Living YOUR life

Do you know people who live their lives based on what other people do?.. Maybe we are all like that at some stage, but it is good to be aware of it, and to realign yourself when you feel that you are slipping into that trap.

I am referring to people who rarely talk about themselves or their own achievements but those of others. Don’t get me wrong, those who over promote themselves and their achievements are a whole different topic. I think it is great to catch up with friends and get up to date with how their loved ones are doing BUT…… do we really want the whole conversation to be about someone else?... I think not…. Proud parents who have nothing else to talk about except for their child’s achievements, women who are quick to weave their husbands career type into the conversation with constant reference to it, and in the opposite, unhappily married people who can’t get enough stories of the exploits of singles, people who recite the opinions of others.

I think that service to others is a wonderful and necessary part of life, but it is only part.. the rest is for our own lives. Live your life, have your own experiences, your own stories, your own achievements, your own perspective, your own opinions…… Give others an equal share of the conversation. Be proud of what your loved ones do but don’t live your life through theirs.

Be unique, be fearless, be inspirational, be aware, BE YOU !!!!!!!!!

Always be a first-rate version of yourself,

instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~Judy Garland

Love and Gratitude,
Lisa xxxx

Compassion

I was witness a very valuable experience the other day. ‘The true meaning of compassion and how some people have no idea what it is or how to apply it’. As with all of my entries here, I hope just to give you enough to inspire you to consider the subject more deeply and with your own perspective. Our truth becomes what we connect with in our hearts.


Wikipedia describes Compassion in this way,

Compassion (from Latin: "co-suffering") is a virtue —one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy (for the suffering of others) are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnectedness and humanism —foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and person hood.


There is an aspect of compassion which regards a quantitative dimension, such that individuals compassion is often given a property of "depth," "vigour," or "passion." More vigorous than empathy, the feeling commonly gives rise to an active desire to alleviate another's suffering.

So in my words, when you understand and have empathetic feelings for a particular situation, that you may not be able to directly change, however you still offer love, understanding and support, this energy will in develop into helping the situation.

From the words of The Buddha,

Compassion is that which makes the heart of the good move at the pain of others. It crushes and destroys the pain of others; thus, it is called compassion. It is called compassion because it shelters and embraces the distressed.

One of the clearest examples of compassion is Mother Theresa. She cared for the poor and sick in the leper colonies in Calcutta. She spent her life serving the rejects of society and is truly a person of compassion.

Please don’t judge those who are not living life the way you are, understand that others are living the life of their environment. Perspective, life experiences, culture, beliefs, fears, all shape us and determine how we live our lives. It is so tragic that 80% of the world population live in poverty. That is a lot of people to be struggling everyday of their lives, not to mention those who don’t live in poverty yet have their own challenges that make day to day life difficult. Have compassion for everybody, regardless of who they are or where they are. Generate the feeling of love for everybody and do whatever you can to help.

A simple word of praise can lift a heavy heart.

It makes the giver a better person

And gives the receiver hope and faith.

It’s usually reciprocated.

It gives life great purpose.

                                                                                                         P.L.





Love and Gratitude,
Lisa xxx

A visualisation meditation.

A guided visualisation meditation for you to become grounded, find your focus and become aware of your spirit.


You can read through this guide, form the picture of this scenario then find a quiet comfortable place to put this meditation into action. Before you meditate, make sure you have a large drink of water, turn off all distractions like tv, phone etc. Maybe have some peaceful music playing in the background. Instrumentals are best otherwise you may tend to focus on words of songs. Please don’t be under the influence of drugs or alcohol or when you are extremely tired (you may fall asleep) Just keep focused on the scenario that I have outlined, if your mind starts to wander to other things then just bring it back to the meditation. As you are forming the pictures in your mind you will start to see other images or symbols appear as if they are all part of the movie you are watching. You will remember these and it would be good to write things down afterwards. I would love to hear about your meditation experiences so please feel free to email me any comments to hope.faith.charity@live.com.au

Keep your breathing regular, in through nose, out through mouth. Take as long as you need to do this meditation, don't rush through it, take your time to explore everything you want to see in your mind. If you feel yourself becoming frantic, slow things down, feel the control that you have.

Start by becoming aware of your body. Beginning at the top of your head, become aware of each part of your body, then relax it, then move to the next section, become aware of it, relax it then move to next…. As you are putting your focus to each section of your body, take notice of thoughts or feelings you get. Straight spine, dropped and relaxed shoulders. You can wiggle or move your body to relax it.

