Giving Thanks

I would like to see Thanksgiving not be so much about eating, as a day declared for expressing gratitude.....a reminder of the many blessings in our lives. Perhaps, this would open our awareness of the smallest "things".

Right now I am watching my cat sleeping, his long legs stretched out toward me, showing me his sweet pink paw pads. I am about to get up and go into the kitchen where I have a choice of wonderful foods. It's an overcast day outside, but I am warm and comfortable inside with lights and music. A shower of perfectly controlled temperature awaits me. I could go on and on! In fact, happiness depends on the recognition and appreciation of all the good things in our lives.

Yes, this can be a challenge at times, but even in the most dire circumstances, there is always something good, something worthy of our thanks.

Allowing or Resisting

Many people are approaching life from the flawed premise that if they work hard and struggle long and pay a big enough price, they will then be rewarded with financial well-being. And since they do not realize that in their struggle they are denying themselves alignment with the abundance they seek, when the abundance does not come, they attribute it to luck or favoritism that is being directed away from them and toward another.

But there is no luck or favoritism. There is only allowing or resisting, letting in or keeping out the abundance that you deserve.

As you gradually train your own thoughts into those of positive expectation, as you align with thoughts of worthiness and Well-Being, as you align with your true power by seeking good-feeling thoughts—you will no longer offer resistance to your own abundance.

And when your resistance stops, your abundance will come. A flood of good-feeling ideas and possibilities will flow to you. Opportunities and propositions will be plentiful. And soon you will stand in knowing amusement that all of this was always there within your reach, but in your resistant state of attraction, you were not yet able to experience it . . . but then, it came—not because of your struggle but because of your ease. **Abraham**

"Do what you love....The money will come" was a popular belief in the eighties. I, personally, found this to be untrue in so many ways that I can't go into it here. I know it is possible...and common....to love doing something, but still resist it. It's necessary to be 100% aligned with it! How hard is it for a fish to swim downstream?

Ageless Body, Ageless Mind

Aging Is Rooted in being STUCK...Every experience leaves a residue in your cells. That's because your body's version of being happy or sad, angry or loving, agitated or at peace comes down to chemistry. It takes a chemical reaction in your brain before you can register any experience. Every cell can clear out old experiences as easily as breathing. If you let the old be breathed out, you will be fresh and open to new experiences, which is a perfect definition of being young. Being stuck brings fatigue, staleness, habit, ritual and the repetition of outworn beliefs. When you get unstuck, life flows like water.

A River Never Ages because it flows. Your body is also a river, constantly changing. The direction of change is up to you. As long as you keep growing, change will move forward. As long as there is forward motion, stagnation is impossible. The key is entirely in your awareness. One person can faithfully attend the gym but be miserable inside. Another can take a stroll in the sunshine in a happy frame of mind. Which one do you think is remaining youthful?

Ultimately, an ageless body depends on a timeless mind (I think somebody once said that). The mystery of immortality can be solved this very minute if you decide to. All it takes is a willingness to find the part of you that is timeless already. That part is the still, silent realm of meditation. In meditation, you allow your mind to find its truth, and that truth is beyond time. By truth I mean what is truly real. **Deepak Chopra**

Your Relationship to Time

To open up the path to the timeless, here is a guide that can alter your life.

Where the Mind Goes, the Body Must Follow

Almost everyone has heard of the mind-body connection. But they often reduce it to simple notions about positive thinking or "You're only as old as you think you are." In reality, everywhere your mind goes, your body must follow. It's not a choice. Through a flood of chemical messengers, every thought you have is sent to your body. Therefore, your mind is playing the major role in aging. The good news is that it can play the major role in reversing aging.

Memory Freezes Time

Memory is how we hold on to the past. This means that a toxic memory is the same as a toxic experience being repeated over and over. Regret, hostility, anxiety, insecurity all depend upon trying to relive the past and change it. Therefore, memory blocks the flow of life in the present. If you are fully alive, you will remain young. The past is dead. There is no life there, even when you dwell on a happy past. Your body wants to be alive here and now. To give it that gift, bring your awareness to the here and now (Deepak Chopra)

To be continued....

Facing Fears

The things we don't want to look at in ourselves are the very things we need to look at.

The feelings that make us want to run away are buried treasure full of energy and inspiration if we are willing to look. These feelings come in many forms, from strange images or snippets of information to recurring dreams and feelings that rise up seemingly without a reason. 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 anywhere near as "different" as we think!)

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. (The Daily OM)

When we dare look at our fears...exposing them to daylight....they vanish, and we grow stronger.