New Knitting Podcast

I am a guest on my daughter's knitting podcast

             

Her YouTube channel is Victorious Wool

I never dreamed I'd be on  a podcast but Victoria and I have good conversation and try to apply our knitting pursuits into life pursuits.

Give us a try and if you like us subscribe to our channel.


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Unknown

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.

Thich Nhat Hanh

I have a medical diagnostic test coming up in a few days, one which I want because I want to know what is unknown at this time. The information could be a slight inconvenience or it could change the course of the next year.

I am afraid of the unknown. I spin stories with different plot lines around in my head everyday. That is taking a toll on my sense of peace. This spinning of stories is a familiar suffering. 

The Holy Spirit assures that things will be fine. A recent blessing gave me strength to endure the tests and trust the outcome. Really I could be grateful for the not knowing while I have it. There is no action to be taken. It is a period of being settled. I could live deeply right now. I could go to the gym and work up a sweat with the joy of being in a body that seems to to healthy, right now.

The unknown will reveal itself and then a plan will be hatched.

But it will also include going to the gym and working up a sweat and enjoying a body that can work up enough heat to get rid of some toxins whether they be life threatening or not.

LIVE ALL IN 

I'm writing a series on a preparing a calm Christmas. Click here to see.

I'm also exploring the notion that you can increase your will power. Click here.

The Five Stories Of Christmas

We all experience Christmas differently but there are five general stories that everyone seems to be able to talk about.

 I have a beautiful book to guide me through this time of celebration.

Faith- maybe your faith is in Jesus Christ and the Christmas story is all about Him. Or, maybe your faith is in the recurring cycle of nature and Christmas is a season when you observe the light and darkness, feeling a celebration for the time measured by length of days.

Magic- for many of us Christmas has a element of magic. I look forward to surprises and decorating  my surroundings with extra sparkle. But, what if you want to create magic and just can't afford or have the time?

Connection- celebrating with others is something I look forward to. But, let's consider the rifts in communication that most families have. Or, the differences in faith? How can we connect in a supportive way? 

Abundance- Has anyone ever felt that the holidays break the bank? Is the sense of abundance always tied to things and a vast variety of things?

Heritage- do you have different Christmas traditions than your husband? Do you feel that the holidays can't be right if there isn't a certain tradition honored which may be inherited from your family?

Today I asked many questions and I don't have the answers but as I go through Calm Christmas by Beth Kempton I'm sure I will have a better understanding of these five stories and be able to discuss them with you.

The book is available on Amazon

Go back to week 1 of Calm Christmas 

Stay Open To Increase Willpower

Open Up To Increase Willpower

You might perceive practicing willpower as an act of constriction. I will clinch my fists and furrow my brow to make myself stay on course!

    I'm finding the opposite to be true. It is when I open my heart to feeling the gratitude for my one, sacred lifetime, that I feel strong enough to stay true to my decisions. Gratitude creates a space where I can hold my convictions and even have the energy to wait.  

Have you ever had to wait, for something good to happen?

How can you hold a space for something great?

You can tell God how you feel, 

invite Him to join you,

Plead for Him to bring it soon.

Draw near, reach out, 

He knows you're filled with fear and doubt.

Draw near, hold on,

The day will come and light will dawn.

From an original song While You Wait

You can read Week 1 of Increasing Willpower here.

Settle

Settle down, settle up, settle around, whatever you do, just settle. 

There is a place to settle with equanimity. It is a place with God's grace.

I know I am there when I am not pushing against nor clutching on.

It is a place where I can feel whole for a minute, for an hour, or even a day. 

It is a place I can settle in.

How To Increase Willpower

             I have two answers to the question.

If it is true that you have limited willpower through the day, and I believe it is, is there something that can strengthen willpower?

I received the answer from two sources but I haven't proven them to be true.

1. Meditation- I meditate sporadically and sometimes everyday. What it offers me is a place inside my head called home base. Home base is a quiet place where I neither censure my thoughts nor let them go wild. My thoughts are not me. In home base I accept them and and while I watch them cavort around sometimes they recede into a spacious place where I feel my Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother. Of course, in home base I would feel their presence. The question is does meditation give me willpower outside of home base?
2. Gratitude- Counting your blessings does offer real perspective. It is harder to feel anxious and deprived when the blessings of life are conscious. Will I maintain my willpower if I count them more often?

I am experimenting the month of November. Can more meditation and counting my blessings extend my will power to honor my body and feed my soul?

Last

The last fragments of summer dissolve in the Autumn rain.

While there are some things I definitely want to come to an end, there are many others I mourn. I mourn the falling of leaves as they reveal the skeleton branches beneath. I mourn the the sun waiting so long to rise in the mornings. I mourn the daylight snuffed out so early in the evening.

The word last, gives me the feeling of endings. But nature teaches me that nothing really ends. Mortal life is a cycle and some stages of the cycle are more energizing than others. I think what I learn from the months of darkness is to be still. Stop resisting. Allow this phase of the cycle to offer it's gracious hospitality. Candlelight, deeper, mustier smells, and sounds of the wind rushing through bare branches.

It isn't the last time to experience these sensory delights, but it is what God has given right now.