Thanksgiving Day – What We Should Really Be Thankful For

Most countries have a day set aside for some semblance of Thanksgiving. Obviously, here in the US, it is the third Thursday of November.  Unfortunately, the tradition of Thanksgiving has devolved into gorging on food, watching parades and football on TV, and preparing to spend lots of money on Black Friday. This year a great number of stores are opening from 10 to 12 PM on Thanksgiving so shoppers don’t have to wait to part with their money.

Yes, it is traditional for families to come together to partake of the feast, how many of them are even thinking about giving thanks for anything?  What we really should be giving thanks for on this special day and every day is the opportunity to start anew each day. Be thankful for waking up and experiencing being alive one more day, for each day we have the gift of life.

We can choose how that day will be.  We may not be able to control the events of the day but we can control our response to those events.  We can choose to roll with it and call it “all good”” or we can fight it and call it “stupid, bad, unfair, unjust or against me.”  The exact same events can be given any of these labels depending on how you choose to see it.

So if you want to be genuinely happy then make a conscious effort to do so.  With conscious effort what might be considered a “bad day” can easily be transformed into a “good day.”

Be thankful for the opportunity to right any of your past wrongs.  Be thankful for others in your life even if the only person you talk to is the mailman. Be thankful for all you have and all you have not, today and every day. Happy Thanksgiving!

Garage Sales

Most people have been to at least one garage sale at some time in their life.  Perhaps you have even held one yourself to clear out unwanted items and clutter from your home.  Such sales are interesting analogies for life in general.  You go through your home collecting odds and ends that have lost their utility and meaning for you.  Then you try to sell them to someone else to squeeze the last bit of value out of each one.

The potential buyers are interesting as well.  There are those that show up before the appointed start time to catch you off guard and try to obtain the highest quality items for less than the posted price.  Often these people will then turn around and immediately sell the same items for several times what they paid.

Don’t we sometimes do this ourselves in other situations?  We might try to skirt the rules and get something for less.  This is a “seller beware” mentality.  Of course the opposite “buyer beware” mentality exists, too.  Either way, the behavior, although it might not be illegal, it is also not spiritually pure.  

What is the difference between ethical behavior and spiritually pure behavior?  Every business course/book has an ethics chapter dealing with how one should behave in that specific discipline.  The problem is the recommended course of action is designed to keep the practitioner and company out of jail.

“Do no harm” is a common stance.  While this is commendable, it does not go far enough.  “Do the highest good” is much better for the life and cohesion of the planet.  This reflects spiritually pure action.

Individual and institutional egos encourage employees to get the most out of a potential sale that they can –again “buyer beware.”  Many will justify these actions as “It is just business, what you have to do to be successful.”  But is this really true?  Win-lose transactions are just that. One side is boosted up at the cost of the other.  This is NEVER healthy for either side.  This is true for business and it is true in relationships in our private lives.

When we extend our hand to help rather that trick, pull people up with us instead of stepping on them to get to the top, then we all win.  Ultimately, this is the best scenario.  Unfortunately, you often hear the argument “It is not my responsibility to care for others.”  Or “The only responsibility a company has is to make money for its investors.” These views are more than just shallow, they are dangerous.

They are dangerous to the ones who hold the view because it hardens their hearts to the plight of others.  The “others” are actually extensions of themselves, since we are all part of the same whole.   So in reality, when we take advantage of someone else, we are only harming ourselves.

I realize that those who practice win-lose behaviors do not buy this argument.  It is hard to understand it  when they are living in their mansions, driving fine cars and consuming the highest quality of everything, while the “others” are out of sight and out of mind.

I encourage everyone to spend time helping out in a soup kitchen or visiting poor neighborhoods to see the direct impact of greed and disadvantage.  Hopefully, the experience will trigger an awakening of consciousness that will move a small step forward toward healing the planet.

Which Religion Gets it Right?

Ever since man began to walk upright and have a language that could be used to form independent creative thoughts, religion has existed.  The belief systems were as varied as the number of cultural groups.  Today around the globe there are hundreds of religions that believe they have the true understanding of faith.

Which one is correct?  The truth is that all are correct – in their own way for their own people.  Does it matte

It is the core of the beliefs that is critical for humanity to survive together.  That central core IS the same- love a higher power or connecting energy and love and respect your fellow man.  The rest of the rules are just trappings to control the behaviors and thoughts of the followers.

