Six-Word Memoirs

Sue Katz, who is a blogger friend, sent me a post on this new book, and totally delighted me. There’s a new book out, which I haven’t read, called Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure collects almost 1,000 six-word memoirs, including additions from many celebrities including Stephen Colbert, Jane Goodall, Dave Eggers, and more.

From their website . . . http://smithmag.net/sixwords/

Six-Word Memoirs: The Legend

“Legend has it that Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Last year, SMITH Magazine re-ignited the recountre by asking our readers for their own six-word memoirs. They sent in short life stories in droves, from the bittersweet (“Cursed with cancer, blessed with friends”) and poignant (“I still make coffee for two”) to the inspirational (“Business school? Bah! Pop music? Hurrah”) and hilarious (“I like big butts, can’t lie”).”

So what did I do? I wrote my own.

No God.
Know God.
O God.

What a great exercise! This one covers my whole life, but you could try it on whatever “problem” shows up next. Tell the story of it in six words. I’m willing to bet that you get to the bottomline—and clarity—in a heartbeat.

Idle Thoughts? No Such Thing

We all get to wait in this life. In line, for an answer, till whenever. What do you think about whilst you wait?

Most of us think we think idle thoughts. More often, we don’t. In fact, there’s no such thing as an idle thought. Thoughts—all thoughts—are creative.

May I make a suggestion for the next time you have to wait? Use a mantra. Here’s the one I use:

The God of me is All of me.

It helps me stay patient, tolerate waiting, and be kind once I get wherever or whatever or whomever I’ve been waiting for.

Use your waiting time for spiritual practice, dear one. Those minutes will add up, dear one. Watch your spiritual life bloom.

Spiritual Practice . . . YES!

There are as many spiritual practice possibilities as there are people practicing at any given time. Here are some questions I’ve heard over the years:

How do I learn to sit still and meditate?
How do I choose a mantra?
How do I put meaning into prayers I say every day?
How do I create affirmations?

The list could be endless. Actually, the list is endless.

If you are a person, (and if you’re reading this, I have to assume you are), there is a simple way to choose a spiritual practice. Answer this question:

What makes you feel like the best you?

Some days it might be sitting meditation. Other days chanting. Other days, repeating a mantra. Candle-gazing. Spiritual mind treatment. The Lord’s/Lady’s Prayer. Walking meditation. Tai Chi. Writing affirmations. Doing Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages. Creating your blog entry. Again, a list of endless possibilities.

How to choose? First, check in with yourself. How are you? What are you feeling? What thoughts are predominating? How’s your body? Is there inner truth asking to be let out?

Then, let your own being guide you. Some days you’ll walk. Others, you’ll sit.

For myself, after more than a quarter of a century of daily spiritual practice, I use a one-word model that guides my every choice—in spiritual practice and in quotidian choices. I ask myself one question:

How can I say yes to whatever is happening?

This “technique” has evolved over many years. It’s based on a simple notion of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s: what we resist persists. A long time ago I realized that whenever I’ve got “trouble” in my life—on any level, of any kind—it always involves me being in some kind of resistance to something or someone.

I decided that resistance was taking up too much energy in my life, and that the best spiritual practice for me was a simple yes. Yes, this, whatever this is, is happening. Yes, I am present in it. Yes, it is showing me something for my growth and my good. Yes, I am willing to grow. Yes, I receive the good.

As for whatever spiritual practice you choose, and I’d highly recommend varying them as often as you feel you want variety. If you can choose a theme for your practice—like my yes—then the how will take care of itself.

So, spiritual practice, dear one? By all means, yes.