Insights – Melannie Thomas

Archive for September, 2010

We all have personal belief systems.  The basic tenets are most often rooted in our family of origin.  However, as we mature our belief systems shift, change or simply fall away.  We get on with the tasks of achieving and surviving in an increasingly challenging world;  and, taking our beliefs for granted, they frequently go untested.  It is when tragedy, illness, loss, separation, strife, any of the frailties that the human condition is heir to occur, that we reach out for the comfort and hope of our faith.

As a race we are moving rapidly toward the birth of a new age and the labor pains are getting closer and harder.  Now is the time to ‘plug-in’ to your belief system, to your faith. 

The word faith comes from Old English, Old French and Latin.  All define faith as belief, a confidence in or trust (of), especially without logical proof.  Faith is certainty.  Do you have the comfort of certainty in your life?  Does your belief system bring you peace in the face of crisis?  Inner harmony in the midst of strife?

The time is now.  Put your faith to work for you.  If needed, test, explore…rework your belief system to suit who you are; where you are; and, where you are going.

“The spiritual life is the real life;  all else is illusion and deception.  Only those who are attached to God alone are truly free.  Only those who live up to the highest light live in harmony.  All who act upon their highest motivations become a power for good.  It is not important that others be noticeably affected: results should never be sought or desired.  Know that every right thing you do–every good word you say–every positive thought you think–has good effect.”

PEACE PILGRIM Her Life and Work in Her OwnWords, Ocean Tree Books, USA (1982)

Intuition is the sixth sense.  Intuition is a knowing without knowing how you know.  In other words it is information that does not originate from an empirical source.  

We put much credibility in our other senses.  We know what we see, what we hear, what we feel, and what we smell.  We trust these senses, and indeed, this trust is necessary and essential to daily living. 

Yet, we have all experienced times when our eyes and ears have deceived us.  When what we thought we saw or heard was not what we saw and heard.  Ask four  people who have observed an identical scene and you are most likely to get four varied descriptions.  

Weather forecasting is just that…forecasting.  Predicting the financial climate is just that…predicting.  Granted, these are educated guesses, but they are guesses none the less.

Everyone is intuitive.   Skeptic or not, I invite you to look at your own life.  Where do your hunches come from? Why do you immediately trust or not trust someone you just met?  How did you know who was on the phone before you answered the call.  Where does this information come from?

Intuition extends the range of our awareness.  Intuition is a wonderful sense.

We so often hear that laughter is the best medicine.  There is ample evidence, Maryland Medical Center; Psychology Today, April 2005; Helpguide.org, to name but a few resources, that make a good case for the health benefits of laughter.

Laughter can help protect our heart, enhance the immune system, reduce stress, release endorphins in the brain, reduce pain and/or discomfort, and even lower our blood-sugar levels.

Once begun, laughter is contagious and is spurred on by the laughter of others.  We have all had the experience of connecting with another person and getting the giggles.

Last week’s blog dealt with Crisis Fatigue.  To share some healthy laughter felt like a good thing to do. This week I am including a generous slice of humor.  I hope this brings you a few good laughs.

‘A turtle is crossing the road when he is mugged by two snails.  When the police show up, they ask him what happened.  The shaken turtle replies, “I don’t know.  It all happened so fast.”‘

‘Why don’t scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything’.

‘I took my eight year old girl to the office with me on, ‘Take Your Kid to Work Day’.  As we were walking around the office, she started crying and getting very cranky, so I asked her what was wrong.  As my co-workers gathered round, she sobbed loudly, “Daddy, where are all the clowns that you said you worked with?!”‘

And…

‘An old man is met by his attorney, and is told he is going to be audited.  He rides to the IRS office with his attorney, and when he gets there, he begins to talk with the IRS agent.  “I’ll bet you $2000 I can bite my own eye!”  The IRS agent agrees to the bet, believing it an impossible task.

The old man laughs, pulls out his glass eye and bites it.  The IRS agent is dumbfounded.  The old man then bets $3000 that he can bite his other eye.  The IRS agent knows there is no way possible to do this, so once more he agrees.  The old man cackles, pulls out his dentures, and bites his eye.

Then the old man offers a final wager.  “I’ll bet $20,000 I can stand on the far side of your desk, pee over the desk, and get it into your wastebasket without spilling a drop.  The agent is absolutely positive the old man can’t do it, so one more time he agrees.

The old man indeed misses, peeing all over the desk and the paperwork.  The IRS agent jumps for joy, but then notices the attorney in the corner moaning.  “Are you all right?” asks the agent.

“NO!  On the way over here he bet me $400,000 that he could pee all over you desk and you’d be happy about it!”‘

Enjoy the laughter!!

