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"When you come to the edge of all the light you know, and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly." ~ Patrick
Overton Educator, Poet, Playwright, Author, and Speaker
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THIS WEEK'S ISSUE From the Inside Out... Yes You Can!... Far Horizons... Links That Shine... Fascinating Facts... Laughing It Off... Untangling the Web... Look at That!... Web-Wize Updates... Joyful Lifestyles...
BE the World Challenges often make us realize that we have more courage than we think and that one person CAN make a difference in the world ... even if it's the world of one other person. ~ Chelle ~
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From the Inside Out
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Stop a moment before reading on ... WHAT IS ON YOUR MIND RIGHT NOW? Are you wondering what this article is all about? Are you thinking about what you are going to do next? Or are you thinking about what you just did? Our minds contain thousands and thousands of thoughts each day. And each thought has a direct impact on our emotions and on our bodies. Rarely do we experience the present moment. We are locked in the past or planning the future. When was the last time you were truly mindful of the moment? The usual answer is: “When I was on vacation and I saw a beautiful sunset. I was just there!” It is possible to “be on vacation” every day. The skill involved is the practice of 'mindfulness'. In mindfulness, we observe inward, watching our thoughts without attachment to them. It's similar to lying on the grass and watching the clouds go by. This art of non-attachment to our thoughts results in great healing, peace, and insight. Author and researcher Jon Kabat-Zinn (Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness and Wherever You Go, There You Are : Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life) has demonstrated through research that simply by being mindful of physical and mental pain we can overcome, or rather, come through and experience peace. His seven aspects of mindfulness include: NON-JUDGING – becoming an impartial witness to your own experience; PATIENCE, BEGINNER’S MIND – willingness to see everything as if for the first time; TRUST – in yourself; NON-STRIVING – by doing nothing, all is done; ACCEPTANCE – seeing things as they actually are in the present; and LETTING GO. (From a workshop on Hilton Head with Jon Kabat-Zinn) The practice is quite simple. To begin, set your alarm clock or stopwatch for 5 minutes. Then sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and focus on your breath. FEEL the breath coming and going, going and coming, through your nose. Your breath becomes the vehicle to carry you towards peace. Now notice how easily you become distracted from the feel of your breath. A thought travels through your mind. That thought leads to another, and another. Finally you remember that you are suppose to be feeling your breath, and you return. But from where did you return? Where does the mind go? Experiment again and this time you feel a pressure or pain in your body. You follow that pain and another series of thoughts results. And again, you return to the breath. Each time you return to the sensation of your own breath on your nose you have gained a little more control over your own mind. Our own mind carries us away. Our thoughts are like unruly children, constantly pulling us here and there. And this constant pulling is the source of our stress and pain. Mindfulness is the skill that allows us to watch our thoughts and feelings without being pulled by them. Initially in practice all this mental chatter preoccupies us. Then we begin to realize that we do have control. By noticing and observing, we stop reacting. And it is our reactions to our thoughts that bring us emotional stress and physical dis-ease. When you are ready, lengthen your 5 minute practice to 10 minutes or 20 minutes or more. Experiencing longer practice periods will allow you to enter a space beyond your thoughts. The space of energy before it is bound up within a thought. Deepak Chopra, M.D. (Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, Unconditional Life and The Wisdom Within) describes this inner space as a “void of pure possibilities, impulses of energy and information”, “a space made up of nothing, the womb of creation”. Direct experience of this “void of no-thing” can have a transformative and profoundly healing effect on body, emotion, mind and life. So, are you ready? Set aside at least 5 minutes every day to sit and feel your breath. Enjoy your practice! ~Jill N. Henry, EdD is author of Llewellyn’s
publisher’s new release
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Stepping
inside the Amber Room in the Tzarskoje Selo Catherine Palace museum
outside St. Petersburg is like slipping into a fairy tale. Soaring
walls bloom with polished shards of amber — crimson red, honey-blond,
milky-gold — inset with jeweled mosaics and gilded trim. But
as with many Russian fairy tales, there is a dark side to the Amber
Room too, a shadow of legend and open-ended mystery. The original
plans for the room have been identified as initially planned by
Andreas Schluter, the chief architect of the Prussian royal court
in 1699. Schluter had the idea of using amber, a material never
before used for interior decoration, to complete one of the palace
rooms. The architect invited Gottfried Wolfram, the court amber
master of the Danish King Friedrich IV, from Copenhagen to work
on the Amber Room. In later years it acquired the immodest nickname
"the Eighth Wonder of the World," still to be found in
articles and guidebooks today. That, however, is more than can be
said for the first Amber Room itself, which disappeared during the
chaotic final months of World War II and can't be found at all. Links That Shine
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Thought-Provoking Words
for You
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Fascinating Facts
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1. ARBITRATOR: A cook that leaves Arby's to work at McDonald's
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Untangling the Web
Mouse
Click Woes? ... Look at THAT! NEWBORN BOTTLE-BABY
A
zookeeper feeds a newly-born hippopotamus...
