A reminder for the day

566. Dear Divine Presence, Thank you for showing me a lesson of the day through listening to a song by Jimmy Buffet: “Breathe in, Breathe out, Move on.” Oh, yeah, always need to remind myself of this … or maybe for me, I’ll adjust it to say, “Breathe in, breathe out … take care of the situation … breathe in, breathe out … stop thinking about it … move on.” Love and Success, Sasha.

Pondering Peace

Meditation, for me, is sometimes calm-quiet, breathing in … breathing out, and other times, it’s an opening to messages. Last evening’s meditation had me contemplating peace.

“A Course in Miracles” says: “To have peace, teach peace,” but peace is more than just talk. People are always preaching peace, but it seems there is less and less peace in the world. There is so much violence and hatred in this country … I watch a lot of history shows, and the times and technology have changed, but the there are still similar issues happening today.

Peace is more than just a word. Peace is an action. To have peace, we must BE peace – in demeanor and heart. Being peace doesn’t mean we will never fight, sometimes it is necessary to fight; unfortunately, some war is necessary.) But for every day people living in our communities, we must practice peace.

Why isn’t there more peace? Why is violence escalating?

Because we are surrounded by it! People thrive on it, can’t seem to get enough of it! The negativity, violence, horror, and atrocities are pounded into us each day with everything wrong with this country and the world (OK, once in awhile there is a feel-good story). There are always wars somewhere with some faction wanting to take over other countries or whatever.

And it’s addictive! People love that adrenaline rush, that excitement in hearing and reading what is happening to others. They fill themselves with violent news, movies, TV programs, video games, and social media. Commercials yelling at you that their product is the best ever. (And what I hear about virtual reality machines that you put on your head – what does that do to your brain?)

Oh, it’s so exciting! And people can’t stop talking about it and spread it farther. Even techno music, with its unnatural beat, which is great for dancing or strenuous work, but to listen to it all the time with it pumping up your adrenaline – not healthy, it stresses the heart, body, and mind.

This continuous adrenaline pump keeping people pumped up all the time causes physical and mental stress. People are quick to anger, quick to violent acts … think about this. What’s this doing to kids? And we wonder why negativity and violence is escalating? Think about how you feel when reading the news. Think about what all this negativity does to your brainwaves, to your children’s brainwaves.

Is this what you really want in life? I hear people say how they enjoy the adrenaline highs … is this just another addiction? Can it be as bad as many of the other addictions if it’s spreading more negativity? If you’re on an almost continual adrenaline high, what affect is this having? And just with drugs, you start to need more and more? Think about this. Is this how you want to live?

So, what can we do? I, personally, don’t believe there can ever be world peace. We are human beings with all the humanist positives and negatives to deal with. There will always be those who want to take or control or destroy what someone else has. And, I believe (and I’m sure there are those who disagree), there are just some bad people for whom there is no hope. (Just look at these dictators and the Jim Jones’ and such.)

This past year I started being more conscious of living wholeheartedly. Part of this had me paying attention to situations that “riled me up.” Commercials yelling at me in excited voices. (And you can’t believe anything they tell you.) I refuse to listen to news (as much as I can). I stopped watching TV shows (even my favorite NCIS) that promoted the bad in the world and violence. I considered the music I listen to and added variety, so it’s not all energetic hype. Songs that are about violence or are nasty/ugly/hate-filled, I won’t listen to at all. I go on Facebook to check messages and comment on good things. I refuse to read all the hate stuff and will hide it. I don’t even want it showing on my timeline.

To be at peace, I need to live peacefully. That doesn’t mean life is perfect. Shit happens and even if I “lose it” at times, I am quicker to recover. I have practices to stop downward thinking. I have gathered affirmations to read over to help me cope with life. I have my writing and art, and gardens and indoor plants. I meditate and practice tai chi.

I believe peace starts small. Start with yourself and find what makes you feel at peace, share it with family, your neighborhoods and friends. Find ways to build peace locally, then move it out farther. Is life perfect? No, but if we all do a little, we can make our own part of the world better.

Note: But let me say, when I’m talking about negativity, this doesn’t include when someone is having a bad day or a personal issue they need to talk over. We all have down moments sometimes and need support from one another. Sometimes all we need is a kind a kind word, a bit of understanding, or a little advice.

