What Are The Valuable Things in Life?

 Picture from Microsoft Clip Art

 

I came across this lovely teaching story the other day in a Buddhist online journal.  The idea of staying healthy and fit is probably the one task that resonates for me at the moment.  We are in a short time of extreme weather when colds and flu are prevalent. Our temperature (in Calgary) changes from –20C to +9C in twenty-four hours.  The shifting – which mimics ascension shifting, is hard on the human body.  I digress.  Enjoy this story! 

Once upon a time there was a rich man living in Benares, in northern India. He had a son who was intelligent, curious and eager to learn. Even though he was only seven years old, he was determined to find out what is really valuable.

One day the little boy asked his father, "What are the ways to gain the most valuable things in life?"

His father said, "Only worthy ways lead to worthwhile goals. These are the six worthy ways:

• keep yourself healthy and fit;
• be wholesome in every way;
• listen to those with more experience;
• learn from those with more knowledge;
• live according to Truth;
• act with sincerity, not just energy.

************

After I read this story several times, I believe that sincerity means both compassion and kindness, depending on the situation.  

Many blessings,

Judy

Reach me at lighthousewisdom@gmail.com

Groundhog - Spirit Animal - February 2

                                

      Groundhog’s picture from Wikipedia

 

 

 

Groundhog or woodchuck is a furry little creature sometimes called a land beaver because of its burrowing habit and its beaver like appearance.  Unlike beavers, Groundhog eats wild grasses and other vegetation, and berries and agricultural crops when available. Groundhogs also eat grubs, grasshoppers, insects, snails and other small animals.  Compared to many fur bearing animals, Groundhog has a relatively short life span of about three years. 

With this short life span, one would think that Groundhog would be a group or herd, animal.  They are however, quite solitary. If the environment is somewhat cramped, several individuals may occupy the same burrow. Groundhog burrows usually have two to five entrances, providing groundhogs their primary means of escape from predators. Burrows are particularly large, with up to 14 metres (46 ft) of tunnels buried up to 1.5 metres (5 ft) underground (from Wikipedia).

     Groundhog sentinel from Wikipedia 

Groundhog is a superb whistler, and will whistle to alert danger or to alert the others about food. It also whistles different mating calls.  Our Earth Ancestors found that by watching animals, and in particular, Groundhog, that they could get a good indication of what the weather would be like, either on a daily basis or for the next month.  

From this observation, our Ancestors began to watch for Groundhog to come out in the spring, that is, as soon as the snow began melting.  Remember, they did not have calendars and February  2  meant nothing to our Ancestors.  When the sky was clear, and the animal came out, it would sniff the air.  Groundhog could smell if another bought of snow or storm was in the air.  If so, she would run back into her burrow to sleep where it is warm for another four or five weeks.  If she came out and it was cloudy, then she could smell the warmth and the sap beginning to move up the trees, indicating that spring is here.  Groundhog depends mostly on vegetation and small insects so the weather has to be warm enough for her to feed herself.

If indeed Groundhog did indicate spring, then our Ancestors knew that it was time to start prepping for planting, if that is what they did.  If the People were not farmers, then they would make plans for one more big hunt for meat to carry the families through the spring thaws, when animals may be less available because of migration or simply poor hunting access.

Groundhog wishes you a good spring and a wonderful summer!

Many blessings,

Judy

Welcome February 2023

                                             

                               Picture by Judy Hirst and used with permission

After a long span of winter with cold temperatures and lots of snow, all of us in the North look to February to signal a change in the weather.  The first really warm rays of sun hit us and we feel better for the sun on our face.

February is a time of Peacefulness when we know that the worst of the weather is most often behind us and we start looking at our seed catalogues for ideas for the garden and for the flower beds.

It is a time where it is easy to close your eyes and sink into peaceful meditation as you contemplate the beauty of Nature.  An easy mantra to use is:

            Nature surrounds me and protects me.

            Nature heals me.

            Nature supports me to be me!

Blessings to each of you,

Judy

Be Your Original Self

              

Nature creates species of things and then lets them develop the way that they need to.  Very few things in Nature are identical.  The amount of freedom and creativity within Nature is awe inspiring.

Humans however, seem to think that they need to "copy" someone else.  They believe that to mimic is to show praise.  Instead, it shows absence of originality and creativity.  To copy is to minimalize the beauty of the self.

Today, be your original self!

Many blessings,

Judy

The Five Finger Prayer

 

                                                    Picture from Clipartkey.com

A request came in to me asking that I recommend a prayer that is easy to remember and easy to do.  I puzzled about this for a bit because, to me, prayer is a very individual practice.  However, a friend sent this to me.

A Five Finger Prayer

1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a 'sweet duty.'

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president (or prime minister), leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger - the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, 'The least shall be the greatest among you.' Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

Thanks to my friend Gay, who sends me lots of great stuff by email, for sending this lovely way to remember those who need us to pray for them. 

May all of you have a wonderful day!

Judy

Elephant - Spirit Animal

                  

When something comes up in your life three times or more in several days, one must pay attention.  What was coming up for me was Elephant.  Someone sent me a link to a story on elephants rescuing their baby from mud.  I read an Apple News headline and story about messages from elephants.  And then I dreamed about elephants.  When an animal shows up several ways or actually comes to see you out in nature, shaman say that this is a spirit animal bringing you messages, either for you or for you to share.

