NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP

What is the last thing you think about when you go to bed to get some rest? I sure hope it is something positive. I have heard it said that what our last thoughts are before bedtime is what we awaken to the next morning. If that is true then it is no wonder why so many of us struggle each day. If we are having thoughts about what we have to do, or what we have to face up to, then our sleep will not be quite as peaceful as they could be. If we are worried about something in the future instead of focusing on the NOW moment I can see trouble just waiting to happen. Here is the thing as I see it. If we can truly relax before hitting that bed and focus on all the "good" stuff in our lives, then our sleep will probably be peaceful. As human beings it is tough to keep our inner most thoughts on love, peace, and joy when we are struggling in any area of our lives. The more one thinks about all the "bad" stuff in our world the more our subconscious keeps on giving us more of the same. I would like to share with you the way I try to make sure I get a restful and peaceful sleep. When I lay down I take a few moments to just relax my body and my mind. This is not always simple to do because like most of us there are a lot of things of a negative nature going on in my subconscious and conscious mind. I usually use some kind of meditation technique to relax and to clear my mind of all the garbage that have made their way to my mind. Once I am relaxed I then just give thanks to the Great Spirit for allowing me to be alive in this 3D world. I don't ask for anything because I know that Spirit already knows what I need. I only express gratitude. I also go back in my mind of the day just past and think of all it entailed. Did I do anything that hurt another? Did I do my very best in sharing unconditional love with everyone? Did I smile a lot? Did I say hello to others I met on the street? Did I hold that door open for another? Did my deeds hurt anyone's feelings? Did I accept the best not only for myself but others as well? And if I do remember something I said or did that affected anyone in a negative way I make sure I try to not repeat that mistake tomorrow. I try my best to be brutally honest with myself as I ask these questions. And if I think anyone has offended me instead of cursing them I try to see why I allowed them to do so. After these questions I then just allow my mind to quiet itself and I focus on the changes I would like to see in this world. And what I can do to help with that healing. Usually this helps me to sleep better and also to forgive myself for any misdeeds I may have done today. I make lots of mistakes along the way of this life but I work diligently every day to try and improve on the way my life is going. Do I always sleep soundly and restful? No, not always since for some reason I have to deal with night terrors very often in my dreams. Probably some of that is due to the medications I have to take for physical pain. But with everything else aside I can assure you I go to sleep with a "clean" slate for tomorrow. I believe all of us should take a real hard look at ourselves every night and see if we are doing all we can to help this world be one of peace and happiness for all. I'm just one man and know I can't solve all the problems but I also realize I can make myself a better human being. And if even one life has been made easier by me being here then I have succeeded. (Thank you Ralph Waldo Emerson) May all of us begin right now to do any thing we can to assist in healing the world. One step at a time, one person at a time. Working together we can make a difference! My hope is that you join us on the path of learning how to love. I will be leaving for a couple of weeks to see our kids and grandkids so I may not be posting until we return home. But be assured all of you will remain with me in my heart until we meet again. Take this moment. Enjoy it! Embrace it! Love it! Try to do a random act of kindness for someone and I'm sure at the end of the day you will feel better about yourself. And with that you may just enjoy your best night of sleep in a while! I leave you now with thoughts of perfect love, perfect peace, and perfect joy.

THE ILLUSION OF FEAR

Have you ever felt afraid? Experienced fear at its deepest level? Probably so, unless you are either brain dead or highly experienced at dealing with fear. We humans are made in a  way that fear can either serve us well or make prisoners out of us. Personally, I think is only an illusion brought about by the lack of peaceful and loving thoughts. Don't get me wrong, I still have bouts of fear quite often. But I am learning to deal with it in a positive way. Today I want to share with you a bit of the short story I wrote many years ago. I never got around to getting it published but I still feel it is relevant in todays world. I titled this work of mine, Illusions and Paradox. I hope you get some good from it. And if even one person finds a little "truth" in it then my work has been a success.




Here is another way of looking at fear. Let's say you are fearful of something or the other. Then one sunny day you are forced to face your fear head on. An example:  Let's say you have always had a deep seated fear of camels. You don't quite know why. Just say it is because you are intimidated by any strange looking animal who smells funny and has a hump or two on its back. Maybe it is an irrational fear but a real fear nevertheless. Now just suppose you go out for an early morning walk and by some strange twist of fate you wind up in the middle of a barren desert. About noontime you are so tired and hot you begin to hallucinate. Maybe you see naked dancing women or Ed McMahon holding a check for ten million dollars made out to you. Even though you like these scenarios you know the sun is frying your brain big time and the end as you know it is quickly approaching. It is either get out of this desert and head for a cold beer, or go off with Ed and see why it took him so long to get you that check you have dreamed about all these years. Then all at once you spot this dirty, smelly, old two humped camel. Too tired to run or get away you are now forced to face one of your biggest fears. With caution you climb aboard this old ship of the desert. Then he quickly takes you back home. Now sitting in front of your television and sipping on that cold beer, you find you suddenly have a very warm spot in your heart for not only your life saving camel but also for all the old hump backed camels in the world. Then you realize your fear of camels are gone, completely erased from your memory bank. You have faced your fears and it is no longer a deep seeded fear. How about that! So was the fear real? Or just an illusion? Think about it! I could go on with more examples of facing your fears. But I won't. The one I did use probably seems a little far-fetched to you but I used it in hopes of showing how our fears are really a little silly at times. But hopefully I made you think a little bit. Now it is up to you to replace the camel with your own fear and face up to it. Try this and see what happens. Go ahead, give it a try as silly as it may sound. Maybe one of these days you will find that all your fears are not really fears at all. They are just the fragments of an under explained mind. To sum up the paradox of fear---there is no such thing as fear but we must experience fear to overcome it. To overcome fear it must be real but after getting past it we find it wasn't really a fear at all. Now, there's a paradox for you! Hey I'd better stop before I confuse myself!




You may think I'm crazy, you may think I'm on to something. Then again you may not think anything. And you know what? That's ok too. Hope you enjoyed reading a little bit of the stuff that I think about. Once again I remind you that this stuff is only my "truth". Follow me and we'd both probably get lost! But I sincerely hope each of you are able to face your fears before they have a chance to be a real problem. Today just give love, accept love, and be love. Love yourself and others even more. A much better world awaits all of us. Please join me in dreaming of a world that is filled with only love for everyone. No fear, no hate(which is fear), no prejudice nothing but love. May we all keep on dreaming until those dreams come true. I leave all of you with thoughts of perfect love, peace, and joy.

COMPLETING THE CIRCLE

I once found myself a little boy, later I found myself to be a man
I once found myself having a dream, later I found myself as the dream
I then found myself to be a man, now I find myself a child
I then found myself the dream, now I find myself the dreamer.




Love is all you need Love is all you need!
I keep on dreaming of a better world somewhere
I now find myself in that better world
And once again I will find the world I now reside in.




To all of you wonderful folks out there I give you my love,
I give you all that I am. May all of you be filled with inner peace, joy, and wisdom.
If you can, do something nice for another human being today. And that would mean you have done something nice for yourself!  May all of us relearn that love is all there truly is! Thank you Great Spirit for being in each of us at every moment!