Energy

All posts in the Energy category

Don’t You Quit, There is Always a Bright Side to Life

Published 21/03/2014 by inspiringyourspirit

dont quit_endless

Don’t Quit!

From the lyrics of the Monty Python song ‘Bright Side of Life’

Always look on the bright side of life.
[whistling]
Always look on the light side of life.
[whistling]
If life seems jolly rotten,
There’s something you’ve forgotten,
And that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
When you’re feeling in the dumps,
Don’t be silly chumps.
Just purse your lips and whistle. That’s the thing.
And…
Always look on the bright side of life.
[whistling]
Always look on the right side of life,

We often forget that there is ‘Always’ a bright side to life its just we loose sight of it sometimes.

If your feeling down and low, put on some happy music or go sit in the garden, feel the sun and the gentle breeze on your skin , close your eyes and just breathe, feel the air entering your nose and feel it passing out through your mouth on the exhale, calm your mind and focus on your breath, in and out, in and out, in and out, look inward and listen to your heart, here you will find answers, answers to help you on your life’s journey.

Namaste with Love
Always my friends

Mark

Why Oh Why Are We Allowing This To Happen?

Published 17/03/2014 by inspiringyourspirit

Our natural world, our forests, our oceans and our wildlife is disappearing fast, all in the name of consumerism, we the consumers are allowing these corporations to destroy our would, our children or their children will not have the privilege to know what wildlife is, they will not know what a rain forest is, they will not know what a Rhino, a tiger or an Elephant is! These beautiful creatures like the Dodo will be forgotten forever and placed in some sort of electronic history book…. a picture of time gone by…another beautiful animal lost forever!

Its a sad, sad world we live in, that we allow ourselves to look at images or video’s like this and do nothing!

Tears are in my eyes

Namaste with Love to all living things
Always
Mark

Enjoy this Moment, This Moment is Your Life!

Published 16/03/2014 by inspiringyourspirit

enjoy the moment

Enjoy this moment, this moment is your life!

Stop and enjoy!

Most of us go about our daily lives in the search of something, it could be searching for success, money, love, friends, or maybe even just searching for things, material things that we think will make us happy, out shopping, time at the mall buying for the sake of buying, keeping the shop owners happy but not ourselves! The purchase gives us the relief; the happiness for a split second in time but once the purchase has been made the thing in the fancy bag is just another thing, another possession to join the many others in our house, closed away in a closet or drawer, maybe not even to see the light of day again; but why?

Why don’t we just stop for a second and take a look around us, look now…Go on,…take a second out of your day and connect with your life…. First of all close your eyes and just breathe, can you feel the air enter your nose, how does it feel? Can you feel the air enter your throat, enter your lungs? How does it feel, is the air warm or cold? Feel the air expand your lungs, can you feel your chest rising, hold the breath at the end of the inhale for a second or two, how and what do you feel? Slowly exhale through your mouth, can you feel the air rushing from your lungs up through your throat and out of your mouth, past your lips, does the air feel warm or cold, is it wet or dry?

What can you smell? Allow your senses to work, keep your eyes closed and smell, can you smell your home, the fragrant air, maybe the smell of a child or pet, how about the smell of cooking or flowers in a vase, take your time and enjoy the sweet smells of your day.

What can you hear? keep your eyes closed and turn your focus inward to your ears, what can you hear, is it raining?, Can you hear raindrops on the windows, dripping from a gutter or maybe a drip from a leaky tap (Faucet), are you using aircon, can you hear the motor, the blades spinning, can you hear birds singing in your garden, children playing, is the radio or TV on what do you hear?

Can you feel and sense your body? Turn your focus inward to your body, can you feel your skin, what does it feel like, is it warm or cool, can you feel the blood circulating into your fingers and toes, do you feel the tingle in the tips of your fingers? Can you feel your heart pumping your life blood around your body,…. focus, focus, focus, feel it?

Now slowly open your eyes and look, really look, what do you see? Take note of the fine detail, the colour of your child’s eyes, the mixture of colours, the colour of their hair, the subtle differences of the shadows on their skin, your pet, what are they doing? Do you have flowers in your room, what are their colours, are they blooming or still in bud, do they need water? Take a look outside, what colour is the sky?, is it daytime or night time, can you see the sun or the moon or are there stars in the sky?

Our world, our life…take a second everyday to appreciate what’s around us, what we already have in our lives and be grateful because there are so many brothers and sisters out there in our world that have far less than we have!

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

Validate Your Life and Smile

Published 13/03/2014 by inspiringyourspirit

Many of you may have seen this short video before; I had not, so I felt it worthy of posting here on my humble blog. How many of us feel like the people in this video? Walking around each and everyday feeling down, depressed and not worthy! Well, for all of us who need a lift with our spirits, then please watch and enjoy, and remember…You are Worthy, You are Awesome and You are Loved.

