Mistakes

Namaste -Abundance (1.5.12)

susanwithpearls abundance, Affirmation, Be who you are, Being, Dignity, Diligence, Enlightenment, Everything changes, Mistakes, Responsible , , , , ,
Copyright Tam Black 2018
Designed for susanwithpearls.com

Guiding Thought

Choose now to expand your consciousness and open your heart to Divine Love’s flow within you. Realize your own Divine Presence. Know God as the Source and Fulfillment of all your good.

Sharing

“Namaste” (pronounced Nah-mah-stay) is a Sanskrit word that means “I honor you” or “the Divine Presence in me honors the Divine Presence in you”.

Namaste was imported to the United States with other traditional Hindu practices like yoga, chanting, and meditation.

As a white person, born and raised in the United States, I am going to make the claim we don’t get it. White people–or any person–socialized in the superficial, consumer-driven, materialistic United States do not get it.

Namaste, like yoga, chanting, or meditation in India, is part of a multifaceted philosophy, medicine system, culture, spirituality, and way of life. Like so many things appropriated by (predominantly white) people in the United States, the (very deep and traditional) meaning of Namaste (which is accompanied by a feeling deep in the heart) has been sterilized, made into a superficial trend, and been completely disconnected from its essence, its heart, its dynamic-presence lived every day in a culture that is thousands of years old.

We (people born and raised in the United States…) don’t know any better. This is our culture, borne out of centuries of white-European patriarchal imperialism and colonization: seizing and appropriating other cultures is kind of the white-European thing.

And, we can stop. (Yes, we can). The problem with appropriation is not (IMHO) the fact of the appropriation–cultures and societies have integrated, meshed, and blended for as long as there have been people in societies. The problem is with the mind-set of dominance and the accompanying dilution of the culture and the traditions being dominated.

Namaste is the case in point. Americans think Namaste is just a word. But it’s not just a word. It is a feeling of deep respect offered to another. This feeling comes out having self-respect, so that when one says, Namaste (“The Divine in me honors the Divine in you”), the feeling accompanying the word is the sharing of this knowing and understanding of the Divine within. If you can’t feel it, you’re not using the word with its intrinsic depth and meaning.

Cultivate that sense of feeling in your heart, in your mind. Expand your awareness of the Divine within. Connect to your Inner Divine. Then, and only then, say “Namaste”.

 

 

 

 

Yours in the Work -Healing (1.4.26)

susanwithpearls Be who you are, becoming, Cause & Effect, Choices, Commitment and Dedication, courage, Diligence, Everything changes, Integrity, Mistakes, patience, Transformation , , , , , ,
Copyright Tam Black 2018
Designed for susanwithpearls.com
Guiding Thought

As we unite in consciousness with our own Loving Presence, we unite with Divine Mind. Divine Mind is Infinite Being—it is now, here, always. We exist in Divine Mind, as It does in us, united forever—One. It leads us to Itself through our consciousness of our Self: our consciousness of Self, as Infinite Being, is Oneness with Divine Mind, is our Peace, is our wholeness, is our Unity with All.

Reflection

I feel like something is wrong with me.

Even just acknowledging that is difficult.

It’s just one area of my life. It has to do with accomplishment: what I think I should be doing vs. what I am doing.

There are several projects that I am working on. I think that I should be giving priority to (let’s just call it) project A, but I spend a whole lot of time on project C (or B or D…), which means I don’t “get around to” working on project A.

It’s not that I am lazy, or unproductive. I’m just being productive on something other than project A, that is less meaningful (or so I think).

Project A has been on my plate a long time and has lots of components and things to work on, things to work out. It’s both a bit complicated and time consuming…neither of which is generally prohibitive for me. I like working out complex ideas, and I don’t mind taking the time to do so. In fact, project B is also complicated and time consuming…So, why now, are these factors a point of resistance for project A?

I just can’t seem to get my sh** together to  work on project A. I have no motivation. I have no investment. I can’t see the purpose, the long-term. I wonder, “if I do project A, is that not just feeding and rewarding my lower-self, my ego?” Then that becomes prohibitive.

