SoulTending.com

On the art of happiness.

Out of a false understanding I thought that in order to fit in, be accepted and loveable I had to suffer and be miserable. If I am well and happy, i won’t fit in and I will draw envy and resentment towards myself. It seemed safer to take my share of hurt and misery and dwell in it. Commiserating with others gave a sense of camaraderie. I was proud to do my part in shouldering the heavy cross of humanity.

Looking at my behavior now, I can see that these are notions of a patriarchal theology gone haywire. Leading people by instilling fear so that they are docile. What are saints other than people selfishly persuing the connection with God and the goodness of life? But let’s make it simple and not take on world religions and their doctrines.

I know how to be in this world gracefully. If I look at the different options before making a decision I have the ability to feel where my heart contracts and where it soars. It is my duty to persue happiness. Noone else can do this job for me. Only I have the capability to feel within, to experience the inner knowing and draw conclusions. It is a choice to love myself fully. It is a choice to do those things that open the heart, that make it easier to breathe, that create space within my physicality.

If left to his own devices a human being who has his needs fulfilled, will always want to contribute to the wellbeing of others. Humans are emphatic beings. If someone is hurting the natural response is to help alleviate that pain. There is a goodness inherent in people that wants to come out and shine. It increases self-esteem to do what needs to be done in a way that benefits the whole.

So I am making the shift. Armed with more knowledge I choose to stop suffering and the perpetuation of hurt. I start within, with my thoughts, becoming mindful of how the thoughts create emotions and physical reactions. I become aware of the mechanicalness of thinking, the same old tracks repeating themselves and making deeper grooves.

Older people who have never had the chance to learn to watch their thoughts and realize their insignificance, tend to be grumpier and more unhappy as the days go by. There are those lucky few, who having mastered an independent sense of reality that is not attached to the whimsy of thought, have found the key to youthfullness. They are able to enjoy and even appreciate whatever life dishes out and do their duties with a smile. This is where I am going for.

I am making a radical shift away from the legacy of fear and suffering to a life lived with appreciation and aw. I start by nourishing myself deeply on all levels, mindful of my actions. Radiating abundant health and wellbeing contributes positively to the world.

By Petra Prensky

“You can recognize a

true practitioner of any religion

by the kindness in their eyes.”

A few days ago I saw a documentary on television. In it someone said:”There are way more people dying of starvation and of treatable diseases than through terrorist attacks.” “IN GOD’S NAME, a primetime special produced in association with the acclaimed French filmmakers Jules and Gedeon Naudet, explores the complex questions of our time through the intimate thoughts and beliefs of 12 of the world’s most influential spiritual leaders. These diverse and powerful voices offer provocative, compelling and enlightening perspectives on myriad issues in our post-9/11 world, including the rise of terrorism, fanaticism, intolerance and war.(1)”

The person in the documentary went on to say:”It would make more sense to focus our attention on feeding and curing people than to rage war on terrorists.” This remark deeply moved me and I had two main thoughts.

1. When I think of starvation and people dying from treatable diseases I immediately have images of the poorest of poor in Africa. Yet I realized that even in the amazing country of freedom, the United States of America, there are men, women and children going to bed hungry every day. I also personally know people who are suffering or have died of “simple” diseases here in the U.S. because they could not afford the medical bill and preferred to not bother going to the doctor.

2. If a country truly takes care of their own citizens and major world problems, that country will fill needs no one else is meeting. If people’s needs are met they tend to be peaceful, generous and sharing. By raging war we are feeding the hatred and amplify it. If after 9/11 our government would have chosen to do some soul searching, confront its own shadowy past, figured out what the root cause of the terrorist attack was and taken compassionate action, our world would look much different now. Instead of wasting billions of dollars and the lives of many bright young beings, instead of fueling the hatred and getting into an impossible mess, the American Government could have used its resources for the real problems within its country and around the world. Hatred begets hatred, caring begets caring. As the land of the free, we did not have a government that was free to choose to break the cycle of violence. Instead it was corrupted by greed, fear and revenge, which are never good decision makers.

So what can we, you and I do? I practice the very same thing that our government failed at so miserably, breaking the cycle of violence within myself. I practice to make decisions when my head is clear and I refuse to be reactive, greed, fear and revenge driven. When I am steeped in negative emotions, I disengage from discussion and confrontation. I take some time out, create space and regain my equilibrium. I step out of the circular thinking of negativity into calm, clear thinking and a state of common sense.

