Pray for Positivity and Peace

In light of the tragic events that have been going on in our world, I thought I would share this video blog entry from Gabrielle Bernstein of Gabby.TV. Her message is positive, prayerful and compassionate. Enjoy and don't forget to pray for peace throughout this world. Be blessed.

Speak... If It Improves the Silence

"Drawing on my fine command of the language... I said nothing." ~ Robert Benchley

Sometimes in order to keep and maintain peace, silence is the best plan. STOP, TAKE A BREATH, and ASK:

* Does it have to be said?

* Does it have to be said NOW?

* Does it have to be said BY ME?

"We must have reason for speeches but we need none for silence." ~ Wisdom Proverb

Speak only if it's an improvement to silence!

Season of Nonviolence - Day 61

Welcome to Day 61 of the Season of Nonviolence – 64 Days of peaceful wisdom honoring the lives and nonviolent principles of Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez.

Nonviolence begins with learning how to be less violent and more compassionate towards ourselves. We learn by building the courage to speak and act with respect, honor and reverence for our own being.

Eleanor Roosevelt has urged, "You must do the things that you think you cannot do." Practicing these 64 Ways will challenge you to do things that you think you cannot do.

Day 61: PEACE

“Practice watering seeds of joy and peace and not just seeds of anger and violence, and the elements of war in all of us will be transformed,” says Thich Nhat Hanh.   You water seeds of anger and violence by deciding to stay angry and act violently.  You water seeds of joy and peace by deciding to be peaceful, no matter what is happening to you.  Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work.  It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart, and then respond in a nonviolent way.  

"Mankind must remember that peace is not God's gift to his creatures; peace is our gift to each other." ~ Elie Wiesel

Today:  I choose to meet each experience with an intention for peace.  I will be aware of any feelings of anger or irritation and replace the feeling with calm.  I envision any areas of unrest transformed into safe havens for all people.  I see beyond conflict and discord to the truth: peace is everywhere present and active.

Blessed are the Peacemakers

Bless those who remind you of your unfinished business.

When there is conflict and strife in your life, instead of pointing fingers at others, STOP, TAKE A BREATH, and ASK:

“What is my part in this?”
“Why is this conflict showing up for me at this time?”
“What is my next inspired action in this?”

Answer: Bless and thank those who showed you what you need to work on and go work on it!

Do you want peace or do you want to be right?

Choose peace, it’s simpler! 

Which Will You Choose?

"There are two ways to look at life and the world. We can see the good or the bad, the beautiful or the ugly. Both are there, and what we focus on and choose to see is what brings us feelings of joy or feelings of despair." ~ Lloyd Newell

One way to look at life and the world will bring you happiness, peace and joy. The other way will bring sorrow, gloom and doom.

It is all about choice. You have that power – to choose.

You can either choose peace or you can choose this – this, being gloom and doom.

Choose wisely.

Choose Peace

“Most of us are waiting for the day when we’ll do better, when we’ll have everything we want, and when we will become the people we most want to be. But as you know, that day doesn’t just magically arrive. That day is a choice.” ~ Debbie Ford, The Right Questions

Are you still waiting for that day to magically appear? The day when you will have everything you have ever dreamed of? Well, as Debbie stated, that day is a choice; actually a series of choices over the course of time. Choices you make to remain peaceful and loving or become angry and bitter. Yes, that is a choice; that is your choice.

A Course in Miracles states that you can choose peace or you can choose this – meaning whatever chaos and turmoil is around you. Just because there is chaos around you does not mean you have to join in. You have a choice. You can choose peace. You can choose serenity. You can choose to be who you were created to be; not who you are coerced into becoming.

Everything is choice. You have that power and that right. Exercise your right to choose. And, choose wisely.

In Memoriam: Wangari Maathai

“Every person who has ever achieved anything has been knocked down many times. But all of them picked themselves up and kept going, and that is what I have always tried to do.”


“You cannot protect the environment unless you empower people, you inform them, and you help them understand that these resources are their own, that they must protect them.” ~ Wangari Maathai

Wangari Muta Maathai (1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011) was a Kenyan environmental and political activist, and a Nobel Peace Prize recipient for "her contribution to sustainable development, democracy, and peace." Prof. Maathai started the Green Belt Movement in 1977, working with women to improve their livelihoods by increasing their access to resources like firewood for cooking and clean water. She became a great advocate for better management of natural resources and for sustainability, equity, and justice.

