Mind over Matter

..........is what I used to think. Until one day I found myself with a lot of " matter", and said, I don't know if my mind can hurdle this one! When I was little, my brother Jimmy and I would sit on my bed and do these little things like, scratch ourselves until it hurt, because we both thought, hay, mind over matter, and the more we scratched, and thought, well, this SHOULD hurt, the more we sort of trained our minds to realize, well, it really doesn't if you just focus. Well our arms would be scratched up, but we would laugh and go, wow, that was very cool, and then find other things that we could overcome with our minds. I have trained my mind to do that in a lot of ways, and it is great, but sometimes, it can be a cop out. To avoid feeling things. It is easy to say, yea, that happened, and so lets go on, mind over matter. But the truth is, that thing, DID HAPPEN, and yes, you can see the "matter" and move on, but these days, I would like to process the "matter", and see what the heck it is. I really don't feel like skipping over any details at this point. The more details, the better. The more I get to know myself better, and the more I can truly get to the root of ANY matter. If I skip over any detail, I think I fool myself into believing that I really did take care of that "matter", or Wow, I really did see the Truth in that, or the beauty in that, whatever the case. I think the mind is a great tool, and can be used in the most intellegent ways, but I know too, that if you stick too close to it, it will make you "buy things you would never have thought of buying before."

I Will Never Question .......again....

....whether or not there are angels in our lives.

They show up as the least possible choice, at least one that we wouldn't "choose", and then you watch the glorious process of how perfect things happen and are put into our lives for a reason.

Sometimes you feel like you are carried, and some times it feels like you are in a pit of quicksand.

Well, while feeling like I was in quick sand, 4 amazing angels showed up, not even for me, but doing something else for someone.....and...... so the long story goes of God's incredible orchestration.

I will expound on this more, but for tonight, just know, wherever you are, whatever you are experiencing, look around. You may not even notice an angel if you tripped over one, because we are so caught up in the whirlwind of our lives, we miss out.

I think tonight, I was too tired to think too much, and wow, another whole story there......What a novel idea........PRACTICE NON THINKING.
PRACTICE NON THINKING..............

I'll go to bed with that thought, and the sheer gratitude for the workings of our Beloved Universe.

Thank you all for being such bright lights in my world, and for making me smile, and laugh throughout my days.

And thank you for the precious ones who make me feel safe, in an otherwise crazy, crazy world.

You have my heart.

Lovingly,
Gabriela

I Never Know........

Ya know, I never really know what it is that I am going to write every night that I sit here.

I wind down from my day, my dogs all sit beside me and I just look around for awhile, checking my surroundings out. Sifting through my thoughts, where I am at, what I took from my day, what I learned, how I laughed, who I came in contact with, who's smile or comments stuck with me.......all of it.

I could literally stay busy every moment of every day, and tell myself that I am not tired, but I have learned to turn OFF the switch, to give myself the time I need for me.
And this time, writing, is so sacred, so incredibly special to me.

It allows me to be real. Smile if I want to smile, cry if I want to cry, laugh, get mad, reflect, forgive, learn, grow, cherish, be grateful, start over, make peace, undo, practice, talk, listen, pray, meditate, question, and most importantly, LOVE. I get to love from places I never knew I could love. In ways I had no idea. Because love doesn't have a name or label for me. It comes out when it comes out, naturally. Not because it is my brother, or sister, or best friend.

Because if I am at a store, and for some reason, love beckons me, and I find myself in contact with a "STRANGER", and the smaller part of me says", Why are you giving this person so much of you time"?, I know, then, that there IS A SEPARATION between me and IT.

IT being the well inside, the source that knows no boundaries for love.

It is a very innocent place to be, but in today's world, I'm afraid, that innocence gets tainted. Tainted by people's view of love, and what they perceive that to be.
I could be in the most innocent and sacred place, and have no control over how he or she is taking my innocence.

It has been a fine line my whole life, and it also has been one of the most sad things for me. The idea that your views are misunderstood, is a huge bummer, for lack of better words.

But.....I say, GO ON LOVING....... IF.... (key word... IF...), you can separate yourself from an expectation that that same love, that innocent love, will be returned to you.
It may not! It may!

Can you not care if that love is returned or not?

It is a HUGE checking in, with yourself!

LOVE TO LOVE, not to expect someone to be something for you, or to give you the love you think you deserve.
LOVE, LOVE AND LOVE MORE, AND THEN LET GO.

Enjoy the feeling of giving, without receiving.

You may think you already do that.

Don't be so quick to think we've aced that one. It slips in there and fools ya sometimes.

It's OK. We are on a learning ground.

That one ain't easy my friends. It gets subtle, trust me.

But, do what you do naturally, and it will all get worked out.

God knows the purity of your intentions. The rest is all "correcting the homework".

You get two wrong, you study a bit to ace the test. You take it again, and you get one wrong.

Lucky enough, we have our whole lives to take the test over and over and over again, until we ace the test.

Hopefully, we stay interested enough, to want to make the grade!

~

Four Score and How Many Years Ago?