Do not fear to be free.  Free to believe only that which makes sense to you in your heart-of-hearts.  But beware of the blinders of greed, ego and fear are that blind us to the truth and color our interpretation of truth which impacts our decisions

The ego made belief that one religion is more perfect or that specific adherents are the “chosen ones” is dangerous.  The belief that people must follow a prescribed activity in order to be happy for eternity, after the physical body has died, is dangerous.  One needs only to turn on the radio and listen to the news to know this is true.  This erroneous belief in exclusivity has caused more suffering and death since the dawn of man than any other belief.

It is time to stop the lie and change the dialogue.  Remove the obstacles from your eyes of prejudice and see the truth.  Every human is made exactly the same.  We are all born with the same number of organs.  We walk upright not slithering on our bellies.  We all have brains to think and hearts to modify the thoughts of the brain.  Outward appearances are just ways of distinguishing family groupings, no different than the unique strip patterns of zebras so that the young can find its mother in the herd to suckle.

The “enemy” is not one who looks or believes differently.  The “enemy” is the lie that tells us we are different.  Remove the lie and the world lives in peace and harmony.  It is that simple.

We are one not many.

We are the same not distinct.

We are forever joined from the past, in the present and will be in the future, as one.

Killing another human being is the same as cutting off a part of yourself.  The repercussions are felt as a ripple throughout the human herd.

So what can one individual person do?  Change your view of separateness into one of sameness.  Your behavior and thought patterns will naturally change too.  If you change your view, others around you will be influenced to change their view.  Eventually like dominos, we will all lie touching each other in the connected chain that we are.

Be brave.  Change your view.  Start the dominos to fall in your circle of influence.  Your circle will impact many other circles which will impact even more.  Peace is possible if we change our view now. 

We are one not many.

Thoughts on the Wind

Everyone has the experience of thoughts just popping into our heads.  We don’t know from whence they came; we might have never had that thought before, yet there it is.  Where did it come from?  Does the origin matter? 

Probably the origin does not matter, sometimes if we believe a “god,” “guide,” or “angel,” is whispering in our heads, we are more likely to follow the message.  We are more likely to take it seriously.  But the source is really not the issue.

What is the issue is that we realize that we are not alone in this world.  We do not have to go it alone. There are entities with us that will help guide us if we ask for assistance.  Whether you are comfortable calling your request prayer, mediation, talking or communing with nature, it is all the same.  It is about stepping outside of your physical self and tapping into the resources of the universe that are available to you.

This does not need to be some new age activity sitting among crystals.  It takes only to be still, emptying your mind of your usual rambling thoughts and being calm.  Simply focus on your breathing and allow the stressors to fade away.  

Trust the ideas that come to you in these periods of calm.  They will be in your higher interest.  You can tell the difference between your own thoughts and those of the guide by the compassionate tone.  They will NEVER be judgmental or chiding.  They will NEVER shout or be profane.  It will seem as though the message just easily slips into your consciousness.  There is a sense of peace about the experience even though what you are being told to do may be difficult for you, such as letting go of long held anger.

Write these ideas down for future reference.  We have millions of thoughts that fleet though our brains each day and it will be lost within seconds if not captured in writing for future recall.  If you use a notebook for just this purpose, to track these thoughts, it will help more than random slips of paper left here and there.

Think about how you can use the information to improve your life.  It will never steer you wrong, if you get your own ego out of the interpretation.

Trusting Your Instincts

You have often heard the phrase “Trust your instincts.”  Teachers tell their students this before exams and they also add “Don’t second guess yourself.”

What does this mean and why is it good advice?  Isn’t it better to ponder a question instead of immediately answering it?  No, it isn’t – in most cases.  When we respond to situations from “instinct” we respond from our natural spiritual essence that already has access to universal knowledge and compassionate wisdom.  The response will be well grounded and appropriate for the situation.  It will be for the higher good of all who are involved.

Conversely, when we respond from habit, or based in previous behavioral patterns, we are coming from a place fraught with emotional overlay that blinds us to the reality of the situation and the reality of those involved.

Human behavioral patterns are incorrectly labeled “instinct” because they are often based in the ancient “flight or fight” response.  But this response is a physical response that originated from our early evolutionary period.  When we look at the extreme violence and cruelty in every part of the world today, we see the effect of this reptilian response.

