Upon Awakening, what does One’s Splendid Spiritual Self Really Need To Do?

Upon awakening, what does my Splendid Spiritual Self really need to do?

My mind begins racing with thoughts of the day but how much of that is really needed?

Does my mind control my being or will my spirit lead me through this day?

Is my mind the controller of the day or is my mind simply a working and logical entity to assist and navigate my spirit through another day in a secular, often times confusing world? Why are children killing children in such a sophisticated society such as ours? Why do I continue to overeat when I am overweight and not hungry? Why do I continue to reach out and try to love others when at times it is difficult to love myself? Life is statically complicated yet dynamically simple.

Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts, why do I need thoughts such as these if I am transitioning to being my Splendid Spiritual Self for the rest of my life?

I know I have things to do to function in the world this day. I have to get up, put on some sort of worldly appearance, and get through my day to live for another day. What would Brahman, Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed, Jesus, or the Lord our God do with the time, energy, and opportunity that this day gives each one of us?    

Upon awakening, I quiet my mind for a period of prayer and meditation. I am safe and secure for the moment and have no need of my mind right now. As the mind quiets I notice my breath and even my heartbeat. I feel grateful to be alive. My breath, the enabler of life, leads me to my spirit.

Completely now as my Splendid Spiritual Self, I touch base with other always present and always promoted worldly and human entities—my emotions, my ability to speak, and my body.

After all, I have free and if I have free will then I have alternatives and if I have alternatives then I have a choice to make. I choose to pray and meditate and reconfirm and revitalize my Splendid Spiritual Self every morning upon awakening.

Emotions are like thoughts, ever present and even penetrating, my sense of peace, joy, unity, and freedom brought by the recognition of the Splendid Spiritual Self.

What emotions may I identify, accept, and feel at this moment? Spiritually I feel gratitude for the simple fact of being alive and having the opportunity to live another day. But is there a hangover from yesterday or the imprint from a dream so real that I know I lived it and did not imagine it? In the truth of the moment can I identify any and all emotions? Or have I self-medicated myself into denial, justification, and rationalization of their actual existence? If needed, I take a moment now to accept and feel my emotion with no responsive need, action or even thought, no lingering attachment. I just accept and feel and let them go to someplace other than my mind and my being.

There is no need to speak unless I have awoken with my lover at my side. If that is the case then in addition to being grateful for being alive for another day I am also grateful for the presence of my lover and the love bestowed upon me. Words are powerful. I choose words carefully and seek to understand myself and the motives behind my words before uttering a syllable.  

My heart speaks to all those who have loved me throughout my life beginning with my mother who delivered me into this world through the highest of human acts of love. I am the product of the love of my mother and father, their highest expression of their human and spiritual love. I am grateful to be loved and to have the ability to love. In a sea of love I now return to the silence of my Splendid Spiritual Self.

Whatever the state of my body I am hopeful that it will sustain my existence in this world for another day. I am grateful to be present in this moment only. I have let go of yesterday and let go of any judgment or control of myself and others. I truly love, accept and am compassionate to myself as I know God, my Creator, is to me. I am significant without a sense of self, pride, or ego. My love and my spirit comes from the inside out and is independent of this world I live in. I am blessed to be me and to be alive.

I pledge to take care of my body the best way that I can, minimally better than yesterday. I will not take it for granted. I will provide proper nutrition, exercise and rest for my body. My body is my living temple and I am the appointed caretaker. I will sense pain and pleasure through my body knowing that they are the same from a spiritual sense. My Splendid Spiritual Self is inspired by either and both.

My Splendid Spiritual Self has risen above my mind, emotions, speech, and body. I have gained the proper orientation for today. I am a spiritual being living a human life, not a human being trying to live a spiritual life. Whatever one’s God, I feel their presence within me. I sense their will for me and I sense the power from them to do that will with my entire being for the entirety of this day.

I see the proper separation and independence between my mind, emotions, speech, and body and their proper perspective to my Splendid Spiritual Self. There are intervening one-way personal, prayerful, and protective inner boundaries. I start with my Splendid Spiritual Self and let it lead my mind, emotions, speech, and body. TROML Baby!

My Splendid Spiritual Self has awakened me for yet another day of life.

I am ready for the transition as there is no transition from here on out, from this place forward. Life is spiritual life and spiritual life is life for me.    

 

In the morning, do we need to be awaken at all?

BY whom and for what purpose of today?

One day, many, many centuries ago, the great Chinese sage Confucius was asked by a disciple, “Great teacher, tell us about the life after death.” Confucius replied, “We have not yet learned to know life. How can we know death?”

Don’t we all, within our own religion and spiritual beliefs, walk as Jesus did? Do we not all experience death and resurrection through our own idiosyncrasies as we journey through life as we know it? Aren’t we all just spiritual beings trying to live a human life versus human beings trying to live a spiritual life? Can we come out of self, come out of denial, justification, and rationalization? Where and when did, does or will that crossover from human to spirit occur inside us?   

God’s love is reigning down on me today!

I hope the same for you!

Let’s have a TROML Day today!

 

TROML Extract: ‘YOGA IS’ from B.K.S. Iyengar’s ‘Light on Life’ Book

What is Life, and what is Yoga and how does it enhance one’s life?

