Top 5 Soul's Thought of The Day For August 2002

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                      SOUL'S THOUGHT OF THE DAY
                    
                  Volume 4 - Issue 8 - #2/ Silence... 

                      By Ms. A.J. Mahari (aka soul)
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Silence is power. Honest silence, that is. Don't ever use
silence as a weapon -- that's violence. Be aware of the
difference.


But, staying silent in the face of false accusations or
someone else's poorly expressed outrage can be powerful.
It can be self-care. Life is noisy. We don't have to answer
everything. Sometimes it is our silence and our lack of
response that can make our limits clear.


When those close to us hurt us or disappoint us
communication can be key. But the more distant someone
is from your "inner circle" or intimate friends the less effort
they truly deserve in response to accusations, gossip, or
drama.


People talk behind our backs. Gossip is best met with
an indifferent silence. If you run your own race in life,
there will be no need to defend yourself.


Be strong. Be courageous. Stick to your plan no matter
what.


Remember what peace there is in appropriate silence.

              

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      Thought of The Day for Friday, August  2, 2002         
      Thought Of The Day email edition. Copyright (C) 2002
      Ms. A.J. Mahari (soul@golden.net) All rights reserved.
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                      SOUL'S THOUGHT OF THE DAY
                    
            Volume 4 - Issue 8 - # 3/New Worlds Within... 

                      By Ms. A.J. Mahari (aka soul)
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Explore new worlds within yourself. Each new thought,
is a new world on to itself. A world waiting to be born.
A need or a desire longing to be expressed. Explore
within. Sit there, quietly, and learn to love yourself,
and you'll never be without.


There is magic in this discovery and in the action
of going within. The more you explore yourself from
the inside out, the more understanding of all that
unfolds around you, you will have.


Open new channels of thought and explore the
worlds that exist from within ... new worlds within
and enrich your experience of the outer world each
and every day.



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      Thought of The Day for Friday, August 9, 2002       
      Thought Of The Day email edition. Copyright (C) 2002
      Ms. A.J. Mahari (soul@golden.net) All rights reserved.
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                      SOUL'S THOUGHT OF THE DAY
                    
              Volume 4 - Issue 8 - # 5/Risk & Experience... 


                      By Ms. A.J. Mahari (aka soul)
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In order to have new experience you must risk. Risk
involves taking new action. Anything new can feel
scary and produce anxiety and a good measure of fear.


Ironically enough, however, we just don't get to be
experienced at any given aspect of life until we've
taken some risks.


Experience, in my understanding of it, is something
that we don't really get until after we need it. That is
to say, that while we are risking and attempting new
things, if only we could know a little bit more about
what to do and what not to do...We just can't know this
until after we've risked and had a new experience.


Take risks. Greet or grapple with new experiences.
Risk breaking old patterns. Try new things and
get new results. Grow.


Be gentle with yourself in the meantime. The gaining
of experience, as we grow through our new risks can
often lead to triggers, issues or just plain old hurt
feelings.


Keep plugging away and know that every effort you
make, whether successful or not, initially, is another
step on the road less travelled. Another lesson. Another
reality to endure until you can file it under experience.


Experience is something that in our risking we often
don't get until after we need it. Pause for thought, also
an opportunity to smile in the face of pain, struggle and
lostness. This cycle of risking, gaining experience and
growing is universal and no one of us is alone with it,
though we may each experience it in our own ways.



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      Thought of The Day for Tuesday, August 13, 2002    
      Thought Of The Day email edition. Copyright (C) 2002
      Ms. A.J. Mahari (soul@golden.net) All rights reserved.
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                      SOUL'S THOUGHT OF THE DAY
                    
             Volume 4 - Issue 8 - # 6/Power in Powerlessness... 
  
                      By Ms. A.J. Mahari (aka soul)
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Many things in life can leave us feeling powerless and/or
out of control. But, there IS power in this powerlessness,
if we just accept it.


Accept periodic and temporary (measured) loss of control
and power. Rather than fight someone else in a futile effort
to re-gain power or control (often this is done abusively)
just be open to letting it go. This means accepting the loss
that leaves us feeling helpless, victimized at times, and
powerless.


The personal power that you can exercise in your life and
over which you always have control has all to do with your
accepting the loss. Know when to "accept the the things you
cannot change" and when to "change the things that you can".


The personal power to be found in feeling powerless comes from
accepting loss.



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      Thought of The Day for Wednesday, August 21, 2002       
      Thought Of The Day email edition. Copyright (C) 2002
      Ms. A.J. Mahari (soul@golden.net) All rights reserved.
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                      SOUL'S THOUGHT OF THE DAY
                    
             Volume 4 - Issue 9 - # 1/Pets and Lessons... 

                      By Ms. A.J. Mahari (aka soul)
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I've had a lot of feedback that many enjoy when I write
about my pets. Well here comes another one. This thought
has all to do with a little kitten of mine.


In June, as you may recall, I had to have my oldest cat put
down. Things have been hectic. I grieved. I then decided
a week or so ago to get a kitten. I ended up bringing
home to my other 3 cats and a dog, two kittens - littermates.


Cutting the chase - one cat, the male is doing very well. He's
cute and crazy like kittens should be. The other cat, a girl,
almost died 2 nights ago and isn't doing well. She got dehydrated,
has been to the emergency vet clinic and is being fed by me now,
substitute formula, every 3 hours.


Hard to tell yet if she's getting better or going to make it or not.


What a shock. After grieving my last pet loss the last thing I
expected when I got kittens was the possibility of having to
face putting another cat down so soon.


Okay, that's it for the pets. Now to the lessons. Wow. Endless
really. The main thing I think I've been amazed by is my desire
to hope for this little kitten no matter what. I feel so attached.
Attaching and remaining attached in the face of loss. Well,
there's that gift that the late Duke, (cat put down in June) blessed
me with. Loving him for almost 16 years and then the loss, and
then surviving it and actually thriving through it has taught me that
I can give love to this little one whether it's for a week or for years.


Too often people dismiss animals. In my experience they are the
greatest teachers of lessons because the lessons are so spiritual.
No one gets lectured. There are no words. There is only experience.
And, unlike being with a person, when you are with a pet, your
thoughts and feelings are your own and you are with yourself more
than you'd be if you were with someone else.


We need to know that we can endure. And we can. We can endure
loss. We can endure the cycles of gain and loss that run through
our lives. And truly it is better to "have loved and lost, then to have
never loved at all."


Be true to yourself and to what you feel. Be open to the lesson
and you can't go wrong. Everything has purpose.


I'd sure appreciate a little prayer for this little kitten from those
who believe in doing so.


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      Thought of The Day for Friday August 22, 2002       
      Thought Of The Day email edition. Copyright (C) 2002
      Ms. A.J. Mahari (soul@golden.net) All rights reserved.
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