Tag Archives: gratitude
A body speaks its mind to free and heal you
I felt free for the first time in a long time today. Dr. Jodi Schwartz-Levy conducted a Somatic Therapy session for four practioners, and each walked away with all expectations met. And then some.
Remembering the Greatest Time of my Life
What does your first memorable kiss, and then scoring a break-away touchdown and opening to your Higher Self all have in common?
Miracle copies manifest at Philly VA Center
Does the Universe conspire to create minor miracles on a given day? Yes. But only if you believe in modern-day miracles.
Cat’s Meow: ‘Thank you, I Love you too!’
I’m a “Cat Person.” Always been as far back as I can remember. Grew up with the felines rubbing up against the legs, “meowing” their concerns for the next meal or a friendly pat on the head and neck.
Let the sun shine with all our appreciation
(Cont’d from Sun shines to make up for snowed in winter)
Sun Shines Bright with Only One Eye Opened
Sun shines to make up for snowed in winter
Played “peek-a-boo” with the sun and shade this morning. On the road from Ambler to Conshohocken, PA, I engaged Old Sol in a game the Almighty must have created for mankind’s appreciation. Why else would God — who caused the sun to come into being from some huge cosmic explosion — have invented shadows? It’s all part of His Love for us humans!
A Shower can Bless Me, if I but ‘Let Go’
Running water. Somebody designed a way to allow it to flow from a water way directly into our houses. And not just to one spot in my Conshohocken, PA, home, but at least four: the kitchen, two bathrooms and a spigot for hosing plants outdoors.
International greetings shared back home
Went “international” yesterday. Had breakfast near my home in Conshohocken and greeted 11 people from five countries as I “table-hopped” brandishing my All-American smile, learning you don’t have to travel the world to find your Self. The world can find you right where you live. If you open your heart.
Tibetan Singing Bowl aids a Goddess & Me
Kneeling on my knees, I hold the bowl out with one hand, while placing the other hand on the wooden floor, crawling from one side of the chair to another.
Buddha Guides Me thru VA PTSD Path
Possibly Cont’d from Trappist monk helps veteran ‘awaken’ me
Buddha came in the shape of a dark-haired, dark-skinned attractive yoga-practicing woman, smiling upon me in a dream.
Continue reading‘First Love Found’, never lost a Heartbeat
Orginally Cont’d From Love’s First Kiss) 12-2-09
What was it like to be a pre-teen, meeting a person who’d, maybe one day, be the Love of your Life?
Dream helps guide me back to Paradise
Originally Cont’d from Dream Reveals Key to Paradise 12-2-09
I Realized that I was in Paradise.
A new tutor learns a lesson from real life
I hope to start to tutor Natalka about the English language. And, at the same time, learn more of life than I ever could from any book.
Awakening from the Winter Storm of 2010
I slept in today. It was the third day in a row that my son was off school because of the great snowstorm of the Winter of 2010. How many of us can recall a time in our lives that school closed for three straight days due to snow?
Snow chore brings father closer to a son -2
Cont’d from Snow chore brings a father closer to his son
Removing snow was always a small challenge. But I prided myself on getting out of the house quickly and providing a safe route for pedestrians and our family cats and different dogs over the years to scamper in the rather expansive upper yard.
Snow chore brings father closer to a son -3
Con’td from Snow chore brings father closer to a son -2
Nick has completed a fourth of the shoveling that remained to be done by the time I go back outdoors. I’m refreshed following the digging out from our snowed-in house here on the u of the USA Wednesday. I now can walk the full length of the brick path.
Making Way Through Snow to a Chicken Coop
Just have to step onto 24-inch snow drifts another 20 to 25 feet to get to the door of the chicken coop and clear away the ground where the door will swing open. Don’t want to spill any of this chicken food I prepared inside our home. Afraid if I put it down, I’ll knock it over by stepping on it or swinging the door into it.
