Life According to John 12/04/26
- Apr 11
- 6 min read
Sit in a comfy chair, upright. Do not cross your arms or legs and just sit upright.
Close your eyes.
Take half a dozen deep breaths.
Concentrate on the In Breath - and the Out Breath. Breath in - and hold it for 5 seconds - Then breath Out and hold it out - for 5 seconds
Keep repeating.
After a couple of minutes just breath normally, but slowly in and slowly out. No rush. Be aware of your heart beating in your chest. Be aware of your chest rising and falling. Be aware of where your mind is at and every time a thought - a picture - a story starts to formulate in your minds eye, BRIEFLY - open your eyes and close them again and let the pictures / thoughts go. Do not give your thoughts energy - as in - every time your mind wonders onto a thought - open your eyes and close them again and let the thought, the picture - vanish.
Repeat as needed. Eventually you will find your mind quietening, the floss and constant thoughts will drift into silence. Don't allow yourself to ' be aware' of anything - JUST BE IN THE MOMENT.
If your mind is too busy and you claim you ' cannot meditate'- YES YOU CAN. Do as above. When your mind constantly wonders off on its own onto some subject matter - BRING IT BACK INTO FOCUS by remembering a memory from decades ago, and concentrate on that memory.
For me - I had a 17 bedroom hotel, restaurant and tea room decades ago - took 50 guests - and in my minds eye, I take myself back through the hotel entrance, the bar, the dining room, I remember - or try to - every detail from something more than 50 years ago, the kitchens, private accommodation, and before I know it - I am relaxed, my mind is focused and I am at peace.
If your mind keeps going off on tangents, then give it something to concentrate on, like me and my old hotel. Find your own memory to relocate to and find a memory that brings you joy and contentment and you will soon relax the mind.
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For those struggling with their religious beliefs, or maybe being gay and Christian / Jewish / Muslim, here is a BRILLIANT book that while from the mid 1990's is still very current and is HIGHLY RECCOMMENDED BY ME, John Bellamy
Conversations with God (CwG) is a best-selling series of books by Neale Donald Walsch published starting in 1995, detailing a Q&A format dialogue between the author and a "God" persona. The books offer contemporary, spiritual, and practical advice on life, love, money, and health, emphasizing personal spirituality over religious dogma.
IT HELPED CHANGE MY LIFE.
Key Aspects of Conversations with God
Origin: The book began when a disillusioned Walsch wrote a angry letter to God and felt a "voice" providing profound answers.
Core Message: The series emphasizes that all people are connected to the Divine, urging readers to choose love over fear, and to understand that God is accessible to everyone.
Content: The dialogue covers a wide range of human experience, including relationships, purpose, money, and sexuality.
The Trilogy: The original trilogy expanded to include9 books in the series, with the first book staying on the New York Times bestseller list for 134 weeks.
Core Theme: A central message is to "remember our divine origins" and that God is not a judging entity but a supportive, "guy next door" voice.
Influence: Millions of copies have been sold, with many readers reporting it changed their lives, helping with personal crises or spiritual growth.
Core Messages and Themes
Accessible Divine: The "God" in the books makes the divine accessible, often acting as a loving, humorous, and practical voice, rather than a harsh judge.
Self-Transformation: The work promotes self-empowerment and personal responsibility, encouraging readers to change their perspectives to improve their lives.
Oneness: The books stress that humanity and the divine are fundamentally united, rejecting the idea of separation or, as the text often mentions, "we are all one".
Reinterpreting God: It challenges traditional religious views by presenting God as a source of wisdom that exists within every individual.
The books are often used as a tool for personal growth and finding a new perspective on spirituality
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The Sad Death of Edgar Allan Poe.
The writer had been missing for days, no one knew where he was, and all that was known about him was that he had taken to alcohol and spent his days going from bottle to bottle.
When finally, after a week, one of his friends, "Dr. Joseph Snodgrass," found him on the side of the road, completely drunk, wearing shabby clothes that weren't his—uncharacteristic of the writer, given that he always wore a suit—he had absolutely no memory of what had happened.
He was taken to a nearby hospital, regained consciousness for a few minutes and then passed out for hours, until his last words:
"God, help my poor soul."
He died.
A death certificate was never issued, and a local newspaper declared that the writer had died of "cerebral congestion."
The reason for his death has been debated for centuries, from the most obvious alcoholism or tuberculosis, to the fact that Poe was the victim of a custom of the time in which people were kidnapped, drugged, and forced to vote over and over again at different polling stations for the same political candidate to ensure victory.
Be that as it may, Edgar Allan Poe was a mysterious figure from the moment of his birth until the moment of his death. ---------------------
FOR MORE ON EDGAR ALLAN POE's LIFE - CLICK HERE
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We had put a leash on his collar
and were about to take him for fostering.
Austin suddenly stopped. He sat down on the ground and wouldn’t get up; he started looking towards the kennel and made sounds similar to crying.
I went back to check towards the kennel and saw that his sister Denver was there. She was also a Labrador.
But I could see marks of wounds on her body, and her fur was missing in some places, which caused people to ignore her. The shelter people told us that due to a lack of space, they had to separate the two. His brother Austin could have left the shelter anytime, but he wouldn’t go because of his sister Denver; he had to stay there. When Denver saw Austin, she got up and came to the fence.
Austin also got up and went to her, starting to lick her.
In that moment, I realized I didn’t want to separate the two. I told the staff to bring AK and the leash.
That day, we didn’t take the AK dog home but decided to take both of them instead, which was our decision to bring them peace.
The dog in the picture ( left ) and the heartbreaking story below, is a Weimeraner - of which I have had 4 over the years and 23 puppies with a pair of loving 'Husband and Wife' Weimeraner and I know the breed well. Many will remember Missy and Honey, the 2 I had here - at seperate times - before Madge. How anyone could treat such a beautiful dog so badly, is beyond me...
He wasn't taken outside, he was just kept in one place. His life was going on like this because his owner had become bored.
His name was Opal, and he was locked in the garage for at least a year.
He didn't see sunlight, hear any sounds, or experience love. When we rescued him and opened the garage, we saw that he couldn't even stand up. But when we looked closely, he was trying to get up, only to fall back down. His body had become weak. He was only 2 years old but weighed only 25 pounds. It wasn't just neglect; it was as if we were slowly killing him by not feeding him.
But the most surprising thing was that his tail was still wagging. He still had hope to live.
We started his treatment slowly, and he began eating. We took care of him, and the first day was difficult and gradually, he started to get better. Then he began to try to get up and walk. At first, it was a bit difficult, but then he started to eat on his own and, most importantly...
He did not lose trust in humans.
Today, Opal runs freely, walks around, explores the world, and accepts love. Now, he is not the same dog who was locked in a dark garage.
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LIVE LONG AND PROSPER.
John Bellamy
You make, and take, from the news that which you wish to see and hear. You observe what you want and comment of things that affect you personally. If you don't like something, do not read it and move on but do not shy away from what IS going on in the world of which - you are a part. World news is so easy to find these days and differing opinions not hard to find. Having an opinion is vital and being a ' don't care' person helps no one. So open your mind - open your heart - open your awareness and ALWAYS be open to new ideas.
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