Sometimes, you need to be alone. Not to be lonely, but to enjoy the free time just being yourself.

Y. asked me awhile ago why I couldn’t bring whatever it is I have in India back home with me.  No matter how hard I tried, something was always missing.  I made a great effort at keeping the same relaxing pace in my life, and that usually worked, taking things easily, not letting things “get to me”, and of taking my daily walks, doing my morning practice, etc., but it was far from bringing India back with me.  It took awhile to understand what was still missing, but I eventually understood what the difference was of being alone in India vs. being here with my family, friends, partner, etc.

The true luxury of being able to think only of what I want to do each morning as I wake up – not what I need to do or should do – and if I decide to change my plans suddenly during the day, I don’t have to consult anyone other than myself.  This is not to say I sit around all day doing nothing there – far from it.  I have a busier social life than I do here, I work more than I do here, and am out and about much more than I am here (and if you are interested in seeing what I do there-you can check out my India Journal:   http://janesindiajournals.wordpress.com   ) While in India, I DO work, and DO have friend, DO have a full life, but it is always pretty much on my own terms, and according to my own wants and desires-not according to must, should or have to.  I have a very active and productive life there, but always on my own terms following the dictates of my soul – my inner voice-my own truth knowing what is exactly right for me at each moment.

Not being in India for a few months this year to regain my balance has taken its toll in many ways.  But it wasn’t until I was “hit” with pneumonia (following many minor illnesses, knee problems which kept me from my dancing and my yoga-(2 of my greatest joys) – eating problems resulting in severe weight loss, and more) that i finally realized what was happening.

I have just spent the past week or so, and still have a few days to go yet before I am completely well enough to go back to my “regular” routine-just spent this time joyfully and gratefully doing only what I want to do  – no  “need to do“, no “should do“, no “have to do“.  there will be plenty of time for all that soon enough.

But this short respite has been a true blessing for me and I’ve enjoyed every moment (am still enjoying) – (once of course I lovingly gave myself permission to be ill) without having to find “reasons” or “excuses” for saying “NO”, or not doing all the things I “should be”.  God sent me the excuse in the form of an illness which no one could argue with – You have pneumonia-you simply rest and take care of yourself-period.

It’s been a wonderful period of time-short-but lovely. And  although it is still not India, it was the “break” I needed to begin working my way slowly back to balance on all levels.

I’ve receive many lovely messages about things to come – on all levels of my personal life journey as well as my dealings with my friends, relatives, partner and clients.

It’s been a profound lesson.  If I simply could have declared a two-week “just for me vacation” a couple of months ago, as my soul was screaming out to me at the time, I wouldn’t have had to go through the difficulties I have been having health wise.

But how many people can just say

“Stop the world –I want to get off”,

and actually do it without having something come along to force them to?  Could You? Do You?

with love light and JOY

Jane

Most of us, especially in the West, have been trained from childhood that sitting around “doing nothing” is a complete waste of time and a definite “no-no”. Maybe even tantamount of sin.  We’ve been made to feel guilty about it for so long, that even thinking about it brings up uncomfortable feelings.  Well, nothing could be further from the truth and it is time to start seeing the idea of “doing nothing” in a different light.

The Art of Doing Nothing

There are times in life, as noted above in the lovely photo, when there simply is nothing you can do to change anything from being the way it is at the moment.  And trying to change something like that (like being sick with pneumonia), will only bring despair, frustration, anger, depression, etc., into your life.  Knowing when you are faced with such a situation is of course also something which must be learned – (if you do nothing when you should be doing something, then of course you are not assisting the Universe in moving things along for you)-but if you seriously take a look at the situation which is frustrating you at the moment, and come to the conclusion that this is definitely not something you can do anything about, then doing nothing is the best thing you can do.

You must continue to live in an attitude of gratitude, for even a difficult situation is in your life at the moment for a good reason, one which you may understand at a later date, or not.  So give thanks to God and the Universe for giving you the blessing of whatever has come into your life at the moment to upset your balance or frustrate you, and then put it aside.  Stop contemplating and thinking and trying to analyze the how’s and why’s of it.

By doing this, you are expressing your Faith in  God and the Universe to always send to you what is best for your Higher Good at the moment, and by releasing resistance, you are allowing the “thing” to more easily accomplish whatever it is meant to in your life.

A “doing nothing” time is also the perfect time to gather energy for whatever comes next. Allow yourself, with love and compassion, to enjoy this time in total acceptance.

