August 21, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

The Man Who Was Buddha

Sitting in meditation

Buddha was a mortal being, He was a young prince who left his life of ease and a hefty inheritance. He wanted to find his own way in life. He began the journey of his life. A journey that would take him to enlightenment. His human heart and mind was as vulnerable as yours and mine. He gave up everything to find what his life lacked. I am sure in monetary terms, he lacked nothing.

Buddha is now considered an icon of peace and harmony, yet his mortal life was filled with all types of turmoil and love and loss. His journey changed the world forever,the truths he found along the way still influence people all around the world. He went from vagabond monk to an enlightenment for the world. Enlightenment has led many to find themselves and the true meaning of life.

Buddha’s enlightenment was a literal awakening to the fact that you can share in the depths of your own primordial awareness today just as Buddha did during his life. Buddha’s teachings after becoming enlightened engage all the aspects of people’s lives. ” Whoever sees me sees the teaching.” –Buddha. After his enlightenment, he was raised to the rank of immortal. Buddha literally became the truth.

July 6, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

There is a Time

A time for everything on this earth. Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2013

” There is a time to work and play,
A time to eat and sleep;
A time to study and to pray,
A time to laugh and weep;
A time for fellowship that’s sweet,
A time for sacred song;
But never is there time to treat
A human being wrong.

There is a time to lift men up
And help them on life’s road;
A time to drain their bitter cup
And share their heavy load;
A time to bless them with our grace
And boost them all along;
But never is there time and place
To treat our fellows wrong.

There is a time to help men seek.
Our God who saves the soul;
A time to show them that the meek
Shall reach life’s highest goal;
A time to help them turn aside
And leave the wicked throng;
But never did our God provide
A time to treat men wrong.
——–Walter E. Isenhour

For each day there is that which is stable and that which brings change. May we each know when it is our time to stand strong and a time to embrace change. When we can be sure of these times, then we are in atunement with the Divinity of the Universe. We may not always understand but we can trust and follow our Divine intuition. This poem is from a book called “For This One Hour. My father gave it to me when I was sixteen years old. I have drawn comfort from it many times over the years. I hope you will also enjoy this selection.

Forest stream in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Photograph taken and copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2013

July 5, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

The Lord Be Praised

” The lips of the one I love are my perpetual pleasure:
The Lord be praised, for my heart’s desire is attained

O Fate, cherish my darling close to your breast:
Present now the golden wine-cup, now the rubies of those lips.

They talk scandle about us, and say we are drunks—
The silly old men, the elders lost in their error.

But we have done penance on the pious man’s behalf,
And ask God’s pardon for what the religious do.

O my dear, how can I speak of being apart from you?
The eyes know a hundred tears, and the soul has a hundred sighs.

I’d not have even an infidel suffer the torment your beauty has caused
To the cypress which envies your body, and the moon that’s outshone by your face.

Desire for your lips has stolen from Hafiz’ thought
His evening lectionary, and reciting the Book at dawn.”
—–Hafiz, Translated from Persian by Peter Avery and John Heath-Stubbs

” The goal of the journeyer is the Beloved.
The goal of the Beloved is the journey.”
—-Hazrat Inayat Khan

“From my lips to God’s ears, ” May the love, gratutude, and ability to cherish the Divine flow freely from every molecule within us and reach you with the fragrance of love.

The love in the world rises to refresh and fragrance the realms of the Divine

June 11, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

Peace, Violence and all Stops Inbetween

Inter-coastal Waterway an alternative to sailing on the ocean

Photograph by Barbara Mattio; Copyrighted in 2013

I believe that many people are looking for peace these days and many are making peace in their families and communities. Not all, but the people who are choosing peace are adding to the love and goodness in their worlds. This is good to see. Some people continue to be filled with rage and hatred. Murders and rapes keep taking place. Corruption in our towns and cities still raises its ugly head.

So what happens when you feel you have created peace in the bit of world which is yours? What happens when we see others without freedoms or rights? Do we just look away from the pictures? Is there a positive response we can develope? How do we do it?

No More War!

We can immerse ourselves in kindness and love and greet those we love and those we meet as our lives flow long. The way of peace is not just what we develop within. It does start here though .What happens when the peace we have worked for and have established within, faces the violence, hatred and rage that is in the world? We need to be able to look at and work with all of the ugly-ness and not lose any of our love, peace or light. Refusing to listen to the cries of anguish isn’t an answer. Freedom, love and peace must be taken from our own lives and put into the world. It is a process and a necessary one pulling us into the fray. We can’t live fully, and turn our heads and hearts away from suffering, greed and war.

These women have established peace in their lives and are looking to make peace in the world.

We can fight for women’s rights, we can stop Domestic Violence, we can stop children from being molested and we can try to understand how it feels to be sold into slavery. We can take a stand against against rulers who are holding their citizens in oppression and fear.

War destroys the childhoods of children.

I believe we have to be ready to get involved with bringing love and peace into the world. Join Amnesty International. I have written letters to many world leaders who are holding its citizens as political prisioners. You can join local peace and anti-war organizations. You can speak your truth gently to those who walk the path of war. You can send medications, donations, clothes and text books to countries where they are greatly needed.

Look to your journey and find the path towards peace.

Yes, peace begins with each of us, but it can’t stay just within us. We must meet with others who want peace and by adding all of our peaceful intentions together, we can make changes in the world at large. One candle is a light, 100 candles is a brilliant light, a million candles is a bonfire. Let’s make bonfires where we live and where we work and we will succeed. So throw that pebble into the pond and watch the ripples of peace move outward to touch all people who need an end to war and rage.

