Good and Happiness in the Time of Chaos

Virtually, the whole world is hunkered down due to the Corona Virus pandemic. The media is doing their very best to let us know how many people have been affected by listing the number of people who are ill, who have tested positive, who are struggling to stay alive and those who have passed over. The symptoms are posted everywhere. Social media is keeping us up to date with any break through. This is a time of great concern for the world as a whole.  As difficult as it may be, I truly would like to focus on the good of all of this. Yes, I am well aware you may have a family member or loved one who has tested positive; or you may be out of work wondering how you will survive; or maybe you live in a region of the world where healthcare is minimal.  Accepting that all of these things are reality for many, I truly believe focusing on them gets us nowhere. 

As I shelter in place, my heart smiles when I see so many people doing so much for so many.  Our health care workers all over the world are doing all they can with little knowledge of this virus and with ever decreasing supplies. Restaurants are finding ways to serve their local populations and stay afloat while doing so. Our waste collection system continues to pick up garbage and yard waste. Groceries are open with employees stocking shelves and helping to keep food in supply. Free classes are being posted on line for children and adults as well as free movies. Celebrities are reading stories and singers are doing what they do best, sing. Many who are fortunate to have a great deal of prosperity are sharing it. Rents are being waived. I could go on and on. 

This is what life is all about. Serving others. Being available. Loving from "6 feet away." Contacting those who might need assistance or just calling to say "hi, how are you?"

So how can we stay positive and see the good and find some happiness? Some ideas:

• 1. Limit your exposure to the constant influx of news from the media.
• 2. Listen to the experts; i.e. the CDC, WHO, scientists, physicians.
• 3. Take care of yourself by getting enough rest, exercise, do that project you've been wanting to do for so long, take up yoga or a new exercise program (videos are available for free.)
• 4. Call someone you haven't talked with for a long time or even yesterday (no texting). 
• 5. Start a gratitude journal. Write down one thing a day for which you are grateful or more. 
• 6. If you don't already, meditate or talk to your Higher Power every day. 

I'm sure you can think of more. Please share with me if you have other ideas. 

Fear can be a breeding ground for this virus. Look for the good, the laughter and the happiness. These two songs might help: 

Be Happy!

Don't Worry by Bobby McFerrin                                                     

Happy by Pharrell Williams

Peace and Blessings 

and 

"be sure to wash your hands and stay home as much as possible."

Mareda

If you are interested in receiving a personal affirmative prayer, 

please email me at maredaeckert1@gmail.com.

A Different Perspective

The world is in a time of crisis. Sometimes that is what we need to readjust our priorities. It isn't fun. It isn't something we choose consciously. It can be a horrible pill to swallow. But maybe there is a blessing involved.  Yes, I know it is not a blessing when people become ill and sometimes shuffle off this earth plane earlier than expected.  Yes, I know it is not a blessing when people find they no longer have a job, nor a paycheck and suffer as a result. Yes, I know all these things.  But...

I am copying and pasting the following from a Facebook page, New Thought Movement Worldwide. It comes from a different perspective, a very different point of view. Maybe, just maybe, this is something we all need to consider. 

An Imagined Letter from Covid-19 to Humans:

Stop. Just stop.
It is no longer a request. It is a mandate.
We will help you.
We will bring the supersonic, high speed merry-go-round to a halt.
We will stop
the planes,
the trains,
the schools,
the malls,
the meetings,
the frenetic, hurried rush of illusions and “obligations” that keep you from hearing our
single and shared beating heart—
the way we breathe together, in unison.
Our obligation is to each other.
As it has always been, even if, even though, you have forgotten.

We will interrupt this broadcast, the endless cacophonous broadcast of divisions and distractions, to bring you this long-breaking news:
We are not well.

None of us; all of us are suffering.
Last year, the firestorms that scorched the lungs of the earth did not give you pause.
Nor the typhoons in Africa, China, and Japan.
Nor the fevered climates in Japan and India.

You have not been listening.
It is hard to listen when you are so busy all the time, hustling to uphold the comforts and conveniences that scaffold your lives.

But the foundation is giving way, buckling under the weight of your needs and desires.
We will help you.
We will bring the firestorms to your body.
We will bring the fever to your body.
We will bring the burning, searing, and flooding to your lungs, that you might hear:
We are not well.

Despite what you might think or feel, we are not the enemy.
We are the Messenger.
We are an Ally.
We are a balancing force.