This is also a precious time for your body, and soul, to cleanse and rejuvenate and get ready for whatever is to come.

So, is this a “do nothing” time for you?  If so, accept it and …ENJOY!  I’ve been completely doing just that for the past few days, once overcoming more than a week of “fighting it” (my illness), and have been playing computer games, watching old tv series which I love, reading “just for fun” books, and not beating myself up about not doing my yoga, meditation practice or any of the other things I “should” be doing.  And to my great pleasure, I am finally beginning to feel “human” again.

My gratitude for the blessings of these times and for the wisdom to recognize them for what they are.

Hope you will all find the time to “do nothing” and benefit from it as it was meant to be for you.  remember:

Doing Nothing is Doing Something Very Important

with love light and JOY

Jane

The photos accompanying this post are just my way of doing something nice for myself today–re-experiencing some relaxing days in Rishikesh, India

Relaxing Along the Ghats, Laxman Jhula Rishikesh

Didn’t sleep again last nite due to my cough, woke this morning with a pounding headache-a rare thing for me – made my way to my family doctor and it seems after all this time of feeling really ill and being weak, that i have pneumonia!  At least there is a good reason for the way I’ve been feeling.

Aside from that, I switched phone companies yesterday to get cheaper rates and although I was promised I’d have a line working within a few hours, I am still without a working phone as of this afternoon.  When I spoke to them, for the second time today (after being assured that a technician was already on the way to see what the problem was and fix it), they had the nerve to tell me that they could not send a technician until tomorrow because according to the “rules”, since I called just today, it is impossible for them to send someone the same day!!  Wanted to know why, if I was having trouble with my line, I waited so long to notify them!!!   That’s when I exploded-not from anger but from pure frustration!  Bottom line, they “made every effort” and someone is supposed to come today.  (Since I wrote this-they called to tell me that it is against the rules and the management cancelled the technician for today-at that point I told them to simply send the technician whenever they wanted to and let him disconnect me from them and reconnect me back to the first -when I was told that would be impossible-I’d have to let them fix the line and THEN call the old provider and tell them I wanted to reconnect-I exploded once again-by then fierce jackhammers pounding in my head and agreed to have the technician come tomorrow and figure it out from there – just as I hung up, the representative from the FIRST company called to ask me why I transferred my line and I explained to him that I thought it was cheaper etc.  He gave me a new deal, will send someone tomorrow morning to reconnect me, and told me not to say anything to the other company.  When they come to fix their own line, just tell them to take the device and leave!-which is what I will do-and hope this is the end of the phone story!)

The whole above story sounds like something very India, and maybe just a way of giving the feeling of being in India without actually being there!!

Biking in India

More Biking in India...Note the Elephant Sign

Still feeling miserable-but being compassionate enough with me to allow myself to be ill (advice from my wonderful guy Y), but still trying to understand why-many different theories, but the truth is, it doesn’t really matter “why”

I need to get back to the place of accepting things, knowing there is a good reason for it all – But I am not having much luck these days doing that. I am not at all pleased with the way I am feeling, and doing my best to release and surrender, but for some reason there is resistance and I am having a hard time of it.  And of course, the resistance only makes things worse.

This is a venting post.  I know I will find my way back to my balance,..I always do.  I know these are all blessings (in disguise at the moment).  I know all things are for my Higher Good – there are just times when I wish I could see the “big picture”, the “overview”, myself.

Searching for Answers or Just Enjoying the View Along the Ganga

This is one of those times

with love light JOY and good health

Jane

Shiva with Offerings - During Shivratri in Laxman Jhula Rishikesh Last Year

I have many photos of Shiva statues, but this is my favorite one.  And not being in rishikesh to celebrate, jut figured I put a little something here to honor the day. This is a day when hordes of Indians come to bathe in the Ganga as it is considered to be a very auspicious day to receive the Ganga blessings.   Remember, this is in the winter in India, the Ganga is fed by glacial snows which melt high up in the Himalayas, and the water is instant-numbing cold.  But the hearty pilgrims seem to have no difficulty in dunking over and over and saying their prayers, and then coming out all wet into the cold air.  The women go in with all their clothes on and then have to discreetly remove the wet sari and petticoat and blouse and put on a dry one.  This is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever witnessed in India.

