From Judgment to Compassion to Peace

I used to have a viscous inner critic, an loud, persistent voice constantly judging and assessing.

Then I discovered it wasn't my voice! It was the voice of parents, teachers and relatives whose fears and judgments I ingested as the truth when I was young. It was the fearful voices of others.

I had a choice: Continue allowing those voices to take up space in a very crowded inner apartment OR practice compassion for them, and the very young me who allowed them in, and invite them to leave.

Guess what I chose? You can too! And Peace was not far behind. Choose compassion so that you may have Peace.

Love,

Darlene

What you feed returns and grows!

A Buddhist monk tells a story of feeding wild animals that wandered into his village. He named them fear, anger, sadness and guilt. When he fed them certainty, righteousness and greed they returned and grew bolder, until one day they threatened his life, demanding more and more. In desperation the monk locked himself in his hut, remaining in solitude for a month until the animals went away.

Be careful what you feed! And know that Peace requires only Peace from you to grow and return.

Love,

Darlene
Ontological Coach

Gratefulness - a path to Peace!

Brother David Steindl-Rast makes this distinction between gratefulness and thankfulness: thankfulness is simply counting blessings, whereas gratefulness is embodied - by giving. Gratefulness occurs when our hearts are opened, moving us to generous action AND it can occur when there seems to be little for which to be grateful.

When we are deeply grateful for very little, when we are generous in the face of scarcity, this is the gift of an open heart. This is gratefulness. A great fullness. And this is a path to Peace.

Practice gratefulness today!

Taking back Mother's Day!

Did you know that Mother's Day was not a holiday invented by Hallmark to sell greeting cards? No, it was originally proposed as a day of Peace honoring women who had lost husbands and sons in the civil war.

This Sunday, May 9 I invite you to celebrate Mother's Day as a day of Peace. Check out www.ThePeaceAlliance.org and sign on to support several bills in congress to promote Peace internationally and in our inner cities.

This mother would appreciate it!

Love,

Darlene
Ontological Coach

Be the caterpillar!

It's spring and caterpillars are raining from the trees. I love to pick them up off the road and toss them gently into the brush. Then I imagine the human reaction to being lifted and tossed into the unknown - most likely screams of terror at the fear of oblivion!

A Peace practice today is to trust; what looks like impending doom may indeed be the giant forces of life saving you from being squished and loving you into a soft landing. You can't know until you land! O.k., you can scream if you think that helps!

Be the caterpillar!

Love,

Darlene
Ontological Coach
415 264-8507

Flip your switch!

Yes, in order to find Peace, your own light must be on.

You must "flip on your internal light switch" first, to shine a light on the Peace that's already out there and the Peace that's possible. And, not to get too tangled up in metaphors, your switch is your commitment!

Today imagine flipping on your commitment switch and walking around with your internal light glowing brightly enough to light the path for yourself AND OTHERS who don't know how to flip their switch :(.

This little light of yours.....da da da da dee dee! Let it shine!

Love you,

Darlene

Ontological Light Switch Coach
415 264-8507

Birthing Trust!

Brother David Steindl-Rast, OSB, offers a way to Peace.

He invites us to see birth as a process of moving into the unknown of life and TRUSTING, just as we did with our first birth; and to see that we have many birth opportunities, that life is an ongoing process of being born.

What Peace is available to you today if you reframe your life this way, holding it gently as an opportunity to trust and be born afresh into life?

I wonder.

Love,

Darlene