We are asking you:
To stop, to be still, to listen.
To move beyond your individual concerns and consider the concerns of all;
To be with your ignorance, to find your humility, to relinquish your thinking minds and travel deep into the mind of the heart.

To look up into the sky, streaked with fewer planes, and see it, to notice its condition: clear, smoky, smoggy, rainy? How much do you need it to be healthy so that you may also be healthy?

To look at a tree, and see it, to notice its condition: how does its health contribute to the health of the sky, to the air you need to be healthy?

To visit a river, and see it, to notice its condition: clear, clean, murky, polluted? How much do you need it to be healthy so that you may also be healthy? How does its health contribute to the health of the tree, who contributes to the health of the sky, so that you may also be healthy?

Many are afraid now.
Do not demonize your fear, and also, do not let it rule you. Instead, let it speak to you—in your stillness, listen for its wisdom.
What might it be telling you about what is at work, at issue, at risk, beyond the threats of personal inconvenience and illness?

As the health of a tree, a river, the sky tells you about quality of your own health, what might the quality of your health tell you about the health of the rivers, the trees, the sky, and all of us who share this planet with you?

Stop.
Notice if you are resisting.
Notice what you are resisting.
Ask why.

Stop. Just stop.
Be still.
Listen.
Ask us what we might teach you about illness and healing, about what might be required so that all may be well.
We will help you, if you listen.
❤️

(Author unknown)

On this first day of Spring, remember:

Peace and blessings to all!

Mareda

I Am Here Only To Be Truly Helpful

As I sit here thinking it has been almost a month since I have written, I look up and see a poster with wording from A Course In Miracles. I don't consider myself a true student but I am drawn to much of what it has to offer. 

I remember the first time I attempted to do the daily lessons. Resistance is an understatement.  In some ways, I continue to be resistant and yet the wording on this poster speaks to me today as much as it did some 30 years ago.

I've been reading What's Your What? by Julie Moret. The basis of the book is to discover your purpose. I continue to look for my purpose or what I want to be when I grow up. And I continue to wonder what in the world that could be.

Every time I delve into this mystery, I come back to this from A Course In Miracles, "I am here only to be truly helpful." Maybe this is my purpose. I do know I feel good when I can be of assistance wherever and however that may unfold. Sometimes I'm not sure it is appreciated though.

Possibly the time has come to quit searching for my purpose and to start living it. I have walked this earth for quite some time.  I have a vast amount of experience in this walk. Some good, some not so good. Maybe it is time to share my experiences with others on the path.

I shall leave this entry with the complete message from the poster above my desk.

I am here only to be truly helpful.

I am here to represent Him Who sent me.

I do not have to worry about what to say or what to do because He who sent me will direct me. 

I am content to be wherever He wishes, knowing He goes there with me.

I will be healed as I let Him teach me to heal. 

A Course In Miracles

Foundation For Inner Peace.

Peace and Blessings,

Mareda

www.maredaeckert.com

New Month, New Year, New Decade!

Happy New Year!

It has been a long time since I have been moved (nudged) to write an entry in my blog. It is a new year and a new decade so I figured this is a good time to start a new habit - blog entries on a regular basis.

Last year was interesting and challenging. I look back and wonder why I am so happy it has closed. Nothing horribly tragic happened. I'm still healthy and employed but there were challenges that I really do not feel I handled to the best of my abilities. 

This year my intentions shall be different and hopefully successful.  I feel it is important to put them down on paper, so to speak.  So here goes.

1. Start a spiritual practice and stay with it. None of this one day on and one day off.  Figure out what I want to include and do it. 
2. Accept that which I think is unacceptable and look for the good.  
3. Be more patient with myself and others. Walk in their shoes for a brief moment, then act.
4. Recognize how fortunate I am and focus on that. 
5. Recognize that which I can control and that which I cannot. Probably the most difficult 'cause I do have control issues.  
6. Be open to the possibilities that come to me to increase my prosperity.  

So to all who read this, may your new year, your new decade be filled with wonder and delight.

Peace and blessings,

Mareda

THE Condo in the Valley of Despair and Hopelessness

There is a condo located in the Valley of Despair and Hopelessness. Everyone is welcome. From the outside it looks very nice and inviting. Come for a visit or take up permanent residence. No dollars are necessary to stay here, but the emotional payment is great. 

I have not only been visiting this condo but I discovered yesterday that I've actually taken up permanent residence. For some time now, I've been living in a continual place of anger, disappointment and hopelessness. Feelings of anger at the political climate in my country have caused me anxiety and many sleepless nights.  Feelings of disappointment in my fellow Americans at the racism and hate many express have encouraged me to hate them. And then the hopelessness at where I am personally in many areas of my life.  In case you didn't know, there are rooms in THE condo for all these emotions and feelings.  Dark, dreary rooms that welcome negativity, anger and hopelessness. I have made myself at home in these rooms.

