De-Brine Your Mind, Part 4

     Kevin Anderson, in the March-April edition of Spirituality and Health, wrote in his article, "How to Soak in Divine Brine," that an effective way to combat the daily soaking of negativity we receive is with some divinely-inspired quotes.

     Are you plagued by fear?  Try these ideas:

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.  (Leo Buscaglia)

Fear is the cheapest room in the house.  I would like to see you living in better conditions.  (Hafiz)

     Are you having issues with your relationship?  How about these:

Love find its soul in feelings of incompleteness, impossibility, and imperfection.  (Thomas Moore)

You may call God love, you may call God goodness.  But the best name for God is compassion.  (Meister Eckhart)

     Feeling better?

 

 

 

 

De-Brine Your Mind, Part 3

     In the March-April edition of Spirituality and Health, Kevin Anderson writes that one way to combat the brine of constant negativity that we soak in daily is to think more positive thoughts.  Based on different issues that you might struggle with, he offers a series of pithy quotes.  Here is another sampling:

     If your issue is that you feel you cannot go fast enough, do enough, or have enough time, try these on for size:

A mind that is fast is sick.  A mind that is slow is sound.  A mind that is still is divine.  (Meher Baba)

What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action.  (Meister Eckhart) 

      What if you struggle with shame?  Try these:

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls, the most massive characters are seared with scars.  (Kahlil Gibran)

I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing Light of your own being.  (Hafiz) 

     Beautiful, no?

De-Brine Your Mind, Part 2

     In the March-April edition of Spirituality and Health, Kevin Anderson offers a series of helpful and healthful quotes for combatting the constant barrage of negativity that we are soaked in every day. 

     Say you are feeling unhappy, fill your mind with these thoughts:

Happiness is a byproduct of an effort to make someone else happy.  (Gretta Brooker Palmer)

It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, but it is not possible to find it elsewhere.  (Agnes Repplier)

     What if you struggle with materialism?  Try these on for size:

Trying to satisfy one's desires with possessions is like trying to put out fire with straw.  (Confucius)

Attachment brings manifold miseries, non-attachment brings manifold bliss.  (Sivananda Saraswati) 

     Happy de-brining!
    

 

 

De-Brine Your Mind

     In the March-April edition of Spirituality and Health, there is an interesting article by Kevin Anderson called "How to Soak in Divine Brine."  (If you would like to learn more, here is the link to the magazine).

     In the article, Anderson says that the reason we feel we are so messed up sometimes is because of our environment:  we're pickled because we are constantly soaking in really messed-up brine.  Think of the 24-hour news cycle with its barrage of negativity and fear, the constant friction between pragmatists and ideologues (example:  Have you ever wondered if "ideologue" and "idiot" have a common root word?), the partisanship and corruption in government, wars around the world, economic inequality, pollution and overpopulation . . . Do you feel pickled yet?

     Well, Mr. Anderson argues that the best way to de-brine your mind is to fill it with healthy antidotes.  He offers pithy quotes based on the specific issue you are struggling with.  Here's an example:

     If you struggle with low self-esteem, try these thoughts on for size:

Between God and the soul there is no between.  (Julian of Norwich)

          See the Supreme in the body, see the Supreme in the mind.  (Yogaswami)

     We'll have more de-brining antidotes next time. 

Happy Spring Equinox

It's a time of balance --

Of light and darkness,

Of male and female,

Of dreaming and doing,

Of being and non-being.

 

May you be blessed with balance.

 

(photo courtesy of Pixabay.com)

Are Geminis Empathic, Part 2

     In the last post, I was trying to answer the question of whether people born under the sign of Gemini are natural empaths.  To me, a person who really isn't all that into astrology, that's like asking whether Geminis are all left-handed or brown-eyed. 

     What's more, I find that when I look at astrology descriptions, I can find aspects of my personality in practically any sign.  I'm creative and generous (Leo), impatient (Aries), intuitive (Cancer and Pisces), sometimes secretive (Scorpio), intellectual (Aquarius), perfectionist (Virgo), and, oh, so modest (Virgo).  Believe it or not, I was born under none of those signs.  So, to say that one person fits only one sign doesn't make sense to me.

     What makes more sense is to view the gift (or curse) of empathy as something that is developed over many lifetimes.  Or, it could be triggered by some early life events in which the child needs to be able to "sense" the safety of his or her environment.  Either way, I think being an empath has little to do with one's astrological sign.

     Feel free to disagree.  I can be, at times, very easygoing (Libra). 

Are Geminis Empathic?

     Before I give my opinion about this question, I first need to provide a disclaimer.  I'm not all that into astrology.  I don't know why.  Maybe it's my scientific bent, or the fact that I didn't grow up with it; still, it's just not my thing.  Now you know.

     Still, the question of whether people born under the sign of Gemini are naturally empathic is an interesting one.  I mean, it makes sense, since Gemini people are under the sign of twins who were torn apart and then reunited.  It would seem that the surviving twin would naturally have their third-eye searchlight on. 

     But let's go back to the original myth of the Gemini twins.  In the Greek version, the Gemini twins were actually two sets:  Castor and Pollux were boys and Helen (later of Troy) and Clytaemnestra were girls.  Both Pollux and Helen were children of Zeus and were demigods.  Of course, we usually hear of the boy twins and how they were inseparable.  When Castor was killed in battle, Pollux mourned deeply. Pollux asked his father Zeus to return his brother to him.  Since this was not possible, Pollux ascended into the heavens to join his brother and ever since then the twins have been together. 

     According to the wonderful book, Mythic Astrology: Internalizing the Planetary Powers by Ariel Guttman and Kenneth Johnson, this myth not only symbolizes the need to balance the male and female aspects of our personality but also the mortal and eternal.  The book goes on to describe how the Gemini constellation appears to other cultures and the lessons to be learned there.  If you're interested, please refer to the book.  It's a good one.

    But are Geminis naturally empathic?  More to come.