peace – Saturday Soul with Sandy Hibbard

That All Can Be Free and Safe…

Sandy Hibbard — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 18:29:51 +0000

“And let us never harm or put in harms way one hair on the head of one of the “least of these…”

I’ve been thinking about what a small/large world it is. It is SMALL in that we humans are so similar and what we need for survival in this world is pretty much the same – food, clean water, shelter, education, love, self esteem, good health…the freedom to be fully human and to know we are safe. It is LARGE in that there is a great separation between those who have and those who have not.
Here in America let us never take these things for granted as we fight to uphold the right for all peoples to be free. And let us never harm or put in harms way one hair on the head of one of the “least of these” for they are our hopeful future living in the midst of us now.

Love and peace!

Photo ©Sandy Hibbard from “People of Cambodia” series by Sandy Hibbard at Lensqueen.com.

Abiding Peace

Sandy Hibbard — Mon, 28 May 2018 12:14:16 +0000

I found this beautifully written work recently, and have no idea who wrote it, but it spoke to me. I’m sharing it with you because I feel like no matter what an individual has gone through or is currently experiencing in their life, this absolutely applies. As we all struggle to overcome past conditioning, hurts and disappointments, let’s continue to sift through the clutter to discover a clearer mind and a centered heart.

Love and Peace!

By recognizing that our unconscious emotional reactions to others are reflections of our own emotional past, we begin to break the illusion that other people are making us feel these things. That puts us in a position of strength rather than feeling like a victim of circumstances. From there we need to heal the pain from our past so that our history of trauma does not continue to generate more suffering in our present. To do that we need to make the unconscious emotional patterns of our psyche more conscious.

Meditate daily to bring a permanent sense of self-awareness present in all your thoughts and behavior. The stronger that self-awareness is, the more the light of that consciousness will penetrate all the dark recesses of your unconscious mind. That light of consciousness is healing and non-judgmental, its background presence will remove your past conditioning and bring a sense of abiding peace.

Ahhhh love…. my cherished teacher

Sandy Hibbard — Sat, 11 Nov 2017 20:30:46 +0000

To be present in the moment and embrace each nuance of it is a gift we must learn to recognize, and there is no better teacher for this than love. Love unrequited, love satisfied, self love, brotherly love, your love rejected, love grown cold, love gone away, love nurtured, lusty love – in every case, love will shake you to your hearts core all while showing us that we are really not in control. No one is in control. We learn to let go in love. We learn to hold on through selflessness, giving, thinking of ourselves second. We learn the power of “other” and humility when a decision is made and we know that someone else will embrace, acquiesce, or defiantly reject it. We are not in control of other’s behavior, affections, or desires. So if we are getting what the Universe is giving, we are practicing opening our hearts and becoming increasingly aware of each moment. Acknowledging gratefully the power of letting go and with a strong will accepting responsibility for our own behavior. In times when I long for more (you know those old friends “want and desire”?), I stop, take note, and speak to the brevity of the day and the infinite possibilities that teem within me. Those reality moments are my eternity, cherished. They bring peace and acknowledge that I am enough, allowing me to give back the gifts the Universe has given.
~ Sandy Hibbard

We Can be Victorious When We Fight Our Dragons

Sandy Hibbard — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 21:30:40 +0000

We Can be Victorious When We Fight Our Dragons
I had the chance to travel to Cambodia a few years ago. On one of my excursions to the ancient temple sites, I climbed up to the top of one of the structures in Siem Reap and happened across a shrine where a Buddhist fortune teller had set up his “office”. I waited for my turn to sit on his mat and receive a blessing. After he read my fortune in his native tongue, the interpreter told me what he said and explained its meaning. The shaman then tied a red braided thread around my wrist. I wore that red thread around my wrist for years as a reminder of the blessing, it finally broke but I was able to salvage a small piece that I keep with some of my special personal treasures.

