HEALING

 

My mini-vacation from blog writing was not planned; at least, not consciously. Monday there was too much going on, inside my head, and outside. My grandson Gregory headed back to California and there was quite a bit of clean up following my birthday celebration. Yes; this is day five of my 82^nd year on planet Earth. It looks pretty much the same.

And the fact, that it looks pretty much the same, is the other reason why I haven't blogged. I feel like I get in a rut, saying the same old things. I talk about the collapse of our old world and the emergence of the New. Yet; I know, one has to be highly tuned to see positive changes and perceive the increasing light. On one hand I don't want to hold out a promise that doesn't materialize, on the other, I know being hopeful, and visualizing the change we want, will help bring it about.

I recently read an article, that purported to demonstrate scientifically, that thankfulness, caused changes in the brain, that were conducive to having positive feelings. Furthermore, complaining did the opposite. I don't know how close, this can be demonstrated, to most peoples satisfaction; but it is fairly easy to experience. Many times, after a difficult day, I laid in bed, did my best to divert the troubling stream of thoughts, and imagined, a loving universe, surround me with golden light. It works! The turn around can be profound. Something definitely does happen!

I always believed in the oneness of mind and body and was dismayed with the conflict between the traditional psychological views and the strictly physical ones. It seemed to me that any thoughts, entertained for any length of time, must change body chemistry and any change in body chemistry will affect thinking. When I was in private practice, I witnessed this many times; both subtly and dramatically.

One dramatic example: I had a young lady consult me due to her chronic depression. Like most of us, she had had events in her life to be depressed about. After a few sessions, it was clear that she didn't seem invested in any of her negative experiences nor did it seem like she was particularly repressive. Yet, sometimes these things are not clear, after just a few sessions, we decided to continue. The next time she came in, she told me that she visited her physician, he found she had a sluggish thyroid. She was given the required medication and her depression vanished. Although, I had little follow-up, I was convinced she found a valid solution to her problem.

There have been many attempts, from both the traditional 'physicalist' and the psychologically oriented, to develop more wholistic approaches. They have not taken a firm hold.

I have dreamed of having a healing center comprised of a smorgasbord of healers. Healers of all types, traditional and alternative. Even healers that may seem far out to some folks, e.g. astrologers, herbalist, energy workers, touch therapist, psychics, etc. A person would be made aware of the different healing modalities and, only they, would select the therapy they wanted.

We have a planet full of people desperate to be healed and uplifted. We need to stop thinking we have the answers. We need to be open to any loving solution. We need to give up our ego investment in our favorite healing method and open our hearts and minds. Oneness exist between mind and body, as it does in all the Universe.

Love and Peace, Gregg

WINTERS MID-POINT

 

Well, we reached the middle of Winter and we are surviving nicely. We had a friend who came over every Friday night for several years. He researched the mid-point of Winter. He found the dates of the earliest frost and the latest frost, for several years, and calculated the mid-point. He looked up the graphs for heating days and found that mid-point. He looked at the average temperatures for the last hundred years; found the average coldest day. I think he had one more parameter; I can't remember. What I do remember, is that these figures all fell between January 19 and January 26. {I could be a day off} We always had a celebration marking the point where Winter started its downhill slide. It will seem easier from this point on.

This Morning our little dog, Xina, [yorkie-poo] saw a rabbit sitting at the end of the path to the chicken coop. She barked furiously and ran down the path towards the rabbit. Yap, yap, yap she ran. The path is about fifty feet. She got about half way. The rabbit didn't budge. Xina put on the brakes. She ran back and then charged again yip, yip, yip. The rabbit couldn't care less. Again, she put on the brakes, well short of the rabbit. She did this four or five times and then came up on the porch and contented herself with barking at the non-budging animal. The rabbit seemed bored with it all and slipped through the pasture fence and out of sight. I have witnessed Xina doing this with cats too, she is, “all sound and fury signifying nothing.”

This story would be a good lead into a discussion, but I don't have anything this Morning. It does sound like our current political situation.

