By Debra Basham, on January 15, 2020 Yesterday while out riding my bike, I found this adorable giraffe chair in someone’s trash. The beauty was complelling, even with patches of dry rot. I pulled the chair out of the trash, moving it carefully to a place of safety until I could get John to bring the van and pick it up.
The giraffe chair is now sitting in the TV room!
As I am working on my birthday post for next week, my friend/teacher/colleague, Betty Lue Lieber posted this Loving Reminder:
Affirmations:
I choose to see what is real.
I am open and willing to learn what is really there.
I seek only the highest truth and see with the eyes of Love.
Miracles occur when we see what is real.
January 15, 2020 Loving Reminders- What Is Real! by Betty Lue Lieber
See What Is Real!
What do you see?
We each see and hear what we want to see.
We think the thoughts we have been taught.
We hold the thoughts in our mind and perceive them.
What do you see?
I seek the truth, the Essence
I clear my mind with forgiveness of all pre-judging (prejudice.).
I choose to see what is real.
What do you see?
Are you willing to see?
Do you open your minds to what is there?
Are you caught in the beliefs of your tribe?
When we see with the vision of the world around us, we see what they see.
When we see with the eyes of the child, with wonder and curiosity, we see with openness.
When we see what we can use to get something, we seek how to use others.
When we see what we fear and criticize, we avoid and try to control.
What can you learn?
When you seek to learn, you must be open.
When you seek to learn, you must listen.
When you seek to learn, you must be willing.
This new movie, Hidden Figures, is from my era of open willingness without media.
I saw myself as a high school graduate and college student, with equal opportunity.
This was my world, my loving home, my parenting, my exposure to emancipation.
I was white and sheltered by innocence and seeing everyone as equal in value.
I realize now how I was not raised with prejudice or fear.
I see now how I saw a world clean of fear and doubt, hatred and criticism.
I saw humanity as a large family of love and respect, open-mindedness and kindness.
I recognize how I only saw the equality and beauty and unlimited abilities in all.
What a blessing to know!
What a beauty to see!
What a wonder to learn!
What a joy to be free!
Let’s clear our minds to see what is real!
Loving us all, everyone as One!
Betty Lue
The only mistake we ever make is when we forget to Love.
Something is happening that calls for our most profound awareness and commitment: Some of the individuals most dedicated to love and light are making themselves ill over the conditions in our world. They are turning out their lights because of the darkness they see!
I am not sure who put the beautiful hand-painted giraffe chair in the trash for me to find, but the signature on the back says it was painted by Erica J. Murray.
I looked up the totem meaning of giraffe: Gentle Giraffe, with its long neck reaching into the heavens symbolizes the ability to see the future and obtain things that would normally be out of reach. When your life is chaotic, Giraffe reminds you to keep your head up and avoid getting entangled in needless arguments.
Life is certainly chaotic.
Let’s keep our heads up!
Let’s keep our light shining in the world. That is the most wise and kind thing to do in the darkness.
Thank you, Erica…. Thank you, Gentle Giraffe.
By Debra Basham, on January 13, 2020 The past two days I have been attending an online intensive with a group of dedicated individuals. Most individuals are dedicated to something. This group is dedicated to opening to awareness, also called “Pure Mind.” This particular series has been meeting weekly for the past year-and-a-half. Many of this group have been studying together for well over ten years.
Our teacher lovingly reminds us we are not trying to get somewhere or become something we are not. We are simply setting our intention to allow ourselves to experience the awareness that is already our true nature. This was the randomly selected though for the day that came yesterday:
Deep Spring Center
Thought for Today
“These are the people to whom you must talk:
your neighbors, your coworkers, your parents and children,
beings with good intentions who want to offer positive polarity
but also may still be so grounded in their fear
that when something comes along and shakes them, they react.
These are the ones who must begin to learn they have a choice,
and if they react from fear and it causes harm,
they are responsible.
And you you who are edging beyond that neutrality,
more grounded in your positive polarity,
must be their teachers.”
For the past 6 weeks I had been unsuccessful trying to purchase a Magic Eye 2020 Calendar. The Magic Eye website announced Walmart as the exclusive merchandiser, but the stores all listed the item as “out-of-stock.”
