If you rely on the power of others
You weaken your own.
If you seek to own the world
You limit your abundance.
The expert guide helps to lead people forward
By sitting them down
Helping them to drop the contents of their mind
Down to their bellies.
Removing their goals
Strengthens their intentions.
With a clear mind
The see and then understand the confusion that desire creates.
Be still my friends and let it happen.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Fear of failure, fear of loosing face, the fear of rejection, fear of the unknown, the fear of success….Whatever fears you face in your life it’s now time for you to face them.
There are literally millions of labels we can place on words and call them fears, as in the image above, the list is endless and different fears attack each and every one of us, and we react to these fears in different ways.
Every time we turn our backs on a fear and try to fight it, it becomes a pointless exercise and waste of our time, because fighting our fears places us in a ‘battle’ with that fear forever, whilst facing these fears will give us ‘freedom’ forever.
Our minds play tricks on us all the time, ‘the devil in our head’, ‘our sub conscious mind’, our Ego’s’ constantly chatter to us laying doubts on our ability to achieve, playing reference to things that have gone wrong in the past, and nagging us to stop right there and give up!…”Don’t be stupid, you know you will fail”, “It’s no point you doing that because no one will listen to you”, “Ah, they are just begging because they are too lazy to work so don’t give them your money”, “It’s not your problem, don’t get involved or it will end in tears, “Leave your job, are you stupid”, “Your not smart enough or worthy enough to do or go somewhere”……..How many of you have had these thoughts go through your head?
Our fears of failure can limit us and keep us from living the life we want to. When we inevitably experience rejection or disappointment, we have to be hardy in our way of coping with these struggles. Overcoming our critical inner voice can be a vital step in becoming more emotionally resilient. We can learn skills to become hardier, and we can face challenges with fewer internal setbacks. Yet, the first step in taking on this new confidence is shedding the baggage of our past, the critical inner voices that falsely feed our fears of failure.
If you have chance look at a child, an elderly person or someone who is really poor, observe their behaviours and take note of how they live their lives.
And like Derek says
Very powerful words from Audrey Hepburn, and the picture of her carrying and helping a starving child makes us realise how important these simple words are.
“You have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others”
I now realise that this doesn’t just apply to people in underdeveloped countries, to the homeless, to victims of war, poverty and strife, this also applies to people in our own countries, in our own neighbourhoods that are suffering right now, suffering from injustice, from race hatred, from exploitation (being paid less than the minimum wage), from lack of funds to educate their children, from lack of funds to heal their sick child or gain medical support for their own health in order to keep them working so they can pay their own way in life.
We do have two hands, we have two eyes and we have two ears but so often we fail to reach out and offer a hand in support of our brothers and sisters, we close our eyes to the injustice that we see each and everyday, we close our ears when we hear people crying out for help, or when we hear someone abused by others and we close our mouths when its time for us to speak out in favor of these brothers and sisters around the world that ARE being exploited, badly treated and victimised by the corporates, the governments, the media and the blindfolded biggots of our world who want to keep us in our place, downtrodden for their own gain, to fuel their fires and to grow their wealth, and when we break down they toss us aside and get someone else to take our place who is as desperate as us to earn a living..and so the cycle of mistreatment continues.
Honestly, I’m appalled at what I see in the media, on the news. Of course social media allowing flashes of reality to get to us through Twitter etc, sharing with us the realities of what is really going on all around us, giving us real time information on the police brutalities in our own countries, showing us peaceful demonstrations of employees who cannot afford to get welfare because of their low income whilst their companies are constantly in the fortune top 100 and their executives and shareholders earn millions of dollars. Where whole communities are being driven out of cities which were built on the sweat and blood of their families because they can no longer afford to rent a house in these cities where in some cases many generations have lived. My own daughter is caught up in the same situation, she studied for her degree in London, for 4 years she paid her way through University, she worked hard in two jobs whilst studying and each year she had to move further and further out of London, further away from her University due to the rapidly rising cost of renting property to the point of living in terrible housing conditions without heat in the far flung extremities of London, all the time whilst the rich buy the properties and rent and sell to the rich… so London in this case has very few Londoners now because they cannot afford to live there….
My Dear Friends, we have some serious problems in our world which need addressing, we should stop pointing the blame elsewhere, we should stop listening to the biased media that control our minds on behalf of the corporates and corrupt government officials, we should look at what’s going wrong in our neighbourhood, we should stand up for each other, we should hold out a hand to support our brothers and sisters, we should listen to their cries for help and we should come together with one voice and speak out for what we should all be entitled to and that is simple…
So, my dear friends, when you look at the picture above, please remember your brothers and sisters, your own community, your own countrymen that are also suffering from these atrocities…
Lets make a difference
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Before the birth of the physical
There was the birth of potential.
