Morning Prayer 14/100. Self reflection
Self reflection
Self reflection is a great deal of everything. And, I believe, self reflection is simply a great deal.
Notice the photograph I took yesterday, of a very young girl trying on sun glasses in a shop in Carmel by the Sea. She had it down to an artful science. Select a pair of sunglasses, slip them on, turn s l o w l y to the mirror to her left, peer at her face behind the glasses, peer at the glasses in front of her face, tilt her head to the left, tilt it to the right.
That got her as far as short-listing the glasses. No-go’s went back on the rack. Maybe’s went on a small table behind her. I didn’t stay to learn her final decision.
However, those few minutes of observation allowed me to consider the amazing values of self-reflection. I don’t mean the value of self-improvement, although that’s surely a powerful good that critical reflection can bring. No, that little girl was delighting in the opportunity to peruse herself.
You and I have the amazing opportunity to peruse ourselves as well. To stand in front of our spiritual, personal mirror and enjoy what we let ourselves see.
Below this posting are listed the categories and tags which relate to this posting’s content. I usually write a post then select the categories and the tags. This morning I went to the tags list and the categories list first. In both instances, I realized that the self-reflection I’m referring to covers more tags and categories than I can select.
Consider the limitless wonders you are: joy and power, peace and healing, love and humor, strength and humility. A few minutes in front of your personal mirror can show you all of that. And more. And you don’t have to return any of what you see to the rack; you don’t have to keep a few for the “maybe” list. All you see is you.
God our Mirror,
the beauty you allow us to see
that is our Self
is your creation and your blessing.
The joy you allow us to recognize
that is our Being
is your gift and your pleasure.
The peace you provide us
that is our Essence
is your Spirit alive as your Child.
God, grant us awareness to be free
to make the time and the comfort
to reflect on our Self, to be still and know
we are your Child.
And so it is. Amen.
07/23/2015
In: Change, Commitment, Energy, God, Happiness, Humility, Humor, Inner Peace, Joy, Life, Oneness, Peace, Power, Prayer, Strength, Thanksgiving, Wellness · Tagged with: Divine Spirit, God, Grounding, Healing, Joy, Love, Oneness, Peace, Reflection, Strength, Truth
Morning Prayer 13/100. Making comparisons
Making comparisons
Making comparisons can spoil your happiness. That’s one of Hector’s notes from Hector and the Search for Happiness. And I more and more find it true.
And so I less and less indulge in comparisons.
This morning I ran south on the Iron Horse Regional Trail. Day before yesterday I ran north. And two days before that I’d run southward for the very first time.
Today was an open door for comparisons: southbound trail compared to northbound, two days heading south compared to one another. What did I see different on the several runs? All sorts of comparisons.
As I watched a woman with a tremendously friendly face and plastic bag in hand carefully look through the high grass for her dog’s deposit, I realized I didn’t need or want to search out comparisons between today’s run and any other run.
Every moment has its own joy, its own meaning, its own spark. The moments I might spend comparing today’s woman and her saintly patient dog with any previous heart-catching sights only robs me of the present moment. And seeing, loving still more blessings.
Making comparisons can spoil your happiness. No way!
Good friend God,
the beauty and blessing you create in every moment
are without comparison.
Each and every one shines bright all on its own.
My human mind seeks to distinguish one from another
by finding their similarities and differences.
I adore your reminders that every moment is its own.
As I can celebrate each moment as it is, that it is, and
that I can celebrate it, I am thankful.
Comparing requires a ‘winner’ and a ‘loser’.
Your creation is without loss.Your creation is victory always.
All ways.
And so it is. Thank you, God.
Amen.
Love and blessings,
07/22/2015
In: Change, God, Happiness, Inner Peace, Joy, Life, Oneness, Prayer · Tagged with: Divine Spirit, Love, Mantra, Oneness, Peace, Prayer
Morning Prayer 12/100. Across the bridge
Across the bridge
We walked across the bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, yesterday. Both directions.
And we walked into beauty, into grace, into joy in both directions. It was never a matter of “to and from”. It was rather experiencing movement to one excitement, then turning around (after a brief rest!) and experiencing movement to another excitement.
Virtually every element of our walk was uplifting. The sky was a brilliant blue. The wind was bracing. The variety of boats, windsurfers, and fisherpeople on the bay beneath us grabbed attention. The other walkers were entertaining. Even the threat of bicyclists from both directions was thrilling.
Today’s lesson from A Course in Miracles reviews the lesson stating: I will be still an instant, then go home. The intention being to remind us that our true home is not this beautiful earth or our awe-inspiring experiences as Human Beings. Our true home is One with Spirit, not a place but an existence.
I love that as I love all that ACIM teaches. And I’m glad to say that walking the Golden Gate Bridge yesterday allowed me clarity in knowing I/we can delight in the here-and-now and be very much at home with Spirit.
Maybe it was being suspended above the expanse of the San Francisco Bay, being hand-in-hand with Cindy, being so conscious of the blessings of this life. Whatever, I am joyful knowing “Home” is not a separate place which I can enjoy only by leaving this state of human being.
A good lesson from the Golden Gate Bridge.
Sweet Spirit,
thank you for allowing the wonderful insight
that we can live fully and joyously now.
We can experience and express
the wonders of life in our present tense
and with our present senses.
And as we know the human joys, we give thanks
that surrounding and filling and supporting them
is the spiritual Truth that is our Being.
We heart-know it is that Truth that frees us
to create our identity in the here and now,
frees us to discover and realize our Being
as your child.
Thank you, God.
Amen.
Love and blessing,
07/21/2015
In: Beauty, Change, God, Happiness, Home, Intention, Joy, Life, Oneness, Prayer
Morning Prayer 11/100. Sitting still
Sitting Still
I am sitting still. I am moving at jet speed. Both are true. Each is a blessing. [Note: this was drafted in flight Thursday 7/16]
United flight 1591 is at 35,000 feet and on the way to San Francisco. Cindy’s and my vacation started officially when the wheels left the ground. We cannot get to San Francisco and all it (and Northern California) offers soon enough. The excitement of seeing friends, viewing scenery, hearing sounds are strong lures indeed.
And some part of me is in no hurry. This time in flight frees me from having to do anything. I allow myself to just sit. To let thoughts flow through my mind without being wrestled to meaning. To let concerns of what has happened and what will happen dissolve into the jet’s wake.
Being still allows the ultimate grounding. I can more readily still my mind when I rest my body. Ideal for me are my meditation cushion most mornings and my front porch chair many afternoons. Almost ironic that right now I feel completely grounded 35,000 feet off the ground. Yet the peace of knowing God’s presence no matter where Cindy and I are, no matter where we travel does ground me fully. Pure truth to the passage, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
How often do you allow yourself to be still? Absolutely still?
Still in your body and still in your mind?
Have you a special place that encourages your stillness?
Have you special rituals or actions to support your stillness?
Ever Present God,
when I sit and allow my Self to know
you are not merely with me —
you are inside me, filling me with your Being,
with Spirit — I know the perfect Peace.
Whether flying high above the earth or sitting quietly
in meditation, the joy of feeling your fulfilling me
satisfies and soothes and brings me blessings.
I know that you are Perfect and Presence and all Good.
That allows me to know that I am too.
Thank you, God.
Love and blessings,
07/20/2015
In: Happiness, Humility, Inner Peace, Love, Oneness, Peace, Prayer, Spirituality · Tagged with: creativity, Energy, Grounding, Oneness
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