And the streets are so crowded you can hardly walk.  Getting across the bridges can take up to half and hour if you are lucky and in short, it is a day that I prefer staying close to home.  I did brave the streets the first year I was there, and it was amazing to see the joy and sheer pleasure on the faces of everyone, as well as the unbelievable display of colors in the women’s clothing.

And so sitting here at home, in my “other” reality, I think of India once again,

Here’s another very impressive Shiva in Haridwar…

Shiva outside Haridwar, India

And why the Thank You , you may ask?

Well, all good things in life should never be taken for granted.  We must always be aware of all the blessings that come our way, both big and small  , throughout each and every day. (basically, there ARE no small blessings-a parking space just where you need it, a short wait when you call technical support, a beautiful flower in the garden or a superb sunset -these are blessings no less important than others and worthy of our appreciation and expression of gratitude).

It is one of the best ways of bringing even more blessings into our lives, for manifesting new realities, for attracting to us all we desire and deserve.  The idea is quite simple.  If someone loves us enough to bring us gifts or do nice things for us all time, and we never say thank you or express our appreciation, if we don’t acknowledge their gifts and kindness, then eventually, even the most loving person will stop doing these things for us.  The Universe, God,  are no different.  God wants to shower us always with those things that are best for our Higher Good, and the Universe is always aware of our prayers and requests (even if it is only to say “please please make sure I have a parking space when I get there”) – and these things will be granted to us.  But they should not be TAKEN for granted, or eventually, we will be attracting less and less to us.

So, just as I appreciate all the blessings each and every day of my life, as I accept them in joy, and express my gratitude to God and the Universe,  I want you all to know that I am grateful to all of you for your being here with me, and to let you know that you all bring great joy into my life.

If there is anything you would like to hear more about from me, or points which you feel need further discussion among the different issues raised on this blog, I’d be happy to have your comments and feedback.

With Joy and Gratitude -THANK YOU!!!!

with love light and JOY

Jane

Lotus Pond, Sarnath, India

I have been going through a very untranquil period in my life recently, feeling unbalanced, disorientated, confused, and much of this is showing up in physical symptoms of various degrees of severity.  Finding where the inbalance comes from is the easy part.Finding the way BACK to balance is more difficult, and I’ve been “working hard” at it for some time now, and seeing no results. In place of complete Faith and acceptance in joy and gratitude, Fear and doubt have slowly crept back into my life as well, to further complicate issues – emotions and thoughts which I have managed to overcome over the past years, and this in itself is disturbing. So, as I do when I find myself “stuck”, I made the decision to move inward and allow the answers to find their way to me, and, as always happens, it works! Below you will be able to read the full message as it came to me.

Just a short note….each morning, aside from chanting the 5 Reiki Prinicples with full intent, I have added the following to my morning routine as I was guided to during a meditation last year:

“Just for today I will experience all in complete acceptance, joy, gratitude and freedom from fear”

This is an extremely powerful sentence, for it requires us to be living in complete FAITH in God and the Universe, to accept all things, and to be joyful with all that comes our way. And of course, to be grateful for all these blessings. While repeating this today, I did so with full and focused intention – something I haven’t been doing lately.

When things are not going as we imagined they would, it takes full attention to and intention to these words to help us get things back into proportion and perspective, and to understand that our need to know when, and why and how simply makes our lives much more difficult.  THese are all things which should be entrusted to God and the Universe, as discussed in previous posts.  “You can have either Fear or Faith, not both”. Mutant Messages Down Under-Marlo Morgan

So when the following message came to me during my morning meditation, I once again felt the release of fear and doubt, and with this return to balanced thinking, to Faith and Acceptance, to joy and gratitude, am certain that all other things will find balance once again in my life as well.

…thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself…leviticus 19:18

If we look at the above, the fourth of the Reiki Principles, it appears to be fairly straightforward.  It is pretty obvious to us that one of the most important things in this world is to love and respect others, show compassion and tolerance, patience and understanding etc.  We also know that we must be kind to EVERY living being and this would of course include animals, insects, plants etc., etc.

The original wording of the principle as stated by Dr. Usui is slightly different, but the message is more easily understood with the above paraphrase which I prefer using in my Reiki classes and in my own daily meditation practice.

And the profoundness of the principle, if we truly think about it, opens the door to an entirely new way of perceiving the ups and downs of our lives, of relating to instances where we feel we have been wronged by someone, or taken advantage of, even purposely hurt or embarrassed, or injured in any way. Of relating to the different people who come into our lives and the way we accept and embrace all that is sent our way by God and the Universe.

