Talking about pain

Dear classmates,
Here's something I'd like to share with you:

In December, One of my cats disappeared... In the first night of her absence I tried to contact her from heart-to-heart and so came to know that she was trapped somewhere and that she was struggling and feeling cold and afraid. Starting in this moment, I got in touch with a huge pain that did not leave me a second for the following days. I just could not stop crying. Of course, I was afraid for my cat - but that wasn't the pain. It was bigger, seemingly endless... I couldn't even say "my" pain, it seemed the pain could be "bigger" than me. I didn't  know what this pain was about, but soon I realized that my cats were the band-aids, the soothing balm on this pain.  And I promised to look at this more closely - to be able to take the responsibilty to myself instead of laying the duty onto others, animal or person. I am grateful to my dear caring cats to help me where I still need to learn.

So I asked myself what this huge, huge pain might be. I dare say that it isn't this or that old pain of this or that experience - although, all awkwardly stirred up... I couldn't really say for sure. It didn't feel that way, though. I don't know. But when the soul, the essence can never be hurt - which, personally, I found true for me - then That cannot be in pain, so left is only the Ego, isn't it?

What about the pain that is not "my" pain alone? Is there my pain, your pain, our pain? Hm, I don't really know. I couldn't call that pain "my" pain. But can pain be anywhere else but in "me", can it be any other than "my"?

What about these pains of generations, of families, of  nations or women / men / animals,...? We find these, somehow inherited, in ourselves sometimes for things we didn't experience in this lifetime... What is that? Is there sort of a common, united ego that holds this pain up? Or what else is that, how is it different from the pain ego holds up in myself?

Or, regarding when I started and stopped actually being in touch with the pain... may it be the pain of separation, that is said all of us carry somewhere since when we left the One-ness? I don't know.

I ask myself about "the huge pain" since then... And I still don't know. I keep wondering.

My cat luckily made it home, by the way, a few days later. and from shortly before that, maybe an hour or half before, I started surrendering, feeling that whatever would happen would be all right and then I didn't feel the pain anymore, actually Sunshine came through the clouds just that Moment - since then I only remember the pain. And the memory starts to fade away...

I would like to invite YOU to ask yourself about pain with me here in the classroom... Let's heart-think TOGETHER, shall we? - I would love to hear what your hearts say....

Just as I say this, my heart says "what is pain? I don't know that"... but that's not what I felt then... I have a memory of deep heartache... pretty confusing...

So, dear classmates, thank you for listening...
Sending love...
Petra

Rainbows

Dearest Students,
I have written before (and on my website) about eating rainbow foods. Doesn't it sound exciting to think of eating RAINBOW foods? You could ask yourself, would a rainbow eat this? Just kidding. Sort of. What does a rainbow shine over? All the natural beauty of earth. So take a clue from the enchanting beauty of rainbows and do your best to add rainbows to your life -- cherries, apples, pomegranates, lettuce, kale, swiss chard, pumpkins, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage. And since you need rain for a rainbow, pure fresh water. I am not saying you must become a vegetarian, just be aware of what you put into your body. 

I was talking just yesterday to a student about thinking of the body as a field. When we want a field to produce optimally, what do we do? We nurture the earth with organic compost and pure water. We rotate crops. We take care of the earth. Then the earth is nutrient rich. Those nutrients become part of the food we eat. With the right care, even bad soil can become healthy soil that will grow food and flowers.

Nature is our Teacher. Our bodies are composed of the same elements as the earth. Just as the earth can be healed with loving care, so can our bodies. It is true you are not your body and all bodies die one day, but why not live as healthy as you can for as long as you live? 

Your body is a field. How your body grows depends on how you treat it. So treat it well. Feed your body rainbows. Love and nurture the body you have been given so that you might complete your spiritual journey here on earth. The body is the temple of the spirit. Treat it like a temple. It will make your spirit vibrate with happiness. Love to you today and always!  

Welcome Tanya!

I noticed your new picture, so wanted to be the first to WELCOME you to the open classroom. Have fun here. It's a great place to visit when you can't sleep at night--someone on the other side of the world is always awake. I like that about the classroom--that there are students from across the ocean who are coming here when I am sleeping. Speaking of sleeping, I hope I am waking up more and more here in school. Sometimes it feels like it. Other times I am sure I am still fast asleep, dreaming I am real. I remain grateful for the school. Even if I haven't been here for a while to write.

Poetry

Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage;
Minds innocent and quiet take
that for an hermitage;
If I have freedom in my love.
And in my soul am free,
angels alone, that soar above,
enjoy such liberty.

Richard Lovelace (1618–1657), 1642 The Poems of Richard Lovelace. London: Unit Library, Ltd., 1904. 69-70, To Althea From Prison, iv.

TODAY!

      Just as we care for the physical body, it is important to care for the spiritual body. If we want the physical body to serve us well, we must serve it well. This also applies to the spiritual body. We nurture the spiritual body by taking time to commune with God today—while we can—while our mind still works— while we can take a deep breath and let it go—while our senses still function. There may come a time when the mind does not work so well as today, when our senses grow dim, when even our breath fails us.

