To learn about this page, see ABOUT THIS PAGE below.
I also have a page called THOUGHTS FROM THE TRAIL. These are also generally encouraging ideas and topics. I invite you check them out.
MOST RECENT POST
Do You Have T.I.M.E.?
Perhaps instead of lamenting a lack of time, we can replace that lament with a few positive actions that may make our lives, and our use of time, much more beneficial.
AUTHOR’S THOUGHTS
Put Down the Bottle
The longer we carry the bottle, the heavier it gets, even though its weight does not change. The same is true for stress, worry, anger and hatred.
YOUR IDENTITY
Your true self is your true identity. Trying to be something or someone else or for someone else leads to dissastifaction in life.
ARE YOU MAD?
We choose the path of our lives. That path can include anger or joy. Which one do you choose?
What Will They Think?
Sometimes we worry so much about what other people think, that we lose our own identity. See video below.
Wholeness
Most of us have been trained to live in separation. We split our experiences into pairs of opposites like good and evil, “you” and “me”, and all manner of things we like and dislike.
Vowel Movement
Please note the letter V in the title. I want to be clear, this post is NOT about BMs.
Be A Part of the New World
Life is nothing without change.
Making Light from Hard Work
When we take a deep look into our lives, even the dark parts, we create the opportunity for the power of our light to shine.
The Vacation Life
Most of us cannot physically live the vacation life on a daily basis. While that may be nice, we can live the vacation life every moment with the right mindset.
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FROM “THINK LIKE A MONK”
OUTTA SPACE?
The conviction that you, or anyone else, knows what you already need to know could be one of biggest challenges you and/or other people face.
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HOW You Do It
If you fix the HOW YOU DO IT, you will see WHAT you do naturally transforms itself.
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Making Waves
Even the smallest act of kindness can elevate someone’s day. It tells another human being they are not alone, that someone is out there thinking of them.
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Be A Lake
Thanks but no thanks said the young man rather grimly. The old woman smiled knowingly then handed the young man the bowl of salt and led him to a nearby lake.
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Remembering and Forgetting
When we remember the good others have done for us, we feel humble by our need for others and gratitude for the gifts we have received.
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Outcomes
Have you ever looked at someone and something they could do and said, “I wish I could do that?”
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The Signal
If we do not learn from the signal that alerts us to a problem, we’ll end up learning from the results of the problem itself.
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COMPONENTS OF TRUE LOVE from “HOW TO LOVE”
Below are the four components of TRUE LOVE as discussed in “How to Love.” The 5th is a factor that is woven throughout the other four.
Loving Kindness
We can only share with others what we first have within ourselves.
Compassion
When we are compassionate, we love through non-judgment, and give to another a gift they may not get from anyone else.
Joy
When we know how to generate JOY, it nourishes us and nourishes others as well.
Equanimity
In a deep relationship with equanimity, there is no longer a boundary between you and the other person. You are her and she is you.
Respect and Trust
True love cannot be without trust and respect for oneself and for the other person.
OTHER THOUGHTS FROM “HOW TO LOVE”
Learning to Love
We can leave many things for our children. Love may be the best of them.
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Shining the Light
True love is like the sun, shining its own light and offering that light to everyone.
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Watering Flowers
When we practice the art of mindful living, we water the positive elements in ourselves and each other.
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What Love Needs to Survive
Many of us think our daily nourishment only in terms of what we eat. In fact, there are four kinds of food that we consume every day.
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Making Mistakes
Without making mistakes, there is no way to learn. If you can learn from your mistakes, then you have already transformed garbage into flowers.
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DEEP THIRST
The desire to understand ourselves and to understand life is a deep thirst. There’s also the deep thirst to be loved and to love.
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Digging Deep
Practicing loving kindness meditation is like digging deep into the ground until we reach the purest water.
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Rediscovering Appreciation
The idea of taking care of ourselves and others can lead to greater appreciation of others.
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FROM “HOW TO FIGHT”
One Arrow Can Save Two Birds
When you remove the conflict within yourself, you also remove the conflict between yourself and others.
International Reconciliaton
As nations and individuals, we have so many wrong perceptions about ourselves and about each other, and these are the foundation of our hatred, fear and distrust.
A Fresh Beginning
We learn by making mistakes. We can begin anew at the last moment of the day and even at the last moment of our life.
Healing
The wound is not only in the body and the consciousness of the other person, but the wound is also there in you.
Impermanence
There is a tendency to believe that we will remain the same person forever, and that the person we are fighting with will remain the same person forever, that they will never change.
Betrayal and Faithfulness
Everyone has both the seed of betrayal and the seed of faithfulness. No situation between two people is ever just one person’s responsibility.
Interbeing
We are all interconnected. By taking care of another person, you are taking care of yourself. By taking care of yourself, you are taking care of the other person.
Give A Gift
The “Give A Gift” video provides a strategy to help you soften toward someone else with whom you may have negative feelings.
How Large is Your Heart
Increasing our understanding and compassion makes our heart grow greater
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COMING SOON:
More good stuff!
Other posts you may find interesting
A Lesson Learned and Now Shared
This morning, I was at the gym listening to one of my favorite morning political shows and something surprising jumped in my head as I listened to the political hay going back and forth. I am a bit of a politics junky. I follow both national and local politics. I like being aware and involved,…
Blooper Reels Lead to Highlight Reels
We find ourselves comparing our BLOOPER reels with the HIGHLIGHT reels of the people we see on social media.
Fixing My Mind Toward Growth
In the past few weeks I have been feeling something. Or maybe thinking something. Ok, actually, both. I haven’t really been able to figure it out.
Don’t Just Go Through It, GROW Through It
I think it one of the resonant points is that we are always going to face challenges, and when we are, we have a choice. We can either be victimized by the challenge or we can learn something from the challenge.
Your Direction is Most Important
As I was hiking and was presented with several path options, a thought came to mind. It is one that I heard Sunday while listening to a church message online.
One of My Proudest Accomplishments
One of my proudest accomplishments came during my first year as a new middle school teacher. I was hired to teach Spanish, but because I did not have a full load, I also had to teach a section of Language Arts and 6th grade math.
F.E.A.R.
Fear can by crippling. Fear can change our lives. Fear can make us do things that simply do not make sense…Fear itself is not our real problem.
ABOUT THIS PAGE
This page is built upon my recent studies and practices. The content and inspiration from the 1-minute videos linked below come from multiple sources: the books “How to Fight” and “How to Love” by Thich Nhat Hanh, “Total Meditation” by Deepak Chopra, “Think Like a Monk” by Jay Shetty, Tamara Levitt via the Calm app, Brene Brown’s work, and some of my own musings.
LET ME BE CLEAR…The truth is that the topics below are really reminders for me. They are part of my journey. I am sharing them in the off chance that they may also be helpful for you on your own unique journey. I do not profess mastery of any of the topics!
The first post shown on this page will always be the latest post in the series. Below that, I have clumped content together by their source.
If you see the “LOAD MORE POSTS” button, that let’s you know there are more posts within that section. Click on the button to see them all.
The Umenum 