"To see ones predicament clearly is the first step toward going beyond it."

Eckhart Tolle

Enlightened Teacher

 

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To brighten your day...

 

 

 

 

This poem really helps to accept any uncomfortable emotions you may be feeling:

 

The Guesthouse   by Rumi

This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival.   A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.   Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they are a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight.   The dark thought, the shame, the malice. meet them at the door laughing and invite them in. Be grateful for whatever comes. Because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.

 

 

 

Desiderata - a classic piece of wisdom

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, 
and remember what peace there may be in silence. 

As far as possible, without surrender, 
be on good terms with all persons. 

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; 
and listen to others, 
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story. 

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit. 

If you compare yourself with others, 
you may become vain or bitter, 
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. 

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; 
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, 
for the world is full of trickery. 
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals, 
and everywhere life is full of heroism. 

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love, 
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass. 

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. 

Beyond a wholesome discipline, 
be gentle with yourself. 
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here. 

And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, 
whatever you conceive Him to be. 

And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life, 
keep peace in your soul. 

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world. 

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann

 

Click on the image above to download a complimentary
A4 poster of the Desiderata created by the Art of Health

The paradox of life

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

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

George Carlin

 

 

Oneness with All Life by Eckhart Tolle

 

 

    1. Don't seek happiness. If you seek it, you won't find it, because seeking is the antithesis of happiness. Happiness is ever elusive, but freedom from unhappiness is attainable now, by facing what is rather than making up stories about it.

 

    2. The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it. Be aware of the thoughts you are thinking. Separate them from the situation, which is always neutral, which always is as it is. There is the situation or the fact, and here are my thoughts about it. Instead of making up stories, stay with the facts. For example, "I am ruined" is a story. It limits you and prevents you from taking effective action. "I have 50 cents left in my bank account" is a fact. Facing facts is always empowering.

 

    3. See if you can catch the voice in your head, perhaps in the very moment it complains about something, and recognize it for what it
is: the voice of the ego, no more than a thought. Whenever you notice that voice, you will also realize that you are not the voice, but the one who is aware of it. In fact, you are the awareness that is aware of the voice. In the background, there is the awareness. In the foreground, there is the voice, the thinker. In this way you are becoming free of the ego, free of the unobserved mind.

 

    4. Wherever you look, there is plenty of circumstantial evidence for the reality of time—a rotting apple, your face in the bathroom mirror compared with your face in a photo taken 30 years ago—yet you never find any direct evidence, you never experience time itself. You only ever experience the present moment.

 

    5. Why do anxiety, stress, or negativity arise? Because you turned away from the present moment. And why did you do that? You thought something else was more important. One small error, one misperception, creates a world of suffering.

 

    6. People believe themselves to be dependent on what happens for their happiness. They don't realize that what happens is the most unstable thing in the universe. It changes constantly. They look upon the present moment as either marred by something that has happened and shouldn't have or as deficient because of something that has not happened but should have. And so they miss the deeper perfection that is inherent in life itself, a perfection that lies beyond what is happening or not happening. Accept the present moment and find the perfection that is untouched by time.

 

    7. The more shared past there is in a relationship, the more present you need to be; otherwise, you will be forced to relive the past again and again.

 

    8. Equating the physical body with "I," the body that is destined to grow old, wither, and die, always leads to suffering. To refrain from identifying with the body doesn't mean that you no longer care for it. If it is strong, beautiful, or vigorous, you can appreciate those attributes—while they last. You can also improve the body's condition through nutrition and exercise. If you don't equate the body with who you are, when beauty fades, vigor diminishes, or the body becomes incapacitated, this will not affect your sense of worth or identity in any way. In fact, as the body begins to weaken, the light of consciousness can shine more easily.

 

    9. You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you and allowing that goodness to emerge.

 

   10. If peace is really what you want, then you will choose peace.

 

 

Footprints in the sand

One night I had a dream...

I dreamed I was walking along the beach with God
and across the sky flashed scenes from my life. 

For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints, 
one belonged to me and the other to God. 

When the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

I noticed that many times along the path of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.

I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest
and saddest times in my life. 

This really bothered me and I questioned God about it. 

"God, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you would walk with me all the way,
but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life
there is only one set of footprints. 

"I don't understand why in times when I needed you most,
you should leave me." 

And God replied, "My precious, precious child,
I love you and I would never, never leave you during your times of trial and suffering. 

"When you saw only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."

Mary Stevenson

 

Click on the image above to download a complimentary
A4 poster of Footprints from the Art of Health

 

Our deepest fear is our LIGHT, not our darkness...

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.'

 

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

 

Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.

 

Your playing small does not serve the world.

 

There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

 

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

 

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

 

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

 

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

 

As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

 

Marianne Williamson

 

From 'A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles", Harper Collins, 1992. From Chapter 7, Section 3]) and used by Nelson Mandela in his inaugural speech.