tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20019715218761380922024-03-13T23:58:39.227-07:00on the path of light becoming the best version of you Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07152532218691644941noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001971521876138092.post-80381462043972955812016-11-10T23:38:00.000-08:002016-11-12T05:02:13.392-08:00The Revolution has started!<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As
the world awoke to a Trump presidency, I like many others felt shocked, sad and
betrayed by my fellow people living in the US. In this mindset I found it hard
to believe the spiritual leaders who in one voice were saying – “focus on
light”, “send love”, “this is all part of a bigger plan.” But where do you
start, with a person, who has lied, bullied and demeaned anyone who stood up to
him. Who has stirred up fear and violence everywhere he went, and has made the
people of a powerful nation sick with the toxic energy he has been spreading.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But
love and light are much stronger than the darkness we have all just witnessed.
As more commentators drew attention to the real need for change across the
world, I began to see that these voters were mainly people like you and I, who
were so desperate for change that they would vote for Trump. And while the US
elections, Brexit, and to a degree the recent Australian elections have been
hijacked by right wing conservatists with their own agenda, this was probably
the only way to quickly create massive disturbance and enable us to bring in
change. Maybe these events are part of a bigger plan?<o:p></o:p></div>
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We
have now reached the tipping point, and regardless of how we
got to this point, it’s how we move forward that is critical for our world. And
this is where I believe hope springs, because: <o:p></o:p></div>
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a) no matter how much
the Nigel Farages, Donald Trumps, Pauline Hansons or Marine Le Pens of the
world, may try to scare us into their small dark insular world, it is not the
reality. We live in a large, light filled, global world, which
cannot be dismantled,<br />
and,<br />
b) the call to action coming from activists, journalists, celebrities,
public figures, leaders of communities, and ordinary people, are all
standing up and saying that ‘we need to stand our ground and not be bullied’.
We cannot continue creating a world of ‘haves and have nots’, and neither can
we push our society back to the 19<sup>th</sup> century where white men
ruled over everything and everyone. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Think
about it, this call to action would not have been possible without a Trump
presidency; we had become complacent, while a majority of us had been suffering
without a voice. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Arianna
Huffington calls it a “wakeup call for the Establishment”, I agree, but it’s
also a wakeup call for all of us. Now is the time for every single person on
this planet to stop and take accountability for themselves and the impact they
have on others. We don’t all have to be activists, but it is time to stop the
mind numbing behaviours of obsessing on how many likes you get on social media,
or having to buy every new gadget, clothes or how you look. If we all
just stopped and thought about our behaviour and not accept bullying, racism,
and sexism, i.e. “treat people the way you want to be treated (see my first
blog), it would create immediate change. For those of us who are activists –
stand up for your beliefs, find your tribe as there is strength in numbers, and
call out the bad behaviour! <o:p></o:p></div>
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We
are all on the same side. The Farages and Trumps of the world use fear as their
message. They divide and conquer. They would have you believe that anyone who
doesn’t look like you is not to be trusted. It’s how they win, they peddle fear
and scapegoat the minority, usually the immigrants.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But
we are all so much smarter than this. We need to call out the Establishment -
i.e. our politicians and the wealthy. This is not to begrudge people their
wealth, by all means it is their right to make and enjoy their money, however
when that money is made at the expense of people’s ability to have a
reasonable standard of living, and approximately 10% of the world’s population
live below the poverty line – that is not right. When the tax system supports
the rich to avoid paying tax and increases the tax of the average person – that
is not right. When governments exchange policy favours for political donations
which result in mining, pollution, over development, destruction of our forests
and oceans – that is not right. When arrogant politicians around the world no
longer hide their abuse of tax payer monies, then claim ignorance or
forgetfulness when caught out – that is not right.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Humanity
has a long history of fighting for what is right. The French Revolution, the
Greek Revolution, the American Revolution, and social revolutions like the ‘Youth’,
‘Feminist’, ‘Stop the Vietnam War’ are
all examples. We are now at the start of the next revolution. This one is about
equality and rejection of the entitlement mentally of the Establishment. We
have the opportunity and potential to create a healthy world with good values
that we can leave to the next generations. We need to teach our children that
bullying, sexism, lying and fear are not right, and while it may gain them
short term success it does not create a sustainable future.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Trump
has the opportunity to prove us all wrong and do the right thing by the
American people and be a positive influencer in the world, or, he can prove us
all correct and give cause to the revolution. Either way we
win. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So perhaps the spiritual leaders are right, and this is all part of a bigger plan that
will lead all of us to a better world. How painful that journey will be, we
don’t know, but we do know that we each have a critical role to play and that
love and light are our tools. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Love
and light <o:p></o:p></div>
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Theodora <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07152532218691644941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001971521876138092.post-78626117752620272492016-09-27T02:06:00.001-07:002016-09-28T05:09:42.207-07:00The Web of Life has been hacked!<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Web of Life is being hacked! And it’s
