Archive for Featured_With_Picture
Choice To Be Inclusive
Posted by: | CommentsTomorrow is an auspicious day, in more ways than one…We here in the USA, are inaugurating an international president, and we are shifting into a consciousness of becoming inclusive. Inclusive: including, relating to, comprehensive.
Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, with roots in Kansas, Illinois, and Kenya. He is an American, but his voice is international. His voice, his message of inclusiveness, is making ripples in the ocean of our world consciousness. The elements of diversity of the man who will soon become our president, is a microcosm of the macrocosm. President Obama speaks of inclusiveness, and the world reflects back his message. We are being born anew into one human family.
I grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, in the era of the civil rights marches. I was blessed to have parents and other family, who taught me to respect and love all people, and to respect and love myself. Dr Martin Luther King, Jr’s church was in my hometown. It was a time of jingoism: extreme and emotional nationalism. I remember studying that word, jingoism, in school. I didn’t know then why I would always remember it. Now I understand the changes I’ve seen.
Tomorrow, our country reflects our changing world. We are finally creating a world, that Dr King once described, "a world in which my little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Children of tomorrow will know that any limitation in their own potential will exist only within themselves. They will grow up in the limitless consciousness of the human family that we are becoming.
Tomorrow, the world is sending us a symbolic message. Those of us who live in freedom around the world have great responsibility now. It is a good time to ask ourselves:
Am I using my gift of freedom to promote love on this planet?
How can I love my neighbors here on the planet?
In the Aramaic language, the language of the greatest prophets who influenced the great religions of the world, a neighbor is : anyone near me, anyone I think about, and their operating selves, and belongings.
There’s a beautiful directive of love that is popularly called The Golden Rule..."Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Did you know that the Golden Rule can be found in every major world religion? In Buddhism: "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." In Christianity: "And as ye would that men should do unto you, do ye also to them likewise." In Hinduism: "Do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you." In Islam: "None of you believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." Judaism: "..thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." In Taoism: "Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss." These are but a few examples among many.
Remember that you have a whole human family of neighbors. Love them, love yourself, love your freedom, love this planet. Every day, I try to reflect on the words of Richard Bach, on a small plaque that hangs in my kitchen. He said, "The bond that links true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each others lives."
Respect and Joy….
Pass it on…Love your neighbors… Live the Golden Rule.
Joy & Blessings, Carole xx
Choose or Cruise
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As I write this, we’re winding up a Caribbean cruise. It was a great getaway, even though cellphones and computers now operate on most ships. There was a time, not so long ago, when we could cruise away from it all, without a virtual connection back to the real world of home and business. Not so anymore!
These days, cruises are great for all types of people…from the elderly, to kids, to special needs. I love cruises, because I really love the ocean…but the secret reason I love cruises is because I love the lull period, which happens sometime in the middle of the voyage. This mindless time happens when I’m lulled into the peaceful place of not having to think, or steer, or even plan dinner….For a couple of days, I’m just on cruise control.
This glorious time of blissful relaxation only lasts for a brief moment in time, to be replaced by something very different in the last few days we are at sea. Always, predictably, in the last few days of any cruise, my mind begins the gradual shift back to reality and responsibility. Even when I try to stay on cruise control, reminders of work, and of home, start to creep in, and I begin returning to making conscious choices.
I write for people who are developing, and growing, and nurturing their potential and purpose in life. Conscious choice is something I write and speak about, because conscious choice is the glue and foundation of our potential and purpose. Conscious choice keeps us on track, and on course, for creating who we want to be in our lives. Each choice that we make now, appears as our future potential…choices we make now limit, and determine, what choices will be available to us in our future. What we are currently receiving in our present life, we have most likely chosen, and given, in the past.
Because we need to be aware and focused on conscious choice so much of the time, we all need cruise time..a time when we can relax not just our bodies, but also relax our minds and our spirits…times when we can be carefree. The truth is…a cruise doesn’t always have to take place on a ship. We can experience cruise control anytime that we create a space to still the day to day world…we can do that in any way that works for us….any way from gardening, to walking, to bathing, to playing, to sitting. to the The key to turning an ordinary time into cruise time, is the intention we bring to the space. Cruise time must be chosen…it will not appear unless you consciously choose it. The secret to experiencing real relaxation in mind, body, and spirit, is that we must give our full attention, and focus, to what we are doing….we must be totally present….No multitasking, or turning our mind to choices is allowed.