A few days ago, I searched ONE more time. The Walmart my brother-in-law shops at while he winters here in Southwest Florida listed the calendar “in-stock.” I sent him a photo, asked if he would check the next time he was there, and now I am thrilled to have one in my possession.
In the Gospel of Thomas, Patterson/Meyer translation, Jesus said, “The (Father’s) kingdom is like a person who had a treasure hidden in his field but did not know it. And [when] he died he left it to his [son]. The son [did] not know about it either. He took over the field and sold it. The buyer went plowing, [discovered] the treasure, and began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished.”
One of our practices is simply to look at a tree. We are to notice the branches, and then notice the space between. We are to allow our attention to shift between these, knowing that both ARE: simultaneous existence moving in and out of our awareness.
The Subtle Communication Systems (SCS) training that Joel P. Bowman and I developed and taught for twenty years included higher sense perception. SCS was a synergy of energy medicine (Healing Touch and Reiki) and NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming). Joel and I studied for many years with Richard Bandler, co-developer of NLP.
A renowned Buddhist nun and meditation teacher from Thailand Joel and I met at a Bandler training in Orlando read our training manual and said, “Debra, this is a shortcut to enlightenment!”
Students learned to observe the true nature of their subjective experience: every experience went in as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic stimuli simultaneously! Even if all you noticed was a loud sound, or a flash of bright light, your actual experience (and your internal representation of that experience) includes all of your senses. We played games to help us notice the sensory system we were least aware of.
One day in class, Joel reached out and touched a locket worn by one of the students. He said, “I see an image of a blonde-haired girl, about 8 years old.”
“That is who gave me this locket,” exclaimed the student.
When Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right,” he was giving us a great gift. If you think you are not enlightened, you are right. If you think you are enlightened, you can be in the world with greater wisdom and kindness and awareness.
Joel and I watched sooooo many individuals wake up to what was within them all along.
I love the Magic Eye calendar! The easiest way to see the hidden images is to begin looking closely at what you can see. Hold the page close to your nose. Relax your vision: trying too hard makes it too hard. With your eyes relaxed, slowly pull the page away from your face. As you see the 3-D image, hold the page and let yourself enjoy how easy it is.
Where was it when you could not see it? Right there. It already is. The branches and the space ARE.
If you are working too hard trying, relax, let yourself see what is already there. You are a soul. Every individual is a precious child of god.
You already are that which you seek.
That is your true nature….
By Debra Basham, on December 31, 2019 What a difference a day makes!
You have to appreciate how quickly life changes. One day it rains, the next day the sun is shining. Loved ones are with us in body, and then they are not. Health is here, gone tomorrow, back again the day after.
Each day is significant. The changing of a year is big. Moving into a new decade is HUGE.
Happiness
Underneath
God-awful
Experiences
I saw a quotation on Facebook attributed to Brad Paisley: Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.
The most important resource offered by a New Year is that blank slate.
If you, like me, appreciate ritual, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are perfect. I saw a webpage titled “3 New Year’s Eve 2019 Rituals To Wrap Up The Decade With A Magical Touch.” These were very complex, heavy-duty rituals…
Some people like to make things difficult. I think life itself offers ample difficulty. My preference is to notice what is easy, kind, and wise.
What is easy about New Years is to realize things do change. If things are pleasant now, cultivate a precious sense of appreciation, and an honest recognition of how tenuous our human experience is. When things are not pleasant, realize no matter how unpleasant, things could be worse. Mostly remember things often get better. A sore throat, a lost job, even a broken heart….
An amazing aspect of anything kind is how it takes into account more than just one view, person, or perspective. In an argument, it is kind to both people when you just stop saying mean things or say you are sorry this has been difficult.
Wise actions draw from more than intelligence. Often I will hear words come out of my mouth that make a difference for someone, sometimes me! This is not something I thought, or knew, or identified as helpful. Wisdom flows into us and through us into the world.
I was thinking how it must be to have been born at the change of a century. For that to have been the case I would have to be now 19 or 119 years old. Neither of those are very appealing, so best to appreciate what is.
