"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about."
-Charles Kingsley

It's really the cat's house - we just pay the mortgage.
~Author Unknown

'May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.

"To think creatively, I need to be able to look afresh at what I normally take for granted."
~George Kneller

photo taken by Hal Emery


Light

"I am a child of the Light.
I love the Light.
I serve the Light.
I live in the Light.
I am protected, illumined, supplied and sustained by the Light
and I love the Light"
~Saint Germain

Today's Affirmation

The Light of God is always with me.
Today's Meditation
Dear God, Mother, Father, Spirit of the Universe

Thank You for the light of Your love which illumines my steps.
Thank You for the love we share freely with one another.
Thank You for providing all that I need to live.
Thank You for this incredible planet to call home.
Thank You for the wind and rain, fire and earth.
Thank You for early spring flowers.
Thank You for the Light which always shines.
Thank You!

A Miracle

When a miracle turns its face toward the Realm of Plants
Life flowers from the tree of its great good fortune.
And when a plant tastes grace and turns to the Spirit
It drinks it fill from the Fountain of Spring.
And when the spirit turns at last toward its Beloved
It unrolls its bed in Eternal Delight.

- Jalal-ud-Din Rumi

photo from an email-unknown photographer

Guidance requires action, but it does not guarantee safety. While I measure my success in terms of my personal comfort and security the universe measures my success by how much I have learned. So long as I use comfort and security as my criteria of success, I will fear my own intuitive guidance because by its very nature it directs me into new cycles of learning that are sometimes uncomfortable.
~Caroline Myss

Awake, thou wintry earth -
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness!
~Thomas Blackburn, "An Easter Hymn"

Earth laughs in flowers.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Hamatreya"

April hath put a spirit of youth in everything. ~William Shakespeare

Elder's Meditation of the Day


"The old Lakota was wise. He knew that man's heart away from nature becomes hard; he knew the lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to a lack of respect for humans too. So he kept his youth close to its softening influence."
--Luther Standing Bear, OGLALA SIOUX

When we live in nature it's like constantly being in school. We are in an environment that is always teaching. We are constantly being reminded hat there are laws, Natural Laws, which are running the universe. Once we know these laws and we drift from them, we start to live our lives in a different way. Soon we become discontent, selfish, and disrespectful. Then, we get in trouble. If our lives have become this way, it can be reversed by going back to nature to be among our teachers.


Great Spirit, teach men, again, the Natural Laws.

~ photo from www.lanyasnyder.com/BlankCanvas.jpg


I need to offer myself to God like a clean, smooth canvas and not worry myself about what God may choose to paint on it, but at each moment, feel only the stroke of His brush." ~Jean Pierre de Caussade

this is a photo of my Grandpa Bill when he was a youngster, he is the one on the right

The Daily OM

The Boundaries Of Experience
Expanding Your Comfort Zone

Leaving your comfort zone of current patterns and behaviors is a courageous step toward self-growth.


None of us are born with a guidebook that provides explicit rules for thought and behavior that will enable us to navigate life successfully. To cope with the myriad of complexities to which all of humanity is subject, we each develop a set of habits and routines that ground us, their continuity assuring us that life is progressing normally. Most of us know, whether instinctively or by experience, that transformations can be uncomfortable, but we always learn and gain so much. Any initial discomfort we experience when expanding our comfort zones diminishes gradually as we both become accustomed to change and begin to understand that temporary discomfort is a small price to pay for the evolution of our soul.

Your current comfort zone did, at one time, serve a purpose in your life. But it is representative of behaviors and patterns of thought that empowered you to cope with challenges of days past. Now, this comfort zone does little to facilitate the growth you wish to achieve in the present. Leaving your comfort zone behind through personal expansion of any kind can prepare you to take the larger leaps of faith that will, in time, help you refine your purpose. Work your way outward at your own pace, and try not to let your discomfort interfere with your resolve. With the passage of each well-earned triumph, you will have grown and your comfort zone will have expanded to accommodate this evolution.

Whether your comfort zone is living with your parents, or perhaps being too shy to socialize, or maybe it’s not realizing your spirit self—whatever it is, start small, and you will discover that venturing beyond the limited comfort zone you now cling to is not as stressful an experience as you imagined it might be. And the joy you feel upon challenging yourself in this way will nearly always outweigh your discomfort. As you continue to expand your comfort zone to include new ideas, activities, goals, and experiences, you will see that you are capable of stimulating change and coping with the fresh challenges that accompany it.