I guess that is what I was thinking when I picked up a copy of B.K.S. Iyengar’s ‘Light on Life’ book when I was in his studio on West 22nd Street in New York City. All I can say is that I was led there and given the book as a gift. Looking back I can say now that it is reminiscent of when I picked up that People’s Magazine in 1988. On the cover was Suzanne Somers and the words “Children of Alcoholics.” Today, I can say openly and honestly, with respect and admiration, that my father had alcoholism. A disease, not a lack of willpower or character, but a disease that many people do not realize they have or the impact it is having on their lives or the lives of those they love. My Dad beat the disease and beat the odds, living a sober life, for the last twenty-five years of his life. Like that People’s Magazine, this book is surely one that will change my life immensely for the better.

I started doing yoga twenty years ago as a form of relaxation and to improve and maintain my flexibility for golf. Yoga is so much more, YOGA IS…

Here is my ‘TROML Extract’ and the spiritual and yogic insight into B.K.S. Iyengar and his shedding ‘Light on Life’ book! TROML Baby!

On the eve of a New Year, four months later, I have read and digested, to some extent, the Iyengar perspectives of life. Having done so and wanting to share its essence with others, the childhood game of ‘hide-and-seek’ comes to my mind. Remember ‘Olly, Olly, In Come Free’ or whatever it was? A catchphrase stuck in my mind like the McDonald’s Big Mac tune. ‘Olly, Olly, In Come Free’ was chanted to let friends who were hiding that it was time to come out into the open without losing the game. That the position of the sides in a game has changed—as in who is hiding and who is seeking—or that the game is entirely over.

Is it time for you to come out of your self?

Olly olly oxen free. olly olly umphrey, olly olly ee, outtie outtie let’s be free, olly olly oxen tree, all-y all-y all set free, All-Ye All-Ye In Come Free, olly olly in come free, all ye, all ye outs in freeall the outs in free, or the German phrase alle, alle, auch sind frei (all, all, are also free)—“ollyoxalls.”

Confusing yet we all understood as children. Yet are we isolated and separate as adults?

However we say it or do it, now is the time to come out and get back into the game of life!

Whatever we yelled out as a child, let’s yell out now as an adult. Life is too short. The past is the past. This is a New Year!

All spiritual beings let go of the past and focus on the future. That is my New Year’s Wish for you! To call you out and wish you well as you focus on ‘The Rest of Your Life!’

TROML Baby!

Here are my Splendid Spiritual Self from B.K.S. Iyengar’s ‘Light on Life’ book (2005) when reference was made, either explicitly or implicitly, as to what ‘YOGA IS…’

I hope you that will join me on this Inward Journey…

With gratitude and all credit given to B.K.S. Iyengar and the Iyengar Institute NYC.

 

‘Light on Life;’ Preface & Introduction

 “If this book is to lay any claim to authenticity, it must make one point clear above all others. It is this: By persistent and sustained practice, anyone and everyone can make the yoga journey and reach the goal of illumination (of the soul, here and beyond) and freedom. Krishna, Buddha, and Jesus lie in the hearts of all. They are not film stars, mere idols of adulation. They are great inspirational figures whose example is there to be followed. They act as our role models today. Just as they reached Self-Realization, so may we.”   (Preface; Page ix)

“YOGA IS… to attain the integrity of Oneness—Oneness with ourselves and as a consequence Oneness with all that lies beyond ourselves. We become the harmonious microcosm in the universal macrocosm. Oneness, what I often call integration, is the foundation for wholeness, inner peace, and ultimate freedom.”   (Introduction; Page xiv)

“YOGA IS… an inner peace… an inner serene core of one’s being that is never out of touch with the unchanging, eternal infinite.”   (Introduction; Page xiv)

“YOGA IS… the rule book for playing the game of Life, but in this game no one needs to lose.”   (Introduction; Page xvi)

“YOGA IS… the release of the creative potential of Life. It does this by establishing a structure for self-realization, by showing how we can progress along the journey, and by opening a sacred vision of the Ultimate, of our Divine Origin, and final Destiny. The Light that yoga sheds on Life is something special. It is transformative. It does not just change the way we see things; it transforms the person who sees. It brings knowledge and elevates it to wisdom.”   (Introduction; Page xxi)

 

‘Light on Life;’ Chapter 1: The Inward Journey

“YOGA IS… an Inward Journey to allow the inner core (soul) to reveal itself.”   (Page 3)

“YOGA IS… a discovery of our immortal Self.”   (Page 5)

“YOGA IS… Stability: The Physical Body (amnamaya kosa); Vitality: The Energy Body (pranamaya kosa); Clarity: The Mental Body (manomaya kosa); Wisdom: The Intellectual Body (vijnanamaya kosa); and Bliss: The Divine Body (amandamaya).”   (Page 6)

“YOGA IS… exploring the relationship between Prakrti and Purusa, between Nature and (Universal) Soul.”   (Page 9)

“YOGA IS… eight petals that reveal themselves progressively to the practitioner. These are external, ethical disciplines (yama), internal ethical observances (niyama), poses (asana), breath control (pranayama), sensory control and withdrawal (pratyahara), concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and blissful adsorption (samadhi). We call these the petals of yoga as they join together like the petals of a lotus flower to form one beautiful whole.   (Page 10)

“YOGA IS… the highest experience of freedom—Oneness—the supreme reality of unity.”   (Page 16)

“YOGA IS… ‘Living in Freedom,’ seeing how the free or self-realized man or woman lives in the world, and seeing what we can learn for how each of us lives not at some ultimate destination but each step along the journey inward and the journey of life onward.”   (Page 18)

“YOGA IS… an inner quest for growth and evolution, or ‘involution.’”   (Page 19)

 

‘Light on Life;’ Chapter 2: STABILITY—The Physical Body (Asana)

