Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Gratitude

Tags

experiences, Grateful, Gratitude, Harold Klemp, Little Moments, memories, spirituality

Image by Karolina Grabowska from Pixabay 

“Sometimes it’s important to just stop and be grateful for the blessings that you already have.”—Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

Think about the things you have right now. It’s highly likely you have a place you call home. You have a bed to sleep in. You have people in your life you call friends and loved ones. You may even have a pet. When I look back over my life, the times I was truly happy were when I was satisfied with what I had. I was grateful for those little moments you hold close to your heart. Laughter at a birthday party, knowing smiles between you and your lover in a crowded room, enjoying a cup of coffee or tea while you read a good book, or walking in a park or along a beach with your dog. All of these little moments collect in our boxes of memories where we visit them again and again.

As I have mentioned in numerous postings on this blog, a gratitude journal assists you with staying in perspective. Yeah, we all want a new car, a nicer home, or more toys to play with, but when it really comes down to it, most of us have all we need to live. Why are the feelings we get when we buy something new so fleeting, while the little moments I mentioned above stick with us throughout our lives? It is because these little moments in time are more important to us than a new car, home, or toy. These moments we take with us. They stay with us forever. When we are called to our final resting place, leaving this place, this reality behind, all we have are our experiences. The cars, the homes, the toys, the bank accounts, will not go with you. Neither will your loved ones. You will leave this place with your character, your memories, your experiences–nothing more.

This is why I think our little moments stay with us. We know inside that this is what is important in life. The times you laughed so hard you couldn’t breathe, the times you felt love from your friends, significant other, or your pet. The times you felt peaceful and satisfied and everything was right with the world. These are the moments that stick with us and what we take with us when we go to our next place. I am truly grateful for all the experiences and little moments that have blessed my life. Life is a privilege. It is something to be cherished while you have it. Don’t waste it on jealousy, anger, lust, vanity, or attachment. Instead, be grateful for every moment you have.

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Finding Truth

Tags

Contemplation, Emotions, Intellect, Intuition, Meditation, memories, Prayer, The Mind, Truth

No matter how much insight we gain about God, there will always be something that lies beyond the horizon of our understanding. That is simply the nature of truth.

—Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

If you search for God, you will never find IT. God is within, buried beneath layers of the mind, the emotions, memories, intellect, and intuition. If we look deep enough, we will find God. Looking deep enough is hard because our minds are so dominant in this reality. To experience God, we need to peel back all these layers first. How do we do this?

We meditate, pray, or contemplate. In my religious path we contemplate. Contemplation is like meditation but active. Meditation typically requires us to focus on the breath, chant a mantra, or focus on an object in our mind’s eye. Contemplation requires us to visualize scenes and actively interact within. Prayer can achieve the same things by chanting a verse, focusing on a religious concept. Why do these activities help us? They focus on things other than our immediate environment. This focus projects us to another place. The more we practice prayer, meditation, or contemplation, the easier it becomes to lose ourselves in the act.

We must drop the mind. Some of you are asking, how in the heck do you drop the mind? You drop the mind when you realize that the mind is not you. You are something else. You are that which thinks about thinking. In my religion we call this being soul. Soul is the real you. It is that part of you that can watch your thought stream. Soul is not the ego. Soul is not your emotions. Soul is not your hunger or lust. Soul is not the part of you that thinks or remembers. Soul is not your intuition. Soul is you.

For some, this can be difficult to understand. It is difficult to understand because science and our society has taught us that the brain is us.  It is not. Soul is the real you.

No one will convince you of anything related to truth. Truth is something you find on your own. Finding truth takes work. It requires you to act, to take matters into your own hands. Once you find truth, you soon discover that it changes. This is the nature of things. It isn’t the truth that changes though. You change. As you change, truth takes on new meaning as you look at it through “new” eyes. Truth never changes, only illusion changes.

If you are unsatisfied with your current religious path or seek questions you cannot answer, look around this website: www.eckankar.org This is the website for my religious path. On this website you can request information. You may like what you find. I have been an Eckist for over 40 years. It is the only path I know. It is a blessing to be an Eckist. Check it out. You have nothing to lose.

If you visit this site, get the materials and still have questions, you are welcome to reach out to me directly. Comment on this thread with: “Contact me”. I hope you have a great Saturday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Posting – Veteran’s Day

Tags

California Wildfires, Gratitude, Loss, Love, memories, Thousand Oaks, Veteran's Day, War, Worry

As I write today’s bonus posting I was thinking about all the suffering in California. The wildfires are ripping through the countryside, people are having to evacuate their homes, while first-responders are doing their best to contain the fire and save those souls who cannot help themselves. All, as I sit in my comfortable home office and clack away at this keyboard.

