The Voice Inside You

We often think that only other people carry wisdom around with them, and that wisdom in ourselves is non-existent.  Many people actually ignore the little voice inside themselves.

So what is that quiet voice?  There are many ideas about what it is.  Some say it is your soul talking.  Others say it is your angels giving you telepathic thoughts.  Still others say that it is your connection to the Universe that is letting you know that YOU should do something.  Others have said that it is your Ancestors talking to you at a cellular level.  Another view is that it is your heart talking to you.

Regardless of the what, the wisdom from that small, quiet voice is very valuable and generally a hundred percent right for the situation at that moment. We don’t listen because our ego over rules the common sense that says that you should listen.  We therefore make choices that lead us into all sorts of trouble.

The next time you hear that inner voice, welcome it and have a conversation with it before you make a choice.

Blessings,

Judy
 

Buddha’s Advice on “Who Do You Believe?”

Last week, I had a question from a reader who wanted to know about information in a book they were reading.  The question was to ask me to confirm if the book was correct or not in what it was saying.  

This is a tough question because depending on the book, and when the book was written, the information may have been true at the time, and now in the 21st century, it may be proven false. 

When I wonder about information because something about it doesn’t ring true, I go back to the words of Buddha.  In his teaching that has become known as the “Kalama Sutta”.  The word “Kalama” refers to the people in the village in a township in India that had the question around “what is the correct teaching?”.  The word “sutta” has a complex meaning.  However, for simplicity’s sake, let’s agree that it means “rules”.  The teaching then, is “Rules for the Kalama”.  The principles are sound.  Buddha says not to take anything on face value.

Well, I won’t say anymore.  Read this and you will see how sound this advice is.  But, don’t take my word for it!  (Smile.)

Judy

  

Kalama Sutta

The people of Kalama asked the Buddha who to believe out of all the ascetics, sages, venerables, and holy ones who, like himself, passed through their town. They complained that they were confused by the many contradictions they discovered in what they heard. The Kalama Sutta is the Buddha's reply. 

• Do not believe anything on mere hearsay. 
• Do not believe in traditions merely because they are old and have been handed down for many generations and in many places. 
• Do not believe anything on account of rumors or because people talk a a great deal about it. 
• Do not believe anything because you are shown the written testimony of some ancient sage. 
• Do not believe in what you have fancied, thinking that, because it is extraordinary, it must have been inspired by a god or other wonderful being. 
• Do not believe anything merely because presumption is in its favor, or because the custom of many years inclines you to take it as true. 
• Do not believe anything merely on the authority of your teachers and priests. 
• But, whatever, after thorough investigation and reflection, you find to agree with reason and experience, as conducive to the good and benefit of one and all and of the world at large, accept only that as true, and shape your life in accordance with it. 
• The same text, said the Buddha, must be applied to his own teachings. 
• Do not accept any doctrine from reverence, but first try it as gold is tried by fire. 

                                                           ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆

Many blessings,

Judy

Otter on Fear - A Spirit Animal

Otter has a happy view of life.  Wikipedia says, “Otters are playful animals and appear to engage in various behaviors for sheer enjoyment. Different species vary in their social structure, with some being largely solitary, while others live in groups – in a few species these groups may be fairly large.” 

Otter tells us that she knows what it is like to have fear.  She and her family are hunted by humans, big cats, eagles, and sometimes wolves, and coyotes.  Being hunted has conditioned Otter to keeping a close eye on the landscape and to looking over her shoulder to see what might be watching or sneaking up on her.  Each den has an escape route, and often, that escape route takes her right into the river where she can out swim most predators.

However, Otter does not hide away.  Instead, she explores her territory and knows where she can hide if need be.  She is wily and quick.  Even in the coldest of times, she plays because playing helps her forget to be fearful.

If Otter is your guide, then some of the questions that you might answer are:

1. What is your biggest fear?
2. What happens to you if this fear does manifest?
3. Is this the worst that can happen?
4. Have you tried to create the situation so that you can deal with the fear for once and forever?
5. What do you do to protect against it?
6. Otters do not worry.  Do you worry about your fear most of the time?

If you want to know more about otter, check out this other post about her/him. https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/08/the-story-of-otter-saving-animals.html

Many Blessings,

Judy

White Tiger on Responsibility - Spirit Animal

White Tiger has been watching me struggle with all that I “think” that I must do and how the weight is starting to wear me down.  She came in to speak with me today.

