A Handful of Seeds

When you ask for an apple, life often gives you a handful of seeds.  And when this happens, you may first turn away in disappointment and frustration, wondering why your dreams and intentions came to so little. 

But stop and look again.  Some of them, after all, may be apple seeds.  And if you plant them in rich soil and then water them daily, guard them against the frost in winter and the drought in summer, protect them from animals and clear away the weeds, then you will finally have an orchard, flourishing and growing over the years. 

And as your orchard grows, you will learn.  You will learn what it takes for trees to be healthy.  And you will learn, importantly, about discipline, about the great rewards of activities steadily applied over years, even for just a few minutes a day. 

And one day, the orchard will bear fruit.  And if you are very smart, you will continue to plant new seeds even as these are bearing fruit, so that you will have a lively, thriving orchard for your lifetime.

And you may also begin to have different types of trees that bear fruit in different seasons.  Some trees with broad leaves that shelter you in the summer from the heat and some trees that stay evergreen during the winter months, just for beauty.

And all of this is true for your relationships, your business ventures and careers, your artistic talents.  All of these require that you begin with the seedlings and nurture them carefully until they mature and can begin to stand alone, until finally they begin to provide for you. 

The new person you just met is a seed you might nurture into a long and deep friendship over the years.  The daily time spent practicing the piano is like watering a growing sapling that will eventually reward you with golden peaches.  Steady investment of your savings can build many orchards indeed, as can patient and attentive tending to your career or business ventures. 

Do not turn away from the seeds.  Allow them to teach you, allow them to grow.  Allow them to surprise you, as some of them turn out to be pears and others limes and lemons.  Devote yourself to life.  Devote yourself to nurturing and helping life grow and flourish around you.  Let your dreams nurture the wonders that have been given you, not lead you away in frustration and disappointment. 

Allow yourself to dedicate your time and effort even though the outcome is not certain, knowing that each drop of sweat that falls to the ground is precious, for this is life, this effort, this meeting of the challenge.  This is the way we spend our days.

Here is a little prayer for today

I look at the handful of seeds that lie in the palm of my hand, and I see within them the trees they are to become, the fruit they will bear, the shade and shelter they will provide. 

I nurture and develop the seeds of my life, not only for what they will become but and also for the love of life now, the glory of being alive, reaching and becoming, growing and expanding.

I love life.  I love my life.  And I embrace it in all its wonder, from seed to tree, to fallen fruit that again contains more seeds.

I am vibrant and alive.  I am peace and love.  I am.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Quado Daily Portion

Turn the ordinary into a joyful experience

Today is a day of joy and connection.  Today is a day to step outside and take a deep breath and declare to all the world:  I am alive!  Today is a day to feel the energy coursing through your veins and allow that energy to flow freely, enlivening and empowering you.  Today is a day to embrace simply being alive, for no other reason than because you are.

Do not judge whether outer circumstances are good enough to allow you to enjoy yourself.  Do not set the day against a standard which must be met before you fill with joy.  Fill with joy just because you are you and the day is.

Life is.  It unfolds as it unfolds.  You are.  You stand within your life and blossom.  Let us see you blossom.

Take one moment in your life, something very ordinary that you do every day, and turn it into a spiritual and joyful experience.  For example, going out to get the mail or the newspaper.  Walking across a parking lot and passing under a tree.  Walking by a window that overlooks a garden.  Take some moment with a touch of beauty in it and fill that moment with joy.  Every time you walk down the driveway or parking lot or by that window, slow down, take a deep breath and pull in joy, letting it pour in with golden energy through the top of your head and fill your body completely, each breath pulling in more golden joy.

Do this every day.  And throughout the day, if you find yourself feeling sad or low, just picture that moment and breathe in the joy again.

Teach your mind and body this experience of joy and beauty.  You deserve to be full of love and joy every moment of every day.

Here is a little prayer for today

I breathe in joy with every breath.  I allow it to fill me.  I deserve this joy.   It is a natural part of me and my life. 

I am love and joy.  I relax into life and embrace it, just as it is, just as I am.  I allow myself to feel all the joy that is there for me.

