.

«Once there was a Sufi saint named Ibrahim. Before he became a renunciant, he was a king. When he was an old man, he told a story about the early days of his sadhana. Ibrahim recalled, «Once, I bought a slave. Since the man was going to become a member of my household, I began to ask him some questions. I said:

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- What is your name?

- Whatever you call me, he answered.

- What do you eat?

- Whatever you give me.

- What do you want to wear?

- Whatever you give me to wear.

- What do you want to do?

- Whatever you command.

- What do you truly desire? I finally asked.

- He replied, «What does a servant have to do with desire?»

I said to myself, «What a wretched man am I. All my life I have thought of myself as a servant of God. Now, let me learn from this man what it means to be a true servant».

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- Swami Chidvilasananda, «Seva creates a pond of nectar», Enthusiasm

To one degree or another, self hatred feeds on thoughts and feelings like these – always comparing yourself with others, always creating goals for yourself that you can’t fulfill. Of course, we’re not talking about stretching your limits and seeing if you can reach a distant but possible goal. That is different. Here you are setting yourself up for guaranteed failure. However, when you really use your discrimination and scrutinize each of your so-called faults and shortcomings, you find that they don’t hold up under investigation. In fact, they have no strength at all.

If you insist on coming from a place of lack, then you are [...] emulating someone who builds a castle of garbage and then chooses to live in it. That is self hatred.
[...]
Listen carefully. Self-hatred is not your only option. When you look deep within, when you experience the Self within the heart, you realize how much you have underestimated yourself. Truly, you have all the power you need to make any change in your life. You are capable of achieving your highest aspirations. You are truly great. Stop undermining your own greatness and your own divinity. You are great.

If you want to experience the true greatness of your inner being, you must break the chain of self-hatred link by link.  You can begin anywhere.  [...] Stop beating yourself up with negative beliefs.  [...]  Be happy.  Always think of doing something wonderful, no matter what your state of mind.  Don’t wait for your mind to become happy to do something  good.  Go ahead and do something good now.  Then your goodness will shine forth.»

- Swami Chidvilasananda, «Discarding the burden of Self-hatred», Enthusiasm

Contentment opens your heart.

- Swami Chidvilasananda

«Once a celestial being who was visiting the Earth came to a vast forest.  There he found a creature with a thousand arms and a thousand legs, and each of these limbs was moving constantly.  He couldn’t sit still for a single moment.  In one of his hands, he carried a club covered with spikes, and he would beat himself with it over and over again.  With each blow he would cry out of pain and panic, saying, «Please don’t hit me. Don’t hit me again. Please don’t!»  Trying to avoid the blows he was suffering from his own hand, he would run first in one direction and then in another.  He was so frightened that he didn’t pay attention to where he was going, and he fell into a deep well.

It took him a long time to climb out of this well, and when he did, he sat on the edge, panting and exhausted. But as soon as he caught his breath, he was up again beating himself with his hideous weapon. The he ran into a dense ticket.  When he came out a few moments later, he was scratched and bleeding and covered with thorns.  Next he fled into a beautiful grove of banana trees.  There were songbirds and wildflowers and fresh, luscious, colorful tropical fruits, but he didn’t notice any of it.  He was blinded  by fear and loathing, and he sat shaking and screaming and beating himself up.

Finally, out of compassion, the celestial being restrained him.  «Be calm», he said.  «Relax. Just breathe.  Be calm.  Why are you hurting yourself like this?  Who are you running away from?  Where are you going?»

But the creature couldn’t listen to the beautiful celestial being who was speaking to him so gently.  He couldn’t see the benevolent smile, or feel the touch that was softer than velvet.  He couldn’t sense the compassion that was streaming toward him.  In fact, he thought this visitor was an enemy.  «Get away!» he screamed out.  «Don’t touch me!  Don’t talk to me!»  The prospect of leaving the dark forest of cruelty in which he lived all his life was unthinkable to him.

