Let nothing dismay you

"Let nothing disturb thee; Let nothing dismay thee; All thing pass; God never changes. Patience attains All that it strives for. He who has God Finds he lacks nothing: God alone suffices." -ST. TERESA OF AVILA: nun, mystic, writer

Hugs & Oxytocin

The average length of a hug between two people is 3 seconds. But the researchers have discovered that when a hug lasts 20 seconds there is a therapeutic effect on body and mind. A sincere embrace produces a hormone called "oxytocin"-- also known as the love hormone:

1. STIMULATES OXYTOCIN
Oxytocin is a neurotransmitter that acts on the limbic system, the brain’s emotional centre, promoting feelings of contentment, reducing anxiety and stress, and even making mammals monogamous. It is the hormone responsible for us all being here today. You see this little gem is released during childbirth, making our mothers forget about all of the excruciating pain they endured expelling us from their bodies and making them want to still love and spend time with us. New research from the University of California suggests that it has a similarly civilising effect on human males, making them more affectionate and better at forming relationships and social bonding. And it dramatically increased the libido and sexual performance of test subjects. When we hug someone, oxytocin is released into our bodies by our pituitary gland, lowering both our heart rates and our cortisol levels. Cortisol is the hormone responsible for stress, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
2. CULTIVATES PATIENCE
Connections are fostered when people take the time to appreciate and acknowledge one another. A hug is one of the easiest ways to show appreciation and acknowledgement of another person. The world is a busy, hustle-bustle place and we’re constantly rushing to the next task. By slowing down and taking a moment to offer sincere hugs throughout the day, we’re benefiting ourselves, others, and cultivating better patience within ourselves.
3. PREVENTS DISEASE
Affection also has a direct response on the reduction of stress which prevents many diseases. The Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine says it has carried out more than 100 studies into touch and found evidence of significant effects, including faster growth in premature babies, reduced pain, decreased autoimmune disease symptoms, lowered glucose levels in children with diabetes, and improved immune systems in people with cancer.
4. STIMULATES THYMUS GLAND
Hugs strengthen the immune system. The gentle pressure on the sternum and the emotional charge this creates activates the Solar Plexus Chakra. This stimulates the thymus gland, which regulates and balances the body’s production of white blood cells, which keep you healthy and disease free.
5. COMMUNICATION WITHOUT SAYING A WORD
Almost 70 percent of communication is nonverbal. The interpretation of body language can be based on a single gesture and hugging is an excellent method of expressing yourself nonverbally to another human being or animal. Not only can they feel the love and care in your embrace, but they can actually be receptive enough to pay it forward to others based on your initiative alone.
6. SELF-ESTEEM
Hugging boosts self-esteem, especially in children. The tactile sense is all-important in infants. A baby recognizes its parents initially by touch. From the time we’re born our family’s touch shows us that we’re loved and special. The associations of self-worth and tactile sensations from our early years are still imbedded in our nervous system as adults. The cuddles we received from our Mom and Dad while growing up remain imprinted at a cellular level, and hugs remind us at a somatic level of that. Hugs, therefore, connect us to our ability to self love.
7. STIMULATES DOPAMINE
Everything everyone does involves protecting and triggering dopamine flow. Low dopamine levels play a role in the neurodegenerative disease Parkinson’s as well as mood disorders such as depression. Dopamine is responsible for giving us that feel-good feeling, and it’s also responsible for motivation! Hugs stimulate brains to release dopamine, the pleasure hormone. Dopamine sensors are the areas that many stimulating drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine target. The presence of a certain kinds of dopamine receptors are also associated with sensation-seeking.
8. STIMULATES SEROTONIN
Reaching out and hugging releases endorphins and serotonin into the blood vessels and the released endorphins and serotonin cause pleasure and negate pain and sadness and decrease the chances of getting heart problems, helps fight excess weight and prolongs life. Even the cuddling of pets has a soothing effect that reduces the stress levels. Hugging for an extended time lifts one’s serotonin levels, elevating mood and creating happiness.
9. PARASYMPATHETIC BALANCE
Hugs balance out the nervous system. The skin contains a network of tiny, egg-shaped pressure centres called Pacinian corpuscles that can sense touch and which are in contact with the brain through the vagus nerve. The galvanic skin response of someone receiving and giving a hug shows a change in skin conductance. The effect in moisture and electricity in the skin suggests a more balanced state in the nervous system – parasympathetic.
Embrace, embrace with your heart.~~

Some Sunday Morning Sweetness

I haven't made these, since I am not a very ambitions baker, but maybe...let me know if you do.