Namaste with Love my dear friends
Always
Mark

Mindful Meditation…Living. Breathing, Sensing

Published 12/03/2014 by inspiringyourspirit

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My mind is empty and my heart is full

Such is the joy of mindful meditation.

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

The Power of Touch

Published 10/03/2014 by inspiringyourspirit

The Power of Touch

My Dear Friends,

Indeed, this is so true, we do often underestimate the power of touch. Sometimes, all it takes is a pat on the back, a handshake, a hug or even a slight touch to the forearm or hands for someone to realise we care and we are there for them.

Touch is a signal, like gratitude that is often forgotten by many.

As in the picture, we all know how good a pet dog or cat feels when we take time to pet them, to stroke and tickle them, it makes them and us feel good.

A smile, a kind word, a gesture takes the touch to another level and affirms our state of empathy and caring.

Hold out your hand today, pat a colleague on the back for a job well done, shake someones hands and say thanks and hold your loved ones close and remind them that you ‘LOVE THEM’ 🙂

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

Indigo Children, They are So Switched On to Life

Published 09/03/2014 by inspiringyourspirit

This little boy is so switched on to life, his empathy towards all loving creatures is amazing as is his realisation that he has touched his mothers heart.

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

Just Breathe and Love Your Life

Published 08/03/2014 by inspiringyourspirit

Just Breathe

Just Breathe

Enjoy Your Life

Be Thankful For What You Have In Your Life

Allow the Air to Purify Your Soul

Cleanse Your Mind Of Negative Thoughts

Just Breathe

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

Another Dawn, Another Day and Shanghai Wakes

Published 02/03/2014 by inspiringyourspirit

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The sun’s broken free from it shroud in the clouds
It’s rays of golden light cascading down on me through my window
The warmth gently caressing my skin and it’s godly goodness energizing my soul
Giving me strength, compassion and hope for yet another day

The pollution is lifting so I can breathe; my lungs filling with air like an air balloon rising
My heart pumping ever stronger with a beat, beat, beat
Fueling my body, every organ, every muscle, every cell invigorated with gods blessings
Waking me up and bringing me to my senses

My eyes are opening like a flower to a Bee, looking, really looking to see what surrounds me,
Buildings rising like a Phoenix from the ashes, mountains of dust filling the air, with a clanging and thumping of metal on metal
Cranes lifting higher and higher, rising up to the heavens making way for ivory towers of ‘Face’ in the sky
Whilst bulldozers are clearing away the memories of China past and history from another day

People passing, chasing their dreams, some walking some running, car after car like ants in a line
Heads down, no eye contact, texting away, talking aloud and shouting ’Wei’
No time for smiles the rush hour is on
Horns blaring, there’s no time to wait, bicycles jostling like horses at the starters gate

Progress bringing wealth and gadgets galore, Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonald’s and a Walmart store
Houses and cars, the wedding, One baby and more
Progress is here to stay, trapping us in for one more day
I sigh, I frown and I’m sad to say; progress is here but its wiped all the smiles away

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

looking down Shanghai

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The Phoenix

Published 25/02/2014 by inspiringyourspirit

The Phoenix.

A truly wonderful introduction to the legend and meanings behind the Phoenix written by one of my blogging friends Jeannine over at http://angelvoicehealing.wordpress.com .

I also note from the post that Jeannine is to marry her sweetheart soon after 29 years 🙂

May they be blessed with pure light energy and a happy, loving and compassionate life together.

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

Progress, when and where did it all go wrong!

Published 20/02/2014 by inspiringyourspirit

progress

We all want progress in our lives,
we need it to drive us forward to a better way of living,
new technology brings us greater efficiencies and economies of scale,
but progress is not always great,
it can bring about sadness,
poverty for some and riches for others,
it can stamp out communication abilities whilst increasing our connections,
it can bring about loneliness whilst making more cyber friends,
it can take us away from nature but bring us more pictures
…where will it end and will it be Progress for all and will it include our environment?

Just a thought!

