February 2017 ~ Taking Care of What's Important
- What can you do in this time of
seeming chaos and unstable leadership?
- Resources (links)
February
2017 ~ Taking Care of What's Important
We did not do an article for January due to a number of things
going on in our life that took priority. We have also tried to figure out
how to deal with some of what is happening in our world right now without
getting too political. We are finding that we cannot ignore the political
realities and cannot remain silent when there are people trying to destroy the
foundation of our country.
We wrote our original January 2017
article before the November 2016 election and decided to post it anyway, even
though we are no longer in the parallel that has a woman president in the United
States. It may be useful to some anyway. According to JP Van Hulle
and Michael North, this parallel that we are in is a very minority one – about
1% – that took us off on a detour into the wilderness where we have never gone
before in our country. They say that about 93% of the other parallel
universes have Hillary as their president; the rest have one of several other
people.
Our February article tries to deal with how to cope with the
place we find ourselves now in this time and space.
- Take care of our physical body.
- Keep a positive attitude.
- Find ways to inspire yourself.
- Set strong intentions for positive changes and outcomes.
- Maintain a good support system.
- Pray.
- Do what you can, where you can, when you can.
1. Take care of your physical body
Most importantly, taking care of your body means getting plenty
of rest. Our bodies are being subjected to shocking events and radical
changes repeatedly right now so they need all the help they can get.
Get exercise in whatever way works for you. Exercise helps
keep the body healthy, reduces blood pressure and helps to manage stress.
Do whatever works for you to deal with stress. If you
meditate daily, even for a few minutes, that will help.
If meditation doesn’t appeal to you, find something beautiful
to concentrate on for a few minutes. Go out in nature and breathe
deeply. Appreciate our bountiful universe in all its forms. Think
about someone you love and allow your heart to open; extend the love that you
feel to the space around you; include your family, friends and neighborhood and
include our government in that energy.
DO NOT send any more hate, judgment or blame to anyone.
That only adds more negativity to an already difficult situation. Positive
energy attracts positive energy — like a
magnet. Negative energy attracts negative energy.
2. Maintain a positive attitude
No matter what happens in our world, know that we will be able
to get through it eventually. We have faced difficult situations before
and we have emerged stronger.
One quote that comes to mind: What doesn’t kill us, makes
us stronger. [Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher]
Pay attention to people who are helping us understand why our
society is disintegrating at this time in history. Knowledge is
power. Knowing what is happening and why helps to alleviate the fear of
the unknown.
DO NOT allow fear to take over. Find ways to see something
positive in what ever you are doing every single day.
Pay attention to other people, which helps to get out of the
stuck place of fear. Pay attention to their kindness or goodness or
progress. Let other people know that you value their contributions in what
ever ways you can. Say Please and Thank You and I care
about you as often as you can every single day.
Get in the habit of noticing any time that you find yourself
feeling criticism, blame, anger or judgment of another person. Stop
yourself and find something kind and positive to think about. Even small shifts like
this can make a huge difference collectively.
3. Find ways to inspire yourself
Margaret Mead said: Never doubt that a small group of
thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing
that ever has.
Our country has so many examples of how committed people made a
huge difference for the lives of others. Just a few of these:
- A small band of people who believed in religious freedom set sail on the Mayflower
in the 1600s to an unknown future.
- Colonial people stood up to British rule in the 1700s and declared
themselves free.
- The original Continental Congress developed a new system of democracy that
set out a course that our country has followed for more than 200 years.
- Many people worked to get women the right to vote.
- Many people worked to free slaves.
I could go on and on and on.
The freedoms and benefits that we enjoy today are built on the
actions of many, many people before us who were willing to stand up for what is
right.
Our political leaders certainly will not inspire us this year,
so we have to do it ourselves. Find something that inspires you every day
and be an inspiration to others whenever you can. Small acts of kindness
qualify.
Consciously and actively, look for good news and take the time
to appreciate those where ever and when ever you see them.
