attitude
The Courage To Live And Let Live
The only way we are really going to make the future work is by allowing others to do their ‘own thing’ in their own way. Our future survival and evolution as a species will not be found in sameness, alikeness, similarity, or coercion. Instead, we must build a new global civilization based on expanding diversity, variety, assortment and multiplicity. Yet, there is one fundamental condition – for it to be successful it must be achieved in harmony with others and our planet.
From the perspective of the old mainstream view of our world, such a future world of unhindered diversity appears quite impossible and non-sensical, because that would mean that everybody does their own thing in their own way. And that seems really counter-intuitive… even dangerous. A disaster waiting to happen!
History has taught us that individuals doing things their ‘own way’ eventually manifests itself as selfishness, greed, creed, personal preference, chauvinism, dogma and ego-centered beliefs – which has caused most of our wars, the establishment of our borders, the separation between the rulers and subjects, and the division between rich and poor. Continue reading
Grief As A Spiritual Life Lesson
Just under a decade ago, a decision I made to let my eight and a half year old Rottweiler Sophie go, was one of the hardest things I have ever been faced with. Sophie had suddenly become ill over the course of four days and nothing could have prepared me for the subsequent grief. Although time heals, I still recall the way it felt when she was gone – like my heart was being ripped from my chest.
Grief can be described as the universal response to loss, and a very natural, yet terribly painful internal process. When there is a significant change, or loss in one’s life, grief is both a physical and emotional response to that change. Grief brings its own stresses, and continued grief actually compromises our immune system, because all cells in our bodies are affected by intense emotions. Continue reading
Autumn Wishes
Leaves may be falling in the northern realms at this time of the year, but if you can still see the ground there is Fall gardening to be done. While there are some plants that thrive in this time of the “dying year”, there are many other plants that will need to be rescued before the first frost comes to take them away and that is where you will be busy with Fall gardening. Get out your gloves and get ready because you need to prepare your garden for the long winter months ahead.
Life is full of changes. We have choices in our attitude about the changes. We can look forward to each one with great expectations of wonderful new paths, or we can look with dread at our lives becoming different. Continue reading
What If Cows Were Green And Grass Was Orange?
My father was color blind, and consequently all my brothers and their sons too. Color blindness has it downside, but it also broadened my horizons and taught me at a young age to have a questioning mind. School and education was not a priority in my family and we were welcome to quit anytime we chose. The only stipulation was that we must have a job.
My brother, Roger, like a lot of teens at that time, went to work at the tender age of 15. He got a position with a huge conglomerate in our city of Montreal. The dress code was a typical white shirt, tie and, hopefully, a matching suit. Now with Roger being color blind this became a bit of a dilemma for him. He would have no idea if he was wearing green socks with a red tie and blue suit, or even one orange sock coupled with a purple one!
My sister, Marie and I spent a lot of time with our brother Roger, as well as our other siblings. It was a common practice for the younger ones to spend any amount of time with the older siblings. Because Roger was one of the first ones from home to go off to work, we took an inordinate amount of pride in him and his achievements and were very anxious for him to succeed in life. Continue reading
Hear The Rumbling Of Change
Everybody who is reasonably aware knows global changes are in the works. Whether they are totally man-made or universally manifested, all we know is that things appear to be changing on our planet. And our future as a species is hanging in the balance.
It is sometimes incomprehensible to me how so many people have so little appreciation and respect for all the wonderful things that have been provided here for us on this plane of existence: all the wholesome food, fresh water, clean air. The only reason it is becoming less abundant and under threat is our greed and disregard.
It appears Mother Nature has had enough of our bad behavior and is desperately trying to let us know she will not be accepting this behavior from us on an ongoing basis. They say the ice caps are beginning to melt, the winds are becoming more forceful and we are bombarded almost daily with all manner of natural disaster. Continue reading
The True Nature Of Forgiveness
What I have received from Spirit and my mentors about the nature of forgiveness is that it is first of all not about allowing bad behavior in others to continue. This is the most important thing to remember when we are ready to venture into our inner forgiveness journey.
If someone is continually wounding us through their actions or words, it is important to understand that the most loving thing we can do for ourselves and for the other person is to let them go. This may be a scary thing for some people, but to really release our pain we must release the source of the pain. Some situations are reconcilable through an honest reflection of the situation by both parties. However if this is not working, then lovingly releasing that person from your life will not only keep you from being hurt, it will allow you to open up space for relationships that bring value to your human journey. Continue reading
Change Your Karma For A More Fulfilling Life
It is true. Karma is real. And it can change your life. Whatever you think, say, or do… it always comes back to you. When you give selflessly, it always comes back. And when you hurt someone you are truly hurting yourself.
We are all created equal, and all equally valuable, whether we are on this, or that side of the world. We matter just the same. To think of yourself as better than others is always going to come back in a negative way. Not to mention the fact that it is not very attractive! It is vitally important to live with a mindset that allows us to be mindful of how we treat each other. I know this from many years of working with people all over the world. I also know this from my personal spiritual practice. Continue reading