Assignments from Your Soul

Every problem is an assignment from your soul.  —Robin Norwood, Author/Therapist 

I've Learned That I Still Have A Lot to Learn

"I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life. I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life." I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." ~ Maya Angelou, Author/Poet

Life's Ordeals

Beauty usually requires some imperfection, transgression, or lacuna. The whole of your being, the good and the bad, is the stuff out of which your beauty makes an appearance.  ~ Thomas Moore, The Dark Night of the Soul: A Guide to Finding Your Way Through Life's Ordeals

20 Ways to Help with Allergy Relief

It is allergy season again and if you are suffering with them here are some excellent and very common sense ways to help bring you both prevention and relief. See the link here: Allergies - Health.com

Here's to the Crazy Ones

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square hole. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." ~ Apple Computer, Inc.

I'm Interested Only in the Present

"I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival; because life is the moment we’re living now." ~ Paul Coelho, The Alchemist

Photos and Music to Relax You

The Ability to Stand What We Know

"To be strong does not mean to sprout muscles and flex.  It means meeting one's own numinosity (a supernatural presence; one's divinity) without fleeing, actively living with the wild nature in one's own way.  It means to be able to learn, to be able to stand what we know.  It means to stand and live." ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run with the Wolves

Who are the happiest, richest people you know?

 "Who are the happiest, richest people you know?  Aren’t they the people who are living out their visions, regardless of obstacles and challenges? Aren't they the ones who are dreaming even bigger dreams and contributing their talents and resources to the world? These are the people who are living joyful, enthusiastic lives, regardless of their possessions or lack of possessions. These people possess something more precious than material goods. They possess a spark of God that radiates in all they do." ~ Rabbi Shoni Labowitz from her book, Miraculous Living.

The Healthy Benefits of Love

We all know that being in love, truly loving another person, receiving love, sharing life's struggles together with someone you cherish, knowing the pleasure and meaning of sexual intimacy, supporting one another across the years, are all the enjoyable results of being in a committed relationship, whether married or not. However, this kind of love reaps many healthy benefits as well. See why here: Why Love Is Good For Your Health

Acquire Contradictions

"What was education for, if not to acquire contradictions? At least it looked like that to me. " ~ Lorrie Moore,  from her novel, A Gait at the Stairs

The Border Beyond Which Everything Loses Meaning

"It takes so little, so infinitely little, for a person to cross the border beyond which everything loses meaning: love, convictions, faith, history. Human life -- and herein lies its secret -- takes place in the immediate proximity of that border, even in direct contact with it; it is not miles away, but a fraction of an inch." ~ Milan Kundera, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

The Worst Curse

"The worst curse to befall anyone is stagnation, a banal existence, the quiet desperation that comes out of a need for conformity. " Deepak Chopra, Physician/Author

Shoulders

Shoulders
By Naomi Shihab Nye

A man crosses the street in rain,
stepping gently, looking two times north and south,
because his son is asleep on his shoulder.

No car must splash him.
No car drive too near to his shadow.

This man carries the world’s most sensitive cargo
but he’s not marked.
Nowhere does his jacket say FRAGILE,
HANDLE WITH CARE.

His ear fills up with breathing.
He hears the hum of a boy’s dream
deep inside him.

We’re not going to be able
to live in this world
if we’re not willing to do what he’s doing
with one another.

The road will only be wide.
The rain will never stop falling.

Reinventing Feminism

Blogger, writer, innovator Courtney Martin talks about how women in our day stand up for their own rights in new and creative ways. See the brief presentation here: Video on TED.com

When a Woman Believes She is Equal, She is Called Uppity

“When a woman believes she is equal, she is called uppity.  When we stand up for what we know and what we believe, we are called aggressive and unfeminine.  When we state that women are wonderful and that we are proud to be a woman, we are told that we are anti-male.  When we put forth our perceptions, we are told that we don’t understand reality.  When we put forth our values, we are told that we are crazy and we just don’t understand the way the world works.  Is it any wonder that we sometimes have trouble with self-esteem?” – Anne Wilson Schaef, Author/Lecturer

There is a Place Where We Are Uncorrupted and Untouched by the World

The world is often a dangerous and unpredictable place.

