Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Living Through a Life-Changing Global Event.

Tags

Avoid touching your face, Coronavirus, Do your part, Follow Guidance, social distancing, Stay in touch, washing hands

If our hearts are ready for anything, we can open to our inevitable losses, and to the depths of our sorrow. We can grieve our lost loves, our lost youth, our lost health, our lost capacities. This is part of our humanness, part of the expression of our love for life.

Tara Brach

We are all living through a life-changing global event. This coronavirus is crippling governments, devastating communities, and killing without reason. The number of cases grows every day as scientists race for a solution, governments try to do their best to protect their citizenry, and each of us, huddled in our homes, hopes for the best.

If this disease has touched you personally, I am truly sorry and send good thoughts your way. Losing a loved one, a friend, or a colleague, to something like this has got to be heartbreaking. As the numbers grow across the globe, it is highly likely that some of you, including me, may suffer some loss from this virus.

How do we deal with this?

I follow my daily rituals. I get my work done. I stay in touch with family here and abroad. I monitor the official sites that are working on this and provide information about it. The area I live in is up to 65 cases, with no fatalities. My sister lives in a part of Michigan that is being ravaged by this thing. She’s got close to 3000 cases in her county, with 100+ deaths. My brother, wife, stepdaughters, niece and nephew, live in Arizona. They all live in the hardest hit county in Arizona, but the numbers aren’t staggering like they are here in Michigan. Thank God for that.

I will try to not focus on this thing anymore, but will leave you with this. Stay safe by following the guidance of your local authorities. Practice social distancing, only go out when you absolutely have to, wash your hands, and avoid touching your face, when you’re out, particularly when you’re shopping for groceries. Stay connected with your local authorities, state authorities, and federal authorities. Guidance is changing almost daily as we learn more about this virus. If you live in a foreign country, follow the guidance provided within the structures you are used to following during disasters. These authorities love their countries, just like our authorities here in the states do, and will get you the information you need that is specific to your particular area.

I wish all of you a great Saturday.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – You Only Control You.

Tags

Calm, Conspiracy Theories, Control, Coronavirus, Death, Doing what you can, pain, Paranoia, Sadness, Stay Informed, Stay Safe, Tragedy, Trust only credible resources

I think today is a good day to offer one of my favorite quotes. I like it so much; I have it in my Gmail signature for anyone to read when they get an email from me. Here’s the quote:

“Every time you think the problem is ‘out there,’ that very thought is the problem.” – Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

The reason I like this quote is that it addresses one problem many people suffer from—worrying about things they have ZERO control over. The coronavirus is a good example.

None of us controls who will get it and who will not. We can do what we are told to mitigate the chances, but we’re still not 100% safe from this thing. You can’t control your friends or your neighbors. You can’t control anything other than you. You can follow instructions. You can stay informed. You can help others. You can control how you react to this thing. You can control what you watch, what you read, and what you listen to. You can control how you react to these input streams. You can’t control the emails you receive, the negativity or fake news stories on your social media news feeds. You can only control you.

It it a time of uncertainty? Sure. Is it scary, uncomfortable, nerve-wracking? It can be, if you let it. A wise man once told me that when bad times hit, you can serve others. You can serve your loved ones. You can serve your immediate family. You can serve your pets. When you serve others, you stop thinking about yourself. Be selfless.

If you are one of the unfortunate people stuck in an area where the coronavirus is hitting really hard, like New York, Washington, or any number of places in the U.S. or abroad, I can only hope that you and your family are safe and sound. If not, I am sending good thoughts your way. I hope the effects are minimal at most.

It is times like these that remind me of some situations I found myself in the Army. When you’re in a tough situation, you do the best you can. You take care of one another. That’s all you can do.

I remember a friendly fire incident during a training exercise I took part in. One of the soldiers in my unit dropped a training round inside his personnel carrier and the round went off, sending a 40-mm projectile through his face. It was horrific, sudden, and unexpected. We jumped into action to get the soldier to a nearby hospital. He was dead on arrival. Just like that, a young man was with us, laughing and joking around. In a second, his life ended. Just because he dropped a training round.

This coronavirus acts the same way. It strikes people who did nothing wrong. They were just living their lives. Then, just like that, they get sick; they get rushed to the hospital, and they’re gone in a few hours or days. Could their loved ones do anything? No.

My heart goes out to anyone that has lost a loved one to this nasty bug. It goes out to the first-responders who have to deal with the families who have lost a loved one, through no fault of their own. It goes out to the hospital staff and the doctors at risk and putting their lives on the line every day. It goes out to the people who lost their jobs and don’t know how they will pay their rent, buy food, or take care of their families. It goes out to the many teachers getting creative to continue teaching their students. It goes out to literally anyone affected by this tragedy.

