Letter from Thay

As 2008, comes to an end and another year unfolds, let us be silent a moment. In the silence you accept yourself without judgment, you will feel peace and the possibilities of the universe will be open to you. All the best in Happiness and Peace for 2009!

For some it is incredibly difficult to be silent, no worries, relax and silence will come. Sit comfortably and watch your breath in and your breath out.

This link will lead you to a wonderful compassionate letter: http://www.deerparkmonastery.org/community/deer-park-news/press-releases/new-years-letter-from-thay-a-letter-to-all-my-spiritual-children

What Gives Life Meaning?

This was the question presented to me while preparing for a presentation in Melbourne, Australia earlier this month. Our topic title 'Reconciling Indigenous Pedagogy Post Colonization' and, I thought, what does this question have to do with an academic paper?

I sat silently for a few moments, contemplating the question. Then I said, it is the interconnectedness between people. Hmmm, is what my co-presenter said. And what is the that connectedness? It is an energy force, maybe, love? I said. That, she said, is from your head, think with your heart, go deeper. I was at a lost. The more I tried to go deeper, the more into my head I went. My head filled with many disorientating and disconnected thoughts. Then I said, I need tea. That is always my suggestion when I need to chill.

I took a deep breath and slowly let my mind slow to nothing, and then I got a clear picture of my late father. He was standing, hands behind his back, his face relaxed. His eyes looking beyond me. My father the trapper, hunter, gatherer.

He was not separate from the environment. He was nature. He was not co-existing with the environment, it was in him. His movements, thoughts, all effortlessly executed. He was in harmony with the universe because he was the universe. I got it!

In our curriculum, the process, the healing circles, are designed to uncover the layers which are preventing indigenous peoples from recognizing they are nature and one with the universe. The pedagogy reflects our intuitiveness and allows for the healing to begin. It is a long journey, after all, to be free of colonization as with indoctrination takes time.

Have I answered the question? I am not sure.

A Good Day to Catch up on Reading

A link to Theravada Text Studies - http://www.enabling.org/ia/vipassana/Archive/N/Nyanatiloka/WOB/index.html


A Children Tree

Never Mind

This Zen Buddhist talk has many excellent teachings filled into one hour. What I related to the most in this talk is the interconnectedness with self and our perceived reality. Specifically how those perceptions influence how we experience the world.

Being present with Metta

Life in Balance

This morning I was told that an amazing woman whom I've known for many years, died last night. Dealing with news of her death feels like hitting a wall. Even though I was prepared for the news, it still bites. As I allowed the reality to be absorbed, I began to think about her life. She was an amazing person and lived a meaningful life. She traveled the world living in the most exotic places. She related to everyone with kindness, warmth and generosity.

Violet was a wife of a military man, she had a daughter and four grandchildren. Her body failed her many years ago when she found out she had Parkinson. Living with Parkinson did not deter her from having a full life. She died with dignity and grace with her daughter at her bedside.

I am thankful to have spent time with her and her husband, Lee, during many of my travels to Hawaii. One year, I celebrated New Year's Eve with them staying up until the wee early hours when all that was left in the streets were ghost of dancers celebrating. She was a most gracious host, really more like family. She lovingly referred to me as her other daughter.

Recalling something a Buddhist monk said helps me deal with this loss, "we don't own people, we are given the opportunity to share life with them". At some point their journey takes them on a different path away from you. In balance, when I think about Vi, I know that I am a better person for having known her.

Everybody is free Music Video (sunscreen)

Life.

Fire Within

There are times when I meditate late at night, the warmth of my house with its fireplace burning, gives me such comfort and wraps around me like a security blanket. My thoughts come and go, and finally there is silence.

Other times it feels like I'm floating and disconnected. My thoughts flowing and never stopping. Feeling at times like I'm isolated (not in a bad way) as though I am the only person in the entire world, a solitary being. But then there are times I feel like I am briefly connected to everything, and everyone.

I know I've had a successful meditation when happiness is my world. Happiness is an illusion, but, what an illusion.

Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond

I began reading Ajahn Brahm's book yesterday, sitting on my chair looking out at this beautiful view every now and then. The book is amazing! Ajahn Brahm's meditator's handbook is a must read for anyone interested in meditating, novice or longtime meditator. It is written in a direct and simple language with clear, easy directions.

http://www.wisdompubs.org/Pages/display.lasso?-KeyValue=32879&-Token.Action=Search&image=1

More Happiness

http://www.stumbleupon.com/toolbar/#topic=Buddhism&url=http%253A%252F%252Fvideo.google.com%252Fvideoplay%253Fdocid%253D-1424079446171087119

Freedom: The Path To Happiness

If something in your past is stopping you from enjoying your present, an abuse of some kind, or bad memories, lost of someone you loved, grab a cup of tea, and watch this. You deserve to be happy!

Butterflies

Did you feel that, Mom? Was it fun? Questions from my son, after some turbulence flying home from Alberta. Yup, that was fun I say lying through my teeth, gripping the armrest as though it can actually save me if the worst occurred.

Why is it I can easily accept the notion of death until life flips upside down (not literally) and spins me out of control (slight exaggeration for effect). Really, it is not difficult to acknowledge death on a cognitive level because it is a fact of life, we know that. Don't we? Yet, when faced with a real possibility (or a perceived possibility) of death like this incident, my heart beats faster, well more like a pounding jack hammer under my sweater. My mind starts filling up with inconsequential thinking like how is my kamma bank. I am acutely aware that I'm not in control, and we are at 35, 000 feet high and traveling hundreds of miles per hour above the earth.

My son, on the other hand is enjoying cloud potholes. Bring on the turbulence, the rougher the better says he. Love those butterflies, he laughs. I say, so do I, to which he replies you're lying, mom! You can't hide from a kid. It is true we accept that we are going to die, but, not really.

I surrender, and take a moment with a meditation focusing on my breath. All is good. I'm here for the ride.

How does One reconcile Goodness with Badness

My home, My sanctuary, My illusion.

I often contemplate on the many sufferings in our world, and wonder how do we continue to accept these sufferings. World poverty, war, and disease are just an example of what humans have lived with since the beginning of time.

How can people be both good and evil? I don’t have an answer but for sure there is a possibility for goodness in everyone. Do people do evil deeds because they are afraid? I read a interview with Laura Huxley, in which she answered the question "Why is there so much unhappiness in the world?

"LH: Fear and rage. They are there all the time. The fear that is now in this country is incredible. It’s really like a contagious germ.

NS: That’s a marvelous metaphor: Fear as a contagious disease. How do you inoculate yourself against that contagion?

LH: Well the answer is always vivid awareness. This is the core of healthy psychology—learning to trace the source of experience. Is this my fear, or is it Mr. Bush’s fear? I don’t drive anymore, but in driving you can learn some tremendous lessons about how people respond to what they think they need. Sometimes before they even respond to you they attack you. If you don’t want to perpetuate that rage, you have to respond in a different way. It’s very easy of course to speak of these things, but they are very difficult to apply. Yet even if we apply them just a little bit, the world becomes a very different place."

Check it out the entire interview at http://www.hazymoon.com/Huxley/tabid/78/Default.aspx

Blessing and Accepting what is

I saw this on Danny Fisher's blog, and thought it was worth showing here too. What an amazing presentation.

Counting Blessings

I followed a link from Danny Fisher's blog, and thought it worth linking to here. It is about 18 minutes, and worth every second. This link did not work, view the you tube version above. For more information on Jill Bolte Taylor go to http://www.speakers.ca/bolte-taylor_jill.aspx

Practice, Practice, Practice and more Practice

Mindfulness is my passion. Each day I sit quietly and silence my mind, each moment is made of new seconds. If my mind drifts, I notice it, let it float on, and start over again. No need to attach to those thoughts, they are nothing. My mind goes into silence. Deeply breathing in and slowly exhaling. I follow my breath and smile.

I noticed that being present is difficult and takes practice. I begin slowly, picking one or two actions to be present. For example, making and drinking tea. When I make my tea, I am 100% present, pouring the kettle, whisking the powdered tea, holding the tea, raising the bowl, touching my lips with the rim of the bowl, swallowing the tea I smile.

Breathing Meditation with Thich Nhat Hanh

Take a few minutes and practice mindful breathing with Thich Nhat Hanh.

