Wintley Phipps - Amazing Grace [Live]

---The song stands as it does. It's Great! We are having our Black History Celebration on Friday.

VERSIONS

Which VERSION of YOU

Will I Be Dealing With…

Today?

---I was wondering if this was a valid question or not? I know that everyday, folks aren’t necessarily the exact same person. Minds, circumstances and situations do change. In general, people have a baseline demeanor and usually fit within certain parameters, BUT it seems rare to find someone who is always exactly the same.

---We all have a wide range of emotions to choose from. We are happy, sad, playful, angry, miffed, quiet, etc. We, also, have a set of buttons that trigger these responses. That same set of buttons are, usually, for the particular individual in question. AND…he, himself, can choose a different response than is predicted for him - On Any Given Sunday.

---Any human being can pick and choose to respond anyway he wants…anytime he wants. But, many of us are predictable in many ways. We, usually, adhere to a certain set of values that make up most of our attitudes and behaviors. And…though we may be different at anytime…most times we are not. You have heard the term ‘’that is the way he is wired,’’ I’m sure. If everything was random and unpredictable all the time…it sounds very chaotic to me. OUR EMOTIONS PUT RESPONSES INTO CATEGORIES. ''One man's meat is another man's poison''...still works.

---We have many VALUES that control much of what we do. Being sure that our value systems are in line with our true feelings ASSURES us a more consistent stability and allows us to be true to ourselves more easily. It begins with our values and works from there. Be SURE that the ones you choose have a long-and-short term effect that you truly believe and reflect how you truly feel. As GANDHI said, ''be the change you wish to see in the world.'' Peace + Love. Be Well.

Dr. Lissa Rankin: Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof You Can Heal Your...

---I am aware that you may have heard some of this material before. I think it bears repeating.

NAKEDness Vid/Text

---I know that to some folks, this video crosses some kind of line that people have inside. I think that many are not used to being NAKED or HONEST...this way. If only the words are listened to, much is being said that I have said ALL along. Personally...I think this is a wonderful video. I think that the message is right on.

---Being yourself is what it is saying. Accepting yourself as you are...so called faults and all...is THE place to begin (and end.) To be NAKED...is a call to be HONEST. It is important that one is honest (naked) with himself. It is really NOT about the wearing or not wearing of clothes. I hope that you can see this. It is about the attitudes, etc., that we wear. I think that if/when society learns that being naked and honesty are synonyms in this way...we will have taken a major step forward!

---Do yourself a favor and pay attention to the message and really hear this video. Don't watch...but, only listen if you find the nudity distracting. The video has a very good message, I think the message is a poignant puzzle piece to the true seeker.
.http://www.thelovemovie.com/

---We see that the more HONEST we are and the more we ACCEPT OURSELVES, the less self-concerned we are. This frees us to be more loving and more able to listen. WE ARE BETTER AT BEING LOVING. When we really 'get' this then we can really smell the roses. Be Well.

NAKEDness...A NEW Wrinkle!

NAKEDness - A New Wrinkle.
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''COMMUNICATION, RELATIONSHIP and The OFFSPRING''


---We all know how babies are born, don't we? A man and a woman ''get'' together and produce a third-a baby, a child, an offspring, etc. This works the same way in all of Nature. This is the NO THRILLS, NO FRILLS approach. This is the 'Classic'' way that we have populated the planet. Two combine to make a third. We have many words for this togetherness, some I can print here, some I can't. But we do know that this is how sex works.

---Two combine to make a Third. This is the dynamic I want to speak about. Do you know that this occurs all the time, for everyone? Whenever someone communicates with someone else they produce a Third, an Offspring. This Third is their Relationship, their ''Child.'' This ''Child'' has to be nurtured in about the same way, also, to reach its fullest potential. It does not matter what gender, what species, what you look like, who you are etc., this is the Way it is. Two beget a Third, when communication exists, even if one is not good at it. This is the idea behind ''Celibacy.'' One uses the 'Life Force' in this way, instead of the sexual response we are more used to.
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COMMUNICATION is the CORNERSTONE of all RELATIONSHIP
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---If you have a relationship with the Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker, it still works the same. It could be a dog ar a cat. Anything. It works the same. When Two communicate...they produce this Third, the Relationship.

