SHEsaysWITHaSMILE.blogspot.com

7 Comments:

At 9:39 AM,  SHE said...

i am to page 134.. glued..
and overwhelmed with thoughts, questions, comments, which i will post at a later date,

with the exception of these few:

pg 41 (also quoted by oprah):

life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. how do you know this is the experience you need? because this is the experience you are having at this moment.

I FULLY BELIEVE THAT AS A HUMAN TRUTH.

i carry in me, the belief, every person.. every single person, from a neighbor, to a delivery person, to the person next in line at the post office, to the waiter, to the parents, to the children, to the teachers, strangers, co-workers, authors, artists..on and on..

every single encounter with another human being (personally or through their work/art) is individually and collectively purposeful for the evolution of consciousness

and same is true for every life experience in general

and because i carry in me, this belief system, i do not so much see humans as good or evil.. but at different places on an evolutionary scale (although, i slip in and out of holding on to, and putting this in practice from time to time)

and regarding consciousness -another of my fascinations..

always the word comes to me, and as is referred to a number of times in tolle's book

it is for me, comprehensible, when referred to, or looked at as

AWARENESS. -scott adams speaks sometimes (or rather, writes/blogs) about humans as moist robots.

to which i think there is some truth.. behaviors/responses we are "programmed" or "wired" to do based on our biology, where "will" has no impact, or a very false one

but i see consciousness as the ability to be AWARE of our behaviors/responses, regardless of our ability to change, alter or justify, rationalize or accept them

awareness = consciousness. this is my current understanding; reinforced in this book.

pg 55: when you are aware that you are thinking, that awareness is not part of thinking. it is a different dimension of consciousness. and it is awareness that says, "i am"

pg 57: you realize your essential identity as formless, as an all-pervasive presence, of being prior to all forms, all identifications. you realize your true identity as consciousness itself, rather than what consciousness identified with. that's the peace of God. The ultimate truth of who you are is not i am this, or i am that, but

i am.

 

At 4:04 AM,  SHE said...

i know we are evolving.. we evolve.. but into what?

and my pen wrote: light

 

At 9:08 AM,  SHE said...

left today on oprah.com:

dear oprah and eckhart, - i am so far to page 192, keeping some of my thoughts and retyping certain passages on my blog: shesayswithasmile.blogspot.com (post and comments)

i am benefiting from this book, understand many of the lessons, and, also want to share some of the lessons i've learned along my own path towards greater enlightenment

OPRAH - it has been quoted on your show, and repeated often "insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results"

i want to offer a new definition, and ask of both of you, your thoughts and insights:

"insanity, i believe, is when people are told they can accomplish through effort and will, what can only be accomplished with medical interventions"

i believe we have a whole lot of people feeling unnecessarily upset/shamed/disappointed.. like failures.. because of unrealistic expectations they've placed on themselves (or had placed, by mass media)

i am most grateful for the advances we are making in neuroscience because the truth of this is starting AT LAST to be realized

we currently live with such a false sense of "free will" (your thoughts on that?)

and next - your thoughts on this -

i am often frustrated that we continue to advise from "both sides of our mouths" -almost complete opposite messages, in this regard:

we tell adult victim/survivors of various tragedies, abuses, traumas and dysfunctional environments, not to play (or fall) victim.. that they should be able to "let go", "rise above" etc. -not let the past effect the now

and at the same time, we advise parents/adults in guardianship positions to behave certain ways, to love unconditionally, not argue in front of children, etc. because traumatic/dysfunctional environments/circumstances can have life-long negative circumstances on the victims

in short the message we currently send is this:

PARENTS: DO NOT DO (A,B,C,) BECAUSE (A,B,C,) CAN HAVE LIFE-LONG DEVASTATING EFFECTS ON CHILDREN

HOWEVER.. CHILDREN/NOW ADULTS.. WHO HAVE LIVED WITH/SURVIVED (A,B,C,)
-GET OVER IT. NO "PLAYING VICTIM"

i think, we need to go back a few steps before we can truly move forward.

we need to more thoroughly address, acknowledge, THE EXTRA CHALLENGES victim/survivors face.. the additional obstacles inflicted suffering (vs. self-induced) creates on a person's spiritual path toward enlightment

i think we have gone overboard in our effort to empower, by being afraid to use and apply the word "victim"

even where it is completely true and justified; i think this effort to empower by avoiding use of this word as a negative/self-fulfilling label is proving counterproductive

we cannot skip this step, this acknowledgement and validation if we want to fully claim "survivorship" once it is authentically achieved.

