Being a Better Listener

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Being a woman with a hearing disability, I look for ways to communicate better. I learned about six years ago how to quiet my mind when engaging in conversation.

It’s amazing how much clearer the communication is for both parties!

The discussion becomes clearer because my mind is not agreeing or disagreeing or wanting to be elsewhere. The noise in my head no longer interferes with my physical ability to ‘hear’.  I respond with my thoughts when it’s my turn to speak.

Listening to Our Inner Voice

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Three years ago my significant other suddenly decided to buy apple everything; from juices to desserts to the fruit, and he is NOT an apple lover. He noticed the craving for the fruit, so did research on the fruit’s benefits. He found that apples are great for gum infections as it clears them; he had a minor one, which healed without a visit to the dentist.

His inner guidance led him to consuming apples in different forms; this is not the first time we have received an impulse to consume a nutrient or avoid a choice that later on proves to be timely.

From where do we get this guidance? God/Source or an inner radar that we all have?

There are many mysteries in life that the mind cannot decipher, but to this day I have learned to trust my inner guidance. Life flows better when I pay attention than when I ignore the still little voice within me.

I Have Let Go of My Spiritual Beliefs

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Knowledge is learning something every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day. – Zen Proverb

It has been a while that I have posted in this blog. At first, I thought I purposely simplified my online time so I could focus on creating a website that sells inspirational fridge magnets, mouse pads and in the future, posters. Now that the project that took many months of my dedication is complete, I don’t have an excuse to not write.

I admitted to myself tonight that the real reason I have not written is because I have had shifts with my spiritual beliefs.

Or rather I have let GO of most of my beliefs because I realized they were stories. I still enjoy inspirational writing but cannot in good conscience write about what I used to believe.

At this point, all I am truly sure of is that I exist in this moment of now. I am also comfortable with the idea that there is an Intelligence that  none of us has seen moving through Life, that love is the answer to everything under the sun, and that perception creates our reality.

It’s not a bad place to be in, but it has simplified my writing and perspective.

Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday! 🙂

Think outside the box:~~~let go! trust! risk! enjoy! give effort! relax! sleep! stop thinking,,,

http://distractify.com/culture/arts/frozen-bubbles-in-wintertime/

Amazing how thinking out of the box turned a freezing day into one with unexpected beauty and creativity.

PTSD - A Way Out.com


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While We All Hid Indoors, This Boy And His Mom Tried A Crazy Experiment In The Freezing Cold Weather.
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Amazing!
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http://distractify.com/culture/arts/frozen-bubbles-in-wintertime/
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Life and happiness are abundant in small, mundane, subtle actions.
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Catching Up as the Year Ends

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It’s been a while I have posted in WordPress, but since the year is coming to an end, I thought I would share my thoughts.

This year has been a much better year than 2012, which was the year I suddenly lost my hearing for 3 days. Sometimes blessings come out of traumatic experiences, and in my case, I was forced to stop and reassess how I was treating myself and how  I use my time.

Early this year after signing up for an 8 week CBT therapy session, I finally released my ongoing anxiety. Once I clearly understood the root of my anxiety (faulty thinking) it healed.  I was stunned by the quick results.

I closed my Facebook page even if I enjoyed posting and inspiring my followers. By doing this, I found more time to do things that add value to my life. I signed up for a 52-week course on mindfulness. It took me four months to be able to find a course that I could join as almost every course required video or skype, which I can’t do. I corresponded with customer service and owners of schools, and no one could accommodate me.  With the advance of technology, it shouldn’t be that hard or expensive. Everyone who wants to learn deserves an opportunity to do this.

My goal is to learn mindfulness well enough to be able to develop an online course, and make it accessible to the hearing impaired community.

I am truly looking forward to new adventures with growth and learning, and in helping to make different spiritual programs available to everyone.

I will still be around, posting from time to time and catching up with your posts. 🙂

Compassion and the Cycle of Life

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“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these” ~ George Washington Carver

Every day I become more aware that love is the essence of all of life, and it’s not only an emotion but (quoting Dr. David Hawkins) “a state of awareness, a way of being in the world, a way of seeing oneself and others.”

Happiness is Letting Go

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“If you let go a little, you will have a little happiness. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of happiness. And if you let go completely, you will be completely happy.”  Ajahn Chah

There is true liberation when we let go of anything that is suppressing our spirit and enjoyment of life.

I find that once I release a mental pattern or relationship to life that my reality changes without my trying very hard. As an example, when I fully realized that I deserved respect, friendship and love in an intimate relationship, the emotionally and verbally abusive ex and I went our separate ways, and without any drama.

As I was happily getting ready to spend the rest of my life on my own many years ago, I met the current man I share my life with two months later. He reflects everything that is beautiful, a true soulmate. He reflects my healthy state of mind when it comes to relationships. Yet, in the midst of happiness and a peaceful life, I have my inner demons that cause suffering. I am aware enough to know that these are simply thoughts, an illusion, but the ego insists on getting its way.

I am aware that I am not powerless. I simply need to stop feeding the demons until they disappear. Little by little they are being let go and little by little I am seeing several positive changes in myself. One being, I have less anxiety.

The healing work is not yet done, but I am willing and eager to continue on the path of spiritual growth and emotional wholeness.

The Ocean’s Gift

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I wrote this poem many years ago, when matters of the heart and plans went awry and were my spiritual and emotional challenges. This poem was included in the United Nations’ collection of poetry for peace. Nowadays, life is sweeter because of the lessons of yesterday.

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When life casts its gray shadows on me

and the tests seem too much to take.

When my heart has been broken once again –

and my dreams have faded into nothingness,

the white sands of the beach is where I go.

Running past sand castles with the

hidden treasures the sands may hold –

running past lovers basking in the warmth

 of the eternal sun,

I reach for the cool embrace of the ocean’s waves.

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Together we dance to the ebb and flow

of the tide of life,

and together we stand unafraid.

Woman Walks in the Golden Light by moonjazz

In the silence of the distance

the ocean’s strength speaks to me-

enveloping my soul with the

gift of peace it came to find.

©Marie Jimenez-Beaumont