by Ted Slipchinsky

"At the same time, I understood that at the core, our essence is made of pure love. We are pure love—every single one of us. How can we not be, if we come from the Whole and return to it? I knew that realizing this meant never being afraid of who we are. Therefore, being love and being our true self is one and the same thing!" ~ Anita Moorjani from Dying To Be Me

Sometimes I think people can get caught up in metaphysical concepts and end up coming to the conclusion that we live in a kind of Nihilistic universe where nothing has value. Yet the best teachers, both within the body and without, are always trying to help us: to be more accepting of ourselves, more compassionate, more creative, more peaceful, and live more meaningful lives. If nothing had value, why do beings as advanced as these even bother? Why intervene in our lives at all and why take a position on such matters as self-love, loving others, or living more joyful lives?

In my opinion, if one looks more deeply into this, one finds that indeed the teachers do speak of what, for lack of better words, I would call "intrinsic value." Now you don't have to accept dualistic concepts such as "right and wrong," or "good and evil" to affirm intrinsic value.

The British entrepreneur appears to have released details of an embargoed UN report - in case they change their minds

The UN may be about to call on the governments of all countries to end the "war on drugs" and decriminalise the use and possession of all illegal substances.

In an extraordinary post on his Virgin website, Richard Branson said he had been showed a report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) which dramatically changed the organisation's stance on drug control.

He said the "as-yet unreleased statement" had been sent to some of the world's media under embargo - but that he has gone public with it early for fear the UN will "bow to pressure by not going ahead with this important move".

God said:

I favor the heart whereas the world has favored the mind. I don’t disfavor the mind. The only thing is that the intellect generally tends to be seen as smarter than the heart.

Sometimes I see the mind as a saber or scimitar that slices through life right and left. Or I see the mind as a knife that shaves off the meat of the heart, whittles it down to the bone, as if the heart is too fat and needs to be trimmed down. The mind seems to like to think that the heart is a ruffian, wild and uncouth, more like an unruly teen-ager who feeds on emotion.

The modern mind has too often played down the heart as if the heart doesn’t know better or doesn't know anything at all.

Consider that the mind makes up its mind. The thing is that the mind knows only its own reasoning. The prudent mind knows limits and the past and what is already known. The mind sees the heart as rudderless. The mind overlooks that the heart is an ace when it comes to the Unknown.

We could say that the mind uses numbers while the heart uses feelings. The mind explains. The heart listens. The mind is filled with many thoughts. The heart looks beneath the surface. The heart surprises itself.

Make room for the heart. The heart has been given a reputation as unthinking, uneducated. Hello, the heart is an adventurer.

The mind has been a refuter. The mind readily says No. The mind is propped up by applause while the world too often tends to put down the heart and tell it to be quiet.

SMILE AWHILE   Today we have a simple exercise for you. It is called “smile.”

If you are reading this in the morning, then we ask that when you go out today, smile and nod a greeting to everyone you meet, making brief eye contact when possible.

If you will not be going outside today, send smiles telepathically to the people you find yourself thinking about, especially those you may be having any problems with. Consider taking a few moments to go through your address book and send a brief smile to at least twenty people.

If you are reading this in the evening, then make a note to yourself to remember to smile at everyone you encounter tomorrow. Make smiling a habit. It is a great physical, mental, emotional and spiritual exercise!   Selamet! Chuen 8

To read this Message in its entirety, scroll to Day 151 at: https://mayanmessages.wordpress.com/days-144-156/   Please include this web address when posting and sharing with others.   Many blessings, Theresa Crabtree

https://mayanmessages.wordpress.com/2015/10/17/day-151-smile-awhile/