world's issues

Tonight my friends and I solved the world's issues. Well, not really but we touched on many sensitive topics. Parents, children, loved ones, overcoming obstacles, dealing with death, creative energy and learning that 'allowing is the key'. It was a stimulating conversation in which I stayed as present as possible.
Being aware, presence...this is what it's all about. Plus love too!

Walk

Isaiah 30:21
And your own ears will hear a word behind you saying, this is the way, walk in it

We are shown the path to travel, what's true to our hearts, but we have to be sure to listen. When we listen, we will be directed through the storms and struggles and the joys as well.

I hear the voices (you know what I mean), and I feel the direction to take. It's not always easy, and I don't always make the 'best' choices, but it's all about the learning experience as well.
Everyday we have a choice in how we will make the day...in moments we decide what direction we will travel. Listen to your heart!

Friends

Do you ever just look around and thank God/Allah/Higher Power/Universe for friends. I know, it's so cliche, but so true. I reflect on this tonight after spending a couple hours with a good group of friends. They are good, honest people that are so open, so caring. They know how to enjoy a good laugh too. As a group, we've shared various life changes, joys and sorrows. Still, we have stayed strong and true to each other. We went on a retreat earlier this year and during that time, video was done of our adventures. Everytime I watch this video (like I did when I arrived home tonight), I get a little misty. It truly captured such aliveness, such spirit. I know I will go to bed well tonight after being reminded of how truly fortunate I am to have these ladies in my life.

Journaling

I attended an amazing workshop yesterday on journaling. In this workshop, we talked about the benefits of journaling and how to do it effectively; for example, finding a quiet space and making it a meditative process. We even wrote for an hour, but with intention. We focused on specific questions, thought-provoking questions to stimulate the process. The only criteria is to write it for your eyes only and date the entries. What will you write about today?

Hidden Poem

Hidden
Masks hide ones true self
How you really are inside
You have to look past
The face, the body
And into the heart
To truly understand
Some have made such good masks
People think they’re something that they’re not
Then try to tell people the real them
But people don’t believe it
They look on the outside
Not the inside
That’s what really scares me
That rarely anybody will ever know
The real person
Inside of a new found friend
Or a passer-by on the street.

I wrote this in 8th grade.

Spiritual Growth

Spiritual growth is not about becoming more metaphysically complicated, but rather it is about growing simpler, as these very basic principles begin to permeate more and more deeply into our thought system.
—Excerpted from A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles (Marianne Williamson)

It's about Relationships

Personal relationships are the fertile soil from which all advancement, all success, all achievement in real life grows.-- Ben Stein

Satsang

Gathering for Truth
Satsang is a Sanskrit word combining "satya" meaning "truth" and"sangha" meaning "group." It describes a gathering of people for the purpose of spiritual truth. Satsang is often used when referring to a meeting with a guru or a spiritual mentor. During Satsang, participants read inspiring words, discuss its teachings, meditate,and find ways to bring this awareness into daily life. While attending services or spiritual study groups can be thought of as participating in Satsangs, this practice can also apply to any group of people that are gathered to inspire one another and express the truth free from judgment. A Satsang can be a group of people that are gathered to sing, play, or listen to music. All that needs to be there is the intention to inspire one another and tell the truth. A Satsang can also be a support group, book club, yoga class, or meeting between friends for coffee or conversation. We don't need to be in a place of worship or supervised by appointed leaders to experience the truth. The truth can be found in every moment and it can be experienced with anyone. Spending time with someone who enlightens us can be as simple as visiting with a grandmother or talking to a best friend.There is wisdom to be gleaned from being with people even when the gatherings are not specifically intended for personal improvement or spiritual transformation. Any occasion we are gathered with people who understand and support us can be a spiritual experience. While gatherings with the intention of communing with spirit are undoubtedly powerful and inspiring, getting together with people that uplift us by their presence alone is also vital to our well-being. When we recognize all the people we know that support and enrich us, our lives can become an extended Satsang.

Service

Everyone has the power of greatness. Not for fame, but for greatness. Because greatness is determined by service.-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

When is the last time you volunteered or gave time to an organization?

Tests of Friendship

When good people have a falling out, only one of them may be at fault at first; but if the strife continues long, usually both become guilty.-- Thomas Fuller


Thoughts as I struggle with a couple friendships that are in need of CPR...or maybe just respite before recovery.

Five Ways to Welcome Change by Elizabeth Lesser

This is an excerpt from material written by Elizabeth Lesser found in an article for a local spiritual magazine:

"5 Ways to Welcome Change in the New Year

1. Expect Change - Because we live in a changing universe, expect change: good change, difficult change, destructive change and transformative change.

2. Make Friends with Change - Try not to fight change. Make unconditional friendship with it, in whatever form it arrives.

3. Relax into the Mystery - There is much more to this life than we can ever understand with our tiny brains and fearful hearts. So, in times of big change, it's good to be gentle, kind and patient with yourself and to relax. The best peacemakers are those who are at peace with themselves.

4. Receive Change's Message - Be still and listen deeply for the truth that is carried on its winds-information about the past, wisdom about the present and direction for the future.

5. Come Alive - Join forces with the dynamic flow of life. The African-American theologian Howard Thurman said" "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive."

And so, as the old year changes into the new year, ask what makes you come alive, and go do it-for your own sake, and in service of the greater good."

Team Sacrifice

Sacrificing individual gain for the team's greater good is the price of admission members must pay…and keep paying…to be on the team.-- Scott Beare

Spiritual Practice

"The wholeness and freedom we seek is our true nature, who we really are. Whenever we start a spiritual practice, read a spiritual book, or contemplate what it means to live well, we have begun the inevitable process of opening to this truth, the truth of life itself." - Jack Kornfield

(Thank you to a sweet friend for this contribution)

Kristen Jongen Quotes

Getting quiet is always good
in the stillness clarity emerges
in the breath the answers reveal themselves
and in the in between
there is peace.


You can't fake authentic surrender
for it is the moment you unclench your hands...
accept what is and finally let go...
that the fertile space is provided
for divine intervention and
unimaginable possibilities.