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

today i went inside my head

Published 13/02/2014 by inspiringyourspirit

meditate

My Dear Friends,

Today I went inside my head
Closed my eyes and took a breath
I can feel the coolness of the air as it enters my nose
And the warmth as it exits my mouth

Slow and deep breaths I take
In and hold
Out and hold
Paying attention to the now

How do I feel, what do I feel
Oh there’s a thought
Say hi and thank you
But your not needed now, so please go away

The pure new energy is entering my lungs
Fueling my heart
Into my bloodstream
Passing through my body like cars on a highway

Into my arms, my hands and my fingers
Rushing through my body
To every organ, to every cell
Nourishing me as it makes its way

But how do I feel..
At peace for now
Deeper and deeper I go
Into my mind

To a place where I’m safe
My tranquil place
My garden of truth
My home

No one can touch me here
It’s for me and for me alone
My dreams are here
I’m loved here

I can stay or I can return
It’s my choice
It’s my life
My meditation

Namaste With Love
Always
Mark

Rent your Electric Car by the Hour from a Vending Machine

Published 28/01/2014 by inspiringyourspirit

Yes please 🙂 the more of these vending machines set-up in China; the happier I will be 🙂 As you all know I live in Shanghai China and the pollution here is terrible due to the high rise in car ownership and of course the factories pumping out waste to keep up with global manufacturing demands. Im also personally happy to see companies and governments investing in green technologies whom have the foresight to make these ideas/projects come to fruition.

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

The Entire Night Sky would be in the Palm of My Hand

Published 19/12/2013 by inspiringyourspirit

sky in my palm

My Dear Friends,

If I could reach up into the darkness of the night’s sky and collect a star

for each time your comments and messages of friendship make me smile

I would have the entire night sky in the palm of my hand.

I would like to take this moment to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and May you , your families and friends be blessed with a Happy New Year filled with Love, good health, compassion and Joy.

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

From Above the Clouds Beauty and Life is Created

Published 18/12/2013 by inspiringyourspirit

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Above the clouds

The sky is blue

The sun is bright

And all is calm.

gift from god

The rays of light shine down

Towards the earth

Pushing their way

Toward your skin

To keep you warm.

child

The suns rays warm the earth

Promoting growth

Encouraging birth.

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Seedlings sprout

Their heads held high

Upwards they push

Toward the sky.

buds

Buds form on tops of stems

Holding a mystery deep inside

Petals untwine and burst open with Joy.

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To the world

A new creation

God’s gift

A sweet sensation

Life, and beauty for all to see

My Dear Friends,

Another attempt at poetry 🙂

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

The haunting beauty of Tibetan Song

Published 16/12/2013 by inspiringyourspirit

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My Dear Friends,

Please take 3 minutes rest, put your headphones on and enjoy the haunting song of Tibet. And if you have time another 7 minutes for the second song 🙂

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do?

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

 

Some bad news has arrived and I need your help!

Published 13/12/2013 by inspiringyourspirit

Smiling Mum

My Dear Friends,

At approximately 10:40am yesterday the 12th December I came across a post by Shanta Gabriel at http://spiritlibrary.com/shanta-gabriel/12-12-portal-activating-your-merkaba, regarding a MerKaBa light initiation process that was going to happen all around our world on the 12th December at 12:12, Shanta articulated the process regarding how we could connect to source, set our intentions and fill our bodies with heaven’s light. So at approximately 10:45 am yesterday the 12th December I set my intentions to connect to source and receive the healing power, healing for me and for me to then pass on to anyone who needs it.

At approximately 10:50am my wife called me to tell me her sister has been diagnosed with a throat tumor, a Thyroid Neoplasm. Her family are rural farmers from mid northern China where they typically only earn a couple of dollars per day, they are hard working happy people, loving, kind and true to family and friends, they adore me and have taken me into their family with open arms, I have spent many happy days with them in their village and taken hundreds of photographs of them and their village life. It is certainly a place of smiles but also of sadness. Nearly two years ago almost to the day, my wives brother in law (sisters husband) fell from a roof while helping his son install a solar water heating system to someone’s village house, he had no safety equipment (this is China) and hit the ground head first, My wife and I were in the UK at the time tending to my father who subsequently passed away while we were with him so we were unaware of her sisters husbands accident. The local hospital in their county told them he was unlikely to survive the trauma as his skull had smashed into his brain and even if he did survive then he would most likely have severe brain damage, they told my sister in law that the cost for surgery would be around 30,000 $ after the subsidy they would receive from the farmers insurance subsistence, and, the surgery would need to be carried out in Xian; the capitol city of their province a 3 + hour car drive away, she was also told that he would unlikely make it through the night!

My wife’s sister and two children were really shocked by the news and traumatized about the surgery costs of which they did not have, my wife’s sister knew they did not have the money but the children pleaded with her to go ahead with the surgery (the surgery would not be arranged or completed unless the full amount was paid in full), so she went to the village elders and told them the situation, all families within the village put their hands in the pockets, raided their savings and used money they had put aside for next years crops and seeds. Everything was put on the line, all these families dug deep to help my sister in law’s family when they needed it most!

