Declare It Complete

There is something about this year-end that doesn’t feel complete to me.

Years ago I took a class on “completion” and realized that there is a huge difference between being finished and being complete.  Finished means that something has ended.  Complete means having all necessary parts, elements, or steps brought to an end and having it fully carried out.

In that class, several questions were raised that need to be answered in order to be complete with a situation, timeline, person or in this case, 2011.  They are:

1. 1.    What gave me pleasure?
   2.   What didn’t give me pleasure?
   3.   Who do I need to forgive (and for what)?
   4.   Who do I need to thank (and for what)?
   5.   Anything else I need to complete about this?

I know that if I have left some important thing in my life undone, or not done right, or if I don’t feel good about the job, I have to go back and revisit the situation.  That situation “weighs” on my mind and doesn’t allow me to move foreword into something new and different.  The accumulation of all of this is some of the baggage we carry in our lives and literally doesn’t allow us to excel or move into a place of success.  All of this baggage blinds us to our opportunity or possibility that always surrounds us. 

Christine Northrup tells us, “Creating anything new and fresh works much better if you mindfully ‘complete’ what is finished at the same time that you are dreaming up the new.”

Allowing yourself to not put any more energy into something that you cannot control or what you consider unremarkable, declare it complete and let it go.  It is the only way to free up the energy you need to move forward in your life.


Happy New Year!

Choices

Currently, I am reading a book called “You Are Your Choices,” by Alexandra Stoddard.  She quotes Albert Camus as saying, “Life is the sum of all your choices.”  This being the end of the year always causes me to think about the choices I made during the year that have brought me to this place at this time.

A year ago, the place I was in was sheer misery for me.  I was in the throws of still grieving for a husband that made his transition in April.  I was feeling the stress of not being able to handle all of the issues of being an active pulpit, spiritual leader.  And I was not feeling strong enough to stay with a spiritual practice to get through what it was that I was feeling.  It truly was being between a rock and a hard place. 

Deciding what and how life is to be is not an easy process.  At that time, all I knew was what I didn’t want.  Universal law states that that is equally as creative as knowing what it is that you want.  I knew I had to get out of that state very quickly as I didn’t want to create more misery than I already had. 

What did I want?  Choices.  Decisions.  What direction to go?  The first thing I did was to tender my resignation.  Second, I took the time to breathe.  During this time, I went through a period of pure terror.  Suddenly, I no longer felt secure in the house I was living in, couldn’t sleep through the night, and heard every noise in the neighborhood as if it was outside the house. 

It took a dental appointment to “wake” me up.  My dentist told me that I needed help and to call my primary care doctor immediately.  Wow!  Okay.  I got home and thought about it and decided that for years I taught people how to create a new life.  I could become my own student and figure this out.

Figure it out I did.  I sat down with pen and paper and decided how I wanted life to be.  I knew I wanted a committed, life companion.  I wanted to travel and explore the countryside.  I listed all of the things I ever wanted and decided with a vengeance, that I could create it all. 

Waking up one morning recently, I was feeling something totally different and I had to dig to figure out what it was that was going on.  Glory be!  I woke up happy and I didn’t know what it was at first. Happy!  Yahoo! 

So, most of my choices are now a reality for me and what this has taught me is that it is time to make some more really good choices for 2012.  The week between Christmas and New Year is a good time for me to do that.  I will consciously close 2011 and make room for something new and different in order to experience even more good – more of my good choices for 2012. 

Happy New Year.

Stop and Think

In the one-minute tip that was written by Coach Philip Humbert recently, he says, “In the Age of Distraction, the key to success is being able to resist the evolutionary desire to grab hold of every new thing. This is hard and goes against our natural tendencies. It takes determination and uncommon discipline to simplify life, choose one or two priorities and stick with them. High achievers know this! So should you.”

This is a key lesson whether we are in the process of buying Christmas presents or furniture shopping or just grazing through catalogues or checking out the latest electronic gadgets.  Learning how to say “no” and “enough is enough,” is one of the hardest lessons I ever had to learn. 

It doesn’t matter what you call us collectors or hoarders, saying “no” to our obsession or resisting to “upgrade” is hard.  We all want the latest and greatest because we don’t want to be “left behind.”

For those of us who want to experience a greater sense of financial freedom, we need to remember the words “never invest in something depreciable.”  Great advise if you can “afford” it.  In looking around my environment, there isn’t anything that is appreciating in value.  The more I looked at this, the more I realized that this is something that I haven’t paid much attention to in the past.

The key to this, is the past.  Having moved recently and combining households with a new life partner, the word “treasure” takes on a whole new meaning.  Treasures are only treasures if in the “value” someone else thinks it’s a treasure too.  In other words, your hand crafted hand imprinted ceramic tile is only valuable if someone else wants it.  Let me give you a clue here…when you are gone…what’s valuable in your heart is junk to someone else.  JUNK!  I know, I know, hard to believe that “they” cannot see the value in all of it. 

