Recently I've been re-reading Pema Chodron's book,
When Things Fall Apart. Her words reminded me of the Sheng Zhen movement from Jesus Standing Qigong, "Looking into the depths of one's heart." Perhaps I finally understand.
Chodron first quotes Thich Nhat Hanh's words, "Suffering is not enough." She goes on to say that though discipline and honesty are important, those qualities without compassion and kindness are just plain mean.
I like that: I like the simple language, and I feel the…
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Added by Vicki Goldsberry on February 7, 2009 at 10:34am —
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Transitions from one year to the next naturally and organically invite us to reflect on the past while we contemplate and plan for the future. Even if the concept of time is a construct we have chosen to help organize our existence, this cycle is inevitable, perhaps necessary, and -- we hope --constructive.
And so I, like many of you, have been considering my personal 2008... knowing that my inner space influences not only my life, but also that of the planet. I'm not feeling grandiose here --…
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Added by Vicki Goldsberry on January 19, 2009 at 5:22pm —
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Transitions from one year to the next naturally and organically invite us to reflect on the past while we contemplate and plan for the future. Even if the concept of time is a construct we have chosen to help organize our existence, this cycle is inevitable, perhaps necessary, and -- we hope --constructive.
And so I, like many of you, have been considering my personal 2008... knowing that my inner space influences not only my life, but also that of the planet. I'm not feeling grandiose here --…
Continue
Added by Vicki Goldsberry on January 2, 2009 at 9:30am —
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I think I have a new mantra.
Today, as I was driving north on that highway I so often travel, I drove up behind a brick-colored SUV. And on that SUV was a small, discreet bumpersticker:
Love > Fear
The driver wasn't an old hippie... or any other expected stereotype that my judgment might bring to mind... he was an older staid-looking gentleman. Just a normal man, a stalwart member of the community, sending me the message I needed to hear -- a Christmas gift -- via his bumper:
Love > Fe…
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Added by Vicki Goldsberry on December 17, 2008 at 9:00am —
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A while back someone dear to me gave me a copy of Etty Hillesum's wonderful book, An Interrupted Life. In it he wrote, "I read this book when I want to remember what is really important."
Sometimes we do need to remember what is really important. Daily disenchantment can cause us to lose sight of the biggies... little disappointments can obscure the contentment that we do possess. I'm certainly guilty of falling into the trap of forgetting my blessings, and counting my losses.
What really is i…
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Added by Vicki Goldsberry on December 4, 2008 at 12:00pm —
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If you know me, you are aware that I am not always a happy camper. Not always chipper, not always wearing the proverbial rose-colored glasses. Things get to me (hence, the moniker "poet without skin"). Sometimes I even wallow in it.
Maybe it is, as a dear friend said, that "the day is heavy." Maybe it's the full moon energy. Maybe it's a chemical imbalance, or a nutritional indiscretion, or I need exercise. Maybe I need a hug.
Or maybe it is just the natural cycle of life, the expansion and co…
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Added by Vicki Goldsberry on November 14, 2008 at 7:30am —
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The other night I had a dream that seemed profoundly important in these uncertain times.
I was walking in a peaceful meadow. The day was beautiful and silent. White birds were flying.. That was it...just me, the grass and the sky, and the birds. As I walked, I began to focus on the birds... and then I began to worry about the birds. (After all, there was nothing else to worry about!) The number of birds seemed to grow larger, and they started to fly closer to me. As my fear mounted, they became…
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Added by Vicki Goldsberry on October 29, 2008 at 11:30am —
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Yes, I made the Boston Cream Pie. It wasn't pretty, but it tasted good.
Of course, saying that about a cake is akin to saying, "She doesn't sweat much for a fat girl."
On the other hand, one party-goer -- Pat, who doesn't normally eat dessert (shown on the far right)--…
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Added by Vicki Goldsberry on July 27, 2008 at 6:07pm —
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The concept of blogging has always seemed a bit narcissistic to me.... as if someone actually wants to follow me around and read my daily thoughts and activities.
Admittedly delightful, though... for as a child
I dreamed of a fame so great -- and technology so vast -- that after my r…
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Added by Vicki Goldsberry on July 24, 2008 at 7:00pm —
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