 

“I watch you humans move through life and I marvel at your ability to involve yourselves in your cubs and in others lives.  What a waste of your abilities!  What do I mean?  When our cubs are grown, we let them go.  We teach them what they need to know for survival.  And, we trust that they will survive.  We do not go after them all the time to see that they are surviving.  If we meet, we touch noses, and move on.  

Those of you that do not have children seem to take on the care of other people’s cubs.  And, you seem to take on the responsibility for all you come in contact with.  Know that each person has their own path, and that you do no good by taking over their responsibilities.  It is not in Nature to do this action.  It is Nature’s way to let everything be.  Humans interfere all the time.  

My kind almost disappeared.  We were ready to leave, to do the next thing in our natural progression of being.  Humans have intervened to keep our kind alive.  We are chained to the Earth by what humans have done.  The pride that humans seem to have about knowing what is best all the time is one that needs to change.”

Many blessings,

Judy

Affirmation to Turn Thinking Around

 

Elbow River Boat Launch Turn Out in Elbow Falls Recreation Area July 2023 - J Hirst

All is well. Everything is working out for my highest good. Out of this situation only good will come. I am safe. - Louise Hay 

We all have days where we feel that everything is going wrong.  It is on these days that we can create more problems for ourselves simply by reinforcing our very bad mood.  The challenge always is - how do we change this feeling of doom and gloom around?

There are several different ways to change your mood.  Method one is to think of happy things and to think about funny situations that have occurred in your life.  You can think about a place that it happened or you can think about the person or people that it happened with.  I usually think about a person that I have had an adventure with that resulted in some funny stories.

Method two is to take a few minutes to meditate and go to your happy place and meditate yourself calm knowing that nothing is permanent, and all will change.

Method three is to use Louise Hay’s affirmation or mantra, and repeat it to yourself until you feel your body shift.  The first part - All is well - tells you that nothing is forever and that whatever is happening to you is a blip on life.  Every thing is working out for my highest good - tells you that although you cannot see it, the outcome from this situation will surprise you and the results will be very helpful to you.  The last part - I am safe - has the most significance because when we move into an unhappy thinking place, we tend to feel not safe.  So we become defensive to anyone who approaches us, and that often makes a bad situation worse.  We need to remember that we are safe.  

Many blessings,

Judy

Feeling The Magic!

 

I am amused when I listen to people say that there is “no such thing as magic!”  I believe that everyday has lots of magic in it.  I think that many people are so busy trying to control their life and to control others around them that they miss the little pieces of magic that happen all the time.

Dictionary.com defines magic as a verb -

verb

move, change, or create by or as if by magic.

"he must have been magicked out of the car at the precise second it exploded"

Physics tells us that energy changes when force is applied to it thus creating a “magical’ change.    For example, when we hunting for a product on a store’s shelves and the product isn’t there.  We ask a store assistant to help us and they confirm that it is not where it should be, but, they spot it several spaces further on, and there is only one item.  They tell you it was misplaced.  Perhaps it was.  That you could find it when the item is out is magic.   

Another good example occurred when my husband and I were travelling.  We were picking up our luggage in Vancouver airport.  Ours was the last off.  Everyone else was gone.  My husband was looking at the name tags on our luggage and asked me if I had a felt pen in my purse.  Sometimes I do but this time I did not.  So he said, “I wish I had a good black felt pen to change the writing on our luggage tags.”  Literally moments after he said that, the luggage carousel which was still running, carried a good size black felt pen around to where we were standing.  Magic indeed!  

Blessings,

Judy

Why Challenges Repeat On Us

 In past postings, I have talked about the lessons that we get in life.  This poster featuring a quote from the Buddhist teacher, Peña Chodron, explains the concept quite well.

Let me give some examples.  An acquaintance of mine was having a terrible time with dating.  She was using a dating app and it would seem to connect her with some great guy.  They would go out for a month or so, and then he would dump her.  She was feeling extremely awful about herself.  Her confidence took a huge hit as did her ability to trust and to manage her time. 

She finally did some self work using the Tapping Process, took a break from dating and deleted the dating app.  She spent close to a year doing things for herself and going out with girl friends to do things that she liked.  She even adopted a rescue dog.  She loved taking him to the dog park and taking walks with him.  You guessed it, on one of her outings, she met a wonderful man, with a dog, and found that they are very compatible.  They are good fun to be around and they are slowly combining their houses to one.

The lesson was that as long as she was trying to control her process and manage dating, meeting the right guy wouldn’t work.  When she let go of control and went with the flow, then the Universe “helped” her find a companion in two ways.

Many blessings,

Judy