Problems ` Solutions

"Sometimes we have more faith in the power of the problem than we have faith in the power of the solution. We want to stand in conviction behind an otherworldly solution—by God or whatever other name. And central to that power is love—not blame, not condemnation, not unforgiveness—but love."

Marianne Williamson, Foundation for A Course in Miracles

Sensation, awareness of the body, attention

Sensation, awareness of the body, attention, sitting

Mindfulness and Leadership

Here and Now Lesson - 1

Coming to Our Senses with Jon Kabat-Zinn

Coming to Our Senses with Jon Kabat-Zinn

Love

Is just a word


Unless


You really have a heart


Intact


Connected
To your toes

The Guest of Honor

The dervish, Nasrudin, entered a formal reception area and seated himself at the foremost elegant chair. The Chief of the Guard approached and said: "Sir, those places are reserved for guests of honor."

"Oh, I am more than a mere guest," replied Nasrudin confidently.

"Oh, so are you a diplomat?"

"Far more than that!"

"Really? So you are a minister, perhaps?"

"No, bigger than that too."

"Oho! So you must be the King himself, sir," said the Chief sarcastically.

"Higher than that!"

"What?! Are you higher than the King?! Nobody is higher than the King in this village!"
"Now you have it. I am nobody!" said Nasrudin.

Forgive Them Anyway

"People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered.
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget by tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have; it may never be enough, but give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It never was between you and them anyway."

~ Mother Teresa ~

Other Practices

I was a little taken aback by the intensity and flippant condemnation of other schools and practices, as well as what was said about people who leave the work by a fellow member of the Gurdjieff work in his blog - which I had previously recommended to younger members of the work.

His diatribe embarrassed and concerns me. I would not want anyone to think he speaks for the Foundation itself or for all who practice the Gurdjieff work. The man is entitled to his opinion, as is anyone. If anyone reading his blog might think that what he says is true for everyone in the work - it is not. In this day and age, nothing is further from the truth.

All one has to do is a little research to know whether a system or a practice has true value for you: for your own work in this world with others and for the planet and whether it aids one in helping God.

While it is true that when you are beginning to study the Gurdjieff work it is best not to mix practices - this does not mean you have to give up your Spiritual beliefs and practices. For myself, I found that the work ideas helped me to understand my religious and spiritual beliefs more clearly.

I am now researching other practices to see and verify for myself what is being taught and espoused now, in the year 2009, and am posting links to sites I have found that prove that they and the work are pretty much on the same page - the languages and methods are a little different - i.e.: Sufi's call God, Allah, etc. Personally, I do not feel the seasoned practitioner of the work could possibly be led astray or get lost in any of them. Truth is truth.

As for those who leave the work, I believe it depends on when you leave and why. If you leave after 30 years or so, perhaps you are retiring - in any case such blanket statements as made by the person who posted the very old fearsome version is wrong.

What is between you and God is between you and God, you know what that is and God knows what that is. No one else can say what that is.

If you ever leave the work, you take with you everything you have earned up to that point - for those who leave too soon, you may lose it all. Some who leave too soon may come back after awhile, not having found what fulfills their needs. People move to other groups; many who have been in the work for some time may leave to form new groups in other places. The bottom line is, you can leave the work, but the work never leaves you. It is a gift that keeps on giving - no matter what.

The words or language used in any system are as varied as there are members of the given organization, I may say "experiment" or "experiential", (commonly used) you may say something else, I may suggest "explore", you may use a different word - again potatoes, potah-toes... I know what I mean and so does the person I am saying it to - and so does God. You would have to BE there in order to say anything about what I said, No?

Perhaps it was just a case of jet lag, identification, and being taken while describing so perfectly in words what cannot be described, I do not know. It doesn't matter, but please, have a care for what you say and the venue you choose to say it in. We don't want to spoil other people's chances - especially the youngest hopefuls, eh?

The Proof Is In the Pudding

What is the measure of any one person?