~ photo from an email


Spring

Somewhere
a black bear
has just risen from sleep
and is staring

down the mountain.
All night
in the brisk and shallow restlessness
of early spring

I think of her,
her four black fists
flicking the gravel,
her tongue

like a red fire
touching the grass,
the cold water.
There is only one question:

how to love this world.
I think of her
rising
like a black and leafy ledge

to sharpen her claws against
the silence
of the trees.
Whatever else

my life is
with its poems
and its music
and its cities,

it is also this dazzling darkness
coming
down the mountain,
breathing and tasting;

all day I think of her –
her white teeth,
her wordlessness,
her perfect love.


~ Mary Oliver ~

Awake, thou wintry earth -
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness!
~Thomas Blackburn, "An Easter Hymn"

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us."

-Nelson Mandela

~photographer unknown by me

Love is Action

"It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble, how hopeless the outlook, how muddled the tangle, how great the mistake. A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all."
~Emmet Fox

~photo from an email I got a while ago

We could learn alot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
~author unknown

Elder's Meditation of the Day

"Everything's so simple, and we make everything so complicated. That's why we're confused."

~ Vickie Downey, TEWA/Tesuque Pueblo

The Creator designed a very simple set of Laws for us to follow. If we follow these simple things, we'll be happy. If we don't follow these simple things, our lives become complicated. For example:

Respect Mother Earth
Love one another
Be truthful
Give to your brother and sisters
Be gentle with each other
Be happy
Following these simple Laws will have great rewards.


Great Spirit, let me lead a simple life.

~photographer unknown to me

Some days are simply meant for playing!
~ Mary Anne Radmacher

Courage does not always roar. Sometimes it is a quiet voice at the end of the day saying… "I will try again tomorrow."
– Mary Anne Radmacher

From Chet Day...

The Five Finger Deep Relaxation Method
This is one of my favorite techniques for dealing with stress.

I promise after you try it that it's going to be one of yours, too!

Here we go. Try it right now...

Close your eyes, take several deep breaths, and relax.


Now, touch your thumb to your index finger. As you do, think of a time when you felt an exhilarated, healthy physical or mental fatigue such as from jogging or skiing or from successfully completing an important project.


Next, touch your thumb to your middle finger. As you do, think of a time when you had a loving experience.


Now, touch your thumb to your ring finger. As you do, think about one of your successes in life or valued praise that you received.


Finally, touch your thumb to your little finger. As you do, visualize the most beautiful and relaxing place that you have ever been (or make up such a place if you want). Allow yourself to stay in that place for awhile.
If this exercise doesn't significantly relax you, then you've probably stopped breathing and gone to heaven!

http://chetday.com/go/Bliss

Something that helps me stay well is not getting stressed out! Ha! you are probably thinking. The above exercise may be helpful. I also meditate each day.

"Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust - we all dance to a mysterious
tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper."
~Albert Einstein

~ photographer unknown to me


Light without and light within.
And in all my comings and goings,
May I ever have a kindly greeting
From them I meet along the road.
May the raindrops fall lightly on my brow.
May the soft winds freshen my spirit.
May the sunshine brighten my heart
May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon me.
And may God enfold me in the mantle of His love.
~An Irish Gift

~ laughing Buddha photographer unknown to me


Wild Hilarious Miracle

So often I put up my hands
To shield my eyes from you
Wild hilarious miracle!
Your Light shines through my bones.

- Jalal-ud-Din Rumi

Today's Daily OM

Finding Your Joy

Be Happy Every Single Day

Being happy doesn’t come naturally to everybody. It is your birthright to be happy, choose happiness everyday.


Our lives are rich with potential sources of happiness, but sometimes we become victims of negative thinking because we believe that focusing on all that has gone wrong will provide us with the motivation we need to face the challenges of survival. When we choose to focus on what makes us happy, however, a shift occurs in the fabric of our existence. Finding something to be happy about every single day can help this shift take place. The vantage points from which we view the world are brought into balance, and we can see that being alive truly is a gift to be savored. There is always something we can be happy about—it is simply up to us to identify it.

