the golden rule

i thought folks might appreciate this. here's the link.

Welcome vs. Wanted

We have a tradition in our office of welcoming new employees with a breakfast just for them. The new person gets to feel special and welcome and we get to know him/her a little and make them begin their time with us feeling like part of the team right off the bat.

We also welcome vistors and guests to our office with a "welcome" sign and their names.

Employees who have been with us a while, we try to make eachother feel wanted. "We want you to stay and be part of our team. You are valued, you have contributed, we like you, we want you with us." Everybody likes to feel special and wanted. I know I do.

One "welcomes" a new person or a vistitor or guest, however a person who has been with you for a while may need to be affirmed that he/she is wanted/valued in the organization.

A friend of mine resigned recently and I miss her very much. She was a unique person. At 24, this was her first job out of college, but she was wise beyond her years. She used to sing at her desk while she worked, I loved it. Beautiful voice too. Her internal light was very bright and she was filled with love. She smiled all the time, made people feel wanted and good.

Someone else will come and take her place, and that person will be wonderful too, but we will probably not have anyone just like my Michelle. Good luck Michelle, thank you for gracing us with your presence, I know you will feel welcome and wanted wherever you go!

In that regard, on behalf of all Turnloveinsideout (TLIO), everyone is welcome to share stories and thoughts on Love. All current TLIO'ers are wanted to continue with us and post whenever possible Your presence is wanted, valued, desired. We want you to feel supported and loved here.

Have a great day.
Peace
Keren

(Rose in photo is a "Peace" Rose - the Peace Rose was introduced in the US in 1945. The parent rose clippings were said to be the last thing to be loaded on the last plane to leave Normandy prior to the invasion).

Love is Everything

"Love is the core energy that rules everything . . . love is the one ingredient that holds us all together." ~john e. fetzer

I received my enewsletter today from speakingoffaith.org and they were highlighting the web site The Campaign for Love and Forgiveness by the Fetzer Institute. Ironically the Fetzer Institute is in my backyard. Started by John Fetzer, the institute's focus is on the sacred in the secular.

The Campaign for Love and Forgiveness is a beautiful and fascinating project. And how very apt to highlight it on our blog.

"Accustom yourself continually to making many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul." ~saint teresa of avila

Stuff of the Spirit

What is the difference between being “spiritual” or being “filled with the Spirit”? In other words… How would you describe a spiritual person? How would you describe someone who is filled with the Spirit? Is there a difference?

Peace
Keren

PS
Wishing you a blessed Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Weekend.

Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.

(Anonymous quote)

I love dancing in the rain, but isn’t it ok to dance in sunshine too? How long is this exile? Like with Job, has the devil bargained for me to prove something to himself? Are my sins not forgiven? Is salvation for others but not for me? Will I wither like the fig tree and never bear fruit again? Will Love bring me back or must I come begging? On return will I be granted welcome and peace, like the prodigal son; or like Lot’s wife will I turn into a pillar of stone the instant I turn around?

Why am I so overly dramatic? Shall I run off to hollywood at this tender age of 49?

Courage is like love; it must have hope to nourish it.
(Napoleon Bounaparte)

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace…(Amelia Earhart)

I know...another strange interlude...
Peace
Keren

Rising Above Competition

Earlier today, I ran across this statement from Wendell Berry.

"Rats and roaches live by competition under the law of supply and demand; it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy."

It's so hopeful by allowing us to see that we can actually find ways to help each other. And that is, I believe, the essence of love. We can reach beyond ourselves when we realize that we're all interconnected, integrated as mutual participants in the universe.

Love at the Core: An Exercise in Peace

I joined the little gym in my parish, and a friend of mine went with me to help me develop a fitness routine with weights, etc. She was teaching me about strengthening the “core.” You know, the abdominal area, your tummy - your center of gravity basically - which supports your balance, your back, and everything else you do.

Something occurred to me as she was talking and it reminded me of the wonderful pastor at a local church who talks about the “heart space.” Simply put here: moving out of your thinking head and holding people and situations in your heart with love. Once there, finding healing and peace for you, other people, situations, etc. This is a wonderful exercise, I do it all the time now. I am discovering however, that sometimes holding some situations in my heart make it ache. Hurt. Bad.

Painful situations are hard to accept. I have had several of these lately, from the very tragic death of a former co-worker, to being misunderstood and subsequently rejected from a situation I was trying to make peace with but instead I severely hurt it. My heart pysically hurt. So I consciously and in my imagination moved these situations from my heart to my core – my stomach area.

Amazing. The mind is silent, the heart relaxes and the core seems to take over and naturally process the situation. It is like your stomach “system” naturally keeps what is good, or necessary for you to learn from the situation, and eliminates the rest.

Maybe this is something everyone knows about, but I got real excited about it. I haven’t practiced it enough to know if this will work again. It seems to be related to practicing abdominal breathing to relax . You know breathing like babies do when they sleep – stomach rising and falling. It is a little different in that you incorporate your imagination to move the situation from heart to tummy.

Perhaps the heart space is where we find empathy and other healing qualities but the core space is where we actually accept God’s will. Once God’s will is accepted we can move back up to the heart again.

I just love this sort of stuff. Im going to work on it and post back later.

Peace
Keren

I feel free

Actually what I feel is normal again.

Sometimes Love means letting go of something that just is not right for you. After the ache and pain goes away, when you have let go of something that has been keeping you in knots (or it has let go of you) there is such an incredible wash of freedom! I have just had such an experience. Thank you Mary Magdalen (not person's real name), I appreciate everything you have done for me!



Peace and Love
Keren

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.

Happy Return of Daylight Savings Day!

Just popping in to say hi and share some thoughts, thus breaking my Lenten discipline of letting go blogging and excessive myspace/computer time until Easter. MyHim said he knew I wouldn’t be able to do it :o).

The more spiritual I become, the more alien I feel. This may be normal in spiritual growth, and at some point I will move past it and feel total connection again. However, it is like navigating by the stars without a sextant, without even knowing what stars are. On top of that, if I talk about it to people who are in a “different place” everyone thinks I am nuts and everything I say or do seems to be examined and I am avoided until I prove myself again or sufficient time passes.

On a humorous note, I was beginning to think I was nuts, but was affirmed by my new walking/running shoes. I have (or at least can have) a sound mind and body. ASICS, look it up. I know that sounds silly, but at this point, I’ll take affirmation anyplace I can get it.

During mediation sometimes I send out questions to God, “I recognize I am on a journey – where am I going? Why me? I don’t remember even asking for anything…except maybe peace.”
Answers come mainly as in dream state and over time, but here is my condensed version – “Keren, meet joy. You are human to be human and to share in the development and growth of humanity until you return…please love Me and your neighbors in all our differences, and if you love Me, feed My sheep.”

Could it be that simple?

Peace and Love
Keren