Our world is slowly collapsing around us and there will be much “sound and fury.” We need to turn our focus inward. Find the peace inside us. There will be days, when there will, not be much peace coming from outside. We need to keep in mind, that all will end well. Sometimes, even that will be hard to see. If we pay attention to our relationships, with ourselves and others, and keep the love flowing, we will be okay. The old ways of competition and dominance must fall away. It will be confusing for awhile.

Our biggest struggle will be with our belief systems. We have accepted many things, with a religious fervor, which are simply not true. It would be good, if we could accept the idea, that we know nothing. We have been on this planet for eons and we have accumulated knowledge but it is, all confused, with mis-information. We would be almost better off, if we accepted the idea, that we just arrived on planet Earth and knew nothing about it. Perhaps, if we could start fresh, we may, also be able, to sort through our accumulated knowledge and winnow the grain from the chaff.

We are on the downhill slide from eons of a horrible Winter. The cruelty and barbarism of corporate/capitalism is about over. Empire, and all the tyranny that goes with it, are being ushered off the stage. It is an exciting time to be alive. We are co-creators with the light. We will see a world created, by love, emerge.

Sunday, I will complete 81 years on planet Earth. It has been fun!

Love and Peace, Gregg

HAPPINESS AND HEALING

 

The world appears to be in chaos. We may see misery and pain around us. We may have friends or relatives who are ill, or struggling with problems, that are insurmountable. How can we best be of service?

Of course, if we can provide tangible help, that is great, we do it. But how do we address the problems with them? What should our attitude be? We want to be positive, but telling people, everything will be okay, when they are miserable, can backfire. It can annoy them further. It isn't the words, it is the feeling that comes out of our being that is helpful. If our words are of understanding and the person feels the warmth of our love, it is soothing and even healing.

It doesn't do any good, to take on the pain, of those around us. We can't help by joining the person in their agony, yet, we can be with them when they are in agony. We can be there for them. We can be accepting of their feelings. We don't have to share their pain to know it and feel compassion.

It is difficult for us, some times, because the other's pain can be disturbing to our own equanimity. We don't like suffering around us, especially in one close to us. When were dealing with the pain of someone close to us, we need to guard against disguised guilt. We can't help another, if we feel bad, that we are happy. True compassion can only be demonstrated by one who is experiencing some level of equanimity; in other words capable of being happy.

The higher level of our happiness, the greater degree of service we can offer. By being happy, we demonstrate to the person suffering, that happiness is possible. Sometimes, we really need that, when we are up to our necks in muck. Whether the suffering is physical or emotional, we can offer light through our own equanimity. Hope is very important in formulating the conviction that things will be better. The love that emanates from our being, offers that hope.

Whether, we have people around us who need our compassion or not, our happiness can be the greatest gift we can give to humankind. At our core, all of us are love, but it can be covered over with insulating layers that keep the love from shining through. Happiness opens the spigot. Happiness dissolves the layers of ego insulation, that keeps our true being of love, from shining brightly. When we are happy and beaming love, another on the other side of the world, may be uplifted.

We are all beacons of light. Let us keep our lenses clean and shiny. Our happiness blesses the world. No matter what situation we find ourselves in, the greatest gift we have, is our happiness. Happiness is love and light.

Love and Peace, Gregg

AN ATYPICAL MONDAY

 

It is 2:20 in the afternoon. It is 1.4 degrees F. It was -17 when I got up; that was probably the low. One more below zero night, and then it warms up a bit. I usually finish my blog in late Morning; it has been mildly hectic around here.

Noah's son Gregory flew in from California, late Friday night. Noah picked him up at the airport, they arrived here at 2:30 AM or so. Since Gregory was visiting, Naomi brought Elijah over Saturday; she was accompanied by her friend Greg and his son, Adam. Saturday, Greg, Naomi, Adam, Gregory and Elijah went to a hotel/motel in Mora. They celebrated the cold by swimming in a heated in-door swimming pool.

Sunday Morning they arrived back here. You are right, there were three Gregs in the house. It wasn't too confusing, because I am known as Grandpa, and Noah's son is usually called Gregory.

Everybody stayed for dinner. Naomi's friend Greg went back to St Cloud, but Adam stayed on to play with Gregory and Elijah. They are aged 12, 11 and 8. They are are a delight to have around.

