We love watching a fire crackle or a flowing river because it is always changing. Forever. Likewise, a sunset or starry night provide the same illusion.
The only constant in this world is impermanence. We must look at the season that changes every 90 days with precision to see that nothing lasts forever.
It doesn't matter who you are; we are all changing until our time on this earth is complete, and we head on to more extensive, brighter pastures.
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Even death is not death but a change of form. Albert Einstein, the greatest physicist that ever lived, said, “Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another”
If humans are just matter filled with energy (and we are, beyond any doubt), then when we cease to breathe, we are not dead; we have just changed form and how our energy is transmitted.
As of today, we only have three dimensions in our experience.
Up/Down - Forward/Backward and Side to Side. String theory says there are possibly 10 dimensions, M-theory has 11, and bosonic string theory posits 26 dimensions, yet we can only see 3.
If there are 10, 11, or 26 dimensions, then we have barely scratched the surface and “I” is also for illusion because what we see is not a complete representation of reality.
It would be akin to looking at the ocean while standing on a beach and thinking you are seeing the entire sea.
When the day turns to night, then night turns to day; this is also a reminder of impermanence, for, in a single sunrise, we see how quickly the sky changes. Every second that goes by, the sky reorganizes itself in different hues of orange and pink until suddenly, minutes have gone by, and the sun is no longer on the horizon. Still, it has risen steadily above until it eventually crosses the sky and starts to set in the west.
That is another impermanent illusion if you consider that the sun is steady in the middle of the universe, and we here on Earth are spinning around it every 24 hours.
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Alphabet soup for the soul vol.2- "J”
J is for Journey
"It may be that when we no longer know which way to go that we
have come to our real journey."
Wendell Berry
It is not until we get further down the path and become more self-aware that we can clearly see that the trials and tribulations were put before us to make us stronger.
Those who are most fortunate can take the worst thing that has ever happened and make it the best.
Once the original victim confronts their trauma, they can help others in a cyclical altruistic fashion that harmonizes healing.
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Things happen to us that we can perceive at the moment as tragic. It can feel like things will never improve, but if we believe they will, they will.
Our perception of the world around us determines how we react to the circumstances that unfold in our lives.
How would we know there is light unless we have first experienced the dark?
Our journey almost always becomes clearer after we bend but don’t break. The place where we push through when it would have been easier to give up. A place where we see the lesson being taught in our journey.
The past's mistakes and suffering have a lesson to teach us on our unique journey through life. But, look closely, and you will find that the light came soon after in all those dark times.
If you can not see the light right now, it is coming, so keep your eyes and heart open and let love and light shine through you; there is someone who needs you to help them through your story.
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Alphabet soup for the soul vol.2- "K”
K is for Kind
"Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle"
Plato
There is a piece of word art in my home that says, ""In a world where you can be anything, be kind.""
Do you go out of your way to be kind? Do you say or do nice things for others (and yourself) for reasons other than to make them (you) feel good?
Are you a kind person?
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If things are not going how you want in life, and you find yourself often sad or angry, then you have nothing to lose by projecting kindness.
In a media and global landscape that seems to be trying to force almost the entire world to live in fear of disease, natural disasters, and scarcity, being kind will always win.
On a planet where we so visibly see global inequality for simple things like water, education and human rights, it is easy to be selfish and thinks there is not enough. However, the one thing you can always do is be kind, no matter how much or how little you have.
It is also a quick and easy way to shift your inner world.
We will receive in return if we choose to be kind to others. It's'
one of the laws of the universe (projection = perception). So, whatever you send out will come back to you.
If your project is kind, then it will return as kindness.
You will look at fellow brothers and sisters and share an energy that transcends the spiritual into human comprehension. All just because you were being kind.
'Do unto others’. It helps others when you are kind, but it also helps you. So, start today and pay it forward. Say or do something 181
kind to someone else or yourself, and you will begin to transform your life.
Alphabet soup for the soul vol.2- "L”
L is for Love
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear
has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been
perfected in love."
John- 4:18
Everything else is based on fear, and fear is a lie. Guilt, shame, jealousy, anger, envy, scarcity, lack, all of it. It's all a lie that has 182
been put over on all of us by the culture scape. That is media, church and state, education and social media.
It's the devil, whereas God is pure love.
The love we feel when we see a baby or enjoy nature.
Fear is usually based on our past or our incorrect predictions of the future. So, when we are present, truly present, we feel only love because we are in the moment, being, doing, and handling; when we get stuck in our mind, we are fearful, and that is where fear arises.
we literally make it up, so stop thinking and start doing Let go of the past. Move forward and make this upcoming year the year you accomplish some of the things on your list that you have been thinking about but never started.
Design your year and wrap it up with a theme; last year, during the pandemic, my theme was surrender. The theme allowed me to have one of my life's most productive and happiest years. Every time I was frustrated or angry with my progress, I asked myself if I was surrendering; the answer every single time was no, I was not surrendering. The opposite side of that coin is when I did surrender, things that I never imagined began happening.
What's your theme for this year?
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Alphabet soup for the soul vol.2- "M”
M is for Mindset
"Happiness has to do with your mindset, not outside
circumstance."
Steve Maraboli
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Mindset is everything. Mindset determines if you will accomplish the thing you set out to do. Mindset determines if you will get back up when you fall, and mindset will let you fail forward.
Mindset keeps you going when things get complicated, which happens to everyone and will undoubtedly happen to you at some point in 2022, 100%.
Mindset will help you cross the finish line when you feel like the tank is empty. It allows us to dig deep when there seems to be nothing left, and it helps us find that extra reserve we didn't
'think' we had.
Mindset is beliefs and values mixed with determination and motivation
Mindset proves the saying that "To have the things others don't, we have to do the things that others won't."
Carrol Dweck talks elegantly about the Fixed mindset vs the Growth mindset. The research on fixed vs growth mindset tells us that everyone can decide which of the two categories they want to be in.
Even with a fixed mindset, you can still decide to implement a growth mindset right now. That's a decision nobody (except for you) can stop you from making.
Once you decide to grow, you start by writing down what you want. Here is where you make a plan for your future. The next step is to follow and measure your progress along the way.
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Inevitably you will hit some targets and miss others. When you miss, just make the necessary adjustment to the timelines and skills needed to hit the mark, and eventually, you will achieve what you desire.
By following these steps, you are creating change in your life.
Suddenly the path becomes a bit clearer, and you start seeing the rewards of your work. All this stems from adopting a growth mindset.
Another truth Carol Dweck's research shows us is that a fixed mindset means you are a victim of your circumstances and believe that you can't change; however, a growth mindset knows that change is not just possible but is necessary for those who want a different outcome.
Most importantly, this hypothesis teaches us that the growth mindset believes the power to grow and change is within anyone who decides to walk that path. The growth mindset does not see failure as the end but as one more way not to do something.
So, don't ask what kind of mindset you have, but what perspective do you want to have?
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Alphabet soup for the soul vol.2- "N”
N is for Neuroplasticity
"Neuroplasticity research showed that the brain changes its very
structure with each different activity it performs, perfecting its
circuits, so it is better suited to the task at hand."
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