Monday, October 28, 2013

Siri

Siri, Apple's personal assistant and knowledge navigator app, and I are starting to understand each other. Well, the truth is that I am starting to understand Siri. This is fun. Yet it has taken me a while to get the hang of it. I have had to learn how to ask properly so that I receive the answers I seek and the help I need. I was resistant to use Siri it at first, so I didn't use it until my son taught me how. What a great tool to have. It reminds me of my intuition. 

We all come equipped with an intuitive app within us. Our intuition is always there, yet we don't always tap into it. We go about insisting on what we seem to know, on our misinformation, on our being right. We forget that we do have the instrumentation to guide us built in. We don't access it with a button or the swipe of a screen, but in a simpler way: in silence. 

Just as it took me a while to learn how to access and use Siri, it takes a while to access and learn to trust our intuition. With practice we learn to ask the right questions, to listen and to rely confidently on our inner guide. Today is a good day to start activating our instinct based on wisdom and understanding. Empty your mind of what you think you know and ask your Self those questions for which you seek answers. Remain silent for a few moments and wait. You may have to do this a few more times before you understand. In time, answers, clarity and solutions will reveal themselves to you. In time, your intuitive Self will be your go-to system for direction, clarification and assistance. 


Friday, October 25, 2013

No, thank you

Even the most peaceful of us get frustrated in the midsts of daily events. When the pace of life quickens  as part of special events, travel, living with others and daily errands, we sometimes forget our manners, our consideration, our good spirits. We snap, we raise our tones of voice, we act rudely. Sometimes we realize it and sometimes we don't, but we always know when we are not receiving the best treatment from someone else. Although we are accepting of others, we don't have to accept unkind behavior. When others react rather than respond, we don't have to take it. I know I don't take it. I respond with no, thank you.

There may be situations in which tempers run high and drama ensues making some irritable, emotionally disjointed and angry. When this happens and the gruff conduct is directed at us, we have a perfect opportunity for growth. We have an opportunity to return the bad attitude with love. In not reacting in the same tone and sentiment we change the energy, not only for ourselves and the person we're in conflict with, but for those around us.

Today is a good day to take a deep breath when conflict arises. In that moment, remember that we all have different ways of reacting to environmental and societal stimuli. Remember that we can choose our response. You don't have to retort in kind. Don't take it and don't pay it back. Just be an agent of change by saying, with a smile and your gracious attitude, no, thank you.


Thursday, October 24, 2013

Christmas came early...

Imagine a skinny little kid who's just opened up all her gifts– it's Christmas, a birthday, Hanukkah, a visit from grandma or any other occasion for presents. All the wrappers and boxes lay about while the kid, in all her excitement, picks up every gift and stumbles trying to balance everything between a smile and her hands.

That's the feeling we get when everything goes right. We receive our gifts and happily tote them around. But then, we hope we don't drop one. We start to feel the weight of our blessings. We struggle to balance all the good stuff. We introduce doubt and fear (I hope I don't screw this up. What if someone takes this away? What if this is not for me?), when what we have to bring in is gratitude. When we do, everything falls into place. 

Our blessings come with responsibilities. Today is a good day to give thanks for the goodness in our lives. We do this by taking care of what we have, by doing our part. We do this by sharing our joy. We have attracted these gifts, whatever they are, and they are ours for as long as we appreciate them. When everything goes right and you feel that Christmas came early, know that you are loved and supported. Know that the beauty, the love, the gifts, the bounty are meant for you and inherent in you is the ability to keep them all. 



Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Vampires

Vampires, those mythical creatures who suck blood, are very popular in literature and have been popularized even more so in tv and film. There's no credible scientific proof that these vampires exist, but there are real vampires in our lives. Folklore made Orlok, Dracula and Lestat de Lioncourt cool. But real-life vampires are no fun. Who are these vampires? They are the victim, the all-eyes-on-me friend, the hypochondriac, the drama-queen, the blamer, mr. bossy-pants, the manipulator and everyone else who feeds off our prana, our energy.

Vampires are detrimental to our emotional, physical and psychic health. When we interact with a vampire, we feel headaches, tension, tightness in our chest. We feel tired after speaking with them. We want to be good friends, we want to listen and help, but when the other person persists in a state of self-detriment, lack of awareness or just doesn't want to come out of a negative thought process, it is time to release them.

