Today, feel the powerful, effective demand of Love and Truth that we be free from oppression: free from tyranny in large and small forms, free from oppression from without and within. Love calls for and defends freedom.
Moses demands of the Egyptian Pharaoh, "Let my people go!" After the sky goes dark for a few days, Pharaoh agrees.
Today, feel the powerful, effective demand of Love and Truth that we be free from oppression: free from tyranny in large and small forms, free from oppression from without and within. Love calls for and defends freedom.
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God Says Yes To Me
by Kaylin Haught I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic and she said yes I asked her if it was okay to be short and she said it sure is I asked her if I could wear nail polish or not wear nail polish and she said honey she calls me that sometimes she said you can do just exactly what you want to Thanks God I said And is it even okay if I don't paragraph my letters Sweetcakes God said who knows where she picked that up what I'm telling you is Yes Yes Yes "God Says Yes To Me" by Kaylin Haught, from The Palm of Your Hand. © Tilbury House Publishers, 1995. Inspired by thoughts in Tara Brach's book True Refuge:
Today, feel your fears, shame, self-judgments wrapped unconditional Love and acceptance. No, this will not result in self-indulgence or self-justification. Instead, it will give you a safe, steady ground from which to see clearly and take wise action. In Dr. Ellen Hendriksen's podcast The Savvy Psychologist, episode 104, she discusses the two beliefs about ourselves most likely to lead to depression.
1. Everyone has to like me. 2. I have to be perfect. Those beliefs are often not verbal, so they can be sneaky, hiding under our other, more conscious thoughts or behaviors. Today, notice when you are being caught by those beliefs and practice replacing them with healthier, more accurate perspectives. Tara Brach in her book True Refuge shares some wisdom one of her therapy clients heard in AA: "Not my will, but my heart's will."
Today, listen for your heart's will - the part of you that is wise, peaceful, timeless, discerning, tender - and which perceives what is healthy for you and others. This will may be very different from what your busy, often fear-driven mind believes you should be doing or thinking. In a recent podcast by Buddhist teacher Tara Brach, she says that the human ego has two mistaken perceptions: that it is a victim or that it is the "doer": we are helpless before life's circumstances--or fully and solely responsible for them.
Instead, begin by knowing that you rest on Love's firm foundation, are held in Love's arms. When we begin feeling the truth of that, the steps we should take or not take become clearer - when to act, when to let go, when and how to ask for help. In Donald Murray's memoir My Twice-Lived Life, he writes, "Now in my seventies I have been forced to examine my self-image and have tried to revise it. I have always thought myself weak, and now I find I was - and am - physically and emotionally strong . . . I have imagined myself lonely and unloved and found myself surrounded by caring family and friends. I believed I was a failure while I was succeeding, lazy when my colleagues saw me as obsessively - even obscenely and threateningly - productive."
Today, think about which of your stories of yourself may be too small. Tell yourself the bigger, more accurate story. The book of Hebrews (Amplified Bible) says, "Cut through and make smooth, straight paths for your feet [that are safe and go in the right direction], so that the leg which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather may be healed."
When something is in need of healing (mentally, emotionally, physically), simplify your life and clear obstacles. Create conditions and space that support healing. Do less, without shame. It is not weakness to choose the smooth path, but wisdom. Today, know that you don't have to understand a problem before you feel Love attending to it. You don't have to understand the causes of the relationship problem; the reason someone is behaving that way; the reason you are behaving that way; the power dynamics of a group; or how a mechanical, economic, biological, or political system functions. Your insight and understanding can be helpful, but it is not always necessary--and rarely the first step. First, feel the active, powerful presence of Love.
On the night of Buddha's enlightenment under the bodhi tree, the demon Mara tried to distract and undermine him with arrows and other deadly weapons. As each of the weapons neared the Buddha, it was turned into a flower.
Today, whatever challenge enters your consciousness - a fear, a frustration, a blame, an irritation, a regret, a hurt, a conundrum, self-doubt, a sense of unease or uncertainty - imagine it met touched by Love and compassion and transformed into a flower. You don't need to know yet how the problem will be solved - just know, feel, and trust Love's transformative touch. |
AuthorTarn Wilson is the author of the memoir The Slow Farm and numerous essays. You may read more of her work at tarnwilson.com. Archives
September 2020
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