Thanks and Giving

Thanks & Giving

The time has come yet again of celebrating the time honored tradition of ThanksGiving. A typical fun fall time tradition of saying "Thanks" and stuffing yourself with gastronomic delights with friends and family. The holiday has really a double meaning. True that it literally means "to give thanks" however this time  I decided to  interpret it as two separate entities. " ThanksGiving"= thanks and giving.  Sure we can  and should be filled with gratitude and give "thanks" to not only friends and family and always remember the kindness of others such as the Native Americans who provided food and shelter to the starving pilgrims to the New World at a time of need. Yet I would submit that it is a great time to bring in the concept of simply giving. This simple act of giving of oneself unconditionally unto another brings with it its own rewards of gratitude and satisfaction. 

Giving can become manifest in infinite forms and certainly not limited to materialistic gifts. Giving unconditional love to another human being, with no desire to ever see it given back to you at that instant. Helping yet another with random acts of kindness is also a part of giving of oneself such as a sincere polite smile to a passerby, a gracious hello to a not so social coworker, holding the door for a perfect stranger, giving away your coveted parking spot to another random car, paying for a coffee for the next person behind you in line, or paying for the toll of the car behind you.  Giving your precious time is another fun concept. Time to spend with a little child who is making some wildly imaginary project with household pots and pans as you become "their" assistant or as you give your time to help read to the children's story time at a sick ward at the local children hospital or spend the time to help an angry troubled teen sort out their emotions and choices, or yet again spend time silently with an elder just to have them heard, or even give away your time to educate or mentor someone in a field of your own proficiency. 

Giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin. Two opposites of the same rope that is constantly in a state of a tug. If one does not give, one does not receive. If you are thrifty, miserly, and unyielding in your inability to share, then that is what you will receive in return. If you give from a place of love, it will be received with gratitude as that is the only way it can be energetically thrust forward. Giving with compassion will be received with compassion. Giving with less burdened heart will be received by another with sincerity and joy. It is your ego that gets in the way and expects immediate gratification from that same person, and if promptly disappointed, then it scorns the other person for being "ungrateful", " inconsiderate", " useless" etc. essentially a flood of unnecessary emotions and reactions.

No one in their right mind (minus the ego) is emotionally disturbed when they "give"  The moment you are involved in the act of giving you are actually receiving happiness as the very physics of giving, unloads you so that you are now in a state of receiving, and ergo you receive more of that which you have given. Nature abhors a vacuum. Give away clothes to help the under privileged, you receive an abundance of clothes, give away time to help someone, then some other person unbeknownst to you shows up to help you with an entirely different problem or issue. Give a person  flowers with love, your own compassion and soul blooms with love. Feeling lighter after giving of oneself with selflessness, consideration, compassion and gratitude fills the momentary void with feelings of empowered, renewed, rejuvenated, and so equipped to tackle anything, anywhere, anytime or anyone.  Giving also can be towards oneself inward and not just to another person outward. You can "give up" and in doing so receive only " getting down", or you can "give down- to a lower state of need" and in doing so receive "getting up" and you move to a higher level of your own consciousness.  The mental and spiritual freedom that is derived from when you give, affords you the luxury of freedom to give more and the receiving of inherent freedom. 

Giving just like attitudes can become quite infectious. Yet what if all your positive actions of giving lead to an equal tug of positive reactions, and is carried forward, then perhaps the circle of life is big enough that you too will see the effects of your selfless giving as you end up at the receiving end. Think of this Thanks Giving holiday as a wonderful practice of the art of giving just in time to get ready for the even bigger event of Christmas and the excitement and revelations that that particular holiday brings round the corner, but that is another story !

  Wishing you a wonderful day, Thanks for giving, and for giving Thanks. 

Have you given enough or have you more than enough given?

Quick quick quick

Quick Quick Quick.

Rushing around we try to get from point A to B then to C in fast order. We eat quickly, we think quickly, we do things quickly and speak too quickly. All we are really doing is hurtling quickly to our eventual demise without living. We think we are living,  but in fact we are just running to nowhere quickly, as if running on a treadmill without anywhere to go.  On the spot running is good if you are trying to lose weight and exercise in other words, with a purpose, but not if you are being chased. What are we bing chased by, you might wonder? Time. However if you sharply stop and turn around and face your adversary you might actually become the victor and not the victim. Make Time your friend, and your friend ,time will become. Being and not just doing becomes a state of mind and matter, and you then start to live. 

Quick, quick, quick... you might miss out on a really tasty savory gourmet meal as you wolf down your specially prepared meal at your local restaurant.