Today is a good day to breathe and visualize a positive shield of energy around us. Let's set boundaries. Let's set them in love. Do not react. Do not be sucked into the negativity. Be a light. Vampires have an aversion to it.


Tuesday, October 22, 2013

I would be happy if...

We left the house a few minutes later than usual and found heavier traffic than we are used to. We sat at red lights longer than anyone likes to. My son, still half asleep, was not up for conversation, so I just looked around at the cars around me. It's Monday morning, not yet 8 am, and drivers are already frustrated. They show their frustration with unpleasant gestures, honking horns and aggressive driving. As I am observing this, the DJ on the radio starts taking calls from other listeners. They are calling to complain. One call in particular caught my attention. The caller said that she would be happy if only traffic were not so heavy. Really? Is that all it would take? I doubt it. If only...

Many of us have a list of what it would take to make us happy: a better job, a bigger house, a nicer body, winning the lottery, extra time during the day, quieter neighbors, compliant children, a vacation home, more friends, an understanding wife, a French accent. We cross items off the list and add others, making happiness unattainable. We make happiness dependent on outside circumstances. When we do, our happiness is fleeting...and it is not real happiness.

Happiness is a state of being. We are born happy. With time, as we experience our live conditions, we add on worry, comparison to others, thoughts of scarcity, distrust, doubt, suspicion, prejudice, defensiveness, dishonesty, faultfinding, guilt, rejection, resentment, hostility and a slew of other negative ideas that separate us from each other and from our original state of bliss. At any moment we can choose to go back to our primordial state. In other words, at any moment we can choose to be happy.

Today is a good day to focus on our oneness, on the thought that we are loved and protected, that we were all sourced from the same Spirit and that everything that bothers us, saddens us, angers us or makes us anxious cannot upset our happiness. When we remember who we are, happiness overcomes. Our built-in spiritual muscles are changeless and everlasting and, so, our happiness is permanent. We just have to get in touch with that place within where the ephemeral notions of the world do not matter.

I would be happy if...oh, wait, I already am.


Monday, October 21, 2013

Clutter

I read a study a few years ago that found that children who grow up in messy environments tend to think fragmentally, in disorder, in chaos. On the other hand, children who grow up in organized living conditions can focus better and think more clearly. As an adult, I can relate. Before I write or work, I organize my space–I make my bed, I put things where they go, I set out what I need for my task and arrange it in a way that helps me produce. Visually, I can see what needs to be done. Yet, in daily life, this is not the clutter that is more seriously affecting our thinking.

Clutter can be anything that creates a mess, a state of disorder. Clutter gets in the way of our creativity and our ability to produce. It also gets in the way of love. Much like the echoes that confuse the signals in radar, clutter prevents us from understanding, listening, seeing and loving others. What clutters the space between? Thoughts of fear, prejudgments, inflexibility, set ideas about right and wrong, expectations, selfishness, a sense of entitlement, feeling superior and feeling inferior. This clutter creates a state of disorder for the right order of things between us is understanding, compassion, acceptance, kindness and joy.


Today is a good day to start clearing the clutter. Let's start cleaning out the thoughts that keep us from reaching each other. Let's start emptying the mess in our minds and our hearts to see clearly through, to hear each other, to receive each other with nothing in the way.



Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Report card

My son received his report card today. He has A's & B's. I should be very happy about that. A few years ago, despite his hard work and excellent behavior, he had C's, D's and F's. We finally figured out that, in spite of higher levels of intelligence in several areas, he had a processing problem that affected his reading comprehension. Now that we are aware and have taken steps to work with this condition, his grades are better and so is his self-esteem.

When it comes to my son's schooling, I have a different approach that many people around me. His report card does not mean that much to me. Because we live in this society, we follow this society's rules and so, he goes to school, he wears his uniform, he turns in homework, he follows the rules. Yet, I don't push for the best grades and he doesn't have perfect attendance. When his dad comes from overseas to visit him, he skips a day. When grandma wants to fly him to a Broadway show, he skips another. When a new exhibit hits a museum, off we go to see it. There are lessons to be learned outside of the norm.

