RabBoar Studio - Thoughts

In order to have ‘more’ of anything (or everything) we need to stretch our boundaries and our imagination. I invite you to adopt Abundance rather than Prosperity as an idea, as this aligns you with the possibility of having so much more. When you embrace and understand Abundance as inclusive of prosperity, having ‘more’ means having more financial freedom, greater wellbeing, relationships that enhance your life, and abundant opportunities for expanding your joyful expression. So begin by honoring the Abundance that is always readily available to you - your breath. It’s free, and life-giving. The breath infuses us with Life and creates an abundant flow as a life-giving stream. With awareness, we are able to draw more from the breath and, therefore, more from our lives. So I suggest you now take a few slow breaths as this will assist you to assimilate this bigger idea and anchor it deeply in your Being. 

Infusing new information more deeply into your consciousness via the breath allows you to hold it more deeply. As you inhale, you enliven all your cells which expands your capacity to think. So - breathe, infuse, allow, use. Then take a ‘wide-angle lens’ view of Abundance. This means speaking to your inner-knowing to support you to arrive at your understanding of Abundance which then paves the way for you to enjoy increasingly greater Abundance in every area of your life. 

Abundance is the stage of integral wholeness where we are satiated with our own delight. It is the stage in our evolution as human beings where life ceases to be about external creation, and is about internal rapture - existing in an increasingly spacious container where we create worlds, within and without, that deeply nourish our spirit and make our hearts sing; where we live gloriously with ourselves and others. We are Abundant. Abundance is not so much about what we have, but what we are and how we feel. When we live in ‘what is right with me and my world’ and not ‘what is wrong with me and my world’, we are beginning to awaken to this possibility. Appreciation for, rather than berating against, is an essential state of being we need to arrive at. Even the times that are challenging are gifts that we are able to harvest as great learning in order to gift ourselves with ‘more’ Abundance. Being awake to this core knowing is the essence of Abundance. 

So, what does all this mean? When we recognize - or are willing to approach the possibility - that we are infinite, not as an oft-repeated hypothetical or ’spiritual’ idea that has lost its meaning, but in a very practical and demonstrable way, we know ‘I am the source of my experience’. Translated, this means that as I access my joy and inspiration continuously in the present, I create my Abundant Now and my Abundant Future. Taking full responsibility for where you place your attention is a skill that is easy to develop. Being willing to notice the effect of your thoughts, is the key here. You may like to experiment with this for 5 minutes each a day. Just take the time to notice where you are placing your attention - what you are thinking about - and you will become aware of how you’re feeling: whether you are feeling increasingly vibrant, or whether you’re feeling depleted. You will then realize how much you may be keeping yourself restrained, tied to struggle of your own making. 

This is where the magic happens: you now have the opportunity to play the game of increasing your Abundance, simply by changing where you place your attention. Remember: You are your greatest asset. Really know that. Cultivating a wondrous and deeply appreciative relationship with yourself is the vehicle that carries you forward towards your Abundance. When you are filled with the joy of exploring ‘you’ in ever-deeper ways, you create ripples that turn to waves of glorious delight, Cultivating a relationship with yourself that is founded on ‘inner seeing’ and reflection, holding yourself with gentleness as you plant seeds of new possibilities, and being excited by the burgeoning possibilities and the joy that unfolds, creates the flow of Abundance. 

Abundance is a flow of new inspiration. New inspiration nourishes our imagination, and sets our boundaries free. The more boundaries we dissolve, the more restrictions we let go of, the more we begin to stand in our self-determined freedom. In this way we ignite our increasing passion, which creates wonder and this feeds our genius. Living in our genius, rather than our ‘average’ and ‘good enough’, is the launching pad from which we establish Abundance as a living reality. It is only when we feel BIG, brimming over with our self-generated joy, deeply nourished from the inside, and standing in our now and offering this as our gift to ourselves, our world, our families and our friends, that - finally - Abundance will flow outward and inward in ever-increasing possibilities. The wondrous state of Abundance is an internally generated state of celebration that flows as a river in its fullness (from you) towards Life. This imprint of fullness, inspiration and joy is inscribed and described within your being, and imprinted externally. The action completes itself - Life completes this action - and you receive Abundance as a realized state of living where you are amply rewarded. 