Sounds too simplistic? Maybe. I believe though, that all the universal truths are simple and easy. We are just so used to making life complicated. That’s all, it’s just a bad habit. Peace, unity, caring, compassion need to be cultivated in our own hearts first. How can we expect our government to act more compassionately if we allow ourself to have self-hatred, ignorance and doubt rule our life? We first need to break the cycle of violence within our own thinking habits. Once we are grounded in an internal dialog of caring, compassion, self-love and acceptance we will be a true source of peace to the environment and the people around us.

When we are at peace within, it will reflect on the outside as well. My wish for 2008 is that we all choose the courage to face our inner torments and transform them into strength, that we honestly look at the messes in our lives and start to clean them up. In this way we set the example for responsible, compassionate living which will get reflected by governmental choices that are enlightened and create a better global future for all its citizens. May peace, love and compassion prevail now and always.
(1) Excerpt from alpha.cbs.com/specials/in_gods_name/

The founder and chairman of the Virgin Group and the Governor of California are both set on saving the planet. So is the six year old mega hit “American Idol”. In “Idol Gives Back”, a historic, two-night special TV event that aired on April 24 and 25, will save and change the lives of children and young people in extreme poverty in both the USA and Africa. So far they have collected over $70 million and are still going. Even the president, Mr. And Mrs. Bush, felt inclined to send a video message to the American Idol viewers and thank them for their generosity and kindness.

Now if only he would not waste billions of dollars every day in a war that was started illegally. The good thing about 9/11 and the war is, that there are that many people less, who will pollute the planet. But let’s not get sarcastic and harden ourselves, neither to what’s going on nor to the fact that we are in a big mess.

Not only has our meddling in other countries made us an even bigger target for hatred. But by choosing to send our young minds to a war that will not have any victors, we gambled with way too many lives. A whole generation has lost their innocence. Atrocities that Americans inflict on the so called enemies are going to cost us all dearly. The VA already is overwhelmed with the amount of Veterans who are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorders. They are in no way equipped to deal with the new and daunting task of healing the minds of the people we sent into war.

I guess the good thing about this war is that it is waking us all up. It is getting harder to find anyone in the US who is not personally affected by this war. Sure there are those that make America the land of the beautiful. The men and women who do not want to get bothered and drown themselves in partying, going on shopping sprees and scheduling the next botox injection and boob, nose or butt job.

However, it does get more and more difficult to adopt the three monkey aditude of: don’t see, don’t hear and don’t talk. Thanks to Bono from U2 “Red” products are in all the fancy stores. Dedicated to giving part of the proceeds to fight poverty. Famous and accomplished people are stepping up and making a statement. Athletes unite, Rockstars are flying to Africa and sending heart wrenching videos of starved kids back. Bill Gates, Richard Branson and other big money and business people have causes they rally for.

What about the rich and famous who don’t care? Let’s look at the poster child of the spoiled-rotten, self-absorbed, consumer generation: Paris Hilton. She is the perfect mirror for the USA. She is the personification of what is wrong with our society. She is the born princess of America. Her status as the “it” girl is unchallenged. She is the role model for so many teenage girls.

The USA as well is not in its infancy but being a misbehaved, on the loose teenager without parental guidance. As for Miss Paris Hilton, I do believe that she will jump on the bandwagon and in time dedicate herself to a cause that is bigger than her own person. She will also inspire all of her groupies to do the same, simply because it is the next big thing and the hip thing to do.

As for the government: I find hope in the ex-terminator and Governor of California who proofs that the term conscientious government is no longer an oxymoron. Yes we are driven by money, but what happens, when the people behind the big money are changing their focus? Money will guide our future. Luckily, the ones who have it also seem to possess values like gratitude, compassion, clear vision and charity.

What will our country look like when the ones in political power also adapt their practices, become conscientious and choose the values of gratitude, compassion, clear vision and charity? Now that would be a country to be proud of.

Let’s demand that we use our position in the world to make peace not war, to be the solution to the problem and not the cause of it, to end hunger, poverty and ensure that the young minds get the education they deserve and inherit a safe and well kept environment.

Let’s show the world that we have grown up, that we are taking responsibility for our mistakes and had a serious change of heart. This way we all can stand up tall and proudly declare: “I am an American” without getting booed at by the rest of the world, but cheered on as we cheer them on, to together save our planet and our own souls.

