Taking A Trip To Morbid Reflectionville

When we travel down the road of indignation, self-righteousness, fear, hateful and/or angry words and thoughts we invariably find ourselves embracing morbid reflection, leaving us drinking from a cup filled with spiritual distress. Few situations in life are ever strictly black and white. When we condemn out of hand we attempt, but fail, to overwrite the truth that there is a little bit of good in the worst of us and a little bit of bad in the best, no one is without sin, none of us live life error free. Remember “Living life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning to play the instrument as we go along” naked, so cut them and yourself a little slack.

So when we find ourselves in morbid reflectionville, and we all do from time to time, we gently turn around in prayer and head back out of town by recognizing the Presence of God where the disharmony and negativity resides; asking in meditation to be shown the way of patience, tolerance, kindliness and love, saluting the unique Creative Life Force residing in each of us.

It would be easy to end here, but an additional point needs to be made. We can and in truth must salute the Divine within all, but this does not mean we must continue to associate with or place ourselves in a position to be harmed or fail to stand for our beliefs. Our heartfelt hope and desire is that all will grow spiritually, embracing a path of enlightenment, peace and ethical living, unfortunately not everyone will and the truth of change and growth is the desire must come from within. So release them with love and remember the old Scottish (James Kelly) proverb: “He that deceives me once; shame fall him; if he deceives me twice, shame fall me.” So trust in God, but cut the cards.

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

Miracles Of Recovery, The Secret, Wayne Dyer, Recovery, Addiction, Zen, Emmet Fox, Opioids, Four Agreements, Chopra, Heroin, Einstein, AA, Healing Path, Law Of Attraction

Hats And Serenity

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

Miracles Of Recovery, The Secret, Wayne Dyer, Recovery, Addiction, Zen, Emmet Fox, Opioids, Four Agreements, Chopra, Heroin, Einstein, AA, Healing Path, Law Of Attraction

Hats And Serenity

We have all done it and regretted it afterwards. We are either drawn into or feel the need to volunteer our opinion in someone else's situation. It may be a simple dispute between neighbors, a child rearing issue, a family squabble or something at the work place. The worst possible case is a crisis of romance. What generally happens? The party we were attempting to “help” uses our good intentions to bolster their position, putting us at odds with the other party for in their mind we have now taken a "side". If it is in the relationship arena if they reconcile that "well intended" support often comes back to haunt us, our words of  “comfort” often putting us on the outs with both parties!

“Do not wear another man’s hat” was salient advice given early in the last century by Emmet Fox. Simply, in order to avoid unintended consequences we refrain from gossiping, seemingly well-intended little character assassinations or take sides when family, romance or the heart is involved. If we fail to do this we don the “other man’s hat” and pay accordingly. Our course is simple but not easy, in silent prayer we invoke love for all involved, seeking only to be of service without being negative, being supportive but keeping our opinions close to the vest lest they come back to bite us. It will take time and practice for this to become habit, and none of us will do it perfectly, but it is the path that provides serenity and will help us avoid those hard looks and cold shoulders at work over the holiday dinner table or the backyard fence.

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

Miracles Of Recovery, The Secret, Wayne Dyer, Recovery, Addiction, Zen, Emmet Fox, Opioids, Four Agreements, Chopra, Heroin, Einstein, AA, Healing Path, Law Of Attraction