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November 24
E-mail: CLF@consciouslivingfoundation.org
Home Free Downloads Quotations Products Free E-Books
| Welcome to Conscious
Living, our newsletter designed to share our current activities
and growth, along with articles and information that we hope will be
supportive and encouraging in your efforts to live each moment with more
joy and satisfaction.
As we're entering the holiday season, we want to encourage everyone to consider giving more thoughtful gifts this year. We have so much to be grateful for. Yet, so often we settle for something cute or easy to purchase when we buy gifts for our family and friends. However, we have the choice to buy gifts this year that will encourage, inspire and elevate our loved ones - hopefully expanding their realization of all the gifts for which they could feel grateful. In order to support your efforts at giving gifts that have a positive effect, we're offering a special discount when you purchase more than one product from our website. After purchasing your first gift at the usual price, we're offering the second at 1/2 off. To see the full selection of best selling products on sale, click here. We want to create a newsletter, website and products that will serve you. Please email us your comments and suggestions. Happy Thanksgiving! William
Simpson |
|
News: New Section of Web
Site - First Health Care Products Added To Site -
Our new weight loss products include a wide range of meal replacement shakes with essential nutrients, multi-vitamins and herb concentrates - all in a delicious selection of flavors. In addition we're offering protein powders, soup mixes, a cell activator to increase your ability to absorb your vitamins and minerals, protein bars, teas, phytonutrients, Omega 3 fatty acid supplements, fiber powders, and a variety of other healthy additions to your diet. Take a look Here for complete details.
In the near future we will also
be adding Energy Boosters, Skin Care Products, Support for a healthy heart, and
cellular nutrition products. Visit us throughout the month for a
continuing evolution of our health care products section.
Please send us an email at
clf@!consciouslivingfoundation.org telling us what kind of health
products you would like to see next.
During the holidays, why not select gifts that can genuinely
make a difference in the lives of your loved ones? So
often, we make purchases that are just fillers - not really knowing what to buy
our friends and family for the holidays. This year, give books and spoken word
CDs that will continue to inspire and encourage throughout the year.
Now CLF makes buying even easier with our "Second 1/2 Price"
holiday discounts. Buy any of our selected products at the usual price and buy
another great book or CD at 1/2 price. Click
Here to see our great
selection of best sellers and favorites. They include audio versions of
your all time favorites, perfect to listen to while driving or exercising.
Some of our most popular titles include: As A Man Thinketh by James Allen,
Byways To Blessedness by James Allen, The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, The Game of
Life by Florence Scovel Shin, Discovering Spirit by William Simpson, The World
As I See It by Albert Einstein, and many others! Deepen your practice of
the techniques that bring new joy and hope into your life - and give the gift of
a deeper spiritual life and increased personal growth. Inspiring Quotations On
Gratitude -
Think of something for which you are
grateful today. Say thanks.
I think the dying pray at the last not
"please," but "thank you," as a guest thanks his host at
the door. Continuous practice, day after day, is
the most appropriate way of expressing gratitude. This
means that you practice continuously, without wasting a
single day of your life, without using it for your own
sake. Why is it so? Your life is a fortunate outcome of
the continuous practice of the past. You should express
your gratitude immediately. Gratitude is the state of mind of
thankfulness. As it is cultivated, we experience an
increase in our "sympathetic joy," our happiness at
another's happiness. Just as in the cultivation of
compassion, we may feel the pain of others, so we may
begin to feel their joy as well. And it doesn't stop
there. Gratitude is the intention to
count-your-blessings every day, every minute, while
avoiding, whenever possible, the belief that you need or
deserve different circumstances. Notice when you say or someone near
you says "Thank you." Think of those two words as a
signpost to the spiritual world. Sanctity has to do with gratitude. To
be a saint is to be fueled by gratitude, nothing more
and nothing less. Look closely and you will find that
people are happy because they are grateful. The opposite
of gratefulness is just taking everything for granted.
Any moment that opens us up to the
reality that life is good is a parable of the supreme
end for which we were made. It is important not only to be
grateful to others but also to be grateful for
others. We need to cultivate a gratitude for others'
giftedness in the same way that we appreciate a
beautiful sunset or a smile from a loved one. Others
always seem to have been given gifts in life that we
desire, and so it's easy to be envious. Riding
sidesaddle with envy is a dangerous practice: I would be
happy if I had what he or she possesses. By contrast,
giving thanks constantly and in all circumstances
liberates us from envy. Gratitude is here presented as more
than a feeling, a virtue, or an experience; gratitude
emerges as an attitude we can freely choose in order to
create a better life for ourselves and for others. The
Nigerian Hausa put it this way: Give thanks for a
little and you will find a lot. To be grateful is to recognize the
Love of God in everything He has given us — and He has
given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of
His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it
brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude
therefore takes nothing for granted, is never
unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and
to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful
person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by
experience. And that is what makes all the difference.
