Horizons Magazine
OCTOBER 1998
FALL IS HERE!
Oh, the time goes so quickly, and it's already Autumn. The evening of September 9,
the heat and humidty took its first break and I turned the a/c off and went for a midnight
walk in the woods with my trusty companions: Peaches, Little Kitty and Cosmo the
Cyber Cat. I love it when the seasons change, I feel newly inspired and reborn. Whether
it's that first dry, warm sunbeam after a damp and cool winter, or the first fresh, cool
breeze on an autumn evening, my entire consciousness changes right away.
WELCOMING CHANGE
When I got back from my trip out west in July, I was newly inspired to make some changes in my life. I'd spent some time in the meditation gardens at Paramahansa Yogananda's Self Realization FHellowship in Encinitas, CA, and had many ideas to expand my own magic, secret garden and wildlife conserve, which a friend and I share on adjoining lots in the woods here in south Brevard.
GETTING OUT OF THE BELL JAR
It's easy to get stuck in a rut and not realize we're there, until we have time to "get away from it all," and are able to view ourselves and our situation from another perspective. A first step is to realize we are stuck. Usually, once we have a glimpse that tells us we're stuck, we have another glimpse that suggests to us what we might do to become unstuck. It's not that we don't get these cosmic glimpses, it's that we don't act on them! It takes courage to act on a hunch, not knowing what the outcome will be.
So, returning from my trip, newly inspired and ready for some changes, I made a decision to simplify the "things" in my life. I next decided to remove the carpet from my entire home, circa 1984, and put cool, clean tile down instead. This was a big deal for me ~ if you knew how much furniture I have! Often it takes me a while to make a decision, but once I do, I'm committed. The trick is knowing when to do what.
KNOWING WHEN TO SHAPESHIFT
As I began moving furniture out of the rooms and into the garage for storage until the carpet could come up and the tile be put down, I began to discard old cards and letters that I'd been keeping, years worth of them. I began to rethink what was useful and necessary, and longed to be free of the lot of it. At first I felt a little guilty to be tossing something so carefully penned by a friend, then I wondered how often we hang on to things of the past, long past their time and long past what is appropriate for us right now, today. I resolved to give thought in the moment of reading mail, thank and bless the friend who sent it, then discard it to keep room in my life for ever so many more new cards and new letters. I resolved to keep the energy in all areas of my life free flowing, allowing continuous movement and change.
YAY FOR EMAIL
That's why I like email so much, you can read it, smile, send a quick reply, and there's nothing to file, nothing to discard, nothing to come across 4 years later and wonder how it got in the bottom of that drawer! Email allows me to keep in touch with friends much more often than I otherwise would. With email, I can respond when I have time, without someone at the door or on the phone when I'm busy.
IMITATION IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF FLATTERY
One of my distributors mentioned a newsltter awhile back "nipping at your heels" and appearing in some of our new stores the month after we publish their name and address, and I always thought, great, that shows that appearing in Horizons Magazine brings people to you. How can I get mad at that? There's plenty of room for everyone! We're comrades, not rivals
I'LL GET THEM THERE, YOU KEEP THEIR ATTENTION
Even if you hand a horse the dixie cup, you can't make him swallow. Know that if you have a service or product to offer, if you totally believe in it and enjoy it yourself, your income will begin to flow freely from it. Build it and they will come. "It" is whatever your passion is. "It" is your Godself being allowed to shine forth. If you feel weighed down by all your responsibilities and continually complain and criticize to others, well, remember that the Universe delivers to us more of what we focus on.
WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND
You can't put off the bill collectors and keep repeating to everyone, "I can't afford to advertise right now," and "business has been slow" and expect the Universe to deliver abundantly to you. The Universe is abundant and is delivering to you all the time; you either allow it or not, by the vibration you are offering in any moment. You can tell what vibration you're offering by observing your thoughts to yourself and your words to others. Every time you say, "I can't afford that," or "business is slow," you are pushing financial gain away from yourself, and it's no one's fault but your own. The good news is you can change it beginning right now.
EVERY NEW MOMENT BEGINS RIGHT NOW
We always know what we've been attracting to us, because we're living it right now. No matter how much you've been praying or meditating or taking prosperity workshops, if you're not experiencing peace and abundance in your life, that means you've been spending more time focusing on disharmony and lack, and that is the only reason you're experiencing that right now. A friend said last year, "I've let go and given it up to God. I want to be a spiritual teacher and serve the community, and it's in His hands now. He has to provide me with a living from it." As we spoke again last month, she was still waiting for "God" to bless her with income. Meanwhile, she'd gotten further behind in bills, alienated several friends by being financially irreponsible with them, and frequently had her utilities cut off for nonpayment.
