Debra Basham

Living and Loving

Tag: Daily Word

  • Everlasting Peace

    The sharing time following meditation yesterday including emotional pain in the aftermath of the utter devastation from the flooding in Napal. Comments then became sincere urging to contact elected officials demanding responsible attention to the environmental crisis. Listening with attentive care, bearing witness to the deep emotions, I felt my own core being pulled to express. Admitting the difficulty in speaking skillfully so as to not wrong-make the measures being urged, I articulated what is reality for me: Without denial of the dangerous impact of humans in our modern day, I spoke of global climate changes historically. Before world-wide political corruption and before Round-up (neither of which I experience as wholesome). I spoke candidly of my intention to take action from as clear a space as possible, intending not to add fuel to the fires of anger and the floods of fear.

    “What the World Needs Now Is Love” was originally recorded and made popular by Jackie DeShannon in 1965. Sixty-one years later, this has possibly never been more true.

    One women told of having taken a taxi from the airport in Mexico when her usual choice of Uber was not available. She had a nice conversation with the young man driving the cab, but she realized he was not taking her directly to her destination, and the charge upon arrival was about 4 times what an Uber would have been!

    Friends she was visiting enlightened her: the cabs were mafia-run. She had been scammed! Since she had the driver’s name and number (she could not pay with her credit card because there was no internet so she had to transfer money from her account), she pulled together her case and made the call demanding her overcharge be returned. A four-hour call which began with hostility and threats ended with him emotionally confessing to his terror at being hostage in this mafia-mess. He agreed he would give back his part of the overcharge. She told him he had to quit this dishonesty, urged him to get an honest job, and spoke of the importance of going back to school.Three days later, he called to say he had! They are staying in touch….

    Another woman told of recently having sung “Rain Down” with her choir following the loss of 400 homes in her community due to wildfires in western Canada. Hours after, they had rain! She had previously shared with me the choir having sung “I Believe” by Mark Miller. The words resonate profoundly.

    I believe in the sun
    Even when, even when it’s not shining

    I believe in love
    Even when, even when I don’t feel it

    I believe in God
    Even when, even when God is silent

    As I prepared for bed, I read from the Daily Word:

    There were times when I wanted something so desperately that when it didn’t happen, I sank into bitter disappointment. I told myself stories that left me stuck and resentful: It wasn’t fair. It was a mistake. I missed my last chance.

    I have come to look at those episodes in a different way. Now, when faced with an unwanted outcome, I resist self-pity and let go and let God. I release my rigid expectations and use my imagination to envision all kinds of possibilities. Freed of the need to control, I trust Divine order and Divine timing.

    Letting go and letting God is my way of living my faith, welcoming grace, and believing the best and highest outcomes are unfolding. I let go, let God, and know peace.

    Yesterday, a dream came true for me. Grandson, Brad, got ALL of my guided imagery audios online in digital format where they are available for free! Right now they are only on Spotify, but we intend to also have them on YouTube and Apple Music. I told him he made my decade!

    “Everlasting Peace” now on Spotify is for anyone desiring more peace of mind. The meaning of life is to be found in its stages. If you or someone you know is currently experiencing a challenging time “Everlasting Peace” is designed by Debra Basham to allow for a more peaceful time of things in any circumstances. The use of guided imagery and creative visualization is appropriate at all times and is especially significant to reduce pain and anxiety in times of transition.

    The calming background music, Pachelbel: Three Meditative Variations with Ocean, Liv & Let Liv, is used by permission.

  • Banner

    This morning I was dreaming upon waking: I am in my final childhood home. The basement is flooded. At the bottom of the stairs, it is over ankle deep. I go down and start moving stuff to get the door open so we can get the water out. A man and woman are outside waiting for me to give the word. (Mom and dad?) It is quite dark down here and the water is cold, but I stay focused and am making good progress before I wake up .

    After I am up and have written down my dream I look up the dream symbolism: Wet basement in dream meaning: Unprocessed emotions, hidden stress or deep unconscious overwhelm. In dream symbolism, a house represents your inner self, the basement reflects your foundational unconscious or past, and water stands for your feelings. Emotional overload/ feelings or responsibilities you have bottled up that are now seeping into your awareness.

    This reminds me of yesterday’s sharing with our eldest grand, Brad, about giving ourselves a pass….

    I went to visit a dear, dear, friend today. We spoke candidly about the difficulty that can come when there is need to be a receiver of care. We so prefer to be the one giving.