Let’s do what we can to receive all the gifts this new day, year, and decade offers.
I hope you will have a very happy and healthy and wholesome new year. Enjoy reading Robert Waldron’s 2020 in View:
Year 2020—The Emperor
2018 was a year focused on Self-renewal through creativity and strength.
2019 was focused on breaking destructive and limiting patterns in your life.
2020 is the year of the EMPEROR.
This is a year to discover and experience your personal form of leadership in life. During the year 2020, you will probably start new projects or move in new directions where you can own your own power and leadership. It is a good time to work on father issues, whether it is your father, you as a father (or father figure), or clearing ways you lead or take care of others or want to be taken care of by others or the world. This is the year to recognize and appreciate the high standards you have set and to live your own truth.
During this year, you will be faced with opportunities to become aware of ways in which you allow yourself to be led or overly-influenced by others in your life to the extent that you shut down your own visioning, doubt your inner direction or fail to do whatever is necessary to manifest the visions which are inside of you. This could cause you to give away even more of your authority in your own life, unless you recognize that the gift of 2020 is the energy and support to change these patterns. Begin to discover your own personal leadership style through the integration of your mind, body and spirit. This year may bring some initial frustration as you experience the limitations of old, time-tested strategies and approaches. Remember, you cannot change an old pattern without first becoming aware of what it is and its impact in your life. Celebrate these awarenesses and use this energy to re-create your life and your world.
The key: Be willing to have expansive vision and put your ideals and visions into form. Use your visions to empower yourself and others.
“I see and I create.”
“I have the confidence and power to manifest my highest visions in practical form for the good of all.” “I have the power and discipline to achieve my highest ambitions.”
2020 is also a year focused on Individuality. True individuality comes from moving out of defensive patterns of withdrawing and dependent relationship with the world and into more assertive patterns. Know your true relationship with the Divine and recognize the strength, guidance and abundance which are yours in that relationship. You can use the energy of this year to transform any defensiveness into being at cause in life. You must see yourself as hard working, a defender of truth, a teacher and an idealist in the quest for a more perfect world. In promoting and supporting improvement for others, you move out of self-consciousness and into more independence, originality and spontaneous creativity.
“I am free to be me.”
“I confidently release the past and free myself to fully, creatively and spontaneously express my unique gifts and talents to a loving and receptive world.”
The primary support tools available in 2020 are:
• The Magician—When you find yourself following others and not clearly visioning, you must communicate your truth
openly and authentically and re-awaken your ability to inspire and motivate others.
“My thought creates.”
“The power of my thought and word magically manifest the creation of Spirit.” “I am a willing channel for the manifestation of Spirit in the world.”
• The Builder of New Worlds—This is the passion for universal well being and freedom from old established ways of doing things. It represents new ideas, concepts and values. Your best work is for some ideal or for the benefit of mankind.
“I know, and all is manifest.”
“I create my ideal world for all through the strength and clarity of my vision and the power which flows through me for its manifestation.”
• The Neutral Mind—This is the mind of service. The neutral mind takes information from the positive mind (all good, what we want, etc) and from the negative mind (the potential problems, fears, avoidances, etc) and chooses based on what is truly in the best interests of everyone involved.
“I serve only the truest call.”
“I set aside all fears and desires coming from myself and others and respond only to support the highest and best for all concerned.”
By Debra Basham, on December 24, 2019 It is Christmas. The meaning of Christmas differs to your origin, religion, or persuasion.
This Christmas I am especially aware of how important my persuasion or choice is.
Thiw is why when I got dressed this morning, I chose to put on my “choose to be joyous” t-shirt.
Choosing to be joyous is not the same as feeling happy. One can choose to be joyous, even if you are feeling sad.
When we arrived at our Southern home we noticed our homeowners left us a personal companion: Alexa. We can say, “Alexa, play Christmas music.” When you let someone or something else choose for you, sometimes your experience isn’t one you would choose. We heard a voice crooning all I want for Christmas is a real good tan.
“Please, Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas)” was maybe our worst listening-to-Alexa experience. Here are the full lyrics:
Please daddy, don’t get drunk this Christmas, I don’t wanna see my mamma cry.
