Acceptance

  I have noticed that I have an insidious tendency to interact with the world as I perceive it rather than the reality of the way it is.  I can have attitudes or beliefs that prevent me from really seeing things as they are and, then, as a result, reacting less affectively.  For example, my perception of my physical condition often depends on my mood at the time.  If my mood is depressed or sad I tend to have a low opinion of my abilities and, conversely, if my mood  is on the manic side I tend to overrate myself.   I do better when I can simply accept things the way they are.  It is only when I have total acceptance of reality that I can take maximally affective actions.

Holistic Healing

  Yesterday I wrote of the power and force of love to affect behavior and attitude in some and perhaps all life situations.  I use that power for my own physical healing and have taught the practice to others.  There are also other sources of power which can be used similarly.  For example, while sitting near the ocean it is possible to feel its energy or the turbulent energy of the ocean during a storm and then the nurturing energy of a bay or estuary.  During meditations I like to harmonize with these and other sources of power and use those powers for healing.

Love

  People frequently speak of love as existing between individuals in a relationship, like in a family, a friendship or romantically and resulting in an increased commitment to each other.  It can be more than that.  As I learned in my N.D.E., love can also be a more general approach to all of life situations.  In that case, love is a force or power that is capable of changing people’s attitudes and actions.  For example, during my N.D.E. I was given a choice between staying dead, which felt wonderful, peaceful, loving and free or returning to earthly existence and being of service.  I chose to come back purely because of the love I felt and a desire to align myself with that feeling.  I now have the feeling of love towards all people, places and things which certainly changes my behavior and I spread that love as much as I can.

Kingdom of God

  I find myself wishing that I had the words to express how good I feel right now about the world I live in.  I have that feeling of peace, love and joy “that surpasses all understanding”.  I also readily understand the chaos and problems in the world around me; the pandemic, global warming, civil wars and a narcissistic president who does not accept reality.  I also realize that I am seventy-two, disabled and in pain much of the time.  In the perspective of eternity and God’s world things are in divine order.  “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs that can be observed, nor will they say; ‘Look here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ for the kingdom of God is within you.” (gospel of Luke)

Gratitude

  I wake this morning feeling grateful for life as it is, a good feeling.  There are many aspects of my life that I wish were different and I do everything I can to make things better while also being grateful for the way things are.  Yesterday I exercised, meditated and then spent several hours making preparations for cooking a big batch of spaghetti sauce.  I was busier than I like and those activities would have taken a normal person a lot less time.  I am grateful I could do them at all and today will be more relaxed.  We are in the midst of a pandemic and I am isolating.  I am also healthy and the isolation gives me more time to reflect and meditate.  “We simply do not know.  Scientists discover and theologians affirm; but faced with the mystery of life and death we know almost nothing. (deCastillejo)

The Unseen

There is a tremendous amount of information floating around within the “empty” space surrounding each of us which I attempt to access through quiet meditation or just sitting and listening.  Watching animals respond to unseen forces has helped convince me of the importance of listening to the Universe.  I have also been strongly influenced by the unseen energies of God, love, beauty and spirits.  “I tell you, I am in every flower, every rainbow, every star in the heavens, and everything in and on every planet rotating around every star.  I am the whisper of the wind, the warmth of your sun, the incredible individuality and the extraordinary perfection of each snowflake.  I am the majesty in the soaring flight of eagles, and the innocence of the doe in the field; the courage of lions, the wisdom of the ancient ones.” (Walsch) 

Listening

  The ability to listen is very important to me.  I wish to hear with clarity, lack of bias and free of the concerns of self image or self in general.  I want to be sensitive to whatever the Universe has to tell me, whether the source be God, spirits or something else in the ether around me.  This morning I began thinking of listening and the fact that I listen with more clarity if I am lean and a bit hungry, rather than full and overweight.  That thought and listening led me to this entry in my journal.  The point I am led to is that listening requires discipline.  “To undertake to live a discerned life, to endeavor daily to be attuned to authentic movements of the Spirit leading us into greater fullness of life, is a strenuous undertaking.” ( Patricia Loring)

Self-Concept

  The other day standing in my backyard there was a visiting goshawk, looking sleek, strong and stately.  I was captivated by the vision and I felt his presence.  Maria, my wife, suggested that I meditate on the hawk and see if there was some sort of message for me and since I realized I had been impacted, I did   During my meditation I realized that I admired the hawk but certainly did not consider myself as “sleek, strong and stately”.I became very aware that the low self-concept I had when I was young was incorrect and based on the way my family saw me, but that I still had vestiges of that view.  Through that vision I was being urged to view myself as the strong, independent, remarkable person I had become, a tall order but worth listening to.

Love

  For some reason I have been given the power and feeling of love in my life and I chose to share or spread it as much as I can.  I am no saint or anyone special in any way outside of the presence of that gift.  I feel that Love all of the time and most strongly during my near-death-experience, during healing and in meditation.  That feeling has certainly changed my life.  I refer to Love as a power since, for me, it has brought about physical healing and abilities that other people consider impossible.  I also believe the source of that power to be God but see no need to make that connection — Love is stronger than that.

That Small Quiet Voice

  Within each of us is that part which senses the loving/compassionate action to be taken, the part that senses God and eternity, the part commonly called “that small quiet voice”.  In my case I cultivate that voice by listening, acting and being grateful for it.  In my case it is no longer small or quiet, and I like it that way.  I note that most of technology, like the internet, social media or I-phones, can draw me away from that part, if I indulge in them for any length of time.  On the other hand sitting quietly, walking in nature and meditating bring me closer to that part.  I do a lot of the latter, things that fit well within the pandemic!