THERE WAS ONCE a student fish who said to the teacher fish, “What is this thing called the ocean?  I don’t believe it exists.”

The concept of karma isn’t easy for many to grasp.  It’s easily misunderstood.  Karma is not a punishment or a reward, although we can choose to make it so.  Karma is simply the return of what has been sent out. Karma is simply the getting paid forward from something that was put in motion in the past.  The Buddhist view of karma, the Buddhist focus on attitude and the conduct that flows from it, is said to be the basis of not only our own lives, but also the entire physical world. Karmic cycles are sometimes compared with seeds as a primary cause because they are capable of reproducing the species of plant from which they came. But just as seeds need secondary causes such as light, moisture and air in order to mature, so too do primary karmic causes which remain as the traces of past actions in each individual stream of consciousness.”  My experience has been, not just for me but for the maybe thousands of friends I’ve been honored to work with the past 40 years, is that – if your life is in discord – there is always something in this lifetime that you are attached to that is holding you back.  Complete realization of that and forgiveness of the situation will free the discord from your life. It’s all related.  Once you know this, you will be reminded by real life daily situations when you have more course correction and forgiveness work to do.  Karma becomes your friend once you begin to consciously think every thought and do every behavior as though it would impact millions of people on the planet, including yourself.  Then you begin to understand the concept of karma.

I know I’m a horse of a different color, but the apocalypse I bring is an inner awakening of the deepest sort, with everlasting benefits, destructive of nothing but the personal ego that thinks it’s separate from God.

Support for Spiritual Emerge-gency: “How blessed I was to find you. Who so effortlessly showed me who I was and made me see through the lies I’d been told and began to believe myself. Thank you.”

Someone doesn’t have to die for me to feel grief and loss.  Sometimes it’s just a part of them or a part of me, or a situation that dies.  Interruption of  the daily routine creates the space for the feelings to arise.  Watching friends go from completely independent to having to depend on others for the basics is always a real eye opening – and heart opening – experience.   I’m 59.  I know a lot of people.  I’ve lived through the deaths of parents, husbands, brothers, inlaws, coworkers, friends and more each year.  I’m not used to it as much as I am just more settled in the thought that no one is really gone.  Valerie Saurer said it well on Facebook this week:  “Grief is a sneaky thing, crawling through the window like a thief when you’re least expecting it.”  This living and dying thing, it’s a process.   Continue reading →

There comes a time in your life when you finally get it.  When in the midst of all your fears and insanity you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out- ENOUGH! Enough fighting and crying or struggling to hold on. And, like a child quieting down after a blind tantrum, your sobs begin to subside, you shudder once or twice, you blink back your tears and through a mantle of wet lashes you begin to look at the world from a new prospective.  This is your AWAKENING!  You realize that it is time to stop hoping and waiting for something, or someone, to change or for happiness, safety and security to come galloping over the next horizon. You come to terms with the fact that there aren’t always fairytale endings (or beginnings for that matter) and that any guarantee of “happily ever after” must begin with you. Continue reading →

Ever wish you were more patient, more tolerant, more joyous?   Wish you could become peacefully serene just by wishing it so?   With a little practice, you can consciously invoke any quality you wish to acquire.   During daily meditation, take a few extra minutes for the following:  Imagine yourself in a peaceful, serene setting, being very relaxed.  Breathe in the relaxation and serenity and feel it all through your mind and body. Then imagine yourself in a stressful situation, one which calls for you to act with patience, tolerance and understanding:  i.e., with a bad driver, an angry child, a frustrating boss. Imagine yourself acting appropriately and displaying the desired qualities. Place yourself in another stressful situation, one that is likely to come up during the day; envision yourself acting appropriately and again displaying the desired qualities.  Take note of how you feel during the exercise.  As you continue this daily meditation, you are preconditioning yourself for appropriate action, so that when a stressful situation occurs, your response will be automatic.  This exercise can be used to invoke any quality you may wish to acquire.  Remember to give thanks for the opportunity to learn a new quality. Continue reading →

I had a recurring theme in a dream last night.  In the dream, I have a long way to walk and the walking is slow going.   I sometimes walk backwards in order to walk faster, or I grab objects along the path (trees, fences, tall rocks) to pull me along faster.  I’m aware of how strong my arm muscles are as I grab the object and use my strength to pull me up level with it.   Another recurring theme usually in the same dream is that I am looking for something or someone and keep going down the wrong hallway.  In last night’s dream, I was in a big warehouse with my business partner Wes, and we go to 2 separate checkout lines to see which once goes fastest.  Then I see his line is going faster and realize I have the money but he has the item, so I try to make my way over to where he is.  It’s about a block away but I can see him because I am one story higher.   I just have to find a way to maneuver through the aisles to get where he is, since once I am on the ground floor again, I can’t see how to get to him.  Then galpal Christine Galvin comes along and I think, “I’ll follow her, she’ll know the way.” Continue reading →

