HAPPINESS

Individuals often speak of happiness as something they can directly achieve. However, happiness is a byproduct of a life well lived.

I recently attended a gathering of individuals of the Baha'i Faith. I have never been with a group who radiated so much love, acceptance, kindness and peace, the tenets of their faith.

The Baha'i describe the attributes of God as All-Loving and All-Powerful. According to Baha'i teachings the human purpose is to learn to know and love God through prayer, reflection and being of service to humankind.

Baha'i writings emphasize the equality of human beings and the abolition of prejudice. Humanity is seen as essentially one, though highly varied; its diversity of race and cultures are seen as worthy of appreciation and acceptance. Doctrines of racism, nationalism, caste, social class and gender-based hierarchy are seen as artificial impediments to unity.

The principles of the Baha'i Faith include:
- independent search for truth, unfettered by superstition or tradition
- oneness of the entire human race
- unity of all religions
- condemnation of all forms of prejudice, whether religious, racial, class or national
- equality of men and women
- abolition of extremes of wealth and poverty
- exaltation of work performed in the spirit of service
- glorification of justice as the ruling principle of human society
- establishment of a permanent and universal peace as the supreme goal of all mankind

(The information on the Baha'i Faith was taken from Wikipedia.)

Daily practice of the above principles would constitute a life well lived. Contentment, happiness and peace are its byproducts.

CONSCIOUS LIVING

Living consciously means not only buying less and smaller but also recycling every component of the things we do buy and the containers in which they are packaged.

Americans consume more than their share of the world's goods and contribute a lion's share of environmental pollution. In good conscience, how can we as individuals and a nation continue to perpetrate our selfish, greed-ridden lifestyle?

One example of our behaviors is our quest for newer, faster gadgetry. Our choices have created a staggering amount of toxic, high-tech trash, including computers, televisions, cell phones and more. Dumped or inappropriately recycled e-waste is extremely hazardous. It contains arsenic, beryllium, lead - a neurotoxin and cadmium - a carcinogen that damages lungs and kidneys.

In the United States, cell phones are often discarded after 12 months use. For many, their phones have become a "status symbol." The owners want this gadget to be an expression of their personalities.

No object defines us. To live consciously, our choices must change. So recycle and buy smaller and less of everything. Tend your needs and not your wants.

BUY SMALLER AND LESS

With alarms sounding, it is time to buy smaller and less. Like so much of the American dream, the "bigger is better" house, car, more-of-everything mentality, has become an environmental and social nightmare.

We are a nation in which our wants far exceed our needs. Let our motto become "Less is More," or "Enough is Enough." For our children, grandchildren and future generations, our slumbering consciousness must awaken to this planetary emergency.

Being a child of relative poverty, I believed the American illusion that happiness followed obtaining my material wants. I took my turn with big houses, fancy cars and furnishings galore, but there I found no peace.

In Alex Wilson's book, Your Green Home, he discusses minimizing our environmental impact by building smaller, more space- and energy-efficient homes. He is right. We don't need large homes to store stuff we don't need. I grew tired of cleaning, heating and cooling mine.

Weighing in at 900 square feet, I now live in a 1926 greenly remodeled home. My air conditioning is often open windows and ceiling fans. I drive a hybrid vehicle and am within a short walk of all my shopping needs. I deeply enjoy the simplicity of my life. I hope you discover that less is more.

SILENCE AND THE SOUL

This morning I was feeling considerable angst over a business situation. I wanted to do something about it. I wanted to fix it, as if I could. I was caught up in my ego and the illusions of the world.

Finally, I knew, if I was to have any peace today, I must sit quietly, pray and listen. I was directed to the book shelf where my copy of Yogananda's In the Sanctuary of the Soul resides. Upon locating the book, I settled into my comfort chair.

I opened the book to its concluding pages, 115-124. Yogananda speaks of the "inner temple of silence" and said, "When tigers of worries, sickness and death are chasing you, your only sanctuary is the inner temple of silence." Within that temple, "receive God with your awakened intuition ... God is in the heart of soul of every being. And when you open within yourself the secret temple in your heart, then with the all-knowing intuition of the soul you shall read the book of life. Then, and only then, will you contact the living God. And you will feel Him as the very essence of your being."