In my blessing the shaman tells me the story of a buddha that went into the jungle to mediate and was thwarted and attacked by a vicious dragon demon that was trying to keep him from his meditation. But the buddha (which represented me) fought the dragon and was victorious. The interpreter said to me, using hand gestures to make sure I got the point, “The buddha (pointing to me), like you, got victory” ! I carry that message with me as a reminder that in all things in this life, I am victorious. Yes, I will have to fight when the demons come to my mind, when difficult circumstances arise, and when I feel too tired to do my best, but you know what? I will be victorious, because I got VICTORY!
Every day we go out into our jungle to “meditate”, to do what we do, and everyday we have problems that arise, difficulties that seem like they are trying to stop us from what our true intention is. When that happens, just visualize yourself with a red thread around your wrist that says “I can do this, I am not alone, I got victory!”.
Have a great week, and remember to love and share this blessing wherever you can!
Love and Peace,
Sandy

Holiday Magic and My Favorite Things

Sandy Hibbard — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 21:00:45 +0000

“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love”
~ Hamilton Wright Mabie

Holiday Magic and My Favorite Things

The holidays of Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Christmas and New Year’s have officially begun, and I am so excited as it unfolds each special gift. What a wonderful time when all is focused on love and giving – the sentiment, the change in focus, the energy and the opportunity for celebration, gathering and stopping to give thanks and outwardly show our love are the things I love most about it. Even though these qualities can and do occur year round, for some reason, there is a bit of magic that infiltrates everything this time of year. And I love it!

Today I want to wish each of you a very happy holiday season! To start it out right, here are a few of my favorite things to remind you of the magic that is all around us. These are the simple beauties that inspire and motivate me. I invite you to take a minute and share with me what inspires you too.
Love and hugs – Sandy

A Few of My Favorite Holiday Things:

a crackling, cozy fire in the fireplace
decadent hot chocolate topped with homemade whipped cream
listening to Carpenters Christmas album
drinking eggnog
looking at the cards at Papyrus
being with my two wonderful grown up kids
going to pick out the Christmas tree
making and eating squash casserole (for my recipe go to: http://wp.me/p14m59-10R)
rubbing up against the Christmas trees at the tree seller and taking the pine scent home on my coat
cooking with my family and the mayhem in the kitchen
drinking hot spiced tea by the fire

presents under the tree
fresh baked pumpkin pie with real whipped cream
hanging a lights and decorating the front porch
drinking wine and baking with friends
creating the perfect holiday cards to send to special friends
watching classic holiday films – It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas and Miracle on 34th Street
shopping for little stocking stuffers
hitting the $1 section at Target and sending “care” boxes to my loved ones
snow flakes falling on Christmas Eve
listening to and singing “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “White Christmas“
laying under my mom’s HUGE Christmas tree like a kid
snow sledding under the full moon

hanging the stockings by the fireplace for my kids and granddogs
mom’s stockings that she hangs over her mantel and the surprises they contain
shopping for treasures and special ornaments
taking chilly walks and stomping through the colorful leaves
Bing Crosby, Barbara Streisand, Frank Sinatra, and Mariah Carey, Michael Bublé, MJB holiday music
learning about and experiencing how others celebrate their holidays
donating time or singing for local charities or special schools
hosting a festive gathering at my home for special friends and family
having coffee and shuffling around the house early in the morning in my cozy pajamas
a chance to reflect on the amazing year I experienced
endless scarves to choose from

city streets and trees outlined in colorful lights
going out in the neighborhood and doing some old-fashioned Christmas caroling with the family
wrapping presents with beautiful papers and ribbons
pumpkin bread with a homemade latte topped with cinnamon
spending more time with my parents and family, loved ones and friends
dressing up and going out to dinner for a special holiday night
quiet walks and talks with family after we have eaten the holiday turkey
an opportunity for a fresh start
new chances to love and give

Wishing you a grateful heart, unconditional love and abiding peace – Happy Holidays!

Other posts on SaturdaySoul:
A world created from passion – passion has it’s downfalls, but how could we live without it?
love’s the only gift worth giving – we look for what will heal and comfort us, but it is right here in front of us!
Dazed in an Ice Cocoon – sometimes we think we will die in our icy little cocoon, but we will emerge again.
You Will Receive Wisdom on Your Journey – don’t forget to grab a little wisdom along the way!

You Will Receive Wisdom on Your Journey

Sandy Hibbard — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 22:10:13 +0000

Greetings everyone! I wanted to share this quote with you to remind us all that it is the journey that counts!