The surgery went ahead, his life was saved, he now has a hole in his skull the size of a tennis ball, he is slightly impaired but he is a father, grandfather and husband again but he has never been made aware of the costs of the surgery and the money owed to the villagers. When May and I returned from the UK, we were told of this situation, they said they did not want to trouble us because we were also going through our own traumas and grief with the passing of my father…But what could we do? We could not see these farming families suffer and not be able to buy seeds and crops this year, so May and I found the money ourselves and we paid them back. Now we are in the same situation once again but this time with my sister in law, we are awaiting information from the hospitals to find out the nature of the tumor and the costs of the surgery if needed.

So at exactly 12:12am yesterday the 12th December I started to meditate, I went through the process exactly as Shanta Gabriel had said, I set my intentions to receive pure light and healing energy, I brought the energy into every cell of my body, I said my prayers for myself, my family, my friends, for humanity and our planet and asked for special assistance to go to my sister in law in her time of need, I focused on her tumor, I started to cough heavily, my throat was sore but I breathed it away, I then received a very deep pain in my side but I breathed that away too, I targeted my energy to her and at exactly 12:24am I opened my eyes and awoke from my meditation (exactly 12:24, 12 minutes meditation, this was amazing).

So my dear friends, I would like you to think of my sister in law, please send us some pure source healing energy.

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

Begin and End Each Day with a Grateful Heart.

Published 08/12/2013 by inspiringyourspirit

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Pollution, where will it all end..with me choking to death!

Published 06/12/2013 by inspiringyourspirit

My Dear Friends,

You know how we talk about gratitude and giving thanks for what we have because there are always people so much worse off than us? Well, let me share with you the following four picture.

Pictures 1 and 2 are of the same view, this is Pudong in Shanghai, China, the place where I live and work but picture 2 was taken today when the PM25 pollution index was well over 500, thats 450 points worse that the recommended level, a level of  1-50 is good, 51-100 moderate, 151-200 Unhealthy, 201-300 very unhealthy, 301-500 Hazardous with the note for today stating : Health alert, everyone may experience more serious health effects!

The other two pictures are taken from my balcony at home at around 8am this morning, then from an office building looking down at Shanghai at around 9am this morning.

Please take time out today to give thanks for what you have, remember, there is Always someone worse off than you.

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

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looking down Shanghai

7 ways to make the most of your problems – Buddha style

Published 06/12/2013 by inspiringyourspirit

My Dear Friends,

I would like to sage a re-post with you from a dear blogging friend David Hare over at http://thankingthespoon.com , its a great piece of advice 🙂

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

John Delnevo cropped

22 years ago when I first went to a senior Buddhist to ask for advice, I said to him: “I have a very big problem,” and he, the late John Delnevo of SGI UK (pictured), replied with a broad smile and a twinkle in his eye: “Congratulations.” I thought he must have misheard me so I repeated that I really was struggling with something (can’t remember what but it would’ve felt massive at the time – money / job / girlfriend / studies… or possibly all four…)

Again he smiled broadly and said, “that’s great news, well done!” Seeing my perplexed face, he made seven points over the next hour’s conversation that have stayed with me ever since:

  1. Happiness is not the absence of problems
  2. Problems are a fact of life “suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy” – this is what Nichiren Daishonin taught
  3. The problem is never the problem, it’s the life state from which you approach the problem that’s the problem
  4. The lotus flower of enlightenment only grows in the muddy pond of daily life – your challenge is a sign that your life is asking to grow. So, are you going to say Yes or No?
  5. You’ve made the cause / karma for this situation (otherwise it couldn’t happen), so therefore you (and only you) have the power to change it. (This is the principle of personal responsibility behind the name ‘Thanking the Spoon’)
  6. Any problem is a gift in disguise – it might be very heavily disguised sometimes, but it’s a gift all the same
  7. When you change for the better, the world around you does too, as surely as a shadow follows a body, that’s how, one by one, we create world peace.

‘John D’, as we called him, was an incredibly wise, strict and compassionate man and it is hard in a list of 7 points to convey the warm encouragement that always shone from his life, earning the trust of people all around him. In fact it has taken me 21 years to really understand with my whole life what he said to me on that day in 1991. And some days I still forget.

The advice he gave was born of his own heartfelt personal struggles or ‘human revolution’ as we say in Buddhism, he lived what he taught, it was never about theory with John D.  And looking back I realise he treated me with the deepest appreciation, seeing past my whingeing self-centredness and talking to the person I might one day become.  I believe this is the mark of a great mentor.

So, as this wise man repeated at the end of our little chat: “You have a problem? Congratulations…”

Davidx

PS.  When I began writing this post, I didn’t intend it to become a tribute to John Delnevo, it was just going to be a list of 7 hopefully helpful points. Now I realise that it is the profound human connection that counted even more than what he actually said.   ‘John D’, you rocked. Still in my daimoku. Thank you.