    I shared part of Barbara Brodsky’s blog post from a few days ago.

    Three nights ago, at bedtime, my beloved almost 11 year old collie, Banner, (my hearing – dog) suddenly could not stand up. We have a routine of many years; I shut off the tv or close my book, say ”bed time” and we both get up quickly and head to the bedroom. He tried to stand; his 4 paws were sliding to the sides on the hardwood floor, with no traction, and he couldn’t get them under him. He was terrified.

    I woke up Hal’s caregiver who lives downstairs and he brought up the old living room rug that we’d stored in the basement for wheelchair/ walker safety, put it down and lifted him on top of it and Banner rested there for 15 minutes while I just patted him and spoke to him. Then I got up and he did too. Just stood up!

    Our human minds return to “I can’t” and fear. His mind and body just responded by standing to follow me to the bedroom. The next day, he was happily playing with our granddaughter, with no sign of weakness. Fear and its stories really do block us humans from a deeper reality.

    Today I could feel in both my friend and myself the letting down of old habits of wanting to not need help. Then this afternoon, I opened email from my mentor/friend Betty Lue Lieber, in which she had included the message for today from the Daily Word:

    Pray for Others

    Praying for others is a sacred gift I love to give.

    Friday July 24, 2026

    When a friend or loved one is going through a challenge, I try to help however I can. When I’ve offered all I can and it seems there is nothing else I can do, I pray.

    Prayer is the greatest gift I have to give. Regardless of whether someone knows I am praying, my prayers enfold them in love and care. As I pray, I feel my connection in Spirit to that person. I touch the presence of infinite light, life, love, and peace within them. I have faith these qualities are opening the avenue to unlimited good.

    My prayer extends from my circle of loved ones to enfold my larger community and the world. I pray each person knows they deserve a joyous, prosperous, fulfilling life.

    I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail.—Luke 22:32

    This brings to mind the Biblical story of a man who had been paralysed for 38 years. Jesus simply told him to pick up his mat and walk. May we, may all beings, receive support and love and encouragement so completely we, too, can be freed from suffering.

    (Also from Betty Lue’s message:)
    “Prayer For A Loved One”

    Dear Heart,
    I will not worry, fret or be unhappy over you.
    I will not be anxious concerning you.
    I will not be afraid for you.
    I will not give up on you.
    I will not blame, criticize or condemn you.
    I will remember first, last and always that you are God’s child, that you have His Spirit in you.
    I will trust this Spirit to take care of you, to be a light to your path, to provide for your needs.
    I will think of you as always being surrounded by God’s loving Presence, enfolded in His protecting care, as kept safe and secure in Him.
    I will be patient with you.
    I will have confidence in you.
    I will stand by you in faith, and bless you in my prayers, knowing that you are growing, knowing that you are finding the help you need, the love you need, the healing you need, the financial freedom you need.
    I have only good feelings in my heart about you.
    I am willing to let you live your life as you see fit.
    Your way may not be my way, but I will trust the Spirit of God in you to show you the way of your highest Good.
    God loves you and I love you!
    I have confidence in you and I believe in you!!
    (author unknown)

  • Divine Order

    For three years she had been struggling with the issue in of bleeding in her colon. The things that she had gone through — including transfusions to ease the horrific anemia exhaustion, hospitalization and IV antibiotics to fight infection, and weeks of daily sessions in that hyperbaric oxygen chamber (traumatic, with her claustrophobia) but nothing she had done had eradicated the risk of colon cancer.

    Telling his nurse her guts were hostile, the surgeon finally agreed to do surgery. Heroic efforts for preparation followed months of scheduling delays, but the operating room had been booked for the entire day.

    They made the early morning trip and she was as prepared as she thought she could be. Things did not go the way she expected. After administering the epidural, her hand went numb. The surgery was scrapped!

    The risk of a cerebrovascular accident (stroke) had her admitted to ER and waiting hours for an MRI rather than going into pre-op, OR, post-op and having the surgery in her rear view mirror.

    Three years of the stress. The following evening through a flood of tears she named the disappointment, worry, and fear to her good friend and wellness counselor. They had journeyed together for decades, and she finally broke down, saying, “I can’t go through this again. Maybe this is the time the Lord is going to take me. But I don’t want to leave my family.”

    “You won’t leave your family,” her friend assured her, “we all leave our bodies, but we do not leave our loved ones.”