In my dream, Elephant was walking through the deserts, jungles, and over the mountains.  She was beating a path for people to follow to find their connection to the Earth.  Greed is not unique to humans. However, the scale of greed and the harm to others is definitely unique to the human species on planet Earth.  The Elephant talks of suffering at the hands of human poachers whose greed leads them to wound Elephant and to cut off their tusks, leaving them to bleed out.

Wherever there is greed, harm will be done to the Earth and to the animals, as well as to humans.  Elephant asks us to stop this sense of entitlement, and to return to being a steward of the Earth.

Many blessings,

Judy 

Healing a Cold Sore With Aloe Vera Plant’s Gel

 Whenever I am clearing an emotion or an event that has been blocking my growth, I generally get a cold.  Most often, when I have cleared the cold, I receive the added present of a cold sore after I have finished coughing, sneezing and blowing my nose.  Now, most of the time, I can clear a cold in one day.  The cold sore, however was taking a lot longer to heal.  And, cold sores are annoying!

I think I have tried every product on the market for cold sores, as well as using energy healing techniques like -  throwing cold sores to fire, using Reiki, EFT, BodyTalk, Quantum Touch, Integrative Healing, and prayer.  It seemed that all of these things took at least a week to heal the cold sore.  My goal is to heal a cold sore in one or two days.  Several of my friends get cold sores from too much Sun, or from too much chocolate as well as from other foods that they are sensitive to. They too would like to have a remedy that works within one day. 

Then, mid October, I got a one day cold which I cleared by spending forty minutes on the copper board, eating four Vitamin C 500 mg about every 1.5 hours, and gargling with Listerine. 

Copper board used by Roger Joyeux in Crystal and Copper Board Layouts (http://www.angelsandancestors.com/crystallayout.html)  Picture by S. Roger Joyeux © 2009

The cold started about 3:00am and by the time I got up at 7:30am, was in full swing. By the time I went to bed, at 10:30pm, I felt great.  The next morning, when I woke up, I felt that tell tale tingle that a cold sore was starting.  I searched for a solution.  The list of vitamins and minerals that I found included the following:

• Vitamin C Take 200-500 mg. of vitamin C along with 200-500 mg. of citrus bioflavonoids three times a day. This remedy will greatly reduce the duration of the sores. 
• Vitamin E, applied topically, will provide pain relief. 
• Yogurt Eating plain yogurt (with acidophilus) with live cultures is a good preventive measure. Heat-treated yogurt won't work. People who have added yogurt to their daily diet have discovered that they don't get cold sores, or very few. Yogurt seems to stimulate the immune system. 
• Zinc Using zinc has been reported to reduce the duration of cold sores. Applied topically, it speeds healing. Zinc tablets may also help, but don't take more than 15 mg for more than a week or so without medical supervision. Take up to 60 mg a day for the first week. 

As I looked at the list, I was puzzled.  I was taking huge amounts of Vitamin C, so that did not seem to work for me – I still got one.  I pulled out some liquid Vitamin E, and the stinging endured.  I wasn’t about to rush out to buy Yogurt or Zinc.  One of my friends suggested using toothpaste, so I tried that for the rest of the day.  My cold sore still hurt and was growing.  I went to bed feeling a bit frustrated that I could not heal it.

As I drifted off to sleep, I heard that phrase “For every illness that man does know, God has caused a plant to grow.”  I got it!  I needed to look for a plant. 

The next morning, I started my quest, after I watered my plants and did my house work.  As I did tasks, my gaze kept being drawn to my Aloe Vera plant. So, I looked up Aloe Vera for treating cold sores.  The following advice was on a page about folk remedies.  

When the tingling starts, try rubbing juice from an aloe plant on the affected area. If you are traveling, take a bottle of aloe gel with you just in case a sore begins. This remedy is especially effective if used at the first sign of a cold sore, but will also stop it later on, too, and will begin the healing process immediately and keep the sore from "blossoming."

I rushed back down stairs and asked my largest Aloe Vera plant if I could use pinches of its leaf to heal my cold sore.  It was happy to help.  I started rubbing the Aloe Vera on at about 2:00pm, and by evening, the tingling had decreased significantly. I used it all day, and took a pinch and used it through the night.  I continued  this and all in all, it took three days to heal the cold sore because I started into the second day of the problem.

 

Aloe vera plant in the window

At the end of December, however, I was able to heal a cold sore in one day.  This was an after effect of a one day cold which I caught going to a public market.

Here’s how I did it. I felt the merest tingle.  I pinched off about a nickel sized piece of the plant and then split open the skin to reveal the gel inside.  I rubbed the gel, directly from the stalk of the plant, on my cold sore.  I also rubbed the gel all around my lips to prevent the cold sore from spreading. I waited for the first application to dry a bit because it dries quite quickly, and then I rubbed the gel on again.  I snipped off several pieces and put them in saran wrap in my pocket so that I could apply the gel anytime, and I did apply it about every half to three-quarters of an hour.  When I ran out of Aloe Vera pieces, I simply went and got some more.  I used it all through the night as well.  By morning, I was clear.

I would love for you to try this remedy and then for you to let me know how it works for you.

Many Blessings,

Judy

Lightstationwisdom@gmail.com