Please daddy, don’t get drunk this Christmas, I don’t wanna see my mamma cry.
Just last year when I was only seven, now I’m almost eight as you can see.
You came home a quarter past eleven, fell down underneath our Christmas tree.
Please daddy, don’t get drunk this Christmas, I don’t wanna see my mamma cry.
Please daddy, don’t get drunk this Christmas, I don’t wanna see my mamma cry.
Mamma smiled and looked outside the window. She told me, “Son, you better get upstairs.”
Then you laughed and hollered “Merry Christmas.” I turned around and saw my mamma’s tears.
Please daddy, don’t get drunk this Christmas, I don’t wanna see my mamma cry.
Please daddy, don’t get drunk this Christmas, I don’t wanna see my mamma cry.
No, I don’t wanna see my mamma cry.
Having a drunk father at Christmas is not fun. It is also not fun to spend Christmas in the hospital, or gravely ill.
Christmas can be felt differently by those who have lost a loved one.
Not having a roof over you head, food on your table, or gifts under the tree can also generate unhappy feelings.
But choosing to BE joyous, regardless of the current conditions, remains a choice.
This is how our persuasion fits in.
Two men were looking at a bottle of milk.
Said one with a groan, “The bottle is half empty.”
Said the other with a grin, “The bottle is half full.”
The first belonged to the courters of disasters,
forever bemoaning their losses;
the second to the invincibles who
win by counting their blessings.
source: Los Angeles Times, Feb 26, 1933, p. 14
I am profoundly aware of so many having so much to feel sad about and it is Christmas. I am in awe of the persuasion—the choice to be joyous, being made by so many.
As a special gift to each of you, I have selected a few Sacred Stories to share again:
Electric Heater
Light My Fire
Hope You Feel Better Soon
I hope you will click on each of these links and take some time with these stories that tell us about the light that shines in the darkness.
I hope you will find a genuine way to keep Christmas this year, regardless of your origin or your religion. From our place in paradise, here I am wishing happy holidays to you and yours.
By Debra Basham, on December 18, 2019 Yesterday at meditation we had some lively conversation. On the drive home, a Katey and I mentioned something we had both previously learned from Brugh Joy: Release the need to understand.
That idea is shared in his book, Joy’s Way: A Map for the Transformational Journey. An Introduction to the Potentials for Healing with Body Energies. In the third chapter of the book, Brugh describes a cosmic experience of a woman who came to talk with him about her challenges in life. A few months earlier, she had been walking along a beach, saw an iridescent light, and heard a booming voice deliver three injunctions. She thought she was going mad. The voice said, slowly and repetitively, “‘There are three injunctions for you. Pay attention to them. Make no comparisons; make no comparisons. Make no judgments; make no judgments. Delete your need to understand; delete your need to understand.'” (p. 59)
Our daughter, Stacey, and her husband, Doug, have the Lady Gail at a marina in the high rent district in Key West. She is asking for divine guidance about their next steps on this adventure. I reminded her they are right where they need to be—today and at least through January 3 when granddaughter, Courtney, flies back to Tennessee after spending Christmas and New Years with them.
This morning I received an article from Joel about the mental health benefits of tarot and astrology. Reading the article sent me on a walk down memory lane!
Years ago I was giving a talk on alternative medicine to a packed room at our local hospital. I had a 3-page handout with brief descriptions of each of the modalities offered by the members of our Holistic Alliance. The list was alphabetized, so it began with acupressure and acupuncture. Third on the list was astrology.
I was given a glowing introduction by Brenda Layne, a celebrity and friend from the radio station, a woman in the audience raised her hand. Thinking she may be saying that she couldn’t hear her that the lighting was bad or something, I acknowledged the woman.
Voice dripping with sarcasm she said, “How could you imply that astrology could be a valid medical treatment?”
You could have heard a pin drop in the room.
After taking a deep breath, I replied, “From the tone of your question, obviously it wouldn’t be a viable option for you.”
Then I continued….
