“Have you ever seen anything in your life more wonderful than the way the sun,
every evening, relaxed and easy, floats toward the horizon … ” excerpt continues below.
What mistakes have you been ashamed to admit, lately?
The Sun
by Mary Oliver
Have you ever seen
anything
in your life
more wonderful
than the way the sun,
every evening,
relaxed and easy,
floats toward the horizon
and into the clouds or the hills,
or the rumpled sea,
and is gone–
and how it slides again
out of the blackness,
every morning,
on the other side of the world,
like a red flower
streaming upward on its heavenly oils,
say, on a morning in early summer,
at its perfect imperial distance–
and have you ever felt for anything
such wild love–
do you think there is anywhere, in any language,
a word billowing enough
for the pleasure
that fills you,
as the sun
reaches out,
as it warms you
as you stand there,
empty-handed–
or have you too
turned from this world–
“A rich landowner named Carl often rode around his vast estate so he could congratulate himself on his great wealth. One day while riding around his estate on his favorite horse … .” Excerpt from the Arabian Nights story on being grateful.
What “blessings” or gifts from your recovery do you feel especially grateful for and why, lately?
Be Grateful :
A rich landowner named Carl often rode around his vast estate so he could congratulate himself on his great wealth. One day while riding around his estate on his favorite horse, he saw Hans, an old tenant farmer. Hans was sitting under a tree when Carl rode by.
Hans said, ‘I was just thanking God for my food.’
Carl protested, ‘If that is all I had to eat, I wouldn’t feel like giving thanks.’
Hans replied, ‘God has given me everything I need and I am thankful for it.’
The old farmer added, ‘It is strange you should come by today because I had a dream last night. In my dream a voice told me….The richest man in the valley will die tonight.’ I don’t know what it means, but I thought I ought to tell you.’
Carl snorted, ‘Dreams are nonsense,’ and galloped away, but he could not forget Hans’ words…The richest man in the valley will die tonight.
He was obviously the richest man in the valley, so he invited his doctor to his house that evening. Carl told the doctor what Hans had said. After a thorough examination, the doctor told the wealthy landowner, ‘Carl, you are as strong and healthy as a horse. There is no way you are going to die tonight.’
Nevertheless, for assurance, the doctor stayed with Carl, and they played cards through the night. The doctor left the next morning and Carl apologized for becoming so upset over the old man’s dream.
At about nine o’clock, a messenger arrived at Carl’s door.
‘What is it?’ Carl demanded.
The messenger explained, ‘It’s about old Hans. He died last night in his sleep.’
You don’t need money to be rich, be grateful for what you have in life and you will feel happier.
“You ‘ll be wonderin’ whut ‘s de reason I ‘s a grinnin’ all de time, An’ I guess you t’ink my sperits Mus’ be feelin’ mighty prime. Well, I ‘fess up, I is tickled As a puppy at his paws.” The full Expectation poem
by Paul Laurence Dunbar below.
You ‘ll be wonderin’ whut ‘s de reason
I ‘s a grinnin’ all de time,
An’ I guess you t’ink my sperits
Mus’ be feelin’ mighty prime.
Well, I ‘fess up, I is tickled
As a puppy at his paws.
But you need n’t think I’s crazy,
I ain’ laffin’ ‘dout a cause.
You’s a wonderin’ too, I reckon,
Why I does n’t seem to eat,
An’ I notice you a lookin’
Lak you felt completely beat
When I ‘fuse to tek de bacon,
An’ don’ settle on de ham.
Don’ you feel no feah erbout me,
Jes’ keep eatin’, an’ be ca’m.
Fu’ I’s waitin’ an’ I’s watchin’
‘Bout a little t’ing I see–
D’ othah night I’s out a walkin’
An’ I passed a ‘simmon tree.
Now I’s whettin’ up my hongry,
An’ I’s laffin’ fit to kill,
Fu’ de fros’ done turned de ‘simmons,
An’ de possum ‘s eat his fill.
He done go’ged hisse’f owdacious,
An’ he stayin’ by de tree!
Don’ you know, ol’ Mistah Possum
Dat you gittin’ fat fu’ me?
‘T ain’t no use to try to ‘spute it,
‘Case I knows you’s gittin’ sweet
Wif dat ‘simmon flavoh thoo you,
So I’s waitin’ fu’ yo’ meat.