Abundance is now the flow of giving and receiving, from within and without, that we continuously exchange. Abundance is experienced as a state of deep nourishment. There is a rising heart-swell that embraces all in its vastness and you are ‘more’ and ‘more’ is yours. Share this ‘more’ and feel the swell of Abundance. 

Puree the flesh of 2 mangoes (about 2 cups), stir 1 teaspoon of baking powder into 225g (2 cups) almond meal, and gently beat five eggs in a bowl. Combine all ingredients, pour into a greased cake tin and bake for about 1 hour at 180o C. Cool 10 minutes before turning out. 

It is my experience that the more I joyously share, the more flows back to me. So, I offer you this divine recipe that a friend offered me. Enjoy the gifts of Abundance, and feel the increasing swell of giving and receiving delight. Enjoy. 

The Power Of Disengagement
Playing Mind Games For better or worse, many people have been raised to believe that communicating in an honest and open way will not get them what they want. They have learned, instead, to play mind games or go on power trips in the service of their ego’s agenda. People stuck in this outmoded and inefficient style of communication can be trying at best and downright destructive at worst. We may get caught up in thinking we have to play the same games in order to defend ourselves, but that will only lead us deeper into confusion and conflict. The best way to handle people like this is to be clear and honest with them

Whenever people come into our lives, they have come for a reason, to show us something about ourselves that we have not been able to see. When unhealthy people try to hook us into their patterns with mind games and power trips, we can remind ourselves that we have something to learn here and that a part of us is calling out for healing. This takes the focus off the troubling individual and puts it back on us, giving us the opportunity to change the situation from the inside out.

The first post is from Grace — then Larry reponded, then Linda.  If you can’t go directly from here to the link, type it into your web browser — it is well worth watching even if you have to wait a couple of times while it pauses to download more:

This is one of the most inspiring video clips that I have ever seen.  It is not sad or depressing….but still might bring a tear to your eye.

This is a story about a guy who, like most of us, is probably an everyday sort of person, maybe questioning his existence, measuring himself to others, never believing in this abilities or his worth.

Then one day, his passion outgrew his fears as he stepped onto a stage, a stage that took him to a place beyond his self-imposed prison.  Watch the faces of the judges as this guy walks out onto the stage.  You can almost see what they’re thinking as they pre-judge this guy based on his looks and the fact that he’s a cell phone salesman.

It seems this guy stopped believing in what people told him for so many years and ultimately started listening to his passion.
http://www.maniacworld.com:80/Phone-Salesman-Amazes-Crowd.html
 

Larry’s reponse says it all:

It never ceases to amaze me just How judgmental we have been brought up to be,
“Sorry but You’re”… too little….not old enough, too skinny..just a little too much overweight,too sick,too old! ………….Isn’t it great  that we have come to an age that we question “how it’s always been”… and ……. are able to start  to challenge “old ideas”
We don’t have to go to the doctors office and “sit down and shut up”anymore…… We are learning to take charge of our own “can’s and “cannot’s. We don’t have to accept old stereotypes any longer…….We can practice Yoga in our 90’s, We can walk in walk-a-thons, sail around the world…….Hell….Sing Opera……………….. 
 ….. for instance….
 Who would of thought….. that a young farm boy….. would someday have turned into an………..ah  …………”old farm boy”     Ok……………….bad example but you know what I mean.
What a GREAT time we live in!
“live long and prosper…rock on….happy trails… PEACE!”
 

And Linda rounded it out:

And guess what! It’s absolutely GREAT that a young farm boy turned into an old farm boy.  In the end it all comes out in the wash anyway….good, bad and/or indifferent.  Take it from one who knows.  Or not….

Below The Surface
Finding Deep Strength We have all faced moments in our lives when the pressure mounts beyond what we feel we can handle, and we find ourselves thinking that we do not have the strength to carry on. Sometimes we have just gotten through a major obstacle or illness only to find another one waiting for us the moment we finally catch our breath. Sometimes we endure one loss after another, wondering when we will get a break from life’s travails. It does not seem fair or right that life should demand more of us when we feel we have given all we can, but sometimes this is the way life works.

