It is as bad to take offense as it is to give offense.

 

There is a Gift in Everything, though sometimes those gifts take time to make themselves known.

Dearest & Nearest To My Heart and Soul —

As I mentioned in one of my "daily" messages — I am often posting messages here, rather than by email.  Many people write to me and would like answers. 

To answer a personal email, I put my whole being into it. So it takes time and space and energy. The time I give to responding to an email is time that is gone. So I want that time to be meaningful. 

The responses I post here will be anonymous — that is, I will not reveal names or private information. It is the message that is important, not the person to whom it is sent.

Here is one I sent just today. This person is not a student, and will be anonymous to you. I have clients who are not students.

Dear Anonymous,

I never did say thank you for the lovely card you recently sent me. And for always reaching out to comfort the sadness of others. I appreciate how you continue to grow and evolve, the compassion that flows from you.

I know we have often spoke of your creativity. And now I see your ability to bring healing to others is also a gift.

You heal with your words, your touch, your energy

Yes, the personality has flaws and weaknesses. That is true for all of us

Those who love us, as angels do, see through our weaknesses,

our mistakes — to the Light beyond — and hold us as angels do—in that Light

Although your eyesight was damaged long ago as a child (and I am so sorry that happened...)

Now — the angels say — the gift that came to you ... 

(Because everything comes with a gift, though we must willing and open to receive those gifts)

... is that your Other Senses were strongly developed  — yes, the senses of touch, taste, scent, and yes, your Creativity—

... however the greatest sense is that which is beyond all physical senses

... the sense of Compassion and Tenderness with which you live your life.

LESSONS LEARNED from my Puppy, Benjamin Honey...

Everyone is our Teacher when we approach life with an open mind and a receptive heart, when our eyes are open wide to SEE and our ears are open wide to Hear, when we live in constant prayer, Thy will be done, not mine. 

Puppies are a lot of work, but you get so much joy and love in return. Benji is a great teacher. Here are some lessons learned from my puppy:

___________

Patient. Loving. Kind

1. Benji says, "What? You didn't want your sock chewed on? Then why did you leave it on the floor, right near my mouth?"

2. Benji says, "It's not my fault. I'm just a puppy. Don't blame me. If you don't want your slippers chewed on, put them away."

__________

Patient. Loving. Kind.

Yes, the mind likes to go outward and blame someone else for what goes wrong with our life. Especially, when you share a home with someone, that's where the mind often goes, "My pain is someone else's fault. They should change."

3. Benji says, "What? I should change? I'm a puppy. Puppies chew. Puppies pee sometimes in the wrong places, until they are trained. I'm a puppy. Don't blame me for being a puppy. I am a perfect puppy. You change. I will grow up."

___________

Patient. Loving. Kind.

Yes, we must be patient, loving, and kind to all the puppies in our lives. It is well-known that puppies learn best from loving kindness and positive reinforcement, not from shouts, hits, anger, or cruelty. A dog may obey you because it fears you, but it will not love you. it will not be happy. It will live in fear and pain.

___________

Patient. Loving. Kind.

Be patient, loving, and kind to the puppy who lives within you. When you are harsh and critical towards yourself, that will be reflected in all aspects of your life. 

Benjamin Honey "Benji"

Benji is a happy joyful little being. He is cuddled next to me now, having had his breakfast, gone outside, and played and run around the house. He feels safe. He loves everyone. He greets everyone with a wide open heart, ready to love and be loved. Benji is a rescue dog who has found his Forever Home. 

If you want a certain breed there is probably a rescue for that breed. Benji happens to be a “Designer Dog” — that is, he is a cross between a Beagle and a Yorkie — a Borkie — a relatively new mix, first bred in the 90’s. But that is not why I chose him. I didn’t even know he was a special “designer” dog.

He was rescued from a breeder in Ohio, along with his brothers and sisters and cousins, and brought to a shelter in NYS. Unethical Breeders do horrible things, like keeping a mom in a cage, using her only to breed puppies. 

So if you use a “breeder” make sure the breeder is responsible and gives a loving family life to all their dogs and puppies. Better yet, rescue a dog or a puppy or a cat or a rabbit who needs a home. There are too many dogs already without homes, languishing in shelters, or "euthanized."

I was a foster mom to Benji, who was 6 months old when he was rescued. I had no intention of getting a dog for keeps, but I fell in love with him. He has brought so much laughter and joy to my life. It takes work, training a puppy, but Benji is very smart. He learns quickly.

Dogs want to please us. They want to fit in. They want to live in harmony with us. They want a forever home. 

When we teach with love, puppies and dogs feel safe. They learn. They grow. And we receive so much. Puppies are great Spiritual Teachers when we are willing to learn. 

THE REAL SECRET

 

The Secret for a Heavenly Existence:

"The secret for a heavenly existence is to learn how to discontinue yourself from moment to moment. This means that you are mentally vigilant at all times so that you can see with your spiritual eye every thought as it enters your mind, and then be very careful that that thought does not form an I, a self, a me, a mine. 

This in turn means that when the thought comes up, any thought whatever, out of the tens of thousands that go through your mind a day, that every thought is going to be recognized as it appears and then you're to let the thought do what it’s naturally intended to do, which is to appear before your inner vision and then pass away from your mind and disappear." 

- Vernon Howard

REAL LIFE

 

Real Life

     Don’t be afraid to die to what you imagine you are. You don’t know that you imagine you know who you are. You would vow that your imagination is you. All you have ever known is your acquired nature.

     God says, and Christ taught, that if you will die to your illusory self, which is a time-nature, you will have a spiritual nature that is endless and can never die.

     Part of your false belief in yourself is that you are this very familiar physical body. Your hair is a certain color, you are 5’10” tall, you are 40 years of age, male or female physical structure. Calling yourself the body and your acquired thoughts, knowing they die, you fear death. Of course, you do this, as long as you take yourself as your time-nature.

     Your real nature does not go by the clock or calendar. It is not physical. It isn’t your fleeting thoughts and emotions. That’s your mistake. As long as you make this mistake, you will be afraid of all conditions. As long as you call yourself a marvelous person or a flop, as long as you call yourself anything in time, you will be scared and not have everlasting life. That is what Christ taught. What do you think all true teachings are about, except to understand that you are not your time-nature. Look and see what a mess you are, and that will prove you think you are your body and experiences.

     Simply let go and die to your false, artificial beliefs about yourself and there can be no fear of death because you have died to death. Die to the belief that you are your thoughts about yourself. Die to that and you will die to death. You are under death now. You have no life.

     Pray. Ask God to show you how to die. It doesn’t matter how awkward you are, or how little you know what you are talking about.

      When you die, you will know you have died. You will not think the way you now think. You won’t have the death you now have. You are living in death without knowing it.

     Christ came to teach people how to abolish death and they killed him.

     You have got to get rid of your own hypocrisies that are keeping you in a state of death.

     Obey the rules I have given you and you will have life...real life. 

  —Vernon Howard