Quick, quick, quick... you might miss the opportunity to help a poor homeless person on the street as you look the other way rushing to your destination.

Quick, quick, quick ... you might miss the blooming of the beautiful tulips that will not come back for another year and only bloom for a few weeks in the year as you keep looking at your smart phone.

Quick, quick, quick... you might miss your child or grandchild being young and playful as  you are too busy doing chores.

Quick, quick, quick,, you miss out on a real bargain on a quality purchase at a store as you race for the advertised sale on cheaper items.

Quick, quick,quick... you might miss out on the breathtaking sunsets as you try to find parking as you go out for dinner to a restaurant. 

Quick, quick, quick you might miss out the tone and subtly in a conversation with your friend trying to tell you about  a fateful thing that had happened to them, as you rush through to get to your talking turn and agenda of speech.

Quick quick quick... you might miss out on learning anything from that book as you speed read through the chapters.

Quick, quick, quick.. you might miss the red traffic light as you are too busy texting or talking to someone on the phone while driving and not concentrating on the road.

Quick, quick, quick.. you might miss out on your entire life, as you are not mindful of your surroundings. 

All too often this plague of "quick, quick, quick" infiltrates our mind, and body and consciousness and then your new set point for your life begins at 200mph.  It is time to slow down and feel the moment. Meditation on a routine basis helps with that, such that it becomes your normal state of thought, speech and action. Time is on your side, but only depends on whether you accept the abundance of it and walk with time beside you as your friend, or not as your adversary that is chasing you. On the former you will have the abundance to live, and in the latter the scarcity to die. Look at your own internal clock and then look around you. 

When people say statements of fact like " things have changed so much" or "kids grow up so fast" or "time and tide wait for no man." These are maybe relatively true, but at which point of reference are we speaking about matters. The flowering plant, or child or entire cities that change, do not change in an instant or at the snapping of your fingers. It takes time for change to occur. The only reason why it feels like the passage of time was an instant, is because you were not mindful and so missed it. You awake from your dream-like state of chaos and "living quickly" and you have zipped way past any coherent sense of orientation of time and space. There is no reason to keep hurrying unless you have a big S on your chest, wearing blue tights,a red cape and saving the planet. Quick, quick, quickly  hurry up and slow down before it is too late for you to enjoy the moment that may ironically lead to the eventual opportunity that you would have missed to lead a happier, healthier and peaceful life.

Spend some "time" to really feel the passage of time. This is a very satisfying practice, and then you can say that you have truly " lived". Seeing the development and the changes of your city, or garden, or the growth of your child are worthwhile gestures to undertake for sure, but the evolution of yourSelf in your own body is a feat unto itself. Your soul or spirit or Self is immortal, and you are inside this mortal ever changing body as you jump from minute to minute, day to day, year to year, decade to decade. You are in fact "body jumping. " Leap frogging in time is basically what we are doing. I would propose that we walk into and  through the moments and while you are at it simply enjoy the walk ! 

What is your speed limit today?

Knowing nature

Knowing nature.

When we pause to look around us we see interesting marvels unfold. Look at the trees. They know exactly when to shed their leaves or bring them forth. They sense the sunlight durations, the temperature, the moisture and their innate life force that brings them back from hibernation. The birds know exactly when is the right time to start making nests, and on which branches of the trees to set up shop. Grass knows when to regrow. Salmon know exactly which stream of their birth to return to, to start mating. Spring is here and with it all of nature comes alive, as if an elaborate computer program was initiated and various subroutines are being carried out on a planetary scale. Nature relies on itself and its connection with the universe. It just knows. It seems to have a kind of faith and instinct of survival and an evolutionary trial and error mentality.  If we are part of nature do we have this same ability?

Yes we do is the simple answer. We too share this innate ability of knowing what to do next. We exist in our lives with the constant bombardment of stress, anxiety, doubt leading to fear and depression and moreover indecision. We lose our way and find comfort in habits that only further hinder our progress. Alcoholism, smoking, drug addiction and over eating are just some of these habits. There is no  wrong or right issue about these habits, given the fantastic nature of free will, however it is simply that these habits do not let us progress and evolve and grow. Disease states such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and eventual heart  and brain disease are simply out of sync states of our bodies when we are maligned with our mind, spirit and the true nature of our consciousness. When ripples in water are disrupted from their natural direction, so their flow of energy is impaired and they pocket and accumulate in one direction or the next. Similarly when your own flow of energy is disrupted disease accumulates in our bodies. Overindulgence in any habit, be it alcohol, drugs, smoking, eating, lying,  promiscuity upsets the delicate balance and flow of  your nature leading to the disarray of your personal evolution. 