“YOGA IS… to understand and then integrate our body with our breath, with our mind, with our intelligence, with our consciousness, and with our core. In this way, one can experience true integration and reach the ultimate freedom.”   (Page 23)

“YOGA IS… the qualities of purity and sensitivity…”   (Page 25)

“YOGA IS… a beginning to harmony and integration with the world we live in…   (Page 26)

“YOGA IS… a state of self-reliant contentment…”   (Page 26)

“YOGA IS… beautiful as well as Divine…”   (Page 27)

“YOGA IS… the search for the inner light as well as inner Beauty, infinity, and liberation…”   (Page 27)

“YOGA (Asana; Stability—The Physical Body) IS… perfect firmness of body, steadiness of intelligence, and benevolence of spirit…”   (Page 27)

“YOGA IS… the teaching that awareness and intelligence must permeate the body… we must create a marriage between the awareness of the body and that of the mind… action is movement with intelligence…”   (Page 28)

Photo Credit: Iyengar Yoga Centre Sofia

Photo Credit: Iyengar Yoga Centre Sofia

“YOGA IS… (when} the sensitive awareness of the body and the intelligence of the brain and heart are in harmony… the brain must be willing to listen to the body… the intelligence of the body is a fact. It is real. The intelligence of the brain is only imagination… inner cooperation… you are one; you are complete. You exist without the feeling of existence… the body must tell one what to do, not the brain… you must learn to move the brain a bit more slowly so that is follows the body… let the body be the doer, the brain the observer…”   (Pages 29-31)

“YOGA IS… (when) action and analysis synchronize (the real meaning of knowledge)… the acuity of observation… be self-aware, not self-conscious… self-awareness is the opposite of self-consciousness… you are aware of what you are doing without ego or pride… if you do not know the silence of the body, you cannot understand the silence of the mind… an interior conscious state… you watch yourself from the inside… do things rhythmically with a calm mind…”   (Pages 31-32)

“YOGA IS… extension and expansion… dynamic extension… extending out dynamically through to the periphery of your body… expansion is from the intelligence (intellectual and emotional) of the heart… extension is attention… and expansion is awareness… they originate in the core of one’s being… one’s center… the divine core…”   (Pages 33-34)

YOGA IS… extension and expansion bring space, and space brings freedom. Freedom is precision, and precision is divine. From freedom of the body comes freedom of the mind and then the Ultimate Freedom…”   (Page 34)

“YOGA IS… spiritual yoga… while stretching, you must always create space and extend from your center. Compression is bondage, and expansion is freedom… and freedom allows for relaxation… perfection is achieved when the effort to perform it becomes effortless and the infinite being within is reached (Patanjali, Second Sutra)…”   (Pages 35-36)

Photo Credit: Bab Zouina

Photo Credit: Bab Zouina

“YOGA IS… exertion and relaxation… the ego is an unrelenting task master… when one extends and relaxes, there is no oscillation of mind or body. Balance of activity and passivity transforms the active brain into a witness… begin your asana by releasing the breath till you feel a quiet state of silence in the cells and self. Inhalation is tension, exhalation is freedom… silence in action, relaxation in action… look at the Soul, not the Ego…   (Pages 36-38)

“YOGA IS… (when) the light and life of our vision shines everywhere…”   (Page 39)

“YOGA IS… lightness in the body and freedom in the mind… it is because your mind shrinks that your soul shrinks…”   (Page 40)

“YOGA IS… seeking the balance of polarity, not the antagonism of duality… in all asanas, ascend to descend and descend to ascend…”   (Page 41)

“YOGA IS… achieving balance at every level of our body and our being… right tension is healthy tension. You have to bring everything to life in your body… never be rigid in motion, only be rigid after you have acquired the position…”   (Pages 41-42)

“YOGA IS… perfect balance… one must find balance… balance is the state of the present—the here and now. If you balance in the present you are living in Eternity. When the intellect is stable, there is no past, no future, only present… (Pages 42-43)

“YOGA IS… balance and integration in the three dimensions of space, but we also find balance and integration in the fourth dimension of time… balance is in every layer of our being… three qualities of nature—body, mind, and soul—must be balanced in your asana practice; translated as solidity, dynamism, and luminosity…”   (Pages 43-44)

“YOGA IS… your inward journey to the Universal Soul…”   (Page 44)

“YOGA IS… tenacity and perseverance, which is a spiritual attitude toward yoga. This is also the spiritual attitude towards life… in the struggle alone, there is knowledge… the inevitable pains and afflictions of life… only when there is pain will you see the light. Pain is your guru… try to not run from the pain but to move through and beyond it… To get freedom, you have to bear the pain… this is the cultivation of tenacity and perseverance…”   (Page 47)

“YOGA IS… meant for the purification of body and its exploration as well as for the refinement of the mind… The challenge of yoga is to go beyond our limits—within reason. We continually expand the frame of the mind by using the canvas of the body… If the practice of (yoga) today damages the practice of (yoga) tomorrow, it is not correct practice…”   (Page 50)

“YOGA IS… the yogic path… is really a desire for God, the instinct that draws us toward the dream of perfection… Perfection is ultimately only with God… Let the goal be to reach Perfection, but be content with a little progress toward perfection every day… Perfecting: Always Be Happy with the Smallest Improvement…”   (Page 54)

“YOGA IS… to create within yourself the feeling of beauty, liberation, and infinity. These can be experienced only in the present… inner integration… Integrity means one. One is the number that can go into all other numbers. The fully sensitive and sensible being becomes not a “somebody” but the common denominator of humanity…”   (Page 58)

“YOGA IS… for cultivating the head and heart… Patanjali talked about friendliness, compassion, gladness, and joy… Friendliness and grace are two qualities that are essential for the yoga student… you have to create love and affection for your body, for what it can do for you… this love must radiate from you to others… You must purge yourself before finding faults in others. When you see a mistake in somebody else, try to find if you are making the same mistake. That is the way to take judgment and to turn it into improvement…”   (Page 59-60)

“YOGA IS… Divine Yoga: Do the Asana with Your Soul… we are working from the outer to get closer to the inner reality of our existence… we work from the periphery to the core… we must not forget that the innermost part of our being is also trying to help us. It wants to come out to the surface and express itself…

Much more to come… Happy New Year!!!