The change in the vibrational rate of the planet, as a result of constant planetary movement in the galaxy, has caused an unsettled feeling in our physical bodies.  The vast majority of people do not understand why they feel unsettled but it triggers a sense of fear, a guardedness to protect who they think they are.  They have joined other equally fearful minds in groups, bands, gangs, political parties, societies, etc. to “defend” their view of life and behavioral patterns.  They have “circled the wagons” around themselves to fight off some yet undefined threat call “change.”  As a human species, we seem to be moving back into the dark ages instead of moving toward a stronger period of enlightenment.

The reality is however, that our physical body is not our essence.  If we are going to go back to our most foundational and original self, then we must connect with the universal energy – that which defines us, that which caused us to be able to breathe, that which lives long after the body has decayed and been replaced.  Every one of us is not just connected to this universal energy that always has been and ever will be, but we are a part of it.

Visualize if you will, the moment of the big bang that started the physical development of the universe.  There was one bundle of energy that exploded and threw its particles into the 10 directions.  The particles were not cleanly separated, they remained connected through a thin line not unlike a complex web we call the internet.  But every “spirit” (for lack of a better word) is connected, (not just those that can financially afford it.)

This vibrational energetic connection is who we are.  We are the essence of the universe.  Every one of us is connected and we are all the same, exploded out of the same source.  Not as siblings but as part of the whole and equal in every way because there is no distinction.

It is only the protective shell that we have adopted in order to function in this vibration plane that sees distinctions – and these are false distinctions – colored by fear, greed, desire, ego, and most critically, lack of true self identity.

If we understand and live our physical lives from our “true self” there would be no wars, no terrorism, no bickering over what is mine and what is yours, no question of how the physical resources of the world should be divided and utilized.  Like water, these resources would flow to the low spots from places of abundance and equalize out.  The difference is a raging sea with high waves and deep valleys that can and does trigger devastation versus a calm flat peaceful sea that invites all to fish and play together in the warmth of the sun.

So the next time you need to make a decision or respond to something – trust your true instinct.  Don’t just repeat dysfunctional human behavioral patterns.  Use the network of compassionate intelligence that is heart based not fear based and ego driven.  Don’t second guess yourself into a lower level solution.

In Memory of those who died on 9/11/01

Many spirits transitioned on this day 11 years ago.  It was a day that the nation and the world stood still in utter shock and pain.  Today, I honor the memory of the 2,973 victims, of men, women and little children of all ages, color, religions, and nationals from over 90 countries, who died that fateful day.

The act of terror was probably designed to strike terror into our hearts and cause chaos instead it brought the best out in us as we came together to console and heal as a nation.  For a brief period, we put aside our superficial differences and behaved with love and compassion towards, our neighbors, friends and family.  We became more tolerant of others differences (unless they were Islamic.)

How we have forgotten the lessons learned of 11 years ago.  Today our nation is a battlefield of our own making.  Far too many people with extreme views on both sides are driving the middle views into silence.  The compassion has been replaced by hateful lunacy.  Closed ears and even more closed hearts exist today, what happened?  We managed to do to ourselves what terrorists could not do – divide us and cause chaos.

We are no longer a democratic society where every voice and every vote counts.  Now only the most selfish and hard hearted rich who desire only to protect and grow their own stockpile of money have a voice.    They control the airwaves but they need not control our vote.  

We need to find a way to return centrists to the halls of governance.  We need to bring people into government who are willing to honestly work together to help each other and every one of us be successful and healthy.  The people who lost their lives on 9/11 were just ordinary people – like our own families.  Can we use their memory and the memory of what it was like to be a nation and family to close the schism between us?  Use the memory to pull us back from the extreme fringes into a common middle ground where we can once again value each other and honestly work together to solve the nation’s problems.

History tells us that all great nations eventually peter out and become obsolete.  We have not been conquered from outside but are imploding from within.  The incendiary devices used are selfishness, intolerance, greed, materialism, elevated sense of superiority, ego, hopelessness, disillusionment and fear.  We must reach out to help others up, not step on them to keep ourselves falsely elevated.

The values must change from the greed of purchasing the second, third and fourth homes when others have none; from spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on cars- when others have no legs and no chance of obtaining substitutes; from hiding millions in offshore accounts to avoid sharing a mere fraction of one percent of the wealth with those that need it most. 

Let us all vow, right now, today, on the most sacred of days – to change our behavior, change our hearts, change our minds away from glorifying ME and MINE to raising up and helping the nation as US; for we truly are all in this together.

Namaste to those that passed out of this world on 9/11.  Namaste to those left behind.

(Namaste means “I honor the light within you.”)