been happening for some time. But, if we act now it can still be repaired! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“<i>What’s
the Web of Life</i>?” I hear you say. “<i>Who’s
been hacked</i>?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“<i>Not another
do-gooder getting in the way of progress</i>” <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well, actually we are all part of the Web
of Life, and, unfortunately, <b>WE</b> are the
hackers destroying it! Confused? Let me
go back a step. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Web, not the internet one, but the Web
of Life is the connection between all living beings on our planet. It includes humans,
animals, plants and organisms. We didn’t
create the Web but we are part of it and therefore we are connected to all life
within the Web. This means, that the actions of one impact all. The impact isn’t
immediately obvious as the Web tries to compensate to maintain the
balance. It’s this balance however, that’s
now in trouble. So how did all this
happen? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AgU9IiAevSg/V-o0KnNu9NI/AAAAAAAAAEA/0m2qS9-HZbMJu5VZ3AKMuYSijRsh-JKgwCLcB/s1600/Presentation1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AgU9IiAevSg/V-o0KnNu9NI/AAAAAAAAAEA/0m2qS9-HZbMJu5VZ3AKMuYSijRsh-JKgwCLcB/s320/Presentation1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Indigenous cultures around the world have
long actively practiced respect for all life within the Web. This doesn’t mean that they are all
vegetarians but rather, what is taken is respected and replaced.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the western world however, we have been taught that there is a
hierarchy and that humans are at the top of this hierarchy because we have a
larger brain and opposable thumbs. “<i>We can
do whatever we want because we are better than everyone else</i>”. However this
isn’t true, it is a belief born out of ego, dating back to the beginning of westernised civilization, where we believed that (usually white) man ruled over his family,
community, environment and material possessions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This mindset that we are superior to all other living beings on
our planet has contributed to disconnecting us from the rest of the Web.
When we do not regard ourselves as an equal member of the Web, we believe
we can just take whatever we want; this spurs our continuous drive for more consumption.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is this
disconnection that is causing our planet and all members of the Web to suffer.
We are seeing more animal species becoming extinct, more of our plant life (ranging
from the Amazon forests to 100 year old trees in Sydney), being removed, and more
of our land mass and oceans changing. All
in the name of ‘progress’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Surely by now you would think we could run industry, business,
economics and technology in a much more sustainable and respectful way. But the
focus tends to be <i>how cheap can we make
it and how much can we sell</i>? While it is within our power to stop practices such as: child labour exploitation; unsafe factories; and low wages, our focus
on making money remains the primary goal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We validate people by their ability to consume and we reward them by
how much they can make others consume. The more we consume and value
materialism, the further we disconnect from other humans and the whole Web. We
focus internally on what we have and what we want, rather than what we can give
or share. Many studies have been conducted that prove what Buddhists and others
have said for a long time – “if you want to find happiness you need to focus on
what </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">you can</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">do </b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">for others, </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">not </b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">what </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">you can get</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> for yourself”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We have built our society on capitalism and while there are many
opportunities, we have also by default created a society of ‘haves and have-nots’. As we continue to be obsessed
with consuming, the divide between people is growing and the environment is
being destroyed in the process. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So how do we start to change this situation, repair the Web of
life, undo the hack? Now is the time to take accountability. At an individual level we can ask ourselves
some basic questions: <i>Do I really need
this? How is this serving me? </i>At a
group level there are people redefining what we mean by profit by advocating a ‘triple
bottom line’ and ‘sustainable investments’, while others are trying to protect
our oceans, our forests, recycle and convince our politicians that we need to address
climate change. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Education
and raising awareness for all people is the first step. Reminding ourselves that
we are all part of the Web and that <b>ALL </b>life
is precious and should be treated with respect. If we each do just one small
thing like consider others and be grateful for what we have, the ripple effect
of this behaviour would create a tidal wave that can bring about change. Isn’t
that how women got the right to vote or and how segregation in the US ended –
it all started with individuals standing up for what they believed was right. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The time has
come to wake up and realise that we have been letting greed, and ego-centric behaviours
tear the Web of life. Only we can fix this and we are running out of time. In the words of the Cree Indians from the 19<sup>th</sup>
century “<i>When the last tree is cut down, the last river poisoned, the last fish
caught, then o</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>nly will white man discover that he cannot eat money</i>.”</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<i>love and light </i><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<i>Theodora </i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07152532218691644941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001971521876138092.post-22099248989129028412016-07-31T22:29:00.000-07:002016-07-31T22:32:38.744-07:00Hope sparks our inner light <div class="MsoNormal">
Generally we don’t think about hope until we are faced with
some sort of fear, and right now there is a lot of that being stirred up in our
