Saturday, October 30, 2010

If You Thought it, Then own it!


If you thought it...then own it!
by Rev. Diannia Baty

The mind seeks and invents all kinds of theories. It works with concepts and words. It discusses and analyzes everything and is restricted to its own content. To every answer there is another question. Thoughts are endless and any theory is only a mental invention invented by the mind.



What are called facts are also in the realm of the mind. The unconscious mind can find reasons and excuses for everything. Whether you like it or not, whether you accept it or not, the mind rules your life and is your master. You see, interpret and react to life through its filters, habits and tendencies. It should be the other way around with you being the master of the mind.



Imagine that you are wearing glasses with different types of lenses like a cameras eye. Through these lenses of the past and the projections of the future is how you are viewing your life. When you think of it, this makes perfect sense in how your life experiences unfold. Think back on the last thing that happened that had a negative outcome. Try very hard to remember where your thoughts were. You will find the clues there that all the avatars, ascended masters and spiritual teachers told us over and over and that is that WE ARE OUR THOUGHTS!

So think what are you at this moment and you will feel and know the truth.



WWW.MAKEACHOICENOW.COM

This Should Be Enough


This should be enough
by Rev. Diannia Baty

First of all, we were created from a force and an energy that literally defies description, though mankind has tried for thousands of years to define this source of all. Scientists are just beginning to touch upon the magnificence of this source through quantum mechanics. The more they discover the more they realize there is that much more to explain. We will never be able to fully explain or define The explanation of what God is…is evolving as we are evolving. We are in the process of taking what we think we know about that which we call God out of the dogma and theology we have so solidly encased this force in. It is happening all over the world. It is undeniable. I personally feel if we just relax and enjoy the fact that God is all pervasive and just is, we would all be a lot better off.

So where God is concerned...take it easy and sweet.

God Just IS and that should be enough!

www.makeachoicenow.com

Speaking Our Truth


Speaking Your Truth
by Rev. Diannia Baty

As a spiritual coach, people come to me to help them with their lives. They come to me to help them dissolve blocks and fears that are holding them back. Of course I am as supportive as I can be and nothing gives me more pleasure than seeing someone moving forward and enjoying life. However, there are also times when I notice that the person may be avoiding dealing with, or actually seeing something in their lives because of some kind of fear they have. The question is do I tell them what I can see and risk them being upset or angry, or do I not say anything and let them think it’s all OK. For me, the former is where I like to think I act from. That is why people return to me: because they know I will not just flatter them and instead will help them to see things from a clear and deep level.



When we speak our truth it doesn’t need to be cutting, angry, or rude. It doesn’t need to put others down. Truth is not about “right” and “wrong” it is about acting from a place of authenticity of what we really are (extensions of Source energy – i.e. Souls having a physical experience). When we choose to connect with the authenticity and purity of our Being, we cannot harm or hurt anyone else. It’s not possible. Acting and speaking our truth, as I said above, takes courage. It takes courage to stand in our light, power, and truth knowing that there are others who will disagree and possibly even hate us for it. But the payoff is a knowing that we are acting from a place of pure, unconditional love and that we are being true to ourselves and our values. Further, understanding that speaking our truth is not making others wrong or putting them down. It is about being honest about who we are and where we are, and loving and honoring ourselves as much as we honor and love others. Intention is the key here: the intention to speak our truth, and act from a place of mutual respect and pure, unconditional love. When truth comes from this place of unconditional love it may sometimes be painful at first, but it brings with it healing and insight. By acting in this way, we give permission to others to do the same, and find that others treat us with the same loving respect. WWW.MAKEACHOICENOW.COM

My Rainy Day Potato Soup Recipe

You may wonder why a recipe is on a spiritual blog. The answer is simple. Cooking with love is a zen like practice and when someone eats something you cooked it sends a little something extra to them.

MY RAINY DAY OLD FASHIONED POTATO SOUP RECIPE
by Rev. Diannia Baty

After I posted something about making potato soup on a rainy day some of you have asked for the recipe. I do not measure anything

so bear that in mind. The nice thing about not measuring is you can improvise when needed. This will feed a large family of about 4 to 6 depending on how large a bowl they want and there will be some left over for heating up again. It also doesn't take all day to make this. From beginning to end it takes about two hours from chopping to eating. It is real easy to make for something that tastes so good.



