What is Sacred about today?

"When we acknowledge that all of life is sacred and that each act is an act of choice and therefore sacred, then life is a sacred dance lived consciously each moment. When we live at this level, we participate in the creation of a better world."

- Scout Cloud Lee, Author, Singer-Songwriter, Coach, Vision Us, Inc.

The word "sacred" means to make special; to regard with reverence or respect.

Something becomes "sacred" because we say that it is and "make it so."

You take the moment, the activity, the object..... whatever it is, and giving your total attention to it, make it "special" in some way. You take it out of the realm of "ordinary" and put it into the realm of "holy."
Remember as you go through your day......

It can be something as simple as taking a walk during your lunch break and noticing the beauty of nature around you with your full attention.

It could be putting down whatever you're doing when your child gets home from school and putting your total focus on what he or she is saying.

It might be making eye contact with the person at the check-out counter and saying a heart-felt "thank you."

It could even be giving yourself a moment in the middle of a stressful day to close your eyes, take a deep breath, and remember, "this too shall pass."

Or maybe it's simply appreciating the beauty of the day on your drive home and giving thanks that you are alive and well.

Or taking a moment to indulge in feelings of gratitude for your family, friends, and all the blessings in your life.

What is Sacred about your Today?

Every moment - in each thing we do, think, or say - each one is an act of choice.

Everything about life is sacred when we look at it with reverence, respect, admiration, gratitude....

Here's to continuing the Journey.... making every moment a conscious act..... turning the "ordinary" into the Sacred... living with awareness....

-Becky

The Allegory of the Cave & The Matrix

I remember Plato's Republic from High School/College, but don't remember his "Allegory of the Cave." So, when I found the video of it awhile back, I was very intrigued.

The idea of seeing (and knowing) only the "illusion" vs seeing and knowing the "Truth" is a constant quest of mine. And helping people see beyond the illusion of their self-limiting beliefs to embrace the Truth about themself is one of my passions.

As both a student of A Course in Miracles - which talks about seeing beyond the illusion - and a sci-fi buff, I loved the movie, The Matrix. So when I found this video I had to share it! It talks about Plato's Allegory as well. (A video of the whole Allegory of the Cave is below this one.)

Whether you agree with the philosophies presented, the main message to me, is to explore for yourself and not believe everything that is handed to you in the media, in advertisements, or from any organization.... (and yes, that includes government and church.)

There is usually an agenda. (just for starters..... Media - to keep their ratings high, advertisement - to get you to buy their stuff, government - to keep them in control, church.... well, let's just say that in any "organization" one of its chief concerns is to keep itself "alive"....)

The point is.... Ask questions, look for second, third, fourth opinions. Think.... Feel..... for yourself.

The ancient adage, "know thyself" includes examining your beliefs and knowing why you believe them. 

.... Okay.... I'll get off my "soap box" :) and let you enjoy the videos.... Please leave a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts.

(And just to be clear, my "agenda" here is to offer thoughts, ideas, experiences, etc that encourage you to ask questions and to search for your own answers.)

"The greatest obstacle to discovering the shape of the earth, the continents, and the oceans was not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel Boorstin, American social historian and educator

Matrix Philosophy - The Cave:


Plato, The Allegory of the Cave:


Here's to continuing the Journey..... learning.... expanding.... seeing past the illlusion...... on the Road to Enlightenment.... (which is what the Journey is all about!)

-Becky

Obstacles are like Log Jams...

Obstacles are like log jams in the stream of life. They can dam up the water and block the flow, or they can eventually redirect the flow or even create an entirely new channel.

Log jams in our life can do the same thing. Except, we get to choose their outcome....

• We can choose to stomp our feet, get angry, and complain about how unfair things are or how bad life treats us.  
• We can choose to throw up our hands, accept defeat, and use that as an excuse to give up and not move forward.
• We can choose to take on the challenge and find a way around it, through it, or over it.

We can choose to see the "log jams" in our life as opportunities instead of a misfortunes. It all begins with a decision.....

Decide to win.

Whatever problem or difficulty you are currently facing, make a decision in your heart that you will get through this to the other side. 

Take responsibility for where you are and stop fighting it. It is what it is. Nothing will ever change by wishing things were different. You've got to roll up your sleeves and get in there, determined to rise above the it.

Dr. Maxwell Maltz, (1927-2003) US plastic surgeon, motivational author, creator of the Psycho-Cybernetics, reminds us:

"We are built to conquer environment, solve problems, achieve goals, and we find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve."

We're built to conquer, solve, and achieve. It's part of what makes the human experience .... well, "the human experience"!

"It still holds true that man is most uniquely human when he turns obstacles into opportunities."

- Eric Hoffer, American Writer, 1902-1983

What obstacles are you being presented with? How might you turn them into opportunities?

Life challenges us to grow and expand and develop into our highest potential.

Will you take the challenge presented to you? Or will you use it as an excuse to stay stuck? 