“However, if someone going through something major like cancer believed in astrology (even a small belief) and that person had an astrological reading that provided information like this, ‘I can see here that you have just come through your Saturn return and it’s likely been a very difficult past six months, but hold on, because Venus is rising and before the first of the year everything will turn around for you,’ that is a valid medical intervention because it restores hope.”
It is vital to notice what restores hope for you in times of stress or distress.
Eight of Cups was the featured card in the article about the mental health benefits of tarot and astrology, so I sent the information along to Stacey:
Eight of Cups
People who get what they truly want in life know how to walk away when something is good, but not good enough. Mind the parts of you that feel flattered, lucky and scared you can’t do better. It’s okay to have those feelings, but do not let them dictate your decisions.
Barbara Brodsky tells of an experience she had years ago. She was hospitalized with a very serious cellulitis in her leg. Nothing was working and the infection had moved up above her knee and was spreading to her thigh. The doctors started her on another antibiotic saying, “We will give this 36 hours. If it does not stop the spread, the leg will have to be amputated to keep the infection from getting into organs.”
The next morning there was no improvement.
Barbara was in excruciating pain and despair—so afraid, so angry. “Why me?”
Late that night Barbara got a roommate. Through a narrow opening in the curtain that separated the two beds, she saw that the woman had obviously had a leg amputated. The woman’s other leg was just a stump from a previous amputation.
Compassion rose up in Barbara. Others came to mind who had lost a leg due to war or an accident or an illness.
Suddenly Barbara’s heart was open. This was no longer about her fear and pain and suffering. It was about ALL pain and suffering. After doing Metta (lovingkindess meditation) for a few hours, somewhere before dawn, Barbara fell asleep. When she was awoken a couple of hours later, her fever had broken. The antibiotic was working!
Barbara was not pretending to have compassion. Genuine compassion was there for the woman, for others, for Barbara.
From my journal 12-14-19:
Releasing Negative Charge
Today takes on a charge. Each day does this.
The idea of lovingkindness being an active “taking in” of the day and allowing the charge to be released is relevant to all now.
You were dreaming about the environment when you woke up this morning. You saw your friend’s email about the beach in Michigan being eroded. Some would just point fingers and blame. This only amplifies the negative charge.
As you bring loving awareness to the situation — not denial, not ignorance, not sticking your head in the sand — you are allowing the transmutation, which is natural, to work for the benefit of all.
Thoughts today of Jessica in Texas going through an experimental chemotherapy.
Thoughts of Jane Foster and all she has gone through.
I don’t know what their astrology chart might show, but the message of the Eight of Cups is relevant to both of them today, and to all of us.
And not just at Christmas, but every day of the year.
Keep Hope Alive
By Debra Basham, on December 11, 2019 It has been said a picture is worth a thousand words. This one certainly is:
The photo was taken at 10:14 pm on Friday, December 6, 2019. I had been so focused on the 2000 piece jigsaw puzzle I was working that I did not notice I had on one sandal and one slipper. If this sensation, look, and experience went unnoticed, what else might I be missing?
In Buddhism for Beginners, The Noble Eightfold Path, Walpola Sri Wahula lists the benefits and elements of mindfulness.
1. Right understanding
2. Right thought
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right concentration
Approximately 90 minutes before I snapped that photo, a friend completed his transition. His wife wrote the following morning:
“I was getting ready to spend another night with him when he just went away. I had told him a short time before, again, that it would be OK if he was ready to go. Thank you for the love and prayers. He went in peace and now he is in great joy.”
Yesterday in the instruction/sharing time before meditation we had a very lively conversation about view. I am reminded of something Abraham Hicks said to a man who reported feeling like he was running out of time. The man went on to share that he did not believe in an afterlife or reincarnation. He felt that these views were a cop out.
No wonder the guy felt stress…
Take a few minutes to explore your own view via Abraham’s response to the man who said I Don’t Believe in Afterlife.
Perhaps we are in a place where it is possible to allow our intellect to enjoy right understanding. Perhaps continuity of consciousness is that right understanding. Perhaps this changes our experience of life and death.
Perhaps—just perhaps—we really do have one foot in one shoe and the other foot in another…
By Debra Basham, on November 30, 2019 How each of us views life differs slightly, but the themes of life itself are universal.