Take care of yourself. Only trust sources of information that are credible. Check everything you receive, including information sent by paranoid and conspiracy-theory driven family members and friends. I don’t blame anyone for what they do during times like these. People deal with things differently. Some believe they are doing good by passing along information, they believe is true.

You are the only one who can control you. You are the only one who can control how you react to these trying times. You can’t control the disease. You can’t control what will happen to your neighbors, friends, and colleagues. You only control you. I’ll end here.

Please be safe. Please stay informed using credible resources and news outlets. Please follow your local guidance. Please take care of yourself.

Until next time…

Dave

 

 

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – In Times of Trouble…

Tags

Bible, God, Inner Peace, Meditation, Prayer, Religious Practice, Spiritual Exercises, spirituality, The Calm

They say that we seek comfort during times of trouble. Many reach out to friends and family. Others use activities to take their mind off of things. Some turn to their religious beliefs.

It’s hard now because they’ve banned public gatherings across the country. Religious institutions are closed. No one but families in the home can get together. So how do you get comfort?

Some religious institutions are offering worship services online. Others are doing charitable work in the community by delivering food and other items to those less fortunate or at risk. Some will read their Bible or religious tome and rely on the faith they have in their hearts. I fall into the last group. I have a faith belief that all things happen for a reason and that whatever happens is exactly what should happen. “Everything is in its rightful place in the worlds of God.” – Harold Klemp.

How you comfort yourself and your family is up to you. I am comforted by the timeless principles in the scripture I read daily. I am also comforted by the daily spiritual exercises that help me reach the calm within. It is always there—waiting.

I hope each of you finds the calm in your own way. It is a tremendous place to be during calamity, disaster, and chaos, when the world seems to get more frightening daily.

Be safe. Follow the guidance provided by authorities. Take care of each other. We will all get through this together.

Until next time…

Dave

 

 

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Your path, is your path.

Tags

Belief, Dedication, Harold Klemp, Path, Religion, Spiritual Saturday

Very often, we are confronted by people who want us to pray their way or colleagues who want us to think their way. We must remember to maintain our individual relationship with God. We have the shining light of Soul, and because we have it, we also have the wisdom of God.

—Harold Klemp
The Language of Soul

I’ve been an ECKist for over 50 years. My religious path is called ECKANKAR. One of the things that has kept me on this path is our lack of proselytizing. We make the public aware of us, but we don’t push it on anyone. One of our core beliefs is that each of us finds the path that is right of us.

Whether you are a Christian, Jew, Muslim, Zoroastrian, Agnostic, Taoist, Atheist, Buddhist, or any other religion or belief, that’s where you are supposed to be. It is the path right for you. I find comfort that anyone I meet is right in their choice of religious path or belief system.

A few years back, I pursued a detailed look at the religions of the world. It was a fascinating study. What is most fascinating is how each religion came about, and how it has progressed through history. If you have not done something like this, I highly recommend it.

Whatever your religion or belief system, pursue it. Do all your path requires of you. Be the best you can be on the path you have chosen. It is worth it.

I hope each of you is having a terrific weekend!

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Reaching an Accord

Tags

Challenging People, Dreams, Harold Klemp, Karma, Past lives, Reaching an Accord, Soul Travel, spirituality

One of the biggest lessons we can learn in life is to do everything possible to reach an accord with the individual we are having trouble with.

—Harold Klemp
The Language of Soul

Human beings are social creatures. We enjoy interacting with one another, making friends, and hanging out. Every once in a while, you run into that one person that just rubs you wrong the moment you meet them. Have you ever run across someone like that?

If you believe in karma, you already know the reason for this disagreeableness. Karma does not pertain only to this lifetime, it spans lifetimes. So, whenever you run across someone you immediately dislike or a person who dislikes you, this is typically the culprit.

How do you solve a conundrum of this sort? Go into prayer, meditation, or contemplation, and ask: Why is this happening? Then pay attention to what comes during your period of prayer, meditation, or contemplation. You can also pay attention to your dreams. The answer can come through there too.

The problem associated with karma is when you earned it with another person. Some of it you earn during this lifetime. The rest of your karma comes from previous lives. Once you know what’s going on, you can work with it.

For those of you who don’t believe in this sort of thing, that’s ok. There are numerous articles online you can read that can help you with challenging people.

If this topic intrigues you, here’s a book you may want to read. It’s called Past Lives, Dreams, and Soul Travel, by Harold Klemp, the author of the quote above. You can get the Kindle version for $8.49.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. I hope you are having a terrific weekend!