I had a mound of dishes to do this Morning and I had to go to the Amish to get milk. Jamie, left this Morning, as she is involved in an art project, with some friends of ours. I believe they are painting fish on somebody's wall. She will be back soon.

Besides these activities, we had to take Noah's car up to the garage for repairs; tires and a timing belt. In the meantime, a repairmen came to fix our automatic garage door. The spring broke on Saturday.

So that is why I am so late blogging.

Adam and Elijah will be heading back to St Cloud in a few hours and it will be quiet around here. Children are marvelous for old farts, like me. They entertain, they inspire, they deal with their reality, they dispel the worlds crazy illusions. They bring instantaneous, love and light, into our lives; even if, it is at the price of a little commotion.

It is after 3:PM. I need to check on my sheep; make sure they had enough water and gather the few eggs, the hens lay this time of year.

Love and Peace, Gregg

WE ARE AWAKENING

It is a cool cloudy day, 19.2 F. It supposed to get below zero tonight. Our weather has been strange; three or four days above normal, then three or four days below normal. We are heading into a below normal period with temperatures down to -17 F.

I am still uneasy about the world situation. At least I am confident that it will turn out alright. I think the light is strong enough to prevent any major wars, but I don't think the forces that have been creating havoc, will not leave the stage peacefully. We will experience some chaotic times. Folks will be disturbed, those of us who can see the light at the end of the tunnel, will need to provide reassurance to those who are frightened.

We can all help. We have been controlled for eons by those who would use fear. We didn't see that we had a choice. We didn't realize that we could resist. We are created equal. We are all part of Source. All minds have the attributes of Source. It was only by convincing us, that we had less power than those in control, that enabled the controllers to wield power over us.

We are co-creators and all our minds create all the time. We create with Love or we create with fear. Those in control, have used fear for the last several thousand years, to keep us in control. With our unwitting help, they have created hell on earth.

I can't fathom their ultimate goal. It seems like it is to make slaves of everyone. It doesn't make sense to me, because if I was them, I would rather have happy slaves, than miserable ones. They have demonstrated how easy we can be controlled, why wouldn't they want us to be happy? Does the lust for power cause people to need to have their foot on the neck of everyone? Do people need to be pushed to bare survival, and under absolute domination, before they are satisfied?

The promise is that we will understand our true history and how we became subjugated soon. 2016 is supposed to be a pivotal year. According to much of what I read, the dark has already been defeated, we are just waiting for the mopping up, so to speak.

We had many great teachers tell us how to get out of the dilemma. Their truths were always subject to reinterpretation by those who would use religion to subjugate the population. The truths are very simple: we are all equal; we are love. The recommendations are: discover who we really are; love your neighbor as your self; treat everyone else as we would want to be treated; judge not. Simple things! Easy to do! But with the onslaught of negativity, fear and divisiveness, unleashed by those in control, we were made too untrusting to take the recommendations.

Over the last seventy years or so, more and more people have been able to free their minds enough to take these recommendations seriously. The light has been growing exponentially! We are about to emerge from a long period of darkness.

We can all help. Let us not let our minds be controlled by fear. Resist the seduction of fear and divisiveness. Don't accept a belief, just because it is popular, or comes from an expert. Don't be swayed by what other people think of us.

We need to find out who we are. We need to discover our place in Nature. We need to stop seeing Nature as the enemy, and something we need to overcome. We need to see Nature as the loving source of our well being on this planet.

These are exciting times. We are waking up.

Love and Peace,  Gregg

RESISTANCE TO LOVE

It was above zero F, on awakening this Morning, for the first time in a few days. Nice, It was only one or two degrees, but that is a nice departure from 17 to 21 below that it has been. It is now 10:30AM and it is 10.2F, a heat wave.

I want to describe how I have been feeling lately. I am not sure I can. I feel a gloom or shadow. Partly because of the conditions in the world. It is like I keep expecting another shoe to drop. I want the dark to be over their machinations and I want to see some relief from the craziness. Then, I have some other concerns; I have a close relative with health problems and Jamie is up and down in her healing process. These things may weigh on me; but are they really the cause of the gloom I experience off and on?

