so deep is its lack of attachment.

In Zazen, there are no goals and you can sit anywhere.

But the place where I participated in this group meditation was ideal and had no distractions.

When my mind has been spinning at full speed for a while,

it seems hard not to look at anything in particular - just emptiness,

but there is no need to focus or concentrate on anything.

In zazen, the breathing should be relaxed, but not controlled or managed;

we just let it happen. In this relaxation, it becomes natural.

The body remains motionless. Like a motionless dance.

We sat on pillows and small benches.

Once settled, you remain immobile,

because if the body doesn't move

the mind will gradually fall silent.

When you practice Zazen,

you are not to try to stop thinking.

It will stop by itself.

When something comes to your mind, let it come in,

and let it go out. It will not stay long, unless you attach to it.

When you try to stop your thinking,

it means you're bothered by it.

In Zazen, we are not to be bothered by anything.

It may take quite a while before I find my calm, serene mind in this practice.

Many sensations come, many thoughts and images arise,

but they are said to be just waves of our own mind.

Usually we think of our mind as receiving impressions and experiences from outside,

but that is not a true understanding.

Actually, our mind includes everything.

Nothing outside yourself can cause any trouble.

You yourself make the waves in your mind.

If you leave your mind as it is, it will become calm.

After a few days of practice, they say I will enjoy it tremendously.

And will see layer upon layer start to drop.

A moment comes when I will simply be there with no mind…

Tags: zazen, za-zen, zazen meditation, group meditation, no-mind

There is also a "ruthlessly benevolent" interview by Jay Abraham available.  If you are in any business I suggest you go directly to the site and download and read the report as well as listen to this important interview.

One of the things he asks us to do is to analyze what your greatest constraint is.

My greatest constraint - The Why Behind Every Failure I Have Ever Had

I have not had definite positive plans for the future that I have consistently worked towards.

In the language of Rich Schefren's report, this constraint is really several constraints, but mainly is a fear of failure and not being confident about my goals. Rich says that many times, we will identify symptoms of constraints, such as a lack of money is really just a  symptom and not a constraint in itself.

One symptom that I have identified is "bad judgment of people and social situations" which has led to = FALSE ASSUMPTIONS

In the language of Rich's report, this is called "flying blind" - not actually knowing what the market/your customers want and "not  understanding the importance of getting very early feedback on what you are doing". 

You get the idea. Go to his site and get the report. Doesn't matter if you're in business or not.  It will help you get clearer on your life goals and how you're using your time and caring for your loved ones.

Tags: contraints, why, failure, positive plans,

–Hazrat Inayat Khan

I dare to be the rapturous beauty that lives in my heart.

I imagine that I am being filled with the elixir of divine love.

I let the radiant light of Love pour into my heart

and light a candle,

symbolizing the purity of love I wish to share with the world.

I celebrate life.

Tags: heart, love, teardrop, divine love, purity of love, celebrate life

that runs through the world

runs through my veins

night and day

in rhythmic measure.

It is the same life

that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth

into numberless waves of flowers.

            –Tagore

We all want to be the Saint

and condemn the Devil

The problem is we are all both of them.

We condemn one thing

And appreciate the other.

At any moment

You can be loving

And have crushed your hatred down.

And in the next moment

you have put your Angel of Light above

and crushed your dark devil down.

But rather than night opposing day,

rather than the dark suppressing the light,

purity fighting against impurity,

Immoral versus moral,

Love against hatred,

Evil at war with all that is good…

May they work together as a unified whole.

Things are as they are.

When it is dark,

I can see no fault

As the darkness covers all blemishes

In darkness,

we see only

The true essence of our being

there is therefore a deep relaxation in darkness

And if I am afraid of the dark

I am divided and not at peace

And I cannot relax.

Darkness is all around us

Before we came

and when we leave

In Infinite darkness

Where I feel no fear

I am undivided

And do not condemn

For in reality

there is no purity and impurity.

From sound to inner silence.

Therefore, I close my eyes

and see only darkness;

I am ignorant and silent

For if the division is not there

Then it will disappear from consciousness

Then both can exist together.

