Where's your compassion? Does it only show when triggered by an event? Or, are you compassionate daily? Does it make a difference?

I was listening to Anthony Robbins and this blog was inspired by His quote below as well as his questions about being triggered by events. I recommend you watch his video "Breakthrough  Challenge part 1 - Overcoming Limiting Beliefs and Emotions". I will include a link below. I found it on Youtube.  

This first paragraph is kind of a take off from what he says but not an exact quote. After his quote... I just let what was in me flow out in loving hope to raise awareness, critical thinking and especially to raise your level of desire to be more compassionate.

People feel such extreme emotions about horrific events of violence. But they don’t feel such emotions about the thousands of people that die every day of cancer and heart disease, or the 42,000 people that die each year from second hand smoke or the 4000 women that die each year from domestic violence or 8000 women each year that are raped. How about the hate crimes in this country and countries across the world? How about the 10 million children that dies every year in this world from hunger?

“You cannot be convenient with you compassion”

Anthony Robbins.

Tragedy happens every day in every country. Where is your compassion for others daily? Where is your compassion for yourself daily?

Do not step so much into guilt, anger, fear or sadness… Take that same energy and time and STEP INTO COMPASSION DAILY. What acts of loving kindness CAN you do each day?

Creating more laws about gun control and drugs are not the cure. They are Band-Aids that just mask what’s really causing the issues and without those issues being addressed can become an infection under that bandage Criminals do not follow laws and as history shows with increase in crimes and with over crowding in our prisons that longer sentences do not detour criminals from their choices.

What about choices? When you look at a situation and you see two choices, you will make one of the two. But if you look at that same situation and discover there are dozens of choices, you will have more to chose from and most often, humans truly do their best most of the time with what they have and with what they know. With expanded awareness of choices they will have more options to make the best choice from. But where does that awareness come from? Mostly those choices come from education, quality family relationships and quality community services and relationships within their community.

We spend more and more on prisons, tightening laws and less and less on officers that can enforce those laws, emergency response services, quality justice systems and worse, we are spending far less on our educational systems, mental health services and towards preserving our natural resources.

So we know what we don’t like, what we don’t want, we know often what is not working… but what does work? What can we do about creating safer, healthier and more prosperous communities? What can we do about lowering the crime rate and increasing peace and harmony?

What can you do as an individual?

• Could you eat a bit less and with the money you save donate that to feed the hungry?
• Could you meditate on peace, harmony, happiness and prosperity and raise the vibrational level of this world?
• Could you stop spending money on company’s products that exploit their workers and or that damage the land or the air?
• Could you stop smoking? Could you use the money and time you save from smoking to donate to some great cause or to join a gym or to help a loved one?
• Could you eat healthier and work out a bit more?
• Could you volunteer somewhere? Could you learn a new language and expand your connection with others?
• Could you learn better communication skills so that you can speak more kindly, more compassionately and more peacefully?
• Could you vote and be involved with increasing mental health services and easier access?
• Could you learn a skill or trade and spend a year in another country or in a local community teaching others that same skill or trade to help them help themselves?
• Could you donate more time or money to education and training?
• Could you invest money towards improving water sources in the world?
• Could you do more self care every day so that YOU do NOT become “that person!” that hurts others or the environment?
• Could you learn traditional art forms and languages and be part of preserving the ancient teachings that may very well hold many answers to today’s questions?
• Could you love yourself more?
• Could you stop complaining about what you don’t have and start appreciating what you do have?
• Could you turn your TV off a couple of hours a week and study something that can help you grow as a person? Or could you use that time to volunteer, or to make blankets for the homeless?
• Could you spend some time to connect more lovingly with your loved ones, check in, see how they are and support them in their healing and in their goals?
• Could you donate your clothes and household goods to quality non-profits?
• Could you recycle and plant trees and do some simple steps that lead to something powerful for our planet?
• Could you support farms and natural lands?  
• Could you forgive more?
• Could you love more?
• Could you allow yourself to receive more so you can build yourself more so you can have more to give?
• Could you research and learn more so that when you do vote and get involved you do so as an educated well learned person?
• Could you open your mind more to see a bigger picture and various perspectives?
• Could you be willing to see that WE ARE ALL CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER AND TO THIS GREAT EARTH?
• Could you get involved in mastermind groups that are solution focused and that use colaborative problem solving skills to come up with solutions, action steps and that actually follow through with implementing such brilliant ideas and action septs?
• Could you share you genious mind, amazing gifts and talents more often? :)
• Could you make choices leading far more from your heart and soul and only use your mind as a resource rather than team captain?

“BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD”

GANDHI

What ripple are you creating in this world? When you are stuck in anger, fear, sadness you are sending that…. Through daily acts of self love, personal development and acts of compassion you will shift that ripple.