Yet on the other hand…project A is incredibly important in a big picture kind of way. So I wonder, “am I afraid of the impact? am I afraid of how big this is? am I afraid of success? of failure?”

I honestly don’t know.

The other day, I wrote about alignment. Project A was on my mind during that writing. Something is out of alignment. Or so I think. Maybe I just think something is out of alignment, and in reality everything is exactly as it should be.

That describes my entire mental conflict: “I think something is going on, and I feel wrong“….”but maybe it’s not what I think”. And I don’t know which it is. 

If something is going on and there is a reason that I feel wrong…then all I need to do is take the steps in the direction of feeling right, which means (pretty simply) working on project A.

And if things are exactly as they should be, then I should just relax. I’ve let this get too far. My mind spins. …and now I feel like something is wrong.

OK. All of this is context for the point I really want to make. There are two big ideas at play and these ideas are relevant to the project A situation and to this Journey. They are:

  1. Thought is creative
  2. What you seek you find

(1) Thought is creative both in imaginative (future) content (what informs your mind to work out as “reality”) and in attitude (how you approach content as it comes to you). This is why the daily Guiding Thoughts matter. They give imaginative content that your mind can then align with (create) in your experience, and they offer a framework through which to interpret experiences you are already having. The ultimate goal is to have congruence between the vision and the reality, so that the content you imagine is the content you experience.

Thus, it has concerned me that I have a new thought popping up recently that says, “something is wrong with me”. That is not content I want to either imagine or experience.

(2) What we seek on the Journeys, generally speaking, is Unity, Oneness, Peace through seeking the Truth of our Selves. We can find it precisely because Unity, Oneness, and Peace are the Truth of who we are. Again, this is a role of the Guiding Thoughts–they point you toward the direction that the You of you already knows exists, and It knows you are looking for It, so once you give five minutes a day to looking for It, It can help you find It so much faster and easier. The Journeys guide you to the only real direction there is, and in doing so make it easier for you to both seek and find the Truth of You.

But when someone has thoughts like, “what is wrong with me?” Guess what? A part of that creative mind takes that literally, and starts looking for what is wrong. And make no mistake…if you look for something –whether you mean to or not– you will find it.

And this is why I’ve shared this with you. This project A situation directly opposes the goal of the Journeys on these two points…and I need to change. I need to figure this out. I need get aligned, become congruent, root out the “wrongs”, do whatever it takes to free myself of these thought patterns, the inconsistency, the whatever this is.

Thanks for being here,

Thanks for your support,

Yours in the work,

swp

 

 

What do you do when you’re wrong? -Healing (1.4.9)

susanwithpearls Acceptance, Be who you are, becoming, Cause & Effect, Choices, Diligence, Everything changes, Mistakes, Responsible, Transformation ,
Copyright Tam Black 2018
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Guiding Thought

I am the Light of Love. Light saturates my mind and body, surrounding every thought, and radiating out to All. Everything radiates Light in return. Everywhere is Light. I rest in Peace, Being Light.

Reflection

Have you ever thought, “What if everything I think is true is false?” or “What if everything I believe is wrong?”?

I ask myself such questions sometimes to keep me on my toes.

For everything I believe, or for everything I think is true, there is someone who believes the opposite, or thinks that I’m wrong. But it’s also more than that.

There are people who have been in long term relationships, even marriages, who wake up one day to find that everything they had been believing in, and building their lives on, was not what they had thought. The other person did not feel the same way–and suddenly the relationship was over. I know people who have gone through this.

I wonder–in my current relationship–what would I do, if this was all false? What if I were to become one of those people who wakes up one day to find my life turned upside down?

So, you see…this is a fairly practical reason to keep myself on my toes and ask “what if things aren’t what I think they are”.

This is not an exercise to promote fear or suspicion–I hope it does not come across that way. It is, rather, an exercise in expanding how I live, think, and make choices.

People do not always share the same opinions, the same perspective, the same understanding–even when it seems like they do. People are people, living the best way they can. Not everyone is honest with other people. Not everyone is honest with themselves. Sometimes people are simply uninformed. Sometimes they are taught something that is not correct. Sometimes they stand adamantly by something they have learned, without even thinking they could be wrong.

