Self-Sabotage

Think twice...

Faith Springs Eternal

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)  I find it includes being comfortable with not knowing what to expect...life without a plan!  Getting in flow and staying there for as long as I can.

A learned process. Not a natural outcropping of my personality.

To get in flow, the first thing I do is stop, take a deep breath and become very aware of my present state.  Not just my internal state but my environment - what I see, hear, smell, feel.  An awareness. A presence.  An art often lost in the age of electronics and speedy process.

Next, I ask myself a simple question, "What am I feeling" and as Byron Katie would ask "Is that true?"  Is it true?  Is it an impression?  A gut reaction? A lie I'm buying into?

When I find it is true, at least for me for the moment, the next part of the process...that sounds long but all this just takes seconds...is to ask myself "Is this old stuff, not serving me now or is this something new?"  Often, it's a very deep dive into the essence of me.  It takes courage and being painfully honest with myself.  Embracing the good, the bad and the ugly.

Whatever I decide and whatever I decide to do about it, is filtered through my values and beliefs.  I search the Truth of God's Word and then I abide and make the choice of who I am being in this event?  Am I being who I want to be?  

Sometimes I can accomplish all this in the moment but most often, I need the guidance of those people who love me enough to challenge me and help guide me through my process.

There is a contentment, a trusting that I know whatever comes my way, I'll be able to handle...sooner or later.

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Where Have I Been...Anyway?

 It's been a winding road I'm traveling.  In this day and age, especially for "boomers" it has always been a winding road...one of making peace, finding your way, allowing values to manifest into ideas, trusting God and being led by His Spirit.  I'm one to withdraw during those times and not pummel others with my woes...well, unless you're my husband.  Great guy.  Faithful.  Solid.

So, I'm back.  Great news, will soon be launching my coaching business...but not sure which focus I'll focus on...is that clear?  More later...when I'm focused.  

The biggest "thing" I've learned is to really chose what is important to me and what feeds my energy that feeds my priorities.  That includes many things.  Mostly it  means being willing to live with the pain of change...letting go of some dreams, some ideas, some friends.  It hurt but it was a good hurt because it solidified what was kept.  Dreams start developing into reality.  Ideas focus on the present goal.  Friends become good friends.

Polly 5/1/96 - 9/14/11

Even my dogs have had the luxury of focused attention and play...and when it was time to say good-bye to Polly, it hurt a little...just a little less. 

So as the road less traveled...(poem by Robert Frost or the book by Scott Peck)...continues to unfold, I'm wonderfully anticipating its developments...and will share as I will.

FREE & UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

Too often we think of ourselves as righteous and our duty, our calling to wag a finger at others...it's often done from a position of fear (not fulfilling our duty or calling) or from lack of faith...God just doesn't quite get it or know what He's doing.  It is He that touches the heart and turns it whichever way.  We are called to love.  Love does not include wagging a finger and making judgments. In fact, it imprisions us if we don't love freely and with unreasonableness.  Is it easy...no, not until I practice it into a habit.  FG
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(I think the "Path of Descent" is a great example)             
PATH OF DESCENT


The second temptation of Jesus is another one that all of us must face. Satan takes Jesus up to the pinnacle of the Temple, symbolizing the top of the religious world itself, and tells him to play “righteousness games” with God. “Throw yourself off and he’ll catch you” (Matthew 4:6). It’s the only time in the Bible where the devil quotes Scripture. Holy words can be used for evil purposes, it surely says. This second temptation is to think of yourself as saved, superior to others, the moral elite on the side of God and religion, and to quote arguable Scriptures for your own purpose—being against God in the name of God. Actually it is quite common.


As Mother Teresa loved to say, “We were not created to be successful [even spiritually successful!], but to be obedient.” True obedience to God won’t always make us look or feel right (that is why it takes faith!), so be careful before you stand on the pinnacle of any Temple, Scripture, or Sacrament. It is the common temptation of actually loving ourselves under the guise of loving God.

From Radical Grace: Daily Meditations, p. 295, day 309

Twitter Resets User Passwords in Wake of Phishing Attack

Sarah Jacobsson, PCWorld  Early Tuesday, Twitter says it had to reset the passwords of a small number of accounts compromised in an external phishing attack.

Feb 2, 2010 5:54 pm
"As part of Twitter's ongoing security efforts, we reset passwords for a small number of accounts that we believe may have been compromised offsite," Twitter wrote in a prepared statement.


