How would you explain to a child what it means to be compassionate

Compassion by definition is "a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering".

When explaining anything to a child even if they are highly intelligent you want to leave out extremely abstract ideas and concepts. You have to make the material relatable to them by using familiar language and situations.

Children are still learning about themselves, so to have compassion for another being is a challenge. An example may be to ask; if you were a dog stuck in a cage alone, wouldn't you want someone to love and care for you and set you free; free you from your discomfort in that cage? Does it make you feel sad that the dog is stuck in that cage? That is compassion. If you help the dog get out so he can play, enjoy his life and find a home which is being compassionate.

It's not such a terrible thing to teach children compassion. Compassion does not equal weakness. It only means that they are able to think of other beings besides themselves and help them to end their suffering whatever it may be.

Well......Hello there!!!

It's been too long since I have written but like many before me and many after me life happens and my focus has been on other things.

But I will say that my understanding of what this life is, how I should continue to live it and the possibilities I have discovered over these last few months are really amazing and I know that I may not even be fully awake yet. However, I look forward to the moment that I am and thought I would share parts of my journey so far.

I am certain many of you have heard the phrase, "Life is what you make it." This life is really a dream and like in lucid dreams you have control of what you can do, see, say, experience, etc. The only thing that is holding you back is your imagination and self doubt. When faced with a difficult situation try to say to yourself that this is MY dream and in MY dream and I can do this......or change this......

Now take it a step further and view that challenge as a reflection of yourself. Like I've talked about before that people are just reflections of pieces of you. So accept that challenge as a lesson, embrace it and forgive it because truly you are embracing and forgiving yourself, then have fun with it!!! Change the dream, change your life!

Enjoy your day and make it a wonderful one :-)

Love the Divine, embrace your fears

What is it that connects you to humanity? Do you even feel connected or do you feel like you are all alone in this big wide world with no one to REALLY see your point of view or know what it is that you are going through?

We each feel that all of our experiences through life are unique and we are the only ones that have experienced them. But let me ask you to look at things a little differently. Let me ask you to look at your neighbor, friend, husband, wife or child a little more closely. These people in your life you see as outside of you, separate from you, nothing like you, right?

Now try and see it this way……all of those people outside of you are just reflections of what it is that you are going through in your own life. They are the reflections of your own emotions and fears. Each person represents a fear that you are having trouble dealing with, facing, confronting, defeating, or conquering.

Let me give you an example…….a husband who is constantly harping on his wife for spending money on what he feels are unnecessary things, worrying about whether or not they will be able to make their bills that month, concerned that the part time job that his wife works isn’t going to be able to bring in enough to help support their family; he is the wife’s fear of lack. His actions and reactions are her fear of not being able to provide for her family and help financially like she would like. So what do you do about it? Well, the tough part is recognizing it. That’s the first step; the second step is to embrace those people in your life that are showing you your own fears. Love them, embrace them, and forgive them because ultimately they are acting out your fears.

Once you conquer your fears you will be more at peace with your life. You will feel more connected to those around you because you will recognize that they are extensions of you, pieces of you. How can you not love them? They are you and you carry the divine spark and you love the divine whatever or whomever you call it.

Are you supported?

So life can throw all sorts of things your way and I’m certainly no exception. Are your family, friends and coworkers truly supporting you in your endeavors? If you aren’t being supported, what are you going to do about it? Are you changing your habits, making new friends that are more in line with your ideals, feelings, growth potential and needs? Is fear holding you back from acting on what you feel pulled to do?

It can be tough to be true to your feelings, wants and desires and even tougher to voice those to the ones you love. But if you are not feeling supported after exposing your true feelings, you need to take steps to be comfortable with yourself. Not all things in life have to be validated by your friends and family. The fire within you that is burning the brightest is the one you need to honor. Be brave, and take time every day to do something that propels you towards the growth of that fire. By doing this it will lessen the sting of not feeling supported by those that you love. In the mean time by keep the faith in the Universe that you will ultimately receive that which you have been manifesting. The moment you doubt, the Universe will answer in kind. Take a breath, stay focused and know that it will come about in divine timing.