On one day, we may find happiness in a momentous, life-changing event such as a marriage or the birth of a child. On another day, the happiness we experience may be a product of our appreciation of a particularly well-brewed cup of a tea or the way the sun shines on a leaf. If we discover that we literally cannot call to mind a single joyful element of existence, we should examine the cause of the blockage standing between us and experiencing happiness. Keeping a happiness journal is a wonderful way to catalog the happiness unfolding all around us so that joy has myriad opportunities to manifest itself in our lives. Writing about the emotions we experience while contemplating joy may give us insight into the factors compelling us to resist it.

Happiness may not always come easily into your life. You have likely been conditioned to believe that the proper response to unmet expectations is one of sadness, anger, guilt, or fear. To make joy a fixture in your existence, you must first accept that it is within your power to choose happiness over unhappiness every single day. Then, each time you discover some new source of happiness, the notion that the world is a happy place will find its way more deeply into your heart. On this day, find one thing to be happy about and let it fill your heart.

this is a photo of a drum that shows a medicine wheel. The drum maker calls it Medicine Wheels Healing Hand, here is their site: www.livingdrums.com

The concept that we are all related is one of the basic philosophies of D/Lakota religion."
~Dr. A.C. Ross (Ehanamani), LAKOTA

The Medicine Wheel teaches the four directions of the races, Red people, Yellow people, Black people and White people. These four directions are symbolic of all races. Everything in the circle is connected and related. All races are brothers and sisters. If we are related to each other, then it is important to love one another as brother and sister, aunt and uncle, Fathers and Mothers, Grandfathers and Grandmothers. We need to care for each other and especially respect each other. We need to honor one another's differences whether that difference is the color of our skin or our opinions. We should respect differences.


My Creator, let me feel the connectedness to all things. Let me know the lessons I need to learn today. Above all, let me feel my connectedness to You.

Life's truest happiness is found in friendships we make along the way
~author unkown

The Daily OM

Anything Can Be Overcome

Hope in Hardship

There is nothing in our life that cannot be overcome with time, love, friendship and attention to the matter.


The journey that each human being makes through earthly existence can have hardship as often as it is touched by joy. When we encounter adversity, the stress we feel can erode our optimism, eventually convincing us that the issues we face cannot be overcome. In truth, there is no situation so dire, no challenge so great, and no choice so bewildering that it cannot be overcome. Though we may believe that all avenues have been closed to us or that our most conscientious efforts will come to naught, we are never without feasible options. The best course of action may be veiled in doubt, but it is there. When we are honest with ourselves with regard to this simple fact, we can overcome anything because we will never stop looking for a solution to the challenges before us.

Self-trust coupled with a sturdy plan is the ultimate antidote to adversity’s tendency to inspire disillusionment in the human mind. As difficult as the obstacle plaguing you seems, it is no match for the love of a supportive universe that has been a part of your life since the day of your birth and will be with you forevermore. Try not to be misguided by your fear as this gives rise to the notion that there are problems without solutions. If you believe in your capabilities and dedicate yourself to the creation of some form of resolution, you will be surprised to discover that paths that were once closed to you miraculously open. Even if all you can do is change your perspective to turn an impediment into an opportunity to grow, you will have found the hope that is an inherent element of all hardship.

Remember that your destiny is a product of your own creation. Even when it seems you have nowhere left to turn, there is a solution waiting for you. The only insurmountable obstacles are the ones you create in your own mind—and these can only exert power over you if you let them. Uncertainty will always be a part of your existence, but perseverance and mindfulness will never fail to see you through to the other side of hardship where joy can thrive. Try and remember that no matter what life places at your feet, there is absolutely no situation that cannot be resolved with time, love, and friendship.

photo by Clark Little


Each Being

Each being is your gold, walking
Love the eyes that see the gold.
Last night I touched your beauty
Woke, an alchemist.