Blessings!

As we approach the New Moon in Virgo on Wednesday, September 8, it is a good time for assessing, reflecting and ‘giving thanks’.  I invite you to focus on the more intangible aspects of life. 

In this challenging economic climate, with so much attention and demand on finding successful strategies for survival, we sometimes forget to acknowledge the gifts of family, of friends, of community and of the Spirit.

Take a few moments today to breathe deeply, center, relax, and put on an attitude of gratitude.  Find that one thing, or those several things that you are glad to have in your life; and Give Thanks.

Looking at our future from this moment of time can be frightening and overwhelming.  We are suspended in a seemingly unending COVID-19 nightmare, a profound disturbance in our normality.

The future is fluid; very little is set in stone.  Part of our future is determined by circumstances, part by ‘fate’ and then there is ‘free-will’; our personal effort and commitment and the consequence of our decisions or lack of decisiveness.  As 2021 begins it is a good time to take a personal inventory and make plans for your future.

I invite you to do an exercise of intention.  Create some quiet, centered, personal space, and write a letter to yourself  from the future you desire.  The focus can be in your career, your relationships, personal habits you want to overcome, and/or personal goals you would like to achieve.  You can address one issue or multiple issues.  Be as specific as possible not only regarding the end result, but also with the behaviors it will take to accomplish these goals.

Be realistic.  Be thoughtful.  Be kind.  As you write your letter treat yourself with respect and encouragement.  Affirm and support yourself.  Acknowledge your fears, soothe and remove them, choose to entertain faith, not fear.  Create a neat, clean document because you deserve  to be the recipient of a beautifully written letter from your future.

When you are finished, put the letter in an envelope and address it to yourself.  Then give it to a trusted friend, asking them to mail it to you in one month.  Do not omit this important step.

In this exercise, you will have set and defined your intention, and created usable strategies for attaining your future goals.

Start now…your future is waiting!

Blessings!

This is the Labor Day Holiday weekend.  Originating in the late 1800’s Labor Day was designated as a day of rest, to honor the contribution of labor to the prosperity of our Nation.

Currently, Labor Day marks the end of summer, the beginning of school, and the last opportunity for family outings.  A three-day weekend for most, it is often a time to begin preparations for the coming winter season.

In the current economic crisis wherein the American work force is no longer recognized or properly valued for it’s contribution to economic health, growth and prosperity, it seems even more important to honor this Holiday.  We are all painfully aware of the distance between Wall Street and Main Street.  According to Equilar, an executive compensation research firm,  the average income last year for an S&P executive was $7.5  million.  Yearly median pay for private-sector workers in the U.S. in 2008 was $30,000; $36,000 with added in benefits. Yet, interestingly, according to the Saturday Evening Post, Jul/Aug 2010, the “U.S. is the world’s leading manufacturer, producing goods valued in excess of $1.5 trillion.”

There are several things that cannot be taken from the American worker:  A strong work ethic, solid pride in performance and craftsmanship, unbridled ambition, and a willingness to roll up our sleeves and do whatever is necessary to forge ahead.

So, I invite you to take a few moments from your weekend to learn more about ‘Labor Day’.  To honor the working men and women, past and present, who substantially contribute to the greatness of our nation.

Bliss is defined as ‘ecstatic joy’, ‘serene happiness’, and ‘the ecstasy of salvation’.  Bliss is often connected to enlightened states of being.  What can be a challenge to our quest for sustaining bliss is a belief  that once enlightenment is achieved it becomes a permanent state.  Yet what we discover is that bliss and enlightenment are not constants.  Like the ebb and flow of the tides and the cycles and seasons of time, they come and go.  Bliss and enlightenment are states of being; and like a successful, rigorous scientific experiment, they are repeatable.

The planet Mercury, ruling mental acuity and communication, appears to reverse it’s course four times a year.  We are currently experiencing a Mercury Retrograde which began on August 2o and will end on September 12.

I have received a greater number than usual of calls from clients about the difficulties and challenges this particular Retrograde is presenting. 

As confounding and frustrating as this period may be for you, like all seasons and cycles there are gifts to be gleaned.  Each Retrograde shines  light on a specific area or topic.  This one provides an excellent opportunity to review your ‘communication’ style, literally and technically.  Observe what is working and what is not.  Determine what, if anything, can be or needs to be changed. 

In crisis there is opportunity.  Embrace the opportunity!

The word for today is turning.  Although the Fall Equinox is almost a month away we are beginning to feel the turning.  Moving into another season.  This is a good time to begin preparations for winter.  Allow yourself to feel the shift and to be in harmony with the changing season, literally and metaphorically.