Angels Speak - More About Timing

 

“Your best work involves timing. If someone wrote the best hip hop song of all time in the Middle Ages, he had bad timing.”  -― Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert comics)

 

I was listening to a Buddhist teaching session, and the topic of timing came up again.  It seems this has been a week long topic for me.  The theme of the lesson is that when we try to choose the timing, we are trying to be in control, and usually, trying to be in control will have disastrous consequences.  If we go with the flow of everything, then timing is usually perfect and will move us to different situations for us to be successful. 

How odd it seems that we are able to move through time and space without needing to control everything!

Namaste.

Angels Speak–The Right Moment

The discussion began over coffee about the “bad luck” and “good luck” that different people seemed to be having over the month of November.  Friends and loved ones were being diagnosed with different illnesses or were dying suddenly.  People were loosing jobs, and as a consequence, loosing their homes or having to make severe changes.  The consensus seemed to be that it was all bad luck. 

Another topic was how different people seemed to be having a series of fortunate incidents happen to them.  They were in the right place at the right time, etc.  This was deemed to be good luck.  There was not any discussion about how hard some of these folks worked to get education or to master the jobs they had so that when an opportunity showed up, they would be ready. 

The discussion made me think of a quote..

“Sometimes I arrive just when God's ready to have someone click the shutter.”
― Ansel Adams (famous photographer)

I think that all timing is perfect.  We mortals simply cannot see the beauty in the design of the pattern of life.

Namaste

Angels Speak–Is the Universe Friendly?

While having conversations about many different topics with friends, for me, the most interesting discussion is about the Universe, and whether it is friendly, or not.  This seems like a very big topic.  However, as different NASA missions look at planets, we have to start wondering what life is out there.  And, will we be happy to meet the unknown life?

I think that life is a pattern of options.  So, if we have all types of friendlies and hostiles in our environment here (city, region, prov/state, country), then those patterns will also show up in the Universe, repeatedly.  We need to be prepared to deal with unfriendlies and to welcome friendlies with warmth, the way we would greet any new neighbour. 

The conversation was fast and filled with different ideas and “what ifs”.  The conclusion seems to be that it will be exciting to find out more about the Universe and who lives where.

Namaste.

Buddha Speaks - How Do You Place Your Trust

 

Recently, I have had to trust others to help me move forward in making a career change.  I have been thinking very hard about trust.  I was having trouble narrowing down what trust really was.  Then the UNIVERSE, in its great wisdom, provided me with two things to help me understand that trust has different aspects and the end result is the same.

The first “show me” that I got about trust was the poster above.  I think it is self explanatory.

The second “show me” on trust comes from the blog at Shambhala.  The blog features a short story from a book by Norman Waddell.  Here is the link. http://blog.shambhala.com/2015/11/20/placing-complete-trust-in-a-thief/  Part of the story is below.

 

Placing Complete Trust in a Thief

 

Suppose, for example, that a wealthy man mistakenly hires a master thief of the greatest skill and cunning to guard his house. After watching his granaries, treasures, and the rest of his fortune dwindle by the day, he orders the thief to seize several suspicious servants and to interrogate them around the clock until they confess. Family members are worried sick. Relations between husband and wife are severely strained. Yet their fortune goes on mysteriously shrinking. And it all happens because of the mistake the man had made in the beginning, in employing and placing his complete trust in a thief.

The lesson to be learned from this is that the very attempts to banish birth and death from your mind are, in themselves, a sure sign that birth and death is in full progress.

From The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Hakuin, translated by Norman Waddell, page 36

 

Namaste.

Buddha Speaks - Peace is in the Present

 

Tonight, our meditation is focusing on “Peace Within”.  I was lucky enough to find this poster that shows a quote from Lao Tzu speaking on peace.  I think that when we feel peace in ourselves and our surroundings, we receive a triple fold blessing.  I believe that peace keeps us young.  I mean it stops our bodies from aging.  With peace, we have time to focus our faith and to feel the calling of our spirit. 