In addition, if we add just two small words to the above principle, it changes the impact and intent even more deeply.

Just for Today I will Love and Respect Every Living Creature…INCLUDING MYSELF!!  If we do not truly love ourselves, how can we possibly love and respect our neighbor??

I will try and give insights into the following two questions we must try to answer:

1.  Can we truly love and respect others if we don’t do the same for ourselves

2.  Can we truly be expected to love and respect EVERYone??

Before going any further into the idea of loving even those who we perceive as causing us pain or wishing us ill, let us, just for a moment, think about our relationship with ourselves.

• Do you love yourself?
• Are you proud of yourself?
• Do you respect yourself?
• Do you take yourself for granted?
• Do you put yourself down?
• Do you say unkind things about yourself ?

Just for the next week, in addition to saying this principle each day with your daily prayers, meditation or whatever your regular practice is, try delving a little deeper into it.  Pay attention during the day to the thoughts that you have regarding the things you do.  Check the impulse to criticize yourself, or be compassionate with yourself. Note how you feel when you make a wrong decision, or get lost on the highway, or break a dish you are washing, or burn the supper, or simply forget to do something important.  What feelings do you have, what words fill your head at the moment (stupid, clumsy, thoughtless, lazy). What sensations do you feel physically in your body?  Where? Are you automatically hard on yourself, or, perhaps, compassionate and understanding.

Think about this for a week, and I think you will be quite surprised at what you find.  Many of us cannot even say out loud “I love myself”, “I think I am great”, “I am perfect just as I am”, etc., but even those of us who CAN say these things and truly mean them, are still too often overly critical of ourselves.

I would even think to perhaps state the principle in a little different way.  Instead of “Just for today I will love and respect every living creature…(including myself)”…How about:  “Just for today I will love and respect myself in the same way I imagine I love and respect every other living creature” .  Said in that way, it might make it easier for us to realize how much more compassionate we can be with others, how much more tolerant and understanding, how much more patient and loving, than we tend to be with ourselves.

Like a caring mother

Holding and guarding the life

Of her only child,

So with a boundless heart

Hold yourself…. And all beings

…Buddha

“We might quite readily offer such care to others, but we can learn to offer this same kind of gentle attention to ourselves.  With the tenderness we might bring to stroking the cheek of a sleeping child, we can softly place a hand on our own cheek or heart.  We can comfort ourselves with words of kindness and understanding. ” Radical Acceptance”, Tara Brach, PhD.

For once again, if we do not GENUINELY love and respect ourselves, our pretense at loving and respecting every living creature is just that…pretense… Self love is the first step in truly loving our fellow creatures.  And when we love and respect ourselves, everything and anything that happens to us, can be dealt with in a healthy way.

Only when we come to terms with our own shortcomings and learn to accept ourselves exactly as we are, to extend unconditional love to the beautiful person we are, to be compassionate with ourselves even when we are not all we expected of ourselves, to love and respect ourselves and recognize the beauty of our soul within…to feel worthy and deserving and freely offer praise and genuine respect to ourselves…only when we cherish our own being, no matter where we may find ourselves at a particular moment, or stage in our lives, only when we offer ourselves encouragement and love at each step along the way and appreciate our accomplishments-no matter how small, only when we stop taking ourselves and our own needs and wants for granted and understand that we are just as worthy and deserving as everyone else…only when we truly love and respect ourselves can we begin to truly love the next person.

Many people will say “I don’t expect anything from the next person (my children, my spouse, my co-workers, etc.) that I don’t expect from myself.”  Well, perhaps we are much too hard on ourselves!  Others find it easy to extend loving-kindness, compassion, patience, tolerance, understanding, forgiveness and encouragement to others, while they dole out to themselves judgment, blame, anger, belittling words, harsh accusations, lack of forgiveness, etc.

But it is only when we can find the way to love ourselves unconditionally that we can truly understand the words:

…thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself...leviticus 19:18

The idea has obviously been around for a long time and is not a new concept developed by Dr. Usui… The Great Hebrew Sage Rabbi Akiva said “This is the most important point in the Torah…the rest is just commentary”.

The idea of loving the next person as we love ourselves becomes very easy as we simply extend the same gracious and loving attention to everyone that we do to ourselves.