Years and years ago I studied dream interpretation with a man who had trained at the C.G. Jung Institute. One aspect of dream meaning is to notice a theme that is emerging as an initiating dream.
Three generations of women watching Life Itself, an American 2018 drama directed by Dan Fogelman which follows multiple couples over several generations, was a mixed bag. After watching it, I read that reviews were not great—calling the film “simultaneously overwrought and underwhelming.”
Well, isn’t life itself simultaneously overwrought and underwhelming?
This past week my husband and I have been staying in a house that has been the home of our daughter and son-in-law for over a decade. They are now house guests in that home. The house is now the home of our older grandson and our granddaughter-in-law. We are sharing this space with the six adults, three dogs, and two cats.
Although the house looks different, Thanksgiving Brunch was held at this HOME, and tonight this HOME will host the annual Thanksgiving weekend “Soup Night.”
I have done my regular duties of cleaning the inside of the microwave and wiping out the fridge. These are in addition to unloading the dishwasher and folding the laundry. I added polishing the outside of the toaster oven to this trip….
One of the most fascinating aspects of a home is recognizing the way a home gives those in it gifts. Of course a home comes with costs and responsibilities for those in it too.
We are grateful to have a roof over our heads. We appreciate a warm shower, and some of those in this home value a cold beer.
Not to spoil the ending, but it has a happy ending.
The final scene of the film is Elena reading from her book titled Life Itself. Elena’s dying grandmother is telling Elena’s father that although life may bring us to our knees, if we look hard enough, we will find love.
Elena concludes her story by saying how one moment shaped her entire life, and that every bit of her has some of her mother, her father, and her grandmothers.
That reminds me of the gift John made for me for Christmas in 2016: a wooden plaque with stick-on-letters: Not to spoil the ending—but everything is going to be OK.
The craftsmanship of the plaque was not professional, but the wisdom and love are palpable. The message is one of those universal truths so that plaque hangs proudly in the laundry room of our home.
Home is not just where you live. Home is also an internal state of being where you are. When life seems overwrought and underwhelming or underwrought and overwhelming, take heart. You know that life itself is still unfolding.
Sometimes attributed to John Lennon: Everything Will Be Okay in The End, If It’s Not Okay, It’s Not The End.
By Debra Basham, on November 24, 2019 
I grabbed this image from a Zen practitioner. Have you ever wondered what makes someone decide to make a commitment to something like Zen? For the most part, we want to be the best we can be.
Today has been a productive day.
I got so much done, I have energy to burn!
What do you do with energy when you are revved up? Some people drink, some people smoke, some people eat, some people sleep. Some people exercise. I write!
Yesterday morning I saw this amazing ice etching on the mail room windows. The blue sky was right there too. It was quite breathtaking.
I am watching gorgeous pinks and blues spreading across the evening sky right now too.
Beauty is everywhere, when you are watching.
A friend’s husband has Alzheimer’s. He is in a facility. Last week he got punched in the stomach by another resident. She is recuperating from a knee replacement so she could not even go to see that he was OK. She was immediate in the feeling of how unfair this was; why him; he is such a great guy. Very quickly, though, she was also aware that she was holding onto something he had already forgotten. The very nature of the illness allows him to not hold onto anything painful.
Abraham Hicks speaks very directly about Alzheimer’s. Only watch this if you are ready to let go of painful things that you have been holding onto.
Whatever you are seeing, train yourself to see the opposite. Everything holds its opposite….
Live solely from the center.
Be still.
Be.
By Debra Basham, on November 23, 2019 I was writing in my journal how it seems otherworldly that we don’t plan to be back here in our Michigan home until April 6. As I write the question,”What would you have me know?” I hear in my head:
V: Wherever you are is home. Notice how the selfing tells you this is home, this is not home. You are welcome to appreciate the creature comfort’s – just be in the experience rather than telling yourself stories.
Can you see a bird that is migrating having a sense of “leaving home”?
The bird is following an inner call. The bird goes. The bird eats, roosts, and sings wherever it is.
Use your bird brain….
