Spiritual Pursuits

When was the last time that you were aware of stress in your life?  It is a fact that at least ten percent of the population in the United Kingdom are suffering from stress.  This number is substantially higher in other westernized countries and some Asian countries is a lot less.  It all depends where you live and your lifestyle.  When we suffer from stress in our lives we may not even be aware of it, but it is lying just under the surface.  We have all heard about the person who neighbours will tell you was always polite and seemed to be happy but one day snapped for no reason that could be thought of.  Check this out for yourself.  If you drop the milk in the morning, do you (a) not think about it very much as you clean it up or do you (b) say some nasty words as you mop it up.  Later when you go to get into the car to work, are you still agitated so that when you are driving you are still angry.  It was not the actual dropping of the milk which caused the problem.  You have set yourself up for a day of being angry at the least little thing.  It is time to stop the chain of events which will surely happen if you carry on being angry.  It is time to look at the spilt milk and mentally just acknowledge it and do what you have to and clean it up.  Then go to a place where you will not be disturbed for five minutes and check with how your stomach is feeling.  Is it feeling relaxed or tense? Mentally imagine that you are calm and serene.  If your stomach is tense keep telling yourself to relax until your stomach feels normal again.  Take a few deep breathes and say to yourself, "I breathe in calm and I breathe out compassion for all," next reverse your mantra by saying, "I breathe in compassion for all and I breathe out calm." Do this until your stomach and your entire body feels calm and refreshed. Now get into your car and drive.  This way you will not be passing on your irritation to other drivers and when you get to work you will be totally relaxed.

To make our dreams come true we all need the mental discipline and control that regular mental exercise such as meditation brings.  How can you hope to make any dreams come true without being aware of what your body and your mind is telling you.  If you ignore your body and your mind you will be making decisions based on emotion alone and that will not help your further your goals.  After all when your emotions change, if you base decisions only on emotion, then so too will your dreams and you will spend your life drifting from one dream to the next as your emotions drift from one moment to the next.  Control your emotions with the twice daily practice of meditation and you set up a practice of discipline, without which no dreams can come true.

I hope your dreams come true this August 2010.

Gentle Winds

Marilyn

It is now July and the weather is a mixture of sunny days and rainy days.  Today we had sun, rain and wind and everytime I thought I would put the washing outside to dry the heavens opened and down the rain came.  Eventually I gave up and dried my clothes inside.

All of this led to me thinking that life is like this.  We struggle on and think that we can do it all by ourselves. We pay the bills to keep a roof over our head, we provide food to sustain us, if we are fortunate, we have a job to bring in the money and we try to be what our family wants us to be.  We try to be what our friends want us to be.  We try to be a good listener, give an encouraging word and do what is expected of us.  But tell me, in the quiet of the night when everyone else is sleeping, are you content? are you happy? or do you look at yourself and wonder if this is all there is?  We struggle to make ends meet, our families grow up and then they leave home to make a life for themselves.  We grow old and then we die.  Surely there is more to life than this?  My answer is yes, there is more to life than struggle.  In fact the day that you give up the struggle and hand over your life to God, ( or if you are uncomfortable with that term you can substitute a word which you are comfortable with, Higher Power or Universe), is the day that you cease to struggle and start to live.

My day always starts with gratitude.  Gratitude for the planet, gratitude for the diversity of life forms and gratitude for the weather, the seasons and the lives of all those I hold dear to my heart.  I decided a long time ago that I could not manage my life the way it was going and so I decided that God could take over and I would stop trying to do everything myself.  In surrender came peace.  This does not mean that I did not retain my own inner independence, it merely meant that I consulted God before making a major decision and I listened to what my heart told me.  If the action I was going to do felt right then I did it, and if the action felt wrong then I did not.  In short I listened to what my heart told me.  Yes, I also use my head in transactions but the first feeling must be that it feels right in my heart.

When you start the day with gratitude for what you see, feel, hear, smell and can touch, you may notice that another sense opens up to you.  This sense I call your heart.  Your heart will not let you down as it knows the truth of who you are.  I am using the word "heart" but I do not really mean the physical organ inside your body that is busy keeping you alive.  I am speaking of consciousness.  An awareness on a spiritual level of who you are.  Your connection to all life.  The oneness and miracle of you.  When you connect to consciousness itself you cease to struggle and you start to feel the joy of the entire Universe which will work through you.  The miracle of this is that all it takes for this to happen is your desire to stop struggling.

Gentle Winds

Marilyn

Well it doesn't seem two minutes since I was writing to you about the Winter Solstice and here we are nearly at the Summer one. 