That is why, sometimes, I play this game, wondering “what if I’m wrong?” I give myself that space, that option. I play it out in my head…what would I do if I am wrong?

There are two ways then, to approach this: 1) Would I regret my actions from the past, if I found out everything I thought was wrong? 2) Would I change my future if I learned something I believed was wrong?

As for #1: If I woke up tomorrow and found out that my relationship was not what I thought it was, would I regret anything? Would I think I had wasted my time? Would I feel resentful? No. I would not change anything. Of course, life would change because I would no longer make the same choices, but I would not regret anything about the past.

As for #2: I just learned that some things (spiritual practices) that I have been doing have been “incorrect”. I am in no way a traditionalist, and I have learned my practices mostly through reading and practicing. But in these, I either had not read enough to find more-correct information, or I missed it if I did read it. What I thought was correct- isn’t. I feel a bit embarrassed and angry with myself…but how was I to know? I was ignorant, uninformed; I was doing the best I could with who I am and what I have. Now I feel like I must change my behavior; I must forego habits that I have developed for years and do something new and different. Will I see a difference? Do these spiritual practices make that much of a difference? (FYI: I generally believe that what is in my heart is what translates to the Divine, and my heart has been in the right place. I also believe the Divine is very forgiving!)

What is “right”? How do we learn? What do we do when we are wrong? Can we change? Can we grow? Can we do something different?

Change is the only constant. Being “right” or “wrong” is part of that territory.

I may be wrong, but…

There are things that I believe in so strongly that they are the cornerstones to my personal philosophy, and they help to assuage me, when I find I am wrong, and I need to evolve my thoughts, actions, or beliefs.

  1. Living with pure intentions establishes all actions in the right (higher) direction.
  2. Love does not mislead. Anything done with Love is worthwhile. Doing things with Love is a way to live with no regrets.
  3. The heart is the best guide. People can only make decisions for what is true and right for them at any given moment. This is the best we can do.
  4. Learning matters. When I am willing to learn–even if it means acknowledging that I’ve learned something “wrong” in the past–I can learn and grow into better and better versions of myself.

 

Why- Healing (1.4.0)

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Welcome to Journey of Healing! I am glad you are here. Are you ready to spend 40 days immersing your consciousness in thoughts of healing? 

I know 40 days sounds like a lot. And I suppose it is. But think about it: 40 days of nurturing and caring for yourself, being gentle with yourself, overlooking mistakes, giving yourself some slack (not being so hard on yourself), and generally being Truly nice to yourself, learning to be your Self. Now, doesn’t that bring about a grateful sigh? Oh yes.

To begin, the first step is to think about what this Journey means to you. Why do you want to do it? Is it about healing the body? Healing the mind? Moving body/mind into greater alignment with Soul? Whatever that is for you, take a minute to write it down.

As for me…

I was going to write a long expose about Oneness and Unity, and about how “True Healing” is really leaving behind perception, so that Oneness and Unity can be experienced beyond perception…

I was going to write a bit about the need for Faith, and how the previous Journey increased my faith in Faith, and how that was brought about through some serious letting go and releasing…

I was going to write about how healing is connected to forgiveness, how the world needs SO MUCH healing and forgiveness, and it’s up to us…

I was going to write about how it takes as much time and energy to invoke healing for the 7.5 billion people on the planet, as it does to invoke healing for just one’s self, or for just one other person, so, why not always invoke healing for everyone?…

There was so much I was going to write about why I am doing this Journey, and what it means to me.

But then flippantly, I inserted that silly face above (which is a good representation for how I generally feel starting every Journey–a mix of “oh my God, am I insane?” and “OH YES, I am ready for this!”– and wrote a completely unplanned paragraph.

When I finished that paragraph, I knew. That’s it.

This is why I am doing Journey of Healing:

40 days of nurturing and caring for myself, being gentle with myself, overlooking mistakes, giving myself some slack (not being so hard on myself (really, I need this)), and generally being Truly nice to (and patient with) myself, learning to be my Self.