- Jalal-ud-Din Rumi

Path of Love

"And how I ask am I to walk the spiritual path? I answer: Say little; love much; give all; judge no-one; aspire to all that is love and good-
and keep on keeping on."
~White Eagle

photo of moose in Michigan from an email

We may give without loving, but we cannot love without giving.
~ Bernard Meltzer

Elder's Meditation of the Day

"And there are Four Corners of the Earth that we talk about, the Four Colors of people, and the Four Winds. You see the winds - they are spirits."
--Grandfather William Commanda, ALGONQUIN

The Elders teach us about the four directions. If we learn about direction, we also learn about attention, about focus, and about power. Each direction has spiritual power. In the morning, go outside, face the east and get still; then, listen to your thoughts. After you have done this for a while, turn and face the west. Get quiet once again and listen to your thoughts. Did your thinking change when you changed direction?


Great Spirit, teach me the power of the four directions.

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.
~Ruth Stout

photo from an email that shows amazing lenticular clouds over Mt. Rainier in Washington state

In the sky
an infinitude of hope,
a canvas of glory
all possibilities mine.
~Neroli Lambent

People who love cats have some of the biggest hearts around. ~Susan Easterly

The Present

"The present moment is as it is. Always. Can I let it be?"
~Eckhart Tolle

Today's Affirmation

I now relax into the peace of God.

Today's Meditation

Holy One, Source, Spirit, Mother, Father,
Right now, in this very moment, I am loved and peaceful.
I have everything I need to be happy, now.
I feel Your powerful presence and gentle joy.
I am immersed in a golden wave of liquid love.
I realize a deep sense of oneness with all creation and I love each person.
There are no separations or distinctions in You, only deep connection.
Thank You for the life we share in You.

photo from http://plaidnet.greenwichacademy.org

May today there be peace within.
May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content with yourself just the way you are.
Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.
~author unknown

The above photo is in honor of an amazing Reiki retreat I attended this weekend. I had my first sweat lodge, was attuned in the coil of the serpent and many of it's coils, which represent our chakras. What beautiful people I had the honor of being with, including my dad! Right now I am so filled up with energy and love. Life is spectacular!!!
Sending you all some of this healing energy and love....

photographer unknown to me

New Thoughts
"As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in my mind. To make a deep physical path, I walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, I need to think over and over the kind of thoughts I wish to dominate my life."
~Henry David Thoreau

Today's Affirmation
I cultivate thoughts of peace, joy, harmony, happiness and love.

photo from http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumb

"The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something."
~Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch was 47 years old when he died from pancreatic cancer. He was, as the Independent of London put it, "the dying man who taught America how to live." His book, The Last Lecture, is an international best-seller and it offers many wonderful lessons about life.

Randy Pausch's "last lecture" was delivered in September 2007, at Carnegie Mellon University, where he taught computer science. The lecture began with him standing before a screen beaming down chilling CT images of tumors in his liver, under the title...The Elephant in the Room. He then said to a stunned audience, "I have about 6 months to live." He said, "I'm really in good shape, probably better shape than most of you," ... dropping to the floor to do push-ups.

He went on to say, "I'm dying and I'm having fun, and I'm going to keep having fun every day I have left." He talked about his childhood dreams and what they had taught him about life. He said, "If you live your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself...your dreams will come to you."

Randy Pausch really was a dying man who has taught America how to live.

He died on July 25, 2008, but his wisdom, his passion, and his attitude are lasting sources of inspiration for all of us.

This story came in my Simple Truths email today and it is a good reminder of why we have the brick walls, stumbling blocks or hardships in our lives. If you haven't seen Randy's last lecture here is a link to it. It is truly inspiring. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo. Expect to shed a few tears too.
Sending you all hope, love and a belief that miracles can happen...

photographer unknown to me

"Walk in peace. Be undisturbed and unperturbed: all is in God's plan.
Never doubt this. Bring God into my life, and I will see miracles."
~White Eagle

Thoughts

"Whether I think I can or think Ican't - I am right."
~Henry Ford

Today's Affirmation
My thoughts are gentle, powerful and creative.

Today's Meditation

Dear God, Mother, Father, Spirit,
Thoughts of
sweetness
incredible joy
warm days
completion
friendship
passion
openness
acceptance
purpose
intention
Your presence
and love
fill my mind and shape my world.

Thank You.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away ~author unknown

No matter how many sunsets I see, they still take my breath away. The photo in this post is taken on Lake Erie. I chose it because it reminds me of the sunsets we see on our family reunions at Lake Erie. We have the priviledge of staying right on the Lake Erie, in Westfield NY. Going to see the nightly sunset is top on all of our lists our list each night. Well the adult members of our family at least.
Have a wonderful week!!