“TRUTH: We all impact the events of the world

far more than they actually impact us.”

Jody Gonzalez

If you are overwhelmed and need support, go give it. AND allow yourself to receive it. Soon you will become support and support attracts support.

If you feel unloved, go show love to someone and especially to yourself AND allow others to show love to you. Soon you will become love and love attracts love.

“Light attracts light and as soon as you see it in others you can see it in yourself… as soon as you see it in yourself you can see it in others.. both are true, the fastest way to “SEE” is to “BE.” Jody Gonzalez

WHAT ACTS OF COMPASSION CAN YOU DO DAILY OR WEEKLY OR AT LEAST MONTHLY?

WHAT ACTS OF SELF LOVE, and / or SPIRITUAL PRACTICE CAN YOU DO TO RAISE THE VIBRATION OF THIS WORLD?

CAN YOU LOVE AND ACCEPT OTHERS EXACTLY AS THEY ARE AND NOT FORCE A RELIGION OR LANGUAGE ON THEM BUT TRULY ASSIST THEM AND BE WITH THEM RIGHT WHERE THEY ARE?

If not… what can you do right now, within yourself to begin that journey of compassion towards yourself and towards others? EFT tapping? Reiki? Life Coaching? Receiving massage? Taking classes? Joining beautiful uplifting communities? Volunteering? Acts of service? The list is endless of beautiful things you can do to raise your life condition and your way of life so that you can be that change you would like to see.

A hand out is limiting and temporary. A hand up is long lasting. Providing education, training and resources that will help others grow, improve their life condition as THEY see it is an act of compassion.

Try Sacred Works Project or http://www.sacredworksproject.org/ or your local domestic / sexual violence programs as great places to donate money or time or services.

Try non-denominational or non-religious, non-profits with high accountability for their funding.

Some non-profit organizations, even the famous ones pay their directors hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, when they could place a cap on those wages and put more of that donated money towards the causes they promote.

Find what fits your vision, your values and your journey and get involved. Even if you start meditating, learning traditional martial arts, learning yoga, learning EFT tapping, diversifying your music and or your reading genres’, each action you make, does make a huge difference over time. ALL small steps and contributions lead to the bigger picture. We don’t need people in capes and tights; we need real people making real differences starting with their own lives. <3

Blessings

  

My prayers of love, forgiveness, healing and peace go out to all victims of violence, hunger, poverty, illness and fear. I see you in your highest light form and I hold you there. I see you healed, fed, safe, loving, joyful and at peace. I see your loved ones there as well. I see you. I hear you. I feel you. I support you. I love you. I forgive you. I forgive myself. I release you. I release myself.

http://youtu.be/Sa3irLRuSus Anthony Robbins video.

THIS MOMENT...

When death can come at a blink of an eye without warning, how do we know this moment isn't our last?

How is it that we take so many moments for granted when each one is just as important as any other?

Is the argument with a loved one more important than the moment you agree to disagree and hug and say I love you?

What if this day were your last? What legacy will you leave?

What will your last words be?

What if today is the first of 40, 50, and 60 more years of life?

What will you start your journey off with? Love? Anger? Depression? Passion? Curiosity?

Each moment we have may be the end of a cycle or a beginning. Each moment matters and no matter what is happening right now, in this moment you get to choose what you are doing, thinking, feeling...

In this moment you can change the questions in your mind and redirect the focus of your life.

If you are sitting in anger, guilt, rage, depression, loss... at any point you can shift this.

When we lose a loved one, we can become flooded with so many "shadow" emotions and thoughts. Go ahead and feel all of this. Sit with it, and move through it. And come to the space were too you discover loss is also beautiful. Our loved one is now in a place they no longer are experiencing the suffering of the human condition.

In Buddhism there is a saying, “suffer what there is to suffer and enjoy what there is to enjoy”.  In many cultures, mourning is extremely important to go through. Key phrase here, “go through”. Not to stay stuck in, not to avoid, not to overcome or conquer but rather, “to go through”. Experience it and once you move through it, keep moving. The sense of mourning will touch you from time to time and remember, the richness of life is meant for us all.

Most folks on their death bed have not pondered the regret of; “I wish I had worked more, been lazier, fought more, or stayed in depression or anger longer”. Most that have the time to ponder how they have lived their lives think if they had it to do over, they would have lived more, enjoyed more, loved more, laughed more, had more fun. If you stop living fully, are you not only cheating yourself but cheating the life teachings of those that have passed, even those we see as having passed too soon?

If you had another chance, what would you do differently?  What can you do NOW? What CAN you do right NOW? FAR MORE THAN YOU MAY REALIZE!

Understand that through thousands of years and through many cultural beliefs, religious doctrine and the like, there is much agreement with the idea of life’s purpose for us all is to be of service, to appreciate, enjoy and experience richly the offerings of life (birth, suffering, pleasure and death), to learn, and to love deeply.