 

Happy Holidays & Hoping We All Become a Little More Selfish!!!

Happy Holidays & Hoping We All Become a Little More Selfish???

More selfish???

Isn’t the holidays and life itself all about giving?

Agreed, but isn’t life all situational and about priorities too?

Top priority, in my opinion and emerging experience, is developing a personal spiritual relationship with a ‘Higher Spirit Power,’ in order to determine one’s life purpose and to be energized to complete one’s life purpose.

Second priority, in my opinion and emerging experience, is to take better care of one’s self. Sort of like the lifeguard example of not being able to rescue anyone if you cannot insure your own safety when doing so. You have to ‘be,’ in order to ‘be!’ On the flip side, who is it usually that we forget to make amends to when things go astray? Usually it is our selves for not valuing and respecting our selves, our alternatives in life and our ensuing choices in life too.

Second priority in relationship to the first priority… try to think and act, in any situation, as you would envision your ‘Higher Spiritual Power’ thinking and acting. For me that came down to the ‘TROML Realization’ that I was not as loving, accepting, and compassionate to myself as God was or as I was to other people, especially family and friends. I let go and no longer identified with any sort of randomly generated negative or critical inner voice. That being eventually silenced meant freedom from past fully-amended feelings of shame, guilt, or remorse. That meant freedom to live in this present moment, this present day in a healthy manner!

Is that being selfish?

I think not.

I wish more people in the world would be as selfish and stop trying to make perfect, control, think in an all-or-nothing manner, and judge other people in their lives! Isn’t most of the evil in the world today the result of insane people who are trying to impose their will on others instead of living contently with themselves and their personal faith and beliefs? In reality they are giving away only that which they are unable to live with or deal with themselves.

Third priority, in my opinion and emerging experience, is to help others by giving them what they need when they need it!

Easier said then done and the reality of  love and being selfless. Awareness of self and situation is the first step. Love someone as they want to be loved and when they need to be loved despite the situation. Whether you know them or don’t know them. Whether it’s a good bye or a hello to someone destined to be in your life but maybe not when and how you thought they should be. Let it be… and give yourself a hug and give gratitude to your ‘Higher Spiritual Power’ that you now understand and can act and can be accordingly. Yeah it still hurts, pain is a reality in life, but if you are clear and present, it doesn’t last forever. Even painful memories don’t have to last forever.

Happy Holidays and please join me in the above pledge to become a little bit more selfish and live in peace, joy, unity, and freedom for the rest of our lives!

TROML Baby!

ps- Here is a good article that exemplifies for the most part the ‘TROML Way of Life!’ With all credit to its author Kirsten Corley (with her bold emphasis; link to original article is provided); here are a few additional thoughts relative to her article:

Taking full responsibility… of self, without expectations, control, manipulation or judgment of others!

Because they shouldn’t have left in the first place… learn from it, let it go and move into your destiny energized by your ‘Higher Spiritual Power.’

You simply change the environment… opposite of the corporate mantra of “Grow where you are planted,” which sometimes translates to the limiting “Grow how and where we want you to grow,” which may or may not be the real growth you need at the time.

Here is Kirsten Corley’s article:

Making Yourself A Priority Isn’t Selfish; By Kirsten Corley, December 15th 2017

At first it’s going to be uncomfortable especially when you’ve never made yourself a priority before. When you are the type of person who puts everyone else’s needs before your own. When happiness is defined by what you do for others and you’ve done it so long you forget to do things for yourself.

It’s realizing maybe the reason you aren’t where you want to be or feel the way you do is because you haven’t taken the steps to get there yourself when you’re constantly focusing on other things and people.

It’s looking yourself in the mirror and accepting the fact you made these choices and you can’t blame anyone if you aren’t happy or fulfilled.

It’s looking at your life and instead of pointing blame it’s finally taking responsibility.

It’s feeling a little confused because once you realize making other people happy hasn’t made you happy, you have to figure out what does and you might not even know that answer.

It’s sitting down and trying to figure out what you want while trying to evaluate and eliminate the things you don’t want.

It’s removing certain people from your life because you have to for your own wellbeing even if you love them and care about them and can’t imagine your life without them, sometimes distance and space is better.

It’s stopping instead of running from your problems because you know you can’t escape the things you are denying to be the truth and you can distract yourself from what the problem is. But you are at a point where you want to find a solution.

It’s doing something you don’t want to because that choice is going to put you on a track you’re proud of not one you’re settling for.

It’s asking yourself am I doing this because I want to? Or am I doing this because I feel I have to and I don’t want to let other people down?

It’s not feeling guilty to admit you need a break or you’re tired and just need to relax for once.

It’s staying in on a Friday because you look at your bank account and you don’t even know what you spent stuff on but you know, you should have been more responsible.

