Practice Makes Mastery...

What is the secret to Mastery?  Practice...
This applies to anything you want to get good at.  If you want to master a sport, you practice.  If you want to be a great artist you practice.  If you want to get good at prayer...  Yes you have to practice.  Meditation, cooking, loving, compassion... practice.  If you want to talk to God, listen to God, you have to practice.  Anything worth doing is worth taking the time to practice.  If you want change in your life you will need to practice the change you wish to make. 

Living the Life that you Want...

It’s not always an easy thing to do but we can get a lot of guidance by just listening to our hunches.   Sometimes that nudge to make this choice over that choice is our angel or our Holy Spirit trying to tell us what is best for us.  And the more we watch for this and the more we experience it the easier it is to see and follow.   Our angels know what it is we want and need, sometimes more than we do.  So that is why it is important to refine your needs and desires.  The another important step to living the life that you want is gratitude.  Be grateful for everything.  Thank your angels for helping.  Thank God for what you want as though you already have it.  In review:  1.  Listen to your hunches... your first thought.  2.  Know what you want, and constantly refine your thoughts and desires.  3.  Be grateful for what you have and what you desire.  

The Choice to Grow.....

From Walking between the Worlds by Gregg Braden.  “The choice to evolve is determined by you rather than a high panel of regulatory beings....  The primary tool of your journey, however, is your life process.  The choices you make on a daily basis are the components of this tool.... You are doing so (making choices) in this very moment.”
Evolve is often considered a dirty word.    For example human’s evolved from apes, or Teaching evolution is a bad thing.   Evolve, simply and elegantly, means grow, develop, advance, progress, mature. 
The choice to grow, develop, advance, progress, mature is determined by you....
 

Blessing and Gratitude...

Here is a suggestion for building compassion and releasing judgmental and negative thoughts.   First you must learn to recognize when you react in judgement and recognize when you are having negative thoughts.  It is fairly easy to know when you are being judgmental.  Often there are certain types of people, certain behaviors that we notice that trigger these judgements.   Negative thinking in general is more difficult to recognize because we do it so often.   Self criticism is a big one.  “That was stupid”, I’m so dumb sometimes”, or things like... ‘arthritis runs in the family’, “Our family is prone to fits of depression”.?
Practice noticing when you do these things.  Practice till you can recognize when you start to say and think negative things.    Now that you realize you are doing something judgmental or coming up with a negative thought step in to stop it.  Therapists used to have suggestions for thought stopping.  They may still use these.  They would suggest you say out loud a very emphatic “stop”.   Now this might work well for when you are alone but could be a bit embarrassing if you were among a group of people.  Another that they suggested is to wear a rubber band on your wrist and when you realize you are unable to stop thoughts feeding into your mind, you stretch the rubber band and sting yourself with it.  
Try this instead.  If you happen to see someone on the street that you know triggers your judgement make a choice to switch your thought to a blessing.  Under your breath or in your thoughts simply say ‘bless you’.  Using just this you will soon find yourself doing more blessing than judging.  But now combine that blessing with gratitude.   Bless the person your see and add a thank you to the universe.  One thing to avoid in this is saying to yourself “I am grateful I am not like that person”  however you can express your gratitude that you have a home, that its a beautiful day, something on that order.  Try it.  Make a game out of it.  You will find that your attitude will begin to shift.   

A BIG THANK YOU...

Thank you to all who have been reading these posts.  I am grateful for you.  It is often said that we teach what we need to learn and I think that is very much my case.  I have learned a lot and I truly hope you have received something from this.  I found out how to delete old images so I can continue use my nature photos on these posts.   One more time... thank you, thank you, thank you...

The Crows led me to an Owl This Morning...

