Should you help with other people's issues?

If I were a man, I would be a catholic priest with a vocation for confession. i am a good listener. i advise when i am asked. i do not intrude. i keep a secret. since i was little people came to me with their secrets, their worries, their pain. first my mom. then schoolmates. then workmates. as for myself, i was shut as a clam. then, some years ago, i began alternative homeopathic treatments for some issues i had, and that changed my life. i had to open up to get somewhere. then came Jesus. i opened up again, this time to myself and to God through the unique experience of confession.

This journey taught me a lot that surfaces from time to time. it is a pitty it surfaces now that i am 40, and not ten years ago. but, i hope it is not too late. and this knowledge i want to share with you today.

Oftentimes, out of good will we want to help. or life's circumstances put us in a position where we need to help someone with their own issues, in order to gain some peace and stability or flow in our own lives. we do our best. we show love and compassion. we give all that we have to the other person, hoping that our love and care will fill the gaps in their lives and yes, make them love us and be our freinds.

I'm afraid i must tell you, it doesn't always work. and the reason it doesn't work, is that each one of us must face their demons on our own. we must stand in the mirror of God, the mirror of our consciousness, of all that we perceive as noble and with integrity, and look. and judge. and forgive. and decide what we want to do with our lives.

And then we surrender to God, and pray that our best dreams may come true, and that He approves what is best for us.

This is a journey that everyone of us must undertake on their own. there is no way i can do it for someone else. that realisation today has a healing power over me. i do as much as i can do for everyone. but i cannot do the actual work for them. they must turn to the specialists, physical, like a doctor, or spiritual, as in God. so what i can really do for people that might help them in any real way, while i get to keep my hard earned sanity, is to pray for them to God that He may do His work on them. And that is a huge sigh of relief.

Body-mind connection

Hi!
I have had some quite challenging days. I am just beginning to emmerge. Physical discomfort from several parts of my body, ringing bells of alarm.
I usually don't realise it until I am way into stress. 10 hour worjking days. Housework. Extra work for the company, translating the company's corporatre DVD (for free!), translating the corporate website into French (for free). Trying to fit in some "me" time, usually collapsing in front of the TV with a pack of snacks. I thought I had no reason to worry, that I could take anything in my stride. Well, body alarm hit 'hello! did you take me into consideration?" Nope, I did not. So, I was made to slow down, feeling very guilty for staying at home on health reasons. How pathetic is that?
Anyway. Reading from my prayer book in the evening was the day's most relaxing moment. I am back to work tonight. C is planning to take us to the mountains tomorrow. That sounds quite stressful to me already. I did that journey some five years ago and I was so scared. But he says the mountain refuge is lovely and the kids will love the snow. So, I am following along, although for the second time this year, I was more looking forward to a trip to Athens. Quite funny of me. Oh well. I shall take pictures to show you how our little mountain escape will look like.

I haven't been to a mountain refuge since I was in the Venture Scouts. That's more than twenty years ago. Who knows? I may like it.
Meanwhile I searched for my Holosync Cds that I cannot find. And if I do, my CD player is out of order. Perhaps the girls will be able to turn the CDs into mp3s-if I find the CDs, that is. And then I can close my eyes during the trip at the gorge's edge and open them again when we arrive.
Here is a Holosync demo, if you are not familiar with it already. Some say it's beneficial, some not. I say "Nothing in excess" as the Ancient Greeks said.



Piano music is quite relaxing, too. I must get C to search through the hundreds of Cds he has been archiving in his office for some piano music. Gosh, I've missed Classical music! Classical music is really good for you. This time though, I want to delve deep, read the little booklets, follow as if I were to the Vienna opera house.



I guess that's all for now, folks. I hope to be back on Monday with our mountain expedition. Wish us the best. I wish all the best to you, too.

I am who I am, oh yes!

I got the link on my e-mail today, and I headed to Beliefenet to read a friend's blog post. I then scrolled down a bit and found myself taking Belief-o-matic, an on-line quiz matching one's religious and spriritual beliefs to the religion that most closely matches them, plus some
alternatives.

Here are my top three results:
1.
Eastern Orthodox (100%)
2.
Roman Catholic (100%)
3.
Orthodox Quaker (96%)

And my top ten results:
1.
Eastern Orthodox (100%)
2.
Roman Catholic (100%)
3.
Orthodox Quaker (96%)
4.
Hinduism (94%)
5.
Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (84%)
6.
Seventh Day Adventist (84%)
7.
Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (72%)
8.
Orthodox Judaism (69%)
9.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (66%)
10.
Sikhism (62%)

What that means to me? A relief, really. After all that schizofrenic wandering I am relatively sain in my mind!

Do Meet the Robinsons

Today we went to the movies. We have wanted to for quite some time. The children wanted to see "Meet the Robinsons", but I wasn't quite sure it would be good for them. After reading some reviews in newspapers and on line, I concluded it'd be OK. Admittedly I am attracted to movies that the critics aren't terribly enthusiastic about. Same goes about books. If they are not the nomenclature's favorites, they have more chances to be interesting. I am glad we went.

"Meet the Robinsons" is the story of a boy who grew up in an orphanage. He was keen in creating numerous inventions that always turned out marginally wrong. While in an inventions competition, he is transported into the future by another boy who, as it turns out "will be" his son.

This cartoon, funny and action packed as it is, with beautiful colors and lovely expressions of the characters' faces, has a deeper meaning and it can be read on various levels.
First of all it teaches children to always move forward despite the obstacles. To persevere in their objectives and reach out for their dreams.
In the film, Lewis is looking for his birth mother. He believes that only if he finds her, will he find love and acceptance.When he travels in the future, he meets the Robinsons, who turn out to be his own (future) family. When he finally gets the chance to travel back in time and persuade his birth mother not to give him up at the orphanage, he realises that life is just how it is meant to be. It reminded me of this poem I wrote about the other day: "You are not an accident".

The film also alludes to the unity of time: past, present and future, as being one. This is a strong philosophical issue, and it surprised me that they made such a hint in a movie targeted at a young audience. It reminded me of the The Celestine Vision where it said that as we progress in time, we are entering a higher level of consciousness. Remember cartoons twenty or thirty years ago: light and fluffy and mostly silly. Whereas this is a different level of entertainment, funny and pleasant but also mature in the way it treats sensitive issues, often philosophical ones to which we wouldn't normally think children could be exposed.

On a lighter note: I loved the scene where people are using soap bubbles to transport them from one place to enother. Now that's eco-friendly!
So, if you haven't seen it yet, do. I'd like my children to have a copy of it to think about and offer it to their children as a legacy of faith and strength in their lives.