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Friday, September 28, 2007

Anger

Anger is FUEL. We feel it and we want to do something. Hit someone,
break something, throw a fit, smash a fist into the wall, tell those bastards
off. But we are 'nice' people, and what we do with our anger is stuff it,
deny it, bury it, block it, hide it, lie about it, medicate it, ignore it.
We do everything but 'listen' to it.
Anger is meant to be listened to. Anger is a voice, a shout, a plea, a
demand. Anger is meant to be respected. Why? Because anger is a 'map.'
Anger shows us what our boundaries are. Anger shows us where we want to go.
It lets us see where we've been and lets us know when we haven't liked it.
Anger points the way, not just the finger. In the recovery of a blocked
artist, anger is a sign of health.
Anger is meant to be acted upon. It is not meant to be acted out.
Anger points the direction. We are meant to use anger as fuel to take the
actions we need to move where our anger points us. With a little thought, we
can usually translate the message that our anger is sending us.
รข€¦Sloth, apathy, and despair are the enemy. Anger is not. Anger is our
friend. Not a nice friend. Not a gentle friend. But a very, very loyal
friend. It will always tell us when we have been betrayed. It will always
tell us when we have betrayed ourselves. It will always tell us that it is
time to act in our own best interests.
Anger is not the action itself. It is action's invitation.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Julia Cameron

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Spirit Of Love

Henry Drummond has said, "The moments when you have really lived are the
moments when you have done things in the spirit of love."
Here is a story (possibly apocryphal, but powerful nevertheless) about a man
who acted in the spirit of love and what he consequently learned.
The story comes from Zig Ziglar's book, See You At The Top (Pelican
Publishing Co., 1982). He tells about an old man who stood on a Virginia
riverbank many years ago. He was waiting to cross the river and, since it was
bitterly cold and there were no bridges, he would have to "catch a ride" to
the other side. After a lengthy wait he spotted a group of horsemen
approaching. He let the first one pass, then the second, third, fourth and
fifth. One rider remained. As he drew abreast, the old man looked him in the
eye and said, "Sir, would you give me a ride across the river?"
The rider immediately replied, "Certainly." Once across the river, the old
man slid to the ground. "Sir," the rider said before leaving. "I could not
help but notice that you permitted all the other men to pass without asking
for a ride. Then, when I drew abreast, you immediately asked me to carry you
across. I am curious as to why you didn't ask them and you did ask me."
The old man quietly responded, "I looked into their eyes and could see no
love and knew in my own heart it would be useless to ask for a ride. But when
I looked into your eyes, I saw compassion, love and the willingness to help.
I knew you would be glad to give me a ride across the river."
The rider was touched. "I'm grateful for what you are saying," he said. "I
appreciate it very much." With that, Thomas Jefferson turned and rode off to
the White House.
Ziglar reminds us that our eyes are the windows of our souls. Then he asks a
pointed question: "If you had been the last rider, would the old man have
asked you for a ride?"
A good question! For it is said that others will know us by our love. Some
will see it in the things we do and some in the things we say. And a few
perceptive souls, like the old man, may catch a glimmer of a loving and
generous spirit in the expression of kind eyes. However it shows, may you be
known by your love.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Steve Goodier

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Relationship With God

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone--to have a deep soul
relationship with another--to be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But God
says to us: "No, not until you are satisfied, fulfilled and content with
being loved by Me alone--and giving yourself totally and unreservedly to
Me--to having an intensely personal and unique relationship with Me alone,
discovering that only in Me is your own satisfaction to be found, will you be
capable of the perfect human relationship that I have planned for you. You
will never be united with another until you are united with Me-exclusive of
anyone or anything else, exclusive of any desires or longings.
I want you to have the best. Please allow Me to bring it to you. You just
keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things. Keep experiencing the
satisfaction that I am. Keep listening and learning the things that I tell
you. You just wait. That's all. Don't be anxious, don't worry. Don't look
around at the things others have gotten or that I've given them.
Don't look at the things you think that you want. You just keep looking off
and away up to Me, or you'll miss what I want to show you. And then, when
you're ready, I'll surprise you with a love far more wonderful than any you
would dream of. You see, until you are ready, and until the one I have for
you is ready, until you are both satisfied exclusively with Me and the life I
have prepared for you, you won't be able to experience the love that
exemplifies your relationship with Me and thus the perfect love. And, dear
one, I want you to have this wonderful love. I want you to see in the flesh a
picture of your everlasting union of beauty, perfection and love that I offer
you with Myself.
Know that I love you utterly, and that I am the King. Believe it and be
satisfied."
Your friend,
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
God

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Wonderful Quotes

1. If you feel far away from God, guess who moved?
2. Fear knocked. Faith answered. No one was there.
3. What you are is God's Gift to you. What you become is your gift to God.
4. I am God's Melody of life and He Sings His Song through me.
5. We can never really go where God is not, and where He is, all is well.
6. No matter what is happening in your life, know that God is waiting for you with open arms.
7. God Promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
8. Do your best and then sleep in peace. God is Awake.
9. God has a Purpose and Plan for me that no one else can fulfill.
10. The Will of God will never take you to where the Grace of God will not protect you.
11. We are responsible for the effort, not the outcome.
12. We set the sail; God makes the wind.
13. Begin to weave and God will give you the thread.
14. When God says "no", it's because He has something better in store for you.
15. The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.
16. Prayer: don't bother to give God instructions, just report for duty.
17. It's my business to do God's Business and it's His Business to take care of my business.
18. Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm.
19. How come you're always running around looking for God? He's not lost.
20. God put me on earth to accomplish a number of things; right now I'm so far behind I will live forever.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Ring Out The Old

