Rains and Revelations

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The rains have returned to Washington, you can’t help but notice. I hear it as a constant companion as I move through the house. It sounds different sitting in my office as it comes down on the skylight. Different in the bedroom where the sound of water moving through the drain pipe has center stage. Over by Janice’s office it is coming through different piping and splashing on the sidewalk, another different sound. In my music room it falls on the pavement and off of the deck onto the pavement, two unique sounds that merge into one. Living in Washington you learn to recognize the many varieties of rain. Today we had the deluge. It began with hail and rain coming down, coming down so fast no one goes out in it if they can avoid it. And a person might as well just sit still for a bit, as this kind of rain is rare, and doesn’t last long.

Living a life we learn to recognize the many varieties of experiences. We experience love. And we know that each love is unique while also seeming familiar.

I googled revelation because I have always thought of it as a good thing, a heavenly pronouncement. To my surprise it isn’t necessarily a good thing.

rev·e·la·tion 1. a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one that is made known in a dramatic way.
(Surprise, you won a million dollars, or, surprise, the pictures you never wanted to get out are out)
2. the divine or supernatural disclosure to humans of something relating to human existence or the world. (You shall be blessed with abundance, or I’m warning you Noah, build an ark)

It is evident that there is no particular qualitative characteristic for the word revelation. Therefore, may all your revelations be blessings!

Suffering

oct_14_14Suffering comes in so many shapes and sizes and we hear of it all the time. It is how others describe their dilemmas and how we listen. It builds a resonance. Should we avoid it? Good luck. How can we avoid one of the central experiences in all human life? I was reading recently someone saying that suffering is truly what refocuses us from the illusions back to the things that are important. The other day my wife, Janice, said: “I feel bad for everybody”. Everyone seems to be suffering in some way.  As my parents aged I hear from my parents about the suffering of their peers. Now I am old enough to see it in my peers.

I once read that no suffering is greater than mental suffering. That is probably true. If we truly are composed of mind, a spiritual being inhabiting a physical body, the mind, thought is our core.

Suffering is perhaps best regarded as opportunity and comes to us to offer us possibilities of growth. To resolve suffering without change in outlook is to invite the same suffering back.

“Suffering is our best teacher because it hangs onto us and keeps us in its grip until we have learnt that particular lesson. Only then does suffering let go. If we haven’t learnt our lesson, we can be quite sure that the same lesson is going to come again, because life is nothing but an adult education class, If we don’t pass in any of the subjects, we just have to sit the examination again. Whatever lesson we have missed, we will get it again. That is why we find ourselves reacting to similar situations in similar ways many times.”
Ayya Khema, from Being Nobody, Going Nowhere

Polarities

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I marvel at the polarities on this planet. Everything has an opposite. I have long believed because of the opposites, everything has an antidote. All manifestations have an opposite that renders things into a neutrality. This is demonstrated throughout all of our three dimensional world.

In our current medical model we rely primarily on science, we treat the symptoms. If someone has cancer, success is determined through the elimination of symptoms. It is possible that removing symptoms can be a sign that the root cause of a problem may be resolved. Most often the temporary removal of symptoms is followed by new physical problems. In the distant past I learned that symptoms are the result of thinking, that mind is the creator. Without changing the root patterns of thought there is no real healing.

Arthritis, as an example, comes from a mental pattern of criticism of self and others. Changing that pattern to accepting and allowing others is necessary for healing to follow.

Of course, from a certain perspective, arthritis may serve a purpose not apparent to the conscious mind.

A Talk at Saint Martins

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Today I spoke at a Psychology Class at Saint Martins College in Lacey Washington. The Professor, Thomas Woodruff prompted me to discuss regression therapies which can extend beyond this life and into past lives. I wouldn’t say the students were shocked, it was more like encountering a foreign philosophy. They were a delightful group composed mostly of Junior and Senior female students.

67,000 miles per hour

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The earth is spinning at 1,070 miles per hour. The earth is traveling through space around the sun at 67,000 miles per hour. In one year we travel 25,000,000 miles to go one time around the earth. It is quite amazing and so easy to forget about.

