Friday, 30 March 2012

Different

We are as different from one another
 on the inside of our heads 
as we appear to be different from one another 
on the outside of our heads. 
 - Robert Fulghum

Wednesday, 28 March 2012

Feeling

A change of feeling 
is a change of destiny.  
 - Neville Goddard

Monday, 26 March 2012

Pleasure

Man is not free to refuse to do the thing 
which gives him more pleasure 
than any other conceivable action. 
– Stendhal

Friday, 23 March 2012

Blessing

Faced with such unhappy individuals, 
blessing allows us to lessen 
their negative impact, 
to remember that they hold 
no real power over us.  
 – Julia Cameron

Wednesday, 21 March 2012

Patience

If you can wait with the patience of the wise, 
then there is nothing that you will not 
be able to achieve in this lifetime. 
 – Sri Chinmoy

Monday, 19 March 2012

Heart

You must have a big heart 
to live in a big world. 
 – Paul Owen Lewis

Friday, 16 March 2012

March 16, 2012 Chautauqua

From the Editor's Computer     


   I'm sure most of you have heard the expression: "Life is a mirror."  Now that simple phrase can be, and has been, interpreted in many different ways.  The most familiar explanation is that whatever irks you about someone or something is an issue that you need to deal with yourself.  What we put out into the world is what is reflected back at us.

  I find that not only is life a mirror, but sometimes what is reflected back to us, as in a real mirror, is the reverse/opposite of what we want to see.  Which brings to mind another expression: "What you resist, persists."

   It should be obvious to us that whatever we focus on, and invest our energies into, is what is going to be front and centre in our lives.  So why are we surprised when what we don't want keeps showing up in our lives?

   If you invest all your time and effort - physical, mental, and emotional - into complaining and fighting the government, it should be no surprise that there will always be more issues to complain about and fight.

   If you invest all your energy into wishing your miserable life was different, nothing will change and you'll have many more miserable days to spend wishing. 

   Until you focus on what you want in your life, and actively make the changes you want to see, what will be mirrored back to you is what you don't want.  Strongly resisting something doesn't make it go away and disappear, it just makes it a bigger issue to consume all your time and energy.

   Accept that whatever is bothering you is in your life for a reason.  If you don't want it in your world, don't resist it.  Find a way to make any changes you can make, and then make them!  And if it turns out that you can't make any outward changes, then change your attitude and stop investing your emotions into whatever it is.

   When you step back, you may end up pleasantly surprised to discover that what you have resisted wasn't that bad after all, and you begin to welcome its presence in your life. 

Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W9RntPoM2gO_iH7ZGYKv0xNqYnYM_Ygw/view?usp=sharing

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

Wednesday, 14 March 2012

Behind

There's truth behind every 'just kidding,' 
curiosity behind every 'just wondering,' 
knowledge behind every 'I don't know' 
and emotion behind every 'I don't care.'
- author unknown

Monday, 12 March 2012

Prefer

To know what you prefer 
instead of humbly saying Amen 
to what the world tells you 
you ought to prefer, 
is to have kept your soul alive.   
– Robert Louis Stevenson

Friday, 9 March 2012

Put Off

To be always intending 
to make a new and better life 
but never to find time
to set about it is as to put off 
eating and drinking and sleeping 
from one day to the next 
until you're dead.   
– Og Mandino

Wednesday, 7 March 2012

Heroes

If everyone was satisfied with themselves, 
there would be no heroes. 
– Mark Twain

Monday, 5 March 2012

Change

Sometimes if you want to see
a change for the better, 
you have to take things 
into your own hands.   
– Clint Eastwood

Friday, 2 March 2012

March 2, 2012 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer     

    Have you ever walked a labyrinth?  I have had the opportunity to walk labyrinths at workshops, plus, I have a wooden finger labyrinth. 

   So there is no confusion, a labyrinth and a maze are not the same thing.  A labyrinth has only one way in and one way out.  There are no dead ends and it is impossible to get lost as the route is very defined.  A person moves from the edge to the centre, and from there back to the edge.  Traditionally, labyrinths have been used for pilgrimages, walking meditation/prayers, healing and or a quiet retreat from the busyness of life. 

   Labyrinths are an excellent metaphor for how I’ve found life to really be like, no matter how we live it or we perceive it to be. First, there is only one way in (birth) and one way out (death).  Between those two points, we are aiming to become more centred in ourselves before we reach the end of the journey.

   While the path may twist and turn, so much so that we may feel we are travelling backwards at times, we are always moving forward.  Also, it truly is impossible to get lost or off track, no matter how disorientated we may feel as we journey along.  There are no wrong turns or dead ends that we need to escape from. 

   When you walk a labyrinth, there is no striving or strain, no rush or hurry.  All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other.  That is the same with life.  All our striving, anxiety, stress, strain, worry, fighting, ladder-climbing, etc, doesn’t really get us any further along than if we just relax and enjoy each step we take, each and every day.

   Of course, living life, as walking a labyrinth, works best when we are completely present as we concentrate on the current moment and the next step we need to take.  We know that distractions will come, and because of that knowledge, we can keep moving forward, even if we have to pause for a breath or two.

   Each person who walks a labyrinth experiences something different, and so it is with life.  We each experience the journey in our own unique ways. 

Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mYbV3kbx_5xyrGfjrJtVwtS5OLpeOUTH/view?usp=sharing

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