For me, peace is:

• sitting by the fireplace with my husband, roaring fire, book in hand
• walking in the park with my dogs and hearing the trees, the water, the birds, and the breeze
• sitting in our arbour under our mountain ash tree, in the summer, being surrounded by green life and all the birds and squirrels that are in the trees
• sitting in mediation
• working in my garden
• cooking and baking

What is peace to you?

Namaste

Angels Speak - Losing Ground

 

I love this poster!  It speaks to so many things – karma, human nature, free will, politics… the list goes on.  Recently, I have seen this proverb played out in many different situations:

• In Canada, as part of the national vote for a new leader of the country, the Conservatives threw dirt at the young Liberal leader.  The Conservatives lost the election.
• In a company, the vice president threw dirt about an employee, to a potential new employer, in hopes of keeping the employee.  The potential employer did not hire the candidate, but did tell the candidate what happened.  The employee left the company because of the lack of integrity at a leadership level.  And the company lost a great employee.
• Perhaps the best example is how Volkswagen has been hoodwinking the public about emission controls.  Faith in Volkswagen and its products is extremely low.  And, Volkswagen needs to spend a lot of money to make things right.

Namaste.

Angels Speak – More on Stress

Life is always wonderful and strange.  We believe that we have control over things that will happen in our life.  Yet, what happens is often a mishmash of events that conspire to create a circumstance that is beyond our control.  We have STRESS.

A good example of circumstances beyond our control is being caught up in a traffic gridlock because of an accident.  We drive home from work, looking forward to relaxing, a good dinner, and some family time/exercise/hobby time.  Then, it seems when we are fifteen minutes from home, some idiot has an accident and involves several other cars.  The road is blocked.  The police have to sort out the events.  Traffic is halted.  If it is a highway accident and someone is killed, the tie up may be for several hours.  In this scenario, we have done nothing wrong.  We are enjoying life, and yet we are prevented from being where we want to be by someone else’s mistake.

We view this as unfair.  We see this as being punished.  We feel stress.  As the poster says, we must “let go”.  Life moves on.  And so it is.

Namaste.

Angels Speak - Where Do YOU Want To Be

 

This poster that features a quote from Eckhart Tolle is very appropriate for today.  It is a time of stress for many people in Alberta as they find they are without work.  So, although everyone wants to have time off, no one is enjoying it because they all wish they were back on the job.  BEING HERE + WANTING THERE = STRESS.

The work around for this is to be okay with being HERE and having faith that THERE will be available very soon.  This is a time of teaching patience.  It is part of our human nature to be impatient.  One theory is that humans are impatient because they have very short life spans compared to many parts of Nature.  Trees, turtles, and whales, for example, have very long lives compared to humans. 

The best way I know of to deal with stress is to breathe… breathe deeply and completely.  Here is a breathing exercise from Dr. Andrew Weil, called the Bellows Breath, that I like to use.

 

The Stimulating Breath (also called the Bellows Breath)

The Stimulating Breath is adapted from yogic breathing techniques. Its aim is to raise vital energy and increase alertness.

• Inhale and exhale rapidly through your nose, keeping your mouth closed but relaxed. Your breaths in and out should be equal in duration, but as short as possible. This is a noisy breathing exercise.
• Try for three in-and-out breath cycles per second. This produces a quick movement of the diaphragm, suggesting a bellows. Breathe normally after each cycle.
• Do not do for more than 15 seconds on your first try. Each time you practice the Stimulating Breath, you can increase your time by five seconds or so, until you reach a full minute.

If done properly, you may feel invigorated, comparable to the heightened awareness you feel after a good workout. You should feel the effort at the back of the neck, the diaphragm, the chest and the abdomen. Try this diaphragmatic breathing exercise the next time you need an energy boost and feel yourself reaching for a cup of coffee.

You can see other exercises from Dr. Weil at this site http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART00521/three-breathing-exercises.html.

Namaste

Buddha Speaks–How Gracefully You Live

 

How we move through life is often determined by what others say about us.  For example, I have an acquaintance who is five feet tall.  Her father described her, always, as small but clumsy.  So, that is the way that she moved through life… not taking up much space, but walking into walls, or tripping over something, or breaking things.