On closing the book, I went into my temple. As I sat in blissful silence, I knew to the depth of my being worldly objects and thoughts were of no value. I can live without them, but I do not want to live without God's peace.

THE GIVING GIFT

Are you wondering what to buy for someone who has everything he or she needs, plus some? For the child who has a myriad of toys, are you tired of throwing money down the drain? I am certainly tired of buying presents for folks that don't need anything.

I have struck upon the perfect solution, Heifer International, (www.heifer.org/worldark.org/catalog). For less than you would spend on an unneeded item, you can change a family's future.

For the past few years, I have given my adult children and their spouses a llama ($150), sheep ($120) or goat ($120). I have stayed on the practical side with my six
grandchildren, clothes. Each one of them also receives a flock of chicks, ducks or geese ($20), honeybees ($30) or trio of rabbits ($60). For those of you who are more affluent, consider a water buffalo ($250), heifer ($500) or camel ($850).

Included in their Christmas card, which states their gift to another, I include a sheet on how that particular animal or group of animals can create a new life for those who live in great need. My grandchildren enjoy reading about how their gifthelps someone else.

Last year, a friend of mine gave her husband a goat. She thought it matched his personality. He laughed.

Purchasing any one of these gifts can help nourish and create an income for a family. With the money, children can receive an education. As their animals multiply, part of recipient's obligation is to pass on a portion of their offspring to others in their community. Make a difference with your money. Help others.

UNPLUG

I needed a respite from the world, so I unplugged it for a few days. I sought to disconnect from the chatter of patients and their interminable needs, but a few insisted upon intruding into my space.

Eighteen months ago, I was emotionally depleted, and my health was hovering on the brink of dissolution. I sent sixty patients letters stating, "For physical and personal reasons I must markedly decrease my practice and will no longer be able to see you." I saw this group of patients on an annual basis, and their medications had not changed for a number of years. In the envelope, I included 6-to-12 months of their medication refills, which gave them ample time to locate another psychiatrist.

Of this group of sixty, only one person contacted me with concern for my well-being. Most of them, when their refills expired, I received requests for renewal. Apparently, they mistook me for a free, psychiatric 7-11.

Over the years, I have seen patients who were very needy and self-absorbed. They consumed my energy. At times, I felt like they had an I.V. in my arm and were draining me dry. If I laid dying on the floor, I felt these people would step over me and keep on talking.

A few years ago, one such individual reported to me, with no sign of emotion, that her massage therapist, of many years, had died. His death appeared to be an inconvenience to this person. However, I was assured they had already found a replacement therapist, who was even an improvement over the recently departed.

Needless to say, to preserve my sanity and health, my work requires me to set firm boundaries and, on occasion, to pull the plug on it.

For several days, I have painted, read and rested. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time for me and plan to make it a regular habit. I encourage you to do the same.

EYES WIDE OPEN

We often live with our eyes downcast or our vision obstructed by blinders. It takes courage to live with our eyes wide open.

What does it mean to live with eyes wide open?

It means to have a full view of the banquet life places before us. To feast on the banquet, we must release our narrow ways of thinking and our judgemental and self-negating and world-negating attitudes.

It is our choice to walk within the narrow view made visible with our blinders. It is a familiar path, worn smooth by our plodding. We know every twist and curve along its course. Often times, the journey is boring,depressing and devoid of energy, but it is "safe." Its choice is a living death.

However, if we choose to rip off the blinders of our narrow thoughts, we will see the luscious panorama of life's abundance. This path requires trust in the Divine. In spite of our fears, this path also requires action. But, living life with eyes wide open brings fresh air, sunshine, adventure, joy and fulfillment and, when its your time to leave the planet, you will know you truly lived.

PRAYER - Third Step Prayer

For many years, I have used four prayers. Three of them are borrowed from 12-step programs, the Third Step, the Seventh Step and the Serenity Prayers, and the last prayer is an alternate translation of the Lord's Prayer.

In my belief system, God, or the Universe, does not need a grocery list or a Christmas list of my wants. For me, the following prayers align my will rightly with God's.

Third Step Prayer:

"God, I offer myself to Thee - to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt.
Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will.
Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of Life. May I do Thy will always! Amen."