It’s waking up early and not pushing snooze on your alarm 100 times because going to the gym, getting that run in, doing yoga is good for your mental health and well being. And even though you don’t want to do it, in that moment you know you have to.

It’s finally wanting to take full responsibility for how you feel about yourself and not allowing others to define your self worth.

It’s ending those relationships that linger and have loose ends because you can’t keep giving chances to people who don’t deserve it.

It’s not answering when someone from the past comes back because don’t care about what they say because they shouldn’t have left in the first place.

It’s not always being the one to make plans with everyone and go all the way to them every time. It’s realizing people should be putting as much effort into you as you have them instead of taking the relationship for granted.

It’s checking in the people who check in on you because those are the people who matter.

It’s putting your phone down when you want to text someone because you are realizing the phone works both ways and the only person you should be interested in isn’t one who makes you question your self worth or question a simple text.

It’s holding back on dating because if you don’t know who you are and what you want you won’t know what to ask other people for.

It’s figuring out what you want and not being ashamed of it or feeling guilty for wanting something more than just a hookup.

It’s letting that really attractive person go even though you’re interested because you know you can’t turn them into the person you want them to be and you aren’t going to waste your effort.

It’s allowing yourself to breakdown and cry and fall completely apart because it’s okay to not have the answers. It’s okay to be unsure. It’s okay to be hurting and not know how to fix it.

Feeling through these emotions you might have repressed and it finally coming out isn’t a bad thing and it doesn’t make you weak.

Sometimes it takes strength to get to that place emotionally and feel through all the ugliness so it’s out of your system.

It’s realizing the life you are leading at this moment isn’t the one that’s making you happy so something has to change.

It’s taking a step towards a completely different lifestyle that you or others are used to. Even though there are going to be questions of why you are doing this and people who will doubt you and disapprove, you know you’re doing it for you. It’s not longer feeling guilty for disappointing people for living the life you want as oppose to the one they expect.

It’s realizing when you make certain changes in your life you’re going to lose people who are going to want you to go back to what you were doing and the person you were because it didn’t fit the mold of what they needed and wanted. But the real relationships in your life will support you.

It’s not selfish to want to be happy and want to have a life you’re really excited about. It’s essential.

It’s learning how to let something or someone go because you’ve outgrown it and even though good memories resided there you can’t keep looking back.

It’s evaluating your life and your choices and calling it exactly what it is. Your mistakes. Your failures. The things you did your ashamed of and instead of throwing a pity party, you learn. You grow. You forgive yourself because as much as other people deserve forgiveness you do too.

It isn’t selfish to forgive yourself for your mistakes.

It’s realizing you can’t force things. Whether that’s relationships or a lifestyle.

It’s giving everything your best effort but accepting that some things aren’t meant to be even if you want them to be.

Then once you realize this isn’t where I’m supposed to be, you find the courage to change it because people aren’t meant to stay in the same place doing the same thing. Especially if it’s not making them happy.

When a plant doesn’t thrive and grow the way it’s supposed to, you don’t blame the plant you simply change the environment to one it will do well in. That’s how you should approach everything in your life.

It’s taking a step back and looking at the life you are projecting out to the world across social media and asking yourself is any of this real? It’s pulling back if that answer is no and trying to create a life you don’t need to fake.

It’s not selfish to make yourself a priority and when you start to you’ll wish you did it sooner.

And it isn’t wrong to want to be happy.

It’s saying no for the first time in your life and not explaining why. 

The Next Hour is the Absolute BEST Time of My Life!!!

The next hour is the absolute BEST time of my life, absolutely, positively, without a doubt!!!

Actually, “the next XX hours is the absolute BEST time of my life, absolutely, positively without a doubt. The ‘XX’ is the remaining waking hours of the day. So if it is Noon and I plan to stay up until 11 pm then “the next 11 hours is the absolute BEST time of my life, absolutely, positively, without a doubt!!!”

This mantra, which came early in my TROML Process (which dates back to September 2000, seventeen years ago), brings me back to living in the moment free of fears, resentments, untruths, and my self/pride/’Silly Ego.’

It is a plan to live THIS day fully and only this day, not yesterday, or tomorrow.

‘One Day at a Time.’ TROML Baby! One day, one hour, one minute, one second if needed to be ‘a spiritual being living a human life,’ not a human being living a spiritual life.’ There is a big difference!

I have forgotten to live in the present moment recently and doing so has impacted my quality of life.

The Splendid Spiritual Self is not as splendid when one is living in yesterday’s memories or tomorrow’s fears.

My Splendid Spiritual Self is the center of my being and directs my mind, emotions, speech, and body. ‘Directs’ is a unique mixture of control, isolating, and being the master of versus being a slave to one’s mind, emotions, speech, and body. We can choose, in a non-reactive manner, what we say and what we do with our body. The mind and emotions are a little trickier as they are spontaneous, independent and a source all to themselves. But they do not rule my Splendid Spiritual Self. There are ‘one-way personal/prayerful/protective inner boundaries’ amongst the mind, emotions, speech, and body and the one and only way is from the Splendid Spiritual Self outward to each of these natural entities of the body self. They don’t interact with each other directly but only through the Splendid Spiritual Self.

Complicated diagram—YES! Difficult implementation and way of life—NO!

TROML is an inward journey to one’s unique Splendid Spiritual Self which quickly connects with one’s Soul or Spirit thereby releasing the True Self to live a life of peace, joy, unity, and freedom.

TROML and living in the moment, clear and present has manifested itself in what the world would both good and ‘bad’ days!

The ‘bad’ first.