In spiritual terms there is a great deal going on in this unstoppable movement as more and more of us are aware that we are all connected and that what happens to others also happens to ourselves.  We are all connected and we are all one.  This does not mean that we are the same as each other, but we are one energy and are here in this incarnation for a reason.  We are all guided along our path and if we pay attention to the guidance that comes and recognize it for what it is, it is truly magical.  Not all of the guidance we receive is earth shattering, or one of those eureka moments.  Last week when I had just left home for work, I had forgotten to turn off the heating and as I turned into the next street, I noticed as I approached a house on the corner, that they too, had their heating on and I could see the steam rising from the flu.  This reminded me to turn back and switch off my own heating.  If I had not been living in awareness of everything around me, I would have missed seeing the steam.  As it was I had time to turn back home and switch off the heating, thereby saving energy and money. When you live in awareness of everything around you, you open yourself to the miracle of life and guidance.

A lot has been going on in this world of ours in this time.  There is the oil leak which is pumping massive amounts  of oil into the seas which is having detrimental effects on the fish and birds and animals.  It is having monumental effects on the people who are dependent on the seas for their livelihood.  We have seen a volcanic eruption in Iceland.  Financial troubles are still ongoing with more and more people losing their jobs and worried about their finances. All of this and so much more is leading to record amounts of stress in your life.  Stress may start out as a little worry but  when situations are not resolved quickly then the little worry soon turns to full blown stress. This is the time to be aware of our neighbour, friends and co-workers.  This is the time to be more patient and caring.  As more and more of us lead lives which are stressful and are not able to see an immediate solution, it takes patience to understand  that others are feeling the same.  This is when it is so important to be caring with ourselves and kind to others.

Gentle Winds

Marilyn

The Winter Solstice has passed and now gradually the hours of daylight will increase and even though the snow is thick on the ground, I find my thoughts turn naturally to looking forward to Spring.  I love this time of the year as I can wrap up warmly and go for long walks and look at the trees which are heavily laden with snow.  The birds are busy and I marvel at how they can find enough to eat when the ground is solid white.

We have had all the months of preparation for christmas and now the wrapping papers are all in the bins waiting to be uplifted.  All the food shopping is finished and all the food preparation has now been consumed and we are now on the first day of a brand New Year. Gosh how all these weeks have flown by and now it is time to get ready to go back to work after the holidays.  What are you going to do with this brand new year?  Is it going to be much the same as the old year or have you made your New Year's resolutions which you hope you will stick to until at least February?  Our planet is beautiful with wonderful plants and animals.  My New Year's resolution is to do what I can to work with conservation.  Even if this means going around with a bucket and picking up the litter from the beach it is something that I feel that I can do and have decided that this year I will play my part instead of being merely an observer.  What will you do?  Maybe cut back on the drinking or eating? Maybe there is a community project you wish to get involved with or even take time to develop your hobbies.

Remember the old question.  "What never comes?"  Answer. "Tomorrow"   So how about making today count for something special?

I wish all of you a joyful 2010. 

Gentle Winds

Marilyn

OK I will come right out and say it.  I have removed as an affiliate from my website James Arthur Ray and my reasons are as follows:

I have always enjoyed the books by James Arthur Ray and will stand by the reviews I have given to his books. However, the incident in Sedona should not be allowed to go by without mention.

Though not belonging to a religion, I have a profound respect for all religious organizations of whatever denomination.  Whichever denomination you pick you will find it takes years of study, practice, and devotion to perform a ceremony of worship.

 This tragedy should have been avoided.  You have all heard the expression “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” Well this appears to be the epitome of the expression.  These ceremonies are not for making money, they are not for fun, and they are not there as part of tick listing of things to do.  They are sacred, and holy. I will accept that many of the people attending his event were there for the right reason which is all the more reason why they deserved to be guided with gentleness and care.

Mr Ray did mention that he was grieving after the event and yes, he shed a tear when he attended his next event. However, he also said that he was not going to stop doing what he was doing, as it was too important.  He is also taking bookings for next year’s event.  Hmm.

I would like to extend my condolences and deepest sympathy to all who have been hurt by this senseless tragedy.

