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28 August 2007 |
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If you
are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to
the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you
have the power to revoke at any moment.
Marcus
Aurelius
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can you raise the level of your self-esteem? First you
must learn to live consciously--because that is the
foundation of everything.
Nathaniel
Branden
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| Gratitude
unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have
into enough, and more. It turns denial into
acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It
can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a
stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our
past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for
tomorrow.
Melody
Beattie
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Thanks
for dropping by! We're glad that you've come to visit
us in this new week in all of our lives. We hope that
this issue finds you doing well and living a full and happy
life, and that the contents here might help you to think, to
grow, to be. As August comes to an end and we make our
way towards autumn, change is once more in the air as kids
and teachers go back to school and crops and gardens yield
their harvest. May this be a very special time of the
year for you. And as those of you in the southern
hemisphere watch winter fade and spring come in, may you
also find this to be a very special time. |
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Kiss
Your Life
Leo Buscaglia |
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Complaining
Maya Angelou |
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Ten
Ways to Wake up Laughing
Steve Bhaerman |
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Please
feel free to contact us at info at
livinglifefully.com
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replace at
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Kiss Your Life
Leo Buscaglia
I don't know about you, but I don't feel that
it's my vehicle that is essential. I don't know
about you, but I don't feel that it's my education
that is essential. I don't think what is essential
about me is my house or my car or my clothes.
What is essential about me? Well, I think what is
essential is that I live and embrace life right now,
wherever I am. I grab it in my arms! Don't
spend time crying about yesterday--yesterday is over
with! I forgive my past. I forgive the people
who've hurt me. I don't want to spend the rest of my
life blaming and pointing a finger. I get so sick
and tired of hearing people gripe about what their parents
did to them. You know what your parents did to
you? The best thing they could do. The
best thing they knew how, the only thing in many cases
that they knew how. Nobody has set out maliciously
to hurt their child, unless they were psychotic.
Can you forgive? Can you forget? Can you
say it's "OK"? Can you say, "They are
people, too"? and you take them in your arms and
embrace them? Then take your self in your
arms. Find out again that you are special,
that you are unique, that you are wondrous, that in
all the world there is only one of you. Hug
yourself, you sweet old thing! Sure you've
screwed up, and sometimes you do dumb things and you
forget that you are a human being, but the most wonderful
thing about you is that, no matter where you are, you have
potential to grow. You are just starting.
There is only this much of you now, and there is an
infinite amount to discover and to find! Don't spend
your time crying! Forgive others!
Forgive yourself. Forgive yourself for not
being perfect. And accept responsibility for your
own life.
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Nikos Kazantzakis says, "You have your brush, you
have your colors, you paint paradise, then in you
go." Do it!! Take orange and magenta and
blue and purple. . . and green, and yellow--and
paint your paradise. You can do that!
You can do it right now. It's your life that is
essential.
I don't know how many of you are acquainted with Arthur
Miller's wonderful play called "After the
Fall." It's probably one of the most underrated
works of American literature. He wrote it right
after the suicide of Marilyn Monroe, who had been his
wife, and he tried to ask the question I tried to ask
myself earlier, and that maybe many of you have asked
yourselves: What could I have done to have saved
someone in my life? This was a play that said,
"I have to learn to forgive. Others and
myself." In it he has a beautiful thing that
I'd like to share with you. One of the healthier
characters says this:
"I think it is a mistake to ever look for hope
outside of yourself.
One day the house smells like fresh bread, and the next,
smoke
and blood. One day you faint because the gardener
cuts his
finger. Within a week you're climbing over corpses
of children
bombed in subways. What hope can there be if that is
so?
"I tried to die near the end of the war. The
same dream returned
to me each night until I dared not go to sleep, and I grew
ill. I
dreamed I had a child. And even in the dream I felt
that the child
was my life, and it was an idiot, and I ran away from
it. But it always
kept climbing into my lap, and clutching at my clothes,
until I thought,
if I could kiss it, whatever was in it that was my own,
perhaps I
could sleep again. And I bent to its broken face,
and it was horrible.
But I kissed it. I think, Quentin, one must
finally take one's life into
one's own arms, and kiss it."
Fantastic statement. It doesn't matter who
you have hurt, if you've learned not to hurt again.
It doesn't matter what mistakes you've made as long as you
don't make them again. As long as you learn, as long
as you're willing to take your life in your own hands, and
kiss it and go on from there. Then there is
growth. Then there is life!
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Living, Loving, and
Learning
is a delightful collection of
Dr. Buscaglia's informative
and amusing lectures, which
were delivered worldwide
between 1970 and 1981.
This inspirational treasure is
for all those eager to accept
the challenge of life and to
profit from the wonder of love. |
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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. |
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Complaining
Maya Angelou
When
my grandmother was raising me in Stamps, Arkansas, she had
a particular routine when people who were known to be
whiners entered her store. Whenever she saw a known
complainer coming, she would call me from whatever I was
doing and say conspiratorially, "Sister, come
inside. Come." Of course I would obey.
