The Secret of Life is Enjoying the Passage of Time

 

 

More than forty years ago, James Taylor recorded a song with this refrain: "The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time."  This musical lyric has been playing in my head all month, and I believe it to be true.  As the words have been percolating deeply into my psyche, I find myself relaxing into greater and greater levels of contentment and an underlying sense of joy.  

Allow me to digress for a moment into the physiological anatomy behind all of this.  The autonomic nervous system of our bodies is comprised of two basic parts, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems.  

The sympathetic nervous system is our 'fight or flight' mode and it is our common response to stress.  This is where we are all charged up, our heart rate increases and our kidneys release adrenaline.   When our sympathetic nervous system is engaged, we are on our guard and ready to go, full speed ahead.

The parasympathetic nervous system is our 'rest and digest' mode. Here our bodies can tend to housekeeping and maintenance.  We are relaxed, our heart rate slows and we are at ease and can undergo repair.  Too often in modern life, this aspect of our beingness is over-ridden by stress and the cares and concerns of the day, leaving us in an unbalanced state.

For a healthy nervous system it is best if we allow both these modes of being to occur, perhaps giving a little more time to our parasympathetic mode, in order to even out the balance.  When we take the time to pet the dog, cuddle the cat, smell the roses or gaze up into the blue sky, even if just for a few moments, we are tipping the scales more toward that balance. 

It is worth our while to note that our internal mental climate is so often controlled by habit.  We do have choices.  And sadly, we sometimes choose to develop habits of being self-critical, or routinely pessimistic, or even being easily offended.  These types of thought habits put us in that 'fight or flight' mode.  Should we choose instead, (using our will and consciously directing our attention,) to notice what is beautiful, right and good around us, we shift our energy into a calmer more relaxed way of being.  And this is not only a healthier way to be, but is also a much more enjoyable way to spend time.  All it takes is a little self-observation and a tiny bit of conscious effort.

Now, I'm not saying that we should ignore the world's suffering.  Our advocacy on behalf of what we believe is right and good in the world can be a passionate and very positive use of our sympathetic nervous system.  There is a time and a place to vehemently defend what we believe in.  But I feel that it is best if we don't allow it to habitually completely consume our light.  We can also have gratitude and give ourselves time to remember and enjoy the beauty that we may have been fighting for.

A great healer and a friend of mine recently told me some profound wisdom and I typed out on a piece of paper.  

He called it "The A,B,C's."  

"A" is for Awareness.  (Be) Aware that I have choices.  

"B" is for Breathe, Better.  When we Breathe Better, we pause, we take a moment that allows us to relax or rethink our stance just a little.  

"C" is for Choose, Better.  I can think about how to Choose Better.

My friend is a healer of the physical body, and this was intended as a first response for injury or trauma, but right away I noticed how in my life his same wisdom could also be used for my mental, emotional and spiritual health as well.  Why not find ease and grace in my mind as well as in my body?  So, I leave you with these beautiful A,B,C's of his and the secret of life, which is enjoying the passing of time.

 

P.S.  Vote.

Your Most Elevated Thought of the Day

Lately, an elderly friend of mine has taken to asking me what was my most elevated thought of the day.  This has given me the opportunity to stop and notice from time to time where my head is at.  Just like any other part of our routines, our thoughts can become quite habitual and his question has been reminding me that it is good to remember to cultivate elevated ones.

I feel that we are more creative than we realize.  Our thoughts, and where we are focusing our minds, are the first step of that creative process.  

One of the things that my spiritual teacher, Jana Massey, used to advise, being as we live right next to a major earthquake fault line, was to take care not to envisage disaster in our area.  After the Santa Rosa fire, of 2017, here in California, and initially after the Y2K concerns at the beginning of the new millennia, my husband and I have taken the very practical steps advised regarding having an emergency evacuation kit ready-to-go.  So, we have copies of our important documents, pet carriers, change of clothing and other essentials packed and gathered should there be need.  And though thus prepared, I try not dwell on it.  As Jana suggested, I like to see my community as happy and whole and settled in my mind's eye.

Here, on the Central Coast, mere days after a severe heat wave, it is natural to be concerned about the very real results of climate change, and its varied and widespread impacts on human communities and wildlife world wide.  This is certainly something that we want to address and give pro-active efforts toward.  And though there is always room for improvement, I do much toward that end.  

Then, as well, similar to what Jana advised with envisaging peace and tranquility, I also like to make an effort with what might be called spiritual activism, thus I place some of my thoughts positively in the etheric realms as well.

Years ago, I saw a PBS documentary called 'Next Year Country.'  It was about the severe drought in Montana, in the early 2000s.  Several ranchers, fearing for their livelihoods, pooled their resources and hired a rainmaker.  He came from the Mount Shasta area and brought with him large long metal pipes and other equipment and camped out on the land for several weeks.  He aligned the pipes with underground water ways and ley lines.  Then he chanted and sang.  And he laughed and spoke with and got to know the people.  And he did indeed call the rain.  That year, that corner of the state was green and full of rain and grain.

