We the People

We The People

Rarely ever do I speak out on the subject of politics.  As Leon Russell says in his song, “Magic Mirror”, “the left ones think I’m right, and the right ones think I’m wrong” which I think basically means that no one can agree. However, today I feel compelled to speak out.

 For many years, I have felt that our bipartisan system is just too extreme, and no one attempts to compromise and come to a middle ground for the good of all.  As a matter of fact, it seems no one can agree on what is for the good of all, so we head to our perspective corners with our arms crossed.

With the advent of social media, this situation seems to keep getting worse and worse.  And we, the American people, seem to care less and less.  We allow laws to be made and enacted that we would never support!  But we just get so tired of it all, that we become complacent.  Our forefathers were not complacent!  If they had been, we certainly would not have the country we have today.  Even with all of the issues we have right now, it is still a great country which affords us freedoms for which so many long.

Our media bombards us with hype on a day to day basis.  It encourages polarization between races, genders, sexual orientations, religion, and the haves and have nots.  Our middle class is all but dissolved.  All we hear and see gives rise to us taking a strong position on one side or the other of this fence.  It is often presented to us to cause emotionally charged stances, rather than middle-of-the-road solutions.  

It is time to WAKE UP!  These “issues” with which the media is bombarding us are just distracting us from focusing on the real challenges.  While we are now aware of everything about Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner, we are not focused on demanding labeling for our foods.  While we have decided where fault lies between George Zimmerman and Treyvon Martin, we are supporting people that are being bought and sold by companies that support fossil fuel usage.  We are complacent about abuse of people and animals in our country.  The media twists and turns and spins stories that merely serve to distract us from our larger problems:  food, energy; infrastructure; compassion; healthcare; and making this country a leader in education, invention, and progress.

Marianne Williamson ran for a seat in congress in California.  Although she lost, she introduced something very important into our vocabulary:  politics of consciousness or politics of the heart.  This is our future.  We must come together to create laws that help sustain our foods by forcing labeling and stopping the use of GMO’s.  (www.nongmoproject.org)  We must come together to elect officials to implement sustainable energy options.  We must come together for alternatives to fossil fuel transportation which are already out there! We must come together for healthcare, not for pharmaceutical or insurance companies to get rich, but for real cures for our disease-ridden people! We must come together to force investment in our children’s education…not as sheep that can pass a test, but thinkers, doers, inventors.  No matter what your political preference, aren’t these issues upon which we can all agree?

By coming together on these and other important issues, by replacing many of our political “leaders” from those that are merely “yes men” for large corporations, and by living from our hearts, we will by default become more tolerant of each other and our differences.  If we work side by side to change this country from a country of sleeping victims to a country of promoters of positive change, our differences will no longer seem so great, but instead WE THE PEOPLE will bring about a new paradigm that can move us into a future of promise, of freedom, of tolerance, of peace.  

Here is a small list of some things you can do to support making a difference!  Most of all, live mindfully and go where your heart leads you.

 

1.    Reuse/recycle

2.    Call your local leaders and express your concerns

3.    VOTE for politicians intent on positive change

4.    Collect food for foodbanks/take leftovers to a soup kitchen

5.    Adopt/rescue/foster/donate to animals

6.    Grow a garden/support your local farmer’s market

7.    Stop using plastic bags/bottles

8.    Become a mentor for a child

9.    SMILE – give at least one away every day

10. Be the change you wish to see in the world (Gandhi)

You Are Wonderful

We all have a past.  Most of us have things in our past of which we are ashamed, feel guilt, feel regret, or feel remorse.  It is just what happens over the course of our lives.  These times are usually the moments in which we learn.  Hopefully, our mistakes teach us what not to do in the future.

I recently found myself thinking about certain things from my past and categorizing them, such as, “that was ok”, “that was bad”, “I should have never done that”, “that was one of my worst mistakes”, and so on.  I am very hard on myself in that way, all too often.  And though I would offer this word of advice (which is attributed to Maya Angelou, but was told to me long ago by my Spiritual Mentor) to others, “you did the best you could, and when you knew better, you did better”, I was not so forgiving of myself.  As I was lingering with these thoughts, I suddenly realized that each and every one of those past events about which I was feeling so despondent, were actually the stepping stones to bring me to the moment in which I now find myself!  I saw and understood that I should look at my past self as I would my own family and friends:  with a forgiving and loving nature.  By sending love to my past self, I could heal those “mistakes”, learn from them, and become even more of the person I strive to be.  I realized that I am happy with the person I have become, and even though I am a work in progress, I do act in a manner that is in keeping with my beliefs.

