A Path. . .

"The only devils in the world are those running around in our hearts. That is where the battle should be fought." Gandhi

Morning comes to New York, to the lava fields of the Big Island Hawaii, and to the healing sands of Waikiki. . .

Sometimes I awaken anxious. But there is always a calm to be claimed if we will. Why do we feel guilty turning off worry? Afraid we'll miss something? Lose our edge? Gently, not by force of will, simply de-couple, de-escalate from the entrainment of worry. Allow your body-wisdom to take over. Pause, clarify, breathe. What do you see? Hear? Smell? Feel?

There is a clearing in the woods, and the "path" to it is more than a poetic image. It is a real way to get somewhere. Believing something is not the same as walking your path step by step. Stop knowing for a while. Watch the comical parade of worries pass you by.

Pilgrim Congregational Church in Massachusetts encourages folks to bring their dogs to "woof & worship" services. "Dogs bring such hope in a world where we're surrounded by such hopelessness," says Reverend Bickford.

Look into the eyes of a pet, a child, or that own inner child looking back from the mirror. Morning comes to our shores again. It's gonna be a nice day; a gift. If we can only receive it that way. . .

A L O H A ! Cloudia

Crisis Opportunity. . .

"I reckon a man is about as happy as he makes up his mind to be." - Abraham Lincoln

"When you are not living up to your potential, it's easy to project your positive traits onto people who are living up to theirs. When you start to fulfill your own dreams and goals you'll become less interested in what other people are doing. We each need to become our own hero."- Debbie Ford

"Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live."

- Dorothy Thompson

We don't take joy seriously or make a functional commitment to be happy. We may vaguely wish to be happy as if it were purely a matter of chance - yet chance is ultimately the smallest part of joy. Commitment and intention rule - and thinking makes it so. This is not "positive thinking." We can't "gut" our way to joy; we must lure it by creating the right conditions. Like kids freely playing in nature. It's good to feel that freedom, to accept our own private song. Even better, this new spirit greets the world and greets others in a wonderful new way - bringing wonderful new results..."

A L O H A ! Cloudia

Judgemental People. . .

"When a friend speaks to me, whatever they say is interesting." - Jean Renoir

"I'm not young enough to know everything." - Oscar Wilde

"A sage may hide in many disguises. The person giving us the hardest time may actually be saving our lives. We can never tell from one moment to the next if an event is for our well-being, so it is wise to give everything and everyone the benefit of the doubt."

- David A Cooper

Bertrand Russell wrote, “The infliction of cruelty with a good conscience is a delight to moralists — that is why they invented hell.”



Judgmental people are fragile people. They so fear what might occur that they preoccupy themselves with rules. The ones they judge most harshly are themselves, but that is cold comfort for their many targets. As a rule, comfort with diversity grows along with spiritual self-confidence.
Ironically it is the tolerant who are truly living up to good values and a high standard. They are confident that Right will prevail, and so are usually patient with others, inviting them to join in the joy of goodness at their own pace and in their own way. The tolerant can find good almost everywhere they look, and are more concerned with fixing problems and healing hurts than in finding someone to blame.
Meanwhile the judgmental scrutinize everyone they meet with a suspicious eye. They live in a frighteningly lawless world that may misbehave at any moment. You see, their god is terribly weak. They believe that He needs their help to root out all the world’s sin or He might miss something. Emotional passion so rules them that they believe that hatred, even violence, are superior to prayer and compassion as tools to change the world for the better.

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Motivation is Key. . .

"Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together will go to the making of a genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius." - Mozart

"My religion is kindness." The Dalai Lama (Get well!)

Motivation is key. If you give to get - your motivation is selfish. If you give out of fear - that motivation too will taint even your giving. Once you really enjoy loving and doing for others you will receive treasure and security that the selfish cannot fathom. Once we begin to emerge from our "lower" type of interactions with others and begin to understand the true value of warmth, respect, and compassion for them and for OURSELVES, we may be surprised by the impatience, anger, and simple everyday rudeness of people. Haven't they heard? Isn't the utility and joy of love obvious to them? No. Not yet. Try to remember (without going there) how YOU used to feel about and treat others. While most people will respond automatically to sincere ALOHA energy (even without words) those that choose else-wise deserve to be respected and 'let be.' We are not the corrector of others. We can only love them. The treasure concealed in these very situations is that they provide us with a gracious opportunity to transmute unpleasantness into a deeper acceptance - even the unpleasantness that we have spread ourselves in the past.