And that will bring us to the second part of this discussion…loving and respecting EVERY living creature:

Let us look at this idea of loving and respecting EVERYone …. This would seem almost impossible when we think of some of the strange, difficult, inconsiderate, spiteful and even abusive people who we meet in our lifetime.    But there is a profound lesson in extending understanding, forgiveness, compassion , patience and tolerance to those who truly wish us ill.  It brings us once again in contact with the idea of FAITH…faith that God is sending these people into our lives for a loving purpose…no matter difficult that may be for us to see.

(see my blog post re: forgiveness at this link: http://notinindia2012.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/living-in-the-shadow-of-the-past-and-the-power-of-forgiveness/  )

We must learn to Cherish those we dislike, even those we perceive as enemies, for they are gifts from God and we must be thankful for this blessing and pray for the wisdom to learn the lesson these people have been sent to teach us

We draw to us those who will help us learn about ourselves.  Each time we are presented with a challenge dealing with another, we are really being presented with an opportunity to look inside ourselves to see what about us it is that needs working on, so that we may grow.

The idea of loving each and every person, no matter what, is quite difficult, almost impossible, but I present the idea to you for further thought and consideration, together with the following collection of quotes and insights: 

In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.
HH Dalai Lama

Everything that irritates us about others
Can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.
Carl Jung (1875-1961),
Psychologist ~

I have learned silence from the talkative,
tolerance from the intolerant
and kindness from the unkind.
I should not be ungrateful to those teachers.
Kahlil Gibran ~

What angers us in another person
is more often than not an unhealed aspect of ourselves.
If we had already resolved that particular issue,
we would not be irritated by its reflection back to us.
Simon Peter Fuller
(from ‘Rising Out of Chaos’) ~

No-one can make you feel inferior
without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) ~

Nothing can hurt you
unless you give it the power to do so

A Course in Miracles ~~

The main teachers of patience are our enemies.

HH Dalai Lama

Every person sent to us is a blessing meant to teach us a lesson we need to learn.

I leave you with the above thoughts and truly hope you will begin to ponder your own actions on a daily level regarding the different ways you relate to yourself and your Being.  The thoughts you generate regarding yourself, the feelings you encounter on both the emotional and physical levels when you “do something wrong” or feel dissatisfied with yourself, the amount of loving kindness and compassion , love and respect ,you extend towards yourself each day, etc.

I wish you all much love and compassion, patience and tolerance and freedom from fear to accept and embrace all that is sent your way by God and His Loving Universe.

with love light and JOY

Jane

My Dear Sisters and Brothers,

 I have found that low self-esteem and lack of self-love are issues often found together. If you suffer from low self-esteem, it is possible that the root cause is due to insufficient self-love.

 If you find it difficult to obtain unconditional love and acceptance for yourself or loving yourself feels unnatural, is it likely that your mind has been embedded with self sabotaging thoughts a long time.

 Nothing will be any different until you make a conscious decision to change and you have that power to change!  When you do not unconditionally love and accept yourself, you are basically telling the Universe that you are unworthy or undeserving of any love, acceptance or positive outcomes that have the same vibrational match as unconditional love and acceptance.   

Learning to unconditionally love and accept yourself starts with making a conscious decision with an intention to become happy and lead a fulfilled life. When you do not unconditionally love and accept yourself and suffer from low self-esteem, it is almost impossible to ever reach the potential that you suspect you have.

 When you make a decision to unconditionally love and accept yourself, you are really saying that you want to come alive. You accept that you are responsible for the outcomes that you experience in your life and would like yourself to shine from living a fulfilling life.

  I have compiled a list of suggestions on “How to unconditionally love and accept yourself”, therefore, if you’ve decided to unconditionally love and accept yourself here are my 18 suggestions which I believe can be helpful in fulfilling your decision:

 1. Fall in love with yourself. Think about what makes you you. Just like a flower that needs watering to grow, learn to nurture yourself in every way. Love yourself for all the good that you are and accept your flaws and the fact that you are imperfect. This does not mean that you do not learn to change from your shortcomings; instead, you are being gentle and kind to yourself despite your “flaws”. Look in the mirror and fall in love with the reflection that is You. Speak loving thoughts to yourself and believe in you by nurturing this self love with corresponding thoughts, words and deeds.

 2. Eliminate Self Criticism. Do you often berate yourself over the tiniest things? Is there a little voice inside your head that often tells you that you are no good because you are stupid or make mistakes? If you find that you criticize yourself often, make an effort to stop the self-criticism. Remember I can is 100 times more important than IQ.

