|
22 August 2023
| |
|
|
| |
|
Love
the moment and the energy of the moment
will spread
beyond all boundaries.
Corita Kent
|
|
If
you keep on saying things are going to be bad,
you have a good chance of being a prophet.
Isaac
Bashevis Singer
|
|
Opportunities
are usually disguised as hard work,
so most people don't
recognize them.
Ann Landers
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
An Urgent Wake-Up
Call to Live More Simply, Harmoniously, and Respectfully
Stephen C. Paul
On November 23rd, 1993 Native American prophecy was fulfilled
when a delegation representing the North American indigenous nations addressed a
gathering at the United Nations building in New York. Hopi prophecies had
directed messengers to knock four times on the imposing doors of the UN in an
attempt to deliver an appeal to the peoples of the world. The messengers began
knocking in 1948. It took 45 years for the last living messenger to finally gain
access. The Cry of the Earth Conference resulted from that fourth—and
final—knock. Native American elders took that opportunity to deliver the
prophecies of their spiritual leaders concerning the state of the earth and the
people living upon it.
Their message was clear and very simple: The long-predicted
time of purification is already under way. The elders pleaded that we heed
The Creator’s original instructions to the indigenous peoples and voluntarily
return to living in more simple, harmonious, and respectful ways. The prophecies
warned that, should we choose to ignore this message, erratic weather patterns,
earth movements, starvation, violence, and war would occur with ever-increasing
frequency and intensity.
|
|
|
We live at a time when Native American prophecies and
contemporary scientific predictions are converging and manifesting before our
eyes. When we read the morning paper or watch the evening news, we are literally
witnessing those predicted events unfold. While there are occasional,
encouraging, isolated bright spots of technological advance and humanitarian
action, I still see very little evidence that we are seriously heeding the
warnings.
My purpose is to reissue that call. I am asking each of you to
voluntarily commit to living in ways that are simpler, more respectful, and more
harmonious—more in line with The Creator’s original instructions.
You, as
an individual, must choose how you will respond. Will you voluntarily make
the required changes in your lifestyle? If you do, there’s no question that it
will have a positive affect on you, the people around you, and the earth upon
which you live. You will bring the benefits of simplicity, harmony, and respect
into your own personal life. You will prepare yourself to pass through the
predicted challenges ahead more successfully and with greater ease and grace. In
addition, you will provide a much‐needed
positive example for others to follow.
I have written this four part article to help you implement your
commitment. In the first two parts, I suggest a number of specific steps you can
take to achieve a greater simplicity—both internal and external—in you life.
Part I: Five Steps to Simplify Your Inner World
Any unresolved issues you carry inside can distort your
perceptions of the world, inhibit your personal options, and make you more
vulnerable to stressful life events. You’ve probably heard the saying,
"Wherever you go, there you are." Well, it’s absolutely true. In
order to live more fully, and flow more fluidly with disruptive changes, it is
essential that you free yourself of any remaining unresolved issues.
Step 1: Release your attachments
I believe this is the most important internal change you can
make. Imagine strands of your energy running out from you to all the people and
things you rely on to define your identity. One strand may run to a person you
love, another to your car, and still a third to your music collection. Some may
stretch back in time to people who let you down, while others might reach far
into the future, tied to an aspiration or desired possession. Strands might even
run to your own body (how you look), or to your thoughts and beliefs (religion,
politics, etc.). We can attach ourselves to anything. . . and we do.
Buddha said that we suffer because of our desires and
attachments. We attach ourselves to people, things, and outcomes as if they were
extensions of ourselves. Then we hold on very tightly (using words, actions, and
our will). If another person must respond with the "right" expression,
answer, or behavior in order for you to be "happy" or
"okay," then you are definitely attached. If events must turn out in a
particular way—match the picture in your head—in order for you to be
"okay," you are attached. If you still carry unresolved feelings about
something that happened in the recent or distant past, you are attached. Those
attachments handicap you by causing you to resist change or avoid making choices
that might jeopardize a desired outcome.
The only solution is to let go. You must draw back—from your
side—the strands of energy that you extend to hold, influence, or control
people, things, and outcomes for your own ends. You must let everything and
everyone go free.
There are a number of ways to go about releasing attachments.
Satchidananda offers a comprehensive Eastern approach in The Yoga Sutra’s
of Patanjali and John Randolph Price presents a Western version in A
Spiritual Philosophy for the New World. I describe my own set of eight
release steps on my website (www.circledancer.com) in an article titled Releasing
Attachments. If you discover that you need additional help with this
process, some therapists and members of the clergy are able to provide
assistance.
