Take a moment to enjoy a refreshing vacation:
The coliseum
The invitation
Long Beach marina
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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Take a moment...
Here are the photos for the 3 pictures I entered in the Shoreline Arts festival. The festival was this past Saturday & Sunday. While I didn't win anything, it was educational to be a part of it.
Take a moment to enjoy a refreshing vacation:
Take a moment to enjoy a refreshing vacation:
Continuing on yesterdays thoughts...
Two very popular schools of thought today are the Secret and The law of attraction. These schools of thought teach the power of focus - what you focus on you will attract. Both teach biblical principles, but both leave God at the fringes rather than as the originator and sustainer of these laws. Like the law of gravity, you are affected by them wether you believe in the law itself or in the One who set the law in place.
In the mid 50's, Norman Vincent Peale wrote The power of positive thinking. In chapter 2, A peaceful mind generates power, he quotes a conversation he has with several gentlemen, one who complained about his poor nights sleep and the others restful, peaceful sleep. The rested man said:
"I don't go to bed with an ear full of trouble. I went to sleep with a mind full of peace." This gentleman was referring to his family's practice in his youth that he and his wife had recently begun; the practice of reading the bible together before bed.
Peale suggests emptying the mind of the negative, but filling that vacuum with creative and healthy thoughts, he includes scripture, visualization, and "suggestive articulation" as ways to gain a peaceful mind, and ultimately to achieve your goals.
So, if we attract what we're focused on the question this whole line of thought raises is what are you focused on?
In the mid 50's, Norman Vincent Peale wrote The power of positive thinking. In chapter 2, A peaceful mind generates power, he quotes a conversation he has with several gentlemen, one who complained about his poor nights sleep and the others restful, peaceful sleep. The rested man said:
"I don't go to bed with an ear full of trouble. I went to sleep with a mind full of peace." This gentleman was referring to his family's practice in his youth that he and his wife had recently begun; the practice of reading the bible together before bed.
Peale suggests emptying the mind of the negative, but filling that vacuum with creative and healthy thoughts, he includes scripture, visualization, and "suggestive articulation" as ways to gain a peaceful mind, and ultimately to achieve your goals.
So, if we attract what we're focused on the question this whole line of thought raises is what are you focused on?
Can I have a witness?!
While I've been silent on the blog lately, there has been much going on between my ears. Lots of points are connecting in new ways and changing previously held beliefs and thoughts.
I just finished rereading Pegasus in space and was struck once again by this discussion:
Our psychic powers utilize the quantum mechanical effects of an observer on a macroscopic scale," the professor said simply. Peter looked confused. "You know that in the realm of quantum mechanics, simply observing a particle changes it's state, correct? Professor Heisenberg embodied the in his Uncertainty Principle."
"Yes," Peter replied. "The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle states that with subatomic particles it is not possible to observe its state without the energy used to make the observation causing a change in that state - if you shine a light on an electron it will either change its speed or its orbit."
"Correct," the professor said. "The effect of the observer is more profound, even. In the case of Schroedinger - and his poor unfortunate imaginary cat - an observer is required before an observation can be made."
"Like Schroedinger's cat - no one can know if the cat is dead or alive without actually opening the airtight box and looking, " Peter agreed.
"Exactly," the professor replied enthusiastically. "And we Talented people are very special observers. While nothing can be said to have happened without an observer, we, with our Talents, can make things happen the way we want them."
Pegasus in space by Anne McCaffrey
Chapter 14 page 376
Chris and I have the understanding that God has limited Himself in His actions, until He has a witness to what He is about to do. That principle is found in Ezekiel 22:30 and you can see it in operation all throughout the Old Testament, and Jewish life today requires a witness (that's plural, sometimes its 1 sometimes its more to serve as "a" witness), but the scripture that comes to mind is Jesus speaking to some of His disciples. He says:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts:1:8 NIV - just before the transfiguration and before Pentecost
Another New Testament passage that comes to mind is about those who watch what we are doing:
...we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses Hebrews 12:1
So how does all that tie together? If God is looking for a man in whom He can work through, and yet requires a witness, what if we align our thoughts, our desires with what He desires. Not only do we give Him permission to act, He is first and foremost a gentleman, but we then become witnesses to what He desires to do in the first place. As a special added bonus, at no charge, we are also the agent of change that allows Him to move. The question then becomes, "What does God desire to do?" By asking him, we partner with Him, we focus our thoughts, intentions and desires on Him and we become His witnesses.