Every thing seems so solid on this planet. Even our thoughts and beliefs seem that way. If a person were to “forget” all of the thoughts that inhibit or cause pain in mind or body, then what would the next day bring?

Imagine a day when all your thoughts were pleasant.

Musing about my Mom and life

March 2013

I am sometimes stumped and there is no remedy for my feelings but patience, hope, and some kind of faith.

You see, my mother is now 93 and she is preparing to leave. She had a lifetime of experiences that were unique to her. Did she discover that which she desired to find? Did she have the adventure she sought? Learn what she wanted to learn?rick_and_roy_sepia_225w

And her passing makes me think about these questions and pause to ask myself these very questions.

As a hypnotherapist I am allowed into peoples memories and it is a sacred space.

These memories, seen in these pictures of my parents, and my parents with me, delight me and soon they will be united to reminisce.

rick_graduation_225w roy_joyceThe pictures on the left tell stories for sure. Few pictures of my dad and mom exist as dad was the camera man.

I am leaving for Minnesota the second week of April. and will be there for 11 days. I am hoping to be of help to my mom while I am there

Boyhood

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memories_photo2EAGLE_SCOUT_550wWell I was once a little boy and a conversation today reminded me of that fact. It is certainly true that in every life experience there are the aspects of environment, heredity, and some unknown forces that move us to be one way or the other.

If you grow up in Minnesota you learn how to build a snow fort when the snow falls wet and sticky.

And if your dad gardens you learn to use a wheelbarrow.

If you have sisters you grow up a bit different than if you have brothers.

Would I have become an Eagle Scout without my father’s support and encouragement?

I didn’t become what my dad wanted me to become, an accountant or a salesman, as I was not suited to those careers. I suggest people follow their passion in life. It is the most certain path to success. Success being self-fulfillment and satisfaction.

My dad passed away now four years ago. I continue to marvel at his tenacity, commitment, sacrifice and intrinsic morality and ethics.

I liked to lay on the ground in the summer and watch the clouds go by. Some neighbor commented that I seemed lazy, but it is really important to lay down and watch the clouds go by sometimes.

So you grow up and you have experiences. If you are fortunate you have many adventures and if you are fortunate you always remember that you have a special essence within you. You realize you are unique and your path through life is yours to create.

Maybe the best thing to do is to do the best you can with the talents and strengths you have. As the great thinkers have always said “know yourself”.

Addictions

sailboat_bw_550wMy mother’s generation often said, “will wonders ever cease”. I find myself often wondering, I have my entire lifetime wondered about more things than I have had time to research and experience.

These days I wonder much about habits; why we choose certain habits and why we believe our chosen habits have more power than us. Why is that? How can a substance so dominate and eliminate the self-power of people.

Most Americans are addicted to sugar, as the average consumption is almost 130 pounds each year. Certainly it is added to most commercial foods. However, if people stop buying those foods, those very large agribusinesses will change. They are only in it for the money, and shareholders will revolt when no one buys their nutrition less foods.

Amphetamines, heroin, cocaine, cigarettes, alcohol and other such habits, are these just death wishes masquerading as pain relievers? A most interesting theory long ago suggested that the weakness in resistance connected to alcohol was the influence of dead spirits prodding weak minds to have another drink so that they could enjoy the consciousness of drunkenness.

I wonder what the Greeks thought of alcohol? A quick peek at Wikipedia reveals it was a problem then too. Perhaps it is best to say that as greater and greater intelligence and reason permeate future generations, it will be a curiosity, this thing called habits,addictions,these choices, just a curiosity of ancient times.DSC01434_652w

I know a gambler, and even when a casino explains the odds to him, he still must play. He has as a central life focus, how to beat the odds. Of course, he can’t beat the odds, the odds beat him. And is it really for us to judge those that like to risk against the odds? Why shouldn’t they have the right to bet against the house? They do if they have choice.

I wish I could help everyone change, and I am very helpful to those who do want change. This is their journey through this space and time. Each has free will. To deny free will is an act of free will. So, no matter what the the condition there is hope. This is a bi-polar world and if someone is in the midst of bad habits of body, mind, or mind and body, that means it’s opposite exists and somewhere in between lies a balance, a balance of self-awareness, love, and acceptance.