Mythology, and Other Stuff

I was reading a recent post on a "New Earth" message boards on Oprah's site, and came across a profound quote, then I decided to post the links below to the person who is the inspiration for the quote ...

http://www.mythosandlogos.com/Campbell.html

http://jonesthought.wordpress.com/2008/07/21/joseph-campbell-the-power-of-myth-with-bill-moyers/

Tribute to the Hurdy Gurdy Man - Donovan

Transcendental Meditation (TM)

When I was in university, I, and a couple of friends, enrolled in a transcendental meditation course. TM is simple, just twenty minutes twice a day, and could be practiced any place, even in noisy crowed places. I meditate on buses, planes, and trains, but for the most part, I find a quite place in my house to meditate. For a period I lived in a meditation community, Ideal Village, where there was a meditation building.

Over the years, I would go for months without meditating, but when I resumed practice, it came back with ease. It surprised me that I never forgot my mantra, which came to me without hesitation when I called upon it. TM serves to keep my energy in balance.

Is it Me, or what???

Every individual is different, even identical twins, although may look the same can sometimes be polar opposites. The beauty of the natural world is that we are not designed to be carbon copies of each other. So why is it that we are prone to changing people, seeing them through a veil of how we think they should be rather than who they really are?

I have some single friends who are amazing, strong, and independent. And yet when they are in a relationship they are anything but strong and independent. In as much as they want to be in a healthy relationship, their relationships tend to end, and often with heartbreak.

I am often asked for advice and I try to facilitate an opening for them to avoid the pit falls in their relationships. As an outside observer, it is easier to observe the same patterns that take them down the same path resulting in the same outcomes over and over again. However, if they are not open to listening, you can talk until you are blue in the face and it would not make a bit of difference. But sometimes...

The other day I was being the dutiful friend, listening to woes of disappointment of another friend's failed relationship. Then out of the blue, my friend asks, " is it me? am I to blame? Am I that clingy? " I immediately thought, I can't tell the truth, not when she is so miserable. But I thought, well if I don't tell her the truth, who will?

So I said, yes, it is you. It is your actions that created this out come which is the same out come as your last relationship. But I hasten to add, sometimes we pick the wrong partners, and we have to acknowledge it and move on. If there is no match, no one is at fault, but you have to be truthful to yourself and be able to access when it is not working for you. Don't try to change the other person, accept who they are and maybe they are not the person you need in your life at this juncture.

At the end of the day, you have only one life. And don't you want that life to be happy, content, and fulfilling? Know that you deserve that life and don't be afraid that yes, occasionally you do make the wrong choices, but don't beat yourself up about it. Finally, stop playing that tape over and over in your head. You know the one, the one that goes over every incident that went wrong in the relationship. What you said or did, what he said or did, etc...

Meeting With a Navajo Medicine Man

I traveled to Edmonton, Alberta on business last month. Two weeks before leaving I got a call from a friend asking if I could I pick up our mutual friend, Francis, at the Edmonton airport. I agreed, and called him to say I would pick him up but needed his arrival time. He told me, his hostess had made his travel arrangements and he did not know is arrival time at the moment. I called her, and she email me his itinerary. I noticed when I got his itinerary that he was actually booked on my connecting flight. Francis said, normally this is not the route he takes when traveling to Edmonton, lucky for us it was the perfect opportunity for an uninterrupted visit. Don't you like it when synchronicity works so effortlessly?

I know people who could use the help of a medicine man, more often than not it is when their diagnosis from a medical professional is not very good and usually it is an advanced cancer of some sort. However, many people both non Native and Natives alike don't feel comfortable using a traditional medicine man. Their reasons are varied, maybe it is the mysterious ways in which healing occurs makes people uncomfortable. Possibly it is the lack of education on what a medicine man does, or the proper protocol, or just the unknown which are a deterrent.

Maybe it is the difficulty of finding the best medicine man and not knowing how to properly search for one. My advice, is always do research which is started by asking the right questions. In Indian country, I recommend word of mouth. But the most important aspect is to trust your intuition, how do you feel when you speak to the Medicine Man, how do you feel in the ceremonial room? Do not disregard your feelings they are your most important asset, and if at any point you feel uncomfortable, stop the treatment.

That being said, Francis Mitchell is an amazing world renowned healer, I know and trust him. This link is a journalist's account on him http://ourstrangeplanet.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=227&Itemid=9
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Souls Meeting

Is it synchronicity when you meet someone in the most unusually fashion? Should one attach the meeting to a greater force at work that created the event which brought two souls together?