---So, it seems it is about Communication. Then, where is all this Nakedness we've been promised? It comes in the form of Honest Communication. It can be sometimes very difficult to be Naked in this way.
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LOVE is the GREAT UNIFIER!
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---Now the kicker-The more we tell the Truth and the more Honest the communication we have, then the more Naked we are. There is a lot of strength in this kind of vulnerability. The Relationship then tends more to this thing called Love, which is The Great Unifier. Love brings Everything together. In this way we can see that the Three (the two who Communicate and their Relationship) have become One, and that Communication is at the Heart of the matter. Does this sound familiar? It also holds the makings of a 'Family.'
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CREATING The OFFSPRING
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---To start this process, where do we begin? Well, as with everything, it starts with Yourself. Begin by telling the truth to Yourself. This is not as easy as it sounds. We fool ourselves in many ways. Somehow being right, winning, or looking good, takes the place of being Honest, even with Ourselves. The old self-image problem again. When we toss and turn, are not sleeping, have pangs of conscience etc., it is usually an Honesty issue. If we begin by telling the truth to ourselves, about how we really feel, we begin the process.

---Remember, being honest does not mean we attack people with our ''Honesty.'' Tact and diplomacy always fits in there somewhere.
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We DEVELOPE through TRIAL and ERROR
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---The reason we avoid telling ourselves the truth is because we avoid Knowing ourselves. Or, simply, we hate to look bad! We think that if someone, or even ourselves, knows the truth about us, they wouldn't like us or some variation of this theme. Sometimes we compensate by going the other direction and ''think'' we're better than others. This couldn't be further from the Truth. We are ALL Equal. We ALL have flaws. We are ALL working on this in a personal way. Loving and accepting ourselves as we are, is not the easiest thing that we do, but this is how we Learn and Perfect. We develope through trial and error.

---Don't worry so much about being right, but just be honest with Yourself. You will find that being right and being honest becomes the SAME thing, eventually. You will feel better and be better. Remember, telling the truth to yourself…becomes a habit like any other, but it is one of the good habits to acquire. Be Well.

TRANSFORMING GUILT to FUN!

Transforming GUILT to FUN

---One day I was kidding around with a couple of the Zen Volunteers. We struck up an interesting conversation. We wondered if we could transform ones response of guilt into a response of fun and/or enjoyment…instead.

---We decided that it has to be a matter of perspective. Why do two folks see the same thing and have two different responses? To one it brings up feelings of guilt while to another it brings a situation that he enjoys.

---Since our past forms the way we respond to things…the thing must represent something that brings guilt to one and happiness to the other. Guilt would seem that we haven’t treated the thing fairly or been treated fairly by the thing. We haven’t been true to it in someway. Its presence denotes that we feel there is something still due it…and it has come to collect. Seeing it reminds us of our imperfection and we are still not ready to make things right. There is probably an underlying fear or discomfort that is present…when it’s around.

---Happiness at the presence of this thing shows us that it doesn’t bring us fear or discomfort. Actually, there is a joy or pleasure involved. NOT having fear allows us to be in the present, more, and we don’t seek ways to be elsewhere. Happiness is in the present!

---The nutshell version seems be that if some things brings guilt to you, you, probably, have a past that was NOT fully and truly dealt with. If something brings joy, etc., and has good feelings attached to it, it, probably, doesn’t make you feel you owe (it) something.

TRANSFORMING GUILTSIZE into FUNSIZE

 

---GUILTY PLEASURES: Most of us have those things that we call our guilty pleasures. They are, usually, things that we do that we really know we shouldn’t indulge in…but, for some reason or other we find that we dabble. ‘’Is the payback worth the moment of pleasure that occurs when we do what we, in our heart-of-hearts, know we shouldn’t?’’

---Let’s look at this a little more closely. From past experience we are basically assured of the outcome. We know that unless we have made certain changes about this product and NO longer feel guilty in terms of its impact on us…we will feel guilty.

---What are these certain changes? If we made changes to our value system, beliefs and attitude…we may have a different perspective on this product. Many of us are beginning to wake up and realize that the value system they are living with is not their own. It was instilled into us lock, stock and barrel without our having much say as to what is going on? We see many others having questions about the very things that concern us.

---After we have scrutinized the thing that causes us to feel guilty and to see why this thing has the affect it does, we are then able to reassess our relationship to it. We can make our decision according to whether we want this in our life or not. We should ALL do our own thinking and not allow others to do it for us.

---This scrutinizing of things that you do without knowing why…is one of the big ones that we ALL find ourselves in. We each have many things that are placed knowingly or unknowingly that affect the decisions that we make. Many are there to protect us, but some placed there by very paranoid people that sees everyone…as the enemy. Much was placed there out of ignorance that maybe was necessary for a short-term affect that has long-term affects on your behavior.

---Some of what you find inside may be legitimate. Truthfully, at some point…I have to admit that I am, probably, NOT ‘’the handsomest boy in the whole wide world.'' But…when my mother told me this, who and what was I to question it. I couldn’t even talk…yet.

 

(Dr. V. Sweet + Paul H.)