Recently I ordered a spiffy new cell phone with a fabulously low billing rate. The promotion was so popular, I was told, that there would be a 30-90 day wait for the phone. Okay, I can wait; all these years of meditation should have taught me a little patience, at least.
Eleven days later I tried to make a call from my current cell phone, and got the message, "Your phone has a verification problem. Please call the business office." God bless the phone company, I thought (not the first time).
I called the business office and the representative told me they had no clue why my phone wouldn't access. My bill was paid, and their diagnostic showed no problem. I talked to several reps, still no help. God bless the phone company.
When I arrived home I found a FedEx box sitting at my doorstep with my new phone. I plugged it in, and voila! it worked like a charm. The phone company had disconnected my old phone because it had transferred service to my new one.
In the wake of my euphoria, I recognized a powerful lesson in this experience: If the old thing isn't working any more, it will not do you any good to fight to reinstate it or keep it alive. If you have completed a career phase, level of relationship, or stage of life, the Big Phone Company in the Sky (really within you) has hooked your energy up to the next thing, and any effort to resuscitate the old will only be frustrating and wasted. Instead, focus your attention on where you are now or where you want to be going, and the object of your vision will show up without struggle or strain.
One of the basic principles of manifestation is the Law of Attraction, which denotes that everything that shows up in your life (or leaves it) comes or goes in response to the energy you are vibrating. When you are truly open and ready to receive your heart's desire, it must appear. And if you are not ready, no amount of manipulating can make it happen. So you can quit fighting to get rid of what you don't want or force what you do want; instead, line up your energy so you are thinking and feeling in harmony with your vision, and the universe will deliver it in the most amazing ways.
I know many people who participate in various dating services, place personal ads, and meet many potential mates. Many of them find something wrong with just about everyone they date, and are still looking. I also know a man who lived as a hermit in the remote Halawa valley on the sleepy Hawaiian island of Molokai. To get to John's house you had to travel hours over a long and winding road, park your car on the property of a backcountry family who for $3 would protect your car (from them), and then hike into a secluded electricity-less area so far off the grid, the zip code was 0. All kinds of dropouts lived in that jungle, some naked, many stoned, and most yet to emerge from the 60's.
Then one day John was visited by his buddy Hank, and Hank's traveling companion Cheryl. Long story short: John and Cheryl fell in love, moved back to civilization, got married, and have a pretty nice life together. No video dating, no personals, no "I have a friend I'd like you to meet." Just the Law of Attraction. When you are ready to receive what you want, it will find you.
Many people in my seminars report that they want to let go of the old but and don't know what to do until the new arrives. They feel frightened at dropping their security blanket (even though it is stale, boring, or painful) without seeing how their new security will come.
The only real security comes from following Spirit. Imagine you are a trapeze artist who got so tired of swinging back and forth on the old swing that you said, "I have to get off of this; anything has to be better than this." So you let go and you suddenly find yourself flying through the air (usually without the greatest of ease). In the distance you see another trapeze (your new and better life) maybe even with someone with outstretched hands coming toward you. But it may take a little while till you are able to fully grasp those hands. Just hang in there, remember your vision, trust, and have fun while you are flying.
We are living in a time when life is moving so rapidly that we can't afford to cling to old rocks. There is far greater wisdom (and joy) in opening to the adventure and making a game of flowing with the stream. It really is quite a beautiful ride.
Sometimes it seems that life is not working, but it is. The universe is intelligent, and our game is to remember that perfection is always unfolding, even when we do not see it in a cloudy moment. God bless the phone company.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Alan Cohen

Friday, September 21, 2007

A Late Bloomer

A cactus stood all alone in the desert, wondering why it was stuck in the middle of nowhere.
"I do nothing but stand here all day," it sighed. "What use am I? I'm the ugliest plant in the desert. My spines are thick and prickly, my leaves are rubbery and tough, my skin is thick and bumpy. I can't offer shade or juicy fruit to any passing traveler. I don't see that I'm any use at all."
All it did was stand in the sun day after day, growing taller and fatter. Its spines grew longer and its leaves tougher, and it swelled here and there until it was lumpy and lopsided all over. It truly was strange-looking. "I wish I could do something useful," it sighed. By day hawks circled high overhead.
"What can I do with my life?" the cactus called. Whether they heard or not, the hawks sailed away.
At night the moon floated into the sky and cast its pale glow on the desert floor.
"What good can I do with my life?" the cactus called. The moon only stared coldly as it mounted its course.
A lizard crawled by, leaving a little trail in the sand with its tail. "What worthy deed can I do?" the cactus called.
"You?" the lizard laughed, pausing a moment. "Worthy deed? Why, you
can't do anything! The hawks circle way overhead, tracing delicate patterns for us all to admire. The moon hangs high like a lantern at night, so we can see our ways home to our loved ones. Even I, the lowly lizard, have something to do. I decorate the sands with these beautiful brushstrokes as I pull my tail along. Buy you? You do nothing but get uglier every day."
And so it went on, year after year. At last the cactus grew old, and it knew its time was short.
"Oh, Lord," it cried out, "I've wondered so long, and I've tried so hard. Forgive me if I've failed to find something worthy to do. I fear that now it's too late."
But just then the cactus felt a strange stirring and unfolding, and it knew a surge of joy that erased all despair. At its very tip, like a sudden crown, a glorious flower suddenly opened in bloom.
Never had the desert known such a blossom. Its fragrance perfumed the air far and wide and brought happiness to all passing by. The butterflies paused to admire its beauty, and that night even the moon smiled when it rose to find such a treasure. The cactus heard a voice.
"You have waited long," the Lord said. "The heart that seeks to do good reflects My glory, and will always bring something worthwhile to the world, something in which all can rejoice - even if for only a moment."
Moral stories can improve your moral values.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