There are only a small select few who think that the rusted “dead” bike fender is valuable and you only see them on television when there is nothing else to watch.  How do you get in touch with them when you want to downsize or rightsize or want to simplify life? 

Whatever the process involved in simplifying life, simple, fun and easy doesn’t want to lend itself into my mental gymnastics.  Simplify, I must. 

Guru's in Life

Life is so wonderful.  Right now I have this person in my life that brings me buckets of joy and laughter.  This morning while she was praying for me, I heard her say, “Easy, peasy, yippy, skippy!  It’s done!”  Of course, I had to laugh while she is being seriously reverent. 

After it was over, I asked her about the words and she told me that they were the words used in order to achieve enlightenment faster.  Whoa!  Isn’t that what we all want…faster! 

In my religious training, I was taught to say, “And so it is” instead of “Amen,” at the end of my prayers.  But I have to tell you, that “easy, peasy, yippy, skippy” works just as good. 

My early teacher, use to tell us that if we wanted to be enlightened, we need to lighten up considerably.  We use to talk and laugh about what that meant.  Did it mean to not take anything too seriously?  Or not be responsible in life?  Or did it mean to just blow it all off?

Easy, peasy, yippy, skippy gave me a great insight to all of this.  It is to seriously lighten up on everything in life.  Yes, it means to stay accountable, responsible and all the other “serious” stuff, but to apply it all lightly. 

Easy, peasy, yippy, skippy!  It’s done!  Thank you, God, easy, peasy, yippy, skippy.  Can you see the light flowing from above?  Can you see my enlightened halo?

So, imagine with me the cartoon where the guy climbs the mountain to ask the Guru the secret of life.  The Guru replies, “Easy, peasy, yippy, skippy…just be grateful for everything that shows up in your life.”  Cool!  Seems to me to be an easy way to experience the joy and laughter of life.

August to October

I know that August to October is a huge gap in writing this blog.  In the process of getting married, getting a house ready for sale, doing a guest spot in Tucson, getting my life placed into a POD, deciding what goes and what stays in order to stage the house, replacing carpeting and flooring,  putting in new blinds, moving into a temporary house and then into this wonderful place – life has been busy.

Having come from a family of complainers, it is really hard to remember that I am living a dream.  I want to complain about not having this house in perfect order, all of my “good” treasurers are still staged in the other house, my crafts are not set up properly, I can’t find… and on the list goes. 

The truth of my life is that I am married to a dream man.  He packed up my library of nearly 2,000 books and refrained from calling me a “hoarder” in the process.  He has repaired, painted, fixed, pruned, mowed, and done all of the stuff that is needed with a smile and with an attitude that I have to stand back and admire.

I am living my dream.  My life is perfect.  I cannot think of one thing that I would change.  In the process of writing this, I am reminded that Life shows up the way I expect it to and that I put all of this into mind well over a year ago and I am now reaping the harvest of those thoughts. 

Now it is time to think more feel good thoughts to put into feel good actions.  This is my life and I am so grateful for the blessings I reap every day. 

Unconscious Pet Owners

I had an experience of meeting someone new who had recently adopted a pet the size of a small horse – a Great Dane.  This dog was a mature, full sized, mammoth with no manners or discipline.

There isn’t anything I detest more than a dog that snuffles crotches.  Maybe even owners who let them get away with it thinking “isn’t it cute!”  After lifting it’s head, commanding “NO!” and turning away from it, I got attached from the rear, which is even more startling than a frontal attack. 

Needless to say, I about lost it.  I berated the animal in a firm, loud voice.  But the darling owner, was so busy talking, she didn’t even appear to notice what was going on.  How can people be so oblivious as to what is in front of their faces?

The whole experience left a sour taste in my mouth not only for the owner, but large dogs too.  I know dogs sniff to get a “feeling” or a “vibration” from people, but does it have to be crotches?  Training places teach “sniffing the hand,” which in my estimation is a lot more pleasant and civilized.

Is there a method of “training” unconscious or insensible owners, other than a baseball bat to the head?

For just a little bit more…the world.

            Our radio program in San Francisco cost us $400.00 per hour for our Sunday morning show.

            After being on the air for several months and getting our web site put together, we were contacted by a short wave station in Red Lion, Pa.  They wanted to run our show on their station. 

            Since their rates were a lot lower than San Francisco, we felt we could afford to take them on.  So, for an additional $35.00 per hour, we were broadcast into 127 different countries.

            It takes this much to get started.  But, for just a bit more, the whole world.

