Sunday, August 03, 2014
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
6 Signs You Are Actually Maturing, Not Just Aging
VIA Wisdom Pills.
1. PATIENCE
Increasingly, we live in an on-demand world. With the exponential rise in technological smarts, patience levels seem to be dropping as a corollary. We have become so used to having our needs met at a quicker and quicker pace that there seems to be no stopping it. People want what they want, and they want it now. Yet no matter how fast our automation gets, no matter how much speed the service and technology industries gain, we will always be left waiting. Waiting is an intrinsic part of life. There is no escaping it. If you notice, as you get older, that you are more accepting of situations when they don’t go as planned, or long line-ups that can’t be avoided – even when you’re in a rush – congratulations! You have matured in a very particular manner and, whether you’re aware of it or not, you are no doubt happier because of it.
2. THE ABILITY TO LISTEN
The words ‘listen’ and ‘silent’ are composed of the same letters. In order to truly listen, one must first know how to be truly silent. What this is, is presence. You are present with the other person as they are speaking to you. Your mind is not wandering, you are not distracted or thinking about how they look or what they’re wearing, nor are you simply waiting for them to finish so you can then say your part. You are fully there with them, really hearing what’s being said and taking in both the emotion and the reality of it. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a 2-year old or a 90-year old, the mature person understands that only through the practice of this still and silent attention can they possibly respond in an honest manner.
3. A SURRENDER TO CHANGE
There’s only one constant in life: inconstancy. If there’s one thing both scientist and sage can agree upon, this is it. As we age, this is a lesson we learn time and again. No matter how strongly we attempt to keep things the same, there is simply no doing so. Even if it takes years, life will shake things up, scare you, force change upon you. It will dash your hopes and collect dust on your desires, even as it surprises and delights you with things you could’ve never imagined. Most people, however, fail to grasp this and continue to push, plan, fight and resist, even up to the very end. If you are someone that has caught on, however – no matter what stage of life you may be at – again, congratulations! You have come to understand one of the greatest teachings the world has to offer: uncertainty is a precondition of life. This doesn’t mean, of course, that you don’t make plans and go about your business, it simply means that you let go of the need for things to turn out in a narrowly specific way. Which leads us to our next point…
4. A RELINQUISHMENT OF EXPECTATION
Ask most 20 year olds what kind of future they envision for themselves by the age of 40 and they’ll most likely have a few solid ideas. Check in with them at 40 and they’ll most likely tell you how they never could’ve imagined their lives turning out the way that it did. Far from being the burden so many experience this as, it is in fact one of life’s greatest gifts: the calling for you to release expectation. As we just pointed out, life is an organic process. Its flow is unpredictable. The mature person has been paying close enough attention to this over the years to actually come to understand it and integrate it into their world-view. This is the next stage of surrender to change, and it results in a change in perspective, due to a deep understanding of the uncertain nature of life itself. It’s signs are clearly reflected in the actions of the mature person – there is very little to no negative reactivity to what life throws at them. They have a calm presence. They’ve learned how to relax. Their mood is not dictated by specific outcomes, but comes instead from this Que Sera Sera attitude. They’ve learned how to go with the flow.
5. AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT ‘LOVE’ ACTUALLY IS
This is a big one. So many young people are sure that they have experienced ‘love’, when in fact what they’ve been through is an intense combination of biological and psychological need fulfilment, most often unconscious in origin. Unfortunately, this is often a pattern that continues throughout life for many, without there ever being a break-through into the deeper levels of love that lie waiting for them. Infatuation, lust and obsession are not love. It takes heartbreak, and the courage to face oneself to know and learn what love actually is. Whether it takes place in a string of relationships or in the issues that can arise over the course of a single, long-term love-affair, a mature person has come to understand that the purpose of all relationship is personal growth, and that nowhere is there more potential for personal growth than in the dynamics of their love relationship(s).
Through these relationships, the mature person has learned acceptance; they’ve learned empathy, understanding and compassion. Instead of appreciating only those things in the other person that they agree with or approve of, which is a very shallow form of love, they’ve learned to honour and even appreciate the other’s individuality instead, knowing that there is always something to be learned by the differences between them. In this way the love has deepened. It has become a choice, not some out-of-control whirlwind that sweeps you off of your feet and holds the power to make or break your happiness. Above all, the mature person understands that love is work. It is a commitment, and through the honouring of this work, through the honouring of this commitment, they have come to know levels of love, joy and ecstasy that could’ve never been reached through other means, no matter how seductive the shallower forms of love may have appeared at the time.