It appears that I have used up all of the free space on the blog for photos.  Until I can find out how to delete old images or solve this in some other way I want to refer you to the following links where my photography can be seen.
 http://www.redbubble.com/people/richimage
 http://www.facebook.com/richard.allan.79

Now to tonight's blog post.  The crows led me to an owl this morning.  They were making such a fuss that I had to go see what was bothering them and sure enough there was the barred owl I have been trying to get a good look at for some time.  Seeing this owl at this time felt like another synchronistic event so I once more reviewed the messages that the owl spirit can send us. 
Owl is master of the night.  Keen eyesight, very focused hearing, feathers designed for silence enables it to be a very efficient hunter.  Sometimes we are afraid of the night and all of the terrible things that can happen in the darkness.  Owl teaches us to let go of our fear.  It teaches us to become acquainted with the darkness that lurks within us all.  And thus by becoming aware of it we can let go of that also.  Then there is the snowy owl, an owl that hunts in the daytime.  We don’t have to be afraid in the daytime either.  We don't have to be afraid of your light, our goodness, our trying to live up to other people's expectations.  An especially good thing to think about in time of holiday pressure don't you think.  We can use the wisdom of the owl to learn about ourselves and use their power to let go of our fear and and come to terms with the darkness within ourselves.  

I Love How it Works...

Today I experienced an example of synchronicity and a great illustration of just how spiritual synchronicity works.  I had seen on facebook a webinar (a seminar offered on the internet) that sounded interesting.  It was about energy and was free.  It took me a couple of minutes to log on but finally accomplished it.  It was very personal and it turned out, at least to begin with, I was the only person on at that moment.  Others joined and apparently there had been a very successful well attended one earlier in the day.
The person teaching was Kelly Schwegel and she was very good.  I could interact with her by typing responses.  She had a webcam on and I could see her.   Not far into the webinar she used and spoke of the work of Dr. David Hawkins.   A very obvious synchronicity because of all the reading and study I have been doing with Dr. Hawkins material.  She had some very specific ideas for understanding energy and meditation techniques and used another image and explanation that was the work of Peggy Phoenix Dubro.  This was the second synchronicity for me because Peggy Dubro often appears with Lee Carroll and Kryon.  Both are ones I have studied a great deal.   The information was excellent and very useful and there is another webinar coming up that I think I might find very useful.  It is called Banish the Baggage. 
I accessed this webinar originally through the facebook page called Our Ascension.  It feels so good to see how these things come together.   

"Be Miserable, or Motivate Yourself...."

This is a quote from Dr. Wayne Dyer.  It is something we tend to forget, esp. when we are in the throes of some situation.  We do have a choice.  "Be miserable.  Or Motivate yourself.  Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice."   Wayne Dyer

Eternity... is it on Your list of needs?

"Something deep in the human make-up needs and longs for a taste of eternity--at least a momentary release from the relentless pace of time. We don't usually place eternity in our list of needs, but the soul is only half satisfied with the things of this world.”  From Thomas Moore THE SOUL OF SEX.

This longing for eternity as he calls it is why there is religion in the world.  This longing is essentially our search for God.  We aren’t left here in the physical without something that calls to us urging us to find out who we are and where our eternal home is.   But this longing is also the why people turn to addictive behavior whether it be alcohol, sex, drugs or even fundamentalism.  Making the best use of this longing requires choice and intent.   It means making a decision to want to know the truth.  The truth that will set you free.  Also there can be many truths depending on who you are and your level of understanding.  The soul longs for that from whence it came. 

A Blanket of Calm...

 

Tonight the middle east is again aflame.  Israel is calling up its reservists and Palestine is again bombarding Israel with missiles.  I would like to request your assistance in sending blankets of positive energy to that entire area.  Do not send the energy or prayers because you hate war or because you want one side to win this conflict, simply lay down a cover of love on the entire area.   Send a layer of support for the peacemakers that are there.   Take a moment to send a layer of calm... Prayers of love and support to the entire area.    If our prayers and energy support helps calm even a little it will be worth it.   It only need take a moment.  And while you are thinking of it, tell your friends and loved ones to joint the world wide support group for Israel and the Palestinians.   Send both sides the strength to make positive decisions.   Thank you for your thoughts and help.  

