What would it take for you to be a Servant of Peace? Pema Chodron writes about this from a Buddhist perspective in her book "When Things Fall Apart", which I highly, again, recommend! She says "we don't set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to REFLECT ON HOW OUR ACTIONS AFFECT OTHER PEOPLE'S HEARTS!"
My invitation this Peace Tuesday is to wonder how your actions affect, not just others, but other's hearts. The operative word here is WONDER! When we wonder we are curious, unattached, noticing. There is no blame or guilt because those ways of being actually stop us from looking deeply at our own actions.
So, today please wonder how you affect others hearts and notice how others affect your heart. How could you serve Peace today by lovingly touching the heart of a "stranger"!
Love,
Darlene
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
How Fascinating!
How fascinating! That's my response to the wackiness of the financial markets these days. There doesn't appear to be much Peace there. And the goofiness, the uncertainty of it can easily spread like a virus, eating away at your heart and soul if you let it.
There are probably many secrets to sailing Peacefully through these rough seas. There are two first things to do here: the first is to create financial integrity for yourself. That means simply to begin living within your means and save for a rainy day. The other first is to be even more intentional about bringing Peace into your life by focusing on who you can be in the face of all of this turmoil. One way to see who you are, or who you can be, is to see who you are not. For that I have a book recommendation; There is Nothing Wrong With You by Cheri Huber, who says all of life is a choice. We can choose to feel constantly tossed and turned by forces beyond our control OR "we can live our lives seeing how everything works (which means seeing the perfection in everything and anything that happens). When we step back and look at it that way, it is obvious that an attitude of fascination is the only intelligent (I would add Peaceful) one to bring to anything."
So, go be fascinated today and be at Peace!
Love,
Darlene
There are probably many secrets to sailing Peacefully through these rough seas. There are two first things to do here: the first is to create financial integrity for yourself. That means simply to begin living within your means and save for a rainy day. The other first is to be even more intentional about bringing Peace into your life by focusing on who you can be in the face of all of this turmoil. One way to see who you are, or who you can be, is to see who you are not. For that I have a book recommendation; There is Nothing Wrong With You by Cheri Huber, who says all of life is a choice. We can choose to feel constantly tossed and turned by forces beyond our control OR "we can live our lives seeing how everything works (which means seeing the perfection in everything and anything that happens). When we step back and look at it that way, it is obvious that an attitude of fascination is the only intelligent (I would add Peaceful) one to bring to anything."
So, go be fascinated today and be at Peace!
Love,
Darlene
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Make a request for Peace!
It's Peace Tuesday and I request that you take 5 minutes to focus on Peace in someway today. For those of you new to this blog, please go to www.PeaceTuesday.blogspot.com, then scroll to my first entry which explains why I'm blogging for Peace.
Notice that this is a request. You have the choice to say "yes", "no" or negotiate with me! And, what's really lovely about it, is that my request is one way to create Peace. It shifts my focus from complaining about "how people aren't peaceful", and turns it into something powerful: a request for people to be Peaceful!
Someone I love and admire reminded me this week that complaints are in the way of Peace. And I know that "anything that isn't Peace (or is in the way of Peace) is an opportunity to create Peace out of it", according to Helen Keller! So, the Peace practice I have for you today is to notice yourself complaining, either in you thoughts or out loud. Simply notice and see if you can discern the request in your complaint. If you can't, ask someone else if they can see it, knowing that there may be several. When you find a request, look to see how you can make the request. If it takes some courage to make the request, consider this another opportunity for growth. Make the request and give the other person permission to say "yes", "no" or negotiate.
I am always surprised by the number of "yes's" I get! So, please turn your complaints into request today and create Peace on the planet.
Love,
Darlene
Notice that this is a request. You have the choice to say "yes", "no" or negotiate with me! And, what's really lovely about it, is that my request is one way to create Peace. It shifts my focus from complaining about "how people aren't peaceful", and turns it into something powerful: a request for people to be Peaceful!
Someone I love and admire reminded me this week that complaints are in the way of Peace. And I know that "anything that isn't Peace (or is in the way of Peace) is an opportunity to create Peace out of it", according to Helen Keller! So, the Peace practice I have for you today is to notice yourself complaining, either in you thoughts or out loud. Simply notice and see if you can discern the request in your complaint. If you can't, ask someone else if they can see it, knowing that there may be several. When you find a request, look to see how you can make the request. If it takes some courage to make the request, consider this another opportunity for growth. Make the request and give the other person permission to say "yes", "no" or negotiate.
I am always surprised by the number of "yes's" I get! So, please turn your complaints into request today and create Peace on the planet.
Love,
Darlene
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Mahalo! It's Peace Tuesday!
Yes it is! How will you celebrate Peace today?
I celebrated Peace all week last week while I vacationed in Maui. Which is why, just in case you missed it, you did not receive a Peace Tuesday blog. Several readers thought something was wrong. And really, everything was quite perfect. Which suggests the following Peace Tuesday practice.
Today, whenever you don't know why something is happening or not happening (traffic comes to a halt, someone doesn't call you or misses an appointment), or whenever your expectations aren't met and you don't know why, NOTICE WHAT YOUR BRAIN DOES! Many folks assume the worst. I used to do this "in order to not be devastated when the worst happens"! But that HABIT of assuming the worst kept me in a constant state of turmoil, vigilance and worry. Not too Peaceful that! It was such an all consuming habit for me that my husband began to refer to it as "wasting a worry" when my fear about the unknown turned out not to be true - which was most of the time. "There goes Darlene, wasting another worry", he'd say!
So, this Peace Tuesday, practice catching yourself assuming the worst. Then choose another, more empowering and Peaceful interpretation about what's happening. Write this new interpretation down, and imagine fully what this possibility looks like. Remember it whenever you catch yourself worrying.
I highly recommend reading any of Byron Katie's books for a more in depth look at learning to think more Peacefully. Byron Katie says, "Reality is always kinder than the story we tell ourselves." How true!
Love and Mahalo,
Darlene
I celebrated Peace all week last week while I vacationed in Maui. Which is why, just in case you missed it, you did not receive a Peace Tuesday blog. Several readers thought something was wrong. And really, everything was quite perfect. Which suggests the following Peace Tuesday practice.
Today, whenever you don't know why something is happening or not happening (traffic comes to a halt, someone doesn't call you or misses an appointment), or whenever your expectations aren't met and you don't know why, NOTICE WHAT YOUR BRAIN DOES! Many folks assume the worst. I used to do this "in order to not be devastated when the worst happens"! But that HABIT of assuming the worst kept me in a constant state of turmoil, vigilance and worry. Not too Peaceful that! It was such an all consuming habit for me that my husband began to refer to it as "wasting a worry" when my fear about the unknown turned out not to be true - which was most of the time. "There goes Darlene, wasting another worry", he'd say!
So, this Peace Tuesday, practice catching yourself assuming the worst. Then choose another, more empowering and Peaceful interpretation about what's happening. Write this new interpretation down, and imagine fully what this possibility looks like. Remember it whenever you catch yourself worrying.
I highly recommend reading any of Byron Katie's books for a more in depth look at learning to think more Peacefully. Byron Katie says, "Reality is always kinder than the story we tell ourselves." How true!
Love and Mahalo,
Darlene
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
