Sowing and Reaping: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success - Week Three

The Third Spiritual Law of Success is the Law of Karma, or Cause and Effect.

We've all heard the expressions, "What you sow, you reap," or, "What goes around comes around." The Law of Karma tells us that for every action there is a reaction. Or, as the great teacher Swami Vivekananda teaches: "... Our thoughts, our words and deeds are the threads of the net which we throw around ourselves."

When we are asked to make a choice, often the first thing we ask ourselves is, "What's in it for me?" We don't always stop and consider whether this is the best choice, not only for ourselves, but for any others who might also be affected by our decision. We also don't always listen to our intuition when we feel that little tug that is telling us we should stop and reconsider our choice. We let others, our culture, our peer group, tell us that to be one of the crowd we have to follow along with society's choices. Most of the time we are making our choices unconsciously. We've programmed ourselves to react like Pavlov's dog to the sound of the dinner bell. Then we wonder why we don't feel happy with the outcome, or find ourselves on the receiving end of a bad feeling or situation. Sometimes someone else is negatively affected by a choice that we have made without considering others in the decision making process.  This is the Law of Karma. For every choice we make, consciously or unconsciously, there is a result.

So, how can we make better choices? By taking the whole process from the unconscious to the conscious realm and becoming a witness to our choices. In this way we empower ourselves to make the best choices we possibly can and harm no one else as well.

The first thing we need to do when making a choice is to step back and actually witness our options. There is always more than one choice in any situation even when you think there is no way out. There is an infinity of choices available to us in every moment and we have only to slow down and be open to them. As you consider a choice, ask yourself: "What are the consequences for myself and others if I choose this action?" If the consequences bring no harm to you or others, move on to the second question: "Will this action bring happiness and/or fulfillment to me and others who may be affected by this choice?" Finally, check in with your body and ask yourself how this choice makes you feel. Do you feel happy, elated, content, peaceful? Or do you feel uncomfortable, unsure, agitated or have that knot-in-the-stomach reaction? At our very core is that place that knows what the right decision is in any given situation. Trust it. It's there for a reason, to guide and protect you.

In the beginning, you may find it difficult to catch yourself every time you make a choice. It took us a long time to allow ourselves to be on automatic pilot and it will take some time to take back control of the decision-making process, but if we make a commitment to train ourselves to be a witness to our choices,our lives will feel more peaceful and in harmony with the people and the world around us. Then we will find that the fruits of our karma are happiness and success.

And so it is.

The Door Swings Both Ways - Week Two of the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

The Second Spiritual Law of Success is the Law of Giving. It could also be called the Law of Giving and Receiving.

Just like a door that swings both ways, giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin. If it is true that the more we give, the more we receive, you'd think that everyone would be overflowing with all the good in their lives that they can handle. Yet, there are so many people who still find it so hard to receive. Why is that?

Somewhere in our lives, most probably in our childhood, we were told that it was better to give than to receive. Letting people give us things, even if it was just their time or help, was seen as a sign of weakness on our part: "I can do it myself, you don't have to do that, I'll be fine, that's not necessary." What we fail to realise is that by doing that, we stop the flow that is the energy contained in the flow of giving and receiving. It's like stopping the flow of blood. Our energy clots, stagnates. We deny ourselves the abundance that is our birthright.  We also deny the giver the joy they receiving by giving.

I know there are times when we don't allow ourselves to receive because we feel we are unable to reciprocate for whatever reason. We don't need to keep score. Giving and receiving isn't about money. Can you give someone a smile? A prayer? Your time? And can you be open enough to receive those same things from others? Can you walk out of your door each day and be grateful for the sunshine, or the sound of rain, or birdsong, or a flower? Can you look at a tree and thank it for doing its job of helping you breathe?

Why not set the intention that for the next week you will give something to everyone you meet in the course of the day, even if it is only a kind thought, a prayer for their well-being, or a smile, and that you will be open to receive the same from them. You will find that, not only will you become better at receiving, but eventually you will start to see how abundant you really are. In addition, you will be keeping the energy of abundance flowing in their lives as well. The more we are open to the Law of Giving and Receiving, the more abundance will flow into our lives.