Divine Timing

So February has turned out to be a big month of transitions. But we all know that transition that has not met its’ final destination can lead to unrest. This is especially challenging for someone like me who is VERY impatient. I have held onto my beliefs and my use of the law of attraction and am allowing the universe to make good on its’ promise. Did I say I was having a tough time with it? I am. It’s tough to be in arms length of what you have been striving for and it still be just out of reach.

I am holding onto love, trust, belief and passion that it’s all just a matter of divine timing. I have accepted that no matter the daily struggle that I have done what I need to do to achieve my outcome.

Those of you closest to me know that I have struggled most of my life to embrace what I feel has been a dual existence. One side in which I was always doing what societal constraints have told me to do, go to school, get the ‘right’ job, etc. But my other ‘side’ is one of freedom, passion, expression, love, and divine guidance. I think that my impatience with this recent transition is that these two sides are drawing ever closer and it just feels so right. It’s time!!! I’m excited, exhilarated, happy, nervous, joyous and well impatient………

So I’m sure that you have all experienced that type of impatience in your lives. So I say to you as I do the same thing…….stick to your guns, allow for divine timing and believe that you will receive that which you know you deserve.

While you were gone your life happened.

What does that phrase mean exactly? Well, while you were gone being stressed out about bills, worrying if your teenager was going to achieve the grades they set out to get, or why your spouse spoke to you that way your life was still happening around you. You may have missed some big stuff. All of these thoughts either put your state of mind in the past or the future. But what about the NOW??

I know I have written about this before but it really seems to be extra important especially now. February is a big month of wonderful changes and growth. But how can you grow or change if you are always worrying or stressed out? That stress will only stick you with whatever that repetitive thought is, as long as you have it……...sound confusing??

Let me give you an example. Say you are stuck in a job that you really don’t LOVE. So you are constantly thinking about how you DON’T love it, you hate the hours and the people are starting to grate on your nervous. As long as you continue to have those thoughts THAT is exactly what you are bringing towards you. Until you realize that you deserve to have a different job, embrace your NOW and do your current job to the best of your ability you will not grow out of that position. But here’s the thing, you have to take it a step farther. What is it that you DO want? Until you can envision exactly what you do want you will continue to get what you have gotten.

So stick with what ever you want to change. Know it, feel it, be IN it, all while having a clear vision of what you REALLY want and know that you deserve to have that change and it will happen. Don’t give up on the Universe; she ALWAYS delivers all in divine timing.

Does your temple go with you?

Church, temple, synagogue, ashram, sanctuary whatever you call the place in which you go to celebrate, worship, pray, gather, commune, meditate does it follow you throughout your day, week or month. Do you allow your time of worship to spill over into all of your relationships in life and not just the ones that you come across in temple? Isn’t it our ultimate goal to integrate our spiritual philosophy into all of our relationships with friends and family or even strangers? If it isn’t yet what is holding you back?

For me it is often thinking that I don’t want to ‘push’ my spiritual beliefs on to anyone. But truly I think that my state of mind can and should be carried over from my meditation into my dealings with anyone that I come into contact with. It enriches my life and theirs. It allows me to see and accept them as another being going through the same human experience and that we are all one at heart. I should love and honor them as I would myself.

So take your temple with you! Allow yourself to speak of your meditation, prayer, sutras, etc. with your friends and family they may be more interested than you think. Be open and they will be open with you.

Namaste

Smile, breathe and be present

Ok, so it has been a while since I’ve written but so many wonderful things have happened since I last wrote. I attended an Awakening to Oneness Intensive Weekend, which included meditation, yoga and wonderful people seeking balance within their spirituality and life. My awakening has begun. I’ve also been doing readings and have found that they bring me such peace. I feel as though I am stepping into the flow and into my true calling. This is a calling that allows me to help as many people in as many ways as possible. It brings me such joy!

So do you feel like you are in your flow? Is what you are doing ringing true to your soul? Of course it doesn’t always have to be your job or career. Take me for example; I do something completely different to pay my bills. Having this dualistic existence may be wonderful for many people, allowing them to embrace ALL of the parts of themselves.