Become A Peacemaker

 

If you must meddle in human relationships, 

try to be a peacemaker. 

You will find that you don’t have much competition.

When faced with a conflict between others, most of us are more inclined to walk away from the situation than to become involved. If we do allow ourselves to become a participant, it is usually by adopting the position of one at the expense of the other. Of course, such behavior does little to resolve the dispute and may in fact exacerbate the problem. But when you make a genuine attempt to help resolve the situation, you should not be surprised if you’re the only one. We are all complex individuals with feelings and emotions we often don’t fully understand. Sometimes the mere involvement of a disinterested party is enough to help resolve the dispute. Make sure, though, if you are the one in the middle that you don’t allow yourself to get into a position where you must choose between the desires of one person over the other. Work toward a compromise that best suits everyone’s interests.

~ Wisdom from Napoleon Hill

Love On Purpose

"As I go through all kinds of feelings and experiences in my journey through life -- delight, surprise, chagrin, dismay -- I hold this question as a guiding light: 'What do I really need right now to be happy?' What I come to over and over again is that only qualities as vast and deep as love, connection and kindness will really make me happy in any sort of enduring way." - Sharon Salzberg

So, what do you really need right now to be happy?

This is very insightful as it speaks to reflecting on all of the feelings and experiences of the journey called life. In this journey called life, there will be many different kinds of feelings and experiences – love, joy, elation, excitement, as well as sadness, dismay and even anger and resentment.

We are called to live lives of joy, peace and love. Think about what you are feeling right now. If you are not feeling joy, peace or love, then ask yourself why not. Then set about the work of changing that so you are living a life of love, peace and joy.

Living in love, peace and joy does not mean you will not experience things that cause you to feel sad or angry. What it does mean is that you can still have joy, love and peace in your heart in spite of those not so pleasant events that happen in life. Whatever happens, you must never lose your joy or your peace. And above all, never lose your willingness to love on purpose.

Peace

When we balance silence with activity, we discover true peace of mind – the source of all joy and happiness.

Having true peace means we are not controlled by our circumstances; but we can remain peaceful even in the chaotic moments. Trappist Monk and author Thomas Merton once said if you are peaceful then there is at least some peace.

During the storms of life, try not to get caught up in all the noise. Practice silence for that moment in time. Soon your practice will be your way of life and you will have true peace of mind, joy and happiness.

~ From Cheryl Richardson’s Grace Cards.

Visit Cheryl’s site and click on A Touch of Grace to pick a Grace Card.

Using the 64 Days as Spiritual Practice

I am so grateful for the Season of Peace and Nonviolence. It gave me, and I hope you as well, 64 days to create new spiritual practices and rituals. Each day we were instructed to contemplate and even journal on the reflection of the day. As I was creating each blog post, each reflection gave me lots of pause as I thought about my life and how I show up in the world.

As few other questions that came out of those 64 days were:

“Am I showing up in the world as peaceful and nonviolent?”

“Where in my life do I exhibit violence – in my speech; in what shows and movies I choose to watch; in how I interact with my friends and family?”

Violence isn’t just about being physical; violence runs the gamut of physical, emotional and spiritual. I believe the most violence we do is to ourselves on a daily basis. How many times do you call yourself stupid or retard for some infraction? How many times do you choose to overlook your own health and well being to be with the crowd?

I say that we must take those 64 reflections and make them daily spiritual practices. When we can make nonviolence and peace the ultimate goal for our lives, then everything else falls into place.

Just for today, choose peace instead of this.

Season of Nonviolence – Day 61: PEACE

Welcome to Day 61 of the Season of Nonviolence – 64 Days of peaceful wisdom honoring the lives and nonviolent principles of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez.

Nonviolence begins with learning how to be less violent and more compassionate towards ourselves. We learn by building the courage to speak and act with respect, honor and reverence for our own being.

Day 61: Peace

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” ~ Mother Teresa

If we truly understood that we are all one family, all one life, we could not kill each other. If we were fully awake to the loving light that unites us all, we would share our world, knowing that there is more than enough for all. Peace would be the natural result. Armies, border guards and peace treaties will not be necessary when everyone has enough and lives in love instead of fear.

Thich Nhat Hanh wrote, "Practice watering seeds of joy and peace and not just seeds of anger and violence, and the elements of war in all of us will be transformed." Today, make a choice to meet each experience with an intention for peace.