            Consciousness works this way too.  It seems as though it takes forever to finally get it and when we do, life just flows.  And for a little bit more, the whole world.

Mid-Year Reflections

Since it is already mid-July, it is hard for me to realize that my life has had some huge changes since the first of the year.  While going through some times of my life, life seemed endless.  I was overweight, in a job I no longer loved, and a widow – alone!  This life was very uncomfortable for me.

After some careful consideration, thinking, planning, and general contemplation, I set up my intentions for myself.  At this time of my life, I have released 30 pounds, retired – however, temporarily, and am in a new marriage with three step furbies – puppies.  

When I look back on the changes, I am amazed at how quickly the changes occurred. 

Now, again, changes are happening.  What I keep telling myself is that this my life and that I need to figure out how to appreciate more of what it is that is going on instead of rushing through it, wanting it to slow down, or complete some project, or just flat give me more time to do what it is that I enjoy doing. 

This is mid-year…time to think about my life again and see what changes need to be made in the next six months.  Some wise sage once said, “take the time to listen to what your life is saying.”  When things are buzzing around, how does one do that?  I can barely get into the bathroom without four or five puppies wanting to be in there with me. 

I can see that for me, carving out small niches of time for me to think about what is going on is essential.  Maybe more time for meditation and just taking the time to contemplate how grateful I am that my life has changed for the better and that I am now blessed with a family that is loving, supportive and cuddly. 

Bless the changes.  Be grateful for the changes.  This is what life is and it doesn’t get any better than this.  

What's New...What's Next?

Blink!  And life is different!  Blink again and everything changes.  Blink the third time, and what was familiar is now new; nothing looks the same, life is not only different, but it has taken on a new flavor, texture, smell and way of being.

In April, 2010, my husband, Bud, made his transition.  Since he had been sick for several months, I had expected and thought I knew how I was going to handle his death.  But nothing prepared me for the unexpected depth of grief, loneliness, and sense of insecurity.  My immediate family now consisted of two puppies and a sister living nearby.  Since Vicki was going through her own grief process, she was not capable of assisting me in anyway.  Earle, her husband, was busy comforting her and caring for her needs. 

Thank goodness for Rusty and Jackson, my two puppies.  Both felt the need for food, water and playtime and let me know at regular intervals what was next on the agenda for them.  All I wanted to do was stay in bed with the covers over my head.

My world shrunk into my house.  Having been in the public eye for as many years as I was, this time felt very strange to me.  For the longest time, there wasn’t anything I could do but reflect on my situation, think about what I needed to do to change my life, what I had to adjust to, and how I would have to do it alone.  Could I do it?  Did I have any choice in the matter?

Yes!  Choice is always available.  I decided it was time to make some new choices and one of them was that I would make room in my life for someone new, someone who wanted a committed relationship, and someone who would adore me. 

I met that someone one year and 14 days after my life changed from being married almost 31 years to being a widow.  I loved going from “widow” to “girlfriend” to being “serious” and then to "engaged."

Life can change very quickly.  Granted, while going through the experience, it seemed interminable.  Slowly, I started to dream again.  Slowly, I was able to live again.  Suddenly, I was dating.  It got serious.  Oh, My God!  Can I have sex with my clothes on?  Wait!  Who knew that life gets better as it goes on?  Who knew that sex is even more dynamic with a little “experience?”  Why didn’t someone tell me this?

What’s new?  What’s next in my life?  Signing papers on a new house, packing up the old house, planning a wedding, planning a honeymoon, dreaming of a new life with someone wonderful and blending a household of furbies.  What I find fascinating about this process, is that I did make room in my life for Alan, I just didn’t have room in my house for him.

Life truly is an adventure.  No matter how one feels…get up…dress up…and show up for life.  Every small event can be turned into a legendary experience.  I know!

Changes in Life

Life is very strange for me these days.  I am in the process of selling my house.  Everything has to be “clean and tidy” for the staged showings.  Everything is off the walls with the exception of one or two very generic pictures on each wall.  If you look into the oven, you will find a box of tissues, a cup of pens and my grocery list.  The closet is filled with the items that are usually displayed in the bathroom and on the countertops.

Not only that, but I hate living in “clean and tidy.”  Granted, living in a clean environment is wonderful but having to put everything away every day is the pits.  Now, where did I stash that remote control for the television?

I have had to ask the question, “Do I want to sell the house?” several times during the last days.  It motivates me to want to get the work done and load the puppies into the car for the time the perspective buyers are checking out the house. 

                  This morning, after loading up the dogs, getting what I needed out of the house, and driving away, I realized that I needed something else.  Instead of driving back home, I stopped at the local grocery store.  Knowing that I was only going to be there a short time, I wasn’t too worried about the dogs. 