I am in transition. Transitioning to one wonderful career, done in a wonderful way for wonderful pay, allowing myself to answer the call of my soul. Sometimes what we seek doesn't come when we want it to. But if we can be at peace with our situation, work, personal life, etc. at the moment it is happening it will keep us open to divine timing. The challenge for many, myself included is to just be in the now and not always looking to the future to what is going to happen or in the past with what has already happened.

Be present and it will allow you to see the gifts that exist HERE for you.

Happiness is contagious!

Ok, so I actually heard this comment yesterday and it just made me smile. "When I first met you, you just seemed so happy..." followed by a scoffing sound and chuckle. It was almost as if my friend (and yes she is my friend) seems to be almost disgusted or just found me to be goofy.

My response to her is this. I do not find it necessary to live my life taking on the sadness, disappointment, anger, frustration or unhappiness of the people that I come in contact with in my life. Their emotions and drama are not mine and should remain that way. I have a really great life. I have a wonderfully supportive wife who I think the world of and we have a mutual respect, trust and love for. I love the opportunity this has given me to be more observant within my life. Which allows me a better sense of when to let things go. Now don't get me wrong. I have not always been this way. It has taken work, struggle, determination and love to get me to the place that I'm at now and I will continue to strive to maintain and increase that balance.

I hope that my attitude and enjoyment of life rubs off on people. They can think I'm silly, ditsy, dim or whatever because I'm SO happy. But really I just want them to see that they can have the same balance within their own life. Everything and anything is possible if you believe that you deserve whatever it is that you want. “What you move towards moves towards you.” Dr. John F. Demartini

So don't worry, BE HAPPY!

Art

There are many things that we can observe in life that can be considered as art. But art is all subjective. Something that someone what consider to be beautiful and groundbreaking may be just downright unappealing or appalling to others.

I love to observe art in life, some examples are handmade jewelry, cards, paintings, sculptures, and body art (tattoos), even make up is an art. To be able to wield your craft in such a way to generate income to me means that you are appealing to at least a few people:-) Although I don't necessarily consider myself to be terribly creative I don't think that it’s right to judge other people's art or what they consider to be art. If you are continually judging someone else it doesn’t leave any room for you to grow.

Find your own type of art to enjoy on a daily basis. Allow yourself to relax and observe how it makes you feel. Does it bring you joy, does it make you think of a family member or friend, is it calming, agitating, does it create excitement, etc.? So here are some examples of what I think art is….enjoy.

Showing up

How do you show up for your life? Do you hide behind a mask of feelings that aren't true/half true or down right a lie of how you are really feeling? As long as you show up to your life with a mask of feelings that aren't REALLY the ones that you are having at that moment you will continue to be stuck.

If you continually deny yourself the right to be in the moment and feel the feelings that you are having as they happen you are denying your true self. But here's the kicker! This does not and should not give you a license to go all crazy on people just because you think that's the 'true' you. Nope, that's not how you should behave either! The key is to find balance between living and feeling the life you are experiencing.

Allow your self the hurt, anger, frustration, depression, joy, elation, daydream, rapture and then release them. A wonderful flow has fantastically begun in my life. I cannot emphasize enough that you do not need validation from ANYONE else to have those feelings. You don't need anyone telling you that YOUR feelings are right or wrong. They are yours to have and understand. By allowing the feelings to come up you can get to the root of the experience. Letting my ego have a chance to be heard has allowed it to subside more easily and quickly. By doing this I am able to be in the now, enjoy my flow in existence and be more present.

We are all one, one energy. I want to share the joy of this and all planes of existence. I hope and strive for one thing and that is to share my light with the world! My light and soul has grown exponentially by letting my ego have a voice and then making it get out of the way.

So how do you show up in for life? Do you allow your ego to always run the show never keeping it in check? Or do you acknowledge it and your feelings and then let them go and step into the flow and light of your life?

Here is a great little book I am reading for more great tidbits on getting out of your own way :-)

if the Buddha got stuck

Try not

Ok so I'm a dork. I LOVE the saying, "No, try not, do or do not, there is no try" ~Yoda

He's the bomb by the way!