Happy New Year to all of you

Hi everyone here in the classroom and a  VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR !

I have been absent for some weeks, following the Happenings in my life and being pretty much absorbed by the lessons presented to me... I am glad to be able to take the Time to come here again. Have already done some catching up on posts and, as always,  found some truths for me. :-)

As a little "hello" let me share my personal "Story of the Day" with you:

About 3 weeks ago I bought my friend a puzzle with a herd of zebras that I came across, since I know she loves puzzling.

Having it at home, it somehow stayed on my mind... Then I realized:

Ah, black-and-white does Not exclude uniqueness! Good! (Especially when we think of people of whom we think only think that way, you know?)

It still stayed on my mind... and some days later  I thought: Ah,  when we think there's only black or white (and in some ways I guess most of us do at times), we might want to remember that white contains all colors! To me, in other words: whatever it may look like, everything is possible!

And it still stayed on my mind... And today I thought happily: And aren't we all a bit zebra - all a little black-and-white somewhere somehow... all definitely unique... and all a great deal color-blind for the many colors of ourselves and others... :-)

I gave the present to my friend today and thanked her for being presented the many lessons by giving a very simple present to her. And we happily started puzzling (although, to stay with the facts, the puzzle of knitting - she showed it to me and I started knitting a scarf)...  :-)

So, all the best to you rainbow-colored zebras !

Ah you know, now I understand: they don't sell kitchy sparkling colored toy ponies in the toystores! These are zebras whose colors have been unveiled  ;-))

Petra

(Preview doesn't work, I hope this will be ok....)

Praise and Blame

The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.  --Norman Vincent Peale

The Supreme Reality stands revealed in the consciousness of those who have conquered themselves. They live in peace alike in cold and heat, pleasure and pain, praise and blame. -- Bhagavad Gita 6:7

Who is wise and holds praise and blame to be the same . . . such a one is said to have transcended the modes of nature. -- Bhagavad Gita 14:25

Stay well!

I don't know if this really works, but it looks very healing.

 

Lessons my dog is teaching me

Penelope Sparks Parsons aka Penny

My little dog, Penny, is growing older everyday. Dogs have such short lives compared to us. It seems just yesterday she was jumping into my lap, and now she can't jump at all. She needs extra tender love and care. She needs me to be gentle and understanding since she can't hear so well or move so well. If I hold onto the past when she was a coppery shiny penny of energy, I will only be sad. I must see her as she is today. I must accept her as she is today. Then today is just fine. I let her be as she is. I take her for walks and carry her most of the way. I let her run through the grass when she can. Everything in life changes. Which is why we must learn to live in Eternity. The arms of True Love are always open to hold us. Just be willing to be held, to let go, to surrender, into the arms of True Love. For sure, Penny teaches me about true love. All she has ever known how to do, her whole life long, is to love and be loved. She is an expert at love. I love little Penny. She's my little angel dog.

Christmas Eve

Here is a playful exercise that can help you be more flexible, humble, unpretentious, and respectful. All you need is imagination—and a sense of humor.

TAKING YOURSELF AS LIGHTLY AS ANGELS DO

The next time you experience an ego conflict with someone, visualize the person turning into a blob of jelly right before your eyes—lime green jelly! Imagine that all you see is a blob of talking, gesturing, scowling, quivering, sparkling, lime-green jelly—translucent—that the light shines through—like a halo. Now imagine that your own feet begin to feel squishy. You glance down and realize that your feet are turning green! You are turning into lime-green jelly, too—translucent—that the light shines through—like a halo! You take a deep breath of fresh air and let it go. You are free! You have always been free. The light shines, radiates, and sparkles around you. The light shines, radiates, and sparkles around the other person. Words continue to come out of that person’s mouth, but now everything is happening in slow motion. You can see each word in technicolor. You can grasp each word and hold onto it—or you can let the words go—let them flow—into the atmosphere and dissolve into space. You are that free! You smile upon that person. You breathe deeply. You are that free! You always have been!

Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah

Some of you who attended my seminars in Europe this past fall 2013 may remember me talking about the beautiful song-- Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. You can watch it being performed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLk4vdY28Q. 

The Poet Saint Miribai -Listen-

Mirabai is one of my favorite poet saints. Her life is very interesting and inspiring. You can read more here, if you like: http://www.biographyonline.net/spiritual/mirabai.html

Here is one of her poems, a morning gift for you--at least it is early morning where I am. My sweet little dog is cuddled up sleeping. She is getting older now and I watch her changing. It is what time does. Therefore we must constantly let our vision move towards THAT which does not change, THAT which gives life to all things, and become THAT.

Listen

Listen, my friend, this road is the heart opening, kissing his feet, resistance broken, tears all night.

If we could reach the Lord through immersion in water, I would have asked to be born a fish in this life. If we could reach Him through nothing but berries and wild nuts, then surely the saints would have been monkeys when they came from the womb!