world, so now, more than ever we need hope.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So what do we mean by hope? <o:p></o:p></div>
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For me – each time we hope we ignite a spark of our inner
light. Things may seem dark and lost but the spark of hope keeps you moving and
taking action. When I’m going through a
tough time one of my favourite quotes is “<i><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">If you’re going through hell, keep going. Anonymous”
</span></i>In<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> other words when things seem dark, it is <b>not</b> the time to stop. You need to take
action, no matter how small, and hope is what helps us to take steps towards
action. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Consider for one moment what it would be like if you didn’t
have hope. What would happen when you went through a tough time? Would you just
give up? Believe that the worst will happen because you thought it was futile
to hope? It saddens me that some of us do
just that because we are scared to leave our comfort zone, even when our
comfort zone is not so comfortable. Sometimes
the fear of the unknown can be so great, that we would rather stay with what we
know even if it means being unhappy. </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f-mkNa9GZLQ/V57co-ldJtI/AAAAAAAAADY/hl2d5KqS7Gc7wyopRilmEkSYi6l8fC0PwCLcB/s1600/Sometimes%2Beven%2Bthe%2Bsmallest%2Bglimmer%2Bof%2Bhope%2Bcan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f-mkNa9GZLQ/V57co-ldJtI/AAAAAAAAADY/hl2d5KqS7Gc7wyopRilmEkSYi6l8fC0PwCLcB/s320/Sometimes%2Beven%2Bthe%2Bsmallest%2Bglimmer%2Bof%2Bhope%2Bcan.jpg" width="320" /></a>Last week Michelle Obama (another one of my heroes) made a very powerful speech at the
US National Democratic Convention and her underpinning message was about hope
and not giving up. She talked about the
striving of the previous generations, their persistence and most of all, their hope
for the future. Where would we be if
people like Martin Luther King (civil rights 1950s-60s), and Emmeline Pankhurst
(women’s rights early 1900’s) gave up hope because things were hard, imagine if
they gave into their fears – we would all have lost the many benefits that
these people and many others, have given humanity. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Each and every one of us is part of humanity and we each
have light inside us, but only we can turn on that light. Hope is what helps us turn on our inner light.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I wonder how many times Hilary Clinton was told that a woman
could never be considered a US Presidential candidate, now look at what she has
achieved – the first woman to be nominated as the US presidential candidate. Imagine if Nelson Mandela did not have hope.
He was in prison for 27 years but never lost hope in his vision of equality for
all people. He was released in 1990 and four years later became the first black
South African President ending Apartheid. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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So how do you hope when all around you may seem bleak? Or when you are told that it is futile to
hope as nothing can change? Having read both Clinton’s and Mandela’s biographies
and through my own trial and error here are three core actions to try (they do work):<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
1. Believe in yourself, listen to
your heart and push the boundaries of your comfort zone <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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2. Every action you take has a
ripple effect, it doesn’t matter how big or small it is, it all enables<br />
you to
take your power back. Feeling hopeless or giving up means that you disempower
<br />
yourself and put yourself at the mercy of other people’s actions<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
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<br /></div>
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3. Remember to be grateful because that helps to spread more light <span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Following the light always takes you to a better outcome
even if it’s not the one you imagined, following the shadow just gives you
false hope and unhappiness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In today’s world it is more important than ever to not give
up hope, by facing our fears and igniting hope we dissolve the shadow. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In the words of Stephen King “Fear can hold you prisoner,
but hope can set you free”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>love and light </i><br />
<i>Theodora </i></div>
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<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07152532218691644941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001971521876138092.post-20935223185327247212016-06-26T01:31:00.002-07:002016-06-26T23:11:52.730-07:00The Ego On any given day the news is full of examples of ego doing
its thing. The US elections have seen the rise of Donald Trump who continues to spread fear, and the appalling behaviour of the US Republican Party who keep
rejecting the gun laws. While our own
elections are perhaps not as colourful, we have now entered the last few weeks
where fear is being ‘shovelled out’ as an election strategy. This weekend we are also seeing the immediate aftermath of
the Brexit results, a perfect example of ego doing what it does best – more fear.<br />
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What is the ego? The
easiest way I understand the ego is that it’s like Iago from Shakespeare’s play
Othello. Iago is Othello’s ‘trusted’
advisor who keeps whispering in Othello’s ear that his wife is unfaithful to him,
until finally Othello kills his innocent wife. Like Iago, our ego is whispering
in our ear all the time.<br />
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All of us are composed of light and shadow and the ego is
our shadow side. Our ego always points out the negative. It’s the little voice
that whispers, “they are trying to rip you off”, “you are not good enough to do
that,” “you’re better than them”, “why should they
have a nice car you’re entitled to that,” “immigrants are taking all the jobs”. The ego lives and breathes fear. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Our ego can paralyse us from doing what we know is right. When
you are in the clutches of your ego you come up with lots of justifications why
you don’t do what is right. We mistakenly call this pride. You know the “I can never forgive them for
what they did to me!” scenario. Well the only person who suffers in this
