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THIS WEEK'S ISSUE From the Inside Out...
It's Time to BE — the World One
of the lovely things ~ Chelle Thompson, Editor
| From the Inside Out
CALLING OF THE LOONSThe morning's stillness was broken by the strange, laughing call of a loon. Colin touched his grandfather lightly on the shoulder. Their two-man tent was getting warm from the early burst of sun. "Time to get up." Colin spoke in a whisper, "Listen. Listen. It's them again!" Granddad quickly got dressed and joined his grandson outside. He had his binoculars and passed them to Colin. Colin was nervous as he focused on his target. The dark outline of the loon showed bright and clear, its head and neck was blackish with narrow patches of white on the throat. Granddad said that loons were usually in pairs. And they picked out their own favorite lake. It was not pleasant at home and Granddad felt that a little camping weekend would be good for Colin. Colin's eyes blurred as he looked through the binoculars. If only his parents could be here to see this. "Look Colin! They're diving for some small fish for breakfast." Colin knew they could stay underwater for a long time and then surface much further away. He turned and gave the binoculars back to his grandfather. "How about breakfast?" his grandfather asked. Colin's thoughts were mixed up as he watched his grandfather work on the campfire. "Okay, I guess," he said sadly. He helped a little, then a lot — and the dark cloud finally left his thoughts. "Granddad, do loons ever fight?" he asked. "I don't know. If they don't, I'm sure it's because they realize there is so much space to share." Colin wished humans could be like that. "It's not possible for a perfect world," Granddad's voice interrupted. "Well it's not fair. We should be working together just like the loons!" Colin almost shouted. He remembered his grandfather telling him that loons produced two eggs. And when they traveled on the water each parent looked after one of the young loons- — to protect and care for them. After breakfast, the boy and his grandfather prepared for a little canoe trip. They carried, and then pushed the canoe into two feet of water and got in. Colin's paddle thumped loudly on the thwart. "Did I scare away the loons, Granddad?" "They're resting somewhere right now, Colin. But we'll see them again tonight." The day passed swiftly as the canoe moved from one inlet to another. During that time, they saw chipmunks, a porcupine, a deer and many kinds of birds. The chickadee was Colin's favorite bird. Its piping call seemed to say — "This is my land!" And Colin knew he would help to protect it. Supper was a delicious meal of steak and beans. "I want tonight to be just perfect," his grandfather said. "Good food and good camping with my grandson." "With lots of love," Colin added. "And no fighting," his lips whispered. Colin thought about his mother and father. Maybe he should say the things he felt inside — about how kind Granddad is and how the loons send a thrill up and down his back. Maybe he should do a little more at home, like the dishes. And even help Dad with the firewood. When Dad got grouchy, Colin would try not to growl back. Or slam his bedroom door when he was upset. Colin wanted everyone to give each other another chance. They could be like the loons. They could work it out. "Colin?" "Yes?" "Almost time." "Okay." And they both got their sleeping bags ready. Then they dressed in warm clothes, put mosquito repellent on and walked quietly to the edge of the lake. They sat together on the log. Colin leaned on Granddad's shoulder. Granddad's arm circled his precious grandson. A trickle of sound crept across the water. The wind laid its breath upon the growing symphony and carried it to the man and boy waiting eagerly. They were not disappointed. The loons called one to another in playful chords. It was as if they knew they had an audience. Sounds of peace and caring and a melodic beauty crisscrossed the lake. And they were absorbed into a little boy's heart. His own song was one of love for his family. Like the loons, he would bring back a message of a family working together. He put his arm around his grandfather's shoulder. Colin squeezed really hard.