And so it is.

"What If?" The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: Week One

Since the beginning of the new year, I have decided to pull out a book that I have worked with in the past and make it a part my daily practice again. The book is, "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" by Deepak Chopra. In it he lays out seven spiritual laws, one for each day of the week, that guide us through those things that are stopping us from living the life of our dreams, and fulfilling our purpose. I read one a day, but I thought it would be fun to take one each week for the next seven weeks and explore how each one can move our lives from where they are to where we aspire to be.

The First Spiritual Law of Success is the Law of Pure Potentiality. Did it ever occur to you that everything we see in the physical world came from someone asking themselves the question : "What if? " What if I could harness the power of an electrical storm and create electricity? What if I could invent a way for people to talk to each other over long distances? What if I could find a cure for polio? In the Law of Pure Potentiality we learn that everything in the Universe came from pure, consciousness ... "pure potentiality seeking expression from the unmanifest to the manifest."

Consider this: There is never only one way to do something or create something. If that were the case, we'd all be living in the same types of housing, driving the same types of cars, and eating the exact same kind of food. But we don't. There is an unlimited number of possibilities of how we can do something, or how, if we don't like what we do have, we can make something better. 

Take me, for example. I grew up in the era where good girls went to school, got a job out of high school, got married, had kids, etc, etc etc - you know the drill. Then some people came along and said, "not necessarily." People like Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan opened our eyes to other possibilities, and gave us the tools we needed to be the creators of our own lives. 

Here is another example. I am a writer. I have wanted to be a writer from the time I was 5 years old. However, even though I "moved around the edges" of being a writer, like writing copy for someone else, or doing a company newsletter, I firmly believed that real writers were the ones that had books sitting on book shelves in bookstores with their names on the spine and great reviews. I depended on some lowly junior editor somewhere to decide if my work was worth of being published. For all I knew, they were having a really bad day and I reminded them of their mother (who was the cause of their bad day). I gave my power to someone else. Then came the Internet and the world of self-publishing. At the age of 63 I started writing a blog, which became an ebook, which inspired a second ebook. The potential for me to be a writer, and call myself a writer, was always there. Someone had to ask the question: "What if we created a place where people can publish their own work without depending on the whims of the traditional publishing houses?" The potential was always there for that, too. Someone just had to first ask "What if?"

So how do we come up with those "What If?" ideas? We have to connect to our most authentic selves, that place of stillness and silence where we can hear our thoughts and the whispers of our souls. Yes, I'm talking about meditation. I am a firm believer in the powerful way that mediation can change our lives, and living proof that anybody can do it. It doesn't require special training, or equipment, or going to India to live in an ashram. What it does require is that we find the space and time to sit quietly, focus on the our breath flowing in and out, and, simply listen. Start with 10 minutes in the morning, right after you get up. Your mind is fresh from sleep and open. Ideally, see if you can work your way up to 30 minutes, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. However, the 5 or 10 minutes you do will certainly serve you better than the 30 minutes that you don't do. If you go to the Chopra website, you can find dozens of guided meditations you can download. You can also go to Davidji.com which is the website of the meditation teacher I currently follow and who taught me that you can meditate any time, anywhere. By the way, it took less than a year from the time I sat back down and committed to a daily meditation practice, to the time I started my blog and began to call myself a writer. 

Another way to connect to your spirit is to spend some time in nature. It can be a few minutes walking outside, watching birds fly overhead, sitting and listening to the rain, or anything that brings you in physical and spiritual contact with the natural world. 

Finally, tell yourself that for a specific amount of time, you are not going to judge anything or anyone. Yes, I know, that can be extremely difficult given the shape of the world today, but being judgemental clouds that connection between ourselves and our Source of Inspiration. Non-judgement creates silence in your mind, especially if the one you are judging is yourself. No one is perfect. Everyone is doing the best they can, from where they are, and with what they have. So are you. I don't suggest that you try this for a whole day at first. Try it for half the day, say from breakfast until lunch. Then check back in with yourself to see how you're doing. You can then give yourself from lunch until dinner, or until bedtime. Slowly work yourself up to a whole day and see what happens. 

