Angels Speak - Know That There Are No Limits

This is the time of the year that we usually think about the upcoming year and what we want to do, how we will do it, and when we will do it.  We make resolutions or wishes.  It is a plan for action. 

It does not matter how we plan, as long as we plan.  It allows us to take advantage of the situations that arise that can move us forward to accomplish our dreams.

Dreams are the confirmation that we can move and change and shape our lives.  We are lucky to be in a place where we can dream and grow.

Namaste

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

The Angels tell us that we have much to be grateful for this year.  Yes, jobs are not plentiful, and there are political issues.  Yet, we have many things that other countries lack… a big thing is that we have peace.

This year, at your dinner, please ask for peace for everyone.

Namaste

Angels Speak - The Act of Forgiveness

 

The Angels tell us that grievances stifle our growth. Whatever wounds we have suffered usually creates resentment or hate and anger. 

Currently, different events in the world are showing us these acts of anger that are expressed in extreme forms of violence.  How much hurt do these acts cause?  Are they actually payment for the original act of whatever aggression?  It seems that the cycle keeps escalating without anyone achieving satisfaction. 

Is there a solution for this cycle?  Yes, however, the solution is in each person.  The individual makes the choice to act or not to act. 

Namaste.

Angels Speak - Believe in Yourself

 

The common topic when people get together in Calgary seems to be the topic of success and what being successful means.  Yes, we have had and are having huge layoffs in the oil and gas industry.  That does not mean that these people or the companies are failures.  What it means is that the market is artificially controlled.  Each person is still very skilled at what they do.  Their services will still be required.  Until we have mass changes in transportation and how buildings are heated, the world will need oil and gas. 

Success is about many things.  It is about one's definition, about how others view you and what you do/do not do.  It is also about one's belief system.  Trust yourself.

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

Angels Speak - Learning

It seems that when many of us finish our high school or university, that we forget that learning is a lifetime necessity.  We are always learning new technologies.  We are learning new routes through new developments.  We are learning new ways to watch TV as we replace the old cablevision with Netflix or Shomi.  We constantly need to learn.  Even buying a new vehicle in this decade means we need to learn a completely different dashboard then what was in cars even ten years ago.

As the poster says, many people see new challenges as a storm.  They are fearful of it.  They worry that the change will destroy the peace that they felt with the old situation.  The rain storm brings new nutrients and new moisture to the planet.  It fills up the vegetation and keeps the rivers flowing.

Learning is our rainstorm.

Namaste.

Angels Speak - Agreeing With Me

It seems foolish to want everyone to agree with you.  If all thought you were right, all exploration of different thought and thus, new discoveries, would end!

Who cares if you are right?  It is more important that you think through your view and that it feels comfortable in your skin rather than in your ego.

Being right makes no one happy.  Being right brings responsibility. 

Being right or needing to be right does not give you permission to control others.  It is not a license to destroy people’s happy lives, tribal beliefs, or to through away things that have already been done, invented, or created. 

Who do you disagree with?

Namaste.

Angels Speak - Leave It Behind

It takes a lot of motivation to move beyond the barrier that holds you back.  Whether it is a fence, or a person, or a thought pattern, the barrier is real. 

I always think of FRIED GREEN TOMATOES when I think of barriers.  I think of Evelyn, played by Kathy Bates, who takes a hammer and smashes down the wall that she has hated fro years.

When I have a barrier, I pick up my imaginary hammer, and I smash the barrier.

 

Namaste.

Spirit Animal - Wolf Walking With You

 

I was reminded the other day when I was feeling alone, that Wolf always walks with me.  Sometimes, we need a gentle reminder of all the things that are around us.  We have tools and gifts that we do not use.  We can be more than we are because of everything around us.

Namaste

Spirit Animal - Accept The Difference

 

I see how people are so unaccepting and judgemental of all people that are different than they are.  This view creates such strife!  It becomes bullying, racism, or what ever you want to call the problem with differences.

This poster makes me smile!

Perhaps we need to post it all over the place.

 

Namaste

Angels Speak - The People In Your Life

 

My soul recognizes the truth in this quote.  Life is not a blame-game, although some people make it so.  Blame is a control mechanism.  Ignore it. 

