Acorns to Oaks

You ever wondered how a big majestic oak tree could be made froma really small acorn? Or how any seed can be planted and with proper nourishment it will grow into exactly what it is supposed to be. Its like magic as I see it. How can a little seed produce the crops we eat? All it takes after being planted is some water, some sunshine, and often times some loving care and it will ALWAYS manifest as it is supposed to. It cannot become anything else other than its inherent consciousness. Im amazed by all this stuff myself and think about it often.And when I turn my thoughts to my own inherent consciousness I am remined of who I am and where I have come from and where I am going. At least I hope I know all this. One thing I do know for sure is that everything comes from the ONE SOURCE and by natural law it will return to that source at its proper time. This same POWER that puts within the small acorn that process to turn it into the beautiful oak tree, is the very same Power that makes me and runs through my every cell atom and molecule. And that truth is the same for all of us. Thats the way I see it and even if Im wrong it doesnt really matter because in the proper time I will again return to the dust of the earth and my newest journey will begin. I hope that you can feel this power that runs through your being right now and that you can connect your consciouosness to this power and that in turn should fill your soul with great awe and wonder. Just knowing that you are part of this great Intelligence that I choose to call Spirit should inspire you to want to become the best human being you can possibly be. Take care my dear friends and remember you are already a hero just for being here on earth. God bless all of you!

JUST SAYING HELLO

I wanted to say hi to everyone and see how things were with all of you. We just got back from a weeks stay in Destin Florida and Im still trying to catch up with things. Ive missed you all while I was gone and hope that all of you have had a great week. I will be posting again as I find the time. May God bless you and yours now and always.

ONENESS

Today I would like to express my thoughts and beliefs on unity or oneness since I do believe that all of us are "one". By that I mean I feel all of us have come into being from the ONE SOURCE of everything. That Source is what lots of folks call God or any other name they feel comfortable with. I prefer to use the term Spirit or Universal Mind simply because the word God seems to mean so many different things to so many different people. And wehn you mention God most folks take that as something religious. Not that I have anything against religion but I feel religion only goes so far in helping one to find their meaning in life.But geting back to the point of us all being One I cant seem to imagine it being any other way. I know we all come from different backgrounds, different races, and differnet places in the world but I feel we are all spiritual beings who have incarnated into this 3 dimensional plane to experience our personal spiritual growth. And sine I believe we are all one that is why I cant understand why we treat each other so horribly at times. When we attack another we are only attacking ourselves at the same time.If we could all just live as if we all were brothers and sisters we could quickly put an end to the absurdities of life. As the late great John Lennon once said in song"Imagine all the people living life in peace" --Now thats a really nice thought. Anyway I am trying to live my life by treating everyone as if they are "one" with me and I hope more of the worlds people will begin to do the same. I will leave you with the following 2 quotes--The first is from Swami Vivekananda He says "All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything." And from the Science of Mind Textbook comes the following thought--No false sense of seperation can come between people, nor disturb the realization of the unity of all life. I wish all of you continued happiness and joy in all you do.God bless you and yours now and always!

SADNESS

It is with a heavy heart I find myself this moment. I have just found out that one of my friends here at Blogger has just lost a dear friend due to a car accident. My friend spoke so highly of the young man I felt a terrible loss to this world by his passing.I know all I can do is keep all of the people affected by this horrible accident in my thoughts and prayers. And this also serves to remind me of just how fragile our time on this earth really is. Ive been blessed to be here for over 50 years and then again here is this young man in his teens already taken from us.If wecould all only keep in mind of how quick our loved ones can be taken from us in one swift moment maybe then we would be quicker to forgive and more eager to tell our loved ones just how much they mean to us. Do it now before its too late--tell everyone you love them. Tomorrow could be just too late. Take care my friends. I love you all!

