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Gratitude for the challenges …

{NOTE: If you have recently been through great pain and loss, this post may not be for you at this time. Please be gentle and listen to your inner being.}

Thanksgiving day is approaching and I’d like to offer a twist on the usual message “be grateful for all the gifts you’ve been given”. Let me begin with these lyrics from the band, Cloud Cult:

It’s easy to be thankful for the things you’ve got.
It takes guts to give thanks for the things you’ve lost.

They struck me as extremely powerful when I first heard them. As I think back on events in my life which represent loss or challenge or great pain, I notice the gifts. Here are just a few: Continue reading “Gratitude for the challenges …”

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How well do you know yourself?

Really know yourself – see with extreme clarity all sides of you: the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly, the great, the awful – in other words, the precious human being that you are. The clarity I am speaking of is the clarity of the truth – those inner, often hidden, workings of your mind, your motives – not the you that you try so hard to portray to the world.

How well do you know yourself?
And why am I asking this?

Continue reading “How well do you know yourself?”

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Are you a change agent?

Do you want to have a positive and powerful impact on the world around you? Do you want to influence others? Do you want to be a “change agent”?

If you answered yes, then I hope you will ponder deeply these two quotes:

Hurt people hurt people. ~ Sarah Crawford

Read it again if you need to. People who are hurt or are hurting, often hurt others and often unintentionally.

Transformed people transform people. ~ Richard Rohr

Read that one again. If you: Continue reading “Are you a change agent?”

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Listening power …

Listening, really present, deep listening is a gift that many of us never really receive. Think about it: when was the last time that you shared with another person or group and did not experience interruptions, fixing, opinions or “I know what you should do!”?

If you’ve had the gift of being listened to deeply, what was that like? What do you notice when you are able to share who you are and what is important to you in the moment and simply be heard?

How about your listening skills? Continue reading “Listening power …”

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Where are you masquerading?

Yesterday, I had a conversation with a dear friend who sees me as counter-cultural and unconventional and values these qualities in me.  She feels the impact of my choices to practice powerful self-care, to honor the calling of my spiritual being, to be true to my values day in and day out. This gives her hope that it is possible to live in integrity with the unique beings that we are despite pressures from the world around us to sell our souls in service of “success” and society’s norms.

Today, I pulled an inspiration card at random: Continue reading “Where are you masquerading?”