BlessOurHearts: March 2018

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Happy Easter

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Flowers grow out of darkness.

It is a huge danger to pretend that awful things do not happen. But you need enough hope to keep going. I am trying to make hope. Flowers grow out of darkness.

CORITA KENT(gratefulness.org)

Friday, March 30, 2018

Healing doesn't mean the damage never existed.

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Only you can see this unless you share it

Focus on the things that truly give you joy,

Today's Message - Focus on the things that truly give you joy, so that you can continue to attract them in your life! ~

Good Friday Post...

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Ron Alexander

I thank you God for most this amazing

i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;

this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:

and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

e. e. cummings

Wisdom is our capacity to understand the reality of which we are a part...

Not enough to be versed in only one religion.

Read religion as myth and poetry...

Beacon of Light, Shelter of Peace, Present to others...

Enveloped in Your Light, may I be a beacon to those in search of Light. Sheltered in Your Peace, may I offer shelter to those in need of peace. Embraced by Your Presence, so may I be present to others.

RABBI RAMI SHAPIRO(gratefulness.org)

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Having just visited Bodega Bay last week, I had to see this, hint, skip the last half.

Does Capitalism work?

Stubbornness or ....

We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of the world.

JACK GILBERT(gratefulness.org)

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

For all of you who own a gun out of fear.

Truth may walk through the world unarmed.

BEDOUIN PROVERB(gratefulness.org)

March 24, Santa Rosa, FLOWER POWER

Why Are We Divided by Race

"One race, the human race, we are all one people." LornaBelle GethersCoakley

Why Are We Divided by Race When There Is No Such Thing?

The notion of race may be real, but the science is not. We are all the same, with no exceptions.

NEWSWEEK.COM

YOU ARE BEING LIVED

YOU ARE BEING LIVED BY LIFE!

Don't make 'acceptance' into a goal.
Don't make 'being okay with everything' into a goal.
Don't make 'peace' into a goal, or 'silence',
or 'joy', or 'bliss' or 'calm'.
Or 'enlightenment'.
Or even 'healing'.
Don't make anything into a goal.
A goal is a gaol, a prison.

And if you make something into a goal, that's okay too.
Simply notice the goal-generating mechanism now.
Acknowledge it.
And turn back towards your present experience
with fresh eyes and an innocent, open heart.
Begin again. Here.

If you find acceptance here, wonderful.
If you find non-acceptance here, wonderful.
If you find sadness here, wonderful.
If you find a wild mind, uncomfortable feelings,
a pressure in the head, a heaviness in the heart,
a non-acceptance, a rejection, a frustration,
an urge to 'get rid of',
can you begin there?
Can you flush your experience with warm attention?
Can you drench this moment with awareness, which is love?

And if you can't... can you acknowledge even THAT?
And drench even THAT with awareness?
So that everything is included?
Everything is acknowledged as LIFE?
Everything is fundamentally okay?
Even the parts of you that don't feel okay?

And if this isn't possible, that's okay too.
There's no image to live up to.
No goal to reach.
No gaol to escape.

Fail. Fail well.
And remember...

All your ancestors are holding you now.
And the Earth and all the stars are supporting you.
And our hearts are with you in your struggle.
And you are not alone in this presence, in this moment,
in this sacred space called Here And Now.

You are worthy of Life, drenched in Life, supported by Life, full of Life, illuminated by Life, breathed by Life, adored by Life, lived by Life.

- Jeff Foster

Heart rendering post for...

Mary Rose Hampton tagged you and 11 others in a post in THE SOCIAL CREATIVES.