Simple. No big hopes, dreams, or goals. No pressure. No expectations. Just nurturing and caring for myself and being gentle with myself…

I really can feel a grateful sigh ripple through my whole body and being.

Whatever your reasons for spending 40 days focused on healing, I am glad you are here. I always invoke your healing, as I am doing these Journeys, so your intentions–whatever they are (given to Divine Light, for Divine Purpose, for the benefit of All) will be empowered.

We are all in this together. Every effort matters. Thank you for your contribution.

 

Journey of Worth (1.3.1)

susanwithpearls Acceptance, Atonement, Be who you are, Forgiveness, Mistakes, prayer, Responsible
Copyright Tam Black 2018
Designed for susanwithpearls.com

Welcome to the first day of contemplation! The goal for the day is to read and contemplate the Guiding Thought, then write your reflections, whatever comes up for you. Just let it flow.

Guiding Thought

I have forgotten my Self. I have forgotten who I am. I have forgotten that I was established in Love and by Love, which is infinite and eternal; therefore, my worth is infinite and eternal.

I seek to remember my Self. I choose to remember my Self.

I choose to remember who I am and my infinite worth in Love.

I choose to be aware, to understand, and to Know myself (my Self) as the Love I am.

I choose to share who I am with the world, giving my infinite worth, measured in infinite Love.

Reflection

The last line strikes me as odd, “measured in infinite Love”–as though infinite Love can be measured. If I were more in my head, I would go off on a tangent about this, spinning my wheels, letting my mind whisk me away from focusing on the Truth of the Guiding Thought. I can let this go, and get to what matters. I wasn’t always able to do this so quickly.

I want to argue with myself about the first line, “I have forgotten my Self”. I can feel a response snidely saying, “Nuh-UH”. I don’t want it to be true, that I’ve forgotten my Self.

But I can’t get beyond forgetting my Self until I’ve acknowledged that I have. That’s the whole point of this Guiding Thought.

I have to acknowledge everything–hurts, fears, wounds, abandonments, failures, guilts, shortcomings–that obstructs my Self, otherwise, there is no moving past them.

For many years, I did the the Orthodox morning prayers and I felt the same kind of resistance (“Nuh-UH”) to them. Throughout the prayers, the supplicant refers to him/herself as an “idler and sinner”, “unworthy”…from Psalm 50: “For I know mine iniquity, and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee only have I sinned and done this evil before Thee, that Thou mightest be justified in Thy words, and prevail when Thou art judged. For behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother bear me”. (I love these prayers!)

It felt like such a heavy weight, and one that I did not want to believe. I don’t like thinking of myself as “an idler and a sinner”, just like I don’t like to think that I have forgotten my Self. But even then, doing those prayers, I understood that in order to be forgiven, one must acknowledge a need for it. It’s the forgiveness that matters, not the sin. The prayers are kind a blanket-request for being forgiven.

There were times when there were no specific things that I could identify as “sins”, and yet I would break down just asking for forgiveness, asking for release. It was as though deep down in my subconscious, there was something that resonated with some guilt/shame/sin.

Forgetting my Self is along those same lines. I don’t feel like I’ve forgotten my Self. But I am also not a saint, and don’t have a direct line 100% of the time in my consciousness to Everything Love, so I know that something is missing.

Acknowledging the forgetting is the first step to remembering.

 

Protect me from myself (Purpose 1.2.33)

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Copyright Tam Black 2018
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Guiding Thought

I am now fully conscious of my own Loving Presence which seeks expression through me. My own Loving Presence Knows my heart and Knows my happiness. It Knows how to fulfill my heart and bring me joy, by placing me in right situations, with right people, at right times where I may fully express my purpose. I submit my mind and heart, all my thoughts, words, actions to my own Loving Presence to be lifted to her/his vision and plan for my life.

Sharing

Does my purpose have anything to do with what I am doing? How do I distinguish between actions that are (Truly) Purposeful and those that are (merely) actions? Is there such a distinction; is this a legitimate distinction?

