Merriment
An old word dating from the mid 1500’s, not very popular these days. Merriment is high spirits, fun, gaiety, cheer, joy, laughter, mirth, exuberance and happiness to mention a few meanings. Merriment refers to events, activities and happy feelings.
“Always laugh when you can; it is cheap medicine. Merriment is a philosophy not well understood. It is the sunny side of existence.” ~Lord Byron
Christmas rapidly approaches carrying merriment into our villages, homes and hearts, but merriment is freely available to us anytime, anywhere. Laughter can reduce anxiety, exercise our hearts and lungs, reduce blood pressure, release endorphins, boost T cells, and reduce stress. As Lord Byron said…”it is cheap medicine.”
“Frame your mind to mirth and merriment which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life.” ~William Shakespeare
“The Universe will give us love, happiness, merriment and laughter if we give others love, happiness, merriment and laughter.” ~Avijeet Das
In times of difficulty, merriment is a wonderful gift that can raise our spirits and guide us through to the other side.
I invite you into merriment.
Blessings!
Word Power
Words have power. So much of our personal and public discourse doesn’t account for this power. We exchange verbal banalities with little attachment to their influence on conscious and unconscious processes.
“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care, for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.” ~Buddha
Thinking is a word process. Self-talk is a word process. Carefully choosing words for our internal dialogue is a primary tool for personal growth and transformation. The vocabulary of self-talk develops in early childhood, becoming the dominant way we judge and support the inner self. Power words that shape the perception of who we are, and of what we believe about others.
“Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use the force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble.” ~Yehuda Berg
This astute observation is true of both outer and inner dialogue. The authentic self cannot fully emerge without positive word power.
“False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.” ~Socrates
A quote from Ruth Bader Ginsberg speaks passionately to me about the power of the word…”We have the oldest written constitution still in force in the world, and it starts with three little words, ‘We the people.'”
I invite you this week to reflect and review your inner and outer word power.
“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.” ~Robin Williams
Blessings!
Power of Choice
There is much in life over which we have little if any choice. However, there exists a plethora of areas where we have power to choose.
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” ~Maya Angelou
Not choosing is making a choice. To be empowering choice must be a conscious process. Not choosing is, more often than not, an unconscious process.
“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.” ~J.P. Morgan
“If I have the belief I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” ~Ghandi
Living an authentic life is making conscious choices, and accepting responsibility for them.
“If you don’t make time to work on creating the life you want, you’re eventually going to be forced to spend a LOT of time dealing with a life you DON’T want.” ~Kevin Ngo
The empowering action of conscious choice is a process not an event. Failure and disappointment are essential facets of the brilliantly shining diamond that is the living of an authentic life.
“Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.” ~Jamie Paolinetti
I invite you this week to explore the depth and breadth of your power to choose.
Blessings!
Thanksgiving 2018
…a time to come together to give thanks for our blessings. Like last year, I look forward to the joy of sharing this day with family and friends.
“I am grateful for what I am and have. My Thanksgiving is perpetual.” ~Henry David Thoreau
But my heart-self is heavy with thoughts of those who have lost so much in the Camp fire. And the heavy, unrelenting smoke that clouds the air is a surreal deja vu into last year’s Tubbs fire.
As you celebrate this special day take time to pray for all those who have no home, no belongings, and the many who have lost family and friends. Prayers and meditations that in this one moment of Thanksgiving they will find comfort, compassion, love and respite from shock and sorrow.
As Coffey Park, Larkfield, Mark West, Glen Ellen, Fountain Grove begin rising from the ashes, there is hope. But the scars on the landscape and psyches are indelible, as the struggle to find a new norm goes on.
“You may have heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There’s another day you might want to know about: Giving Tuesday. The idea is pretty straightforward. On the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, shoppers take a break from their gift-buying and donate what they can to charity.” ~Bill Gates
We donate what we can; the power of collective meditation and prayer is a gift that can be given everyday.
Blessings!
Zeitgeist
A zeitgeist is the spirit of the times as reflected in collective ideas, events and beliefs.
Wildfire rages again in the West, flood waters rush through the East; historically unprecedented hurricanes and typhoons ravage the Earth; the US National Debt reaches $400,000. per taxpayer; war, terrorism and mass shootings become norms; personal and political discourse is destructively divisive; racism, sexism and religious persecution are rapidly mutating societal cancers; glaciers and forests are disappearing at an alarming rate; air, water and food contamination reflect a toxic world; quality health care and education is available only to the wealthy; overt greed and dishonesty, big profit any cost mentality dominates economic structures…surely these realities point to the emergence of a very dark zeitgeist.
“On the right, a brigade of trolls. On the left, squabbling civil servants. Invasion of the zombies. Have I managed to summarize the zeitgeist now?” ~Martijn Benders
There is no fleeing to an uncharted earthly frontier for safety and new beginnings. Safety and sanity are to be found in strong faith. And strong faith can shift the zeitgeist.
“Even the juncture in history and the zeitgeist we live in is something we choose, setting the scene for the spiritual fodder we need to grow and achieve deeper elevation of our souls.” ~Raquel Cepeda
The beautiful little town of Paradise was completely destroyed by the Camp fire. I feel deeply the profound metaphor. My soul-self weeps, mourning the loss of of the zeitgeist of my youth, and the tragic consequences for humanity in overwhelming suffering.
