End-of-Year Musings and Daily OM

December 30, 2010
Fulfilling Energetic Investments
Focusing Our Energy

As modern life makes a wealth of information and opportunities available to us, we may find ourselves torn between a wide variety of interests and projects. Our excitement may entice us to try all of them at once, but doing so only diffuses our energy, leaving us unable to fully experience any of them. Like an electrical socket with too many things plugged into it, we may be in danger of overheating and burning out. But if we can choose one thing at a time to focus all of our attention upon, we can make the most of our life-force energy, engaging ourselves fully in the moment so that it can nurture us in return.

Our attention can be pulled in many directions, not only in our own lives, but by advertising, media, and the hustle and bustle of our surroundings. But when we take the time to listen to our inner guidance and focus our thoughts on the goals that resonate the most strongly within us, the rest of the world will fade away. This may mean focusing the spotlight of our attention upon developing one aspect of our work, one course of study, or one hobby to pursue in our free time, but it doesn't mean that we have to stay focused on only one thing forever. We may never know which of our interests is best suited to our abilities and heart's desires unless we give it a proper chance. By being fully present with all that we are and all that we have, we can experience each choice fully and make the most fulfilling choices for our energetic investments.

Because we are multi-faceted beings, we are perpetually involved in many aspects of life in every moment. Our work in the world is necessary to attend to our physical needs, and our relationships are important for our emotional needs, but when we engage our spirit as well, we can choose the area that will nurture body, mind and soul. Staying focused in each moment allows us move with the rhythmic flow of the universe and harmonize all aspects of our being into balanced whole.  Staying focused in each moment allows us move with the rhythmic flow of the universe and harmonize our being.



 
"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly."

Buddha.

"Carpe diem! Rejoice while you are alive; enjoy the day; live life to the fullest; make the most of what you have.."

Horace

"When we meet someone and fall in love, we have a sense that the whole universe is on our side. And yet if something goes wrong, there is nothing left! How is it possible for the beauty that was there only minutes before to vanish so quickly? Life moves very fast. It rushes from heaven to hell in a matter of seconds."  

Paulo Coelho

You cannot do a kindness too soon, 
For you never know how soon it will be too late.  

 Ralph Waldo Emerson~

"Sometimes I feel I am everything, I call that Love. Sometimes I feel I am nothing, I call that Wisdom. Between Love and Wisdom my life continuously flows."
- Nisargadatta Maharaj

Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.
~William Shakespeare

A photograph is neither taken nor seized by force. It offers itself up.
It is the photo that takes you.
~ Henri Cartier Bresson

Poem By Someone I Know

I was going homeward
minding my own business
A rose from the side of the road yelled at me,
“Whoa, old man! Not so fast.
I wasn’t put on the side of this road
so you could run by me.
I am here to greet you.
The least you can do is slow down.
You may never see another rose in your lifetime.
What would your life be worth then?”

My knees buckled
and I knelt down to face the rose
We conversed . . .

You have to admit
it’s quite a challenge to understand rose talk
One word from one petal
Another word from the next petal
And a golden heart in a deeper level
spewing the essence of unbearable ecstasy
I was quite overwhelmed
by so much contribution
to the growth of my heart
I said to the rose,
“How could I leave you?”
The rose replied,
“Now that we have understood each other
you could take me with you
for my job on the side of this road is complete.”

So I did
Picked up the rose by its stem
and I know not how long we walked
All I know is when I came to
I became so conscious of relating
to something so small in such a big way
I become a rose
to offer my life to people who come by to visit
and take me with them

Until the next rose by the side of your path
I bid you, “Fare, well”

9/22/10 © Hosain Mosavat

Words to Live By

"Saving just one pet won't change the world, but it surely will change the world for that one pet."

Wish someone would've told my neighbor that when she killed her darling 8 year old cat (in the prime of his life) last June.  I say "killed" and I mean killed.  For, there was no reason under the sun to take Cody's life. NONE.

She is a fussy, anxious woman with a nervous system in over-drive constantly.  This causes her to think "the worst" and feel scared all the time.  She hated the thought of Cody spraying inside her house.  Never mind that she brought another strange cat into it after Cody had been there for 6 years. 

Cats are territorial, and it's often difficult to introduce another cat into their space.  He was there first, for a long time, and it was his home first.  He didn't like Leo from the start, and things just got worse over time.  Didn't she see that?  She instigated the whole mess then had the gall, no, stupidity, to have Cody killed because she was inconvenienced---her own damn fault!  MURDERER! ! ! !

So, take this saying to heart.  Be aware of who you're killing and why.  Usually, it's NOT the animal's fault--whatever the situation.  It certainly wasn't in poor Cody's case.  I am devestated and very, very sad.

Just for today. . .

“Our inner strengths, experiences, and truths cannot be lost,
destroyed, or taken away. Every person has an inborn worth and
can contribute to the human community. We all can treat one
another with dignity and respect, provide opportunities to grow
toward our fullest lives and help one another discover and develop
our unique gifts. We each deserve this and we all can extend it to others.”

Christmas Day

Christmas means love.  Christmas means peace.  Christmas means harmony. 

And so, today, I chose to spend the afternoon with my favorite folks----Sweetie Sue, my pup, Dancer, my pony, all the farm animals and my lair of kits.  Here's some pix of our time together.  Enjoy!



Today's Daily OM - How Appropos

December 24, 2010When Pain Comes Our Way
Honoring All Experiences


Honoring the experiences we have in our lives is an invaluable way to communicate with life, our greatest teacher. We do this when we take time at night to say what we are thankful for about our day and also when we write in a journal. Both of these acts involve consciously acknowledging the events of our lives so that they deepen our relationship to our experiences. This is important because it brings us into closer connection with life, and with the moment. Only when we acknowledge what's happening to us can we truly benefit from life's teachings.

It is especially important when pain comes our way to honor the experience, because our natural tendency is to push it away and move past it as quickly as possible. We tend to want to brush it under the rug. Yet, if we don't, it reveals itself to be a great friend and teacher. As counterintuitive as it seems, we can honor pain by thanking it and by welcoming it into the space of our lives. We all know that often the more we resist something, the longer it persists. When we honor our pain, we do just the opposite of resisting it, and as a result, we create a world in which we can own the fullness of what life has to offer.

We can honor a painful experience by marking it in some way, bringing ourselves into a more conscious relationship with it. We might mark it by creating a work of art, performing a ritual, or undertaking some other significant act. Sometimes all we need to do is light a candle in honor of what we've gone through and what we've learned. No matter how small the gesture, it will be big enough to mark the ways in which our pain has transformed us, and to remind us to recognize and value all that comes our way in this life.

Honoring the experiences we have in our lives is an invaluable way to communicate with life, our greatest teacher.

Do You Believe?

As long as you believe in Santa . . .

Santa Claus is anyone who loves another
and seeks to make them happy; who gives
himself by thought or word or deed in every gift
that he bestows; who shares his joys with those
who are sad; whose hand is never closed against
the needy; whose arm is ever outstretched to aid
the weak; whose sympathy is quick and genuine
in time of trouble; who recognizes a comrade
and brother in every man he meets upon life's
common road; who lives his life throughout
the entire year in the Christmas spirit.

Edwin Osgood Grover, Vicki Howard's "The Book of Santa Claus"