 

The day of my mother’s funeral shortly after embarking down the TROML Path. Arguably the worse day of anyone’s life. Surely the saddest but does not have to be the worst. I remember being present, clear and open-minded. Feeling the feeling of being sad yet somehow moving with it through the day. There we were, me and my siblings, surrounding Mom’s casket as the priest was praying over her. I became aware of the coolness of the polished wood and felt this energy come to me through both hands and arms and fill my body, mind, and soul while hearing the sensation that my Mom would never leave me. That we would always be dear and close and this special power, special energy of hers would always be with me. How could that not be one of the BEST days of my life?

The second ‘bad’ day experience which was actually a week long serious illness confirmed that my Splendid Spiritual Self model, which is revolutionary in scope and application, was indeed right for me. The individual one-way ‘SSS to Body to Pain & Pleasure’ assumes pain is the same as pleasure to my Splendid Spiritual Self. That spiritual awakening had come in the months before my illness. I never felt pain like that before in my entire life yet I retreated into my Splendid Spiritual Self and indeed the pain was the same as pleasure, only a physical feeling of my body, separate from the Splendid Spiritual Self, where I was during the ordeal. No doubt pain is real and has to be dealt with in a medical sense when needed. But the fear of pain and how it impacts me, my Soul and my Spirit is my choice. Being physically sick is unfortunate but only a small percentage of our overall combined physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. How could that week not be one of the BEST of my life?

And for one of the BEST days of my life competing in a local version of ‘Dancing With The Stars.’ I am not a dancer and I am not a star so I was definitely out of my element. But I worked hard, had a great professional partner and dance instructor and somehow persevered through twenty-five or so lessons to performance night. I was present, clear, open-minded, and open-hearted to the opportunity and the experience. And the dance came off well with no major missteps. Being as close as possible in my Splendid Spiritual Self, any negative thoughts, fearful emotions, and bodily indecision were negligible. How could that day not be one of the BEST days of my life?

TROML Baby!

The next ten waking hours is the absolute BEST time of my life, absolutely, positively, without a doubt!

No Human Being Can Be “Inspired” To Do Evil.

We live in a world where public terror is common place if not in our lives but in the news. My heart and my prayers go out to the innocent victims of terror attacks. No one in their right mind and with a personal relationship with their God or even a nonbeliever can commit such attacks. No human being can be “inspired” to do evil.

Why then does the news occasionally report that “and a big question was he in touch with terror groups directly or was he simply inspired,” as did Pete Williams on the NBC News with Lester Holt on the October 31st broadcast on the “New York City “Act of Terror” where eight fellow innocent human beings lost their lives.

“NO HUMAN BEING CAN BE “INSPIRED” TO DO EVIL.”

God first inspired us when “He breathed into our nostrils the breath of life (Genesis 2:7).” Every breath, every heartbeat, every thought, every word spoken, and every action we take is an “inspiration” to do good in the world, not evil.

Each one of the seven definitions of “inspire” is a positive, not negative expression of its use in our language.

NBC News, Pete Williams, and other journalists, please STOP using the word “inspire” when referencing terrorists and their evil acts.

Or NBC News, can we expect that one day soon you be featuring a terrorist on your “Inspiring America” segment?

TROML Baby, that is the answer, learn to accept, love and be compassionate to yourself first… then there is no need to control another human being… we all find peace, joy, unity, and freedom in our lifetime and beyond!

If you would like to see NBC News broadcast a correction, apology, and clarification please share this post and email NBC News directly at contact.nbcnews@nbcuni.com.

 

Gratitude Tuesday Template for Your TROML Journal…

Every Tuesday I intensify my ‘Attitude of Gratitude’ by utilizing this template and writing down two things that come to mind EVERY HOUR of the day that I am grateful for. TROML works if you work it! Develop your own version of your ‘Splendid Spiritual Self’ through the TROML Process. Life will never be the same and it will be an eternal Spiritual Love of peace, joy, and freedom! TROML Baby!

CLICK on the link for the template as a Word document:

0 Template Gratitude Tuesdays 9-5-17

Gratitude Tuesday Template (GXX, X-XX-XX)

 

At 7am I seek to be grateful by understanding that Gratitude is the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. “Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”―Dalai Lama XIV

 

 

 

 

At 8 am I seek to be grateful by recognizing the miracle of life, that I am able to experience compassion, forgiveness, love, and gratitude, the emotions that make my life worth living. “The miraculous wonder of this blessed day is beyond my comprehension.” ― Lailah Gifty Akita

 

 

At 9 am, as I seek to be grateful in life, I realize true comfort is to be found in the balance and sanity of abstinence. True comfort for me is waking up with that clean, happy feeling, knowing I was abstinent the day before. ”Sophrosyne—a healthy state of mind, characterized by self-control, moderation, and a deep awareness of one’s True Self, and resulting in true happiness.”

