life

Inner Self

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It is when you lose sight of yourself, that you lose your way. To keep your truth in sight you must keep yourself in sight and the world to you should be a mirror to reflect to you your image; the world should be a mirror that you reflect upon ~ C. JoyBell C.

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Until our Inner Self and Outer Self merges into one and becomes calm and centered, we will continue to pursue our seemingly elusive purpose in life. If there is to be any purpose to our life, we need to be able to make a connection with our Inner Self, our true Authentic Self. To know our Inner Self is to know our purpose, our values and beliefs and to be mindful of our thoughts and actions. We take our breathing for granted when in fact it is the means with which to reach our Inner Self. Through meditation and by practicing slow, deep, rhythmic breathing we are able to reconnect and be graced with an encounter with our Inner Self. That moment during meditation when our mind’s eye takes us to a place where we come face to face with our Inner Self is a most powerful and loving experience. To recognize and be recognized as one and the same and feel the embrace of our Inner Self, is pure Bliss.

As the Great Egret keeps sight of itself in the mirror-like swamp waters, it feels no fear or threat. The harmony between the bird and its reflection is where we need to be in mind, body and spirit. The Great Egret draws energy from its calm and in its stillness is embraced in a surround of golden Bliss.

Inner-Compass

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In these dark and uncertain times, there can be great value in imagining a bit of star in each human soul. Not just that it gives some hope for humanity at a time when man’s inhumanity to man seems ever on the increase; but also because it points to an inner brightness that can light the way in dark times  ~ Michael Meade
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In order to achieve Inner Brightness we need to Self-Love and with that comes Self-Respect. Self Respect fills every facet of our lives. It is the foundation for all of life’s Virtues. We should never compromise our Self-Respect for anything or anyone. Virtues are the essence of our being, our very Spirit. The more we realize the impact that living our lives with virtuous intention has on ourselves and those around us, the more we will open our hearts to love and compassion.

Like this Gondolier guiding his Gondola through the canals, towards the Sunset, so do we journey throughout our lives towards our Inner Brightness guided by our Inner Compass. Trust, Love and Respect your Self.

Let your Inner Light Shine

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If you live in this world with kindness, if you don’t add to other people’s burdens, but if you try to serve love, when the time comes for you to make the journey, you will receive a serenity, peace and a welcoming freedom that will enable you to go to the other world with great elegance, grace and acceptance ~ John O’Donohue

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It seems that as we grow older, we become wiser in that we realize, finally,  that the simplicity of life is exactly that…  a state, a quality, an instance of consciously being that frees us from the complexities of life. Once we find our balance and free ourselves of the bonds that hold us hostage, we will find Love, Peace and Tranquility. The light within will grow brighter and guide us and those we touch, be it fellow humans or pets, who in turn will guide and teach us.

Animals, particularly domesticated dogs, live their lives with such dignity, loyalty and acceptance. They love unconditionally, trust unconditionally and their inner light shines through ever so brightly. Can we not learn from them? To serve Love unconditionally? What great Humans we could become, worthy of our place on this planet we call Earth.

This post is dedicated to Maggie Moo 10/26/2006 – 1/27/2020

Unlock your Life Purpose

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The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Sometimes we feel more comfortable securing ourselves within our innermost thoughts. All our emotions, mostly negative, are locked away in the darkest recesses of our minds. We have a padlock for each hurt, grudge, failure; each personal inadequacy. Sadly, with each padlock we take away our sense of purpose, our strength of spirit, our personal power. Therefore, it is imperative that we find a way to free ourselves of these inhibitions. We need to focus on Spirit, on Passion. We need to focus on Purpose. The unlocking of Purpose is essential to our health, to our happiness, to our physical and spiritual growth.

We need to smash the locks that hold us hostage. We need to break out of our self-made prisons and walk free, with Purpose and Meaning.

 

 

 

Authentic Self

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You’ve been kidding yourself about yourself for so long, you’re someone else. Your you is just a fragile fabrication. Every morning, you have to wake up, assemble this busy, dissembling monster, and get him or her on his or her feet again for another round of fantasy ― David Guterson

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We are all storytellers. All invested in creating the fabric of our lives by weaving threads to suit our needs and enhance our life experiences. Our Quilt of Life is stitched together in a patchwork of stories. Some truths, but mostly myths. We each create our own personal myths and like myths, our stories contain both good and bad characters that help us or hold us back. People we can blame for our sadly lacking lives or those who motivate and inspire us. We also have the power to rewrite our own history. These fragments of life experiences are woven into our thoughts, desires, passions; our very life force. The social media effect makes it very easy to portray ourselves in a good light. To live our lives in a faux roseate glow. So it is imperative that we don’t lose sight of our Authentic Self.