OK, so the reality is....... I am getting older! I don't even consider age, really, until my sister, jokingly prepares me for the next phase in my life. "Oh, wait till you hit..... say 35, or 40, or whatever age it is. I always laugh and say, DONNNNNTTTT DO THAT! We laugh, but truly, I think to myself, I don't want to have an idea about what is supposed to happen at what age. I do what I do, whatever that is, and if I can still bend, I'm good right? I still climb trees, I still skip down the road, I still sing out loud, and, yes, yesterday, is sat and blew bubbles with my dogs. They have peanut butter bubbles for dogs, FYI.

Four score and how many years ago, did we let ourselves wake up, alarm clock-less, jump out of bed and go see what cereal we had in the cabinet? Look outside to see if it was sunny, rainy, snowing or windy? Oh, and uh, not care! Truly, not care, because we were just happy to get up and see that there was a day before us.

Four score, I don't remember waking up to I-tunes programed to my speaker system, and grabbing my cell phone, before my eyes were even open, to see if I had any text messages, then to listen to my voice mails, and oh, real quick let me check my emails, but why go over to the computer when I can just do that right here at this one stop shop, in bed, my IPHONE.... Oh look, I have 92 emails.......let me answer them real quick and I might as well snap a picture of Fido lying here on the bed too, since Sally hasn't seen him yet, send that, then hurry downstairs because my latte should be done already. I programmed it for 10. Shoot, I'm late, oh god, someone is texting, where is my blue tooth, I can't drive without that...........

Four score.......... I woke up and smelled the Clorox sheets that Gramma hung out on the clothes line, at 6 am, after sitting in her rocking chair, in her room for an hour, quietly, doing her rosary. I would peek in there and just be in awe. She never knew I saw. It was the highlight of my day, although with her, there were a multitude of highlights. That just happened to be one of my favorites.
I'd sneak back into my room because I knew she would come in afterward and gently try to wake me up........I knew she would stare at me while I was sleeping, and I loved that. She was like an angel looking down on me. It felt awesome then, and thinking about it, gives me the same feeling.

We'd go downstairs and there on the table was corn flakes, a banana, hot instant Sanka, and Jewish rye bread and butter with homemade marmalade. A glass of milk, and her, next to me, just quiet.
The back door open, of course, because why wouldn't we spend the morning listening to the birds? Birds were our favorite, and she would just sit there while I ate, and listen intently to them, and what song they were singing because she would emulate it, and they would answer back to her. SHEER INTELLIGENCE TO ME THEN, AND SHEER INTELLIGENCE TO ME NOW.

Breakfast crumbs went to the driveway so the birds could dip it in the water and give to their young, and the rest to compost for the worms that we would go fishing with.

Everything was used, sour milk for sourdough bread, you name it.

Four score........LIFE WAS GRAND!

There actually was an intention to LISTEN to life, as it was, not as we created it, AS IT WAS. An intention to SEE LIFE, and what it had offered us, to FEEL IT, to get our hands in Mother earth and to actually feel what we walk on, what supports us daily..........TO SMELL........... the driveway garnished with Rose 'a Sharon......... sweet, sweet smells of flowers, the fresh cut grass with a push mower, no motor, no smelly stuff........

smell the rain............

and then maybe go for a walk later, get an ice-cream, tell some stories, come home, take a nap, wake up, cook together, check in on the news for an update, and spend time again...........quiet, acknowledging one another, actually seeing the person in front of you, without a cell phone, without a blue tooth on, without the stereo, the TV, the computer............. just quiet, and soul connecting.

Four Score and How Many Years Ago was that?

I don't care what the rest of the world is doing, or what I have learned along the way. What I do know is that as much as I/we have learned........... we can unlearn too! Let's get back to basics, simple stuff, that feeds our souls, and really connects us "wireless".
You'll "google" yourself outside of the "earth", but no map will be found. And no one to trace it. I promise you that!

Put down the gadgets, put your sneakers on, put your headsets down, go smell the rain tonight.!!

Look up, you'll be surprised what you might see, or not see.

I have a secret for you.

It isn't old fashioned to get to know yourself!!!

Whatever You Want........

.....whatever you want,
to hold close,
to you,
Hold now!

Feel IT,
Feel THEM,
whatever it is
whoever it is.

Even if they,
or IT,
is not there,
be with them
heart and soul!

Give your soul
100%
to loving the very thing
that is occupying your mind.

Release the outcome,
or any expectation,
and spill out all love
and affection you have
for that one thing.

I think in life,
that even if we don't have
what we want
in every moment,
we can practice loving
from a place that loves
no matter what,
for the pure sake of loving,
without a want in return.

Man,
to me,
that is ecstacy!

And....a
relief!

Go for loving without condition.

Just pour yourself into abandonment.
Abandon any idea of how to love,
when to love,
and who to love.

JUST.........LOVE.

ALL OF IT IS THE SAME!

I promise you. I promise you.

Venture out. Love the stranger,
like you love your own,

and your heart will expand in length.

It will be inexpressible.

Too Often....

"we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment,, or the smallest act of caring.

All of which have the potential to turn a life around."

Don't miss out on the goods!

Short and Sweet

EXPRESS,
DON'T SUPRESS!