A Complete Genius

While meandering through a bookstore, I discovered a wealth of books for dummies and idiots. You have probably seen the many volumes directed at stupid people, such as Computers for Dummies and Complete Idiot's Guide to Dating. I even saw Complete Idiot's Guide to Near-Death Experiences! There are hundreds of titles in each of these very popular series, and the number is growing rapidly.
I was struck by how readily we identify ourselves as dummies and idiots. Obviously we think we are stupid, and these books will help. I wonder what would happen if I published a similar series for geniuses, such as Golf for Sages or The Complete Genius's Guide to Home Repair. I have a hunch they wouldn't sell very well at all. Not because we are not geniuses. Because we have been trained to regard ourselves as stupid.
When I was little, I sat on my front porch one morning and sang several rousing verses of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." A few days later I overheard my mother casually tell someone, "Alan has a foghorn voice." That idea made an impression on me, and I did not sing for many years. After all (at that age), your mother knows everything, and if she said I couldn't sing, I couldn't sing.
Perhaps you had a similar experience. Perhaps early in life you adopted a thought about yourself that defined you as small, ugly, incapable, or unlovable. Most of us did. And perhaps you went on to live as if that identity was true. And perhaps, like many, you collected a pool of tears in your heart and went through life hurting because you wished you could be more.
You are more. The genius you were born as, still lives, and can be reactivated at any moment. Genius is your reality and the dark programming is your adopted personality. When Abraham (through Esther Hicks) was challenged, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks," Abraham answered, "You have no idea what an old dog you are!" Who you were before you learned self-defeating tricks, is still very much available and eager to come forth and shine.
There is a story in the annals of education about an elementary school teacher who arrived on the first day of school and perused her class roster. Next to each child's name was the number of a very high I.Q. "126, 135, 140," Miss Everett read aloud, eyebrows raised. "Thank goodness I finally got a bright class!"
Miss Everett went on to stimulate the loftiest abilities in her wiz-kids. She gave them challenging projects, took them on field trips, and offered them leeway to explore their work in creative ways. At the end of the semester all the students earned A's and B's. The day after report cards came out, the principal called her into his office and asked, "Miss Everett, what did you do with these kids?"
"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.
"You took some of the lowest-functioning students in the school and turned them into geniuses!"
"I don't understand what you're talking about," the teacher replied. "These kids were bright when I got them. Here, just look at their I.Q.'s in my roll book."
The principal scanned her roster and replied, astonished, "Miss Everett, these are their locker numbers!"
Moral stories can improve your moral values
--Alan Cohen

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Where Is God?

He was just a little boy, on a week's first day.
He was wandering home from Sunday school and dawdling on the way.
He scuffed his shoes into the grass, he found a caterpillar.
He found a fluffy milkweed pod and blew out all the "filler."
A bird's nest in a tree overhead, so wisely placed on high.
Was just another wonder that caught his eager eye.
A neighbor watched his zig zag course and hailed him from the lawn;
asked him where he'd been that day and what was going on.
"I've been to Bible school" he said and turned a piece of sod.
He picked up a wiggly worm replying, 'I've learned a lot of God"..
"M'm very fine way" the neighbor said, "for a boy to spend his time."
"If you tell me where God is, I'll give you a brand new dime."
Quick as a flash the answer came. Nor were his accents faint.
"I'll give you a dollar, mister, if you can tell me where God ain't."
Moral stories can improve your moral values.

Love In Action

One night a man came to our house and told me, "There is a family with eight children. They have not eaten for days," I took some food and I went. When I finally came to the family, I saw the faces of those little children disfigured by hunger. There was no sorrow or sadness in their faces, just the deep pain of hunger. I gave the rice to the mother. She divided it in two, and went out, carrying half the rice with her. When she came back, I asked her, "Where did you go?" She gave me this simple answer, "To my neighbors-they are hungry also."
I was not surprised that she gave--because poor people are generous. But I was surprised that she knew they were hungry. As a rule, when we are suffering, we are so focused on ourselves we have no time for others.
--Mother Teresa

Meeting God

There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with cupcakes, several cans of root beer and started on his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he saw an elderly woman. She was sitting on a park bench watching the pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed the lady looked hungry so he offered her a cupcake. She gratefully accepted and smiled at him.
Through moral stories, the idea is to present the greatness of the humanity.
Her smile was so wonderful that he wanted to see it again, so he offered a root beer as well. Once again she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling without saying a word.
As it began to grow dark, the boy realized how tired he was and wanted to go home. He got up to leave but before he had gone no more than a few steps, he turned around and ran back to the old woman, giving her a big hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.
Through moral stories, the idea is to present the greatness of the humanity.
When the boy arrived home his Mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked, "What has made you so happy today?" He replied, "I had lunch with God." Before his mother could respond he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile in the whole world!"
Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face. He asked, "Mother, what has made you so happy today?" She replied, "I ate cupcakes in the park with God." And before her son could reply, she added, "You know, he is much younger than I expected."
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring; all of which have the potential to turn life around.
People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Follow Your Bliss

Author Joseph Campbell often talked about "following your bliss." I heard of a bus driver in Chicago who does just that.
He sings while he drives. That's right... sings! And I don't mean he sings softly to himself, either. He sings so that the whole bus can hear! All day long he drives and sings.
He was once interviewed on Chicago television. He said that he is not actually a bus driver. "I'm a professional singer," he asserted. "I only drive the bus to get a captive audience every single day."
His "bliss" is not driving a bus, though that may be a source of enjoyment for some people. His bliss is singing. And the supervisors at the Chicago Transit Authority are perfectly happy about the whole arrangement. You see, people line up to ride his bus. They even let other busses pass by so they can ride with the "singing bus driver." They love it!
Here is a man who believes he knows why he was put here on earth. For him, it is to make people happy. And the more he sings, the more people he makes happy! He has found a way to align his purpose in living with his occupation. By following his bliss, he is actually living the kind of life he believes he was meant to live.
Not everybody can identify a purpose in life. But when you do, and when you pursue it, you will be living the kind of life you feel you were meant to live. And what's more, you will be happy.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Steve Goodier

Three Messages Of Strong Families

One family subscribed to the notion that money really CAN buy happiness -- send the kids to summer camp! So they sent their son Joey away for the season. He was apparently as blissful about the arrangement as his parents, for after about three weeks, they finally received a postcard. Both parents huddled together to read it. After a moment, Joey's mother looked up and commented to her husband, "Well, it certainly is Joey."
The card read: "Dear Mom and Dad, they are making everyone write home. Love, Joey."
At times, families may need some space. They also need togetherness -- lots of it. And those of us who live in families realize that our family is far from perfect, even on the best of days. But perfection is not required for a strong family life.
What IS required, according to family expert Nick Stinnett (USA Today, 1-29-86) are three basics. "When you have a strong family life," he said, "you receive the message that you are loved, that you are cared for, that you are important. The positive intake of love and affection and respect...gives you inner resources to deal with life more successfully."
Love, affection and respect -- a dynamic trio in any strong family. Where there is love there is a place of safety and security. Where there is affection there is a place of warmth. And where there is respect there is a place where the mind and spirit can flourish.
Not all of us live in family groups. But we probably came from families and there just may be a family in our future.
Dr. Joyce Brothers has dedicated her life to marriage and family issues. She observes, "When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses." That can be true in any family where you are loved, you are cared for and where you are made to feel important. Make this trio part of your family life and you truly will find happiness.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Steve Goodier