This is only one of the places this line of thought has taken me in the past few days. The question it raises is - What is God asking your help with today?
I just finished rereading Pegasus in space and was struck once again by this discussion:
Our psychic powers utilize the quantum mechanical effects of an observer on a macroscopic scale," the professor said simply. Peter looked confused. "You know that in the realm of quantum mechanics, simply observing a particle changes it's state, correct? Professor Heisenberg embodied the in his Uncertainty Principle."
"Yes," Peter replied. "The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle states that with subatomic particles it is not possible to observe its state without the energy used to make the observation causing a change in that state - if you shine a light on an electron it will either change its speed or its orbit."
"Correct," the professor said. "The effect of the observer is more profound, even. In the case of Schroedinger - and his poor unfortunate imaginary cat - an observer is required before an observation can be made."
"Like Schroedinger's cat - no one can know if the cat is dead or alive without actually opening the airtight box and looking, " Peter agreed.
"Exactly," the professor replied enthusiastically. "And we Talented people are very special observers. While nothing can be said to have happened without an observer, we, with our Talents, can make things happen the way we want them."
Pegasus in space by Anne McCaffrey
Chapter 14 page 376
Chris and I have the understanding that God has limited Himself in His actions, until He has a witness to what He is about to do. That principle is found in Ezekiel 22:30 and you can see it in operation all throughout the Old Testament, and Jewish life today requires a witness (that's plural, sometimes its 1 sometimes its more to serve as "a" witness), but the scripture that comes to mind is Jesus speaking to some of His disciples. He says:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts:1:8 NIV - just before the transfiguration and before Pentecost
Another New Testament passage that comes to mind is about those who watch what we are doing:
...we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses Hebrews 12:1
So how does all that tie together? If God is looking for a man in whom He can work through, and yet requires a witness, what if we align our thoughts, our desires with what He desires. Not only do we give Him permission to act, He is first and foremost a gentleman, but we then become witnesses to what He desires to do in the first place. As a special added bonus, at no charge, we are also the agent of change that allows Him to move. The question then becomes, "What does God desire to do?" By asking him, we partner with Him, we focus our thoughts, intentions and desires on Him and we become His witnesses.
This is only one of the places this line of thought has taken me in the past few days. The question it raises is - What is God asking your help with today?
Friday, June 13, 2008
Ultimate resolutions
I began thinking about the concept of ultimate resolutions yesterday; an ultimate resolution is when you see changes happening but you can see that it isn't the ultimate solution so you don't jump on board. The only problem with this is that somethings need to have your involvement in the beginning so that they can evolve into what you "see" or envision as the ultimate resolution. It's your involvement that gives it life and morphs it into the end result you "see". If you don't get involved, if you don't take a risk, you run the risk of paralysis, of uncertainness and insecurity.
Does paralysis, of uncertainness or insecurity ring a bell in your life??? What ultimate resolution are you waiting for? What do you need to take a risk with and just jump in?
Does paralysis, of uncertainness or insecurity ring a bell in your life??? What ultimate resolution are you waiting for? What do you need to take a risk with and just jump in?
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Spheres of influence
It’s been a busy week; we’ve been in New Jersey for a friends wedding, and since we were clear across the country, we took a couple of days to enjoy New York city. Chris’s one request was to take in a Yankees game because this is the final season in the original stadium. While we watched batting practice, the importance of spheres of influence came to me. What I saw were men preparing: stretching, warming up, practicing home run hits and placement hits, rabid fans streaming in, calling out to their favorite player, comparing Yankee trivia with one another, the microcosm that is the Bronx zoo and much more. My mind wandered back to the wedding and the reception. There were similarities, though on a different scale; friends and family with common interests gathering together to celebrate the joining of two into one. As I reflected, I realized that who we become is a direct reflection of who we surround ourselves with on a daily basis. That to achieve anything, not only do we need to apply ourselves diligently, but we need the synergistic energies of those we surround ourselves with to make it there.
Chris and I had a long conversation about this on the subway home. He’d seen the same thing and had the same response. We decided we have some re-evaluating and reconnecting to do. What about you. Are you surrounded with and by the people you admire and desire to become like? Or do you need to make some changes in your life??? Wherever you find yourself, may the right choices and people come into your life and may the connections fuse together effortlessly.
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