Sunday, June 1, 2008

it's all in the details

"I want to know the thoughts of God; the rest are details." -- Albert Einstein

Everything -- absolutely everything -- that happens in our lives has aspiritual cause. Events on all other levels -- mental, emotional and physical -- are only effects. When we are struggling with any challenge, whether it be ill health, a lack of money, a lost job, poor relationships, an accident, whatever -- we need to look for the spiritual learning. We can ask ourselves, "What quality does my soul want me to live more fully?"

"If you start to think the problem is out there, stop yourself. That thought is the problem."
-- Stephen Covey

Kaylee's good day! April 2008



I told Kaylee this morning she was in a good mood & that was awesome.




She said, "How can you tell? Did you feel my forehead?"




LMAO - kids are SO funny sometimes!




Joleen




It would be sooooo much clearer if I could just quit laughing!




Jordyn @ Cedar Point 2006

09/20/2006 05:28 PM
We didn't get a lot of pics because I (of course) forgot to bring the camera.
Here are a couple pics Juan took with his camera phone.


Water bumper cars! "Now this is cool!"



On the froghopper - "This is so lame!"







Riding the train















Super butterfly princess to the rescue!







Super butterfly princess and sidekick pink bunny chilling.

Start where you are...

Nothing needs to be fixed.

"Tolerance does not . . . do anything, embrace anyone, champion any issue. It wipes the notes off the score of life and replaces them with one long bar of rest. It does not attack error, it does not champion truth, it does not hate evil, it does not love good." -- Walter Farrell

That is a thought-full to contemplate.



As we understand it, the spiritual journey is not about becoming perfect. It's about acceptance, releasing judgment, and embracing everything in wholeness. This is a great challenge for our personality. We've grown up comparing ourselves to others, always judging how we're better and worse than those around us. And many of us are very good at finding fault with ourselves. If we release judgment, then nothing needs to be fixed -- including you. Explore inviting your soul to help you accept all that is and experience a whole new way of living.

"Wherever you are is always the right place. There is never a need to fix anything, to hitch up the bootstraps of the soul and start at some higherplace. Start right where you are."
-- Julia Cameron

Forgiveness

Do you feel worthy of having joy?
Do you feel you deserve it?

The first step to activating our inner joy is to eliminate the blocks to it. We can start by truly forgiving ourselves and all others. Forgiveness calls for a shift in our perception. It is easier to forgive ourselves and others when we really understand that each of us has always done the very best we knew to do at that time. I really like that part.

"If we don't forgive ourselves for our mistakes, and others for the wounds they have inflicted upon us, we end up crippled with guilt. I really like that part too! I have to forgive myself. That is a hard one. I have to forgive others for the wounds? That I allowed them to wound me? Back to forgiving myself again. No one can wound me without my permission...conscious or unconscious. And the soul cannot grow under a blanket of guilt, because guilt is isolating, while growth is a gradual process of reconnection to ourselves, to other people,and to a larger whole." -- Joan Borysenko

I like the connecting to myself and others part. The move I love myself, the less I will allow others to wound me.

labels limit

Labels limit us

"Your only limitations are those you set up in your mind, or permit others to set up for you." - Og Mandino

How do you label yourself?
How do you label others?
Labels set limits. Labels creat boxes in which to contain, catagorize, or banish a person or thought.

Why would God creat something that has limits? God didn't. So let go of the labels and be more God-like.

"As long as I am this or that, I am not all things." -- Meister Eckhart

"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be." -- Lao Tzu

Fighting...

"When you fight something, you're tied to it forever. As long as you're fighting it, you're giving it power." -- Anthony de Mello

It sucks when my mother was right! I remember hearing this many, many, many,many times over and over again! Maybe not those words but the concept is the same. And, it is sooooooo true!

So what do I give power and try to fihgt? Fear, anger, self-doubt, loathing. All those things I try to push down and don't want to recognize. If I acknowldge the feelings, I can at least work through them. I am getting a little better (wiser perhaps?) about recognizing the feelings before I become a total grump.
Responsibility brings power. "To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist." -- Gail Sheehy

What holds you back from being all that you are?

In your journal, list at least 5 things that hold you back.

Me, Myself, and I! Disorganization! Procrastination!

Have you blamed people or factors outside of yourself? It's important to understand that ALL obstructions are rooted in our internal blocks. Even the problems that appear to be outside of us are only reflecting back to us problems we have inside.

Once we address our inner issues, the outer problems disappear. Be personally accountable for everything in your life and watch your perspectives shift. We claim our power when we accept responsibility for our lives.

"Conscious evolution begins as we take responsibility for clearing our obstructions."
--Dan Millman

Jo felt the baby move 06/13/07

06/13/2007 12:03 PM


how are you feeling today?
love you!
Mom


I felt the baby move today!!!!

joleen delgado

Shippingport, PA

http://www.wqed.org/mag/columns/sebak/2008/0508_shippingport.php I got to see that clock in the article the first time I came out here with Ken. The building was not quite as run down as it is now. That was before all the concrete walls, fences and razor wire were added because of 9-11. The building that is left is a little bit bigger than two ranch houses set side by side. Until it started to decay, the lobby held pictures, plaques, and other memorabilia about Shippingport. When they wanted to tear down the building because it was falling apart, a group of people who used to work there, moved those items to the Training Center at Beaver Valley. That group of people started a community group that has grown and the last time I was here (fall 2007) there was talk of building a museum to hold the artifacts and history. I don't know if that is going to happen or not.

Shippingport went into operation in 1957-8 - it is older than I am (by a year or two depending on what year you use.)! I was born in 1959. No laughs from the peanut gallery - both your Dads are older than I am!). I walked in with a man the other night that worked at Shippingport since it first was started. He said that some of the equipment from Shippingport is still used at Beaver Valley today. He talked about how the Chemistry techs would use old glass pint and quart milk bottles to hold the water samples. Then he surprised me when he said BV chemistry techs still use the same bottles for sampling! There are still a number of people that worked there that are still working at Beaver Valley. Some of them have over 40 years of working since Shippingport.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shippingport_Atomic_Power_Station http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shippingport_Atomic_Power_Station Click links for more info


Beaver Valley from Shippingport.



Summer cooling tower design. The baffles that help cool the water are on the outside of the cooling tower instead of on the inside. This design in used in warm weather (southern) states because of the humidity in the air. The water vapor is coming off the baffles. It sounds soothing when I walk past the cooling tower, just like a waterfall. There is a beautiful view from in front of Security looking towards the Ohio River of the cooling tower, the Ohio River, and the bridge that crosses the river. At night you see the barge lights shining on the river.

This is an early picture of Shippingport Atomic plant looking towards the Ohio river. (Picture copied from wikipedia.org.)



Shippingport is circled in red.

Follow the pink line starting at the top of the page. That is where I park, walk through Security, past Unit 1, then back to Unit 2 where the pink circle stops. There are more outbuildings added since this picture was taken, as well as, cement walls, fences, and razor wire around the perimeter. You can see the difference between the two cooling towers.