Feeling Pain Together

Direct Seeing -  With direct seeing, we know that we are not alone in our suffering and that no one need feel alone when in pain. Seeing our oneness is the beginning of our compassion, and it allows us to reach beyond aversion and separation.

-Sharon Salzberg, “A Quiver of the Heart” 

When I read this passage, I am reminded that not all of us see the same way.  I realize that many people judge others’ pain to be lesser than their own.  I wonder why we seem to feel aversion, or even jealousy, about other people’s pain.  A scene from the movie, “Grumpy Old Men” sticks in my mind.  Jack Lemmon’s and Walter Matthau’s character each competed to see who had the biggest hurt!  It was funny, and sad, at the same time.

I confess, when I see other people in pain, I most often seem to hurt for them.  It quickly goes away.  The pain lets me see/feel how they are feeling, and, I empathise with their pain.  I typically respond the same way to tears of grief or sadness.

I think most people are like that!

Many blessings,

Judy

The Angels Talk About The Passing of Time

 

I love flipping through my writings from years gone by because much of the information from Spirit and the Angels is timeless.  Here is one of those writings.

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Thirteen years ago, we celebrated my mother-in-law’s eightieth birthday.  It was a wonderful time!  Friends and family gathered to pay tribute to her eighty years.  The stories were funny and often, touching.

Later, when everyone was gone, the Angels tapped me on the shoulder, and said that it was a lovely gathering.  I had been thinking what it must be like to live to eighty years old, and I guess I formed it as a question because the Angels were coming in to answer.

The Angels told me that humans were getting longer lives so that they had the opportunity to finish all the lessons and to have the chance to get to the place of “no illusions”.  This means that people are getting to see through the illusions and to see the perfection of all beings.  To me, this means being without expectations of how things should be, or, of how things are.

They went on to say that there are other reasons, and that I could sit in meditation and talk about them, soon.  The hint being that I need to do more meditations.

Of course, the Angels can see the complete picture, and we cannot.  Still, I think that I like this explanation!

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Many blessings,

Judy

Welcome August 1 2024

 

As the months turn from July into August, the feeling of harvest becomes a reality.  Pickings are available for different berries through to the first beans and peas. In some places, early corn is ready. 

Our Celtic Ancestors celebrated the festival of LAMMAS on August first.  Some call it the festival of the new bread.  This is because in some areas, the first wheat crops are ripe and ready to harvest.  The feasting celebrates the Goddess for her goodness in ensuring a great harvest.  Stalks of wheat and ears of corn are offered as tributes to her generosity.  

In Aboriginal cultures through North America, the Green Corn Ceremony is celebrated.  Dancing and feasting and offerings to Great Spirit are made to ensure the ongoing abundance of corn, beans and squash.  Mature corn that is ready to roast is the signal for the start of this celebration. 

Our Ancestors also believed that with this festival, souls who had not moved on, that is, souls that are stuck on Earth, were given the opportunity, by the generous nature of the Goddess, to move on to the higher dimensions. 

Blessings,

Judy