Harmony Now

Harmony Now42913


We hear so much about bullying these days. It is frightening to read about young people being assaulted because they are not a party to an in-group. It doesn’t require that they have done anything wrong. It only requires that they are not like someone else or a group of someones. It is more frightening to think that group bullying results in attacks on an individual.

We need to look at each person, how they feel about themselves. A bully doesn’t have personal power and so, takes it out on others. This makes him feel powerful by having the ability to intimidate or physically harm another. In truth, the bully relates to the feeling of powerlessness that the victim has, and thereby, is causing the weakness within himself to suffer. It’s a case of, “I feel bad, you’re weaker than me, so I’m going to assault you so I can feel powerful.”
It would be nice if we lived in a world where each child was loved and valued for the individual blessing that he or she is. It would be nice if all parents loved and valued their children. But the truth is, we don’t and they don’t. Schools do the best they can to give children a positive self-image, but they can’t monitor all children at all times. Home for many children is a war zone. The bully himself is often responding to the environment in which he lives.
There is no easy solution. So long as parents ridicule children, use violence in the home, create an atmosphere of shame and abuse, and voice prejudices which set up their children to take hostilities out on others they see as less powerful, there is going to be bullying. Acceptance of the differences of others, no matter what those differences are, is the first step in a long line of creating harmony.
We need to set aside the mentality of good people versus bad people. Ok, we can agree that Darth Vader was a bad guy. But we need to recognize that it is the actions of people in harming others that are bad, and that is what we need to work at ending: no more assault, no rape, no verbal abuse, no more lack of tolerance just because someone is different in his or her beliefs, behaviour, appearance, lifestyle, or choices. We need harmony now.
May you be richly blessed.

Personalities

It is often said that we dislike in others that which we cannot see in ourselves. Also, when you point a finger at someone else, there are three pointing back at you. Yes, it is true that it is hard to see ourselves, except when the mirror is on those near us.

There are many parts to our personalities. Some parts we may like, other parts we may not like. But it is very difficult to look in the mirror and say to ourselves, “I want to stop doing such and such.” It takes someone of great emotional depth, maturity and courage.
As with anything else, we begin by identifying that there is a problem. An example would be the current political discussions that are ongoing so long after the election. Both sides accuse the other of lies and misinformation. We are all victims of our news sources, but we tend to believe that we are victims of the opposite political activity. This is not about having a victim mentality, but we really do need to consider whether or not the opposing side is as “stupid” or as “unfeeling” as we see them as being represented. Are there really people out there who would like to see a weak, elderly, disabled person kicked off Social Security? Really?

The point is, we each need to look at our humanity and decide whether our cynicism and sarcastic natures are contributing to our higher good and the higher good of everyone. We like to think we live in a majority rules society, so the bottom line is that we should have to follow the dictates of what is best for the majority without intentionally injuring the minority.
If you can look into the mirror each day and say that what you do contributes to the betterment of the whole, then the darkness in your personality is sure to grow shades lighter.
May you be richly blessed.

Sisters

Throughout our lives there are things that are very important to us. For some, this yearning comes early in life, and may reflect something that we want in the full depths of our hearts. It may show something that is missing, some dark void that needs to be filled.
For me, this was my desire to have a sister. I had three older brothers who were never neglectful of picking on me and making my life sad and tormented. I was aware, early on, that my mother had given birth to a daughter four years before me, but that the child had died at birth. In addition, she had hydrocephalus and could not have survived.

