Time to Play
Taking a Snow Day
With so much to do all the time, it can be difficult to find time to simply breathe, think, and explore our inner landscapes. It is still possible, however, to feed your soul and to briefly separate yourself from life's frenetic pace by taking a snow day. Personal snow days are best taken when you feel like you are running on empty with no chance of respite in sight or when you begin to resent the life you once loved.
Your snow day can go a long way toward dispelling built up stress, provided you give yourself full permission to indulge in nurturing activities. It is not a day to worry about what you're missing or what is still lingering on your to-do list. Rather, it is a day to give yourself a break from your responsibilities so you can return to them when you are fully alert. Once you have scheduled your snow day, try to commit to ignoring your chores, not calling your place of work, and doing only the activities you enjoy. Relax, take a nap in the afternoon, play with children, meditate, work in your garden, or read a novel. Take a long walk in the fading afternoon sunshine and then cook a special dinner for yourself. Let your snow day be as languid and as lazy as you need it to be.
If necessary, prepare for your snow day by getting anything you think you will want or need ahead of time. Clean up or pay the bills the day before so you're not tempted to work. When your snow day is over, hold on to its essence. Take some of the peacefulness you felt and keep it close to your heart. Even though we are a society that values overtime and hard work, you deserve a snow day every now and then.
Gratitude Multiplies
Leo Daily Horoscope for 2-2-06
You may feel very grateful for your life today, which could put you in an altruistic mood. You might even be considering ways to be of service to the less fortunate or lend a hand to people you know that may need help. By exploring opportunities to serve others in meaningful ways today, you can put your generous mood to good use. Perhaps there are charitable organizations in your local area that would welcome your time, or you could volunteer your services in a mentoring capacity. Another good way to enhance this mind-set is to spend some quiet time focusing on gratitude today. By affirming the blessings in your life, you will feel more energized and happy and naturally want to share this joy with others.
We can make a powerful difference in the world by fostering a sense of deep gratitude and joy in our hearts. Gratitude is a powerful tool that can transform our lives. Focusing our thoughts on gratitude for our blessings makes us feel energized and motivated to make a difference in the world. When we reach out to others in an effort to touch their lives in the same positive ways that we've been touched, we inevitably attract even more blessings into our own lives. We end up creating a powerful cycle of love and gratitude that benefits all of us. By counting your blessings from a place of gratitude and sharing your joy with others today, you can create a positive difference in the lives of those around you.
Reflections of Self
We Are All Mirrors for Each Other
When we look at other people, we see many of their qualities in innumerable and seemingly random combinations. However, the qualities that we see in the people around us are directly related to the traits that exist in us. "Like attracts like" is one of the spiritual laws of the universe. We attract individuals into our lives that mirror who we are. Those you feel drawn to reflect your inner self back at you, and you act as a mirror for them. Simply put, when you look at others, you will likely see what exists in you. When you see beauty, divinity, sweetness, or light in the soul of another, you are seeing the goodness that resides in your soul. When you see traits in others that evoke feelings of anger, annoyance, or hatred, you may be seeing reflected back at you those parts of yourself that you have disowned or do not like.
Because we are all mirrors for each other, looking at the people in your life can tell you a lot about yourself. Who you are can be laid bare to you through what you see in others. It is easy to see the traits you do not like in others. It is much more difficult to realize that you possess those same traits. Often, the habits, attitudes, and behaviors of others are closely linked to our unconscious and unresolved issues.
When you come into contact with someone you admire, search your soul for similarly admirable traits. Likewise, when you meet someone exhibiting traits that you dislike, accept that you are looking at your reflection. Looking at yourself through your perception of others can be a humbling and eye-opening experience. You can also cultivate in you the traits and behaviors that you do like. Be loving and respectful to all people, and you will attract individuals that will love and respect you back. Nurture compassion and empathy and let the goodness you see in others be your mirror.
The Great Transformer
Loving What You Hate
Hatred can be irrational, and it has a greater impact on the individual who hates than the person or object being hated. Yet overcoming hatred is difficult because hatred reinforces itself and causes greater enmity to come into being. The most powerful tool one can use to combat hatred is love. Deciding to love what you hate, whether this is a person, situation, or a part of yourself, can create a profound change in your feelings and your experience. There is little room for anger, dislike, bitterness, or resentment when you are busy loving what you hate. The practice of loving what you hate can transform and shift your emotions from hatred to love, because there is no room for hatred in a space occupied by love.
Granted, it is difficult to forgo judging someone, love your enemy, and seek the good in situations that seem orchestrated to cause you pain or anger. But in deciding to love what you hate, you become one less person adding negativity to the universe. On a simple level, loving what you hate can help you enjoy your life more. On a more complex level, loving what you hate sets you free because you disengage yourself from the hatred that can weigh down the soul. Responding with love to people radiating hatred transmutes their negative energy. You also empower yourself by not letting their negativity enter your personal space. Rather than lowering yourself to the level of their hatred, you give the other person an opportunity to rise above their feelings and meet you on the field of love.
Gandhi once said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Loving what you hate sends a positive, beautiful energy to people while spreading peace and harmony throughout the planet. Instead of reinforcing hatred, you become an advocate for love. Hatred responds to hate by causing anguish. But hatred responds to love by transforming into blissful peace.
The Music of This World
Natural Sounds Meditation
The tool most commonly used to focus our minds in meditation is the breath. When we sit down to meditate, drawing our attention inward counteracts our habitual tendency to be scattered. Meditation on the breath helps us gather our energy into our bodies, centering and grounding us in the present moment. Almost as readily available as our breath are the sounds of the natural world. From rain to wind to the ocean and birds, meditating on these aural manifestations brings us not only a sense of peace, but also an experience of connection to the physical world.
It is easy to get stuck inside our own heads and our individual lives. We get caught up in our goals and plans and almost forget that we live in a world that is always there, humming away in the background. There is an internal shift that occurs when we tune into that background and really give it our attention. It's as if we are discovering a more expansive world, because we are. We are also experiencing ourselves in relation to something larger. This discovery makes us feel rejuvenated and more expansive.
The vast and ceaselessly churning ocean is an ideal place for meditating on the sounds of nature. Sit quietly and surrender to the sounds of the thundering, crashing waves. Let go of your ambitions and listen. Rivers and lakes also sing their own songs. Even if you live in the middle of a city, the wind howls and whistles and the rain taps out a variety of sounds depending on where it falls—on the sidewalk, a tin roof, a car window, or a muddy slope. Tune into these sounds next time you hear them instead of letting them fade into the background. Stop and listen as if you are hearing a sublime piece of music. Let the music of this world take you on a journey of natural sounds.
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