 

 

At 10 am the Gratitude I feel is limitless. “Gratitude also opens your eyes to the limitless potential of the universe, while dissatisfaction closes your eyes to it.”― Stephen Richards

 

 

At 11 am, as I seek to be grateful in life, my eyes begin to open and I see how much depends on my point of view: my own wrong habits of thinking and acting must be corrected and only I can do that. “Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.”—Albert Einstein

 

 

At Noon, as I seek to be grateful in life, I know it is within my power to brighten my day and the day of others with the light of understanding and gratitude. “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”—William Arthur Ward

 

 

At 1 pm, as I seek to be grateful in life, I pray to learn to enjoy the good that each day brings and not to be apprehensive about the future which is in God’s hands. “True happiness is to enjoy the present without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied, for he that is wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not”–Seneca

 

 

At 2 pm, as I seek to be grateful in life, I realize it is a heartfelt gratitude that I desire. With Jesus in my heart, I acquire a sense of reality, which is absolutely essential to serenity. “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Col. 3:15

 

 

At 3 pm, as I seek gratitude in life, I pray realizing that so much has been accomplished. I know that God will continue to provide His light of wisdom in my striving for serenity. “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is to not utter the words, but to live by them.”—John F. Kennedy

 

 

At 4 pm, as I seek to be grateful in life, I realize I have much more to be grateful for than I realize. Through meditation I empty my mind of grievances so that I do not think of them continually and make them bigger than they are. “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”—Melody Beattie

 

 

 

At 5 pm, as I seek to be grateful in life, by asking God to make me grateful for all the good things I have been taking for granted. I ask myself the question: “What am I doing with what I got?” “Things turn out best for people for people who make the best out of the way things turned out.”—Pinterest Quote.

 

 

At 6 pm, as I seek to be grateful in life, I realize that if I am truly grateful, I will keep my hands off the recovery program of others. My business is with me and my recovery. “We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”—Fredrick Koeing

 

 

At 7 pm, as I seek to be grateful in life, I turn to God with prayers of gratitude for His wholesome, real and healing force. I pray in distress and need but also in the fullness of my joy! “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”—Epictetus

 

 

At 8 pm, as I seek to be grateful in life, I see that I have many reasons for contentment and gratitude. I look, find and relish the pleasant and satisfying things that happen each day. “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”—Thornton Wilder

 

 

At 9 pm I seek gratitude by remembering the emotional & Spiritual gifts that God, Al-Anon, AA, OA, ACA and CR have given me and with Gratitude I promise to continue to open myself up to the possibilities of life. “Joy is the simplest
form of gratitude.”—Karl Barth

 

 

At 10 pm I thank God for my abstinence and recovery. I ask for help with my abstinence in the day ahead. I offer the day ahead to the service of God. I pray for others, my family and friends and people I have yet to meet and know in life.   “Abstinence from sins is better than seeking help afterwards.”—Ali ibn Abi Talib

 

 

At 11 pm, as I seek to be grateful in life, I am thankful to God for transforming my life and my relationships. I turn over the negative aspects of me and life to Him in my God Box, work on reducing my shortcomings and character defects, and simply be clear, present, & abstinent to enjoy the gift of my life experience.   “The more you thank life, the more life gives you to be thankful for.”—Unknown

Just a Twist & Tilt on the Blind Shades Brings Sunshine Into My Life…

Evey morning, every day, as I twist the rod, the blind shade tilts and sunshine comes into me and my life...

Evey morning, every day, as I twist the rod, the blind shade tilts and sunshine comes into me and my life…

I love waking up in the freshness of my bedroom and the promise of a new day. The walls are painted sunshine yellow. The bed comforter is white as snow. The surrounding lower wall of old  yellow oak wooden panels representing the solid heritage that envelops my being, The floor of hickory a firm foundation in golf and life. I twist the handle and the blind shades tilt to let in the sunshine from the eastern sky. The bedroom illuminates magically and the brightness of sunlit light envelopes me inside and out. This moment will carry me through the day until another twist and tilt will bring darkness. At that time I transition to the soft light of a humble candle burning. I will be grateful for another day that has passed and brought me back into the comfort of a restorative sleep.

Truly, it is the simple perspectives, encounters and reality that bring peace, joy and freedom, The Ultimate Love of one’s Splendid Spiritual Self to life in my life. I am open, honest and willing to face and experience whatever it is that God deems necessary for me in the next sixteen waking hours.

My attitude is one of gratitude for the twist and tilts that my friends, fellow human beings, shower me with on this journey through life. They bring sunshine into my life for which I am eternally grateful.

My sanctuary is walled with woody remembrances of my Uncle Paul and the cleanliness and sunshine there for us to see and be every day alive!

My sanctuary is walled with woody remembrances of my Uncle Paul and the cleanliness and sunshine there for us to see and be every day alive!

A call from my son and an ensuing adult conversation of goodwill and meaningful connection; connecting with a lover with the hope and promise of a beautiful life together; friends that I can share the truth of my imperfect self and imperfect life and who will text or call me back in my time of need always ready to meet me with their simple secure smile of acceptance no matter what happens to me or them. A run on the beach and the moment afterwards panting at the wide and open watery vista, my heart beating for more inspiring life experiences to take me to even a higher level of Splendid Spiritual Self being in this world. This is all I can hope for in the day ahead, to see beyond, feel beyond and be beyond my actual world reality.

A painting by a friend that depicts the tornadic route our life journey sometimes takes though the TROML Process to arrive at our Splendid Spiritual Self!

A painting by a friend that depicts the tornadic route our life journey sometimes takes though the TROML Process to arrive at our Splendid Spiritual Self!

And then at night as the candle slowly is extinguished into a whispering trail of smoke I go to sleep with the expectation of awakening to my twist and tilt world but knowing if my sleep takes me to where my Mom and Dad are and other loved ones that that is okay too. I have readied myself through the TROML Process and transition to a Splendid Spiritual Self as best I could for the transformation to the beyond what we know and experience today where there is no darkness in thought, word or deed, no twist and tilt necessary to carry on, just Heaven and a new eternal life.

TROML Baby!

 

Nothing in this World is Truly All-or-Nothing, Only our Thinking at Times…

Nothing in this world or inside human beings is accurately characterized by All-or-Nothing or Black-and-White Thinking.

