Inspirational Videos

My collection of inspiring videos at YouTube:
                OpenHeartOpenMind







Image: crystalinks.com

This is the year! & Fresh Beginning

This is the year!
This is the year that my dreams come true!
These words from a beloved poem invite me to eagerly welcome the new year: “Wonderful, wonderful, fortunate you, this is the year that your dreams come true!”
This is the year that my dreams do come true as I am blessed with life-celebrating opportunities. Some at first may appear to be happenstance. Yet I know that they have come to me by divine appointment.
This is the year that expectations flow from my vision of good. I am an active participant in the joy-filled life of me!
This is the year that I move forward with zeal and enthusiasm, giving and receiving, committing to purposeful, rewarding goals.
This is the year that brings happiness, a year that I will live to bless. Wonderful, wonderful, fortunate me, for this is the year that my dreams come true!
Fresh Beginning
I am moving forward in fresh, new beginnings.
The new year brings fresh beginnings. Not just on calendar pages of new months and days, but from within me, new beginnings rise up. I have the attitude of mind and heart that I can begin anew.
I do not begin to do it over again, but begin with a freshness, an outlook and knowingness that propel me forward. Releasing any doubts, maybes, or I can’ts, I have moved from replaying discouraging messages in my mind to participating in a new beginning.
With attitudes and affirmations of overflowing faith, trust, and confidence, I reach new heights of spiritual expression. I do not circle repetitively. I spiral higher! With renewed attitude of mind and heart, I affirm: The radiant light of newness illumines my way, and I move forward in fresh, new beginnings.

Source: Daily Word ~ Tuesday, January 1, 2008 and Monday, January 7, 2008
Image: "Angel Wings Celestial Harmony" by Ki Fujinaka

The Ontologer's Pen

In these monthy articles I try to challenge you and me to look at what we believe and how our beliefs affect our day to day living. For instance, how you think of your God directly affects how you interact with people and how you live your life. A person whose God belief is one that says God is "up there in Heaven" and is angry and ready to get even for any small infraction of the rules is usually a person who is very righteous and afraid and quite often very judgmental and isolated from other people. A person whose God belief is that God is pure love expressing through all things treats people and the things of the world with reverence and respect and feels a oneness with all life. Being environmentally conscious is second nature to this person.

One goal I have is to challenge you and me to change our viewpoint and stop accepting violence in all of its forms just because we've been taught that's the way it has always been. I don't know about you, but I was never given equal opportunity to study a non violent way of life and its rewards and pitfalls. Instead I have been taught nothing but threats, war, violence, and veiled violence. But surely there must be a better way.

When I get lost in this kind of question I turn to my friend and teacher, Jesus. I read His words and listen to how they sound in my head and heart. His teachings that I can understand, and that reverberate through my body, I put into use. I am learning about defenselessness. Little by little I am practicing defenselessness more each day. When I find myself resisting anything, I stop and take a deep breath, let go, and stop resisting. Surprising things happen. Events take place very quickly that change the direction of the action or the event in question, usually in a direction I would never have imagined. And it works out for the good of all concerned.

Defenselessness leads to forgiveness. I read recently that forgiveness is your only path to your God. That's a pretty strong statement and one that bears investigation. My mind says, "Just a minute, prayer and meditation are the paths to God." Well, let's look at that.

If I am harboring a grievance or anger toward someone, what kind of prayer time will I have? Prayer and meditation are our connection time with our God. Our God does not come down to our level of upset and misery, we must raise our consciousness to meet our God. In my world, my God knows no anger, no fear, only love. If I come to my God full of anger and resentment, there will be no connection.

With my basket full of misery and upset I can't even get out of my own way let alone allow myself to love God enough to connect with Him. After all, I'm too busy being righteous and indignant and hurt and wanting to get even. Have you ever watched a friend or neighbor be upset and angry about something? They won't let it go and they keep getting more upset. You stand back and watch, amazed at the intensity of their anger and righteousness. You can see that they are just keeping themselves upset and unhappy. Have you ever watched yourself do that?

Imagine that you are the Creator, maker of all the galaxies, the stars, the moons and planets, all of life in all of its exquisite forms. There you are living in all the immense beauty of your creation and this human wants you to get involved in how offended she is because Aunt Sally didn't send a thank you note. All the Creator sees is the true beauty of you and Aunt Sally, and knows nothing of your temperamental demands.

Righteousness, indignation, hurt feelings, demands, anger, judgment, hatred, are all expressions of fear. But the Creator knows nothing of fear. What would the Creator fear? When you are the power and beauty of Creation there is no fear, only love.

If I want to approach my God, the Creator, I want to go with a gift in my hands, the gift of love, the gift of gratitude for each day of being alive. It is a gift of wonder and awe. When I am full of resentment, irritation, and anger, I find it very difficult to be grateful, full of wonder and awe, to give thanks for being alive. That's where forgiveness comes in. I can choose to be offended, resentful, or angry or I can just let it go. I can forgive, I can look past the perceived offense and let it be. Who is affected by my decisions? I am.

All prosperity comes from the Creator and it is filtered into my life through my consciousness, my thoughts, emotions, feelings, and beliefs. What kind of prosperity do I have when I am filled with resentment and anger? Do I see things and people to appreciate and love, or is my attention focused on what is wrong? Do I see all of the wonderful opportunities placed before me to increase my richness of life?

