Philosophical wonder woman

Messages of Hope Poem #160 : Tempers flare, passions rise In the heat of anger. Healing wounds should be your goal Whenever there is rancor. There is no need for enmity, No sense in feeling hate. So patch up all your differences Before it is too late. For love’s a very precious thing, The most treasured gift you’ve got. And when you waste your time with hate You wither on the spot. Your time on earth is very short, Oft measured just in hours. So spend it exercising love-- The strongest of your powers. Hate and fear will weigh you down, But love it has no weight. You’ll feel the lightness of the air When you do banish hate. So pack your bags. The trip you’re on has many twists and turns. But joyous is the journey For he who this lesson learns: Love’s the only thing that’s real. It lies there at your core. Your job’s to bring it to the light And shine forever more. By Suzanne Giesemann (this means loving yourself too y'all!) ~hugs~

I love it when my geekitude and spiritual study collide. Last Sunday our message from Roger Teel was about empowered consciousness. I just about squeed out loud when he began to quote and draw comparisons from Empire Strikes Back. Luke can't wrap his mind around the possibility of using the force to move an entire craft from the bog. He has limited thinking which keeps him from achieving the power of that connection to the spiritual force. [Using the Force, Yoda effortlessly frees the X-Wing from the bog] Luke: I don't, I don't believe it. Yoda: That is why you fail. If you are open minded, you can see that The Force, Connection to Spirit, God's Power, The Source - whatever you want to CALL it; the BELIEF in those similar concepts are what gives it power. What you call something doesn't give it power. As Louise Hay says, "you don't get wet from saying the word 'water'." I've seen a lot of reference to belief in various ways in our cu...

Practice for the New Millennium by the Dalai Lama The Practice: 1. Spend 5 minutes at the beginning of each day remembering we all want the same things (to be happy and be loved) and we are all connected to one another. 2. Spend 5 minutes breathing in, cherishing yourself; and, breathing out cherishing others. If you think about people you have difficulty cherishing, extend your cherishing to them anyway. 3. During the day extend that attitude to everyone you meet. Practice cherishing the "simplest" person (clerks, attendants, etc) or people you dislike. 4. Continue this practice no matter what happens or what anyone does to you. These thoughts are very simple, inspiring and helpful. The practice of cherishing can be taken very deeply if done wordlessly, allowing yourself to feel the love and appreciation that already exists in your heart.

from Taro Gold: Apparent distinctions exist only in our minds. For example, in the sky there is no distinction of east and west. People create such distinctions and then believe them to be true. We do the same in everyday life—making distinctions, such as "us" and "them," where none exist and then believe them to be real.

When we are upset, it's easy to blame others. The true cause of our feelings, however, is within us. For example, imagine yourself as a glass of water. Now, imagine past negative experiences as sediment at the bottom of your glass. Next, think of others as spoons. When one stirs, the sediment clouds your water. It may appear that the spoon caused the water to cloud—but if there were no sediment, the water would remain clear. The key, then, is to identify our sediment and actively work to remove it.

as I impatiently wait for this last hour to pass before hitting the road to Jazz Aspen Snowmass with Colleen, I thought I'd share a quote I got via email: 04 September 2009 In the general sense, "faith" means to establish one's awareness of true self—to realize that the infinite dignity of the universe and the nature of one's life are the same; to recognize that indestructible happiness exists right here and now within oneself. In this light, faith means to cherish and develop the potential of one's own precious life. ~Taro Gold hmmm I'd never thought of faith in those terms before. reminds me of Shepherd Book telling Mal to believe ~ he didn't care in what. (if you don't know wtf I'm talking about, GO WATCH FIREFLY and then SERENITY). ok that's about as deep as I go today. In other news, some evil demon brought us massive quantities of delicious cookies, brownies and candies and I've proceeded to make myself sick. :P but all will ...

This came in an email from my mom and wanted to share with you, interwebz. An example of how a perfectly normal societal response can make a huge impact on someone's life. The smallest thing can make a difference and you may never realize. Some days my whole outlook on life can change just after some friendly banter with a co-worker who doesn't usually talk to me. And some days, a simple "bless you" can go a long, long way. These days, I need all the blessings I can get and I'm sure you do too. So for whoever reads this, BLESS YOU! :-) --------------------------------------------------- An excerpt from May You Be Blessed by Kate Nowak It happened a few days after my father’s death, in that mind-numbing period of adjustment after someone we love leaves us. Having gone shopping for necessities for my trip back to my own home, I was standing in an otherwise empty aisle of a large chain store when suddenly I sneezed, the last vestiges of an allergy attack I’d fou...

thanks to the newsletter from Lama Surya Das: "The path to happiness and a sense of well-being in this very life lies not in avoiding suffering but in using the conscious, embodied, direct experience of it as a vehicle to gain deep insight into the true nature of life and your own existence. Instead of being a reactionary slave to the inevitable pain, frustration, stress, and sorrow in your life, which the Buddha called 'dukkha', you can free your mind such that you have a sense of well-being even when dukkha is present, and you create the possibility of finding compete freedom. Why not dance with the constant vicissitudes of life in a manner that is joyful and liberated, rather than feeling like a victim or being flooded with fear and stress?" -- from "Dancing With Life" by Phillip Moffit

since college back in 94-ish... saved it on a watercolor painting since then: AWAKENING~ break the bonds of craving wide open. this is not to ask "what will satisfy me" but "why am I continuously unsatisfied?" this is to realize the unreality of the objects of desire -to explore your own wisdom and inner truth- rather than to seek outside

Passion = suffering I've discussed pain and suffering before on here, and now I'm going back to some Buddhist readings... I enjoy practicing somewhat, but I also ENJOY passion and sometimes occasionally suffering (if that makes any sense). But lately... my passion is focused on attachment and the pain is unbearable. I need to cultivate passions with a moderation and more enlightened purpose. It's hard to explain I guess. Really the only reason for this post is to share a website and bookmark it for myself. http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/eightfoldpath.html

I've been thinking a lot about pain lately. Pain is something we try to do away with and try to avoid, yet is an unavoidable part of life. In fact, often times we grow mentally, spiritually or creatively after periods of great pain. As a sufferer of migraines and all-around rather wimpy female (even though I like to talk tough) I deal a lot with trying to minimize physical pain and how to prevent it. My solution to overwhelming pain is to sleep it off, and I generally deal with physical and emotional pain the same way. I hate sleeping through entire days or sometimes even weekends -- and lately I've missed plans with dear friends and family. This is nothing new for me, but I think the bi-polar weather in Denver is to blame for recent difficulties. I'm hoping that after this winter, my body will be a little better acclimated to actual weather. I had a discussion with my AZ soul sisters the last time I was there about the relationship between pain and art. My singer/so...