There are several elements that are key for me within this prayer. In the second sentence, the word, bondage, is power packed. My bondage is my wants, my fears, my anger, my selfishness and my ego, to name just a few. I can only be released from these defects of my character through Divine Power.

Sentence three, "Take away my difficulties, that victory ...," the operative word is "victory," not defeat. But the purpose of our victory over our difficulties is not for our self-aggrandizement, but to "bear witness to those I would help" of God's Power, Love and Way of Life.

Our victories are signs of Divine Power and Will in our lives. We carry our Higher Source's light to others in our thoughts, words and behaviors. We are the message.
God is the messenger.

ANGER AND RESENTMENTS

Anger, when harbored, becomes resentment, and the person they hurt the most is their owners. I have heard it said that if we are angry and resentful toward someone that we are carrying them around in our head's rent free. Actually, we are carrying these toxic emotions around in every cell of our bodies.

I have also been told, if I have anger or resentment toward someone, to pray for them. My prayers have varied over the years. Early on, I prayed for their happiness, health and prosperity, whither I meant it or not and, eventually, I would mean it. Later, I prayed for them to be surrounded by Divine light and love, and I still use this prayer. Now, my go to prayer is, "God bless them."

I have found that I cannot bless someone and be angry with them at the same time. The "Law of Attraction" holds that what I send out returns to me multiplied. I prefer to send my boomerang out loaded with blessings.

FEAR

Recently, a friend asked me, "Are you ever afraid?"

My immediate answer was, "No."

What I meant by that statement is that fear does not run or control my life. Certainly, being human, I have the occasional niggling fears about my health or my finances. But, through years of practice, my next thought is that the Universe always supplies my needs, not my wants, and all I really need is food, clothing and shelter. The second thought restores my internal peace.

For many years, I have practiced two principles:

- I turn my will and my life over to the care of the Higher Power of my understanding.

- I seek through prayer and meditation to improve my conscious contact with that Power, or God, and I pray only for the knowledge of God's will for me and the power to carry it out.

For me, if I practice these principles to the best of my ability, there is an inherent promise that I will be taken care of, and I will be given the power necessary to do my Higher Source's will.

I have a daily choice. However, when I work to align my will with the Divine will, I am peaceful, free of fear and things just seem to turn out better.

WATER AND OUR BODIES

Dr. Masaru Emoto's book, The Hidden Messages in Water, discloses his research on the simple molecule, which comprises 70 percent of the adult human body. Dr. Emoto provides evidence of the impact of our word and thoughts on the crystalline structure of water exposed to words or phrases, either written or spoken, such as "Love," "Gratitude," "Thank You" or "You're Beautiful," the water forms beautiful crystals. The same is the case if the water is exposed to the music of Beethoven, Mozart or Chopin.

Whereas, under the same conditions, if the water is exposed to the words "You Fool," "Hate," "War" or heavy-metal music, the crystals are malformed and fragmented.

Every molecule of water in our body knows every thought we think and every word we say and responds in kind. The same is true for every cell of our body that contains water. And, as far as I know, they all contain water.

If we sent forth kind and loving thoughts and words toward ourselves and others, our body's molecules and cells manifest that loving, healing energy.

Likewise, if we send forth fearful or angry thoughts or words toward ourselves and others, we pollute our body with toxic energy and create ill health.

Listen to your words and thoughts. Your health depends on it.

NON-JUDGMENT

Following yesterday's blog, you might ask, "Why do bad things happen to good people or, the converse, why do good things happen to bad people?"

I reply, "Who am I to judge a soul's journey?"

Souls incarnate on this planet for a myriad of purposes and to learn a similar number of spiritual lessons.

For instance, many ask, "Why would a loving God allow a beautiful, innocent child to die?"

I respond, "Who am I to know the duration of a soul's stay in any particular embodiment. If an angelic soul has taken a bodily form, perhaps they have come to help others grow spiritually? Perhaps, those they came to help only grow through the pain of the child's death?" The Universe is filled with infinite possibilities and is orchestrated by Divine Intelligence, which operates beyond any human understanding.

I have many past-life memories and have often pondered these questions. I am currently working on a book, Beyond the Red Earth, a Soul's Journey, which will complete my Red Earth Trilogy.

