Desiderata

James Van Praagh ends his recent book, “Adventures of the Soul:  Journeys Through the Physical and Spiritual Dimensions with this poem:

Desiderata

(Things I Desire)

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,

even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble,

it's a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.

Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,

it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life,

keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann was an attorney turned philosopher-poet who live in Terre Haute, Ind. He spent his life wrestling with the realities of making a living and following his personal calling to a life of poetry, literature, and thought. He wrote A Prayer, which became a message of hope for thousands, but he is best known for Desiderata, which he wrote for himself, "because it counsels those virtues I felt myself most in need of."  He died in 1945.

Sitting Quietly, Being Receptive: Receptivity and Creativity Rhyme

Every day
early morning,
sitting in the living room,
reading the Lesson,
sipping coffee,
being still,
and often,
unbidden
the Haiku come.

On composing a Haiku

Wild exactitude
five-seven-five, exactly
wild imaginings

Pine branches, bouncing
like dog tails wagging with joy
“Good Morning” to you

Wings of glass angel
hanging in Eastern window
catching morning sun

Skylight, pale blue sky
Wispy, cottony clouds pass
moving so swiftly

A crispy brown leaf
strangely caught in the updraft,
swirls towards Heaven

Light snow, overnight
sunlight attempting to pierce
marshmellowed skylight

Black limbs, layered snow
Bird lands, “Poof,” white crystals fall
miniature storm

Twenty degrees, rain
Forcing the snow from the leaves
raindrops and snow flakes 

Opportunity
“port,” harbor; “tune,” fortunate
sailing in, fair wind

Billy Fingers Ecourages us to Seek Peace During thesse Difficult Times

Following this passage from the Course, is an inspiring letter from Annie Kagan, Billy Fingers’ sister.

But what of those whose dedication is not to live;

the black-draped 'sinners',

the ego's mournful chorus,

plodding so heavily away from life,

dragging their chains and marching in the slow procession that honors their grim master,

lord of death?

Touch any one of them with the gentle hands of forgiveness,

and watch the chains fall away,

along with yours.

See him throw aside the black robe he was wearing to his funeral,

and hear him laugh at death.

The sentence sin would lay upon him he can escape through your forgiveness.

This is no arrogance.

It is the Will of God.

 What is impossible to you who chose His Will as yours?

What is death to you?

Your dedication is not to death,

nor to its master.

When you accepted the Holy Spirit's purpose in place of the ego's you renounced death,

exchanging it for life.

We know that an idea leaves not its source.

And death is the result of the thought we call the ego,

as surely as life is the result of the Thought of God. (T-19.lV.C.2)

Dear Ray Comeau,

I've been stressed out lately. The news is daunting; terror attacks, families fleeing war torn countries, the environmental mess.

In my book, The Afterlife of Billy Fingers, How My Bad-Boy Brother Proved To Me There's Life After Death, my brother Billy teaches how to better navigate life on planet Earth. Amazingly, Billy began sharing this wisdom with me a few weeks after he died. Two years of our conversations are recorded in our book.

One thing Billy says is;

People spend lots of time on things that make them unhappy. To cultivate joy, pay attention to what you like.

So, with all the disturbance happening on Earth, I made a list of things Billy says can soothe the soul.

SPEND TIME IN NATURE

The light, colors, scents and sounds of the natural world bring pleasure to and heal the senses. Walking in the forest, planting a garden, or simply feeling the warmth of the sun on your face, help you tune to the miracle of creation.

SAY THANK YOU

Many spiritual paths promote the concept of gratitude. Saying "thank you" may be simpler than trying to feel grateful. Saying thank you to all the things that please you, silently or out loud, helps you notice the grace in your life. Thank you is an easy step down the road toward gratitude.

PAUSE FOR BEAUTY

Take time every day to admire something of beauty. Beauty is evocative; it awakens something deep inside and transcends the noise and static of the world. Beauty reminds you of the awe at the heart of life itself.

MAKE LIFE MORE MUSICAL

Singing, dancing and listening to music connects you to the special pleasure of being alive. Have favorite songs on standby to enhance your mood or change it. Some music could be bright and upbeat, some slow and melancholy, some designed for healing. Melody and rhythm turn the ordinary into the magical.

CHANGE YOUR VIEWPOINT

A change in perspective is powerful. According to Quantum physics, the way you see things can actually change them. If something upsets or frightens you, look for what you like about it. When it comes to people, focus on their deep voice, their sparkling eyes, their quick smile, their unique wit. When someone senses positivity coming their way, they may respond in kind.

