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"We have to give up our old hopes for a perfect past." -- Dr. Robert Holden on the Oprah show

There's Hidden Treasure To Be Found In The Experience

Well, before I can return The Age of Miracles to the library, I have to erase all my pencil markings. While doing that, I found some other quotes I'd marked but not shared, so I'll put them up now...

p. 4 Being where we are, with neither shame nor apology, is what matters most.

p. 4 The beauty of authenticity can compensate for the lost beauty of our youth. My arms aren't as shapely as they used to be, but I know so much more now about what I should be doing with them.

p. 13 That's why it's so important to appreciate that the best time to try to be your best is in the present moment. You'll never have a better chance.

p. 34 To the ego, simplification means having less; to the spirit, simplification means having more. Wherever there is an overabundance of material substance, the experience of spirit is limited. Whether it's decluttering your house or dropping dysfunctional relationships, anything you do to prune away excess material involvement leaves the soul more free to fly up to its natural state. That is why so often as we approach the mountaintop of spiritual progress, we begin the process of letting go.

Age involves a lot of letting go -- some of our physical prowess, perhaps, or certain worldly opportunities, or our children to live their own lives. Yet such letting go isn't meant to constitute a depressing sacrifice of happiness. Anytime we're called to let go of something, there's hidden treasure to be found in the experience.

p. 46 Dear God,
Please impress upon me
the vision of whom I am meant to be.
Reveal to me the bigger life
that You would have me live.
Undo the forces that keep me bound
that I might serve You more.
Amen

p. 47 God can only work for us to the extent that He can work through us.

p. 58 Numbing yourself -- while sleeping or waking -- will not erase the pain; only forgiveness and love can do that.

p. 100 The intensity of my own pain had made me unable to see beyond the wound he'd inflicted on me to feel true compassion for the wound in him. Yet that was my lesson, clearly: to feel deeper compassion for someone else's wounds so I could then be healed of my own.

p. 111 Once your mind and heart are realigned -- when the broken self you became in childhood is no longer manifesting broken relationships -- then you're ready at last to love again. Compassion, integrity, truthfulness, generosity, and graciousness become key elements in your new romantic skill set. You come to see what you did wrong in the past and to forgive yourself, to understand other people's actions and, where necessary, forgive them, too. You are humbled at last into your purity and grace.

p. 179 We presume on things we have no idea are so fleeting. When we're young, we don't know -- except intellectually, and even then we don't really believe it -- that we won't always have endless energy or glow. When age forces us to see how much is now gone, we are shocked and hurt to realize all the things that are over and will never come again.

p. 182 And we will never settle, ever again, for being less than we truly are.

. . . . .

Well, that was more than I thought I had left unposted, and I have stayed up much later than I had planned!

Image from http://floriandra.deviantart.com/art/Litle-silhuette-104023242

Thursday November 20, 2008 - 02:14am (MST) Permanent Link | 0 Comments

I Knew It! It Really IS Hereditary!

Somehow, when I originally posted this entry, all the text vanished so I'll now just share with you the article I read and attempted to post already...

The Truth Behind Night Owls and Morning People

By: Brie Cadman (View Profile)

I used to work with one of my roommates and getting up in the morning and heading to our job proved to be one of the most trying times in our friendship. I was up with the alarm clock and onto my morning routine, whereas she would stay in bed well past the ringing. Convinced we would be late, I’d go in and give her some gentle nudging, which never went over well. She’d grumble and complain; sometimes she’d hurl insults like “Leave me alone,” or “I hate you,” or simply, “Die.” Offended, I’d sulk away, even more convinced of our impending tardiness. Later on, over a strong cup of coffee, she’d apologize and we’d have a good laugh, only for the same routine to be repeated the following morning.

Get Up by Your Own CLOCK
As it turns out, our sleeping preferences weren’t just due to the fact that I responded better to the alarm. The circadian rhythm, a 24.1-hour period that dictates the sleep-wake cycle, differs among people and can influence whether we are a night owl or a morning lark.

Studies have indicated that self-described morning people have shorter circadian rhythms than self-identified night owls. This means that morning people sleep through their peak hour of sleepiness, so they wake up feeling refreshed. Evening types usually wake up right around their peak hour of sleepiness, so they may have high levels of melatonin and feel groggy. No wonder it’s tough to rouse them.

