Blessings for the Soul

In Corrogue I count my Blessings.

These are numerous. There is every breath in. There is every breath out. There is every heartbeat that reminds me of the joy of compassion and the blessing of this experience called life.

Each day I count my breath for ten minutes. In this way it becomes refined. I am refined and in truth I feel fine. I do not subscribe to our socially sanctioned emotional education. This is when we are asked, "How are you?" you reply, "Fine." This is whether you are fine or not. Most of the time you are not allowed to be "not fine." Sometimes I do not feel fine. I feel angry, frustrated, self-pitying, hurt, denying and any number of other emotional reactions that "little me" has in the moment.

When I come to my senses and enter my body, leave "thinking about," leave "my future plans," leave "my past regrets," then I am here. I am present. I am alive breathing in and breathing out. I am not "wanting" and I am "going nowhere." Just sitting authorising this life moment. Simply sitting being authentic. Just being my own authority.

When you count your blessings it begins as something "you do." You have to, in the beginning, make it a habit. You learn just to wake up for a moment. You learn that you are alive. Most of us breathe without ever being aware of this wondrous connection to all that is. Becoming aware of the breath is a gateway to feeling fine. When you feel fine you feel blessed. In this way you set up a circle. You set up a technique of completeness.

Continue with this practice and you become the Blessing. Rather than be focused on the social consciousness of "never enough" you get to celebrate. You get to drop your constant focus on "earning a living" to becoming the "living of love." For some moments you begin to recognise that you are "life" living "life." You are the flow of the eternal moment.

From this sense of blessing you start to give. You start to give yourself away. As Kahlil Gibran tells us, "You give much when you give of yourself." When you start to feel blessed rather than "think about" giving thanks for blessings you get balanced. Giving happens. Giving is natural. Giving is the energy of love. You pour yourself away and as you pour you paradoxically get filled up with the love of the Divine. You become one who is fulfilled.

Every one of us can find a blessing everyday if we wish. We only have to learn to look. We have to learn to look not only with the eyes but also with the heart. We are taught to look with eyes that grasp. Our eyes become seekers, not of soul, but of things to fill up the emptiness of our souls. Relax the eyes of wanting. We have more than enough. We only need to see this. You see when you drop judging, comparing and focusing on what you do not have.

Relax and allow this blessing of life to flow. Let it flow through a body that is fine and refined. Stop judging this body. Learn to love it as it is. It is not who you are. It is a wondrous gift given from the Beloved. It is intelligent and always working to bring you back to your senses. You cannot love it too much. It will bring you into the blessing of harmony.

So start counting. Make up your own blessing. Share them with me if you wish. I make one up each day and write about what it means. Thus I get to see through the heart. I never tire of Blessings. "Blessings" as a word is related to the word "blood." Have the sense of blessing flow through a body and mind at peace.

Blessings upon you and all those you love and do not love.

Tony Cuckson is an Anam Cara. This Celtic term means "Soul Friend." He specializes in providing insight for the spiritual journey, Irish Blessings, words of wisdom and finding inner peace. Visitors to Irish Blessings Matter website and Tony's Blog get the opportunity to develop a purpose driven life through articles, newsletters and other programs. Get your free report called "7 ways to it's a wonderful life" at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.com or visit Tony's Blog at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.info for the best resources on spiritual growth, spiritual cinema, spiritual parenting, spiritual coaching and spirit in business.

---

Stay Inspired

Two years ago I was in a wheelchair and told I would be paralyzed for life. Today I can jog on a treadmill. How did this happen?Well,... Read More

World Kindness Day

Once upon a time, in ancient India, a beggar favored a certain foot of land in a village square. He wanted to be rich, but he only... Read More

My Life With Furniture

These days, I find the lines are blurred between school and Real Life. Student life often means spending a cozy evening with your computer or heading to... Read More

Brilliance in Balance

"For everything you have missed, you have gained something else; and for everything you gain, you lose something else." - Ralph Waldo EmersonThe sun creeps above the... Read More

Experiences in My Life Prompted Me to Never Give Up

Many people think that their life is a disaster that for some reason they cannot go on, they allow depression to creep in and continually give themselves... Read More

My name is Smarty Jones -- Embracing Gods Glory

Our deepest fear us not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that... Read More

Time for Sunshine

Having spring around makes you feel different after such a long winter journey. How well do you feel when you have a little bit of sunshine in... Read More

$12 And 90 Minutes To Change Your Life

Have you ever listened to self hypnosis tapes? Or listened repeatedly to certain music that carried a specific message? Or what about, have you attended weekly services... Read More

The Nature of Anger

Excerpt From The Relationship Handbook: How to Understand and Improve Every Relationship in Your Life by Kevin B. BurkMany of us have some very definite ideas about... Read More

Its Not My Job to Free Tibet

I hate saying that. It feels so very wrong. It's not that I wouldn't like to help them. It's not that I am not appalled at what... Read More

My Next Year With Jesus (Joyful Reflections On My Walk With The Lord)

The one question I keep coming back to is..."Am I involved with life the way God wants me to be involved?"That's it. Nothin' fancy.Now two related questions... Read More

A Prison Cell?

Do you have a goal? A focus in life? Have you invested a great deal of time, effort, money to achieve and yet feel you haven't made... Read More

Inspirations: Even More Things Ive Noticed Along the Way So Far

Some people live in and talk about the past so much it's as if they are "planning for the past."The "I'm an adult victim/survivor of (fill in... Read More

Anamchara - Living An Essential Life

What is essential in your life? This question contains one of the most important words an question can address. This is the word "essence." To know your... Read More

Keep on Keeping on!

Whenever we are working on our dreams we are going to run into some road blocks or obstacles. The important thing for us to remember is that... Read More

One of Life´s Great Lessons ? Learn to be Thankful for What You Already Have

(excerpted from the New Jim Rohn Weekend Event DVD/CD series)Is thankfulness a survival skill? Perhaps most of you would respond with, "No, Jim, thankfulness is not key... Read More

Words That Can Leave You Powerless

The lines below come from this weeks mind treatment, written by Rev. Angelica Jayne who is a regular weekly contributor to this site.I seldom ever include other... Read More

Inspiration: A Few More Things Ive Noticed Along the Road So Far

Here's a quote from the late great columnist Sydney Harris that I believe says much about the state of marriage in our culture: "Almost no one is... Read More

The Rumble in the Jungle: Revealing Greatness

The other night I was watching a documentary on that famous boxing match called The Rumble in the Jungle. The fight was between Muhammad Ali (Float like... Read More

Why Buddhism Succeeds - The Right Thing is the Thing to do

The ongoing teachings are exemplified in an understanding and execution of two ideas, which I will briefly describe:Karma: the Buddhist interpretation is in the words and actions... Read More

How You Can Change Your Destiny

The outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to be harmoniously related to his inner state. ~James Allen, As A Man ThinkethThe world you... Read More

Crossing The Line Of Fear

Oh, this is a great topic! I remember when I was younger and in school, fear stopped me from asking out a girl I wanted to date.... Read More

Love Thy Neighbor

I would like to take a moment to write about our neighbors. We all have them. They could live right next door to you or miles away.... Read More

Wherever You Are, Be There

One of the major reasons why we fail to find happiness or to create unique lifestyle is because we have not yet mastered the art of being.While... Read More

Death Wish

I tremble at the thought that millions of people suffer enough to entertain a death wish. Perhaps it is as common a component of the psyche as... Read More

8 Ways to Get Your Healthy Groove On

You've heard the saying, "You are what you eat." I say? "You Are What You Think!"The amount of time you spend reveling in wonderful moments of joy,... Read More