It has become a habit for me to remain alert to the signs that come my way.  I anticipate signs and signals from God, my angels, the Universe, or whatever name you prefer for that higher power, that intuition, that still small voice.  As a result, I receive them a lot!  

After a very cold and wet winter in NC where I live, a warm day arrived recently to remind me that Spring is close at hand.  I took my pup, Zoey, to our local park and walked the well-known path.  I had those thoughts on my mind about forgiving my past, about loving my past self, and about the progress I have made in my life.  As I rounded a curve in the path, there, written across were the words, “YOU ARE WONDERFUL”!!  Some beautiful, sweet soul had allowed his or her self to be used to provide encouragement for me and probably many others.  I took it as my sign, and hope in the reading of this, you will accept it as yours.  For just where you are right now in your journey with all your flaws, your past, and your magnificence, YOU ARE WONDERFUL!  Love yourself more fully, and you will find your ability to love others will expand. 

Thoughts Become Things - The BIG Picture

The philosophers in today’s world teach us that “thoughts become things”.  From Deepak Chopra to Eckhart Tolle, from Marianne Williamson to Mike Dooley, from Esther Hicks to Oprah Winfrey, from the pages of “The Secret” to hundreds of books, programs, CD’s, DVD’s, and all manner of internet media, the message is ringing out loud and clear:  you create what you think about.  If you think about lack, you experience lack.  If you think about abundance, you experience abundance.  If your focus is love, peace, and happiness, you find yourself enjoying love, peace, and happiness.  Each of these modern day philosophers has a unique manner of presenting this information to us.  They are all basically saying the same thing, “thoughts become things”, and the variety of presentations allows for people of all diversities to hear and understand.

To prove this declaration of “thoughts become things”, we only have to look back at our history.  There we find the proof.  Haven’t you ever wondered how we have progressed from cave men and women to the modern techies we are today?  Allow me to explain further.

According to history, at one time we were a race of hunter/gatherers.  We lived in caves, no doubt, and followed food (animals) in hopes of filling our bellies.  It was all about survival.  And that set us to thinking:  “what if we could grow our food and have a community?”  That idea spread and in a few thousand years or so, agriculture and communities were formed.

Fast forward to the 1400’s: People desired books, bibles, and other materials that had to be scribed by hand.  Along comes Gutenberg and suddenly we have a printing press!  Before Galileo, men started becoming fascinated with the heavens.  Next thing you know there is a telescope!  The examples are endless!  

It is said that hindsight is 20/20, and looking back it seems obvious.  Just the thought “how nice it would be to be able to use the toilet indoors, and not have to empty a chamber pot” turned into our modern day bathrooms.  “I wish there were a way to provide consistent heat for the family” became the lovely heating systems we rely on today.  “I’d love to be able to communicate quickly with someone” turned into the telephone. 

Now, let’s come into life today.  What were the thoughts that have brought us to our amazing technological world?  When I was a child, our entertainment was basically enjoyed in three technologies:  a black and white TV, a radio (AM stations only), and the record player with records.  Someone started thinking, “I wish this TV show was in color!” and the color TV was invented.  Someone thought it would be grand to have a small radio that could be carried around with them.  The idea caught on, and the transistor was born, along with everything since, including our modern day iPods!  What used to take an entire room to store can now be carried in the palm of our hands!

We had a phone on the wall in the kitchen and on a desk in the hallway.  When I became a teenager, I thought it would be so cool to have privacy and to talk to all my friends as I pleased.  Soon, call waiting was invented.  And now we have phones that we carry with us to allow us to always be in touch!  That was my teenaged dream!

Do you see the BIG picture of how thoughts become things?  Each generation collectively thinks forward to the next generation’s big invention.  And, somehow, it keeps moving faster and faster!  So, have I convinced you that thoughts become things, whether on a personal scale or on a collective scale?  If so, wouldn’t you like to take this knowledge and create a more positive world?  For example, by thinking about and envisioning peace, love, justice, and happiness, we could create a new way of life for all people.  You can create these things both for yourself on a personal level, and for our world as a whole.  It can happen.  It has before.  Join in this process.  Live a life of peace, and create a world of peace for our next generation.   Your children’s children’s children are counting on us.

