Ponderings #19

Dear fellow travelers,
Thank you for your constant support.

I have heard lately from so many people who seem to be going thru great challenges, that I was called to share an old Pondering that I wrote many years ago. It still seems appropriate for many of us today.

I have written about life's path, to me, being similar to hills and valleys. I know when we fine ourselves in some valleys, they may seem to be far deeper and longer than others, and since we are all one, we all at one time or another experience both the hills and valleys. But sometimes when we are in the valleys, for what ever our challenge may be, it may seem that we may never get out.. but have faith....There is a promise....

From my old Pondering:

I had the 23th Psalm repeating thru my mind all week.

Part of one verse says,

Yea, though I WALK THROUGH the valley ----

I had never before focused on the word WALK. It doesn't say lay down, stay , sit down, or even run.
 It simple says, WALK, take time.

I'm sure we can also while walking, meditate,  think, and learn, so there may be no need to repeat the same valley again, but we do need to....

MOVE and take ACTION. WALK is an action word. 
Do what ever the appropriate action is for us to do.

And the next word is THROUGH--it doesn't say circle around, or stay in the valley, it says WALK THROUGHT it.

And as we are walking, we are moving thru the valley to the hill.

Honest!! we are!!    I didn't say it was easy, and sometimes the hill may not easily be seen, but it is there, waiting for us.

We must have the faith.
We are the ones to learn and to teach others.

We are here to learn and to teach, and we are each others teachers.

And thank you for being mine.

I am always learning. and always grateful for what I learn. I didn't say it was easy.

Some lessons are more difficult than others for me. But necessary.

Just Pondering,

Linda Patton, RScP, ENTC

Blog address, http://Ponderings-everyday-spirituality.blogspot.com

Ponderings #18

Dear fellow travelers,

I am grateful for your continued support, suggestions, and comments. You are a blessing to me.

The words "Appreciation" and "Gratitude" seem to be coming to me in waves, from you, my readings, and from many other sources.

Appreciation is, yes, to me another word for approval and approval from others is a risky business, because no one is always going to approve of you or me all the time (self-approval is optimal)....... but I admit, to hear, or to read, from someone else,  that I am appreciated does make my heart dance and it does feel good!

I believe everyone likes to know from others that they matter and that they are appreciated.

I overheard a store staff meeting the other day. It was filled with appreciative, upbeat, supportive comments. I didn't hear any phases like "you should", or "you must". There was much focus placed on how to appreciate the customer. I had a great feeling about how good the employees probably feel working with such supportive management.

Another great memory I have is of a women who founded an organization of which I was a founding member. To me she was one of the greatest visionaries I have personally known. She was amazing. After speaking to someone for a few minutes, she could direct them to their perfect position, empower them, shower them with constant accolades, appreciation and respect. She also walked her talk, before computers, she stayed up late at night, writing grants and talking to people around the country. Needless to say this is now an acclaimed, sought after internationally respected organization. This, to me, has much to do with the people thriving on being noticed and appreciated, thus willing to go that extra mile to accomplish the vision.

She transitioned a few years ago, but her vision remains. I am in great gratitude for knowing her.

I know what I have written so far is not everyone's experience at this moment. And for that I am saddened.

I hear from many people, who tell me that they are not in a fulfilling or satisfying work and or personal relationship and how difficult it is and how diminished they feel.

In the valleys along my path, I have been in similar situations. Fortunately I have managed to change the situation and me--, or just changed me and stayed--, or changed me and moved on. ---I didn't say it was easy. Just possible.

My spiritual and emotional health is my top priority. If I am depleted in these areas, I don't have the energy to give to others, and my own physical health also suffers.

One thing I don't want to ever do is to move out of a situation without evaluating all aspects of it known to me, and change within me what I need to change...because not to engage in that process means I most likely will fine myself again in a similar situation just under a different name.. I didn't say it was easy, but important!!

I also need to be clear within myself about what I do want ( or something better), do the action steps and the work involved, and then let go and allow what I want to evolve and manifest...... It happens, and it has happened....Honest!!

I also need to remember that sometimes an unhappy or unhealthy situation can provide clarity and contrast for what I really want.

And for that I am grateful. There is always something to be grateful for.

Never give up!!! There is always a solution. There are a multitude of fulfilling careers, jobs and relationships. The universe is unlimited potential and abundant in all areas. Anything and everything is possible. Believe it!!!

And if you think you didn't success, as the saying goes, Try again!!

And always claim your power.