6. A RELEASE OF SELF-IMPORTANCE
The mature person has learned that the world doesn’t revolve around them. They know that they are not perfect, nor will they ever be, and they have therefore given up the game of projecting an air of perfection to others. They are honest about where they are at, their skills and talents, and their shortcomings. They understand that mistakes are an integral part of life, and they are not afraid to make them. They are also unafraid of being proven wrong. (In fact, the highly mature person celebrates it.) Having learned this, they are not only happier, but have probably accomplished many things, learning even more about both life and themselves in the process. Because of this, the mature person most likely enjoys what they do for a living. Those who have failed to get over themselves and face their fears are more likely to be stuck in a job they dislike. The willingness to try and fail, time and again – due to the understanding that they are not as important as their mind makes them out to be – leads to a greater understanding of one’s strengths and weaknesses and, ultimately, life itself. Although it seems almost paradoxical, through this releasing of a sense of self-importance, the mature person has almost assuredly achieved a number of important things.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Global, Universal Suffering with Carolyn Myss
The horror is global and it travels within the psychic field of life. Deep in the intuitive reaches of my soul, I am immersed in the sensation that the system of life itself has gone on alert - somehow humanity is coming close to losing its fundamental reverence for human life. That reverence is our essential touch stone with our humanity.
A collective madness is manifesting in choices that are repeat performances of previous slaughters are rationalized to be sound judgments - once again. If ever a person wanted to understand the handiwork of darkness, one need only look at how acts of hatred are rationalized. There is no reason for someone who identifies him or herself as a "conscious" much less "civilized" human being to ever participate in an act of hatred - ever.
That first time you declare yourself to be "conscious", you are saying that you have successfully rid yourself of those demons that give you permission to violate your own spiritual beliefs. You are saying that you have shed the option of violence because you see the folly in it, the uselessness of it - that indeed such acts only lead to more. You are saying that you have discovered more "conscious" resources within you with which you will now engage with life You are saying that you are strong enough, conscious enough to recognize when a demon - pressing upon the Victim or Martyr archetype in you - is talking you into betraying your higher instincts. You are telling yourself that your soul has the stamina to withstand the tsunamis of life without turning dark and hostile.
Human actions are increasingly becoming the antithesis of instinctual choices that lean in favor of humanity. We are growing increasingly frightened instead of increasingly open, loving, and global. We are moving in the opposite direction of where an "advanced" society should be headed. We are imploding. We can feel the tension building in the collective atmosphere - even if we cannot name that tension. An ordinary woman, interviewed for a comment on the Malaysian crash said, "What's happening in our world?"
All life breathes together. All events impact all life one way or another. Some people are physically wounded and others will absorb the wounds on the psychic level. Even those who ignore the events will experience the consequences as they continue to unfold. If ever we needed to pray for the world and for humanity, it is now. We must be about the business of utilizing what it means to be "spiritually conscious". You become conscious in order to put your soul to work. If it feels right to you, consider this prayer of your own version of it, "I open myself as a channel of grace for healing and restoring the balance of life. I ask that all life be blessed." And stay ever mindful of how easily anger and hatred bite at your heels...."Hover over me God..."
Sunday, July 13, 2014
After Death Musings - I
BY ANNIE KAGAN:
The List
surrender-goddess
1. The First Thing that Happens is Bliss. As soon as you die, you’re sucked out of your body into a Healing Chamber. The lights in that Chamber erase all the harm you suffered during your entire lifetime, physical, mental and emotional. So, in less than a nanosecond, all your pain is gone.
2. You Still Feel Like Yourself. Even though you don’t have your body anymore, you still feel like an individual. Actually, you feel more like yourself than you did when you were alive. There’s so much influence from others while you’re on earth that in a way you don’t get to be you.
3. Light Has a Personality. In the afterlife the light rays have qualities like wisdom, kindness, compassion and intelligence. This light makes visible what is invisible on earth, the Divine nature of all things.
4. Sin and Punishment is a Human Concept. There’s a lot of mumbo jumbo on earth about what might be waiting for you after you die. Making mistakes while you’re alive is part of the earth deal. If we had to be perfect to get to so-called Heaven, no- one would make it there.
5. Your Life On Earth Isn’t a Punishment Either. Sure, there’s pain in life, but not because you’ve done anything to deserve it. Pain is part of the human experience, as natural as breath or eyesight or blood moving through your veins.
6. After You Die, Instead of Judgment Day There’s No-Judgment Day. When you review your life, you see the paths you took and the ones you didn’t. You see where your genius was and where you might have done better, but you don’t feel judgmental about it. And even though it might not make sense to you now, after you die you understand that you had a great life, even the hard parts.
7. You’re Happy You Look Like Yourself. You’re not concerned with the way you look. There are no pretensions or efforts to appear any which way. You just radiate, which is effortless.
8. Love Is Not the Same As Earth Love. You’re not loved because of what you do, how you look, how famous you are, or how much money you make. It’s not like yesterday I loved you, but today I don’t anymore. Love is truly unconditional. Most controversial of all is that in the afterlife there’s perfect compassion and no matter how you lived you are loved.
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