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Web-Wize Update
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Joyful Lifestyles: Weekly Insights What are you willing to endure when it comes to the bad habits of partners? Can you actually love a person who talks with his mouth full? Chicago Sun-Times columnist Rhona Raskin, shares some personal experiences and guidelines: "Marshall lives with my girlfriend. She overlooks anything he does because not only is the sex great, but he also laughs at all her jokes. You, on the other hand, might want to toss Marsh out on his well-formed butt if you had to listen to his mind-numbing golf stories. ( 'I hit a ball with a club and it went in the hole / got close to the hole / missed the hole'). "My cousin Sal is married to a smart and witty man who is a terrific cook and is attractive too. His drawback is that he has no clue about cutting his toenails. She obsesses about how it would sound explaining to a judge that she is divorcing this man due to a lack of lower quadrant hygiene. Just as bad, he goes into overdrive every time he jumps into a car. He announces Best Route, Driving Style Errors and Early Danger Warnings in a loud and insistent voice. Sal blocks him out by cranking up the radio. "'Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s bad habits', said Mark Twain. So how do you deal with bad habits? 1. Remember: Change is difficult. I was at a party last week and overheard a woman saying, “I figure that the bad habits he had when I met him and he brought into the relationship with my full knowledge are his to keep. Anything he acquired AFTER we connected is fair game.” She has a healthy attitude. She has no designs on renovating the man she fell in love with — but also has standards. 2. Be careful what you ask for. My friend Mike said he had never met a woman who could leave the house in the same condition he found her. “Women can’t just jump up and head for the door — they have to feed the cat, or brush their hair or change their T-shirt.” So he connected with an eccentric, recycling, makeup-free girl. I’m not sure what else they have going on in their relationship — but there’s no lag time between the announcement “Let’s hustle” and the door slamming on the way out. So they are happy. Good for them. Mike will put up with a woman who chews with her mouth open as long as she’s prompt. 3. Be flexible in your inflexibility. Renee has a list of no-no’s. The top of the inventory has hygiene-related items — such as no B.O. or bad breath. If those behaviors are absent there’s: no smoking, no heavy drinking. And then there’s: cleans up after himself, doesn’t have a co-dependent relationship with a therapist, ex-lover or mother. Renee is open to suggestions on any other personal eccentricities or flaws. She did however, disengage from a man who liked to borrow her underwear. Some might call her picky; others, incredibly perceptive. 4. Know what your deal breakers are. Whatever the offending manner, habit or penchant, it must be one you can glide over. You might respond with an eyeball roll, a laugh or sigh. But if your response is anger, embarrassment or withdrawal, you are with the wrong person. "Be sure the collection of personality traits you find so adorable in the beginning is going to fit in with all YOUR quirks and routines in the future. As Benjamin Franklin observed: 'Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.'" ~Chelle ("Shay") Thompson, Editor
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