Be Honest…

Precept number four says, “Be Honest in Your Dealings with Others”. This quotation from Walter Anderson reminds us that it is equally as important to be honest with ourselves.

Never the easy option!

“In your now…”

This Sunday’s quotation is taken from the words of Abraham – Hicks.

During the month of December, it is customary to look back over the year that has just gone to see what we have achieved, while setting goals and expectations for the forthcoming year.

I’ve been busy setting up my goals for next year, building on from my achievements of this year. How about you?

“The more light…”

This Sunday’s quotation features the words of Shakti Gawain.

When I took this picture from my front room window this week I was reminded that light has many ways of manifesting into our lives – we just need to be aware, to practise mindfulness.

Go Quietly …

This Sunday’s quotation comes from Baba Ram Dass.

When I took the photo in the quotation image, I was totally mesmerised by what looked to me like flames in the sky. Time stood still as I watched the cloud patterns changing until eventually the ‘flames’ disappeared from view. During that time of quiet watching, I became very aware of the energy of the sun and its interaction with all the elements around it. I became quiet and the universe spoke it’s wisdom to me.

Make Haste…

This Sunday’s quotation is attributed as a ‘Zen saying’.

Zen sayings are notoriously obtuse – so what does this one mean?

I think we can learn a lot about the meaning of this saying by thinking about the life of the insect in the photograph. Insects are always busy, but they never rush. They each have their allotted tasks. Their lives follow the rhythm of nature.

Now I’m not suggesting that we become like insects, but if we try to live in mindfulness we will find it possible to get everything done without any of the stresses involved in racing against the clock. By living mindfully, each thing we do becomes our only focus for its duration making it totally possible to make haste slowly.

Give Thanks

To end November I chose this quotation – a Hausa Proverb.

Try this experiment. Give thanks for every little thing that happens to you for a day – nothing is too small. Don’t limit giving thanks just to good things, give thanks for bad things as well. At the end of the day you will be amazed by how much more positive you feel. You may be surprised by the amount of good things you notice when you pay attention to the details of your day.

Silence

This Sunday’s quotation comes from Mahatma Gandhi.

Most of us are guilty of thinking too much, talking too much and worrying too much – I know I am! In addition, we surround ourselves with external noise – music, tv, radio, films, games, the list goes on. That’s why meditation plays such an important part in spiritual advancement. It takes us out of the bustle of everyday life and allows our bodies, minds and souls to drink from the deep wells of collective intelligence and life source.

Think less…

Osho was responsible for this Sunday’s quotation.

Head knowledge is good – it can enable you to sort out all kinds of things, but without heart knowledge it’s a bit like a desert without an oasis.

Sometimes we spend so long thinking about things – we think about them before they happen, we think about them while they’re happening, we think about them after they’ve happened – that we don’t actually get to really experience them.

For example, when I meditate on the energy of the Reiki symbols I start off by following visualisation instructions with the goal to feel myself ‘become’ the energy. If I hold onto the visualisation too tightly, I never experience ‘becoming’ the energy, but if I let go of the visualisation I find that ‘I’ quickly disappear – and I ‘become’ the energy.

Try it for yourself – spend some time today letting go of your thoughts, just allowing yourself to be.

Arithmetic!

Thinking about Thanksgiving later this month, I chose this Sunday’s quotation from Eric Hoffer.

Why is it that if we look back over any given day in our life, we can easily come up with a long list of grumbles and complaints, but find it so much more difficult to list the good things that have happened? Could it be that we just take the good things for granted?

Since I started practising Reiki I have been trying to be more aware of the good things in my life every day as part of my daily precept meditation. Although we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here in the Uk, I intend to make November a Thankful month and keep a daily tally of the things I am thankful for. Do you have any special plans for Thanksgiving?

Yesterday…

This Sunday’s quotation comes from Mother Teresa.

How many times have you said “I’ll just leave it till tomorrow? I know I say it far too often! Fretting over the past and worrying about the future are both distractions from life itself. We only get one stab at life – right now.

Let’s take note of Mother Teresa’s words:

“Let us begin!”