Although it may seem trivial or juvenile, it is the truth. Either you commit yourself to doing something or you are just floundering about not really DOING anything. So, if you decide that you are going to work out....do it, and do it to the best of your ability. If you are going to teach yourself how to play an instrument.........do it, and do it to the best of your ability. But to say that you will try something implies that you are not fully committing yourself to actually doing it.

So be brave, tackle the things that you have always wanted to DO but have only tried....and DO them.

"Help you I can, yes" ~Yoda

Faith

What religion or you? What do you believe in? I have been asked these questions before and they kind of made me uncomfortable. But not uneasy for the reasons you might think.

I have enormous faith but in an organization or religion that may not be considered 'mainstream'. I am a Buddhist. Having moved from California to Virginia over four years ago it was quite a religious and cultural change. Meaning, I did not feel that I could be as open about my own faith as MANY of my coworkers, strangers, grocery store clerks, bank tellers, etc. were. With there consistent greetings of "God bless you" or "Have a blessed day" it was not until moving here have I found MORE people so open and public about their faith and religion. Still I was not comfortable sharing my own.

Having felt like I have lived on the outskirts of society for the majority of my adult life this situation regarding my religious faith seemed to be just another reason to detach from people. But here is what I have discovered, although there are numerous people that are hypocritical regarding religion, i.e. only their religion is the only 'right' one; I have grown stronger in my own.

I am no longer living on the edge of society, I am embracing my faith, my religion, my life and the immense joy it provides me. I know now that I was meant to share my joy, love and compassion.

I do have a resolution this year and it is to continue to have faith in myself. It is to have the faith to be the very best human being that I can be. Then it is to allow the joy of THAT faith to be a beacon, to drawn loving and wonderful people into my life and surround them with compassion and love.

So what do you have faith in?

Dreams

Everyone dreams, but not everyone remembers them. A good way to remember them if you wake in the middle of the night is to keep a journal. I started keeping a journal by my bed. That way when I wake up in the middle of the night I can reach for it, have my place marked and just start writing even in the dark. Then in the morning I revisit my notes and am able to interpret them.

I found this website that has helped me interpret objects, animals, etc. that are in my dreams. Of course there are all kinds of books out there but I am doing my best to empty several of my shelves and save trees at the same time :-)

Here's the site: http://www.dreammoods.com/
Just click on the dictionary and it will take you to the alphabetized reference.

There is one book that has become invaluable to me. I use it for dream interpretation as well as meditation symbolism.

Animal Magick by D.J. Conway



Your dreams are a doorway to your subconscious mind. It may seem foreign at first but taking the time to write them down and interpret them can be meaningful and fun.

Enjoy!

Great Day!

I just wanted to share that today was a really great day. I am so grateful for the friends and family that I have.

Try this........every day before your feet ever touch the floor to get out of bed, go down the list of all the things that you are grateful for.

"What you move towards moves towards you." Dr. John F. Martini

Check on his book below. It is worth the effort and time to read and fully complete his exercises in this book. It's awesome!!!!

What are you worth?

As someone who has struggled with self-esteem issues well for as long as I can remember I knew at some point I would bring it up.

No matter what that little voice in your head is telling you, you ARE worth the risk of a new job, to follow your dreams, to get paid what you are worth, try new things without fear, do what you love, love what you do and to assign value to the services you provide. You are worth the time, effort, love and dedication!

What that little voice doesn't tell you is that it's actually the little kid that used to pick on you in high school, the abusive parent, the rude customer, spiteful girlfriend/boyfriend or complete stranger. It is their criticisms that your ego has adopted as truth.......those voices are not you...not the TRUE you.

The real you, your SOUL, wants and knows you deserve to be happy, healthy and experience all that life has to offer both the ups and downs, but experience it nonetheless. It is up to you to cipher through all the mental chatter and get to the real you and get to live the life you were meant to live. I have to say it does take time, some hard and emotional work but it is so liberating!! You will find your true voice, happiness, joy and all the things that make your life worth living.

Embrace your soul you ARE worth it!