4. Set strong intentions for positive
changes and outcomes
Set a strong intention that no matter what, we will survive and
be stronger. Our current political situation is chaotic and
uncertain. New shocks seem to be coming at us every day.
We have a choice whether to allow the actions of others to throw us
into chaos or whether we can take control of our thoughts, feelings and actions, and do
what we know is right.
We can learn what is behind the massive changes
happening in our world. José
Stevens has written several articles about this. Many others have
written about them as well.
Every day, remind yourself that we have been through difficult
times before and we will be able to weather the current storms also.
Refuse to be fearful. When people are afraid, they can be
controlled by others more easily and lose their freedom.
You can do energetic exercises to restrict and restrain any
action by the government that is not for the good of all people. You can
imagine an energetic bell jar over Washington, DC and know that only actions
that affect the good of the country can be implemented. Do this exercise
every day.
You can do energetic exercises to ground yourself. Susannah
Redelfs has a number of different energetic exercises on her website for
download or listening.
A personal favorite of ours is Emmet Fox’s statement on Love:
There is no difficulty that enough Love will not conquer . . .
5. Maintain a
good support system and help support others you care about
Stay in touch with people you care around. Make sure your
support system is working and do whatever you need to do to feel
supported.
Help others when you can, whether family, friends or
neighborhood. Even small acts of kindness can make a huge
difference. Help someone locate a lost pet. Open a door. Smile
as much as you can. Say thank you to a stranger.
If you don’t have a good support system now, create one or
join one. Find out what support is local to you whether a group of
friends, a church or other type of group that will allow you to be with people
of like mine that you feel comfortable with.
6. Pray
Never underestimate the power of prayer to heal and
transform. Use whatever form of prayer works for you. Here is a
prayer written by Ernest Holmes in the 1950s:
My Prayer for My Country
Believing in the Divine Destiny of the United States of
America and in the preservation of liberty, security and self-expression for
all, I offer this, my prayer for my country:
I know that Divine Intelligence governs the destiny of the
United States of America, directing the thought and the activity of all who
guide its affairs.
I know that success, prosperity and happiness are the gifts
of freedom and the Divine heritage of everyone in this country; that they
are now operating in the affairs of every individual in this country.
I know that Divine Guidance enlightens the collective mind
of the people of this country, causing it to know that economic security may
come to all without the loss of either personal freedom or individual
self-expression. I know that no one can believe or be led to believe
that personal freedom must be surrendered in order to insure economic
security for all.
The All-knowing Mind contains the answer to every problem
which confronts this country. I know that every leader in this country
is now directed by this All-knowing Mind and has the knowledge of a complete
solution to every problem. Each is impelled to act upon this knowledge
to the end that abundance, security and peace shall come to all.
And I know that this Spiritual Democracy shall endure,
guaranteeing to everyone in this country personal liberty, happiness and
self-expression.
7. Do what ever you can, where ever you can,
when ever you can
Our country was formed on the basis of freedom for all. We
created a system of government that is based on working together through
representation. And, We the People
retain the right to remove a government that is not working for all people.
From our Declaration of Independence:
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of
America:
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for
one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with
another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal
station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent
respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the
causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men [all
people] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among
Men [all people] , deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of
these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to
institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and
organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to
effect their Safety and Happiness. . . .
From our Constitution:
We the People of the
United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure
domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general
Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do
ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
...
We can be the best we can be. Work at whatever level you
feel comfortable. And, know that every single person is important in the
grand scheme of things. Every small positive action makes us stronger
together.
We can resist attempts at oppression and destruction of our
country’s core values. We can resist attempts by the minority president to act
like a dictator. We can speak out. We can become an active champion
for our country’s ideals. We can join peaceful marches.
We can support organizations that are willing to stand up for
what is right. A few examples: the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union),
Planned Parenthood, MoveOn.org, the Love Army, the Dakota Access Pipeline
efforts and many others.
Do what ever you can, where ever you can, when ever you can.
Inspiration
Knowledge & Self-Care
Action
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Page updated: October 16, 2023
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