That they be real in Knowing themselves
That they speak sincerely with honesty
That they do no harm
That they love God and all creation

The Proof is in the pudding
Their deeds speak for themselves

To Be
No words are needed
Eyes that are open really see
Ears that are open, really hear
Hearts that are open, Love Unconditionally,
Making the seeing and hearing possible

All the rest is bull shit

"For those who continually rely on what others say to define themselves and their worth - there is no freedom except in Being."

Peace,
L

Interesting Connections

Gurdjieff met Grandshaykh Abdullah Daghistani, and ordered John Bennett to meet with Grandshaykh frequently and allowed him to mention these meetings in his books.

http://naqshbandi.org/library/safety/gurdjieff.htm

Peace

The Cure for Arrogance is Humility

I am struck today by the arrogance of people who believe themselves to be above others. They take no thought of the consequences of their actions or of the words they use. Their own desires are more important as they barrel straight ahead through people, places and things - even against what small glimmering of real conscience may exist in them. Their own desires are paramount and everything else is to them - just a game. What creates arrogance? When I look closely at arrogant people I see poorly trained, mistreated, unloved, neglected or spoiled children greedily grabbing the next shiny thing thinking it will satisfy. They leave behind trails of discarded, used up, soiled and broken things. In some cases those 'things' are people whose lives have been damaged by the arrogant person's mindless and careless misuse.

In the work, during your early years you are reminded often, not to discuss your work with those who are not in the work, or with your peers because your own fledgling interpretations may mislead and even kill any chances others have of studying the ideas correctly. I've seen this happen repeatedly through the years when individuals who have not reached the level of wisdom necessary to transmit the ideas ignore this suggestion and continue to "wiseacre" about the ideas to others. Being aware of and knowing the level of arrogance an individual must have to continue to do so breaks his or her teachers hearts and diminishes the work of everyone - especially that of the group. There is a reason for honesty and sincerity in the work.

Are you arrogant? This is a good question to ask yourself and investigate from an experiential point of view from time to time. Are you being honest and sincere in your intentions, motives and behavior?

"The cure for arrogance is humility." -- LaloBean

"Arrogance diminishes wisdom." - a Middle Eastern saying

"Love measures our stature: the more we love, the bigger we are. There is no smaller package in all the world than that of a man all wrapped up in himself." --William Sloane Coffin, Jr.

"This is an impressive crowd: the Haves and Have-Mores. Some people call you the Elites. I call you my base." -- George W. Bush

“When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken, giving views to passion without that proper deliberation which alone can secure them from the grossest absurdities” -- David Hulme

“Hypocrisy, arrogance, pride, anger, harshness, and ignorance; these are the marks of those who are born with demonic qualities." -- Arjuna - Bagavadd Gita.”

“He has lulled himself into a false sense of competence.” -- Zenpilot

“It is our desires that limit the scope of our self-realization, hinder our extension of consciousness, and give rise to sin, which is the innermost barrier that keeps us apart from our God, setting up disunion and arrogance of exclusiveness.” Rabindranath Tagore

Acknowledge, Study, Learn

Should

Are you "shoulding" on yourself?

Louise Hay proposed a theory about the word should. She said she would strike it from our language because most people live their lives according to their belief systems about what they should do, be, say, have or should not do, be, say, have, etc. Very often the words "I should..." cause limiting and even crippling life choices and life styles that leave us miserable, unfulfilled and unhappy.

Have you ever paid attention to how many times you actually think the words "I should..." or use them in your day. We say things like, "I should have a better car." "I should break up with so and so because my friends/family don't like him/her." "I should make more money, then I will be popular, well liked etc." "I should be nicer to Ted because he is my boss." "I should have a nicer house." "I should do this" or I should do that".

What would happen if you replaced the words "I should" with the words "I could"?

Try it. Think of something you always say you "should.....". Now replace the words "I should..." with the words I could..." and see how that feels. Go back and forth from should to could a few times.

Do you see how much less stressed you feel or how your attitude changes when you change the thought and use the words "I could..."?