Before potential, something primal.
A Beingness. One Life, silent,
unmoving, unchanging,
The unspoken beauty of Truth,
Mother only to itself.
It has been called God, Tao,
Divine Mother,
Universal Mind.
Today it feels good to call it Love.
Or perhaps Spirit of Love,
Since Spirit implies an all-pervading
greatness
As common as one’s breath.
Love is not an emotion, or a feeling.
It is the formless and substance
permeating
The seen and the unseen;
It is the seed and womb of the
universe.
Call it what you will, it resides
Just beyond the limits of our
abilities to describe.
It has been said “God is Love.”
Thus, the heavens seek Love
Earth seeks Love
People seek Love.
This is what makes us great.
People abide on the Earth
Earth abides in the Heavens
The Heavens abide in Love.
Love abides in all.
This is what makes us One.
Make Love a part of your life, Love IS all around, Love is in every person and in everything.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
In action find stillness.
Seek the simple kernel
At the heart of every matter.
See the greatness in a small kindly gesture.
Make forgiveness your intention
And your enemies your allies.
Love is perceived in all you meet.
Civilized man, afraid of natures simplicity
Creates complex problems;
The healer creates wholeness
By loving whomever God has put in his way.
When there is trust, promises are not required
And the difficult challenge is met with joy.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Once again I am humbled by the kindness and nomination for the ‘Liebster Award’, this time I was nominated by Upsi from the Life’s Lovely Little Lemons, please stop by and follow her blog over at http://lifeslovelylittlelemons.wordpress.com/ . Thank you my friend for your kind nomination 🙂 As you know I happily accept your nominations in the spirit that they were sent, however I decline to go through with the process of acceptance due to the amount of time it takes to comply.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
The smile of a child, laughter, tears of joy, a hug, the purr of a kitten, a dogs wagging tail, birds singing in the trees, the warmth of the sun on your face, the smell of freshly baked bread, coffee, a freshly cut grass, sunrise and sunset
Waves crashing on the rocks, the surf on a sandy beach, the rain on a window, fresh garden flowers, a walk in the woods, the sound of a gentle stream, the winds rustling through bamboo leaves, fish splashing on a still pond, the call of a dove, the unconditional love from your dog, the call from a loved one
A romantic meal for two, watching the stars together, planning a vacation, the love of a child, parents past and present, family, friends, enjoying your work, a good nights sleep, food on the table, meditation, love, romance.
Mother Nature, Peace, Fresh Fruit & Vegetables, Hobbies, Exercise, Angels, Crystals, Champions of freedom and peace, humanitarians, teachers, gurus, masters, artists, musicians, dancers, works of art, music, lullaby’s and hymms.
So much to be thankful for, each and everyday 🙂
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
One of my dear blogging friends is part of a major campaign in Australia to protect over 700 children who are detained indefinitely in Australia, please spare a few moments to watch this short video and also stop by their website http://wbttaus.org.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Hi Everyone,
I have noticed my lack of enthusiasm and procrastination regarding writing posts of late, I guess it is down to the fact that my number of followers does not seem to grow so much when I see some blogs or twitter accounts gaining thousands, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousand of followers. The numbers of likes and retweets are huge and they gain lots of opportunity to promote themselves, their thoughts and their businesses easily but when I look at these sites and accounts I am so surprised as to the content, many seem to have nothing at all to offer, they lack in content, don’t offer any help or support to their followers and they are often very rude and in some cases obscene in their content. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not in this for fame or glory and my blog is about giving back, trying to help people who are maybe in need for some words and pictures that will help them in their time of need, offer some inspiration and a helping hand when they feel down or anxious.
So, what is it we need to do to make our sites more ‘Sexy’, to help us get our messages of good across to a wider audience, to actually start to do more good around the world, to bring about more attention to the state of our environment, to help fight disease, help the poor, bring an end to victimisation, child abuse, honor killings, bullying at school, the horrors of GMO, the poisoning of our oceans, global warming and not to forget help bring more awareness towards the real need to have peace on earth?
Maybe I need to go on a serious diet, to get down at the gym 7 days a week and build up my abs, some plastic surgery here and there is, a hair weave perhaps or is it that I really need to think about and position my messages in a very different way?
