December 3: Inspire Peace

It rained today. And then the sun came out. Rain gives life. Water gives life.

Today's rain: Stars and reflections. 

 Within one drop there is a whole other world.

This morning, while it rained,  I read "Love Thyself: The Message from Water III" by Masaru Emoto. He has experimented with water and vibrations and how those positive or negative vibrations affect water. He freezes the water and photographs the crystals.

This is from water that was exposed to the words Love and Gratitude.

In this book, Emoto says that to heal ourselves and the earth, we must first love ourselves.

Three simple phrases that can lead to peace. Peace within. Peace throughout the world.

"I Love you. I thank you. I respect you."

December 2: Inspire Peace

"A lifetime is not what is between
the moments of birth and death.

A lifetime is one moment
Between my two little breaths.
The present, the here, the now,
That's all the life I get.
I live each moment in full,
In kindness, in peace, without regret."

Chade Meng, Taoist poet

Today, I needed most to be reminded to breathe. Driving in heavy traffic, moving lots of chairs, working through tough issues at a meeting. For all of these things, I needed to breathe. To be in the moment, conscious and thoughtful.

I turned off and took the country roads home, I took more trips with the chairs to lighten my load, and I spoke my mind.

It was a good day.

Breathe. Peace. Breathe. Namaste. Aloha.

December 1: Inspire Peace

I grew up in Evanston not very far form the Baha'i House of Worship. I remember going there with my church youth group and again on other occasions as the building was incredibly beautiful and inspired such a sense of peace within me.

I was back in Evanston yesterday and had this urge to stop and visit once again. As you can see the sky was a brilliant blue and I knew that the building would be a beautiful as ever. I took time to walk all the way around the building and spent time in the visitor center that is below.

"Bahá'ís believe: the purpose of life is to know and worship God, to acquire virtues, to promote the oneness of humankind and to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization all humanity was created by one God and is part of one human race work performed in the spirit of service is a form of worship."

Inside I found this display rack:

In the rack are literature about the building and the religion in many different languages. How many places do you visit that are this inclusive?

I walked into the meeting area in the visitor center, it is a big round room with a tall domed ceiling below ground. There was a very strong scent of flowers and when I looked by the podium I saw a large vase if Day Lily's.

On the upper floor they ask that no one take photographs. Oh, how I wished I could take just a few images of the domes ceiling. It is beautiful and intricate and no one was there to stop me. As I sat wishing, I realized that taking that photograph and posting it here about inspiring peace would be very hypocritical, so I just sat for a while and took in the quiet, the space, and the light coming through all of the windows.

There is beauty, peace and serenity throughout the world. My goal this month is to notice and photograph those moments when I am peacefully inspired and share them here.