the Peace Pavillion

On a recent visit to the Arts Centre at The Gold Coast, I discovered a gem in the middle of the park at the back of the centre. The Peace Pavillion. I don't know if the same feeling of peace will be felt by looking at these pictures, that I felt while wandering around there, but I hope so.

The Peace Pavillion... is dedicated to each person who spends a few moments of the day discovering inner peace. You are joining people from all over the world who celebrate peace as a an active part of their lives.

If peace were a picture what would it be?
If you could touch peace, how would it feel?
let your thoughts slow down completely,
Imagine you are spiritual light.

My natural positive energy is beginning to flow.
I am serene, calm and confident,
filling with lightness and ease.
Quietness encircles me
I feel close to the Source of peace and love
I absorb soothing streams of silence and power
Peace is mine I feel renewed.

I am a Peaceful Soul
and I take this into the world.

The Culture of Peace

Give Peace a chance... John Lennon

We walk together on sacred ground, Black feet, white feet, footprints soft upon the land. The Dreaming moves beneath our feet. The landscape is alive. Pitjantjatjara People.

It is important from time to time to slow down, to go away by yourself, and simply be. Eileen Caddy

Although it is difficult to bring about peace
Through internal transformation, this is the only way to achieve lasting peace. The Dalai Lama

It is only with the heart that I can really see.
What is essential is invisible to the eye. Antoine de St Exupery

We seek to heal our past and move on together. Mark Dodson

And the Peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds. Philippians 4

God is the friend of silence. Trees, flowers, grass grow in silence.
See the stars, moon, and sun how they move in silence. Mother Theresa

Aim at heaven and you will get the earth thrown in.
Aim at earth and you will get neither. CS Lewis

Peace is the vessel in which all blessings are contained. The Talmud

I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. Anne Frank

It gets dark sometimes, but morning comes. Keep hope alive. Rev Jesse Jackson

Reach out for your spiritual side, for it is the only possible way that you can be who you are... Receive the fullness in your heart that is yours for we are of a spiritual design and destiny my brothers and sisters. The Confederation Tribes of Warm Springs Oregon

"Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?" asked Alice
"That depends a great deal on where you want to get to". said the Cat
Lewis Carroll

When you do the things that you can do, you will find the Way and the Way will follow you. Winnie the Pooh

Be melting snow. Wash yourself of yourself. Rumi

I learned to love you Today

I Learned To Love You Today

You're miserable and probably one of the rudest people I've ever come across.

When I approach you, you turn away and pretend that I am not there, until you're ready.

I have tried a thousand times to make you smile, and you have tried a thousand times not to.

I have dreaded even having to deal with you. I even tried coming at another time only to find you there at all hours.

The hard, staid, look on your face remains unchanged no matter what day it is, what time it is or even what season.

A "Beautiful day!" gets a moan.

"Hello, how are you today?" always returns "The same."

I have given up on you; I have been angered by you. I have even thought about complaining to the manager, but didn't.

Then one day I caught myself acting just like you and realized that I must stop.

I finally resolved myself to the fact that you are who you are and I cannot change that.

You are a fact of my life, and I must learn to deal with it.

You made me.

The one day that I permitted myself to return the emptiness, rude behavior, terrible attitude and silent treatment, you chose to say something.

I approached the checkout and you said, "Are you Okay?" I was stunned. I could actually feel my brow, my entire face scrunch up apparently angry that you would ask.

"Am I okay?" I said in disbelief.

"Yes." you replied. "You are usually so upbeat and chipper."

I stood in this dream-like state confused by what was going on.

You looked at me and said, "I depend on you to lift my spirits every time you come in. I work three jobs, my bills are piling up, my kids need clothes for school, my husband left me and three weeks later I found out I have cancer."

I was speechless.

"Now you come in with this attitude today," she said.

I actually apologized.

I never considered that you were much more than a clerk. I never tried to understand that behind that face was personal pain, life challenges and loss.

Sure you should learn to separate work and life, but sometimes life digs in, hurts, and you end up wearing it like an ugly dress. It fits, but no one wants to see it.

Knowing now how difficult your life is, I will see you through the eyes of love.

Love is more than romantic. Love is compassionate.
Love is kind. Love is forgiving. Love is seeing beyond the pain.

"I learned to love you today."

~by Bob Perks www.BobPerks.com~
in an email from Mountain Wings.com

"Separating Self-Worth and Behaviour"

Whether you are raising kids or trying to improve your own self-esteem, the relationship between who you are and what you do is important. Whether you are a parent, grandparent, or simply trying to build your own self-esteem, it is important to realize that we need to separate our sense of self-worth from our behaviour.

Imagine this scene: A three-year-old asks repeatedly, "Mama, do you love me?" Each time, Mom answers, "Of course I do." Then the child takes her hand and leads her to a broken flowerpot or shattered toy and looks at her questioningly.

Here is a little child, on this earth only three short years, already asking one of the most profound psychological questions any of us can ask: "Is my ability to be loved tied to what I do? Am I the same as my behaviour?" The answer for all of us, no matter how old we are, should be the same, "No, indeed!"