5 large stalks of celery...chopped coarsely

I large sweet onion...chopped coarsely

A lot of fresh garlic to taste...chopped coarsely

4 tablespoons or so of real butter

3 boxes of chicken broth

8 chicken bullion cubes

3 or 4 tablespoons fresh parsley

10 to 12 peeled and coarsely chopped medium size red potatoes or a 5 pound bag (it is not a much as you think) *

sea salt and pepper to taste



In your favorite soup pot melt the butter until it just starts to sizzle over low heat. You do not want to burn the butter. Toss in the celery, garlic, parsley and onion, stir and put a lid on it over a low flame. Keep stirring the mixture up every minute or so until the onions are transparent. Pour in all 3 boxes of chicken broth plus 8 chicken bullion cubes...turn up heat slightly. When this starts to bubble add potatoes. Put on lid and stir frequently keeping heat low to medium. Every now and then after about 45 minutes test a potato cube for softness. When it is soft take a potato masher and mash some of the potato cubes right in the pot to thicken the broth. Let it cook on low heat for another 20 to 30 minutes and serve with a crusty bread or biscuits.



All you have to do after this is listen to the compliments and request for seconds.

It will stick to your ribs and you will get requests for it over and over.

I don't mind if you share the recipe.

Let me know how it works out!

Blessings and happy eating!

The Power Of Human Touch


When we isolate ourselves from other people we also isolate ourselves in the process.

Though it is good to go on silent retreat intentionally for respite from the world at large,

it is not good to cut yourself off indefinitely from human contact or human touch.

We do need each other. Ask anyone who has ever endured solitary confinement.

Babies in understaffed orphanages who are rarely touched fail to thrive and many will die from

not being held or talked to. Couples who do not touch will eventually get a divorce in most cases.

Children who are not hugged or kissed will act out destructively.

Hold someones hand. Kiss their cheek. Practice hugging a lot. Get a massage.Give a massage.

Pet your dog and scratch their ears. Give your cat a good brushing.

Touch, Touch and Touch Some More.

It is through our hearts that God touches us. Let that energy flow into and from you.

WWW.MAKEACHOICENOW.COM

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Heart Strikes


Heart Strikes
by Rev. Diannia Baty
I got up all bleary eyed yesterday a little earlier than usual. I was preparing snacks and gathering things to go on a road trip into the mountains. Camera, coffee, cd's of my favorite music and Hector (my dog) were already in the car waiting patiently for me and the keys to our adventure. Grabbing my purse I locked the door and off we went.



North was the destination of the day...just North! The day always presents itself to me that way it is supposed to be.



I was filled with gratitude and I was joyous. I was also full of what my mother used to call, Piss and Vinegar. If you are Southern you know this means feisty and feeling good. As I drove I visually drank in at all the beauty around me. I felt my heart swell with so much peace and there it was, this funny little thumping in my chest of pleasure and a rush of feel good. I call it a heart strike. There were many times yesterday I felt the heart strikes. We stopped at the music center on the Blue Ridge Parkway and walked right into a blue grass jam. I grabbed Hector and then I saw the Park Ranger and I asked him if I could bring Hector in if I held him. He said jokingly, "what dog,? I don't see a dog." Hector was impressed with the music and wagged his tail the whole time he was in there. As I listened to them play, Amazing Grace...I got my first heart strike.

All along the way were pumpkins and more pumpkins. Little produce stands with lots of apples and jars of honey seemed to pop up every five miles along the way. The weather was spectacular and windy. All the falls colors were in full display.

Hours of this dizzying fall show...

found me following the road until somewhere in Virginia I turned around. Clouds were my road partners and filled the sky with white fluffy glory against a vastness so blue it felt as if I were swimming in it. The wind buffeted me and my car. Whenever a scene caught my eye be it a bush with red berries or an old house I stopped to take pictures and investigate. The wind felt powerfully soothing to me. The mountains had their own chorus of sounds to entertain me and cause my ears to pick out all the music that nature makes. Another vista...another heart strike. Another vivid tree of gold and another heart strike followed. Another bite of a homemade oatmeal cookie...another heart strike. Gratitude is what gives me this rush of love and peace. I was in perfect harmony with the universe yesterday and perfect alignment with God. I felt so free and light. Today I am going to put myself in that same frame of being so I can get a lot of heart strikes again. What about you?

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Look at it in a different way and it will be different!


I just watched another episode of the dog whisperer constant barking. This had been going on for 7 YEARS! It boggled my mid that the lady who owned them had waited so long to change things. I would have been half deaf and a little loony if I had put up with that for 7 years. First of all let's get this straight, I would not have done this for 7 years before I sought assistance. I ask myself why so many people stay in a very bad relationship for 20 to 30 years without ending it, for example.

