Compassion For Self

 

It is true!  The Angels say that humans can show so much compassion for others, and even cry at commercials on television because they tug at our heart.  They go on to say that we do not seem to be able to show compassion for our self. We see the “self” as someone who needs to be bullied, harangued, and mocked.  We are harder on our self than any other person could be.

Change that now.  Put your left hand over your heart. Use your right hand, if left is your dominant hand.  Then put your right hand over the left.  Close your eyes.  Breathe.  See the golden light around you.  Know that you are safe.  Now, in your mind, see a river, meandering between two banks.  On each bank, the grass is green and dotted with flowers.  A forest starts up several hundred yards away. The river flows peacefully now, but sometimes, it rages and overflows its banks. Other times, it is a trickle in the bottom of the river channel.  Always it moves. Always it flows.  Finally, it merges with a larger body of water… a lake, sea, or ocean.  

We are like the river.  We need to keep flowing.  We do not need to stop what we do or how we do it unless we choose.  Go with the flow of your life.  Stop several times a day and put both hands on your heart.  Give your self some compassion.

Blessings.

Judy

Breath Fills You

 

The poster says:  Breathe === Author Unknown

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Breathe in, and breath fills you so that your body functions.  Breathe in and your heart opens.  Breathe in, and life seems to be more colorful.  Breathe in, and feel the rhythm of the heart beat of the Universe.  

Stop breathing.  There is silence. There is calm. There is a sense of fading.

Breathe in, and breath fills you with life.

Blessings

Judy

Close Your Eyes

 

The poster says:  Why do we close our eyes when we pray, cry, kiss, dream?  Because the most beautiful things in life are not seen but felt only in the heart.  —- Unknown

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As much as we love beautiful things, humans will close their eyes when they are so touched by “something” that they cannot bear to see it with their eyes wide open.  It may be because we have excitement, anticipation, or even a little fear around the edges of what ever we are doing.  Closing our eyes makes it seem safer.  

And, when we close our eyes, we do not let the reality of life interfere with our search for possibilities.  We know that things can happen that are not always explainable in ordinary terms.  There is a certain physics of believing, or dreaming, or praying, that allows the future to be generated with our eyes closed.

Make a wish.  Check your eyes.  Were they opened or closed?  How quickly did your wish manifest?  

Blessings.

A Home With ME

 

The poster says:  

In the space between my fingers between this breathe and the next in the vacant space of my heart I have kept you marked eternally.  You never had to wonder or worry whether or not I will replace you (never)  you will always have a home within me.  —— Unknown

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When we think of safety, we generally think of “home”.  What does that really mean?  Home can be where we were born, or brought up, or where we feel the happiest such as being at Grandmother’s house.  Or, home can be about the group/tribe that accepts you and wants to help you with all that you do.   It is wonderful to have the feeling of home around you. 

Blessings,

Judy

Happiness-Freedom

The poster says:  The amount of happiness that you have depends on the amount of freedom you have in your heart. —- Thich Nhat Hanh

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What does happiness feel like?  What does it mean?  Who has the most happiness?

The answer may be, “It depends on how much freedom you have!”

Over the years, I have posted quite a few blogs about happiness.  Here is a short list of some of the posts.

https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2026/01/happiness-is-spiritual.html

https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2024/11/be-happiness-engineer.html

https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/07/on-being-happy.html

https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2025/08/finding-happiness.html

https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/02/on-being-happy-buddhist-story.html

Blessings,

Judy

I Will Benefit Others

The poster says:

Every day, thank as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have precious human life, I am not going to waste it.  I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.  I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others.  I am going to benefit others as much as I can.  —- Dalai Lama

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What a beautiful mission statement to live by!  Would it not be wonderful if more people and more corporations could live in this manner?

Blessings,

Judy

Buddha Says “Be Still”

The poster says:  The practice of stillness

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If you wish to cultivate absolute stillness and clarity of mind, right here and now, sit down and imagine yourself on a peaceful shore or by a tranquil lake. If the mind is a snow globe whirling with thoughts, images, memories, and inchoate feelings, then the winds of internal energy and self-seeking—analyzing, evaluating, pushing and pulling, based on likes and dislikes—are what keep it stirred up and the snowstorm in motion, obscuring the inner landscape. Let the snow globe of your heart and mind settle by relaxing, breathing deeply a few times, and releasing all the tension, preoccupations, and concerns you’ve been carrying—at least for the moment. Let the gentle tide of breath carry it all away like the ocean’s waves, like a waterfall washing your heart, mind, and spirit clean, pure, and bright.
From Buddha Standard Time: Awakening to the Infinite Possibilities of Now by Lama Surya Das © 2011. Reprinted with permission of HarperOne, a division of HarperCollinsPublishers

Blessings,

Judy

Prayer

 

The Angels tell us that the easiest way to speak with Creator is to simply talk to Creator in prayer.  A prayer is simply when we talk to Mother/Father God, or to the Supreme Being  that is in your belief system.  