In an earlier post I wrote that things happen because they happen, and that there is no reason for it to happen other than it does. Was I wrong? Is there really a master plan at work here?

What if you met someone who under the normal course of things you would have never met, but only met because you did something out of the ordinary. Something so out of character. What if you met this person under circumstances where the odds were against the meeting. What if a series of actions by both of you were required to have the meeting occur. What if the soul you met also met souls connected to you but in a separate hemisphere, and under different circumstances. 


 What if this soul had an amazing light, energy, and had relevant experiences to yours.  How do you explain the unexplainable, when everything that should happen, occurred, cumulating towards a wonderful meeting of souls.    

It happen to me, and I am so overwhelmed by the occurrence that I am thinking maybe there is a greater force at play here. What does it mean?

HAPPY MAMA'S DAY!

Therese Deranger - May 08, 1919 -

She arrived into this world at Old Fort, Alberta on May 08, 1919. Eldest child of 11 Children, 2 sisters and 8 brothers.Married at the age of 15 on July 1933 in Fond du Lac (Isadore Deranger) Widowed April 4, 1993 in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

She was born in an era of no electricity, plumbing, telephones, TV and many other amenities that we now take for granted. Even when electricity and plumbing were available in our area it was years before she would take advantage of it.  Life in those days was about survival. Imagine from moccasins to seeing the world from the palm of your hand on an Iphone!

Born and raised in the traditional Dene lifestyle in northern Saskatchewan, to say that she did not have an easy life by today’s standards would be an understatement. But it is also a blessing in disguise, because it was those very conditions that makes her who she is, who I am, and who we are as family.

My Mama is having an amazing life journey, from bush life to city dwelling, from dogsled to concord, from moccasin telegraph to emails and texting. When I feel sorry for myself, I say to myself, "Imagine what life was like for your Mama." That is usually enough for me to get over myself.

Once, she told me that she wanted to go to school but her Dad would not allow it. Although I remember when I was a child, Mama went to school briefly, she was so thrilled that she could do some rudimentary writing, particularly when she was so proud to be writing the names of her children.

Mama missed out on being a regular teenager because she was married at the tender age of fourteen through an arranged marriage. She first met her husband when they married. She became pregnant almost immediately, and had her last child well into her forties. Earlier in her marriage she would run away back to her parents' home, but each time her Dad returned her to her husband. She still resents this.

She gave birth to nineteen healthy children; the majority of her children born without the help of a doctor. During one of the pregnancies she had to walk about 10 miles to the nearest community in early spring with the ground snow-covered, so she could make it to the midwife’s home for the birth of my brother. There were no prenatal classes to help her cope with understanding the development of pregnancy and caring for babies. There were no nurses to talk about baby blues. No one to help her understand what her body was going through, no one to help her understand the emotions that comes with exhaustion after having a baby and being sleep-deprived caring for babies whilst living in a tent miles from the nearest town.

Can you imagine, there were no Pampers, no baby formula and no prepared jars of baby food. Everything was home-made, and all those diapers had to be washed by hand. Fortunately, as the babies grew they became helpers in the care of the younger ones.

Mama experienced many challenges.  We were very poor. My Dad was a trapper and so he was absent for long periods, leaving her alone for extended times. As with most women in her generation, she had to cope on her own. Some people would argue that many other women of her day were in the same position, and maybe this is so, but that does not minimize the hardship she endured.

She once told me a story about how she hated the sound of the wind blowing through the house because it reminded her of a time when she was living in a tent during the early years of her marriage. It was in the fall, and she had a head cold. Throughout the night the wind was howling and she was all stuffed up. She said she was alone with some very young children at the time. Sometime during the early morning her head was aching so much, that the increase pressure in her ears eventually blew her eardrums. She remembers the warm blood pouring out of her ears. She said that ever since then, she has had problems with dizziness (she may have damaged her inner ear). Another time when one of my sisters was just two weeks old with the wind blowing the walls of the tent, my sister took ill and died a week later. How it must have been difficult for her to cope with the loss of a child when she herself was no more than a child. Later in her life she would lose five more of her children, as recently as last December she lost another son.  Indeed, the start of 2013 was a difficult time for her. Parents should never have to burry their children, it was heartbreaking to see her so over come with sadness with the loss of my brother Billy.