Monday, September 17, 2007

God's Embroidery

When I was a child my mother use to embroider a great deal. I would sit at her knee and look up from the floor and ask what she was doing? She informed me that she was embroidering. I told her that it looked like a mess from where I was. As from the underside I watched her work within the boundaries of the little round hoop that she held in her hand, I complained to her that it sure looked messy from where I sat.
She would smile at me, look down and gently say, "My child, you go about your playing for a while, and when I am finished with my embroidering, I will put you on my knee and let you see it from my side."
I would wonder why she was using some dark threads along with the bright ones and why they seemed so jumbled from my view. A few minutes would pass and then I would hear Mother's voice say, "My child, come and sit on my knee." This I did only to be surprised and thrilled to see a beautiful flower or a sunset.
I could not believe it, because from underneath it looked so messy. Then Mother would say to me, "My child, from underneath it did look messy and jumbled, but you did not realize that there was a pre-drawn plan on the top. It was a design. I was only following it. Now look at it from my side and you will see what I was doing."
Many times through the years I have looked up to my Heavenly Father and said, "Father, what are You doing?" He has answered, "I am embroidering your life." I say, "But it looks like a mess to me. It seems so jumbled. The threads seem so dark. Why can't they all be bright?"
The Father seems to tell me, "My child, you go about your business of doing my business, and one day I will bring you to Heaven and put you on my knee. Then you will see.... The Plan From My Side”
Moral stories can improve your moral values.

Afghan Of Life

It occurs to me that my life really is a fabric of warp - not warped - and weft yarns. (OK, maybe some of them are warped too!)
This past Christmas season, I did A LOT of crocheting. Finances had me in a place where a lot of store-bought presents were out of the question. The good part was it forced me to rediscover some talents I had forgotten - namely my ability to crochet.
So, I've had yarn on the brain for three months, and this meditation is the result.
If I were designing the afghan of my life, I would choose it to be all beautiful colors, with some shiny Lurex yarns crocheted through the piece. But it's not. It's not like the scarves and afghan and booties I made for friends and family over the Christmas season.
Sure, it has a lot of beautiful colors, and some glittering threads along the way. But it also has dark threads and deep colors. Greys, blacks, and sad purples. I didn't plan them. But like the variegated colors of ombre yarn that get randomly worked into a piece, so do these colors appear when I least expect them. They are the losses in my life.
As I look back over my life now, the funny thing is that these losses don't leave holes in the material. They aren't empty places, the way we would expect losses to be, and the way we can experience them. What I realized is that though they are dark places, they are still part of the fabric and they are still with me. Friends and loved ones no longer in my life the way they once were, beloved pets gone over the rainbow bridge, a marriage relationship, loved ones who live far away that I miss, dreams I hoped for myself and for those I love. All of these are still woven into my life and my memory. They all have helped to make me what and who I am today.
What's more, this life afghan is wound around my heart. It protects it, cushions it, and keeps it warm. Both the colorful yarns and the dark ones. All of these people and situations are still precious treasures to me. Like those ombre yarns of variegated hue, they bring new joys to me as I experience them in fresh ways throughout my life. For all the yarns that have formed the structure of my life has been to this point, I am grateful beyond words. And for all the threads yet to come, I wait with hopeful anticipation.
And of course, I am also grateful for the bright new yarns that reflect light in beautiful ways in my life. Close friends, my beloved partner and the extended family who have all graciously welcomed me into their lives, my cat companions that bring me joy, work associates who have become friends, good neighbors, moments of connections with parents, partners, friends and strangers that reaffirm that spiritual bond that is the strongest thread of all.
So as we go forward into 2003, I invite you to examine the fabric of your life. Where are the bright yarns, and the dark ones? This is a year for you to continue the pattern of the cloth or change it. Some of the yarns may sadden or delight you, but it's up to you how you work them into the material of your being. God bless you. Happy New Year.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Lesley Goddin

Take What You Have and Make What You Want

As we enter this new year, we all want to change our lives for the better. The question is, how? There are two ways you can change your life: (1) Change your conditions; and (2) Change your mind. Sometimes you can change your conditions. Always you can change your mind. Ultimately, mastering your mind yields far more success and reward than rearranging conditions. Perhaps you have heard about the fellow who was losing coins out of a hole in his pocket, so he went out and got a second job to replace the coins. He didn't realize how much more helpful it would have been to simply sew the hole!
Recently I was in a car with several friends waiting to pay a toll at the Chicago airport. The line seemed to be moving rather slowly; I assumed the delay had something to do with security. When we finally arrived at the booth, we found a handsome Italian man with thick gray hair and sparkling eyes. As he handed us our change, he leaned over and enthusiastically sang us several verses of "La Traviata" - and he was really good! We thanked him, smiled, and went on our way with a little more color in our cheeks.
Many years ago my mentor told me, "Take whatcha got and make whatcha want." If ever anyone has ever put this principle into action, it is that toll collector! He has taken a potentially dreary and chilly tollbooth and transformed it into an opera hall! I'm sure the people who pass through his booth are the happiest in that airport.
My friend Drake is a landscaper who had numerous small accounts. One day one of his customers, a wealthy man with a large estate, invited Drake to work on his property full time. "What is your dream of how good this job could be?" the owner asked Drake.

Drake told him he would have to think about it. He went home and wrote down all the aspects he could picture for his ideal job. A week later Drake revisited his notes and realized that what he had written did not represent his entire dream. So he expanded the salary, equipment, and working conditions. Several weeks later Drake came back to his written vision and realized it still wasn't big enough. This process went on for three months, with Drake's dream job continually expanding on paper. Finally he felt that what he had written was big enough to match what was in his heart and mind. He took the paper to his prospective employer and showed it to him. The fellow read the paper, thought for a moment, and answered, "Sounds good to me." Now Drake is living his dream job. He took what he had and made what he wanted.
The key to taking what you have and making what you want is to reframe. Find a way to look at every experience so it empowers you. After the great Argentinean golfer Robert De Vincenzo won a tournament, he received his check and began walking to his car in the parking lot. There he was approached by a young woman who told him that her child was seriously ill, near death. She did not know how she could pay the doctor's bills and hospital expenses. De Vincenzo was so touched by her story that he endorsed his winning check and pressed it into her hands with the loving wish, "Make some good days for the baby." A few days later a golf official told him, "That woman you met in the parking lot is a phoney. She has no sick baby. She's not even married. She fleeced you, my friend." "You mean there is no baby who is dying?" asked De Vincenzo. "That's right," answered the official. "Well," De Vincenzo responded, "That's the best news I've heard all week."
I wish you a new year of news that is good because you choose to find it, and a wish list that is so magnificent the universe has no choice but to fill it.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Alan Cohen