To speak gratitude is courteous and
pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but
to live gratitude is to touch Heaven. The greatest thing is to give thanks
for everything. He who has learned this knows what it
means to live. He has penetrated the whole mystery of
life: giving thanks for everything. There is a calmness to a life lived in
Gratitude, a quiet joy.
For
a large variety of inspiring quotations, click
Here.
This holiday season, let's share the gifts for
which we are most grateful:
News: New Section of Web Site - Free Family Classics Audio Selections We will continue to add audio files
that we believe provide wholesome entertainment while modeling positive
choices and values. Now you have the opportunity to "gather the family and
sit around the radio together" and share in the adventure and fun!
Click
Here to visit the Family Audio Classics
page.
News: New Section Added To Site - Free Audio Classics For Children
In addition to the Family Audio Classics Section described above, we have also
added a very large collection of free audio files just for children. Each
episode runs approximately 30 minutes and includes such titles as: The
Little Mermaid, Aladdin and His Magic Lamp, Jack and the Bean Stalk, Puss and
Boots, Cinderella, Robin Hood, Beauty and the Beast, King Arthur, Hansel and
Gretel, King Midas, Sleeping Beauty, The Emperor's New Clothes and many, many
more! Click
Here to visit the Audio Classics For
Children page. A Story - About
Gratitude "God is the ultimate source of all life and all good
that comes to us. Think about all you have to be grateful for — your life, your
loved ones, the roof over your head, your health, and so on. "My Sufi master used to teach that the best way to express gratitude for a
gift is to use it well. For example, if someone were to give you an automobile,
it would be extremely ungrateful to let that car sit and rust in a garage, or to
drive it without maintaining it until it broke down. To be grateful for the gift
of a car means to use it well and maintain it conscientiously. "To be grateful for the gift of intelligence is to develop your intelligence
by ongoing study, to use your intelligence to help others, and to seek to
understand God's creation and God's Truth. To be grateful for the gift of
material abundance is to share your wealth with those in need. "Be generous with your other gifts as well. For example, you have been given
the gift of time; be generous and spend time with the lonely. You have been
given a heart; give compassion to the heartbroken. Make a list of all you have
to be grateful for, and then make a second list of all the ways you can express
your gratitude."
This holiday season, let's share with our loves
ones, the gifts for which we are most grateful:
A Story -
A Leper's Thanksgiving Bartholomew glanced up. Lepers, he
thought. Ragged, pitiable lepers. From the time
their skin disease was diagnosed, they were cut off
from society, forced to live on their own in caves
or huts away from towns. A fortunate few had
relatives who would leave food for them, but many
had no one. They weren't allowed close enough to beg
for a living. Ragged, thin, rejected. Lepers. Even
the word spoke an icy finality. "Have mercy on us!" Their pleading cut through Bart's
thoughts. Jesus was cupping his hands now, and
calling across the low valley which lay between the
road and the ridge where the lepers stood. His voice
rang out sharp and compelling in the stillness of
the morning. "Go! Show yourselves to the
priests!" The lepers looked at each other.
You only went to the priests if your leprosy was
gone. Only the priests could issue a clean bill of
health so you could return to your family.
As they held up their decayed
limbs, they were asking, "Why go unless we're
healed?" They looked over to Jesus again, but he was
conversing with Peter and John, and they didn't
catch his eyes. But then Bart heard a shout, a cry
of exaltation, a loud eerie call that filled the
valley and bounced off the hills: "I'm healed! I'm
whole. My leprosy is gone! It's gone!" Bart looked around in time to
catch a smile at the corners of Jesus' mouth. The
healing hadn't occurred as the lepers stood looking
and wondering. It had taken place as they had begun
to obey Jesus' words. "As they went"
they were healed. Suddenly a lone figure broke from
the circle of rejoicing ex-lepers. He bounded over
the little creek and raced towards them, rags
fluttering behind him. He sped toward Jesus and then
landed on his knees before the Master in a cloud of
fine dust. He spoke just a phrase -- "Thank
you, Master" -- in a sort of broken accent, the
accent of Samaria. Then he just knelt there sobbing.