I think simple prayers work the best because they come from the heart.   

I love this prayer because it covers so much.

Give Us Hearts to Understand 
 
Give us hearts to understand;
Never to take from creation's beauty more than we give; 

never to destroy wantonly for the furtherance of greed; 
Never to deny to give our hands for the building of earth's beauty; 

never to take from her what we cannot use. 

Give us hearts to understand 
That to destroy earth's music is to create confusion; 

that to wreck her appearance is to blind us to beauty; 
That to callously pollute her fragrance is to make a house of stench; 

that as we care for her she will care for us. 

We have forgotten who we are.
We have sought only our own security. 
We have exploited simply for our own ends. 
We have distorted our knowledge. 
We have abused our power. 

Great Spirit, whose dry lands thirst, 
Help us to find the way to refresh your lands. 

Great Spirit, whose waters are choked with debris and pollution, 

help us to find the way to cleanse your waters. 

Great Spirit, whose beautiful earth grows ugly with misuse, 

help us to find the way to restore beauty to your handiwork. 

Great Spirit, whose creatures are being destroyed,
help us to find a way to replenish them. 

Great Spirit, whose gifts to us are being lost in selfishness and corruption, 

help us to find the way to restore our humanity. 

Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the wind, 
whose breath gives life to the world, hear me; 
I need your strength and wisdom. 

May I walk in Beauty. 
(From the Native American Project)

Blessings,

Judy

You Are Unique

 

The poster says:  What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.  - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Some days, you have to get out of bed and say, “This is the dream. I can do what ever I need to do, today!”

By doing this, you free up yourself to look within, to see what calls to you from the heart, and allows you to do “something” that fulfills your soul.

Although that sounds like a huge task, it is not!  Fulfilling your soul is unique for each of us.  It may be anything from car racing to making bread, to reading to children at a library.  What lies within us is a need to connect with something greater than each of us.

For me, being out with animals, in Nature, brings great peace to my soul, my physical body, and my emotional body.  I come back to the house feeling energized.  

My friend, Diana, bakes cookies.  She will make large ones and small ones and cute ones, and feel happier for it.  It makes her friends happy too, because we get to eat them.

Like the Eagle, we each have to soar and dive into things to find the special “thing” that fulfills us.  Start looking today if you don’t know what it is.

Blessings,

Judy

On Taking A Deep Breath

Drawing on the Well of Breath. 

~ Matt O’Dwyer 

It starts with a breath 

Just one good breath 

The calm begins to wash over 

The energy starts to flow 

I feel it’s warmth move through my body 

I feel it move though my heart and my soul 

I drift away 

My body left behind 

I float 

Today to a beautiful pine forest 

It smells sweet and a little damp 

It’s late, but a little sun is left 

I walk to a well 

The stars come out 

They twinkle and dance in my eyes 

I sit on the well and gaze down 

Within myself 

It’s clear and calm

I’m here 

I’m centered 

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Thank you to Matt O’Dwyer for this beautiful writing about breath.  I am so happy that I found this.  Check out the site for Elephant Journal http://www.elephantjournal.com/.

Blessings,

Judy 

Gifts for Christmas

 

Christmas Gift

To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.

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I was looking for a gift for one of my family members, and I saw a man berating the woman beside him.  It was either his wife or girlfriend.  I was indignant, and started towards them.  He was very loud.  I heard in my head a message that said "Stop".  

Then, more gently, I heard, "Send her love, for this will give her strength.  Send him compassion, for this will lessen his anger.  Send them both healing, for they have lost a child."

I stopped.  Tears filled my eyes.  I did the things that I heard.  The man dropped his head as he stopped shouting.  His shoulders slumped.  He said, "I am sorry."  

She hugged him.   She knew forgiveness.

