Happy 2nd Birthday Simply Spirituality

Constantly amazed by
the blades of the fan on the ceiling....

- Jimmy Buffet

Little Miss Magic

Simply Spirituality is turning 2 years old!  

Wow!  Can you believe it?  When I started this blog two years ago, I thought there would be 6 or 7 posts!  Here is it 24 months and posts later...... hard to believe!  A special thank you to those who have been with me, encouraging me, on this journey.  

To celebrate this birthday - I wanted to share some of the things I have learned from writing this blog over the last couple of years.  Though each of these could be a post in themselves.... here they are briefly:

1- Release the outcome - applied to the blog - never click the "post" button until I have no attachment to how people react to the post.  This is an internal shift ..... it is NOT about not caring.... because I care deeply about this blog.  Non-attachment means more that no matter how someone reacts to what I have written, it is OK!  That is because I know I have written a post that is "true" for me and coming from the best place I can today.... then it  does not matter if someone does not like it.  It just is not true for them, today.... and that is OK too!  (But I still love comments!!!!!)   ; )  
  

A simple way you can apply this in your own life - don't attach to what someone else thinks about your clothes, your house, or car.  You can take it further by not attaching to what someone else thinks about you personally.  Try it with something small..... feel the freedom in it... and then try it with something bigger.  Remember that if someone does not like your car, that is a statement about them and their preferences, not about you.


Taking this idea one step further, and possibly more challenging, it also means not attaching to it when someone DOES like what I've written.  If someone likes my shoes, again it is a statement about their particular shoe preference, not about me.  Maybe you can try not attaching to even the positive comments.   

2 - Trust - in the beginning I thought I would share a few ideas ... maybe covering 6 or 7 posts.  My intuition  has always said.... post a solid, useful, post once a month.  Every month, something has come to me following this schedule.  I have staying in trust about that and it has always happened ("trust" might need its own post one day!) 

A simple way you can apply this in your life - trust your own internal feeling about something.  Don't look to or wait for confirmation from someone else.  The post titled Road Maps of Life touches on this a bit more.  

3 - Take ACTION!  Or MOVE when the spirit moves me! The moment I get inspiration for a post, I WRITE!  I used to think that I would be able to remember it... but not so!  At least not with the same initial intensity and energy.  I prefer a computer, but if I don't have one, paper will do.... I've used napkins in a restaurant before and the back of a picture. 
  

A simple way you can apply this in your life - how many times have you had a flash of insight or some sort of inspiration only to allow your brain to discount it or talk you out of it.  Usually in a matter of 2 or 3 seconds.  At the very least, write the idea down and consider doing it over the next day.  Is there some small action you can take towards doing it?

4 - Speak and act from the truest place you can in the moment.  I only post those things I know as Truth for me.  I do not ask them to be truth for you.  If something resonates with you, great!  Try it out in your own life... if not, that is fine too.  Explore what is true for you!
    

A simple way to begin applying this in your own life - check out, internally, what you are about to say.  How does it feel?  Does it feel congruent with your internal beliefs?  Also, don't say something is "ok' if it is not.  If someone asks you to do a favor, like babysit their kids, and it is not convenient..... don't say, "OK."

5 - Take time for stillness every day!  Stillness is like "magic" that opens up creativity.  Not just in writing or arts.... but in every day life.  It helps solve problems, comes up with something fun for the kids to do..... or a new way of doing something you've done 100 times before.  Posted in the next post below is a simple stillness exercise you can try yourself!  See if you can be amazed by the blades of a fan on the ceiling as the quote above from the Jimmy Buffet song says!  Enjoy!

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas or questions.  Please feel free to leave them in the "comments" section below.

To read last month's post on What is NOW?..... click here. 

Scroll down to the next post for the Stillness Exercise.

Until next month...

Keep it simple!
Penelope

Stillness Exercise

Stillness Exercise

Inspired by the Jimmy Buffet song, "Little Miss Magic" quoted in the post above.

Constantly amazed by
the blades of the fan on the ceiling....

- Jimmy Buffet

Little Miss Magic

   

You will need a ceiling fan.  If you do not have one, other possible things you could use are a child's swing in the park or a pendant or pendulum on a string, necklace or chain.   Let me know of other possibilities you may come up with.