We are all one... we are all part of this one heart beat and each decision to live richly brings more strength, joy and healing to us all. 

There is a cross roads here where you can make a decision to live as joyous and as giving as possible and experience the richness of life for yourself and for those that cannot.

This crossroads exist in all steps of our journey. At any given moment you can say, “ok, now is the moment I am shifting my direction. “ And then step in a new direction.

Those emotions of guilt, shame, anger, and blame are not here to destroy us, they are here as teachers and guides. Do not sit with them for long because they can become the trickster if given too much attention. Simply listen to their guidance and move forwards.  Have these emotions guided us to see mistakes we have made? Then do what you can to learn how to stop repeating those mistakes. Step joyously into the lessons. Learn from a love directed focus.

Have you ever said a statement like this: “I have learned to never trust anyone again”? This is not loved based learning. This is fear based learning. Learning from the lesson of blame or anger, etc. This is staying stuck. If you have been hurt, then learn to let go of the attachment of others and to truly step into the connectedness with others. Learn to let go of the expectations of others and start to live and vibrate at a space that brings you joy and confidence in yourself and in your own life and the universe will line up to support your focus and your investments.

If life feels painful and you feel stuck, seek counseling, natural healers, and / or life coaches for assistance. Read books that guide you to refocus your thoughts. Start to get involved with activities and people that are fun, uplifting, positive, joyful, and interesting, etc… start to take classes, read books, have conversations that challenge you and help you to expand your thinking, your abilities physically, emotionally, and mentally, etc…

Your life is your responsibility. We cannot control life or death. We cannot control the way others live, behave or talk. But we can control ourselves. We can participate in our own personal investments and do the work towards shifting ourselves, moment to moment.  In the beginning, it is moment to moment and as you grow and practice mindfulness and love based living and loved based learning you will notice effort becomes easy. At times days, weeks and months can pass and you notice you are living your shift without much effort. You will realize that paddling your boat downstream is a much easier tasks then paddling upstream. You may run into rapids from time to time but you will have the confidence and the abilities to direct your life in the direction you wish no matter what is coming your way.

Like a pro kayaker, in time, you’ll be ridding the current with joy and skill.

 I wish you a happy, loving journey. 

If you were strapped to a bed, unable to move or talk what would matter to you the most? How would your life, beliefs, values change?

Don't make death be the space that you discovered love and acceptance 

existed in abundance all along.

Live love and acceptance now.

I remind myself often of what it was like for months after my car crash and I ask myself to re-assess my values and my actions. When I get caught in the drama of life or feel targeted by the lies or distractions of my ego or that of others I come back to the “nothingness”, to the core, to that space where body, life’s tasks and activities cannot distract from what is my truth, and what matters most to me.

Chew on this:

When everything is taken away from you including control of your body, when you lay there in a hospital bed unable to talk or move and on the edge of death while your loved ones look at you with expressions of desperation, all of lives drama becomes irrelevant. All material things become liquid and you don't care if it all flows away because all that matters are issues of the heart. Knowing that you are loved, longing to be sure others know they are loved and how very much they matter. It isn't the mistakes of your children, family or friends you have in mind, it's all of the laughter, hugs, smiles and memories of playing hide and seek and water fights and the kids coming home with tales of their day and their "aha" moments as they grow into wisdom. It's the memories of friends that stood by you even when you were wrong and laughed with you when you figured it out. It's matters of the heart that mean the most. No matter what you think, you are loved. No matter how many mistakes you make or how big they are, you are good enough and worthy of joy. No matter how many times you fall, it's that you keep getting up and trying again that matters. Don't let your ego or the egos of others trick you, you have value beyond measure and you have purpose.

Food for thought:

Ø What matters to you?

Ø What is your “why” for doing anything you do?

Ø Why do you want to succeed at any aspect of your life?

Ø What value does having a job, a business, money or benefits bring to your life?

Ø What value do your relationships bring to your life?

Ø What value does your spiritual beliefs and or practices bring to your life?

Ø What value do your beliefs bring to your life?

Ø What Value does your education (formal or self-taught) bring to you?

Ø What value does your community bring to you?

Ø What value do you bring to others?

Ø What value do you bring to your community?

Ø What value do you bring to your relationships?

Ø What are you doing with your time? Investing it? Or spending it?

Ø When you are involved in something; watching TV, reading a book, working, watching sports, playing sports, playing video games, arts and crafts, playing music… whatever it is you are doing, if someone you love comes to ask a question how do you treat them?

Ø Are you investing more in what you are doing than in who you are being?

Ø Are you investing more in what you are doing than in what you state is important to you?

Ø Are you actions and behaviors matching your beliefs, purpose and goals?

Ø Are you spending time being busy so you can avoid being productive?

