Here?

Today's Reminder is: 

"You are here. Are you Now?"

Sometimes we "wander off" into the past that was or a past that might have been. This can have deleterious effects to your present circumstances.  You cannot change the past. Ever.

Living in the here and now will probably allow you to respond in more appropriate ways to current circumstances.

Let go of the past. Live in the present. Plant seeds for a joyful future. 

Are You Willing?

Today's Reminder is: 

"To be loved, you must be willing to be Loved. The same is true for being hated."

Never doubt that you have the power to choose what you will experience in your life.  You have the power to accept love... 

But what about hate? 

It is no different than love-- except it is a "negative" emotion which usually comes with hurt. It seems that we mistakenly believe we have no control over being hated. That is not true. 

To really feel hated one must accept that the person hating you is somehow justified in feeling the way they do. In other words when you feel hurt because someone "hates" you it is because you have accepted their judgement of you. The hurt can wound you even if it is untrue because some part of you believes it is true.

When you do not accept another person's judgement of you, you cannot be hurt emotionally by them. That is not to say that "haters" can be ignored but the emotional damage they might cause you can be stopped. Once you stop accepting their judgement of you, you can make clear decisions on how to deal with them.  

Serve

Today's Reminder is:

"We serve what we deserve."

Consider this reminder for a moment... break it into thought filled pieces. 

We Serve?
If we serve we are taking action... but to serve also means that we are in the service of "some one or some thing.

What?
What? What is it we serve? Our belief! How do we serve this What? 

We deserve.
What do you deserve? Really?

The interesting thing here for you to consider is: If we change our belief what we deserve changes as well.

You must be willing

Today's Reminder is:

"To be loved, you must be willing to be Loved. The same is true for being hated."

 Not feeling loved? Love is something we must accept for it to become part of our life experience. Ask yourself: Am I willing to be loved? Am I willing to accept love? Only you can answer that. If your answer is "yes but..." then look at it again... That but... means that somehow and in some way you are putting a fence between you and being loved. Remove the fence and you open yourself to love.

Do you feel you are hated? Hate is something we feel when we accept the bad things other say to us or do to us. But to feel hated we must feel in some small [or great] way that the hate is justified. You are free not to accept the hate directed at you and you are free to defend yourself against unjustified enmity. You don't have to allow yourself to be bullied or abused. If you are unsure get help.

Words of Themselves

Today's Reminder is: 

"Language is a formalism used to convey meaning. Words of themselves convey nothing."

A writer loves words. The power of language is that it allows us to construct messages that are both filled with information but also can be 'emotionally' or 'spiritually' meaningful. A dancer loves to Dance. The power of Dance [and the martial arts] is you can see the 'energy' of the message in the motions. The artist, photographer, or filmmaker can give birth to Images, real or imagined, that give the viewer the "feeling" of the captured image.

The late Isaac Bonewits , in his book Real Magic, made note of these three forms of communication [taken from Hindu religious philosophy] which can be used to elevate one's beliefs and / or consciousness. The three forms are:  Mantra [Words], Mudra [Actions], Mandala [Images].  Each of these forms can also be used to convey a message or meaning to an audience.

• Mantra - Words - Books - Scripts - Oratory
• Mudra - Action - Dance / Ballet / Martial Art 
• Mandala - Image - Art - Visual Media

Combining these three forms in a work [or your life] makes  your ability to convey a message more effective. A recent example of this kind of work is James Cameron's Avatar. While the plot is rather simple the net effect of the words, actions, and images invites the viewer to hear/see/feel the message . If you have not seen it, you might take a look. After seeing it, evaluate each component form. Ask yourself: how effective was the form? How effective was the combination of forms?

The whole point of words, actions, and imagery is to communicate a message. It is important to remember never to get so caught up in the "forms" that you forget to deliver the message. Think about how effective you are when you try to convey a message. Think about your successes and failures. You are a messenger of a message only you possess and only you can deliver. Think about that the next time you use the three forms: Words, Actions, Images.

The Truth Born of Your Heart...

Today's reminder is:

"Whether you want to be or not, you are a father, mother, and mid-wife to the Truth.  For every act of creation is the Truth born of your heart.  Just don't insist your truth is the only truth."

All of us create. Some of us are better at it than others. Like it or not you will create things, feelings, events, memories, hurts, healing, and all of the other possibilities.  Some erroneously insist their way is the "only way" or their truth is the "only truth". This is not so... 

The rule of thumb one should apply to their own truth to measure its validity is: Does it bring joy and life?  Does it lift the fallen?  Free the oppressed? Feed the hungry or house the homeless? Heal the hurt of the orphan or widowed? 

Does your Truth  make the heart sing with the joy of being alive and make you willing to give that joy without strings?