In her thirties she had breast cancer and had to have a partial mastectomy. Over the years she has had eleven operations. Years later, I remember one incident where she was very sick in the hospital, I was young at the time, and we all gathered in her empty bedroom in Doghead in Fort Chipewyan, Alberta and prayed for her to get well and come back home. She made it through that ordeal. I remember her telling us that she had a dream that she saw a man standing at the feet of her hospital bed, and she asked him to not take her because she still had young children. She came home from the hospital, and in her mind it was God’s will that she survived.  And not for her sake but for the sake of the children who still needed her.

There were times of difficulty involving alcohol during the sixties and seventies. I can recall bits and pieces but mainly I was oblivious to what really happened. I was too young, thankfully she gave that up, and we survived. We, her children, did okay for ourselves, being educated and becoming contributing members of society. I definitely believe we survived because of Mama, and not in spite of her. Her guidance allowed us to be strong individuals much like her.

Mama’s life is not all gloom and hardship. She enjoys life and loves to travel. Visiting with her grandchildren, and great grandchildren, and her friends, and helping others makes her happy. She especially enjoys her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren which number over a hundred now. Her passion was beading and sewing things for her family before her eyes failed her. She says that she enjoyed keeping busy. Her Dene beaded jackets are distinctive and recognizable all over the territory. She did the most beautiful beadwork. When I was a little girl she looked at my long thread as I was beading and she said, “Don’t be lazy, make your thread shorter.” She was right of course because when your thread is shorter it does not get tangled up. It takes longer to bead, but the results are perfection.

If things were not done right, be it sewing, cleaning or anything, she also had you redo it until it was done properly. I don’t know how many hours were spent cleaning, even when the house was already clean. Her standards are high for all of us.  People nowadays don’t take enough care to do things right. Rarely do we find anyone that actually takes pride in their work.

Until a few of years ago, she enjoyed the yearly pilgrimage to Lac St. Anne, one of Canada’s largest Indigenous healing pilgrimage. She enjoyed visiting with old friends and family who also have travelled a long way from isolated communities to attend. There she always bought Holy Water, blessed statutes, and pendents like St. Christopher, which she gave away as gifts. I still have a few she has given me over the years.

When I was younger I always enjoyed the fresh bread, and bannock she baked in the summer. The wood stove was moved outside because it was too hot in the house. At Christmas she made the best bread pudding I have ever tasted. I also really enjoyed the fun we had making homemade taffy in the winter.

        Mama's 92 Birthday

I honour Mama. Her gifts to me are strength, courage and reverence. When I’m worried or upset, I clean, clean, clean, I know she gave that to me too. She welcomes work, and keeps busy all the time. But most of all, she gave me life.

Mama turns 93 and makes the local news!

May 2012

The last few years after a fall that resulted in a broken hip and shoulder and was no longer to take care of herself she lost her independence

Liz & Mama

and had to move into an extended care facility.  I know it was difficult for her to accept that after all these years of care taking children, grandchildren, and great, great grandchildren she was no dependent on the good will of family and friends for her basic needs.

I could not resist adding a story told by Margo;  

"My story of Mama.  Mama grew up in a hard life and she did the best she could. Yes.  Many times I could see the stresses in her life.  With so many children how would anyone not understand her.  I only have a couple, and my God I get stressed, then I think I now fully understand mama.  I have always had a great respect for mama.

One day long ago, I took mama, my mom, and Adeline TripdeRoche to Lac St. Anne with my old car.  My car had holes on the floor, which I tried to cover with a cardboard paper.  Hight 63 was not payed yet back then.  I tell you each time I hit a bump puffs of dust would fill the car.  The ladies sat in the back seat and they all had polyester suits on.  We would stop on the way a couple of times getting out to stretch.  My goodness they all would brush the dust off their suits, all the while laughing about it.

As we were getting closer to Grassland, my mom said in Dene, "Oh, not too far now we will be stopping in this place called "Greengrass".  Mama then said in Dene "No, it's not called that, it's called "Gasline" and here is Mrs. TripdeRoche with her high pitched laugh practically rolling with laughter in the backseat. This was so hilarious.  I couldn't stop laughing too.  They were all so cute.  Mama is a very strong woman and inside mama she is very loveable, and I love her."

Thank you Margo for sharing this story!