When I am connected to (aware of, conscious of, open to) the Holy Spirit, every action is Purposeful in its highest sense. The Holy Spirit is the necessary ingredient to True Purposefulness.

This is a sub-theme of the over arching theme that I have been working with: Seeking the Kingdom of Heaven first, last, and always, or in short, “100%”.

My Purpose has nothing to do with my material circumstances, my daily activities, my job, who I work with, etc. My Purpose has everything to do with Holy Instant and how often I achieve conscious Unity with the Holy Spirit, how often I embody Christ Consciousness.

I have to let go of thinking about Purpose in terms of things I achieve–goals, tasks, etc. And instead train myself to think of Purpose as a State of Mind, of Awareness, of Being.

True Purpose is achieved only in union with the Holy Spirit. When True Purpose is achieved, all actions are Truly Purposeful, and have True Meaning.

In a State of True Purposefulness, “I” do not choose the situations, people, thoughts, words, actions that I am doing/acting. I tune in and listen to the Holy Spirit. That is my role. That is my job. That is my purpose. The Holy Spirit directs my thought, words, actions.

Until I can do this, and be in a constant state of union with the Holy Spirit (that 100%), then it’s my responsibility to submit my choices (the ones “I” make independent of the Holy Spirit), for His consecration, to be resolved and utilized in the highest way possible. This is the safeguard. This is how the Holy Spirit can protect us from ourselves, and from our mis-using our oh-so-powerful creative minds.

Thus: I submit my mind and heart, all my thoughts, words, actions to my own Loving Presence to be lifted to her/his vision and plan for my life.

And keep working toward that 100%

Convergence (Purpose- 1.2.4)

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Copyright Tam Black 2018
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Guiding Thought

My Inner Divine Mind is always expressing itself in all ways through my own Loving Presence. This is its True Nature, thus this is my True Nature. I turn to my Inner Divine Mind as the Source of my happiness, my purpose, and my fulfillment. I allow it to flow through my own Loving Presence and appear as all my activity, as every visible form and experience I desire.

Reflection

When you’ve hit rock bottom, you have nowhere to go but up. ~ Pattie Mallette

Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose. ~ Janice Joplin

You are more powerful than your human mis-creations. ~ Patricia Cota-Robles

We should do our work with courage…Karma Yoga is what will make you like lions; it will make you strong in this life. ~ Babaji of Haidakhan

 

In a moment of convergence, I saw my true nature of my Inner Divine Mind coming through my Loving Presence as all of these–rock bottom, freedom, power, work, and courage–at the same time.

“Rock bottom” was realizing that I had not succeeded in the way I wanted to–on my (ego) terms, I had “failed”. The choices I had made in one particular area lead me to a void of nothing, quite literally.

I had accomplished nothing I had set out to do; there was nothing to show for my time, effort, or money. In an objective way, I had failed. (Subjectively, I was not beating myself up, or feeling like “a failure”, thank goodness.)

But realizing my failure freed me: I’ve got nothing to lose, might as well go for it. 

The going for it in this case is to be the power that is more powerful than my mis-creations–and believe me, this “failure” has been a mis-creation. I saw how changing my mindset, allowing Divine Mind to act through me could produce miraculous results.

In that moment of accepting that I am more powerful than my mis-creations, I saw and understood the real power that comes with uniting with my Divine Presence–and how not doing so is weak and cowardly… I have enough issues with God, and don’t really need to add “weak and cowardly” to those. My strength is the strength of Divine Will, Divine Love, Divine Mind. If I am not living in such a way that those come through me, then I am not being the person God created me to be…Living “its vision and plan for my life.”

Thus the distrust of yesterday completely dissolved, because this statement: I submit my mind and heart, all my thoughts, words, actions to my own Loving Presence to be lifted to its vision and plan for my life now makes perfect sense, and not only makes perfect sense, but is something that I can embrace wholeheartedly.

Please note, this is a real situation in my life at the moment (even though I’ve given scant details). How better to learn the practical lessons of Divine Truths than to apply them to an actual experience? To allow Divine Presence to flow through my own Loving Presence and appear as all my activity, as every visible form and experience I desire?