WHAT DO YOU SPEND MOST OF YOUR TIME DOING?
"I can't understand, what am I doing wrong?" she asked. Even though we'd had this conversation many times in many years, she continues to do what she's always done: she criticizes and complains to about a dozen friends every day about everything in her life that is going wrong, and who is the latest person to "have it in for her." She is always holding a grudge about something and is highly emotional and proud of it. She makes impassioned, tearful pleas for unity and healing, yet lives her life in a way that clearly belies her words. She doesn't realize she spends at least twice as much time criticizing and complaining and she does trying to teach. And whatever we focus on, we draw more of that to us. If you're seeking changes, resolve to spend at least twice as much time focusing on what you want, as you spend rehashing and analyzing what you don't want.
OUR LIFE IS OUR MESSAGE
Who you are in your daily life reveals clearly and without doubt who you are, no matter what your words say. When you're criticizing someone to another, the words you speak reflect on YOU, not the one you're speaking about. Your words shout who YOU are, not who they are. My rule of thumb is not to voice or listen to criticism. If more than a passing remark is made in conversation, I tell them, "That's between you and her, and it serves no one but the two of you to talk about it." Then move onto topics that delight and thrill you both, and make plans for projects you'd like to do together.
SPEND TIME DOING THIS INSTEAD
Instead of gossiping, we should spend time planning adventures to embark on together! We can find adventures anywhere, from a walk around a different block to spending months creating a quilt or wall hanging. One reason we're all placed on Mother Earth is so we can find each other and then together delight in the finding of fun things to do together. It is out of our fun times that the good ideas come. It is out of the fun times that we make decisions more intuitively. So anytime you have a few minutes to share with a friend, make sure you're having fun!
LIFT YOUR VIBRATION SO YOU CAN ACCESS THE FUN IDEAS
That's the reason we're urged to control stress through exercise or meditation, because when we have stress, what we're doing is resisting the stream of energy so it can't flow freely through us. When we don't allow the energy to flow, the good ideas can't find us. The more we relax and have fun, the more ideas we have. The more ideas we have, the more choices and opportunities we recognize are in our life right now. As we get ideas, we begin to act on them. As we begin to act on our ideas, we begin to see opportunity all around us. I once was blind, and now I see. We'll find opportunities that had been staring us in the face for the past few years that we just failed to see.
IS IT ALL JUST A GAME ANYWAY ?
I just rented the Kirk Douglas / Sean Penn movie, The Game, and it's the best metaphysical movie I've seen in years. Do yourself a favor and rent this movie and invite a friend over and watch it together. You have to watch it, though. You have to pay attention to what they're saying and how they're reacting onscreen. We can be so blind to what is right in front of us, believing what is there isn't, and believing what isn't there is. When we relax and have fun, we resonate with that higher part of ourselves. When we resonate with that higher Self, we begin to see life as it really is, filled with delight and sharing and opportunity.
FOR INITIATING CHANGE, NOTHING BEATS DAILY PRACTICE
We can relax and relieve stress in any number of ways. Spend time writing lists of what you'd like to bring into your life, or "scripting your future" as Abraham calls it. Develop an uplifting and meaningful affirmation and repeat it to yourself about 100 times a day. Start your day with a little spiritual reading, even if it's just 3 minutes in the bathroom. Make a list every morning of everything you're grateful for. (I just learned that Oprah does that also. I love it that Oprah has been giving lots of time to contemporary spiritual teachers and talking openly about developing spiritual practices!) Stay mindful during the day, and be conscious of how you act and react to others. Do 5 minutes of creative visualization a few times a day, have an intent in mind and energize it with thought several times daily, just to stay at the helm of your future experience.
END YOUR DAY WITH A MINDFUL WALK
At the end of your day, get outside and take a walk around the neighborhood, or just around your yard, connecting with nature for a few minutes each day. Before bedtime, do a brief nightly review of your actions and reactions during the day. Don't beat yourself up for anything, just resolve to make any changes you feel would be helpful. As soon as our consciousness begins to change, our life and the world around us begins to change as well. And the good news is that we're in control of it all.
Your donations are our thanks.
We appreciate you!