It seems like I can choose to feel good. If I pay attention to my mood, I can usher in happiness. Yet, my fallback position doesn't feel happy.

We go through changes in life, sometimes we have a period of darkness right before we break through to a new level of light.

I was just reading, that most of us are resistant to love, in some degree or other. We have been programmed for eons that it doesn't really exist, or if it does, we are not worthy. A deep conviction of unworthiness, even self-loathing, is a prevalent condition of human kind. Love scares us. We don't trust it. It feels like giving up control.

Could that be me? It is not particularly conscious, but I am sure, if this condition inflicts others, it must inflict me. At a conscious level, I love myself, but I know from the thoughts that can pass through, that there is more to it than that. As determined as we are to rid ourselves of the past, embarrassing thoughts etc. can reoccur with regularity. Some of us, have huge breakthroughs, and leap ahead in their awareness, for others, raising consciousness is like wearing a way a stone. I am the latter. I accept it. I have been eroding the stone for a long, long time.

The cure for this condition is to own up to it. We can tell ourselves, “I may have some resistance to experiencing love.” Some things might occur to ourselves, from past experiences, that verify this. Even so, we can do something about it. We can experience love. I know we can. I do it. Just not enough.

I can sit and imagine being surrounded by love and let it elevate me to a new level of consciousness. It is the same thing that happens in meditation. It is meditation. It is finding that place of silence. That quiet place. Even if it only last seconds, it is very valuable to feel the love that surrounds us. The universe is love. We can turn to, that quiet place inside us, at any time.

It occurs to me that I [we perhaps] resist the love coming from others. I hate to admit this, to all and sundry, but I have felt threatened by the the love coming from someone. It is like a beam of light coming at me and instead of being open to it, I throw up a barrier. Eeeeeek!

I know Love is growing in the World. I know the darkness is attenuating. I have faith that we will overcome. I do expect light to dominate 2016.

If we are to do our best work; we must love ourselves. Not just once in a while, all the time. Let us open our hearts and minds. Let us let the light in. We can give up our resistance to love. Is it so hard to face the fact, THAT WE ARE LOVE.

Love and Peace, Gregg

A WINTRY DAY ON LAUGHING WATER FARM

 

It was -21.2F when I got up. It is a balmy 11.2 below zero now. When it is this cold my routine is somewhat different. For instance, I haven't gone out to do the Morning chores yet. I have two water buckets for the sheep that will need filling. I try to give them just enough water that there will be a minimum of ice in the bucket. If the buckets have less than a third of ice in them, I can just fill them with hot water out of the tap. I hate to have to raise the bucket over my head and crash it to the ground to get the ice out. The chicken water rarely freezes solid. In fact it often doesn't freeze at all, until it gets below zero F. The coop we have, would need about forty chickens to keep it warm enough to prevent the water freezing, except for the coldest days. We have about 30 chickens and that is not enough to keep it above freezing when it gets below the single digits.

It is hard to predict how much water the a sheep will drink. Sometimes they will drink none. Sometimes they will eat snow. Sometimes they will get into a rhythm of drinking every other day. When it is this cold, I will go out in the afternoon and empty out any remaining water so I don't have to do the overhead crash in the Morning. The buckets are rubber, or synthetic, they take a beating. They hold about seven gallons. Well, I am going to take a break and go out there right now.

Back from watering. Another difference in these cold days, is that I get one or both of our wood stoves going. We have a geo-thermal heat system. It works great, but the particular unit we have, seems to work extra hard when it gets down to -20F. If the overnight temperature stays above -10F, I would not use the wood stoves, except for atmosphere, or if we wanted to be especially cozy. We have wood stacked in a fairly neat row where we park the cars. It is a nice Sunny location. We generally buy unseasoned wood and use it as it is ready. My days of cutting wood may be over. In fact I offered my almost unused Jonsered to my children. They haven't picked it up yet. I have enough wood in my pastures [mostly scrub trees] that I wouldn't have to buy wood; but when one is over eighty …........... it would probably be good exercise, though.

