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“A mind at peace, a mind centered and not focused on harming others, is stronger than any physical force in the universe.”

~~~ Wayne Dyer

One of the interesting things about writing a blog posting is that you never truly know just who is reading it — or how many people are even noticing. Especially at this time of year when people are so busy frantically racing around .

In these times our minds are like storms of energy — staying focused — or centered — seems almost impossible. We’re filled with a multitude of thoughts and ideas about what we think the world should look and feel like. We seem to be floating in a sea of chaos — we feel overwhelmed — I often equate this feeling to a mental tornado. When our minds and bodies are in this state our lives have a way of going off course. You find yourself thinking, “I have to go here — No, I better go do this first — Oh, I just need to get lunch ready — I better get to work — I have to clean this mess up!”

Whew! I got tired just writing that. It’s true, though, getting into this state of mind can be exhausting. The good news is that there is a way to turn this off. The beauty of this is that with every thought that pops into your mind, there is a choice of whether to react to it or not. When you react to them rather than just letting them pop in and pop right out again, you’ll end up in a frenzy. On the other hand, if you can learn to just watch these thoughts, — just observe them without reacting to them — you will see that you are now the one in charge of your world.

Not easy, you say? True. Sometimes we can’t find our inner observer because the frenzy takes control. Okay – then try this little experiment several times a day. Take a deep breath into your body. That’s right, take this deep breath in now, and notice how it feels to breathe. Now after you exhale, in your inner world, shout the message “STOP” to your mind, and then let your body become solid and completely still like a stone statue. Even go so far as to stop breathing for a second or two, and explore this stillness. Show your mind that you are the boss here and let the frozen-like energy cease all activity inside. Let everything come to a complete halt and focus your attention inside and see if you can see who is observing. While it may take 30 seconds or more to find the calm, present, internal observer, you will soon be free and at peace in the center of your cyclone.

“Find the center of the cyclone of life and you’ll discover deep profound peace.” ~~~ Unknown

Put this little exercise into your resolutions for the New Year and do this several times a day — whenever you feel mental chaos trying to invade your life. All of your concerns, responsibilities, and fears are created by the mind, and are truly an illusion. In this present moment, there is really nothing that has to be done. You will continue to exist even if you don’t follow all those intrusive, frantic “things to do” that are flowing through your mind.

The truth is that you are complete, whole and truly perfect exactly as you are — right now — in this very moment. You don’t have to do a thing to be “perfect”. You were born perfect and you will always be perfect. No matter what happens in the chaotic outer world, your inner nature will always remain untouched, undamaged, and complete. Believe this for 24 hours and see what happens.

There is a great truth here — in the midst of every single moment there is an oasis of complete calm. The secret is to learn how to quiet the mind in order to find that center. The easiest way to do this is to remain in a state of being present to what is. This can be done through meditation. The more you meditate, the more you will come to understand this center of each moment.

What is meditation? The simplest explanation is that meditation is just sitting in silence and observing (without reacting) the crazy mind-chatter as it comes and goes. It’s like sitting and watching the distant clouds move across a peaceful blue sky background. Your true eternal essence is the blue sky and your thoughts are the clouds. The more you observe these thoughts without buying into them or getting caught up in them, the more you detach and find this vast infinite stillness inside of you — the center — the more peaceful you’ll become. Keep practicing meditation, and over time you will learn to know this center and be able to go to it whenever your mind-chatter tries to take over.

Is it worth it? Just try to imagine right now how glorious a day it will be when you remain centered no matter what crazy storm is brewing around you.

“No one can find inner peace except by working, not in a self-centered way, but for the whole human family.”

~~~ Peace Pilgrim

Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)

~~~ DBL-R

“We can work on inner peace and world peace at the same time. On one hand, people have found inner peace by losing themselves in a cause larger than themselves, like the cause of world peace, because finding inner peace means coming from the self-centered life into the life centered in the good of the whole. On the other hand, one of the ways of working for world peace is to work for more inner peace, because world peace will never be stable until enough of us find inner peace to stabilize it.”

