Archive for opening your heart
You are anxious and troubled about many things – Jesus
My words for meditation:
“To put it still more plainly: the desire for security and the feeling of insecurity are the same thing. To hold your breath is to lose your breath. A society based on the quest for security is nothing but a breath-retention contest in which everyone is as taut as a drum and as purple as a beet.”
– Alan Watts
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“I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life. Since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. The key is to develop inner peace.”
– Dalai Lama XIV
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Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
– Jesus; the Bible, Luke 10: 38-42
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Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.
We all are loved by God, and NO religion or person has a monopoly on it. Every single person on this planet is loved equally by God … SO many are cut off from God because they are told they don’t belong. God loves everyone … we ALL are beautiful creations … we don’t need to cringe when we hear the words “God”, or “religion”, or their judgments … God LOVES us all!
There is no requirement to change in order to be LOVED by God, or to LOVE God. God is LOVE, and LOVE is God … period. There is no one who God loves more than anyone else … there are only those who choose to LOVE more … to love God more, and consequently then to love each other more. In doing so, we grow closer to God … and know God.
By opening our hearts, and minds to God (free of boundaries like religion, or social trends); by LOVING God … we are exactly where we are meant to be. If we maintain that openness, never allowing any person or event to make us close our hearts, we will be guided by God to be who we are meant to be.
In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.
Southern California, Northern California, Mission Viejo, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Marin, San Jose, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Palm Springs, Long Beach
A lesson in ripples …
A student came to his teacher very perplexed. Life had become unbearable and the only person he knew who could help him was his teacher.
His teacher received him warmly and listened as her pupil poured his heart out, tears just behind his words but not yet managing to fall.
When his words could no longer adequately describe his anguish, and the room was silent, the teacher rose and motioned for her student to follow.
They walked outside where raindrops were lightly sprinkling all around and the teacher sat on a bench near a pool. The student sat next to her and watched as she simply stared at the pool. He grew restless.
Finally his teacher said, “Do you see the droplets of water falling on the surface of the pool?”
“Sure, of course I do.” the student answered quickly.
“Good,” his teacher said, “now see if you can guess where you think the next droplet of water will fall.”
The student studied the pool for a few seconds and said impatiently, “I cannot.”
“Okay. Now I want you to focus with ALL your might, use the techniques I have taught you, and try to stop the droplets from hitting the water.”
The student was stunned at this daunting request, but did not want to disappoint his teacher so he did as he was instructed. He went through all of the techniques his teacher had taught him and when he was ready he focused his will with every ounce of concentration he could must. He created a sphere of energy and moved it over the pool to prevent the droplets from landing.
Still the water droplets landed on the surface of the pool.
The student’s shoulders slumped, “I cannot do it.” he said softly. His failure only adding to his woes.
“That is correct.” his teacher acknowledged, “No matter how hard you try you cannot stop the water from falling into this pool. Such are the events that take place in this world. Just as you cannot predict where the next droplet will fall, so too can you not predict the next event that will occur in your life.”
The student was relieved that he had not failed this test, but still seemed perplexed.
“You are looking at life as if you can predict what will happen and control it … but you cannot. To try and do so takes a tremendous amount of energy and concentration … and you will never be successful.”
His teacher paused and looked out over the pond again, “Now try and look at the surface and appreciate the beauty that each droplet of water creates.”
The student did so and after a few minutes a sigh escaped his lips. The ripples of each droplet intersected with each other over and over creating a hypnotically beautiful piece of evolving art.
“The difference between how you perceive the droplets of water hitting the pool before and now is all a matter of perspective. So it is with life … change your perspective on how you view the events unfolding around you and they will no longer trouble you. If you can surrender to the flow of Life without fighting or trying to impose your will on it, then you will be on the path to contentment and happiness and even possibly … enlightenment.”
Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.
We all are loved by God, and NO religion or person has a monopoly on it. Every single person on this planet is loved equally by God … SO many are cut off from God because they are told they don’t belong. God loves everyone … we ALL are beautiful creations … we don’t need to cringe when we hear the words “God”, or “religion”, or their judgments … God LOVES us all!
There is no requirement to change in order to be LOVED by God, or to LOVE God. God is LOVE, and LOVE is God … period. There is no one who God loves more than anyone else … there are only those who choose to LOVE more … to love God more, and consequently then to love each other more. In doing so, we grow closer to God … and know God.
By opening our hearts, and minds to God (free of boundaries like religion, or social trends); by LOVING God … we are exactly where we are meant to be. If we maintain that openness, never allowing any person or event to make us close our hearts, we will be guided by God to be who we are meant to be.
In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.
Southern California, Northern California, Mission Viejo, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Marin, San Jose, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Palm Springs, Long Beach
Creativity is the training ground for miracles
Have you ever thought that there must be some sort of greater purpose to your creative surges? You find something that you love, and when you give yourself over to it your spirit soars! You could spend days, weeks, months doing it and never tire of it. The stereotype attached to this is that it must be something artistic … that’s true creativity.
