Insights – Melannie Thomas

Archive for the ‘Finding Your Center’ Category

….mentally deranged or extremely enthusiastic; really fun or really scary; very impractical or very passionate… quite a broad spectrum.

Circumstances and situations can be crazy-making.  They can be full of exciting, imaginative crazy ideas.  There are moments of being crazy-in-love, crazy about baseball or music, art, history, science, nature, etc.  And moments that feel crazy out-of-control.

More frequently I am feeling like the whole world is going crazy, and not in a good way.  So much divisiveness and a palpable lack of civil courtesy.  However, I am optimistically aware of a kind of crazy brilliance.  A crazy enthusiasm in pursuit of authentic expression of the soul.  This is a powerful juxtaposition for me, and I work to find my way between the opposites.

“Begin noticing and being careful about keeping your imagination free of thoughts that you do not want to materialize.  Instead, initiate a practice of filling your creative thoughts to overflow with ideas and wishes that you fully intend to manifest.  Honor your imaginings regardless of others seeing them as crazy or impossible.” ~Wayne Dyer

“The truth is you don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow.  Life is a crazy ride, and nothing is guaranteed.”  ~Eminem

In our culture the majority of us have a lot of stuff.  The longer we live the more stuff we accumulate.  We have necessary stuff; we have treasures, mementos; and stuff we just want.  We collect stuff, we store stuff, we use stuff; we love or hate our stuff, and we sometimes admire or envy (or find distasteful) other people’s stuff.  And, we throw away a lot of stuff.

“Is it just stuff?” a feature story in The Press Democrat (January 7, 2018) got my attention in a powerful way.  In the article,  Meg McConahey related the experiences of several people who lost ALL their stuff in the unprecedented and devastating October wine country wildfires.

An artist who collected fragments of her former life from rubble and ash created a memorial collage.  I personally have heard stories from friends and clients who found little pieces, little mementos of their former lives and they were so grateful for them regardless of how inane.  McConahey shares stories of friends, families and neighbors who have collected photos of children to help fill the loss of the precious memories that were lost.  And, of those who don’t want to go near the rubble and ash, preferring to move forward with memories not fragments of their former lives.

The author went on to relate the effect the experience is having on the community with regard to stuff.  She points out that area thrift stores are overwhelmed with donations.  Many people who were not directly impacted by the fires are re-assessing their attachment to stuff, downsizing and giving away stuff, a lot of stuff.

We all have an opportunity to evaluate our relationship to our stuff.  Capitalism is built on consuming stuff.  But how much do we really need?  And what is the really valuable and precious stuff?

“The stuff that matters in life is no longer stuff.  It’s other people.  It’s relationships.  It’s experience.” ~Brian Chesky

Richard Louv is considered by many to be the founder of “Ecotherapy”. In Last Child in the Woods, (2005) and The Nature Principle (2012), Louv postulated that direct exposure to nature is essential for our emotional health.

Spending time with and in nature is grounding and healing.  Trees, plants, greenery, wildlife, the birds and the bees, sounds of flowing or falling water, surf breaking onto the beach…all of these direct experiences of nature are calming and healing.  The ebb and flow of the natural world so different from the digital, frenetic pace of today’s societies.

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.”  ~John Muir

“Nature always wears the color of the spirit.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature.  It will never fail you.”  ~Frank Lloyd Wright

Stopping to smell the roses is good medicine.  I invite you to incorporate regular nature adventures into your regimen for healthy living.

Time for ‘out with the old and in with the new’; for celebrating; and for making resolutions.  New Year is reviewing the past, anticipating the future and seeking opportunities for new beginnings.

I have written in prior blogs about New Year resolutions, making them and keeping them. Generally resolutions are about our physical self…healthier diet, more exercise, a better job, etc.  Today I thought about the spiritual self.  What would be my spiritual resolutions for the coming year?

“First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality.  The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.”  ~Napoleon Hill

“In the life of the spirit there is no ending that is not a beginning.” ~Henrietta Szold

“The the thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.”  ~Anna Quindlen

This week, I invite you into spiritual resolution making.

Wishing all a blessed New Year!!

“Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul.”  ~Thomas Merton

“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened.  Happiness never decreases by being shared.”  ~Buddha

The winter Holy Season is in full swing throughout the land.  I invite you to plant something special in your soul, and share happiness liberally.