Ultimately, we let go of everyone and everything—we die.
According to most spiritual traditions, the sooner you release your attachments,
the more peace and ease you have in this life. The Native American prophecies
provide a little extra incentive. It will be a lot easier to adapt to a changing
world once you free yourself.
Step 2: Face and resolve your issues
Another powerful way to simplify your life and prepare for
change is to solve any unresolved personal issues (fears, anxieties, judgments,
reactions, addictions, compulsions, depression, etc.). The increasing stress and
challenge presented during the difficult times ahead is likely to intensify your
unresolved issues, making it even harder
for you to operate effectively. You would be wise to resolve
those issues before those external pressures mount.
Most issues can be resolved by bringing them fully into your
awareness, facing and accepting them, and then taking any required actions
(e.g., learning a new approach to managing stress). It’s likely that your
unresolved issues have already been brought to your attention. If so, perhaps
you dismissed them (e.g., I only drink on weekends.) or even defended them
(e.g., If you didn’t do what you do, I wouldn’t react the way I do).
Winston Churchill noted that we often stumble over the truth, but we quickly
pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off, and hurry on our way. I strongly
encourage you to stop and acknowledge the issues that repeatedly trip you up.
You may be able face and resolve your issues on your own, using
methods such as introspection, meditation, or journaling. You might even be able
to address the issues that arise in your relationship—with your partner’s
help. However, if you have trouble facing an issue, or coming up with the means
to handle it, you may want to seek the help of a counselor. It always makes
sense to remove a rock from your shoe rather than limp along with it, but that’s
especially true when the road ahead is likely to be rough and full of unknown
twists and turns.
Step 3: Tell the truth
Your personal power comes through representing your true self in
the world. Your power with others lies in their being able to count on you and
to trust in you. Any lie diminishes your credibility in this world. . . and it
diminishes you. Tell the truth at all times, and under all conditions—without
exception.
Step 4: Reduce your dependency
In a dependent relationship, another person (a lover, a parent,
a child) appears to control the availability of something you desire. That
desired thing can be almost anything, but most often it tends to be acceptance,
love, or financial support. Dependency occurs when you surrender your own
personal power and control in an attempt to obtain the thing you desire. Then,
you and the other person both end up feeling bound, unfulfilled, and resentful.
The only way out of dependency is by becoming independent. You
are independent when you are willing and able to make your own choices,
regardless of the reactions and responses of others. Independence also requires
being willing and able to stand alone on your own two feet (e.g., take care of
yourself financially).
One of the best indicators of whether you are independent is
whether you are willing to address issues that arise in your relationships. If
you are reluctant to express the truth to a friend, a colleague, or a partner,
you are probably in a dependent relationship. Your life will be very complicated
if there are unexpressed negative feelings or unresolved issues present in your
relationships. Say what you need to say and make certain you avoid the binding
ties of dependency.
Step 5: Remain light-hearted
I saw the Dalai Lama when he visited Salt Lake a few years ago.
He walked out on the stage, and everyone in the audience lit up. That didn’t
happen because of his importance as a spiritual or political leader. It happened
because he came out grinning so excitedly, waving so lovingly. . . with his socks
falling down. His light‐heartedness
was absolutely contagious. I know the Dalai Lama was fully aware of all of the
suffering in the world. I’m also certain he was under tremendous pressure to
meet with the crowds and deliver his teachings that day. Still, he remained
exuberantly light-hearted.
It didn’t diminish him one bit, and it elevated all the rest of us.
There is suffering in this world, and maybe even in you own
life. According to Native prophecies, it’s likely there will be more.
But,
your anger, discouragement, and sadness will not diminish that suffering. It
will only aggravate and amplify it. It will rob you and those around you of the
possibility of perceiving the joy and love that exist right along side the
suffering. Be the light‐heartedness
that brightens even the most difficult times.
* * * * *
Read Part II next week! Read
about Stephen C. Paul here. We thank Stephen for his permission to use
this article in its entirety. You can read more by him at his website at
circledancer.com.
|
|
more
thoughts and ideas on life
|
|
| |
|
|
|
quotations
- contents
-
welcome
page
-
obstacles
the
people behind the words
-
our
current e-zine
-
articles
and excerpts
Daily
Meditations, Year One - Year
Two - Year Three
- Year Four
Sign up
for your free daily spiritual or general quotation ~ ~ Sign
up for your free daily meditation
|
| |
|
|
We
have some
inspiring and motivational books that may interest you. Our main way of supporting this site is
through the sale of books, either physical copies
or digital copies for your Amazon Kindle (including the
online reader). All of the money that we earn
through them comes back to the site
in one way or another. Just click on the picture
to the left to visit our page of books, both fiction and
non-fiction! |
|
| |
|
|
| |
An excerpt from
Letting Go
Morrie Schwartz
I think so many of us are too hard on ourselves for
what we didn't accomplish or what we should have
done. The first step is to forgive yourself for all
the things you didn't do that you should have and all the
things that you did do that you shouldn't have. Get
rid of the guilt. Negative feelings don't do you
much good. The way to deal with them is to forgive
yourself and forgive others.
