It seems appropriate to end the year of 2011 with Gratitude.  Of all the 144 Qualities of Love, gratitude is one of my personal favorites.  There have been endless words written about this quality, personal moments of sacred silence in gratitude, outward expressions of thankfulness in every imaginable way.  No matter what your belief system may be, there is one thing we all share, express and experience in our own way, and that is grate-fullness. It is hard to ignore one of life’s greatest qualities!

Reflecting back on 2011, it is important to remind ourselves to be grateful for all that is here and all that is yet to come. We are now closing 2011 and moving into 2012.  The coming year has been written about, predicted, discussed and dissected more than any year I can ever remember. All forms of media have jumped on the bandwagon, and we have the film industry for even more exposure, though usually fear based. People in every walk of life have formed their own opinions about what the outcome could be. Yes, we are in the midst of great change.  The world as we can see is changing daily.  In my humble opinion, this is a truly amazing time to be alive, to witness such individual and collective transformation calls for Gratitude with a capital “G.”

The very foundation of our inner truths are being tested. Subtle and not so subtle shifts are occurring for each of us, and we can trust that the process is in perfect order.  We also have a choice to lovingly embrace the momentum of change, or we can resist it out of fear. It is our responsibility to direct our power for good, not only for ourselves, but for the collective aspects of all life.  What difference did you and I make in 2011?  What difference will we make in 2012 and beyond?  How grateful are we for all that is here now, and for all that is yet to come into our lives?  What appears in our life now and in the future is a direct result of the choices we have made and continue to make.  What we do matters because there is a ripple effect that goes out into the world.  We forget how powerful we are.  As each of us aligns to the unity of love and peace in all the varied aspects of ourselves and our world, we connect to our source of infinite power. In this alignment we become open to unlimited possibilities.  That is the approach I will take as I walk into 2012, and I trust you will as well.  It’s the only way to expand and who wants to contract? That’s just a waste of our precious time and energy!

Our experiences can define us, for good or not so good. Yes, there are challenges in life, but what do we take away from them and carry with us?  By living in courage we move forward growing ever strengthened. This life is our dance. and gratitude makes an excellent companion.  By being grateful we feel richer in the appreciation for the small things, that way when the big things show up, life is that much better.  Find all that you are grateful for and hold that feeling of thank-fullness in your heart.  I am grateful for you, and I send you blessings for the beautiful flow of 2011 into the grand expansiveness of 2012.

Happy Holidays from Debra Oakland @ Living in Courage Online

Well, we’re almost at the end of another year; they seem to fly by these days or is that just me! I always like to use this season to reflect on the year and to send blessings of gratitude to everyone and everything that I shared it with, both the good and the bad, for there are lessons to be learned from each and we should be grateful for them.

Most of you will know by now that I love spending time in nature and I always include Mother Nature in my thoughts of gratitude as well as all of my family and friends, we are all children of nature after all. Giving thanks for the beauty, peace of heart and mind, the abundance of food and creatures she blesses my life with is an important part of my seasonal rituals, especially whilst gazing at the night sky, which at this time of year seems so clear and close that I could almost reach out and touch the stars.

Gratitude is no about just saying thanks for turning up, it’s much more than that; sending positive vibrations out into the universe with as much power and gusto as you can manage, doing it from your heart and soul. Hugging someone dear to you and telling them that you love them and are blessed to have them in your life and asking those you may have hurt for forgiveness, that’s gratitude. There is no half measures with Mother Nature and there is no half measures when it comes to gratitude, you have to give it your all to be heard and understood.

Meister Eckhart said, “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice,” but think how much more sincere that prayer would be if you shouted it out to Mother Nature herself!

So it only remains for me to send out a loud shout of gratitude to You, the readers of my little life muses; to Debra for putting up with me for three wonderful months in her home earlier this year and for allowing me to share my thoughts in her newsletter. I could go on and on but here is not the place to do so, but if you stand outside one clear moonlit night you may not only see Father Christmas on his sleigh, you might hear my shouts of gratitude echoing around the universe.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone and I’ll see you in the New Year – Thank YOU!

Steve Tallamy

Time does fly doesn’t it? The beginning of a New Year always leads me to reflect on the passing year.  2010 was full of the joys and challenges of a year well lived. I am grateful for every moment, even the painful one’s.  I recently heard someone say that our greatest wounds form us and put us on the path to our purpose.  This is part of Living in Courage!

One of the most important things I take away from 2010, is that by connecting to the Love, Wisdom and Power in my heart, I am able to direct my life much more effectively.  I learned that love gives us the wisdom to direct the power that lives inside of us.  Fear never gives us that capability, and only stifles our ability to connect to our “good.”  I have also learned that this list of 12 tips help contribute to a lifetime of happiness, year in and year out.

12 Tips To Create A Joyful 2011 that can form a framework for living 2011to the fullest.  Make your own list.  I would love to hear from you.

* Maintain gratitude as an attitude

* Never give up on your dreams.  Believe in yourself and expect miracles.

