WHAT WAS I THINKING????

Research has shown that we have between 45,000 and 51,000 thoughts a day.
That is about 150 to 300 thoughts a minute.
Research has also shown that 80% of those thoughts are negative.
It gets worse. Whatever you are thinking about, 90% gets carried over to the next day's 51,000 thoughts.

Think about this for a minute...

Which thoughts are worth thinking?

"Thoughts are free and subject to no rule. On them rests the freedom of man, and they tower above the light of nature...create a new heaven, a new firmament, a new source of energy from which new arts flow."
Paracelsus (1493-1541)


At first becoming aware of your thoughts can be a scary experience, especially when realizing that thought precedes reality.
Or as Mike Dooley says: "Thoughts become Things". Or the warning we all heard before: " be careful of what you think, because that is what you'll get".

Let me go back to December 2008 when a good friend suggested to me to read "The Jackrabbit Factor" by Leslie Householder. I printed this e-book edition and forgot about it until 2 weeks ago when this same friend suggested watching this video, a presentation by Leslie called "The Stickman video". My eyes were glued to my computer screen for over 80 minutes and when she mentioned her book called (you guessed it): "The Jackrabbit Factor" a little bell was ringing in the back of my mind. I searched for it and wanted to print this book, but my printer didn't work. When I looked at the cover again I realized I had printed this before and within minutes I found it, buried in a pile of e-books.

In this story Leslie describes a man "who wanted to give up on a dream, but decided to take one more step." This beautiful story takes you on a journey about thought and how it shapes your reality. This book contains powerful knowledge and I can see now that a year ago I was not ready to digest this. This is also referred to as the "gestation period" most things on this planet experience this gestation (without even thinking about it). When the time (or thought) is right...

I thought I was aware of most of my thoughts, but now that "I" am monitoring them closely I see certain patterns and a relation between my thoughts and beliefs and I can imagine how this reflects in my subconscious. The scare has turned into acceptance of my own reality and inspiration. I can think new thoughts and be more involved/empowered in the creation of my own reality.

"Great men are they who see that spiritual thought is stronger than any material force, that thoughts rule the world."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Progress of Culture

No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking. ~Voltaire

One more food for thought:

Invest a few moments in thinking. It will pay good interest. ~Author Unknown

You are in my thoughts,

Love, Mo

PS: After I posted this blog I went to pick up my daughter from school, as I walked to my car I saw my only bumper sticker I bought a few months ago, it says: "Don't believe everything you think"...

INFINITE POSSIBILITIES?

A few years ago Mike contacted me because he wanted to use one of my leaf pictures on the cover of his book 'Totally Unique Thoughts: Reminders of Life's Everyday Magic'.

Later I assisted during one of his workshops here in DC, working with Mike is an intense and very rewarding experience I am very grateful for. When I found out he is realeasing his new book Infinite Possibilities: The Art of Living Your Dreams I really wanted to share it with my readers. Below is a small description of this gem.

A profound exploration into the mysteries of the Universe. Infinite Possibilities is bestselling author Mike Dooley’s manifesto, revealing that we are literally the eyes and the ears of the Divine. He enlightens that our dreams are not accidental but serve rather as invitations to understand the truth about ourselves, hinting at the lives we can create. Dooley shares that our “default settings” are abundance, health, and harmony, and he explains that once we grasp the truth about our heritage, thinking far beyond what spirituality has traditionally meant, it becomes evident that life, itself, is the ultimate adventure—filled with unending opportunities that day-by-day lead us to rediscover how powerful we are, how much we deserve, and why we’re here. With recognizable insight, lighthearted wit, and striking sincerity, this new work by the much-celebrated author elevates the lessons learned in The Secret, Choose Them Wisely and his Notes from the Universe trilogy to a whole new level. Prepare to be challenged and excited with this unique guide to living the life of your dreams—purposefully, lovingly, brilliantly.

XOMO

SUMMER-SUUSI-SUSHI

Yes it has been quite a while, yet according to recent studies time remains a paradox in Relativity...

A month ago I received some extra time, at least 40 hours a week, when I was laid off unexpectedly (but carefully timed by management). Due to "re-structuring" of my department there was no longer a need for me. Very awkward if you think of the fact that I'd spent a good amount of time working on proposals to generate more business (successfully).

This out of the blue (company made a profit and I had recently received a raise) decision made me go through a range of emotions, from being very mad to very sad. As time passed by I started to feel a sense of relief though, maybe this is a blessing in disguise, maybe this will move me towards a purpose more close to who I really am?

It's time to move on! Past week I spent a lot of time with about 1000 like minded people at SUUSI (not the Japanese Sushi, but the Southeast Unitarian Universalist Summer Institute) and thanks to them I can be grateful for having the opportunity to explore new work opportunities and I am inspired to engage in activities that really make a difference.

Events in our lives happen in a sequence in time, but in their significance to ourselves they find their own order the continuous thread of revelation.
Eudora Welty

Namaste, MO

EASTER-EASTRE-ISHTAR

With the Easter celebration just behind us, I wanted to dig a little deeper in the origins of this ritual. Not so much the "resurrection of Jesus" story, I'll come back to that later, but the Pagan roots of this Spring celebration. Upon my search I found the following:

The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE.) a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." 1 Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre." Similar Goddesses were known by other names in ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, and were celebrated in the springtime. Some were:

Aphrodite from ancient Cyprus
Ashtoreth from ancient Israel
Astarté from ancient Greece
Demeter from Mycenae
Hathor from ancient Egypt
Ishtar from Assyria
Kali, from India
Ostara a Norse Goddess of fertility.