Gentle winds

Marilyn

Have you noticed how the Government appears to be taking on the role of our parent.  They are putting up the price of alcohol in shops, not because the cost of production has increased but in an attempt to curb the drinking habits of a minority of individuals who cannot control their own drinking. They are getting rid of the traditional light bulbs because they think that we are incapable of thinking of our planet and the CO2 emissions. The government will now do our thinking for us and get rid of the bulbs so that we have no choice but to buy what they tell us to.  Are we no longer capable of thinking for ourselves and taking responsibility for ourselves.  It would appear not. We get inundated by the same news all day so that we fully absorb what it is believed we should know.  We complain about our young people hanging about on the streets but there are no clubs for them to go to and the adults design the games aimed at young people which promote violence and then when they learn what they have been taught, they are told it is all their fault. What is wrong with teaching self discipline and personal responsibility. It would seem that a huge segment of society, young and old, are forgetting that they have a fundamental right to be able to think for themselves and to treat themselves with respect.  I am not saying that we should go back to some golden age which never really existed, but that nothing can be achieved without personal responsibility and an understanding that everything that we do has consequences.  It is time for our young people to be given the same freedom to enjoy themselves that we had by having somewhere to go which is safe and fun. It is time that we started to take responsibility for ourselves and our lives.  We are drifting into an era when the information we are given is exactly what others think is in our best interests.  Isn't it time we turned off the television and thought for ourselves what we want.  If you think this is where I tell you how good meditation is for you then you are right.  An ability to meditate gives you time to set out in clear terms what it is that you really want and it is also the time for you to work out your own values.  What decisions are you going to make for yourself this week?

Gentle winds

Marilyn

I have many visitors from all around this beautiful world of ours and I would like to make a special thank you to those of you who are from the United States of America.  I have been to Sedona and I fell in love with the Red Rocks. I have also flown over the Grand Canyon and enjoyed the peace and tranquility which uniquely reminded me of how little time we have in this life before it is time to leave and continue our adventures in the land above the stars. To all the people who greeted me so gently and so warmly I would like to give a special thank you. The courtesy and kindness of the people I met in Arizona and Colorado will live with me always.

To my visitors who come from Australia I would also like to say a very fond thank you.  I spent my early years in Adelaide and it will live in my heart forever.  There is something so very special about Australians.  You manage to live your lives your way and enjoy your lives to the full.  Thank you for visiting my site so often and for your kindness and love.

To all my other visitors I appreciate every one of you and I am grateful to you all for allowing me into your lives and for teaching me than I ever could get in books.

Gentle winds

Marilyn

As you have kindly visited my site I am presuming that you are looking for something different in your life. Perhaps you are seeing a new direction in your life and you are merely curious about the spiritual road which so many of us have taken. Perhaps you are tired of being told by society what to think, feel and do and are looking for a new way of life. Maybe you read The Secret and are wondering about all the discussions about affirmations and the Law of Attraction and wonder how to put all you have read into practice. It can be done, and yes, you can have the life that you have dreamt of but I am afraid that there is a certain amount of work which needs to be done on your part. To manifest anything, it is not just a matter of sitting back and repeating ten thousand times that you have x or y and suddenly everything drops into your lap. There are a couple of steps which you need to take and the first of these is to get crystal clear about you.  What do you stand for? Is honesty important to you? Is loyalty important to you? Is integrity important? First get a sheet of paper and list all the things which make up the very core of you. Put the list away for a couple of days and then go back to the list and read it over again.  Any amendments you need to make to your list you can make at this time. Then become very clear on what you want to achieve.  Maybe it is that new car, maybe it is a new house or job or new business. If it is a car what kind is it and what colour?  If it is a new house where would your new house be? A new job - where would it be and what would you be doing in it? A new business sounds great but define what kind of business it is going to be. OK, you have done all of that now the work really starts as I am now going to ask you to collect all the information you can on the car, house, job and business and start putting pictures of what you want all around the house. Think of them to the exclusion of all the normal day dreaming you do.  When you catch yourself merely day dreaming then I want you to consciously bring yourself back on track to your desires.  At the same time as you are doing this start noticing that life is changing around you.  Perhaps the model of the car you want has just passed you in traffic in the morning.  Perhaps you have picked up the newspaper and the property section falls on your lap and there is a house very similar to the one that you want, but maybe in the wrong neighbourhood to the one you want it to be in. This is the Universe telling you that it has listened to your request.  "Ask and it is Given" now it is your turn to listen and be prepared to act on your desires. The Universe will smooth the way for you to have the great life that you want to have but you are the one that has to act.  You may think that all of this manifestation stuff is only for the experts who have been doing it for a long time but remember they all were beginners once.  Now it is your turn and I do promise you that if you are ready to keep your eyes and ears open to all the signals that the Universe will send you then you will be able to have the life you dreamed of.  The one thing you must be focused on is what you want to achieve and why. But before all of this your foundation stones are the clear knowledge of what you stand for and what your core values are. Just as a house cannot be built without a foundation, so too you cannot build a new life without your core values being a foundation. Get that right and everything else will follow.