Someone wrote it’s been a year of losing friends, a half dozen friends having passed in the prior 5 months.  Among the condolences, one comment said, “this has got to stop.”  I laughed so hard the water I was drinking squirted out of my nose.  No disrespect to anyone who’s lost a loved one, but isn’t it time we began to embrace that death is part of the process?  That’s like saying I’ll throw noodles and sauce and cheese in the oven at 350 for an hour but OMG, I don’t want to see lasagna at the end of it.

RELATED:
A Friend and I Talk About Dying and Easy Transitions
Remember “we” survive after death of the body
Her perception upon dying
Hard as it is, get used to death
How to forgive and find closure if the other is unwilling, absent or dead  
Why pretend loved ones aren’t going to die? Let’s get over the fear

The End of Death As We Know It: What The Crossing Over Experience Was Like, As Reported By Those Who Made The Transition

RELATED: Thich Nhat Hanh on death
RELATED:  Rumi on Death

Some people suffer with what is called diverticulitis.  This is when the small pockets called diverticula, located on the wall of the intestine, become inflamed.  When this happens, the pockets can become infected and the person will most likely suffer from pain and discomfort.  Research shows that this condition may be hereditary and that the foods you eat can really bring on this condition.  Your diet is very important as it helps you to stay healthy and fuel your body.  Without the proper nutrition, you can become sick and possibly develop diverticulitis.  If you suffer with this condition then you will want to watch what you eat so that you can allow your intestines time to heal properly.  There is a good list of foods to avoid with diverticulitis.  If you want your health to improve then you will take the steps to avoid these harmful foods. It is recommended that you eat a low residue diet, as it will help to reduce the amount of bowel that passes through the intestines. This will allow your body time to heal properly.

A low residue diet is one that is low in fiber.  You want to try to stay with a low fiber diet for at least 10 days for the best results.  There are certain foods such as chili peppers, sesame seeds, nuts, pumpkin and corn, which will make the condition worse and these foods should be avoided.  You also want to stay away from foods that are high in fiber such as bean and lentils.

Many people that suffer with this condition make the mistake of trying to eat at places such as pizza parlors and fast food joints.  Places such as these serve nothing but greasy and fried foods that will only irritate your condition and make it much worse.  You should stay away from fried foods, spicy foods, and pizza as they all can cause intestinal discomfort.  If you like these types of foods then it is better to make them yourself so you can control what ingredients are put in and go for baking the foods rather than frying them.

Refined foods can also wreak havoc this condition, especially refined foods such as white rice and white flour.  You need to learn to read the labels on the foods that you buy so you can see if they contain the foods that you need to avoid.  Many times, there are products that contain things as corn but it won’t be listed on the front of the package.

Anyway here is a list of foods to avoid with diverticulitis in general.

1) All the junk food such as burgers, pizzas, fried food and spicy food should be avoided.

2) Refined foods like white flour, white rice etc.

3) All the processed foods.  (Processed means anything with a label.)

4) Corn and corn products.

5) Nuts

6) Sesame seeds

7) Pumpkin

While there are certain foods that are known to cause more problems with this condition, many times it is a matter of trial and error to find which foods bother you and your particular situation.  When you find foods that irritate the condition, you should put them on your list of foods to stay away from.  It is also a good idea to have a list of foods that you know are safe to eat and ones that you can tolerate with little issues.

http://www.dietfordiverticulosis.org/foods-to-avoid-with-diverticulitis/

It’s a special man who understands the depth of a moment in time and how it is such a part of the puzzle and necessary and sacred step on the path to his further destiny.  It’s a wise man who learns from the consequences of his actions so he stops gathering attention and affection just to have something else to conquer.  It’s a humble man who recognizes he’s started something and no matter how softly he tries to end and detach, it has to play out and he has to take his medicine.

It’s a blessed woman who understands the depth of a special moment and how necessary a step on the way to her happy future.  It’s a responsible woman who knows the power of her own enticement and knows when it’s time to have a moment and when it’s time to bow out gracefully. Continue reading →