scenario is YOU. Your ego is happy because it keeps stoking the fires of
resentment and anger and all you gain is bitterness, unhappiness, it can detrimentally impact your health and you become boring to your friends as you keep talking about the same thing over and over. <o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s why they say that when you forgive someone, it
releases you from holding onto the negative energy that came out of that
particular situation. You don’t have to forget what happened, you just accept the
lesson and forget the rest. This however is the opposite of what your ego wants,
because this approach empowers you and disempowers your ego. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The ego makes the situation all about you and you have to
‘win’. Continuing down this path however ultimately backs you into a corner
with nowhere to move. And when you are backed
into a corner the ego tells you “you didn’t get enough support”, “they lied”,
“they’re jealous of you.” <br />
It’s always someone else’s fault. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We have so much opportunity to be the best version of
ourselves and grow. Yes the world is a scary place at the moment but this is the
time for all of us to step up and show compassion, forgiveness and
acceptance. You see, being ‘me focussed’
is living life from ego. Living a life from ego does not enable you to be the
best version of yourself. Wouldn’t it serve you better to be aware when it’s your
ego whispering?<br />
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We can’t get rid of our ego as it is part of us. But, we do have
free will and always the choice to act in the light or shadow. There are
two things we can do that give us power over our ego:<br />
1. T<span style="text-indent: -18pt;">ake responsibility for our behaviour</span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -18pt;">2. Consider the situation from the other
person’s perspective</span></div>
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I have been practicing these two things to help me to focus
my energy on being the best version of me, and I have to say I’m feeling more
empowered. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The only way we can fight fear and change the world is to
start with ourselves. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Love and light</div>
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Theodora <o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07152532218691644941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001971521876138092.post-77406995362933677772016-06-06T05:56:00.000-07:002016-06-06T23:20:36.032-07:00Treat people the way you want to be treated A few years ago I made a conscious decision to follow the path of light and become more balanced, open, and authentic. Amongst the many things I am learning on this journey, is a fundamental truth I have been reminded of and now live by, that is, <b>treat people the way you want to be treated.</b><br />
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You may be thinking, ‘That’s too simple! Surely following the path of light involves spiritual stuff like lots of meditation, eating vegan, or practising yoga?’ I agree, and while it’s important (in whichever way works best for you) to focus internally, be present in the current moment and connect with your higher self; underpinning all of this is a core fundamental truth that applies to every single person on this planet – how we treat each other. It sounds simple, but as I’ve been learning it’s something you have to think about, and this thought drives everything you do, because we always have a choice. Our choice is to act in the way of light or the way of shadow.<br />
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What do I mean by light and shadow? I think the way of light simply means doing the right thing by people, such as; being respectful, honest, tolerant.... The way of shadow is the opposite such as being intolerant, dishonest, lazy, greedy, and basically letting your ego drive your behaviour. <br />
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Can you imagine what it would be like if we all acted in the way of light? Even small things would make a difference - drivers would let each other in, pregnant women would get a seat on the bus/train, we would give more generously to charities, I’ve been doing these things and you know what – good stuff comes back to me! On a bigger scale imagine if there was no such thing as corporate fraud, or violence, or discrimination! It sounds like utopia doesn’t it? But I don’t think it’s impossible if everyone does their bit. <br />
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Look at Canada, okay I’m biased, Justin Trudeau is one of my heroes, he’s not perfect but he’s trying to treat people the way he wants to be treated. His Cabinet has an equal number of men and women and is also representative of the ethnicities living in Canada. Medicine Hat (in Alberta) is the first Canadian city to eliminate homelessness!<br />
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I was reading an article recently that said there is enough food in our world for everyone and there is a growing food wastage problem in developed countries. So why do some people have to go without food while others throw food out? I know I sound naïve, but why wouldn’t we share? Maybe it’s the way of shadow. Unfortunately we see lots examples of shadow in our world today, war, violence, greed, corruption. But look closely there is also light, in France for example, they have just passed legislation to force big supermarkets to give unsold food to charity!<br />
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We are all connected and each thing that we do has a ripple effect. I think for a long time we have forgotten this and focused on what we can get, rather than what we can give. This is not surprising, given all the things we juggle it is easy to lose sight of what is really important. <br />
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Maybe this is simplistic, but if we thought more about the consequences of our actions, maybe there would be less greed, violence, or lies. All of our individual behaviour has a collective impact. Little points of light collectively can create huge rays of light and positivity in our world. <br />
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How to start? Just treat people the way you want to be treated and see what happens. <br />
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Love and Light <br />
<i><b>Theodora </b></i><br />
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<i><b><br /></b></i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07152532218691644941noreply@blogger.com2