Wednesday 31 October 2012

Mental health

Mental health comes 
when we allow our psyche to be,
 trusting the process to unfold...
We stop having inner battles...
Our inner being finds its natural balance, 
like water finding its level, 
and we function in harmony 
with ourselves and the world.  
C. Alexander Simpkins

Monday 29 October 2012

Friday 26 October 2012

Individuality

Don't be afraid to be yourself.  
 Live your individuality to the full - 
but for the good of others.   
Don't copy others in order to buy fellowship 
or make convention your law. 
- Dag Hammarskjold

Wednesday 24 October 2012

The way

Don't believe what your eyes are telling you. 
All they show is limitation. 
Look with your understanding, 
find out what you already know, 
and you'll see the way... 
- Richard Bach

Monday 22 October 2012

Listen

No one will listen to us until we listen to ourselves.   
- Marianne Williamson

Friday 19 October 2012

October 19, 2012 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer


   Ever wish you could discover the elusive secret to life?

   Truth is, it isn't that elusive, nor is it really a secret.

   The answer is breathe! 

   Think about it for a moment and you'll see that it is true.  No breath = no life.  You stop breathing, you stop living. Literally.  It's as simple as that.

  • As long as you are breathing, you are alive.
  • As long as you are alive, you can make any choice you want . 
  • As long as you are breathing and can make any choice you want, you are free.
  • As long as you are free, you have no need for excuses. 
  • If you have no excuses, you have nothing stopping you.
  • If you have nothing stopping you, you are fully present and alive.

   From ancient texts to the most modern science, there is agreement that the heart is the true “brain” controlling the body.  It has been proven that our hearts react to external and internal stimuli before any other sensor in the entire body.  Actually, the heart reacts just before there is any measurable external or internal stimuli!

   The rate at which your heart beats determines what signals it sends to the brain and the rest of the body’s systems.  The signals that are sent, determines whether one is healthy or not.

   The only way to consciously change the rate the heart beats is by consciously changing the pattern of the breath.

  • By breathing slower and fuller, the heart rate slows. 
  • When the heart rate slows, the heart sends out the proper messages. 
  • When the proper messages are sent out, the body responds better. 
  • When the body responds better, your thinking gets clearer.
  • When your thinking gets clearer, you make better choices.
  • When you make better choices, you relax and your breathing gets fuller and slower.
   So, the answer to anything and everything in your life is to breathe!

Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1no36CdI39Qk0ZILgzLiDyxMOBDa23uQI/view?usp=sharing

To contact The Chautauqua, email: thechautauqua@gmail.com.

Wednesday 17 October 2012

Margin

I love a broad margin to my life. 
 - Henry David Thoreau

Monday 15 October 2012

One

It takes only one person to change your life
...you.   
- Ruth Casey

Friday 12 October 2012

Extremes

When you spend your energy 
trying to maintain the extremes, 
nothing goes forward...
Just let the extremes go.   
Don’t participate in them… 
  – Michael Singer

Wednesday 10 October 2012

How

The beauty of embracing deep truths 
is that you don’t have to change your life; 
you just change how you live your life.  
 It’s not what you’re doing; 
it’s how much of you is doing it. 
 – Michael Singer

Monday 8 October 2012

Thanksgiving


Let us be thankful 
that we have something to be thankful for.   
That pumpkin pies are once more in fashion.   
That turkey is cheap enough for the poor man’s table.  
That the cranberry crop wasn’t ruined by the frosts.   
That the country is still quite safe 
in spite of the politicians.   
– Good Housekeeping magazine, 1888

Friday 5 October 2012

October 5, 2012 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer


   As you go about your daily life and interactions, are you like water?    

   Water flows along, taking the path of least resistance, finding the easiest route to get to where it wants to go.  It exerts little effort, it just flows as it is naturally inclined to do.  Water is not impeded by obstacles in its path.  While it may appear to be momentarily stuck, or blocked, ultimately, it flows around anything in its path.

   While water is very soft and gentle, it is very strong.  Through persistence, it wears away at the most unyielding materials in its path. 

   Water conforms to its surroundings, yet at the same time, it creates its own form.  It stays within boundaries, however, it is not rigidly confined to those boundaries if conditions change. 

   Water, especially flowing water, is vibrantly alive. Debris can build up in water, yet if the water continues to flow, it isn't long before the debris is left by the wayside.  It is searching, extending, always moving forward, constantly changing. 

   Yet, water never loses its essence.  No matter what happens, or where it flows, water is still ultimately water. 

   Or are you like a boulder in a stream bed? 

   A boulder is stationary, never moving, stuck.  It tends to act more like a hindrance than a benefit to those in its path. 

   Also a boulder is subject to everything that comes its way.  It is constantly battered and attacked by the debris and the environmental forces around it.  

   Its rigidity is its downfall.  It neither grows nor expands into new territory.   The changes it does experience are forced on it from external sources. 

   A boulder gets left behind as life teems around it.  Unable to move or defend itself, the boulder keeps getting more and more worn down, until it is a mere a reflection of its former self.  It loses its essence as more and more pieces of it are worn away.

   Are you flowing forward? 

   Or are you stuck in the mud?    

Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NG2cK9TAtQr-UA67KsCedA5bp9HRl2nJ/view?usp=sharing

To contact The Chautauqua, email: thechautauqua@gmail.com.

Wednesday 3 October 2012

Energy

When you are feeling depreciated, angry or drained, 
it is a sign that other people 
are not open to your energy.   
– Sanaya Roman

Monday 1 October 2012

Distracted

[W]hen a lot of things start going wrong all at once, 
it is to protect something big and lovely 
that is trying to get itself born – 
and...this something needs for you 
to be distracted so that it can be born 
as perfectly as possible. 
 – Anne Lamott