Precious Human Life

The poster says:  Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a 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 thin badly about others.  I am going to benefit others as much as I can. - Dalai Lama

“Every morning, recite this.” ~ Dalai Lama

The time before the full moon is usually difficult for most people.  The MOON pulls at you.  It brings out your dark side.  Yes, every month, Grandmother Moon reminds you that you are shades of dark and light.  This is the perfection of each of us.  

Blessings,

Judy

Panda’s Guide To Companionship

This picture reminds me that Panda has much to say about companionship.

• Always ask before you hug someone to make sure they are prepared for the closeness.
• If you get hot, change sides.
• You learn more in a group than you do by yourself.
• Do not restrict yourself to just one friend; have many friends.
• Sometimes your friends want your company, sometimes they do not.  It is all perfect.

Blessings,

Judy

Leadership Lessons From A Border Collie

Not only are dogs man’s best friend, some dogs have special skills.  A Border Collie is a born leader.  And yet with all of its skills, it does not try to take over the world.  He simply tries to do his best at each job each day, and to keep all those around him happy.   Don’t we wish all leaders would do the same?   The Border Collie, Magic, gives us these simple lessons.

1. Begin each day with a good stretch – the yoga pose downward facing dog and upward facing dog work well.
2. Eat a good breakfast of protein – it gives you energy through out the morning.
3. Do not force your leadership.  Sometimes you must take the long way around to get the herd facing the correct direction.
4. Fun is serious work.  Allow a good hour or two of fun in your day.
5. Stick to a routine of sleeping, eating, working, and playing.  This will keep you sharp and your charges will gain confidence in your choices.
6. Anger does not lead.  It puts fear into those you must care for.  Fear awakens doubt.

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

April 1 For Love and Fools

“Spring Palomino Colt” from Microsoft Clip Art    

                                                  This is what we call “April Fool’s Day”.  Yet, to our Ancestors, this was the day for “Love”.  Romans, Greeks, and Norse-Germanic traditions celebrated the goddesses of love, sexuality, orchards and growing things, and water.  

This day symbolically represented the day of planting. It was, therefore, necessary to have the Blessings of the Goddesses, for the second Universal Law is “all creation comes from the female”.  Women offered fires and incenses and wine to the Goddesses Aphrodite, Venus, Freya, and Hathor (Egyptian).  In return, the women wanted a blessing on love, family, birthing, and joy for the next part of their life.  In some cases, women might even court the man to let him know they were interested, and then drop him, so that he, in turn, would court her.  

It was this day that made fools out of lovers, and lovers out of strangers, for sometimes, the Goddess would sprinkle potions on the food and drink of the humans.  It was a day that nothing serious should happen except for the extolling of the virtues of one’s beloved.  

April is also the time of the pairing of birds (love birds is the nickname for this time of year), and the building of nests. Baby animals are either present or on their way.  This is the month of the “Budding Trees” Full Moon. Planting begins and is sometimes completed during the month.  

May your April bring newness to your life!

Blessings,

Judy

Buddha Says Pain Passes

You can’t go preventing pleasure and pain, you can’t keep the mind from labeling things and forming thoughts, but you can put these things to a new use. If the mind labels a pain, saying, 'I hurt,' you have to examine the label carefully, contemplate it until you see that it’s wrong: the pain isn’t really yours. It’s simply a sensation that arises and passes away, that’s all.

- Upasika Kee Nanayon, "Tough Teachings To Ease The Mind" 

I read this quote and thought about living in the present moment.  When a person is present, pain has a harder time being present.  It is like trying to have two beings inhabit the same space.  It is not possible.  Pain does pass.

Blessings,

Judy

Healing And Changing

This poster says:

When you can tell your story and it doesn’t make you cry, you know you have healed. -from NotSalmon.com

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March is a time of big change for us because we go into Spring after a challenging winter..    As Mother Earth changes, it is a time for us to look at change.  Maybe, this is the time for you to practice some self healing.

The world is shifting at an ever changing pace.  The fears that are surfacing and then come to pass, are fears:

• about loosing one's identity, 
• about poverty including lack of food and/or money, 
• about people having power over you
• about lack of control
• about loosing what one has
• about pain and illness
• about doing the wrong thing
• about dying

Many of these fears may be overcome by spending some time learning how to do some quick, self healing.

Note that the self healing that will be discussed over the next month does not replace medical doctor's advice, and these blogs should not be taken as medical advice.

What these blogs are intended to do is to provide some coping mechanisms for the turmoil and pains that one might feel in their daily life.

Blessings,

Judy