Nothing is certain but this.

Tags: Judgement, Error, Limitation, non-judgement,

Tags: Tweet-a-thon, C.H.D., raise money, heart surgery, Dr.Mani, Twitter, donations

I love you more than all the fires that fence in the world

for the fire makes a circle of light for everyone,

and then no one outside learns of you.

But the darkness pulls in everything:

shapes, and fires, animals, and myself,

how easily it gathers them!

powers and people.

And it is possible a great energy is moving near me.

I have faith in nights.

        Rainer Maria Rilke

In accepting our weaknesses,

we find our greater strengths.

When we discover the root of our suffering,

we can weed out the debris of our past

and bring our fears to the light.

I know

that it is possible to move away from isolation or darkness,

where spiritual seeds are sown,

toward light and unity,

where the flowers of wisdom can blossom.

I embrace the fears, doubts, and un-integrated aspects of my psyche with open arms.

I let my light shine into the darker regions of my mind.

I accept myself as a blending of higher and lower selves,

a union of spiritual and material bodies.

I call up my anger, jealousies, and antipathies,

and transfigure them into joy, compassion, and understanding.

Where there is separation,

I sow harmony and togetherness.

Where there is pain from mental anguish,

I offer heartfelt sensitivity

and simple acts of kindness to friends and relatives.

I reverse the pattern of lying to myself and others.

I learn to speak and live out

the truth of my existence

to the best of my ability.

I am the embodiment of pure female energy

for I am the deepest void or womb,

where all is born, must die, and be born again.

Breaking the ties,

cutting the cords,

All my demons are eternally free

I find the inner courage and strength to overcome

addictive patterns and emotional dependencies

which have undermined my self-confidence and self-esteem.

I stand victorious

amidst the rooted entanglements of despair.

Out of my deepest, darkest fears,

a new cycle of evolution beckons

My emotions have surfaced

and are now being released.

The sea has claimed my tears

and the Sun is drying my eyes.

I have lots of great memories of the Maoris and the special nature of New Zealand and felt a special closeness and affinity to that country.

Funny how these memories are just not with us on a daily basis and something triggers the memory.

That "move" to Hawaii was for the second time; we actually moved 15 times in 10 years, three times, "moving" back to California or Hawaii.  Every time, I had to sell nearly everything that I owned to move back. It wasn't hard; I wanted to move back home. But we never ended up staying - just for a few months.  I started to see a pattern emerge.  When I finally started a life of my own with my little son after that trip to New Zealand, I decided to stay put in one place and create the stability that we never had.

Today, I was reminded of this trip to New Zealand, and the several moves we made back and forth to the States, when making plans to sell some rugs to get rid of a tax debt.

Sometimes, life begins to mirror back to us our deepest held beliefs and patterns of relating to the world; the resource of our own worth.  Because of the connection of having things to stability and wealth that I made so many years ago, I have procrastinated this trip and even dreaded going.

Some old beliefs are harder to change than others, even though we know that the power of prosperity consciousness is our "ace in the hole"; that I can change my world through the power of positive thinking and the ability to visualize myself steeped in abundance. Turning over a new leaf now and going with the flow, I know that this is leading me one step closer to freedom.

Tags: NewZealand, Hawaii, beliefs, patterns, stability, wealth, prosperity consciousness, positive thinking, vizualization, abundance

Contact me!

Follow Me!

Be-Friend Me!

Write A Comment!

Show me who you are!

Dear Mystery Readers Of My Blog,

You are over 14,000 people

who are readin my blog daily,

In Sweden and in Britain

Over 75% of you are in Sweden

And you are each reading an average of 5 posts each!

On my ebiz blog you are equally active,

staying on my site for over 8 minutes each!

So I say, Contact Me!  Follow Me!  Be-Friend Me!  Meet-Up With Me!

Let me know what you think!

What brought you to me?

Leave your comments, please!

Show me who you are!