The laws of nature are not ours to control or even fully understand.  Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes and other violent forces of earth do not intend harm.  They are simply responses to a delicate and often mysterious order of purpose and design that operates beyond our manipulation.

Sometimes we do effect our environment by the pollutants we pour into it, by the ravaging of our forests, by the construction of nuclear or other huge facilities filled with poison toxins, and by our greedy misconception that we own the earth and can do with it whatever we please.

The world is also dangerous because of disease, famine, and war.  War being one of the most destructive and disgraceful acts we humans do to one another.  We have not evolved much since the days of Cain and Abel when jealousy murdered innocence and one man's pride destroyed his own brother.  

The horror and sorrow in Japan.  The brutal mess in the Middle East.  The endless dysfunction here in our political system.  It can all be discouraging and overwhelming.

Happy words won't fix any of this.  Waving a Bible over it all is useless.  Hoping it will just go away is delusional.  Turning our backs and pretending it doesn't exist is cowardly.

What we can do is this:

1.  Try to understand our world and how it works.

2.  Believe in the power of science and respect the laws of nature.

3.  Accept the differences in people, cultures, religions.

4.  Don't expect perfection in anything or anyone.

5.  Embrace the mysteries of life.

6.  Realize questions are just as valuable as answers.

7.  Stop waiting for God or some other force to do what we should be doing for others.

8.  Treat our environment with the care it deserves.

9.  Pay attention to the hurts of others.

10.Take time to listen more to what people are really saying and feeling.

Andrew Cohen, in his book, Enlightenment Is a Secret, has written, "There is a place in all of us that has remained innocent, uncorrupted and untouched by the world.  We have to locate that most delicate place.  It is a very sensitive place; it’s where we feel love—where tenderness and compassion arise, free from self-interest."

It is difficult to go there in times like the ones we are living through.  But it is essential to our survival.  And if we make the effort it will carry us through.

© 2011 Timothy Moody

The Dark Holes of Faith

“My scientist friends have come up with things like ‘principles of uncertainty’ and dark holes. They’re willing to live inside imagined hypotheses and theories. But many religious folk insist on answers that are always true. We love closure, resolution and clarity, while thinking that we are people of ‘faith’! How strange that the very word ‘faith’ has come to mean its exact opposite.” ~ Richard Rhor, Theologian/Author

Believing in Ourself Or in Fear

Here is a great little meditation on focusing on good thoughts and hows they effect both our mind and our body: Believe You Can!

Don't Waste Your Time Hating Failure

"Though fairy tales end after ten pages, our lives do not. We are multi-volume sets. In our lives, even though one episode amounts to a crash and burn, there is always another episode awaiting us and then another. There are always more opportunities to get it right, to fashion our lives in the ways we deserve to have them. Don't waste your time hating a failure. Failure is a greater teacher than success." 
— Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Author/Psychotherapist

Relationships you have attracted

"Whatever relationships you have attracted in your life at this moment, are precisely the ones you need in your life at this moment. There is a hidden meaning behind all events, and this hidden meaning is serving your own evolution." 
— Deepak Chopra

Dealing with Difficult People/Situations

Here are some excellent insights and helpful suggestions on dealing with people and circumstances that leave us angry, frustrated, or disappointed: Emotional Response Primer by Louise Morganti Kaelin

Every Human Being Has Limits

"Our daily lives are proof of our inherent strength.  We women move through uncharted occupational territory, have and care for children, nurture others emotionally and physically, and explore our psychological and spiritual dimensions.  Although we are usually strong for others, we often feel weak and victimized while attempting to set realistic limits that respect us as individuals.  However, every human being has limits and, if we do not honor ours, we can become overextended, resentful, and even ill.  So sometimes the most courageous thing we can do is be aware that we can't do it all for everyone." ~ The Woman's Book of Courage: Meditations for Empowerment and Peace of Mind, by Sue Patton Thoele

Without Courage We Wither

"One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential.  Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency.  We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest." ~ Maya Angelou, Writer/Poet