                  When I came out of the store, the car, next to me had pulled in and the guy got out with three children crying at the same time.  I opened my door and heard my two dogs crying.  Glory Be!  I had a chance to be really grateful that I had dogs instead of children. 

                  There are times when all I really want to do is complain to anyone who will listen.  More and more, I am realizing that I don’t have that much to complain about.  Sure, things still irritate me but I find that all of that just makes for a more interesting life. 

                  I am grateful that my life is as interesting as it is and that the changes are what I have chosen to experience.  All of this is because I said “yes” to a new relationship, soon to be new marriage, soon to be living in a new house and soon to be in an extended family of furbies. 

                  It doesn’t get any better than this!

                  

Let's Go Back...

I recently saw a statement in a magazine that said, “If you could say one thing to your 16-year old self, it’d be…”  I would say, “Stop, rest assured that all will be better than you ever imagined it to be.”

High school was the bitter pits for me.  Living in a dysfunctional home with an even more dysfunctional mother, I never knew from one moment to the next what was about to happen.  Fill it in with the insecurities of self-esteem, lack of confidence and all else that happens in high school that is filled with drama and thinking that all is super important!

Quite frankly, I am surprised that any of us survived childhood and high school.  Why didn’t someone teach me to trust myself early on - to know that when I do, life shows up according to what I have pictured in my mind.  Why did it take me so long to figure out that I needed to think in the affirmative because that is what shows up?  Who knew that when the storms showed up that I could just dance in the rain and jump in the puddles? 

Why didn’t someone in high school tell me the importance of what I was learning was going to make my life easier later on?  Or what to do with checking accounts, savings accounts, paychecks, etc?

So, whoever in my life influenced me to do better, to go for excellence, to take the hard road rather than the easy one, to always give more, and to always be kind, you have my heart felt thanks.  And I am glad you took the time with me to explain the importance of each step in my life. 

Because you did, I can truly say that my life is better than I ever imagined it to be.  You, like John Quincy Adams, encouraged me to remember that my actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more in order to be an influential leader.

I couldn't do that...

Several of us recently were in a conversation about blowing glass for beads.  The woman next to me was showing me her latest creation and I commented on how beautiful it was.

The woman in front of us, turned and said, “I couldn’t’ do that!”  I asked her if she had ever done any glass blowing.  “No, I could never do that!”  I asked her, “How do you know that?”  She replied, “I just couldn’t do that.”

How many times have we judged some wonderful opportunity because we have said “no” instead of “I wonder if I could.” So many times we don’t even know what is involved but we have deemed it “too hard, too complicated, I could never do that!”

That conversation taught me to check out something before I deem it “anything.”  I usually start off with “I wonder if” and go from there.  Most of the time it turns out easier than I expected and usually more fun that I could have imagined.

The Truth of the matter is, YES we can!  Do it, that is.  Most of us don’t have a clue as to some of the hidden talents we have within us.  We need to get curious about “what else is there.”  And as Jean Houston tells us, “we are multi-talented.”

I wonder what my next new adventure is going to be?

Spiritual Community

            Since semi-retiring earlier this year, I have been feeling the separation of being with and in a spiritual community.  I have not been comfortable returning to the community I retired from and there isn’t another similar community in the city I live. 

            One of the reasons we need spiritual community is to keep us in the conversation of Spirit.  There seems to be an added dimension of hanging out with people of similar belief systems that add to what it is that we are experiencing. 

            The value of being with people is to remind us of what it is that we know, what it is that is important to us, and what it is that we need to practice in our lives in order to continue dancing playfully through life. 

            When things are going good in our lives, we tend to forget what it took to get there.  Maintaining that level consciousness is as tenuous as when we were working to get there.  Recently, I told my prayer partner that I wanted to “bask in the glory of grace.”  Even I had to stop and think about that request for a minute.  Having achieved this level, I want to stay and go even higher.  Once achieving a new level takes getting use to and it needs to become familiar before we can go up to the next level.

            I invite you to think about finding a spiritual community that challenges you to think bigger, greater and in different ways of being.

I know there are many ways to create community and so, my challenge, is to explore different ways of doing this for myself.

Today, we will write music...

           For my enjoyment and because it was something I always wanted to do, I take piano lessons.  I am not very disciplined and don’t always have the time to practice but I have kept up the process.

            One day, my instructor said, “Today, we will write music.”  Write music?  Okay.  He asked me to pick a cord with my left hand and I did.  I choose a C cord.  Then he asked me what notes went with a C cord for the right hand?  I played them.  He then asked to me vary the cadence and rhythm.  I did.  I felt like I was just playing around and didn’t realize that he was writing down the notes as I was playing them.  Shortly, we went on to something else.