Turn the fan on and allow to come up to normal speed... then turn off the fan.   Watch the fan as it comes to a complete stop.  My suggestion is to lie down under the fan (like the view in the photograph in the post above) and watch it, but most importantly, be comfortable.  


Don't cheat and stop watching before the blades are still!
  

For swinging options:  If you are using either the pendant or pendulum, you will need to find a location where it can swing freely.  Pull the swing, pendant or pendulum back.  Find a place where you can watch it come to a complete stop. 

If all else fails, look at the photograph of the ceiling fan above.  Watch it for a full minute.

This entire exercise should only take 2 to 3 minutes max... depending on how fast your fan or swing is going.  

While it is slowing down, continue to watch, but also watch your mind.  Is it quiet?  Is it talking?  What is it saying?  There are no right or wrong answers.  The objective is to observe.  

If your mind is chatting away... what is it saying?  Is it complaining?  Is it saying things like...

I don't have time for this!

This is ridicules!
What a strange exercise!

or

This is peaceful!
or

Is it going over a mental to-do list as soon as those darn blades stop spinning?

or

Is it counting the time you are "wasting" doing nothing?

or

Is it enjoying the momentary break?

The possibilities are endless! 


My suggestion is to see if you can touch that place that Jimmy Buffet sings about, while watching his daughter, "Little Miss Magic."  See if you, too, can once again be "amazed by the blades of the fan on the ceiling!"  

Again, I want to stress that there are no right or wrong answers or outcomes.  This is an exercise designed first to help you become aware of what your mind is doing and second if your mind is chatty..... to become aware of what it is saying. 

If you are feeling especially introspective, you could follow up by asking yourself why your mind might be saying those things.  For example, if your mind tells you, "I don't have time for this!"  You could ask yourself why your mind is not willing to give you 3 minutes to do an exercise without also adding on some guilt!  Whatever the outcome, trust that it will be just right for you!

As always, I would love to hear your comments in the section below.
Keep it simple!
Penelope

Roadmaps of Life

We are the only true experts on our journey to enlightenment. Filter all information through your own heart.- Daily OM


The following was originally published on Daily OM... and republished with permission.....


All the major spiritual traditions serve the purpose of offering us a roadmap to guide us on our individual journeys to enlightenment. These roadmaps are made up of moral codes, parables, and, in some cases, detailed descriptions of mystical states. We often study the fine points of a particular ascended master’s narrative in order to better understand our own and to seek inspiration and guidance on our path. In the same way, when we plan a road trip, we carry maps and guidebooks in an effort to understand where we are going. In both cases, though, the journey has a life of its own and maps, while helpful, can only take us so far. There is just no comparison between looking at a line on a piece of paper and driving your own car down the road that line represents.

Some people seem well-suited to following maps, while others are always looking for new ways to get where they’re going. In the end, the only reliable compass is within, as every great spiritual guide will tell you. The maps and travelogues left behind by others are great blessings, full of useful information and inspiration, but they cannot take the journey for us. When it is time to merge onto the highway or pull up anchor, we are ostensibly on our own. Strange weather patterns, closed roads, and traffic jams arise in the moment, out of nowhere, and our maps cannot tell us what to do. Whether we take refuge in a motel by the side of the road, persevere and continue forward, or turn back altogether is entirely up to us.

Maps are based on observations from the past and we are living in the present, so we are the only true experts on our journey to enlightenment. We may find that the road traveled by our predecessors is now closed. We may feel called to change direction entirely so that the maps we have been carrying really no longer apply. These are the moments when we learn to attune ourselves to our inner compass, following a map that only we can see, as we make our way into the unknown territory of our own enlightenment. 

A Call to Presence

In Truth there is no life
outside this moment.
-Leonard Jacobson

A Call to Presence

By: Leonard Jacobson

To be fully awake and enlightened simply means to be fully present in the moment of now. To be present is the simplest thing. It is your natural state.

Every moment, you have a choice. Will you be present in the truth and reality of this moment or will you allow yourself to be seduced into the world of the mind? All thoughts take you out of the present moment. And then if you believe in those thoughts, which most of us do, you get lost in the world of the mind.

For most of us, we have become so habituated to thinking, that thoughts never end. They have a life of their own. We are not even choosing to think. Thinking is happening all by itself and we are simply pulled from one thought to another, never really experiencing the sacredness of this moment.

