Love and Gratitude Journal Notes from 9/9/12

More notes and reflections from "Calling in the One" book:

"Gratitude shifts our perception from what we don't have to what we do have"

"When getting to know new people, remain neutral yet receptive until you have all the information you need to see more clearly what they have to offer. You want to learn how much someone has to give by watching how they show up in life. Are they consistent? Do they share similar values and concerns? Do they balance and compliment you well? Are they available to love? Do they do what they say they are going to do? Are they sensitive and considerate toward you and others?

"Taking risks means taking actions that are outside of your comfort zone"

I love this quote:
"The way you have been living is what has produced the life you now have."

I intend to take actions and make choices based on my desire to continually push the envelope of who I know myself and the world to be. I dedicate myself to learning and cultivating the ability to give and receive love and to deepen my awareness. I want to give beauty to the world through the way I relate to the world and what/how I create in the world. I am committed to being the best I am capable of being. This means being loving: giving and receiving love to everyone I meet to the best of my ability in that moment - not because I expect, feel entitled to/demand or hope for anything in return but simply because that's the best that I can be. I intend to listen to my heart. I intend to be creative and create out of that space of love for myself and the world.

"You will have wonderful surges forward. Then there will be a time of consolidating before the next surge forward. Accept this as part of the process. And never become downtrodden." - Eileen Caddy

"Be. Then Do. Then Have."

"We have to "act as if" we love ourselves and love is abundantly fulfilled in our lives."

"99% of all creation takes place beneath the soil. As the farmer who has planted the crops does not go out into his garden in an effort to force them to grow, we wait. What is yours will come to you."

What are the qualities that you long for in a life partner?
I'm open. I don't want to define him and I don't want him to define me. Someone who is also sharing his intention to love and be loved. Who wants to be all that he can be. Whose beauty of spirit light up his beauty of being. Who is in love with life and shares that joy/infuses that joy in others. Who is in touch with himself and who has the courage to take risks and leaps and does what he talks of doing and is committed to deepening his awareness of himself. Someone for who I can be a launchpad for and someone who can be a launch pad for me when the time is right. We will meet when we have done all we can do on our solo self-growth paths and the next step can only be "we." Also, I commit to do date only those people who appear to have these traits and refrain from dating those who do not. For all those traits that I long for in another, I commit to cultivating them in myself first.

Affirmation: "Who I am is love. And I am attracting the love of my life in this very moment. I am already connected deeply to my life partner and I receive that partner now."

Love and Forgiveness Journal Notes from 9/5/12

Notes, reflections and quotes from the book "calling in the One" by Katherine Woodward Thomas

Listening to my heart will in turn strengthen my ability to listen to others.

"Magic, syncronicities, connectedness only happen when one is fully present and available to what is so, and not preoccupied with what is not."

What do I think are the qualities of love?:
kindness, respect, generosity, giving, receiving, gratitude, openness, acceptance, flexibility, tolerance, compassion, unassumingness, non-judgmental, both/and thinking, appreciative, peace, in touch, grounded, joyful, patience, empathy, passion, aliveness, honesty, truth, attentiveness/listening, helpful, awareness, centered, playful/fun-loving, curious, child-like, inclusive/bringing together, creativity, richness/fullness, responsiveness, sharing

"When you do come across irritating situations, ask your heart what love would do. Stretch yourself to become the most loving version of yourself possible by doing that which you believe love would do in that moment"

"Explore the needs and wants of your partner and treat each other's needs as though they were your own"

"Must be a strong 'me' in order to be a strong 'we'"

"Functional families allow for the individuality of each member. People are free to express their needs, wants and feelings."

What is my attitude toward marriage?
Open

What is it about marriage that I might want?
To share the journey of deepening one's awareness of self with another and to be mutually challenged , supported, nurtured, respected, encouraged, helped in an intentionally sacred space and union where each of us feels safe enough to do that and to be vulnerable with one another. That we meet in the maybe zone as much as possible.

What is it about marriage that I might fear?
That it becomes too rigid, defined as yes and no. I don't really fear much actually. Maybe feeling limited to grow and deepen and express myself creatively. The fear of merging overly with the other to the extent of loosing myself and my creative focus.

"Deep wounds require more than 1 pass at forgiveness before they can be truly healed. Forgiveness is more of a process than an event. An ongoing practice. True forgiveness is an expression of the heart that must be arrived at honestly and organically. Forgiveness is to offer no resistance to life - to allow life to live through you. When it comes to forgiving ourselves, we must note that it is really our ego, our false and fragile self that becomes indignant by our mistakes."

"The wise forgive, but do not forget"

This One is For You

Butterfly siamese twins,

Two bodies merged,

Each with our own

Side of kaleidoscope wings.

Moving in unison,

To the ocean’s ebb and flow,

To the moon’s tidal pull,

To planetary floods and lulls.

There are rainbows I exclaim,

And lions with sequined manes,

On Sacrificial slabs,

Like Aslan.

There are purple thunderclouds,

Laced with lightening,

Electrically battling,

Across florescent skies.

Our tent births a teepee,

Outlined in stick figures,

Who transform into elephants,

Wearing gold-plated armor,

And parading across time.

You notice them too,

Traveling from India to Egypt,

As pharaoh and concubine.

How many masks to kiss?

Forest elf to prostitute,

Count to magician,

Aged to ageless?

Down to the cords,

Stripped to the skeleton.

Love can absorb Janus,

Looks adorn the surface.

Your voice holds the focus,

The generous soul, the kindness.

It is Energy that binds us,

And finds us whole.

Expansiveness

What do you do,

When opportunities leap at you,

Like flying fish?

How do you know,

Which ones are too small for you,

Best to let go of?

Or, which ones will grow you,Stronger, wiser, deeper, freer?

Into the next chapter,

Rather than the last level again?

You listen, my dear,

You wait for clearance.

Sometimes, those wanted pieces,

Arrive late and past due.

And you have already moved,

Beyond, and choosing them,

Places limits on wingspreads,

And boxes on blooms.

Create space in your heart,

For the biggest move.