You Don't Have to Sit Still

I just got back from meditation in downtown Zurich. This is a 2-hour Modern Day Meditation that's open to the public. Not all Miracle of Love meditations are open to the public, but they are on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month. We have a lot of guests at this meditation because, frankly, it's a kick-ass meditation. People like it.

Ways that the Modern Day Meditation is different than most other meditations:

• You get to meditate to music that rocks

• During the first part, you can dance, cry, scream, pace, or sit still

• You don't have to sit still

• You don't have to try to get rid of all your thoughts

• You learn to do what is called meditative thinking

This is the book about the Modern Day Meditation that Jim St. James wrote. It includes a CD of a guided meditation so you can teach yourself. You can buy the book on line at the Miracle of Love Bookstore. Or join us for meditations in Zurich.

Good night, sleep well.

Antidote to Fear

I will sit in a stuffy room instead of opening the window because I'm afraid bugs will fly in (no window screens in Switzerland) or I do my chores around the house because I'm afraid if I don't someone will criticize me or I choose my words carefully to explain something for fear that someone will notice that I'm angry.

Do you make decisions based on fear?

I don't think that making decisions based on fear is all bad, but I do think that making ALL decisions based on fear is bad. Fear shrinks us. When I'm afraid, I'm driven back into myself. I am turned away from liveliness, spontaneity, creativity and trust. Trust is lost and I feel that I can rely only on myself. Love makes us bigger. When I'm at my best, I am driven forward by a natural ability to love.

When you are in the course of your daily affairs, pay attention to see if you are coming from a place of love or a place of fear. And I will tell you, everything traces back to one of those two things. Fear is the driving force in this plane.** -- Jim St. James

Jim says to simply ask yourself if it is love or fear that is motivating you right now. All too often I would have to answer that for me it's fear. For a whole month I observed the ways that fear motivated me. I was shocked to realize that almost every decision I've made in my life has been based on fear.

Jim says that fear is the driving force in this plane. Why else would love be such a pleasant surprise when it happens? When I see someone on a crowded bus giving up their seat for an older person, I am touched. There are many acts of kindness I'm sure, but I am more sure that fear is the predominant factor in most behaviors I observe in others and in myself. Love is a cause one must fight for.

All I can do about this is change myself. The antidote to fear is trust: trust God, trust myself, trust the flow. Fear has its place, but if it is in the driver's seat, the car can't make much progress.

Love rises above everything. It is a risk worth taking. It is worth fighting for inside myself. That's why I'm on a spiritual path. That's why I'm glad I have a master who can point the way to Love.

Goodnight and thank you for listening.

** This quote is from a chapter in Kalindi's book, The Break-Free Message. (If this book is available, I highly recommend that you get it. Check on http://www.miracle.org.)

Perception & the Power of Choice

My mother is one of those people who never complains. She's had a stroke and has to walk with a three-pronged cane or, more often lately, ride in a wheelchair. She wears a black sling because she cannot use her right arm or hand (and she was right-handed). Before her stroke she and my step-dad would walk miles each day. They loved to travel. After the stroke they moved into an assisted living apartment. They don't travel now because it's just too hard for mom.

The point is, If anyone ever had reason to complain, it's my mom.

But Mom doesn't complain. If you ask her how she's doing, she says, "I'm doing just fine. How are you doing?" My step-father answers the same question with, "Well, we're still here." He has a pretty down to earth approach to things. But you won't hear complaints at all. Even when she has to take three tries to stand up and get going. I'm always a little suspicious that even if something were really wrong with Mom, she would not tell me about it.

I asked her once why she never complains. She wrinkled her brow, looked at me funny and said, "Who'd want to listen to that?" Like it was some kind of crazy question. I said, "Well, no one wants to listen to it, but that doesn't stop most people from complaining." She shrugged her shoulders and that was the end of it.

We switch now to Jim St. James for an explanation. Jim is a wise man. He's consulted with businesses through Clarity Consultants and he writes books and teaches for Miracle of Love. Kalindi calls him the teacher of teachers. He is starting a college where you can take classes in spiritual advancement. And he has something to say about being a victim (or not) and the role perception plays.

Jim wrote a chapter called "Perception is King," in a book of collected talks by Kalindi. I wanted to share one of the things he said in that chapter. I think it explains my mom's lack of complaints.

The trick is to not accept the premise -- to reject the premise flat out -- that you are a victim. You are in a world where almost everything is not in your control. However, every single shred of how you choose to perceive a situation is totally within your control. Nobody forces you to perceive anything other than what you decide to perceive.

My mom didn't choose to have a stroke, but she chose not to be a victim about it. I wish I took after my mom a little bit more. I often find a way to complain about the extraordinary life I have. Remembering that I am always choosing helps me be stronger. Choice is strength. When I feel like a victim, I have forgotten my own choice and am making believe I'm at the mercy of someone else's choices. This is simply not true.