Forgiveness is a tricky term. It does not only
mean that you apologize, although regretting what you did
is part of it. You may want to make amends if you
can, but there are some circumstances where there is
nothing more you can do. Even when you cannot mend
fences with others, you need to tell yourself:
"Yes, I did it and it would have been better if I
hadn't, but now I want to forgive myself for having done
that negative deed."
Forgiveness helps you come to terms with the
past. I've learned how to forgive myself, and this
has helped me no longer feel deep regrets or sadness about
my past.
For twenty years, I went around feeling terrible about
the fact that I had treated a colleague very meanly.
He was in an organization with me, and I did not want to
lead a group with him. For all those years I carried
around the guilt that I had been unkind to him and that it
wasn't right. When I saw him again recently, I went
up to him and said, "Look, I've carried this burden
for twenty years. I really feel terribly apologetic
for what I said and did to you, and I really want to ask
your forgiveness."
He said, "Oh, it's perfectly all right. I
remember the time when I was feeling dejected and low and
you put your arm around me and were comforting."
I felt tears in my eyes because of the generous way he
responded to me and the relief I felt.
There's a difference between using your past and
wallowing in it. Say I had an experience with a
nasty person and I got nasty back, but I don't want to be
that way anymore. I can use that experience to work
out a different response whenever someone is not so
pleasant to me. If I don't like my reaction, I can
change my response.
You can review your past, benefit from your successes,
and learn from your mistakes without judging
yourself. This is an excellent time to do a life
review, to make amends, identify and let go of regrets,
come to terms with unresolved relationships, and tie up
loose ends.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Living
Life Fully, the e-zine
exists to try to provide for visitors of the world wide web a
place
of growth, peace, inspiration, and encouragement. Our
articles
are presented as thoughts of the authors--by no means do
we
mean to present them as ways that anyone has to live
life. Take
from them what you will, and disagree with
whatever you disagree
with--just know that they'll be here for you
each week. |
|
| |
|
The people who are living on this planet need to
break with the narrow
concept of human liberation, and begin to see liberation as
something
that
needs to be extended to the whole of the natural world. What
is
needed is the liberation of all things that support life--the air, the
water,
the trees--all the things which support the sacred web of life.
from the Haudenosaunee address to the western world, 1977
|
| |
|
Why
Hurry?
One of the things that
I'm most grateful for in life is having learned the
trick of slowing down and enjoying my
surroundings. I learned early that it doesn't
matter if I arrive ten minutes early, five minutes
early, right on time, or even five minutes late--life
goes on no matter when I arrive. Much of what I
learned comes from my time in Spain, where people tend
to be much less focused on the clock and much more
focused on their surroundings and the people in their
lives.
I loved going to lunch with friends in Spain, because
lunch usually lasted a couple of hours, most of which
was spent sitting around the table, talking and enjoying
each other's company. There was no hurry to get to
the end of the meal, no rush to finish dessert and go
somewhere else and do something else. I liked the
fact that when people got together, they had made time
for each other; it wasn't like making an appointment
that has a specific beginning and ending time, as we so
often do here in the states. "Sure, I can do
lunch, but I only have twenty-seven and a half minutes
before I have to be somewhere else!"
Somewhere along the line, most of us have bought into
the idea that we have to hurry to get where we're
going. I know plenty of people who rush through
their mornings because they don't have enough time to
get ready for work or school after they wake up.
My way of coping with that was to wake up earlier, and I
could count on one hand the times I've had to rush in
the mornings. I like to start my day out relaxed
because I know that how I start my day helps to
determine how the whole day is going to go. It
means I go to bed a bit earlier than most people, but
I'm fine with that.
|
|
|
|
I
regret less the road not taken than
my all-fired hurry along the
road I took.