If we could reach him by munching lettuce and dry leaves, then the goats would surely get to the Holy One before us! If the worship of stone statues could bring us all the way, I would have adored a granite mountain years ago.

Letting go of anger...

I came across this quote (below) -- from a Swedish father whose young son went missing many years ago. A man confessed to killing his son -- (as well as many other people, making him a serial killer) -- but years later, these turned out to be false confessions -- which meant the father still does not know what  happened to his son. I thought what Asplund (the father) said regarding this was interesting:

With his son dead and the killer still at large, does Asplund feel betrayed? He answers with another question: "What can you do about it? I don't think being angry will help me. Whatever happens, you have to focus on the future and go forward. You have to make the decision about whether you want to live or not. And if the choice is to live, you have to live your full life. You can't spend it sitting in the corner, thinking about what happened.”

Angel email

Dearest Students,
Here is a copy of an email I sent to a client -- not a student -- so she doesn't have your same understanding, since you work constantly with the angelic principals of Truth, but she does have her own  path. She is very physically challenged, and asked about healing at a spiritual level. Though everyone who is physically challenged or sick must continue always to work at a physical level, a spiritual understanding is also vital. I gave her a reading, and here is the email I also sent her. Perhaps you will benefit from it. I have removed identifying information, of course.

Happy Birthday   Happy Birthday  Happy Birthday  Happy Birthday  Happy Birthday  Happy Birthday  Happy Birthday Happy Birthday Happy Birthday
dear Judy and I am sure. you brighten the corner where you are !
All my love to you
Monika

Hi classmates
It is so cool, with my new laptop I can see the whole side. I can even see the posted fotos and it is easy again for me to post. May be those of you who do not have posted their foto jet do not know how to do this ? I would like to get to  know you also by picture. And also by words sometimes .... or often. I am glad. that the classroom is always open. And I would enjoy it if I saw you there. not only feel, 
Have a good day or night ....
Monika

PAGE VIEWS 12,065

Just thought you'd like to see the page views for Your Open Classroom -- this is the number of times Your Open Classroom has been viewed since it first opened. Smile. I know this because it automatically keeps track, all by itself. I usually don't check the stats, but I did today. Here it is:

Page views all time history -- 12,065

 

So -- even though most of you don't write here, you do read here. I know personally the benefits of putting forth the extra effort to write here, because I do it. I know, I know, you have to open your computer, open the page, click here and click there. You actually have to do something. That is the point, isn't it? Doing something that is beneficial for your spiritual life? And sometimes we can go the extra mile. We can ask, how can I benefit the Open Classroom? What can I add to the School? How can I be of service? Thinking in this way allows us to go outside our own little box (ego). We are here on earth not to let the ego run the show, but to show up for our spiritual self. Come out of the forest of ego! Show up for your own sweet soul that wants so much to grow. 

 

Ask yourself: Who or what is running my life most of the day?

 

 

Stay healthy dear Students

If you are gluten free, try Millet - Or even if you aren't. Millet is so GOOD for you, and so good!

Millet is gluten-free, non-acid-forming and non-allergenic, so it’s a fantastic option for people following a gluten-free diet or wrestling with digestive issues. It also contains the following nutrients:

●protein (tissue-building)
●iron (blood-building)
●B vitamins (energy-providing)
●magnesium (heart-healthy)
●phosphorus (bone- and teeth-strengthening)
●insoluble fiber (aiding in digestion and the absorption of nutrients)

Millet has a mildly sweet flavor very similar to that of corn or grits. You can do so many things with it. Or just eat it plain with maple syrup or honey or olive oil or almond milk. Or make it into salad.

 Ginger-Scallion Root Tea

This is a curative formula traditionally used in Chinese households as a specific remedy for colds, flu and other bronchial ailments that are accompanied by fever. (The Chinese generally believe that hot tea should not be used for colds accompanied by fever.) Author Nina Simonds says this is what she drinks when she knows she's going to be traveling a lot and exposed to many people's germs.

---

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 6 to 8 quarter-size slices ginger root (unpeeled), smashed lightly with the side of a knife
• 6 to 8 scallions, white parts only
• 2 to 3 teaspoons raw sugar, honey or maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 cups water

---

Directions

Place the ginger slices and scallions in a small pot (preferably glass or ceramic) and add the sweetener, sea salt and water. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir well, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes. Strain and serve hot.

*Adapted from "A Spoonful of Ginger: Irresistible, Health-Giving Recipes From Asian Kitchens," by Nina Simonds (Knopf, 2002)

Beyond Cliches . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4znrNtLKDE4

Most of you have read Lesson 15 -- Rising Above Cliches - This video is a nice reminder to live life fully and stay positive. It also mentions Oxfam (one of my favorite places to shop when I am in Mainz with Monika). As Lesson 15  says -- you do not have to grow old according to society's standards. You can live as young as you like! By the way, different classes may have the same lessons with different numbers, because I may have made changes, decided to leave out a lesson. The very first class, of course, has received each lesson.