It's up to you.

Here's to continuing the Journey.... deciding to grow..... or not.

-Becky

Memories or Regrets

A friend of mine sent me some old pictures of my Dad and I've enjoyed looking through them. (Thanks Stan!) Dad would have been 82 this month. Here are a couple of my favorites....

Mr. Joe Cool .... he always was the one with the camera!

And the picture with he and I on the couch makes me laugh..... It's like he's thinking.... "Did I really hear you say what you just said...."

He passed away August 2008. Seems like the more time goes by, the more I miss him.

We had a pretty close relationship while I was growing up. Then after I went away to college, going home was never something I really wanted to do. I was all caught up in my "stuff" and my "issues".

Now at soon to be 52, I regret not ever really "being there" the few times a year we were together. And I miss those "heart to heart" talks we used to have riding bikes to the park.

Life is really too short to let stuff and issues cloud your thinking and hijack your heart. Because once your loved ones are gone, all you'll have left is memories or regrets. And which one that ends up being is your choice right now in THIS moment.

Here's to continuing the Journey.... loving, letting go...... building memories or regrets..... always at choice in the present moment.

-Becky

P.S. In honor of my Dad, please watch the video tribute to him - the Funeral Home put together the video of pictures my sister, Mom and I picked out. The music is a song I wrote for him the night we 'got the call' from the nursing home. It ended up being my 'good-bye' to him.

Also, please check out the piano CD I recorded for him.... His Soul Song, "Stillness" comes with it as a free bonus. You can hear samples there too. (This CD makes a great Mother's Day or Father's Day gift!)

AND - most important - if your mom or dad, sister or brother are still alive, go call them right now! If not, go call somebody that's important to you and tell them so.... Build memories.... not regrets.

I Suck at Hating

While searching online for some of Dr. Emoto's water pictures for a Sound Healing workshop a couple of months ago, I came across a video interview where he talked about his Rice Experiment.

(Dr. Masaru Emoto,  The Hidden Messages in Water, discovered that water from clear springs and water that has been exposed to loving words show complex, brilliant snowflake patterns, and that polluted water, or water exposed to negative thoughts form incomplete, asymetrical patterns.)

In his Rice Experiment, you get 3 jars and put cooked rice in each one then fill them with water. On one jar, you label "I love you" and on another you label, "I hate you". The 3rd jar is unlabeled. You then place them at least a foot apart and each day, to the one labeled "I love you" you say to it, "I love you." The rice jar labeled, "I hate you", you say to it each day, "I hate you." The unlabeled jar you completely ignore. You do this for 30 days.

The results I've seen others do, by the 30th day, the "I hate you" jar of rice is pretty nasty. You can see one example here: www.43things.com/entries/view/3685797. You can see other examples by googling "emoto rice experiment pictures."

My 30-day results picture did not turn out that way. Here's what I got....

 Day 1 - Love

Day 30 - Love

                                                                     

Day 1 - Hate

Day 30 - Hate

Not much difference.

When I started this experiment, I started with the "I love you" jar and did the "I hate you" jar second. But that didn't feel good, so I'd go back and do the "I love you" one again so that I could leave in a more positive frame of mind.

After a few days I realized, oh... talk to the "hate" one first, THEN the "love" one! (Duh! :)

I also figured that I would gather all my frustrations and sort of "throw" them at the "hate" jar as I said the words. But I found after almost a week of doing this, it was getting harder and harder to get into the "feeling" of hate each day.

What this experiment made me aware of was the difference in the "energy" feeling of "love" and "hate." Going back and forth from neutral to love, then back to neutral and to hate - then doing it the other way around, from neutral to hate, then neutral to love - it really fine-tuned my awareness of how those feelings felt in my body.

I highly recommend this experiment for that reason.

Here's to continuing the Journey.... experimenting... loving.... hating..... feeling the difference....

-Becky

Are you living in the GO Light?

This morning on my way to church, while stopped at a traffic light, I watched a bird fly around the traffic light then make it's way up into the bottom of the light fixture. I was fascinated.... I didn't know there was space in there to do that!

But, seeing how we have birds nested up in our dryer vent this spring, I guess if there's a will, there's a way..... and "home" can be anywhere you choose.

Hm.... "living in the green light" I thought. Then I realized my "Freudian slip" calling it a "green light" instead of a "red light."

Pondering further, this question came to me... Are you living in the "green" light or the "red" light?

The green light could mean you're always on the go, never stopping. Or it could mean you're open to new opportunities that come your way, and willing to let go of whatever might be holding you back.

The red light could mean you've got your foot on the brakes or you may be stopping yourself in some way from moving forward. Or it might mean you always 'look before you leap' taking the time to evaluate which direction is best for you.

What are the red lights and green lights in your life? And what are they signaling you to do?

Which one is more "home" to you?

Here's to continuing the Journey.... stopping... going.... choosing.......

-Becky