13 Ways to Bring Home YOUR Troops
September 13th, 2007 by Rose RosetreeThe war in Iraq isn’t the only place where some of us are fighting a losing battle. Do you have an ongoing struggle in a semi-foreign realm like “My Weight,” “Furious at Mother-in-Law,” or “Why Can’t I Stop Thinking About My Ex?” Instead of investing even more inner resources where it’s counterproductive, here are 13 ways to let go.
- Look down at your left foot. Pinkie toe. The nail. Is that hard to see or what? (Right now, you can designate that toe to become a reminder: You can choose, any moment, to have perspective.)
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Contemplate your navel by looking at it. While you have clothes on. Isn’t seeing that even harder than the toe? Hope so. Otherwise, you have such a major outie that you ought to spend the rest of the day congratulating yourself! (More perspective, from that kind of contemplation, so easy, provided that you remember to do it….)
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Next, contemplate your navel with eyes closed. You may start to feel the presence of your inner self, one way or another. (That will continue long after the present problem is resolved.)
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Ask God to help. (Ask just once, because God isn’t stupid.)
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Take a long, deep breath. (It is just you breathing, after all, not “The problem.” Perspective, yet again.)
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Ask yourself, “What would I do differently if that problem were solved?” (Hey, maybe you could proceed as if.)
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Should you not be able to imagine yourself without that long-standing problem, ask yourself, “Am I willing to entertain the possibility that this problem can be solved?” (Maybe there is something in it for you, the suffering, the worry, etc. Could that be?)
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Read your own face. For talents that show there, not just the old frustrated expression. (This ancient and uplifting art is called physiognomy.)
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Do something to help another person. (Doesn’t have to be a person who has exactly the same problem. You already know someone with that problem, and who wants life to become repetitious?)
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Croon “I love myself, no matter what.” (You don’t have to be a famous rock star to do this, you know.)
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Buy a joke book for first aid and keep it handy. (I recommend “Comedy Thesaurus,” which is arranged by topic in alphabetical order. I started reading this in February. So far, I’m up to “Gifts.”)
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Keep around something good to smell. Use it like smelling salts for the soul. (Chicken soup may not work for this purpose, but aromatherapy fragrances will. So will a fine bar of soap, and maybe an unwrapped dry bar of soap outside the bathroom will be funnier.)
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Cut your cord of attachment to the person or underlying cause. (My new book, “Cut Cords of Attachment,” is being published this Monday, September 17! It’s the first book on the topic, in English, anyway.)
This was my first post to ThursdayThirteen.com. I hope I cross-posted properly. Certainly it would be ironic if anything about this post made anyone unduly cross!
One thing I know for sure is that I am allowed to have people comment here, at my own blog, so please share your favorite methods of personal redeployment.
(http://thursdaythirteen.com/ 110th edition, Deeper Perception Edition 1)
Wow, what a thought provoking post. Thanks for sharing!
Long, deep breaths have seen me through a pile of troubled days in the past few years. This is a terrific TT list!
Dear Rose,
If you only had known how much I needed this post today! Thanks. By the way,can I order the book now?
Thank you, Sniz and thank you, too, Nancy Bond, and you, also, Colleen.
Colleen and all, yes, you should be able to order the book close to now… by Monday, which is the official publication day. Depending on when the book is physically received from the printer, that will be the day it goes out, so you may be able to read about it.
Monday, the book will definitely be listed on my home page, http://www.rose-rosetree.com. More on that to come!!!!!!!!
This thread seems to dovetail something I wrote yesterday. I hope you don’t mind my posting here.
Is customary on this day—Rosh Hashana…The Jewish New Year—to release one’s sins. These are generally understood to be the sins one has committed against God, though some include sins against other persons as sins against God. Among some sects of Judaism the custom is to cast these sins onto a live chicken—often a single chicken may serve an entire congregation. The chicken is then slaughtered, according to custom, and the meat given to the poor. (I am not sure about the morality of giving sin-laden meat to poor people, but that’s for another writing.)
Among more contemporary congregations, the custom is to gather near moving water—a river or creek—and cast one’s sins onto bread which is then thrown into the water…that these sins may be washed away (and, I suppose, eaten by waterfowl).
As a healer who is committed to eating high vibration food (ie not processed) I chose a new ritual this year. This year I went to the water with a small baggie of unroasted sunflower seeds. I released unto these seeds those beliefs, thoughts and actions which no longer serve me. I released into these seeds anything in the past year which impeded my growth and restricted the flow of Universal Energy. And then I asked Divine Abundance and Divine Guidance to imbue in these seeds the energy for specific intentions that I hold for the coming year. I released some seeds into the water, asking that while they rest in the water, they might absorb energy (water) in preparation for growth. The waters were calm, and I know that rain will come in the next day or two. I asked that these seeds be prepared for the rains which will churn the waters and cause the river to run fast. I asked that these seeds transform energy into that which is useful to me and that in turn I may transform my energy to serve others. These are the seeds of flow, the parts of my life which will change constantly. This is why we speak of the current state of affairs—those parts which ebb and flow.
I scattered other seeds on the ground. These are the seeds of stability. These seeds symbolize rooting to the earth and growing strong, reaching towards the light.
In this year, as always, I strive towards balance. I rely on stability in order to be flexible. As some folks say, bend with the wind, do not break. I think of the variations of triangle pose in yoga, where my feet, ankles, and legs provide stability so that my upper body can move in different directions letting air come into and out of my lungs and chakras as benefits my body and soul.
‘Very practical and wise suggestions. Well done.
What a beautiful, transforming ritual! Thanks for sharing.
Colleen