Take a journey in your mind. You are at home looking around your room. You feel a sense of security, familiarity, comfort. Concentrate on these feelings and know that you are always safe. You walk out of your front door and straight into a sprawling desert landscape, you feel the dryness of it, the colour of the earth is vibrant and the dirt moves under your feet. You can feel your spirit expand as there is nothing holding you back while you are here. You feel that you become everything, The earth, the sky, the wind. As you walk you feel as much a part of the landscape as all of the other factors.

What other feelings come you while you are here, what images does this evoke for you…..

You notice a small stream of water in a gully and decide to follow it. The water is clear and is slowly moving, after you have been following it for a while, it starts to gather momentum and this makes your increase your speed as well. It leads you into an area of bushes, then into small trees, and then into a large forest. The trees are so tall, they form a canopy that makes the sunlight dappled, it is green and lush and there is a lot of wildlife. You hear birds and look around to see other animals…. What do you see ?.... are they comfortable with you or do they keep their distance. How do you react to them ? You are enriched here with water, fruits from the plants are abundant and tasty.

Your body feels rejuvenated here, refreshed, healed….. imagine this feeling flowing through your body.

You continue to walk beside the stream which has widened in the forest and become a small yet fast running river. You follow it and notice that there is a loud raging sound approaching which is the water moving over the waterfall on the side of the cliff. It is forceful yet peaceful in its surroundings. You can feel it’s energy and you are absorbing this into your spirit. As you stand at the top of the waterfall looking around you feel as comfortable here as you do in your own home. This is also your home and you are safe.

It is time to return to your house. Do you return on the path you have just taken or do you take a new path. Go with what feels right for you.

You enter your house again and close your front door behind you. Now open your eyes and re-focus before you start to move. Drink some more water and think about all of the images that appeared to you, any emotions that were stirred, any thing that surprised you ?...

Write down your experience if you like.. Just like keeping a dream diary, you can keep a track of what you see when you do meditations as well.

Don’t be upset if you don’t feel like this really worked for you. Meditation takes practise and it if is the first time that you have done it then give yourself a few more times just to relax into the process.

Love and Gratitude,

Lisa xxx

The Magician

The next stage of our journey through the Tarot is card number 1. The Magician.  This card represents the focus, the use of universal power and the creative forces to get what you want.  The Magician has several resources available to allow him to create his path. We all have talents and skills that allow us to create miracles.  The stance of The Magician shows that "As Above, So Below"....    all that is above us, is also below us..   all that is ahead of us, has already been past us..   Everything is in patterns and cycles.

Imagine how empowered you would feel if you were told that you could manifest ANY desire you had.....  Well YOU can !!!!!!!!!!!!...     We are all the Magician, we can all harness the power of the universe and use it to bring us love, happiness, health,  fulfilment and satisfaction (anything really).  If you were given a wish (and not for endless more wishes or a genie or whatever....)..    I mean a serious wish that would give you the greatest joy.  Think very seriously about what you would choose..  I almost guarantee that it would all come down to things that you can change,  you just need to have faith in your ability to achieve them,  faith in God to be there with you while you are trying,  faith in the process of manifesting.

Never underestimate your creative powers.

Given them full reign.

Allow them to flourish.

Explore the things that give you fulfilment:

art, music, crafts, writing, gardening.

Extend your creativity to your work.

It will give great satisfaction.

It will draw others to you.
                                                      P.L.

Love and Gratitude,

Lisa xxx

Are you doing enough ???

Ask yourself regularly if you are doing all of the following (at some stage)

• learning new ways
• accepting of others opinions
• teaching by setting a good example
• encouraging
• being compassionate (to everybody and everything)
• stepping outside of your comfort zone
• allowing yourself to sometimes be vulnerable by baring your soul
• having faith
• setting goals
• laughing until it hurts
• never giving up until you really understand
• showing responsibility
• leaving the past behind
• genuinely smiling at yourself in the mirror
• taking time to de-stress (without alcohol or drugs or chocolate)
• walking for health
• drinking enough water
• telling people that you love them
• improving yourself
• acknowledging the wonderful qualities in others
• sharing

 Of course there are many more but I hope that you connect with this start......

Until you make peace with who you are, you'll never be content with what you have.

Doris Mortman

Love and Gratitude

Lisa xxx

The Lords Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name,

Thy Kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

On Earth as it is in Heaven,

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us,

Lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil,

For thine is the kingdom,

The Power and the Glory,

For ever and ever,

Amen.

