This is truly a powerful and moving video that touches the heart at a soul level. A story of living in courage, written in sand animation by Kseniya Simonova, who exhibits such power and intention as she moves us through this story. A requiem to those who died during the patriotic war. Kseniya is the winner of Ukraine’s Got Talent. Her work carries a serious message.
This next video is of Kseniya’s work and includes a personal interview. Feeling the sand is alive and has a story to tell – each carrying their own message, Kseniya beautifully projects this to us, as the viewer. Kseniya is a very busy mother, model and sand artist. She is preparing to collaborate on a tribute to Michael Jackson, and is busy preparing a one woman show. This is a courageous woman, who when her family lost everything, turned to listening to the messages in the sand, in a unique and moving way.
My beautiful courageous friend Nicole McKinney received this insightful passage this morning from Sue Urda @ Powerful You. I wanted to share it with you, by paying it forward.
“Change is inevitable and sometimes predictable. As we see with the economy and the seasons, cycles come and go and they often repeat themselves. These changes and cycles allow us the opportunity to take a deep breath and move forward into what is truly important. As you look around you and see what is here for you, welcome it. It either serves as a lesson, a new beginning or a renewed sense of personal values. Everything is exactly as it is supposed to be, and it is here FOR you. Breathe it in.
By the way, did you know that the Chinese symbol is exactly the same for chaos as the one for opportunity? There is great wisdom in this.
We wish you the wisdom of the elders – and the Chinese.”
This message is very timely. Our world seems to be in chaos….what do you see? I see opportunity, change, a bright future in store for those that have the eyes to see. The world we all share, we have collectively created. The future depends on each of us. Anyone tired of war, disease, pain, chaos, suffering, limitation, fear or doubt? Anyone? I though so….then what are you waiting for? Jump on the ride that takes you to peace, love, joy, health, courage, abundance and happiness. This ride is long overdue.
Today I am in the mood for some courage quotes to kick start the day. Here are a few by people I consider courageous. Courage is required to reattempt a task after initial failure, and to continue on until success is reached. Reading quotes of courage, fills me with confidence and a sense of inner power. Quotes are like condensed life lessons – to be shared with the world.
Have the courage to love your humanity free as it seeks to balance the mind and heart. In this balance you will find your freedom. Debra Oakland
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. Winston Churchill
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt
Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it… that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear. Dale Carnegie
One of the most courageous things you can do is identify yourself, know who you are, what you believe in, and where you want to go. Sheila Murray Bethel
One man with courage makes a majority. Andrew Jackson
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. Anais Nin
All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them. Walt Disney
Pain nourishes courage. You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you. Mary Tyler Moore
Thanks for visiting, and make it a great day – Debra Oakland @ Living in Courage Online
“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” Marcel Proust
Who would want to visit a garden that is full of waist high weeds, colorless and uncultivated? I would not, simply because it is lifeless, neglected and kind of sad. Even if you planted a beautiful seed, it has no water, or care. There is nothing to nourish this beautiful plant to take root.
Now imagine a colorful garden full of beautiful flowers, or food growing in abundance. The area has been prepared, seeded and the little plants raise their courageous heads to the sun, in anticipation of growth and change. You can compare these two scenarios to the mental bodies of the human race. Each person is different, according to what has been planted in the garden of their consciousness. The mental body is a magnetic field, and through the power of your attention, draws into itself whatever it is being fed. What are you feeding yours? Garbage such as anger, judgment, blame, jealousy or even hate? Or, are you feeding it peace, joy, abundance, love, and a sense of knowing that you get to choose? The healthy plant that is loved and cared for carries a pattern of perfection within itself, just as you do. Are you willing to hold that pattern in your mind in a receiving way until it can be externalized? Have the courage to cultivate, feed and water this pattern of perfection that wants to expand and express itself in, through and around you.
When you get an idea, it is the responsibility of the mental body to hold this idea clearly – long enough for your feelings to breathe it into life. How does this happen? By breathing love, enthusiasm and expectation into the idea. It is like a rhythm that accompanies this pattern of perfection you wish to manifest into form. How do we fail or fall short of this? As I mentioned earlier, our mental bodies are meant to be a clear, magnetic field. It is cultivated and ready for planting. When we put accumulated concepts, mass consciousness of fear, doubt, failure, doom and gloom into this beautiful garden of our mental body, there is no space for the good stuff to grow.
The mental body receives through the power of your attention, as well as through the activities of the senses. So imagine your attention connects with something, good, bad or otherwise. Now your mental body forms a picture of it in your mind, and through the senses, whatever you have placed your attention on, enters the mental body and adds to what is already there. In many cases, there is an accumulation of discordant garbage. If we keep storing the same old garbage, there will be no room for the beautiful life we all want to live. Start by pulling some weeds out of the garden of your consciousness. Maybe your garden is beautiful and yields great and wonderful life experiences. Now and then, you may find a few new weeds, or a couple of really big ones that need removing. Go on in, and pull them out. Then move on, without resistance, just knowing that all gardens need weeding, and constant tending to stay beautiful. Just like you.
Here are some very wise rules to live by that will help your garden grow.
Watch your thoughts; they lead to attitudes.
Watch your attitudes; they lead to words.
Watch your words; they lead to actions.
Watch your actions; they lead to habits.
Watch your habits; they form your character.