Mary Rose wrote: "We need to get some back up out there for these young people who are wise beyond their age. What i am thinking is one of those big concerts to start out and do massive fund-raising. We need ways to bring to the attention of the mass public what socio-economic democracy is all about - taking the best of capitalism and combiningg it with the best of socialism creating a mixed economy that is used while we make a transition into the future dawning. Franklin D. Roosevelt saw this country through these same kinds of challenging times, was re-elected four times because almost everyone was happy with the result of this. Bernie Sanders has the same kind of outlook that Franklin Delano had. But we have some upgrades here that need implemented as well, e.g., getting rid of fossel fuels and implementing renewable energy everywhere ASAP. We need to direct money now directed toward the military industrial complex to a peace corps and rebuilding the infrastructure here at home, and incorporating appropriate new tech into our communities instead of preparing for war which if we keep focusing on we will eventually create. The same companies that manufacture weapons of mass destruction are the ones that also build the guns being used to kill our young people in their classrooms. And this is just pure insanity. And the way back to sanity and health and wellness is to take the path of peace. And to assure these young people that they have a future on this planet. Instead of a parade, my vote is going for a worldwide concert which sends a message from the people of this country to NORTH KOREA and THE REST OF THE WORLD, that PEACE IS THE WAY & IT IS THE ONLY WAY - THERE IS NO OTHER. So i take it that many of you are unwilling to see these young people doing this alone, so let us be among others here that are going to engage in activities that support these young people and get their backs covered and that those reading this will join in in creating peace activities that have people dancing in the steets to the sound of music and not a display of military force getting ready for war. You know one of the most powerful ways to win something, is what i learned from someone i very much admire, PAUL HAWKEN, an economist. WE THE PEOPL not only hold the power of the political vote in our hands, but we also hold the economic vote. So as the economic vote we can change the course of history by spending/voting our dollars in the marketplace. And i feel sure that with these young and brilliant people leading us, that us older folks with our wisdom will follow "YOUR FUTURE CONGRESS MEN AND WOMEN", The women of this country have already had their march and drawn their line. The women of Iceland got together you know and cleaned house and sent their bankers to prison and took over much of the control. The same thing can happen here. SO DON'T MESS WITH OUR CHILDREN. LET US GET THEIR BACKS. MAKE PEACE OUR PATH AND LOVE OUR WAY ALWAYS. DEMAND CHANGES IN GUN LAWS."

NRA no more...

Blessings, lose them if you don't...

Miracles, don't forget you are...

Wanted,

Simple answer about our united fates.

Our fates are tied. We have this strange notion on this planet that our fates are not tied. If it were not so we would not be here together. It’s that simple.

LUISAH TEISH(gratefulness.org)

Stay grateful and peaceful no matter what,,,

Anyone can be happy when they get what they want; the challenge is to stay grateful and peaceful even when the world around you feels crazy and dangerous and horrible.

ELIZABETH GILBERT(gratefulness.org)

Doing the best we can,

When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.

HELEN KELLER(gratefulness.org)

Rise, Rev. Ed's Unity interpretation of Jesus at Easter

Thought for the Week

Rise!

I was able to share Unity's take on the crucifixion and resurrection with an atheist last week. While I don't think it changed his mind, and I was not trying to do so anyway, I think he found the take to be different. Here it is for those who don't know.

Crucifixion-We all have crucifixions, challenges, terrible times in our life. This is less about Jesus dying for our sins than it is that Jesus was teaching us how to deal with crucifixions and challenges. How so? If you read the Jesus story, you read that he was a teacher and lover, not a fighter. He spoke his truth (esp. against the religious leaders of his time) and when the time was appropriate, he practiced the very difficult spiritual concept called surrender. His revolution was his message of love and justice. He could have started another kind of revolution but instead chose to let the Truth win out and he did this by putting his life on the line, forgiving his accusers and surrendering rather than fighting. This may not be as "sexy" or dramatic a take on the crucifixion. Surrender is often seen as weak and fruitless. Nothing could be further from the Truth, in my opinion! And to forgive as Jesus did in that moment...priceless! This is the moral of the crucifixion, in my mind anyway.

Resurrection: This can be about your literal belief that Jesus did bodily resurrect. Or not. That's up to you to believe. Some say he was resuscitated over the the three days, maybe on "Holy Saturday", or whatever the day of the week it was. I believe it is more about Jesus teaching us that we have an innate ability, a DIVINE or quantum ability to overcome any challenges and crucifixions. This is powerful, because whether you believe he bodily resurrected from death on Easter, or he was resuscitated, or whatever, he utilized his divine/quantum ability to rise. He taught that we too have the divine ability (God in us, The Christ, etc. whatever you call it personally) in us to support us in our challenges and crucifixions. He said, "these things I do you can do too and even greater."

Because of this divine ability in humankind, I have hope for our race and that is ultimately what Jesus wanted to assist us with and what Easter is all about. And we don't have to wait until the "end times"...the change for good is happening right now. I believe Jesus would have wanted Easter to be more about us than him. So, resurrect from your crucifixion/challenge...Rise, baby!!!