Book Review: The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown

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Title: The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are
Author: Brené Brown, Ph.D., L.M.S.W.
Publisher: Hazelden Publishing
Publication Date: October 4, 2010
Paperback: 260 pages
ISBN: 978-1592858491
Genre: Non-Fiction, Self-Help

From the Publisher:

"I wish my nose was smaller. I feel guilty every time I leave my kids in day care. I’m afraid to say what I really think. I hate these thunder thighs. I should be married by now. I sounded so dumb. Whether we fixate on our bodies, minds, personalities, or actions, every woman struggles with feelings of not being good enough. Each day we face a barrage of images and ideas–from society and the media–telling us who we should be. We are led to believe that if we could only change those flaws by looking perfect and leading a perfect life, then we’d no longer feel inadequate."

In The Gifts of Imperfection, Brené Brown, Ph.D., L.M.S.W., the leading expert on shame, reveals that it is actually our imperfections that connect us to one another as human beings and make us who we are. We are naturally drawn to those we view as authentic, real, and down-to-earth. It makes sense, then, that we should stop reaching for something “better” and, instead, strive to be who we are, fully owning every aspect of ourselves. Through essays, stories, inspiring quotes, meditations, and dynamic creative exercises designed for personal discovery and growth, Brown engages our minds, hearts, and spirits in finding the greatness in our flaws and evolving our self-perceptions. She helps us develop the skills to accept our humanness with compassion and practice empathy with ourselves and others.

Review by Jennifer Higgins:

Have you ever thought to yourself “if only I get this promotion, or if I could just lose twenty pounds, then I will be happy”? If so, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown may just be the answer. The premise of the book, to embrace imperfection, is seemingly simple, yet for many can be quite complex to execute. Brown tells the reader that happiness, or the love of oneself is not conditional on any prerequisites, rather it is a state of mind. Brown offers the reader ten realistic goalposts to help the reader overcome perceived obstacles to becoming happy, which requires one to love oneself and accept being less than perfect. How simplistic sounding, yet how many people are truly content with their current life, body, and circumstances? I personally do not know any and in this media-infused society it appears there are less and less people able to obtain what media dictates as “socially desirable”. Suddenly Brown’s assertion of self-love does not seem so simplistic to achieve. The Gifts of Imperfection is not a “new-age” book nor does it offer up revolutionary ideas. The premise is solid and indeed life-changing for those who are willing to realize that regardless of flaws and imperfections, it is okay, we are all flawed and yet we are all worthy of love and happiness, to be content in the now. I recommend The Gifts of Imperfection to everyone.

(From Jennifer Higgins' blog: www.rundpinne.com) 

When the Heart Speaks

"When the heart speaks, the mind finds it indecent to object." ~ Milan Kundera, Czech Novelist

Digesting a Sincere Compliment

"There is probably no better or more reliable measure of whether a woman has spent time in ugly duckling status at some point or all throughout her life than her inability to digest a sincere compliment. Although it could be a matter of modesty, or could be attributed to shyness- although too many serious wounds are carelessly written off as "nothing but shyness"- more often a compliment is stuttered around about because it sets up an automatic and unpleasant dialogue in the woman's mind. 

If you say how lovely she is, or how beautiful her art is, or compliment anything else her soul took part in, inspired, or suffused, something in her mind says she is undeserving and you, the complimentor, are an idiot for thinking such a thing to begin with. Rather than understand that the beauty of her soul shines through when she is being herself, the woman changes the subject and effectively snatches nourishment away from the soul-self, which thrives on being acknowledged." ~ Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Author/Pyschotherapist

Looking for The Best in Others

This is part of a passionate lecture by the renown psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Dr. Viltor Frankl. Although presented in 1972 it is still so relevant today. See it here: Why believe in others

Miserable or Strong?

"We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong.  The amount of work is the same." ~ Carolos Castaneda, Writer

Nobody Escapes Being Wounded

Nobody escapes being wounded.  We all are wounded people, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually.  The main question is not “How can we hide our wounds?” so we don’t have to be embarrassed, but “How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?” ~ Henri Nouwen, Author – The Wounded Healer