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Checklist for A Perfect Day
How does one start a good habit? Particularly the habit of having a perfect day?
I admit that a checklist for anything, particularly a perfect day, might sound too unspontaneous to be a spiritual undertaking.
But to accomplish anything, we have to be intentional, and really work at it. And work takes time without interruptions, which means being organized. And checklists help with that!
This is my checklist for a perfect day [work day; days off are not so scheduled]. I am a person who finds routine productive and comforting. If you are, too, you may find this checklist helpful. By doing them in order, it guarantees they get done.
Change it to accommodate your lifestyle.
A tip:
If you have a commute to work, put commute time on your schedule. And I highly recommend doing something peaceful or productive during that commute. Listen to a motivating CD, do breathing exercises, or, if you’re a passenger, meditate. Commute time doesn’t have to be wasted time.
THE PERFECT DAY CHECKLIST
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Commitment
I have always believed that commitment to a goal or cause is essential to its success. One can’t be lackadaisical about the intended result.
For 30 years I have carried around in my personal organizer a statement on Commitment written by W.H. Murray in “The Scottish Himalayan Expedition” in 1951.
It seemed about time to share it. Because every word is true:
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“You Are Light” — A Guided Meditation
Why listen to a guided meditation?
Meditation is one of the most beneficial methods of reducing stress and improving health. It has been proven to:
reduce anxiety
bring deep relaxation
lower blood pressure
improve sleep
strengthen the immune system
If you do not have a regular meditation practice, guided meditations are an excellent place to start. Best of all, it’s effortless.
Let this seven minute guided meditation bring you peace of mind today.
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Why An Open Mind is the Way to World Peace
My father taught me many wonderful things, mostly by example, which is the best way to learn. One of the things I most admire about him was that he had a very open mind and respected differing viewpoints.
That is refreshing in this day and age when people are quick to “unfriend” people who don’t see things the way they do.
I recall the time my father was at a football game sitting in front of someone rooting for the opposing team. His friend asked why he wasn’t upset about it and my father’s response was simply, “Well, that’s what makes a horse race.”
When I joined a cult in the 1970s, my father maintained a very open, wait and see attitude before judging me and my guru. In fact, he and my mother came to hear my teacher speak and to learn more about what I was involved in. I really didn’t know many parents who were doing that at that time.
In fact, my father told me about a conversation he had with someone critical of my guru:
Dad: Have you gone to hear him speak?
Critic: No
Dad: Have you spoken with members of his group?
Critic: No
Dad: Oh, so you’re an expert!
My father never hesitated to call it like he saw it.
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What Were You Doing While the World Was Falling Apart?
What were you doing while the world was falling apart?
Imagine your great-grandchildren asking you that question. Can you be proud of your answer?
The “seventh generation” principle taught by Native Americans says that in every decision, we must consider how it will affect our descendents seven generations into the future. It is clearly not embraced by most governments and corporations in the world today.
It is also at the heart of the Idle No More movement of the Canadian First Nation People.
The Idle No More movement started in Canada in December 2012 as a response to Canadian Bill C-45 which lowers environmental protection standards for Canadian waterways, much of which passes through the land of indigenous [First Nations] people.
Please remember that before our ancestors came to North America several centuries ago, this entire continent was indigenous land.
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What’s the Opposite of Cyber Bullying?
What’s the opposite of cyber bullying? Cyber compliments!
After reading about the plague of cyber bullying on social media, Jeremiah Anthony of West High School in Iowa City, Iowa decided to do something about it. He started using social media to compliment fellow students instead of bully them. It spread like wildfire.
Jeremiah started tweeting daily compliments to his friends in October 2011. Soon a few of them started a twitter account called @WestHighBros. to send compliments to fellow students. Now the entire school is sending and receiving positive tweets — over 3000 so far!
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Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail and How to Make Goal Setting Succeed
[quote]”Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” Fitzhugh Dodson[/quote] The concept of making “new year’s resolutions” has been a bit of a joke in our society for about as long as I can remember — the joke being that “resolution” has become synonymous […]
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How to Say Goodbye to 2012
How we say goodbye is important. Including how we say goodbye to 2012.
We’ve all heard that one door never closes without another door opening. But how we close the first door will have an impact on the new door that opens.