Have you ever repeated The Lords Prayer without considering all aspects of it and how the belief in what you are saying can really change your life ?

There are 6 teachings in this prayer and when said with your full conviction, the 7th aspect of love with be there, surrounding you and fulfilling all of your desires. You must understand all teachings in order to truly unlock the potential.

Our Father who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.

Faith.

This is where you declare your faith. I believe that the divine is a Father/Mother energy giving balance of love, nurturing, guidance and protection. We are the child learning how to travel on a journey. Invoking his hallowed name is creating a sacred space to live your daily life.

Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done,

Surrender.

This is your promise to make the world a better place. The "will" is his will, not yours. Forgo your ego, follow your destiny. Remember this if something is not going your way. Understand that sometimes, things just aren't meant to be.

On Earth as it is in Heaven,

Service.

Create Heaven on Earth by charitable actions. Don't be discouraged by the size of the problems on Earth, taking small steps is enough to get the ball rolling.
Prayer can be an act of service,
Think of as many people as you like who you can pray for. Think of a local or world crisis that you are moved by. Then make often and regular prayers for those causes sending positive and healing energy to them.

Volunteer work for a charity can also give you a great sense of purpose. Even when you are in need of charity yourself.

Give us today our daily bread,

Abundance.

This is to manifest your desires now that you are in alignment with your higher mission. The most important aspect of this is to show gratitude for everything you are given. Say Thank You for everything, Say it often and Mean It !!!!

Forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.

Forgiveness.

This can be difficult when you are out of practise. It's not something that we are taught to do properly. Do it with integrity and open your heart to the fact that we are all learning. We are asking to be forgiven by all those people that we have affected. Learn from your past behaviour. Forgive yourself.

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Overcoming.

You know the 7 deadly sins ? Ego, Envy, Anger (Wrath), Sloth, Greed, Indulgence (Glutton) and Lust. These emotions stop us from achieving our higher purpose which is Love.
Temptation to sin stops us from keeping our sacred promise to God. That promise is to Love.

See, Love wraps it all up. Its the beginning , end, and everything in between.

I hope that next time you pray, you feel the power of the words and the universal love from God.

Love and Gratitude,
Lisa xxx

Compassionate Consumption

What we buy, use and eat has an impact on our planet. We need to be aware of all of these things not just for our own health, but for the welfare of future generations.

You can do mini-meditations each day, or when you are feeling like your spending is out of control, to remind yourself of the interconnectedness of all beings and things. This will also help you to stop mindless consumption and becoming a victim of our consumer driven society. When you purchase less toxic products you are lessening the burden on our planet. This meditation practice is not to make you feel guilt but to heighten your conscious and to make you feel empowered that you can actually make a difference.

I read a book about how to make change in the world. It all comes down to 7 words in 3 sentences.

Be Healthy. Be Kind. Respect Your Environment.

It's so simple yet we never put it first when we are making choices.........   until now.

Using these steps you can remind yourself of the impact that YOU are having on the planet and to help you change your consumer habits to be more compassionate.

1. Sit on your own. Be comfortable. Remove any distractions that may interrupt you.

2. Visualize yourself being connected to all other living things, the sky, the earth, water, rocks and plants.  Feel a sense of love emanating from your whole body and a sense of gratitude for all of the beauty and those life experiences that you have had, that make you the person you are.

3.Imagine the effect that you have every time you consume something. The people who grow and manufacture the materials and resources, the distribution those products,  All of the energy and interaction that it takes to supply that item.

Think of the limited resources that this planet has. Oil, minerals, water. Think of how we deal with the    wastes of that product and the by products of manufacturing and distributing. Think of how we deal with disposal of things that cannot be recycled.

When we are talking about consuming meat, consider the animal that it came from. The conditions that animal went through on a farm and how it was slaughtered and processed. Remember that it was not that animals choice to live such a life. Send your gratitude to that animal that has given its life to be your nourishment. Stop being disconnected from the truth that all meat, was once a living being.

Think of all farming and food preparation practices using chemicals and machinery and cheap labour.

4. Bring this consciousness of the effect of your consumption on the planet, to your everyday life and try to make more compassionate decisions regarding what you consume.

5. Be Aware, Be Grateful.

No matter how long the mess has been there,

no matter how powerful the urge is to leave it there,

make the effort to clean it up.

It's worth it.

It opens up new horizons.

It brings freshness.

It opens up new perspectives

P.L.

Love and Gratitude,

Lisa xxx