While moving from room to room yesterday, I experienced an epiphany of sorts. Why have I taken up residence here? I know better. I have years of study and experience in "right thinking." I know that to change one's world, a person must change one's thinking. It is as simple as that. Maybe simple, but not always easy.

We live in a world that appears to be taken over by segments of the population who are fearful of everything and everyone. Although I do not like to admit this, I have joined that population by reacting to their negativity and fear. As I was praying (actually pleading) with the Universal Presence and Power I call God yesterday, a Voice whispered very loudly in my inner ear that I already knew the answer. In essence it said "Get off your butt and change your thinking. And please move out of that condo." I listened and I shall share my plan of action with you.

1. I packed up all my negative thoughts, my anger and my hopelessness and moved out of my uncomfortable room at THE condo.

2. I created an affirmation that truly expressed how I wanted to live my personal and work life. 

3. I repeated this affirmation every time a negative thought came into my mind and shall continue to do so adjusting it as necessary.

4. I decided to love the segment of the population that makes me feel anger. This may prove to be very difficult but is so very important for my peace of mind and spiritual growth. 

5. I shall meditate on a more regular basis instead of sporadically.

6. I shall remember to be grateful for all the Good in my life. There is so much!

Writing this is very cathartic right now.  In many ways, this blog entry is a contract with me by me to begin the change I want to see in my personal world. 

So I encourage all who read this to recognize your place of residence.  Are you living in your own condo in the Valley of Despair and Hopelessness? Do you visit more often than is advisable? Our personal world is only affected by others when we allow them to get into our mind and mess with it. 

Stay strong friends. This is a challenging time for all light workers. Be the Light! Darkness cannot remain, when the Light comes on. 

Peace and Blessings!

Mareda

The Peace of God

It has been awhile since I've entered anything into my blog. As I was meditating this morning, I decided it is now time to begin again. 

Today I shall take an excerpt from the October issue of the Science of Mind magazine. Today's meditation starts with this:

"The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God's eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love."

-- Meister Eckhart

Ah, if the world only knew this truth how things would be different. All is One. 

Namaste,

Mareda

www.MaredaEckert.com

Royal Satterlee

Yesterday evening this world lost a man who touched the lives of many. A great metaphysician, minister, teacher, counselor, friend and all around good person.  Royal Satterlee left this earth plane to go on that great voyage we will all take someday.

I first met Royal in 1985 at the First Church of Religious Science on Fee Fee in Creve Coeur, Missouri. As soon as I walked in the door I realized I had found a home. Little did I know at that time, the effects this church, it's teaching and it's minister would have on my life.

Throughout the years I took every class offered. Royal pushed buttons so many times but those buttons brought me though to a new level of understanding. He never wavered in his beliefs and "walked the talk" during times of strife and unrest. I respected him and sought to emulate his actions. (Still working on that.)

Over the years our paths didn't cross as much as they did earlier but I thought of him often.  I would like to share a few of my memories.

Early in my studies, Royal asked me to speak/announce something during a church service. Many of you who know me may not believe this but there was a time when I was extremely shy. True! When he asked I was still in that "shy" space. Well, my response was one of panic! I told him I would leave the church before I would talk in front of the congregation. Royal just smiled and said "okay, but someday you will be speaking and enjoying it." Nope, no way I thought. Royal knew.

When the Spiritual Enrichment Center was just beginning, we were looking for someone to play music during the service. One day Royal called me and enthusiastically said "We found an organist! He plays for the Baseball Cardinals! His name is Ernie Hays!" Not being a baseball fan, I had no idea who in the world Ernie Hays was but I asked how could a baseball player be at church on Sunday mornings.  So much for my wisdom! The rest is history.

Royal truly changed my life for the better. I think of where I was in 1985 and how I have grown. I've had other teachers but none who made me think, who made me angry, who made me laugh, who supported me through the long adoption process of my Ulya and who set the bar high.

Royal Satterlee, I shall not wish that you rest in peace for I know you are on a journey that you spoke of often and the greatest journey of all. Resting is not what you will be doing.  You shall continue to grow and evolve in the great beyond.

My love goes out to Noreen. You touched so many lives. We shall miss you but shall remember you with love and thanksgiving.

Peace and blessings,

Mareda