Do It Now : Personal Growth

Freedom from Depression

One very practical reason to try to remain centred and fully in the present moment is that it helps against depression. Behind all depression is an overwhelming sense of hopelessness...of feeling that you have no control over your life, your experience or the world around you.

Aside from those few cases of genuine chemical imbalance in the brain, depression generally results from a combination of two things: past feelings of helplessness plus the expectation of helplessness in the future. Somewhere in the past, we learned that we cannot influence the world around us, and we forsee a future in which we still will not be able to influence the world.

On the other hand, when we are centred in the present moment, we let go of both the past and the future, and for that while, we are therefore free of the sources of our depression.

The only thing to hold you back then is your own belief in depression.   If you believe you are doomed to depression no matter what, your belief will come true.

So if you suffer from depression, mild or severe, give being in the NOW a try. It's not hard, but it does require a definite shift in your thinking.  Even if just for a few moments, allow yourself to let go of all that you believe about yourself and the world, to empty your mind of thoughts, and just observe.

In those few moments, the veil that separates your surface mind from the deep calm mind that is really you will become thinner, and you may glimpse what lies beyond it. After even a few tries, you may begin to recognise that there is no veil other than your own thoughts and beliefs.

You have taken your first steps out of helplessness and despair
and into an awareness of your own immense power to create your life.

No anti-depressant can give you this power or this freedom. Never. In fact, a study conducted by several universities concluded that anti-depressants had no noticeable benefit except in the most extreme cases of depression. And according to the Vice President of The Swedish Psychiatric Association and other mental health experts, anti-depressants make most people even more depressed, and have been known to trigger suicidal thoughts.

Don't you think that being fully in the present, with no thought of the past or future, is worth a try?
I know what I'm talking about, because it is what finally lifted me out of a four year depression, long before Eckhart Tolle wrote his book on the power of now.

Have faith. Let go of doubt and fear. Be fully in whatever you are doing: breathing, walking, washing the dishes...no matter. For a while, be an observer and form no opinions about anything. There is nothing else you have to do.

Tosca

Arts and crafts web sites to see

Here's a bit about my daughters. Aside from being loving, good people who make my life a constant joy and excitement, they are also ...well, you can see for yourselves.

Here are their web addresses in case you have a peek:

http://nzkatportraitart.mosaicglobe.com/
http://zinawright.typepad.com/messyart/

cheers 

Tosca

Remember the Higher Self that is YOU

After a slow start, autumn seems to have finally made up its mind, giving the Gold Coast where I live its first cold day of the year. My friend Kirsten and I welcomed it at my favourite cafe, watching seaspray fly off the tops of wild grey-green waves as they collapsed beneath the rainy sky.

Have I mentioned before that I find spring and autumn the most glorious times of the year? Everything seems to go a little mad, even the weather, and something stirs within, making me more restless than usual,

I turned 61 a few days ago, and have been giving a lot of thought to where I am in life, and where I want to be. I write lists. I seek just the right wording because I have learned from experience that weakly defined messages are often misinterpreted. And I ask to remember the dreams that will help to guide me.

At this moment, everything seems possible. My veins run with electric energy, and I feel the energy of the universe whirling around me. We are so much more than we dare to know. We have within us everything we could ever want or need, if we could only have the courage to trust it. I know this as surely as I know that I am alive. Right now, while my mind is open and unafraid, I have absolute faith in myself and in you, each one of you. And I write it down so that when my mind starts to fall back into its false world of limitations, I will be reminded, and not fall so far.

This is the key to my daily spiritual practice: to remind myself every day that I am not this body and this ego, but something far greater, something that does not fade or change because it is what I truly am, and I share that magnificence with every other being.  Sometimes, I am able to re-experience that greater state of being, sometimes not. But having experienced it now and then, I know that it is always there, always available to me. As it is to you.

Join me and refuse to settle for the small image of yourself that you KNOW does not do justice to what you really are. 

 

At Home with Eckhart Tolle

For all its challenges, the internet is a wonderful thing because on it, I can see and hear a great teacher, Eckhart Tolle. I couldn't afford to attend any of his event held in Australia this month, but I can hear bits of his talks, which are so full of deep, quiet wisdom.

If you'd like to hear Eckhart Tolle speak, albeit in very disjointed video excerpts, go to http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=tolle&aq=f  They've got an assortment of excerpts. Just be patient with the continual jumps and starts, and listen for the message.