~~~ Peace Pilgrim

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Check this out from the Spiritual Cinema Circle!

I don’t know about you, but I really enjoy a good heart-and-soul movie. I like to watch something that makes me feel better about being a human being.

Here is the answer for any of you who feel the same way. It’s the Spiritual Cinema Circle! Now you can get to see great new movies every month — and you get to keep them or pass them along to your friends and family members.

Each month you’ll receive a DVD with FOUR new movies (a mix of feature films, shorts, and documentaries). Plus, you don’t have to send them back — they’re yours to do with as you wish. You won’t find offers like this anywhere.

If you want to see a preview of what’s coming this month, just go here:

Click Here For A Video Preview Of This Month’s Inspiring Movies

I encourage you to join The Spiritual Cinema Circle today.

Check it out today ….

Shanti,

Ron Rink

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PPS. Here’s another website I thought you would be interested in seeing. Learn more about your inner wisdom by using the 90-Day Manifesting Program. You can get your copy of this program — and any of the other guided manifesting meditations at my Enlightened Beings E-Store. Here’s what one person had to say about this …

“Explosion! That’s how I will describe your e-program. It is
so full of wisdom and education. I have already read half of it and I feel charged with electricity! Yes, 420 volts of charge!! Thanks for showing the way!” ~~~Mohamed Nadeem, Mombasa City. Coast Province. Kenya

Just click on the link below to learn more:

Check out the Enlightened Beings E-Store Today!

[tags]peace, inner self, dreams, spiritual energy, inner balance, enlightenment, destiny, manifestation, patience, tolerance, acceptance, body balance, life cycle, beginnings, endings, positive thinking, ego, silence, consciousness, staying grounded, cycle of life[/tags]

“The oldest trees often bear the sweetest fruit”

~~~ German Proverb

In the peacefulness of the morning today, for some reason I started to think about the fact that in certain societies someone of my age would be held in high esteem. In many of the tribal cultures, the elderly play a very vital role. They are the keepers of the tribe’s memories and the holders of wisdom.

Since they have this great responsibility, they are honored and respected members of the society in which they live. In our more modern cultures, this is generally not the case. The elderly often complain that they’re ignored — almost as though they were invisible. They feel left out of the flow and when they do offer words of advice or wisdom, they are often ignored. This is so sad, because it doesn’t have to be this way. If people like you and me took the time to examine how we feel about the elderly people we know, perhaps we could find a way to change our attitudes about them, and do something about it.

It’s a tough battle, though. Just look at what we’re obsessed with in our society — it’s all about newness, youth, and progress. We don’t look to the elderly for advice and counsel — rather the advertisers of the world tell us everything from how to raise our kids to what we should eat for breakfast. The wisdom of the elderly among us goes ignored and thought to be irrelevant.

But you know what? Grandparents and retired people have a lot more than just information to offer the world. Their maturity and experience allows for a larger perspective of life, and we can learn a lot from talking to elderly people. It’s a shame that society doesn’t do more to allow our older population to continue to feel productive for the rest of their lives, but you can help to make that change. Perhaps you could help facilitate a mentorship program that would allow children to be tutored by the elderly in retirement homes. The elderly make wonderful storytellers. You could help to create programs where they could share their real life experiences with others — what a great way to educate and inspire those who are younger.

“Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference”

~~~ Robert Frost

If you take a good hard look at your own attitudes about the elderly, what do you find? Do you believe that their time has passed — that they’re too old to understand what you’re going through — or where you are in your life? Do you actually have any close relationships with older people? Should you?

Look around you and reach out to someone who is elderly – even if you’re just saying hello and making small talk. Become more aware of older people. They truly do have knowledge. They can be excellent mentors. They can do a lot to help you find better ways to someday become an elderly person who is looked up to and sought out for your wisdom.

Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)

~~~ DBL-R

“Learning acquired in youth arrests the evil of old age; and if you understand that old age has wisdom for its food, you will so conduct yourself in youth that your old age will not lack for nourishment.”