What might be perceived as preordained in ordinary life, may only be the logical result of habits projected into the future. Hope springs from the realization that something may be discovered, something that unlocks the mystery of habits. Addiction is a habit and addiction is a constant part of the human experience. There are so many kinds of addictions. And we would agree that meth is worse than computer games and we might agree both are undesirable.

Caroline Myss says of the addict: “Every one of us is touched by the Addict archetype. The only question is how much of our lives is consumed by it. Besides the usual suspects–drugs, alcohol, food, and sex–one can be addicted to work, sports, television, exercise, computer games, spiritual practice, negative attitudes, and the kinds of thrills that bring on adrenaline rushes. In its positive aspect, this archetype helps you recognize when an outside substance, habit, relationship, or any expression of life has more authority over your will power than does your inner spirit. Confronting addiction and breaking the hold that a pattern or substance has on you can impart great strength to your psyche. Discovering the empowerment that comes with perseverance has a life-long impact, becoming a reference point for what you are able to accomplish. In the words of one former alcoholic, “I know now that if I can quit drinking, I can do anything.””

Most of the roots of habits are below conscious awareness. There may be many theories in the conscious mind while the answer lies in the unaccessible subconscious mind. This is just how it is, there is a past experience, it was very emotional, and it was powerfully programmed into our subconscious. There it becomes understanding of something and with that understanding our conscious mind reasons forth in a logical fashion. We reason logically from a false premise.

Habits are very very useful. It is nice not to have to think about tying a shoe. Knowing how to tie a shoe is a useful habit.

On the subject of power; who is more powerful, a team of Navy Seals or Mother Teresa? Which one brought more peace to the planet. There are peacemakers and there are the others.

Who is more powerful, the British Army and Navy, or non-violent resistance exemplified by Mahatma Gandhi and India?

The power of love creates far more good than the power of force ever will. Force may kill a body, but love can change a soul. And a changed more loving soul is forever.

“If we really want to love we must learn how to forgive.” Mother Theresa

Rick

January 2013

ducks_550wWell, there goes December 2012. It was another year and if you are reading this you got through it. I know of many who did not make it to 2013. it was certainly nice to see December 21st come and go. For the last few years the view of that date has been associated via films and television as a dire date of catastrophe. The media just loves fear and fear is the source of most of our problems in life.

For sometime I have pondered the word faith and been unable to find a definition that really works for me. And though a suitable definition eludes me, I have found the opposite of faith and that is fear.

I came across this idea in something I was reading recently. “Freewill is the most important variable in the geometry of time”. I take this to mean that the choices we make create the future. If the future were fixed we would not really exist as the only real existence is knowing we do exist and our choices have meaning.

When healing or change is required we have the option of palliative medicine that brings a temporary relief from our symptoms. There are many palliatives that make us feel better in our lives and do not correct the core condition.

Anyone reading this blog after a while comes to know that my belief system contains the power of self created miraculous experience. My personal experiences and work as a therapist confirms this, it also confirms the patient’s necessity of choosing true relief. If there is anything that impedes change it is habits, habits of mind and body.

I wish you all a miraculous year, a year where you are very conscious of your choices and the probable outcomes of those choices; a year where you observe yourselves and enjoy yourselves.

Rick

Infinity of Choices

DSC01335_650wThe infinity of choices in our lives. There are an infinity of choices that come along in a lifetime. This aspect of free will is so much the differentiation between us and other species. There are many people that believe they do not have a choice in matters of their lives and thoughts. They become the victims of their genetics, family, nation, addictions, and more. Victims have large ranges of excuses for their behaviors. And really there is no requirement to change anything about oneself.

In our minds perhaps lies the greatest of opportunities for change that will ripple out throughout our lives. This is why great minds from the past suggest we have a set of ideals that we use as a means to help making choices as they come along.

Change is not necessary, not a requirement, for anyone. Choices are a requirement, you can’t escape them. And each choice flowing outward influences future events, events greatly influenced by our previous choices.