and ultimately "not just surviving, but thriving"

thank you both for your thoughts and insights! sandra kay, ttgp

 

At 2:57 PM,  SHE said...

i am nearly done. want to back up, and share thoughts on page 255:

lose yourself to find yourself - says, "de-emphasizing who you are on the level of form is another way of generating consciousness"

to which i agree and wish to add from personal experience and observation that HONORING who we authentically are is also in the direction of personal (ultimately universal) enlightenment.

i am struck by how often people use the word "too" when describing themselves, i.e.,

"i am too talkative"

"i am too shy"

"i am too busy (hyper)"

"i am too lazy"

"i am too competitive"

"i am too complacent" -on and on.

i want often to say (and do)

"you are not too anything.. you are perfect exactly as you are!"

we seem to measure ourselves against a very small/narrow definition of who we are supposed to, or who we "should be"

when in my imagination, the spectrum for who human beings are is W - I - D - E. -very vast

so none of the above statements are true.. people, when true to their nature, are exactly who they should be; the world counts on it; operates according to great variety not "one right way"

to first discover our true nature, then honor it.. this i believe is to attain what tolle writes on page 268:

to be, "one with what life wants" (not what parents/corporations/employers/mates/neighbors/friends.. want -but what LIFE WANTS)

it is when you take a naturally (authentically) competitive person and ask them to be something else... recreational/fun..

OR - take a naturally recreational/play for fun personality, and demand from them competitiveness

this is often how we stay stuck, or go backwards

when we ask a naturally introverted person to perform for an audience -OR- when we ask a naturally extroverted, gregarious-type to turn it down..

all of these, in my imagination, are right and good when the individual honors their natural/innate desires without apology

some people are more praise-seeking.. some are more money-motivated..
some are comfortable with the public, others not..

i would be reluctant to attach the word "ego" to personality traits when those personality traits may very well be innate, natural, good and "what LIFE WANTS"

i am fascinated with the knowledge that we DO HAVE and DO KNOW when we are being authentic.

the shy, introverted person knows when he/she is being pushed by peer pressure or econmomic needs into a spotlight he or she would rather not perform in front of -this having nothing to do with insecurities or ego; just nature

and the extroverted/gregarious personality which thrives on the energy of an audience.. knows when he or she is being inauthentically "reserved" to meet external expectations. again, not about ego, but nature

and each of the above people KNOW when they are "being who they really are"

the shy permitted to be shy
the gregarious permitted to be highly social

for me, the spectrum of human personalities and traits and authentic ways of being is as vast and diverse as the universal itself

to be in touch, to experience "being who we really are" this puts me, from practical experience, and others through observation,

"in alignment with the universe"

we do have internal truths (this is part of consciousness?) and we do have a physiological/biological response that is negative when we are forced to behave outside of our truth, or positive when we are permitted to honor it. most importantly we have ways of KNOWING what our "true self" is

all for now.

more later i'm sure..
thank you,

sandra kay, ttgp
shesayswithasmile.blogspot.com

 

At 2:28 PM,  SHE said...

-k- i have finished the book. i have three main thoughts to write about, and then will look foward to the monday night online classes

1) wish to combine information from "the secret" -that is the law of attraction, and the vocabulary tolle uses regarding individual vs. collective consciousness

i did not have an "ah" moment, as in sudden/spontaneous new information, but rather a "thank you" for the vocabulary and reminder

so, for example, when looking at tragedies inflicted upon children (as one small example) -myself, kidnapped/raped at 6 yrs old, or polly klaas (a spiritual sister) kidnapped and murdered in her youth -or the countless children abused

not one tiny part of me believes for one tiny second, that i, when i was a 6 year old girl, "attracted" a criminal into my home to kidnap and violate me

nor do i think for one tiny second, polly klaas "attracted" a murderer into her life

and nor do i think, any innocent child, as an individual, "attracts" suffering of any kind

however.. i do believe we are "collectively" responsibile.. ALL OF US, responsible for the criminals and crimes commited on our planet

and in this way.. when we create and protect "safe" neighborhoods, while hoping "dangerous" neighborhoods will keep their distance -when we are ignorant, apathetic or indifferent to the struggles of our neighboring cities and people -the causes, underlying poverty, drug addiction, evil, neglect, etc

for as long as we remain unconscious in this way.. innocent individuals will continue to pay the price for this collective unconsciousness

when, collectively, we seek to reach out and help create equal opportunities for ALL people -to care equally for ALL people

a natural result of this collective conscious loving intention will result in a reduction of criminals and crimes, and a safer world

in any given state.. we should take a close look.. which is growing/spreading; dangerous neighborhoods? safe neighborhoods? which is growing; anger? peace?

which is growing/spreading? people reaching their potential? people giving up, dropping out, taking drugs, harming others..

we are one. we do not live in isolation.. everyone must matter.

