Monday, October 29, 2012

13 Books to Read 2013 - draft

Time to plan next year's reading list. Reading is about progress, not perfection.

  1. Come, Thief: Poems • Jane Hirshfield
  2. Paths to God: Living the Bhagavad Gita • Ram Dass
  3. Everyday Zen: Love and Work • Charlotte Joko Beck
  4. Nothing Special: Living Zen • Charlotte Joko Beck
  5. Beyond Happiness: The Zen Way to True Contentment • Ezra Bayda
  6. A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life • Jack Kornfield
  7. Smile at Fear: Awakening the True Heart of Bravery • Chogyam Trungpa
  8. Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism • Chogyam Trungpa
  9. A Year to Live • Stephen Levine

Monday, October 22, 2012

We Are Powerful Beyond Measure

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
- Marianne Williamson

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Change

Someone I cared about told me something about myself a few months ago. She told me, if only I was the person I write about, and she told me I had a lot of potential. Potential, but somehow not yet met.

 It was one of those things that dropped like a stone in your stomach. Deep down inside I have always felt like I wasn't fulfilling my full potential. I talk a lot, I complain a lot - but it always seem hard to put things into action. So much fear within me. So afraid of failing, that I don't even try, or make excuses. 

And it had to come from her. They say some people come into your life for a reason. I would hate it if she came into my life just to say this to me.

Another friend reminded me yesterday that we are close to the end of the year. It is time for introspection. My mind has been foggy these last few years. I need some quiet space to think. I have been putting some things in place the last few months, trying to change things for myself. My life feels like a major detoxification exercise, and I am going through major withdrawal symptoms.

I surrender. Help me through this.