I've been remembering what the rain-maker said.  He explained that clouds are alive and that they are like children or animals or anyone else, and we need to be delighted to see them if we want them to come around.  He said we need to let them know how we feel and engage with them, talk to them and smile and celebrate their presence.  

So, as one example of my most elevated thought of the day, lately I've been engaging in etheric, spiritual activism by practically jumping up and down with joy at the sight of these big cumulonimbus clouds that have been sailing around the edges of our sky since the two glorious days of gentle rain that fell on our dry ground right after the heat wave.  Those drops of rain swirled among the leaves of the oak trees, moistening their branches and the earth and the air.  I went out several times and danced in the rain, loving those cold drops on my skin and in my hair.  Glad of my happy warm home to come in to, and of the moisture that was soaking deep into the ground.

I remember once coming across a quote.  It might have been Ram Dass.  In any case, it spoke deeply to me and I'll leave you with this as a beautifully elevated thought for you, if you'd like, to hold for today.
"The foundation of our spirituality is to be appreciative of the gift of life, to have fun, to play, to laugh, to see our lives as a piece of God."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Healthy Spirit

Does spirituality truly affect our well-being?  How does it fit into our overall health?  Does our connection with spirit influence our body's ability to either heal or prolong an illness?  Helping our minds to gain a better understanding of these connections can potentially lead us towards optimal health.  Please enjoy this hour long exploration into the topic of how our mind, body and spirit can interact for our greater good.

 

 Disclaimer:
As a Clairvoyant Healer, Spiritual Counselor and Intuition Instructor, I share many tips for leading a healthy and fulfilling life.  Please be advised that I am not a doctor. Nor am I licensed in any healing modality. However, I have had years of experience in alternative and complementary health and healing. All healing programs, including standard western medical protocols in addition to natural therapies, can cause harm rather than the benefit that you may be searching for. After all some people can have a strong reaction to something as seemingly innocent as peanuts or strawberries. Therefore, anything that I may recommend in these blogs and videos could be dangerous for you to try. So, it is important that you Ask Your Doctor First before trying any natural healing protocol. However, most medical doctors have little experience regarding natural healing programs and herbal medicine. So please understand if your doctor is unfamiliar with these ideas.

© Josephine Laing 2020

Forgiveness

This seven minute video can help to heal our psychological wounds and create healthy changes in our lives.   Forgiveness frees us to process our experiences and unburden ourselves so we can come to greater understanding and more gentleness with ourselves and with others.

© Josephine Laing 2019

Wake Up Your Psychic Ability

We are all already psychic. It's part of our natural human birthright. Just as we can learn how to drive a car, we can all learn how to develop our psychic skills. As our psychic skills increase, we gain appreciation, love and respect for ourselves and for the world around us. This hour long talk was presented to members of The Institute of Noetic Sciences both in Alaska and more recently in Los Angeles. It gives numerous tools, tips and techniques that will help you to develop your psychic abilities.

© Josephine Laing 2018

Four Building Blocks for Developing Psychic Ability

These four practices, of meditation, dream work, sanctuary and prayer, when firmly placed on a solid foundation of self-love, will not only help you to develop your psychic ability, they will also let you claim your own true purpose while deepening your individual spirituality.  Please enjoy this hour long talk that was given to an enthusiastic audience in July of 2018. 


© Josephine Laing 2018

"Journaling - A Technique for Releasing Negative Thoughts,"

Join Josephine as she shares a simple technique involving journaling that can help us to transform and change negative thought patterns into positive ones.  This lets us stretch the envelope of our minds in order to embrace new ways of being that are more in accordance with our spiritual principles.

© Josephine Laing, 2015

Activating The Heart Center

Hello everyone.   I've just created this little video with my dear friend Einar Berg.  It's called Activating The Heart Center.  This lovely exercise will open and engage your heart center. This helps us to find and embrace the guidance of love in our lives. Enjoy.

© Josephine Laing, 2015

Tending to the Shift by Embracing our Natural Psychic Ability

One of the under acknowledged ways that human consciousness is growing and shifting is in the acceptance of our innate psychic ability as a powerful source of inner guidance.  As we step out from under the influence of others and begin to follow our unique path in life, guided by spirit, we find our way, one by one into a new paradigm.

When we open to our interconnectedness with everything through our psychic ability we can not help but become deeply steeped in reverence for all of life.  This helps us to embrace the next phase of our great human evolution.  Join me this week in watching this half hour long video where I share my story of how my psychic ability arose in me and how yours can easily arise in you.

Together we are forming a groundswell of unstoppable positive change.  

© Josephine Laing, 2014