We are all powerful, sometimes we just allow our light to get a little dusty. So lets shake off that dust and lets always let our lights shine!!!!!

Life is for living and having fun. Let's make the most of it!!

What do you appreciate?

What are you grateful for?

Just pondering on appreciation and gratitude,

Linda Patton, RScP, ENTC

http://Ponderings-everyday-spirituality.blogspot.com

Ponderings #17

Dear fellow travelers,

Welcome to our new travelers and thank you all again for your comments, you are a blessing to me.

A Small Act of Kindness, Long Remembered

Many years ago I was attending a three day Revelations Conference, hosted by Rev. Michael Beckwith, founder of the Agape International Spiritual Center, located in LA, Ca. This was my first time at one of his conferences. But I had heard Rev Michael speak over the years, when he was on the East coast.

It was late in the afternoon, I had skipped lunch, and my hunger pangs were increasing. I slipped out of the ballroom, our main conference room, into the lobby in search for one of the hospitality tables. The hotel had set up tables with food for our breaks, but all the tables had been cleared. The refreshment tables were bare!

I noticed a petite, elegant women standing behind a counter, and me in need of food,  jumped at the opportunity to rescue a cookie from a "hotel representative."

I said something like, "Do you have anything that resembles a cookie back there, I skipped lunch and I'm starving?"

This calm, elegant women looked down behind the counter and after a few seconds came up with a brown lunch bag and started to search thru it. She took out a plastic bag with some cookies in it and said,

"Take what you want".

I took a cookie and thanked her. Then I came to my senses and realized she was not a hotel employee and this was her personal food supply.

Being really mortified and embarrassed, I apologized for my abruptness and thanked her again for her generosity.

And then I looked at her name tag "Alice Beckwith".

I asked her if she was related to Rev. Michael, she said, "Yes, I am his mother." She went on to tell me she was in charge of the vendors. I have always remembered this interchange with great love and warmth.

I am sad to write that Alice Beckwith transitioned this morning.

She was truly a women who "Walked the Talk", of kindness, humility, humbleness and generosity.

Her energy is and will always be around us all.

I have been thinking a lot these last few days of my later interactions with Rev Michael and Rickie,  and my condolences go to them and all their family.

Sometimes, one some act of kindness is all it takes for a lasting heartfelt, warm memory.

Thank you!  in great gratitude for all the kind, humble people I know, and you are one of them.    

Just ponderings on kindness,

Linda Patton, RScP, ENTC

Blog address http://Ponderings-everyday-spirituality.blogspot.com

Ponderings #16

                                                  Everyday Spirituality

Dear fellow travelers,

Thank you for coming on this journey with me.

I have heard from you, concerning situations and challenges on finances, relationships, health, work issues, and in many other areas. I have at one time or another, also had challenges in many of these areas.

We are all unique individuals, who are also creative beings. I know we all have our own life styles, perspectives and beliefs.

I have read that to change a situation, we must change the perspective or belief behind it, to allow us to be open to solutions.

I had an ah ha! moment with a profound, to me, experiential (an activity in which everyone in the group participates). It culminated in endless solutions, and I often go back to that exercise when I feel blocked, knowing "there is a solution".

It was an exercise at a regional management work seminar, to promote the concept to of giving our employees their work assignments with the due date, and then to allow them to complete the tasks in their own creative styles.

It was a demonstration to show how people do have their own unique ways to reach their goal. It taught me more than that.

The experiential was:

At one end of the ballroom there were targets attached to the wall. Each target had an agenda on "Why do you work" written on it such as: "money", "benefits", "security","work itself", "prestige", etc.

About 200 of us were at the other end of the ballroom behind a white line.

We were one at a time to go the other end of the ballroom and touch the target which represented our attitude.

The catch was: we each had to go in a different way.!!! Now Really.

I think I actually stopped breathing, I could think of only about three ways to go; walk, skip and run. My mind went blank. I just had to be one of the first to go, because there could not possible be 200 or so ways.

Actually there were. The more ways people created to go, the more ways there were; some danced, walked backward, jumped, did circles, summersaults, and each one could be done in reverse. It was amazing to me.

The creative ideas were endless!! The solutions were endless!!

For me I learned more than to let go and allow people to be creative, I learned how many ways to solve an initial challenge there could be. "endless", I just need to be open, take off my blinders and allow the unlimited abundant solutions to pour in.

We are all unique beings with access to more creative ideas than we can ever humanly imagine. There is no "lack", lack is only in our closed awareness.

We are unlimited abundant in all ways. Believe It!!!

