I am in the midst of reading 'The Four Agreements' by Don Miguel Ruiz and the first agreement is this; BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD ~ Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love. In reading this 'first agreement' the writer makes the comparison of our minds are like computers and gossip is likened to a computer virus. It came to me while reading this that whenever we take something in that is not of God, i.e. gossip, emotional pain and such, that it makes us sick. We get so sick and desire to get rid of this virus and feel better that we 'throw it up'! Essentially, we feel a deep need to get this sickness out and the only way to get it out is to repeat the gossip we took in. We spread the virus by repeating the gossip or hurting someone in the way we were hurt, i.e. the quote "Hurt people, Hurt people." Gossip is the cheapest form of entertainment but also the deadliest. Gossip and such come from a dark place and since we are 'inherently' lightness when we take in something 'dark' we get sick ~ it doesn't mix well with who we really are. The more darkness we let in the more chaotic and confused we become and the more fertile the soil of our minds become to receive the seed of deception. Are once clear mind of what is 'right or wrong' or better yet 'what serves us and what does not' becomes clouded and just like a computer virus affects your computer to no longer work in the manner it was 'created' to operate, so it is with our mind ~ "As a man thinketh, so he is." Thoughts do become THINGS! So negative thoughts, if let in, lead to negative frame of mind and eventual a negative individual. But you see, we truly are NOT individual. We are ALL connected. We are ALL daughters and sons of our Father and what we think and what we do does affect those around us. There is a scripture in the bible, in Mark 4 that speaks of the word and in this case it is referring to God's word, being dropped on different surfaces and what the affect it has depends on where the word landed. The scripture reads; "Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” It came to me, that whether we receive or dispel negative or positive 'words', these 'seeds' can only produce a harvest if they land on fertile soil. You have to be open to gossip to let gossip in. There is an old saying that an old wise woman told me once, she said, "Aleece, if a dog brings you a bone, he will surely take one back, meaning that if they will gossip to you they will gossip about you. Hey, we are all guilty, at one time or another, of gossiping. He who is without sin, cast the first stone right?! But when we know better we should do better. I have learned that we attract into our lives what 'we' are. I do not attract the same people as say I did 20 years ago because I am not the same person that I was 20 years ago. If you are not a gossiper than when someone calls you to whisper in your ear something about another you will turn away from this person and not desire to associate with them. It doesn't mean they are bad, it just means that your mind is no longer fertile soil for that junk. Now that we are in the New Year, everyone and their brother are on some diet so that they may change the way they look, change their 'outer man' but what if we focused not only on what goes into our mouths, but what comes out? Let us not be 'white washed tombs that are beautiful on the outside but full of rotting bones on the inside', and yes, I'm paraphrasing a verse from the bible. Most people gossip so they can 'feel' right! That only indicates that they must 'feel' wrong on the inside. What is without ~ so is within." Don't be a 'right fighter' ~ believe me, it is highly over-rated! Choose today to be impeccable with your words and sit back and observe what you draw into your life. Pay careful attention to what 'words ~ 'seeds' you deposit in your children's fertile soil ~ 'minds' ~ You are shaping their views of the world around them and you are teaching them how to treat others. Teach them first to love themselves ~ "Love thy neighbor as thyself." If you don't love yourself you cannot love others. What we do to others we've already done to ourselves. It reminds me of that famous line in the movie "The Color of Purple" where Ms. Celia says to her abusive husband, "What you done to me ~ already been done to you." So, as you start your day, say something loving to yourself, deposit good into your mind and I promise you the goodness you have taken in will flow out of your mouth and bless another. We can only give what we possess. Here is wishing all of you love, light, peace and happiness today and always. Namaste, God Bless & Shalom Baby! The Dalai Mama, a.k.a. Sugarbutt, or just Aleece!