My
grandmother would ask the customer, "How are you
doing today, Brother Thomas?" And the person
would reply, "Not so good." There would be
a distinct whine in the voice. "Not so good
today, Sister Henderson. You see, it's this
summer. It's this summer heat. I just hate
it. Oh, I hate it so much. It just frazzles me
up and frazzles me down. I just hate the heat.
It's almost killing me." Then my grandmother
would stand stoically, her arms folded, and mumble,
"Uh-huh, uh-huh." And she would cut her
eyes at me to make certain that I had heard the
lamentation.
At
another time a whiner would mewl, "I hate
plowing. That packed-down dirt ain't got no
reasoning, and mules ain't got good sense. . . . Sure
ain't. It's killing me. I can't ever seem to
get done. My feet and hands stay sore, and I get
dirt in my eyes and up my nose. I just can't stand
it." And my grandmother, again stoically with
her arms folded, would say, "Uh-huh, uh-huh,"
and then look at me and nod.
As
soon as the complainer was out of the store, my
grandmother would call me to stand in front of her.
And then she would say the same thing she had said at
least a thousand times, it seemed to me.
"Sister, did you hear what Brother So-and-So or
Sister Much to Do complained about? You heard
that?" And I would nod. Mamma would
continue, "Sister, there are people who went to sleep
all over the world last night, poor and rich and white and
black, but they will never wake again. Sister, those
who expected to rise did not, their beds became their
cooling boards and their blankets became their winding
sheets. And those dead folks would give anything,
anything at all for just five minutes of this weather or
ten minutes of that plowing that person was grumbling
about. So you watch yourself about complaining,
Sister. What you're supposed to do when you don't
like a thing is change it. If you can't change it,
change the way you think about it. Don't complain
about it."
It
is said that persons have few teachable moments in their
lives. Mamma seemed to have caught me at each one I
had between the age of three and thirteen. Whining
is not only graceless, but can be dangerous. It can
alert a brute that a victim is in the neighborhood.
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Morality,
manners, friendships, and love are a sampling of
the subjects covered by renowned playwright and
poet. Funny, sad, or poignant, these candid
pieces all make a plea for tolerance and
understanding. Angelou's command of the English
language is exceeded only by her love of humanity. |
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Real
education should
educate us out of self
into something far finer-
into a selflessness which links
us
with all humanity.
Lady
Nancy Astor
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Mission
statements represent your belief system—the priorities,
values and principles that measure your decisions. It
provides overall direction and clarifies your purpose and
meaning. When you clearly know what you want to be and to
do in your life, you feel strong in your sense of mission.
You’re no longer driven by everything that happens to
you. Rather, you feel a deep and complete commitment to
following your innermost values.
Dawn
Angier |
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1.
Laugh Every Day. Seriously ... laughter
is good for you. And when things “just aren’t
funny” -- that’s the most important time to
laugh. Try this at home: Watch Funniest
Home Videos with the sound off and Spike Jones playing
instead.
2.
Don’t Worry, You’re Already Funny. Instead
of trying to be funny, learn to see funny.
Especially learn to see what’s funny about you.
Imagine God watching the Comedy Channel, and you are
what’s on.
3.
Bring Laughter to the Outernet. Take the
best of those jokes you get on the internet and share them
on the “outernet.” Practice by telling the same
joke to five people. Short jokes are fine.
Remember, it’s not the length of the joke that matters,
it’s how much pleasure it gives.
4.
Savor and Save Humorous Healing Stories. A good
laughsitive cleanses the system and leaves the mind open
to receive nourishment. Keep a notebook of jokes that
“enlighten as they lighten.” You will find yourself
remembering and using them just at the right time.
5.
Turn Worry Into Laughter. When you find
yourself worrying about something, step back from the
worry and see if you can find something in the situation
to laugh about. Worrying has no proven
benefits. Laughter does. Did you know that one
Youngman of laughter -- the mirth contained in the average
one-liner -- can release up to a megahurt of emotional
pain?
6.
Reframe Suffering as Comedy in Disguise.
Sing the blues when you are angry, sad or frustrated. If
you must complain, complain creatively -- and thoroughly
enjoy your complaining. Say, “You know what I love
about this ....?” Look for the comedy “hidden in
this picture.” (e.g., “I’m not on the verge of
bankruptcy. I’m just having a near-debt experience.”)
7.
Build Critical “Muscle” By Pumping Ironies.
Looking for the inherent contradictions and incongruities
in situations helps build a strong body politic 12
ways. Train your inner child to ask, “How come
that emperor isn’t wearing any clothes?” When
you watch the news or read the papers, be on the lookout
for truth disguised as humor.
8.
Develop a Comic Alter Ego. A shy,
mild-mannered man named Edgar Bergen went “inside” and
found a brash, outrageous alter ego which he called
Charlie McCarthy -- who would do and say things that would
make Edgar blush. Even if your “character” never
makes it beyond your bathroom mirror, a comic alter ego is
a great way to give voice to daily frustrations and
lovingly laugh at your own “shadow.” One of the
best ways to break the addiction to your own personality
is try some other ones on!