See how things work out? I’ll keep you updated!

 

 

 

Why A Journey of Purpose (1.2.0)

susanwithpearls Be who you are, becoming, Diligence, FUN, Inspiration, Mistakes, patience, playfulness

Greetings and welcome to the first day of Journey of Purpose. If you are new here, welcome; I’m glad you’ve found this little spiritual exercise. If you’ve done this before, welcome back! I am so glad you are here.

The first day is devoted to reflecting on your intention for this Journey: What is your purpose? Why are you here? 

My response is below.

While I hope that you might find something interesting in what I write each day, I hope more that  you are inspired to do these Journeys for yourself. My daily reflections are here to show you that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to do this, there is only the path, the journey, the expansion, the evolution. You’re on the path anyway, you might as well approach it with awareness, understanding, and a sense of adventure!

We are here to change the consciousness of humanity to greater Oneness, one mind and day at a time.

Why a Journey of Purpose

Isn’t the answer to “Why a Journey of Purpose?” inherent in the question? If I knew what my purpose is, I wouldn’t be doing a Journey, and I wouldn’t need to ask the question. Which means that I am doing a Journey of Purpose to self-evidently discover my purpose.

This is going to be the fourth time I have done this Journey. My why has changed each time. I tell you this to point out the progressive, evolutionary nature of these Journeys. The question may be the same, but through growth, perspective, learning, and personal progress, your relationship to the question will change, bringing about different answers.

I also tell you this because I feel more at a loss today than I did the last time I did this Journey. I just read the why for that Journey, and I sound so confident, so self-assured, so clear about understanding my purpose.

…and today, I feel as uncertain as I did when I was 13, looking up to the stars asking, “why am I here”?

You may remember during the recently-ended Journey of the Heart, that I mentioned I had insight through the heart about my purpose. Even that has changed.

I really feel like I am approaching this Journey as a blank slate. I don’t know what “my purpose” is; I don’t know how to define it; I have no goals in mind for this Journey; and the only answer I have to the question why is… because I want to learn, and I want to be open to my Highest Divine Purpose, unencumbered by expectations, definitions, my own prejudices.

This scares me a little, but I’m not sure why.

I can tell you, though, the exact passage that evaporated my thoughts about what I want(ed) for this Journey. The bolded lines below are the ones that are particularly pertinent; so much of my thoughts about purpose rely on being something. It seems I may learn how to be nothing and still fulfill a purpose:

SELF-REALIZATION THROUGH SILENT MEDITATION

You can Never Find Your Self When the Thoughts of Others and the Non-Existent Outer World Crowd Into Your Inner Space. One Must Learn to Meditate in Simple Empty Silence.

Here in the Heart and Mind, There is No Inner talk, There Are No Words or Feelings From Others Around You. There is No Desire To Do Anything, To Have Anything (which You Will Only Lose At “Death” Anyway). There is No Desire To Be Anything In the World. Not Even To Teach Other People Meditation. 

There MUST BE Nothing Inside You At All. The Monkeys Must Go To Play Elsewhere. So First Learn To Quiet The Heart and Mind of Desires and Thoughts.

In This Inner Stillness of Nothingness, The LOVE YOU ARE Will Surge Like Little Rivulets Turning Into A Cosmic Ocean Of Blissful Deepest Compassion.

You May Sit Still, Lie in the Bathtub or Flat on Your Back On a Bed. Eyes may Be Open or Closed.  The Physical Body is Not Moving At All. Neither is The Mental or Astral Emotional Body.

Only The Etheric Spirit Comes To You To Fill You With Emptiness. Bless Your Self and God. Feel the Opening to the Grace of God. Praise quietly the Beauty of All Creation. Grace, Mercy, Bountiful Praise, Humility-These Are the Golden Gateways to God!

~Joseph Barry Martin

The Art of Problem-Solving (Heart 1.1.36)

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Journey of the Heart – Day 36
©Susan Billmaier for susanwithpearls

Guiding Thought

I listen to my heart and with my heart. My heart pays attention to others, listening to their inner voice, their unspoken words. I care, and attend with love to their deeper, silent needs, asking their heart, “How may I strengthen you and raise your energy?”