Notice any issue that creates feelings of loss, insecurity, discomfort, or the need to control things today. Be aware of how fear motivates your actions. What is your fearfulness creating? Contemplate or journal about how fear is showing up in your life.

From A Season of Nonviolence

Season of Nonviolence – Day 15

Welcome to Day 15 of the Season of Nonviolence – 64 Days of peaceful wisdom honoring the lives and nonviolent principles of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez.

Nonviolence begins with learning how to be less violent and more compassionate towards ourselves. We learn by building the courage to speak and act with respect, honor and reverence for our own being.

Day 15: REVERENCE

“Cleanness of body was ever deemed to proceed from a due reverence to God.” ~ Francis Bacon

In biblical times people were to be purified before entering the Temple or going into battle – ritual bathing to clean the body and show reverence. We are reverent in holy places and at sacred times, but we are also called to have reverence for ourselves and each other. To do so, we must seek to honor all life, to take care of what is ours – including our planet – and respect others and their property.

Environmentalist John Muir said, "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul." Today, go for a walk and realize the beauty around, above and below you.

Then contemplate or journal about how different our world would be if we all had reverence for the divine all around us. Everything in creation is an expression of the divine. How do you honor it?

From A Season of Nonviolence

Season of Nonviolence – Day 14

Welcome to Day 14 of the Season of Nonviolence – 64 Days of peaceful wisdom honoring the lives and nonviolent principles of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez.

Nonviolence begins with learning how to be less violent and more compassionate towards ourselves. We learn by building the courage to speak and act with respect, honor and reverence for our own being.

Day 14: HUMILITY

"Humility like the darkness, reveals the heavenly lights." ~ David Henry Thoreau

The Bible tells us that pride goes before the fall. Pride is not attractive attribute, though there is a difference in acknowledging and celebrating our good and being prideful. True humility comes from knowing that something greater than the self works through and supports us in all things and yet we are still human and fallible. When we are truly humble those around us see our light shine even more clearly.

Making mistakes is a part of learning and growing, simply an "error in approach." Today, freely acknowledge at least one mistake you made today, and reflect for a couple of minutes on what you have learned.

Also, consider what you have created for your life experience. Is it working for you? Journal or contemplate how to change the thoughts and beliefs that support and attract whatever is not working for you right now.

From A Season of Nonviolence

Season of Nonviolence – Day 13

Welcome to Day 13 of the Season of Nonviolence – 64 Days of peaceful wisdom honoring the lives and nonviolent principles of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez.

Nonviolence begins with learning how to be less violent and more compassionate towards ourselves. We learn by building the courage to speak and act with respect, honor and reverence for our own being.

Day 13: CREATIVITY

"All works of art are commissioned in the sense that no artist can create one by a simple act of will but must wait until what he believes to be a good idea for a work ''comes'' to him." ~ Wystan Hugh Auden

We are creative beings by nature. We create our lives out of our beliefs, our dreams, actions and choices. We can create love, joy, beauty and peace, or we can create fear, sorrow, destruction and conflict. You do not have to be an artist, musician or writer to be creative - it is our nature to create.

The worst thing you can do to a human soul is to suppress its natural desire to create. Identify at least five ways in which you express your creativity everyday. Today, allow something unpredictable and joyous to express through you.

Today, consider what you have created for your life experience. Is it working for you? Journal or contemplate how to change the thoughts and beliefs that support and attract whatever is not working for you right now.

From A Season of Nonviolence

Season of Nonviolence – Day 12

Welcome to Day 12 of the Season of Nonviolence – 64 Days of peaceful wisdom honoring the lives and nonviolent principles of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez.

Nonviolence begins with learning how to be less violent and more compassionate towards ourselves. We learn by building the courage to speak and act with respect, honor and reverence for our own being.

Day 12: GROUNDEDNESS

"I tore myself away from the safe comfort of certainties through my love for truth; and truth rewarded me." ~ Sylvia Ashton Warner

Are you like a tree with deep strong roots that hold you firm no matter what storms may come? Or are you a tumbleweed, blown about by whatever winds may come? When we are grounded in truth, when we find meaning and purpose in our lives, we contribute to the well-being of all.

Gandhi said, "To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves." And Black Elk said, "Some little root of the sacred tree still lives. Nourish it, that it may leaf and bloom and fill with singing birds." Today place a seed in the earth, plant a tree or nurture an open space.

Today, journal about or contemplate your own groundedness. Are you easily swayed by others or do you know what matters and stand in that knowing, no matter what comes?