OK. Now back to hear more. I love watching the man. Kind of elfish with a quirky humour, and you can see him move in and out of the deep inner stillness of which he speaks.

But  be sure to listen to the message.

Tosca

Just being YOU

Why do we find it so hard to accept that we are complete and worthwhile just as we are?

Take a moment to look outside at a tree. Do you look at that tree and blame it for how it looks, for being a tree and not, say...a flower, or a bird? Do you see that tree as inadequate, incomplete, unworthy? Does it have to prove itself to you?

No. You just accept the tree for what it is. And whatever pleasure you derive from that tree comes from you. The tree just is.

Can you look at yourself with the same complete acceptance? Can you look at yourself without judgment, without blame, without feeling you must prove anything to anyone...to yourself?

Can you just allow yourself to be you, and be pleased with that?

Do you think the tree cares one whit about its purpose in life? Do you think it feels inferior if the next tree gets more birds, or provides more shade?

Can you stop worrying about your purpose in life, stop comparing yourself to others whom you see as more enlightened ...more successful...kinder...more popular ...etc?

Can you wholeheartedly accept that your life has meaning and purpose, and that you fulfil it simply by being just who you are? 

Can you choose to trust that when you are yourself, without judging yourself or others, you light up the world with your radiance, and shed blessings upon all who are near you? Even if you don't know it?

Think about it.

Tosca

Angels, Faeries and Devis

I'm still thinking about the unseen friends that surround us, something I have not given much thought to for a long time. So many people are very uncomfortable talking, even thinking about such things, and I learned as a child to keep my experiences to myself. I even came to doubt them.

No wonder, though. Movies and literature have created something evil out of what is fundamentally good and true, turning angels into demons, and the caring souls that continually support us into ghosts and fearful things. In our fear of our true spiritual nature and our addiction to the world of the senses, we have created an otherworld of enemies: vampires, demons, and angry, mean spirited spirits. We project all that we fear in ourselves outward, onto figments of thought...figments (ie they have no reality other than our belief in them).

Angels, devis (nature spirits), spirit guides or whatever else we call the entities of the spirit world that support and guide us, are real. Their one message is a message of love, and they whisper it to us constantly, waiting for us to listen and let love guide us.

I wish we would talk about these things, if only to keep in mind the wonders around us. So, I will tell you about another experience.

I was walking with my friend Cheryl near the woods one time when our children were very young. We were chatting, as we always did, when we noticed that two of the children were not with us. We called, and they did not appear. As we went off to look for them in different directions, the other children in tow, I became very anxious, and was close to tears of panic, calling out for the missing children.

Someone said softly but seriously, 'Why are you afraid? Don't you know that we are watching over them?' I looked and saw two softly glowing beings, walking lightly over a nearby rocky stream. They did not otherwise acknowledge me, but melted into the sunlight and shadows of the stream and trees. A minute or two later, the children came out from among the trees, smiling.

I'm not sure if I told Cheryl about the visitation. I was trying to make sense of it. Were they angels? But they had seemed so totally part of the landscape that I knew they belonged there.

Call them what you will....faerie, nature spirits, devis, whatever...nature spirits are part of every cultural mythology. Somewhere in our unconscious, we know they are there. When we are out in the wild, even the most disbelieving of us often feel that we are being watched.

If we are fearful, we will feel ourselves watched by dangerous eyes. If we trust in love, we can feel their loving companionship. 

Perhaps you have felt it sometime, and never quite put it into words...until now.....

Not exactly a nature spirit, but close enough I suppose.
Maybe I'll try a devi or two next time. Talk to you later. Tosca

Have you or someone you know seen ghosts or spirits?

Just how common are these visitations, anyway?

From conversations and personal experience over the years, I suspect they're much more common than we realise. Not everyone actually sees a spirit, though. Sometimes, the feeling of one around is very convincing. Or the smell of a particular person might suddenly alert you to their presence.

My experiences are mostly with voices...so loud and clear that I start looking for who might have spoken...not someone I know, but a force that has definite advice for me.

Once when I was struggling with health problems, I heard a voice say, quite clearly, "Eat your greens". I thought it might be the radio, but that was off, so I shrugged it off as an illusion. Moments later, the voice came even stronger, "Eat your greens!"

Now I'm talking to myself, I thought, but shrugged it off again, and went about my business.