Live life and be happy.

Namaste

Angels Speak - Who Are Your Teachers

Sometimes, our (life) teachers show up in unexpected places.  Perhaps at social gathering.  Perhaps at a Gala at Shopper’s Drug Mart. Or, perhaps in an airport as you chat with people around you.

What do teachers do?  Life teachers are there to give you guidance on a topic that you wish to find out more about.  They can also provide validity for the thoughts or experiences that you have had.  Sometime, the teacher is there to show you a part of yourself – the mirror of something that is in you that needs to be looked at and dealt with.

Sometimes the teacher stays for several minutes or hours.  Sometimes the teacher stays for years.  I often marvel at how the Universe matches a student and teacher at the exact time that the teaching is needed.

Namaste

Angels Speak - No Excuses

Gotta love the practical message in this poster!  Making excuses is an easy way to deflect responsibility from one’s self and to blame others.  (See Monday’s post)  Accept that you have to do “something” and that you have made that commitment. Accept that you cannot always meet commitments as there are circumstances beyond our control.  However, own up that you “did not do…..”, regardless of the reason.  It is going beyond and the feeling is quite freeing.

Namaste

Angels Speak - Believing In Yourself

 

This poster is a great reminder that others will never believe in us if we do not believe in our self.  More importantly, often even when we do believe in our self, others work against us because we do not follow their belief and “they” cannot be wrong.  What a strange world!

Spirit Speaks - Something

 

I saw this poster, and I decided that it did not need any explanation.  I feel those “somethings” from time to time, and I am sure that you do.  Sometime, it really is a case of identifying the “something” that gets in your way.

Blessings.

Spirit Speaks - Are You On The Uphill or the Downhill?

 

I am always grateful to those who share their stories, not just the stories that they write to sell as fiction or self help; I mean the stories that they share about themselves.  The Poster above comes from the famous “Harry Potter” author. 

If someone who has hit rock bottom can come back as a multimillionaire over a period of seven years, then each of us can achieve this type of movement – uphill.  However, as Rowling points out, she had to do the downhill thing, first.

I have been trying to decide if I am on the uphill or the downhill.  When I do the life line test, I am on the uphill.  Yippee!

Where are you?

Blessings.

Spirit Animal - Dog Is For Everyone

We all know that Dog comes to us to “help” us in some area of our lives.  We may have had Dog so long that we have forgotten when and why they appeared.   When we ask for help, and we get a DOG, even the most disbelieving of a higher consciousness should be asking where did DOG come from?

What would happen if the Universe sent an ANGEL instead?  Well,

• people around you would disbelieve and say that either you are crazy or that it is a plot by some government.  Or, worse, that it is a conspiracy.
• you would have a very difficult time looking at them because their light is so bright, and they give off a lot of heat – like a furnace – so you could not stay near them for any length of time.
• since Angels can’t swim as they hover, you can’t take them swimming, out on your surfboard, or in your canoe or boat.  Dogs are great swimming companions.
• I have not heard of anyone taking their Angel for a walk, but I suppose it is possible.

Dog, the shining example of unconditional love, is the answer to giving people the HELP that they need.  Dog is the guardian angel.  Dog is the Animal Guide.  Dog is the Blessing, Spirit Animal, guided by Archangels and Great Spirit, letting their person roll in the Abundance of love.  How cool is that?

Blessings.

Buddha Speaks - Being Enlightened

 

Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken. Although its light is wide and great, the moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide. The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in dewdrops on the grass, or even in one drop of water.  - Eihei Dogen, "Genjokoan"

I was chatting with friends and the topic of enlightenment came up.  Here is how we define enlightenment according to Wikipedia.  “The English term "enlightenment" has commonly been used to translate several Sanskrit, Pali, [web 2] Chinese and Japanese terms and concepts, especially bodhi, prajna, kensho, satori and buddhahood. Bodhi is a Theravada term. It literally means "awakening" and "understanding".”

Our discussion seemed to conclude that enlightenment was actions that worked both for the individual and the community and the environment, because, in this way, you harm no one.  I think that more and more people are becoming enlightened.  However, as the population grows, it seems like less beings are enlightened. 

Blessings.