When I look at our world I get a tear in my eye, when i see the news and hear of abuse of our children, watch wars raging for the sake of greed or religion, see families loosing their homes because of the lack of jobs I wonder where is our world heading, what more can I do to help!…Many would say I think too much, I cannot heal everyone and everything…but for me, it’s hard, it’s really hard to switch off my compassion radar, I’m too deep in to do that now, I watch tv with my wife and I tear up when I see pollution, my heart takes a stabbing when i see brothers and sisters of humanity fighting and when I see the continuance of corporate greed and the manipulation of humanity by the media….I must do something, I must act, I must do my bit to help save our world from imploding from our own greed and lust for more, more money, more land, more things, more, more, more.
So, I’m open to offers, open to suggestion, what do I/We need to do to help promote compassion, love, peace and happiness to humanity, how do we help make a difference?
BTW, If you answers are…Plastic Surgery, Extensive Diet, Gym 7 days a week, a New Fancy Set Of Teeth etc, please consider sending me a large value cheque or bank transfer because otherwise, it, ain’t gonna happen 🙂
Love to you all, may you be blessed with love, happiness and peace
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
It is so easy for us to talk about Inner Peace and what living in the ‘Now’ does for your life, how it brings an end to our suffering and allows us to live in contentment and look at our lives and the world around us with a different set of eyes!
But how easy is it for us to reach this state of ‘Inner Peace’? Well I guess there is no short answer to that question because some of us find ‘Inner Peace’ very quickly whilst others look for it throughout their lives and never actually find it. And for some they gain ‘Inner Peace’ then slip right back into their old ways of living like they are on that never ending diet, loosing weight, gaining fitness only to return to old habits, gain weight and on goes that perpetual circle of life!
I know I have struggled throughout my life, battling with Ego, past life issues, memories of terrible relationships, pain and bad experiences in life but when i actually ‘walk the talk’ and live in the now, when I stop focussing on ‘how stressed I am’ and remember ‘how blessed I am’, my life changes immediately for the better, my health improves rapidly, my smiles bring about other smiles, my laughter heals my pain and I see the world how it should and could be and I gain strength each day to get out there and do some good for mankind and mother earth.
Inner Peace is controlled by you and you alone, once you realize this and start to manage your mind, your life can, and will change for the better…
Go on, give it a try, for once the old saying is true…’The Grass Is Greener On The Other Side’
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
If we are to start making any headway towards changing our world for the better, to bring about peace, to eradicate disease and to bring about an end to poverty and starvation for millions of our brothers and sisters around the world, we will need to bring out the ‘Big Guns’
We need to start listening to each other, start to understand the other side of the story, give our compassion to others irrespective of their colour, religion or social status, forgive and forget what has gone on in the past and forge forward together as one humanity in the search of peace and in love of each other toward a common goal of life and environmental sustainability of our crops and waters and the protection of our planet, we need to build up our patience and understanding of other cultures and ways of life and most of all we need to be truthful and honest with each other.
OM
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Once again I am humbled by the kindness and nomination for the ‘one Lovely Blog Award’, this time I was nominated by Khalkinised from the Buddhasutra, please stop by and follow his blog over at http://buddhasutra.com . Thank you my friend for your kind nomination 🙂 As you know I happily accept your nominations in the spirit that they were sent, however I decline to go through with the process of acceptance due to the amount of time it takes to comply.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Ancient healers were one with infinite love.
But they ignored social convention
So people thought they were crazy.
They would pay attention to what others overlooked;
While others debated, they would
be silent
While others would worry, they’d
be unconcerned.
Alert, they discover the world anew
with each footfall
Humble, they greet you with
the innocence of a child
Patient, they wait for nothing,
knowing everything is here
Present, they respond to change
like an eagle in flight
Open, they listen without judgement
Gentle, they cradle your soul in the
memory of light.
Intent on deepest healing
Some carry the deepest wounds.
Placid, they are the still, clear pool
Reflecting mountain and sky.
My meditations and prayers are with you
My sage, my inspiration, my friend.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Official Announcement
Re: Thay’s present health condition and how to support Thay’s recovery
Plum Village, November 12, 2014
To all Plum Village Practice Centers,
To all Practice Centers and Sanghas World Wide,
To our Dear Beloved Friends,
With a deep mindful breath we announce to the world the news that yesterday, the 11th of November 2014 Thay, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, experienced a severe brain hemorrhage. Thay is receiving 24 hour intensive care from specialist doctors, nurses and from his monastic disciples.