I am love and peace.  I am joy.  I am.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Quado Daily Portion

Do not give up on yourself

Today I would ask you not to give up on yourself.  Today, remember that the only way to lose is to quit.  And the only way to have a lifetime problem is to affirm that problem, through your actions and your thinking.  After all, today could be the day you break that pattern for once and for all.

After a lifetime of struggle with some issue, if it is money, weight or love relationships, you may think that it is hopeless.  You may think after so many attempts to change, followed by backsliding into the old ways, that you are incapable of transformation.  But it is not so.  And if each time you backslide a little bit less before you stop your backward momentum and again move forward, then you are, in fact, making great progress.  Not the way you had envisioned it perhaps, but progress all the same.

Transformation is not something that happens overnight.  There will be moments in which you take great leaps ahead, but then other moments when you are blown back.  All of it is a part of your transformation process.

And everything that has happened is a part of your past, not a predictor of your future.  Simply because something has occurred again and again in the past does not guarantee that it will continue in the future.  Any day now, you may break the pattern.  And it is worth the continued effort to go forward toward that day.

If you give up, you have failed.  If you continue, if you persevere, the promise of success is still there.  And after all, today could be the day, the day in which you overcome your last misstep, your last backsliding, and begin to win instead of struggle.

Accept that this issue, which may be small for others, is an enormous mountain for you.  This is not something to whine and complain about; this is something to tackle.  This is a worthy opponent, this mountain, something that requires dedication, persistence, preparation, readiness, heart and courage.  This thing, which others may see as a little bump in the road, is what you will build your character against. 

This challenge, this obstacle, this mountain, is what you will use to prove yourself, over and over, proving your love for yourself through discipline, proving your courage through focus and commitment, showing the world who you are.  And when you succeed, if it is getting yourself out of debt, saving a few dollars, losing a few pounds, speaking up in a meeting, choosing love over anger, taking a leadership position in a project, whatever it is, know that this accomplishment, though not large in the eyes of others, is in fact an enormous success, a monumental accomplishment for you, and deserves your celebration.

Breaking a pattern, launching yourself into new territory, finally making your way over that mountain, this is your life, and it is good.

Here is little prayer for today

I am worth my own very best efforts.  I am worthy of respect and dedication.  I am the commitment I must make.  I am the love I must both give and get.  I am the center of my life and its heart and I love myself deeply, deeply enough to do for myself all that is in my own best interest.

I love myself.  I am love.  I am power.  I am my own best friend.  I am.

Step out into this bright day

You may often wonder why things have happened as they have.  You may be full of personal regret for what you have done and left undone and you may also be full of blame toward others.  But then we are left with this.  Right now, you are standing where you are.  The past is over, completely gone.  Gone are the events of the past, the opportunities and also the expectations you had of how things would be.  And of course, those expectations are causing you the most trouble.  You had such hopes that things would turn out a certain way and in fact, life is different than what you had thought.  And so, you hold today up to the mirror of what you had hoped for and feel that it falls short.

But today is not a reflection of those old dreams and expectations.  Today is a lively confluence of energies and it contains the seeds of many, many wonderful things yet to come.  All contained in this moment, right now.

And it is your choice to see today as a pale and wanting reflection of what did not happen or to see it as an exciting vibrant expression of what actually did occur.  For while you were focusing on those hopes and dreams, life went on as it did, day by day. You built up different skills than what you had expected, met different people.  Life took a different turn.  And now, here you are.

Today, embrace today.  See it very clearly and directly.  Shine a bright light on who you are and where you are, right now.  Come down into this moment now and consciously release the past and start again.  Right now, this is as it is.  You are as you are, this age, this weight, this physical shape, this amount of wealth, these relationships.  And then know the truth:  today contains all of the possibility in the world. 

So knowing that life is sparkling with infinite possibility, and knowing how things are today and accepting it with peace and love in your heart, what action would you like to take right now?

There is no need to build great castles in the air, to have a well-developed plan.  Just take one step in the right direction.  If you are lonely, join an organization, take a class.  If you are in debt, put away those catalogs, take on an extra job, save a little money.  If you are overweight, exercise now.  If you are frustrated with your career, begin studying for the new career you would prefer.  Take some action today which moves you toward what you would like.