    As they continued sharing her friend asked her at what age she had first been feeling disappointment, worry and fear. The light went on. She was six years old, and her mother was the patient — in that very hospital! She spoke with renewed faith in divine order, saying simply, “I couldn’t know what was happening. I couldn’t know what the future held. All I experienced was fear. Every time I walk in there I go back to her. Thank you so very much. I feel much better and hopeful.”

    Reading from the Daily Word the following morning:

    Trusting God I release attachments and rely on divine order.

      How many times have I realized in hindsight that my life is actually better because the situation didn’t work out the way I expected or I didn’t get what I thought I wanted?

      These memories remind me of the importance of patience as I wait for divine order to unfold. Even if I’m tempted, I don’t get attached to rigid time frames or specific outcomes.

      I get clear on my goals — healthy relationships, career satisfaction, more love in my life. I take these desires into prayer and spiritually surrender them. With a grateful heart, I release my desire for control, trusting the best outcome may be beyond my imagination.

      My mind may be limited, but divine mind is limitless. I relax, release and trust divine order.

      Psalm 119:18
      Open my eyes so that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

  • Positivity

    She received the following list of “Affirmations & Denials” from The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Scovel Shinn in a text message from a friend.

      Affirmations & Denials

      (For Prosperity)
      God is my unfailing supply, and large sums of money come to me quickly, under grace, in perfect ways.

      (For Right Conditions)
      Every plan my Father in heaven has not planned, shall be dissolved and dissipated, and the Divine Idea now comes to pass.

      (For Right Conditions)
      Only that which is true of God is true of me, for I and the Father are ONE.

      (For Faith)
      As I am one with God, I am one with my good, for God is both the Giver and the Gift. I cannot separate the Giver from the gift.

      (For Right Conditions)
      Divine Love now dissolves and dissipates every wrong condition in my mind, body and affairs. Divine Love is the most powerful chemical in the universe, and dissolves everything which is not of itself!

      (For Health)
      Divine Love floods my consciousness with health, and every cell in my body is filled with light.

      (For the Eyesight)
      My eyes are God’s eyes, I see with the eyes of spirit. I see clearly the open way: there are no obstacles on my pathway. I see clearly the perfect plan.

      (For Guidance)
      I am divinely sensitive to my intuitive leads, and give instant obedience to Thy will.

      (For the Hearing)
      My ears are God’s ears, I hear with the ears of spirit. I am nonresistant and am willing to be led. I hear glad tidings of great joy.

      (For Right Work)
      I have a perfect work In a perfect way: I give a perfect service For perfect pay.

      (For Freedom from All Bondage)
      I cast this burden on the Christ within, and I go free!

    Moments later she read the Daily Word July 1, 2025:

    With positivity, I embrace all aspects of life. Positivity means living free of doubt, seeing clearly, and feeling secure. Even when my worldly fortunes shift, I maintain my positive outlook and believe the presence and power of God is in and through all things.

    I understand the ebb and flow that is part of everyone’s life. If I find myself in undesirable circumstances, I honor my feelings by witnessing my fleeting negative thoughts and feelings with self-compassion. When I feel ready, I release and let them go.

    I deny that negativity has any power over me. I use affirmations to realign myself with my positive nature. I accept the conditions of my life even as I strive to improve them. Positivity is my way forward. With gratitude, I affirm God is with me as I claim my highest good.

    Set your minds on things that are above,
    not on things that are on earth.
    ~ Colossians 3:2

  • Take Another Look

    Below is a Yellow Brick Road from October 28, 2020. The theme is floating back through my consciousness and might be helpful for others at this time again as well.


    Need to Do

    You must cherish one another.
    You must work —
    we all must work —
    to make this world
    worthy of its children.

    ~ Pablo Casals

    Is this opening quotation, as it is written, true? Less and less I am concerned with being a doer, as more and more I am aware of the importance of how I am being. Listening to Rupert Spira speak about there being no doer, however, I also recognize the stages of learning we are experiencing around all of this. Spira says the belief and feeling “I am a person” is the same belief and feeling of “I am a doer.”

    In mindfulness, this thought “I am a person” could be seen as operating from ego.

    New Years Eve 2000 — twenty years ago — our meditation focus was a powerful writing titled “The Recovering Hero Proclamation.” Here is the last stanza:

    I allow things to unfold naturally, and I trust the flow.
    I joyfully accept and experience my humanity.
    I need nothing.
    All already is.
    Blessed be.