No Wheat, No Sugar, No Dairy Avocado, Coconut & Sweet Potato Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup mashed avocado (about 1/2 an avocado)
• 1/2 cup cooked sweet potato
• 1/2 cup creamy nut butter (almond, cashew, tahini, etc)
• 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons cacao powder

Instructions:
Bake Time: 20 minutes
Preheat the oven to 325° F, and line a regular size loaf pan with parchment paper, or grease it with coconut oil. Then, leave the chocolate chips aside, and blend all other ingredients in a blender. When they are mixed well, add the chocolate chips, and transfer the batter to the loaf pan.
Use a spoon to level the batter across the pan evenly, as it will be sticky and thick. Bake for 20 minutes.
Leave it to cool and slice it.
Source: theheartysoul.com

Right Spiritual Excitement

Dear Classmates & Students,
I don't know about you, but so much has been going on in my life that I am excited about—spiritually excited. That means an excitement that arises from deep within.

Excitement that comes from events in the world fades quickly. Right spiritual excitement takes us deeper within and genuinely higher.

Spiritual excitement arises from the soul when it connects with Divine Intelligence. The soul is like a seed deep within Mother Earth, meditating—waiting—growing—evolving—towards the Light of Father Sun. Each human being must provide the tiny seed with the nourishment and right conditions it needs to grow and evolve.

I am excited because so many spiritual understandings are blossoming into springtime within me. Winter seems to be the end of summer—but it is only the beginning of spring. The earth needs winters. Even when someone lives in a tropical climate without snow, winter still comes, in the form of monsoons, dust storms, and other forces of nature.

Whatever winters you are in or have gone through, there is an eternal springtime blossoming within you. It is always there; you are just not always aware of it. Your spiritual work today leads you closer and closer to that springtime.

Right now, it is springtime in Austin, Texas, where I am living for the moment. The intense heat and humidity of summer isn’t here yet. There is a wonderful wind singing through the sunshine. Chimes are ringing outside my window. The entire backyard is filled with green and flowers. A scented candle is burning. I like to keep candles burning most all the time. There is something magic about fire. I have written about the magic of fire rituals in your lessons.

I am reading “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy, who was an awakened man. I love the Russian authors. I haven’t read them since high school, so I am reading them all again. Now I can read them from a higher spiritual perspective, which helps me understand why I loved them as a teenager. Anna Karenina is nearly 1,000 pages long.

"Oh no, Father," Kitty objected heatedly..."she does so much good! You can ask anyone you like..."

"Maybe," said the prince...But you see, it's much better to do good in a way that no one knows anything about it." —(Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy)

We don’t have to read only “spiritual” books to be spiritually entertained and enlightened. Leo Tolstoy offers an in depth look at human nature, the way humans beings observe and react off each other, as well as great spiritual insight. So do many other books that one might not thing of as "spiritual."

It’s important to take off the cloak of so-called spirituality—judgments and ideas of one’s superiority over others. A person can get so locked into their ideas that they can’t see they are living in a false idea of themselves as a “spiritual” being. You might remember this from your lessons,  if you have gotten to this lesson:

What is this thing called spirituality, anyway? Spirituality is not about beliefs and ideas. Spirituality is about being absolutely present in your life. When you are absolutely present in your life, your life is spiritual and you are a spiritual being. Then intuition speaks to you crystal clear. 

Spirituality is not different from this earth you walk upon. It is not something else out there. It is not different from you. It is not separate from God. Spirituality is not something you attain. Anything that can be attained can be lost.

So try to notice where you feel spiritually superior or inferior to others. When you find any of these feelings inside you, that is a place within you that needs work. And humility.