An old friend once said that she liked regular days more than holidays…I never forgot what she said, and I realize that now I find myself feeling that same way. She was a joyful and creative person. She was content in her life. Special days weren’t so outstanding to her, because she loved the reality she had created for herself.…She was a woman fulfilling her potential. When we make choices that bring us closer to who we are in our purpose, we too, will love each day, and be focused in the present.
Could you take some cruise time today? Could you choose a time, and an activity, or a relaxation, which would quiet your mind, relax your body, and refresh your spirit? Could you plan that time into your day? Could it be a gift you give yourself? Could you consciously choose to take cruise time? Go ahead…turn off the world, and sail away! And wherever you are, be there!
When you return from your cruise, notice the souvenirs you bring back with you….I know you brought back some gifts for yourself, too….a few little things like:
Renewed energy
More patience
Sharper focus
New perspective
Fresh creativity
Your presence is important to everything you do. Be present in all your life...and you will enjoy it! Consciously choose some cruise time, and remember your sunscreen! Shine on!
Joy & Blessings, Carole xxx
Simple Surrender
Posted by: | CommentsI recently spent a few weeks in China. It wasn’t exactly a pleasure trip, but it turned out to be an incredible experience. I learned a few things about the country, but I learned quite a lot about myself. It took me several weeks after my return home to make the connection to the real benefits I received.
I often do volunteer work. You do, too! We all do volunteer work, even if we don’t recognize it while we’re doing it! I decided to help someone whom I met through amazing synchronicity, by supporting her on a trip to China, for medical treatment of her special needs child. I knew all along that I volunteered for a number of reasons…not just to help someone who needed help, but to see and experience the country and it’s people, and because I’m interested in the health treatments there.
I looked at the trip as a positive adventure. The trip was an adventure, but the adventure was in my personal growth, not in the intended experience. We don’t always get what we came for…sometimes we get more.
I set out for my adventure feeling that I was doing a good deed, and that I would enjoy my journey on many levels. I had no idea then, that there were expectations for my support, that I hadn’t volunteered for. I also discovered, to my great surprise, that I had an agenda of my own operating.
I often write and speak about agendas. I even developed a course called Surrender Your Agenda, and yet agendas sneak up on me all the time. An agenda, you know, is born in our minds, and consists of something we think we want to accomplish. That’s why we often call them personal agendas. While I was in China, my personal agenda, ran head on into someone else’s personal agenda. I’ve learned to realize that when I think I know the only way something should be, I need to give my agenda up to a higher purpose…I need to make a joy choice….I made the choice to surrender.
There are many times in life when things just don’t work out the way we imagined (in our wildest dreams sometimes!), times when we have walked head on into a situation which is very negative, even though we know we had good intentions! Are you feeling this? In these situations, we can fight, run, or surrender…..Let me tell you why surrender is the winning move.
Surrender often gets a bad rap. Surrender doesn’t mean lose, in fact, in it’s purest sense it simply means to "give up to." Surrender was the answer in China, because my agenda was fogging up my purpose for being there. My purpose involved being loving to others, and myself. The agenda that existed in my mind, however, consisted of having this be a win/win experience for everyone involved. The dynamics of two opposing agendas was causing friction. I had a choice…to stick to the agenda in my head, or to check with my heart, for an answer. I chose to surrender the agenda, cancel, and give up what I wanted, so that I could remain loving to myself and the others involved. It was a simple choice.
I came home with some incredible benefits. I have no negative feelings about the trip, even though it was far removed from the joy it could have been. I have happy memories, and any angst disappeared when I looked for the good in the situation. I now see the connections that were made ….the beautiful people I met there, who will be friends for life, and the amazing growth and understanding that I gained. The expression, "Go in Peace,’ has a new meaning for me.
Joy & Blessings, Carole xx