And then, time will pass. And if you fill each moment with action which is in your own best interests, always releasing the past and adjusting to the way things are now, right now, you will find that time has passed and you are slimmer and trimmer, better at the piano, more educated, wealthier, more involved with people you like.

I see you.  I know that you are full of talent.  I know that you are full of love which you are eager to share.  I know that a spark glows within you that is as bright as any star in the sky.  I know this about you and I ask you to release that shine out in to the world, to drop the past, to leave it behind and to step out into this bright day and become a vibrant part of the life which is evolving and opening around you right now.

This moment now, just as it s, just as you are, is perfect.   And you, you are perfect within it.

Here is a little prayer for today

I go deeply into each moment and exist within it, just as it is.   I love my life.  I love myself as I am, exactly as I am, right now.  I embrace my life with love and energy.

I love being alive and seeing how life sparkles with possibility and opportunity all around me.  I engage in life right now.

I am love.  I am light.  I am a deep part of all that is.  I am.

Quado Daily Portion

Act out of love for yourself and this day

Today dawns in its own greatness.  You stand perfect within it, exactly as you should be.  And it blooms and opens around you, exactly as it is and should be.

And now, establish a new relationship with this day and each as it unfolds.  Open up the crown of your head and open to the golden flowing energy which is pouring down into you, full of love, full of promise.  Golden and flowing, open and glorious, full of love, made of love, only love.  Love and light and energy, all tied to you and your relationship to all that is.

Open wide to what is.  Wider and wider.  Let it fill your mind and heart and center.  Let it wash away all that is not, all that you imagine, all that you fear, all that you once yearned for.  Wash all that clean and clear and feel the love that is here for you.  Feel and know that you are made of love, only love.  Feel and know your deep relationship to this day and what it holds.  Feel and know your own perfection within the perfection of being.

And now, clean and clear, free of old expectations and worries, first just be.  Just be and connect.  And then, when you are completely full of love, act.  Act out of the love you are and feel.  Act out of love for yourself and this day, for life itself.  Do something which expresses how much you love your life and how open you are to the promise of life unfolding.

When you are this deeply connected, there is nothing to fear, for you can feel the rightness of being running through you.  You can feel also the love that is there for you, now and always.  Feel it.  Be it and know it.  Let all of your decisions and choices flow from this place, this place of energy and light and above all, love.

There is no yesterday.  There is no tomorrow.  There is now, now and now and tomorrow will simply be another now.  Just relax and let it flow toward you, full of light and love.  Welcome each moment with grace. 

Thus does a life unfold in beauty, each moment a great gift.

Here is a little prayer for today

I stand within this moment and open fully to its grace.  I allow the love and light to flood into me and fill me with its energy.

I embrace life fully, just as it is in this moment.  I love myself deeply, just as I am, standing within this moment.

I am love and light.  I am beauty and power and grace.  I am one with all that is.  I am.

Quado Daily Portion

Be as a Bouncing Ball

When something occurs that you did not anticipate and do not like, watch for your emotional reaction.  If that reaction is a sigh and an I-quit attitude, a here-we-go-again resignation, then we have work to do.  For the adventure of life I wish for you is not one of sighing and bemoaning your fate, of resigning yourself to having and being less than you want.

It is often said that you should learn to accept what you cannot change.  There is much truth to this, of course, but it can also lead you into the dangerous territory of apathy and resignation.  

You must accept that your lover has left you and is not coming back, for you cannot change this and to spend your life trying to do so would be a futile waste of energy and emotion.  But you do not need to accept that you will be lonely, that you will be alone.  You can choose to immerse yourself in the life of people, participating in new activities, meeting new people every day, engaging in life actively and joyfully.  And after a time you will find that this new period of deep engagement with life is actually a better time than you were having while worrying constantly about whether or not you were pleasing to a lover with one foot out the door.

You need to accept that the company that employed you for twenty years has been acquired, that the new company has someone who already does your job and that you are likely to lose yours.  You need to accept this.  But you do not need to accept that this is a bad thing.  You may choose instead to look upon this as an opportunity to find a better position, perhaps even a new career.  This unexpected and unwelcome event could be the turning point in your life, the event that propels you forward to take risks you would never have taken if you still had that job.  This could be the thing that turns your life from humdrum to exciting, as you finally go after that dream you have had for so long.