Absolutely! Welcome to the most extreme attempt to control the sale and use of dietary supplements ever seen. This past December, the FDA put a document on its web site titled “Draft Guidance for Industry on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration.” This document is open to public comments until April 30, 2007 - just a few days from now.

• Do we already have a health care system that is unaffordable and becoming a major social problem for the US?
• Do we need to compound the injury by adding more regulations and restrictions?
• Do we want to enslave people even more to be part of the failing medical system?

Or

• Do we stop the course of dependency?
• Do we stop meddling in areas where the public can be self sufficient and take charge of their own lives if left alone?
• Do we empower our people or do we give power to a select few, who are already lining their pockets?

Modern medicine is still in its infancy compared to the history of the human race. Who needs complementary and alternative medicine to be regulated? The drug company, the doctors and the health care system do, not the people. What the people need, is easy access to complementary and alternative medicine products. So that they can keep taking care of themselves as they have for hundreds of years. Keep big business and government out of self care. Stop meddling and interfering in the health aspects that work and focus instead on regulating the outrageous price margins that the Pharma industry puts on its drugs. Keep medicine affordable and accessible at all cost to avoid a complete collapse of the health care system once and for all.

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Time to act!
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If left undone, supplements might become so tightly regulated that you would have to get a doctor’s prescription to use them.

Of all the times to raise our voices, none is more important than this time.

You can find the full text of the FDA document at this link:

http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/06d-0480-gld0001.pdf

And you can use this link to submit your comments:

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/oc/dockets/comments/COMMENTSMain.CFM?EC_DOCUMENT_ID=1451&SUBTYP=CONTINUE&CID=&AGENCY=FDA

In addition, we also need to let our representatives in Washington know that we strongly resist this attack on our healthcare freedom. You can find the names and e-mail addresses for your congressmen at this web site: congress.org.

Your Life, unplugged

All over the house your appliances are using energy even when you’re not using them. There’s even a name for this money-draining phenomenon: Phantom Load.

The Environmental Defense Organization estimates that the power we waste costs Americans $1 billion a year. And it’s fueling the climate-altering greenhouse effect that is wrecking our planet. All those little things, like leaving your cell-phone charger plugged in when not in use, add up. The easy fix: Keep everything from your TV to your toaster connected to a power strip switched to “off” until you are actually using the appliance.

From “Parents” Magazine March 2007

The war on shopping bags
Plastics of evil
San Francisco

San Francisco swaps polyethylene for potato starch

“This day has been long in coming,” declared Ross Mirkarimi on the steps of San Francisco’s City Hall this week, flanked by compost bins and boxes of re-usable cloth bags. “We can take the steps to make our economy just a little more soulful. Karma is with us.” The city he helps govern, in short, is ridding itself of the plastic shopping bag.

And quite right, too. They get caught in trees (hence the epithet “witches’ knickers”), take hundreds of years to decompose and push up demand for oil, used to make plastics. Outlawing plastic bags in San Francisco alone will reduce oil consumption by nearly 800,000 gallons a year, the city reckons. Less than 5% of the 100 billion bags thrown away by Americans each year are recycled.

Jared Blumenfeld, head of the city’s environment department, says the ban will reduce litter and the cost of clearing it: sending a worker out to pull bags from trees costs up to $150 a time. And the recycled-paper and compostable bags that must be used from now on – made from corn starch and potato starch – will help to shift food waste from landfill to compost bins. People would do a lot more composting, he says, if they had biodegradable bags to help them. He expects the move to bring San Francisco’s overall recycling rate – at 69% more than twice New York’s – to close to 80%.

Other cities may now follow suit. Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Oakland and, naturally, Berkeley are exploring similar moves. There is some talk of restrictions or a tax in New York. The plastic-bag lobby fought hard to stop a ban in San Francisco precisely because it feared that defeat there would start a nationwide trend.

This is one area of greenery where California cannot claim to be the global leader. In Taiwan and Ireland, you pay for plastic bags. They have been banned already in Rwanda, Bhutan, Bangladesh (where they cause flooding by blocking drains), South Africa (where distributing them can land you in jail) and Mumbai. Paris will join the list at the end of this year, the rest of France in 2010. But bags are only the start: much more landfill is taken up with packaging. Now that would be some good karma.

