A Divine Invitation
You have been invited to meet
The Friend.
No one can resist a Divine Invitation.
That narrows down all of our choices
To just two:
We can come to God
Dressed for Dancing.
Or
Be carried on a stretcher
To God’s Ward.
I have mentioned several times lately that as I take photographs it feels like my eyes are opening. I’m seeing things that I’ve never seen before. Yesterday something happened that really drove home that point. Continue reading “How Blind Am I?”
Sreejit’s Dungeon Prompt this week asked us to address these questions:
In many countries where guns are not legal the police also don’t carry guns themselves – only the military does. In America, because guns are so widespread, we couldn’t even conceptualize an unarmed police force. But now, with the full militarization of the police, do you think that it has gone too far? Do you feel scared when you see the cop strapping a gun while waiting for coffee in line next to you at the Starbucks? What is your relationship with the police and how do you think your race has colored that? Has race colored your perception of police brutality?
I have decided to address those questions and more. During the last few weeks, I have felt overwhelmed and disheartened by all of the violence occurring in the world. What keeps going through my mind is “Have we gone crazy?” I have heard the same sentiment from others. Continue reading “Overwhelmed by the Violence?”
Question from someone at Amma’s 2014 San Ramon Retreat:
I have a question about negative thoughts and emotions. I find myself wondering what the right attitude is and how to prevent negative thoughts and emotions from affecting my life and affecting others. Continue reading “Negotiating the Supermarket of the Mind”
Last Thursday morning brought another challenging prompt from Sreejit at The Seeker’s Dungeon. This time the prompt was to answer the following question: “Tell us about your experiences with overcoming yourself.” I knew immediately what I would write about.
My post will actually contain three different stories. The first two are very different from each other and in the third the two come together, addressing a way I am working to “overcome myself.” Continue reading “Overcoming Myself”
Allow yourself to play with the freedom that comes from being ordinary and nobody special. The pressure is off. You can relax. Nothing special is expected of you. Nobody is watching. Why should they? You are just an ordinary child of the earth. Perfectly unexceptional, perfect just as you are.
from Legacy of the Heart: The Spiritual Advantages of a Painful Childhood by Wayne Muller, Simon and Schuster, 1992, page 84.
In May, I wrote a post called They Touched My Heart. One of the videos in that post was the story of Jadav Payeng, who at 17 started planting trees on a barren sandbar in India. Since that time a documentary about him was produced by Will McMaster. It is both beautiful and inspiring. To me, Jadav’s work is a good example of the difference one person can make. Continue reading “Making a Difference- Jadav Payeng”
In May, I wrote about a walk I took in my neighborhood. These are some of the pictures I snapped that morning.
When I am miserable it is usually because my mind is full of negative, discounting messages. That might happen because I’ve done or said something I think was wrong or stupid, because I am worrying about some future event, or because I’m upset about something someone else has done. I have to admit that when I am stressed and/or miserable, I am likely to go to the store and buy a big cookie, a doughnut, chocolate or ice cream!
While sugar is all too often part of my “fix”, I generally don’t stop there. I have learned many things over the years about quieting the mind. As I remember the teachings, or use the techniques I have been taught, my inner critic tends to calm down. Continue reading “Silencing the Mind”
“Self-love requires you to be honest about your current choices and thought patterns and undertake new practices that reflect self-worth.” ~Caroline Kirk
If one more person told me to go love myself I was going to levitate into the air and pull one of those impossible martial arts moves from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I was sick of it!
What the heck does loving myself mean? Were they talking about bubble baths, pedicures, and cucumber masks? It turns out there is so much more to self-love than just pampering ourselves. I found this out the hard way. Continue reading “What Self-Love Means”
The Art and Craft of Blogging
A collection of discussions on the environmental issues
“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”-William Shakespeare
...moments of unexpected clarity
Home of Lukas Kondraciuk Photography
Wellness, Support and Mindset
Thoughts on Creativity & Deeper Things
A Blog by Novella Carpenter
Ramblings of an Irish ecologist and gardener
Teaching the art of composition for photography.
Blog from SathyaSaiMemories ~ stories of love in action and the benefits of giving
There are 11,507 stories in Haddonfield; this is one of them.
Perennial gardening and more from the Green Mountains of Vermont
Whatever it will be...
Welcome to my little slice of the blogosphere
Living, Learning and Letting Go 