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Solving Problems

Tags

Bifurcation, Chaos, entropy, Problems, Solving Problems, Spiritual, Systems, Transformation

There is nothing wrong with asking for help, but we must remember that our purpose for being on earth is to learn how to arrive at the correct solution to our own problems. We have to write the script and—as well as we can—figure out how to untangle the plot.

Harold Klemp, ECK Wisdom on Solving Problems, p. 2.

Imagine yourself in a boat. You’re enjoying the breeze coming off of the water. You see the sun dance across the surface. Everything is sublime.

You look down and see water coming into the boat through a hole. “Oh, my.”, you say to yourself. Troubles come into our lives unexpectedly. We’re floating along without a care in the world, and then a hole appears, and the water comes flowing in.

Problems in our lives arise this way. Some we can see coming. Others are unexpected. They blindside us.

Sometimes when we solve a problem, we try to bail out the water coming into our boat, hoping we can get rid of the water more quickly than it comes in. This is an example of our “system” trying to rid itself of entropy by getting rid of the excess energy coming into a system. This will work for a while, but we soon conclude that we have put a bandaid on the problem, but not solved the underlying cause behind the problem–the hole in the boat is still there.

Another solution to our leaking boat is to block the hole. This is like blocking out the entropy coming into our system. Here, we pull off our shirt or grab some item we brought with us and block up the hole. Is the hole still there? Yep. This didn’t solve the problem either. The underlying cause is still plaguing us.

Then we finally arrive upon our answer. We let the boat sink and swim to shore. We transform the system by throwing out the faulty boat and learn to swim in the water without a boat.

In the abstract, a problem is entropy throwing our system into chaos. The boat is our system. The hole is the problem. The water is the entropy overloading the system because of the weakness (hole) in it. Subsequently, the chaos overcomes the current system, and it transforms the system to a new and stable one that can withstand the water.

This is how problems transform us. When our lives are calm, we are satisfied and ride the wave of life. When a problem arises, sometimes we can block the problem, run away from the problem, or transform. Blocking or running away are temporary solutions. Transformation is the key. We have to rewrite the code that caused the problem in the first place.

Many of our problems are a disconnect with what is and how we want things to be. It isn’t the situation that is problematic; it is the way we “see” the situation. The problem is internal. Change the way you view a problem, and the problem typically ceases to exist.

I hope each of you has a terrific Saturday!

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Live Your Life

Tags

Achieving, After-life, Cancer, Learning, Living, Loving, time

I was on my Facebook page earlier today (I always check out my social media and the news with a cup of coffee in the morning) and discovered that a workmate (for a short time) passed away. Many of my previous colleagues expressed their condolences. I didn’t know her well, but she left her husband and four children behind. She died of some form of cancer.

You can’t have a spiritual discussion without considering the finite nature of our existence. The one question all of us have, but no one knows the answer to: Where do we go when we die? Sure, everyone tells us you go here or go there, but individually, we don’t know. We haven’t experienced death. We can only lay our trust in the religion or philosophy we believe in, hoping these things are right.

When will you go? When will your time be up? Who knows?

I think it’s important to live life as best we can while we’re here. Don’t let fear prevent you from learning something new or experiencing something new. Get out there. Learn all you can, love all you can, experience all you can, and serve all you can. Don’t let one more day go by without putting everything you have into it.

Until next time…

Dave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – 6 Tips For Healthy Living

Our body is a temple of God. We must take care of it because it is a house for Soul.

—Harold Klemp
The Language of Soul

Today’s posting will be short. This quote says it all.

Here are some tips accepted in the medical literature:

• Drink water
• Eat right
• Get enough sleep
• Regulate stress
• Exercise
• Maintain Hygiene

I tried a few diets over the years and discovered that they didn’t work for me, particularly diets that require the elimination of a macro (carbs or fat) or some other item or nutrient from your diet. The key is balance and paying attention to your body. If you eat something and you’re allergic to it or it causes problems for you, stop eating it. Purposely eliminating food that has no effect on you is self-sabotage.

If you want to be a vegetarian for moral reasons, have at it. If you want to be a carnivore, have at it. The real key to all of this is to pay attention to how your body reacts to something. Unfortunately, there is so much propaganda surrounding nutrition today, it is impossible to make any sense of it. Today eggs are bad; tomorrow they’re good. Today, bottled water is bad; tomorrow bottled water is what you should be drinking.

If you have tried to do any research for yourself, you know this to be true. Just follow your body. It will tell you if something isn’t working. I learned I can’t use whey protein. I use it and I’m bound up for a week, regardless of the amount of fiber I eat. Plant-based protein powders are fine. I use K’chava, and it’s awesome. I’m not an affiliate or reseller of this. Here’s the link if you’d like to look into it: K’chava

I also discovered throughout my journey that typical multivitamins cause buildups on my teeth. When I went to a whole-foods vitamin, the buildups disappeared. I learned these things because I paid attention. If you seem to have a lot of issues with food allergies, you may want to go to a doctor and have them schedule you for an allergy test. They will find out everything you are allergic to and tell you what you can eat and not eat very quickly.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. I hope you had a great Valentine’s Day and are looking to enjoy a long weekend (President’s Day in the U.S. on Monday). Here’s to a terrific Saturday!

