where did they come from? What is beyond them? What actions can get you past them? Do this in thoughts, words, and efforts to reach beyond the limits you accept about yourself.

“Don’t limit a child to your learning, for he was born in another time.”~Rabindranath Tagore

“You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.”~ Michael Phelps

You are in the driver’s seat of your life. Nobody else has the power to erase your dreams unless you let them. Our limits are never created outside of ourselves but on the inside in the world of our thoughts.