This Little Light of Mine

We cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own.
–Ben Sweetland

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This quote reminds me of the episode of Friends where, "There are no selfless good deeds."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzQSEoNdGvk

Everything we share adds onto ourselves.  If we share joy and kindness, it is added onto us.  If we share resentment and hatred, still we are adding onto ourselves.

We choose what we share.  Why not share our light.

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Titles by Ben Sweetland

Divine Guidance

I am open to the guidance of synchronicity, and do not let expectations hinder my path.
–Dalai Lama

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I LOVE this quote.  It is by far one of my very favorites, so when I came upon it this morning, I KNEW it was my quote for today!

I believe this is probably one of THE most important steps to manifestation.  Being open to seeing and being guided by synchronicity.  It is made, by divine design, to guide us.  To lead us toward our desires.  Toward our passions.  Toward our own divine purpose and happiness.

When we have expectations of the way it's supposed to be, or the way it has to be in order for us to be happy, we limit God.  We put God in a box and beg that He manifest only within the boxed parameters because WE, in our limited knowledge and perceptions, clearly know what's best.

To truly lead a magical life, we must be open to the flow.  Open to the guidance we may receive.  Open to God's divine communication with us.

In "reality," all the things we long to manifest aren't actually about the things, but the growth.  Manifestation is about the expansion.  The inner, Spiritual, and personal growth.  When a manifestation is successful, we experience growth.  Then suddenly, the manifestation itself is of little importance because we've realized that we had everything necessary for our happiness all along.

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Service & Compassion

“There is no such thing as a simple act of compassion or an inconsequential act of service. Everything we do for another person has infinite consequences.”
– Caroline Myss

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I find this quote to be SO true. Usually we don't even give thought to what impression we leave upon others. As I sit and contemplate these words, I'm reminded that some of the largest impact made upon me was by people who weren't even giving thought to what I might think.

A kind word that made my day. A kind action that touched my soul.

No matter how large the deed or how small, all have added to my sense of self. All have inspired me to be more or love more or allow more.

The simple acts that stand most forward in my mind are the ones that were simply out of kindness. Acts of compassion and kindness that were bestowed upon me for no reason beyond that I appeared to need it and someone felt obliged to share their inner God with me.

Your selfless service and compassion are your greatest gifts to others... and also your greatest reward to yourself.

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Loving What Is

"Even when you think you have your life all mapped out, things happen that shape your destiny in ways you might never have imagined."
-Deepak Chopra

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I am reminded that, no matter how undesirable I may judge a circumstance to be, all things are instrumental in the fulfillment of a desire I have already put forth.  If I allow things to be as they are, divine things can unfold for me.

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We are Love

“We are love, and there’s nothing we can do about that. Love is our nature. It’s what we are without our stories.”
– Byron Katie

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You can never find true happiness inside your story, or the roles you play.  Happiness lies in the seeing of what IS, because all that is, is love expressing itself for you.

No story.  No boundaries.  No exclusions.  Just love.

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A Good Morning to You

"Every morning when we wake up, we have a choice to either open to a potential miracle and celebrate it, or to choose complaint and control."

- Deepak Chopra

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I also recently heard Joel Osteen talking about how every morning is a gift of joy from God just waiting for us to open and unfold in it.  And it's up to us to accept the gift of joy we're given each day.

One of my very first observances in the morning upon waking is how cozy and warm I am in my bed.  That simple observation of pleasure makes me smile and sets the stage for my entire morning.

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Worrying the Future

Whatever you're thinking about is literally like planning a future event. When you're worrying, you are planning. When you are appreciating, you are planning... What are you planning?
- Abraham Hicks

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A beautiful reminder to avoid conditioned emotional responses and be aware of our thoughts.  Emotional responses become conditioned via repetition.  The only way to break the cycle is to be conscious of what you are thinking.

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What could possibly be better on a cold, November Sunday afternoon than the smell of baking cookies?
Possibly the eating of them....

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Every morning dawns fresh.
Don't bring yesterday's woes into today.
Bring new hopes, new dreams, new ideas, and new expectations!

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 Soul Of Healing Affirmations
You Can Heal Your Life Affirmations Kit
Change Almost Anything in 21 Days: Recharge Your Life with the Power of Over 500 Affirmations


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All the Buddhas of all the ages have been telling you a very simple fact: Be - don't try to become. Within these two words, be and becoming, your whole life is contained. Being is enlightenment, becoming is ignorance... ..

OSHO

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More Osho...

Being in Love: How to Love with Awareness and Relate Without Fear

Love, Freedom, Aloneness: The Koan of Relationships

Emotions: Freedom from Anger, Jealousy & Fear

The Book of Secrets: 112 Keys to the Mystery Within

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Adapted from The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire,

by Deepak Chopra (Three Rivers Press).







Coincidences become clues to the will of the universe, providing a way for us to see its synchronicity and take advantage of life’s boundless opportunities.




But with billions of different pieces of information coming at us at any given time, how do we know what to put our attention on? How do you keep from looking for meaning in every cup of tea, or every television commercial, or every glance from a stranger on the street? And conversely, how do we keep from missing valuable opportunities?




Those questions cannot be answered simply. Part of learning to live synchrodestiny is learning to become a sensitive instrument in your surroundings. For a moment now, close your eyes. Try to sense everything in your environment. What sounds do you hear? What do you smell, feel, or taste at this very moment? Put your attention for a moment on each sense individually and be fully aware.




