Tag: mindfulness

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Spring Forward into Peace

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Sea Ranch Iris, watercolor. Sally McKirgan

This month we all set our clocks ahead one hour for daylight savings time. I love it. More Light!!! We need more light in our lives. One way to have more light in our lives is look at and let go of the darkness, daily. Actually moment by moment.

If you cannot access peace you may be on “rewind” and replaying hurtful events from the past.  Examine and see if something is bothering you from an hour ago, yesterday or last week?

Are you happy being stuck on automatic thinking about an event, old or new?  Are you replaying blame, pain and guilt?  Was it their fault or yours?  If it was your fault you feel guilty.  If it was theirs, you feel victimized.  Neither are very happy making!

Why is your mind doing the replaying?   Ask Yourself: Do I want peace and joy rather than guilt or victimhood?  If the answer is Peace and Joy, then STOP acknowledging or listening to the replay.

STOP listening to the ego. The ego is the part of the mind that is always on replay, fear, negative, self doubt, envy, grievances, etc. It’s purpose is to keep you from realizing your true innocent Self, to keep you from peace.

You have a Beautiful Holy Mind, a Decider! START to “overlook” the disturbing limiting negative thoughts and instead say:  “I choose to look at this another way for the sake of my own peace.” You do not have to believe your thoughts. They are coming from the insane ego part of your mind. Listen to Holy Spirit, the guide that was given all of us at the point when we separated from God. He was placed there as the alternative to the ego. You can ask for help and choose which part of your mind you will listen to; the voice for peace or the voice for love.

If you are holding a grievance against someone….it is held in your MIND!  You are trapped in the grievance with them.  Are you happy?  Tell them in your mind and include yourself:

“My brother/sister/:  peace and joy I offer you, That I may have God’s peace and joy as mine.” 

See A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson 105.

We don’t realize that if we hold a grudge or a judgement against someone, that we are in effect, denying peace to our Self.  If you hold it in your mind, you are victimizing yourself, causing your own suffering.

Do you think your brother is suffering?  We don’t know but we know you are. Would you say to that brother?

“My brother/sister/myself: misery and suffering I offer you, That I may have misery and suffering as well.

You have a powerful and Holy Mind at your disposal. The Holy Sprit will take your hand and guide you as you look at any and all thoughts. This looking is forgiveness.

shawn tulips 4

From A Course In Miracles, 1. What Is Forgiveness: p.4.  Forgiveness, on the other hand, is still, and quietly does noth­ing. It offends no aspect of reality, nor seeks to twist it to appear­ances it likes. It merely looks, and waits, and judges not. He who would not forgive must judge, for he must justify his failure to forgive. But he who would forgive himself must learn to welcome truth exactly as it is.

Accept that peace and joy is your inheritance and that you are worth it. Spring FORWARD into PEACE!!

God Bless!

http://www.acim.org | http://www.facim.org | http://www.miraclecenter.org

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Open Your Mind: Open Your Heart

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IMG_0811.JPG

Does an open heart, open the mind or does an open mind, open the heart?

Maybe it doesn’t matter which one happens first, but for me, when I’m waiting in line at the market feeling anxious because the line is slow, my mind is locked, closed and my heart constricted. That is why having a practice in watching the mind helps because when aware of the “agitation” I can say “I want to see this differently” and with that I am open to the Souls who share the line with me and let go and relax. I can see the silliness in spending energy on something trivial like agitation. I want and choose peace, inner peace. The Course In Miracles tells us the goal of the Course is inner peace and the workbook lessons certainly help us look at the blocks we have put up to keep peace away, and as it turns out LOVE too. The ego is the culprit but it is ONLY a thought, we happen to believe.

Monitoring your thoughts and mind is the key: How do YOU feel? Are emotions in charge of you or are “YOU” in charge of your Mind and consequently the emotions. But we have to look at the emotions rather than indulge or believe them and when we look, which is part of the forgiveness instructions, in the What is Forgiveness link below, they dissipate like smoke on a windy day. We no longer live from our emotions or let them run our lives unless it serves us somehow.   There are those who like an emotional state of anxiety and fear because they think it keeps them motivated but it is not good for the health of the body, which we need in order to go through the lessons we came here to learn and it is also not good if inner peace is our goal.

