"Live with a dancing spirit.

The stars in the heavens are dancing through space,

the Earth never ceases to spin.

All life is dancing:

the trees with the wind,

the waves on the sea,

the birds,

the fish,

all are performing their own dance of life.

Every living thing is dancing,

and you must keep dancing too,

for the rest... of your life! "

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Love & Joy

"Choosing to live your life in joy is a revolutionary decision. The mind, however, is a stubborn old machine. All those synapses doing one dance for so long are now being asked to learn another. Daily practice is the key to retraining these connections, and it can be done. A meta-decision helps--to live your life in joy. Then the small forgettings, the automatic return to negative thought patterns become gentle modifications you make along the way.

It's time to try this out seriously. Thinking about it, agreeing with it intellectually, keeps you stepping in place. The way to persuade your head that life can be lived in joy is to practice, practice, practice. Join the Olympics of the Spirit, where everyone gets the gold."

~M.Kennedy

I see your beauty in the half-moon shining bright

Peeking through the clouds tonight

And I am transported elsewhere

Only knowing this when I return.

We are many in body, but one in mind ~

We come in all shapes, sizes, colors, densities,

But that is only the spectrum of the rainbow,
We are all still one brilliant beam of light

~

Know that we are One

Unconditional ~ by Jennifer Welwood

Willing to experience aloneness,

I discover connection everywhere.

Turning to face my fear,

I meet the warrior who lives within.

Opening to my loss,

I gain the embrace of the Universe.

Surrendering into emptiness,

I find fullness without end.



Each condition I flee from pursues me,

Each condition I welcome transforms me

And becomes itself transformed

Into its radiant jewel-like essence.

I bow to the One who has made it so,

Who has crafted the master game,

To play it is pure delight,

To honor its form, true devotion.

Summer Solstice Blessing 2009

Thank you for you, for which we are all a part,
I live in gratitude to love and abundance and you.

All I have is this moment.

This moment is mine to use as I wish.

So in my moments I wish for love.

And in my moments I wish for peace.

And in my moments I wish for harmony.

And in my moments I wish for abundance.

And in my moments I wish for all good things to everyone and everything everywhere.

* * *

RULES FOR BEING HUMAN ~ Author unknown

1. You have received a body. You may like it or hate it, but it is yours for as long as you live. How you take care of it or fail to take care of it can make an enormous difference in the quality of your life.

2. "There" is no better than "here". When your "there" becomes "here", you will discover another "there" that will again look better than your "here". Don't be fooled by believing that the unattainable is better than what you have.

3. Others are mirrors for you. You love or hate something about another person because it reflects something you love or hate about yourself. When tempted to criticize others, ask yourself why you feel so strongly.

4. There are no mistakes - only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error and experimentation. You will probably learn more from failure than from success at something you try.

5. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called LIFE and will learn lessons. Each day you will be presented with opportunities to learn what you need to know. The presented lessons are often completely different from those you THINK you need.

6. Each lesson repeats itself until it is learned. It will be presented to you in different forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, there will be a change in your ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR. Then you can move on to another lesson.

7. Learning from lessons does not end. There is no stage in life that doesn't contain some lessons. As long as you live there will be something more to learn.

8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you create with these tools and resources from the lessons presented to you is up to you.

9. The answers to life's questions lie inside you and the solutions to all life's problems are within your grasp. You need to ask, look, listen, learn and trust.

10. What you've just read won't mean a thing and you'll forget all this unless you stay focused on the goals you have set for yourself.

~ The Sage Is Brilliant But Not Blinding ~

This is from www.daily-tao.com :

Tao Te Ching
by LAO TSU
Translation by Gia Fu Feng
and Jane English


Fifty-Eight

When the country is ruled with a light hand
The people are simple.
When the country is ruled with severity,
The people are cunning.

Happiness is rooted in misery.
Misery lurks beneath happiness.
Who knows what the future holds?
There is no honesty.
Honesty becomes dishonest.
Goodness becomes witchcraft.
Man's bewitchment lasts for a long time.

Therefore the sage is sharp but not cutting,
Pointed but not piercing,
Straightforward but not unrestrained,
Brilliant but not blinding.

My first blog

I used to work for the National Coalition on Television Violence. The premise was that a “diet” of violence made people (children AND adults) more violent. I believed it then, and I believe it now.

~ ~ ~

Date: March 9, 2003
Contact: David Partenheimer
Public Affairs Office
(202) 336-5706
CHILDHOOD EXPOSURE TO MEDIA VIOLENCE PREDICTS YOUNG ADULT AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, ACCORDING TO A NEW 15-YEAR STUDY
Children who Identify with Aggressive TV Characters and Perceive the Violence to be Realistic are Most at Risk for Later Aggression http://www.apa.org/releases/media_violence.html

~ ~ ~

Violent TV, Games Pack A Powerful Public Health Threat
ScienceDaily (Nov. 28, 2007)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071127142134.htm

~ ~ ~

Today

I took a vow of non violence, in my speech, my thoughts, and in my actions:

http://itakethevow.com/en-US/home

I agree with Deepak Chopra and others who have taken the vow, that when we do reach a critical mass, we will transform the planet.

And the sooner we all do that, the better it will be for all.

I was # 17827.

What number will you be?

~ ~ ~