But what of the events such as death, where there is no positive benefit to be seen in your life, no way to turn it into a propelling force toward good?  Yes, you must accept this loss within your own life.  You will not see that lovely smile again, hear that laughter, feel that loving hug.  Accept this, yes, and allow yourself to feel what you feel.  But at the same time, allow it to carry you into a deeper understanding of life.  Allow yourself to know and feel the truth, that nothing is ever lost, that at the levels higher than this physical existence you are still together, side by side, and here that warm smile is a part of a golden glow of love, a love which is joined to your own in the oneness of all that is, a love which still showers you and surrounds you, even now. 

Allow this loss to take you into a deeper understanding of the cycles of life.  Let it teach you to be as the rose, going deeply down to your roots during the winter cycles of barrenness and cold, only to emerge again in the spring more fragrant and beautiful than ever, your understanding and connection even deeper than it was before.

Allow yourself to feel what you feel.  Allow yourself to have reactions and responses to life, as you naturally will if you are engaged deeply with it.  How much better to cry aloud than to sigh!

But then, let this energy turn you toward action, toward desired change, toward growth and toward deeper understanding and connection.  Let nothing stop you in your tracks.  Be as a bouncing ball, letting the same energy which forced you downward give you the power to bounce back up again, even higher than you were before.

Here is a little prayer for today

I am deeply engaged in my life.  Everything that happens to me is an opportunity for change and growth.  I open myself to new experiences and new people.

I welcome change into my life.  I welcome newness and vibrant new energies.  Everything that happens energizes me, like a ball which bounces higher and higher, reaching to the heavens.

I am power.  I am love.  I embrace all of life, just as it is.  I see the opportunities hidden within each change that occurs.

I am vibrant and alive.  I am power.  I am love.  I am.

Quado Daily Portion

All is One and All is Love

Today is a day to touch the heart of the universe, to touch the hem of God, to feel and be the great connection that we are, to be one with all of the love and joy that is.

Today is a sacred day, so simply because it is, because you awakened with blood flowing through your veins and breath in your body.  Now put a song of joy and gratitude upon your lips and let that breath of life ignite the full joy that is yours to have, it you will simply allow it to be.

And now, feel the light in your center.  See it glowing deep within you, this spark of light that is you.  Let the glow spread outward until it fills you completely.  Allow yourself to stay within this glow and feel and be who you are, the wonder and glory of your precious self.

And now, let the light spread further out, lighting the area around you.  Be as a candle, glowing in the dark, shining out for all to see your love, your faith, your beauty.  And now, stoke that fire within even greater.  Feel the connection you have with all that is.  Open up the crown of your head and let the full light and love of the universe pour down into you.  Fill yourself first with the golden, glowing light of your own higher self.  Then higher and higher, the glow greater and greater until you take in all of the love and light and glory that is the universe, all now pouring into you, centered within you and glowing out for all to see.

You are now a great golden glowing orb, lighting up the entire world, filling all the space with light, chasing away the darkness of fear and doubt, replacing it all with the golden glow of love.

You have this power.  You are this light.  You are this bright and glowing.  For you are one with all that is, with the highest and widest, the deepest and truest.  You are one.  We are one.  All is one and all is love.  Shine out and let us see your glow.

Here is a little prayer for today

I am the light and love of the world.  I open to it and I am it, one at the highest and widest, the deepest and truest. 

I am love, more love, completely love, all love.  And I am one with all that is.  I am.

Welcome the Angel of Renewal

The new year begins soon.  Allow it to be a symbol of renewal for you.  Do this by entering now a cleansing period in which you will methodically and consciously cleanse yourself of all accumulated emotional residue that you do not wish to take with you into the coming year.

To help you with this task, I present to you the angel of renewal.  Bright and loving, golden and glowing, she hovers before you now, holding a golden net, woven of strands of love and compassion, caring and understanding.

During this cleansing period, be very aware of your thoughts and feelings as they arise during the day.  Notice the old ways of being, feelings of shyness and doubt, hurt feelings, flashes of fear or anger, frustration and impatience.  Whenever you experience feelings and thoughts you do not want to carry with you into the new year, call the angel of renewal to you.  Call her presence forth and she will hover before you in love and compassion, ready to accept the burdens from you, taking them from your mind, heart and center and putting them into her golden net bag. 

