It's a Matter of Attitude, continued

Most of us judge how busy we are by how much we have to do. When there are too many things to do, we think we're busy, and when there isn't much to do, it feels like we're not busy at all. But in fact, we can feel busy when there isn't that much to do, and we can feel relaxed even when there's a lot going on. The states of "busy" and "not busy" aren't defined by how many things there are to do. Contrary to popular opinion, there is no such thing as multitasking; the brain can tend to only one thing at a time. Being too busy or not being busy is an interpretation of our activity.

Busy-ness is a state of mind, not a fact. No matter how much or how little we're doing, we're always just doing what we're doing, simply living this one moment of our lives.

That moment may seem long or short. Time is an internal, not external, reality. Have you noticed that half an hour in the dentist's chair lasts longer than half an hour at a fun dinner party with friends? And five minutes waiting on hold on the phone passes more slowly than five minutes watching a movie. Time is how we live it, not what's measured by the clock (after all, the watch was invented fairly recently, in the 16th century). To be sure, our world operates on clock time, which is convenient and necessary; how else would we make it to that dentist's appointment or dinner party? But the clock is supposed to be working for us, not the other way around. If we feel too busy, we've mistaken a feeling for an objective reality and are held captive to that reality.

It needn't be that way.

(to be continued)

It's a Matter of Attitude

Simple Yet Astounding Ways to Calm Down

By Norman Fischer

If you're so crazed that you have to pencil in time for a deep breath, here's how to become more relaxed—and efficient—in less than a minute. All together now: Ahhhhh…

You keep a to-do list, but you can't get through it by the end of the day, and you're frustrated because you feel like you haven't been able to get enough done. You find that things take longer than you thought they would. And when people ask how you are, "Fine" has been replaced by "Too busy."

Welcome to the "too busy" club.

In this technology-driven world, we can do more, so we do—and we love it. We feel effective and powerful as we check items off our lists and use our cell phones, BlackBerrys, and computers, sometimes all at once. We're multitasking, doing as much as we can in the least amount of time. We're active, creative, and engaged! In demand! Being too busy makes us feel as though we're making an impact.

On the other hand, feeling too busy drives us crazy. Falling ever further behind as the to-do list relentlessly grows (each item generating many more items almost as fast as we can think of them) is nerve-racking and stressful. We begin to feel like prisoners of the list, prisoners of our lives and our desires, prisoners of time. There just aren't enough hours in the day. It's as if we're doing battle with time—and losing.

But the point is not how many things we have done or will do in a given amount of time; the point is how we do what we do. If we're rushed and frantic, we're too busy. If we move through our tasks with equanimity, patient and composed, we're not.

(to be continued)

Being Present

Thoughts from Eckhart Tolle

******

Have a look inside yourself.
What kind of thoughts is your mind producing?
What do you feel?
Direct your attention into the body. Is there any tension?
Once you detect that there is a low level of unease, the
background static, see in what way you are avoiding,
resisting, or denying life by denying the NOW.

******
Feeling will get you closer
to the truth of who you are
than thinking.

******
Wherever you are, be there totally.
If you find your here and now intolerable
and it makes you unhappy,
you have three options:
remove yourself from the situation,
change it, or
accept it totally.
If you want to take responsibility for your life,
you must choose one of those three options,
and you must choose now.
Then accept the consequences.

Not Alone In The Dark

Looking At What We Don’t Want To See

It is one of life’s great paradoxes that the things we don’t want to look at in ourselves are the very things we need to look at in order to know ourselves better and to become more fully who we are. The feelings that make us want to run away are buried treasure full of energy and inspiration if we are willing to look. Whatever shape they come in, and no matter how scary they seem, these messengers bring the information we need in order to grow.

When we are tired of pushing something down, or trying to run away from it, a good first step is to write down what we think we are avoiding. Often this turns out to be only the surface of the issue or a symbol of something else. Expressing ourselves fully on paper is a safe way to begin exploring the murky territory of the unconscious. The coolness of the intellect can give us the distance we need to read what we have written and feel less afraid of it.

It helps if we remember that no matter how dark or negative our thoughts or feelings may be, these are energies shared by all humanity. We are not alone in the dark, and all the gurus and teachers we admire had to go through their own unprocessed emotional territory in order to come out the other side brighter and wiser. This can give us the courage we need to open the treasure chest of what we have been avoiding. (Note: it may feel more like a little shop of horrors. Chaska)

Within the parts of ourselves that we don’t want to look at, there are emotions that need to be felt. Unfelt emotions are stuck energy, and when we leave emotions unprocessed, we deprive ourselves of access to that energy. When we feel strong enough, we can begin the process of feeling those emotions, on our own or with guidance from a spiritual counselor.