CELEBRATE THE PURPOSELESS PURPOSE OF LIFE

Joy comes from doing what we love simply for the pleasure of it. Keep a journal, learn to surf, sing in a choir, bake bread, plant a garden, feed the birds. Everything you do doesn't have to lead to an outcome. The doing can be its own reward.

                                                                                                             © 2015 annie kagan 

With Love
Your friends

Billy Fingers
Annie Kagan 

Tapping into the FP, the field of potential,” with our Thoughts.

I am rather enjoying Pam Grout’s book, “E Squared:  Nine Do-It-Yourself Energy Experiments That Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality.”  She makes it clear that there is an invisible energy field that flows through the universe, influencing the physical realm.  She calls it the FP, the field of potential.  She makes it clear that we can tap into the FP and transform this energy by using our thoughts. Every thought we have is an energy wave that affects everything else in the universe.  

And from her book:

Dr. Fred Alan Wolf says it boils down to this:  The universe doesn’t exist without a perceiver of that universe.  A Couse in Miracles is a self-study program in spiritual psychology that I’ve been practicing and teaching for 25 year; it, has always advocated the idea that consciousness creates the material world. It says we humans decide in advance how we’re going to experience life, that we choose beforehand what we want to see.

Pam Grout continues:

 The Dude Abides Principle:  There is an invisible energy force or field of infinite possibilities.

Every thought we have impacts the field of potentiality.  In fact, what we see is nothing but waves of possibility that we observed into form.  This principle states that you impact the field and draw from it according to your beliefs and expectations.

She tells the story that convinced her of this truth—the “nail miracle:”

For years, I placed a calendar beside my bed, plucking it down from time to time to jot down important events.  One night, I grabbed the calendar a bit too eagerly and pulled out the small nail that secured it to the wall.  I looked all over for it to no avail. I gave up and decided I would just send out an intention for it to show up.  The next morning when I woke up, the nail was in my hand nestled between my thumb and forefinger.

Most people associate the word abacadbra with magicians pulling rabbits out of hats.  It’s actually an Aramaic term that translates into English as, “I will create as I speak.”

She employs the scientific method to demonstrate this, encouraging us to do experiments.

So, I decided to try Experiment 1:  This is what I want to pull out of the field in the next 48 hours: 

 I want to see orange cars.

Well, Christine and I were driving to Michigan when I began seeing them everywhere—obviously, on the highway, in mall parking lots, in driveways, on the street, parked, and what really knocked me out was, after being gone for over three weeks, we drove into our driveway, and I looked across the street,  and our neighbor had acquired in our absence, a new , shiny ORAANGE car.

And here is the incident that inspires me the most.

While we were in Michigan, I went into my hometown of Three Rivers, particularly, to go to a store on Main Street that featured only sunglasses.  Actually, I had gone to that store several times, and each time it was closed.  I tried it once again, it was closed, and I turned away, muttering to myself, “Damn it,” and just then I looked across the street and saw a new, beautiful ORANGE car.  I actually walked across the street and patted it on the fender.  Then, I looked at its license plate, and it said:  URTOWN.

Now, that meant two things to me:  

1) I was experiencing the results of my projection, “Damn it,” making up my world, “my” town, and 2) it was, indeed, the town I grew up in.

Pam Grout:

To change the world is a simple matter of changing our thoughts.  To bring something into the physical world requires focusing not on what we see, but on what we want to see.

Doreen Virtue says in her book, “Healing with the Angels:  How the Angels can Assist you in Every Aspect of your Life:”

Angels sometimes communicate with us by using license plates.  In this way, the angels will actually give us detailed messages.

*     *     *

Yesterday afternoon, I was sitting on our Patio, enjoying the warm, sunny July day, and a  little bunny rabbit came to eat the black sunflower seeds on the ground underneath the bird feeder about 8 feet away from where I was sitting.  Uncharacteristically, I looked at him full on, and because of macular degeneration, he completely disappeared.  Usually, I l look at an object at 3 o’clock, or 9 o’clock, and my peripheral vision brings it into focus.

For a moment, I had this fear thought, “What will it be like in 10 years?”  At that very moment, the little bunny rabbit hopped over and sat right in front of me, twitching its nose, and looking at me. I kept saying, softly, “Hi, little bunny rabbit.”  After a couple of minutes, he turned and hopped back to his seeds.

 I felt comforted and safe, realizing that the FP, the field of potential,” was manifesting, willing to enter in at any moment, attracted by my thoughts, winking at me, saying, “You’re going to  be just fine.”