Until next time…

Dave

 

 

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Be Grounded in Something

Tags

Doing your Best, Expertise, God, Grounded, Harold Klemp, Paying attention, spirituality

“Become an expert in something. You need to be grounded in something. When you do something for God, for the highest principle, you do each step until it sings.”

—Harold Klemp, The Language of Soul

When I first joined the Army back in the early 80s, my first few years were tough. I was going through the motions, doing all I could to stay out of trouble, but my heart wasn’t in it. I was in this organization 24 hours a day and wasn’t really doing all I could to do my best.

I thought about that one weekend and decided to change things up. I said to myself, “You’re here. You might as well make the best of it and do the best you can at anything the Army asks you to do.” It was hard at first.

Then, as I began to gain some pride in myself, I began feeling good about my uniform, my room, my equipment. I began to put even more effort into the service. I began reading military history, started exercising in the base gym, began reading regulations, field manuals, anything I could get my hands on. You know what? My life in the Army transformed. I actually began to enjoy the service I volunteered for. The remaining 18 years was a joy.

I’m not sure if other veterans can relate, but I’m pretty sure that a great many followed the same path I did. They realized that they were here, anyway. Why not do your best with the time you have?

That lesson led to many other experiences and taught me something. It’s better to do the best you can on any job, than half-ass it. You feel great when you do a good job. You feel great when you develop expertise in something. The people around you notice too. They will approach you to help them. They will ask you how you got good at it. They will notice.

I enjoy writing. I enjoy learning. I enjoy programming. I enjoy exercise. I enjoy my spiritual path. In each of these areas and many others I do my best. I do the best I can.

The moral of this posting is this: We can all be lazy and do the bare minimum. That’s easy. If this is you, try something different. Try putting all you have into each task, whether it’s making your bed, folding your laundry, or taking out the trash. Take your time, do the best job you can do. Then, when you’re done, take a minute and think about how you feel. It’s a great feeling when you know you did your best. It feels even better when you decide to do your best for God. Then, it takes on a whole new meaning.

Do everything until it sings.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Watch What you Let In

Tags

consciousness, facebook, Negativity, News, social media, spirituality, Stress

“Negativity sells.” – Stephen A. Smith

I follow Stephen King on Facebook and he mentioned today that he was leaving Facebook because there was so much false and misleading information on the platform. I agree, but Facebook has one primary purpose for me–to stay connected with friends and family.

When I first started using Facebook, I’d accept friendship requests from anyone. Then I began to learn my lesson rather quickly. Fake profiles, crazy crap showing up on my newsfeed, and people pestering me for money on Facebook messenger. Lesson learned. In early 2017 I went through my entire list of “friends” on Facebook and developed my own simple rule: If I haven’t worked with someone, met them in person, went to school with them, served in the military with them, or met them through a trusted source, like WordPress, friendship is rejected. You know what? My newsfeed is now filled with wholesome, funny, and relevant content that I enjoy.

The false and misleading information doesn’t stop at Facebook. It is all over the news. Another lesson: Stop reading the news. I scan the news, because I like to stay up on world events and know what’s going on, but I do not open up any news articles unless it’s from my hometown newspaper or it covers something I am interested in, like STEM topics, productivity, psychology, writing, or movie/music/book reviews. If I read something outside of my interest areas, it is purely for entertainment. You know what? My stress levels decreased immeasurably. Just because I refuse to get sucked into articles that are designed to piss me off, stress me out, or make me worry about something.

I guess what I’m trying to get across is the importance of maintaining your sanity by paying attention to what you let in to your consciousness. If you enjoy reading articles filled with lies, exaggerations, and are so slanted one way or another to fire you up, go for it. I choose not to. I’d rather fill my mind with the next scientific discovery on the horizon, look at terrific photos of landscapes, animals, or outer space. I’d rather learn something than read about all the infighting that has reduced our political dialogue to two monkeys throwing shit at each other at the zoo.

Read fulfilling literature, poetry, a well-written non-fiction or fiction book. Watch a good movie. Listen to healing music (classical, sound scapes, and instrumentals are my favorite). These are the things I use to build myself up.

The next time you feel yourself getting stressed out, check what you are letting into your life. I think you’ll be surprised at the stress you have that is self-inflicted.

I hope all of you have a great weekend!

Until next time…

Dave