As I write today’s bonus posting I was thinking about the shooting in Thousand Oaks. I wondered about what went through the Marine’s head as he squeezed off round after round into the bodies of the patrons of that establishment who were just there to enjoy some music, finger food, and their friends. All, as I sit in my comfortable home office and clack away at this keyboard.

As I write today’s bonus posting I try to understand the victims of these tragedies and how their lives have been overturned by events they had no control over. I think about the Mothers, Fathers, sons, and daughters. I think about the Aunts and Uncles. I think about the pet owner who has lost their best friend to the tragedy of a fire. All, as I sit in my comfortable home office and clack away at this keyboard.

As I write today’s bonus posting I was thinking about all the men and women of our Armed Forces and the sacrifices they make every day. I think about the first responders who are here to keep us safe and protect our loved ones in times of natural disaster. I think about the sacrifices that are made, the losses of life and limb, and what it means to be a volunteer. All, as I sit in my comfortable home office and clack away at this keyboard.

As I write today’s bonus posting I was thinking about all the wars this nation has fought. I thought about all the young men and women who volunteered to help keep this country safe. I thought about the tears that streak down a soldier’s face when he bids his loved ones goodbye. I thought about the tears held back by the fathers who watched their baby boy or girl left, to stay strong for his wife and the rest of their family. All, as I sit in my comfortable home office and clack away at this keyboard.

As I write today’s bonus posting I was thinking about all the wives and mothers waiting by the phone to hear from their loved one in harm’s way. I thought about the constant worry that goes through their minds as they scour the Internet, the television, and the radio for any news. I thought about the day a man in uniform arrives at home to deliver the worst news ever. I thought about the caskets arriving at Dover. I thought about the funerals and parades. All, as I sit in my comfortable home office and clack away at this keyboard.

As I write today’s bonus posting I was thinking about the time I was told by my unit first sergeant that the Red Cross called. I thought about how angry my Mother was that I hadn’t called. I was thinking about my wife calling me in Turkey after having a car accident and not knowing what to do. I was thinking about how cold it was one rainy night in Austria on a field exercise. I was thinking about how cold I was pulling guard duty at Spandau on a Christmas Eve, wondering what the hell I volunteered for. I was thinking about waking up to the smell of hot bread in Berlin. I was thinking about a New Year’s Eve party at the Brandenburg Gate. All, as I sit in my comfortable home office and clack away at this keyboard.

As I write today’s bonus posting I was thinking about the time I got a letter from a Judge in my hometown and how good it felt to have someone say thanks for my service. I was thinking about getting a care package from an elementary class in South Dakota whom I’d never met. I was thinking about the looks on my soldier’s faces when they got mail from home. I was thinking about how great the food tasted when I hadn’t eaten in four days. I was thinking about how good a hot shower felt. I was thinking about how warm and soft my wife was when I returned home. All, as I sit in my comfortable home office and clack away at my keyboard.

I thank everyone that has served our country. I will never forget you. You are what America is all about.

Until next time…

Dave

Sergeant First Class

United States Army, Retired

Small Things

Tags

change, children, family, habits, memories, minimalism, pets

I use the Calm Meditation app each day to get centered. One of the features of the Calm app is the quote they provide you when you’re completed with the day’s meditation. Today, Calm provided a quote from Beau Taplin which states: “Whoever said that small things don’t matter has never seen a small match start a wildfire.” This statement really rang true to me this morning when I began posting it on my favorite social networking sites. I try to find meaningful posts to share with my network. It’s just my way of contributing to my connections.

But this quote really got me. Small things can have wide-ranging impact in our lives. Think about the value in making small changes in your routine. What if you added just 10 minutes of cardio exercise into your morning routine? That would build to over 3,650 minutes over the year. What if you wrote one page in your journal each day? Again, that would be 365 pages or one or two books worth of writing. These small things can offer so much value with minimal input. I recently read a few books. One was a book called Mini Habits; the other was a book called The Power of Less. Both of these books speak to the difficulty with change and how to make change easier by doing small things. Focusing on small things each day will soon turn into big changes and those big changes will bring great value to your life.

Think about the most precious moments in your life. Most of these things started from small things. Your wedding day may have its roots from a smile across a room. The day you walked the stage to receive your diploma and degree, resulted from each assignment you began and completed one small piece at a time. More importantly is the impact of small things on relationships. Smiling at your partner in the morning. Giving your child a hug on the way out the door or giving your pet some love in the morning when you wake up. People remember the small things you do for them out of love, not the things you buy for them. They remember the hugs, the kisses, the sticky note left on the refrigerator, or even the quick text you send telling them you are on your way home and you can’t wait to see them. It is these small things that build a long-term relationship.

Our lives are composed of an infinite amount of small moments, each building on each other in a progression of memories, visual snapshots, and audio recordings all captured by our minds. Some remain vivid, while others fade away. Small things matter. The small things we do for ourselves and especially those small things we do for others. Focus on the small things and the big things will follow.

Until next time…