Choices

Politically, I would like to see more positive choices made, choices that "increase the integrity of the universe", to use a quote from my book. It does not make any difference to me if the choices are republican or democrat, only that they are oriented toward the long term good of all the people. I believe the words of Rufus Jones when he said "From the nature of things life means choice and selection, and every positive choice negates all other possibilities." So, if we begin to make positive choices and continue it will put an end to racism, elitism and environmental degradation.

Power of Love

I was shown many years ago that I could fill myself with a loving feeling, confront any "demonic" or negative forces within myself and then make them leave me alone by simply telling them to leave. It worked like magic though I could never fit the process into my logical thinking (like I say in my book "understanding is not required"). Last night I was able to do the same thing with a group of spirits. This process then frees up the energy so that the same energy can be used in me or them for positive growth. In the words of John Yungblut "It is not that the demonic forces within the unconscious are not capable of destruction and disintegration. It is rather that within the mystery of the conjunction of opposites their sting can be drawn, their poison drained, and their very energy harnessed to realize a more profound individuation."

Paradox

Because of today’s recovery meeting and my own reading I have been aware of and contemplating the numerous paradoxes in my life. In my recovery meeting, as often happens, "surrender to win" was implied several times. The other paradoxes in my life are summarized nicely by the words of Rufus Jones when he wrote "To get we must also give, to advance we must also surrender, to gain we must lose, to attain we must resign. From the nature of things life means choice and selection, and every positive choice negates all other possibilities." For me the largest and most difficult paradox was/is that in order for me to become my true Self I have to give up the worldly demands of my ego self or in his words "To become a person one must both affirm and deny himself. One involves the other."

Acceptance

I fully accept the limitations imposed on me by my disability and, at the same time, do everything I know to do to reduce or eliminate those limitations. I accept it but do not like it and try to make it go away. Seeking to alleviate the pain and discomfort of my disability has forced me to meditate more and have a much better connection with God/love. It is only through that connection and then filling my life with being of service that I find relief. In the words of Seeger "It [inner silence] is to establish an inner peace, an inner harmony, which will allow us authentically to contribute to the establishment of an outer peace and an outer harmony in the world at large."

Mistake

This morning I went for my first appointment with a neurologist in MD, an appointment that I had confirmed last week. When I got there the office staff was there but the clinic was closed so the appointment was cancelled. It turns out that in addition to erroneously confirming the appointment, they had also originally scheduled it under the wrong name, so they had made two errors. Initially when I pointed out that they had "messed up" they denied it but after figuring out what they had done wrong, they explained their error to me, apologized and rescheduled. I laughed a bit, pointed out that they had admitted the mistake and apologized for it. I told the office manager that she had done well. A mistake had been made, I did not take it personally and a reasonable resolution was arrived at. It could have turned out a lot worse!

Meditation

Today, a Sunday, I had several periods of exercise, each followed by a period of sitting quietly and meditating. This was one of those days when I did not look forward to or enjoy the exercise, primarily the treadmill. I, of course just did it anyway as part of my daily practice. I did enjoy the meditating, my way of listening to God/love. I was not seeking any specific guidance so I just quieted the mind chatter and listened. In the words of Loring; "Our awareness develops in the context of prayer, our communication with God—not only as we address God but as we learn to listen for God [love]."