Wishing you all a spiritually evolving day with lots of good nutrients, pure water, and sunshine for your soul.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhN3Y8aSJyI

Do not entertain enemies

Do not invite the enemy home to stay

Do not make friends with the enemy
first you must know the enemy
the enemy has many names

Listen, I will tell you some, so you will
recognize them when they come

Unhappiness, pain,
confusion, delusion, illusion,
false highs, lies, pride, false lows,
laziness, jealousy, envy, evil,
lust, hatred, fear, greed,
anger, apathy, negativity, hostility,
anxiety, superiority, inferiority,
self-righteousness, revenge,
depression, deceit, despair,
darkness

Do not make friends with the enemy.
Do not invite your enemies in for tea.
Escort them out the door and live free.

Keep Good Company

Photo Courtesy Thomas Leininger

Keep good company
invite your true friends in for tea
embrace each one
invite. them to stay for eternity

Listen, I will tell you some of their names
so you will know them when they come

Angels, God, Truth
Silence, An Open Heart
Relaxation, Now, The Present Moment
Compassion, Understanding, Freedom
Courage, Joy, Happiness, Peace
Acceptance, Patience, Receptivity
Light, Love, Laughter, Forgiveness
Intelligence, Creativity, Perseverance

Enthusiasm, Meditation, Discipline
Wisdom, Harmony, Empathy, Charity
Humility, Honesty, Integrity, Sincerity
Simplicity, Clarity, Kindness, Intuition
Divine Intelligence, Divine Mother,
Nature spirits, Unity, Oneness

Listen, you will know them when they come
they will speaking one language
the language of the Heart which is
the universal language of Love. 

Angels Say

Angels say
Be clear
As air or water
Transparent and yielding
Unattached to form
What is form?
But the shape
The mind takes
On its excursions
Into what it calls reality
Enjoy the excursions
Do not become attached to the train

Emily Dickinson

I felt a cleaving in my mind
As if my brain had split;
I tried to match it, seam by seam,
But could not make them fit.

The thought behind I strove to join
Unto the thought before,
But sequence ravelled out of reach
Like balls upon a floor.

--Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson's prose and poetry is always deep and profound.

Baraka Blue: Love & Light

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQJvsK203DQ

Response to: "Making words penetrate the density of my resistance"

Janice, I am responding to your post here, since you say that you have trouble viewing comments. Is that still the case? Let me know. Does anyone else have this problem? Kevin did leave a very appropriate and helpful comment on your post, Janice. Maybe you have read it by now.

The lessons are designed to over time open you to new understandings. This is why it is important to read each lesson, one by one, and not share your lessons with others. Each person must make their own commitment to their spiritual path. When you take one step towards the angels, Truth, Reality, God, the angels take two steps towards you. This is universal law.

Making words penetrate the density of my resistance

A huge element of my Waking Up last year, was leaving a cruel and angry man. In an attempt to shield myself from his damage, I grew smaller and smaller, withdrawing into the safety of non-responsiveness and inaction. Eventually I became a complete nothing. 

A Shaman introduced me to many balancing concepts, including angels, and my awareness grew exponentially. I believe the aid and guidance I received from the angels literally saved my life. I might still be there with that man - suffering in denial and bewilderment - had they not shown me the truth. I retreated to safety and went No Contact. But once I felt safe, I found it hard to connect with the angels anymore… or to meditate, or exercise… all I could do was sit here and wonder who I am supposed to be. 

Then I found Indira and this place. I still haven't reconnected with my angels, but I am determined to do so. I’m reading Lesson 2 of my first semester about Maya. My stuckness - “hurt, offended, depressed, resentful” - is appropriately before me on the pages. I think I read the same page 4 times! I’m trying to force my mind to get it, but those stupid false voices in my head keep interrupting. I’m doing the work, but sometimes it’s very hard to make it sink in.

If anyone has preparation tips - things they do to improve their ability to absorb the lessons - I would love to hear them.  I’ve noticed though, in this Google Blog thingy, that when someone asks for observations, and I click where it says: “2 comments” the words "2 comments" go away, but no comments appear!  Anywhoo…… thanks if anyone can help.

happy springtime

Happy springtime in your heart and soul. Tiny seeds planted in your soul hold the divine essence of your true nature. Be sure to nurture them so they can grow.

