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the ticket machines

I was standing in a very long slow line at Grand Central Station a few weeks ago to buy a ticket on the Hudson Line. A not too shabby homeless man was working the line I was in. All of a sudden he pulled me away from what I was thinking as I heard him say to us, “Why are you all standing here? There are a bunch of ticket machines across from Gate 33, and you won’t have to wait long.” That made me think. I followed his advice and, although the line was long there it moved quickly, and before I knew it I had my ticket. I had passed those ticket machines countless number of times, and never saw them. Hmm! Where was I? www.grandcentralterminal.com

I owe that homeless man with the good advice.

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a bus ride

I don’t mind riding buses, actually, “don’t mind” is not good enough. I like riding buses. The experiences I’ve had on buses in other countries is part of the reason why. It’s relaxing to be on a bus for at least thirty minutes, especially in a small town. Simply following the scenery can put one in a meditative state. It’s one of the quiet moments of the day. When people are alone they tend to simply look out the window. I think many riders like the quiet moments on a bus before resuming the day’s activities. One bus driver had a passion for politics and spoke on this subject the entire trip. Traffic was light, the driver was knowledgeable and fair-not angry or opinionated. I know this is difficult to believe, it’s true though.

A lot of Mexican people travel by bus. They’re polite. In fact, I think they could teach a course on manners to many of us in the US. A lot of the time there are one or two people who use their cell phones incessantly. Everyone around them hears their most intimate thoughts expressed. It can be quite entertaining. The high-pitched voices of giggling teenage girls, and the teasing ways of teenage boys have to be accepted, unless, of course, things get out of hand. Rarely does that happen. To tolerate this, all you need to do is remember your own teenage life.

Yes, riding a bus can be entertaining and relaxing.

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on losing weight – “make life what you want it to be”

My heart goes out to anyone dealing with obesity. It can’t be easy. Could it be not easy because there’s too much information-too many books, too many “experts” with different opinions, too many magazine articles, too many family and friends giving advice, too many tv shows speaking about the big “problem” in America today. Too much junk food in the supermarkets. Too many chemicals added to foods.

How does one begin to shed pounds? Get information, perhaps at a bookstore or library. Prepare to stay until a book that feels right captures your attention. If one is suggested, be sure it feels right for you. It could take time to get the right information. Observe your body and be aware of the foods you eat. Are some foods causing allergies, e.g. soy, dairy, nuts, wheat? Feeling bloated or uncomfortable in any way after eating? What did you eat that’s causing it? Watch closely.

Let go of guilt. Let go of guilt. Let go of guilt. You need to put your energy into losing weight, not badgering yourself. No time frame needed either. It’s your life. It will take time to establish a new way of eating, and step-by-step learning is a way to be comfortable and confident and to understand how you want to go about losing the weight. Ask yourself how you became obese. Keep asking. The answers will come. Understanding will help keep the weight off. It’s a journey. People who are thin have no magic pill. For them, too, it’s a journey – eating the right foods and finding an exercise program that’s manageable. If one person has lost and maintained that weight loss, so can you. Once established in this new way there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy it.

Agree with yourself that carrying excess weight has been a burden, and you want to get rid of the burden. You can begin the weight loss while learning about the how of doing it, or learn and then proceed. Discover what the best way is for you. Talk only to people who support and uplift you in this endeavor, and people who make you laugh. Find ways to keep yourself laughing.

Begin a love affair with fruits and vegetables. You were hoping perhaps this sentence would take a different turn? Start experimenting with the many, simple, delicious ways there are of preparing fruits and vegetables. There’s a well-stocked health food store with friendly, knowledgeable employees, books, and a good selection of organic vegetables and fruits waiting for you. You just have to discover where it is.

No more embarrassment about having this excess weight. Simply learn what it will take for you to lose it. The old way of living needs to be abandoned until the new way takes root. That could mean spending time at the library or bookstore instead of watching TV, and, if taking courses is your style, do it to add to your knowledge. Learn what works for YOU.

Do it your way and be in control all the way. Others have succeeded. You can too. Don’t beat yourself up if you fall off the wagon. Get back on and keep getting back on until you don’t fall off anymore. No fuss. Understand that any new endeavor takes time to master. Some can do it more quickly than others. No comparing your progress with another. It’s not fair to you.

It’s not going to be easy. It does get easier as you go along. There are lots of things in this world that are not easy. People are diving right in and learning the how of whatever it is they’re trying to accomplish. All you need is a good enough reason for wanting to do this.

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” – Goethe

“Make Life What You Want It To Be” – on a poster at the library in Beacon

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winter’s coming

Hmm, I’ve mixed feelings when looking at the gorgeous foliage. It’s beautiful. There’s no denying it. The fallen leaves are a golden carpet on the ground. I passed a wooded area today, and the trees were decked out in a beautiful costume matching the golden carpet on the ground. And I see winter peeking behind the foliage.