Why? Because good transitions are essential to a balanced life. They set the stage for, and welcome, what’s to come.
FIVE-POINT PLAN FOR SAYING A HEALTHY GOODBYE TO 2012:
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The Winter Solstice — Why It’s the True New Year
Winter Solstice is the day when light is reborn out of the darkness of winter.
Our days start to become longer and lead us back to the beauty of spring and the warmth of summer, stretching towards their peak at the Summer Solstice.
Most ancient cultures celebrated this return of light and life with feasting, music, light and fire, and for many, it was the true beginning of the New Year.
It was so important to the pre-Celt ancients of Ireland that they spent over 30 years building a monument to the returning sun: Newgrange.
Older than Stonehenge and the pyramids of Giza, it was designed so that on the Winter Solstice, the rising sun shines directly along the long passage into the inner chamber and for 17 minutes illuminates the chamber floor and the symbols etched on the back wall.
It’s hard for the modern mind to fathom spending 30 years to build a monument for a 3-day event. What did they understand that we don’t?
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Are you asking the right questions?
Are you asking the right questions? This occurred to me recently when I was feeling a bit sad for no apparent reason.
Instead of staying stuck there, I stopped and asked myself, “What am I really upset about? What’s really going on here?” And the answer came. There’s always a deeper reason affecting us.
In truth, some of the turning points in my life, and in the life of some of my friends, have come from asking the right questions.
Here’s a list of what I consider some of the best.
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A Thanksgiving Prayer
Thanksgiving prayers are common to most religious groups. Native Americans had entire ceremonies just for the purpose of expressing thanks – sometimes they lasted for days.
This Thanksgiving Prayer comes from the Seneca Nation and is at least 500 years old.
It is traditionally done around a fire, with spiritual food on the altar. I have adapted it to be used as a Thanksgiving Prayer on our national holiday:
THANKSGIVING PRAYER FROM THE SENECA NATION
And now we are gathered together to remember the Great Mystery’s first instruction to us: to love one another always, we who move about on this earth.
And the Great Mystery said that when even two people meet, they should first greet each other by saying: “Nyah Weh Skenno” which translates to “thank you for being” and then they may take up the matter with which they are concerned.
[Nyah Weh Skenno more literally means: “thank you for being alive in the here and now and not adding to the confusion of the world.]
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Thanksgiving and The Magic of Family Meal Time
“The magic of family meal time comes not from the food on the plate but from who’s at the table and what’s happening there. The emotional and social benefits that come from family dinners are priceless,” said Elizabeth Planet, CASA’s Vice President and Director of Special Projects.
Christmas and Thanksgiving have always been my favorite times of the year: time with family and joyous celebrations. From my 20s on, I lived in California and my family was on the East Coast so I chose Christmas as the time to go East to visit, and spent Thanksgiving with friends in California.
It was always a great day, but there was one very interesting phenomenon that happened most years: everyone was very attached to having dishes from their childhood Thanksgivings. That meant we often ended up with multiple duplicate dishes, just made with different recipes.
I recall a Thanksgiving dinner for 8 that had two large turkeys, four different bowls of cranberries and an assortment of other dishes that could have fed 40. I knew at the time it was because each of us wanted to recapture the magic of our childhood Thanksgiving, but only recently did I start to give it more serious thought.
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Why Veterans Day Just Isn’t Enough
To me, Veterans Day, celebrated this Monday November 12, just isn’t enough to honor what our veterans have done for this country.
Although I am a pacifist, and was an active anti-war activist during the Vietnam War, I was ashamed of the way our veterans were treated when they returned home.
And I am still deeply saddened by the lack of support and care our veterans receive today.
Yes, war is horrendous, and perhaps if women were running the world there wouldn’t be any wars. But those who did their duty and fought for us deserve better than one day to celebrate them.
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A Lesson from “A Course in Miracles” — How to Undo Fear
This is a guest post from reader Ellinor Halle of Norway – excellent advice to live by.
Have you heard of book called ”A Course in Miracles?” It’s a great book which can change your life.
I have been practicing “A Course in Miracles” for many years and it has really helped me to go past the fear that prevents us from being ourselves no matter who we are with.