At present, Thay is still very responsive and shows every indication of being aware of the presence of those around him. He is able to move his feet, hands and eyes. There are signs that a full recovery may be possible.
For the last two months, Thay’s health had already been fragile due to his advanced age. He was hospitalized in Bordeaux on the 1st of November. He was gaining strength day by day until this sudden and unexpected change in his condition.
All the monasteries in the tradition of Plum Village are organizing practice sessions to generate the energy of mindfulness and to send Thay this healing and loving energy. We would like to ask the whole worldwide community of meditation practitioners to participate and support us in this critical moment. We know and trust that Thay will receive all your energy and that this will be a big support in his healing and recovery.
Our practice of stability and peace in this very moment is the best support we can offer to Thay. Let us all around the world take refuge in our practice, going together as a river to offer Thay our powerful collective energy. We are all cells of the great Sangha Body that Thay has manifested in his lifetime.
Future reports on Thay health and recovery will be posted officially at http://www.plumvillage.org, langmai.org, villagedespruniers.org, and http://www.facebook.com/thichnhathanh.
On behalf of the Monastic Dharma Teacher Council of Plum Village,
Bhikkhu Thich Chan Phap Dang
Bhikkhuni Thich Nu Chan Khong Nghiem
May the Love Compassion and Healing Energies of the whole of humanity be brought through the devine matrix to Thich Nhat Hanh ‘Thay’ at his moment of need and bring him the healing he needs to gain a full recovery.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
We are all on our own special journey of life. For some of us its smooth sailing, our sails following the winds of time, floating comfortably on calm seas but for others its a more tempestuous journey, fraught with setbacks and traumas brought on by the every changing winds of change within our lives.
We start our journey as soon as we are born, some say at the time of conception, I guess I follow the latter because we started our learning process at conception, we could feel our mothers and sense their emotions, hear sounds and feel movement so our journeys of life, I believe began at the point of conception.
Our learning experiences differ; we encounter different ways of life, different cultural experiences, different languages, different religions and become accustomed to different foods, tastes and of course ways of dress.
We follow the guidance of our parents, siblings, family, friends, teachers and cultures and continue our early years of learning in awe of everything taught to us. We seldom challenge these ways, the content of the information presented to us in the belief that these teachings are the only way forward. Some of us start to question these teachings as we get older, some of us manage to break through the barriers confining us so we can see and experience different ways of life, teachings and beliefs but for others the barriers are too strong and the beliefs to proud to challenge or to change.
So for me, I like to keep an open mind, I believe there is not ‘Right Way’ to life, no ‘Right and only Religion’ and no set way of doing anything. I like to believe we are all from the one same source, we are ‘All’ part of ‘Life’s Rich Tapestry’, we are ‘One Humanity’ living on ‘One World’ and it is our collective responsibility to love all mankind and protect our world for our future generations in the hope that one day everyone will understand that we are……..
‘One Humanity’!
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Yesterday I posted a Question, ‘Describe Your Life In One Word’,
Here are some of the replies I received so far.
Pain
Surf, as in the waves, ripples and Tsunamis of the Ocean
Happy
Blessed
Growth
Truth
Understanding
Joyous
Be
Love
Anticipation
Creative
Thankful
Wonderful
Sad
Complicated
And one friends saying ‘He’s looking for the word’ 🙂
Our lives are filled with daily encounters which provide us with different emotional and physological experiences and feelings they can include, trials, tribulation, times of great joy, sadness, pain. We experience happiness, times filled with great feelings of love, tearful times both happy and sad, times in which we experience great physical and mental pain, each experience is given to us for a reason so that we can learn from the good and the bad things that come into our lives, it is our challenge to take these experiences and feelings on board and learn from them becasue each day will bring us something new and hopefully rewarding.
Remember the following:-
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
What would your word be?
Please drop me a comment with your one word that describes your life
My word is Joyous
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
My Dear Friends,
Once again I am humbled by your kindness and this time I have been nominated for the One Lovely Blog Award by CW over at http://http://sunflowerrosecw.wordpress.com .
As always I accept the nomination in the spirit of kindness and appreciation that it was sent, however as always I decline to take part in the award process due to the time it takes to complete, I am however always so thankful and grateful for your nominations and your continued support of endlesslightandlove.com
Please take time to visit CW’s blog, you will love her work.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Take time out this weekend to connect with nature, breathe in the fresh air and breath out love to our planet and if you have time meditate, connect with your inner soul, with your heart and give thanks for your life:)
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Endless Light and Love 