Blessings,
Judy

Self Care at Christmas

 

Over the last several years, I have published several articles about self care.  Today, as we are nine days away from Christmas, please take to heart the idea of making your life easier, especially in the kitchen.  Look at “Load the Dishwasher Twice” about the idea of making dishwashing easier….. https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2025/08/run-dishwasher-twice.ht…

If you are stressing about how you look for Christmas, check out this post… https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/01/self-needs-care.html

Lacking energy?  Check out Stretching for More Energy…. https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/01/stretching-for-self-care-and-more-energy.html

Here is my favourite post… Self Care at Christmas …. https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2022/12/self-care-at-christmas.html

Remember, only we can truly care for our self.  This post about Responsibility for Self talks about what you can do…. https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2025/01/responsibility-for-our-self.html

Blessings,

Judy

You Don’t Know Until You Try

The poster says:

“It’s impossible.” Said pride.

“It’s risky.” Said experience.

“It’s pointless.” Said reason.

“Give it a try.” Whispered the heart.

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I sometimes have the best moments when I am out walking my dog.  Today, I was contemplating whether to try something different in my life.  I have all the reasons that it won’t work.  However, my gut, or instinct, or heart, was telling me to do it anyway.

I wondered if I was being foolish.  Can we really learn a lot of new things at once just because it is our will?  The answer came back, “Yes, you can!  Thy will be done.”   For a moment, the silence was deafening.  I was not in the park.   And then slowly, the sound of rushing water came back.  I could hear the birds singing.  I saw the Sun.

I knew that I need to go ahead with this one new thing in my life.

Wish me luck!

Blessings,

Judy

Unpredictable Conditions

 

Spiritual practitioners thrive in unpredictable conditions, testing and refining the inner qualities of heart and mind. Every situation becomes an opportunity to abandon judgment and opinions and to simply give complete attention to what is. - Shaila Catherine, "Equanimity in Every Bite"

In case I am not “getting it”, Spirit sends me another message about getting some testing around how I react to things.  The testing is not truly to test me, but for me to see whether my judgements and opinions are filled with heat.  

I think that I am too tired to have any worries about having heat around anything.  What I have learned is that the Universe will use tiredness to help break down any barriers that we have to anything.  My learning through this period is that I should release attachment to all things.  While I knew this intellectually, I am now getting this teaching on an emotional and physical level. 

Learning is a wonderful way to stay young.

Blessings,

Judy

Buddha And Being Kind

 

 The poster says, “Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.”  - Buddha

There are times when I must bite my words back.  The words that I would use may seem appropriate to me, and, unkind to the person receiving them.  We all perceive life in different ways, based on our past experience.  I was having one of those days – you know the kind – where it seemed like people were going out of their way to be unhelpful, or even mean.  When I feel that way, I know I need to take a deep breath and find the peace in my heart, and then I can kindly and peacefully speak words that help the person get over what is troubling them.  

I have learned over the years that unkindness is often played forward by the person that has been hurt by another’s unkindness.  After all the leadership and team building that has been going on in business for the last fifteen years, it is troubling to see bully behaviour in businesses, often stemming from a manager.  

Perhaps try some words of peace today at work or at a gathering of friends.  Do it as an experiment to see how things play out.

Blessings

Judy

Hold On To Your Power

The changes are happening so fast around me that sometimes I feel like a top, spinning and bouncing off what ever gets in the way.  At the same time, I feel calm and centered.  How can there be this much contrast in change?

I asked the Angels.  They said that our lives are really like hurricanes.  The hurricane is calm at the center.  The further one is from the center, the stronger the chaos is in the hurricane.  A light bulb went off!

As long as I stay true to my purpose or my what my heart tells me is right for me, then I am calm and peaceful.  When someone tries to force you or manipulate you into doing something that you are uncomfortable with, then the pushing of the chaos happens.  Another’s will is pushing against our will.  Each of us must hold on to our own power.

For some reason, I found this discussion quite comforting. 

Blessings,

Judy

(email me at lightstationwisdom@gmail.com with thoughts or questions)

Butterfly on Metamorphasis

My dog and I were walking along the top of the hill, revelling in the hot sun, shining down on us so beautifully.  The warmth was so welcome after a week of rain.   My dog was trotting along, doing his thing, and the two of us were simply feeling happy and alive.  As we walked, two butterflies came out of no where, and flew on each side of us, much like an honour guard, holding in the space of happiness.  They stayed with us until we returned to the car.

