I've Been Thinking...

Some weeks I have no idea what to write for my essay here in The Sunday Paper. Some weeks I just sit down and start writing, not yet knowing where my mind will take me.

This is where it took me this week.

What if you could make aging, the bane of human existence, a blissful process instead of a painful one? This question is almost never asked, certainly not by researchers into aging. No matter what new scientific track holds promise—and there are dozens of them—one assumption is never challenged, the assumption that aging is a negative process, like getting sick. The two go together, since the elderly are subject to conditions like cancer and heart disease far more than the young, and eventually most people die from a final illness.

Is your body demanding your attention lately? Are your emotions on edge? Do you feel as if your health is declining, your sense of optimism impaired? You are not alone. Almost everyone I know has been facing some kind of physical issue or challenge over the past year or so, including myself. Breast cancer flipped my daily world view upside-down. Yet, as I gradually learned to experience it with a peaceful, accepting heart, calm arose within me to face whatever I needed to without despair or negativity. My soul guided my body, mind, and feelings throughout. Sometimes we have to pass through depression or emotional upset to reach that overview, but it can happen. This is the challenge of these times we are living through, especially during a global pandemic.

Do you accept the gift?

The Practice:
Receive generosity.

Why?

Life gives to each one of us in so many ways.

For starters, there’s the bounty of the senses – including chocolate chip cookies, jasmine, sunsets, wind singing through pine trees, and just getting your back scratched.

Everyone on the planet is either operating from their peace or from their pain. When you trace everything you can’t stand about the world back to its origin, you’ll find pain. 

When I look at the people I grew up with, they didn’t know any better. Were they bad people? No, they just didn’t have a choice. Society wasn’t constructed for them to thrive, the system wasn’t constructed for them to get ahead. People in states of survival make choices that don’t make any sense to other people who aren’t surviving. 

Some years ago it was considered a secret that explaining the universe had reached a dead end. Only the most informed scientists talked about it, but eventually a major shift occurred, and the public caught on. Instead of a Theory of Everything, which had been the holy grail of physics, a state of confusion, conflicting theories, advanced mathematics, and wild out-of-the-box speculations defined the mess that had come about. No one could say where space, time, matter, and energy came from, and they still can’t.

Words—no matter how intangible they seem—hold so much meaning. 

Because of words, we can tell our stories, share our dreams, and mouth our aspirations. They can spark a revolution and inspire people to push for a meaningful cause. 

At the same time, words are powerful enough to become weapons of negativity. They can hurt, alienate, and discriminate. Words can become too hateful and judgmental, that is why we should use them mindfully. 

Life is a movie and William Shakespeare was right when he wrote that all of the world is a stage and all the men and women are merely players. Writers have keen observation and they observe life. Comedians do the same, observing human behavior. 

It was a natural transition to intentionally connect with the love, light and guidance of my soul. The connection allows me to both see and feel the love and wisdom of my truth. I become infused with this powerful energy that helps me heal and make wise choices. This practice has allowed my soul to show me my highest vibrational path of this life.

We each have free will and a gazillion choices. With that being said, just for a second, imagine if you were guided to choose a life that offers the greatest love and happiness.

What if time doesn’t exist? That’s a new question in physics that has become a hot topic. There are no viable theories about where time came from, which is a huge difficulty if you want to explain the universe. At the instant of the Big Bang space and time suddenly appeared, either out of nowhere or out of some complex “pre-reality” that is unimaginable. The only hope is to find a mathematical formulation that might or might not need for time to exist.

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed and stressed out?

Perhaps you were juggling so many things, handling so many responsibilities, facing an important deadline, or needing to make some important decisions.

There are more than seven billion people living on this planet which means more than seven billion personalities, opinions and ways of seeing the world. With so many diverse and varying ideologies and socio-cultural milieus, someone is bound to act in a way, or say something that upsets another.

The question is: Do we always have to take everything so personally? If not, how do we make what seems personal, impersonal?

Is your mind wandering?

The Practice:
Pay attention.

In this Short Answer episode, Dr. Sue addresses how it's time for humanity to "mature" our consciousness on a global scale, to begin living from the Frontside of the Model of Consciousness as the creative and loving energy that we are. It is time for this evolution especially now in this moment in our planetary history with major conflicts taking place between countries, individuals, and within our own consciousness. It's time to tap our peace, and speak and live it out in the world for the benefit of all.

We all need something to keep us humble. Everybody needs to struggle somewhere, and that’s a good thing because it reminds you why you are here and that we are all in it together. That’s why life is the way it is. Plus, we are human. Isn’t it beautiful being a human being?

Freedom is showing up who you are and going through everything and not needing to hide anything. That’s freedom. The day I can’t be myself is the day I stop showing up. Had I not gone through everything I’ve gone through in life, I would be unbearable. I love this version of me. 

I've Been Thinking...

There was a lot to think about this past week. There was a lot to listen to, a lot to process, and a lot to try and understand.

When a lot of noise is swirling around, I’ve learned that it’s often wise to take a beat. It’s good to take the time to reflect, then wait to see what you’re left thinking and feeling at the end of the week. I always have to remind myself that waiting is good.

Choosing your personal lifestyle became critically important starting only a few decades ago, after it was realized that your well-being, and especially your health, depends on your lifestyle. This was the most important turning point for the wellness movement. Previously, maintaining physical health was centered on preventing risks like smoking and high cholesterol diet, and medical training in wellness was practically nil.

Most of the worst risks are still connected with bad choices. You have the freedom to choose a lifestyle that includes tobacco and alcohol, no exercise, and a diet heavy in processed foods, hydrogenated fat, and sugar. But there’s enough information available to give pause. As a result, better choices are being made by most people, and an improved lifestyle is the result.

I've Been Thinking...

I write to you this week from what I call my “reverence time.” That’s my name for the early hours of the morning when it’s dark and still outside.

I’ve written to you from this place before. I’ve also written about how important it is to me. It’s my hope that you can craft your day in a way that allows you to experience reverence time as well, even if it’s just for a few minutes.