It is through this work that the buried treasure of energy and inspiration will pour forth from our hearts, giving us the courage to look at all the parts of ourselves with insight and compassion. from The Daily OM

A Playful Attitude

We always have a choice in how we approach life, no matter what the circumstances may be, though it's easy to forget this. It's a matter of always reaching for what will make us feel better.....even if it's only a little bit better.

***

Be playful. Know that it's going to be alright no matter what. Have as much fun as you can. Be as easy as you can. Don't take anything very seriously, because everything blows over; good and bad. You can't stand still. So nothing lasts very long. The best of experiences you must move beyond and the worst of experiences you must move beyond. Don't make where you are too big of a deal. Let it be what it is: It's a moment in time where you have the choice to feel good or feel bad. That's all that it ever is. (Abraham through Esther Hicks, 5/8/01) -

Disapproving Faces

Not Everybody Will Like You

It is not necessarily a pleasant experience, but there will be times in our lives when we come across people who do not like us. As we know, like attracts like, so usually when they don’t like us it is because they are not like us.

Rather than taking it personally, we can let them be who they are, accepting that each of us is allowed to have different perspectives and opinions. When we give others that freedom, we claim it for ourselves as well, releasing ourselves from the need for their approval so we can devote our energy toward more rewarding pursuits.

While approval from others is a nice feeling, when we come to depend on it we may lose our way on our own path. There are those who will not like us no matter what we do, but that doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with us.

Each of us has our own filters built from our experiences over time. They may see in us something that is merely a projection of their understanding, but we have no control over the interpretations of others. The best we can do is to hope that the role we play in the script of their lives is helpful to them, and follow our own inner guidance with integrity.

from the Daily OM

Expectation

This is kind of a "dicey" subject because it presents dichotomies. We need to be grateful in the present. We need to live in the present. We need to accept ourselves as we are. And, we need to balance all this with a clear view of what we want, and hold the expectation that it is already ours; that is what practicing the principles of the Law of Attraction requires.

***

Expectation indicates the juncture between where you are and where you want to be… Where you want to be, is your desire, and where you are, is your Set-point or habit of thought. And somewhere, in there, is what we would call expectation. Expectation, whether it is wanted or unwanted, is a powerful point of attraction… Your expectation is always what you believe. But the word expectation does imply more what you are wanting than what you are not wanting. It is a more positive word than it is a negative word, but of course, you could expect negatively—and whatever you expect, you will get!

Abraham-Hicks

Being in The Now

The following thoughts are from one of my favorite "gurus", Eckhart Tolle:


YOU CAN CREATE A GAP in the mind stream simply by directing the focus of your attention into the Now. Just become intensely conscious of the present moment.

***

LISTEN to the voice in your head; be there as the witnessing presence.

***

REALIZE DEEPLY that the present moment is all you ever have. Make the Now the primary focus of your life.

***

BREAK THE OLD PATTERN of present-moment resistance. Make it your practice to withdraw attention from the past and future whenever they are not needed. Step out of the time dimension as much as possible in every day.

***

FORGET ABOUT YOUR LIFE SITUATION and pay attention to your life. Your life situation exists in time. Your life is now. Your life situation is mind-stuff. Your life is real.

Law of Attraction

The following is from Abraham-Hicks. Revolutionary thoughts, if they are new to you. Just keep in mind that at one point everything was "revolutionary". :-)

*****

When you are in alignment with who-you-really-are, you cannot help but uplift those with whom you come into contact. Your value to those around you hinges upon only one thing: your personal alignment with Source. And the only thing you have to give to another is an example of that alignment—which they may observe, then desire, and then work to achieve—but you cannot give it to them. Everyone is responsible for the thoughts they think and the things that they choose as their objects of attention.

Love and appreciation are identical vibrations. Appreciation is the vibration of alignment with who-you-are. Appreciation is the absence of everything that feels bad and the presence of everything that feels good. When you focus upon what you want—when you tell the story of how you want your life to be—you will come closer and closer to the vicinity of appreciation, and when you reach it, it will pull you toward all things that you consider to be good in a very powerful way.

