Self-Awareness

“You each must be a lamp unto yourselves.” - Buddha

Don’t blindly accept the opinions and perceptions of others.  What they think or say about you is none of your concern.  Shine your own light of insight and questioning; come to know your own mind and heart.

We gain self-awareness by drawing on our courage and experiences.  The real you is transparent, vulnerable, and full of integrity.  Be quietly and humbly aware of your best qualities.

Learn from your mistakes.  Don’t beat yourself up over past mistakes.  When you endure a series of challenges, look to the truth and beauty of friends, loved ones, poetry, art, and music.  Be still, pray, meditate.  Slow down.

Knowing that we are different than others is a sign of self-acceptance and maturity.

“You have your way.  I have my way.  As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.” - Nietzche

The Grace of Light

Prayer and meditation see solutions that serve the highest good.  When our passion serves humankind, God and the universe bless our dreams with abundance.

Prayer is a longing of the soul.  We humbly admit our weakness.  We give thanks for our blessings.

“It is better in prayer to have a heart without words, than words without a heart.” - Gandhi

Gandhi reminds us that gratitude is the only prayer we need.  How many ways can we say thank you?

Gratitude refreshes your soul.  We surrounded our ego-driven needs.  We admit our mistakes.  We ask for forgiveness.  We drop our masks.  We are transparent.  We are vulnerable.  We are authentic.  We are one with life.  All life is holy.  We are part of the holiness of life.

I watch as Ashley smiles at the sun on her face.  Strapped in her wheelchair, she does not make a sound.  She is the Holy.  She is one with God.  She is in constant prayer.  Beyond her disability, she smiles at the grace of light.

This light surrounds our life.  Be grateful now.

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A Life Devoted To Learning

Our gifts come from our wounds.  The gifts do not heal the wounds but it makes sense of the wounds.  They give it meaning.

If you bring forth what is within you, it will save you.

If you bring forth what is within you, it will save the world.

Do what you know is right, even if others don’t approve.

Know your purpose.  Do it with all your passion.  Let go of the final outcome.  Do everything in service to God and humanity.  Surrender the whole process.  Surrender to the Divine, surrender to the Divine within you and the Divine within all human beings.  Your purpose is your path to your spiritual home.

Follow the still small voice.  Listen for Divine guidance.  Let go of ego and self-doubt.  See the Divine in every human being.  See the Divine in yourself.  Act from this guidance.  Your actions will be authentic, courageous, and full of integrity.  You will create joy for yourself and the whole world.

Gandhi devoted his life to this learning, “He who devotes himself to service…will grasp the necessity for it and will continually grow richer in faith…if we cultivate the habit of doing service deliberately, our desire for service will grow stronger and will make not only our own happiness but that of the whole world.”

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Commitment

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.  Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.  A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.” - WH. Murray

Life is built on a series of small course corrections – small choices that add up to something big – our lives.

Your work is no longer your work. 

It is The Work. 

The Work is a path to divinity. 

Work and Worship are one.

“How we spend our days is how we spend our lives.” - Annie Dillard

Give yourself entirely to the work, but let go of the outcome.

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Podcast- What is Social Emotional Learning?