Slowly, I “brush” aside the snow, remove the long metal part bracing the door, then unlatch it. I see very little because of the darkness inside. It’s after 6 p.m. now. We started shoveling when it was still light out but lost the light as the minutes dropped off with each shovelful of snow.
Snow was so heavy in some places, that one of “durable” plastic shovels broke right off the handle. Will use the plastic as a heavy-duty dustpan come the next several seasons. I’ll use the wooden handle as a stake.
I walk inside the shed we converted into a chicken coop. All four of the fowl huddle together on a four-foot-high cage below the electric heater. I barely make out the rooster before hearing some clucking.
My Son Will Soon Complete the Snow Removal
I can feed them and not worry about digging the rest of the pathway, I begin to think. Nick will complete the rest of the task. And, I have enough confidence in him, that I know he’ll do a good job, and not cut corners.
After finishing feeding the birds and the “Cwazy Rabbit,” Nick and I look over our handy work, the snow removal. The falling snow has covered much of what we had just exposed. An hour or two later, we’ll look out the dining room window and see two more inches have fallen, covering the pathway we just dug.
Stuck inside the house while Winter howls outside, we watched two movies together. Looked at pictures taken of Nick when he played in the worst snow storm of the century, the “Winter of ’96,” (that was the ‘Twentieth Century,’ remember 1996?) and I can’t help but feel grateful that it has taken an act of Mother Nature to bring my son and I so closer together. As family. As friends. As loved ones.
Beginning of story:
Snow chore brings a father closer to his son
‘Love you Take’ Equals the ‘Love you Make’
My head slowly rises, as my breathing gets deeper and deeper, and meditation washes over me like the caress from a gentle, loving caregiver. Can’t focus on the movement. Don’t want to detract from this feeling of bliss where there’s no concerns, no worries, no thoughts.
Being ‘in the moment’ beats being ‘on time’
A vehicle knocked a utility pole to the ground Tuesday morning, causing an accident that pulled down “live wires” and tied up the north side of Conshohocken, PA, the entire day.
Meditation Energizes a Meet-Up Group
The 11-year-old boy misses the shot on the basketball court, and the coach takes him out of the game, benching him in full view of family and friends who came to watch the group of youngsters play Thursday.
Steroids Pushed as Far as the Eye can See
I’m hooked on steroids. And no matter what I do, my doctor won’t let me get off of them.
Can Eye Movement Still a Body or a Mind?
I can see!
Just a little. A small section at the top of my eye. Through the peripheral vision of my left eye.
Seeing is believing in ‘letting go’ process
Where are those spectacles? I carried them with me for nearly two weeks. Kept them in my jacket pocket, the right pocket all this time. Now that I need them, they’re gone.
‘Les We Forget’ names called our soldiers
No one’s ever called me “baby-killer.”
I never was “spit on” upon returning home to the United States following a year at war in Vietnam.
And, while friends and co-workers I met through the years may have thought it, none have said to my face they believed I was one of those “Crazed Vietnam Veterans.”
Common Sparrow flies as high as he dares
(Part IV in Totem Series, cont’d from ‘Common’ Ground )
To become as “Common” as an Ordinary Sparrow, does not sound like much of an aspiration.
Joy Found in Everyday ‘Common’ Ground
Part III in totem series (Hawk, tiger & sparrow)
There’s nothing quite as common as a cracker, one of those Saltines, that is . . .
Hawk, Tiger & Sparrow send Wake-up Call
Part I in the Totem Series
Three animal totems appeared to me in the past few days, and I am putting the world on notice, that I plan to pay attention to what messages might be coming my way.
Eye still on the 30-day writing finish line
Surgery was completed on eye yesterday. I have to return today for an exam. Boy, am I drowsy.
Have had to urinate constantly. May have to cancel afternoon meeting to learn how to be “calm” and find “peace.” It’s a free workshop, and if you know anything about me, you’d know I can’t stand to pass up anything that’s free.
