Creating and maintaining an altar can be a simple and effective way of shifting our focus from an outer world of doing to an inner world of being.
Just Beyond Comfort – Peak Experiences Await
I‘m attracted to comfort. There’s a magnetic pull towards comfort that’s so pervasive I’m hardly aware of its influence. What I’m discovering, however, is that my peak life experiences are never found squarely in comfort. They aren’t found in discomfort either. Rather, my peak experiences are found somewhere balanced on the edge. Peak experiences are those times that excite me and scare the heck out of me. It’s something I want to experience, but I’m anxious or scared – not sure I’m up to the challenge or discomfort. It’s usually something I’m excited about and boldly say, “Heck yes! I’m all in.” And then days or weeks later wonder, “What was I thinking? Why did I agree to this? Am I really going to do this?”
Soul Principles – The Spirit of Goodwill
Goodwill is humanity's first attempt to express the love of God, for goodwill is the lowest expression of true love and the one most easily understood. It is time that people should, temporarily at least, stop talking about love, about loving their fellowmen, and about the use of love in solving problems, and talk instead upon a lower and more practical level-that of goodwill.
Mindfulness And The Power Of Appreciation
My reflections have uncovered a simple truth: To experience and feel appreciation, to show appreciation, to appreciate, requires the simple prerequisite of Mindfulness. And further, Appreciation is Power. Why don’t we experience the Powerfulness of Appreciation more often in our lives? Before we value anything, the fact that we value anything at all, is because we have first seen it and registered its value. Take our appreciation of a great work of art, for example, a beautiful piece of jewellery or furniture, or a Ming Dynasty vase. And yet we also know the experience of walking through a magnificent museum, past artefacts and exhibitions of great beauty and history, and yet, perhaps in a glaze and a daze, maybe with two or three toddlers in tow. We haven’t seen a thing.
Being Present: A ‘How – To’ Guide For Finding Refuge and Delight
The reality of life is that there are so many things to do, choices to make, problems to solve. Add to that the endless shiny objects that entertain and pull at my attention. It’s easy to forget about the refuge, the calm and the simple delights of the present moment. It comes down to how much control I decide to exert over where I put my attention.
Feeling Overwhelmed?
My daughter calls and immediately lets me know she’s feeling overwhelmed. I hear her out, acknowledging she’s got a lot on her plate. I ask, “Can you handle this moment?”“Yes. Of course,” she says, and immediately I hear the difference in her voice. As she keeps focusing on this moment, and then the next, her emotions settle, her mind stops churning and she feels better, realizing how capable she is – right here, right now. She can do this moment.
Conscious Choice Making
Why not choose a thought in this moment that moves me in the direction of more love? Why not choose to let go of tension I’m holding in my body in this moment? Instead of looking in the mirror and seeing flaws, why not choose right now to see the miracle of creation, the beauty and interesting complexity of a human face, kindness and love in the eyes?