We are all meant to move through life with grace and ease.  When we are at ease, everything is ease-y.  When we are quite emotional and stuffing our bodies full of drugs or alcohol or anger or resentment, we cannot be at ease.  Then, everything is difficult.

Namaste.

Angels Speak - Accept What Comes To You In Life

 

Living is a challenge, some days.  We can make it easier on ourselves if we accept that each moment is perfect.  When we accept, and when we stop fighting against life, we open the door to be in the flow.  Everything moves easily.

If you think that you have great roadblocks and that the world is a rotten place, then, you are not in the flow. 

Some folks ask whether disasters are part of the flow.  The answer is, “Yes!”.  What we call disasters are the natural course of Nature.  How else would it be?

Angels Speak - Nature’s Reward

Figure 1 – the quote comes from The Tricycle Community, Daily Dharma, at http://www.tricycle.com/

 

I love this quote because it reflects how I feel when I am out in the park, contemplating Nature.  I love the green, the water, the animals, the silence, and the peace.  I love that we can experience this almost out our back door. 

The way that Nature works always astonishes me.  Each time I am out and about, I see something new.  It may be the eagle’s nest that is now visible because the foliage is gone.  It might be the old heron who can no longer make his way south.  It may be the additional work that the beavers have done to their lodge.  Their work reminds me of all the renovations going on in our neighbourhood. 

It is all perfect.

Namaste

Angels Speak– Be Yourself

Life is big.  That’s the way it is meant to be.  If it was small, we would feel confined.  Because life is big, we have the chance to truly be ourselves.  We can move forward with faith.  We were created perfectly to live our life.  We do not have the capacity to comfortably live someone else’s life.  It is the same in Nature.  Each piece of Nature is unique.  Each flower, for example, is the same and is also different.  Isn’t it wonderful?

Namaste

Angels Speak - Seven Dangers

 

When we walk without mindfulness, and when we are filled with ego, we can walk to places that make no sense to us.  It is in this place without grace where we are drawn to the glimmering enchantment of wealth, pleasure, knowledge, business, science, religion, and politics. 

When we think we know what is best for others, we are waving a red flag that our ego is working over time.  We are in the trap of aloneness and “so what”.

Namaste

Buddha Speaks - Perspective

 

Sometimes, you find yourself at a point where you are going off track.  If you do, then follow the guidance on the poster above.  Better yet, print out this poster and stick it into your wallet so that you can pull it out whenever you need to hear these words on perspective. 

We have all had our moments of impatience, lack of compassion, and our selfishness.  We are human, and we need to move our thoughts to a more positive framework.

Namaste

Angels Speak - Combat Disharmony

 

The poster above comes from my book, “Earth Wisdom Meditations; 111 Contemplations for People Who Love The Earth”.  This speaks to the power that each of us has to influence the world around you by first making changes to your own life.

We think of the Universe as nebulous.  However, a small part of the Universe is in each of us.  It settles in our soul.  It makes us want to be in service, however that looks for us.  It is part of our daily prayer of life whether we think we pray, or not.

Namaste

Buddha Speaks - Born Each Morning

We are awakened each morning to a new day.  It is a day that we can use to change our habits, our outlook on life, our style of dress, and our way of communicating and interacting with people.

Free will allows us the ability to make choices.  We can choose to be compassionate with the person at work who is cranky and bullying.  Maybe this is the day to confront them in their bullying ways. 

Today is the day that we can choose the things that are the most important to us.

Namaste.

Angels Speak - Do you like me?

Life is strange.  We grow up, bound to our parents, and, for some reason, we are always looking for their approval.  The reason is that we are wired that way.  One sees the same thing with baby animals.

Then, we grow up.  We continue to look for approval from people.  We ask if someone likes us. 

If we reach maturity, we can be like the poster.  We can go into a new situation and wonder if we will like the people around us.

The change that happens over time is a miracle.

Namaste.