I thought a lot about the sacredness of what the butterflies did for us – to keep us in that space of happiness and contentment.  I was so grateful.  And then I thought about what the butterflies are about – metamorphosis and change.  And, I started laughing!

You see, meta in the metamorphosis, is actually written “metta”, and means “Loving Kindness”.  If I did not get the connection, Spirit is determined that I understand this concept, because when I was listening to my Buddhist lesson, the Master talked about a colleague of his, Sister Metta, who, as her name suggested, carried loving kindness with her where ever she went.  She was a purveyor of change.

I realized that the Butterflies was moving us (my dog and me) forward into a stronger alignment with loving kindness. They were fanning us with new energy.  This seems like it is a great gift at this time of change.d Butterflies’ actions made me think of this writing by Buddha, "May you be at peace.  May your heart remain open.  May you awaken to the light of your own true nature. May you be healed.  May you be a source of healing to all beings."  The Metta of the Buddha

May each of you have a very transforming week!

Much metta,

Judy

Celebrating Summer Solstice June 20 2025

Tonight, we celebrate the Summer Solstice with a gathering of our friends.  We begin with a potluck supper followed by ceremony and meditation activities inviting in the light.

Summer solstice is the longest day of the year and the time of the most light.  The feeling is glorious! 

Each of us in the circle brings an energy of happiness and light that can be shared with the others in the circle, and then can be broadcast out to where ever we wish the light to go.

Part of our activity tonight will include this beautiful poem by Chandra Levy.  It begins with the words, “O Radiant sun”. The Sun pushes the light to Earth.  It is a great message for summer solstice.

A Nature Lover’s Ode

O Radiant sun

The pure light that you are, that I am

Bathe me, anoint me with the purity of your beam

I am Blessed and enlightened by our ecstatic union

Reflecting and enriching my inner realm

O playful, delicious breeze

Play me as a sacred flute

Accompanied by the strings of my delighted heart

Calling forth the Divine and harmonious notes so dear

Tantalisingly sweet, pure and clear

O creatures of creation

Delight and invite and entice me

With your myriad colours and manifestations of beauty

Sing with me that I may know your song

That we may harmonise and realise we all belong

O dearest Planet Earth

Our devoted Mother

Our precious physical home

May our frequencies align

With the sweetest and deepest of tones

May we peacefully respond, rejoice and revel

In our loving interconnection

Grateful for this life

Grateful for this love

Grateful for this resplendent reflection

By Chandra Levy

Blessings,

Judy

Happy Mother’s Day

 This is a special day to remind us all of how much Mothers mean to each of us.  The following quotes about Mothers show some of the feeling behind our celebration of Mothers.  

"Mother: the most beautiful word on the lips of mankind." —Kahil Gibran

"To the world you are a mother, but to your family you are the world." —Unknown

"Mothers can look through a child’s eyes and see tomorrow." —Reed Markham

"To a child’s ear, 'mother' is magic in any language." —Arlene Benedict

"My mother is a walking miracle." —Leonardo DiCaprio

"Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever." —Unknown

 "A mother understands what a child does not say." —Jewish Proverb

"There is no influence so powerful as that of the mother." —Sara Josepha Hale

"Mother: the most beautiful word on the lips of mankind." —Kahil Gibran

"The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children." —Elaine Heffner

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Blessings,

Judy

Buddha Speaks On Generosity

The practice of generosity is the practice of freedom, and it carries with it all the joy and pleasure that are associated with liberation. Indeed, there may be no greater sense of fulfillment in life than the simultaneous feelings of human interconnection and pure freedom that arise from an authentic act of selfless generosity.

- Dale S. Wright, “The Bodhisattva’s Gift” 

 

It is hard to imagine in our world filled with so much abundance, that we collectively seem to have trouble with generosity.  The other part of generosity that puzzles me is that so many people want to tell you a) that you should be generous, and b) how much you need to give in order to be generous.

The conflict for me is the judgement and control that seems to be in our society around generosity.  If generosity must come from the heart, how can someone set standards of giving, or pass judgement on those that they perceive do not give?  

The passage above caught my attention because it says “generosity is the practice of freedom”.  The words resonated deep within me.

Generosity is taking time to do something kind for someone else, without acknowledgement from anyone other than the receiver, and if it is anonymous, then without acknowledgement at all.  How wonderful is this gift to self!

Blessings,

Judy