One of the topics I am processing is the current belief in the black and white or reward punishment nature of karma. This is a very simplistic, linear view, with which I take issue. In this holographic universe, I suspect the dots connect in a much more complex and convoluted fashion.

TO THE READER

For you, the reader, I thought you might like to know more about me. This is a distillation of my beliefs.

I am a very spiritual person, but I am not an advocate of any particular religion. I believe there are elements of sacred truths within various religious traditions but, as in so many things, my approach is very eclectic. My Higher Source or God is the Positive Force of the Universe. Some say, the only religion is the religion of Love. I agree.

My life's intent is to align my will with the Divine Will. I frequently pray, or talk to God, and I pray only for the knowledge of God's will for me and the power to carry it out.

To meditate, I spend much time in solitude and silence, and my path is revealed through that intuitive knowing, that inner voice, our connection to the Divine.

My Source is all loving and only wants the best for me, but my thoughts and subsequent actions and emotions must be properly directed, which might entail physical or emotional pain or discomfort. In other words, the Universe has to get my attention.

I also believe that my life's events happen in Divine Right Order, but I may not like or understand the order. My experience has been that out of the most negative appearing events can evolve the highest good for all concerned.

LOOK WITHIN

Many years ago, I traveled to Texas' Big Bend State Park. While there, I found a biography, Border Healing Woman, on Jewel Babb, who was eighty at the time of the book's publication in 1981.

Ms. Babb lived the latter portion of her life on the Texas-Mexico border. She grew up in the days of horse-drawn wagons and cattle roundups. She married, raised children and, in later years, discovered her healing powers.

When her biography was written, Ms. Babb resided alone, living in a home without electricity or running water. There many sought her for her wisdom, her cures and to learn her healing methods. Since reading of Ms. Babb's life, I have valued her wisdom.

"Television makes me sick," said Ms. Babb. "People who look at TV know what other people know. I want to know what I know."

She added, "If you go to church, you'll hear it how they tell it. But if you sit on a hill for fifteen years, with your animals and no one else, you learn a lot. It comes to you."

For many years, I have lived alone on my hill, with my animals. Ms. Babb was right. It comes to you.

THE INWARD JOURNEY

Our inward journey is to our true Selves and to the Divine.

I am very aware that I am being led to continue to release ideas, attitudes, behaviors and objects, which no longer serve my highest good or the highest good of all concerned.

I am currently on an office hiatus. With solitude, rest and diminished demands on my energy, I feel significant internal shifts are occurring.

Last night, I had another dream, one of many, of my childhood, satanic abuse. In the dream, I was going to a "spiritual retreat" with a group of women whom I admired. We walked along a wooded path toward a gathering place. Suddenly, I was aware that I had been duped. The group leaders were members of a cult, and they were luring us to a satanic ceremony. I did not want to loose my new found friends. I was frozen in silence and continued to walk with them on the path. I awoke in fear.

The dream has haunted me today. I ask myself, "What is the Universe attempting to show me?"

Many thoughts have come.
- Be a leader, not a follower.
- To be true to my highest good, I must often walk alone. (However, I am always accompanied by the Divine.)
- Happiness is not derived from society. It is a byproduct of following God's will.

The answers may be these and/or many others. It will be revealed.

TRANSITIONS

As we evolve spiritually, we travel to our centers and our truth.

For many years, I have recurrently dreamed that, even as an M.D., because of a clerical error, I had to repeat my senior year of high school to receive my high school diploma. I was humiliated.

Because of childhood programing, one theme in my life has been that regardless of my achievements, I could not succeed. Prior to medical school graduation, I became intensely suicidal. To approach an assault on my programing, such as walking across the stage and accepting my diploma, created almost unbearable stress.

During those four years of living hell, I thought I would surely die of a brain tumor or leukemia before I received the coveted degree.

For eleven years after graduation, I trained and practiced in the field of pathology. Following considerable, personal growth, I realized in pathology I dealt with dis-eased bodies, which were often the result of dis-eased thoughts and the subsequent emotions and actions they generated. Twenty-five years ago, I retrained as a psychiatrist, the field in which I currently practice.