Watch your character; it determines your destiny.
The Charter for Compassion is the result of Karen Armstrong’s 2008 TED Prize wish, made possible by the generous support of the Fetzer Institute. It will be unveiled to the world on November 12, 2009.
You may wonder what Charter for Compassion is all about. Their Golden Rule is to put themselves in the shoes of others. How do you want others to act toward you? Do the same for them. Harmlessness. This is a group of multi-faith, multi-national council of thinkers and leaders. Charter for Compassion seeks to change the conversation around compassion, so it becomes a key word in public and private discourse, bringing clarity that any ideology breeding hatred or contempt, be it religious or secular, has failed the test of our time. To show that in our divided world, compassion finds a common voice. May we all Live in Courage and Compassion.
The wonderful video below is of Karen Armstrong as she accepts her 2008 TED Prize and asks the TED community to help her build a Charter for Compassion — to help restore the Golden Rule as the central global religious doctrine.
Karen Armstrong’s book “The Case For God” is a tour de force. A brilliantly written and passionate book about God. Karen is one of the most interesting religion writers of her day. We all have many names for God, to fit our comfort levels. Karen Armstrong explores those names, and our deep inner beliefs about God, in a way that opens up our minds to expand, not contract.
I view Karen Armstrong as a most courageous woman, who explores a very sensitive subject with great sensitivity.
Here are some editorial reviews from Amazon:
“Karen Armstrong’s book is simply superb. Wide-ranging, detailed, well researched meticulously argued and beautifully written, it is a definitive analysis of the role of religious belief and transcendence in our history and our life.”
—Dr Robert Buckman, author of Can We Be Good without God?
“Karen Armstrong, in writing The Case for God, provides the reader with one of the very best theological works of our time. It brings a new understanding to the complex relationship between human existence and the transcendent nature of God. This is a book that is so well researched and so deep with insight and soaring scholarship that only Karen Armstrong could have written it. The Case for God should be required reading for anyone who claims to be a believer, an agnostic or an atheist.”
—The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane, D.D., Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Washington, D.C.
“No one is better qualified or more needed than Karen Armstrong to enter the hot public debate between believers and non–believers over the existence of God. Her latest book, eagerly awaited and received, rings out with the qualities she brings to all of her work—The Case for God is lucid, learned, provocative, and illuminating. Indeed, Armstrong once again does what she always does best by shining a clear light on the deepest mysteries of the religious imagination.”
—Jonathan Kirsch, author of The Harlot by the Side of the Road
A Global Climate Wake Up Call went out on Monday, Sept 21 2009. Members of Avaaz and TckTckTck Campaign sent out a wake-up call to world leaders. Courageous people gathered together in 134 countries. There were over 2,600 events from Australia to Europe which reached heads of state and cabinet ministers. The amount of phone calls to government officials, crashed many phone lines. For photos and maps of the event, go to the Avaaz link above, and view “The World in Action.”
On Monday, September 21, Avaaz members and TckTckTck Campaign partners sent a deafening wake-up call on climate change to world leaders–with 2632 events in 134 countries, tens of thousands of phon…
This video will give you an idea of how large this event was, as well as the courage and creativity of the people involved. What a way to get the governments attention! Gotta love it.
The universe says YES to you, always. That’s it. To anything you set your mind upon, it says yes, yes, yes. Think negative, feel defeated, limited, old, undeserving – yes is the answer every time. This is not rocket science! Universal principles are simple, yet we complicate them to no end daily. Living in courage is saying yes to life. For example, you decide what you want, the universe says a big fat yes, then you have thoughts or feelings of limitation, perhaps doubt or fear pop up. Well, guess what the answer is – YES. Without holding a crystal clear concise thought or feeling, we will only manifest less than a desirous outcome. Our consciousness cannot act on a mixed thought, feeling or message. We manage to get in our own way so much, we experience a yo-yo effect. Can you get out of the way of your own good? I am working on this daily because it is an important principle to live by. Is it easy? No. Will I give up? NO! Old habits can be tough to change, but change they must, if they do not come from a place of love and joy.
I am writing about this during my own journey exploring these principles. It seems we spend so much time chasing our tails in search of abundance, love, peace, youth, joy and a life well lived. Frustration sets in when things don’t work out the way we “thought” they would. Well, how can they, with mixed signals coming in? We need to learn to be clear and concise. It is essential to getting what we want out of life. You may say, why does a criminal or despicable human get what they want? Why do greedy or nasty people have money or harm good people? All these questions pop up in our minds. Think about it – these people have a single minded purpose, a clear concise thought and feeling. Even though it is negative or evil, the universe says yes. The universe always says yes. Are you getting the picture?
Allow yourself a space to practice this. Pick something small to work on, then, work your way up the ladder. Not because the process does not work! Because the human mind gets in the way. Remember that altered ego? It is the small, and very loud voice in your head, that talks incessantly to you. Re-train you altered ego to be a positive force in your life. In that way you will have great assistance. If you think you can manifest something bigger, while remaining unwavering in your conviction of purpose, by all means, go for it.
I challenge you to try it and get back to me with your results. Can you do it? Let’s work on this together, for there is not one of us that does not need more encouragement and courage in our lives.
In crystal clear, concise thoughts and feelings of love, I surround you with love and abundance this beautiful day.
