Be a Good Receiver
Be a Good Receiver Are you a good receiver? It might sound like a funny question but it is an important one that each of us should ask ourselves. Strangely, most of us are better givers than we are receivers. We give to our children, our spouses, our friends, charities and, contrary to what we might think, most of us are actually very good at giving. But receiving; now that is another matter. We often feel subtly uncomfortable when receiving. Even compliments get deflected when they come our way. Someone pays us a compliment for helping them move or clean up the house and we say, “Ah, it was nothing.” Or someone compliments us on an outfit we are wearing and we feel inclined to mention how we bought it at a discount instead of simply enjoying the compliment and letting it nourish us. The compliment is a gift to us, and when we don’t receive it properly we are dishonoring the giver. Receiving is actually harder to do than giving. Giving is easy, as there is much pleasure in giving, but receiving is an art that takes practice. To be a good receiver requires intimacy, allowing others in our [...]
Choreographers of Energy
We are beings of energy and consciousness, and we can learn, with practice, to be adept at working with both of these forces. It is in the everyday events of our life where we learn the skills of working with energy. Becoming aware of how energy flows within us, feeling its ebb and flow, moment by moment, teaches us a lot. We notice how it leaks away when we think and act in certain ways, and discover how energy can be trapped and held by parts of ourselves that are unconscious. Certain habits and practices, we come to realize, increase our energy, and others decrease it, and we take note of this. How we feel is an indication of what is happening with our energy. Energy ebbs and flows within us, so noticing what causes these ebbs and flows allows us to make conscious choices in our life from an energetic perspective, which is a totally different way of living. There are a number of energy practices that will uplift our energy, and practicing these methods, we learn how to become choreographers of energy. Our first practice is HARVESTING MOMENTS OF FUN, JOY AND BEAUTY: We harvest moments of fun, [...]
What You See is What You Get — Part I
A New World Is But a New Mind How do you perceive the world around you? Is it friendly? Hostile? Filled with adventure and pleasant experiences, or is it restrictive and riddled with disappointments. Are there lots of opportunities to get ahead financially and make a lot of money, or have most of the good ideas come and gone? Is life enjoyable, pleasant, boring, exciting, hard? In attempting to answer the above questions, you might ask yourself the following: What does my experience tell me? Each of us will answer this question in a slightly different way, and sometimes we will contradict each other with our answers. Yet, amazingly enough, each of us will be right. Whatever you answer is right and true... for you. Life does not consist of any absolute truths as we understand them. Life is much more fluid and dynamic than that. It is as diverse and varied as the people who experience it, and what you experience without has its root cause within. You are a law unto yourself, and what you believe within will be both the lens through which you view the world, and the attracting force by which countless experiences will be [...]
What You See is What You Get — Part II
(Continued from What You See is What You Get - Part I ) Once we become aware of how much our daily experiences are influenced by our inner programs, the more imperative it becomes to examine our beliefs and be prepared to change those beliefs that are limiting us. To do this we need to see and understand the "lens" through which we are viewing the world. We need to view it without criticism or judgement, and to know ourselves at a deep level. We need to know ourselves as our subconscious knows us. This means being courageous, but if we can do so we may discover within ourselves limiting and self-defeating beliefs that are holding us back from achieving what it is we want. We must deal with our beliefs directly. There is no other way to lasting change. Each belief must be examined carefully. Not as to whether it's true or not, for "our" truth will always match the lens we wear and thus be validated, but as to what effect it may be having upon our life. Many limiting beliefs have unfortunately been accepted by us, have taken root within the subconscious, and are now reflecting back to [...]
Do Plants Have Consciousness?
Do Plants Have Consciousness? Last month on our way home to Vancouver from a tour of South Africa, we stopped off in Brazil for a vacation. We eventually found ourselves in a sleepy fishing village about an hour’s drive north of Salvador, enjoying the magnificent beaches and fresh seafood. One day, as we were out walking, Sylvia called excitedly to me. She was gently touching a fern with a twig she had picked up. When the fern was touched all the leaves instantly curled up into a compact, ball-like shape. The plant had obviously developed a system that detected when insects or animals approached it, and this action made it more difficult for them to chew on the leaves. Seeing this reminded me of being on safari several years earlier where a game ranger pointed out a species of tree that not only reacted to animals eating its leaves, but transmitted signals to other trees of the same species as well. It seems that these particular leaves were very delicate and tasty favourites of the giraffe. So whenever a family of giraffes would begin eating them, within 15 minutes the taste of the leaves would turn sour. What was so [...]
Cycles
Cycles All life is cyclical. To know this is to know a great truth. We see it in nature and we see it in the heavens, and we see it in our lives as well. Each day is a cycle within a larger cycle. It begins with the dawn and the sun rising in the east, and proceeds to dusk when the sun sets in the west. Then follows the evening and the continued movement of the celestial bodies until the cycle begins again at dawn. Within this cycle we have our own cycle of awaking, doing activities, sleeping and recharging, only to awaken again and begin doing activities again. Each morning brings a new day; each day a new opportunity. The moon has a 28-day cycle, starting with the new moon that waxes for 14 days until full, and then wanes for 14 days until it morphs into a new moon again. Women also menstruate on a monthly cycle. The seasons are cyclical, with spring giving way to summer, and summer to autumn, and autumn to winter, until we return to spring again. Each season has its own dynamics, and these are to understood and worked with. With very [...]