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| moments “Each moment we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that never was before and never will be again.�?
-Pablo Casals Happy New Year! Our topic this week is moments. This is a new year, and every moment is a new moment. I was given this quote by Pablo Casals when I was sixteen, and I have it displayed in my office today. Being “in the moment�?is one of those things that is so easy to say, yet sometimes so hard to do. The moments seem to pass by us so quickly. We find ourselves saying: “Where did the time go?�?So it’s important to stay present, and to recognize the value of those moments. In spirit, there is no time or place�?but we’re here, in this physical body, on this earth, for a reason. Here there is time, here there are moments �?moments we can hold and treasure, moments where we can learn and grow.
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body “The body is shaped, disciplined, honored, and in time, trusted.�?
-Martha Graham, Blood Memory, 1991 Dancers know, as Martha Graham so beautifully states, that our bodies respond to the attention that we give them. When we take care of the body with nutrition and exercise and personal care, we can trust the body to function optimally. |
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body “The body says what words cannot.�?
-Martha Graham, 1985 We express ourselves with our bodies. Our body “language�?tells things about us that we cannot hide. Our emotions are broadcast to the world through our posture and our physicality. Our bodies are our instruments �?and we can play them with dance and athletics and joy!
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body “The body is wiser than its inhabitants. The body is the soul. We ignore its aches, its pains, its eruptions, because we fear the truth. The body is God’s messenger.�?
-Erica Jong, Fear of Fifty, 1994 The body definitely gives us signals, but do we pay attention? We should! Look at all we can learn from the body! It tells us when we’re tired, under stress, hungry, nervous. We may try to fight it, or ignore it, thinking we know better �?but there is an innate intelligence at work in our cells that we can benefit from. This “gut instinct�?that we get, that’s Spirit talking right to us. Listen up!
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the present “No mind is much employed upon the present: recollection and anticipation fill up almost all our moments.�?
-Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) Our topic this week is the present. Most of the time, the way our minds work, we’re either thinking about something that happened in the past, or thinking about something that is going to happen in the future. Meanwhile, we’re missing the present moment, the here and now. We’re taking away from the joy that exists only in present moment awareness. It’s almost like we need a little alarm to keep us awake. I saw this watch with a great reminder written right on the face: ONE �?Only Now Exists! |
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the present “The present is the future of the past.�?
-Karl Popper (1902-1994) We can’t change what has happened in the past. We can learn from it, and grow from it, and ultimately go on from where we are now. we cannot predict the future �?it is filled with infinite possibilities. the best we can do is to live, and love, the moment we’re in. Life is like Disneyland �?if we are thinking about the next ride and how we’re getting there, we can’t enjoy the ride we’re on right here and now!
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the present “Now or never! You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.�?
-Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) This is such a powerful concept that entire books have been written on this very topic �?Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now�?is just one example. Now is the only time there is, and when we live in this very moment, all of our potential can be realized. |
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the present “The present is the necessary product of all the past, the necessary cause of all the future.�?
-Robert G. Ingersoll, 1899 I love it when I go to a large shopping mall or an amusement park, and there’s this big directory to help us find our way around. It’s like a map, and to help us get our bearings, there’s a big arrow that says “You Are Here!�?How true is that?! Everything we’ve done in the past, every decision we’ve made, has led us exactly to this place and time. And from here, we go on. The choices we make now affect our future. When we live in the present moment, we make better decisions, we know where we are and where we are headed.
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the present “The older one gets the more one feels that the present must be enjoyed: it is a precious gift, comparable to a state of grace.�?
-Madame Curie, 1928 We do become more wise as we get older �?and part of that is understanding the precious value of the present moment. Maybe it is because we have more of a past to look back on, so we can see just where and when we experienced the most beautiful times of our lives. And maybe it is because we have had more time to enjoy the moments, and we know how good that feels.
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self-realization “I had become a new person; and those who knew the old person laughed at me. The only man who behaved sensibly was my tailor: he took my measure anew every time he saw me, whilst all the rest went in with their old measurements and expected them to fit me.�?
-George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Man and Superman, 1903 Every day we are growing and learning and changing. Physically, our bodies create new cells all the time, renewing each part of us. Mentally, we learn and understand more with every experience we encounter. Emotionally, we grow and mature through our relationships, which come and go and teach us, too. And since we are actively pursuing our spiritual growth, we can see the changes in ourselves spiritually �?we are aware of the changes we create in our lives. So, we are new every day �?and we can start fresh from right where we are. Since we know that about ourselves, we can also know that for others �?we can let go of grievances and allow for the possibilities. |
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self-realization “One of the signs of passing youth is the birth of a sense of fellowship with other human beings as we take our place among them.�?
-Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) As we start learning more about ourselves, and realizing more and more who we really are, we begin to understand just how much we really have in common with one another. We’re all in this together, and there is so much we can each do to help one another. As time goes on, we naturally become more compassionate, because we can empathize with a more broad range of experiences.
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self-realization “King Henry: Presume not that I am the thing I was; For God doth know, so shall the world perceive, That I have turn’d away my former self.�?
-Shakespeare (1564-1616) Henry IV, 1597 I like this because Shakespeare says here “I have made the choice- I have chosen to change�?- and that is such a powerful statement. We always have that choice. We can always “reinvent�?ourselves. And when we mean it, it works! There are a lot of people in the media who are examples of this �?the former “loose image�?actress turned mother and Sunday school teacher �?the former rock-n-roller who is now a gospel singer. Part of this is knowing who we are �?and understanding that how the world perceives us, how we present ourselves, is totally up to us.
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self-realization “Spiritual living is a fulfillment from moment to moment, in which the outer person is in a state of living rapport with the inner being and becomes an extension thereof.�?
-N. Sri Ram (1889 - ?) Thoughts for Aspirants, 1972 A lot of times we tend to separate our “outer life�?from our “inner life.�?Maybe we’re working at a job we hate just for the money, while our heart aches for something more. Or we can’t seem to find that certain relationship we’re longing. We can come up with all kinds of justifications for these things. But there’s always a solution. To fully integrate ourselves, we’ve got to make our outer life an extension, or an expression, of our inner life. We’ve got to develop that rapport spiritually within so that we understand how much power we have to create anything in our lives.
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self-realization “Most people are like a falling leaf that drifts and turns in the air, flutters, and falls to the ground. But a few others are like stars which travel one defined path: no wind reaches them, they have within themselves their guide and path.�?
-Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) Siddharta You are a star! You are a shining star! I wrote a song once with that title, and the rest of the lyrics in the chorus go: “You are my shining star, you are who you are, you are special to me! No matter where you are, if it’s near or far, you shine bright as can be!�? |
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progress “Frozen food is not progress.�?
-Russell Baker (1925- ) Our topic this week is progress. Technology has offered us some amazing conveniences �?but at what expense? Do we hole up with our computers rather than socialize with our fellow travelers? Do we make a habit of eating fast food rather than enjoying the wholesomeness of something freshly prepared at home? Where, for the sake of “progress,�?have we gone awry? When we remember the lessons we have learned in the past and build on them, then we make progress. It’s not necessarily about making life “easier�?but about experiencing the beauty that is already there |
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moderation <o:p></o:p> "To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first." -William Shakespeare (1564-1616)<o:p></o:p> We all have goals in mind, something that we are working towards. Life is more a marathon than a sprint. We have to pace ourselves, and make sure we don't get worn out. Sure, we give it our all, but there are times when we put on the steam and other times when we ease off to organize. With this kind of moderation, we can make it as far as we want to go.
-Lissa Coffey <o:p></o:p> |
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