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The Shift. . .

" Who cares what banks fail in Yonkers as long as you have the kiss that conquers."-
George & Ira Gershwin, 1932

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's words at his inauguration on March 4, 1933, still ring true:
"This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."

"The problem with most people is that they lose control of their emotions....The victim represses, the warrior refrains."- Don Miguel Ruiz

We are truly surrounded by wonder and beauty; we live completely within it. But we are focused on other things. It's like that drawing of a vase, or is it two faces? A shift in perspective yields a completely different picture. It is possible to learn to dwell in a wondrous world, by shifting our attention. It begins with noticing: noticing the unexamined circus of automatic thoughts in our minds. How many unexamined beliefs and directives are running your life? We are exiled in practicality, but life is more than eating. Practicality should be our efficient servant not our master imperative. Vigilance and worry were never designed to be more than temporary strategies - they are not a healthy lifestyle. Pause. Go inside to your heart. Think of something that you love. Breathe. Breathe deeper. The still small voice within is patient. It never interrupts. Perhaps it is worth listening to. Anyone, any situation is made bearable once you simply accept it as it is.
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Emotional?

"Peace on earth would mean the end of civilization as we know it." - Joseph Heller









"We have to face the fact that either all of us are going to die together or we are going to learn to live together, and if we are to live together we have to talk." - Eleanor Roosevelt
"Do not teach your children never to be angry; teach them how to be angry." - Lynn Abbot







When I worked with at-risk teens things could get volatile. These kids were not safe at home, and they were guarded at school. Everyone was flamboyant, loud, and cutting school. All of this was OK in their peer group of outcasts. But when one of the kids was talking about something real, and emotions came to the surface, the speaker ALWAYS apologized for it. They had all internalized the social 'norm' that showing emotion is wrong. Certainly it would only make them more vulnerable in their precarious and violent lives. But I started thinking that we ALL apologize for showing emotion. Well, I put my foot down! Usually I was very reticent about stating 'right' and 'wrong' as our group was learning more about that through our shared experience. But in this instance I made it clear that emotions are OK in our group. That for an hour a week they could show vulnerability and get to know themselves underneath all of their (necessary!) defenses. I modeled this by allowing myself to really care and get involved with the kids. Sure there were necessary boundaries, but they weren't like a big cement wall; they were mostly invisible to the kids. Together we grew. Together we realized that emotions are a gift, a warning system, a cleansing system, a signpost to the personal truth that we all seek. Comfort Spiral is about letting go of restriction. It is the furthest thing from putting on a happy front. Joy grows naturally in the right soil.
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Capable of Wonderment. . .

"Anyone to whom this feeling is alien, who is no longer capable of WONDERMENT and lives in a state of fear is a dead man."
-Albert Einstein

"What if I viewed my world from the perspective that everything unfolds in perfect time, and all I need to do is watch and listen for my cues and play my part in the dance of life? If I am so busy rewriting the script and trying to control the flow of time, perhaps I'll miss my cues altogether." - Maureen Pua`ena O'Shaughnessy "My Naked Journey"

Why did the chickens ride the bus?



"The point of good behavior is to communicate our respect for others." - Chogyam Trungpa



In our culture we equate 'abundance' with finances. As I gain a broader understanding of genuine abundance, truly begin to live and appreciate the abundance already in my own life, I noticed my attitudes begining to shift. I am starting to notice and really experience my unappreciated abundance, instead of focusing on my perceived 'lacks.' Once I began to celebrate and value the gifts already in my life with GRATITUDE, more and more was added to me everyday. Practicing gratitude eventually molds our attitudes and perceptions. Life becomes a gift, not a job to accomplish.
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