The Toolbox

 

Today an enterprising, talented (and very wise) young man, a computer repair business owner, spent some time with me answering some questions of mine and explaining to me a few things I needed to learn about computers.

 
In the last few minutes of our conversation he made a comment I found both interesting and fascinating.  He said he did not know off the top of his head the answer to the last question I asked and that he actually did not know any of the answers to questions.  I look up at him puzzled and he replied, 

"I only have to know a few things:  

What am I looking for, 

Where are the places I can look for it, 

and 

How do I move around the computer to find my way to the information."

 

A little while after the conversation it struck me that these very simple instructions were also the answer to some of life's biggest questions.

For example, if we have decided that we want to find the meaning in Life (in general) and the meaning of Our Life (in particular) then we have the answer to the first question.
 

Knowing where to look...the second point...is a little trickier because man has found many potential destinations that have NOT delivered on this premise: money, material goods, reputation, power, fame, talent...the list goes on.
 
Great amounts of energy and resources have been spent pursuing these end points in hope of finding meaning (translate peace, contentment, joy).
 
And yet we hear story after story of the futility of these kinds of searches.

The interesting fact is that WE are the search engines...every one of us.  We are capable of"knowing" in an intuitive, heart-centered way what that meaning is...but to do it we must retreat from the active pursuit of the above-mentioned "prizes" and, instead, go into the place of greatest depth and wisdom...our consciousness.
 

The third and last step is knowing how to navigate this "search engine" terrain and, to accomplish this, we have to withdraw from the noise and frenzy, the unending to-do lists which govern our day...and MAKEthe time (not FIND the time because we always MAKEthe time for the things that are important to us) to LISTEN to our own hearts.  To be PRESENT to the moment...to LIVE in the NOW as Eckhart Tolle says.  Actually, the title of one of Tolle's books says it all: Stillness Speaks.  

When we are still, we connect with the Source energythat informs and directs all of our actions.  We stop our mental processes and, instead, allow...embrace...welcome... the messages of our heart...where love resides.

 
And in these moments (and through the powerful effect of experiencing these moments) we are gifted with theguidance that directs us very clearly to all of the help we need to fulfill the dreams of our greatest good.  

We become acutely aware of the MESSAGES being sent to us by the Divine Universe in so many wonderful and creative ways...in the thoughts we think, in a comment made to us, in an email message we receive, in the song we are listening to, through the chirping of a bird, the power of a storm, the brilliance of the sun, the magic of the moon.  The list goes on.  It is unending.  It is glorious. And it is awaiting our discovery.
 

The way that we navigate these three tasks described by my computer guru as we move through our day powerfully determines our success...our happiness...the joy we find in life.

What am I looking for..
Where are the places I can look for it...
and 
How do I find my way?

Does your Toolbox have the answers to these questions?

                        Marie Helena                          

image from bloggerbusinessplan.com

Remembrance: Why We Should Forgive Ourselves

FORGIVE YOURSELF. 

The supreme act of forgiveness is when you can forgive yourself for all the wounds you've created in your own life. Forgiveness is an act of self-love. When you forgive yourself, self-acceptance begins and self-love grows,
 
Don Miguel Ruiz

As we write the story of our life, our learning occurs in a myriad of ways.  Sometimes the path is straight and clear.  We take action that feels instinctively right...it works beautifully...we benefit and all is well.
 
Sometimes our learning takes a different path.  

Sometimes we are influenced by unhealed pain, hurt, unmet needs, etc. and we choose a path that is not in our best interest.  But, at that time, the choice we made felt like the only way we could go.

And so we went there.  And it was not what we expected. 

All was not well.  And we ultimately JUDGEDourselves for the choice and stayed mired in sadness and regret. 

Writing the story of our life is not usually a black and white endeavor.  Sometimes we are drawn to what SEEMS like a solution but ultimately does not deliver on that (false) promise. 

 

However, our learning can occur quite brilliantly when we can view our actions with some objectivity...

perhaps uncover what has moved us in that direction...

love ourselves through the pain of self-confrontation,,,

and emerge with a stronger, braver view of what we want to do with our lives.

Judging ourselves (or anyone or anything) is not productive. 

It delays our process of learning.  

