Star Light, Star Bright August 12, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Magick & Mystery, Nature.comments closed
Tonight, star gazers will be in for a special treat . . . the best meteor shower of 2010:
“You know it’s a good night when a beautiful alignment of planets is the second best thing that’s going to happen.
Thursday, August 12th, is such a night.
The show begins at sundown when Venus, Saturn, Mars and the crescent Moon pop out of the western twilight in tight conjunction. All four heavenly objects will fit within a circle about 10 degrees in diameter, beaming together through the dusky colors of sunset. No telescope is required to enjoy this naked-eye event.
The planets will hang together in the western sky until 10 pm or so. When they leave, following the sun below the horizon, you should stay, because that is when the Perseid meteor shower begins. From 10 pm until dawn, meteors will flit across the starry sky in a display that’s even more exciting than a planetary get-together.”
Author: Dr. Tony Phillips
For More Details: Planets Align For The Perseid Meteor Shower
If you missed the real deal:
bin Laden & ME: A Shared Philosophy August 12, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Humor, Life Balance, Sustainable Living.comments closed
Turns out, Osama bin Laden and I share a similar philosophy on life.
{{gulp}}
Before leaving the practice of law, I asked myself:
What if you could be the BEST attorney in the city/state/ country/world in ten years time, would that be a goal worth working towards?
My answer: No.
In that sense, I share a life philosophy with comedian George Burns:
I would rather be a failure at something I love to do, than a success at something I don’t. ~ George Burns
It’s not that I didn’t enjoy aspects of practicing law. I did. But it became more and more apparent that being “the best attorney I could be” and being “the best ME I could be” were mutually exclusive objectives.
Priorities firmly established, I resigned from the practice of law to become “the best ME I could be.”
(Thirteen years later, I am still a work in progress.)
Recently, I learned that Osama bin Laden has a similar underlying philosophy on life:
According to recent news reports, bin Laden’s goal is to be the “best terrorist” he can be.
Reading that made me laugh at the bizarre world we live in.
Seriously. How many kids, when asked about their plans for the future, would say, “I want to be a terrorist when I grow up!”
I laughed a second time when I learned that bin Laden is “jealous” of the devastation wrought by BP in the Gulf of Mexico.
He wishes he had thought of it first.
Transform Your TEARS To A SMILE August 12, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Gratitude, Happiness, Life Balance, Mindfulness.comments closed
In every life, tears must fall.
But just as cloudbursts become clear skies, we can transform TEARS into a SMILE.
Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face. ~ Victor Hugo
We do not laugh because we are happy. We are happy because we laugh. ~ William James
While your waiting for your tears to dry, why not try a word game?
In FUN with WORDS, I tossed out a few doublet challenges for you from the Guinness Book of Words.
Here’s a solution to #7: from TEARS to SMILE:
TEARS ~ SEARS ~ STARS ~ STARE ~ STALE ~ STILE ~ SMILE
Did you have this solution?
A different one?
A shorter one?
Please share your solution below.
More life-changing transformations on the way!
Aphorisms from Aa to Zz: Ss August 12, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Magick & Mystery, Mindfulness.comments closed
Serenity
The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves. ~ Sophocles
Inner peace, calm, and clarity are seldom achieved when we look to the Ego for guidance.
God grant me the Serenity
To accept the things I cannot change
To change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference.
~ The Serenity Prayer
Master your thoughts . . . master your life.
In stillness lies truth.
The clouded mind sees nothing.
Try spiritual practice and see for yourself. ~ The Buddha
The quieter the mind becomes . . . the more we understand.
Don’t believe everything you think! ~ Bumper Sticker
When the world recedes, we hold infinity in our grasp.
Simplicity
Simple pleasures are life’s treasures. ~ Adage
Simplify. Simplify. Simplify.
Less is More ~ The less you have, the less you have to worry about.
Meditate on the still, silent spaces in your mind.
Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity. ~ Thoreau
Silence . . . the most soothing sound in the world.
Serenity . . . the most peaceful place on the planet.
Tranquility . . . always yours for the asking.
Peace . . . one breath, one thought, one step away.
Relax . . . let go . . . just for NOW.
Smile
SMILE = See Miracles In Life Everyday!
Happiness comes first to those who are already smiling.
Happiness is a natural state of being, not something we need to achieve. It automatically surfaces when we remain mindful of the moment.
Smiles chase sadness away.
Cloudbursts become clear skies. Tears become smiles.
Smiles, like the sun, offer illumination and warmth to all.
In the timeless present, we don’t need a reason to be happy . . . we just are.
Spirit
No matter your religion, your essential essence is Spirit: a bottomless well of love, compassion, joy, peace, and acceptance.
Spirit is spirit. Compassion is compassion. A blessing is a blessing. ~ The Dalai Lama
As we are reborn moment after moment, our inner light is either growing or diminishing in brightness, based on the focus of our attention.
What we do in this moment matters. We are either feeding our Spirit, or starving it.
Like a water-wheel, filling and emptying its buckets over and over as it turns, we empty out who we were, to become more fully who we are meant to be. When we remain attached to Ego concerns, our buckets do not empty completely, leaving less room for Spirit.
Spirit soars while ego falters.
Our essential nature, like the wateriness of water, does not change. What changes is our capacity to share that essential nature with the world.
Namaste: The Spirit in me honors the Spirit in you.
Spiritual Path
Letting go is the path to freedom. ~ Lama Surya Das
God rarely mirrors back our thoughts, judgments, and rationalizations.
The Spiritual path requires renunciation, a letting go of attachment to self-centered Ego concerns, such as the need for approval.
When you look at others through the eyes of Spirit, your anger will dissolve into the nothingness that it is.
To become free of attachment means to let go of desires, including the desire to judge, in order to see and accept things as and where they are, right here, right now.
The more you focus on viewing others with love, kindness, compassion, and acceptance, the more your view and God’s view will merge.
When we let go of attachments and expectations, Spirit frees us to evolve, change and grow, from tiny ripples of peace and acceptance, to tidal waves of love and compassion.
An open mind learns more in an hour than a closed mind learns in a year.
You must empty yourself of the past, in order to receive the present. ~ Zen Parable
Chase away idle thoughts, and see the world as it is.
Success
What lies before us, and what lies behind us, are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson or Oliver Wendell Holmes
There are no ordinary moments. ~ Socrates, Peaceful Warrior
Look for the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Success comes not from what we do, it comes from who we are.
Success on the outside begins on the inside.
Rather than allowing our thoughts, emotions, and past experiences to dictate our re-actions to new events, we can view life with alert curiosity.
Security and status simply don’t matter. Courage, faith and aliveness do.
We might as well live. ~ Dorothy Parker
Every moment is a celebration, a miracle, a mystery.
No man is a failure who is enjoying life. ~ William Feather
I would rather be a failure at something I love to do, than a success at something I don’t. ~ George Burns
When we let go of our automatic responses and begin to live spontaneously in the here and now, we uncover the joy and happiness within.
Spirit Lights The Way 