Thought 13: Connecting in Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

I wish for you that peace that is your true essential nature. To see the world through the eyes of promise and peace is to see a world that is evolving in goodness, in compassion, in kindness and in love. To start the day with promise is to move into the day with positive expectations - it's a great way to go out into the world and engage. To end the day in peace - in appreciation and gratitude and acknowledging all the blessings that exist today, is to end the day satisfied and complete. These simple acts of engagement can change your world and the world at large in profound ways.

Wishing you Love,
Betsy

Thought 11: Connecting in Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

To change the world, change yourself.

With Love,
Betsy

Thought 9: Connecting in Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

All those higher consciousness things that you do for other people like compassion, forgiveness, unconditional love, kindness...practice first with yourself to perfect it, and then with the world to engage it.

With Love,
Betsy

Thought 3: Connecting in Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

There is a quote from the movie, Mary Poppins, that has stuck with me since I first saw it as a child and that is "But sometimes a person we love, through no fault of his own, can't see beyond the end of his nose."  I believe that there are times we are all guilty of that challenge. It is so easy to get wrapped around the axle of process and loose sight of the simple truth of what is important - minus the stuff, that in the end, "doesn't matter a hill of beans."  What matters is to see the best in each other, to compassionately care, to graciously listen to others and give the gift of being truly heard and understood whether we agree or not...to see beyond the end of our nose.

With Love,

Betsy

The Foundations of A "Day In The Life"

Habits are what form the foundation of who we are and what we become. Humanity is a collective of creatures of habit. Our species' history is rich with stories premised on the forming of habits, the sustaining of habits and the dissolution of habits. On a personal level, developing habits that are beneficial or not, is something I have turned into a life experiment.

Let me give you an example: Over the last couple of years I have adopted a start and finish to my day that has several key ingredients. Before I get out of bed each morning I take the time to feel what it's like to be in my body. I express gratitude for this body that I travel this life in. Then I take a step outward and recognize my surroundings, and I am grateful for all of the many things - the roof over my head, the food I have to eat, the many things that make my life easier, more enjoyable - I express and feel tremendous gratitude for all of this. And I keep moving out in my mind, away from myself and into the world recognizing all that I have to be grateful for, all that enriches and blesses my life. And I always end this gratitude exercise by visually opening the door wider to allow more blessings to flow, and to let more light into my personal world. And finally, I release it all out to the world, to humanity, dedicating it to the highest good of all.

When I end my day, right before I go to sleep, I offer thanks for the blessings of that day. And I wrap those blessings in the words of intent for what I would like to see in my life and in the world. I have nine attributes (plus one) that I speak to as I gratefully review the days events. These are:
Peace - That profound peace of deep inner calm that is beyond understanding - that it hold me and the world in the palm of its hand
Power - The ability to create my life as I choose - to make it my glorious work of art and to join with others doing the same
Prosperity - To be blessed with all that I need to accomplish what I wish to accomplish - that my life be abundantly blessed
LOVE - That I be immersed in that AGAPE form of LOVE that is unconditional and profound, that I am a vehicle for its spread in the world
Light - That I be anchored to the "light of the spirit" so that it shines through me, from me, and to me. That I recognize and engage with others who are doing the same
Life - That I be healthy, and happy, and content and balanced, and long lived
Joy - That it be a part of my life every day - in music, in voice, in touch, in dance, in song, in whatever way it plays may it enrich my life
Beauty - That it surround me and fill my environment. That it please me, surprise me, and embrace me in its myriad forms throughout the day
Compassion - That I be able to recognize the suffering of others and that I compassionately respond and help as I can while at the same time reaching out continuously to connected COMPASSION and LOVE to the world at large.
AND recently I added HAPPINESS. As I came to the realization that to feel good and content about all of this was dependent on happiness - on feeling complete and content and delighted with the totality of it all.

These are the nine attributes (plus one) that I close my day with, each day, and then again, in my mind, I open the door wider to allow more into my life and out to the world. And finally, right before going to sleep, I release it all to the world, dedicating it to the highest good of all.

I share this process because these daily habits have changed my life in positive and amazing ways and continue to do so. I have come to trust in these habits and to understand that the daily work of laying the foundation of who I am and what I am going to do, is as important as the actual doing.

With LOVE,
Betsy