Read in “The Economist” March 31st 2007

I read the following paragraph on a bottle of extra virgin organic olive oil and resonated with it. The interconnectedness of everything that exists, is nicely put into these few words. Each sentence could be deliberated upon for a whole chapter. Yet what it all boils down to is, that we, each of us, do matter. The choices we make on a daily and even hourly basis do create ripple effects. We can either choose to work with nature and the planet or against it. We can choose to create a sustainable future or one of extinction. It’s all up to each one of us and the day-to-day choices we make. Here is what that label said:

“When you buy Organic Foods, you help keep the Earth’s air and water free from pesticides and chemical fertilizers. You help preserve a piece of the Earth’s past for future generations. You help support small entrepreneurial farmers who are committed to building the living soils of their farmland and the living souls of their employees. You help lay the groundwork for agricultural diversity that has always been the backbone of cultural individuality. You help make the commitment to renewal that sustains the Earth’s ability to nurture life. And you help others embrace the gratifying taste that can come not only from eating good foods, but also from doing good things. When you buy Organic Foods, you make a conscious choice to eat well and to treat the Earth well. Thank you for making that choice.”

www.napavalleynaturals.com

“The journey of the soul is a continual cycle, somewhat like the seasons. In spring, things open. In summer, they come to great fruition. In fall, things go out in a blaze of glory. In winter, the seed is in the dark ground and can’t be seen.

At different points of our journey, throughout our whole life, we are in one of these cycles. Winter is often experienced as a period of despair. At the same time, it is a period of creative hybernation and development. When we get sunk down in the dark night of the soul, it helps to remember this is just one phase that will change into something else. We will come out of the darkness with something that will help us and help other people. It is actually a kind of purification phase.” By Linda Leonard, Ph.D.

So instead of running around in the pre-Christmas hectic, take some time to hybernate. Say: “No”, stay home instead, cuddle on the couch, have some hot cacoa and simply be with whatever comes into your mind and touches your emotions. There is nothing to do. Simply watch, become a spectator of your inner reality. It’s like lying on the grass and watching the clouds go by.

Cozy up, give yourself at least an hour. Don’t do a thing. Just watch your thoughts, your impulses to maybe get up and get busy again. Let your emotions run through without holding on to anything. Just be, relax and connect with yourself.

This is winter time. Allow yourself to hybernate. Give yourself the gift of being present with what is. If you can’t stand it, you can always just get up and get back into the X-mas hustle. However, give hybernation another shot. It is a skill that will always enhance your communication with your soul and with God. Try it out several times. Let’s see what happens. If you want, come back and share your experience. Happy hybernation everyone.

Today is Santa Claus day. It is a very, very special day. It’s a day that European children await with both excitement and apprehension. It’s the day when Santa Claus knocks on your door to pay you a visit. It’s the day when you want to hide behind your Mom, yet she is the one to open the door and let Santa and his black fellow in.

The whole family awaits the presence of Santa Claus. The living room is tidy and neat. There is a fire burning in the stove. Hot cider sweetens the air. Candles are lit and the kids are on their best behavior. Because Santa is here for a reason.

He has come a long way through snow and the dark forests where he lives. He brought his big, heavy book with him, where all your misdeeds and hopefully some of your good deeds got recorded. Santa’s black fellow is a spindly guy, with dirty hands and face and a big burlap sack.

You are hiding behind mom’s skirt and peeking out once in a while. Santa opens his big, heavy book, puts on his glasses and starts to read out your name:”Who in this room is ….(fill in your name)?” Your dad nudges you forward. Barely audible you say:”That’s me.”

Santa Claus says: “Come forward child, so I can have a good look at you. - My, my, you have grown since last year. I surely could use a healthy, strong child like you to help me in the forest for a year. Let’s see how many misdeeds you have done. Maybe your parents would be happy to have you live with me in the coming year.” Santa proceeds to share with everybody in the room what you have done, good or bad.

At the end you have a chance to appease him, by sharing a special song or poem you have learned. Santa then says:”My black fellow here has brought his burlap sack to scoop you up and carry you with us into the forests. It looks like you have been doing good this year so you will be spared for now. Take these treats of peanuts, mandarin oranges and a few small chocolate pieces and share them with everybody. Let’s go black fellow and see if we have better luck in the next house.”