Honey or Vinegar

The preacher placed two identical jars on the table next to the pulpit. He quoted the book of Samuel: “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
“These jars came from the same factory, were made form the same materials, and can hold the same amount. But they are different,” he explained.
hen, he upset one, and it oozed out honey. He turned over the other, and vinegar spilled out. “When a jar is upset, whatever is in it comes out. Until the jars were upset, they looked alike. The difference was within, and could not be revealed. Until we are upset, we put on a good front. But when we are upset, we reveal our innermost thoughts and attitudes, for 'out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.' (Luke)”
What if someone tipped you over today? What would flow out? Would you reveal the 'honey' of grace and patience or the 'vinegar' of anger and sarcasm?
Have a terrific day, knowing that the one who upsets you may be just looking for some honey!"
Moral stories can improve your moral values.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Wondrous Mystery

Sometimes fact is more mysterious than fiction! The "Denver Post" printed an article December 23, 1981 about a stranger-than-fact event that occurred in Colorado.
Stan Sieczkowski heard in church about a Denver family facing a rather bleak Christmas holiday. Medical bills robbed them of any extras; they would not even have a tree.
So Stan and his son Jay determined to get them that tree. They headed up into the Colorado Rockies in the family pickup. However, the truck skidded off the icy road and hit a boulder that shattered the windshield. Jay was showered by glass slivers and suffered from shock and crash trauma. Stan was uninjured, though somewhat shaken.
Cars sped past that day -- maybe 200 of them. Only two stopped. A gentle, dark-haired woman took the boy into her car to comfort him while her husband and another man helped Stan move his truck off the road. Then they drove father and son to Stan's home and quietly left without identifying themselves.
Later that month, Stan's pastor asked if he might deliver a food basket to the unfortunate family for which he had earlier tried to cut a tree. Stan found the house, but he could hardly find his speech when the door opened. Standing there before him was the same couple who had helped him on the mountain road!
Call it an amazing coincidence...or call it divine providence. Some mysteries are better left unanalyzed. But it is nice to remember that, when we give our hearts away in a spirit of generosity, we can still brush up against wonder, joy and love.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Steve Goodier

Celestial Light

Breathing is not simply this process through which living beings absorb and expel air. Breathing also allows us to inhale and exhale light. Practice this exercise: inhale as you focus your mind on attracting light and then exhale concentrating on projecting this light onto your organs and your cells. Inhale again, in the same way, and exhale. Very soon you will begin to sense the beneficial effect of this exercise; you will feel relaxed, at peace.
Through moral stories, the idea is to present the greatness of the humanity.
And once you have attracted light towards you, once you have inhaled it, you can imagine you are exhaling it to bestow it upon the entire world. This second exercise should of course only be undertaken when you have practiced the first many times and have replaced many of your dull and sickly particles with particles of light. You must first feel that this work of transformation and purification is beginning to bear fruit before you can begin to give to others this light you have received within you. This work with light is also symbolized by the Hebrew letter Aleph. Aleph is the initiate who takes the celestial light, divine life, to give it to
humankind.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov

Friday, September 14, 2007

Joy Is My Compass

"Pick out a treat," I offered 4-year-old Kate at the candy display.
Quickly she grabbed a packet of M&M's with one hand and a Milky Way with the other. "You can have only one," I told her.
"Eenie, meenie, miney, moe," she counted, finally landing on the M&M's.
"Okay, we get the M&M's," I confirmed.
Immediately, Kate threw the M&M's back in the bin and clutched the Milky Way bar. "I want this one."
Within our hearts, each of us knows what we really want. While our mind and emotions may go through all manner of drama and machinations, when we are confronted with the reality of choice, our heart will speak. Sometimes it is only when we receive what we do not want that we
recognize what we do want.
When confronted with a difficult decision, flip a coin and imagine that you will be committed to the alternative the spin lands on. Then notice your gut reaction to the result. If you feel delighted, that is your path. If you are disappointed, go with the other alternative. Joy is the best compass.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Alan Cohen

Conversation With God

If you choose evolution—the evolution of your soul—you won’t produce that by the worldly activities of your body.
Doing is a function of the body. Being is a function of the soul. The body is always doing something. Every minute of every day it’s up to something. It never stops, it never rests, it’s constantly doing something.
It’s either doing what it’s dong at the behest of the soul—or in spite of the soul. The quality of your life hangs in the balance.
The soul is forever being. It is being what it is being, regardless of what the body is dong, not because of what it’s doing.
If your think your life is about doingness, you do not understand what you are about.
Your soul doesn’t care what you do for a living—and when your life is over, neither will you. Your soul cares only about what you’re being while you’re doing whatever you’re doing.
It is a state of beingness the soul is after, not a state of doingness.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Neale Donald Walsch

Awakening

In our culture, male energy is more respected and understood than is female energy. Therefore, doing is more highly valued and cultivated than being. In fact, being is not seen as legitimate or important way to spend time. If we are not actively doing or accomplishing something, we feel we are “wasting time.” Because of this cultural bias, most of us push ourselves to do more than our natural energy would allow. We constantly deplete and exhaust ourselves, using caffeine and other stimulants to keep ourselves going. Even men and women who are good at being and spend more of their time that way often do not respect themselves or receive respect from others for their ability to be. We need to value being.
It is time to cultivate and appreciate the art of being. Being is a deeply fulfilling and satisfying experience that allows us to commune with our deeper spiritual selves, with nature, and with each other. Time spent in being replenishes and renews our energy, heals our bodies, minds, and spirits, fills us with inspiration, and makes life worth living.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Shakti Gawain

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Some Signs and Symptoms of Inner Peace

A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences
An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment
A loss of interest in judging other people
A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others
A loss of interest in judging self
A loss of interest in conflict
A loss of ability to worry (A very serious symptom!)
Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation
Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature
Frequent attacks of smiling
An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than to make them happen
An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it
Warning!

If you have some or all of the above symptoms, please be advised that your condition of inner peace may be so far advanced as to not be curable. If you are exposed to anyone exhibiting any of these symptoms, remain exposed at your own risk!
Moral stories can improve your moral values.