That’s simply not true. We can find creativity within us during just about ANY activity. If your calling is to be the world’s best mom, or dad; you can find amazing and incredible things to do with your kids, and creative ways to show them your love. If your calling is to be a construction worker; you can find creative ways to make yourself the best and most trusted in your trade. Basically … if you LOVE something, or someone … there’s probably a reason for it. Whatever it is … that is part of the unique Creation that is you.
Here’s the thing about creativity though … just because you have it, doesn’t mean that it is necessarily being put to good, or constructive, use. Here’s an example: when I was a suicidally depressed teenager – my teacher remarked that every time she read my poetry she cried. I remember I wrote one piece in particular that reduced her to a weeping mess … it was about a deer that had been shot through the lungs by an arrow and was dying a slow death. Yeah … REAL uplifting.
What Creativity DOES do is show us the unique gifts that God has blessed us with. When we are connected with God and unimpeded by the past, worries of the future, and all of the chaos that goes on in the world of today … when we are just CONNECTED to God’s Love. That is when our Creativity can then take on the form of a Miracle.
I enjoy expressing myself through writing (as well as many other forms: cooking, singing, composing music, etc.). You could say that since I gave my life to the arts, I have become a creative being … and that would be true. However, the things that I produced as that creative Being were a direct reflection of who my True Self was at the time … at the time when my True Self was repressed and shackled to an Inner World of fears, rejection, bitterness, anger, and many other things … that was how I expressed myself creatively … those awful things within me were expressed inherently in what I Creatively did in some way, shape, or form.
THAT is why I say that Creativity is the training ground for Miracles. When you have gone within and cleared out all of those ancient blockages. When you have opened yourself to allow the Love of your Creator to wash all of that crap out? Then your Creativity becomes what God always intended it to become all along … a conduit for God to work through you.
Think about it … when you see a painting, or hear a song, that completely takes your breath away … or makes you cry even … there is something MORE to it than just the brush strokes, or vocal gymnastics of the singer. There is a SOUL that is expressed. THAT is a miracle. Raising the most beautiful children in the world, because you allowed God to shape them instead of imposing your own flaws upon them … THAT is a miracle.
Guess what?? LOVING yourself, even though you can find a million ways to loathe yourself … THAT is a Miracle … it is the first Miracle in the line of many more Miracles to come. Learn to Love yourself … you are beautiful, just as you are. God thinks so … and I think so too (because I choose to be a mirror of God’s Love to the world).
God wants you to accept how wondrously you are Loved, and embrace that View as how you see yourself. Then your TRUE Creative Self will be unleashed upon the world … for whatever God intends.
Peace and Love.
——-
* this posting came from meditating on my prior post, “Portal of Healing and Creativity“. Picture is from 10000 Victories Kung Fu School.
Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.
We all are loved by God, and NO religion or person has a monopoly on it. Every single person on this planet is loved equally by God … SO many are cut off from God because they are told they don’t belong. God loves everyone … we ALL are beautiful creations … we don’t need to cringe when we hear the words “God”, or “religion”, or their judgments … God LOVES us all!
There is no requirement to change in order to be LOVED by God, or to LOVE God. God is LOVE, and LOVE is God … period. There is no one who God loves more than anyone else … there are only those who choose to LOVE more … to love God more, and consequently then to love each other more. In doing so, we grow closer to God … and know God.
By opening our hearts, and minds to God (free of boundaries like religion, or social trends); by LOVING God … we are exactly where we are meant to be. If we maintain that openness, never allowing any person or event to make us close our hearts, we will be guided by God to be who we are meant to be.
In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.
Southern California, Northern California, Mission Viejo, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Marin, San Jose, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Palm Springs, Long Beach
The Wound is where the Light enters
The fodder of my meditations today:
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“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”
– Rumi
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“We are healed of a suffering only by experiencing it to the full.”
– Marcel Proust
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“God wants the whole person and He will not rest till He gets us in entirety. No part of the man will do”
– A. W. Tozer
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– painting by Frida Kahlo.
~~~~~~~
Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.
We all are loved by God, and NO religion or person has a monopoly on it. Every single person on this planet is loved equally by God … SO many are cut off from God because they are told they don’t belong. God loves everyone … we ALL are beautiful creations … we don’t need to cringe when we hear the words “God”, or “religion”, or their judgments … God LOVES us all!
There is no requirement to change in order to be LOVED by God, or to LOVE God. God is LOVE, and LOVE is God … period. There is no one who God loves more than anyone else … there are only those who choose to LOVE more … to love God more, and consequently then to love each other more. In doing so, we grow closer to God … and know God.
By opening our hearts, and minds to God (free of boundaries like religion, or social trends); by LOVING God … we are exactly where we are meant to be. If we maintain that openness, never allowing any person or event to make us close our hearts, we will be guided by God to be who we are meant to be.
In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.
Southern California, Northern California, Mission Viejo, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Marin, San Jose, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Palm Springs, Long Beach
Religion4All 