I am happy that he has good grades, but I am happiest that he is happy. I am happy that he is healthy and well. I am happy that we talk, we laugh, we dance. I am happy that he has questions for me, that he is curious about the world, that he is considerate, funny, intelligent, grateful, able, kind, and not gullible. I am happy that he is in touch with who he is. I am happy that he know how important and valuable he is. I am happy that he knows how important and valuable others are.

Today is a good day to measure ourselves against something bigger. What if the measure of our success were the relationships we formed, how happy we are, how thankful we feel, how we relate to others, how much we enjoy the world we live in, how we contribute, how much we laugh, how free we feel, how much beauty we see around us, how we uplift each other, how much we share, how connected we are to Spirit, how much inspiration we find, how we inspire each other, how much we learn outside of the establishment? What would our report card look like?


Monday, October 7, 2013

California, baby!

Stuck, unmotivated, unproductive, uninspired...the days go by for some in a rut. A friend of mine recently told me she is moving to California, thousands of miles away from where we live. That's what I am talking about! Sometimes that feeling of being stuck, unmotivated, unproductive and uninspired is the message. That feeling is telling you that you need to move. Your environment has become stale. You need to look in a new direction.

What about those who cannot move, those who cannot pick up and start over geographically? There are other types of moves. Your feeling could be telling you that you need to forgive, to be brave, to trust, to let go, to try something new, to quit a bad habit, to leave a relationship or to start a new one. Any move on your part gets cooperation from the Universe. Move and the Universe will move with you. Do it fearlessly and miracles start to happen.

Today is a good day to stop focusing on the daily grind. Imagine where you could go. Imagine what you could do. Move in that direction and start to feel creative, motivated, productive and inspired. Move and see your life situation change for the better. Move...choose your California, baby.


Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Touch

As The Police say, we are spirits in the material world. We are not bodies with spirits, but spirits with bodies. The body, mind and spirit are not completely separate. Take making love, for example. When two people join in caressing, kissing and touching, leading up to and including sex, there is a joyous and ecstatic rush of feeling (body), happiness (mind), and an exchange of energy (spirit). We don't make love at a distance. The body is essential.

In this age of amazing technology our brains are responding to the way we interact with it and each other. We have many ways in which to stay in contact with friends, family and lovers. Yet nothing connects us as a physical touch. Nothing calms us down as that exchange of energy. Nothing alleviates anxiety, anger, apprehension as a comforting embrace from another. Nothing needs to be said.

I saw a couple today standing in line at a restaurant. She kept her hand around him. He had his arms crossed. They were both engaged in conversation. You could tell from their body language that the connection was not complete. Touch completes a relationship. Touch connects the dots between thoughts, words and feelings and is linked to well-being.

Today is a good day to hold your daughter's hand, to hug your brother, to caress your love's cheek, to shake your neighbors hand firmly while holding eye contact, to hold a hug a bit longer, to cuddle with your baby, to complete a connection with touch.



Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Open

Sigh. Big sigh. I had a tough day yesterday, yet it wasn't as bad as others experienced it. It is no consolation that others have a worse day than I do, but it does help me put things in perspective. Today I am already receiving gifts–the day is beautiful, my family is well, my beloved is happy, I have health, I am blessed beyond measure. Yet I feel this general sadness wrap over me. Among other issues, the news of the federal government shutdown takes a toll on our spirit. It feels like a bit much right now, much like the straw of hay that breaks the camel's back.

I gave in to this feeling this morning, on purpose. I gave in then gave it up. I decided that this is a perfect opportunity to open up to receive the pain of others, the sadness, the uncertainty, the fear, the doubt and the anxiety–to be a conduit for it all. I receive it, acknowledge it, then let it go. As a vessel for these emotions, I am allowing a purging of them. Cleansed of negativity, positivity can enter.

As the government and businesses shut down, we open up. The circumstances out there are big and out of our immediate control. But in here, within, we find our center, our stability and our comfort. Positivity will not change what is happening out there, but it allows us to change our condition. Empty of the mass hysteria, the drama, the doomsday rambling and open in our hearts and minds, we receive wisdom, guidance, intuition, clarity, new ideas, creative solutions, encouragement and help.

Today is a good day to feel what you will feel, to recognize those emotions and then release them. Open up to the blessings that hide behind all bad news. Love, understanding, tranquility, peace of mind, assistance, direction and light cannot enter into a closed spirit. Open your heart. Open your mind. Receive. Know that nothing is insurmountable.