People who are sensitive to events and stimuli around them will be sensitive to coincidences sent from the universe. The most powerful and unusual stimuli will naturally draw your attention. Those are the things in your environment you need to look at most closely. And the more unlikely the coincidence, the more potent the clue.




When a coincidence arises, don’t ignore it. Ask yourself, What is the message here? What is the significance of this? You don’t need to go digging for the answers. Ask the question, and the answers will emerge.

They may arise as a sudden insight, a spontaneous creative experience, or they may be something very different. Another thing you can do to nurture coincidence is to keep a diary or journal of coincidences in your life.




More coincidences provide more clues to guide our behavior. We start to enjoy more opportunities. We have more “good luck.” These clues point out the direction to take our lives.




Adapted from

The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire, by Deepak Chopra (Three Rivers Press).

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Holdin' Out for a Hero

I am touched my the depth of love and compassion humans can have for animals.
I think it's interesting that when an animal is in danger or if a person is in danger... especially a child...
people pull together, no cost is too great...
no being not worthy...

I think it illustrates the root goodness of man.  Even a person whom you might find... immoral... untrustworthy... dishonest... when faced with a Being in peril, the overwhelming majority would become a hero without giving it a second thought.

We are all someone's hero.

No matter who you are or where you've been or what mistakes you've made... Someone thinks of you as their hero.  We forget our heroics so easily though. We forget that to BE a hero is to act like a hero. We let the little, nagging voices inside have their dirty way with us and before we know it, we're behaving more the villain than the hero.

So... watch this awesome video....
http://www.care2.com/causes/animal-welfare/blog/goats-rescued-from-60-foot-tall-perch/

and remember...

You're someone's hero!

 

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Your Emotional Debt

On the surface, everyday life has become much more comfortable than ever before. Yet people still lead lives of quiet desperation. The source of this desperation is repression, a sense that you cannot be what you want to be, cannot feel what you want to feel, cannot do what you want to do.

A creator should never be trapped in this way. No authority looms over you to enforce repression; it is entirely self-forced. Any part of yourself that you cannot face puts a barrier between you and reality.

Yet emotions are entirely private. Only you know how you feel, and when you stop censoring your emotions, the effect goes far beyond feeling better. Your aim is not to experience only positive emotions.

We all owe emotional debts to the past, in the form of feelings we couldn’t allow ourselves to express. The past isn’t over as long as these debts go unpaid. You don’t have to return to the person who made you angry or afraid, with the intention of revising how the past turned out. For that person, the impact can never be the same as it is for you.

Every hidden, blocked feeling is like a chunk of frozen consciousness. It is another obstacle between you and the silent witness that must be dissolved. Time and attention have to be paid, sitting with your feelings and letting them say what they have to say.

The purpose of getting rid of emotional debt is to find your place in the present.
Adapted from The Book of Secrets by Deepak Chopra (Harmony Books, 2004).

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Keep a green tree alive in your heart and a songbird may come to sing there.
~Chinese Proverb


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Monday Giggles

What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.

~Yiddish proverb

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Oh Baby

I walked past a man with a baby in a pack, strapped to the front of him...
"You got a little somethin' on the front of your shirt, there," I said, pointing to his chest.
He laughed.
Nice smile.

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Pearls

"A pearl is a beautiful thing that is produced by an injured life. It is the tear [that results] from the injury of the oyster. The treasure of our being in this world is also produced by an injured life. If we had not been wounded, if we had not been injured, then we will not produce the pearl."


Stephan Hoeller



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Exaserbating the Issue

Often we make our problems much larger than they are.

Don't look for the worst case scenario.  Look for the best possible angle.

You're going to find whatever point of view you seek, so purposefully seek a point of view that makes the task at hand sound easier.

Look for reasons why the task at hand will be a cinch, not for reasons why you're might fail!

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Where have you been?
Who has victimized you?
How bad was your childhood?

Extraordinary people survive under the most terrible circumstances and they become more extraordinary because of it.

—Robertson Davies

It is within your pain that greatness grows.  Choose to be great!

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Good Morning, Beautiful Thursday

Awoke @ 6:30 this morning.

Listened to the birds announcing the beautiful new day on the rise as I watched the trees that were just out of view, cast dancing shadows on the bedroom walls.

My feet hadn't even touched the floor, but the trees I couldn't even glimpse assured me that today would be something to dance about.  I love days that make me want to dance.

The other half of my soul rolled into me wrapping his warmth around my body.  Bliss...

Even the bat on the wall looked content with the dawning of a new, exciting day...

Huh?!  Wait, did you just say, "the bat on the wall?"

Oh yeah, I said there was a BAT on my WALL!

*Giggle*

Turns out the other half of my soul is my much weaker, wimpier, shrieking, hiding under the covers, half.
*More Giggles*

I ♥ Bats!

They eat bugs.  Loads of bugs.

I took the opportunity to show the boys a bat, up close and personal.  Then I fetched a step ladder and a clear bowel and once he was safely inside, we examined his fuzzy little self a little more before we released him into the backyard.

A bat!   *Giggle*

Well... welcome into my amazing life, Thursday~

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Beauty

When you deliberately see the beauty outside of you, you are cultivating the beauty within you...

Similarly...

When you deliberately see what you define as "ugly" outside of you, you are cultivating the "ugly" within you...

There is beauty in all things, including You.  Choose to see it.

Your life can only contain that which you choose to see.
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Stillness Speaks

~ When your attention moves into the Now, there is an alertness.  It is as if you were waking up from a dream, the dream of thought, the dream of past and future.  Such clarity, such simplicity.  No room for problem making.  Just this moment as it is.