Gentle Winds

Marilyn

Imagine that you have just walked into a packed room of strangers and someone walks up to you and after introducing himself or herself to you starts asking you about yourself. Normally we give our name and then we start to give some background to ourselves. It may be that you are the wife, husband, partner of X or you may start with your job title or the fact that you work for company Y. As you are talking you will notice the person you are speaking to and observe their clothing, the type of watch they are wearing and even their shoes. Are they clean or have they seen better days? Are they expensive or cheap. You then notice their nails, they may be manicured or bitten to the quick. Is their hair clean or unkempt. These observances usually only take you at most three to five seconds but in that brief span of time everything that you need to know about whether you wish to continue talking to that person has been decided. After that decision has been made you either walk away or continue talking. The next inner dialogue you have with yourself is whether the person talking to you can help you in some way or not. If you are in the market to be helped and you figure the person can help you then you keep talking, if not, you then move on to someone more likely to fill your needs. While all of this is going on with you, the person you are talking to is doing it to you which may be uncomfortable for you to be aware of. We tend to think that we are special and everyone else is different and somehow does not reach our high opinions. The fact of the matter is that you cannot judge another person by what they say, what they wear, or what they look like but only by what is in their heart. In order to find what is in their heart you need to suspend all judgment and listen with your heart. Obviously this is harder at a party when it is not usually the time or the place for meaningful conversation but it can still be done if you make the decision before you go that you will listen with your heart. By not doing so you will miss wonderful relationships that are not based on appearance but on substance. Listen with your heart and your intuition and you may find that the person speaking to you is just the same as you. How you define yourself is often closely linked to how you define others. If you define yourself by salary that is what you will look for in others.  If you define yourself by position that is what you will look for in others.  If you define yourself as someone who does not judge others and only tries to  be the best that they can be then that too is what you will look for in others. How are you defining yourself today?

Gentle Winds

Marilyn

You are a Spiritual Being who is capable of creating the life you choose. You will have heard about the book "The Secret" and no doubt you will have seen the film but there is more to manifestation of abundance than just repeating a mantra and thinking that everything you want will land on your lap. The fact is that it won't. In order to gain the abundance that you seek you will need to act and work with the Universe to make it happen. First step is to know what you want. The second step is to act on that knowledge and put the wheels into motion of where you want to go. You may need to take a training course, get a qualification or whatever it takes to make your dreams come true. Then tell the Universe what you want and ask that all the people, situations and events come together to enable you to go forward. Do you remember the expression, "Ask and the door will be opened"? well it will happen but only if you ask. If you don't then how does the Universe know what you want. Remember to say thank you for all the good things that are coming your way because your life is just about to get a whole lot better. Work with the Universe and follow its Laws and you will find your life blossoming in ways that you could never imagine. My favourite song when I am troubled is "I believe" by Frankie Laine. It never fails to lift my spirits and remind me that no matter what is going on around me a tiny prayer will be heard and answered. Please remember that you are a creative being who is beloved and if you do one thing today for yourself then remember when you make a list of all your friends then put your own name at the very top. Also remember that everyone who comes into your life does so for a reason so when you meet someone new be open minded and warm hearted and realise that they are a fellow traveller in life and they are meeting you today to either teach you something or to learn from you.

Gentle Winds to you all

Marilyn

As you know I teach meditation, relaxation and spiritual development. I also teach psychometry to enable you to do your own readings and I give talks on manifestation and the laws of the Universe but I would like to know what you would like to learn in Spirituality. Is there something that you feel I am not covering which I should be. How can I help you as you walk your path through life. Are there courses which you really would like to see but you feel that you are not been catered for. Have you reached a plateau and feel that you are not progressing in your Spiritual development. Do you feel that a Spiritual Circle should be established on a regular basis in the Glasgow Scotland area. Unfortunately this blog does not allow for you to post directly to it but you can email me and give me your thoughts. Tell me what you want to see. I look forward to hearing from you.

I thought I would address an issue that appears to concern a few of you. Why would I offer relaxation classes and guided meditation classes? The answer is really simple. There are some of you who do not want meditation classes and would prefer to learn how to relax and not engage in meditation. You have told me that you fear the idea of meditation and would prefer to stick to the physical area of life and not venture into the Spiritual. So in giving you what you feel you need I offer both classes.

Relaxation classes will certainly relax the body and in some cases students fall asleep - now that is relaxation for you! The results of these classes is a letting go of tensions within the body and there is not the concern about the Spiritual levels.

Some of you prefer meditation where you not only relax your physical body but also relax your mind. In a meditative state you let go not only your physical aches and pains but also your mental ones. You hand over all your worries, needs and regrets to the Universal Power and allow the Light of Love to heal you inside and out.

When I work with you the choice will always be yours. Remember you are the one that is in control and it is my task merely to help you.