New Button

Ok, so I added the "Donate" button with the intention of allowing anyone that finds the information and/or services I provide helpful, entertaining, encouraging, inspirational......well you get the idea.

I am more openly offering readings and this way folks can donate if they desire, safely and securely.

Today's 'real' post with follow...........

Much Love and Many Blessings!!!

What you say....

Ok, so this has happened frequently as of late, to me and by me. That is all the more reason to mention it here.

Sometimes it's not what you say but HOW you say it.

We go through our days caught in the routine of it. Often times going through the motions of similar actions and not really noticing how we interact with people. When our expectations are not met by our own doing or by others it can create frustration, anxiety, anger, stress, etc. The challenging part is to not let that frustration run over into how we react.

Here's a suggestion and believe me this is one that I am going to make my BEST effort to do! Take I DEEP breath before responding to someone that has maybe provoked you, pushed your button or just come upon you in conversation while you were having a difficult day. Then respond to them with the tone and emotion that is appropriate for their interaction. Giving them nothing left over from interaction from someone else.

I challenge you and myself to be in the NOW, not in the past interactions with co-workers, family, your children, etc. Honor them with the interaction they desire and deserve loving kindness and compassion.

Change happens

Change can happen in any aspect of your life at any time or all at once. It can make you feel uncomfortable, uneasy, fearful, scared, excited, exhilarated, and happy and a myriad of different emotions. But one thing that I have come to realize is that if things in your life are not changing then I am not growing, shifting and reaching new planes in my existence.

That is really difficult to remember sometimes because the state of change can be so uncomfortable for people like me that like to have control of EVERYTHING! I take a deep breath and do my best to relax into my state of now. Doing my best to embrace my life each day, during that day and not worrying or stressing about the future. So to fight off the worry do something each day that grounds you in the moment; taking a walk outside, meditate, do some yoga or other physical activity that brings you to the now.

Take a deep breath and realize that happens and it's a great thing.

"Let Go and Let God"

First here is my reason for disliking this phrase. Don't immediately damn me to hell.....read on.

I believe it’s a way for some (NOT ALL) people to release themselves from ‘doing the work’ in their life, whether that work is to forgive someone, self improvement or to just take action. They take themselves out of active participation in their own lives.

However my reason for liking this phrase is that it shows that anyone and everyone can have faith. That faith can be a motivating factor to improve your life. So which are you? An active participant in your own life journey or a bystander that believes life happens to you without your control?

Calm and clear mind

The human mind can be like a monkey chattering all the time saying good things, bad things, and critical things about yourself and others. But if you can set aside time each day even if it's just for 10 minutes to quiet your mind it will do wonders. Allowing your mind to become calm from the day’s activities and clear about how that day went may allow you to see how you handled your day and what you can change about your actions for the next day.

You can also use meditation to set the tone for your day by doing it in the morning. Allowing your mind to clear and envision how you will act, react and exist during your day are all good things to concentrate on.

The difficulty may be when you start to wander in your thoughts; that's alright just notice that you are wandering and move back to the focus of that session. Some suggestions of focus are being calm throughout your day, allowing yourself to smile and enjoy the people around you, focus on love, focus on healing, focus on emptiness, etc. You get the idea.

It all begins by being calm and clear in your own mind, quieting that monkey chatter and hearing individual thoughts and focusing on a state of being for the day. Namaste

Loving unconditionally

The wonderful greeting of a dog wagging her tail happy to see you or the purring of a pet cat as he slinks by you and wraps his tail around your leg; unconditional love. They are always happy to see you no matter the time of day or how many times you come and go. These to me are all signs of unconditional love.

Unconditional love is not something that is easily obtained. As humans I believe that is an action and feeling that we can all strive for. We want to be able to be the bigger person and forgive others for the pains that they may have caused us. Do you have the ability to forget and truly love them unconditionally? Maybe the emotion that we should be striving for is unconditional compassion AND love. Recognizing yourself in the other person and ultimately having compassion and love for yourself and the other person. Allow the faults of the other person and ourselves because neither of us is perfect. We should work through our issues with love and unconditional compassion.

Compassion~noun: a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

Love~noun: to have a profoundly tender, passionate affection for (another person).