            The next week I sit down to his piano and there in published form is my composition of the week before.  I was stunned.  My music on paper!  I played with my right hand and recognized as I remembered “my song.”  He played it for me, and my heart opened.  I had a professional playing a song I wrote.

            That week we worked on variations of the theme and I now have three pages of “my song.”  One Easter Sunday, it was presented at the Church for Today and played by our pianist, Fred Harris.  Again, I was astonished that something that beautiful came out of me. 

            The lesson in is to just do it.  A lot of the time, when getting ready to ‘write,’ for example, I have to have clear and clean it up my desk, my pens need to be just so, my mind ready, my favorite coffee cup nearby and, then, maybe, I am… ready.  Today, we will write music.  Today, I will write.  Today, I will exercise.  Today, I will….

Bridge for Sale

Yesterday, while driving to Corpus Christi from San Antonio, out in the middle of nowhere, I see a bridge in the middle of a field with a sign on it that says, “Bridge for Sale.”  Bridge for Sale? 

This has to be a “guy” thing, right?  What did he do?  Wake up one day and think to himself,  “I will build a bridge today.”  So, how do you decide to do this?  How long?  How wide?  Do you just use left over material from building a back deck or maybe a barn?  What?  How far across is the water, gap, or ditch that you want to cross?  How do you decide how long it is going to be?  Why is it for sale?  Didn’t it fit?  Too short?  Too long?  What?  Ah, I get it…too narrow. 

After it is built, it brings up more problems.  Okay, so you want to sell it.  How do you deliver it to wherever it needs to go?  Can you just hear the conversation that is going on?  Well, tell me more about it.  How much do you want for it?  What is it made of?  Can you email a picture of it to me?  Does eBay know about this?

Is there a demand in the world for bridges?  Was it used?   I am sure there are designers for bridges in this world.  Architects?  But what about the back yard builders?  Back to the questions from a prospective buyer…what is the payload?  Can I run my cattle across it?  Is it wide enough for my 1949 John Deere tractor pulling a load of hay?

So, if ever you have a need of a bridge…I know where there is one for sale.

Stay in the process - no matter what!

            One day my printer just would not work.  I changed the ink cartridges. Nothing.  What to do?

I had a printer stored in the garage for just such an occasion as this.  Got it out, set up and the software was not compatible with my computer’s operating system.  Now what?

As I am pondering this question, my computer screed turned blank and black and very slowly came back to its glorious blue color.  Ah Oh!  As I thought back to the years of great service I had with this computer, I decided that maybe it was time to retire it and get a new computer.  I did.

The printer worked!  Great!

Oh! NO!  All of my last year’s tax information was on the old computer.  But wait!  I backed up my information on a Zip Disk!  Yeah!  How do I get the information off the Zip Disk and into my new computer?  I’ll just go down and buy a Zip Disk Drive.  I did. 

I got it all set up.  Put in the software disk and it said that it was not compatible with my operating system.  Groan!  Now what?  Call Iomega and see if they have a newer system out.  Anything has got to be easier than reentering all of the information for a whole year. 

Finally, getting to tech support, the guy said, “Throw away the software and just plug it into your USB port and use it.”  Do what?  This can’t be that easy?  He said, “Just do it.”

I did and it worked. 

            

Abounding Opportunities

At a club meeting recently, I was saying goodbye to a club member who was no longer going to be attending the meetings.  In the course of our conversation, Les told me that he “enjoying coming to the meetings because I brought so much energy” with me.

That next weekend, I did a memorial service for a long time member of our community and the funeral director told me what a pleasure it was to “work with someone as professional as I was.”

That afternoon, I did an email spiritual mind treatment for a member of our community and the reply was that “the treatment was very good and went far beyond what he thought.”

That evening, while having dinner with the neighbors, another guest and I were talking about having to get up early to go to work on Sunday and she asked me what I did.  When I told her I was a Spiritual Leader, her face lit up and she said, “I knew there was something special about you.  Your face radiates light.”

I got home and thought, “Glory Be! Four times in one week, I was certainly validated.”  Immediately, the thought popped into my head that these were like opportunities, possibilities and potentials.  They are all around us all the time, but I haven’t been paying close enough attention to them.  It took four, count them, FOUR times for me to get that opportunities abound all the time.  It is time for me to wake up to the good in my life.

What is the Kybalion?

We had just finished remodeling our office space when I looked closely at a picture with a quote printed beneath it.  It was from the Kybalion.  What is the Kybalion? 

I had prided myself on being familiar with most traditions, but this one was a new one.

Later that day, I checked it out on the internet and the web sites were in Spanish and when I clicked on “translate,” the results didn’t make any sense at all.

The next day I received a telephone call from a relative of a long time Religious Scientist wondering if I would like her library.  I said, “yes,” because what I didn’t want, would go to our center for our up coming Community Book Sale. 