She will then fly to the heavens and hold the golden bag to the light, transmuting your thoughts and feelings from heavy burdens into pure golden, flowing light, part of the great glowing light that shines upon your life.

And then she will return to you, her glow brighter than ever, and will reach out and touch your heart.  And her touch will heal the old hurts, will melt the ice and mend the cracks, repair all with love, leaving your heart supple and warm, open and full of glowing love.

She will touch your center and remove the fear, leaving you with a calm and peaceful core.  She will touch your mind and clear away the doubt and worry, leaving only quiet and peace.  And thus blessed, you may continue with your day.

Let this become a healing ritual you perform throughout the day.  You will learn to do it quickly, within the span of three deep breaths.  It is this simple: 

• Notice the feeling or thought you wish to cleanse

• Take a deep breath as you call her to you and hand it over

• Take another deep breath as she flies to the heavens and holds the old feelings to the light

• Take a third breath as she touches and heals your heart, your center and your mind

• Give thanks

In the morning, when you have more time, cleanse yourself of the deeper hurts and resentments, the betrayals and injuries that you wish to be released from in the coming year.  This is the time to clear it all away, and this lovely golden angel of renewal will help you accomplish just this, so that you begin the new year open and peaceful, full of joy and readiness for a wonderful year to come.

Here is a little prayer for today

I ready myself for true renewal in the coming year.  I embrace this period of  cleansing, opening wide my heart, my center and my mind to accept the great blessings that are given to me.  I welcome the angel of renewal to be with me and heal me through love and light.

I am light.  I am love.  I am open and ready for renewal.  I am.

Overcoming Hurt Feelings

As you cleanse yourself for the coming year, I would ask you to pay attention to an emotional response that may be so common to you, that you do not even realize it is a choice you are making.

I would wish for you that you not have hurt feelings, that emotional response when someone you care about does not give you the attention that you feel you deserve, when you feel slighted, because someone is overly absorbed in their own cares and activities and forgets to shine the light on you. 

These little hurt feelings pile up into a resentment against the very people you wish to have love you, and then this resentment begins to be a strain on your relationship, so that even upon seeing someone you love, you want to snap out in anger and hurt, rather than bask in the enjoyment of their company, even though, of course, it is their company and attention you were seeking all along.  And so, these little built-up resentments over the phone call not returned, the birthday forgotten, the late appointments, begin to undermine the very love you seek.

You may realize that these are old feelings from your childhood days when you thought that the world revolved around you, before you became aware of the pressures, burdens and tensions of everyday adult life.  They are from the days when you took everything personally, assuming that everyone was responding directly to you.  But even though you may now think like an adult, the feelings are still there, building up inside you.

But there is an antidote, a way to end this destructive cycle of neediness, hurt and resentment.  Your goal is to become so complete, so fully centered within your own glow of love for yourself and your life, that nothing from the outside can undermine it.  When you are sufficiently stoked with your own fire, you will be able to tell the difference between someone intentionally snubbing you and someone who is simply distracted, and you will instantly forgive people for simply being who they are and trying to live their lives as best they can. 

These hurt feelings are just a mirror of your own unmet needs for self-love, a neediness that, in the end, only you can fill.  Let these hurt feelings be a trigger reminding you that you have not yet fully recognized your own beauty and wonder, your own glory and shine.

For when you are filled completely with love, when you are glowing with the wonder that is you, you are complete and whole and do not need recognition from others.  And in this state of glowing light and love, you can then apply the greatest antidote of all, which is to give to others what it was you were seeking from them:  that smile, that warm greeting, that recognition and attention, true and genuine love, free of resentment, coming from a center that is full and complete, like a warm fire of love that others can come to, feeling that at last they have come home. 

Here is a little prayer for today

I am complete and whole.  I glow with an inner light of being that is made of love.  I love myself deeply, just as I am.  I love my life.  I am filled with gratitude for the life I am blessed to lead.

My own love completes me and makes me whole.  I am a bright and blazing fire of love, enough to light and warm my own life and that of those around me.

I am light.  I am love.  I am.