Imaginary Enemy

No one can make me feel anything that I don't already feel somewhere deep inside. If someone tells me I'm too tall, it doesn't bother me. If someone says I'm too short, I might feel a little hurt because at times in my past I have felt short. If someone has a judgment about me, I only care if I have that same judgment. We are all mirrors of one another showing us where we need to be more self-accepting. Now when a button of mine gets pushed and I feel even the slightest bit reactive, I know there is some aspect of me I'm not loving. Understanding this, I can say thank you and get to work rather that going to war with an imaginary enemy.

Peace is a Gift

Everything I feel is my own creation. If what I'm feeling is not enjoyable and causing me discomfort, I can ask myself, "Why would I want to entertain and cultivate this creation of mine, which feels bad?" Or I can just realize that it is the nature of the ego to find faults and justifications for the faults, in an attempt to stay in control. With this realization, I can just drop the issue and return to peace of mind. Personal peace of mind is a gift to the world.

The Need For Attention

Harmony is my true nature. Yet harmony is threatening to my ego. When I am in harmony, my ego tries to find ways to get my attention and regain control. If I stay aware and watch it's strategies, trying to find fault with this or that, having opinions about this and that, I can recognize it as the child it is. When I forget and slip into distraction, it can grab a hold and whip me around. Now when I find myself in the grip of my ego and behaving from a less than harmonious state and resisting what is, I can smile and remember, harmony is my true nature, all else is just an illusion created by a child in need of attention.

Aural Gift

As a meditation, when I expand my awareness to include all the sounds I hear in the distance and I merge mentally out into it, the experience feels expansive and free.
Every sounds has a gift in it. Can I find it?

Authenticity

Worrying about what other people think of me is a waste of time and truly none of my business. I can never know what is going on in the mind of another. What anyone thinks of me is filtered through a lifetime of their conditioning of which, I have no control over. When I let go of the desire to please or control what another thinks, and act from a place of authenticity, I please my inner self and that is my business. When I can trust myself to be authentic, others can trust me.

Do I Want To Be Right or Happy?

Holding on to a position keeps me stuck in an identity, which limits my freedom and keeps me separated from others. When I relax and release my need to be right, I realize greater joy. Do I want to be right or happy? Right is relative and dependent on a point of view. Happiness is a just a choice I can make no matter what.

Letting Go

What can I let go of today to make myself lighter? Perhaps a judgment of myself or another? Ah, I found one!

The World is My Reflection

Whenever I find myself wanting something from the outer world, especially attention or love, it is time to give it to myself. When I give myself what I need, it comes flooding in from the outside. Whatever I see in the outer world is just a reflection of my inner world. That's great news! The power lies with me.

A Big Conscious Breath

Many years ago I took a ride at an amusement park. It was the one that whirls around so fast that centrifugal force holds you on while the bottom falls out. I began to panic as it whirled faster and faster, screaming "Stop, Please Stop!" My friend next to me finally said, "JARL BREATHE!" I took a big deep breath and Voila! I was fine. Relaxed! On this ride called life, it's amazing what a big conscious breath can do. It always works for me.

Gratitude Attitude

Gratitude transforms me. When I turn a troubled mind to thoughts of gratitude, my energy seems to become harmonized with the Universal Flow. With gratitude as my dominant mindset, I become an energetic match to prosperity and joy.

Wonderfully Surprised

If we all could take a moment now and then to go within and ask what a particular dislike, or even better, an extreme aversion is pointing to in ourselves, we may be wonderfully surprised. I say wonderfully because this is a very empowering technique. I say surprised because seldom do we realize that what we dislike in another is a disowned part of ourselves. What we cannot accept in ourselves, we cannot accept and love in another. The answer to peace and happiness lies in the degree to which we love and accept ourselves. When we stop projecting all of our self-hatred onto others and begin the process of healing into self-acceptance, the end of war becomes a real possibility.

The Is No Such Thing As A Weakness

In truth, there is no such thing as a weakness. Just as darkness cannot be measured without involving the measurement of light, neither can weakness be measured without involving the measurement of strength. When I accept the powerful reality that there is no such thing as a weakness, I can put my attention on the degrees of my strengths. Just for an experiment, I made a list of 5 of my strengths and 5 of my perceived weaknesses. I noticed that I felt empowered when making my list of strengths and somewhat low and foggy headed making a list of my "weaknesses." If I make a concerted effort to improve my weaknesses, I will do so from a low and foggy state of mind. If however, I focus on growing my "strengths" I will do so from an empowered point of view. What I focus on expands. From now on I will focus on growing my strengths rather than trying to improve something that doesn't exist.

Taking For Granted What's Right

As much as I am committed to focusing on gratitude, the dominant paradigm in our society and a long standing habit of mine is to take for granted what's right in my life and to notice with full attention what's wrong. When I ask "what's right" with even what I'm finding wrong, it shifts me into a more positive attitude. I can then focus on how to make it better rather than staying stuck, stewing with what I perceive as wrong.

Eyes of Curiosity

I can never step in the same river twice, by the time I put my second foot in, the river has changed. I can never talk to the same person twice. We are all changing moment by moment. Today I choose to look at everyone I see with the fresh new eyes of curiosity and openness.

The Quick Road to Peace

I am never upset for the reasons I think. If I just feel the sensations of my discomfort and resist the temptation to project and blame outward, I will return to peace much more quickly and avoid adding more baggage.

Still Just My Story

No matter how many people I may get to agree with my story, it's still just a story. If it feels good-keep it. If it feels bad-drop it. Easy

What I Focus on Expands

What I focus on expands, so when I spend time on a problem, I help it grow. If I turn my awareness toward solutions instead, I see the solution grow.

My Perception is Not Reality

My perception is not reality. It is just my spin which is seen through the filters of my conditioning. Reality is what is before I have a thought about it.

My Thoughts Determine My Feelings

No one makes me feel anything. My thoughts are what determine my feelings. I am 100% responsible for the way I feel. Blaming others will only make me feel worse. Today I will listen carefully and choose thoughts that make me feel loved.

Real Love

When I drop my image of another and open to them without expectation, I can completely relax and only then can I love them.

What's Right?

When I check my habit of looking for what's wrong and I look for what's right about every situation, person, place, or thing, I am at peace!

Open or Close

The stories I tell myself are either expansive or contractive. I notice when I use the word 'but' I'm negating whatever preceded the but. Why would I want to say something and then negate it? It's always my choice to notice and make the decision to open or close.

Truth

The truth is, WHAT IS--minus my story about it. If I don't like the story I can drop it or change it. The world is what I think it is.

Letting Go

No matter how much I process my disturbances, look for causes, or ascribe blame, I will not find peace. I create all my disturbances by the meaning I give them. The way to peace is by letting go. Drop it, that's all. It will work itself out.

Giving it to Myself

When I turn my awareness inward and notice my sensations, I give myself the attention I need and want. When I give myself enough, I don’t need it from others and they naturally give it lovingly.

Free Will

In every moment the Primordial Universe gives birth to yin and yang. My experience of life is determined by where I put my focus, on yin, yang, or equanimity. This is my free will.

Everything is Auspicious

In spite of the way I see and interpret reality, everything that happens is auspicious and serves me in some way

Nature of Desire

The only time a desire of mine cannot be fulfilled is when I have an opposing desire standing in the way.