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Written by Joann Turner
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"It just takes moments, sometimes, to move from that place of deep inner
quiet to the place where the world enters in, bringing with it the
chaos of the moment."
”Just become so still that your mind
won’t be bothered to remember the mundane, and then you’ll feel it like the shifting
of the winds. Then you’ll know when
the mountain changes from exhaling
to inhaling. That’s not so important
in itself, but the mind
that is quiet enough to notice, is. ”
––The Monkess, dailyzen.com
It just takes moments, sometimes, to move from that place of deep inner
quiet to the place where the world enters in, bringing with it the
chaos of the moment.
We are so quick to give up that stillness for the earthquake of general existence.
When we stop for a second and read words inspired, see the sunset or
the night sky, or just close our eyes and breathe in deeply, we are
reminded of how our bodies and minds can just be. We are reminded that
we have choices and we are asked to make those choices each and every
moment.
Because of circumstances she was experiencing, my sister Dee, from Lake
Havasu, was told she would need to be put on high blood pressure
medicine for the rest of her life. Knowing the effects such medicine
can have on the kidneys and liver, she said, ”There has to be another
way.” And she found that way by monitoring and quieting her thoughts,
and reviewing the way she was seeing her circumstances. She chose to
change her perception of her life. Actually, her life didn’t
change––only her perceptions did. The doctor was amazed. He said most
people can’t / won’t make those shifts in consciousness.
My girlfriend Vivian, from New York, was told she would need to go on
diabetic medication. Again, knowing the side effects of those pills,
she too said, ”There has to be another way.” And she chose another way
for herself...being aware of her attitude towards the foods she was
taking in and increasing the amount of walking she was doing. The
doctor is amazed that she is being able to reverse her sugar readings
without medication––again, because most people he meets will not
inconvience themselves to make changes in their lives. They instead
will hand over that responsibility to another to give them a quick fix,
however temporary and eventually devastating it may be to their health.
We all have areas in our lives in which we could sit and commiserate
with friends, counselors or doctors. It’s such an easy place to slide
into. It takes much more vigilance to take the responsibility to make
the changes, which (most of the time) we’re fully aware need making.
With this in mind, it would lend credence to the idea that this time
here on Earth is a space for learning...for changes...and for taking
responsibility for those challenges we have drawn to us. On the
surface, these challenges carry hundreds of names and affect body, mind
and spirit. But under each challenge lies the choice and our ability to
respond in a life-affirming manner to that
choice.
”Can’t teach an old dog new tricks?” I love the answer one meditator
received to that statement: ”You don’t truly know how old you are.”
For in the ”no-time,” outside of this life, we know that everything we
do here affects everything that will come afterwards. If we can keep
that one point in mind, we would take the gift of each challenge and
work with the choices to suck every bit of life and wisdom from this
act––before the curtain comes down. We may not be able to take the
possessions we have accumulated here, but we can take the lessons we
have learned, the truths we have garnered and the insights we have
gained. Those are ours forever...and that’s a long, long time.
Blessings, Joann Turner |
Archives 2006 