Ø Are you spending time doing so you can avoid being?

Ø Are you actively loving who matters to you?

Ø Are you actively loving you?

Ø Love is a verb, an action word, have you done acts of love for yourself and others lately?

I have learned that regardless of a person’s ability or willingness to see, feel or know that they are loved and valued, they are anyway.

Once I was in a space of my mind with nothing else I could do I had to face truth. The truth is that there is a higher power, a Great Spirit that loves me and accepts me and all people. There are many people that love and accept me. There are people I love and love deeper than I could ever express. There are people that I accept regardless of anything and that accept me the same. All people are loved, lovable and deserving of love and acceptance exactly as they are. And there are no exceptions to truth.

I spend the majority of my life afraid, angry, hurt and trying desperately to control every aspect of life I could. Once there was nothing I could do. I was there to face myself and to step into my beingness. Raw, vulnerable, afraid, I stepped into the void. I was forced to let go of the doingness of life and discover the beauty of the beingness of life. I lost the illusion of control and gained the beauty of surrender.

It is in the mystery, in the surrender that the abundance of life’s blessings can be seen, felt and experienced. It is there that appreciation is song that plays while you dance the dance of life’s celebration. It is there that the authentic self exists and emerges from. It is there that purpose can be revealed.  It is there that the voice of the Great Spirit can be heard.

Expand through appreciation. You get more of what you "see".

Hi beautiful people! What an amazing day it is today!

Two years ago and most of the years of my life I would have had rare times when I could have made such optimistic statements... especially from a place of sincerity, authenticity and inner peace. Now, this is how I live my life! I live a life full of joy and inspiration!

Someone asked me "how do you know when you are doing well in your life? How do you know you are a good person? How do you know you are beautiful and acceptable?" I said, look at the people in your life, how do you see them? Weather or not the people in our lives are these things is irrelevant, it is whether or not we SEE them as such. We are all wonderful reflections of each other.

What do you see when you look in the mirror? What do you see in the physical mirror on the wall or in the mirror of those around you?

There was a time in my life that I could only see "yuck" in all others and especially in myself. Then later on, I could only see others as something or someone good and I could only see the "yuck" in me. I felt that through spirituality finally I could recognize the good in others... but that somehow I was the exception to the rule. Ha! I found out... there are no exceptions to this rule. We all have good in us, it is just a matter of what we choose to see.

Truly the more beauty we see in ourselves the more we can see in others and/or vice versa.

I now see beauty, greatness, love, joy, and so much more. I see this in my mirror and in the mirror that my family and friends reflect back at me. And I see this in people I am meeting for the fist time every where. I see all of this because I made a decision one day to open my eyes and SEE. I made a decision to look as I would think the Great Spirit would look. I wondered; "If I were my higher power, how would I choose to look?" Hmmm, this sparked a curiosity in me. This took me from place of a victim or other reactive role to the place of observer and active participant.

When I look at myself and others in my life... I choose to see the good.. the light... the love... the joy and so on. The question is; what do you choose to see or focus on in others? What do you choose to see or focus on in yourself?

Do you do EFT tapping, massage, counseling, Reiki, study, spiritual practice or some combination of healing arts to assist you on your healing journey so you can make and step into such decisions?

Sometimes this is a process, it was for me (and still is), but you must make the first step whatever that is for you.

When we choose to see the good in the world... this does not mean being blind to the darkness of the world... but what it does mean is we get to contribute to expanding the light in our lives, in the lives of others and in the world.

What you focus on expands. It's the law
What you resist persist. It's the law
There are no exceptions to universal laws.

What do you want more of?
How do you want to see yourself?
How do you want others to see you?
How do you want to see others?
How do you want to live your life?
What impact do you want to have on others and on the earth?
What impact do you want them to have on you?
What do you want more of in your life?
You get to choose.

Appreciation is the greatest tool for expanding what you want, distracting you from what you do not want, bringing more joy, raising self esteem and self worth.

Find something to appreciate in everyone, in every situation and in each hour of each day and watch your life shift!

Find a spot on your body (big or small) that has no pain and appreciate that it feels GOOD and watch that spot expand!

Find that penny in your pocket and appreciate that you have money in your life and watch your financial prosperity expand!

Find that love you experience in your life and appreciate it deeply and watch love expand in your life!

Give thanks for all of the quality relationships or moments of them in your life and watch quality relationships expand!

Find appreciation for all you have enjoyed and watch the wealth of experiences expand!

Life is sooooo gooood!
Enjoy.

Recommended reading:
Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now
Eckhart Tolle, The New Earth

Louis Hay, You Can Heal Your Life (book and movie)

Catherine Ponder, Open Your Mind To Receive

Recommended Viewing:
What the Bleep Do We Know; Down The Rabbit Hole
The Peaceful Warrior
(These are also books).