What is needed is an open, accepting heart that understands we were trying to navigate some difficulty...a heart which knows that LOVE is always expressing itself the best way it knows how.

What we did is what we knew.  When we know better, we do better.  

And, as we reflect on our choices and their consequences, we begin to know better and we do better.  We pass by judgment, embracing instead our humanity and moving forward with new wisdom and insight.

 

Perhaps the forgiveness which Don Miguel Ruiz is talking about can really be called the simple act of KNOWING that we are on a journey with some distracting side paths which ultimately can lead us to our true destination...a REMEMBERING of the glorious perfection of Who We Truly Are and an acceptance of how learning can occur in a dualistic world.

                              Marie Helena 

image from salliesart.blogspot.com

The BLOSSOMING of Our Lives

You are all as much extraordinary phenomena of nature as say trees, clouds, the patterns in running water, the shape of fire, the form of the galaxy.                          

Alan Watts
                                                   


We have all become so very adept at noticing what is "wrong" with ourselves...that we're not quite good enough...that we fret and worry...we make mistakes, poor choices ...have lapses in judgment.  And this is because we have all been, as Alan Watts puts it, "bamboozled" into attempting to live up to others' values and expectations instead of finding our own path to paradise.


But, you know how soulfully we revere aflower...

which breaks the earth when it is ready in sleepy nods, 
stretches to the sky under the watchful eye of the sun and beautiful breezes,
blossoms open in perfect resonance with nature's invitation,
generously releases its delicate scent upon the surrounding spectators...


Watts says we are every bit as extraordinary as that gorgeous phenomenon of floral magnificence...doing its thing...BEing a flower... 

as WE authentically act from deep within our own hearts.



We do not judge the flower for its flower"ness" nor criticize its moves.  There is no floral bashing.  Nothing for the flower to be chastised for.

A flower is what it is...a flower.  And a flower does what flowers do.

And Watts is saying that WE ARE what we are...physical specimens, human beings...and WE DO what human beings do.  We sing, we play, we strive, we stumble, we rejoice, we grieve and it is...all of it...our Journey. 

Our wonderful, magnificent Journey!



Whatever we are doing…it’s part of what’s going on and Watts says it’s Time to Wake Up to this and adapt the Japanese concept of Judo which means The Gentle Way.  

Watts advises...Do not condemn, criticize, judge yourself…but rather accept that this is part of the flow.  Accept this. In Watts' words...Go along with it.  Go along with it.


And, while we are doing what humans do, while we are BEing extraordinary phenomena of nature, I feel we need to celebrate ourselves...all of us...all of our moves...every one...

for in those moves we are growing,shedding, embracing, becoming,remembering...doing what we do...as do the flowers, the trees, the clouds, water, fire, the galaxy.


The moves we make are not missteps though we may perceive them to be. 

They are the unfolding...and, in some cases....the unraveling...they are 
The BLOSSOMING of Our Lives...and they are, every step in every direction, magnificent opportunities for our evolution.



WE are a manifestation of the Journey to beauty and joy and truth...

and every move we make in the direction of that glorious goal is what we are innately designed to do...grow...learn...and...Love.


                            

                                       Marie Helena

image from sketchbookchallenge.blogspot.com

Changing Dogs Into Cats

This morning I laughed out loud as I read an inspirational message from Don Miguel Ruiz about accepting others the way they are.

Ruiz said to try to change others to fit what you want them to be is like trying to change a dog into a cat.


When he says it that way, it’s abundantly clear how ludicrous the idea is.


And still we persist in our folly.

The question is WHY.

Is it because it feels so comfortable to have someone recite the "lines" we write for them? Then we know what to expect. We get just what we wanted.  But…did we learn anything?

Is it because we are focusing on the microcosm of our little world and we forget there’s a macrocosm circling all around us?Remembering that sounds like work…doesn’t it?

Is it because reminding ourselves who is the dog and who is the cat means we have to be in top form…centered, balanced, loving, calm? Wow…to do that we have to take really good care of ourselves…all the time!


It seems like there is a Dogs are Dogs and Cats are Cats School and someone enrolled us when we weren’t looking.


The price for not doing our homework is perpetual frustration. The reward for figuring out this one is peaceful cohabitation.

                                       Marie Helena