The present moment is free of memories of the past and imaginings into the future. And so the pain and limitations of the past magically disappear when you are present. Anxiety about the future also disappears. You are just here now, fully present in this moment. When you are fully present, your inner experience is one of peace, love, acceptance, power, truth and compassion. Separation and fear dissolve. You exist within Oneness.

When you bring yourself fully present, thoughts stop and your mind falls silent. But there is an even deeper level of silence waiting to emerge. As your mind becomes silent, an inner door is opened, allowing an infinite and eternal silence to emerge. This infinite and eternal silence is the very essence of your Being. It is your true nature. It is the essence of all existence. It is the eternal silent presence of pure consciousness. It is the "I AM" of you. It is that dimension of you that exists in Oneness with all that is. It is your Buddha nature. It is awakened man. It is awakened woman.

What is NOW?

Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico, December 2007


Quote of the month:
Make each moment
an occasion to live
deeply,
happily, 
in Peace.
- Thich Nhat Hanh

What is NOW?  What is the Present?

I looked up "now" in the dictionary.  It says, "the present time or moment"...... so I had that much already!

Think of every moment leading up to this moment in time..... your birth, your first day of school, followed by middle and high school, what you did on your vacation last summer, what you had for dinner last night.... all of that is past.


Every moment that has not yet happened, that is future.  What you will eat for lunch tomorrow, how you will celebrate the New Year for 2012, where you will live in the year 2020.  


Try to imagine, just for a moment, that both of these - your past and future - do not exist...... 


Can you imagine it? 


What we are left with is NOW. 


Let's take it a step further.  In reality the past is over and not here in this moment.  What you had for dinner last night is not here in front of you.  The only way to access the past is to go into our minds, our memory, and think about it... remember it.  


Further, in reality the future has not happened yet.  The weatherman may make a prediction as to what it will be like tomorrow, but it is only that - a prediction or a guess.  You may make plans for your upcoming holiday or vacation, but it is not here yet.  The only way to access the future is to go into our imaginations and think about what it might be like. 


So, I am going to suggest something that may initially sound somewhat shocking.... but try to sit with it for a moment.  The reality is that the past and future DON'T EXIST!  All we ever have is right NOW!  


If that is the case, why do so many of us (myself included) act as if we are in the past or future?  Some planning for the future is necessary.  To paraphrase Marianne Williamson.... don't just show up at the airport and expect there will be a seat for you, on the plane where you want to go!  But many of us get lost in the future, like living for the weekend or looking forward to a special event, such as a vacation, to the exclusion of where you are in the moment.  


Many of us often act from the past as well.  Have you ever had a heated exchange with someone only to recount it over and over in your head for the next hour, or day or week... or longer.... and all the lucky people in your life also usually get to re-live it again with you!  We've all done that at some time in our lives!


I'll share an example from my own life. In 11th grade, I was a passenger in the front seat of a car that was in an accident.  My head hit and broke the windshield (I can hear some of you saying - "Oh, that explains a lot!")  ; )  My point is that to this day, I am still a very nervous passenger because of that accident nearly 30 years ago!  How can something that happened so many years in the past have such an influence on me NOW?  If I could let it be in the past, it would be over, right? 


My simple suggestion this month is to see how often you can "catch" yourself in the past or in the future.  When you do, do not give yourself a hard time, simply remind yourself that all we really ever have is right HERE, right NOW.  


To quote from The Peaceful Warrior, 
Socrates:  Where are you? 
Dan Millman:  Here. 
Socrates: What time is it? 
Dan Millman:  Now. 


It is always that way! 


As always, I would love to hear your thoughts.  Feel free to leave them in the "comments" section below. 


In a few days, I'll post some related writings from Leonard Jacobson on being Present.  


To read last month's post called I Got a Worm for my Birthday.... click here. 


Until then.... 
Keep it simple! 
Penelope

Now I'd like to.....

Read the post on Are you Breathing?

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Read the post on Whole and Complete

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Do a mini - meditation click here.......


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Watch One Minute in the Waves at Sunset.... click here!

I Got a Worm for my Birthday

Quote of the month:

Nobody likes me,

everybody hates me,

guess I'll go eat worms....

- unknown, childhood rhyme

How many of us sang that song when we were kids?  The idea behind it is someone is feeling sorry for themselves, making up a story in their heads and feeling so bad that they think they will go eat a worm!  I had just such a day.... read on......