Elder's Meditation of the Day

"Every thing or living being that exists in this world, be it trees, flowers, birds, grasses, rocks, soil of the earth, or human beings, has its unique manner of existence - its essence, its spirit that makes it what it is. That is what is meant by connectedness."
~ Larry P. Aitken, CHIPPEWA

Scientists are finally realizing what the Elders have taught for thousands of years - everything is connected. Because everything is interconnected, whatever you do to any one thing, you do to everything. If you poison any part of the earth, the poison eventually affects everything else. If you poison the plants, the birds will eat the plants, which poisons the birds. The birds are eaten by humans which poisons the humans. The humans will have babies who could be deformed because the plants were poisoned. We must learn to live in harmony with the earth. We must learn to think good things. Every good thought is felt by everything, which causes everything to be happy.


Creator, let my thoughts only be good thoughts

Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home
For there the heart can rest.
~Henry Van Dyke

I wanted to choose a quote about coming home to honor our newest member of our furry family. Since Tuesday we had a most adorable black and white Tuxedo stray cat trying to move in through our red back door. Wednesday night we resisted, but Thursday day we couldn't resist any longer. He just acted like he knew this was his home. So we moved him into a large wire dog kennel with all the amenities, until Friday's vet check. He ate and ate and then curled up in a ball and slept abd slept. Finally he had a full belly and was safe and warm. My husband named him Who. The rest of our menagerie has welcomed him, some with more opened arms than others, but there is a sense of peasce and that we did the right thing. Who has found his forever home and his heart can rest now.

http://cbertel.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/bee-honeycomb.jpg

Kind words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body ~author unknown

and this Rumi...

Honeycomb
My best days are when I melt
Love streams from me
Warm, timeless, honey
From your invisible comb

- Jalal-ud-Din Rumi

photo from an email

“The day is done, and the darkness, Falls from the wings of Night, As a feather is wafted downward, From an eagle in his flight”
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/WOLVES-wolves-592571_1024_768.jpg

Elder's Meditation of the Day

"No individual or group can block another individual's path or change it against what fits his nature and his purpose. It might be done for a time, but in the end it won't work out."

--Rolling Thunder, CHEROKEE

Every person is born for a purpose. We may know our purpose very early in our lives, or it may take us some time. Very often we need to experience many things before our purpose is clear to us. Sometimes we pick our goals to please others. Sometimes others pick our goals to make themselves happy. Often this makes us unhappy. We need to pray to the Creator and ask Him what our purpose is. When we live outside our purpose, our path is full of obstacles. When we live inside our purpose, our path is smooth. When we are aligned to our purpose, we are happy and content.


Great Spirit, whisper to me, in terms I can understand, what You would have me do and I will do it.

photo from The Daily OM

Surrender
“Surrender is the key that unlocks the door to my journey”
~Cheryl Richardson

Today's Affirmation
I surrender to the power of God moving in my life.

Today's Meditation
Dear God, Mother, Father, Spirit,
You are always at work in my life.
Your guiding spirit nudges me toward the high road.
When I find myself struggling with a problem, I stop myself.
I release any challenging situations to You, and I listen for a divine answer.
I surrender to the answers that You supply, and I move forward in love.
Thank You,

Happy Valentines Day!

photographer unknown by me

Loving is not just looking at each other, it's looking in the same direction.
~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, Sand, and Stars, 1939

photo by Shasta Charles taken off her back deck in Newville PA

Elder's Meditation of the Day

"I wanted to feel, smell, hear and see, but not see with my eyes and my mind only. I wanted to see with CANTE ISTA - the eye of the heart."
--Lame Deer, LAKOTA

Why is it that some people seem to have peace of mind every day? How do some people remain so darn positive? How do you stay positive if you work or live in a negative environment? How is it that two people can observe the same difficult situation, but one person is upset about it, and other isn't? Two people experiencing the same situation react entirely different. If each morning we ask the Creator to allow us to see with His understanding and with His love, we will open a new way of "seeing". This eye of the heart is a free gift given to us if we ask for it in prayer each day.


Grandfather, allow me to see the world and all things You have made through "the eye of my heart."