Stuff Happens

There is a saying that, "things happen for a reason"What does that mean? It is like there is a master plan for the universe. I believe that things happen but not because of a gran plan. One is not exempt because they live a good life, and things don't happen if they don't live a good life. Why would there be a master plan that creates havoc good or bad in someone's life? The truth is it has nothing to do with how one lives their life, or to teach you a lesson, and or to make you a stronger person.

For example, you lose your job, you miss your bus, someone you love dies, you get caught in a snowstorm, your house burns down, you're in a car accident, etc... Recently, someone said to me, so much is going wrong in my life at the moment I must have done something really bad to deserve this. That could not be further from the truth.

Next time something unexpected happens to you, try to look at what happen without attaching any judgment to it. The deer in the picture eats my trees in the winter, and many more deer eat my flowers come summer. Things happen because they happen. It is not personal, and not because you are a bad or good person. But maybe I should protect the flowers with a fence.

You might take that statement to an extreme and say to yourself, well then it does not matter what I do. But to be sure, all action have a reaction, like if you don't pay your bills then certain things will occur. Or if you drink and drive there will be severe consequences. You should always act reasonably, and be mindful in your actions. In life there is cause and effect with every action resulting in a reaction.

Therefore, stuff can happen because you are not being present, and not being aware of your surroundings. Another example is having a car accident while talking on your cellphone or texting someone while driving. These are examples of when your own inattentiveness can cause mishaps to occur, but don't occur to you because you are not a good person. They don't happen to you because of who you are, or as part of a master life plan.

Stuff happen, and you can take that opportunity to make mindful choices. Who is in charge of your life? You are, and the only master life plan is the one you create for yourself! Be responsible and live life in the moment while being mindful of your actions.

As Easy as Breathing…

...or is it? Last fall, I decided to host a 'breathing party’ for some friends after being gifted a book from author Sat Hari Kaur Khalsa, a very dear friend. The book “The Ins and Outs of Breathing” is absolutely the best book on breathing I’ve ever read. Well, honestly, it is the only book I’ve read on the subject. Nonetheless, if you breathe, it is a must have book!

The beginning of the book has the reader observe their breathing. I thought how could I not be breathing perfectly, as a mediator, surely I know how to breathe. But much to my surprise, I was a reverse breather. I wasn't aware there is a incorrect way of breathing, isn’t it something we do naturally? Sadly, for some of us it is not so natural and we have to retrain ourselves to breath correctly. After practicing proper breathing as directed in the book for about two and half weeks, one day, I had the best experience while mediating . It was like transcending time and space. I attributed that amazing moment to observing my breath.

I decided to share the book with some of my friends. To maximize the understanding and benefit, I thought if I could convince Sat Hari to do a workshop in my home to teach us the basics of breathing it would make it that much simpler. And we could have fun doing it! she agreed!

I was telling someone about it, and she said I’ll call you after your workshop, how long can it take to teach someone to breathe anyway? Would you believe, two and half hours into the class and we only touch on the very basic techniques of breathing. I really must have a follow up class soon.

Good for the Goose...

Be still, and you never know who will grace your world. On this particular day, a fox, wondered through our yard.

The quite and stillness of living in the country is ideal for meditation. One day, my husband suggested I meditate in the gazebo which is located down by the river. I agreed, and went down to the river the next morning. As I walked down the stone steps, listening to the bird's early morning songs, feeling the breeze lightly brushing my face, I said to myself, this is going to be a great meditation.

I opened all the windows of the gazebo, found a nice comfortable place to sit, and began my meditation. I could hear the river water lapping against the shore in a gently rhythm. I was about about ten minutes into my meditation and all of a sudden I hear a loud commotion. I tried to continue my meditation, but could not. The sound was overwhelming, I got up and looked out the window, and I saw and heard about two hundred geese coming in for landing. They settled in right in front of the gazebo for the day.

I invite you to write about your meditation story.

Eckhart Tolle

I recently began reading A New Earth Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle. It would not have been a book I would have chosen to read, being a book which is recommended by Oprah. Believe me, I know it is a not a good excuse. To my credit, I overcame my reluctance and picked up the book.

Hubby bought it for me as a gift, I started to read it after staring at it for a few weeks. I'm half way through the book now.