I so longed to have a sister with whom to share secrets, learn from, get hand-me-downs, and just play. But alas, it was not to be.
It wasn’t until I was a grown woman that sisters began to appear in my life. I learned upon the death of my father, a man I hadn’t known, that I had a half-sister who was older. It was a pleasant connection. We became briefly acquainted and we had some things in common. Unfortunately, distance and events, and the fact that she had a large family of sisters on her own, prevented the cementing of a close relationship between us.
As I grew older, in fact, reaching retirement, I found that I had two more sisters. One of whom was welcoming and friendly and good-natured, and the other of whom had no interest in connecting at all. These relationships filled me with confusion. I wondered why God would send whom I felt I needed for my life to be fulfilled when I no longer felt the need. Yes, my prayers were answered, but it seemed too late.
The moral of the story is that God will answer your prayers. God will also make things happen in His time, not yours. But the key here is not that I didn’t want and need my sisters, rather I needed to develop that part of myself which was capable of standing on its own, speaking with my own voice, becoming who I was meant to be, rather than being a tin-type of another woman.
Would life have been different if my sisters had been known to me earlier? Certainly. But if there had been rejection early on, I may not have been able to deal with it. My brothers were brutal at an early age, perhaps even abusive, but on my own, I withstood it, I learned to fight back, and now I can enjoy my sisters as people with independent choices and lifestyles, without feeling unduly pressured to be something other than who I am.
May you be richly blessed.

Accepting Responsibility

Life is hard at times. There may seem that there is no end to the challenges that come across our life paths. All we need do is read the headlines in the newspaper to know just how trying these times are. Coping takes a little extra work.
Putting our own lives in order may be even more of a challenge under the circumstances. But it is by accepting responsibility for ourselves and our relationships with others that we manage to cope. If you have an itch, wouldn’t you scratch it? Of course you would. If you break something in a store, generally you have to pay for it. Life is that same way. When something in life goes awry, you take steps to deal with it. To do anything less only results in more and more problems.

What is the first thing to do to accept responsibility? We must acknowledge that we are the ones who made the choices that created the situation that we are in. Whether this has to do with problems with others, problems with substances, or even a lack of work, telling yourself that you are the one who made the choices, acted a certain way, did or did not do something, it all boils down to you. Excuses aside, you have to face the choices that you have made which have created where you have been, where you are now, and where you are going.
Once you can fully accept responsibility for your problems, you can create a plan of action to get yourself into a better space. You may need help to guide you through this difficult course of action. But think of where you want to be, write an affirmation about what you want, for example: I have a job that will pay all of my bills and allow me to enjoy life. With affirmations, writing them on little slips of paper and posting them around your home or office where you will see them throughout your day, then whispering the affirmation three times when you see the paper, you will create energy on a metaphysical level which will initiate energy to bring what you want into being. It will also help you have a positive mindset to face your problems in a responsible manner.
Next, it’s time to take action. If you’re looking for work, spend your day on the road going from business to business. Sure, there are a limited number of employers actually looking for employees, but the more you show up, the more likely they are to believe you really want a job, and will actually work once there.
Maybe your goal has to do with stopping some kind of behaviour, like substances. Get with a support group and follow the steps. You can do it.

Whatever your problems, accepting that it’s all about you and taking responsibility, then acting on the goals you set will put you on the path to positive reform.

Differences

There are differences between all the persons of the world. Some differences are very minor, such as the difference in handedness and the direction of whorls of hair in identical twins. Some differences are greater, as the differences among race, gender, body type and size. We have, after long struggles, pretty much overcome our negative feelings with regard to such differences, but still, there are some who hold even these differences in low regard.
The most pointed disagreements, however, are based more upon the differences in beliefs, whether these are beliefs that a person holds about himself or whether these are beliefs having to do with the order of the Universe or God. These differences, especially where the above intersect with these beliefs, are enough to cause great discord, not only in our minds, but in the entire world.
We may have it in our minds that certain people deserve good things to happen to them based on the right appearance, the right behaviour, and the right beliefs. We may also understand that others don’t deserve those good things if they are different from us in any appreciable way. But I would say to you that there is no hierarchy of good. One person is not better than another. Different, yes, but not better. And it is time that we in the world came to understand that one person equals another equals another equals another. We are all people. And all people deserve good things.
We can’t expect things to just be handed to us, in spite of whether we deserve the same things as everyone else. There is a catch. We have to be willing to take on a certain amount of responsibility in order to claim our just deserts. Even those of us who are disabled in one way or another have certain obligations and requirements, hoops to jump through, if you will, before we can get our food, clothing, shelter, the necessities of life.
What is insidious is that some people believe themselves to be better than others for no more reason than that they are different. I would encourage these people to take a long look in the mirror and see if they, too, are different in some way, because at some point in their lives, someone may point to them and incriminate them as being undeserving.
If you are willing to take away the rights from someone else, think for a moment. Something as small as a car accident can take away the perfect you and replace it with someone who, according to your own standard, is undeserving. Think for a moment before you throw down a narrow look at someone who is handicapped or obese, or gay, or has a different faith, or has no faith at all, or any number of differences that are out there. As the beautiful Native American prayer states, “Great Spirit, grant that I may not judge my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccassins.”

