Blessings! I want to share something I discovered this week- a blessing that helps me feel more alive and invigorated. It is adapted from an old Unity blessing. You are welcome to adapt it or use it however you want. See if it seems to feel good in your body also. The light of Love surrounds me and all my parts. The tenderness of Love enfolds me and all my parts. The power of Love flows through me and all my parts. The presence of Love enlightens me and all my parts. Wherever I am, Love is.

Weekly Thoughts- Who's in charge right now?

It is the New Year, and I am trying something new this year of 2012. I'm going to try to write a "thought for the week" each Sunday, as kind of a spiritual/emotional practice. I invite replies and dialogue. Welcome to the new and improved Workingwithparts blog! Who's In Charge Right Now? I realized this morning that this phrase might help me to step back from whatever part has taken over and just rest fora few moments. Which part is here right now? What does this part want and need? What would my wise Self say about what I'm doing? I've had a nearly lifelong quest for wisdom to guide my thoughts and actions. I've been through lots of different methods of seeking that wisdom. In childhood I remember reading lots of books, partly to get away from my surroundings, but also partly to see if I could find some guidance for my life. I loved reading dramatic stories fromt the past, as well as typical girl books like horse stories and Trixie Belden mysteries. I loved how perfectly things worked out in those books! Too bad my life wasn't really in synch with them, wasn't it? As a teenager I sometimes just abandoned quests for wisdom for quests for love. Discovering there were other people in the world who could love me was heavenly- until those people broke up with me (or vice versa). I carried my codependent tendencies into my relationships, and my main goal was often to please whoever I was with at the moment. Not a great source for wisdom, I was to find. In my 20's and early 30's I turned to my job to be my main source of wisdom. I mainly tried to do A GOOD JOB, and things were ok until I realized that what some people considered a good job, other people considered to be insubstantial fooling around. This confused me so much I finally just quit working for a while and stayed home with children instead. In my 30's and early 40's I relied on mothering to carry me through life. I figured if I was a "good mother" that would make up for any mistakes I'd made during my earlier periods. However, anyone who has parented knows that relying on your kids for your happiness is very unreliable- they tend to have their own needs and wants, which don't match what their parents want to supply very often at all! Now I'm in my 50's and realize that lots of the time I've been fooling myself. It isn't wise to wait on people, or overwork, or even to always try to be kind or a good mom. All of those ambitions come with their own traps. And none will make me happy for long. So now I'm trying to recognize 3 things: 1. Is what I'm doing right now healthy/growing or unhealthy/destructive? 2. If it is destructive, what part of me is showing that it needs something? 3. How can I meet those needs in a healthy way? Maybe if I ask the question "Who's in charge right now"? during my day it will help me answer those 3 questions. We will see this week. I will check in next week with the answers and a new phrase to test out. Have a good start to your 2012! Karen