Every day, when I sit down at my desk to write, I look up at a sign that is hanging over it: "I live and dwell in the totality of possibility." What can't I do with an affirmation like that? More importantly, what can you do with it? I'd love to hear what you create. If you dream it, you can create it, guaranteed!

And so it is. 

Standing In Our Power

" On a buffety, blustery early summer day, when the news was bad and the sky turned yellow, a strange thing happened in the town where I live."

So begins the story of one woman who felt the need to make a difference in the world, to take a stand for what she believed in. The story is contained in a story book for adults called, "The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering," by Sharon Mehdi. I first became aware of this book while sitting at work several years ago listening to a program on NPR radio as I entered endless pages of numbers into my computer. I was especially taken with the sub-title of the book: "A story for anyone who thinks she can't save the world." I won't go into the entire story because that would spoil the fun of reading it for yourself, and read it you should. The lesson contained within it's small covers had an unexpected and undeniable effect on me and how I live my life today. In a nutshell, someone's Grandmother decides that she is going to "stand for peace," and that is exactly what she does - she "stands" for peace. There is no noise, no protesting out loud, no chants and slogans, just one determined Grandmother standing up for what she believed in. What happens as a result of the belief that one woman, and an old woman at that, can change the world, even for one day, is a testament not only to the human spirit, but to the belief that anything is possible.

The idea that we are all capable of making lasting change in the world is a subject I am passionate about, especially as it pertains to the role of women of the Boomer Generation, who cut their youthful teeth on change and were in the forefront of social and national change in the 60's,70's and 80's(see my ebook, "Song Of An Extraordinary Life" available on Amazon). 

Today we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King and the legacy he left us. Of all the things I learned from him, learning to stand in my own power was probably the most important and one that has stayed with me these many years. I grew up in New York City. I attended public school in Queens where we shared our classrooms with children of all races, religions and ethnic backgrounds. It was just accepted. New York City was the shining example of The Great Melting Pot. Our friendships were never divided by race. That idea was severely put to the test as the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum. Suddenly it was not okay to have a friend of a different color. Our parents asked us not to bring "them" home from school because they were worried about what the neighbors would think. They started talking about things like "property values." But we kids knew better. We stood our ground. Nothing had changed the love and support we gave to each other and nothing would. If we couldn't go to each other's homes, we could meet at the park, or at the movies. We could offer each other our ears to listen to their fears, and our shoulders to lean on when it got too intense at home. We graduated together, one class, one heart, one school. It wasn't until years later, on the day Dr. King was shot, that our world finally crumbled and things were no longer the same. We had to fight tooth and nail to build it back up again and we are still building.

One person can change the world. One person can make a difference. You don't have to march, protest, or cause civil unrest. You can stand in your power. You can stand at the ballot box. You can stand with your wallets. You can stand in your truth. Your ripple will join with other ripples and collectively cover the earth. And Boomer Women need to be at the forefront again, using their years of wisdom and experience to show them how it's done. Look what we've already done - there is a grandmother running for President! Don't you believe for one minute that one determined Grandmother can't change the world. 

And so it is. 

Magic Seeds

While most folks are not fans of this time of the year, with all of the snow and cold, I see it as an opportunity to enjoy my two favorite winter pastimes: getting caught up on all those books I've been wanting to read and ... going through seed catalogues! What? Seeds? Like in gardening? "But it's January," you might say. To anyone who calls themselves a gardener, gardening does not begin in the spring and end in the fall. Gardening goes on all year, in our minds and imaginations if not actually in the dirt. It's like having a catalogue filled with dreams delivered to your door!

