The Awakening
(Author unknown)

A time comes in your life when you finally get…when, in the midst of all your fears and insanity, you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out…ENOUGH! Enough fighting and crying and blaming and struggling to hold on. Then, like a child quieting down after a tantrum, you blink back your tears and begin to look at the world through new eyes.

This is your awakening.

You realize it’s time to stop hoping and waiting for something to change, or for happiness, safety and security to magically appear over the next horizon.

You realize that in the real world there aren’t always fairy tale endings, and that any guarantee of “happily ever after” must begin with you…and in the process a sense of serenity is born of acceptance.

You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect and that not everyone will always love, appreciate or approve of who or what you are…and that’s OK. They are entitled to their own views and opinions.

You learn the importance of loving and championing yourself…and in the process a sense of new found confidence is born of self-approval.

Your stop complaining and blaming other people for the things they did to you – or didn’t do for you – and you learn that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected.

You learn that people don’t always say what they mean or mean what they say and that not everyone will always be there for you and everything isn’t always about you.

So, you learn to stand on your own and to take care of yourself…and in the process a sense of safety and security is born of self-reliance.

You stop judging and pointing fingers and you begin to accept people as they are and to overlook their shortcomings and human frailties…and in the process a sense of peace and contentment is born of forgiveness.

You learn to open up to new worlds and different points of view. You begin reassessing and redefining who you are and what you really stand for.

You learn the difference between wanting and needing and you begin to discard the doctrines and values you’ve outgrown, or should never have bought into to begin with.

You learn that there is power and glory in creating and contributing and you stop maneuvering through life merely as a “consumer” looking for you next fix.

You learn that principles such as honesty and integrity are not the outdated ideals of a bygone era, but the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build a life.

You learn that you don’t know everything, it’s not you job to save the world and that you can’t teach a pig to sing. You learn the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry and that martyrs get burned at the stake.

Then you learn about love. You learn to look at relationships as they really are and not as you would have them be. You learn that alone does not mean lonely.

You stop trying to control people, situations and outcomes. You learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility and the importance of setting boundaries and learning to say NO.

You also stop working so hard at putting your feelings aside, smoothing things over and ignoring your needs.

You learn that your body really is your temple. You begin to care for it and treat it with respect. You begin to eat a balanced diet, drinking more water, and take more time to exercise.

You learn that being tired fuels doubt, fear, and uncertainty and so you take more time to rest. And, just food fuels the body, laughter fuels our soul. So you take more time to laugh and to play.

You learn that, for the most part, you get in life what you deserve, and that much of life truly is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

You learn that anything worth achieving is worth working for and that wishing for something to happen is different than working toward making it happen.

More importantly, you learn that in order to achieve success you need direction, discipline and perseverance. You learn that no one can do it all alone, and that it’s OK to risk asking for help.

You learn the only thing you must truly fear is fear itself. You learn to step right into and through your fears because you know that whatever happens you can handle it and to give in to fear is to give away the right to live life on your own terms.

You learn to fight for your life and not to squander it living under a cloud of impending doom.

You learn that life isn’t always fair, you don’t always get what you think you deserve and that sometimes bad things happen to unsuspecting, good people…and you lean not to always take it personally.

You learn that nobody’s punishing you and everything isn’t always somebody’s fault. It’s just life happening. You learn to admit when you are wrong and to build bridges instead of walls.

You lean that negative feelings such as anger, envy and resentment must be understood and redirected or they will suffocate the life out of you and poison the universe that surrounds you.

You learn to be thankful and to take comfort in many of the simple things we take for granted, things that millions of people upon the earth can only dream about: a full refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long hot shower.

Then, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself and you make yourself a promise to never betray yourself and to never, ever settle for less than you heart’s desire.

You make it a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting, and to stay open to every wonderful possibility.

You hang a wind chime outside your window so you can listen to the wind.

Finally, with courage in your heart, you take a stand, you take a deep breath, and you begin to design the life you want to live as best as you can.

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Today is 8-31-13 and in two days it is time to celebrate Labor Day. 

Don't forget that the following Sunday after Labor Day services will resume at Chrysalis Spiritual Center. 

POEM

The "definitive version", as published by The Times and The Sunday Times in Frye's obituary, 5 November 2004:^[2]

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sunlight on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there; I did not die.

 

Everyone liked this poem when Saundra read it at church, so here is a copy for you.

 

Dalai Lama's summer palace

 

Poem for August

The Dalai Lama.

The thought manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character.
So watch the thought and its ways
with care,
And let it spring from love
Born out of concern for all beings.
As the shadow follows the body,
As we think, so we become.

—Guatama Buddha, Dhammapada

What If You Could Go Back In Time?

What advice would you give yourself?

What would you change and do differently?

Gateway

 

















You only have a limited amount of time in this life to reach
your goals, pursue your spirituality and experience everything
you can in this life. And it is all too easy to procrastinate and
put things off until tomorrow.

But what if you could get back some of that lost time?

Although life feels very linear, the reality is that time is not as
straightforward as we think. It is possible to glimpse the future
and even alter the past.

I don't mean that you will physically travel back in time.

But you already know how to influence time. If you have ever
manifested anything in the present, you understand that
everything has a different frequency. When you combine
this knowledge with the ability to 'feel' time, you will know
how access your past and present.

Energy knows no boundries. Physical or time. It is possible to
send packets of data, or information in the form of a "feels ike"
through the bands of time, to the past or the future. Have you
ever had a moment where a surge of emotion came out of
nowhere? Think about that moment, what caused that surge?
Maybe... just maybe there was some data or guidence in that
moment that you had overlooked.

For example, think about yesterday and how this feels in your
chest center. Now think about six months ago. Now five years ago.
Each of these times Feels different. The same is true when you
are going into the future.
 
Go back to power points in your past. Moments where you had
made life changing decisions or had an intense experience.
Is there any advice in the form of a feeling, an emotion that
you would send to your past self? Focus on what it felt like to
be you back then, create the emotion of knowlege and experience
that you have learned since then and project that feeling back to
your past self. Imagine your past self receiving that emotional
imformation.

This may seem extremely abstract, but give it a try.

Where you would be spiritually if you had faithfully
meditated twice a day for the last 10 years? Or if you had
mastered non-thought years ago...

Remember to make wise choices when doing this. Your past
experiences have helped to shape who you are, and it is not a
wise decision to try to remove everything that was difficult or
painful in your life.

Experiment with stepping back in time. And please share your
experiences and any questions you may have about this powerful
technique.


Good Journeys,

Eric Robison
Author of Bending God: A Memoir

Website:: http://www.higherbalance.com
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A copy of the newsletter from Eric Robison