Powerlessness...

Being aware of what you are feeling is the key to transformation. "Lack of self-worth is the fundamental source of all emotional pain. A feeling of insecurity, unworthiness and lack of value is the core experience of powerlessness."~ Gary Zukav & Linda Francis - from "The Heart Of The Soul

Your Dark Night...

Have you heard of the dark night of the soul.  From Gregg Braden’s WALKING BETWEEN THE WORLDS, The Science of Compassion:  ‘Definition: Your ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ is a time, as well as an experience in life, wherein you may be drawn into a situation or circumstance representing, what appears for you, to be  your worst fear.
Corollary:  You are capable of entering a “Dark Night of the Soul” only when you have amassed all of the emotional tools necessary to see you through your experience intact and with grace.”
Remember that we have been told that God gives us only what we are capable of handling?
What if that terrible thing that is happening to you, that low time of your life, has come into your life in order for you to show that you have the ability to handle it.  Sometimes the lows in our life seem so terrible that we cannot possibly think we can handle it  or get past it. Sometimes we get so used to ‘being down’ that we fail to see it as a challenge to prove our mastery over what life gives us.  There is a sunrise to our Dark Nights.  Believe it and look for the way to move out of those lows.  Ask for help if needed.  Believe that it is possible that you have the emotional tools to take you through the dark.   

Try Blessing....

This is a suggestion that might help foster compassion and help you feel better in a lot of different ways.  Most of us are aware that certain types of people, certain actions and behaviors, and just things that happen trigger in us automatic responses that are often judgmental.  As you become aware of your automatic judging try this simple suggestion.  Try silently or even out loud to bless that person or situation.  The minute you start feeling judgmental such as at that person that cut you off, that person that was rude to you, that person looks like they represent something that you don't like, just say 'bless you'.  This will shift your thinking.   That is enough sometimes.  

Worshiping the god of Suffering...

These are the words of Dr. David R. Hawkins, in his book HEALING AND RECOVERY. 
"We have to give up worshiping the god of suffering.  Christians have to give up solely worshiping the God of the crucifixion, the Christ of the crucifixion, and move on to the Christ of the resurrection.  The message was not that of death, sin, and suffering.... Is that what Christ died for, to teach everybody that we are a physical body?  Or was his message the direct opposite?  His message was that we are not limited.  We have to substitute our confused ideas and begin to look at moving towards a lovingness and a higher state of consciousness to learn that the message was the Christ of the Resurrection.
Now we have to give up the belief that penance, guilt, sin, and suffering are somehow of enormous spiritual benefit."

It's So Easy to Hate...

It is so easy to say “I hate”.  I hate when my finger hurts.  I hate that politician.  To your child, ‘I hate when you do that’.  I suppose it would be nice if things got better when we say ‘I hate’, but unfortunately they don’t.   And in fact, to say those strong words may do more harm than good.   It is better to be aware of using negativities as these and if you want to cancel the negativity use words such as, ‘I forgive my finger for hurting, and I forgive myself for feeling the negativity of pain’.   It is so important to be aware of what we say to others, the universe and ourselves.   Wouldn’t you much prefer to have something positive, such as a blessing or a smile, making ripples out into the universe?

Be Grateful and Pray...

The year 2012 is drawing to a close.   Halloween is past.  Coming now is Thanksgiving in the USA, the winter Solstice on December 21, 2012, and, of course, Christmas on December 25.  Think about what these holidays mean to you and how you will celebrate them.   Be grateful for what you have and pray for those who have less than yourself.
There are other religious holidays during these times.  With the possible exception of the Jewish Holiday, Hanukkah, these other holidays do not get the global attention that the solstice and Christmas get.  The suggestion for these holidays is the same.  Be grateful for what you have and pray for those who have less.