STRESS--LIFE'S GREATEST THIEF OF HAPPINESS

I really really do hope and pray that all of you wonderful folks find yourselves feeling great and being happy. A lot of you are enjoying an extra day off from work and planning a big day for tomorrows celebration. I believe that for anyone to be really happy they have to become stress free and that is a monumental achievement for many of us.You all know just how stressful this life can be at any given time. You can have a great day going and just one act or comment from someone can totally ruin it for you. There is stress in the workplace, in the schoolroom, on the golf course, at the beach or any where else one may find themselves. And stress can come from the most unexpected sources and at the worst times ever. It seems to be everywhere and it will find you sooner or later probably sooner. And sad to say but the ones we love the most can be the ones that apply this stress into our lives. Stress affects us in many unhealthy ways. It makes our blood pressure go up, it causes us to not be able to get a good nights sleep, it affects our digestion system, it causes us to make bad choices etc etc. Personally, I believe that stress is the biggest problem that any of us will have to endure from time to time. Fortunately there are many different ways to deal with stress. I choose to use meditation, taking a long walk in the woods, and just becoming aware that the stress will eventually pass and I will still have lots of loved ones who care about me.Just counting my many blessings always helps. I sincerely hope that all of you can and will find a good way to deal with your stress and can keep it from making your lives miserable.Be aware that whatever the reason for your stress you are bigger than the problem. You can adjust to any situation and you can survive anything! I love the quote from Marcus Aurelius in his book "MEDITATIONS" He says "If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment."
I hope all of you have a safe, stress free, and happy monday. Be safe, have fun, and God bless.

BEING PEACEFUL AND LIVING SIMPLY

I know all of us have busy lives that at times seems to be stressful and jjust wears us out trying to manage all we think we have to do. That's just the way it seems nowadays especially here in the good ol USA. Ive heard that overseas the folks shut down their businesses for a lunch break and take an hour or 2 off to eat and rest maybe even a short nap. I dont know if they still do that overseas but Im alsmost sure noone does ithere in the USA. What a shame too! No wonder we are a country of overweight unrested unfullfilled group. We have let our lives become too much of a stressor to really enjoy the best things in life.I mean how can we be at peace within our own minds when we seldom slow down to just "be" for a little bit?I know all the arguments---I have to work to take care of family and pay the bills, I have to be an overachiever just to get to the top of my profession, I cant afford to slow down someone is just waiting to take my place if I pause for a moment, etc etc. And I do realize that these arguments have some very valid points and I know at times there really is no way to slow down but waht cost are we paying? A very high price I do believe.Personally I believe the greatest gift we have is that of being at peace within our soul and living a simple life. The more simple the better I do believe. There is a quote in the Science of Mind textbook page 539 which says "Peace, like an ocean of Infinite Life, reflects Itself through me and calms every turbulent feeling." I really believe this is true if we can only take the time to practice doing it--that is to relax breath deeply and remember who we really are. I also love the following quote from Lao-Tse which says "I have three things to teach; simplicity, patience, and compassion. These three are your greatest treasures." I sincerely hope that each one of you will have a great week ahead and that you can find at least 1 hour during that time to relax meditate and find that center at your true being that will calm the spirit and allow you to fully express the absolute wonderful person that you really are. Bless your hearts my friends! I love you!

THE WONDERS OF A MOTHER

In my mind at least the hardest job on earth would be that of being a mother. I know Im a man and I can never fully realize all the sacrificies a mother makes and of I sure as heck dont know anything about the pain of giving birth itself but from what Ive witnessed in my years is that a mothers job has got to be the hardest ever.I had a wonderful mom myself and when I look back on my life and hers I am still amazed at the things she did for her kids. And never once did I ever hear her say she was sorry she had chosen her path as a mother.I realize that not everyone had a great mother and that all mothers cant be really good ones but the majority of them just give and give without complaining. So today I salute every mother both living and deceased and give them my regards for a job well done. I will leave you with a quote from Tenneva Jordan:"A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four piecies of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie." Be well all of you dear people and keep on smiling!