Robert Brault
|
|
|
If I'm driving
somewhere far away, I try never to have to be in a
certain place at a certain time. Most of that
has to do with planning, and making sure I leave
earlier if there is a certain time I have to be
somewhere. If I have to be somewhere that's
120 miles away and the speed limit is 60, I want at
least two and a half hours. On longer drives,
I like to drive for a few hours and then stop and
get a relaxed cup of coffee and something to eat,
and perhaps even go for a short walk before getting
back on the road. If I'm rushed, I don't have
the time to do this, and it gets to be very
frustrating. I don't like to spend tons of
time on the road, but when I do I try not to hurry--
especially since so many road disasters happen when
people are trying to hurry to where they're going.
Part of the problem is that once we have a
destination in mind, all that we focus on is the
getting there. If my class starts at eight and
I leave the house at 7:50, I'm going to get nothing
out of the journey to class--it's just time that I
pass, not time that has any value to me.
Long ago I developed the habit of getting to places
very early. If I have an eight o'clock class,
I'll plan on getting there at 7:30, then having a
cup of coffee before class just so that I can relax
and prepare myself mentally for the class. And
if I'm getting there that early, there's no problem
at all with stopping somewhere to watch a sunrise
for a couple of minutes, or to talk with a friend I
run into.
|
|
|
|
And to this
day I wish I had lingered a week or so. . . . But
we stupid
mortals, or most of us, are always in haste
to reach somewhere else,
forgetting that the zest is in
the journey and not in the destination.
Ralph D. Paine
|
|
|
This habit of mine has
been a wonderful stress reducer--I almost never get
stressed about time at all. I know people who
constantly worry about the clock and about getting
to certain places at certain times, but it's a
feeling that I can no longer share. The times
when I have to rush somewhere are very rare, and I'm
okay doing so every now and again as long as I don't
have to do it regularly.
When I take my time, I enjoy my walk or my drive to
work, I feel relaxed when I'm going to that meeting
or that function. There's enough to think
about and even worry about without adding the stress
of hurrying to the equation. If I had a test
in class, I would get there very early and spend the
time reviewing the material, and that would be after
a relaxing walk or ride to get there, and having
plenty of time to find parking if necessary.
On another level, life is about processes, but when
we hurry we tend to devalue and negate the
processes. The old saying, "take your
time and do it right" has a lot of wisdom in
it, but it's advice that we ignore pretty
consistently. If we have something to do by a
certain time--a meal to make for a dinner, a project
to finish for work, a favor to do for a friend--we
often put it off for so long that when we finally
get around to it, we have no choice but to
hurry. When this happens, there is none of the
joy or exploration that could result from doing what
we need to do. We lose the opportunity to be
creative because we have to hurry to do a three-hour
job in just two hours, or a two-day task in just a
day.
|
|
|
|
We
are naturally reverent beings, but much of our natural reverence
has been torn away from us because we have been born into a world
that hurries.
There is no time to be reverent with the earth or with each
other.
We are all hurrying into progress.
And for all our hurrying
we lose sight of our true nature a little more each day.
Macrina Wiederkehr
|
|
|
There's much to be
said for taking our time and doing things right, but
also for taking our time and enjoying the journey
and the process. Sometimes it's important to
say no to certain things if those things are going
to cause us to hurry in other areas of our
lives. I was at a practice for a middle-school
running club the other day, and after the run we had
a great time standing around and talking and
enjoying each other's company. Except for the
couple of carloads of people who had to take off
early because they had to rush to their next
commitment. It was a shame that they missed
out on one of the most enjoyable aspects of the
practice. Of course, it's possible that they
don't enjoy spending time with other people, but
that's a completely different story!
Take your time. Do it right. Enjoy the
process and don't hurry through it, whether you're
writing a poem or doing the dishes. I get an
awful lot out of doing dishes slowly and
carefully--it's a meditative practice that helps me
to stay centered, and I always make sure that I have
enough time to do them carefully, especially since
we're going to eat off those dishes again, and it's
important that they be clean!