BEING

The heart is where you want to live. IT is everything. Your true home. In your heart you are loved and accepted. You are not  on earth to become someone else's perfect idea. You are not here to become your perfect idea. You are here to become free from all ideas, to be and express in a way that transcends all your ideas, all the ideas of the world.

In the words of Picasso, “My mother told me, if you become a soldier you will be a general. If you become a monk you will end up as a pope. Instead I became a painter and I wound up as Picasso.”

Is it not a lovely thought — to wind-up as yourself — in all your absolute and unique divinity?

Smudging

https://www.almanac.com/plant/sage

Probably you all know about smudging, which is usually done with the herb Sage. Sage grows wild in the Los Angeles area, which is actually a desert land. I am not sure about Austin. You can also grow it yourself. You can read the results of a scientific study on the benefits of smudging with sage by clicking the following links, if you like, but if you know about the ways of Native American and other ancient cultures, you already realize how beneficial sage can be:
(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17030480 (2) 
(2) http://www.greenmedinfo.com/article/medicinal-smoke-can-completely-eliminate-diverse-plant-and-human-pathogenic-bacteria-air

And you can read even more here: http://thespiritscience.net/2015/11/26/the-science-of-smudging-how-sage-actually-cleans-bacteria-in-the-air/

Slow Down

Slow down

Slow down is always a good exercise. If you are someone who runs here and there, slow down. Take a breath. Sit on the sofa for 5 or 15 minutes and do nothing but watch your thoughts. Watch your mind instead of trying to run from it. Sit quietly and watch the way your mind tries to distract you from watching it! Watch your mind try to draw you away from your sitting, back into the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvlW4bEjB5A

Be Where Your Body Is

Accidents happen to people all the time because their minds are not coordinated with their bodies. The mind is off on a safari in Africa while the body is right here. Be where your body is!

Be Where Your Body Is

Be present in your body. Breathe. Relax. Now. Right now. Take a breath. Let relaxation flood your body. Feel yourself being here now.

I AM

Before time, before creation, I AM. Without name, without labels, without time, without karma, without destiny. I AM. Without limitations. Without beliefs. Without definition. I AM.

Seeing

Today I was working with one of our school exercises -- "Ask to see something about yourself that you don't want to see." And I saw that behind my "niceness" is someone who wants something for being nice. Of course, I am polite to people. That's normal, and we don't deserve special credit for just being nice. But often I am nice because I want something -- if only to have that other person think that I am nice. I need to see and keep seeing the many layers that keep me from seeing/being in Truth. Anyone else have any thoughts about this? Kevin

Oscar Wilde

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are 
looking at the stars."-Oscar Wilde

Happy Valentine's Day

💘www.theclearandsimpleway.com

February 14, 2018
Valentine's Day
Dear Students💞

Happy Valentine's Day! Those of you who have been around for awhile know that I post an updated version of this lesson every Valentine's Day. Today is no exception. It was once Lesson 13; now it just appears here every year.

🐠You swim in joy, as joy swims in you.🐠It is only that you are not awake, and so you cannot experience this joy.🐠Your school helps you wake up to the joy that is eternally present.🐠🐠🐠

AN ANGEL BOX

Today you are invited to create An Angel Box.
Or you could call it a Letting Go Box.
Your box can help you fulfill the following prayer:

Angels have a snarky sense of humor.

I’ve been struggling with (self-imposed) solitude… overwhelm… you know, earth stuff. This morning I attempted to accomplish a couple of things before work, and turned on my computer and printer. My Angel Lessons #1 (which I’d printed out days ago) began spewing forth in full color from my printer; but no printer progress window was showing. I finally found it manually, but the print queue showed completely empty - so there was no project to cancel! The only way to stop it was to turn off the printer. I angrily started to tear up the pages (thinking ‘wasted ink, expensive’ etc…) but then came the Aha. Okay, okay, OKAAAAY, YOU GUYS! Very funny. I am listening. Instead of that other stuff, I opened my binder and read 6 pages (for the 6 that printed) and then posted this to share it with you. 

Today is the birthday of my beautiful, brilliant, shining daughter, and I think back to the most wonderful moment of my life - bringing her forth into this world. As an adult, she isn't just my child, she is also a friend. I am so blessed. Happy 13th, friends.