9.
Write Your Laugh Story. Spend an
afternoon or evening writing your life story as if it were
a comedy. Which comic actors could play your family,
friends and foes? Who would you get to play your
part? Give your story a title. A friend of mine
calls his “Don’t Do What I Did!”
10.
Play Regularly. Have you ever felt the
Creator is toying with you? Well then, follow Swami
Beyondananda’s sage advice and become a creative
plaything. Bring the childlike quality of play back
into your life. Run up the down escalator.
Dress for Halloween -- any day the mood hits you.
Plant the seeds of harmless fun wherever you go.
Steve
Bhaerman is an internationally known author, humorist, and
workshop leader. For the past 18
years, he has written and performed as Swami Beyondananda,
the “Cosmic Comic.” Swami’s comedy has been
called “irreverently uplifting” and has been described
both as “comedy disguised as wisdom” and “wisdom
disguised as comedy.” As the Swami, Steve is the
author of four books, Driving Your Own Karma, When
You See a Sacred Cow, Milk It For All It’s Worth, Duck
Soup for the Soul, and his latest, Swami for
Precedent: A 7-Step Plan to Heal the Body Politic and Cure
Electile Dysfunction. Swami’s nationally
syndicated spoof advice column, Ask the Swami -- along
with his comedy performances -- have found a wide and
appreciative audience. Visit him at http://wakeuplaughing.com.
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Offering
insight and revelation in a manner that is sure to
bring positive change, A Chorus of Wisdom is
a treasure chest of advice that transcends the ages.
Bringing together the writings of over 25 visionary
thinkers and including reflections on each essay
from the editor, this book shows how to create a
life filled with purpose, peace and healing. |
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Alone
in his car heading west, it's easy for Jason to feel sorry
for himself and mad at the world. But then he gives
a ride to Hector and learns life isn't as negative as we
sometimes see it. The friendship between this young
man and his 70-year-old passenger is an inspiring story of
love and of dealing with obstacles in life. It's a
story that you'll treasure long after you've finished
reading. Three
Cavaliers, Tom Walsh's second published novel, is now available in book form! Click
on the image to the left to order! |
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We've
been looking for a way to recommend many of the books
and movies that inspire us to live our lives more fully, and
Amazon
finally has provided it. Check out our new bookstore,
which is full
of inspirational and motivational material. We'd also
appreciate any
suggestions you might have of what to stock it with--please
visit
our feedback page
to make recommendations! |
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The
River of Feelings--an excerpt
Thich Nhat Hanh
Our
feelings play a very important part in directing all of our
thoughts and actions. In us, there is a river of
feelings, in which every drop of water is a different
feeling, and each feeling relies on all the others for its
existence. To observe it, we just sit on the bank of
the river and identify each feeling as it surfaces, flows
by, and disappears.
There
are three sorts of feelings--pleasant, unpleasant, and
neutral. When we have an unpleasant feeling, we may
want to chase it away. But it is more effective to
return to our conscious breathing and just observe it,
identifying it silently to ourselves: "Breathing
in, I know there is an unpleasant feeling in me.
Breathing out, I know there is an unpleasant feeling in
me." Calling a feeling by its name, such as
"anger," "sorrow," "joy," or
"happiness," helps us identify it clearly and
recognize it more deeply.
We
can use our breathing to be in contact with out feelings and
accept them. If our breathing is light and calm--a
natural result of conscious breathing--our mind and body
will slowly become light, calm, and clear, and our feelings
also. Mindful observation is based on the principle of
"non-duality": our feeling is not separate
from us or caused merely by something outside us; our
feeling is us, and for the moment we are that
feeling. We are neither drowned in nor terrorized by
the feeling, nor do we reject it. Our attitude of not
clinging to or rejecting our feelings is the attitude of
letting go, an important part of meditation practice.
If
we face our unpleasant feelings with care, affection, and
nonviolence, we can transform them into the kind of energy
that is healthy and has the capacity to nourish us. By
the work of mindful observation, our unpleasant feelings can
illuminate so much for us, offering us insight and
understanding into ourselves and society. |
| Lucidly
and beautifully written, Peace Is Every Step contains
commentaries and meditations, personal anecdotes and stories from
Buddhist Nhat Hanh's experiences as a peace activist, teacher, and
community leader. It begins where the reader already is (kitchen,
office, driving a car, walking in a park) and shows how deep
meditative presence is available now. Nhat Hanh shows how to be
aware of relationships with others and of the world around us, its
beauty and also its pollution and injustices. Through deceptively
simple practices, Peace Is Every Step encourages the reader
to work for peace in the world as he or she continues to work on
sustaining inner peace by turning the "mindless" into the
mindful. Peace Is Every Step is a useful, and necessary,
addition to any Buddhist studies or self-help reference shelf. |
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Please make of this a very special week in your
life. . . . |
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