-Play the Guiding Thought here (loops automatically).
Journey of the Heart audio created by Brad Vanlandingham for Susanwithpearls-

Sharing

I understood art as problem-solving today. I saw the learning process that goes into art, and how artists evolve.

I feel like the two hemispheres of my brain were uniting.

Art to me has always been a spontaneous, “whatever comes out” approach. I’ve never been able to visualize a picture in my head and reproduce it. And for that reason, I’ve always thought, “I’m not an artist; I don’t have what it takes”.

In addition, I am very logical and rational, and have always had the (misconceived) idea that my dominant logical and rational (left-brain) precludes being artistic.

Now that I am writing this, I am identifying some really false beliefs that I have held!

Today, as I listened to the Guiding Thought, a picture came into my head that I wanted to draw. At first, I thought, “nah…not even gonna try…I know how that would(n’t) turn out”.

But then I thought, “You’ve been doing these triangle-things, overlapping things…you could probably do it”. So I started.

Immediately, I was perplexed with how the lines cross, and where to leave “openings” in some lines for the other lines to “go through” them, creating the layered look.

But I figured it out (sort of. I wanted it to be more complex, with more colors, more lines, more triangles, with “upward facing” triangles at the bottom “receiving” the lines of color coming down).

As I was figuring it out, I could feel myself learning, problem solving. How do I do it? Where do I put line, and not put a line? and I was able to work through it in my head, to the degree that you see here. The picture is simplistic, I know–but it was actually a big step for me, the “left-brained, non-artist”. I could “see” what I could do…next time, and I understood how artists try stuff, see how it works, then integrate it into the next work.

I could feel how, if I were to do this picture again–or one like it–I would be able to do it more effectively and add some of the complexity that I really wanted.

I wonder if this was an exercise in unifying head and heart?

Probably.

 

 

And Then You’ll Notice: Journey of Peace 2017– Day 31

susanwithpearls Being, Cause & Effect, Choices, Commitment and Dedication, creation, Diligence, Enlightenment, FUN, Kindness Matters, Mistakes, Peace

Welcome to Round Four–we are in the homestretch now! Once more, the pronouns change with this round–we are back to using “I” as the subject of the Guiding Thought. However…you may notice that you do not feel the same way about “I” as you did in the first round after having been through “you” and “we”!

Copyright Tam Black 2017
for susanwithpearls

Guiding Thought

I am Love. I have infinite Love to give; therefore, I am able to give Love infinitely. Filled with Love, my energy is vibrant. All of Life responds to my inner State of Being with mutual harmony.

Reflection

A friend of mine recently asked, “do you think it really is possible for (emotional) stuff to be released, and for us to have new way of interacting with people, a new way of being?”

I paused for a moment–I always pause just to make sure I listen within before speaking–then said, “Yes. Absolutely. There are things I used to do, ways I used to think, things I used to experience that just aren’t there anymore”. For example, there was a time when I could not even recognize that I was having an emotion, much less expressing it (other people had to tell me. ouch). Now, I am very attuned to my emotions, and I can even talk about them (when I choose to!).

Not being aware of my emotions was self-destructive behavior; not communicating my emotions damaged relationships (and/or kept me in relationships longer than I should have been).

I had to make a choice to make that change in my life. And I did, but you know what? It was not grueling or difficult or tedious or traumatic. It was just about awareness…and making choices. I did have to do some trial and error, some experimenting, but in self-awareness, that’s always the fun stuff anyway.

And then over time, something would happen–just a situation where there might have been tension or miscommunication…and I wouldn’t notice it at first, but later I would look back and think: I was different. I was in tune, and I chose to act with calmness and integrity. How about that?

So, if you were to ask me if I really thought that it’s possible to move to a State of Being that comes from the Source of Infinite Love within me, filling me with Love, to which All Life responds with Harmony…I would say, “Yes. Absolutely.”

One day, you’ll notice: you’re just different. You’re acting in harmony with others, with life. There is an ease and flow to how your life runs. Just like that.