Garden Plum
Welcome to the gardenplum.com healing blog. Read here for thoughts and inspirations about the collective consciousness of the world as we grow and develop through these changing times. Spirituality, herbal healing, the law of attraction, prophecy, abundance and prosperity- delightful creations and thoughts gather here.Archive for November, 2008
A Funny Thing
I spent some time today cleaning up my homepage and re-organizing product offerings. As I was proofing my work, I noticed something very peculiar about the images on the site. If you look at each of the products there is a similarity that kind of struck me.
So if you want to guess the similarity – feel free to make a comment below. For the person who guesses this cool similarity, you win a free Malachite Stone which I will promptly mail to you. MUCH better than a lump of coal for the bottom of that stocking. Hey if its not fun, don’t do it, right?
Don’t forget, our Open House is Saturday Dec. 6th from 11-2, and you can save 10% off all purchases on the on-line store by entering the coupon code TGIVING at checkout. I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving week.
Come to Our Open House and See All The Work We’ve Done! See the Store, Free Herbal Tea, $5 Reiki! Ooh la la!
Phew! Was up at 4:30 this morning (thanks to Hogan) and decided to finish painting the kitchen. Here is a pic of the sage green (before it was a cross between drab gray and uncommitted tan). You can click the pic to see a larger view. Since we moved in March, we have weekend warriored to get the house ready for winter, especially in this kitchen-of-wind. So finally it is insulated and warm!
I painted because Garden Plum is having (I am having) a huge Open House Saturday December 6th from 11-2. It is going to be really fun! There will be $5 reiki treatments with several reiki masters available on hand. We will also have $1/minute massage by Cathy Clement (I am taking advantage of this one!). Bindy Johnson is brining her singing bowls and is also offering treatments at $5. Angie D’Anjou will be offering reiki treatments as well as a Holiday Angel Channeling that starts at 2pm. (Its $5 to attend the channeling). This Channeling will offer messages from the Angels – come with your specific questions!
Plus the store is bursting with new stuff! I will post pics soon… its better to come to the Open House as the store changes each day with new things like Mooncloths, Goddess in the Groove clay Mamma sculptures, and Carie’s wood sculptures.
Amethyst Wyldfyre is offering readings, and she is almost all booked up, just 2 or 3 slots left. Her readings are 15 minutes for $25 or 1/2 hour at $45. If you haven’t heard about Amethyst, she is an authentic Peruvian Shamanic Healer and her readings are very VERY good. Readings are the tip of the iceberg in terms of how she can help people.
OK … well back to the original meaning of my post… I would like to show you another farmhouse for sale in my town. In light of all the work we’ve done to the house to get it functional, it doesn’t have to be so much work to live in a farmhouse! Here is a charming house that is 5 minutes from here. Come live near me!
Its so nice when the words jacuzzi and farmhouse are found on the same page! This one is all set to go, and at only $255,000. We had actually looked at this house – probably 11 years ago now, and it did not look like this then! Call my friend Rebecca and lets fill the farms with herbs and nourishing food – music and joy, sheep and goats – what have you!
Unconditional Joy
SYMPATHETIC JOY – MUDITA!
“In a battle, the winners and the losers both lose” – The Buddha
When we can be truly happy for others who are happy, that is a rare and beautiful quality. When others express joy for our good fortune and happiness we are abundantly grateful and respectful for their appreciation. When we take delight in the happiness of another and genuinely rejoice in their success and prosperity, we are abiding in mudita – sympathetic joy – the third of the brahma-viharas – heavenly abodes. The root of the Pali word ‘mudita’ means to be pleased, to have a sense of gladness. It is called “the mind deliverance of gladness” because it is the force that actually liberates us.
So much of life’s unhappy condition comes from the constricting effect of our negativity toward each other. We judge one another, compare ourselves to one another, demean and envy one another and we ourselves suffer the strangling effects of these limitations. There are many constricting states of mind that impede mudita – sympathetic joy – it is the most difficult to truly develop. However, this quality is so potent that expressing it can defeat the aversion and attachment that bind us.
It is very easy to believe that other people should behave just as we do or as we want them to; that they should pursue lifestyles in the ways we deem appropriate. With this belief we will find it very difficult to be happy for those countless people we can never control. To be non-judgemental means having the flexibility of mind and having the ability to let go of our attachment to what seems right to us. How many times have we given advise to others on the basis of our own experiences only to be proven wrong. Such as telling someone “don’t go to that place, the people are unfriendly and you won’t enjoy it”. Are we then able to find delight for them when they ignored our advice and had a wonderful experience? Can we ever uphold another’s happiness as a priority over our own righteousness? Can we allow the lives of others to be different from ours and be happy for them?
Of course a certain element of discernment is important here as well. Some people may delude themselves into thinking they are doing something that will bring them happiness, when they are actually creating unhappiness for themselves and others. Mudita – sympathetic joy does not mean that whenever someone proclaims happiness, we are immediately delighted. We may perceive they are actually miserable and are in denial of their situation; setting themselves up for a downfall. It is hardly possible for us to be, then, happy for them. If, however, they are genuinely happy and if they are not harming themselves or others can we be generous enough to fell joy for them?
Comparing ourselves to others is a very powerful affliction. In the Buddhist psychology it is called “conceit.” When we are trapped in conceit we are struggling to know who we are by comparing ourselves to others. As we constantly try to decide who we are by comparisons to others our mind is churning and undermining our own happiness. Comparisons or conceit is a gnawing, painful restlessness. We can never be at peace because there is no end to the possibilities of comparison. Looking at one person we see their articulate good looks and are envious. At another we see struggle for acceptance and efficiency and we think ‘I’m not that bad, I can present myself better then that.’ By the time we have established our status in reference to everyone around us, someone new arrives and we start the anxious comparison again. In the centre of the comparing mind is competition. Who is going to win at being better? In battle the defeated can loose power, freedom property, family, sometimes even their lives. The winner, however, can find themselves left with hatred, fear and even envy of those who have been over-come. In the inner battle over who is happy or more deserving, who is better or worse, we are setting ourselves up to lose.
In practicing mudita – sympathetic joy we will begin to recognize we do deserve to be happy. That confidence will enable us to delight in the happiness of others instead of feeling threatened by it. Rather then losing ourselves in the longing for what we think we don’t have, mudita – sympathetic joy reorients our relationship to the world in opening to effortless giving.
Blessings for unconditional joy!
from: Journey Into Light – A Diary
© D. M. Paul 02/11/2007
The Era of Manifestation
With us passing through the heralded gate of 11/11/08 yesterday, it was perfect timing to premier this lovely new Abraham deck entitled The Law of Attraction Deck from Jerry and Esther Hicks.
Each day I am pulling these cards to keep myself in alignment with everything that I desire, keeping out any experience that I do not desire. And as my wise friend Annie would say, “Stay Peaceful”. This involves boundary setting too, saying no to the experiences that appear that I do not want, and focusing on drawing the experiences that I do want. We are in some pretty glorious times here and keeping it positive is the way to go! What do you intend to experience today?
For more on the 11/11 Galactic gateway of the Mayan 6th day, go to Amethyst’s blog.