We don’t have to believe our thoughts just because we think them. An example is my boss told me he’d like to see me in his office for a meeting the next day at 2 pm. I hadn’t a clue what it could be about but I can tell you thoughts ran rampant through my mind, and they were not all good thoughts. What could it be? Maybe I’d be fired or asked to resign! Well, it turned out I received a compliment and a promotion! All that energy spent in worry, fear of the future, fear of the past! Everything but: “Right Now, all is well.” Ahhhh…..right NOW….all is Well. This instant is the only time there IS! Everything else is my projecting into the future and the ego fear running amok.

As students of the Course we are told we are the Christ, a Holy Son of God and Jesus our elder brother will guide us, if we take his hand and invite him in. Share all your emotions and thoughts with your elder brother. He awaits your invitational prayer – this is one I use:

“Jesus Christ, Holy Son of God, Dear elder brother, please guide my heart and mind and help me look at and remove the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence, which is my natural inheritance, as I journey to the Home and Father, I never left.”

I try to repeat this whenever I am upset about something and especially when I can’t sleep at night because I’m ruminating about a worry; a meeting I dread; a bill to be paid; someone I need to forgive but don’t want to. Unlock your mind and look at all those thoughts with your elder brother; let him give you a thought to replace the ones you think are true…..and your Heart will Open.

Click on these links and click on the arrow, “play” and have it read to you – close your eyes.

ACIM: Introduction https://acim.org/acim/what-it-says/

Workbook Lesson 185. W. pg. 348. I want the peace of God. https://acim.org/workbook/lesson-185/

What is Forgiveness –W. pg. 401 https://acim.org/workbook/what-is-1/

You are worth it because you are LOVED!

 

Have a Heart!

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Mt. Shasta's Heart

Have a Heart!  Mt. Shasta’s heart!   But always remember your heart, the love within is your guide!

We live in a dualistic world: war and peace; hot and cold, short and tall and the list goes on. We also have a dualist mind that contains two thought systems: the voice of the ego or the voice of the Holy Spirit, truth and peace.

Watch your thoughts and you will figure out which voice you listen to.

The bad news is that the ego is the default system that is always running.

The good news is that YOU are the one with the remote! You are in charge of changing channels.

We are listening to the ego’s sly thoughts when our judgments are of someone or yourself. Worried or fearful thoughts of guilt or envy are certainly egoic thoughts. However, they are just thoughts. You don’t have to believe them. Ask yourself: How do I feel? To my mind the ego is always comparing, sizing up the situation, and a master at separating us from others.

For example one night I woke up worried about a planned trip. I could see my mind was going crazy with various scenarios and worry. However, I was worried about something that was in the future. I was projecting fear into the future. The ego went crazy building the case that I was going to miss my plane, or get air sick or stuck in bad weather, etc. I finally realized what was happening and changed channels. I repeated my favorite mind calming phrase “I rest in God” from Workbook lesson 109 and went to sleep. Choosing peace is a practice and a decision.

This example clearly shows that there is a part of the mind that is separate from the ego. It is the decision maker within that chooses, when you are aware enough, and you realize you are not at peace. Always ask: “How do I feel?” If not peaceful then it is up to you to change your thoughts.

I am forever and always inspired by A Course In Miracles,  and in particular Lesson #106.

 

Let me be still and listen to the truth.

“If you will lay aside the ego’s voice, however loudly it may seem to call; if you will not accept its petty gifts that give you nothing that you really want; if you will listen with an open mind, that has not told you what salvation is; then you will hear the mighty Voice of truth, quiet in power, strong in stillness, and completely certain in Its messages.”

http://www.acim.org

Mindfulness Now!

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Spring 2014 2014-03-12 025

When are we Mindful?

When are we Awake?

When we “wake” up in the morning are we really awake or are we
going through the motions of whatever our current script is?

Be Awake Now!

Notice your breath going into your nostrils!

Awaken!

Where are you?

You “think” you are here –
But where are you REALLY?

You are Home in Heaven, D R E A M I N G…..

Be a lucid D R E A M E R

You can be mindful whenever you remember you are D R E A M I N G

and you will be A W A K E!!

See A Course In Miracles Workbook lesson 94 -I am as God Created Me
http://www.acim.org – lessons

Picture taken in Ashland, OR