“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one….Imagine.”  (John Lennon)

(Photo courtesy of one-vision.com)                                                                                                                                                                

What's Wrong is What's Right

We have been told since the day we made our entrance into this world all the things that are right with us and the things that are wrong with us.  Even before we had the knowledge of language, our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and others were expressing that we were “just like our Mother” or “just like our Father” and often they were not talking solely about looks.  We picked up their energies as they approved and, especially, disapproved of our behaviors.  As we grew older, certain traits emerged to the forefront of whom we were…or who we thought we were. 

As adults, most of us know what is “wrong” with us.  We know that we are procrastinators, that we drink too much or have other addictions, that we lie to protect ourselves, that we are insensitive to others, that we can’t sustain relationships….the list is endless.  Yet, have you ever considered that what is “wrong” with you is actually what is “right” with you?  Yes, that deep dark thing that is your constant companion is actually your salvation!  That “thing” that you shun, ignore, flee from, that revolts you about yourself simply needs another perspective.  Look at it instead as your dear friend, a constant companion that is seeking your love and your attention. 

When you look at your challenges as something that is here to assist you in your life, you bring about a change in yourself.  This new perspective can then be used to benefit yourself and others.  For example, if it is addiction, know that this addiction is being used by you to learn something very valuable and something you could, in time, share with others.  Love and embrace it and ask it what it has to teach you.  Ask what is missing in your life that it is trying to fill.  In time, you will clearly see its role in your life and be able to lay it aside.  Then you can show others how to do the same.

If you are overly stubborn and will listen to no one about anything, the process is the same.  Love and embrace this stubbornness and ask what it has to teach you.  What purpose does it serve?  What is it fulfilling in you?  Maybe it is simply a mode you developed to protect yourself as a child.  The positive side of stubbornness is tenacity and tenacity is a trait that can serve us very well.

You may be more in touch with the spiritual world than most people.  No one ever believed you so you squashed this part of yourself to protect yourself from being ridiculed.  Perhaps you felt a great responsibility in giving others information from the spiritual world.  Yet, you know you could help others with your gift.  Embrace this part of yourself and ask what purpose it can serve. 

Deep inside each of us is a child.  As children, we become imprinted with the environment around us.  It is not your fault that you are the way you are but, it is your privilege to change that part of you if you want to.  We do not have to be victimized by our environments.  Love and embrace whatever it was as a child you received that you consider a fault, a challenge, a secret.  That is your salvation.  That is the thing that is here to teach you something very important.  That is the ticket to your creativity, your joy and your evolution. 

So, stop looking outside of yourself for who you are.  Don’t allow people from you past, present or future to live “rent free” in your head!  Everything you need is within your own self.  Everything you are dwells within.  Seek yourself and your answers there within the depths of your own self. 

Remember:  Everything they ever told you was wrong with you is what is right with you.  Embrace it.  Love it.  Heal it.  Share it with others.  Now, you are free.

All Is Well

She felt a perfect sadness accompanying her through her day.  A non-specific sadness – a sadness without drama nor crying.  Just an old friend attempting to wriggle its way back into her heart.  She allowed it to sit for a while and plead its case.  But she knew this was one old friend that should not – could not – be allowed a real and permanent place inside.  So she observed, knowing eventually she’d ask it to leave and return to her magnificent efforts – her magnificent changes.

We all feel sad or down from time to time.  Don’t fight it….just allow it to move through you as you observe it.  Be with it.  Love it.  Remember you are not alone...your Angels watch over and protect you in all the moments of your life.  And give it a time limit.  If you are like me, long before the time limit is up, you will already be on to your next step.  Be kind to yourself.  Everything is o.k.  All is well.

Shift Happens

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about all the sayings, affirmations and lingo of the Spiritual world today.  The overriding theme is “your thoughts create your life”.  If one will just change their thought patterns and begin to believe that what they want is already theirs, it will be.  Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it?  Yet changing a life time of habitual thinking is the most difficult task before us.

And what if this is not true?  When I was growing up, when my parents grew up, and possibly every generation since the US of A was formed, I was given a different message:  WORK hard and what you want will be yours.  (aka “the American Dream”)  So they worked hard and, for most of them, it paid off.  My parent’s generation bought homes for around 15,000 that are now worth 100,000!  They paid 500 for a car that would now be 10,000!  So how did all this change?