A sage who was meditating in a cave nearby cam out of meditation and opened his eyes.  He spoke to the celestial being and said «Listen.  This is the Earth planet.  This is samsara, the world of birth and death.  This creature that you’ve tried to console is nothing but the mind.  The mind with its countless creations.  The mind that creates everything endlessly and forever punishes itself with its own tendencies.  Those thousand arms and legs are nothing but the tendencies of the mind.»

The celestial being nodded his head gently and disappeared.»

Swami Chidvilasananda, Enthusiasm

with its beautiful depths and soaring heights,

its vitality and abundance of life,

and together we ask that it

Teach us, and show us the Way.

We call upon the mountains , the Cascades and the Olympics,

the high green valleys and meadows filled with wild flowers,

the snows that never melt, the summit of intense silence,

and we ask that they

Teach us, and show us the Way.

___

We call upon the waters that rim the earth, horizon to horizon,

that flow in our rivers and streams, that fall upon our gardens and fields,

and we ask that they

Teach us, and show us the Way.

___

We call upon the land that grows our food, the nurturing soil,

the fertile fields, the abundant  gardens and orchards,

and we ask that they

Teach us, and show us the Way.

___

We call upon the forests, the great trees reaching strongly to the sky

with earth in their roots and the heavens in their branches,

the fir and the pine and the cedar,

and we ask them to

Teach us, and show us the Way.

___

We call upon the creatures of the fields and the forests and the seas,

our brothers and sisters the wolves and deer, the eagle and dove,

the great whales and the dolphin,

the beautiful Orca and salmon who share our Northwest home,

and we ask them

Teach us, and show us the Way.

___

We call upon all those who have lived on the earth, our ancestors and our friends,

who dreamed the best for future generations, and upon whose lives our lives are built,

and with thanksgiving, we call upon them to

Teach us, and show us the Way.

___

And lastly, we call upon all that we hold most sacred,

the  presence and the power of the Great Spirit of Love and Truth which flows through all the Universe,

to be with us to

Teach us, and show us the Way.

_____________________

Chinook, Teach us, and show us the Way.

___

We spring forth from the All,

Fed by light

Clothed in matter,

Sculpted by streams of inspiration,

We shape Love like the eagle shapes the wind.

Returning at last to the Sun,

We bring only our joy of flight.

___

When the Mothering Spirit gives birth,

Her light effortlessly feeds, shelters,

Nurtures, and uplifts.

So the true healer

Nurtures but does not control

Shelters but does not imprison

Guides others to the edge of the cliff

But does not force them to fly.

___

Haven Trevino, Tao of healing , meditation 51, New World Library, Novato, CA, 199

Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy and celebration.  The hummingbird’s delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life’s sweetest creation.

It is worth taking a moment to taste the flavors of life with all of our senses.  Let’s pause… to rejoice in the sweetness of a magical moment, to recharge in the chant of a bird and the crystalline sound of a laugh, to be embraced by the caress of the wind and the warmth of a hug.

Today, count your blessings, be grateful, and let them go… as tomorrow will bring new ones.

Flow with life, embracing each and every moment that comes to you, not clinging to any, to stay free to receive even more beauty.

Create life, by little acts of kindness, towards Nature, towards animals, towards yourself, your family, your friends and strangers: you might make a difference in someone’s journey without even being aware of it.

Nourish the hopes and dreams in your heart.  Believe in magic.  Take a deep breath.  Close your eyes.  Take a leap of faith.

Enrich life and let life enrich you.

Love.  Rejoice. Celebrate.

Blessings

A broken heart

A disappointment

A deception

A loss

…

At times, it feels as if we were losing something or even losing a part of ourselves.

Yet, we are always protected if we open ourselves up to see it:

• protected against what could potentially refrain us from reaching our highest potential;
• protected against ourselves and our ego driven desires.

Loss and deception are to be embraced and welcomed with gratitude: something has been cleared from our path to prevent a potentially more harmful experience.

May we rise in Faith and Trust, and surrender to the bountiful goodness of the Universe.

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Love, Light, Blessings