As I approach retirement, my dreams indicate that I am having difficulty transitioning from a human doing to a human being. For several years, I have dreamed, because my skills were rusty, I must repeat my pathology training. Again, my achievements are not "good enough," and there is more for me to do before I rest or play. On awakening, I felt guilty about the many times, during my medical training and career that I was unavailable emotionally or physically for my three children.

Because of my commitment to my patients and my fear of financial insecurity, I have pushed myself to continue my practice. My gastrointestinal tract is a perfect barometer of my emotional state. Eighteen months ago, my alimentary canal went into full revolt. It informed me, in no uncertain terms, that if I didn't quickly do something, drastically different, death was eminent. So, out of desperation, I decreased my patient load and my hours in the office.

For several months now, when I go into the office, I often feel as though I am dying. Last night, the dream of returning for a second pathology residency was more vivid than ever before. I had an infant. She was malnourished, lethargic and near death. If I attempted to perform the tasks entailed in the residency, she would die. I awoke knowing the child was me.

Soon, I know that I must leave my psychiatric practice. This phase of my life is drawing to a close. If I am to continue to help others, I will do so via another vehicle.

For many years, I have been drawn to follow my passions, art and writing, which issue from my center, my true self. As of yet, my literary footprint has been invisible, and I have not publicly shown my art. I am coming to know that it is not important that I have an audience, receive praise or earn an income from these endeavors. What is important is that I follow my passion and my truth, and so it is.

HANNAFORDS

As one approaches the entrance of New England's Hannafords' Supermarkets, signs are posted asking, "Did you remember your reusable bags?"

Upon entering, customers are greeted by five recycling bins, each designated for a specific category, such as glass, cans, paper, plastic containers and plastic bags.

Hannafords' shelves are stocked with organic foods, biodegradable cleaning products and paper products derived from 100 percent recycled paper.

The stores' bathroom mirrors and glass refrigerator doors bear decals stating that the store is naturally illuminated by skylights and solar tubes.

On leaving, one feels as though their consciousness has been elevated to a more sustainable lifestyle.

Oklahoma's supermarkets appear oblivious to environmental needs. I'd like to beam down into our state and elevate its social consciousness.


Addendum: This piece concludes my New England Travel Series. I hope it was meaningful to you.

We are all travelers along our internal and external life pathways. I now return to my primary venue of holistic health and healing, in hopes my experiences and observations will be helpful in your life's journey.

MOHAMMAD ISLAM

Besides enjoying the economy and social aspects of diners, I also enjoy clean, bare-boned, low-cost motel rooms.

After an exhausting day of travel, I stopped at the East Hill Motel in Warsaw, New York. I stumbled into the office and was greeted by a warm and inviting smile on the face of Mohammad Islam. When Mohammad smiled, his eyes sparkled and his whole face lit up. Immediately, I knew this man had a good soul.

As I checked in, I noticed a well-worn Bible on Mohammad's desk.

Meeting my expectations, my room was clean and neat and the mattress was firm.

After a night's rest, I became acquainted with Mohammad and discovered he had emigrated from Bangladesh twenty-one years earlier.

Mohammad appeared to be in his early forties and was obviously well-educated. He had lived in New York City and in Connecticut, where his brother and sister, respectively, continued to live. Mohammad also had a sister living in Canada.

Several times, Mohammad mentioned how much he enjoyed living in "the country." He added, "I don't have to live like this, (referring to his modest surroundings). I choose to live like this."

Mohammad was very clear that money could not replace the serenity he had found living on a winding, state highway, in a humble motel in rural, upper-state New York.

As I was leaving, Mohammad, with a cheerful attitude, was cleaning the vacated rooms. He said his wife, Ange, was visiting in New Brunswick, Canada. As he spoke of his wife, there was a soft sweetness on his face.

By choosing to live a simple life, Mohammad Islam found peace. For, on some level, he knows the sacred is in the ordinary, and enough is enough.

VERMONT

Vermont has a large number of homes and commercial structures that were built in the early 1800s-to-early-1900s and, over the years, Vermont's frugal citizens have maintained, repaired, restored and reallocated these buildings.