Twitter said it took the security action because of a "combination of multiple bad acts." One, it believes, is accounts being compromised by Twitter users signing up for what it described as "get followers fast schemes" luring people to a non-Twitter site. A Twitter spokesperson also said it suspects this third-party site "could have allowed hackers to gain access to email addresses and passwords. Those Twitter users who use the same email addresses and passwords could be affected."
According to Twitter at least one account was compromised by a phisher. In that instance Twitter updates were sent out without the account owners knowledge, Twitter said. "While we're still investigating and ensuring that the appropriate parties are notified, we do believe that the steps we've taken should ensure user safety," Twitter says.


Twitter is no stranger to account hijacking. On Jan. 5, 2009, 33 prominent Twitterers (including Barack Obama and Britney Spears) had their accounts hacked by an individual. The hacker reportedly hacked the Twitter support tools (the tools Twitter uses to help users reset emails and passwords) and reset the passwords of the compromised accounts. In response to the attack, Twitter immediately shut down the support tools and restored the accounts to their rightful owners.


On May 21, 2009, Twitter was hit by a phishing attack in which phishers created fake Twitter accounts and began following legitimate Twitter users. The Twitter users received email notifications of their new followers, with a link that lead them to a fake Twitter site where they were prompted to enter their usernames and passwords.


Twitter isn't alone grappling with phishing attacks. Recently Facebook joined forces with McAfee to offer it users free antivirus software and increased protection from third-party phishing attacks.


Since phishing attacks usually occur when people click on rogue links in emails (without checking to ensure that the emails are from who they say they're from), there's not much Twitter could have done to prevent the attack. However, security breaches like this one are unlikely to help Twitter's falling growth rate.  PC World

PRAYER: ATTUNEMENT TO CONSCIOUSNESS

Question of the Day:

Where and when is transformation possible?

How different Jesus’ Kingdom of God is from our later notion of salvation, which pushed the entire issue into the future and largely became a reward and punishment system. How different from Jesus’ “the Kingdom of Heaven is in your midst” (Luke 17:21) or Paul’s “now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Healthy religion is always about seeing and knowing something now, which demands a transformation of consciousness on my part today, not moral gymnastics or heroic willpower to earn a prize later.


From The Naked Now, pp. 101  The Naked Now book

Mantra:  The kingdom of God is in your midst.

"Damn The Torpedoes, Full Steam Ahead"

Just read the blog "Crusty Middle Age Woman" and was reminded how I need to personally connect within my own blog.

Obviously, I do like to post information about my passions and causes.  Now it's time to write. 

With some hesitancy, I've applied for advertising to be put on my blog.  I feel a little sleazy doing it, like I'm selling out...much like I felt about the Beatles when I heard their music being playing Muzak-style in the grocery store.  But what the hey...a bit of extra income would be greatly appreciated.  If I don't like it, I'll drop it.  Of course, my blog is so lacking in popularity right now, maybe nobody will want to advertise.  That would be OK, too. 

We've had what seems like a year of grey, rainy cold, dank, unappealing, useless weather.  It always leaves me restless and cranky and demented.  Need some full-spectrum light.  No, I need to fulfill my desire to move to Florida.  The sun, the fresh fruit and veggies, the smell of the ocean, sand in everything, Marineland, sunset classes, turtle watches, identifying the flukes of migrating dolphins and whales.  That's the life for me.

What stops me from being there...from getting there...where's my plan?  I'm floundering with my focus and my action steps.  I am so self-destructive in this grey mood.  That realization alone is enough to get me off my "arse" and into consistently putting my action steps into...wait for it...MOTION!  *"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead."  

*Admiral David Glasgow Farragut (1801-1870), the first senior officer of the U.S. Navy at the time of the American Civil War.  Aboard the Hartford, Farragut entered Mobile Bay, Alabama, August 5, 1864, in two columns, with armored monitors leading and a fleet of wood ships following.  When the lead monitor Tecumseh was demolished by a mine, the wooden ship Brooklyn stopped and the line drifted in confusion toward Fort Morgan.  As disaster seemed imminent, Farragut gave the orders embodied by these famous words.  He swung his own ship clear and headed across the mines, which failed to explode.  The fleet followed and anchored above the forts, which now isolated, surrendered one by one.  The torpedoes to which Farragut and his contemporaries referred would today be described as tethered mines.

[Hearn, Chester G. Admiral David Glasgow Farragut: The Civil War Years. (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1988): 263-265. According to the book by Admiral Farragut's son, The Life of David Glasgow Farragut, First Admiral of the United States Navy, (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1879), pages 416-417, Admiral Farragut said "Damn the torpedoes! Four bells! Captain Crayton, go ahead! Joucett, full speed!"]  (From WikiAnswers)