A rose of iron is strong and everlasting and exquisitely beautiful in its monochromatic hue. It does not have the drama of color, sweet romance in its scent or the sensual allure of a real rose. Both are beautiful in their own way. Neither trying to be more or less of the other. It is how we connect our external reality to our internal reality.

With Balance and Truth.

Spirit of Nature

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Thunder is no longer the voice of an angry god… No river contains a spirit… no snake the embodiment of wisdom, no mountain cave the home of a great demon. No voices now speak to man from stones, plants and animals, nor does he speak to them thinking they can hear. His contact with nature has gone, and with it has gone the profound emotional energy that this symbolic connection supplied ~ Carl Jung

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Maybe not. There are those of us out there who still try to preserve the spirit of Nature, if we would just use our inner energy and power of Thought. We live in a world of Illusion. Two worlds in fact. Day and Night.  We have laid claim to the Day whilst the night belongs to the animals, the creatures, the plants and Nature’s elements: Earth, Fire, Water and Air. Which is the real world? Most likely the one under cover of night. The one that lives in the moment.

We need to spend more time away from the cyber world we have created and find ways to let nature balance our lives.  We need to become more present minded. Everything in the ‘natural world’ lives in the moment whilst we tend to either live in the past or,  be constantly wishing ourselves into the future.

This quote was written by a man who was born in 1875 and died in 1961. It is now 2019. We need to prove him wrong. We need to make our personal connection with nature and the time is here and now.

Lessons in Love

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We are alone, absolutely alone on this chance planet; and amid all the forms of life that surround us, not one, excepting the dog has made an alliance with us.” ~ Maurice Maeterlinck

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Life and living is about learning how to give and receive love unconditionally.  It is imperative that we love and be loved.  If not, our existence becomes dull, lifeless and almost monochromatic.  The day we turn our backs on each other is a life not worth living. There will be times when we feel abandoned or without purpose or direction.   This is when we need to create opportunities for ourselves. When we need to trust in ourselves and each other. Life’s most rewarding lesson is learning how to love and be loved.

The symbol of unconditional love and absolute trust.
A man and his dog.

Spirit of the Wind

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While still in the cage of your being behold the spirit bird before it flies away ~ Rumi

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Behold your Spirit and embrace it with unconditional love so that it may fly high on the wind. Even a cage sans bars has the power to hold us hostage.  We should not be a caged Spirit caught up in a Universe of limiting thoughts.  We are meant to be free.  To feel, to experience, to live, to love, to learn and, yes, to teach. We may feel as if we have no purpose at times but even the smallest of gestures, perhaps just once in a lifetime, will make a difference to some one or some thing. If we learn to love and be loved we will embrace our Spirit.

If we learn to love and be loved we will behold our Spirit.
Love is like a bird; it needs to soar!

Flight of the Daydreams

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Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world ~ Harriet Tubman 

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Whenever we daydream we are able to lose ourselves in a flow of conscious thought.  During these seemingly timeless moments, we are able to slow ourselves down enough so as to reach that place of absolute calm.   That place where we are able to do anything and go anywhere simply through power of thought.  Daydreams take us to a place where we are able to escape the outer world and at the same time we are free to explore our inner sanctuary. For when we daydream, we strengthen our creativity and our well-being. We allow ourselves to be transported to places where ideas take form and fire our passion.

And when we give flight to our daydreams we give spirit a chance to soar.

Spiritual Path

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We’re all golden sunflowers inside ~ Allen Ginsberg

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We all search for love, for peace, for inner tranquility.  It’s only when we focus on being still. When we stop and listen.  Only then will we be able to hear this soft whisper encouraging us to make the choices that are best for our lives. We should visualize ourselves in golden light and embrace the energy of Spirit..

As Sunflowers, the sentinels of Summer, follow the sun so should we follow our spiritual path.  Our unique journey in our own way, in our own time.