Sep
29
I have an Inspiration Notebook. It’s a three-ring binder where I have pictures of places I want to visit, people I want to emulate and material things I want to attract. In this notebook is a picture of the Spanish cellist, Pablo Casals, along with a quote by him. It reads:
“Each man has inside him a basic decency and goodness. If he listens to it and acts on it, he is giving a great deal of what it is the world needs most. It is not complicated, but it takes courage for a man to listen to his own inner goodness and act on it. Do we dare to be ourselves? This is the question that counts.”
As I was looking at this picture and quote this morning, I was inspired to learn a bit more about Casals. I found this wonderful video on YouTube, which I think says more about him than perhaps any biography can do:
Whatever one may think of his politics, his personality or his personal life, what I feel from his words and from his music is a great understanding of people and of the soul. For instance, here’s another quote:
“The love of one’s country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?”
Casals lived through the Catalan fight for independence and through the Spanish Civil War. Opposed to Franco, he spent the rest of his life away from Spain. His understanding of love being without borders was undoubtedly hard won. But when I listen to him play, all of the circumstances of his life, while informing who he was and how he played, come together into something more.
This is something I strive for in my own life: to live it in such a way that it becomes something more than circumstance, but speaks through the music of the soul to others who may need to be reminded of Who We Really Are. To flow with the Divine Symphony every, every day.
“The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn’t been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.”
Casals reminds me that the child he speaks of is still inside me and each one of us. That child just needs to be remembered and honored. If you are a parent or grandparent, it’s safe to assume that you want what’s best for your child. What about the child in you? What about wanting what’s best for him or her? I think that in taking time to figure that out and to do something every day to nurture that child, we are tapping into the inner goodness that Casals speaks of.
Abraham-Hicks says that there is nothing more important than feeling good. I think that feeling good is allowing that inner goodness that we are to flow through us. And this, as Casals says, is what the world needs most. You think about that.
Sep
14
Stop It!
Filed Under Feeling Better, Inspiration | Leave a Comment
I recently came upon a video that made me stop and think. While I found it to be hilarious, it got me thinking about how I hang on to so many old stories about myself and how letting go of them can be as simple as I allow it to be. Before I go on about this any more, take a look for yourself:
Beliefs and behaviors are habits of thought and action that get established over time through repetition, yes? So if I’m going to change them, it’s not really just a matter of stopping the old belief or behavior but also of replacing it with something more pleasing — kind of like giving a toy to a baby so they’ll give you the car keys they’ve been gnawing on. Let’s face it. We do things because they feel good. At least they start out that way. We’re getting something out of them, otherwise we wouldn’t do them.
So if we’re going to change them, we need something that feels just as good or better than what we want to replace. For example, let’s say I have a belief that I’m not worthy of success. It’s not always there. I have my ups and downs with this idea. But on one particular day, I’m feeling really low and this belief is just eating away at me. What can I do in that moment? I can choose to take a walk. Call a friend. List all my accomplishments up to this point in my life. I can do a Sound Clearing Exercise. The point is, I need to do something to counteract the not-so-great-feeling. Of course, I could choose to wallow in it for a day or two, but in the end, in order to come back to Who I Really Am, I need to let go of that belief that is hurtful to me and take an action that affirms who I am.
One of the mottos of Twelve Steppers everywhere is One Day at a Time. Changing limiting beliefs and behaviors is accomplished one moment at a time. While this may seem daunting in the face of truly addictive beliefs and behaviors, taking actions that support us become positive habits that really feel good. And they’re infectious. My husband is big on taking walks to clear his head and now this is something I do often, myself. He also does this little thing of blowing on my head when I’m not sure how to resolve something, as if he’s blowing all the cobwebs away. Not something I’d do with anybody else, but it’s endearing, all the same.
So instead of just Stopping It, the idea is to keep going, but in a direction that feels better. Even just a little bit. As Abraham-Hicks says, “The better it gets, the better it gets.” In other words, by the Law of Attraction, the more we focus on something, the more of that thing will come to us. So it makes sense to learn how to ease out of habits of belief and behavior that don’t feel good and into ones that do. It’s as simple as finding thoughts and activities that please us. That’s something easy to start doing today.