Hello from California

Hi All,

Just wanted to send a cheery hello from Lake Arrowhead, CA. Joe and I are here until June 27. The weather is beautiful here. Waiting for our daughter and granddaughter to arrive. They'll be spending the weekend with us. Can't wait!

Hope you're having a great weekend too!

Love to all,

Joe and Gloria

Guiltlessness: we are all Innocent

 First, just on a basic level, we can remind ourselves that guilt has no benefit of any sort and only increases our neurotic attachment to the self. But, more importantly, we can see that guilt is actually the way we try to escape responsibility for our actions and circumstances. We feel guilty when we don’t fully accept our circumstances. Instead, we continually try to protect and cherish this imaginary self. When we feel guilty, we are actually substantiating this “self” even further, rather than honestly looking at the situation in front of us. If we remember that the mind is innocent, even though we so often act out of ignorance we can distance ourselves from the situation enough to actually look at it honestly. Guilt, on the other hand, is a sidetrack with no resolution—it’s endless. You may feel like you are facing something because you are steeped in it—kind of rubbing your nose in how very bad it is—but actually you are not accepting it.

Venerable Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche with Pema Chodron

Insights on having no Enemies Within and no Enemies Outside

May we learn from yesterday, live with love today and serve the needs of tomorrow

Marrianne Williamson

. http://bit.ly/jN52Vy

There are two great forces in the world. One is the force of killing. People who are not afraid to kill govern nations, make wars, and control much of the activity of our world. There is great strength in not being afraid to kill. The other source of strength in the world--the real strength--is in people who are not afraid to die. These are people who have touched the very source of their being, who have looked into themselves in such a deep way that they understand and acknowledge and accept death, and in a way, have already died. They have seen beyond the separateness of the ego's shell, and they bring to life the fearlessness and the caring born of love and truth. This is a force that can meet the force of someone who is not afraid to kill.

Jack Kornfield

http://www.viet.net/anson/ebud/ebdha219.htm

Simple yet Profound

Mingyur Rinpoche leads us to experience our sense of embodiment more fully, then to expand our awareness to include what is happening in our immediate surroundings, to the space in which all experiences manifest and dissolve, and finally to the fresh, open awareness that is with us each and every moment. http://tergar.org/resources/guidedmeditation.shtml

Hopelssness

hope in hopelessness

"As the world grows ever darker, I've been forcing myself to think about hope. I watch as the world and the people near me experience increased grief and suffering, as aggression and violence move into all relationships, personal and global, and as decisions are made from insecurity and fear. How is it possible to feel hopeful, to look forward to a more positive future? The biblical psalmist wrote, "Without vision, the people perish." Am I perishing?"

Gratitude for Life

I just recieved this precious video and it reminded me to have gratitude for all the blessings that life has give me and I wanted to share it with those precious people around me.  May all benefit from it.

A Bolt of Hope

huffingtonpost article

Just when it seemed that all of Washington had lost its values and its connection with the American people, a bolt of hope has arrived. It is the People's Budget put forward by the co-chairs of the 80-member Congressional Progressive Caucus. Their plan is humane, responsible, and most of all sensible, reflecting the true values of the American people and the real needs of the floundering economy. Unlike Paul Ryan's almost absurdly vicious attack on the poor and working class, the People's Budget would close the deficit by raising taxes on the rich, taming health care costs (including a public option), and ending the military spending on wars and wasteful weapons systems.