Now choose your most used "I should'" and replace it with "I will" or "I will not...". What happens
then? Go back and forth - " I should..." I will..." Isn't it interesting? For some of you it might feel like night and day.

What is more interesting is understanding where these ideas that we "should...." have, be, do, or want anything come from. Pay attention when you notice you've used the words "I should....." more and more often and you will begin to see that there is more behind the thought, "I should...". You will actually begin to see where the ideas, "I should..." come from. You will actually begin to see whole sections of your personal belief systems that are attached to and create that automatic "I should..." thoughts.

When I say belief systems I do not mean your religious belief systems - I mean your own personal belief systems you have stored in your head-brain that have been forming and becoming fixed in you since you were an infant to this present day. These belief systems have been automatically running your whole life for you and for the most part you are unaware of them. They blow you around from here to there like leaves on the wind every day without your being aware of them. Each "thought" appears to be the only thought and appears very real and original.

For instance - have you ever wondered why you are afraid of things, or why you can't stand custard, or why you don't like moustaches? If you could take your belief systems out of your head and lay them out on a table, you would see all the connections made from the a to b to c of each fear, anxiety, habit, or belief from the time before you were born to the present day - and you would see that many of the connections do not make sense in your present life any longer. They are remnants of the past that may have served you well when you were very little but are a hinderance now.

Example: You were walking across a street at age 2 with your parents and were yanked back with a big shout just as you were stepping off the curb. The yank hurt your arm and scared you and you thought your parent didn't love you at that moment. You looked up in pain through your tears, a giant (to a 2 year old) truck being driven by a man who wore a huge black mustache went thundering (to your 2 year old ears) by. At the same moment your parent yells, "Be Careful! That is dangerous!" Ever since then you have has an uneasy feeling when aound men who wore big black mustaches. Personally I am nervous when big trucks come too close to when I am outside or in my own car. LOL

Here is an example in the extreme: I knew couple who loved Star Wars and Star Trek. They watched the shows over and over from the time their son was an infant and allowed him to watch too. They spent very little time with him and time they did spend with him was spent begrudgingly. Most of the time they were all together the TV was on and he was placed in front of it. The "shoulds" his mother and father imposed on him didn't help: "Be quiet and watch TV. Leave me me alone, I'm busy, go play with your toys. You should be quiet, go to your room. You should not bother me/us/guests/adults. The childs room was decorated with Star Wars and Star Trek sheets, pillow covers, blankets, dark ominous posters covering all the walls, toy sci fi weapons of mass destruction - you name it. When I met him at age 6, the child believed he was a sci-fi character. He believed he had a brother who lived on another planet who came through a port that opened in his ceiling and visited him when he was sleeping. He believed they had great times together flying around the universe killing everything with weapons. Being an only child who was mostly left to amuse himself for hours and hours on end, eventually the imaginary brother came to visit during his waking hours too. In real life the child was terrified of everyone and could not get to sleep at night because he suffered from ssci-fi nightmares. Even when he was exhausted he was too afraid to sleep. The child carried imaginary and toy weapons and when he met people, pretended he was killing them. He "killed" me several times before he came to regard me as an ally. When he began kindergarten he tested at high levels but got low grades in his classes as his first semester progressed and was moved to a class for problem children. He became the brunt of cruel teasing at school because he told everyone he was an alien, challenged the other children to battles, and told them about his alien brother. Needless to say he could not make friends. I lived with and worked with this child several months on a 24/7 basis helping him to ease into the real world and teaching him how help himself to go to sleep with visualization and counting. By the time we parted company the imaginary brother was gone as was the need to kill everything and everyone in sight. He was more open to meeting people and calme enough to look at them to see who they were. He became very good at listenting to his real instincts and knew when someone was a nice person or one to stay away from. He'd begun to make nice friends who liked him very much. He became interested in the real world itself - the good, and the not so good... and he had begun to come to terms with his very dysfunctional parents and their erratic lifestyle.