~~~ Leonardo da Vinci

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P.S. Something NEW for YOU from the Spiritual Cinema Circle!

You’ll find out what’s new below, but first, here’s a personal note from Stephen Simon, the Co-Founder of The Spiritual Cinema Circle:

It’s Time To Own Our Power

If you’re like me, you believe in making a difference in the world. Hollywood isn’t interested in heart-and-soul movies. They don’t think there’s a big enough audience for them.

You and I know, though, that there’s plenty of us in the world who want to see movies that make you feel better about being a human being. I think it’s time we made our voices heard, loud and clear.

At The Spiritual Cinema Circle, we’re committed to sending you great movies every month. We want you to join us in a larger mission, as well. We’re committed to a new spirituality in the world, and we’re guessing you feel the same way.

The spiritual movement of the past thirty years is often tagged with labels like New Age, New Thought, or Transformational. Labels aren’t really that important, though. You probably feel a deep conviction, as I do, that we fulfill our highest potential when we’re in touch with that part of us, that divinity and god(dess) inside us all. We do create our own reality, and in order to change that reality for the better, we need to adjust our beliefs about what is possible.

In his book, CULTURAL CREATIVES: HOW 50 MILLION PEOPLE ARE CHANGING THE WORLD, Paul Ray refers to people like us as Cultural Creatives. His book says we have a tremendous power but one thing is lacking — and that’s our awareness of ourselves as a whole community.

It’s time to own our own power and join together to make a difference.

As a Member of The Circle, each month you’ll receive a DVD with FOUR new movies (a mix of features, shorts and documentaries). Unlike many other services, with The Circle, you get to KEEP each volume of movies, and we encourage you to share them with your friends and family. There isn’t another offer like this anywhere.

Join us in changing the world by raising the consciousness of entertainment in our time …

Click Here For A Video Preview Of This Month’s Inspiring Movies

With love,

Stephen Simon
Co-Founder, The Spiritual Cinema Circle

************
I encourage you to join The Spiritual Cinema Circle today.

Check it out today ….

Shanti,

Ron Rink

Click Here For Video Preview Of This Month’s Inspiring Movies

===================================================

===========================================================
PPS. Here’s another website I thought you would be interested in seeing. Learn more about your inner wisdom by using the 90-Day Manifesting Program. You can get your copy of this program — and any of the other guided manifesting meditations at my Enlightened Beings E-Store. Here’s what one person had to say about this …

“Explosion! That’s how I will describe your e-program. It is
so full of wisdom and education. I have already read half of it and I feel charged with electricity! Yes, 420 volts of charge!! Thanks for showing the way!” ~~~Mohamed Nadeem, Mombasa City. Coast Province. Kenya

Just click on the link below to learn more:

Check out the Enlightened Beings E-Store Today!

[tags]peace, inner self, dreams, spiritual energy, inner balance, enlightenment, destiny, manifestation, patience, tolerance, acceptance, body balance, life cycle, beginnings, endings, positive thinking, ego, silence, consciousness, staying grounded, cycle of life[/tags]

Christmas gift suggestions:

To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.

~~~ Oren Arnold

Today’s article is a favorite story for this holiday season. So, rather than the usual article, I’d like to share this beautiful story with you.

It’s Simple. Charming. Heart-warming. An expression of gratitude. Love. Compassion. Acceptance. Abundance.

It’s a little piece called “Christmas Story” by John Henry Faulk. Faulk was a gifted storyteller and former radio broadcaster. He first recorded his Christmas Story in 1974 for the program “Voices in the Wind.”

National Public Radio started a tradition of airing Faulk’s story every year during this holiday season, so if you’re a regular listener you have probably heard it. But here it is anyway. I hope you enjoy it.

Have a wonderful holiday season!

Shanti,

Ron
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To hear an audio of John Henry Faulk reading the Christmas Story, go to —

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5028755

There’s a link to the audio at the top of the page — Look for the “Listen” button …

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5028755

Or — You can read the story right here ….
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The day after Christmas a number of years ago, I was driving down a country road in Texas. And it was a bitter cold, cold morning. And walking ahead of me on the gravel road was a little bare-footed boy with non-descript ragged overalls and a makeshift sleeved sweater tied around his little ears. I stopped and picked him up. Looked like he was about 12 years old and his little feet were blue with the cold. He was carrying an orange.

And he got in and had the brightest blue eyes one ever saw. And he turned a bright smile on my face and says, “I’m-a going down the road about two miles to my cousins. I want to show him my orange old Santa Claus brought me.” But I
wasn’t going to mention Christmas to him because I figured he came from a family — the kind that don’t have Christmas. But he brought it up himself. He said, “Did old Santa Claus come to see you, Mister?” And I said, “Yes. We had a real nice Christmas at our house and I hope you had the same.”

He paused for a moment, looked at me. And then with all the sincerity in the world said, “Mister, we had the wonderfulest Christmas in the United States down to our place. Lordy, it was the first one we ever had had there. See, we never do have them out there much. Don’t notice when Christmastime comes. We heared about it, but never did have one ’cause — well, you know, it’s just papa says that old Santa Claus — papa hoorahs a lot and said old Santa Claus was scared to bring his reindeer down into our section of the county because folks down there so hard up that they liable to catch one of his reindeer and butcher him for meat.

But just several days before Christmas, a lady come out from town and she told all the families through there, our family, too, that they was — old Santa
Claus was come in town to leave some things for us and if papa’d go in town, he could get some Christmastime for all of us. And papa hooked up the mule and wagon. He went in town. But he told us children, said, “Now don’t ya’ll get all worked up and excited because there might not be nothing to this yarn that lady told.”

And–but, shucks, he hadn’t got out of sight up the lane there till we was done a-watching for him to come back. We couldn’t get our minds on nothing else, you know. And mama, she’d come to the door once in a while and say, “Now ya’ll quit that looking up the lane because papa told you there might not be nothing.” And — but long about the middle of the afternoon, well, we heared the team a-jangling harness a-coming and we ran out in the front yard, and Ernie, my little brother, called out and said, “Yonder come papa.” And here come them mules just in a big trot, you know, and papa standing upright in the bed of that wagon holding two big old chickens, all the feathers picked off. And he was just yelling, “Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.” And the team stopped right in front of the gate. And all us children just went a-swarming out there like a flock of chichis, you know, and just a-crawling over that wagon and a-looking in.

And, Mister, I wish you could have seen what was in that wagon. It’s bags of stripety candy and apples and oranges and sacks of flour and some real coffee, you know, and just all tinselly and pretty and we couldn’t say nothing. Just kind of held our breath and looked at it, you know. And papa standing there just waving them two chickens, a-yelling, “Merry Christmas to you. Merry Christmas to you,” and a-laughing that big old grin on his face. And mama, she come a-hurrying out with the baby in her arms, you know. And when she looked in that wagon, she just stopped, and then papa, he dropped them two chickens and reached and caught the baby out of her arms, you know, and held him up and said, “Merry Christmas to you, Santa Claus.” And baby, little old Alvie Lee, he just laughed like he knowed it was Christmas, too, you know. And mama, she started telling us the name of all of them nuts. They wasn’t just peanuts. They was — she had names for all of them. She — mama knows a heap of things like that. She’d seen that stuff before, you know? And we was, all of us, just a-chattering and a-going on at the same time, us young’uns, a-looking in there.