While packing up her books, I picked up a small volume titled, “The Kybalion – Hermetic Philosophy” by Three Initiates.  I was spelled bound. 

I wondered how many things had to come to pass for me to look at the quote, for the book to appear and for me to recognize it when it happened. 

The real question is, what came first, the chicken or the egg?  

Feather time

“Each time you pick up a feather, it is a message that you are on the right path.”  Unknown

I love asking for signs for things that are going on in my life and I love finding feathers.  They show up for me in the most unusual places.  Even my poodle, Rusty, brings them in to me from outside.  Course, he brings lots of other things too.

One day a friend and I were walking along a street in San Francisco and I was telling her about looking for ‘signs’ to let her know that she was on the right path.  I was telling her that I would ask the question and then wait for a sign.  I usually found feathers shortly thereafter and I would take that as a sign that I was going in the right direction. 

“Does it always work?” she asked.

I was about to answer when this huge tail feather serenely floated right down in front of us and landed on the sidewalk.  I bent over to pick up the feather and when I looked at her countenance, I burst out laughing.  Her face was reflecting disbelief even as I was handing her the “proof” of the feather.

Like Lego...Just keep building

On a trip to Orlando’s Disney World, I passed by the Lego display.  I was overwhelmed with what they had built in Legos.  There were Lego cars, bridges, playhouses complete with furniture, windows, doors and roof.  There were miniature legos; giant legos and medium sized ones, round ones and square ones.  There were giant cranes, trucks that moved large Lego logs, dump trucks that scooped up more Legos.  I was even walking on a Lego surface. 

I turned in awe at all that I saw and realized that life is like that Lego Village.  We just need to keep building in various sizes until we get the result we want.  Just like the Legos we find in various sized containers, we have the choice of picking and choosing what it is that we want and in whatever color suits us at the time.  Yesterday was a yellow day.  Today, I will use green.  I can include circles, squares, rectangles and triangles.  Life is full of different sizes, colors and textures. 

When life becomes dull, boring or we forget why we are doing what we are doing, remember, that life was meant to be an adventure for all of us.  It was meant to be fun.  Go, out and buy a box of Lego’s and see what you can build out of them. 

Maybe some of us who take life to seriously, need a good dose of Legos in our life.  Play with them and when you are tired of them, give them away to some little person who would love to build, create, image what life is like.  Better yet, share the experience and see what you can learn.

What's next?

I read a quote by Thomas Edison that said, “If we did all the things we were capable of doing, we would literally astonish ourselves.”  I remembered thinking, “what would it be like to astonish myself?”

Several summers ago, I got into doing what is called pen turning.  This is putting little bits of wood on a spinning lathe and carving these wood pieces into cylindrical pieces and then assembling them into pens.  I love fountain pens and thought, “Wow! A new pen.”  So, I ordered the assembly pieces and got started. 

When it was finished, I loaded it with ink and sat down to write with it for the first time.  I pulled out my journal book and fully went into a feeling of overwhelm.  I realized that the journal I was using was the one I had written several years ago, the pen in my hand was one that I had produced and I just had to sit with the experience for a while.

I had an astonishing experience.  It was like nothing I had ever experienced before.  Now that I have had one, I want more.  So, my  next question is, “what else am I capable of doing?”

Support the roadside lemonade stands...

Driving through the neighborhood today, I saw a tiny table set up with a tiny sign that said, "Lemonade for Sale."  Two very cute girls were sitting behind the table anxiously awaiting their customers.  The price for the lemonade was $.25 or $1.25.  Interesting.  Did I want a quarter cup or full cup of lemonade?

Since buying my fancy car, I have secret hiding drawers in it and one of them is for the storage of extra quarters.  Instead of digging in the back seat for my purse, I used my stash of quarters.  So, I kept handing one little girl a quarter at a time while she counted and kept track.  When we got to the requisite $1.25, I just kept handing her more money.  "Stop," she said, "this is more than enough."

Her sign said that they were collecting for the Cancer Society so I told her to just keep taking the money until I ran out.  Well, her eyes got so big.  What fun it was to astound her with generosity.

One of the things I love doing is supporting other people in doing what it is that they love to do.  What would life have been like for all of us, had we had the generous support while being eight or nine years old?  We need to do everything we can to support our neighborhood entrepreneurs.  These tiny sales people made me want to drive around the block and come back and buy more lemonade.

Remembering that everything in our lives matter, including supporting those along our path.  If you can't astonish yourself, do something wonderful to astonish someone else.

What is the purpose of the gym?

Soon after I opened up more time in my life, I decided that I wanted to create a healthier body, be stronger, more flexible and be able to bend and move with ease.  Solution?  Take up Yoga.

