My Three Words

OK, so I wrote this one on a Monday, and today is Friday. And I'm sure I'll post some entries on a Monday that I wrote on a Friday! Or on a Saturday that I wrote on a Tuesday -- doesn't matter. Just read and enjoy!

Mondays are hard, for some reason. Especially when I don’t have a busy day to keep me distracted and cheerful. Why am I not cheerful if I’m not engaged with others or working? I have the time to write and just be, something that many people just crave to have, yet it doesn’t make me happy. “Make” me happy. I want to be out in the world, engaged in working to make the world a better place. I’ve wanted this for a while. However, I am getting a different message (from where?) ummm... my higher Self (is that who it is?) is guiding (is that what it’s doing?!) me and outright telling me to sit down and write!
A few days ago – oh my gosh it was a week ago already! -a neighbor knocked on our door in her pajamas. She lives in a group home up the block and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. We have gotten to know her as the years go by and have become friends. She said she just had to get out of her house for a while. I invited her in and offered her a cup of tea. She chatted for a few minutes, then started to go down a path that I knew I couldn’t let her go down. I could just see her spiraling into depression just from her thoughts.
I had just written my first journal entry to share. (The next one here, if you click on BLOG in the menu above). I asked her if she would like if I read it to her. She said yes. As I was reading, I could see and feel her relax. I think it may have helped her to know that she is not alone in her struggling in this world. I don’t really know the reason, but I do know that when I finished reading, she said, “I think I can go home and get dressed now. This was really nice.”
My ADD self just flicked on a video by Eckhart Tolle. In this short video he is talking about how we have an addiction to thinking. That it actually is an addiction, like a drug! It creates a pseudo sense of self, so we have a great reluctance to let go of it. That what we need is Presence.
Yes. The purpose of my trio of words is to help me to stop the incessant thinking, especially if it’s negative. Reading something positive to my neighbor that was something other than what she was thinking brought us both into more presence with ourselves and one another. The secondary purpose is to instill these virtues and values and ways of being into my nervous system, into my beingness.
So what are my words today? Ha! I’m finally getting there. It’s also 4:12 in the afternoon, so yes, I’m finally getting there! I am so happy that I am sitting here, writing this to you, to me. So even though I do endeavor to do my writing each morning, I am succeeding in not judging myself for not getting to it until now! I feel really happy that I am writing, no matter what time it is.
So, my trio today:
Presence
Non-Judgement/Acceptance (same thing today)
Self Love. I’m OK! Then I extend that out! And you’re OK!
You know, this self love exercise is an interesting one. It’s a tough one, because it’s like self love is a selfish thing. That’s what the ego would have us think. “Who are you to love yourself? What makes you so special?”
But you know, it’s a different kind of love. I feel like we have to get there, to the place where we can honor our very selves in almost a holy kind of way. Does that resonate at all? Do you know what I mean? It took me long time to get to this place, and I’m still grappling with it. Try saying “I love myself” or “I love you, _____ (your name)”. Try it a few times each day for a week. See what comes up. Does the opposite thought come up? Do you feel a feeling close to, “well yeah, I do love myself”! That’s awesome! And does that feeling last? Does it shift at all?
I say that I feel like we have to get there, each of us, because that’s the only way we will truly be able to love others. When we have no negative feelings about ourselves, we won’t project any of that out onto others.
That’s it for today – gotta go to dance class, keep the body in good working order!
Love to you all,
Char

Today I really need
Tranquility
Steadfastness, and
Perseverance.

I woke up needing something. But what? Sometimes I feel as if there is a void that I can’t quite put my finger on. I have been asking Spirit for guidance. As always, the voice is soft. The voice that may, perhaps, be guiding, gently urging me to write. I’ve been hearing it, “sit down and write...sit down and write...sit down and write...” Really? Me? Write?

“YES”!

Alright, I’ll do it!!

I finally sat down to write. Today marks my first “entry”. They all come with a photo that I took (in most cases) and My Three Words for that day written somewhere on the photo. This is a work in progress, so please bear with me! Sometimes I write directly about what arises from my words and sometimes rather indirectly.

Here’s how My Three Words came about:

Have you ever found yourself obsessing about something? Do your thoughts ever just “loop”, with no resolution to what you’re looping about? And does that drive you crazy?!! Well it does me!

I needed a way to stop this, so I asked Spirit for help. I ended up coming up with a practice to get me out of the stuck place in my mind. It works! Well, most of the time!

I need this tool for the times when I’m feeling “lost” in my own mind; those times when I’m heading down a negative path that I can’t seem to help. Sometimes it seems like it’s through no fault of my own, like there is some power greater than me, greater than my WILL to overcome it or to just change it. Yet my will persists, thank goodness, and my seeking is ceaseless.

My seeking has given birth to this little practice that I would like to share with you on the chance that it may help you, too. It's this: repeating three positive words that are values, qualities or attributes helps me to bring focus back to myself. And when I can feel what they really mean in my heart, I can sometimes reverse or change the path enough to change my frequency. Then this happens: my inner experience changes. Once my inner experience changes, so does my “projector”, which in turn changes my interpretation of what I’m seeing outside of me.

Here’s what came up within the three words that came for me today:

Tranquility. I’m going to cook a healthy lunch. This helps me feel tranquil in 3 ways: 1) the experience of cooking is relaxing for me, 2) knowing I’m eating healthy food gives me a positive jolt, and 3) the result of eating the healthy food: once the nutritious food is digested and absorbed, I actually do feel more relaxed. I notice this every time!
Steadfastness. I’m going to do what I set out to do today and organize all of my notes so I can move forward with at least a bit of organization.
Perseverance. I will persevere with this activity.
I’ll let you know how it went!
Thanks for reading.

Love, 
​Char