Stay away from the negativity.

Spread peace in words and actions.

Paying Attention when Good Thoughts Come

Thoughts on this morning's process gave me two of these lessons. Sometimes I already know these things, but I'll now see them in a different light.

564. Dear Divine Presence, Thank you for showing me that messages and answers don’t always come just in meditation. Sometimes movement (like with my morning exercise routine) stimulates the flow of thoughts, just as walking often brings on poems. What’s important is when the words come, I give them attention and write them down. Love and Success, Sasha.

565. Dear Divine Presence, Thank you for showing me that messages and thoughts come through in waves. The wave washes over me, then it’s gone. (I knew this, it’s just today I’m “seeing” it differently.) It’s important to take the time to stop what I’m doing and play in those waves. Love and Success, Sasha.

Being Flexible in My Schedule

563. Dear Divine Presence, Thank you for teaching me I can't always have too much of a set schedule. There are so many changes and distractions. Yes, there are certain things I have to get done in a certain time frame, but everything else jockeys around that. It’s important to celebrate it all and have fun with it. No regrets to what I don’t get done. Take time to acknowledge what I do accomplish. Love and Success, Sasha.

Being vigilant with how I'm thinking

560. Dear Divine Presence, Thank you for reminding me I have to be vigilant with my thoughts. When I’m not, my thoughts revert to things going wrong. Being vigilant means I catch the downward spiraling thinking immediately and say, “Stop!” Then I change my thinking into more positive directions. This takes practice, but it’s becoming easier. I’m catching myself quicker and I am much happier. Love and Success, Sasha.

A New Understanding about My Mum and Christmas

So much runs through my mind. We learn to really stand up on our own two feet when we don't have our mums to call on anymore. Well, we can still call on them, just not the same. There's a knowing that we WILL see them again someday ... just not in this physical realm.

Funny, I didn't think I was going to be emotional this year. Maybe I'm supposed to. Perhaps I will be for the rest of my life. I'm OK about it, really. It makes me stop to appreciate mothers and what mothers have meant for most of us.

Mothers’ Day is supposed to be about mothers, but it feels different. Maybe because this time of year we are closer to God. (Funny I can now say the word "God" without getting that Christian-belief cringe. I know how I see/feel God, and I can now say it even though it's the same word.)

Christmas, no matter how you see God, is not just about all the hype and Jesus' birth. For me, there's a much deeper, personal meaning; something I will never get over, and yet continue to learn from. My mother loved Christmas! Maybe that's why Christmas means (and hurts) so much, and why I continue to spend it alone.

Suddenly, I realize Christmas was more about my mother than anything. My mother WAS Christmas for me, for us, growing up ... Wow, I don't know that I ever realized it that way before.

My mother was so into Christmas! She'd start buying presents in July. I remember the joy on her face ... oh, so and so would just love that! Giving gifts was a true enjoyment and love for her. The smiles on her face on Christmas Day ... 

Oh, yeah, I'm sitting here sobbing, but it's OK. I love gaining these insights and understandings. I love my mother, will always love her. I don't have to hide it and I don't have to be ashamed that I cry over it.

Christmas the last few years of her life were just her and I. No one visited. We’d stopped buying presents. Christmas was the two of us … and then, she passed away on a Christmas Day.

I am learning to love Christmas in a different way. Somehow, the memories bring me closer to mum. Every time I put up a light, I think how she'd love seeing that. I know she is here with me.

Love you, Mum, forever and ever.

559. Dear Divine Presence,

Thank you for again showing me that changing how I think can make a big difference in how I see things. For instance, someone mentioned how making to-do lists and being able to check off accomplishments work for her. My immediate thought was: To-do lists don’t work for me because the list grows longer faster than I can check things off.

But wait! What if I change how I think? What if, instead of writing down everything I want to get done … forever, I just write down things I want to accomplish today? I listed seven things I wanted to get done just in yesterday, and I was able to cross them all off!

What does this mean? For today, only list things that are possible to get done today. Hey, if I do extra, that’s a bonus! Love and Success, Sasha.