* Do something today that will take you where you want to go tomorrow.

* Stay harmless to yourself and others.

* Take responsibility for your actions and know that your life is reflecting back to you what you have created.

* Remember to shine your light!  The bright star in you lights up the world.

* Follow your passion. Do things you love that bring you joy. This creates a vision for your future.

* Peace is Power.  Be the peace commanding presence in your own life.  A living example to others.

* Connect to Mother Nature daily in some way.  This journey has bumps in the road and to navigate them wisely, you will need her help.

* Be your authentic self.  Never apologize for who you are and stop worrying about other people’s “opinions.”

* Pay close attention to your physical, mental and spiritual health.

* If you want change, be that change. Give out and pay forward in joy.

May your New Year year bring you wondrous gifts of courage, love and light,

Debra

Let’s talk about this NOW moment and how living in it can and will change your life. This is a great way to Live In Courage.

Allow yourself to sink into the moment of NOW.  Sit still in a place you will not be disturbed, yet soak in what is going on around you.  Perhaps there is a breeze or the sun touching your skin.  Can you hear birds chirping? Maybe an aroma of fresh coffee or food cooking drifts your way. Children playing or a city alive and teeming with life.  Wherever you are feel it, take it all in while you are in the stillness of NOW.

Yes, thoughts will come into your mind.   Let them pass by.  Notice how you feel in the NOWness and AWAREness of this peaceful moment.  Notice also, when a negative, worrisome thought or feeling tries to steal your peace. You will notice the energy of the moment you were in change. You can feel it. No judging.  Just notice the difference. This practice will teach you to catch yourself when you shift out of NOW.  The more you can stay in the present moment in calm awareness, you will regain the power you have lost in your life.

The past is OVER in each moment that passes.  Your future is created by the NOW moments your are in.  What are you choosing as the architect of your life?  Make powerful choices and decisions for yourself.  Stand in your KNOWINGNESS, which carries much more weight and influence than BELIEVING.  Say the words.  Feel the difference.  Believing feels heavy – Knowing feels LIGHT.  The more you can exist in NOW, the more aware, peaceful, loving and joyful you will be. Living in Courage is living NOW.

Behind the scenes of chaos, confusion and conflict lays LIFE.  Life Is Everything and available to everyone.  Life loves to fulfill itself through you as anything you create as the architect of your life.  The best way to shut down your good is to engage in negativity and giving your attention to all it’s nasty family and relatives.  Have CLEAR CONCISE thoughts and feelings because your mind cannot act upon a mixed thought.  The most dominant though and feeling will manifest right before your eyes.  Love and fear cannot co-exist in the same space.  YOU always get to choose.

Never forget the power of gratitude.  Be grateful for what you have NOW.  Everything is here for you, for me, for everyone.  The human drama can take it’s toll in many areas of life.  Use KNOWINGNESS to guide you through the waters of life.  Not fear or doubt.  The answers are not OUT there – that is living from the OUTSIDE IN.  The answers are right where you are right NOW.  That is living from the INSIDE OUT.  You decide, you choose, you create, you, you, you.  Only you.

Debra Oakland @ Living in Courage Online

As each person moves their attention from NOW to “Out There” communication with the source of all good is interrupted.  The present moment is where all exists.  Each NOW moment creates the next and the next and on and on.  These moments build momentum which are needed to culminate into an experience or experiences that show up in your life.  What NOW moment shows up in your life is up to each and every person individually.  Really kind of simple.  It takes a certain amount of courage to live in the moment.

Gratitude is a key.  Think of it as your courage key!  This key can open many doors that seem closed.  What you want of a light or dark nature is right there waiting for you.  It is your choice because you have Free Will.  Choose very wisely which key you use to open which door!

Keys Recommended – Gratitude, Love, Light, Grace, Peace, Joy, Courage, Abundance, Liberty, Freedom – you get the idea.

Keys Not Recommended – Fear, Anger, Hate, Jealousy, Stress, Chaos, Disease, Pain, Limitation – I think you see where I am going with this.

Each key will open a door effectively as the other.  When people use The Not Recommended Key, their NOW moments become long, tedious and painful.  This just creates momentum for more of the same day in and day out.

When using the Recommended Keys, NOW moments become blissful, joyous manifestations of all good things life has to offer.  The perfection and momentum of all you can dream of begins to fill your life experience.  Not so very complicated is it?  Yet very well hidden from plain sight for those who don’t have eyes to see and ears to hear the good news of NOW.

NOW is waiting for you. What are YOU waiting for?

Debra Oakland @ Living in Courage Online

How is your core? I call your core LOVE. Similar to exercising your body, if your core is strong, it supports the rest of the body. When you walk in the moment loving everything, your world is supported in all ways. That core reaches out to every other area in your world. Ask “What Would Love Do Now?” and listen. Resistance will always give you an uncomfortable feeling. Breathe through it and listen. When you know what is making you uncomfortable, let it go. Use the courage you were given wisely.