Jesus spoke now, not really to the
leper, but beyond him somehow, as if to the whole
world. "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the
other nine? Was no one found to return and give
praise to God except this foreigner?" Bart's mind spun. He thought of
the countless times God had answered his prayers,
provided for his family, given him work, healed his
sickly daughter. How often had he really said
"Thanks"? Too often he had taken these blessings for
granted, rejoicing in his good fortune, but seldom
racing back to the Giver with a word of heartfelt
thanks on his lips. As the man knelt, Jesus' hand
instinctively rested on his head, blessing, and at
the same time stroking and smoothing the tangles
left from years of sojourn. Jesus wept as he
caressed the man's head, tears making rivulets down
his cheeks into his beard. Bart looked up. The leper band was
now heading off towards the priests' village. They
had received physical healing, indeed, but the man
at Jesus' feet had received a healing of his whole
person. As Jesus helped him up, he said, "Rise and
go. Your faith has made you whole." The newly-whole Samaritan embraced
Jesus. Then they stood there for a moment looking at
one another -- smile meeting smile. The gift of
healing had sent him the message of God's love, but
thanks had brought him home. To educate yourself for
the feeling of gratitude means to take
nothing for granted, but to always seek out
and value the kind that will stand behind
the action. Nothing that is done for you is
a matter of course. Everything originates in
a will for the good, which is directed at
you. Train yourself never to put off the
word or action for the expression of
gratitude. - Albert Schweitzer Let us rise up and be
thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot
today, at least we learned a little, and if
we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't
get sick, and if we got sick, at least we
didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.
- The Buddha Gratitude is not only
the greatest of virtues, but the parent
of all the others. - Cicero As we express our
gratitude, we must never forget that
the highest appreciation is not to
utter words, but to live by them.
- John F. Kennedy
Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the
charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
- Marcel Proust If the only prayer you said in
your whole life was, "thank you," that would
suffice. Meister Eckhart You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the
concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and
grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting,
and swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing, and grace
before I dip the pen in ink. — G. K. Chesterton
News:
Holiday Discounts - Buy 1, Second at 1/2 Price -
Joy is the
simplest form of gratitude.
— Karl Barth in Joy by Beverly Elaine Eanes
I am grateful to You, Giver and Sustainer of life, for
having granted me another day of life. Your love and
faith in me is truly overwhelming.
— Rabbi Terry Bookman in The
Busy Soul
— Annie Dillard quoted in Super, Natural Christians
by Sallie McFague
— Zen Master Dogen quoted in Enlightenment Unfolds
edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi
— Stephen Levine in A Year to
Live
— Timothy Miller in How To Want
What You Have
— Lewis Richmond in Work as a
Spiritual Practice
— Ronald Rolheiser in The Holy
Longing
— David Steindl-Rast in The
Music of Silence
— Lewis B. Smedes in How Can It
Be All Right When Everything Is All Wrong?
— Edward Hays in The Great
Escape Manual
— David Steindl-Rast quoted in Words of Gratitude
by Robert A. Emmons and Joanna Hill
— Thomas Merton quoted in Words of Gratitude by
Robert A. Emmons and Joanna Hill
— Johannes A. Gaertner quoted in Words of Gratitude
by Robert A. Emmons and Joanna Hill
— Albert Schweitzer quoted in Words of Gratitude
by Robert A. Emmons and Joanna Hill
— Ralph H. Blum quoted in Words of Gratitude by
Robert A. Emmons and Joanna Hill
joy, wisdom, love and the means to increase them in our lives. Click
Here.
Because of the continuing popularity of our free e-book sections, we
have now added a free Family Audio Classics section to the site as well.
The audio files, in MP3 format, are a collection of radio programs from the
past, and include such selections as: Treasure Island, King Lear,
A Tale of Two Cities, The Count of Monte Cristo, Abraham Lincoln, Sherlock
Holmes, Jane Eyre, Around The World in 80 Days and many others! Most
episodes last approximately 1 hour each.
from The Wisdom of
Islam: An Introduction to the Living Experience of Islamic Belief and Practice
by Robert Frager
joy, wisdom, love and the means to increase them in our lives. Click
Here.
Ten men silhouetted along the low
ridge called to the leader of a small band below:
"Jesus, Master, have mercy on us."
More Quotations on Gratitude -
This holiday season, let's share with
our loves ones, the gifts for which we are most grateful:
However, the most complete expression of his approach to living is contained in his masterwork "Byways To Blessedness". This book is the most complete, detailed and in-depth expression of James Allen’s inspirational vision of the path to conscious evolution. As "As A Man Thinketh" was the introductory course to his thoughts and wisdom, "Byways To Blessedness" is James Allen's Master's thesis. This four CD unabridged recording contains the keys to personal happiness, prosperity, health and spiritual growth.
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News: New Audio CD - Discovering Spirit - Informal Talks and Guided Meditation (2 CD Set)
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This holiday season, let's
share with our loves ones, the gifts for which we are most grateful:
joy, wisdom, love and the means to increase them in our lives. Click
Here.
|
Article: To Give Is To Receive by Roger Walsh
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News: New Audio Book CD - "The World As I See It" by Albert Einstein
|
This holiday season, let's
share with our loves ones, the gifts for which we are most grateful:
joy, wisdom, love and the means to increase them in our lives. Click
Here.
Humor: Proverbs From The Young
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All Contents Copyrighted, 2005, The Conscious Living Foundation
