Quotes to Inspire

We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them. (Kahlil Gibran)

I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable... but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing. (Agatha Christi)

Every day I gained more and more pleasure from this listening and looking, always seeing and hearing more clearly. As time went on, I appreciated how glorious and beautiful existence is, living. I saw how busy, preoccupied were most people with doing, making. Existence was already so much to enjoy, so grand and lovely, so exquisite. (Laurie Seagel)

If there's an area of negative thinking causing you trouble, keep track of it. Every time you have a negative thought in that area, make a tick mark on an index card reserved especially for that purpose. At the end of the day you'll have a good idea how many times you thought negatively about that area. The number may surprise you. Sometimes seeing in black and white how much time we're wasting and harm we're doing to ourselves makes us realize enough is enough. (Peter McWilliams)

Language of Life, continued

The following words describe how you are likely to feel when your needs are NOT being met:

afraid, disgusted, intense
aggravated, disheartened, irate
agitated, dismayed, irked
alarmed, displeased, irritated
aloof, jealous, angry, distressed
jittery, anguished, disturbed, annoyed
leery, apathetic, lethargic, apprehensive
edgy, aroused, embarrassed, lonely
ashamed, mad, miserable, exhausted
bitter, blah, fearful, bored
frightened, frustrated, numb
cold, guilty, perplexed, dejected
puzzled, despairing, reluctant, hostile
repelled, restless, disappointed, sad,
scared, impatient, hurt, discouraged etc.

These words accurately describe genuine feeling, without offering an interpretation of the actions of others. Rosenberg states, "By developing a vocabulary of feelings that allows us to connect
clearly and specifically name or identify our emotions, we can connect more easily with one another. Allowing ourselves to be vulnerable by expressing feelings can help resolve conflicts."

Language of Life, continued

If you are not fascinated by the power of words, you may not find this inspirational, but just think about it a minute. What if you could say exactly what you feel, rather than making a judgment?
I think that even the smallest changes we can manage will have a larger ripple effect.

The following are examples of feeling words, all describing how we are likely to feel when our needs are being met. (from Marshall Rosenberg)

absorbed, engrossed, moved, adventurous, optimistic
affectionate, enthusiastic, overjoyed, alert, excited
overwhelmed, alive, exhilarated, peaceful, amazed
expansive, perky, amused, expectant, animated
pleased, appreciative, fascinated, proud, free, quiet
friendly, radiant, astonished, fulfilled, rapturous
blissful, glad, breathless, gleeful, relaxed, glorious
relieved, calm, glowing, satisfied, carefree, secure
cheerful, grateful, sensitive, comfortable, gratified
serene, happy, spellbound, composed, hopeful, stimulated
confident, inquisitive, surprised, contented, inspired,
tender, intense, thankful, curious, interested, thrilled
dazzled, intrigued, touched, delighted, invigorated
tranquil, eager, involved, trusting, ebullient, joyful
upbeat, warm, elated, loving, wonderful, enchanted
mellow, zestful, encouraged, merry, energetic, mirthful

Language of Life

from Marshall Rosenberg

***Classifying and judging people promotes violence.

***We are dangerous when we are not conscious of our responsibility for how we behave, think, and feel.

***When we combine observation with evaluation, people are apt to hear criticism.

***While the effects of negative labels such as "lazy" or "stupid" may be more obvious, even a positive or an apparently neutral label such as "cook" limits our perception of the totality of another person's being.

***Expressing our vulnerability can help resolve conflicts.

***It's important to distinguish between what we feel and what we think.
Words like "ignored" express how we interpret others, rather than how we feel. "Hurt" is probably what we felt. More examples of such words:

abandoned, distrusted, put down
abused, interrupted, rejected
attacked, intimidated, taken for granted
betrayed, let down, threatened
boxed-in, manipulated, unappreciated
bullied, misunderstood, unheard
cheated, neglected, unseen
coerced, overworked, unsupported
co-opted, patronized, unwanted
cornered, pressured, used
diminished, provoked

All such innocent words, we think. And, yet when we hear them applied to ourselves, we sense a little lurch in the stomach, perhaps followed by confusion.

Gratitude

For most of us it isn't difficult to be grateful when things are going well, and that, in itself, is worth being grateful for.:-)
However, the real challenge is remembering to make gratitude our companion when things are not going well. If you have made feeling grateful a daily habit, you will find it much easier. No matter what the nature of your difficulties may be, you have blessings, as well, no matter how small they may seem to you at the time. Expressing heart-felt gratitude for your blessings is guaranteed to lift your spirits!

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To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.
Albert Schweitzer

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful. Buddha

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude. Denis Waitley

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice.
Meister Eckhart

Self-Talk

Saying affirmations over and over often increases disbelief instead of lessening it. That is because when you say one thing and believe another,
all you do is create mental conflict. Your mind-body-spirit system is always moving toward balance and conflict resolution.

Self-talk occurs in the conscious mind, but changing a conscious thought does not support permanent behavior changes unless the thought change is supported by a change in subconscious beliefs. It is your conscious beliefs that are your truth detector for self-talk. When that little voice says, "Not," it is your subconscious making the truth known to you.

Changing a belief with self-talk can be done.....It is called brainwashing. A much more pleasant and user-friendly technique is psychological kinesiology....PSYCH-K. When you change your beliefs, you begin to change your thoughts. When your thoughts are changed, the actions (and results) will follow. Jill H. Podjasek

Talking Your Walk; Walking Your Talk

It’s always helpful to observe what we talk about and who we say we are, and then to observe what we actually do in the world. Sometimes we realize our actions haven’t caught up with what we are saying, and at other times we see that we might change our words in a way that it will more adequately reflect what we do in the world. Either way, the more we align our words and our deeds, the clearer we are in expressing our truth in the world, and the more powerful we are in bringing it into reality. From the Daily OM