Continue reading
Yucky moment leads to ease of suffering
Ever have one of those “yucky” moments? Like, when you put your hand in a box, feeling around for some specific item only to come upon something gooey, wet and, of course “yucky.”
A ‘Post A Day’ Brings You Peace ‘All’ Day
When I started posting these ‘Thirty-Seven Bodhisattva Practices’, I never thought the mere act of compiling them could bring so much meaning to my life. Kinda feel like one of those bald-headed monks living in a cloistered society copying ancient words of wisdom so that others could learn to live life better.
Eye surgery burns the bravest resolve
I prayed I wouldn’t show any fear, but I did. I couldn’t help it. I pulled my head away from the laser burning into my eye like a mare pulling away from a wrangler trying to break in a unridden horse.
Bubble battles detached retina’s blinding
A green wrist band announces to a Good Samaritan that, should I fall ill or be rescued from some accident, that I have a “Bubble” in my eye.
‘Letting go’ provides a better ‘vision’ in life
Psychedelic green bursts of light pulse across my eye. It’s like a strobe light flashing over and over, as I “see” a colorful cascade of a lime green pigment appear before me as if it’s penetrating the eyeball itself.
Highly Sensitive People get Highest Grade
I feel I have just awakened from a dream. I see a mother, a father, as well as a brother and sister smiling at me. Each one is new to me. Each is the member of a family I have wanted to belong to all my life.
Can’t A Guy Get A Break Around Here?
What am I doing with this wet rag in my hand? The woman at the meeting hall gave it to me, told me to “wipe down” some wooden box up on a stage with others cleaning and organizing for this Buddhist “event.”
My ‘Right Speech’ May Have Wronged You
You did it again, Michael.
Women Know the Help Boys Need in War
1917 – “Through a Glass Darkly” Continue reading
Macho man marvels at mistaken miss
I’ve been shooting the bull the past several weeks with JhanaJian, of whom I thought was this “Asian guy” from Vietnam.
Turns out I was wrong. Dead wrong about everything I thought I knew about JhanaJian.
Flowers still Brighten Up my New ‘Home’
A spectacular combination of yellow and purple graced my eyes as I traveled yesterday to America’s first home, the City of Brotherly Love, in Philadelphia. There, on a counter with cups and a large “coffee” pot with hot water for my tea-toddling friend, were a bunch of flowers that greeted everyone and spiced up a small corner of the room at the Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia.
Gratitude Given Freely Can Grow on You
Want to feel good? Pick out five things each day to show your gratitude. Write ’em down. But, don’t try to fake it. You really gotta look for some thing in your life, some person, some reason that, deep down inside, you can say “makes me grateful.”
That’s a message I got from a fellow named Bill Stauffer who addressed a group of like-minded people who were seeking some spiritual insights this morning. Continue reading
Love’s ‘First Kiss’ Lasts . . . For Ever More
Thanks for a Path that Preserved my Life
Ever wonder what life would have been like if you made different choices years earlier?
Choosing a Different Path May Have Hurt You
I was 19 when I felt “separated” from most of the people I hung out with and called friends. I wanted to be so much like them; not to care about such things as “love,” “compassion,” other people’s “feelings.” That was “sissy” stuff; stuff that only a “wuss” would think about. I saw these aspects of myself as a “weakness.“
— Why Must This Path Purt So Much? —
Pain: What Good Is It?
Sometimes, it works. But sometimes it tears into my psyche, bringing with it a fear that this discomfort, this thorn will continue to haunt me, raising its head more and more as I feel the aging process more keenly and with it, an unwanted sense of my mortality, my deterioration and the inevitable end that I will someday meet. When the pain increases and I can’t steer my mind away from it, I know deep inside that the end is not so very far away!
Veterans find joy in their own backyards
You can’t know how much pleasure there is in feeding a squirrel until you open yourself to the wonders of nature . . . and of course . . . feed a squirrel . . . daily.
Contoveros 