The chickens are just starting to lay, with the increasing light. They take a hiatus from mid November to late December/early January, when the days start getting longer. Pullets will lay during the dark days, but we didn't have any this year. Some years we raise a few pullets, depending on when they are hatched, they will start laying in autumn and lay, right through the period, their older friends are taking their break. We got four eggs yesterday.

We have six ewes and a ram in the North pasture. The ewes will lamb in April. They are hair sheep and don't have to be sheared. We have seven sheep in the South pasture. Four of them are woolies and need to be sheared and three are cross breeds. I think the wool gene is dominate and they will need to be sheared. We hope to get the pastures connected this Spring.

I sold my turkeys but I think I will get some more, come Spring. I love having them around.

I love my life. I love the Seasons. I will have to haul a toboggan load of wood up to the house, it keeps the old body operating optimally.

We will spend most of the day in a warm cozy living room next to the wood stove. Well, we do have to go to the Amish to get milk. But that will be a pleasant Winter journey.

Love and Peace, Gregg

CHANGE

 

It is snowing and it is beautiful! I think we received about an inch. I wouldn't mind if it stopped now. An inch is great; a foot is another kettle of fish.

We like prophecies, don't we? I suspect, most of us give them short shrift; do they ever come true? I don't keep track, but when I do notice, they seem to fail miserably. But, they are fun, and when they agree with our own wishes, we tend to put some faith in them.

I bring this up, because I read several prophecies that indicate desired changes are about to occur on our planet. Some of the changes may seem destructive, i.e. the collapse of our monetary system, {add all our other systems: educational, medical etc.} but they would all lead to positive changes. I have been watching the gradual disintegration of our societies institutions for a long time, and dreaming of a renewal, or complete overhaul. We are so used to the craziness, that we take much of it for granted, and we don't realize how enslaved we have become to power and money.

I hope these prophecies turn out to have some substance; but we can't wait for change. In Wednesday's blog I said it was time for the sane leaders of the world to come together and develop strategies to shed this painful illusion. That may be wishful thinking. Are any of the world leaders sane? Are they too entrenched in the status quo to provide sane leadership?

Authentic change, comes from a shift in consciousness of the people, and it starts from the bottom and goes up. The leadership only changes when they see the upheaval is inevitable. We need to create the changes; us, you and me.

We don't want to be slaves; lets quit being slaves. We don't like to be controlled by money and debt; let's find strategies to be free. We find our educational system lacking; lets find a different way to educate our children. We find our medical system dysfunctional; how can we provide care our people?

Most of you folks who read this can 'see'. And some of you can really SEE. We have established, the way out of this craziness, is love; beginning with loving ourselves. Isn't it time we turned to loving action? Isn't it time to establish some sanity on Earth? We need to have this conversation.

Do we start new communities? Do we organize folks in our neighborhood, communities, and villages? This is happening already. Folks have been going back to the land and raising their own food for a generation now. Folks in some cities have turned boulevards, vacant lots and front yards into gardens. We need to hear more about these happenings. We need to start caring for ourselves at a local level.

We can provide education for our children and teach them not to be slaves. We can learn real science and medicine instead of being enthrall to corporate/capitalist medicine and science.

Change will occur when we make it happen.

There is nothing we can't do.

Love and Peace, Gregg

TIME TO SHED ILLUSION

We have been in a celebratory mood these last two days. On Monday, the doctor [orthopedist] told Jamie that her shoulder dislocation did not cause any permanent damage. It should heal nicely and she doesn't have to worry about it reoccurring, as that would be very unusual, when the first occurrence was in the seventies. He told her he she didn't need to wear the brace [sling] anymore and she can resume normal activities. He advised her to use her left arm in a low position for now. Do not try to do things where the arm is raised high. She is going to see a physical therapist today to learn some exercises to aid healing.

We both feel exuberant. I think, the thought of another health problem weighed more heavily on us than we realized. At least for me. Jamie was more open about being worried. I tend to keep a stiff upper lip.

These are uncertain times. It sometimes seems the whole world fell down the rabbit hole; without the magic or amusement. Yet, we can change how we see things. We can choose to see things differently. If we look for magic and amusement we will see it.