I could sign off here but I have an interesting story to tell of how one solution manifested.

This obviously would not be every ones, but this did happen.

A few years ago, a friend, who said she was "on a fixed income", wanted to move to a retirement community and at that moment didn't have the resources to move. She was open to all possibilities and looking for solutions.

In the same time period her ex husband transitioned, to her shock, he deliberately or unintentionally hadn't changed his beneficiary on a very old insurance policy. Yes, she inherited a very large sum of money.

She moved!!

Now, again this is probably not the solution for everyone.

We just need to be open to all possibilities.

Are you open?

Do you believe there are endless solutions?

Just pondering,

Linda Patton, RScP, ENTC

Ponderings #15

Dear fellow travelers,

Thank you again for your responses.

This pondering was intense for me to write, because it involves friends I feel great empathy for.

I have two friends and a cousin, whose lives have taken them on journeys to places they probably never dreamed they would be on at this time last year. All of these journeys are health related.

I do have much training on my thought processes in these areas, and I know its not mine to decide or to understand the reasons "why". I know the highest and best for them. but I admit I got really "angry" last week, deciding what I thought was "unfair" for them. These beautiful lovely lights having these challenging paths.

I know the medical community witnesses these situations everyday and in my life at times, I certainly have also.

I believe my recent "upset" was having a culmination of information about these three friends at one time and the fact I admire and care so much about all of them.

When I volunteered at a cancer wellness center, the women I encountered seem to all have a positive, upbeat attitude. They felt they had learned a lot from their illnesses.

They learned to first take care of themselves; to live for the moment, and to be grateful for everyday.

Sunday, my cousin, who is this beautiful, vibrate, upbeat, witty and caring person, talked opening about her journey since last August. With her permission, she said I could write about her.

Her journey began with a seizure, quickly, thru many tests, a brain mass was uncovered. She had the operation but all the tumor couldn't be removed and it had tentacles going further into her brain. It was benign, but could cause the loss of many skills. She was treated as a cancer patient. She had six weeks, 5 days a week of radiation. She described the treatments to us.

Her last treatment was last week.

She told me, she feels she was chosen to have this happen to her, for whatever reason. And what she found out about herself is: that she is stronger than she ever knew she was, she is grateful for every day and she is grateful she still has her cognitive abilities, even thru her right side has slight feeling problems, and she still has minor seizures. She knows some of the tumor remains. The radiation was to reduce the size. She participates in a blog called " It's just benign". and I'm sure she is a great inspiration to many. She certainly is to me. When she was asked by the staff if she wanted medicine before her treatments, she said, "No, I will put myself in a peaceful place". and on her last day of her treatments, she took cookies to the staffs on all the floors she had been on.

Now, is this an earth angel??

My other two friends have different journeys but are to me also an inspiration of courage and strength. and they demonstrate this great courage to all the people around them.

A memory came up from many years ago from someone else who inspired me. She was an older co-worker who just had had her first and only baby, and she had had a difficult pregnancy. Her day old baby had been rushed by helicopter to another hospital for emergency heart surgery.

On my drive to the hospital to see her, I remember I was breathing deep all the way there. "What was I possibly going to say to her, beyond the usual things one says?"

As my experiences seem to be, she gave me the pep talk. "I had so many issues while I was pregnant, God will not take my baby away now."

She was right. Her baby lived!!!!!!!!!!! I saw them both a year ago, many years older and looking good!

Life is hills and valleys, and it is my job to live everyday, as I learn constantly from my friends, with gratitude, gratefulness and joy. I have so much to be grateful for. We all do, even if it is difficult some times to know it, or feel it, there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for. Look deep and the more you will see, and then the more you will see!!

ALWAYS.

Living in gratitude, for the people I am fortunate to know and all the great gifts I have. You are one of them, and for this I say thank you.

What are you grateful for?

Just pondering,

Linda P RScP, ENTC

http://Ponderings-everyday-spirituality.blogspot.com.

Ponderings #14

Dear fellow travelers,

Welcome to my new travelers! And thank you again for your comments and ideas. Thank you, for suggesting journaling as one way to process and deflate "worrying". I know a women who teaches journaling, if interested, please email me.

I do journal. To me it is a way to refocus, and gain a different perspective on a situation. There are many different techniques to journaling: one is to just write, stream of consciousness; another is to write using your non-dominate hand, and one I do often, is to write under another name, that one results in creating for me a totally different perspective on who I am, that sometimes proves to be very interesting: and also it does for me, prove that "worrying" about whatever it is, is a waste of my time and energy. Better to go for a higher use of my thoughts. --- I didn't say it was easy.