Every day we are being invited to experience an expanded awareness. At a certain level of development, when asked what makes wind a child will say that the branches waving makes the wind. As our thinking expands, we understand warm and cold and upper level currents and wind.
Many of us grew up without an understanding of “karma.” We may have even thought of karma as something only Buddhists experience. We may have perceived ourselves as immune from karma because we did not perceive it, like the child did not perceive the wind currents.
Today’s quotation from Aaron says “Karma attaches to the emotional and mental bodies and it moves with you from lifetime to lifetime. Whatever insights you have as you move through the lifetime and the transition at the end of this lifetime, you do not lose them. Whatever you deeply understand stays with you. Whatever negative habit energies you have that are not released, they also stay with you. You do not lose anything, not the wholesome, not the unwholesome.”
If you have not yet embraced an understanding of moving from lifetime to lifetime, simply think of this as moving from childhood to adulthood. As you move though your life whatever insights you have go with you. Likewise any negative habit energies you have that are not released stay with you.
Worry, insecurity, impatience, desire for control…. these unwholesome habit energies are your karma.
Joy, patience, kindness, enthusiasm, surrender…. these wholesome energies are also your karma.
One of my favorite practices around all of this is the Daily Recollection. (See my November 2012 post Beads!)
Marker bead: Namo Prajna, Paramita Hridaya. Homage to the wisdom mind.
63rd Bead: Whatever has the nature to arise has the nature to cease and is not me nor mine.
64th bead: When wholesome thoughts arise, cultivate the wholesome. When unwholesome thoughts arise, abandon the unwholesome.
65th bead: Tend the contents of the mind with compassion, as a mindful gardener tends his garden.
66th bead: This is the way to purify the mind and remove the clouds that obscure the vision of ultimate reality.
Intention bead: In this way will I train myself.
P.S. Send me an email or text message if you would like to receive and use the handout of Barbara Brodsky’s Daily Recollection.
By Debra Basham, on November 15, 2019 Patience is needed with everyone, but first of all with ourselves.
~Saint Francis De Sales
One of the daily thoughts I receive comes from Neale Donald Walsh.
This one was was especially poignant:
On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know
that nothing is ever as bleak as it looks.
Everything, in fact, is a blessing.
I know, I know… that is sometimes very hard
to believe. How can a sudden, calamitous event in one’s life
be a blessing? It takes a longer view, I know,
to see this wonderful truth. Even a diagnosis
of a terminal illness could be seen as another gift
from life when experienced from a particular perspective.
It is an opportunity for us to express once again,
at the next highest level, Who We Really Are.
And, if it turns out that, at the Soul level, we have
indeed decided to leave our present physicality
in this particular way and time, that, too,
would be an expression of our Highest Self.
And so, all “calamities” are blessings,
not yet understood by the Mind.
God knew this was a good day
for you to hear this…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Perhaps every day is a good day to recall that “calamities” are blessings.
Those who have been following “Sailing Lady Gail” likely know that this week has brought calamities in the “Adventures of Doug and Stacey.” Their first open-water sail was 30 hours of 8-foot-plus rolling waves. Stacey violently vomited for 20 hours so Doug had to stay at the helm without sleep. When they got into safe harbor they were both spent.
I saw a powerful video on Facebook. While the video is 10 things you should never do to a person with Alzheimer’s, it outlines appropriate kindness to persons in all challenging circumstances.
1. Never argue, instead agree.
2. Never reason, instead divert.
3. Never shame, instead distract.
4. Never lecture, instead reassure.
5. Never say “Remember,” instead reminisce.
6. Never say “I told you,” instead repeat.
7. Never say, “You can’t,” instead let them do what they can.
8. Never command, instead ask.
9. Never condescend, instead encourage.
10. Never force, instead reinforce.
The closing message is: Remember that your loved one with Alzheimer’s can understand kind touch, laughter, and smiles even if they’ve lost most of their verbal skills.
As they await the arrival of some parts to repair an electrical issue on the boat, Doug and Stacey are being cared for well by her Uncle Jack Basham in Largo, Florida.
They are receiving lots of kind touch, laughter and smiles!
And after a few days on dry land, Stacey and Doug are now back to the dream drawing board. Details to follow….
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