Looking around for a class was daunting.  There were lots of choices but most all of them were located across town from me.  Ah, there was a YMCA nearby and they had Yoga.

Off I go.  When I get there, there are a lot of cars in the parking lot and so I drive to the back and proceed to park.  As I get out of my car, I see a car circling the parking lot.  As I get closer to the front door, a spot opens and this car pulls in.

This whole thing has me a bit puzzled because I come to the YMCA for exercise.  Even walking the parking lot is exercise for me.  What is with parking close to the door?  It's not even summertime yet!

Realizing that everything in my life is important, not finding a parking spot in front of the door, is equally as important because it facilitates my larger purpose of exercise.  Working out outside the YMCA means working less on the inside.  Being in the sunshine, breathing fresh spring air in the early morning... doesn't get any better than this.

Sweet Smelling People

Spent the morning touring The Alamo with my grandniece, Katie.  While sitting on the wall outside, resting while we were enjoying a lime icey (St. Patrick's Day, you know), a homeless person came by asking for 2 dimes.  What can anyone do with 2 dimes these days?  I was about to accommodate him when this breeze wafted over him in my direction.  I about keeled over!  Now, I could hardly wait until he moved on.

While working in San Francisco, we use to have a man who patrolled our street that we called the Toll Taker.  He always asked for a quarter.  One day, I told him that I didn't have a quarter but did have  a dollar.  He said no, he needed a quarter and walked away.

What do they do?  Accumulate the money in order to get what it is that they want?

There have been times when I have had to work outside on a very hot day and could hardly stand the smell of myself.  Do you get use the stench?  What?

Walking in downtown San Francisco one day with a friend, we saw some public rest rooms - just out in the open.  The cost to get in was a quarter.  We paid the quarter and when we closed the door, we could stand inside and look outside. The whole outside world was visible. When people walked by and looked at the facility, it looked like they were looking inside.  There was a sink, toilet and a shower.  We got out of there as quickly as possible as it gave us both the hibbie-gibbies.  Needless, to say, this was a topic of conversation for months afterward.

This morning, I wanted that public restroom to be in San Antonio because I would have gladly paid for the guy to bath, drink coffee, get a soft drink, have a sit-down-seven-course-dinner, whatever he wanted.

My gratitude journal today addresses the fact that "there for the grace of God go I."  Infinite Intelligence help me keep making some really good choices.  Keep me smelling sweet.

Think Solution

Dr. David Hawkins tells me, "One basic principle has the power to resolve the problems of the social marketplace: Support the solution instead of attacking the supposed causes."


I learned a variation of this principle early in my studies of Religious Science, but it is one that still plagues me to this day.  Maybe it is from my early childhood upbringing, cultural habits, or maybe even not wanting to take full responsibility of what I have created in my life, but going for the solution and not focusing on the problem is a real challenge.

Just rereading the last paragraph makes me think about "why" is this such a challenge?  I was raised with "what would the neighbors think," or "just for the fun of it, let's blame....," or "I didn't know better."  Anything to not face up to "It's my fault."

Most of the problems I have in my life now are from the fact that I wasn't able to face the solution or come to a solution in times past.  I am still working on something that happened years ago, when I took for face value that someone was telling me the truth when in essence, wasn't.  I didn't want to have to figure out my own solution at the time.  Guess what?  Now I have to not only figure out how to solve it but I have to go back and figure out how to get out from under the issue.

Another one of my teachers, Vernon Howard, tells me, "do what is in front of you." In recent years, I have been able to do that.  The trick to it is to think about the solution or the decision made not just for the present time, but for the future times too.  Now, I really want to be sure that the decision I make is not about to come back and bite me in the posterior region.  That makes the process of "thinking solution" a little more involved than just surface thinking.

Maybe the title of this should be "Think Deeper!"

Whoa!

Having been off work for two weeks, I still seem to be moving at the pace of great speed and for no good reason.  Going back to my days of growing up on a farm in North Dakota, I am having to remind myself of a word my Father used to slow down the huge draft horses - Whoa!

What is this speed about anyway?  What do I think I am going to miss if I slow down?  My spiritual practice tells me that the Infinite speaks to us at a time when we can listen carefully and when our attention is focused inwardly.

In the book, "The Seven Whispers," Christina Baldwin has a great breathing spiritual practice which with each inhalation leads to inspiration.

1. One breath to let go.
2. One breath to be here.
3. One breath to ask now what?
4. One breath to listen.

In order to live consciously, I must remember to slow down to the speed of God, breathe, and listen carefully for my next direction in my new life.  It is very exciting to be involved in the next new mystery that is calling me forward in my highest and best life.  Whoa!

Aiming for second best.