So, my dears, a great deal of what you would see if you pulled your current belief systems out of your head-brains and laid them out for close examination would surprise and amaze you... and would explain a lot about why your life has been and is the way it is.

No one is to blame, it is no one's "fault" (another useless word we will look at some time). We just are where we are now, in this place at this time.

There are many methods for taking this closer look. I studied many over a period of 48 years which included Louise Hay's work, Fourth way work, Jungian therapy, and several other modalities. The practice of meditation and a great deal of reading and experimentation help me tremendously. I am a firm believer in the idea that we must verify everything for ourselves on an experiential level and I always have a choice and I can always choose Life and Love.

Just knowing why you think your own "I shoulds" and experimenting with changing the words to "I could" or "I will" can show you a lot about a situation if you feel stuck in life.

Try it, do an experiment and let me know how that works for you.

Peace

Disappointment

I was speaking with a young man (young to me is mid thirties LOL) the other day about where he finds himself in his life now. He is seriously disappointed and filled with fear. He did not know which way to turn so, on a friend's advice, he contacted me for help. His voice was shaky and he cried several times during the conversation. He has just lost his job, he's not as buff as he used to be when he was twenty and with no job and no money - he can't get a decent date. As soon as women find he is unemployed, they run the other way. He does not understand what happened and how he got to where he is - he blames everyone else for his situation, complains about the government and everyone who has "done him wrong."

Somehow the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper keeps running through my mind - simple but true.

This is his inner script, his hit movie, the illusion he runs in his head and believes so completely. He will argue and argue should you suggest anything that challenges his viewpoints and analysis of his situation. He wants help but the door is closed to any suggestions that point to looking within.

There are millions who have been thrust into this new state . They are forced now to wake up every morning on the edges of reality. They have been shaken out of bed and dumped onto the cold hard floor in their jammies - waking just a bit to realize their lives have been mostly an illusion; beginning to realize they have put all their eggs into an illusory basket and there are really no eggs.

Karmic payback for not having fed the starving men women and children or the helped the homeless in our own and other countries when they could have? ..... I'm jus sayin'....

Now that the world economy has shifted and the majority has finally been dragged out of denial about environmental issues and the big changes taking place on the planet and thus in people's lives, the dream is over. It is wake up time. It is time to get to work cleaning up the mess and taking individual responsibility for what happens next on this planet and in our lives - or are you still in denial and going to continue the lifestyle of me, me, me? Do something for someone else. Begin by practicing random acts of kindness privately without ever telling anyone else about them. See what happens inside you. What can you do to lift the world's energy to a more positive level? "Horton Hears a Who" wasn't just written to amuse children.

Thought for the day:

What do you do when you are disappointed? Do you own your own part in the disappointment and keep moving toward your goals with a healthy positive attitude or do you wallow in self pity and look for an easy way out?

Acknowledge, accept, release

BE Peaceful

Prayer Mantra Affirmation

Affirmations, prayers and mantras, what do they have in common?

Everything - they are the same thing.

We attract what we think into our lives. All religions and spiritual schools, all "new age" philosophies use prayer, mantras, and affirmations as tools to help one move toward higher states of consciousness from which one can live with a greater degree of clarity and freedom from limiting thought patterns, beliefs and behaviors.

Automatic thoughts whirrr on and on in our head brains. What are they saying? Do you have any idea what yours is saying all day long? What are these unmonitored thoughts attracting into your life? When you begin to listen to them, you will notice habitual patterns of thinking and you will notice that most of that habitual thinking is negative, and you will come to realize that habitual thinking is not real. You will see how these habitual negative thoughts keep you from having, being and doing the things you wish to have, be, do most in your life today.

Do you wish for change? If you do wish for something new in your life, you have to dump the old thought patterns that keep you marching in the same place year after year, in relationship after relationship. You have to refresh your head brain with new thoughts - affirmations/ prayers/ mantras... I will write more about this in the coming weeks.

