Live for Today!

Regretting the past and worrying about the future are the curses of the sensient soul. It takes an almost constant awareness of our thoughts to prevent these useless pasttimes from invading our consciousness and wasting our precious time. So perhaps it is not fair to include "living for today" among my list of "small changes", but it is such an important change that it cannot be overlooked.

Whenever you find yourself deep in "shoulda, woulda, coulda's", or wishing that tomorrow, or Friday, or Christmas or retirement would just get here already! ... stop! ... and thank whatever Higher Power you worship for today. Keeping a Gratitude Journal will help you stay focused on the present.

Thanks for being here and now!
KT

The Ultimate Journal

Last night, I went to see a program by Neil Donald Walsch, the author of the Conversations with God books. To be honest with you, I've never read any of his books, but I was curious. And the fact that he was speaking in the sanctuary of a church that I've been curious about attending for over a year was the tipping point that led me to buy a ticket.

It was a serene and uplifting experience. Walsch is a gentle man, almost 70 years of age, who strolled onto the stage like a man taking a stroll in nature. He was totally in the moment, he was aware of everything around him. Looking like a kind grandfather in casual pants and an untucked shirt, he spoke of the experience almost 20 years ago that led him to write his 9 books, many of which have been bestsellers on the NY Times for years at a time.

To explain it briefly for anyone who is not aware of his story, he tells of an early morning when he awoke, unable to sleep and filled with rage at the turn his life had taken. His marriage, his career and his health had all taken a turn for the worse, and he was on the verge of suicide. He said he recalls thinking something like "Show me why this is all happening to me, give me a reason, or I'm out of here!" He heard the voice at first "just over my right shoulder", and then as he continued to ask questions, the voice moved inside his head and patiently answered each question he asked. He picked up a yellow legal pad and begin having the Q&A on paper - asking a question and receiving an answer, and writing it all down as he received it. He did this for 4 hours the first night, unaware of the passage of time. Over the next 20 years, he would write 3000 pages in this same manner.

I'm going to have to read Walsch's work. It is the ultimate journal. And perhaps he has struck upon the reason why journaling has always been touted as such an important part of our lives. Because if we allow ourselves to set aside our rambling thoughts and actually listen for an answer when we ask a question in our journals, we might find that something divine is always nearby, waiting for us to ask a question so they can give us The Answer.

Take the time to journal every day.

Thank you for being here and now!

KT

Who is it we hear inside our heads?
Sometimes the monkey brain,
Sometimes God?
And the choice of who we will pay
attention to is ours alone
KT

Journaling

I've mentioned writing in your journal in several of my earlier posts, but thought I would bring it up again just in case you haven't quite gotten the habit down yet. I still struggle with it myself, so I know how hard it can be. But I also know how much more clarity I have about my life, my goals, my dreams, when I do journal.

I like to journal in a planner. I found a great one at Target - the Weekly/Monthly Planner by Blue Sky. I like it because it has both a monthly and a weekly calendar for each month ... so I use the monthly one for appointments, etc. and the weekly format for my actual journaling. I try to do a gratitude journal each day - at least 3 things I'm grateful for, as well as a dream journal if I remember my dreams from the night before. And then I also just journal about my day - any synchronicities I've experienced, any inspiration that came to me during my meditation, etc.

I admit that there are weeks when I get very little written in my journal. But I never give up on the idea ... I carry it with me always and write in it whenever something comes up that I want to remember.

Thanks for being here and now.
KT

Homesteading Mindset ...

My comment today from Bobby Tall Horse got me to thinking about homesteading ... and when I went off and did a little research, I found this blog, which pulls together the ideas of simple living and homesteading.

I guess there's not much actual "homesteading" going on anymore like there was back in frontier days - when free land was available and all you had to do was agree to work it. Today, when someone speaks of homesteading, they usually just mean "self-sustained living" ... growing your own food, etc.

What can you do in your own life that would move you closer to a "homesteading mindset?" Grow your own garden (even a tomato plant in a pot counts!!), sew your own clothing, can or freeze food. Any step you can make toward simplifying your life in these ways will most certainly make you a happier soul!

Right in the middle of our urban chaos, we can carve out a small little "homestead", even if only in our mind, and make our lives so much richer by so doing.

Thanks for being here and now.
KT

Go Simple!

Simplifying our lives seems to be the hot topic right now. I'm seeing articles and TV shows about it everywhere ... even Oprah had a show about Simplifying Your Life this week ... although I must admit I have a little trouble listening to Oprah tell us about packing her own lunch every morning "to save $7" or "saving toast" that she doesn't eat one day and retoasting it the next morning!!

But getting rid of the "stuff" will indeed make you feel more alive and more connected to the earth. How many pairs of shoes does one woman need, after all? And in this time of recession, now is a great time to sell those unused or unwanted items on ebay, at a garage sale, or to a consignment store. That was one thing I mentioned in a recent article I wrote for Associated Content ... taking an "asset audit" of our homes and cleaning out the unnecessary clutter.

This week, start looking for ways to clear out the clutter in your home and your life.

Didn't need it when I bought it,
And sure don't need it now!
I'll clean the clutter from my space,
And add serenity in its place

Thanks for being here and now.
KT