Finding Your Courage

Sometimes we come to a point in our lives when we say, “enough is enough,” and we determine that it is time for a change. We may not know what that looks like, feels like, or sounds like, but we do know that our lives can be better than they are right now. The missing element, then, is courage: courage to imagine the new path, courage to take the first step, and courage to see where we would like to end up. If we are sincere in our desire for that change, we can muster the courage to stop making excuses and start to get on our feet.

The first step is the desire to make the change. We have to know what we’re changing for it to be effective. We have to identify what’s wrong, what the problem is, to see it clearly, to accept that we got ourselves into it, and to understand that we are the only ones who can get ourselves out of it. This is the biggest, and often the hardest, step. Even understanding and facing this problem requires courage.

The next step is to eliminate the power that the past has over us. Depending upon what we have done, where we have been and where we want to go, the change required may involve cutting ties to people who are a bad influence, eliminating substances that take away our dreams, changing jobs, residence, and basically everything that we thought we knew about the world. We may need the support of others who have walked the path of change before us to help us make good decisions and start our life anew. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of strength. This is how we build courage.

Setting goals is the next step. Make one or two big goals, then list the steps that you have to take to fulfill those goals. Write them down on some nice paper. Add drawings or magazine pictures to turn this paper into an attractive reminder that will help motivate you as you envision your way to where you want to be. Look at it every day, close your eyes and then recall the image in your mind’s eye. When you clearly see yourself doing, being, living the goal, you become motivated and that motivation in itself will be rewarding.

Work. Work hard. Don’t take “no” for an answer. You are remodeling yourself from the inside out. You can do it. Find your courage. Don’t fight with other people because your life isn’t different. Fight with yourself and prove to yourself, first of all that you are worth the change, and secondly, that you have the courage to make the change.
May you be richly blessed!

Passing Time

We have recently come through the end of the Mayan Calendar. It speaks well to the Spiritual Growth of humankind; that Love is gaining a foothold as we go up the ladder to wellbeing and the balancing of Karma. Negative events are coming to a slow end, those who contribute to unrest and violent destruction on the planet are being isolated and their horrible deeds and threats are being sanctioned out of existence. Does this mean we can rest? Well, no, there is still much work to be done.

Some of you may know the story of The Mysticenter for Healing and Spirituality, which was presented to me in 2002, during meditation. The healing aspect was given to me to pray for others, to visualize them in wellness and contribute to the positive energy in the world. What has puzzled me for a long time, is how it was intended to manifest the grand design of the actual Center, a huge building which is to house healing modalities, an herb garden containing all healing herbs on the planet, various forms of physical therapy, music therapy, a cafeteria, dormitories, a solarium, a biosphere, spiritual study spaces, and many other things. The grounds are to be home to a filtration plant, a wind farm, a solar energy plant, cabins, orchards, and cottage industries.

When I first had the vision, I believed that the entire process was meant to rest on my shoulders. However, I have kept this to myself far too long. I have recently been shown that the facility is meant to be a rehabilitative facility for veterans and others who suffer disabilities or long term illness. This breaks my heart, as I feel that so many would benefit from this vision. The problem, unfortunately, is that I am not a wealthy person. I am not a business person. I am not a salesperson. But what I see could heal and restore life to those who have lost so much.

It is my wish that this vision be shared with as many people as possible, so that people who have the skills and funds which I lack will come to share in this vision and be motivated to help in any way that they can. Our veterans are coming home with so many needs. I ask that you help me to help them.

May you be richly blessed.