From A Season of Nonviolence

Season of Nonviolence – Day 11

Welcome to Day 11 of the Season of Nonviolence – 64 Days of peaceful wisdom honoring the lives and nonviolent principles of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez.

Nonviolence begins with learning how to be less violent and more compassionate towards ourselves. We learn by building the courage to speak and act with respect, honor and reverence for our own being.

Day 11: CONTEMPLATION

"I admire people who are suited to the contemplative life. They can sit inside themselves like honey in a jar and just be. It's wonderful to have someone like that around, you always feel you can count on them. You can go away and come back... there they are, just the way they were, just being." ~ Elizabeth Janeway

Many of us take time to contemplate life and spirituality; we choose to regularly connect to our inner selves and find greater peace. Great good can be done in the world by taking time for contemplation and meditation while we continue to participate in the activities of the world, bringing peaceful energy to our work and relationships.

For at least three minutes, relax, breathe, and let your mind be fed by "whatsoever is good and beautiful and just." Sacred scripture states, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

Today, contemplate how your own practices aid you in being a positive presence in the world and make a commitment to dedicate time each day to peace, solitude and quiet.

From A Season of Nonviolence

Season of Nonviolence – Day 10

Welcome to Day 10 of the Season of Nonviolence – 64 Days of peaceful wisdom honoring the lives and nonviolent principles of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez.

Nonviolence begins with learning how to be less violent and more compassionate towards ourselves. We learn by building the courage to speak and act with respect, honor and reverence for our own being.

Day 10: FAITH

"All that I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Without faith in something greater than ourselves, we would have little motivation or grounds for believing in goodness. Humanity has a long history of violence, unimaginable cruelty and selfishness, yet there have always been lights within the darkness. Love is the most powerful path to world peace. Faith and love can overcome our challenges and save us from darkness and fear.

When Cesar Chavez was organizing farm workers, he challenged them to say, "Si, se puede" (yes, it is possible) when they didn't know how they would overcome obstacles. Today say, "yes, it is possible," even if you don't know how your goal will be realized. Have faith, and say "it is possible” until you find, or are shown, a way.

What do you have faith in? Journal about or contemplate where you place your faith. Is it based in love or fear?

From A Season of Nonviolence

Season of Nonviolence – Day 9

Welcome to Day 9 of the Season of Nonviolence – 64 Days of peaceful wisdom honoring the lives and nonviolent principles of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez.

Nonviolence begins with learning how to be less violent and more compassionate towards ourselves. We learn by building the courage to speak and act with respect, honor and reverence for our own being.

Day 9: DREAMING

"I'll do my dreaming with my eyes wide open, and I'll do my looking back with my eyes closed." ~ Tony Arata

Our dreams are an important part of life; they both motivate and inspire us. But without action, wisdom and support, we cannot make them real. We must do more than dream of world peace to make it a reality. As individuals we must become peaceful and loving, be mindful of showing up in the world as peace and make choices that support peace.

Martin Luther King, Jr. had a great dream. What is your dream for peace? Write it down. What is one thing you can do to honor your dreams? Do it today.

Journal about your dreams that you wish to create and contemplate how your dreams can show up as peace in your life.

From A Season of Nonviolence

Season of Nonviolence – Day 8

Welcome to Day 8 of the Season of Nonviolence – 64 Days of peaceful wisdom honoring the lives and nonviolent principles of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez.

Nonviolence begins with learning how to be less violent and more compassionate towards ourselves. We learn by building the courage to speak and act with respect, honor and reverence for our own being.

Day 8: HEALING

"The concept of total wellness recognizes that our every thought, word, and behavior affects our greater health and well-being. And we, in turn, are affected not only emotionally but also physically and spiritually." ~ Greg Anderson

Our thoughts and words have great power indeed. We can, through the power of our words and thoughts, create great wonders or dark disasters. Our bodies manifest our beliefs, thoughts and words just as our beliefs about ourselves and others are reflected in our actions. Before we can act on this knowledge we must be aware of what we believe.

Writer, poet, activist, and professor Maya Angelou turned a traumatic childhood experience into a catalyst for creativity and achievement. Today, choose a painful incident in your past and find the “gift” it has given you. Consciously share this gift with others today.

Look to your actions today and contemplate what false beliefs are behind choices that undermine your health and well-being. Journal about these beliefs and how they affect your life and the world around you.

From A Season of Nonviolence