    ~Aaliyah LivingWell
    aka Gina Dawn Gavaris
    GeneratingLove@aol.com
    www.GeneratingSolutions.org

    It is important to realize that this does not mean all action ceases. As Spira says, “No…. Cars continue to be driven, meals continue to be cooked, inquiring into the nature of experience continues to be undertaken.” Everything continues, but it doesn’t imply that there’s a doer.

    I found this note in my journal: I forgive myself for believing it is my job to be the hero in any situation or save anyone else from having the experience they are creating.

    Wow.

    Those familiar with the SCS/NLP materials recognize fully we are moving off the Drama Triangle and experiencing life from the transrational perspective.

    If we are able to drive, cook, and inquire into the nature of things without identifying ourselves as a doer, notice how much more can be done through the expanded awareness.

    Recently a friend who hosts two of the Florida Zoom groups I participate in sent a message saying she has reached her stress limit and is going off the grid. We are still able to use her Zoom account, but she is not meeting with us.

    William Wordsworth’s opening line in, “The World Is Too Much With Us”: The world is too much with us; late and soon.

    Spira invites us to imagine a pink elephant under the chair. Both the statement, “There is something for the pink elephant under the chair to do,” and the statement, “There is nothing for the pink elephant under the chair to do,” are equally absurd.

    Is there something we need to do? Today’s Daily Word:

      Guidance
      I am divinely guided from within.

      There are times I find myself wondering which way to turn. Rather than feeling stressed or pressured into making quick decisions, I know these instances are perfect opportunities to calm myself and check my internal compass for divine direction.

      The source guidance I receive allows me to perceive possible paths and shows me the way if I veer off course. All I need to do is become quiet and feel aware of my connection with God by pausing, breathing deeply, releasing, and relaxing into my intuitive knowing.

      From this place, I instinctively know which way to turn and what to do. In faith, I follow the guidance of my inner wisdom and know everything I will need for the journey ahead is already mine.

      Though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand.—Psalm 37:24

    Of course we do things. Until the mind jumps in after the activity and claims, “I did this, I did that” there is only a sense of the raw experience. A baby probably does not draw from the mother’s breast and think, “I just ate.” The nourishment and the nurturing and the satiating of hunger are the raw experience. No commentary is necessary.

    Note* Is it significant that the “About Debra” page I am working on for launch of DebraBasham.com opens with a quotation that might appear to be in conflict with my own words?


    She wanted to be able to look back over her own life
    when she was much older and say,
    “Yes I did that.
    And that.
    And that, too.”
    ~ The Gazebo, a novel by Emily Grayson, (p. 288)


    John sings a duet of “When Did I Get Old” with his music friend, John Smith. The lyrics are by Derrick Clinton Dove & music is by Derrick Dove and The Peacekeepers. Don’t you love those names?

    As the two John’s sing, “When did I get old, when did everything change? I don’t recognize this world, I don’t remember this pain. Did time speed up or did I slow down? When did I get old, it’s all behind me now. When did I get old, it’s almost over now,” I realize today is a good day for me to take another look at this blog post. Likely it is related to the timing of my older sister nearing her transition. Of course, it is not only old people who transition and even when it’s over it’s not really over.

    Ah, there is time to take another look, and another look, and another look….

  • What Do You Wish?

    Even if our efforts of attention seem for years to be producing no result, one day a light that is in exact proportion to them will flood the soul. ~ Simone Weil

    This morning I did laundry rather than go to the community room to ride the stationary bike because I am currently starting a novel and it is easier for me to keep my thoughts on the theme/s of the retreat without reading something else.

    That opening quotation by Simone Weil was posted today by Gratefulness.org and it asked me to mindfully post today as a part of the noble silence of the retreat.

    I have been listening again to the opening words and share some excerpts:

    I’ve seen so many on this earth with fear of, “I will die.”

    Every sentient being wants to survive….

    The heart of the shift comes from your truly knowing our nonduality….The tree is you and you are the tree….gradually your heart opens to knowing absolutely everything inter-is. ~ Aaron

    Last evening Barbara shared a significant guided meditation asking us to imagine being a young child, playing with friends, enjoying the larger community. Then imagine now you are not allowed to play with your friend because he or she is the wrong race, religion, or ethnicity. And then the friend is hungry because his or her parent is not allowed to go into the store to buy food. Before long the friend is cold and has no shelter, everything having been burned. What do you wish for your friend?