The voice spoke again, this time forcefully, and, I thought, with a little irritation:

"EAT YOUR GREENS!!"

Alright, I replied. I hear you. I got the message.

And I've eaten lots of greens ever since.

What about all you out there? 

Talk to me. Tosca

Seeing Ghosts and Spirits

What's going on? In the last week, I've had five different people tell me they or someone close have seen a spirit. A few are convinced their homes are haunted, and others think they've seen someone who recently passed away. But I don't believe in coincidence, and am wondering why so many spirit visitations among my fairly small circle of friends and their families?

Perhaps as we are becoming more spiritually aware and open minded, the veil between the world of matter and the world of spirit grows thinner. Perhaps, as some believe, we are receiving more direct guidance or help from higher powers to further our spiritual evolution. Perhaps we are so lost in our illusions that we must be reminded that we are part of something more than our bodies and our temporary personalities.

I know that even the idea of spirits terrifies many of us. We associate them with ghosts in scary movies, malicious entities out to cause harm. But I find it quite reassuring to know that we are never alone. Perhaps that's the message here.  Who knows?  something to think about

My first talk at toastmasters

Do you ever hear yourself say something. and wonder where it came from? Well, that's what happened at my very first toastmasters meeting last night. I was unexpectedly called on to talk, and out of my mouth flew the most unlikely (for me) of responses. I talked about sex.

A fun part of a toastmasters meeting is called table topics. A person asks different people to give an impromptu short talk on a specific topic. I was asked to give a talk (60-90 seconds) on my terrific business idea. Well, anyone who knows me knows that I don't have terrific business ideas... but I love a challenge so I walked to the podium thinking frantically.

And I hear myself declare to this group of virtual strangers that I intend to open a sex business with my friend Kirsten. She'll give sexual counselling and I'll run the business.

They laughed...so there was no stopping me, and we had a very jolly minute or so.

What's really great about letting go is that it can break down barriers. Perhaps because you are just being yourself, others recognise you, not your public image, but you, and feel safe being themselves. I had several warm, frank chats that evening, after the meeting ended...not about sex, thank goodness.

Good start, Tosca

 

Your Own Place of Peace

You want to get in touch with your inner wisdom and grow trust and peace within yourself, but the outside world won't leave you alone. You want to meditate, or focus your thoughts on healing, or to take a break from the stresses of the day, yet you can't seem to enter into a place of peace.

Sometimes, your own place of peace is already there, just waiting to be recognised.

When I wrote a few days ago about appreciating the beaches near me, I was tucked away in my little home, my eyes on my computer, the ocean a whole 10 minutes away. I was writing of something that I remembered from 'out there'.

Today, I am writing about this moment...NOW...this beach...this shoreline...the rise and fall of these waves that  glitter and glow before me. I am right now in my favourite place of peace. I feel safe, loved, content, and infinitely peaceful.

No matter what has been happening in my day, when I come here, I shed my stresses and live just in this moment. I alternate between my machiatto (my coffee indulgence) and my berry soy smoothie made with fresh rocket, and watch the waves breathing on the ocean, breaking in white froth on the shore. I feel the soft breeze, and smell the faint clean aroma of ocean mixed with the denser aroma of coffee. My book lies unopened beside my red-framed glasses, and my heart flip flops with joy.

This is my place of peace....and I can carry it with me wherever I go. The memory of it may not be as sharp and bright as the actual experience, but it is enough to give me a safe haven, a quiet sanctuary from the outer world where I can focus entirely on my thoughts or let go of thoughts altogether.

My other inner haven is a childhood memory of floating on a calm sea at Rosebud, Victoria. I was near a boat, the water was like glass even far from shore, and so clean that I could see every grain of sand beneath it. I floated on my back for a long time, gently rocking, and feeling totally safe in the embrace of the soft aquamarine sea and the sunshine. I still go there in my mind, especially when I am distressed or anxious, and in need of calm.

For my seven year old grandson naturalist-in-the-making Entoni, his place of total peace is the memory of being outdoors in the twilight searching for frogs. It always brings a smile to his face, and he can drift off on that memory no matter where he is.

Where can you go when your mind is troubled to let go of it all? What inner place of peace can you draw upon whenever you need to? Whether it's imaginary or real, make it real to you. If you'd like to share it, please do so. You may inspire others to find their own.