|
|
More
on today.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
HOME
- contents - Daily
Meditations - abundance - acceptance
- achievement
- action
- adversity
-
advertising
- aging - ambition
anger
- anticipation
- anxiety - apathy - appreciation -
arrogance
- art - attitude
- authenticity
- awakening - awareness
-
awe
balance - beauty
-
being yourself
- beliefs
- body
- brooding
- busyness - caring -
celebration
- challenges -
change - character
charity - children
-
choices
-
Christianity
- coincidence
- commitment
- common
sense
- community
- comparison - compassion
competition - complaining
- compliments -
compromise
- confidence - conformity
- conscience
-
contentment - control
- cooperation
courage -
covetousness
- creativity
- crisis - criticism
-
cruelty
- death
- decisions
- desire
- determination
- disappointment
discipline -
discouragement - diversity -
doubt - dreams
- earth - education -
ego - emotions -
encouragement
- enlightenment
enthusiasm - envy
- eternity
- ethics - example - exercise - experience - failure
-
faith
- fame
- family - fate - fathers
-
fault-finding
fear
- feelings - finances
- flowers - forgiveness
-
freedom
- friendship
- frustration - fun - the future
- garden of life - gardening
generosity -
gentleness
- giving
- goals - God
- goodness
- grace -
gratitude
- greatness
- greed
- grief - growing up
- guilt -
habit
happiness
- hatred
- healing
-
health -
heart
- helpfulness
- home - honesty
- hope
- hospitality - humility
- hurry
-
ideals - identity
idleness - idolatry
- ignorance
- illusion -
imagination - impatience
-
individuality
- the inner child - inspiration -
integrity - intimacy
introspection - intuition
- jealousy
- journey of life - joy
- judgment - karma - kindness
-
knowledge - language
- laughter
-
laziness
leadership
-
learning - letting
go - life
- listening - loneliness
- love
- lying - magic - marriage
-
materialism
- meanness
- meditation
mindfulness
- miracles
-
mistakes - mistrust
- moderation - money -
mothers
- motivation - music - mystery
- nature
-
negative
attitude
now -
oneness
- open-mindedness
- opportunity
-
optimism
-
pain - parenting - passion
- the past - patience
-
peace -
perfectionism
perseverance
- perspective - pessimism
- play
- poetry -
positive
thoughts
- possessions
-
potential - poverty -
power - praise
prayer
- prejudice
- pride - principle
- problems - progress
- prosperity
- purpose
- reading -recreation
- reflection
- relationships
religion
- reputation - resentment
-
respect - responsibility
- rest - revenge
-
risk - role models
- running -
ruts - sadness
-
safety
seasons of
life - self - self-love
-
self-pity
-
self-reliance - self-respect
- selfishness - serving others - shame
- silence
- simplicity
slowing
down - smiles
-solitude - sorrow -
spirit -
stories -
strength - stress
- stupidity
- success -
suffering - talent
the tapestry of life - teachers - thoughts
- time
- today - tolerance
-
traditions
-
trees
-
trust
- truth - unfulfilled
dreams
- values
vanity
- virtue
- vulnerability - walking - war
- wealth - weight
issues - wisdom
-
women -
wonder - work
-
worry - worship
youth
- spring - summer
- fall - winter
-
Christmas - Thanksgiving
-
New Year - America
-
Zen sayings -
articles
& excerpts
Native American
wisdom
-
The Law of Attraction -
obstacles to
living
life fully
- e-zine archives
-
quotations
contents
our most recent e-zine - Great
Thinkers - the people behind the words
|
| |
|
 ™
|
|
All contents
© 2023 Living Life Fully™,
all rights reserved.
Please feel
free to re-use material from this site other than
copyrighted articles--
contact each author for permission to use those.
If you use material, it would be
greatly appreciated if you would provide credit and
a link back to the original
source, and let us know where the material is
published. Thank you. |
|
| |
|
When despair for the world
grows in me and I wake in the night
at the least sound in fear of what
my life and my children's lives
may be, I go and lie down where the
wood drake rests in its beauty
on the water, and the great heron
feeds. I come into the peace
of wild things who do not tax their
lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of
still water. And I feel above me
day-blind stars waiting for
their light. For a time I rest
in the grace of the world, and am
free.
Wendell
Berry
|
|
|
| |
Oren
Lyons was the first Onandagan to enter college. When
he returned to his reservation for his first vacation, his
uncle proposed a fishing trip on a lake. Once he had
his nephew in the middle of the lake where he wanted him,
he began to interrogate him. "Well, Oren,"
he said, "you've been to college; you must be pretty
smart now from all they've been teaching you. Let me
ask you a question. Who are you?"
Taken
aback by the question, Oren fumbled for an answer.
"What do you mean, who am I? Why, I'm your
nephew, of course." His uncle rejected his
answer and repeated his question. Successively, the
nephew ventured that he was Oren Lyons, an Onandagan, a
human being, a man, a young man, all to no avail.
When
his uncle had reduced him to silence and he asked to be
informed as to who he was, his uncle said, "Do you
see that bluff over there? Oren, you are that
bluff. And that giant pine on the other shore?
Oren, you are that pine. And this water that
supports our boat? You are this water."
Huston
Smith
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
When
we are afraid of someone or something, it is because we do
not feel
that particular person or thing is a part of us. When
we have established
conscious oneness with the Absolute, with the Infinite Vast,
then
everything there is part of us. And how can we be
afraid of ourselves?
Sri
Chinmoy
|
| |
|
