Thursday, May 14, 2015

Peace Within, Peace Without

No matter what is going on, it is our job and privilege to establish peace within.

Indeed, that is the only place we will ever see it.

We must reveal it in ourselves from within, in order for it to take place in the visible world we live in.

Long term or short term we must seek out our peace, over and over again.

It is our true nature.

It is the true nature of our planet and its systems.

And it will become the true nature of human relationships once we realize that all we desire comes from within.

I have had the privilege of learning to establish peace within myself when provoked by very strong and disturbing images.

Some have been from the past, some from the present, some over worry for the future.

I was glad to learn how to establish peace from within during any and all of those circumstances.

Since the disturbances were so uncomfortable, I was forced to recover my peace consistently.

Finally, it has paid off.

I got to the point where it didn’t matter to me what my fears were.

I simply had to find something else to think about.

I had to establish my peace and then I would be able to engage myself in the kind of world I prefer to live in.

Over and over again, persistent issues would interrupt me.

I would go within, whether by reading some inspirational literature, saying a “mantra”, or just listening deeply to messages from my Infinite Source within.

Then my happy and productive day revealed itself to me day by day and now one more long term issue has proven itself resolved.


© 2015 Kathryn Hardage

www.InspiredPractices.com

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Changing Triggers

It is possible to build in new triggers to create positive responses to events.

Joe Dispenza explains in his book “Evolve Your Brain” how to do this.

It is a conscious, repetitive process.

I am not doing this at anywhere close to a hundred percent level, but I am able to do it to some extent.

Discovering that it is possible and beginning to practice it is making a significant difference in my life.

When I find myself responding in the old patterns, I can stop and look at what is happening.

Then I can design what I prefer to happen instead.

I can give myself a whole new story.

I can appreciate where I am at this point in my life.

I can be grateful for the tools and techniques I have learned to address that issue.

I can look around and see the evidence of my new approach.

It is so totally worth making the effort to practice until the new patterns become the automatic default.

I learned how to train my muscles to play a musical instrument with all the repetition that required, so I know I can reset my mental “muscles” as well.

Lots and lots of conscious repetition.


© 2015 Kathryn Hardage

www.InspiredPractices.com

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Moving to a Peaceful Setting

It is making such a difference to be living in a peaceful setting.

It would not be everyone’s goal to move to the country, using what skills you have to finish the inside of a cabin, collect rainwater, read by flashlight, and start a garden from scratch.

But, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

In fact, I like this world much better.

Today, I was able to take my first “garden” shower.  It has warmed up enough that the camping shower, plus a quart of heated water was very pleasant outdoors.

We still have our indoor camping shower, which we mix with cold and hot water to the right temperature, but it was nice to be able to bathe surrounded by Nature.

We have been walking back and forth to our covered deck where I have set up my gardening supplies.

I have over sixty plants from two plant sales, and about half of them are in containers now, ready to grow in earnest.

I used rainwater which I collected in five-galling buckets from the roof of the covered deck.

My soil mix is in thirds - coir (coconut fiber), vermiculite #3, and compost.  A dozen five-gallon buckets now hold various herbs, squash, kale and peppers.

Another two dozen of a different commercial organic soil mix will hold peppers, tomatoes and more herbs.

The same soil mix will be in a raised garden bed for more veggies and flowers.

I will add various supplemental microbial stimulants to enrich the soil.

And then, we will see what happens.

We are still preparing the garden fence, as we are next to a wildlife conservation area in addition to our own wildlife inhabitants. 

We listen to jazz on the radio as we pick up our raw milk from a local dairy.

We watch the fireflies come out at night.

Tonight, it is cloudy, so we will expect some more rain to help our garden grow.

It is a different, lush setting for two city folks, who are rapidly learning about country living.

Sharing the peace…


© 2015 Kathryn Hardage

www.InspiredPractices.com

Monday, May 4, 2015

Leaving the Storm

I am learning to leave the storm behind, rather than just take relief from it.

Every time I reestablish my peace, it is more real to me.

Even though I experience interruptions to my peace, the deeper truth is becoming more and more convincing to me.

The peace is always there.

I am learning to come back to it, because it is always there.

The extremes which took me away are becoming less and less powerful as I find I can return to peace more and more.

I am also learning not to complain about the negative things, but to spend all my effort on returning myself to peace.

I am learning to leave the storm completely behind.

© 2015 Kathryn Hardage