You can always tell the ones who really enjoy cold weather. They say that they feel invigorated and they look dressed for summer no matter the temperature. They make me feel a bit warmer with their light clothing and, in passing them, I usually say to myself, “Look at that. What’s the matter with you?” And with all my might I try to like the cold. These people are my cold weather inspiration. They keep me on my toes. They give me food for thought.

I know there are endless ways to greet cold weather and keep the body warm – adding lots of cinnamon on steel cut oats, or other foods that marry well with cinnamon, as cinnamon is supposed to rev up circulation, and eating hot and spicy foods. Mexican delivery men ride bikes in very cold weather wearing light clothing. I’ve seen from restaurant experience that their intake of spicy foods “warms their innards.” As I thought more about this, I began to remember that as a child I wasn’t a cold-weather wimp. I’d roll in the snow with friends, clothes soaked, mittens so wet they could be wrung out. And there was ice skating on the bitterest of cold days, playing games like Whip with wind and face meeting. The word cold never mentioned til it was time to go inside and strip the wet, cold clothes from our bodies.

After all those years of frolicking in the cold and snow, whatever happened to me? Actually I think I know, and I don’t believe it has anything to do with age. I’ve met some old young people, and seen some young old people. I feel it’s this, in my childhood there was no weatherman on TV announcing the cold and telling us to bundle up because it’s mighty cold outside. We had no one whispering in our ears morning, noon and night. No stores crammed with “cold-weather gear.” Sure, we had clothes for winter, but nothing that would suggest we would freeze and needed to worry about the cold. This and similar reasons is what happened, I feel. I decided this year to do what we all did once up a time. Get dressed for a winter’s day, go outside and enjoy whatever kind of day it happens to be, no matter the temperature. It’s time for a shift in mind and not let the word cold have an impact. I’m not gonna let it happen anymore. Winter, I’m waiting for yer.

In the sky there is no east nor west.
We make those distinctions in the mind,
then believe them to be true.

Everything in the world comes from the
mind, like objects appearing from the
sleeve of a magician.

-Buddha, Lankavatara Sutra

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a late night caller

She had married for the first time in her forties to a man she loved. He died when she was in her fifties. She had lived in the same town, a small, quiet New England town, all her life. The job she’d had for so long no longer satisfied her.

Late one night when heavy rains pounded at her house she found herself in a deep state of unhappiness. She’d been sitting with her unhappiness for some time unable to shake it or to even think of her next step when suddenly a name popped into her mind. She’d gotten the name from someone awhile ago, but never followed up on a call. The name belonged to a highly-recommended counselor. As if in a trance she looked for the number and found herself making a phone call. Had she been in her usual state, and had put more thought into making the call, it never would have happened since it was past midnight. Luckily she wasn’t in her usual state. Althought it was late the woman answered her phone and agreed to see the caller. It would be another hour or so for the caller to get to the counselor’s house since she lived in another city. It was all right the counselor had said. “Come.”

They met on that stormy night and the caller’s life was forever changed. This is all she told me when I first met her in New Mexico. I’ve no idea what was said in the wee hours of that stormy morning. I think she has no desire to relive that part of her life, but whatever it was it was like a healing pill for the unhappy caller. From the east coast to the west coast the caller traveled. An interesting step since she’d never traveled any where except in her own home state before this time. At the time I was fortunate enough to meet the caller she had gotten her college and master’s degrees and went from pastoral training right into the ministry. Of course, it wasn’t an easy road. Did she mind? It doesn’t seem that way. And I don’t think she knows what the word unhappy means anymore.

I marvel at what was set in motion because a compassionate counselor answered a phone call late one night and said, “come.”

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healing

What is cancer all about? I’ve been closely following the journey of discovery with a special person who was told she has cancer. Is it a “psychological disease” as a friend recently said after spending weeks researching, studying treatments and speaking to people. And what exactly does “psychological disease” imply?

There’s so much information about cancer. When the research began, we knew nothing about cancer treatments, or about the disease. And discovered that at times oncologists are not in agreement with other oncologists regarding treatment, and people”s experiences with the same type of cancer are different. That can be a good thing because you begin to feel that you don’t need to box yourself in if you have different ideas about treatments. What would happen if my friend would let go and allow herself to be utterly free – nothing – no thing holding her, restricting her in any way, free to choose.

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the master cleanser

If you’re one of those people who feel timid when anyone talks about the human body, particularly about detoxifying it, you probably won’t want to read this. Before you click off though, remember we’re all in this together; we basically have the same system, and if yours needs an overhaul, you might want to stay with me for just a bit. I’ve known about the Master Cleanser for awhile. I began reading books on how to detoxify the body, dipped into colonics when I took a course in Florida, and into detoxifying at OHI in the San Diego area. And the little book, The Master Cleanser, stayed steadily on my shelf waiting for the right moment when it would have its chance to be recognized.