“I had to make my history quick because there would be no future, merely a gossamer world blown about on the zeitgeist, till zeitgeist, the wind of the times, is blasted away by kamikaze, the wind of God.” ~Rene Ricard
I feel the bleakness this blog will bring to many of you as you read it, the sobering sadness of stark reality. I want to encourage, if not embolden you, to seek the infinite power of the spiritual alliance. You and God are a majority, capable of manifesting an unconditionally loving zeitgeist.
Blessings!
Vote
Tuesday is time for mid-term elections. It is an essential, if not the essential foundation of American Democracy.
“Voting is something that we all have a right to do. It’s not something that we have to do…it’s absolutely an honor and a great opportunity to be heard.” ~Grace Potter
Watching a recent interview with Otis Moss Jr., theologian, activist, author, speaker and son of Otis Moss Sr., who, dressed in his best suit and tie walked 18 miles to proudly exercise his right to vote for the first time, only to be denied. Pastor Otis Moss Jr. stated in that interview, that to not vote is a sin, to prevent people from voting is a crime and a sin.
“Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.” ~FDR
“The most significant civil rights problem is voting. Each citizen’s right to vote is fundamental to all other rights of citizenship and the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960 make it the responsibility of the Department of Justice to protect that right.” ~Robert Kennedy
The 14th, 15th and 19th Constitutional Amendments were hard fought for and hard won. The 14th Amendment was ratified in July, 1868, the 15th was ratified in February 1870 and the 19th, granting American women the right to vote, was enacted in 1920 when the Republican Party regained control of Congress in 1919.
People of different ethnicity, color, religion and gender, fought for decades to secure the privilege of voting for all citizens of the United States. This honor has been seriously taken for granted as evidenced by our on-going plague of voter apathy.
“Not voting is not a protest, it is a surrender.” ~Keith Ellison
Expanding on the statement Pastor Otis Moss Jr. made last week, I would add that not voting is a sin and a crime against all those who made tremendous sacrifices to secure for future generations the right to vote.
Participate in our Democracy…VOTE!
Blessings!
Unknown
The known and the unknown exist side-by-side in our daily lives. We are familiar and comfortable with the known even when it is disagreeable and painful, because we know it. Conversely, we fear the unknown.
“People have a hard time letting go of their suffering – out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer the suffering that is familiar.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” ~H.P. Lovecraft
Like all emotions, fear comes and goes as it darn well pleases. We have no control over this coming and going. Where we have power over fear of the unknown is in how we respond. We can choose ‘fear’ or ‘faith’.
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” ~Corrie Ten Boom
Our sense of security encompasses a multitude of fears about the unknown; finances, health, love, jobs, home, family, freedom of expression, disasters, and death. Our degree of security can create an illusory complacency, leaving us unprepared to face the unknown.
“Faith and doubt both are needed – not as antagonists, but working side by side to take us around the unknown curve.” ~Lillian Smith
“There are things known and things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” ~Aldous Huxley
“We have to balance the lineality of the known universe with the non lineality of the unknown universe.” ~Carlos Castaneda
No other time in human history have we faced so many unknowns. Faith is the way through our fear.
“Peace is that state in which fear of any kind is unknown.” ~John Buchan
Wishing you all abundant peace!
Relaxing
Hope you are, too!
Blessings.
Silence
Silence has many applications. To ’cause to be silent’; to ‘muzzle or gag’; ‘concealment’; ‘to fail to communicate or keep in touch’; ‘concealment’; ‘stillness’; ‘quietude’; ‘complete absence of sound’; tranquility’; ‘peace’.
The din of modern society challenges the sound of silence, over-powering moments of tranquility that once were commonly accessible. Similar to viewing the night time skies. To see the fullness of the heavens you must travel or live in remote areas free of the incessant glow of population explosion.
“Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, that without distance closeness cannot cure.” ~Henri Nouwen
Balance and timing are critical to overall health and are essential guideposts of the spiritual path. There is a time to speak and a time to be silent.
“Silence is the great teacher; and to learn its lessons you must pay attention to it. There is no substitute for the creative inspiration, knowledge, and stability that comes from knowing how to contact your core of inner silence.” ~Deepak Chopra
Learning to sit quietly and empty the mind completely is one of the greatest gifts of silence. When active thought ceases with conscious intention, we become one with our surroundings.
“True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.” ~William Penn
As we move toward the Winter Solstice, I invite you into the practice of silence.
Blessings!
Safety
Finding safety amid a society that is burgeoning with rapidly escalating violence, financial instability, impinging personal freedoms and a growing sense of overall unease, is challenging to say the least.
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty or safety.” Benjamin Franklin
Stories of days gone by, when homes were seldom locked and children could play outside, in parks and walk safely to and from school are just that…stories of a time long past.
“We can’t solve modern problems by going back in time. Retreating to the safety of the familiar is an understandable response, but God has called us to a life of faith. And faith requires us to face the unknown while trusting him completely.” ~Charles Swindoll
However you personally define ‘God’, faith in your belief system is an essential component of safety.
“Security is mostly a superstition, it does not exist in nature, nor do children as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” ~Helen Keller
“We must respect the past, and must trust the present, if we wish to provide for the safety of the future.” ~Joseph Joubert
The myth of safety and security is becoming a powerful presence in daily living. Sanctuary is found in the depth and breadth of the spiritual path.
Blessings!