And a follow up on the word "NEVER".

I just returned from the country I said I would NEVER go to again. However, this was a different city and it was wonderful, on many different levels. I met some very interesting people. The town was warm, not only in temperature but friendliness.

Sometimes it may just be better to RISK IT and just DO IT. Taking that step may open the door to many rewards and opportunities. Very Glad I let that NEVER go.

One of opportunities I had, happened at one of the events I went to, I heard a story a women tells at her workshops, I thought it was so intriguing, I need to share it with you:

The Dream

While I was asleep, I had this nightmare.

It was one of those dark, dark, nights, no moon, no stars.

Only a few house lights in the distance that gave a slight glow across the road I was walking on.

As I passed a wooded area, I heard leaves crunch and then I faintly heard sounds behind me, I slowly turned and saw a figure dressed in black walking slowly behind me. I started to walk faster, I heard foot steps behind me-- also walking faster.

I felt myself stop breathing, my heart started to race, chills ran thought me, then

my palms turned moist.

My mind was racing, what am I going to do? Run! I started to run,

The footsteps behind me picked up pace and were running also.

No other person in sight, no houses,.... I was alone...no one to help.....I saw an alley

I turned quickly and ran down it... the dark hooted figure was right there also, almost up to me.

I tripped and felt against an old wire fence.. I felt myself laying on the ground..

I pulled myself over and looked up at the figure standing over me...

With tears streaming down my face, I whispered.. "What are you going to do?"

The figure hissed back,"I haven't the slightest idea...It's your DREAM!!!"

Just Pondering,

Linda, RScP, ENTC

http://Ponderings-everyday-spirituality.blogspot.com

Ponderings #13

Dear Fellow Travelers,

I am saying, as so many others have said to you: Happy New Year!! and may 2012 be all, that your wonderful visions have visioned it to be!! May all your days and moments be filled with wonder and joy.

And again thank you for being you!!

I have been chuckling over a word I have used many times.

I am going on a vacation, back to a country I said I would NEVER visit again.

NEVER is the word. I reflected back on all the times I could remember using that word and guess what? I always did again exactly what I said I would NEVER do.

What has happened to have this NEVER manifest, again? I came to the "Spiritual Principle" WHAT I RESIST--PERSISTS!

Why is that? I believe for me, that the word NEVER has so much energy behind it that I draw back into my life the very thing I was resisting. I still have lessons to learn from the experience.

Until I stop resisting, and allow myself to go to Acceptance. and going to Acceptance is, for me, finding the good in the situation or place, forgiving what I perceived as not good, finding the value, the good, and focusing on the good.

And there is always GOOD!!

Another word, I have heard in various conversations, and I use it, I admit, (but of course just every now and then). is WORRYING. An extreme example is when I was talking with a woman lately and she said she was worried that her daughter, who was at the moment off drugs, would slip and go back on them. She said she was, "a Mom and she worried". I thought to myself does Mom need to equal worrying? How would it be if Mom just equaled Love and Support? and that was where all the energy used for worrying was channeled, To Love and Support ! Something to ponder.

To me there would be more time and energy for her to focus on being fully available for her daughter.

I know this is just me, you wont be doing this: but up until now, I have spent hours worrying, about this or that, and if I changed my thoughts from worrying to more productive ideas, I could actually manifest and accomplish much more.

I could truly focus on positive, life enhancing ideas and activities.

Also worrying to me translates into Control!, If I worry enough I think I have Control over this situation. I have deluded myself into thinking I could control it! The only thing or person I can Control is myself, and that is mostly a full time job.

For me, I must catch myself when my thoughts, my mind, strays to Worrying, to recognize it, and change those worrying, negative thoughts into positive thoughts.

Thoughts do become reality: choose the good ones.

This is my resolution for 2012, and for all times: Enjoy these magical, mystical, miracles that happen in every moment. Think Great thoughts, Drop the word NEVER! Love, support, forgive and accept. And be all, I am here to be.

Stand in my own Truth, be centered in myself. And see only the Good.

We all have lessons to learn and this beautiful, magnificent Earth is our classroom, our school; and we are each others teachers.

In great gratitude for you being my teacher and for you being in my life, Thank you!!

Do you have vision for yourself?

If so, how is it working for you?

Just Pondering with great blessings,

Linda RScP, ENTC

Blog address http://Ponderings-everyday-spirituality.blogspot.com.