2) like this passage/pg 62:
nonreaction to the ego in others is one of the most effective ways not only of going beyond ego in yourself but also of dissolving the collective human ego

3) and page 295 to end: three modalities of awakened doing

acceptance, enjoyment, enthusiasm

i am so grateful to God that i, for the past year and a half, have been experiencing all three of these modalities in my being, in my parenting, in my family and friendships, in my writing, in my arts and crafts, in my living in each moment

i do occasionally slip into worry about my future; it remains uncertain.. and so benefit also from this lovely passage pg 274:

when you become comfortable with uncertainty, infinite possibilities open up in your life. it means fear is no longer a dominant factor in what you do and no longer prevents you from taking action to initiate change.

and when i experience motivation from inspiration, joy, without interrupting concerns -i do feel in alignment

and this becomes much easier for me to witness in the behavior and works and being of others

 

At 6:50 AM,  SHE said...

two things

first, in less words, with more clarity, what i couldn't quite work out earlier

we say, do not do such n' such, it will permanently damage your children

and we say to adult children who endured such n' such -no playing victim and acting damaged

*** ***

next, regarding COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS -and how we all have a responsibility for criminals and crimes

i think of this: as a trained volunteer for the tri valley haven, i learned, in the tri-valley, on average, 30 rape victims, in the time of one year, will be admitted to our local hospitals

in oakland, that number is 300.

RECENTLY -staff at tri valley haven were very pleased to have (struggling for word/description)...

like a new addition.. at valley care hospital, specifically for victims of sexual assault

the great news of course, is that there now exists a special room, very caring, trained, hospital staff and volunteers to care for the special needs of sexaul assualt victims - proper care/procedure for treating sexual assualt patient victims with love, while also gathering forensic evidence

behind the hospital's ability to now provide this room and care, is many days, weeks, months, years of dedicated effort from people fighting for the rights, raising awareness and money

it is one sense a huge victory

but not to me.

that we have gone from not needing this service, to needing this service..

it seems to me we are headed in the very wrong direction

instead of the number of victims climbing, and "victory" being the ability to provide care for more victims

wouldn't it be awesome if we could reduce the number of victims..

wouldn't it be awesome if in oakland, for example, we were able to report something like this:

the number of rapes has decreased so significantly over the past year we have had cause to close down the crisis center

that is victory in my definition of the word.

how do we head in that direction?

***

and i remember here, a lady collecting donations for a woman's shelter outside of a local grocery store. i did not recognize the name of the shelter and so inquired further

she mentioned there locations all over the state of california with the kind of pride howard schultz might take in sharing how many new starbucks have opened

"i don't think it's so great shelters need to be popping up like fast food chains" i told her

and clearly i am after a true victory

i do not want, statistically, the number of victims reduced because people are not comfortable reporting crimes -of course not-

i do not want shelters closing and people in need neglected; no.

i want an actual, quantifiable, undeniable, reduction in the crimes themselves -reduction in the abuse

i want to close shelters and crisis centers from LACK OF NEED

NOT LACK OF REPORTING.

for this i work and pray. ~amen.

 

At 7:45 PM,  Tamika said...

I am so greatful to Eckhart Tolle and Oprah for turning me onto Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor and her beautiful book ""My Stroke of Insight"". Her story is amazing and her gift to all of us is a book purchase away I'm happy to say.

Dr Taylor was a Harvard brain scientist when she had a stroke at age 37. What was amazing was that her left brain was shut down by the stroke - where language and thinking occur - but her right brain was fully functioning. She experienced bliss and nirvana and the way she writes about it (or talks about it in her now famous TED talk) is incredible.

What I took away from Dr. Taylor's book above all, and why I recommend it so highly, is that you don't have to have a stroke or take drugs to find the deep inner peace that she talks about. Her book explains how. ""I want what she's having"", and thanks to this wonderful book, I can! Thank you Dr. Taylor, and thank you Eckhart and Oprah.

 

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