An’ some ebenin’ me an Towsah
Gwine to come an’ mek a call,
We jes’ drap in onexpected
Fu’ to shek yo’ han’, dat’s all.
Oh, I knows dat you ‘ll be tickled,
Seems lak I kin see you smile,
So pu’haps I mought pu’suade you
Fu’ to visit us a while.
What techniques have you tried lately to help you listen more intently?
NO NEED TO BE ‘THE LONE RANGER’ –
“Going it alone
in spiritual matters
is dangerous.” “… what
comes to us alone may be
garbled by our own rational-
ization and wishful thinking.
The benefit of walking to an-
other person is that we can
get his direct comment
and counsel on our sit-
uation.” (12 & 12, p. 60)
AN IDEAL LISTENER –
“We have found
that an ideal listen-
er will have enough
compassion to honor
our feelings, enough in-
tegrity to respect our confi-
dences, and enough insight
to help us keep the exact
nature of our wrongs
within our field of
vision.” (It Works,
pp. 37 – 38)
“Know
how to listen,
and you will pro-
fit even from those
who talk badly.”
– Plutarch (46 AD – 120 AD) Greek historian and essayist
“If you are a witness to the thought, it simply drifts away and vanishes. But if you hold on to it and chew on it, then it stays with you.” More ideas on getting rid of “persistent thoughts” below.
Which “persistent thought(s)” would you like to be freed from, lately?
7 ways to remove negative thoughts :
COURTESY : http://srisriravishankar.org
1.Get Busy
When you recognize a negative thought, get busy. If you simply sit, you will keep thinking a lot.
2. Improve circulation in your body
If your head is filled with too many thoughts, lie down on the floor and keep rolling and you will see the circulation in the body improves. When circulation improves then the mind feels better. That is the reason they do shayana pradakshinam (a form of worship done by rolling on the floor). Experience it and see how there is a change in your mind.
3. Shake hands with negative a thought
If you keep resisting negative thoughts and try to push them away, then they will follow you like a ghost. Shake hands with your negative thoughts. Tell them, ‘Come here and sit with me. I will not leave you’ and you will see how they quickly disappear. Thoughts are scared of you.
If you get scared of a negative thought then they will control you. But if you shake hands with them, then they will disappear.
4. Pranayama and Meditation
Pranayama and Meditation is the best way to apply brakes in the buzzing mind.
It is very effective and instantly calms your mind down.
5. Intestinal Cleansing
if you are bombarded with too many negative thoughts, know that something must be wrong with your bowel movement. Do Shankh Prakshalan (intestinal cleansing). That would also help.
6. Move Around
Get up, do your exercise, sing, dance, do yoga, meditation, pranayama. All these will help.
7. Become a witness to your thoughts
You cannot stop a thought or know a thought before it comes. And when it comes, it also goes away immediately. If you are a witness to the thought, it simply drifts away and vanishes. But if you hold on to it and chew on it, then it stays with you. Thought(s) come and go, but that which is the basis of thought(s) – is the atma (soul). And that is what you are. You are like the sky and thought(s) are like clouds. This could be the nearest example one can give. Clouds come and go in the sky, but can they disturb or limit the vastness of the sky in any way? No, not at all.
So when you fly above the clouds, when you go beyond the clouds, you see that the sky is untouched. It is the same, it is unchanged. It is only the thought(s) which keep moving. This is what happens in meditation. When you come into Sakshi bhaav, i.e., when you simply become a witness to the thought(s).
We do not have to attach ourselves to the thought(s). That is foolishness. Whether they are good thoughts or bad thoughts – they come and go. You are far above and beyond all this. This is called the Vihangam Maarg. It means rising above thoughts and seeing that you have nothing to do with these moving thoughts.
This movie is free for all AT Center Volunteers. (popcorn and water included)
If you need a ride or just prefer to park in our lot, please arrive a little earlier at the ATC because our free Lyft van service will be leaving at 1 pm sharp!
And for anyone else wanting to join us, the first 5 people to RSVP here and bring $5.00. We’ll pay for the rest of your movie ticket too.
As we approach our 50 year anniversary, this is just one of many events this year. Because we want to show our gratitude for all the hard work and dedication our Volunteers provide for us to keep the Center a safe space and open for meetings each and every day.