Hormones and body temperature also differ between the sleep groups. Early birds have higher levels of cortisol in the morning, which may give them the perky edge. Body temperature tends to be low in the morning, peaks in the late afternoon, and decreases until bedtime. Early risers have a body temperature peak around 3:30 p.m., while night owls are hottest around 8 p.m.

Our sleep preferences are at least in part hereditary. Differences in the CLOCK gene (short for Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput), for instance, may contribute to differences in our favored times of activity. Sleep researchers at Stanford University found that people with one genotype had an increased preference for eveningness, while the other genotype had an increased preference for morningness.

Biology and Behavior
Though our sleeping and waking preferences may be partially innate, some are due to what we’re used to from childhood, the seasons, or what we’ve adapted to. This means we can—and do—change our sleeping patterns.

For instance, during the summer, when daylight hours are plenty, we may stay up later but rise earlier with the sun. In the winter, darkness and cold sets in early, making our beds all that much more alluring. It’s also harder to wake early in the winter when it’s dark out.

Age also alters our sleeping patterns. Different times in our lives lend themselves to different sleeping patterns. During the teens, for instance, hormones may change the sleep and wake patterns, and this is one explanation as to why so many teens tend to shift to a night owl schedule. (Socializing, studying, and busy schedules also contribute.) Alternatively, as people get older, work and familial demands tend to make people more morning focused, regardless of their preferences. Later in life, in the sixties and seventies, people tend to need less sleep altogether.

In Sleep as in Life?
In reality, however, few of us are true morning people who can effortlessly bound out of bed at five or six in the morning; likewise die-hard night owls are also rare. Researchers estimate that extremes comprise about 10 to 20 percent of the population, with the rest of us falling somewhere on the intermediate spectrum. And in fact, the majority of us prefer a common point in the 24-hour continuum: daytime.

So what does that say about the common belief that night people are more creative—the artist who stays up to the wee hours to paint or the musician who keeps a bedtime-at-dawn type schedule?

A few studies show that character traits may differ between the diurnal and the nocturnal. A Spanish researcher found that the time of day we prefer to be most active corresponds to certain personality traits. Early risers were more likely to be logical and analytical, and likely to use concrete information as sources of knowledge, whereas those that stayed up late were more imaginative and intuitive. Another study published in the February 2007 issue of Personality and Individual Differences determined that night owls scored better on creativity tests than did intermediary and morning people.

However, the research presents a bit of a chicken and egg conundrum: Does your internal clock shape your psychology or does your psychology help shape your sleeping patterns, and thus your internal clock? Many questions still remain and I’m sure there are many creative early risers and analytical late-nighters who would dispute the above studies.

Can an Owl See the Light?
Despite our preferences, we do live in a society where we pretty much follow an early riser’s schedule. If you are someone who has to conform to a regular work schedule, then there are some things you can do to help shift your sleep pattern into one. Many of them are tips on how to get a good’s night sleep in general. The National Sleep Foundation has the following recommendations:

Don’t bring it with you.

The bed should be used for sleeping and sex, not computing, watching TV, eating, etc. Though I read before going to bed, the NSF even recommends banning books from your boudoir.

Try to stay consistent.

Studies have shown that night owls tend to have inconsistent bed and waking times. One of the best ideas for a good’s night sleep is to try to go to bed around the same time every night. (I find this nearly impossible on the weekends.) This will not only help you sleep better, it can help shift your clock to an earlier (or later, if that’s what you want) bedtime.

Don’t pull the shades.

Our sleep patterns are affected by light, so letting the natural stuff in each morning will help you rise. Don’t put down the blinds or shades; the brightness will help you wake up. (If not totally make you mad.) In addition, when evening rolls around, dim the lights and make sure your bedroom is dark.

No midnight snacks or drinks.

The NSF recommends not eating two to three hours before going to bed and not drinking too close to bedtime either. Likewise, people who have a hard time falling asleep are generally told to limit late afternoon caffeine consumption.

Exercise regularly—it can help you fall asleep.

Exercising too close to bedtime can have the opposite effect, but generally if you finish within an hour or two of hitting the hay, you should be okay.

As it turns out, although I’m normally chipper in the a.m., I’m not a true morning person—I have to set an alarm and I like to hit snooze at least two to three times. And my late-sleeping roommate has now adjusted her schedule to her new job with early hours. And she gets up all by herself.