In 1791, Vermont became the Union's 14th state. Oklahoma, my home state, was admitted to the Union as the 46th state in 1907. With over a century head-start, Vermont's moneyed families employed skilled, immigrant workers to erect magnificent edifices, while Oklahomans were still living in tents, sod-houses or ram-shackled, wood-frame dwellings.

Vermont's early buildings were built to last. They were set upon deep foundations of granite, which enabled their roof lines to remain straight and their brick and stone walls to be without cracks.

In the ultimate form of recycling, many of Vermont's elegant, 19th-century mansions now house health clinics, senior citizen centers, libraries, state agencies and offices for attorneys and insurance agents.

Other brightly-bedazzled, Victorian homes are no longer occupied by single families, but have opened their doors for many guests to sleep beneath their roofs. In Burlington, the windows of these homes frame many families in their daily routines and countless students at their studies.

In addition, Vermont's abandoned factory buildings, often previous fabric mills, have transformed into apartment buildings, restaurants and shops.

Built in the early 1800s, many of Vermont's massive, stone churches continue to hold Sunday services. Likewise, many banks of similar vintage, with their original vaults, continue to transact business.

Unlike Vermont's architectural heritage, Oklahoma's aged buildings are too often demolished, with the remains deposited in a land fill, while new structures, of dubious quality and scant beauty, take their place, to repeat the cycle anew in 30-to-40 years.

Oklahomans, too often follow society's illusions and build their dream McMansions, which keep the builders and bankers in money, but leave the new homeowner with a large mortgage and a lifetime of work.

On the flip side, Vermont, as does Oklahoma, has it's trailer-house blight, with no aesthetics and a short life expectancy but, gratefully, trailer homes do not have a significant presence in most of Vermont's towns and villages.

Because Vermont's residents often live in smaller, more centralized communities they frequently walk or ride bicycles to shop, visit friends or go to school, work or church. Vermont also sports numerous fit mothers pushing baby carriages, with their elder children in tow.

Frequently, Vermont's children can be found playing outside. Its high school students can be seen walking home after school. These same students are frequently without cell phones or DVD players plugged into their ears, and they actually laugh with and talk to each other.

In contrast, after the last school bell rings, Oklahoma's mothers are usually lined up, with engines running, in their over-sized vehicles, waiting to pick up their darlings, the latter of which, upon arriving, promptly put on a head set or start pushing buttons on their electronic gizmos.

Overall, Vermonters are much slimmer than Oklahomans. Our state ranks dead last on the health polls and at the top of the obesity charts.

Besides recycling, repairing, maintaining and reusing their buildings, Vermonter's environmental consciousness was also evident by their volume of pedestrian traffic, clothes billowing dry on clotheslines and well-placed, recycling containers.

I love Oklahoma and its people, but it is time for Oklahomans to wake up and get with the program, and Vermonters have much to teach us.

DINERS

Diners are without pretense, phony sophistication or inflated prices. Therein, conversations are relevant and to the point. As in all eating establishments, diners sport menu items that are not so kind to the waistline. However, diners also serve nutritious foods.

Jim is the manager and chef in Burlington, Vermont's Henry's Diner. Jim is in his mid-thirties, of stocky build, with reddish hair and a face to match. Watching Jim handle a number of orders at once is like watching a ballet, graceful and perfectly timed.

After a few rushed minutes, Jim stepped from the kitchen, walked to the counter and introduced himself. He said that he was of Heinz 57 lineage, but I suspect there was a heavy dose of Scott and Irish in that batch.

Jim said that he had worked in a kitchen his "entire life" and explained that he grew up in his grandfather's bakery, Dough Boy's Bakery, which had been located around the corner from Henry's.

With kind eyes, Jim smiled and revealed teeth in need of a hefty dental bill, but Jim had his priorities straight and spoke of his plans to buy his own diner.

Jim also bakes the Henry's pies, and we discussed the virtues of a good piece of pie. Jim fondly spoke of his wife and three children and of the two apple pies he'd baked for them the previous evening.

With orders stacking up, Jim hot-footed-it back to the kitchen and resumed his rhythmic dance.

Besides the good food and homey atmosphere, I especially like diners because of people like Jim, good, down-to-earth souls, who enjoy the quintessential hearth, the kitchen.


Addendum: If anyone wants to share an experience, offer a comment or ask a question, I'd welcome the dialogue.