I think the solution, more than ever, is to stay out of the drama created by the main stream media. The more we can lovingly focus on our day to day lives, the more we will, intensify the love, to calm the troubled waters of the world. We can only be responsible for ourselves, our own minds. If we want peace, love and joy in the world, we must start with our minds. Let us create it, in ourselves, and thus in our families, and relationships.

I am not saying it is easy. Although, the energy of love is very high, the competing energies that create divisiveness are rampant. Emotional touchiness is widespread. Jamie and I can have a spectacular fight in the spur of the moment. We can get over it fast, too.

It is hard to have, the trust and faith, that things in the world will turn out okay, when it appears that the leaders, of the world, are stark raving mad. It does seem that sanity is in short supply. Yet, if we can put our figurative, ear to the ground in the right place and right time, we can sense a rising tide of awareness. We know that folks are opening their eyes. They realize they have been misused and abused for centuries. It is dawning on, us that we don't need leaders or governments, that would promote conflict and war. The only purpose of government is to serve, where we cannot serve ourselves. We don't need protection from others in the world. All the people in the world are beautiful loving beings. It is only those whom would manipulate us that would suggest otherwise. We know the truth. We don't need any big daddies or mommies to explain things to us.

2016 is the time for the sane leaders of the world to get together, and develop strategies, to get us out of this horrible illusion of separation. Everybody in the world, at their core, is a loving being, all else is an illusion, promoted by those that would wield power.

This is the year to shed illusions and embrace who we really are.

Love and Peace, Gregg

LOVE IS NEVER PASSIVE

 

I am getting an early start. I need to accompany Jamie to a doctor appointment. We need to leave here at 10AM. Usually, I do the crossword puzzle first, and catch up on some reading, while drinking a couple cups of coffee.

I hope everyone had a good Holiday. We did; although, we had an incident Christmas night. Jamie was standing on a stool reaching for something on a high shelf, she slipped, fell down, and dislocated her shoulder. We didn't know what it was, only that it was excruciatingly painful. We went to the emergency room. She was anesthetized and the bone was put back in its socket. We were there from 10PM until close to 2AM. Despite this we did have a good holiday. And that is why, I have to accompany her to her doctors appointment. In an emergency, she could drive, but it is not wise to drive with one arm in a sling.

I recently heard some criticism of new age spirituality. There is a more serious criticism, that it dulled peoples senses about how they were being controlled and enslaved. I haven't parsed that concept. Perhaps they are right. However, creeping control, was coming from everywhere and the media provided much opiate for the masses.

The criticism I would like to address, is that it was passive and shallow. In some respects it was. I remember in the Seventies, some people made jokes about the 'vinyl warmers'; these were folks who flocked to teachers and gurus and the only thing they accomplished was to warm the vinyl chairs. However, in every crowd, whether it be hundreds or thousands, some heard. Perhaps, only four or five out of a hundred, but they were turned on, and they spread the Light.

We didn't hear much about love, outside of romance. Oh, we knew about it, but it wasn't common parlance. I was too busy dealing with the brambles in my own path to know or criticize other folks choices.

Love is a choice; it is never passive. When we decide to take the path of love, we first have to look at our minds. How do we think? Do we have thoughts that are not loving? Negative thoughts can be very seductive and very insistent. Learning to choose love, in our own minds over fear, is a life long struggle and there is nothing passive about it.

All behavior begins in our minds, how are we thinking? We can fake how we feel. We can fake how we behave. Can we fake how we think? Can we fool ourselves?

Love demands expression. It presents itself as a choice in how we treat our neighbor, our spouses, our friends, our family and the world. We are constantly choosing between love and fear. It may be subtle, at times, but it is always active. Love may be peaceful, patient, unassuming, it is never passive.

Love is what connects us to each other. Love is the energy that surrounds us. No matter what the problem is, the question is; what is the most loving solution?

I need to give water to my sheep and do a few more chores before we are ready to go. I assume I will be continuing my Monday, Wednesday, Friday writing schedule.

Love and Peace, Gregg