Quote:
Originally Posted by scott snedeker
This leads me to a new set of Questions to help me live happier, more real, safer, and alive with love:
1. What do I want?
2. What is required to achieve it?
3. Am I willing to do what is necessary?
If you'll notice, the first question is not "What don't I want?" or What do others want me to do or be? or What do others or myself expect me to be or do? Or what do I expect others to be or do? Or what do others owe me?
It is "What do I want?" Not so simple if all your attention is on the other questions above!
The second question is no less difficult to answer sometimes.
The third question often requires painful honesty on many levels.
If the answer to the third question is "No", then my desire will either not manifest or not manifest for long because to do something unwillingly creates opposition internally.
If the answer is "yes" then I am enjoying the action required to attain my desire. There is no opposition and the desire will last.
So what do I want from soulforce?
Sanctuary, to provide and receive. Compassion, love, affirmation, humor, friendship, expansion of spiritual awareness, connection to others and spiritual energy.
What don't I want from Soulforce?---- wrong question!   |
Thank you Scotty for this thread!
So many thoughts come to mind, some of them quite practical in nature. Such as- I've been thinking recently about developing a business plan. I mean, let's face it, if you don't have an idea about where and what you want to be doing, nothing is going to happen, right?
What's you're saying seems very practical to me.
And there is another, more personal reason, why I find your perspective highly attractive. And it's this.
My experience with tinnitus has been a huge teacher for me. Has that been fun? No. But I've been learning (and am still learning) that to have a full and vibrant life, I have to- I should say for the sake of my sanity- MUST- focus on what I WANT in life. God knows, when you have a siren going off in your head you have to decide WHAT you are going to give your attention to. If you don't, you go freaking NUTS.
When my attention goes towards that which I want, and what helps others, what I am 'made' to do, the ringing receeds from my attention. The volume diminishes. And that's a very interesting thing. This tells me that the mind is a great deal more malleable than we might suppose. (My hope and prayer is that, with time and practice, my brain will learn to find less noisy highways to travel.)
And let's face it, we all have something we have to deal with, right?
I say use it. Whatever it is, let it teach us to become more open to love and light, to warmth and joy.
The Buddhist's call it Maitri.
Quote:
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Maitri: Kindness, benevolence, or goodwill, as in the disposition of a friend (Sanskrit, mitra). An important Buddhist virtue, maitri is to be cultivated towards all in a spirit of generosity which is free of attachment or thoughts of self-interest. As the first of the four Divine Abidings, maitri is practised as a meditational exercise by being directed first of all to oneself, then those close to one (such as friends and family), and then extended by stages to embrace all living beings.
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The point here is to take what seems unbearable and to use it as a way to find compassion for one's self and for others.
It's a lot better than sitting around whining about being a victim. And what a bore that is, to hear and become.
I bow to the light within you!