Taking that idea just a little further, what if we could order our dreams from a catalogue? Let's pretend, just for a moment, that we opened our mailbox to find a catalogue that only sold magic seeds, and that those seeds, when planted, nurtured and watered, would grow into anything we desired or could dream of. The only catch is that you are only allowed to order one packet of seeds. Now the big question: which dream are you going to plant?

Our intentions are like those seed packets. They are where dreams begin. If we plant them in good, healthy soil, give them water and attention, and keep them in good light, they bloom into the most amazing things. 

A word of caution here: sometimes, despite all our efforts, some seeds don't take root. It happens. It may be that the soil wasn't right, or they got too much or too little water, or they needed to be planted in a better location that received more daylight. So often we have an intention to create something but for some reason it just doesn't manifest. Perhaps the time wasn't right (soil), or we expected too much too soon (water), or maybe we need to re-examine our intention to see it in a better light - like asking ourselves why we wanted to do this in the first place. Sometimes when we come at an idea from a different perspective (a better location), we start to see the fruits of our labors right away. When our intentions come from a place of love, compassion, service and integrity, we can grow miracles. 

Today is a blustery, cold day outside, but I am quite warm and cozy inside with my cup of tea, my favorite fuzzy slippers and blanket, and a nice, fat seed catalogue on my lap waiting for me to open its pages and discover the magic inside. What kinds of magic seeds can you plant today?

And so it is.  

The Other Side Of The Coin

Quality rather than appearance,

Ethics rather than rules,

Integrity rather than domination,

Knowledge rather than achievement,

Serenity rather than acquisitions.

I cannot remember where I first saw those words (please, if you know the reference, let me know so that I can give it the credit it deserves). I only know that they became very important to me over this last year as I explored a whole new life in a new home. The location of my move (out in the country) and the decision to fully retire there left me with lots of time to explore my inner life as well as my outer life. As I spent my first winter surrounded by mounds of snow, hunkered down with my books and journals around me for guidance, I came across these words and somehow knew that they would be my guide for the year that followed. Today I am in a new and wonderful place both spiritually and emotionally, the woman that downsized her old life and built a better one. What better time than the start of another new year to take a look at these statements and see how making the time and space to look at "the other side of the coin." so to speak, can make a huge difference in how we live our lives.

Quality rather than appearance - I remember that every year right before the beginning of school in the fall, my mother would take us shopping for our new winter coats. Despite all of the begging we did to try and get her to purchase the latest styles and colors, my mother would always opt for something that was a better buy and would serve us better in the long run. Even if she had to spend a little more, she always taught us that it was worth it because "quality was more important than fashion." 

I now use that yardstick in my own life, not only with clothing purchases, but with day to day decisions. I especially took that advice to heart over the subject of eating and dieting. I know countless numbers of folks have listed losing weight as one of their top New Year's Resolutions, and I also know that countless numbers of them will have that resolution fall by the wayside before the month is over. So I have decided to apply this idea to how I take care of my body. I will eat what is healthy for me, not what the latest diet fad tells me. I will participate in exercise that gives me energy, is fun, and makes me feel good about myself. I will not judge my body by what size I am (or am not), but by how I feel. 

Ethics rather than rules - One of the most important teachers in my life, if not THE most important teacher, was Dr. Wayne Dyer. Of all the things he taught me, the one I remember most is this one: "if you have a choice between being right and being kind, always pick kind".  To me, that also means that just because our culture, or our families, or our friends, tell us that we need to follow the rules if we want to get ahead, it doesn't mean that they are right. My truth may not be the same as your truth, but my truth includes behaving in a way that does no harm to anyone in thought, word or deed. How society sees me has no influence over my decisions. The only one I have to answer to is the person I see in the mirror each morning.

Integrity rather than domination - So much of what is going on in the world today is a huge mirror image of what goes on, for the most part, everywhere, every day, only on a much larger stage. When did we decide that the only way to get what we want was at the expense of someone else? When did it become okay to belittle or demean someone to make ourselves feel better? When did we determine that in order to secure our own happiness, we had to make others lose theirs? I have always been a pro-peace/non-violence person, but when I decided to become a vegan, this idea became even clearer to me. In the morning, when I say my daily affirmations, I know that when I say, "I am whole and complete as I am," I am not only certain that this is true, but that no one else has had their integrity, or their lives, for that matter, taken away from them so that I could have mine intact. 