There is a season for everything and within a season otber seasons at times. Within a winter there can be a summer-like day, a spring-like day, and a fall-like day. The calendar and the sun’s position relative to the earth is only a guide, not an absolute. There are no absolutes in living our life. Death is an absolute when life ends, as is Heaven beyond.

See beyond what seems to be…

Beyond our human outsides and into each other’s hearts. What is the true nature of our hearts? How does our thinking, our emotions and our physical experience in life impact our heart? How can our heart impact our thinking, our emotions and our physical experience in life. What are the dynamics of our lives?

All-or-Nothing or Black-and-White Thinking is a static way of looking at the world. A two-dimensional way of looking at the world. Why then is our thinking, at times, especially at times of stress or anxiety, lagging the physical realities of the world. No doubt there are three dimensions and a definite fourth—Time. We change over time. Our physical world changes over time. A quick Google Search would reveal some theories of 11 dimensions, even 26 dimensions.

Why only two dimensions in our thinking. “Either-or” are never the only realistic options if an open, humble and willing mind is engaged in a dynamic, trusting and selfish manner.

Yes, if our life’s journey is considered to be limited by only the physical roads we travel then there will be times when we come to a “T” in the road and our only option is to go left or right. But those are always self imposed. We can get out of the car and walk in any direction we choose or even fly if we can imagine that we can fly. Why do we think of the past when we think of our life’s journey when the future is limitless, absolutely, positively, without a doubt limitless if we consider all our options.

Today is the only time we have to live and if we are living we are changing and we can change how we think. We can free ourselves of anything that is binding us, limiting us from being our Splendid Spiritual Self. For today there are no fears, resentments, untruths or even self. Why not leave self behind and live in a limitless world with a logical mind, feeling emotions and taking care of the beautiful body that God gave us to live out our existence?

TROML Baby! Develop your own unique, special, purposeful Splendid Spiritual Self through the TROML Process. Once seeded, it will take time and there will be pain. But pain is the shortest pathway to freedom and once the door is opened, pain isn’t pain anymore, it’s just a part of living in peace, joy and freedom—The Ultimate Love.

After all, all that matters is how you think about it and which season of your life you think you are in…

Waiting, Trusting & Praying are Action Verbs…

Waiting, Praying & Trusting are Action Verbs… but it doesn’t seem like it in our fast pace world, does it?

Yeah, I am waiting and waiting and loving it? What, not automatically reacting?

Or I am praying and trusting in God, my Personal Savior Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit and not in church but during my day-to-day outside activities?

Don’t we always think we are waiting on God to respond to our prayers?

When in reality He may be waiting on us to take action based on His Direction and His Power.

A friend of mine told me recently that while she was volunteering in the second grade she focused in for a bit on an activity to pick out action verbs from a grouping of many verbs and nouns. She was dumbfounded when the teacher said there was one more. Where she wondered. What she tried to figure out one last time. There’s one more- WAIT, the teacher said and then gave an example: “The boy is waiting.” A word is an action verb if you can add “-ING” to it. WAITING is an action! Who would have thought we learned something so important way back in second grade?

 

The next day she was in third grade and learned that ‘TRUST’ was an action verb as in ‘TRUSTING.”

Sadly, it is probably not taught  or demonstrated in public schools but “PRAY” is also an action verb as in “PRAYING.”

So as I am transitioning into a new phase of my life’s journey there is a lot of “WAITING, TRUSTING, and PRAYING.”

No worries, I am doing something to prepare myself for those opportunities, first by “WAITING, TRUSTING, and PRAYING,” and then networking, following up leads and pursuing my new passion in life- Substitute Teaching.

So far I have experienced 5th grade, 7th grade and 11th grade and it has been a fun and rewarding experience.

I wonder what and where else God is waiting on me to take action?

 

 

 

Life Goes On… and I Go with It…

Pain, struggle and death are very real occurrences in life.

As I am sure you have struggled so too do I struggle at times with coming face-to-face with them.

It is hard to rise out of what seems sometimes to be an unbearable amount of pain, struggle and death at times in our lives. Looking back there were similar disappointments and tragedies that some how we overcame, got through to better days. But it is hard to see that strength in the midst of being powerless over the pain, struggle and death of loved ones.

There is no easy way around it, one can only go through it if one is to survive and live on to find peace, even joy and freedom in what has happened.

There is no rush. The real fix comes on a spiritual level.

Trusting, praying, waiting are all action verbs. An action I choose to take at this moment. There are other options but they don’t make any spiritual sense to me.

It’s okay to venture into the depths of despair with a broken heart, a broken dream as long as one realizes they themselves aren’t broken at all and if they don’t stay there too long.

There isn’t any real perfection, control or absolutes one way or another in our lives, only the illusion of them when we so choose to believe. This is healthy at times in our lives and disastrous, one step into the permanent darkness, at other times.

Knowing and acknowledging the truth about oneself and others is the surest and strongest foundation in life.

From truth comes hope and from hope comes living life to the fullest and from living life to the fullest comes peace, joy and freedom, The Ultimate Love.

If only for a minute, a day, a month, a year or a lifetime.

That has come and gone. Was then but not now. Perhaps once again and forever more? We hope and pray, then trust and wait.

My lifetime has been full of beautiful people and beautiful experiences with those people whose grace and love touched me richly and deeply.

Today is today, a day to feel feelings, do the doings and be present completely.

The past is the past and is past.

Tomorrow will be something far beyond what I can even imagine today.

Life Goes On… and I Go with It…