If you are looking to expand your financial prosperity in the new year, wonderful ways to do just that are passing through your life daily. Because of your unforgiveness of the past, your present perceptions are distorted and cloudy and you miss your opportunities. Can you see how defenselessness and non resistance enter in here? If I am busy fighting, defending and resisting anything, I am giving my attention to what I am resisting. When will I have the opportunity to see the wonderful gifts that are being given me moment to moment?

It may be that you are so caught up in your righteousness that you cannot fathom what I am talking about. Your anger, fear, resentment, vengefulness, are totally blocking you from hearing your own inner self trying to get you to forgive and let it all go.

What is the cost of anger, resentment, getting even? Your health, dollars, relationships, peace of mind and heart, your creativity, joy. Need I go on?
I cannot make your decision for you, I can only look at myself and ask myself this question when I want to be right instead of happy. "Bob, is this upset really worth giving up your health, happiness, dollars, and joy?"

Author: Reverend Robert K. Eagan
Publication: Unity Center Gazette ~ January 2008   [Article posted w/permission]

Warriors of the Rainbow

Source: Humanity Healing Network

The Real Thing

Love Should Feel Good

Often in our lives, we fall prey to the idea of a thing rather than actually experiencing the thing itself. We see this at play in our love lives and in the love lives of our friends, our family, and even fictional characters. The conceptualizing, depiction, and pursuit of true love are multimillion-dollar industries in the modern world. However, very little of what is offered actually leads us to an authentic experience of love. Moreover, as we grasp for what we think we want and fail to find it, we may suffer and bring suffering to others. When this is the case, when we suffer more than we feel healed, we can be fairly certain that what we have found is not love but something else.
When we feel anxious, excited, nervous, and thrilled, we are probably experiencing romance, not love. Romance can be a lot of fun as long as we do not try to make too much of it. If we try to make more of it than it is, the romance then becomes painful. Romance may lead to love, but it may also fade without blossoming into anything more than a flirtation. If we cling to it and try to make it more, we might find ourselves pining for a fantasy, or worse, stuck in a relationship that was never meant to last.
Real love is identifiable by the way it makes us feel. Love should feel good. There is a peaceful quality to an authentic experience of love that penetrates to our core, touching a part of ourselves that has always been there. True love activates this inner being, filling us with warmth and light. An authentic experience of love does not ask us to look a certain way, drive a certain car, or have a certain job. It takes us as we are, no changes required. When people truly love us, their love for us awakens our love for ourselves. They remind us that what we seek outside of ourselves is a mirror image of the lover within. In this way, true love never makes us feel needy or lacking or anxious. Instead, true love empowers us with its implicit message that we are, always have been, and always will be, made of love.

Source: DailyOM - Nuturing Mind Body & Spirit
Image: myspace.com

Return To Innocence ~ Enigma

The Cracked Pot

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the masters house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his masters house.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."
"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"
"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your masters house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts." The pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the masters house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."
Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the Pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.
The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pots side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my masters table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We are all cracked pots. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them. There is a lot of good out there. There is a lot of good in us!
Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.

Author: Unknown
Source: ovethissite.com
Images: Aquarius & Libra by Josephine Wall
"Aquarians" follow their own path, marching to the beat of their own drum. They are happy to have you along, but would never force their way on anyone. Their congenial attitude and habit of setting trends ensure they are seldom lacking for company. Logical and detached, they can seem aloof, but will work tirelessly to improve conditions for all humankind. New ideas pour freely from their fertile, far-reaching minds as they search for knowledge and truth. In Greek mythology, Aquarius was the Rain God who poured water onto a parched world below.
"Libra", the only inanimate sign of the Zodiac, is ruled by Venus. Modern-day astrologers often view Libra as the most generous of the Zodiac because it represents the "Zenith of the Year," when the harvest of the spring's hard work is reaped. Because Venus is the goddess of love and beauty, Librans admire beauty in many forms, such as art, music, and even people. Librans are very likeable due to their captivating charm. Being an air sign, Librans are intellectual and continuously seek out knowledge and new ideas. Born under the sign of the Scales, their spirits thrive on balance and harmony and are most at peace when the world around them is orderly and serene.

Looking Deeply

The Good In All

Sometimes we find it difficult to see the good in people, places, or situations that aren't to our liking. We focus on the things we don't like in our lives as a way of fueling our efforts to create change. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, and it is one way we make progress. However, if we get too caught up in this way of looking at the world, we lose touch with our ability to sit back and simply say yes to everything on our plates, which is the true starting point for all successful activity. Sometimes what we really need is to encourage ourselves to look deeply into all things in our lives to see the inherent goodness at the heart of everything.
At the core of this inquiry is the practice of unconditional acceptance, which can be scary because we feel as if we are being asked not to change the things we don't like. But when we think this way, we are still operating on the surface of our lives. In order to feel the beauty and warmth of full acceptance, we have to be willing to sink deeper into the stratum underlying the external manifestation of our lives. This deeper place of being is the origin of all lasting change, yet its paradox is that when we are in it, we often don't feel the need to change anything. From this place, we experience the pure beauty of the process of being alive, and we see that all things change in their own time. We don't need to force anything. If there are things that we do need to change, from this place of serenity we create the shift easily, our hands guided by an energy that resides at the very center of our hearts.
In our active, goal-oriented culture, we learn to distrust stillness and to engage in busywork on the surface of life. This tendency can blind us to the good that lies at the heart of all things. But all we have to do to see again is stop for a moment, let go of our preconceptions and our agendas, and settle into the very center of our hearts, remembering that it is only from here that we can truly see.

Source: DailyOM - Nuturing Mind Body & Spirit
Image: myspace.com