I woke up on my 46th birthday, walked across the carpet and stepped on a worm.  Yes.... a worm.  I do not know how the worm got into my bedroom, but - it was there - and I don't think it was there to wish me a happy birthday!  I also understand that this was a much worse day for the worm.... I apologized to the worm.... but this is a post about MY 46th birthday, so back to our story!  

A little background.... I have long held out 45 as the middle of life - assuming one makes it to around 90-ish or so.  That meant that I am now in the second half of life.  For those of you that might argue, it really should have started the day I turned 45, rather than the day I turned 46, this is my illusion and my story... so I can make it up any way I want to!!!  ; )  

Call it a mini-mid-life crisis or whatever you want to .....  In reality, no one really knows when the "middle" of their life will be, so of course this is just fiction my mind made up to begin with.  In my half awake - half asleep state, my first thought on my birthday was, I just started the second half of my life by stepping on a worm.  Oh, aren't we off to a good start.... on both my birthday AND on the second half of my life (please note sarcasm if it is not apparent in the text!)  So here I am at 46 yrs old, determining, today, what my life will be in another 45 years AND that it is all down hill from here!
   

I am sure it is obvious to all of you just how ridicules I am being - but it is a good way to illustrate how we do things like this EVERY day and maybe you will see how you do this in your own life too.

Ok, so let's slow this whole process waaaaay dooooown!

What is going on? What is the feeling?

I am feeling down/sad/detected that the entire rest of my life is basically going to be bad! 

Behind every feeling is a thought that came first

It helps to remember that thoughts are inside OUR head, so we have complete control over it.  Sometimes it does not FEEL like we do because our thoughts are so closely connected with our feelings.  It seems like they happen at the same time... but..... (and here is the good news!!!!)  The thought ALWAYS comes first.  The feeling can become a signal to SLOW DOWN and back up a little bit....take a look at the thought that created it.

What was the thought? 

Something along the lines of today is the first day of the rest of my life and since I stepped on a worm, this obviously signifies something very bad about the rest of my life.


Un-Velcro

Next - I have come to like the term "un-Velcro" to explain the way this process feels for me.  It is like pulling apart the feeling and the thought in one's mind the way one would pull Velcro apart

TAKE A BREATH! 
Put some space between the thought and the feeling.

Take 2 breaths... or 10 breaths if need be.... until you realize that it is 2 separate parts.

So, let's look at the thought - the part that started it all. 

Ask yourself questions like the following:  

(For further reading, it is similar to a process used by Byron Katie Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life.)   

Is it true?  Is the thought accurate or is it just a story you are making up?

Actually in this case, we can just stop right here, because the obvious answer is NO, it is not true!

It is true that I stepped on a worm.  It is true that it is my 46th birthday.  Those are the factual parts. (For further reading about "Just the Facts", click here)  It is not true that the worm holds any particular, specific meaning. 

Let's say we answer the first question, "Yes, it is true."  Even if it is accurate, there may be another way to look at it.  Are you seeing the whole elephant?  (For further reading on this subject, click here. )


What else could it mean?

In my case, what if I decided that the worm could signify good luck?  Or does the worm not mean anything at all other than that I have to clean up worm guts from my carpet?  You get the idea!  Usually there is some other way to look at a situation. 

Finally, even if you cannot find another way to look at it, ask:

Is it serving (helping) you to think this thought? 

If the answer is no, then my suggestion is to make the choice to let it go the best you can.  I do know this is not always easy....  If you can't let it go, at least repeat to yourself, "This thought does not serve me, but I am making a choice not to let it go right now."  At least that will help to see it as a choice.

So - now that I've had time to think about that poor little worm that some how ended up in the wrong place this morning....  my choice is to thank the worm for one of the best birthday gifts I ever got..... 

The gift of seeing that things happen, they will continue to happen.... beyond that I can choose how I wish view them or choose to assign them no meaning at all. 

....and I choose to see that as a very excellent start to the second half of my life! 


As always, I would love to hear your feedback or questions. You may submit them by clicking on the "comments" link at the end of the post.


To read last month's post, Are you Breathing?  ..... click here.

Until next month...
Keep it simple!
Penelope

Celebrate Your Life/Chicago