 3. Be Kind And Positive. When you start to think kindly and positively about yourself, the love you have for yourself naturally grows. Make it a habit to praise yourself everyday when you talk to yourself and in the front of the mirror. Because of such thoughts, you then naturally undertake empowering actions that support your development.

 4. Acknowledge Your Effort. It is not always about winning or being on top in everything that you do. Many times, it is the effort that counts! Acknowledge that you have done your best, even if you have not produced tangible results and learn from your efforts.  

 5. Let Go Of Worry. Unconditionally loving and accepting yourself requires you to let go of your worry. Constant worrying is a horrible way to live a life for it is wasted energy.  Worry does not help any way. It cannot, on its own, make things happen. Only wise actions can! So instead of worrying, spend time thinking about what you can do to help the situation. If there is something you need to do then do it.  If the situation is beyond your control, then make a request to the Great Spirit for what you want. Next, surrender your outcome.

 6. Trust Yourself. Have confidence in your abilities. Know that you have the ability to make important changes for yourself as long as you put your heart in it. You can also support yourself by visualizing desired outcomes.

 7. Forgive Yourself. If you have made mistakes in the past that have caused you to feel less worthy, then you need to forgive yourself. All of us make mistakes; so there really is no need to beat yourself up over them. Also, if you have been carrying around baggage of emotional hurt because of a childhood trauma, learn to forgive yourself and anyone else who may have caused your pain.  

 8. Be Truthful To Yourself. Unconditionally loving and accepting yourself requires you to be truthful about your own feelings. If you are happy, acknowledge the joy. If you are sad, acknowledge the sorrow. When you are truthful about your feelings, you do not try to lie to yourself or seek to bury your negative emotions. Instead, acknowledging what you feel provides a good guide to what your thoughts are. As we all know, thoughts can be changed, so that healing and self growth can take place.

 9. Grow Spiritually. When you spend time growing spiritually, unconditional love and acceptance of yourself becomes automatic. You become more peaceful, connected, kind, loving and compassionate. You nurture a mind that grows more beautiful by the day. You naturally love yourself in the process.

 10. Make Positive Affirmations Everyday. Reframe your mental outlook with positive affirmations. For instance, say this to yourself “I love and accept myself completely and unconditionally.” Read your affirmations out loud several times a day and then incorporate them into actions that are unconditionally loving and accepting.

 11. Express Gratitude. Express gratitude for the person that you are. For instance, cultivate an appreciation for your strengths and gifts. Also, feel a sense of gratitude that you are alive and well, and fully capable of making a difference in your life. Look for what is right and see all the many blessings in your life which are overlooked or minimized when we only focus on what we don’t have.

  12. Nurture Your Dreams. Why deny yourself your dreams? When you nurture your dreams, you will love the life that you are leading. Every moment that you live is a joy because you are expressing yourself fully. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do rather than the things you did do.

 13. Boost Your Self Confidence. Make a deliberate attempt to look for opportunities that can help improve your confidence. For instance, if you are particularly good at doing something, set aside more time to indulge and improve your skills on it. Knowing that you have particular gifts and acknowledging them can boost  self-esteem.

 14. Relax. Give yourself space to take breaks every now and then. If you spend your time working, without paying attention to your health, it also means that you do not unconditionally love and accept yourself well enough to take care of your own body. Fill your time with silence, meditations, fun, joy, soothing music and visions of beauty; anything that nourishes your body, mind and spirit.

 15. Have Fun. Inject some fun into your life. Life is meant to be enjoyed. Do not take life or yourself too seriously. If you can think of life in this manner, you automatically relax and quit worrying over things that do not matter.

 16. Look After Your Body. It is important that you strengthen yourself with prayer, proper nutrition and regular exercise. Your body is a temple and you should treat it with respect, love and care. It has been found that the lack of self love is often the root causes of conditions like eating disorders, obesity or even terminal diseases.

 17. Learn To See Beauty. When you learn to see beauty in everything, you will also see beauty in yourself. Thus, stop and smell the flowers. Notice everything. Feel everything. The pink blush of the flowers in your garden, the greenness of the leaves, , the whisper of the gentle wind, or the myriad hues of a setting sun.

 18. Share the Love. Once you have a true feeling for unconditional love and accept of yourself share it with everyone you meet.