The Course works with the God-given energy that is inside us all, called the Holy Spirit in the book.
When you follow the workbook each day, it helps you to connect to that energy inside us. Then the voice of fear that belongs to the nightmare of childhood (our thoughts that are babbling away, or our ”ego” according to the book) becomes more and more quiet.
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A Native American Teaching on The Gift of Food
“In our culture, whenever we receive a gift of food – whether someone buys us groceries or makes us breakfast or takes us out to dinner – we say that it extends our life. And as we accept that food, we breathe a word of prayer so that the dividends of that gift might be multiplied into the life of the person who gave it.” Bear Heart in The Wind Is My Mother
CEREMONIAL GIFT OF FOOD
Viewing food as a gift is one reason that most Native American ceremonies I have attended include a pot-luck afterwards: we are practicing the gift of life extension by feeding one another.
But before the people eat, a “spirit plate” is prepared and offered to either the Ceremonial Fire or Mother Earth. This represents a thank you for all that we have received and a prayer for the continuation of life and that all the nations on earth have enough food and water always.
Many Native American ceremonies also include Spiritual food on the altar. In the Lakota tradition it may be water, corn, berries and meat that are placed on the altar during the ceremony.
They are placed there as a prayer that the Eagle Nation will come and take the essence of that food to the places in the world where there is not enough food or water. So the food on the altar is a prayer that all the Nations have enough to eat.
Forks Over Knives: What Does It Mean For Us?
Do you ever wonder why you try to follow the conventional wisdom of recommended dietary guidelines and your health still declines? The brilliant documentary “Forks Over Knives” and the book “The China Study” provide the answers.
“Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health” has been getting a lot of well-deserved positive press lately. The bottom line: we would all be healthier if we eliminated meat and dairy products from our diets.
The film presents excellent research to support the claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by eliminating animal-based and processed foods from our diets.
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Three Questions to Help You Find Your Voice
This is a story about it never being too late to find your voice in every situation. I only just found mine.
Yes, I teach and write about being all you can be, going for your dreams and being fearless – but some lessons take longer to learn than others. Or they come in stages. And as I’ve said many times, we teach what we need to learn.
Backstory
Given a choice, I always choose a female health practitioner instead of a male. I have had incidents in the past of male practitioners making sexual advances so I figure, why tempt fate?
My primary physician is a man and I am very comfortable with him in all circumstances. But again, all things being equal, I will usually choose a woman.
And yet sometimes we are not given choices, and how often do we just go along with what is happening without expressing what we want?
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Relationship with water — how to protect it and use it
“Pure water is the world’s first and foremost medicine.” Slovakian proverb
It seems to be an axiom of life that we take for granted those things that are always present. Our bodies are made primarily of water, as is planet earth. Yet how often do we think about our relationship with water? Or how to protect it and use it?
It is universally accepted that there can be no life without water.
It is the first thing we use every morning and the last thing we use each night. It comes to us in the form of lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, springs and sacred rain.
Ancient prophecy told of a time when we would have to buy our drinking water – that time is here. So that indicates to me it is time to stop taking it for granted.
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A Story of How to Become Wise
After a long, hard climb up the mountain, the spiritual seekers finally found themselves in front of the great teacher.
Bowing deeply, they asked the question that had been burning inside them for so long:
“How do we become wise?”
There was a long pause until the teacher emerged from meditation. Finally came the reply: “Good choices.”
“But teacher, how do we make good choices?”
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Do We Take For Granted the American Lifestyle? If So, Here Are 10 Things To Help Us Mend Our Ways
I had a recent meltdown that caused me to ask whether Americans [including myself] are spoiled and take for granted all that we have.
Upon arriving at my hotel after an eight-hour drive to Northern Wisconsin, I was shocked, SHOCKED to find I had left my overnight bag at home.
The overnight bag that contained everything I need to make myself presentable each day!
I’m usually very cool, calm and collected, but this was a catastrophe of a high order for me.
But here’s the irony: Within half an hour, I was able to replace all my makeup and hair supplies at the Walmart next to the hotel.
I had the means and opportunity and I was still upset. How’s that for spoiled?
It was a good reality check as to how far I still have to go in my spiritual growth. And I know I’m not alone.