Touchpoints to Wholeness » Food for Thought

Thoughts on Letting Go (of Expectations)

Louise — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:30:08 +0000

“The greatest loss of time is delay and expectation, which depend upon the future. We let go the present, which we have in our power, and look forward to that which depends upon chance, and so relinquish a certainty for an uncertainty.” — Seneca

“Never think that God’s delays are God’s denials. Hold on; hold fast; hold out. Patience is genius.” — Comte de Buffon

“Don’t be discouraged by a failure. It can be a positive experience. Failure is, in a sense, the highway to success, inasmuch as every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true, and every fresh experience points out some form of error which we shall afterwards carefully avoid..” –John Keats

“I define attachment as an inordinate need to have something occur in a specific way, at a specific time, in a specific sequence, etc. and/or an inability to let go of that which no longer serves. We may become attached to unhealthy habits, rigid mindsets, negative thinking, defense strategies, projected schedules, our own plans vs. the plan of Spirit, the first idea vs. the best idea, etc.” — Neva Howell, The Moon Lodge Visions Handbook

Thoughts on Confidence

Louise — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:30:27 +0000

“Confidence on the outside begins by living with integrity on the inside.” — Brian Tracy

“Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.” — Samuel Johnson

Having once decided to achieve a certain task, achieve it at all costs of tedium and distaste. The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labor is immense. — Arnold Bennett

“If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the universe against me.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.” — Joe Namath

Steps to Happiness

Louise — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:29:22 +0000

This poem by an unknown author is an extremely simple (although not easy!) guide for achieving happiness in this lifetime!

Everybody Knows,
You can’t be all things to all people.
You can’t do all things at once.
You can’t do all things equally well.
You can’t do all things better than everyone else.
Your humanity is showing just like everyone else’s.

So,
You have to find out who you are, and be that.
You have to decide what comes first, and do that.
You have to discover your strengths, and use them.
You have to learn not to compete with others, because no one else is in the contest of “being you”.

Then,
You will have learned to accept your own uniqueness.
You will have learned to set priorities and make decisions.
You will have learned to live with your limitations.
You will have learned to give yourself the respect that is due.
And you’ll be a most vital mortal.

Dare to Believe,
That you are a wonderful, unique person.
That you are a once-in all history event.
That it’s more than a right, it’s your duty, to be who you are.
That life is not a problem to solve, but a gift to cherish.
And you’ll be able to stay one up on what used to get you down.

Thoughts on Creativity 2

Louise — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:30:15 +0000

“Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by orginality, overcomes everything” — George Lois

“Creativity is a drug I cannot live without.” — Cecil B. DeMille

“We must accept that this creative pulse within us is God’s creative pulse itself.” — Joseph Chilton Pearce

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.” — Carl Jung

“Creative work is play. It is free speculation using materials of one’s chosen form.” — Stephen Nachmanovitch

Native American Code of Ethics

Louise — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:30:19 +0000

There is much beauty and wisdom in this Native American Code of Ethics, originally published in the “Inter-Tribal Times,” October, 1994

1. Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often. The Great Spirit will listen, if you only speak.

2. Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path. Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance.

3. Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.

4. Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with respect and honor.

5. Do not take what is not yours whether from a person, a community, the wilderness or from a culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours.

6. Respect all things that are placed upon this earth – whether it be people or plant.

7. Honor other people’s thoughts, wishes and words. Never interrupt another or mock or rudely mimic them. Allow each person the right to personal expression.

8. Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative energy that you put out into the universe will multiply when it returns to you.

9. All persons make mistakes. And all mistakes can be forgiven.

10. Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind, body and spirit. Practice optimism.

11. Nature is not FOR us, it is a PART of us. They are part of your worldly family.

12. Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life’s lessons. When they are grown, give them space to grow.

13. Avoid hurting the hearts of others. The poison of your pain will return to you.

14. Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the test of ones will within this universe.

15. Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual self, Emotional self, and Physical self – all need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails.

16. Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions.

17. Respect the privacy and personal space of others. Do not touch the personal property of others – especially sacred and religious objects. This is forbidden.

18. Be true to yourself first. You cannot nurture and help others if you cannot nurture and help yourself first.

19. Respect others religious beliefs. Do not force your belief on others.

20. Share your good fortune with others. Participate in charity.

Thoughts on Independence

Louise — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:43:28 +0000

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it. — Thomas Paine

Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die. — Dwight D. Eisenhower

In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved. — Franklin D. Roosevelt

Those who won our independence believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty. — Louis D. Brandeis

We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. — William Faulkner

Creativity is Alive & Well & Being Supported by AT&T

Louise — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 12:29:48 +0000

I don’t know if you’ve seen these AT&T ads before, but they’re worth a revisit if you haven’t! Apparently they came out in the fall of 2009, although I only saw them recently when my friend Cathy Cohen sent them to me.

They all contain 2 things: 1 telephone and hands (maybe 1, maybe multiple, maybe tons) and each one represents a country AT&T does business in.

Take your time. They’re all worth an ‘enlarge this picture’ look. Enjoy!

AT&T Ads on Flickr

Thoughts on Responsibility

Louise — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:33:13 +0000

“Character – the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life – is the source from which self respect springs.” — Joan Didion

“To decide, to be at the level of choice, is to take responsibility for your life and to be in control of your life.” — Abbie M. Dale

“Responsibility by definition means answerable or accountable for. And what is a person responsible for? Everything he thinks, says or does. Why? Because no matter what or whom one can blame for the circumstances of his life, he is still stuck with the consequences of everything he thinks, says or does. People can be terribly unreliable but never irresponsible. Thus there is no way a person can be irresponsible because everyone is answerable or accountable for everything he thinks, say or does, does not do or neglects to do. Until people fully realize that they are totally responsible for their lives, we as a society collectively will be operating under a false and distorted assumption of what responsibility means.” — Sidney Madwed

“It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.” – W. Somerset Maugham

“Acceptance is such an important commodity, some have called it “the first law of personal growth.” — Peter McWilliams

Friday Morning Laugh

Louise — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:30:28 +0000

Watch the The Jim Beam Tree video.

You’ll only be able to understand what the guy is saying if you understand French. But this video will make you laugh in any language!

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. What a great way to start the weekend.

—————————
The info I received from my friend Cathy Cohen:

This is a real video from a French documentary about Africa . You probably won’t understand a word, but the video is a Hoot.

There are trees that grow in Africa which, once a year, produce very juicy fruit that contains a large percentage of alcohol. Because there is a shortage of water, as soon as the fruits are ripe, Animals come there to help protect themselves from the Heat.

What happens next, you can watch for yourselves.

This is called the Marula Tree, also known as the elephant tree and is indigenous to the southern latitudes of subequatorial Africa . The wild tree, never cultivated by man, bears small yellow fruit in great profusion – a wild fruit from nature that mixes harmoniously with fresh cream and those who know, drink the wonderful creamy liquor called Amarula!!

Thoughts on Best Self

Louise — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:29:01 +0000

“Man’s main task in life is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is.” – Erich Fromm

“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” — Foster C. McClellan

“There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.” — Christopher Morley

“Man is asked to make of himself what he is supposed to become to fulfill his destiny.” — Paul Tillich