 I suggest reflecting on this affirmation to grow your self love: 

 I am me. In the entire world, there is no one else exactly like me. Everything that comes out of me is authentically mine, because I alone chose it.  I own everything about me: my body, my mind, my spirit, all my actions, whether they be to others or myself. I own my fantasies, my dreams, my hopes, my fears. I own my triumphs and successes, my failures and my mistakes.

 Because I own all of me, I can become intimately acquainted with myself.  In so doing, I can unconditionally love and accept myself  and be friendly with all my parts. I know there are aspects about myself that puzzle me, and other aspects that I do not know – but as long as I am unconditionally loving and accepting of myself, I can courageously look for solutions to the puzzles and learn more about me to deepen my unconditional love and acceptance of myself.

 However I look and sound, whatever I say and do, and whatever I think and feel at any given moment in time is authentically me. If later some parts of how I looked, sounded, thought and felt turn out to be unfitting, I can discard that which is unfitting, keep the rest, and invent something new to replace that which I  discarded. I can see, hear, feel, think, say, and do. I have the tools to survive, to be close to others, to be productive, and to make sense and order out of the world of people and things outside of me.  I am me and I love and accept me….unconditionally!  

 Happy Valentine’s Day! 

 Peace, Love and Sacred Journey,
Don Thomas

 www.shamanic-path.com

Ganga View Looking Towards Laxman Jhula Bridge from Laxman Jhula Ghats

As the name of the blog notes, and as explained in the very first post if you care to go back and look,  http://notinindia2012.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/not-in-india-2012-january-20-2012/

I am not in India right now, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think of it every day.  Today, I am particularly missing being there after a difficult day at home, and so I’ve been looking at some photos, and would just like to share these with you…  they are from an album on Facebook called-

Life Along the Ganga:

Happy Babas

Swiss Cottage from Afar (On the Mountain Facing -Buildings in Lower Middle Area off to far left of white dome)

Zoom In To Swiss Cottage Enclave From Far Side of Laxman Jhula-Little Buddha Cafe

Ram Jhula Views

New Shiva Statue after Flooding Washed Away Original - which was much larger and much more beautiful and impressive!!

Bathing in the Ganga - Brrr---taken in January - Ganga is Fed by Glaciers!!

Life Along the Ganga

Life Along the Ganga

Cooking a Meal

Women Carrying Luggage

Vegetable Stand

Bundle on a Bike-Ram Jhula, Rishikesh

Bird

Mother and Baby out for a Stroll

Looking Towards Laxman Jhula Bridge

Ganga View From Laxman Jhula

Remember: If you would like to see more photos of my travels in India, many albums can be found on my facebook page.

with love light and JOY
Namaste!
Jane

God's Poetry in a Rose-Found this Rose in the Garden this Morning

ALONE
Why?
Why are others always an intrusion?
I don’t seek them yet they find me…
Must I become invisible to be ALONE?
Or is this part of who, what I am
Flowing along and blending into the river of common pain
Floating as a log for those drowning to latch on to.
Where is the log meant to keep me afloat?
Or have I been given the strength to stay afloat ALONE?
Do I draw my strengths from my ALONENESS?
Or from the giving OF myself?
Who will be there to keep me from drowning
When there is no more strength to draw on?
I am surrounded by heavenly love and protection…
Spiritually I am never ALONE…
But…
I am physical as well
As is my life…
All the new that awaits me…
All the changes to be made…
All the wonders still to reveal themselves…
Are not meant to be experienced ALONE
My soul, my heart, my body all yearn
For the one with the same yearnings
To continue the journey together in our ALONENESS…

Can there be such a miracle?

LOST
I’ve been lost for years
Seeking
Without knowing what I would find
Was I even aware that I was seeking?
I think so…
But seeking what – I did not know

Lost
Still lost
But no longer seeking
The search is over
But I am still lost

Lost in love!

A Rose-Pure Poetry

GET ON-BOARD!
Alive
Being
Wholeness
No more thinking to be done
It is all in place
And the river is flowing
The trees are rooted
The mountains majestically peaked
So it is with you…
Be Alive…
Be…
Be Whole.
Mind and soul are one, flowing together-
moved along by the same current of light, of love, of joy, of delight, of peace
The choice is made
The vehicle ready.
You just need to give your agreement and all will begin
Say YES! Smile and get on-board!

…and that’s it for today-hopefully more channeled poetry soon…

with love light and JOY

Jane