Alcohol, Drugs, Sex, Hatred, A Temporary Fix To A Deeper Hurt

When you know a peaceful purpose that can heal the world, you will get committed to living it and sharing your knowledge. I listened to Byron  Katie in another interview last night and she said she would teach the work as long as she had a breath left in her, as long as there are people who can be helped by it and of course everything she has to offer is free on her website. www.thework.com
BK has found her purpose.

There was a day when I thought I had to speak up and let others know what is right and wrong according to my way of thinking, I was arrogant and prideful. My idea of right and wrong was not always correct. In time I learned to mind my own business to the point I let others make mistakes, on their own, I stayed out of it.  This is safe and causes little confrontation.

My studies of kindness and compassion have lead me to know, it is everyone's purpose to live a peaceful life that offers assistance to others.

What I found is you do not need money to find answers, thank God. I had none anyway, when my search began as a teenager.  But you do need to be humble enough to say, "I don't know everything, and I'm open to listen and decide for myself what is good and true. Living with alcohol, drugs, food addiction, sexual addiction, hateful negative attitudes, as a solution is no more than a temporary fix, a place to hide, that cannot deal with the real problem inside. I needed a long term fix."

When you search with a laser focus you will find ways (controlling your mind to be free from depression and anger) that are free for the discovery and practice. These methods have been taught  for thousands of years by wise sages before we were we born. Religions do not hold all the answers for anyone. You can find other ways of obtaining inner peace if you look. God will see to this, my job is to remain open to receive with an open heart the wisdom of the universe,which is and has always been peaceful and kind resolutions.

Boundaries must be set with confidence if we are to protect our minds from predators. These peaceful methods we found become paramount to practice if we are to maintain inner peace in a chaotic world. It can be done with the discipline to practice daily.

Thankful for the meditation I choose to practice every day instead of fearful actions and hateful negative thinking.  There is another way but you must seek it out, no one can do it for you. Once you find it, hold on.





 

Anger, Let It Be Until it Passes

Anger in all of us is the need to express our point when we feel we are not being heard.

An unconfused mind knows to not lash out and harm another, and not to repress the anger, this harms self.  So what do we do with this anger?

We bring it closer to home, we lean in, we root out what we are fearing. We admit we are angry and we investigate why. If we can't discover the root cause of it now, we sit with it. We let it be, knowing this is a natural human experience. 

We don't get ashamed we can't get to the root of it, we sit with calm attention, let it pass through us. The more you resist the anger, the more hardened it becomes. The hardness makes it more uncomfortable and the mind cannot receive the peace of understanding that comes with the calm mind.

When we come to the understanding that we don't yell and lash out at others when we are angry, and we don't internalise the anger to stress and sickness, now we are getting somewhere closer to the truth. The Dalai Lama taught when I heard him speak, "Talk, talk, truth will out." 

If the offender of your anger will not talk it out, you can still go inside and make peace with yourself.

In present moment, in meditation, all will be revealed to you in time. In the meantime, we patiently wait.  That we can do as wait for anger to pass through us.

As a former person of much anger, I am thankful to learn not to resist, but let it be.  Much to be learned just from this simple, not knowing, but let it be.

Wait a Minute, Wait a MInute

Don't confuse the issue.

Studying the "present moment" and claiming this is the way to inner peace for me I listened to a Buddhist teach "there is no present. "

No present?  What do you mean I asked? So I listened and listened to the teaching again and again until a light went on in my brain.

The "present" Eckhart Tolle teaches and I apply in every situation I am confused or stressed is the "moment of peace" in your mind that you bring calm to your thoughts, this relieves stressful thinking.

The "present that is not" as taught in the Buddhist CD I'm studying, is the understanding that "life is never present" or static, "life like time, is dynamic and constantly moving." Energy is not still ever, energy is constant vibration and we are are made up of this. Matter of fact the entire world is interconnected because of this energy we share.

I laughed at the Buddhist teacher when she said in studying and making these Buddhist teachings your own, you may interpret it "homemade."  But that is the point to get closer to universal truth is it not?

Question everything, and until you make sense of it, do not accept it. You have a brain, a good heart, use it and believe in your own good self.

Now to learn "not to believe anything you think"...well that's another lesson for another day.  I get it.

A Friend Said, Enough Already

He said, "I have had enough of Eckhart Tolle to last a lifetime."

Me, "Until I master peace of mind in every moment, I am continuing my study of his teachings, Byron Katie Mitchell, Pema Chodron, Thich Nhat Hanh, and thankful to do it."

Stevie Nicks, can I ever get enough? No.

Journey, can I ever get enough?  No.

My sweetheart husband, can I ever get enough? No.