Restoring the balance is key to leading a healthier, non judgmental and free existence. It is a necessary step in order to branch out from " existing " and then learning to "live". Having the courage to face and accept these habits, realizing that you have them and that they do not have you, is a start. We must all realize that we are more than the sum of our parts, and that just like nature, you too can maintain the balance. Humbleness and gratitude are all part of that knowing. The tree is humble in the protection it provides to the birds that rest on its branches, and has gratitude that the elements sustain its own life. So too we can find the essence of peace through understanding natures' time tested methods of survival.  Trusting in our genetics to do the right thing comes from trusting in ourselves, and the faith of simply knowing that everything will work itself out. This is not a fool hardy endeavor, as the only thing stopping you is the naysayer voice of fear that you allow yourself to hear in anything and everything you do. Blocking this voice, and listening to the voice of your Self allows the connections to grow, the opportunities to arise, and the desirable goals to manifest. 

Do you know your nature as well as you know your backyard?

Taking your prescription

Taking your prescription

We have pills these days for everything and anything. We have a pill to make you happy, or cut back the excessive happiness. We have pills to control your cholesterol and your blood sugar, only to help you eat more fast food and sweets. We have pills to make you fertile or make you infertile depending on your preferences. We have pills to increase your blood pressure or decrease it too. We can get a prescription, in other words, a health care provider gives you a pre-scribed medication for your particular problem. However compliance is always an issue. I find that if you ask someone "are you taking your medications?" the answer is usually yes. If you ask " how many times have you missed the medication this month?" The answer is usually surprisingly revealing of an average 60% non compliance. 

When you wish to feel better from whatever illness you must take the medication prescribed, if warranted of course. You cannot expect  results to occur if you just sit there and look at the pill in the bottle and hope for results. A quick leap of faith and a gulp of water helps the medicine go down, and healing processes begin. But you have to take the pill. Now supposing the ailment that requires attention is more non physical. Such as the feeling of lack of creativity, the lack of joy, the  feeling of hopelessness. Well there are lots of metaphorical pills for such ailments that are  prescribed by the universe. You have to take the leap again and take the prescribed pill. Meditation helps like as if going to the doctors office. Narrate to the universe what is your problem situation and just as you expect that the doctor gives you a solution after you tell him or her what  are your symptoms, expect that the universe will do the same. You have the diagnosis, the treatment is forthcoming always with a good  prognosis. 

Let's see what is in your pill box.

For lack of joy, there is the pill of being in the moment. Being still and conscious of the moment allows the joy of just being to creep in. No judgement of the moment enables you to ENJOY the moment, in other words ENter JOY.

For lack of creativity there is the pill of letting go. By freeing yourself you allow the creativity to return back to you like a boomerang. Holding on too tight suffocates the creative spirit within. Letting go sets it free to return with more positive force

For hopelessness there is the pill of faith. Having faith  in the moment of hopelessness, leap frogs you out of despair and directly into being hopeful.

For fear there is the pill of love. If you redirect your fear with feelings of love, the healing is rapid and instantaneous.

For jealousy and envy, there is the pill of respect. The more you respect yourself, there comes a point where you value yourself more than seeing your disillusioned "lack" that leads to envy and jealousy of another. Hence you then respect others for whom you only held envy and jealousy.

For pity there is the pill of compassion. Instead of pitying another person for their perceived deprived situation you fill yourself with compassion such that you are compelled to help them to rise them to an elevated level. Once elevated they are no longer lower to a imagined standard and so no reason to pity them.

For anger there is the pill of mindfulness. By being constantly mind-full you have no room for the emotion of anger as you are "full" of being aware of not only your surroundings but also all your emotions and so can have the pause momentarily to breathe and catch yourself from your passion of anger.

For hate there is the pill of forgiveness. When the extreme and destructive emotion of hate rears its ugly head, you can only send out beams of forgiveness at whatever you are hating. By forgiving what ever you believe has hurt you, the feeling of hate gets starved of its fuel and melts away like fog being hit by the morning sun. 

For uncertainty and doubts there is the pill of gratitude. By being thankful even before something has happened in your life, you bring forth the expectation of a good and favorable outcome. If you know the future you are prepared for it. So bless your future with gratitude and see it come true of your own devising.

The effect of these universal pills are cumulative. The more you practice and consume these pills, the more healing and progress you make, then one day you may be so much in a state of mindfulness you do not "catch the proverbial cold" Compliance is very important. We all fall off the band wagon from time to time but getting back on your regimental pill taking habits with regular meditation and mindful behaviors you can achieve your goal of staying spiritually healthy. A healthy spirit translates into a healthy mind and body and consciousness.

Have you taken your pills today?