Last year, I kept coming across a a quote on a post-it I found somewhere years ago. It said: "“When you are feeling depreciated, angry or deceived, it is a sign that others are not open to your energy.”

Today, I would change this to say: “When you are feeling depreciated, upset, unloved or deceived, it is a sign that others may not be open to your energy - (or a sign that you are asleep immersed in habitual negative thinking, or that you are having a bad hair day, or are having a negative reaction to your breakfast, lunch or dinner; or are put off by others looks, manifestations, etc.)” The list could go on but why waste the time. I'm sure you get the picture.

This is not to say that there are not some unfortunate miserable people out there who are habitually negative, grudge carrying, "account keeping" (as Maurice Nicoll said), meanies who enjoy slopping their negativity onto the nearest target on a regular basis - nevertheless - whatever the reason we feel depreciated, angry, unloved, disrespected, baited or deceived, we must act and disengage from the situation internally as soon as we become aware of what is going on. We must come back to center in ourselves, process the information quickly and return to a more positive state so that we can handle those situations and people in less reactive way. How do we do this? It takes practice, but it can be done. All that you need to know can't be taught in a blog post but little bits that you can try on your own can be posted that might help.

In any case, I kept the quote on my desk when I worked in a call center in customer service. I used it as a reminder that I did not have to be affected by other people’s manifestations. Keeping this concept in front of me helped a lot in that business. Whatever pushed my buttons when I was less connected to my wish to live in peace and set me off into a downward spiral of negative emotional thinking would vanish almost instantly whenever I looked at the note. I would stop for a moment or two, take a deep breath and return to the weight of my body sitting in the chair. I would remember who I was and what I wanted. I made it a habit to look at the quote several times a day - especially when a customer was very upset and taking it out on me.

The note kept surfacing from my piles of paper a few months ago, so I taped it to my computer monitor.Recently, when I was sitting and focused on helping my body to work through a physical pain that settled in my solar plexus after spending some time with someone who was intent on deliberately hurting me, I noticed the sensation of what seemed like a large cylinder about 5" in diameter and which reached horizontally about 3 - 4 " into the center of my body. The mouth of the cylinder was open, black, and jagged edged; it was literally throbbing. I looked at my thoughts and had an immediate image of what happened the day before and the image of the "frenemy" who was involved. As I viewed the images, the nausea increased as did the pain. I began to repeat an affirmation until the images, pain and nausea were gone.

This kind of self healing work is is best done sitting alone quietly in a chair in a quiet place where you will not be disturbed for at least half an hour. Repeat the words as many times as it takes to release the negativity involving others, and to stop any psychic pain. At first using this method to resolve real or perceived hurts may seem fake but I promise, continued use of this particular affirmation can bring instant results once you really understand how it works and you can only understand it by practicing it. It clears the way for better, more positive experiences with others. As long as we hold these negative thoughts and feelings about others we will never be free. There are other supporting lessons to help you get good at this, but more about that in another post, I am sure or contact me for more information.

I've adapted this prayer/mantra/affirmation from Louise Hay's affirmation for forgiveness :

“I Forgive you __(say the name of the person)__ for not Being as I hoped you would Be. I Forgive you and set you free.” (Wait a moment or two, then affirm) “And, I Forgive myself.”

We forgive ourselves because we somehow attracted this behavior from others. I will address how we do this in detail at another time.

I then stated the following affirmation: "Today I wish to be impervious to all slights: imagined and intended, perceptible and imperceptible. I deserve a, peaceful and happy life filled with the Love and respect of family, friends, and neighbors in a loving community, in a loving world. I send respectful, peaceful and loving thoughts and energy to everyone. I am Loved and I am loving."

Practice makes perfect, just remember what you really want is peace for yourself and for everyone else.

Peace

"Don't Worry, Be Happy"

Meher Baba coined that phrase and two brothers in Philadelphia, Bernard and Murray Spain came up with the Smiley Face that eventually led to the birth of thousands of tiny emoticons.

Genius!

Where does your smiley face live in you?

Don't worry, Be happy!