The importance of this point can't be overemphasized. To increase self-worth, it is vital that we respond to behaviour while remaining friendly and respectful toward the person. This means that when a child misbehaves, we don't call him a "bad boy." And when a child does what we want her to, we don't say, "What a good girl!" Instead, we praise the behaviour and hug the child.

The same goes for how we treat ourselves. Remember that you are not simply what you do any more than you are what you wear.

Article by: Lou Tice

This is an article from a newsletter that Lou Tice writes. If you have enjoyed this article and would like to receive these as well please visit...

The Pacific Institute, Inc.
www.thepacificinstitute.com

Dissolving Frustrations

Buzz Lightyear's Helmet

Buzz Lightyear's Helmet
========================

"See how Buzz Lightyear's helmet flips up!
It is a working helmet," my five-year-old excitedly explained.

He was sitting in the bathtub playing with an action figure called Buzz Lightyear from the movie "Toy Story."

I listened and watched intently as he explained every detail of the toy. It was about as exciting as mini-bike brakes. In fact, it was exactly as exciting as mini-bike brakes.

Over 30 years ago, I bought a brand new, candy apple red, 3.5 horsepower, Cyclops mini-bike for $175.00. I worked during the summer and saved $25.00 per week for seven weeks to pay for it. I earned $1.00 per hour, so it took most of my pay to put $25.00 aside for the mini-bike.

If I could afford and purchased a multi-million dollar Lear Jet tomorrow, it wouldn't have half of the excitement that the Cyclops had. I remember that I rolled it inside of the house and parked it in my bedroom for the night.

My mother noticed the smell of gasoline in the house and asked what the smell was. When she discovered I had parked the mini-bike in my bedroom, she promptly made me take it to the garage.

Nothing material has ever come close to the mini-bike in terms of raw excitement and the fulfillment of a dream.

So what does that have to do with Buzz Lightyear and his helmet?

You see, the mini-bike had drum brakes, just like a car. The brakes weren't operated by hydraulics but rather by a cable from levers on the handlebars.

I remember proudly explaining to my father about the brakes on the Cyclops. How they operated just like his car. I explained how safe they were and the principle on which they worked.

My father listened as though I was explaining the secret of life to him. My father was not a mechanical man. I now know that he didn't really know what drum brakes were. He didn't care either but I didn't know that.

He knew that his son cared about them. He knew the importance of listening, even if it was something that he wasn't interested in. I remember his intense steel gray eyes as they peered at the brake mechanism nodding approval.

Drum brakes on the Cyclops, hinged helmet on Buzz, same thing.

It's been over 30 years. My father has been gone from this life nearly ten years. I still remember. The Cyclops is now nothing more than dust in some junkyard or landfill. The memory of the intense gaze and the nodding approval is still strong.

It's why I gazed so strongly and paid so much attention to the hinged helmet. Buzz, like the Cyclops, will soon be gone, but the memories will shape a spirit and remain.

Little things that you do can change a life.

You never know when that moment is.

What a person puts in front of you could be their dream and constant labor. You never know what a little attention can do. You also never know what inattention can do.

My son was naked in more than the physical when he showed me Buzz. He had the shields removed and opened his heart to share what he held precious.

I thought that my father listened as though I was explaining the secret of life to him. I now realize that he was showing the secret of life to me.

Remember what is precious to another, may not be to you, but it is precious nonetheless. You'll have your opportunities to shape a spirit.

Don't let it pass you by, be it Buzz or brakes.


~A MountainWings Original~

from: www.mountainwings.com

Bear Cottage Hospice for Children

Bear Cottage, located in Manly, is a children’s hospice – a very special place dedicated to caring for children with life-limiting conditions and their families.

At Bear Cottage, every life, however short, is enriched, enjoyed and celebrated.

Bear Cottage is a place, where cherished moments and special memories are created – a place where life is for living. Whilst staying at Bear Cottage, families receive individual, specialised support delivered by a team of dedicated and highly skilled professionals.

A stay at this home away from home is exactly what each family needs it to be. Families do not pay for any services they receive from Bear Cottage, instead the $2.5 million required to keep the doors open each year are raised entirely by the community.

For more information visit the Bear Cottage Website

How to get more of what you want...

Positive thinking is certainly a powerful thing, but positive expression is equally important. Many people, especially marriage partners and parents of small children, seem to believe that the best way to get somebody to change for the better is to consistently point out to them what they are doing wrong.

These authority figures criticize, day in and day out. Eventually the people they are talking to become frustrated and often start to feel angry, because they see that nothing they say or do has any positive effect, and sometimes things even get worse.

Has this ever happened to you? If so, there's a principle of cognitive psychology that I teach in my seminars you'll want to know about. It's simply this: We move toward and become like what we think about. And we automatically behave in ways that match the image we have of our capabilities and ourselves.

When you focus on what is going wrong, you tend to experience more of the problem. And when you focus on the solution, you move toward it, as surely as day follows night.

So instead of telling folks what they are doing wrong, why not tell them what they are doing right? Instead of telling them what the problem is, why not tell them what the solution looks like and how it will benefit them personally?

And while you're at it, why not tell them how much you enjoy and appreciate the thoughtful or bright or funny things they say and do. Remember the behavior that you focus on and praise tends to be repeated.



Lou Tice

The Pacific Institute