What is interesting is when the person Caesar is trying to help gets the fact that if they change the way they view things then things will change. Their body language changes and a shift takes place almost immediately. In almost every case the dog owner is transformed from being a dog owner or surrogate parent into the animals care-giver and pack leader.

I think spiritually you are getting what I am trying to tell you. You don't own anybody or anything really. When you get this concept you will transform from someone who is being led to someone who leads!
www.makeachoicenow.com

Becoming a People Whisperer.


What I Learned About Spirituality from
the Dog Whisperer

I have watched almost every episode of “The Dog Whisperer”
(Cesar Millan) and one of the things I have come to realize is he is in effect a spiritual teacher. Spiritual teachers come in many forms.!
For those of you who haven’t seen “The Dog Whisperer" I highly encourage you to watch it even if you don't have a dog.

Those of you who have seen this show can attest to Cesar Millan’s way with dogs.
Episode after episode, dog owners seek out Cesar Millan as a last result to help
them with their dog “issues.” Many dog owners come to Cesar after having their
dog flunk out of obedience school or after having severe behavioral problems for
many years. And time and time again, Cesar “rehabilitates” the dogs in a matter of
minutes. (Cesar’s famous phrase is “I rehabilitate dogs and train people.”)
He primarily does this through his “energy.” He calls it calm-assertive energy.
Around dogs, Cesar is always calm and centered. He is not “reactive.” He does not
show fear, aggression or anxiousness.
Cesar has stated over and over on every show that the energy we put out,
is the energy we get back. If we’re “hyper” and emotional, we have hyper and
emotional dogs. The way to change the dog’s behavior is to change the owner’s
energy.
Isn’t this interesting? And how can we apply this principle to our human
relationships? Doesn’t the same wisdom apply to us?
Have you ever been around someone at work who’s really high strung, stressed
out and goes a mile a minute? And have you noticed your “energy” after being
around this person for a while? Maybe after you left the vicinity of this person, you
noticed that you were moving at a faster rate and felt anxious.
On the contrary, have you ever been around someone so peaceful and centered
that you felt more peaceful and centered? (I feel more centered after just listening
to an audio of Eckhart Tolle).
We reflect on each others energy. So it’s important that we project into the world
what we want to have as our experience. If we want calm and peace, it’s
important to project that energy.
The other interesting thing I noticed from watching many episodes is that when
owners are “reactive” to a dog’s “negative” behavior, it only reinforces
that “negative” behavior in the dog.
For example, when a dog is hyper active and ready to bite the mail carrier, to
yell and to freak out, only reinforces that behavior. Likewise, when a dog is hyper
active and licking excessively or demonstrating some other annoying behavior,
when we react by tickling or petting the dog and telling it not to do that with an
excited tone, we are also enforcing the behavior.
Cesar’s technique is to withdraw attention away from the negative behavior (by
using various techniques) and then when the dog is in a calm, submissive state to
reward it with love and affection, thereby reinforcing that state of mind.
Cesar insists over and over that if we react with anxious “energy”--or panic
energy, or aggressive energy--we are only ADDING to the negative state
of the dog. We are worsening the situation.
After hearing this over and over on the dog whisperer I had the thought that
maybe my “reactive” energy to situations on the news, was only adding to the
“problem.” What if my “reactiveness” was worsening the situation, as is the case of
reactive energy enforcing the negative behavior in dogs?
From the perspective of Eckhart Tolle (Author of Power of Now) if I’m reacting to
a situation, I am “unconscious.” And that same unconsciousness is the cause of all
violence and suffering.
So when I hear about a “negative” event on the news, which is the result of
unconsciousness, and I “react” to it by getting all wound up (which is also
unconsciousness), I am only adding to the problem.
The change in our world will come from a shift in consciousness (from
unconsciousness to consciousness). Lasting, true change will come from a shift in
our energy.
Just like the Dog Whisperer shows us how our energy effects the dogs we live
with, our energy also has an effect on our outer environment. Do
we want to be part of the problem, or do we want to be part of the solution?
Once I had this realization that my “reactivity” could be adding to the problem of
“unconsciousness” or “negativity” I began to shift my energy. I went to that
“calm state.”
Now I can act from this place. If I am upset about a situation, I can work to
change it from that place of being, rather than from a reactive state. That way I’m
not adding my “reactive” or “unconscious” energy into the situation.
And when we all “act” from a place of a calm center, what will our world be
like?
Can we be “people whisperers” and bring our calm, peaceful energy into the world
and transform our life situations?
Hmmm...I’m really learning a lot about spirituality from the Dog Whisperer.