    I had memory of a story about a young child who was spending time with an elder neighbor who had recently lost his wife. The child’s mother was curious what the boy was doing with the old man for hours at a time. When she asked, the boys said, “Mostly, I help him cry.”

    Speaking about the two sides in any conflict Aaron continued: “You must support both and you must say not to both….” and reminded us we are not just our brothers’ keeper, we are our brothers.

    In closing Aaron spoke gently but firmly, “We truly are all one and all must live or all will perish….The choice is within you and in your dedication.”

    During the night a text message (likely a wrong number) woke me up. As I lay in the darkness I knew what I wished for my friend was what I wished for all beings. I wish hearts open enough to feel the pain and to feel also the gratitude. If I am not hungry, if I am not ill, if I am not afraid…. feel the gratitude and share that with the world.

    If feeling the pain generates only more pain, where is the relief?

    If not feeling the pain generates ego’s separation, who will help?

    The scripture in Daily Word for today:

    But those who look into the perfect law,
    the law of liberty,
    and persevere,
    being not hearers who forget
    but doers who act — they will be blessed
    in their doing.

    ~ James 1:25

    It is not just, what do you wish for your friend, it is also, “What do you wish for?”

  • 4th of July Fireworks

    His 4th of July weekend had not unfolded the way he expected. As an over-the-road truck driver, when he got into it with his boss, he ended up without a job or a home.

    Fortunately, his family had come through for him again. Navigating challenges but pulling together, he had a great weekend and today he was starting a new job.

    The Daily Word says it all: In times of trouble or great joy, I behold the wonder of God in a world filled to overflowing with divine splendor. Whenever I fail to notice, I look to the people who love me and to the people I love, and know I am blessed…. As I affirm this great goodness, I remain aware that pain and disappointment may come to anyone. During challenging moments, I have faith that good will triumph in the fullness of time. All is well, despite appearances to the contrary….

  • Thankful…. and sad

    We are feeling sad with the passing of John’s eldest brother, Jerry, shortly before midnight on Friday evening, September, 24, 2021.

    The date was already special – grandson Brad and Christina got married exactly five years ago!

    This photo of the five Basham brothers was taken at the wedding. Jerry is on the far right. Next to him is Jim. Jim passed from cancer in 2017. Far left is Greg, the youngest. Jack, and John next to Christina. I married into this bunch 55 years ago and I have grown up with the Basham brothers.


    After John’s dad passed, Labor Day became a Basham event. It was a way to keep everyone together and for many years the “Labor Day Reunion” was held at the home of Jerry and his wife, Jeanne. Complete with copious amounts of beer, a talent show (I use the term talent loosely) on Sunday night, where the audience could number 50 to 100. Memories of Labor Days gone by are now pressed into our minds like a first kiss.

    And this year, Jeanne found Jerry lying on the floor when she got home from the store on Labor Day.

    Jerry had an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

    Thankful Jerry survived over six hours of surgery.

    Thankful he survived a second surgery the following day.

    Thankful he was able to be taken off the ventilator, was alert, and asking for family a few mornings later.

    Jerry had been experiencing low back pain, and it was getting worse. This summer, he said the pain would be so bad, he “would have to sit down or fall down.” It seems incomprehensible now that no one thought of the possibility of an aneurysm.

    Thankful Jerry was making baby steps toward recovery when John and I mustered our post-Covid bodies and traveled to Tennessee for Courtney’s wedding.

    Thankful many words of love and encouragement came by text and video wishing Jerry a happy 79th birthday on Tuesday, September 21, 2021.

    Tuesday night, Jerry was back in ICU after his condition took a turn for the worse.

    Thankful Jeanne and their kids and grandkids were all together with Jerry in the ICU on Wednesday. (This had not been allowed because of Covid risk.)

    Thankful Jerry was lucid and expressed his wishes, choosing to receive comfort care only.

    Thankful the hospital staff was able to keep Jerry comfortable.

    Thankful Jerry was able to receive hospice care in the hospital.

    Thankful to know Jerry’s last hours were very peaceful.

    Thankful Jerry was a care giver. As his daughter, Lisa, said to me yesterday, “There was nothing you could ask of Jerry that he would say no if it was within his human ability to do it.”

    The Daily Word for September 24, 2021 is so Jerry.