Merry Christmas to all!!

Thursday December 21 is the beginning of Winter heralded by the Solstice.

A time of rest and quiet, of reflection on the year past and anticipation of the year coming.

“The winter solstice has always been special to me as a barren darkness that gives birth to a verdant future beyond imagination, a time of pain and withdrawal that produces something joyfully inconceivable, like a monarch butterfly extracting itself from the confines of its cocoon, bursting forth into unexpected glory.”  ~Gary Zukav

“I believe in process.  I believe in four seasons.  I believe that winter is tough, but spring is coming.  I believe that there is a growing season.  And I think you realize that in life, you grow.  You get better.” ~Steve Southerland

“When all the world appears to be in a tumult, and nature itself is feeling the assault of climate change, the seasons retain their essential rhythm.  Yes, fall gives us a premonition of winter, but then, winter, will be forced to the new beginnings of soft greens, longer light, and the sweet air of spring.” ~Madeleine H. Kunin

I invite you to take a moment this coming solstice to listen to the quiet, to feel the energy of winters soft glow.

Blessings!

“When was the last time you spent a quiet moment just doing nothing – just sitting and looking at the sea, or watching the wind blowing the tree limbs, or waves rippling on a pond, a flickering candle or children playing in the park?”  ~Ralph Marston

Professor Tim Bono, Washington University in St. Louis,  assigns upperclassmen a test of sitting quietly for six minutes.  No TV, no phone, no radio, just sitting quietly and focusing the mind on something pleasant.  Only 67% of the students were able to complete the assignment following both of the rules.  The biggest distraction for those unable to successfully complete the test was the phone.

It is harder and harder to set aside quiet time in our wired world.  It feels like the Universe has stepped on the accelerator and the entire world is speeding up, revving faster and faster.  Quiet time is essential to our physical, emotional and spiritual health and well-being.

I invite you this week amid the hustle and bustle of the season, to take the six minute test.

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God.  Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be.”  ~Anne Frank

Life is going to give you lemons; often gigantic, smothering, sour lemons.  Coping is a mechanism for dealing with unwanted, unexpected deluges of lemons.

Key components of successful coping strategies involve facing the challenge squarely in front of you.  Acknowledge and accept your feelings.  Don’t entertain negativity.  Get out of the re-hashing, gnashing loop.  Treat yourself with compassion.

Use inner resources of strength, positive self-esteem, confidence and faith to cope your way through difficult circumstances.  Assess solutions that are in harmony with your higher self and then put them into action.

“Problems are not the problem, coping is the problem.”  ~Virginia Satir

“Scientists have demonstrated that dramatic, positive changes can occur in our lives as a direct result of facing an extreme challenge – whether it’s coping with a serious illness, daring to quit smoking, or dealing with depression.  Researchers call this ‘post-traumatic growth.'” ~ Jane McGonigal

“The cooperative, loving side of existence goes hand in hand with coping and power, but neither the one or the other can be neglected if life is to be gratifying.”  ~Rollo May

I invite you this week to reflect on the strength and power of your coping skills.

Blessings!

The actions, movements, thoughts, behaviors that we do daily, routinely; what is typical in our everyday.

Humans don’t care for upsets to the day to day program, including ‘time off’.  Frustration, anger, high blood-pressure, depression, anxiety, and dogged tiredness often occur when our daily routine is upset.

However, it is a perfect time to practice spiritual discipline.  To take a deep breath (or two or three), to take action or to be still, to relax into the moment as is possible…to allow.

Stuck in traffic?  Practice patience.  Waiting in a slow line at the store?  Smile.  Impatience and a scowling demeanor will accomplish nothing, save to make misery company.

I invite you this week into the practice.

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” ~Robert Frost

“Peace of mind comes when we find comfort is solitude instead of loneliness.” ~Robert Alan Silverstein

“At times you have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition.  What you will discover will be wonderful.  What you will discover is yourself.”  ~Alan Alda

That very special time of year is here.  A time set aside for ‘giving thanks’ for our blessings and bounties.  Wishing you all a very special Thanksgiving Day.

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”  ~William Arthur Ward

“An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving.”  ~Irv Kupcinet

“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

“Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received.  Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling.  Thanksgiving is following that impulse.”  ~Henry Van Dyke

Many Blessings!!