From: http://www.divinecaroline.com/article/22189/55286-truth-night-owls-morning/2

Image from http://reenigrl.deviantart.com/art/BlackBirds-song-103890355

Tuesday November 18, 2008 - 02:27am (MST) Permanent Link | 0 Comments

Face Down In The Dirt She Said This Doesn't Hurt

Some of the lyrics from:

THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS
"Face Down"

...

A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect
every action in this world will bear a consequence
If you wade around forever, you will surely drown
I see what's going down.

I see the way you go and say you're right again,
say you're right again
Heed my lecture.

...

Face down in the dirt, she said,
"This doesn't hurt", she said,
"I finally had enough."

...

Lyrics from http://www.plyrics.com/lyrics/redjumpsuitapparatus/facedown39286.html

Listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1ENjfLNVdg

Image from http://princess-of-shadows.deviantart.com/art/you-stole-my-smile-103293577

Wednesday November 12, 2008 - 12:34am (MST) Permanent Link | 0 Comments

Love Is To Fear What Light Is To Darkness

All of us take two steps forward and one step back at times, but there is nevertheless an evolutionary impulse -- within every heart, every cell, and every aspect of life -- marching ahead despite all resistance. (The Age of Miracles by Marianne Williamson, page 145.)

p. 150 ...faith that love produces miracles is no different from faith that gravity makes things fall.

p. 151 Every problem is a challenge to become a better person.

p. 151 What quantum leap will transition us from the level of consciousness at which we created our problems to a level of consciousness at which we're able to miraculously solve them?

p. 152 It does us little good if we succeed at calling forth miracles, yet are psychologically and emotionally unprepared to receive them when they arrive. Prayer not only calls forth our good, but prepares us to handle it once it comes.

p. 153 If a parent is an alcoholic, his or her children carry the psychological weight of the addict's unprocessed issues.

p. 155 Every miracle you work in your life is a blessing on life itself.

p. 156 Love is to fear what light is to darkness; in the presence of one, the other disappears.

p. 172 In the words of Gandhi, "The end is inherent in the means." We must be the change we want to see happen in the world, because otherwise the change will not happen.

. . . . .

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Monday November 10, 2008 - 11:48pm (MST) Permanent Link | 0 Comments

May My Love For Her Be As A Light That Surrounds Her

Dear God,
Please take care of my precious child
as her path now leads away from me.
May angels surround her,
and may she find her way.
May my love for her
be as a light that surrounds her,
for all her living days.
Amen

From page 94 of The Age of Miracles by Marianne Williamson

And suits pretty well the way I am feeling with my baby girl these days...

I hope and wish and dream so much for her in her life, I am not sure I can properly verbalize them right now.

I want so much for this little girl in her life -- in the present and for her future. I pray that she can learn from some of my mistakes and not have to make them herself. I hope that she can discern wise from unwise in relationships, in risks taken, in choices made. I hope that she truly understands what I meant for her when I told her to live for her own true joy and not for the happiness of others.

I was not, of course, telling her to be selfish nor live only for what may bring happiness in the moment. There can be no true joy in a soul if there is no room for and no service to others.

I was telling her to really get to know her Self.

I was telling her how important it is know what she truly needs and wants in life, to base her choices on what is right for her Self, her life, her future and not merely based on the thought of giving to others that which she may think they desire for either the short or the long term. Living solely for others will not fulfill the Soul's needs in this lifetime or any other. Living for others will leave your soul always aching for that Something More it becomes desperate to attain, no matter how long it's been starved of authentic joy.

My hope for my firstborn -- and for all of my babies, of course, she is just the first in succession -- is that she will listen to that little voice inside of her; you know, the one that tells you if something you're considering really is right or wrong. I hope that she will be completely in-tune to her true Self. I hope that she will set goals that she can reach and that they will be goals that she may attain to her own highest benefit.

I pray that she will always know her mother loves her, no matter what; that she can come to me with anything that troubles her or brings her joy and I will share in it to the best of my ability. My hope for her is that the wisdom beyond her years that she often seems to possess will serve her well throughout her life.

Marissa, I love you more than mere words could ever begin to express.

Monday November 10, 2008 - 01:18am (MST) Permanent Link | 0 Comments

Shaunna

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This is me with the words on the tip of my tongue. Full Post View | List View

The Truth Behind Night Owls and Morning People

THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS "Face Down"

THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS
"Face Down"