Pot pourri: Cali to release 63,000 violent prisoners for THEIR safety; pointless writing to leftist politicos; spiritual reading

…..Spiritual reading

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May 4
There is much transpiring in the outer world. We would not always characterize it as either good or bad, positive or negative. Usually, there will be some of both. The point is that you can expect activity, demands upon your time and atention from without.

It is often the case that there are aspects of these demands which you can sort and discard. We encourage you to do that as you can. There is no virtue in whizzing about, expending energy and vitality on activities without clear-cut benefts to someone.

So as you fnd yourself pulled into this or that, please check to make sure that you are doing what you really want to be doing. Check to be sure that you are making a choice.

Even if you do the above effectively, many of you will still fnd yourself busy, even close to overwhelmed.

Some of you may notice that although your life in the world is not unusual in terms of the actual demands, your mind has ratcheted up and is wildly busy. Whatever your experience, the most important thing you can do is to cultivate the inner space where peace and clarity reign. If you do not find a way to touch into that inner space on a regular basis, you are much more apt to lose your footing and to make mistakes.

Of course you are often asked to add to your load when it is already heavy. Unfortunately, this is how it is. You can hold your breath and try to bluster your way through, tell your mind to shut up, or just keep going without consciousness.

You’ll probably survive if you take this later course, but you won’t grow any stronger or more resilient.

As the times and your innermost being call for a truer response to life, this is an opportunity to exercise your ability to hold both the temporal and the eternal in one moment. Or moments close to one another, at any rate.

If you have a practice [like meditating with a mantra, or contemplating beauty, or just breathing without letting any one thought stay with  you], try to add to it a little today. Insane? Maybe, but it will pay off.

If you do nothing else, make a point of taking a smidgen of time for something that renews or fulflls you: music, nature, poetry, dancing, etc. Anything that will help you maintain perspective, that will assist you in keeping your eye on the aeons, will be helpful.

You have spent enough time in self-reflection to be aware of and understand your own responses to stress from the world. Today, think a little bit about how you can moderate it, how you can float through the mental or physical demands without becoming consumed by them.

You are both spirit and form—this is a great moment to sink into that reality, to find your way toward balance and joy, even in times of duress.

We send lots of love and blessings. — E. West