If you are feeling a shortage of time or money, your best effort would be to focus upon better-feeling thoughts, and do more things that make you feel good. Your time is a perceptual thing, and even though the clock is ticking the same for everyone, your alignment affects your perception, as well as the results that you allow. As you observe the enormous differences in the effort that people apply and the results they achieve, you have to conclude that there is more to the equation of achieving than action alone.

Being Gentle with Ourselves

During those times when our lives are filled with what seems to be constant change and growth, it is important to remember that we need to be gentle with ourselves. Since it can be easy to use our energy to keep up with the momentum of our lives, we may not be aware of the fact that we are much more likely to run ourselves down. When things seem to be moving quickly, it is especially essential that we make a point to slow down and be gentle with ourselves.

It might be difficult to notice what is happening to us for we may be so caught up in the whirlwind of our lives that we lose sight of the direction in which things are heading. Being gentle with ourselves doesn’t mean that we don’t accomplish things. Instead it means that we honor ourselves on an ongoing basis and take care of the needs of our bodies.

This means different things to different people. For instance, it could mean having a session with a healer; taking a remedy, herbs, or vitamins; or getting extra sleep. Putting our energy into ourselves in this way helps create space for a more positive, loving, and accepting view of our lives. By setting the intention to do so, we will be more cognizant of our energy levels on a daily basis and more able to replenish them as needed.

The more we are able to treat our bodies with gentleness, the more tenderness and compassion we will call forth into our lives. Learning to understand and pay attention to what our self needs will in turn allow us to fill our lives with unlimited loving and healing energy and to truly take care of the things that mean the most to us. The Daily OM

Dealing with Loss

One reason that changing oneself...and one's life....can be quite challenging is that we never take on something new without first having to let go of the old and familiar. Giving up something with which we are so comfortable...even though it may not be good for us...can be a frightening, lonely, and painful experience. It's at this point when we need to take a leap of faith, and trust that the pain is merely temporary.

*****

We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.

Joseph Campbell

*****

Just as light brightens darkness, discovering inner fulfillment can eliminate any disorder or discomfort. This is truly the key to creating balance and harmony in everything you do.
Deepak Chopra

*****

Every loss in life I consider as the throwing off of an old garment in order to put on a new one; and the new garment has always been better than the old one.
Hazrat Inayat Khan

Being Real

I have often marveled why we feel we have to be different (better?) than how we really are. Aren't we all already beautiful swans? We spend so much energy preening and fluffing ourselves. What would happen if we didn't?

From the Daily OM:

Most of us are familiar with the idea of keeping it real and have an intuitive sense about what that means. People who keep it real don’t hide behind a mask to keep themselves safe from their fear of how they might be perceived. They don’t present a false self in order to appear more perfect, more powerful, or more independent. People who keep it real present themselves as they truly are, the good parts and the parts most of us would rather hide, sharing their full selves with the people who are lucky enough to know them.

Being real in this way is not an easy thing to do as we live in a culture that often shows us images of physical and material perfection. As a result, we all want to look younger, thinner, wealthier, and more successful. We are rewarded externally when we succeed at this masquerade, but people who are real remind us that, internally, we suffer. Whenever we feel that who we are is not enough and that we need to be bigger, better, or more exciting, we send a message to ourselves that we are not enough. Meanwhile, people who are not trying to be something more than they are walk into a room and bring a feeling of ease, humor, and warmth with them. They acknowledge their wrinkles and laugh at their personal eccentricities without putting themselves down.

People like this inspire us to let go of our own defenses and relax for a moment in the truth of who we really are. In their presence, we feel safe enough to take off our masks and experience the freedom of not hiding behind a barrier. Those of us who were lucky enough to have a parent who was able to keep it real may find it easier to be that way ourselves. The rest of us may have to work a little harder to let go of our pretenses and share the beauty and humor of our real selves. Our reward for taking such a risk is that as we do, we will attract and inspire others, giving them the permission to be real too.

Love

When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace. The Dalai Lama

Embrace your personal history. There are no meaningless events in this intelligent universe. All the dark times, the accidents, illnesses, and broken dreams were part of your spiritual advancement. Embrace them, understand them, accept them, honor them. Transform them in light of who you are now. Dr. Wayne Dyer.

Love looks upon the world peacefully and accepts. The ego searches for shortcomings and weaknesses. Love watches for any sign of strength. It sees how far each one has come and not how far he has to go. How simple it is to love, and exhausting it is always to find fault, for every time we see a fault we think something needs to be done about it. Love knows that nothing is ever needed but more love. Maharishi