When we find ourselves up against that frozen barrier of thinking we cannot handle our situation, we may find that the kindest choice is to love ourselves and our resistance too. We can simply accept that we are overwhelmed, exhausted, and stretched, and we can offer ourselves loving kindness and compassion. If we can extend to ourselves the unconditional warmth of a mother’s love, before we know it, the ice will begin to break.

As many of you know, the primary reason I started learning and practicing Yoga was because I heard it helped relieve back pain.  At the time I started, I was visiting the chiropractor weekly — I had a standing appointment every Friday afternoon.

Without these visit I would barely be able to walk w/o pain, and certainly sitting in front of a computer all day was challenging, to say the least.  And by Wednesday, I’d be taking a Tylenol at the beginning of my work day, another at lunch, and one before bed so I could sleep w/o too much pain.

My chiropractor never said I should come every week, but we both knew I would.

Of course, you know the story, and now I’m free from constant back pain, not that I don’t occasionally get a twinge — just like everyone — but I can usually work it out with Yoga, and if not, I still have my chiropractor.

Ten years ago, when I found a local chiropractor, after he adjusted me he showed me a exercise (from Yoga, but he didn’t know that) I could do to help strengthen the muscles so my back would stay adjusted.  I told him, jokingly, ”you know you could put yourself out of business if you show these types of exercises to people.”  And he said, “well, I want you to get better, and I figure I’ll get referrals from you when you do.”

That’s MY kind of chiropractor. 

These days some chiropractors will try to get you to sign up for the “family plan” of regular visit for a monthly set fee.  Or you are re-schedule for appointment after appointment.

But also these days, more and more chiropractors will recommend Yoga or Tai Chi or even have a physical therapist on staff.  They know that spinal adjustments aren’t enough — the muscles have to change — either to be more flexible if they are too tight, or more toned if they are too loose. 

In my opinion, if the chiropractor doesn’t recommend something to strengthen/stretch the back muscle, he/she doesn’t really want your back to get well.  He/she just wants you to keep coming for adjustment after adjustment.

As usual, our vacation was less rest than running here and there to see family and friends — which is a good thing.  My sons are doing well and are happy, and my 94 year old aunt seems actually in better health than she seemed at her 90th birthday party.

We got a quick tour (and a dinner) at my ex-husband’s new home.  He and Bonny have about 15 acres outside of State College, PA.  Bonny has 7 horses that she currently boards, so they are working frantically to get up a fence and a shelter so she can move her horses to their new home.  We even have a standing invitation to spend a long weekend with them — Bonny and I will go riding.  Yes, it is a bit unusual, but somehow Jim and I remained friends, and I really like Bonny.

My friend Maurene and I visited the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, PA.  I’ve been getting their magazine (Yoga International, now called Yoga Plus…) for over 16 years, so I was thrilled when I found the institute would be about 1 hour from where we would be staying in the Poconos.  We looked through their extensive store, and wonder around the grounds.  At one point we were sitting by a firepit and a young man politely asked us not to sit there because it was used only for special ceremonies, so we found an even better place to sit on a swing in a pavalion looking into the woods and wildflowers.

We also stopped at their place downtown Honesdale (which is new) and had a cup of coffee.  It was nice spending time with Maurene, who just started practicing Yoga this past year because of a serious back problem she does not want to have occur again. She was laid up flat on her back for months — and she was a weekly visitor to a chirpractor for probably 20 years.  Now she is working to strenthen her back muscles to support her spine better.

David wasn’t feeling well on Sunday, so the kids and I drove into NYC to do some touristy things and spend the day with David’s nephew, Mitch.   The only thing special was when we were leaving and I cut off a NY cab driver to get into the flow of traffic.  I’m sure he was surprised that a driver with AR plates had the guts.  I even got a high five from my youngest son for doing it.  The driving in town was the most exciting part of the day…well…except when I was going through a rotating door to the subway. 

We’d bought all-day passes, and everyone else had gone through.  I scanned my pass, and instead of walking into the half-turn gap and pushing through, I pulled the next one and started to walk through and it stopped.  Then I couldn’t scan again.  A very nice young man (Chinese, I think) explained to me that I would have to wait 10 minutes to scan again at the same station (so people don’t buy one pass and all their friends can go through), then when I still looked confused he said, “here, we’ll use mine” and he scanned his card, and I went through.  He was on his way out, so didn’t need to use it right then.  That was so very nice — New Yorkers and nice, friendly, helpful people.  Anytime I’ve been there I’ve found it to be so.

