My experiences, thoughts and their expression: mi vida

Serenity Of Knowing - Journals - CafeMom This week the theme of awareness, that of being aware of what is happening when it is happening (not two minutes later or two hours or two days, as is usual for me when I live a conflicting situation), has been present. It has come up in my latest yoga class, in my reading, in the mail, everywhere, so when these 'happenings happen', I know - by now - that there is a lesson coming up. A lesson showing itself up to be 'seen'. Well, several years ago, this writer shared a piece titled " Serenity of Knowing ", which I in turn shared with my children, with the subject line of " I think it is important, love you!". Notice the "I think" part. Is that doubt? Is that "head is surer and safer than heart"? Is that " sounds good, I don't get it but let me share it with you just in case it is important "?, given my conscious and acknowledged responsible parental role (and only God knows ...

Contribution and Benefit Base Today I was looking at my pay stub and there was a retention item titled..." OASDI ". Pretty hefty amount. So I decided to check into it. What is OASDI , I asked my faithful 'servant' search engine at Mozilla Firefox . It quickly came back with...the Social Security web page, or one of them. At the top, there it was! OASDI . "...Social Security's O ld - A ge , S urvivors , and D isability I nsurance ( OASDI ) program ...limits the amount of earnings subject to taxation for a given year." Couldn't they have chosen a more , ehem , 'dignified' name for this stuff? First they take money away from you, and then to poke you in the 'eye', they name-blame you! Really, old age un -twirl makes one humble...though PO'd sometimes! ...go check your pay stub, too: maybe you have the same...stuff!

(as regards meditation...) You can sit in the simple intention of giving back to God the love he has given to you. ... ...ah?, really...? The author adds: "... meditation is not so much a method as it is a way of being utterly sincere in a loving stance of sustained openness to God "

This past Saturday, local evening time, a new world citizen started his earth travels... Gavin Joseph Swanson Blanco ...tadáá! I welcome GJ with all my heart and heart's joy! And I know that beside his parents, Jason and Jocelyn, he will lead a most fulfilled life. Welcome JG!

Be attentive to, meditatively attentive to, but do not get caught up in, the urges within you, both those that are fleeting and those that linger. Learn to be present, open, and awake to all that your bodily being reveals itself to be, without clinging to all that is pleasant , without rejecting all that is unpleasant , let your bodily being be - in a restful, open awareness of all it so unthinkably is. Sitting in this way you will learn, little by little, to neither abandon nor invade the graced mystery of your bodily being (*). (*) James Finley, Christian Meditation , p. 124

Look till you see nothing but what you are looking at. Not even thinking goes on. Just awareness.  Imagine the loved one looking at you...whispering something...solemn...profound silence... Like an exchange between lovers, where she is saying... "...She is sharing something with him that she really wants him to hear and take to heart. If he is distracted by his own inner agenda, there will be no room in him to take in what she is sharing. He will be unable to be fully present and receptive to her self-disclosures unless he is willing to set aside whatever thoughts and concerns may be preoccupying him at the present moment. It is in his willingness to leave behind the preoccupations with his own thoughts that he begins to enter the open field of ( meditative ) awareness. It is in this interior open field that she is waiting for him to be with her in her moments of self-disclosure. Once he shows up for their rendezvous in receptive openness, he can remain there only by watching...

James Finley, in his book "Christian Meditation", writes: "We come to see and appreciate that daily life is all there is. It is just that daily life never ends. For each moment of it is nothing less or other than all that God is, given to us, wholely and completely, in and as all that each moment simply is." p. 100. p 103: "Whatever the specifics of your life might be, the truth is that God, who is love, is within you and all about you, loving you into the present moment. And when the indwelling spirit begins to awaken you to the divine love that is your life, what choice do you have but to slow down, to calm yourself, so that this love might have its way with you?" May this love, this mystery - btw - have its way with you today and always...so, hug this moment...! Happy Easter!

Presidential Proclamation - Cesar Chavez Day | The White House Few Americans have led this charge so tirelessly, and for so many, as Cesar Chavez. To this day, his rallying cry -- "Sí, se puede," or "Yes, we can," -- inspires hope and a spirit of possibility in people around the world. His movement strengthened our country, and his vision lives on in the organizers and social entrepreneurs who still empower their neighbors to improve their communities. NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2010, as Cesar Chavez Day. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate service, community, and education programs to honor Cesar Chavez's enduring legacy. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the I...