You can also sponsor a ticket by purchase a gift from this evite.
“[We] tend to
live secret lives.
For many years, we
covered low self-esteem
by hiding behind phony
images that we hop-
ed would fool peo-
ple.” (The Basic
Text, p.33)
HOLD BACK NOTHING –
“Provided you
hold back nothing,
your sense of relief
will mount from minute
to minute. The dammed-up
emotions of years break out
of their confinement, and mi-
raculously vanish as soon as
they are exposed. As the
pain subsides, a healing
tranquility takes its
place.” (12 &
12 p. 62)
“The face is
the mirror of the
mind, and eyes, with-
out speaking, confess
the secrets of the heart.”
– Saint Jerome (374 AD – 419 AD) Latin Christian priest
How have your judgments of others or the feeling of being judged adversely affected you, lately?
Why Always Being Right Can Be Wrong
It all started in elementary school. You remember the kid who thought he or she had the answer to every question, right? They interrupted others, always wanted to have the last word, and even had to be right on the playground. Unfortunately, the workforce is not all that much different. Many of those know-it-alls never seem to change. In fact, one might be sitting across the room from you right now, or even worse, they’re in the corner office down the hall. You know who they are, and if you don’t, the problem might be even bigger. The know-it-all might be you.
Is it possible to be seemingly know everything except the fact that you’re a know-it-all? Self-diagnose by asking yourself this simple question: “Do I think I’m always right?” Give an honest answer—no caveats. You may not want to admit it, but if you catch yourself justifying it, (I am the senior partner, so of course I’m right!), then you have a problem. Always being right can be wrong. It can turn people against you, stifle conversations and ideas, and make people want to avoid you altogether. Read on to discover the classic reasons why you might feel like you can never be wrong—and how to master your mindset so you don’t embody typical know-it-all pitfalls. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidsturt/2016/11/02/why-always-being-right-can-be-wrong/#71f176ac6b8b)
“Why ask for something before we are ready for it? This would be asking for trouble. So many times addicts have sought the rewards of hard work without the labor.” (The Basic Text, p. 33)
How have you confronted something you dread and taken steps to make things right, lately?
My wife’s new pink slippers
have gay pom-poms.
There is not a spot or a stain
on their satin toes or their sides.
All night they lie together
under her bed’s edge.
Shivering I catch sight of them
and smile, in the morning.
Later I watch them
descending the stair,
hurrying through the doors
and round the table,
moving stiffly
with a shake of their gay pom-poms!
And I talk to them
in my secret mind
out of pure happiness.
What experiences with forgiveness have you had, lately?
I am sorry for participating in this erroneous memory data.
Please forgive me for not seeing the perfection in this moment, and playing back a universal memory I have received within me that is riddled with wrongs and errors.
Thank you for cleansing me, others, the world and the universe.
I love you. Loving the sweet divine is the greatest power or energy there is in all space. I am now loving everyone involved and affected. I know that my perceptions of them are within me, where this error first occurred and where it can be eradicated. (http://www.naturalawakeningsmag.com/Natural-Awakenings/February-2014/Healing-Hurt/)
THEORY:
We carry inside us as parts of the Unconscious Mind, all the significant people in our lives. (These parts of us often look very much like Carl Jung’s archetypes.) Ho’oponopono makes it “all right” with them. The process of Ho’oponopono is to align with and clean up our genealogy as well as to clean up our relationships with other people in our lives.
The Process of Ho’oponopono:
Bring to mind anyone with whom you do not feel total alignment or support, etc.
In your mind’s eye, construct a small stage below you
Imagine an infinite source of love and healing flowing from a source above the top of your head (from your Higher Self), and open up the top of your head, and let the source of love and healing flow down inside your body, fill up the body, and overflow out your heart to heal up the person on the stage. Be sure it is all right for you to heal the person and that they accept the healing.
When the healing is complete, have a discussion with the person and forgive them, and have them forgive you.
Next, let go of the person, and see them floating away.
As they do, cut the aka cord that connects the two of you (if appropriate). If you are healing in a current primary relationship, then assimilate the person inside you.
Do this with every person in your life with whom you are incomplete, or not aligned.
The final test is, can you see the person or think of them without feeling any negative emotions. If you do feel negative emotions when you do, then do the process again. (http://www.ancienthuna.com/ho-oponopono.htm)
