Friday, October 19, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
Battle Mode
Daily Dose #19
2/21/12
Battle
Mode
I
often think of the movie Michael,
starring John Travolta, in the context of my own attitude re-adjustment. The soundtrack is one of my favorites, and
Bonnie Raitt’s version of the Randy Newman song, “Feels Like Home to Me” gets
to me every time I hear it. Travolta
plays the aging Archangel, Michael, with aplomb, and as he tenderly, but
slovenly, looks after Maureen Stapleton, William Hurt, Andie McDowell, et al,
he clearly looks back fondly to his glory days as God’s mighty champion who
took on Satan in single combat. For example,
when he comes upon a huge bull in a nearby pasture, he cries “battle!” and literally
charges head-first into the fray.
I
have resembled that remark far too many times, crying “battle!” for no other
reason than to prove I could. Proving I
was right seemed so important, and the idea of straightening someone out and
saving them from their wrong-headed thinking always seemed so noble and heroic,
but the minute we go into battle mode, we cease to attract peace, and thus,
joy, into our lives. The “law of
attraction” gives us just what we’ve asked for every time.
Today
I will seek peace, and try to be open to receive all the joy that Life, the
Universe, and Everything has to offer…’cause that feels like home to me!
Sunday, October 7, 2012
All You Need is Love
Daily Dose #15
2/8/12
All
You Need is Love
What
if it were just that simple? Have you
ever said that to yourself? I have. And then I usually think to myself: “It
probably is ‘just that,’ only there’s nothing ‘simple’ about it.” It’s kind of like the old saying: “If it were
easy, everybody would be doing it.”
Remember Uri Geller? He used to
come on TV shows and, supposedly bend eating utensils with his mind, like that
little kid in the movie The Matrix. If you Google “spoon bending” you’ll find
endless discussions on all sides of the issue.
Perhaps if I were truly “one” with Life, the Universe, and Everything, I
could bend spoons with my mind and love all people at all times. But I’m not, and I can’t.
Mental
paradoxes like those can make us feel confused, inept, and unworthy, especially
when we judge ourselves against what someone else suggests is our “true”
potential. After all, what kind of a
human being can I be if I’m only using 10% of my brain? The answer, I think, is that I’m a very
normal human being. Pretty much like
everyone else. Would I like to be more
loving? Yes, I would. Must I attain universal love (whatever that
is) and total equanimity in order to reach that goal? No, I don’t think so. That is like suggesting that those famous
penguins should cross Antarctica in half the time without growing longer legs
or using ice skates.
I’m
going to cut myself some slack. But just
in case love is the answer, I’m going to start by loving myself and the people
around me just a little bit more today.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
In My Experience….
Daily Dose #13
2/6/12
In
My Experience….
If
my experience teaches me anything, it’s how often I’ve missed learning any
lesson of value. Experience is supposed
to be the greatest teacher, right? And
yet if I'm honest with myself, I missed the proverbial boat more times than I’d
care to admit. Why is this? Each experience I have is (1) real, (2) an
opportunity to learn and grow, and (3) a chance to have a positive effect on my
world, but I seem to have squandered many of those opportunities.
I
believe that the fly in my particular ointment has to do with my
preconceptions, my misperceptions, and my state of consciousness. I bring a lot of baggage to each new
experience; and because I often fail to truly live in the now, I have ideas
about what I might experience and how it might impact me before it ever
happens. Then I compound this snare by
applying past flawed thinking to new situations. Both of these mental projections tend to
close down my awareness and stifle my state of consciousness in the moment when
I most need to be open-minded. It’s a
little like sitting alone in the locker room, watching old game tapes of a team
that I’m not playing today, all while the real game has already begun outside
on the field.
Today
I will attempt to drop any old baggage that prevents me from being totally in
the moment. I will strive to experience
Life, the Universe, and Everything as it is, rather than as I thought it was
yesterday.
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