Flame of Love

"'I can master it,” said the Ax. His blows fell heavy on the hard, strong steel. But each blow only made his edge more blunt until he ceased to strike.
“Leave it to me,” said the Saw. With his relentless teeth, he worked back & forth. But to his dismay, all of his teeth were worn out or broken off.
"Ha!” said the Hammer. “I knew you could not do this. Let me show you how.”
But with the very first blow, his head flew off, and the steel was unchanged.
“Shall I try?” asked the Flame. And it curled itself gently around the strong, hard steel, and embraced it, and would not let it go. And the tough steel melted.
There are hearts that are hard enough to resist:
The forces of wrath, the fury of pride.
But hard is the heart that can resist the warm flame of Love.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.

You Are.........!

You are strong
when you take your grief and teach it to smile.
You are brave
when you overcome your fear and help others to do the same.
You are happy
when you see a flower and give it your blessing.
You are loving
when your own pain does not blind you to the pain of others.
You are wise
when you know the limits of your wisdom.
You are true
when you admit there are times you fool yourself.
You are alive
when tomorrow's hope means more to you than yesterday's mistake.
You are growing
when you know what you are but not what you will become.
You are free
when you are in control of yourself and do not wish to control others.
You are honorable
when you find your honor is to honor others.
You are generous
when you can take as sweetly as you can give.
You are humble
when you do not know how humble you are.
You are thoughtful
when you see me just as I am and treat me just as you are.
You are merciful
when you forgive in others the faults you condemn in yourself.
You are beautiful
when you don't need a mirror to tell you.
You are rich
when you never need more than what you have.
You are you
when you are at peace with who you are not.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Two Eyes; Two Hands

This week we're taking time to remember that America has been through one of her history's difficult times. This past year was not the first time this county faced hardship, of course. Nor are we the only country to have known suffering. Some nations have endured much more...for much longer...even than we.
None of us on this planet have been immune to adversity. All of us have known almost unbearable pain and difficulties. Heart-breaking times. A wise obstetrician at a university teaching hospital once made a comment about suffering. Someone asked the doctor what advice he offered to his students, future doctors and nurses, when caring for mothers who gave birth to stillborn infants.
The doctor paused for a moment in thought. Then he said this: "I tell them that they need two eyes. One eye is not enough; they need two eyes. With one eye they have to check the I.V.; and with the other eye they have to weep. That's what I tell them," he said. "I tell them that they need two eyes."
He knows the secret of hard times: we need two eyes. One for seeing, the other for weeping. And we need two hands. One for holding on, the other for reaching out. I don't know all there is to know about suffering. But I do know the way to survive it. Two eyes; two hands. That's how we get through this life best.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Steve Goodier

When The Whole World Stinks

Do you remember the story of the sailor who over-imbibed and fell asleep at his table? His buddies smeared a bit of strong smelling cheese dip on his mustache, which caused him to wake up and look around. He sniffed and then walked outside, sniffed again and came back in, walked out and back in one more time and finally sat back down in his seat. "It's no use," he said to his friend, "the whole world stinks!"
Ever felt that way? We have all experienced bad days and horrible situations. We've felt trapped, helpless and, at times, hopeless. We may have even believed that the whole world stinks.
But I like the tremendous way one woman has learned to approach living. She grew up in extreme poverty, but was privileged to be in a Sunday School class taught by a young woman named Alice Freeman Palmer, who was later to become president of Wellesley College. One Sunday, the teacher asked the children to find something beautiful in their homes, and then tell the other children about it the next week.
The following Sunday, when the little girl was asked what she found that was beautiful at home, she thought of her impoverished condition and replied, "Nothing. There's nothing beautiful where I live, except ... except the sunshine on our baby's curls."
Years later, long after Mrs. Palmer's untimely death, her husband was lecturing at a university in the western United States. He was approached by a distinguished looking woman who fondly recalled that she had been a member of his wife's Sunday School class. "I can remember that your wife once asked us to find something beautiful in our homes, and that I came back saying the only beautiful thing I could find was the sunshine on my sister's curls. But that assignment your wife made was the turning point in my life. I began to look for something beautiful wherever I was, and I've been doing it ever since." That one suggestion turned her life around.
If you have been thinking your "whole world stinks," the daily habit of looking for something beautiful can help you see the good that is in the world, and transform your hope into enough positive energy to build a life that counts.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
-- Steve Goodier

Attitude

The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window.
"I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
"Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room ...just wait."
"That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it ...
"It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away ... just for this time in my life.
Old age is like a bank account ... you withdraw from what you've put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories.
Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Author Unknown

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Do You Act Or React to Things Outside of You?

I walked with my friend, a Quaker, to the news stand the other night, and he
bought a paper, thanking the newsie politely. The newsie didn't even
acknowledge it.
"A sullen fellow, isn't he?" I asked.
"Oh, he's that way every night", shrugged my friend.
"Then why do you continue to be so polite to him?" I asked.
"Why not?" inquired my friend. "Why should I let him decide how I'm going to act?"
As I thought about this incident later, it occurred to me that the important word was "act". My friend acts towards people; most of us react toward them.
He has a sense of inner balance which is lacking in most of us -- he knows who he is, what he stands for, how he should behave. He refuses to return incivility, because then he would no longer be in command of his own conduct.
When we are enjoined in the Bible to return good for evil, we look upon this as a moral injunction -- which it is. But it is also a psychological prescription for our emotional health.
Nobody is unhappier than the perpetual reactor. His center of emotional gravity is not rooted within himself, where it belongs, but in the world outside him. His spiritual temperature is always being raised or lowered by the social climate around him, and he is a mere creature at the mercy of these elements.
Praises give him a feeling of euphoria, which is false, because it does not last and it does not come from self-approval. Criticism depresses him more than it should, because it confirms his own secretly shaky opinion of himself. Snubs hurt him, and the merest suspicion of unpopularity in any quarter rouses him to bitterness.
A serenity of spirit cannot be achieved until we become the masters of our own action and attitudes. To let another determine whether we shall be rude or gracious, elated or depressed, is to relinquish control over our own personalities, which is ultimately all we possess. The only true possession is self-possession.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
-- Author Unknown

Your Sight May Be Perfect But...Hows your vision?