Your consciousness can not act upon a mixed thought. Have you ever considered this? Do you wonder why your affirmations don’t work? Example – You decide to take a trip to your favorite destination. That is a precise, clear, pristine thought. If you left it alone all would work out perfectly. The Universe is in perpetual motion and you are the magnet of what you put out as a precise thought. The moment you start engaging in the W’s. When can I get the time off work, where will I get the money for plane tickets, hotel, etc, you have a mixed thought. Nothing will manifest or if it does, there is resistance and struggle. We manage to get in our own way constantly. Our job as creator beings is to make a decision as the architect of our own life. Think of it as building the outer experience from the inside out. Really get this as it is VIP – A mixed thought is an inconclusive thought and one your consciousness will not act upon. When you really get this,  your life will change.  It takes work and you must be vigilant and courageous.

I am sharing a video from Brother David because it talks of one of the most important aspects of life, no matter what path in life you follow – Gratitude.  A major key to living a life of joy.

Debra Oakland @ Living In Courage Online Sending You Love & Peace

Here is my newest quote at  Living in Courage – “Gratitude is a drug, it is free and non-toxic.” Yep, free as the air you breathe.  You don’t have to pay for it, travel around the world to find it, be rich, poor, educated, any particular race, color, creed or anything you can think of to find it.  It sits right in you heart.  Imagine if people walked around all day saying how grateful they were for every little thing!  Just imagine.  Our world would shift immediately.  But no, most people run around wanting more, feeling unappreciated (notice that comes out of not appreciating!) complaining, feeling stressed for uncountable reasons, and are just plain tired.  This does not go on all day, but for the parts of the day it does, well, it just brings more of the same.  The only way out of the cycle repeating over and over, is a feeling of love and gratitude to whoever you worship. To your body, mind/brain for carrying you through each day, to Mother Earth & the Kingdoms of Nature who hold you in their arms.  Gratitude to everything and everyone, for mirroring exactly what you need to see and experience.  If you want to look in the mirror and see a different image, then make some changes.

Saying a simple thank you is difficult for some people.  I see many parents raising their children without the courtesy of a thank you when they receive.  Simple gestures will alter the course of your life.  I know people get tired of hearing we are all ONE, but it is true.  What we do to ourselves, we do to another.  Everything connects.  Image the gratitude of a child starving in a third world country when they receive anything to eat. This child needs food and clean water, something we take for granted and expect to be there 24/7.  What is wrong with this picture?  When did we become so immune to our fellow men, women and children?  There are many people dying for no reason. Time to wake up folks, time is running out for us.  No joke.

There will be some powerful choices to make in the next few years for all of us.  Starting now will eliminate a great deal of pain for ourselves and others.  The time is now, now, now.  Not tomorrow, or when we have more time, money or energy.  Look deep inside, for you are courageous.  You came into this world with all the answers inside you, but fell into a hypnotic sleep.  This sleep is losing it’s hold on people all over the world.  When you wake up, what do you want to see?

Debra Oakland@ Living in Courage Online

“There are only two ways to live. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is.

~~~ Albert Einstein

Happy Easter to everyone this fine day.  I plan on keeping light and fun – and you?  It is all about gratitude, love and joy this fine Sunday.  Have some eggs and make sure they are really colorful.  Chomp on some chocolate, run around and play.  Today is for being grateful.  Whatever else you do just enjoy it to the fullest.

Thank you for your continued support of Living in Courage Online.  I send you love and peace.

Debra Oakland @ Living in Courage Online

]]> http://www.livingincourageonline.com/courage/happy-easter-from-living-in-courage/feed/ 0 http://www.livingincourageonline.com/courage/serenity-courage/ http://www.livingincourageonline.com/courage/serenity-courage/#comments Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:53:22 +0000 Debra Oakland http://livingincourageonline.com/?p=368

As I sit here in Napa California for a weekend of serenity and relaxation, I look forward to some fine wine and food. My husband Cody is finally reading the Shack (I was not ready to give it up!) and he loves it.  We sit in our room, overlooking the vineyards and hills.  Gratitude is the order of the day.  Cody took a long run thru Calistoga, and is preparing to find “the best coffe in town” as he is a coffee snob of the first order.  I think about courage and the ability we have each day to choose.  Well, today I choose to courageously move into the day and enjoy every moment.  I just began reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin.  I have heard about this man Mortenson the abundant consistant courage he exibits in his life.  I will let you know more about one man’s mission to promote peace, one school at a time.  He built 55 schools for girls in the forbidding terrain that gave birth to the Taliban.  I look forward to this story of adventure and the power of the humanitarian spirit.

Have a wonderful weekend.  I send you love and blessings from Napa Valley,

http://www.livingincourageonline.com

Here is another video of Matt, doing his little dance around the world. Please join in. Here at Living in Courage, we love following Matt and the Gratitude Dance.
Debra Oakland @ Living in Courage Online

Dancing is like dreaming with your feet! ~Constanze