Knowledge rather than achievement - Of all the things that I have experienced in this last year, I think the knowledge and wisdom that have come to me has been more valuable than anything I could have achieved in the material world. I have learned so much about myself, both my strengths and my weaknesses, and about the world that I am free to create, one that allows me to grow and stretch my wings if I choose, but that also welcomes me and accepts me as I am. Perhaps the greatest piece of knowledge I uncovered was that, in every moment of every day, I have a choice. I can choose how I will spend that moment, how I will react to what is going on around me, and how I can adjust my response from a grievance to a blessing all on my own. 

Serenity rather than acquisitions - When I pared down my personal belongings in order to move from my large apartment to this tiny one, I knew that I wasn't really losing anything but, rather, I was gaining something I didn't have where I was - peace. When you have spent the last 15 years of  your life surrounded by the sounds of cars, trucks, buses, and the never ending sirens of police cars and fire engines, the idea of serenity can be like a beacon on a hill. No more cars driving by with their windows open wide and their radios booming at all hours of the day and night, and no more unwanted access to the arguments and TV preferences of the neighbors. What I actually got by letting go of my stuff, was the acquisition of my true self, the witness inside who was trying so hard to speak to me of what truly mattered, but who was drowned out by the cacophony of daily life. To be honest, after over a year, the only thing I miss that I got rid of was one book, and I replaced that one with an electronic version so it wouldn't take up any space. My inner space remains wide open to explore.

I wish you all a happy healthy New Year filled with a quality of life that allows you integrity, peace and the knowledge that who you are is enough. The rest is just stuff. 

And so it is. 

The Five Gifts of Christmas - Gift Five: The Gift of Choice

Ask any kid and they'll tell you that there is nothing worse than getting a new battery operated toy or electronic device for Christmas and then finding out that there are no batteries to power it up or charger to get it started. That's why this fifth and final Gift of Christmas was saved for last because it was meant to be the power source to charge the other four. This week I give you the Gift of Choice.

In each and every moment of our lives, in every area of our lives. we are free to choose which way to go, which decision is the right one, and which action will bring us what we want. Sometimes the choice we make does not turn out the way we wanted it to, or takes us somewhere we did not want to go necessarily. Often it allows us to take that first step in the direction of our dreams. The sad truth is that so many of us believe we don't have a choice, or that someone else holds that power over our lives: our spouses, our bosses, our children, anyone but us. I'm here to tell you flat out that isn't so. You, with a Capital "Y," have the power of choice, and that power can take you anywhere.

When you use the Gift of Choice, you are free to live a more mindful life (Gift One), keeping your focus and your attention on what is in front of you, living in the present moment, and knowing that it is filled with infinite possibility.

When you use the Gift of Choice, you wake up each day in awe (Gift Two) at the magic that is life: the sun keeps coming up regardless of what is going on in our lives, giving us the promise of a new day. The seasons follow one after the other, the leaves fall, the snow sleeps, and the spring awakens to new life without any interference or assistance from we humans. How awesome is that?

When you use the Gift of Choice, you are free to hope (Gift Three) for a better world, a better life and a determination to do what you can, from where you are, with what you have, to make that happen.

Finally, when you use the Gift of Choice, you are free to choose to receive the grace of your Creator (Gift Four) in gratitude and appreciation, and pay that forward in the way you live your life and deal with others, both family and friends as well as strangers you meet on the street. When you choose to receive grace with love and gratitude, the other choices you make will all come from that same place.

So plug that Gift of Choice in and watch the magic come to life. Let it lead you on a wonderful journey to a life of love, peace and joy. Whenever you feel your battery getting low, just plug it in again and let the spark jump start your life!

And so it is.