Snips - Thoughts from Jim

posted by Jim on Mar 15

At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into the kaleidoscope of new possibilities.

Jean Houston

The more faithfully you listen to the voice within you, the better you will hear what is sounding outside. And only she who listens can speak.

Dag Hammarskjold

The present moment is filled with joy and happiness, if you are attentive, you will see it.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Life is an adventure, so why not live it!

My most recent adventure is listening to my old stories, old songs, and old ideas and finding the ones that need to be discarded and learned from.  I am using a counselor in the exploring of those old stories, as on my own, I was getting lost in the spirals, patterns, and life. It would have been like a Doctor operating on him/her self.  Not a wise surgical thing to do.

Today we were discussing curve balls, sliders and hairballs.  The Universe is a play ground for all of us, and the Universe likes to play. You ask for a curve ball, the Universe will serve you up a curveball, or a slider, or a hairball.

I used to think that I had to catch them all, and would try. Then today, it dawned on me, that if I am the catcher, I do catch them all and return them to the pitcher (Universe), and when I am the hitter - I have a choice.  I can let the ones I do not like go by and swing only at the ones worth swinging at. It is listening to the voice within, being attentive, and swinging for the moon. I have changed positions to play in the game of the life and the kaleidoscope of possibilities.

Just like in playing ball, to get better, takes practice, a daily practice. The snips are a part of my daily practice, to listen, be attentive, and discern when to swing. What is your daily practice?

Jim

posted by Jim on Mar 10

“There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity”
Tom Peters

“The only tyrant I accept in this world is the ’still small voice’ within”
Gandhi

Truth fears no questions.
Unknown

God expects but one thing of you, and that is that you should come out of yourself in so far as you are a created being made and let God be God in you.
Meister Eckhart

Have you ever thought about the company you keep, the friends you surround yourself with? Listen to a friend of mine, Rev Jeff Anderson from Center for Spiritual Living Santa Rosa deliver a talk on “Keep Good Company” The talk is about 25 Minutes
Click on the link below;

Keep Good Company

posted by Jim on Mar 9

Thinkers, listen, tell me what you know of that is not inside the soul?
Kabir

My lifetime listens to yours.
Muriel Rukeyser

The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances:
If there is any reaction, both are transformed.
C. G Jung

Such is the state of life, that none are happy but by the anticipation of change: the change itself is nothing; when we have made it, the next wish is to change again.
The world is not yet exhausted; let me see something tomorrow which I never saw before.
Samuel Johnson

Have you ever had a friend that you felt like you have known forever?  As you listen to them speak of their story, you hear your story and threads of who you are and a bond is born, a relationship grows that will continue forever. A Course in Miracles teaches that relationships are eternal, and they come into our lives for a reason, a season, a lifetime, for a chance to heal. When you heal a relationship with one person, you heal yourself and all the same types of relationships in your life. It is like the calming of an ocean after a storm, life then settles into more even flow and you feel the peace of loving yourself and seeing yourself as One with all and that being separated is just an illusion of time and of our egos.

A Chinese Proverb says, “An invisible red thread connects those destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break.”  That reassurance is nice to remember as we traverse the rivers and rapids that we encounter as we navigate change.  Change, like the rapids can be scary and sometimes painful as we move forward and learn to embrace that change in our lives. I find it is comforting to have life preserver snip to hold onto during those times.
Jim