Several years ago, I took on a client who wanted to be coached in clearing her attitude about competing in a body building exposition.  I asked her about the routine, what she had to do to train, and then we talked about the other competitors.  She stated that she didn't think she could score high enough to knock out her "first" place winner.  I say "her" because she had it in her head that she could never beat the woman slated for first place.  After several more sessions, I flat out asked her what she wanted to accomplish in the competition.  Her answer - second place.  I was stunned.  I was coaching someone for "second" place.

She was a real learning lesson for me.  I have since recognized the people who are aiming for second place instead of batting out of the ballpark.

In starting something new in my life, I always question where my aim is and how far do I want this to go.  Several times, I have aimed out of the ballpark just to see what happens.  Wow!  Those times, I really was the best.

Excellence tastes wonderful and having cultivated the taste, I want it all to be that in my life.

Think deeper

There is a commercial on TV that has a line that says, "it makes sense if you don't think about it."  How powerful is that to "not think about what is going on in life?"  Every time I have "not thought about" something is when I really got into trouble about it.  Usually, it was when I didn't think through to the end to see the consequences coming.

One small issue about five years ago is still plaguing me in time, money, and having to spend the time now to think about how to rectify the problem.

All of it being because I didn't "want to think about it" at the time.

My lesson in this is not only to think about what is going on, but also to include how this is going to affect me "down the road," and is this the best decision I can make for me.

Now, I think about how I can think into a deeper level to "see" more of what is going on and what it takes to think about all of the possible consequences.  Because of that, life has gotten easier.

Snow in San Antonio

It is very cold outside - 22 degrees.  It snowed sometime during the night and when I went out to take pictures of it, it crunched.   That means, most of it is ice.

The last time we had ice was in January of 2009.  I watched our dogs go outside and crunch through the ice to do what they had to do.  They all scurried to get inside very quickly.

I turned the heat off before I went to bed last night because the noise of the furnace wakes me up.  When I got up this morning it was 58 degrees in the house.  I don't have enough clothes to keep me warm while up and around, even with the heat on, so I am taking a "snow" day, hunkering down under covers, hot tea, a good book and riding out the weather.

There is nothing like a contrast to make me wish for warmer weather...I guess I complained too much last summer during the heat about wanting cooler weather.  This is cooler, alright!

Building dreams, friendships and memories.

Building dreams, friendships and memories was the theme of the Rose Parade of 2011.  I love the whole experience of the parade because I remember when I saw one "live and in person" the colors were extraordinary, fragrant, and the whole experience was overwhelming in beauty.

This is what I want my life to be.  For life to be amazing, what has to happen for me?  I know that I want adventure, beauty, excitement and fragrance to alert me to my awakening senses as life flows through me.  When I get to the end of my life, I want to be able to remember that it was an extraordinary experience because I paid attention to all of what was going on in the present moment.

In the process of it all, I do want to make new friends, build new dreams and create wonderful memories.  This is more than enough for me at the moment.

What is affordable luxury?

I saw that phrase recently and had to think about what that meant.  Affordable luxury.  Is it one of those catch phrases that the marketing people use to get your attention?

Ah!  I realized that when we bought our home here in San Antonio, when I first saw it, I was amazed. Then, I fell in love with all of the light coming in the windows.  I was stunned when I realized that we could afford the place easily!  Even better.

Then, to me, it was affordable luxury.  This was my first, ever, new house.  Bud had lived in one previous to meeting me.  But, he said, that it wasn't as nice is this one was.  Again, affordable luxury.  How wonderful is all of that?

Ouch!

I read a quote from Bhagwan Shree Rajineesh that says, "How much longer will you go on letting your energy sleep?  How much longer are you going to stay oblivious of the immensity of yourself?"  Ouch!

Recently, I remembered hearing a tape by Jean Houston where she said something about how all of us are talented beyond belief - even multi-talented.  All of us are hard wired with talent, skills and ability beyond what we have imagined for our lives.

Now I am in that time of my life where I am ready to experience my immensity.  I am ready to delve into my talent, skills and ability.  How much more of my talent can I develop and how can I use it to move me into a greater sense of what life is all about?  I am ready to experience more joy and laughter and satisfaction because of what I have created.

No more ouches!

New Year's Resolution

One of the resolutions I had for myself was to figure out a way to shrink into my normal, natural self.  I knew there had to be a simple way of releasing some weight and I finally found it.  Water.  I drink huge amounts of water during the day and I am finding that my weight is almost falling off.  I also eat whole foods and have released all desire for sugar, and for wanting to eat the whole refrigerator.  My cravings for anything is gone.  I can walk by chocolate and not be affected by it.  Yeah!

Actually, I have to thank my friend, Ellen, for telling me about this process.  She said it was easy.  It is.  I am finding that I have more energy, am sleeping better, and can move easier.  Who knew?