My wonderful children, can I ever get enough? No.

Meeting great people everywhere I go, can I ever get enough? No.

Writing, can I ever get enough?  Only time will tell.

TV, social media, news, politics, negative angry attitudes?  Yes, enough!

You choose where you spend your mind, and I'll choose where I spend my mind.

It's a wonderful life.

Thankful. If none of these are me, who am I ET?  That is why I study to be aware of me. By George I think I'm getting closer, I know I am!

Accept, Embrace, Reconcile All the Same

It depends on what word you like best to do the same thing.  Accept each moment as if you have chosen it and take action to change, leave, or accept the situation.  All else leads to madness about things you cannot control.

The higher vibration that keeps us in a positive state of mind brings calmness and clarity. To have clarity we must have order. Think of a junk room in your house and how every time you look in you just want to close the door. Bringing order to this room means taking everything out and discarding much trash and making the room functional by organizing it. 

Once you have order then you must discipline yourself to not clutter the room again. Less stuff, more space to move and breathe.

Our mind is like this.  To get clarity one must remove or unlearn angry, negative thoughts.  When anything that you don't like happens see this as an opportunity for change. Look for new ideas, and while waiting teach yourself to be patient. If you alone cannot change a situation, patiently accept and wait. Next year the world will look different and better if you only accept, embrace, reconcile the now.

Peaceful waters of the mind are so healing. Thankful for peaceful music and meditation anytime.
Turn off TV and social media permanently if you can, rest now, your mind needs rest, your thoughts need space. 

Keep Going If You Really Want to taste Freedom Keep Going

Harriet Tubman is a quite a woman.  Auburn, NY has a museum and a couple of houses that were hers.  Presently money is being collected to to restore the property to keep her story alive. I wonder how many people know her and care about what she did for abolition. 

When I moved to Troy, NY in 1976, I walked the streets to discover the town and found a plaque on one of the city walls about her.  This was my introduction to her and I began to read more about her dangerous life and cause, to free slaves.

She led 300 slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad in 19 trips with a gun in her hand.  She vowed to kill any slave that wanted to turn back, this was not allowed.  With this conviction every slave that traveled with her made it to freedom in Canada. 

Her motto if you really want to taste freedom, keep going applies to my own search for the peace of mind I sought for many years. If we are slaves to our thoughts we are not free. I found freedom in being present and meditation.  What I know, if anyone wants to taste freedom, if you keep searching, keep going, you will find it in your own way in your time.  Keep going, peace is worth it.

Thankful to be in the right direction now, thankful to know women like Harriet Tubman who succeeded against all odds. If she can do it, we can do it too.

Agnes and Kayleigh

On my way to Rochester I met a beautiful mother, daughter duo.  The mother was stopped at the rest stop taking a break from driving, standing outside the car. I walked out to my car after getting a latte, and thought I'd say, "Hi, where you heading?"  So I did...

She and her daughter (17) were traveling the Northeast looking at engineering colleges for her daughter.  The trip would be a wonderful memory of a lifetime for both of them.  Their home was Florida and although they like Florida, her daughter wanted to possibly go to school in a cooler climate. So the two were out visiting college campuses and exploring, cannot know unless you take a look.

The trip's focus was to check out colleges but the adventure of being on the road alone with your mother at this very impressionable age would be the best classroom of life teachings for her daughter before heading out into a world without her mother. Her mother, Agnes and I spoke of women, education, confidence, the world today, and how much the world has changed, how much we have changed from our own mothers.

Both of our mothers are fearful of the world and believe the  role of a woman is singular. Both of our mothers are fearful of us driving alone, especially traveling on the road for hours in the night in strange states.  But we both agree if you have triple A and a cell phone you can always get help. Agnes told me, "If worse comes to worse, I can change a tire myself!"

Many times daughters follow in their footsteps but sometimes daughters like Agnes and me take a different route.  This brave woman is currently an engineer working in a research center in Florida.  Previously living up north, one day she decided her life needed a change so she packed up her life in a car with her daughter and just drove to Florida to live. They have a great life there.  Women like this that devote the well being of the child first, seek to get the child educated and support the individual endeavors of the child, are the best type of parent to my way of thinking. 

Single mothers have always and will always have a special place in my heart.  For it is the parent, be it mom or dad, that stays with the child, raises the child, listens to the child's individual thoughts and supports the child's dream, that I believe make America great again.  It always starts in the home. It starts with the family.

Thankful to have met another woman that has heart, education, direction, and confidence.  Thanks Agnes for taking your time to share with me your story. Can hardly wait to hear what college Kayleigh chooses and if it is anywhere near Albany, NY, you can always stay with me in your travels, I'll keep a light on for you. 😉