Pagan origins of Easter:
Many, perhaps most, Pagan religions in the Mediterranean area had a major seasonal day of religious celebration at or following the Spring Equinox. Cybele, the Phrygian fertility goddess, had a fictional consort who was believed to have been born via a virgin birth. He was Attis, who was believed to have died and been resurrected each year during the period MAR-22 to MAR-25. "About 200 B.C. mystery cults began to appear in Rome just as they had earlier in Greece. Most notable was the Cybele cult centered on Vatican hill ...Associated with the Cybele cult was that of her lover, Attis (the older Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, or Orpheus under a new name). He was a god of ever-reviving vegetation. Born of a virgin, he died and was reborn annually. The festival began as a day of blood on Black Friday and culminated after three days in a day of rejoicing over the resurrection." 3

Wherever Christian worship of Jesus and Pagan worship of Attis were active in the same geographical area in ancient times, Christians "used to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus on the same date; and pagans and Christians used to quarrel bitterly about which of their gods was the true prototype and which the imitation."

Many religious historians believe that the death and resurrection legends were first associated with Attis, many centuries before the birth of Jesus. They were simply grafted onto stories of Jesus' life in order to make Christian theology more acceptable to Pagans. Others suggest that many of the events in Jesus' life that were recorded in the gospels were lifted from the life of Krishna, the second person of the Hindu Trinity. Ancient Christians had an alternative explanation; they claimed that Satan had created counterfeit deities in advance of the coming of Christ in order to confuse humanity. 4 Modern-day Christians generally regard the Attis legend as being a Pagan myth of little value. They regard Jesus' death and resurrection account as being true, and unrelated to the earlier tradition.

Wiccans and other modern-day Neopagans continue to celebrate the Spring Equinox as one of their 8 yearly Sabbats (holy days of celebration). Near the Mediterranean, this is a time of sprouting of the summer's crop; farther north, it is the time for seeding. Their rituals at the Spring Equinox are related primarily to the fertility of the crops and to the balance of the day and night times. Where Wiccans can safely celebrate the Sabbat out of doors without threat of religious persecution, they often incorporate a bonfire into their rituals, jumping over the dying embers is believed to assure fertility of people and crops.

Author: B.A. Robinson

WHAT A YEAR!

I have to admit I am very thrilled with our President select, I think Barack will really bring us the much needed change. He is erudite, humble, sincere and very smart, I am looking forward to his presidency. I encountered that talking about politics is a rather delicate excersize in the US, and at work one was advised not to talk politics at all because it could be perceived as harrasment. Luckily I was not the only elated person in the office after the election results were clear. Just very proud of America taking such a bold step and showing so much hope and courage!

XOMO

CIRCLE

As I travel further and further along my personal road of life I encounter more often these intriguing roundabouts ;-)
No I am not going in circles or getting lost! Au contraire, these circles seem to connect everything magically (something most Asian relegions have acknowledged for thousands of years). I still struggle with this concept of unity, that all, everything and everyone are ONE. I just can't believe that the person who cuts me off in traffic is part of me and that we are in that same reality...that an insane mother who kills her child is somehow connected to me, it just doesn't make sense.
I would love to be liberated from duality and feel more united at least to start with being united with my real self...part of that journey. For now I'll just enjoy the scenery and try to be as much as possible HERE and NOW. That is a bigger challenge than being occupied with the past and future, something most people are very skilled in. In my next writing I'll describe a few of these circle samples, like how I found a Unitarian Universalist meeting via the Buddhist temple and how I finally understood the real meaning of the Dutch word for the Universe, HeelAl.

Forget time and I'll be back before you know!

Be well, MO

LOVE FAQ

As I discussed love with several people this "frequently asked questions" idea came to me as a way of touching some love input and feedback. By no means would I consider myself a love expert, yet I think we all have some love expertise...

Q: So, what is love not?
A: To be treated as an afterthought and certainly not as an object of any ones ego.

Q: Is there a difference in being loving and being in love?
A: When a person loves with every fiber of their being (being in love) something wonderful happens. They become caring, nurturing, giving and mostly protective of those they have included in their love sphere. Kindness radiates from them and illuminates all about them. Being loving does not necessarily include nurturing and protecting, but certainly includes respect and compassion.

Q: Can you harm someone you love?
A: Yes, and harming your loved ones is harming yourself.

Q: Are there levels of depth in love?
A: When feelings are shallow and superficial they are cloying and restrictive. If a person is unstable in their soul and hasn't the ability to love themselves, there is no possible way they can even respect those they claim to love.

Q: Do you need to love yourself first?
A: Not being able to love yourself causes an emotional rift and one tends to stray from their partner, seeking what they inherently don't have. In this self absorbed state they don't realize it has to be found within before it can radiate outward. Unfortunately, because of this insecurity, they often refuse to let go of the very ones they are hurting so badly.

Q: How do personal priorities and love live together?
A: When you really love someone priorities naturally melt together, you’ll probably find out you have the same priorities!

Q: What is unconditional love?
A: Unconditional love is when you know you have found real love and can say: I am sharing my heart and my soul knowing I can trust you to treat it gently and with care. All I have, and am, is ours. Its total openness and transparency, the “you and me” transcends into “us”.

Q: Why is unconditional love so hard?
A: Unconditional love is opening your heart to everything from joy to pain. Sometimes the person you love may not reciprocate or even understand how you feel, but you should allow yourself to feel it regardless. Love is fearless. But it's silly to say I will love someone if they make me happy... or have my children... or fix my dinner... or any such thing. That's most certainly not unconditional. Most people love conditionally, often without being aware of it; this is what causes pain and conflicts.

Q: Why do so many seem to fall in love with the “wrong” person?
A: Wrong person does mean they aren't good people... it's just they may not be good for you or me. However, the good news is this... the right love may be just a thought away... right there inside your heart.


MO LOVE 2 U, MO