A beginning. A commitment.
Today seems a perfect time to begin this project. It came to me yesterday on my daily walk, but then the day was filled and Monday arrived and so...
But this idea really does honor Dr. King and his commitment to positive change in the world.
I have been, like many ravaged by fear, anxiety, and consumed with my own rage and helplessness.
Yes, I have taken action and made phone calls and signed petitions and I will be marching to be sure. And will continue to march for as long as we need to to ensure that we continue to move forward toward positive change and acceptance of others rather than the creeping feeling that we must exclude and demonize in order to survive. Human beings are built to compete and aggress but they are equally built to relate and empathize.
So I have found, despite my best intentions to become proactive and remain positive, it has been extremely hard. I find the fear and anger dwelling in my stomach and heart; taking up too much space in my body.
Yesterday morning I rose early at 6 and was able to meditate and then walk in the bright, crisp early morning with a path of white crunching snow under my boots and the sky just turning a pale blue. I thought, "What a gift this is to be in the early morning calm in the beauty of mid-winter," and that was it.
I knew if I could hold onto just "one good thing" it would make my day better and change my outlook a bit from that moment forward. As I continued to crunch along in the snow I remembered Dr. Zhi Gang Sha's prayer for mental healing and repeated this over and over as I walked:
"Spirits of love, forgiveness, compassion and light you have the power to transform my consciousness. Remove my negative mindsets, attitudes and beliefs as well as ego and attachment. Thank you."
(Sha, Z. G. (2009) Divine soul mind body healing and transmission system. New York: Simon & Schuster.)
As with any other meditation its repetition at first focused me until I found myself repeating the words and having other thoughts arise. So I refocused on enunciating the words and hearing them and did this for the full five miles of my walk. The result was less rumination on current events in the news or my own concerns and worries. I noticed a flock of sparrows gathered in bush before me and just stood to watch and they didn't fly away. Later on my way into the city complete strangers looked at me and smiled and asked how I was doing. It was if as my entire countenance had changed and made me more open. Dr. Sha recommends repeating this prayer for as long as you can - 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes and see what results. I have experienced its effects before.
As a Reiki practitioner I have a daily prayer to: "not anger, not worry and be filled with gratitude" - so this lesson comes easily to me, but is just as easily forgotten. I am the first to admit that I cannot always sustain meditation, mindfulness, or positive thinking. I am often racked with anger, sadness and petty jealousies, which make my life a grayer, sadder, and more miserable than it could be.
This is when I try to remember compassion. Compassion must begin with the self and is then naturally shared with others.
So this is my compassion and commitment:
Even if it is only to say "I am still breathing today" I am going to commit to recognizing "ONE GOOD THING" about each day for one year! O. G. T. - and I am going to share this on my blog and ask you as readers to think of your own O. G. T. I welcome your sharing with comments and would love to see where this brings us in a year. One good thing, one day at a time as we move forward. It doesn't mean we don't still get angry or have emotional upheaval as we may expect to with the coming political powers, but recognition of gratitude and positive thinking can have a revolutionary effect. Despite the turmoil and stress recognizing "one good thing" is a small accomplishable task we can all do every day.
Yesterday I found that it was not just the beauty of the fresh cold snow under my feet in the early morning. It was also that sound of the snow reflected the notes of Vivaldi's "Winter" from the Four Seasons, which I am currently learning to play. It was the presence of the birds. It was the smiling stranger on the subway car and the repeated effect of feeling the world to be emotionally more positive and safe. No easy task in the current political climate! Or with media filled with such distracting ugliness.
So I invite you to join me: O. G. T. for 365 days!
My "One good thing" for today? That's easy. The memory of Dr. King, his beautiful voice and the legacy he left for us to follow.
Looking forward to tomorrow.
Today seems a perfect time to begin this project. It came to me yesterday on my daily walk, but then the day was filled and Monday arrived and so...
But this idea really does honor Dr. King and his commitment to positive change in the world.
I have been, like many ravaged by fear, anxiety, and consumed with my own rage and helplessness.
Yes, I have taken action and made phone calls and signed petitions and I will be marching to be sure. And will continue to march for as long as we need to to ensure that we continue to move forward toward positive change and acceptance of others rather than the creeping feeling that we must exclude and demonize in order to survive. Human beings are built to compete and aggress but they are equally built to relate and empathize.
So I have found, despite my best intentions to become proactive and remain positive, it has been extremely hard. I find the fear and anger dwelling in my stomach and heart; taking up too much space in my body.
Yesterday morning I rose early at 6 and was able to meditate and then walk in the bright, crisp early morning with a path of white crunching snow under my boots and the sky just turning a pale blue. I thought, "What a gift this is to be in the early morning calm in the beauty of mid-winter," and that was it.
I knew if I could hold onto just "one good thing" it would make my day better and change my outlook a bit from that moment forward. As I continued to crunch along in the snow I remembered Dr. Zhi Gang Sha's prayer for mental healing and repeated this over and over as I walked:
"Spirits of love, forgiveness, compassion and light you have the power to transform my consciousness. Remove my negative mindsets, attitudes and beliefs as well as ego and attachment. Thank you."
(Sha, Z. G. (2009) Divine soul mind body healing and transmission system. New York: Simon & Schuster.)
As with any other meditation its repetition at first focused me until I found myself repeating the words and having other thoughts arise. So I refocused on enunciating the words and hearing them and did this for the full five miles of my walk. The result was less rumination on current events in the news or my own concerns and worries. I noticed a flock of sparrows gathered in bush before me and just stood to watch and they didn't fly away. Later on my way into the city complete strangers looked at me and smiled and asked how I was doing. It was if as my entire countenance had changed and made me more open. Dr. Sha recommends repeating this prayer for as long as you can - 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes and see what results. I have experienced its effects before.
As a Reiki practitioner I have a daily prayer to: "not anger, not worry and be filled with gratitude" - so this lesson comes easily to me, but is just as easily forgotten. I am the first to admit that I cannot always sustain meditation, mindfulness, or positive thinking. I am often racked with anger, sadness and petty jealousies, which make my life a grayer, sadder, and more miserable than it could be.
This is when I try to remember compassion. Compassion must begin with the self and is then naturally shared with others.
So this is my compassion and commitment:
Even if it is only to say "I am still breathing today" I am going to commit to recognizing "ONE GOOD THING" about each day for one year! O. G. T. - and I am going to share this on my blog and ask you as readers to think of your own O. G. T. I welcome your sharing with comments and would love to see where this brings us in a year. One good thing, one day at a time as we move forward. It doesn't mean we don't still get angry or have emotional upheaval as we may expect to with the coming political powers, but recognition of gratitude and positive thinking can have a revolutionary effect. Despite the turmoil and stress recognizing "one good thing" is a small accomplishable task we can all do every day.
Yesterday I found that it was not just the beauty of the fresh cold snow under my feet in the early morning. It was also that sound of the snow reflected the notes of Vivaldi's "Winter" from the Four Seasons, which I am currently learning to play. It was the presence of the birds. It was the smiling stranger on the subway car and the repeated effect of feeling the world to be emotionally more positive and safe. No easy task in the current political climate! Or with media filled with such distracting ugliness.
So I invite you to join me: O. G. T. for 365 days!
My "One good thing" for today? That's easy. The memory of Dr. King, his beautiful voice and the legacy he left for us to follow.
Looking forward to tomorrow.
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Please tell me what good thing you encountered today.