Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Loving the Life You Live

Cynthia Sue LarsonSee Cynthia Sue Larson summarize this RealityShifters on YouTube video!
Loving the Life You Live

"It turns out that in the great celestial card game,
there's no such thing as a bad hand."
- Julie Bond Genovese

When my phone service went "on the fritz" during the second half of July, I was grateful for my many years of meditative practice. Rather than descending into a state of agitation, despair, frustration, or blame as I could not even hear a dial tone for days on end, I savored the unexpected gift of a stay-at-home sabbatical. Without the usual interruptions from phone calls or emails, I appreciated how I could better turn my attention to some projects I had long been meaning to work on, and others that required I make and take time away from phone and internet dialogue... and I had a wonderful time!

There's a lot to be said in favor of recognizing our opportunities to appreciate whatever comes our way. Like a good potluck dinner party, much of what we get out of life depends on what we bring to it. In terms of emotional satisfaction with our lives, our attitude has a good deal more to do with our ultimate success than any other factor. While a person with a negative attitude might give up or get caught up in endless cycles of trauma and drama, someone with a positive attitude can shrug off hardships and difficulties and consistently feel successful in life.

So what is the key to learning to love the lives we are living, even (perhaps especially) when so many things seem far from satisfactory? Recent research studies show that those who practcie the art of focusing their minds to find something to appreciate in whatever experiences and situations come their way are known as "resilient," and enjoy the benefits of reduced cortisol (the so-called "stress hormone"). A reduction in stress tends to ensure these people live happier, more prosperous lives than those who dwell on injustices. As a wise quote from A Course in Miracles states, "I am not the victim of the world I see." I love the gentle way this concept of releasing and letting go of a tendency to fall into the seemingly endless cycle of egocentrism in which a person feels victimized, and then either seeks someone to play the role of rescuer, or becomes aggressively self-protective. As author Melody Brooke points out, it is possible to transition from such unhealthy patterns to a Cycle of Compassion.

I read a wonderful book this month called, Nothing Short of Joy, from which I got the quote at the top of this month's ezine. The author of this book, Julie Bond Genovese, was born a genetic dwarf, which meant she faced a number of challenges in life in addition to all the usual ones. While Julie could at many points in her life become righteously angry, accusatory toward those who treated her unfairly, or escaped into any number of psychologically protective defenses, she instead found a way to find friends and family she could communicate her true feelings to in a way that helped everyone involved transform and grow from the experience.

time travel conference
I would truly love to see you at the 12th Annual International Language of Spirit Conference happening in Albuquerque, New Mexico August 15th through the 17th. I hope you can join the most interesting group of linguists, physicists and indigenous scholars I know at a conference devoted to the fascinating subject of time travel. I am looking forward to giving a talk on Listening to Future Selves, Reviewing Our Pasts, and hope to see you there!
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Would you like to view the video summary of this RealityShifters on YouTube? Feel free to check it out, as well as other video shorts summarizing other recent RealityShifters newsletters. Thanks so very much for being you, and for remembering to ask in every situation, "How good it can get?"
 

Cynthia Sue Larson
email Cynthia at cynthia@realityshifters.com