©
1994 Richard L. Provencher
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All during Julie's fetal development, she's bombarded with dark emotions from her mother who doesn't want her, deeply distressed by this pregnancy. As Julie develops in the womb emotionally starved, feeling unwanted, a deep unconscious fear crystallizes. If her uncaring mother abandons her, can she take care of herself and survive? As an infant, each time Julie becomes hungry, her fear of being abandoned arises. A profound belief takes shape: if she isn't hungry, she can avoid feeling unloved; she will survive. As an adult, fighting her weight, the fear of being hungry haunts her. Julie is unaware of why she gets anxious when no food is readily available. Her failure code is tucked away in her psyche, concealed from view. Failure Codes are imprinted when two or more emotional/physical components are linked together and experienced multiple times. A pregnant woman internally feeds her baby what she eats and feels. What if a woman carrying a baby boy goes for desserts or alcohol after arguments with her husband? Her growing fetus may not fully understand the cause of the distress, but as the negative emotions pass through him, he becomes agitated. When a wave of glucose hits him, like his mother, he's diverted with a sugar high. Soon he's programmed to follow a similar pattern throughout his life. We call unwanted behavioral patterns created in this way failure codes. Failure codes are generally programmed during pregnancy through pre-verbal infancy. These patterns are instilled while the baby is still the most impressionable yet has no ability to discern the validity of the beliefs being absorbed. Then any time strong events and/or experiences occur, they reinforce those already-established beliefs. A common example is the harrowing effects of a divorce on a child, which accentuates her beliefs about relationships, safety, being loved, etc. I once met a four-year-old boy with an unusual gait, swinging his left leg around in an arc as he walked. It was odd enough to stick in my mind. Months later, I met his dad, who had the identical gait. Did this man deliberately teach his son to walk that way? Of course not; it was an unconscious imprint. How many other traits, attitudes, prejudices, and beliefs did this little boy absorb from his parents and others in his environment? Just about all of them. The most insidious aspect of failure codes is that nearly everyone is initially unaware they are operating by them. Totally blind to our inflexible patterning, we march through life with unerring consistency. Eventually we may notice patterns repeating over and over in our lives and reflect on them. For example, we may pick friends who betray or disappoint us. Maybe this was Dad's view on friends, and we absorbed it as unconsciously as mimicking his gait. When we find ourselves repeatedly facing the same challenges and explore the causes, we may uncover hidden programs. Once we see failure codes for what they are-rigid programs from which our behaviors stem-we can then make a conscious choice to break the hold these patterns have on us and shift into more life-affirming codes. Why many traditional therapeutic programs can fail is because they focus on the effects that failure codes produce, unknowingly skirting the deeper cause of unwanted behaviors. Bringing insight to hidden agendas that may have been running your life can help illuminate these failure codes. As this simple process of awareness unfolds, it allows you to bypass the arduous work of fixing anything. Rather, it shows you how to move beyond your failure codes so you can receive maximum insight and benefit from the experience. With new codes in place, filled with potential, you may find yourself becoming the magnet that attracts a richness of life that can only come from the power of living life from a newly embraced success code. You can lay the foundation to transform issues and challenges that may have been plaguing you all your life. Fueled
by your imagination and desire, you can now ponder life from the fascinating question,
"How will my life unfold now that I have more good than I've ever known?"
©Copyright
2005 Lania Desmond
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Far Horizons CHINO, JAPAN
In
February, a boy and his father pray in front of the ice-made Suwa Taisha
shrine at the Crystal Festival, Japan's largest fluorescent lighted ice sculpture
event, in Chino, northwest of Tokyo. At the nearby Lake Shirakabako Ice Lantern
Festival every year, 4000 cubes of 135kg (297 pounds) each are brought to the
site to create the fantasy ice world of lanterns. During April Miyagawanagamine
in Chino is the site of 'Kiotoshi' or dropping down the slope of the Onbashira
(8 huge tree trunks used as sacred pillars for the Suwa Grand Shrines of Kamisha
and Shimosha).Two thick ropes are tied to the tops of each tree and more than
a thousand people haul them along for about 20 km (13 miles) and carry them into
the shrines. On the way, there are hills and a river to cross. One hill called
"Kiotoshi-zaka" is very steep and some of the more daring of the men,
riding on a tree, slide down the hill at high speed. After crossing the river
the trees are purified and carried into the holy precincts of the shrines.
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| Fascinating
Facts
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Motivational author and inspirational speaker Steve Goodier, whose daily e-newsletter Your Life Support System reaches readers worldwide, shares the following story with us today: "James Myers in A Treasury of Military Humor, tells an all-too-true story which comes from the American Civil War. General Stonewall Jackson recruited a man named Miles, who had a reputation as a superb bridge builder. Because bridges were needed to be built or rebuilt quickly, Miles became a valuable asset to the army. One day, retreating Union troops set fire to a bridge and Jackson called upon Miles to get his men ready to prepare a foundation for a new bridge. He told him that the engineers would have plans ready in record time. The next day, Jackson called for Miles and asked him if the engineers had given him their plans yet. 'General,' Miles drawled, 'we done got the foundation built but I cain't tell ya whether them pictures is done or not.' "There is a time for careful planning, it's true. But there is also a time for quick and decisive action. Miles seemed to know that the urgency of the situation required him to just do what needed to be done. "Our greatest obstacle to 'doing what needs to be done' is not careful planning. Though many of us have admirable plans and worthy resolutions, we often simply never get around to doing what we have determined to do! We procrastinate. And unfortunately, we often miss an opportunity to do something decisive today, for as satirical author Don Marquis has said, 'Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.' Or maybe you have been thinking that you would like to procrastinate less, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. If so, perhaps these words attributed to Edgar Guest will help: "He
was going to be all that a mortal could be... tomorrow.
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