Helen Keller said, "The greatest tragedy in life is people who have sight but
no vision." How's your vision?
A Hollywood producer scrawled a curt rejection note on a manuscript that
became "Gone With The Wind." He had no vision for what that book could become.
Henry Ford's largest original investor sold all his stock in 1906. What could
have happened had he shared Ford's vision for his company?
Roebuck sold out to Sears for $25,000 in 1895. Today, Sears may sell $25,000
worth of goods in sixteen seconds.
How's your vision? Do you see what needs to be seen?
Orville and Wilbur Wright felt excited. On December 17, 1903, they had
finally succeeded in keeping their homemade airplane in the air for 59
seconds. Immediately, they rushed a telegram to their sister in Dayton, Ohio,
telling of this great accomplishment. The telegram read, "First sustained
flight today fifty-nine seconds. Hope to be home by Christmas."
Upon receiving the news of the successful flight, their sister was so excited
that she rushed to the newspaper office and gave the telegram to the editor.
The next morning the newspaper headed the story: "Popular Local Bicycle
Merchants To Be Home For Holidays."
Can you see the real story? Are you looking for the hidden potential lurking
behind every situation? Do you recognize those obscure opportunities cleverly
disguised as glaring problems?
Your sight may be perfect, but how's your vision?
Moral stories can improve your moral values
--Steve Goodier

Freckles

An elderly woman and her little grandson, whose face was sprinkled with
bright freckles, spent the day at the zoo. Lots of children were waiting in
line to get their cheeks painted by a local artist who was decorating them
with tiger paws.
"You've got so many freckles, there's no place to paint!" a girl in the line
said to the little fella.
Embarrassed, the little boy dropped his head.
His grandmother knelt down next to him. "I love your freckles. When I was a
little girl I always wanted freckles," she said, while tracing her finger
across the child's cheek. "Freckles are beautiful."
The boy looked up, "Really?"
"Of course," said the grandmother. "Why just name me one thing that's
prettier than freckles."
The little boy thought for a moment, peered intensely into his grandma's face
and softly whispered, "Wrinkles."
Moral stories can improve your moral values
--Author Unknown

Monday, September 10, 2007

A Blessing

Watch and listen carefully.
The man whispered, "God, speak to me," and a meadowlark sang. But, the man did not hear.
So the man yelled, "God, speak to me," and the thunder rolled across the sky. But, the man did not listen.
The man looked around and said, "God let me see you," and a star shined brightly. But the man did not notice.
And, the man shouted, "God show me a miracle," and a life was born. But, the man did not know.
So, the man cried out in despair, "Touch me God, and let me know you are here." Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man. But, the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.
Don't miss out on a blessing because it isn't packaged the way that you expect.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Jennifer Dennison

Where Change Begins

An old mystic said this about himself: "I was a revolutionary when I was young, and my prayer to God was, 'Lord, give me the strength to change the world.' As I approached middle age and realized that my life was halfway gone without changing a single soul, I changed my prayer to, 'Lord, give me the grace to change all those who come into contact with me, especially my family and friends, and I shall be satisfied.' Now that I am an old man, and my days are numbered, I have begun to see how foolish I have been. Now my one prayer is this, 'Lord, give me the grace to change myself.' If I had prayed that right from the start, I would not have wasted my life."
Through moral stories, the idea is to present the greatness of the humanity.
We can waste years trying to change other people. But we can only really change one person -- ourselves. In the end, that is probably enough.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Steve Goodier

The Daffodil Principle

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. "I will come next Tuesday, " I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.
Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!"
My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother."
"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.
"I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to pick up my car."
"How far will we have to drive?"
"Just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."
After several minutes, I had to ask, "Where are we going? This isn't the way to the garage!"
"We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn smiled, "by way of the daffodils."
"Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around."
"It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."
After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read, "Daffodil Garden."
We got out of the car and each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns -- great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.
"But who has done this?" I asked Carolyn.
"It's just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking" was the headline.
The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read.
The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and very little brain."
The third answer was, "Began in 1958."
There it was. The Daffodil Principle. For me, that moment was a life-changing experience.
I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun -- one bulb at a time -- to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top.
Still, just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had changed the world. This unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable (indescribable) magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.
The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time -- often just one baby-step at a time --and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things.
We can change the world.
"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years. Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"
My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way...
"Start tomorrow," she said.
It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Author Unknown

The Dance

What carries you to the other side of that wall, to the fragile beauty of your own humanness?
And after we have shown each other how we have set and kept the clear, healthy boundaries that help us live side by side with each other, let us risk remembering that we never stop silently loving those we once loved out loud.
Take me to the places on the earth that teach you how to dance, the places where you can risk letting the world break your heart, and I will take you to the places where the earth beneath my feet and the stars overhead make my heart whole again & again.
Show me how you take care of business without letting business determine who you are.
When the children are fed but still the voices within and around us shout that soul's desires have too high a price, let us remind each other that it is never about the money.
Show me how you offer to your people and the world the stories and the songs you want our children's children to remember, and I will show you how I struggle, not to change the world but to love it.
Sit beside me in long moments of shared solitude,
knowing both our absolute aloneness and our undeniable belonging.
Dance with me in the silence and in the sound of small daily words, holding neither against me at the end of the day.And when the sound of all the declarations of our sincerest intentions has died away on the wind, dance with me in the infinite pause before the next great inhale of the breath that is breathing us all into being, not filling the emptiness from the outside or from within.
Don't say, "Yes!"
Just take my hand and dance with me.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Let Yourself Grow A Little

Did you know that the gestation period for an elephant is 22 months? And then, she will give birth to a bundle of joy that weighs 150-250 pounds? The fact that we're not elephants reminds me that we always have something to be thankful for!
Growth takes time. That is true of humans as well as elephants. I attended a parent-teacher conference for my second-grade son. We sat in the children's chairs. They were about two feet tall and certainly not made for adults! Those chairs were designed for little people. But we grow up. And that growth takes time.
We not only grow physically, but we grow in other ways, too. We grow in our roles. I occasionally asked my adolescent kids, "How do you think you're doing raising your parents?" I understood I would become a better parent as I grew into that role.
Sometimes growth in parenting involves the understanding that we don't know as much as we thought we did! Before my wife and I had children we taught parenting classes. We knew all of the fundamentals of raising happy and well-behaved children. Now, after raising my own children, I am sometimes asked about parenting issues. This often occurs when I am teaching a class on a different topic. My response these days is to turn to the group and ask, "Does anyone here have any suggestions?"
As I grew into my parenting role, I realized that my simple answers did not fit every situation...or every child. I threw out the easy answers and learned to assess every parenting issue individually. I tried to learn from my failures, to trust my instincts and to respond more often from my best self.
I have come a long way, but have a long way yet to grow. And that is true not only of parenting, but of all areas of my life.
If you're not yet the person you want to be, can you be patient as you grow? Even the mightiest tree began as a frail seed. Will you merely go through life? Or will you GROW through life?
Today...let yourself grow a little.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Steve Goodier