    Over the years I have given generously of my treasure and shared my time and talents. Giving has blessed me beyond measure and remains an important part of my spiritual life.

    But sometimes I resist gifts, deflecting another person’s generosity or rushing to reciprocate. Today I practice receiving with willingness and ease. I realize all gifts derive from God, yet come to me through many channels.

    I remember how I feel when my gifts are received gratefully and with happiness, and how it fills my heart to know someone feels cared for and valued. I give that gift to another by letting myself receive with grace and gratitude, completing the circle of sharing and love.

    Thankful Jerry has taken such loving care of all of us through this.

    As Jerry prepared for the six-hour emergency surgery, he assured his wife and daughter he was not afraid, “If I don’t make it, I will wake up and see Scott. If I make it, I will wake up and see you. Either way, I will be happy.”

    Wow….

    Fourteen years ago, Jerry and Jeanne lost their son, Scott, at 42 years of age. One of the toughest things a parent can go through, losing a child.

    Regular readers of this blog are familiar with the Sacred Stories, and you totally get the “continuity of consciousness.”

    I have mentioned Pamela and Alan Johnson, and Supernatural Love and Life After Death (FaceBook).

    Yesterday, John went into the laundry room to get some batteries for his earphones. I heard some grumbling sounds and asked what was going on.

    “Oh, this shelf fell down,” he said.

    I went in to see if I could help. He had gotten the shelf put back up.

    As I looked, however, a dowel pin that was holding up the second from the top shelf was laying on the shelf above the one that had fallen. Now, get this picture. These pins go in so tightly, you need a pair of pliers to pull them out. What are the odds that two pins, on two different shelves, would suddenly fall out?

    Right….

    When we had the second (and more extensive) mold remediation work done here in the tiny house, the cabinets in the laundry room were torn out with the wall. Only the uppers had survived. I had made a detailed drawing and asked Jerry to build a new cabinet. But Covid hit and we all went into lock down.

    I knew this was Jerry’s way of communicating to us. It was perfect. What better to get our attention than what he likely considered to be an unfinished project!

    A much younger Jim (left) and Jerry (center) and John (right) with a head full of black hair!

    Thankful John has had years of practice hearing from family and friends who have passed: Joseph Willmeng; my dad; Jim Sink, to mention just a few.

    Thankful we know we are not just these bodies.

    Thankful we know love is eternal.

    Thankful we are here to remind one another, especially at those times when we feel sad.

  • Condolences and Congratulations

    Lift up your faces,
    you have a piercing need
    for this bright morning
    dawning for you.

    ~ Maya Angelou

    Yesterday’s Yellow Brick Road contained the foundation for today’s: Today 49% of the people will be disappointed. That assumes 51% will be relieved or glad.

    While elections have winners and losers, we do not have to be one or the other.

      Daily Word for November 04. 2020

      Hope

      I am hopeful and positive.

      I begin this day with gratitude. Before I get out of bed, I give thanks. I fill my mind and heart with hope for the coming day and for my future.

      Making a habit of practicing gratitude upon awakening helps me create positivity and hope. Even in the most dire circumstances, I resolve to be hopeful. I look beyond outer circumstances and trust indwelling Spirit to inspire me to find good in the midst of all situations.

      I give myself plentiful reminders that I have reasons for hope. I can make lists of all that I have now as well as things I hope for in the future. Maybe I can enjoy walks outdoors or time spent with optimistic friends. There are always reasons to be hopeful when I stay focused on gratitude.

      Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.—Psalm 33:22

    I purposely have not tuned in to any returns yet. I chose to write the post for today before I have any news.

    In the 1970’s John and I took Parent Effectiveness Training. P.E.T. was developed by Thomas Gordon. Problem solving was a key component of the program and I still remember clearly one of the teaching stories. A man and woman were arguing, each stating, “I need the car tomorrow.” Well, they only had one car!

    The process was to tease out of the seeming impasse the actual need.

    He needed to get to his office downtown.

    She needed to get to the mall to buy a winter coat for their son while it was on sale, one day only.

    Once the needs were stated without the distortion of “It has to be my way,” myriad solutions emerged. He could call a co-worker for a ride; he could take public transportation; she could drop him off. She could ask a friend for a ride; she could take public transportation; she could have someone pick the coat up for her.

    One of my favorite NLP exposures is Core Transformation: Reaching the Wellspring Within, by Connirae Andreas and Tamara Andreas.

