Chinese Proverb: "When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others.
**************************************"The Four Agreements" from The Four Agreements Companion Book by Don Miguel Ruiz1. BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORDSpeak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.2. DON'T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLYNothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.3. DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONSFind the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.4. ALWAYS DO YOUR BESTYour best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstances, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgement, self-abuse, and regret.************************************** Peeling Away The LayersTrees Shedding Their Bark
Trees grow up through their branches and down through their roots into the earth. They also grow wider with each passing year. As they do, they shed the bark that served to protect them but now is no longer big enough to contain them. In the same way, we create boundaries and develop defenses to protect ourselves and then, at a certain point, we outgrow them. If we don’t allow ourselves to shed our protective layer, we can’t expand to our full potential. Trees need their protective bark to enable the delicate process of growth and renewal to unfold without threat. Likewise, we need our boundaries and defenses so that the more vulnerable parts of ourselves can safely heal and unfold. But our growth also depends upon our ability to soften, loosen, and shed boundaries and defenses we no longer need. It is often the case in life that structures we put in place to help us grow eventually become constricting. Unlike a tree, we must consciously decide when it’s time to shed our bark and expand our boundaries, so we can move into our next ring of growth. Many spiritual teachers have suggested that our egos don’t disappear so much as they become large enough to hold more than just our small sense of self—the boundary of self widens to contain people and beings other than just "me." Each time we shed a layer of defensiveness or ease up on a boundary that we no longer need, we metaphorically become bigger people. With this in mind, it is important that we take time to question our boundaries and defenses. While it is essential to set and honor the protective barriers we have put in place, it is equally important that we soften and release them when the time comes. In doing so, we create the space for our next phase of growth.Daily OM . . . Nuturing Mind Body & SpiritNovember 6, 2008
**************************************Where the Flame Doesn’t Flicker
In the light of his vision he has found his freedom ― Dhammapada
When I began to learn meditation, a teacher taught me an image that has been supremely helpful in my practice, with tremendous applications to my daily life. Imagine inside yourself a sacred room where a white candle burns brightly. This room is a sanctuary, a refuge from the bustling activity of your daily life. The energy in the room is so still, secure, and protected that when the outer winds of change blow, the candle does not flicker.
There is a place of peace inside you that is unaffected by the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” It is not affected by the highs of worldly achievement. It is calm, pure, whole, and unswerving. Nothing anyone says to you or about you can dampen it. No financial ups or downs can move it. No heady falling in love or relationship breakup or divorce can sway it. Bodily challenges cannot move it. Even the death of a loved one cannot extinguish it, as you realize that your loved one has not disappeared, but returned to the refuge of their own soul.
You will never find perfect peace in the world. By nature, the world is built on ups and downs, comings and going, triumphs and failures, victories and defeats, war and relative peace, life and death. The world offers many blessings and adventures, but none as profound as the discovery of perfect peace within you, and the recognition that you carry well being with you.
Today and every day take some time, preferably at the beginning of your day and again at the end, to visit and dwell in your inner sanctuary. There you will be cleansed of the debris of painful thinking and emotional upset. Your heart will be opened and your soul restored. You will remember who you are and what your purpose in life is. You will recognize the beauty and value of your loved ones and, most important, yourself.
Go often to the place where the candle flame does not flicker. It is your true home, and the source of all good in your life.
What place can you touch inside you that delivers respite and healing to your soul?
Within me dwells a place of perfect peace. I go there and renew my mind, heart, and spirit.E-mail - September 20, 2009**************************************"The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up." ~ Paul Valery
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