My thoughts on it are that for so many years, so many people believed the same thing…work hard and what you want will be yours.  But, shift happens, and there came a day when this adage could no longer be said with conviction.  People didn’t want to work hard and get what they wanted only to realize that they were too old, too tired or both to enjoy it and basically left it to the next generation to enjoy.  So what was our generation to do?  It was up to us to stop inequality for races, genders, sexual preferences, children, religions and all manner of dividing lines in our world.  We were more dreamers than doers, so we needed a new catch phrase and one that suited our needs.  We didn’t mind working, as long as it was fun and/or for a good cause.  So we stared visualizing what we wanted.  We became optimistic in the face of our country’s ruin.  The cost of our homes, our cars, our groceries and everything we consumed went up but our pay did not, at least not as fast as the cost of living.

Another element that is causing this shift in thought is that new evidence in the scientific community supports the theory of our thoughts creating our reality.  There is a paradigm shift from the body of scientific knowledge that has supported our theories for the past 300 years.  The studies in Noetic Science have now taken Quantum Physics to a new level.  Many studies have proven that a thought can affect reality.  If you are interested in this, simply google Noetic Science, or watch movies such as I AM by director Tom Shadyac or What the Bleep Do We Know.  Both cite many studies in Quantum Physics and the idea that thoughts create or change reality.  Author Lynn McTaggart also discusses this concept in her book “The Field”.  We all know that science changes over time.  For example, the earth is no longer flat, the planets revolve around the sun, and electricity is no longer considered “magic”.

Now, more and more people believe “your thoughts create your life”.  And guess what?  They do.  All it takes for anything to be true is for enough people to believe it.  Shift happens.

Pixie and Funny Nose

I wrote this note on my birthday last year on my facebook page.  I wanted to write something for my birthday this year, but this actually says it all.  I have so enjoyed having Pixie and Funny Nose with me all year…no being packed away for them anymore!!  It has been another challenging year, but one in which I have learned so much.  Most of all, I have learned how to change the way in which I think…and that is no easy thing to learn!  It is still a work in progress, as am I, but I am happier and more content than I’ve ever been in my life.  Again, I wish to thank and honor my dear friends, whether you’ve been with me since day one or we’ve just met!  Maybe you’re on my facebook page and we connect in that way.  Regardless, I’m thankful and blessed to have each of you as a part of me.  Now for the post from last year (this year, I’m 59….really?)!! 

Happy Birthday to ME!!  I am so thankful to have lived through one of the toughest yet!  Yesterday while unpacking Christmas decorations, I came across a box of items which I had misplaced when I moved 2 1/2 years ago!  Oddly enough, they were in a decorative box right in my living room!  Though I couldn't see them, they were with me as they had been for so many years! 

 Among the items was this figurine which was given to me by my Godmother, Ima Murphy (RIP) when I was about 4 years old.  It graced her coffee table and when I visited, as I often did, I would run right to it and hold it and play with it.  I named the two "Pixie and Funny Nose" and felt I knew them from some long ago and far away place where Pixies/Faeries/Magical Beings lived with their various animal friends to whom they could talk.  Eventually, Ima gave me the figurine and I have had it with me ever since.  Of all the items I have had and lost in this life, this is one that has remained.

 Today as I celebrate 58 years of life, I use Pixie and Funny Nose as a symbol of the essence of myself.  I remember the feeling this little duo brought me then and the feeling still arises when I look at them now.  I honor that part of myself and know it is the best part of me. 

 I want to thank everyone who has been with me over my life whether from the beginning or just having joined in.  You are all connected to me and "I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together"!  (Goo goo g'joob!)  I love and honor each of you.

 In keeping with my theme of poems, here is another on of my favs....perfect for this day...enjoy...

Barter

Life has loveliness to sell,

All beautiful and splendid things,

Blue waves whitened on a cliff,

Soaring fire that sways and sings,

And children's faces looking up,

Holding wonder like a cup.

Life has loveliness to sell,

Music like a curve of gold,

Scent of pine trees in the rain,

Eyes that love you, arms that hold,

And for your spirit's still delight,

Holy thoughts that star the night.

Spend all you have for loveliness,

Buy it and never count the cost;

For one white singing hour of peace

Count many a year of strife well lost,

And for a breath of ecstasy

Give all you have been, or could be.

-Sara Teasdale (1884-1933)