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

One Light

Imagine an artist painting a winter scene. She depicts a white, frozen ground and evergreens draped in snow. Her hand brings the day to a close as she paints night falling on the canvas. In the deep shadows of dusk, she has painted a grim, log cabin, barely visible to the casual observer.
Then she dips her brush in yellow paint and, with a few quick strokes, places a brightly burning lamp in one of the cabin's windows. Warm rays dance on white snow, now made brighter by the light. The lonely lamp wholly changes the tone of the picture, replacing feelings of dark and gloom with warmth and security.
Edith Wharton has said that there are two ways of spreading the light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. Sometimes we are candles. We shed light of love and hope. We shine encouragement into dark souls. Or we illuminate with insight.
But sometimes we reflect the light. We are mirrors to enable others to see the light of their own goodness and beauty. And when we have no other light of our own, we are mirrors which reflect a greater Light.
For some, the world can be bleak and cold. They feel frightened, lonely and even hopeless. But it's true that no amount of darkness can extinguish the light of one, small candle. You?
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Steve Goodier

Giving Thanks

A national day of Thanksgiving for God's blessings in our lives is a beautiful tradition. Individual and national expressions of gratitude strengthen our connectedness with the Divine. Each time we offer our heart's appreciation to the Heavenly Provider and renew our realization of His boundless grace, we cannot but wonder at the abundance - spiritual and material - that flows from Him unto ourselves, our families, our country, our world.
Paramahansaji often said that though God is so great - the Infinite Sustainer of the universe - He is exceedingly humble, hiding Himself behind the countless manifestations of nature and human existence. But those who look for Him with devotion begin to perceive His presence working throughout creation and dwelling in the soul of every being. The more we yearn to know Him, the more we will become aware of His expressions of love: perhaps through an unsought encouraging word or thoughtful gesture from someone, some experience that broadens our understanding, or an insightful answer to a prayer for guidance. If we recognize these treasures as God-given, frequently saying, "My beloved God, thank You!" we will know Him as the Source of all, the Giver behind the gifts that sweeten this temporal life. The things and conditions of this world are subject to change; but the love of the One who cares for us in so many hidden ways and through so many channels is constant and everlasting.
A very real part of recognizing the bounty we receive from the Eternal One is a wish to share His love with others. Make yourself an instrument of His kindness and care, offering gifts of food or other material assistance for the less fortunate in the community. And create opportunities to express to your family, friends, and acquaintances how much you appreciate them; a few sincere words or some loving service you can render will mean more to them than you can imagine...that special joy that comes from reaching out to the God in others.
Enjoy this Thanksgiving with an open heart of gratitude and sharing; make it the beginning of a permanent habit, and it will fill your consciousness with a continual wondrous perception: God in everything, God in everyone.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Sri Daya Mata

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Reason To Smile

Comedian George Burns said that he was advised: "Let a smile be your umbrella." He said, "I tried that once. I had pneumonia for six weeks and shrunk a $450 suit."
All right. Maybe it won't keep you dry in the rain, but there are other good reasons to smile. Author Brian Tracy tells us that the face requires 12 muscles to smile and 103 to frown. (Who counts these things?) He also says that whenever you smile at another person, it puts them at ease and raises their self-esteem. And if that isn't enough, when you smile it releases endorphins in your brain and gives you a feeling of well-being and contentment.
So a smile benefits the giver as well as the receiver. It's like receiving a gift in return every time we give one away!
Rabbi Hirsch gives more reasons to smile:
Smiling is a universal language.
+ People will enjoy being around you when you smile.
+ Smiling reduces stress, which may improve your overall health.
+ Smiling will change the sound qualities of your voice when you speak or sing.
+ A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive it, without making poorer those who give.
+ It takes but a moment, but the memory of it lasts forever.
+ It cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away.
And finally, some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as no one needs a smile so much as one who has no more to give.
Why not give out a few extra smiles today -- just for the fun of it!
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Steve Goodier

The Black Belt

One of the best parables I've ever heard tells about a martial artist who kneels before a master sensei in a ceremony to receive the hard-earned Black Belt. After years of relentless training, the student has finally reached a pinnacle of achievement in the discipline.
"Before granting you the belt, you must pass one more test," the sensei solemnly tells the young man.
"I'm ready," responds the student, expecting perhaps one more round of sparring.
"You must answer the essential question, 'What is the true meaning of the Black Belt?'"
"Why, the end of my journey," says the student. "A well-deserved reward for all of my hard work."
The master waits for more. Clearly, he is not satisfied. The sensei finally speaks: "You are not ready for the Black Belt. Return in one year."
As the student kneels before his master a year later, he is again asked the question, "What is the true meaning of the Black Belt?"
"A symbol of distinction and the highest achievement in our art," the young man responds.
Again the master waits for more. Still unsatisfied, he says once more: "You are not ready for the Black Belt. Return in one year."
A year later the student kneels before his sensei and hears the question, "What is the true meaning of the Black Belt?"
This time he answers, "The Black Belt represents not the end, but the beginning, the start of a never-ending journey of discipline, work and the pursuit of an ever-higher standard."
"Yes," says the master. "You are now ready to receive the Black Belt and begin your work."
You may not be hoping for a Black Belt, but you might be at a crucial point. Maybe you're facing a life change, perhaps even a painful one. Or maybe you are awaiting something you have worked hard to achieve -- graduation, a new job, a promotion, or even retirement.
All wise people see that changes can be new beginnings. Change need not be feared. And neither should we be looking for a permanent resting place, for a full and happy life is never stagnant.
Can you affirm that the change you face represents, not just an ending, but a new beginning in your life's journey? If so, you may be ready to move forward.
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
-Steve Goodier