Now I’m remembering that little book. Let’s imagine spending from ten to forty (yes, 40, if that’s what you want) days on a simple program that will leave you with a clearer mind, more energy, aches and pains gone, and an overall feeling of exhileration upon completion. Yes, I’ve heard about the extraordinary benefits of The Master Cleanser, and still it remains just that – hearing about it. That’s not good enough anymore. If you’re still with me, you’ll need your little book, The Master Cleanser, and you’ll want to read it carefully. Then you’ll need a big supply of organic lemons, cayenne pepper, grade B maple syrup and filtered water. www.optimumhealth.org
www.mastercleanser.com

Are you in?

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brother sun sister moon

I have a quest; I’m not exactly sure what it is. But I feel it’s evolving-slowly. Sometimes Life’s like that. It takes its time. It’s been said that the process is a vital part of the destination, sometimes more so. That being the case, I’m looking for clues suggesting that’s what’s happening.

I saw a beautiful movie “brother sun sister moon” which had an impact on me. Why? That’s what I want to know. Why? I saw it twice. There was no hidden message; it was right up front. When a story grips you, you want to know what’s going on within. The acting, the story, the scenery, the directing by Franco Zeffirelli was superb. The story’s about St. Francis of Assisi, the son of a wealthy merchant, who decided the life his father wanted for him was not what he wanted. Many people lately are saying they long for a different way of life. So although the message is an old one, it’s still a timely one.

It seems that more and more people are talking about how busy they are, and how tired they are. It’s all true. They look busy and seem tired. What are we doing that makes us so busy? Busy because we don’t know how to stop the roller coaster we’re on? Busy because we can’t say that tiny, wonderful, valuable-to-our-sanity little word,-no? Busy because we’re afraid to be alone? Busy because we need more money to buy more stuff? To be busy and tired most of the time is draining, and leaves people around us depleted too. Of course to be happily busy is an entirely different matter. And all the more power to us when we get up in the morning with a song in our heart because we love what we’re doing, and are bringing good energy to ourselves and our world. This quest of mine-could it be to create a happier, simpler way of life?

“If you want to live life free, take your time go slowly.” – brother sun sister moon
(sing it)

“If the purpose of life is this loveless toil we fill our days with then it’s not for me. There must be something better. There has to be. Man is a spirit; he has a soul, and that, that is what I want to recapture – my soul.” -brother sun sister moon

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magnesium? maybe. . .

I wasn’t looking for any information on magnesium when first it came in the form of an article in Vol.9 Issue 1 of Namaste Magazine called “The Miracle of Magnesium” written by Dr. Carolyn Dean (www.carolyndean.com). And then in “Naked Chocolate” written by David Wolfe and Shazzie. The pages of this book simply opened to the chapter on magnesium after I lifted it from the bookstore’s shelf. This twice in a short span of time means it’s time to listen. www.namastepublishing.co.uk www.carolyndean.com

Dr. Carolyn Dean states, “The only contraindications to magnesium are caused in people with outright kidney failure, bowel obstruction, Myasthenia gravis, or heart block.” She went on to write, “Magnesium deficiency triggers or causes the following conditions Anxiety and Panic attacks, Asthma, Blood clots, Bowel disease, Cystitis, Depression, Detoxification, Diabetes, Fatigue, Heart disease, Hypertension, Hypoglycemia, Insomnia, Kidney disease, Liver disease, Migraine, Masculoskeletal conditions, Nerve problems, Osteoporosis, Raynaud’s syndroms, Tooth decay, Obstetrics and Gynecology.” And she explained, in a little more detail, magnesium’s role in the the above-mentioned.

“Naked Chocolate” -so nice to read-will impress you with the amount of research that went into its writing, and, it could be, that all chocoholics will agree that the recipes are to die for. (Not that I particularly like that expression, but it works). The importance of magnesium, can’t forget about magnesium, is carefully explained in this book. www.sunfood.com

Got to do more research because this vitamin, mineral, nutrition stuff-can get complicated. And if those tablets in the bottle are not up to snuff, then not only are they worthless, they can be harmful, too.

If you want to know all about chocolate, “Naked Chocolate” is a wonderful surprise and a great way to rev up your nutrition. Don’t believe me? You’ll understand when you read it.

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our world

Sometimes I’m at a loss, for brief moments, as to what and how to think about our world. I understand that it’s a spectacular world. However, so much is happening all over at any given time, and much is said and written about it, that it’s nice to simply draw a blank some of the time, and think about absolutely nothing. Or simplify and think only of the things that are pleasing for as long as we need in order to relax enough to enjoy and appreciate the world we live in. For although there are lots of heavy-duty things going on; there are also wonderful happenings that could make our hearts sing. And unless we stop and see the good and appreciate it, most likely we’ll miss it. And that would be unfortunate.

“When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.” -Rochefoucauld, French philosopher

“Don’t hurry, don’t worry. You’re only here for a short visit.” – anonymous