    Joseph Chilton Pearce, author of The Crack in the Cosmic Egg said this is “One of the most important works I have come across in any field, Core Transformation should be adopted as the principal therapy by every therapist in the country, understood and practiced by everyone in the helping and legal professions, as well as parents and teachers. I stand in awe at the simplicity, clarity and directness of a work of such magnitude, and will do all I can to promote it.”

    The key was to recognize limitations are truly doorways. One state, often called
    “Inner Peace,” “Joy,” “Love,” or “Oneness.”

    “Oneness and Being,” the goal of most psycho-spiritual approaches, is no longer a mysterious ideal.

    As the results of this election unfold, rather than offer condolences or congratulations to losers or winners, lets experience core transformation.


      Deep Spring Center
      Thought for Today

      “Somebody was talking today about feeling weary of practice. Is there no end to it? There is an end to it. You will find full realization of your true being, full liberation from the cycle of birth and death. All beings will. But meanwhile, consider this. You’re in the situation of somebody with tall weeds growing in their back yard. If you don’t attend to the weeds with some regularity, they’ll take over not only your yard but your neighbor’s yard because the heads will go to seed and fly off in every direction. So here you are doing a wonderful practice of attending to the weeds. Eventually all of this prickly, thorny stuff will dissolve. Truly it will. ”

  • Need to Do

    You must cherish one another.
    You must work —
    we all must work —
    to make this world
    worthy of its children.

    ~ Pablo Casals

    Is this opening quotation, as it is written, true? Less and less I am concerned with being a doer, as more and more I am aware of the importance of how I am being. Listening to Rupert Spira speak about there being no doer, however, I also recognize the stages of learning we are experiencing around all of this. Spira says the belief and feeling “I am a person” is the same belief and feeling of “I am a doer.”

    In mindfulness, this thought “I am a person” could be seen as operating from ego.

    New Years Eve 2000 — twenty years ago — our meditation focus was a powerful writing titled “The Recovering Hero Proclamation.” Here is the last stanza:

      I allow things to unfold naturally, and I trust the flow.
      I joyfully accept and experience my humanity.
      I need nothing.
      All already is.
      Blessed be.

      ~Aaliyah LivingWell
      aka Gina Dawn Gavaris
      GeneratingLove@aol.com
      www.GeneratingSolutions.org

    It is important to realize that this does not mean all action ceases. As Spira says, “No…. Cars continue to be driven, meals continue to be cooked, inquiring into the nature of experience continues to be undertaken.” Everything continues, but it doesn’t imply that there’s a doer.

    I found this note in my journal: I forgive myself for believing it is my job to be the hero in any situation or save anyone else from having the experience they are creating.

    Wow.

    Those familiar with the SCS/NLP materials recognize fully we are moving off the Drama Triangle and experiencing life from the transrational perspective.

    If we are able to drive, cook, and inquire into the nature of things without identifying ourselves as a doer, notice how much more can be done through the expanded awareness.

    Recently a friend who hosts two of the Florida Zoom groups I participate in sent a message saying she has reached her stress limit and is going off the grid. We are still able to use her Zoom account, but she is not meeting with us.

    William Wordsworth’s opening line in, “The World Is Too Much With Us”: The world is too much with us; late and soon.

    Spira invites us to imagine a pink elephant under the chair. Both the statement, “There is something for the pink elephant under the chair to do,” and the statement, “There is nothing for the pink elephant under the chair to do,” are equally absurd.

    Is there something we need to do? Today’s Daily Word:

    Guidance
    I am divinely guided from within.

    There are times I find myself wondering which way to turn. Rather than feeling stressed or pressured into making quick decisions, I know these instances are perfect opportunities to calm myself and check my internal compass for divine direction.

    The source guidance I receive allows me to perceive possible paths and shows me the way if I veer off course. All I need to do is become quiet and feel aware of my connection with God by pausing, breathing deeply, releasing, and relaxing into my intuitive knowing.

    From this place, I instinctively know which way to turn and what to do. In faith, I follow the guidance of my inner wisdom and know everything I will need for the journey ahead is already mine.

    Though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand.—Psalm 37:24

    Of course we do things. Until the mind jumps in after the activity and claims, “I did this, I did that” there is only a sense of the raw experience. A baby probably does not draw from the mother’s breast and think, “I just ate.” The nourishment and the nurturing and the satiating of hunger are the raw experience. No commentary is necessary.