And all of a sudden, we heared papa call out, “Merry Christmas to you, Sam Jackson.” And we stopped and looked. And here comes Sam Jackson a-leading that old cripple-legged mule of his up the lane. And papa said, “Sam Jackson, did you get in town to get some Christmas this year?” Sam Jackson, you know, he sharecrops over there across the creek from our place. And he shook his head and said, “Well, no, sir, Mister. Well, I didn’t go in town. I heared about that, but I didn’t know it was for colored folks, too. I thought it was just for you white families.” All of a sudden, none of us children were saying nothing. Papa, he looked down at mama and mama looked up at him and they didn’t say nothing, like they don’t a heap of times, but they know what the other one’s a-thinking. They’re like that, you know. And all of a sudden, papa, he broke out in a big grin again. He said, “Dad-blame-it, Sam Jackson, it’s a sure a good thing you come by here. Lord have mercy, I liked to forgot. Old Santa Claus would have me in court if he heared about this. The last thing he asked me if I lived out here near you. Said he hadn’t seen you around and said he wanted me to bring part of this out here to you and your family, your woman and your children.”

Well, sir, Sam Jackson, he broke out in a big grin. Papa says, “I’ll tell you what to do. You get your wife and children and you come down here tomorrow morning. It’s going to be Christmastime all day long. Come early and stay late.” Sam Jackson said, “You reckon?” And mama called out to him and said, “Yes, and you tell your wife to be sure and bring some pots and pans because we’re going to have a heap of cookin’ to do and I ain’t sure I’ve got enough to take care of all of it.” Well, sir, old Sam Jackson, he started off a-leading that mule up the lane in a full trot, you know, and he was a-heading home to get the word to his folks and his children, you know.

And next morning, it just — you remember how it was yesterday morning, just rosy red and looked like Christmastime. It was cold, but you didn’t notice the cold, you know, when the sun just come up, just all rosy red. And us young’uns were all out of bed before daylight seemed like, just running in the kitchen and smelling and looking. And it was all there sure enough. And here come Sam Jackson and his team and his wife and his five young’uns in there. And they’s all lookin’ over the edge. And we run out and yelled, “Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.” And papa said, “Christmas gift to you, Sam Jackson. Ya’ll come on in.” And they come in and mama and Sister Jackson, they got in the kitchen and they started a-cooking things up. And us young’uns started playing Christmastime. And it’s a lot of fun, you know. We’d just play Christmas Gift with one another and run around and around the house and just roll in the dirt, you know, and then we started playing Go Up To The Kitchen Door And Smell. And we’d run up and smell inside that kitchen door where mama and Sister Jackson was a-cooking at, and then we’d just die laughing and roll in the dirt, you know, and go chasing around and playing Christmas Gift.

And we played Christmastime till we just wore ourselves out. And papa and Sam Jackson–they put a table up and put some sheets over it, some boards up over some sawhorses. And everybody had a place, even the baby. And mama and Sister Jackson said, “Well, now it’s ready to come on in. We’re going to have Christmas dinner.” And I sit right next to Willy Jackson, you know, and he just rolled his eyes at me and I’d roll mine at him. And we’d just die laughing, you know, and there was an apple and an orange and some stripety candy at everybody’s place. And that was just dessert, see. That wasn’t the real Christmas dinner. Mama and them had done cooked that up. And they just had it spread up and down the table.

And so papa and Sam Jackson, they’d been sitting on the front porch and they come in. Papa, he sit at one end of the table, Sam Jackson sit at the other. And it was just a beautiful table like you never had seen. And I didn’t know nothing could ever look like that and smell that good, you know. And Sam Jackson, you know, he’s real black and he had on that white clean shirt of his and then them overalls. Everything had been washed and was real clean. Papa, he said, “Brother Jackson, I believe you’re a deacon in the church. I ain’t much of a church man myself, but I believe you’re a deacon. Maybe you’d be willing to give grace.”

Well, Sam Jackson, he stood up there and his hands is real big and he kind of held onto the side of the table, you know. But he didn’t bow his head like a heap of folks do when they’re saying the blessing. He just looked up and smiled. And he said, “Lord, I hope you having as nice a Christmas up there with your angels as we’re having down here because it sure is Christmastime down here. And I just wanted to say Merry Christmas to you, Lord.

Like I say, Mister, I believe that was the wonderfulest Christmas in the United States of America.”‘

I wish you and yours a peaceful, joyous, loving holiday!

Shanti,

~~~ Ron
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