“We do not receive wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can make for us, which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world. The lives that you admire, the attitudes that seem noble to you, have not been shaped by a paterfamilias or a schoolmaster, they have sprung from very different beginnings, having been influenced by evil or commonplace that prevailed round them.
They represent a struggle and a victory.”
~ Marcel Proust

So true. Our path, our journey in this life is our own. It is embracing that path and learning to live every moment of it that I believe we truly fall into and receive the wisdom that will bring us into wholeness.
I hope you had a chance to drop into Saturday Soul last week, but if you didn’t get a chance, here is a recap of the posts I shared from my heart – enjoy!
Where Do We Place the Blame for the Pain of our Past? – engaging the “noticer” and learning where to put our painful emotions from the past
A Moment of Eternity – poetry from my heart about wanting the moment to last in love
Learning to Hesitate for a Happier Life – a lesson for living and learning how to control our impulses
33 Ways to Find Inspiration – sometimes you have to dig for it, but here are some simple ways to keep inspiration around you!
If You Wish To Make Gold You Must Already Have It – mine for the gold that’s in you!
I hope you will stop by this week at Saturday Soul, be sure to leave comments and share YOUR soul with me!
Love and Peace!
Sandy

The art of BEING and allowing things to happen and flow

Sandy Hibbard — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 17:00:36 +0000

I recently read a blog post by a blog that I follow, the message goes along with so much of what I have been saying about flowing with life and just learning how to “BE”. I wanted to share it with you, enjoy! Love and Peace! Sandy

The Wisdom of Allowing Things to Happen

The Master allows things to happen.
She shapes events as they come.
She steps out of the way
and lets the “path” (Tao) speak for itself.
~The Daodejing

Post written by Leo Babauta.

This has been what I’ve been learning over the past couple of years. Allowing things to happen.
It goes counter to our usual instincts in Western society — we are doers, creators of our destiny, we make things happen … we don’t wait for it to happen! That’s what I was taught from an early age, in school and by every motivational sports movie I ever watched. So allowing things to happen is not my normal way.
I have never been one to be passive, to let things happen instead of making them happen, to let go of control of things. But here’s what I’ve been learning:

This control we think we have over our lives and our destinies … it’s an illusion. As the guy who had his life turned upside down by a heart attack, the woman who lost her father to death and had to drop everything, the family who lost their home to a hurricane, the entrepreneur that was doing well until the economy collapsed and no one was spending, the hard-working employee who was laid off when the economy tanked, the cyclist who was hit by a car, the car that skid because someone ran onto the road who had been obscured, the mom whose son has autism despite her doing everything right during pregnancy … it happens every day, where we think we’re in control but we’re really not. Do we control all the people around us who affect our lives so intimately? Do we control the overwhelming power of nature? There’s so much out of our control that what we think is control is really an illusion.
To control your cow, give it a bigger pasture. This is a great quote from Zen Master Suzuki Roshi, talking about controlling your mind. I see the cow and her pasture as a form of allowing things to happen — instead of tightly controlling something, you’re opening up, giving it more room, a bigger pasture. The cow will be happier, will roam around, will do as she pleases, and yet your needs will also be met. The same is true of anything else — stepping back and allowing things to happen means things will take care of themselves, and your needs will also be met. And you’ve done no work.
You have less stress, less to worry about. Imagine allowing things to happen naturally, and things work out, and all you did was smile and watch. You don’t have to worry about shaping things, about controlling something that doesn’t want to be controlled. You don’t have to push, and fix leaks, and put out fires. You just let things work on their own. They happen.
Things will surprise you. Let’s say you’re allowing something to happen. You might want it to go a certain way, to a certain outcome. That’s your goal. But what if you let go of this idea? What if you say, “I don’t know what will happen.” (Btw, you really don’t.) What if you say, “Let’s see what happens.” Then things will happen, but not the way you planned. The outcome might be completely different than what you’d hoped for. But it can still be great, just different. It might even be wonderful, and surprising. Surprises are good, if we accept that things always change and that change is good.
You learn how things work. Instead of trying to make things work the way you want them to work, just watch them work. You’ll learn much more about human nature, about the nature of the world, as you see things work without you controlling it. It might change you.

That’s all very good, Leo, you’re thinking. But that won’t put the food on my table.
Maybe you’re right. And so, don’t let me stop you from what you need to do. Carry on. I’ll just sit back and watch.
Thanks to Zen Habits for allowing me to repost this blog post. For more Zen thoughts and wisdom, visit their blog at www.ZenHabits.net.