Thinking Out Loud

I'm amazed at the power of thought. Change your thoughts and you really will change your life. I was driving to work today dreading the tasks that laid ahead. I haven't, for a LONG time, had a dreadful feeling about going to work. It's not normal for me to feel this way as I'm usually excited to get to the office and attack my day. So what did I do? Well, I simply noticed the dreadful thought and decided to change it. It was that simple. I'm not a fan of arguing with my thoughts--I realize they come and go. I am, however, a firm believer in discarding unwanted thoughts. My thought process goes like this: Thoughts emerge I notice them I bring awareness to them and try to understand their genesis I don't judge them as either good or bad, but I do decide whether it's a thought I want to run with or leave behind If it's a thought I want to drop, I create a new thought to replace the spontaneously generated thought I'm not a fan of lett...

Jesus said "Blessed are the peacemakers." I find it interesting that he didn't simply say, "Blessed are the peace lovers." There is a difference between "loving peace" and "making peace." I don't know many people who love conflict and tension, yet they seem to create it. IMO it is easy to say we are for peace, but harder to remember to work for it. When we find our actions generating anything contrary to peace, we should stop and work for a peaceful resolution. Blessed are those who not only love peace, but also work for it. Blessed are the peacemakers.

I find it highly fascinating that life gives me exactly the circumstances I need to practice and apply everything I'm learning on my enlightenment journey. Recently, I've been studying how our thoughts can change our lives. It's amazing how easy we can ruin our day by the story we allow our minds to make. Since becoming much more Zen, it takes quite a bit to ruffle my feathers. I've become quite strong in areas I was once weak. However, I find it beautiful that life has this perfect way of always taking us to the next level. We get to see that there are still rats in our cellar. My current work position provides me with plenty of trying situations. I'm having to negotiate new relationships, deal with politics, policies, and different personalities. All of it is challenging and not always sunshine and rainbows, but because it is hard, I know it will be worth it. Plus, I've learned that you can't really run from difficulties. What we try to avoid comes up ...

I love this quote by Henry David Thoreau: If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. I can't stop thinking about the beauty of those who march to the beat of their inner drum. I'm not one for non-conformity just for the sake of non-conformity, but I am for being true to oneself. Too often we do what others tell us to do or what is expected of us. Life is far more fulfilling when we create our own beat and then step in time. Most everyone is familiar with the first part of Thoreau's quote, but I'd be remiss if I ended my thoughts there, for he finished with: Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. I just spent the last hour in our ward's bishop's office. He began by acknowledging all the service and good I do in the ward and asked if I'd be willing to accept occasional assignments from him. He says he just feels like there is so much more good I can do. I told...

I tried a new flexibility workout this morning and the instructor pointed out the importance of also maintaining flexibility of mind. Learning to relax and breathe through the stretch is something we can apply to much more than just our muscles. Practicing flexibility mindfully carries over powerfully to our daily interactions, reactions, relationships and thoughts. I love how yoga is changing me. I feel my muscles and mind getting stronger every day. Which reminds me of a talk given in church recently. A lady spoke about meekness. She explained how the root of the word meek comes from the same Latin root for war horse and means power under control. A war horse is an excellent example of power under control for they are expected to ride fearlessly and flawlessly into battle amidst the chaos, confusion, and clamor of war. When we train our minds and muscles to be flexible we become a powerful, in-control, war horse. We can act, not re-act, amidst incoming assaults, from a calm and cen...

I think one of the most important discoveries for me this year has been the discovery of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. They are both insanely intelligent atheists committed to educating the masses about the dangers of organized religion. According to Harris and Dawkins, societies should rely on science, not dogma, for their governing principles. Additionally, it has been so refreshing for me to hear intelligent people give voice to some of the very same perplexing questions I have had over the years concerning the Bible, God, and organized religions. What's ironic though is that there was a time--not all that long ago--where, because of what I was taught, I thought I would be hell-bound for listening to these heathens. Entertaining, let alone agreeing, with individuals offering arguments of their nature is programmed into believers as blaspheme. But now that I have expanded my beliefs, I find it fascinating to study and learn from the argument of others. I want to discover ev...

Here's a quote by Carl Jung that I love and can relate to: What was great in the morning will be little at evening, and what in the morning was true at evening will have become a lie. I remember reading Gandhi's autobiography and how in the opening pages of his book he confessed his hesitation to pen his thoughts for he feared what he wrote today would not ring true later in his life. I too began a blog over a year ago called Janelle's Journal. I wrote that my purpose was to "Think out loud," and confessed that what I believed today would surely be different from what I believed tomorrow. The evolution of thought is real, especially as we give ourselves permission to drop beliefs that don't support our being and adopt those that feed our spirits. I my evening hours, I'm finding there is very little of which I'm certain. In fact, the only thing I'm certain of is change. I'm especially certain that--over time--my thoughts will change. As I...