AOM MUSIC and MEDITATIONS: 031220

Yesterday, once I got my computer back up and running with the new drive, I went to YouTube to begin testing things out. The first video I watched was this one by Letizia1989. As I watched, a great wave of Gratitude came over me. Thoughts of our time on earth, our opportunity to be here and how fortunate we are to live this human experience began to dive deep into my heart. 

Tears came to my eyes as my heart filled with Gratitude that I am here. Life sucks in so many ways. The pain and suffering we have to go through on life's journey can be so very difficult, but I think it is worth it - I know it is - because of the great Joy, Gratitude, Love, Friendship, Beauty, Compassion and Peace we get to experience. 

On my worst of days I might not think of these things, so on my best I keep reminding myself of how lucky I am to experience the life as a human on planet earth. So today I present this video as our Meditation and Music.

~*~

Note from Letizia:

"The protagonist of this video is Peace, that is represented here by the dancing girl. Her rainbow ribbon, is the thread of the video, that connects all the people, all the nations in a single hug. :)"

OUR BEAUTIFUL PLANET

videography by:

Letizia1989

music :

"Africa"

by

Marcus Warner

YouTube Direct Link: https://youtu.be/1wNXKgguyQQ

Commercial Break

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Peace and Love be with You, my Friend.

((((HUGS))))

AOM Meditations: 021119

by Charles Burchfield

Thanks to our Friend, David, for sending us this beautiful art

~*~

"Peace 

does not come from outside you. 

Peace 

comes from within. 

If you lie in a field of wild flowers, 

watching the clouds drift, and feel peaceful, 

that peace 

isn’t the quiet of the poppies dreaming. 

That peace is you, 

with you 

wherever you go."

~ Quiet Lotus

~*~

“The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.” 

~Wendell Berry

(The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry"

~*~

Reading these two quotes together

They seem to disagree

But I think Wendell found in the wild

A time of stillness

A place and time for mindful meditation

Where he could let go anxieties - let go everything

And feel that peace 

That was there inside him all the time

Parting Shot: 071218

Peace and Love

Are with you always

For they are inside you

Peace and Love, my Friend

Parting Shot: 060518

Peace be with you, Friend

AOM Meditations: 121817

"Etretat, Cliff of d'Aval Sunset" by Claude Monet

Thanks to a Friend for sending us this gorgeous image

~*~

If I could ask for any gift in the world for myself, it would be peace. If I could ask for any gift for everyone else in the world, it would be peace.

Peace of mind, peace of heart, peace in relationships, peace in every land. If everyone in the world felt at peace with themselves, how much crime would we have? How much anger and frustration and violence? So many of the bad things in the world, even down to the person who makes fun of you or someone you know, are caused by a lack of peace, and it's hard to imagine what the world would be like if everyone felt peace.

I know that my perspective of the world has changed drastically since I've actually focused on making peace one of my highest priorities in my life. I do my best to find small pockets of peace, and I do my best not to let situations or people take my peace away from me--if someone angers me, he or she has robbed me of the feeling of peacefulness that I strive to maintain in my life.

I can't do it always--I've never expected to, and I never expect to. I'm human, and I'm going to let my peace of mind slip away from time to time. I'm going to worry about things like money and jobs and what's wrong with my car.  I'm going to feel inferior to some people, I'm going to feel that I don't belong in certain situations, I'm going to beat myself up over something stupid that I'm going to say tomorrow or next week or next month. As I get better at maintaining peace, though, I'm not going to let things like that take my peace away. And I'm going to feel better because of it, and I'm going to be more effective at making others feel better, too.

One of the things that I always try to ask myself before I respond in situations in which I'm bound to overreact or react inappropriately is this: Will my reaction contribute to the peace in the world, or will it contribute to the discontent and anger in the world? Sometimes the answer makes me stop and not say what I meant to, and I always find that later, I'm much more at peace for not having said or done that something than I would have been had i said it or done it.

Do you want to give a gift to the world? Contribute to the peace in the world, and help others feel one of the most important feelings they'll ever feel. And don't forget to give it to yourself, too--you deserve it.  Peace be with you.

~tom walsh

AOM Meditations: 121117

by Justyna Kopania

You can see more of her work by visiting her deviantArt galler here (link)

Thanks to our Friend for sending us this beautiful art

~*~

Your Higher Self

by Dr. Wayne Dyer

"Here is a great definition of enlightenment: to be immersed in and surrounded by peace.

Your highest self only wants you to be at peace.  It does not judge, compare, or demand that you defeat anyone, or be better than anyone.  It only wants you to be at peace.  Whenever you are about to act, ask yourself this question:  "Is what I am about to say or do going to bring me peace?"  If the answer is yes, then go with it and you will be allowing yourself the wisdom of your highest self.  If the answer is no, then remind yourself that it is your ego at work.

The ego promotes turmoil because it wants to substantiate your separateness from everyone, including God.  It will push you in the direction of judgment and comparison, and cause you to insist on being right and best.  You know your highest self by listening to the voice that only wants you to be at peace."

~*~

"The surface of life is also in a state of constant flux, with good days and bad, victory and defeat.  To maintain, as the ocean does, a deep inner calm, while the storms of misfortune, reverses, fears and worries lash at the surface of life, is to discover the secret of serenity.

Years ago, when Thomas Edison's factory burned down, he wasted no time bemoaning his fate.  Immediately after the disaster the reporters found a calm, quiet man already at work on plans for a new building.

When Emerson's home was destroyed by fire and his precious books were being reduced to ashes, Louisa May Alcott came to console him.  The great philosopher said, "Yes, yes, Louisa, they are all gone, but let us enjoy the blaze now.  Isn't it beautiful!"

Some people are ocean personalities.  In their inner depths they are not defeated by what happens to them. The towering waves of circumstances cannot reach us when we go deep within to seek the peace that passes all understanding.  While the surface of life is in turmoil we can find an inner calmness to see us through."

~Wilferd A. Peterson

~*~

Seven Ways to Cultivate a Mental Attitude

That Will Bring You Peace and Happiness

by Dale Carnegie

"Rule 1:  Let's fill our minds with thoughts of peace, courage, health, and hope, for "our life is what our thoughts make it."

Rule 2:  Let's never try to get even with our enemies, because if we do we will hurt ourselves far more than we hurt them.  Let's do as General Eisenhower does:  let's never waste a minute thinking about people we don't like.

Rule 3:

A.  Instead of worrying about ingratitude, let's expect it.  Let's remember that Jesus healed ten lepers in one day--and only one thanked him.  Why should we expect more gratitude than Jesus got?

B.  Let's remember that the only way to find happiness is not to expect gratitude--but to give for the joy of giving.

C.  Let's remember that gratitude is a "cultivated" trait; so if we want our children to be grateful, we must train them to be grateful.

Rule 4:  Count your blessings--not your troubles!

Rule 5:  Let's not imitate others.  Let's find ourselves and be ourselves, for "envy is ignorance" and "imitation is suicide."

Rule 6:  When fate hands us a lemon, let's try to make a lemonade.

Rule 7:  Let's forget our own unhappiness--by trying to create a little happiness for others.  "When you are good to others, you are best to yourself.'"