Wake Up by Molly Keogh (Guest Blogger)

Letter to self: Please read and heed. Heeding is the hard part.

Impermanence and reality really do matter. They both trip me up - they make me sad, nervous, angry and a host of other negatives.

Brain power brings logic to impermanence. Knowledge that from the cosmos to the tiniest microbe, change, dissolution and reconstitution abide. That’s logical and evident.

That’s good to know but not helpful when dealing with loss, hunger, fear, disappointment and pain. My brain loves to hold on, resist change, expect continuity and life. (Always life as it is right now on a very good day.)

So for me it’s a constant "wake up call."

Attachment blocks my brain from the reality that at any given moment all conditions necessary for happiness are present. I don’t want to miss that happiness, ever present and available.

Attachment to the past and the future as well as this crumbling body are major distractions for me.

My mind wants to grieve over past losses and pain or run ahead to some imaginary place. 

All the while missing this precious moment where:

Children are laughing

The air is warming

My love is near

The bunny in my backyard is munching on clover

My breath continues.

It’s really about '"mind control." Can I control my mind? Or is my mind in charge of my happiness by choosing unreality (past and future) over the present.

I don’t like being robbed of my moment of happiness. Why do I let it happen?

I think it’s as simple as a bad habit. It’s been what I have allowed for so long it has become a comfort zone even though it’s a habit which keeps me in constant discomfort.

For me the only way to change a habit is first to be aware of it, see it for what it is; just something I’ve gotten used to, a distraction which takes me away.

Second, is this something I want to carry on or would I benefit from being present for myself and others?

Oh, the pressure! Now I need a plan to change this habit which no longer works for me. A plan which involves thought and introspection can quickly become noxious.

This is going to require work and commitment.

“Maybe later,” says me to me.

So far the plan has come in spurts and sputters. There is hope and progress is evident, just not at lightning speed.

Here is some evidence:

Able to take a walk and just walk. Thoughts are connected to the present: feet touching the ground, breathing in and out, feel of air on skin, sound of birds, sound of leaves blowing in the breeze.

Able to drive the car and just drive. Thoughts go to my hands on the wheel, breathing in and out, surroundings, air temperature, traffic signs, lights.

Able to sit and watch the bunny munching on the clover. Just sitting and watching.

So that’s it for me right now. It relaxes me to just think about the process.

Peace is the reward, a little at a time. I’ll take it.

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This blog post was curated and/or edited by The Ardent Reader, Esther Hofknecht Curtis, BSOL, MSM-HCA. The views expressed in this blog post are those of the guest blogger. Visit www.parrotcontent.com for more information.

My Superpower: The Phoenix by Jennifer Sutter (Guest Blogger)

From the time I was very young, I always had an ability to see through the people I interacted with; to see their true selves. This is not something I have ever shared with anyone in conversation; it has always just been the way I see. 

Now this is not to say that I have never been hurt by anyone, because I have many, many times. But I’m an optimist. I like to always see the best in people. Which has left me vulnerable, but that’s fine... it has made me grow in ways I didn’t imagine.

I think I can say with some certainty that when one is hurt emotionally by another it tends to make them guarded or jaded. For me it has at times made me bitter and internally explosive. Despite that, I still always put myself out there and trust again. Foolish? Maybe, but it has actually served me well. I will try my best to explain what it is I see, but bear with me because I don’t really have a definition for it.

We all have our outer shell that is human nature; we only expose that delicate underbelly to those we really trust. But for some reason I have never had trouble meeting someone new and within minutes they are telling me their life story.

Me being the eternal student of human nature, I am always willing to listen and absorb. At some point during a conversation I am asked my opinion on the subject, which is usually, “Why did [insert name] have to hurt me like that?” Often the answer they expect is why the person did it. I often respond with the reasons why the person asking allowed it.

I don’t have to know a lot about a person’s history to reveal their nature, but when I do hear about their past or upbringing, it makes the whole picture much clearer. I am usually correct, and that is not a boast. It’s curious to me how I know things about others that they haven’t shared out loud. How can I sense the inner person? Answer: I don’t know.

In the past few years I have tried to find a label for what I do. I don’t read auras or concentrate really hard or even focus on a person. So as I was looking for answers I was naturally drawn to the law of attraction mentality.

It seems to be me. I put out some kind of vibe that attracts certain kinds of people. Now although it may seem like common sense when you read the literature on it (and it is) most people can’t understand how easy it is.

How can a whole new spiritual outlook be easy? Don’t you have to study with gurus, and chant and light candles? No, you only have to believe, and that is the hardest part. Believing in oneself is hard, and to trust that the universe will respond to you is even harder to understand.

To truly believe in something you have to cast out all doubt, all fear, and trust in something unknown. Most religious people would agree that absolutely, this is the truth, but that salvation lies in following God's rules. When things go bad, they're also the first people to to say, “God, why have you forsaken me?” Or, “Why did you let this happen?” The truth is it wasn’t God that made it happen. When you get to the root cause of the issue, it is usually that the person created their own problems. (To be fair, I am not talking about tragic events of cancer in a family or a car accident. I’m talking about everyday life happenings.)

So how does this all relate to me and my “weird power?” The truth is it doesn’t. But by changing my views, conceptions and understanding the laws of attraction, or the theory of universal abundance, I have allowed myself to understand and be more perceptive about the world and people around me. So in the example above, when people put out negative energy in thoughts or actions that is what they get back from the universe.

And in finding my inner peace I attract those that also strive for inner peace. For those who are ready to “hear,” I teach them, not with books, but by example.

That is my superpower.

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This blog post was curated and/or edited by The Ardent Reader, Esther Hofknecht Curtis, BSOL, MSM-HCA. The views expressed in this blog post are those of the guest blogger. Visit www.parrotcontent.com for more information.