The Art Fair at State College was very nice too.  Some beautiful work.  I was very good and didn’t buy anything.  But heck, it cost the artist $10,000 for a booth for this 5 day art fair.  WOW!  They need to sell a lot.  I saw a woman from Branson there.  We listened to a drum band, with some dancers doing African dance, in which a friend of Stephen’s (my youngest) was playing, and at the end a bunch of us were dancing around.  It was fun — they were very good. Visited awhile with a cousin who is going to State College.  My oldest son, Adam, and his girlfriend, Chelsea came down for the day too.  They’d also stayed two nights with us in the Poconos (Stephen too) so we could all do the NYC visit.

On the way home we stopped for lunch with my aunt, and some cousins.  It was good to see everyone, but it was a short visit.  We wanted to get to Illinois by the end of the first day’s travel, so the next day would be a short one.

All the animals were well taken care of by CeCe, and Dotti and Larry stopped by everyday to check on things too.  Thank you, my friends.  It made for a much more relaxing trip knowing you all were here.

And yes, I did practice my Yoga — twice.  The room was small, so I went down beside the inside pool.  I admit they were short practices, and the first time was Tuesday — I could feel how much tighter I was from all the driving and no Yoga.  I felt much better after practicing.

I did swim when the kids were there, and laid out in the sun a little, going into the pool to cool off, then back to the sun.  Didn’t get much of a tan though — I’ll probably do better with that here and home.

Well, time for me to do some more catching up.  I have LOTS of weeds to pull!  And more mowing to do.

The most important relationship we have in our lives is with our selves. And even though we are the only ones who are present at every moment of our lives—from birth onward—this relationship can be the most difficult one to cultivate. This may be because society places such emphasis on the importance of being in a romantic partnership, even teaching us to set aside our own needs for the needs of another. Until we know ourselves, however, we cannot possibly choose the right relationship to support our mutual growth toward our highest potential. By allowing ourselves to be comfortable with being alone, we can become the people with whom we want to have a relationship.

Perhaps at no other time in history has it been possible for people to survive, and even thrive, while living alone. We can now support ourselves financially, socially, and emotionally without needing a spouse for survival in any of these realms. With this freedom, we can pursue our own interests and create fulfilling partnerships with friends, business partners, creative cohorts, and neighbors. Once we’ve satisfied our needs and created our support system, a mate then becomes someone with whom we can share the bounty of all we’ve created and the beauty we’ve discovered within ourselves.

As we move away from tradition and fall into more natural cycles of being in the world today, we may find that there are times where being alone nourishes us and other periods in which a partnership is best for our growth. We may need to learn to create spaces to be alone within relationships. When we can shift our expectations of our relationships with ourselves and others to opportunities for discovery, we open ourselves to forge new paths and encounter uncharted territory. Being willing to know and love ourselves, and to find what truly makes us feel deeply and strongly, gives us the advantage of being able to attract and choose the right people with whom to share ourselves, whether those relationships fall into recognizable roles or not. Choosing to enjoy being alone allows us to fully explore our most important relationship—the one with our true selves.

Keep in mind that the following is not in response to serious pain or illness.  The point here, I think, is that we should not just ignore pain or cover it up with an aspirin or something.  Pain ignored will keep getting louder (and more serious) until we notice it — at which time there may be a serious problem.  If we listen to our bodies when we get the “smaller messages” we can often avert serious problems.  The following is from the Daily Om:

When we feel pain, our first impulse is often to eradicate it with medication. This is an understandable response, but sometimes in our hurry to get rid of pain, we forget that it is the body’s way of letting us know that it needs our attention. A headache can inform us that we’re hungry or stressed just as a sore throat might be telling us that we need to rest our voice. If we override these messages instead of respond to them, we risk worsening our condition. In addition, we create a feeling of disconnectedness between our minds and our bodies.

The next time you feel pain, either physical or emotional, you might want to try listening to your own intuition about how to relieve your pain. Maybe taking a few deep breaths will put an end to that headache. Perhaps writing in your journal about hurt feelings will ease your heart. Ultimately, the message of pain is all about healing.