I decided to google it, and found a reference to it on a blog which I now can't find. It linked to www.Oprah.com site for more information, and found that she is facilitating a ten week online course with Eckhart. I downloaded the last two podcast and I watched them. I'm finding it interesting thus far. There is certainly some wisdom, and some helpful ideas to begin conversations...

I will watch the remaining eight online lessons, and reserve my comments until I've seen them all. But I will say at this juncture, we are searching for truth, enlightenment and purpose, therefore we should be reading critically. It is always best practice to trust your gut and come to your own conclusions rather than accepting what others say at face value.

However, I do find it is immensely helpful to listen and watch the author speak about his book. Furthermore, some of the questions from participants are also very interesting and thought provoking. The whole web course is like having a study group with the entire world...

Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, Canada

My formative years began here...

A Moral Quandary

I have a moral dilemma.

This is the story. I recently met a friend for breakfast, having not seen him for a long time, and even longer since we sat down to visit. We updated each other on what was happening in our perspective lives. Then he suggested I visit him. But then he said, “On second thought maybe it wouldn't be fair to you because you’d be watching my wife and I argue.” I asked why? He responded that they are arguing a lot these days because she does not trust him, always accusing him of seeing another woman. I leaned towards him and asked softly, so are you? He nodded his head affirmatively. Hmmm (they knew each other when they were teenagers), and it turns out the person he is seeing is also friend of mine.

He said they met by accident and continued their friendship as though they were never apart and that lead to other things. Big surprise! My girl friend has a very turbulent and violent marriage. She was very unhappy, and was trying to get her life in balance. She was going through a serious depression when they met, again. Apparently, now she has him and he believes in her, by supporting and encouraging her to continue her studies. But they both know it can’t lead to anything else because he is not leaving his wife, and she is not leaving her husband.

My male friend and his wife also have an unhappy marriage; children are grown and out on their own.

So here is my dilemma. I know he and my friend have a deep friendship first, and they look forward to talking to each other; I also know my friend”s wife. My male friend has been married for over 25 years, and his wife was a stay at home wife. My male friend believes so people would be hurt if they knew about his affair, so they (the person he is having the affair with) that it is best if they stayed in their perspective marriages.

If I am to meet then at some function, should I act???? My girlfriend does not know I know, should I say something to her????

Snow, and more snow...

March 20, the first day of Spring is in 11 days, and this is what the patio looks like today...

Focus

Sit in silence, and the possibilities you'll hear will be loud and clear...

Be Still

Knock, knock, knock

Why is my heart pounding so? Oh, I know, I hear knocking on the door to my world. I say, what is in the past, ought to stay there, don't you agree? What good will it bring to open that door? It certainly will not bring harmony only discourse.

If we are practicing living in the present, should we acknowledge that part of living in the present is opening the past? Or is bringing that forward really living in the past?

My answer to those questions, is simple. That door is closed, move on, I say. Yet, ghost from the past yell “I’m here and you better damn face that fact because I’m not going back into the past."

Why are my palms so sweaty? Because the past is knocking, knocking, and knocking on my door. It whispers "don’t worry everything is going to be alright" to this I plead, don’t open that Door!!! If you do, you'll be opening the door to more than the past.

Knock, knock, knock! Time to decide what is important, should I or should I not answer that door… but is the choice really mine to make; this is not my past that has come a knocking?

There should come a time in your life when you'll just know who matters, who never did, who won't anymore, and who always will. So don't spend energy on people from your past, there is a reason why they didn't make into your present. (so true don't you think?)

I dream ....

I feel, I awake, I am...

i

Faceless but Real

It is my humble opinion blogging is a strange pastime. To blog is to complain, to boast, to commemorate or to just make random observations about your life or life generally to no one and everyone. You post your blog, it goes into the ether that is the internet.

Will anyone read it, do you care? Most bloggers, I imagine, when they create their blog, they are doing it for themselves, a type of self-therapy or to journal and maybe to write a book.

Then someone will post a comment, suddenly the realization someone is reading that post is crystallized. Perhaps you get kinda creep out at first. But wait a second, it is expected after all, you are posting to the entire network of faceless people in cyberspace. Someone, somewhere, at some point is going to respond.

And if you are lucky you'll get a following of readers. Oh, the pressure. The pressure to be witty, creative, amazing and just fantastic. The pressure. What would you do if this were to happen to you.

Create Blog

If no one reads your blog, does it really exist???