Follow-Me: http://Twitter.com/AngelWickenberg

Be-Friend Me: http://profile.to.AngelaWickenberg

Tags: MysteryReaders, blog readers, contact me, follow me, be-friend me, meet-up

As the story has it, Peter and Eileen Caddy moved to an RV community in the seaside village of Findhorn after losing their jobs. Because the unemployment benefits was barely enough for them, including their three children and a friend named Dorothy Maclean, they started to grow vegetables on their small plot to supplement their income.

Dorothy discovered she was able to intuitively contact the overlighting spirits of plants - which she called angels, and then devas - who gave her instructions on how to make the most of their fledgling garden. She and Peter translated this guidance into action, and with amazing results.

From the barren sandy soil of the Findhorn Bay Caravan Park grew huge plants, herbs and flowers of dozens of kinds, most famously the now-legendary 40-pound cabbages. Word spread, horticultural experts came and were stunned, and the garden at Findhorn became famous.

Other people came to join the Caddys and Dorothy in their work and soon the original group of six grew into a small community, committed to their spiritual path and to expanding the garden in harmony with nature. A slim volume of Eileen's guidance entitled God Spoke To Me was published in 1967 by the community's newly formed Findhorn Press and word of this strange but wonderful community spread yet further.

Significant friends and supporters of the community in these early days included English new age pioneer Sir George Trevelyan, scottish esotericist R Ogilvie Crombie and Richard St Barbe Baker, ‘the man of the trees’.

New community members lived in caravans beside Peter and Eileen's and in specially built cedarwood bungalows which still house guests and workshop participants today. In the late 60s the Park Sanctuary, the largest of Findhorn's meditation sanctuaries, and the Community Centre, where the community still eats and meets, were built by Peter and community members in accordance with Eileen's guidance.

At the time of my visit, around 1979, the community had become quite an established center of education on spiritual matters, and I stayed in one of those cedarwood bungalows.

I have used Dorothy's principles in speaking with the angels in my own biodynamic garden many years ago. One quote that I find helpful to me today is from Eileen Caddy in the book The Spirit of Findhorn

I'm taking this advice…

The following is a short selection from the many books about the Findhorn community.

God Spoke To Me by Eileen Caddy (Findhorn Press) The first book of Eileen's Guidance - still in print after 40 years.

The Findhorn Garden by The Findhorn Community (Harper Collins) The story of the community's early days.

To Hear The Angels Sing by Dorothy Maclean (Lindisfarne Press) Dorothy's autobiography.

Opening Doors Within by Eileen Caddy (Findhorn Press) Daily selections from Eileen's Guidance.

Flight Into Freedom by Eileen Caddy (Findhorn Press) Eileen's autobiography.

The Kingdom Within edited by Alex Walker (Findhorn Press) A selection of writings on the history and work of the Findhorn Foundation by David Spangler, Peter and Eileen Caddy, Myrtle Glines, William Bloom, Dorothy Maclean and many others.

Simply Build Green by John Talbott (Findhorn Press) A guide to the principles and methods of eco-building.

In Perfect Timing by Peter Caddy (Findhorn Press) Peter Caddy's autobiography.

Tags: GoodAdvice, spiritual advice, Findhorn, Findhorn Community, spiritual community, books on Findhorn

For those of you who do not know, Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. The holiday originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union (of New York City) sought to create "a day off for the working citizens".

Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894. All fifty states have made Labor Day a state holiday.

Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer and is regarded as a day of rest.

My family always had great family get-togethers - pot-luck picnics - on Santa Monica Beach. We had fun in the sun, frolicking on the sand and in the sea.

It seems ironic that today, Labor Day in the States, Hurricane Gustav is forcing many people in the very city where my parents families lived, New Orleans, to evacuate to other States.

It's so easy to forget how comfortable we have all become in our modern-day lives, and that on this National Day of Rest, Hurricane Gustav is making us remember and take notice.

In this time of uncertainty and potential tradgedy, I want to humbly wish all Americans a Happy Labor Day, and to send my blessings to the many families and animals that are being evacuated to safety.

Angela Wickenberg

Tags: LaborDay, Family memories, day of rest, hurrican Gustav