Green is the color of PEACE!

May 18, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

Walking on the Path of Peace

Let the creativity flow

There have been many spiritual teachers who have advocated the path of peace. In this path people walk without regard to race, religion or ethnicity.I believe that these people are very enlightened souls who carry the responsibility of lighting the path of peace for others to follow. It takes a special heart and an open, accepting soul to do all that is required for peace.

Let your light shine on the path of peace

It is not how much we do that is important; it is the love that enables us to walk on the path of peace. Peace is part of our journey if we accept it. It is one of the choices we make on our journey through this world. The smallest action done with love takes us further down the path of peace.

The beginning of the path of peace is within ourselves, in contemplation and prayer. Silent prayer within your own home where no one is watching you is the most sincere. Then what you are performing is not for the people to witness, but for yourself and God/Goddess. Many spiritual people recommend beginning and ending the day with prayer. Whereever your journey takes you, the desire for peace comes from the Divinity within.

Fear is an emotion which can destroy peace or prevent it from taking root in people. Fear of being humiliated, of being despised, of being rebuked, of being forgotten or wronged and the fear of being ridiculed can destroy a person as they walk upon their journey. There are curves and turns in the road, and not being able to see around the next bend can cause fear. We are all capable of good and evil. No one is all good or all evil .Divinity is always stronger than the evil in the world.

Look into a baby’s eyes if you want to see Divinity. It is all that they know. They learn to hate and hurt and to destroy only as they grow. So your heart being filled with Divinity and daily choosing paths that will allow you to walk in peace is the way to begin this journey. Once you have begun, life will carry you along until you are a shining light for others.

Be the light, be the inspiration, be the reason someone is living in a state of well-being.

Sunset over water. Photograph taken and copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2013

April 17, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

Here in the Light

let your hope rise to the heavens.

We are facing a dark time in the world. It is not the first time and it won’t be the last time either. Each of us must decide how we are going to face the darkness and work through the pain and hopelessness.

Since the dawn of time there have been those who will take what they want without a care to the effect on other people. Greed and jealously twist the human heart and life becomes less valuable.

We can choose that path or we can choose to walk in the light. We can choose the light. we can work to keep hope alive. We can reach out to others, families and survivors.

I must keep my heart strong and loving. I must look up. My prayer is that if I do, I will do all I can to stand tall there, as tall as 5 foot 2 inches can stand. I will use every ounce of courage to light my candle.

I will forgive and I will love all of the children of the universe while tears slide down my face. Yes, tears because my heart is broken andI know it will be again. So I suggest we all work towards compassion, kindness, loving each other as sisters and brothers. Because we are all children of the universe. Life is bigger than each individual act. We need the big picture.

We need to remember that we are all equally part of the family of man.
And women. We can only survive if we work together to stop the darkness.

gathering of the flowers

Let us all work together to bring beauty into the darkness and never give up or lose hope.

April 13, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

The Way of the World

Cleveland skyland from Huntington Beach, west of the city.Photograph cpoyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2013

Cleveland skyline from Huntington Beach, west of the city. Frozen Lake Erie. Photograph copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2013

We are at a place in history where we have stood before. War, the worst of our mean, selfish, evil behaviour as human beings. Big countries start wars, small countries, a well aimed bullet ending the life of a king. Cultures will start wars. Religions start wars. Spirituality is different from religion, because spirituality is inclusive, not exclusive or demeaning to others who think differently, as many religions can be. Jihad is an excuse. The People of the Book love and follow the same God. Allah, Adonai, Christ – if you look at what they asked of the people of their world, it is similar. It is not supposed to take lives; lives that carry the exact same spark of Divinity. Now the people may suffer again under a new war and one that we may not survive.

We all feel the strong negative energy whirling around the world. We make sanctimonious noises about how good our country is, how right we are. Elsewhere, there is disease, famine, starvation, fear, Here, there is disease, fear, hunger, judgemental thinking, people say one thing and mean another. Trust is hard to find. People look at others and actually see a reflection of their inner selves. Mass shooting, mass stabbings, the ability to look away from the hungry child who can’t stay awake in school. We continue to look at children suffering as unfortunate. If we can, we look away or treat them like refuse which needs to be taken to the dump.

Love in the World

Every country in the world is experiencing pain, hunger, greed, oppression, in justice, hypocrisy, bullying, violence against women, racism and homophobia. It becomes a litany of woe. A list of the negativity people must live with.

What do we do? We are all on a journey and it is dark all around. We can’t see our feet through the whirling black negative energy. The answer is positive thoughts, positive actions. You can call them mitzvos of random acts of kindness. Or simply doing good. The name means nothing, the action is what produces the magic. The we find the source of some evil double the positive energy that will counteract the dark energies.

I have spoken with several masters who feel that the more positive energy we send in the world, the harder the darkness will fight. So we add more. Surround yourself and the troubled parts of the world with white light. Pray for leaders to have wisdom and the courage to act upon the wisdom.

” The bitter tear that flows into the sea

Dissolves into liquid unity

And in the sunlight rises up anew

To fall again as rain–sweet alchemy.

The seen of belief unfurls in faith , branches

out in experience, blossoms in realization, and bears fruit in service.

The goal of the journeyer is the Beloved.

The goal of the Beloved is the journey.”

—Pir Zia Inayat Khan

Babies are not born thinking others are different.

April 6, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

Bringing Purpose to the Journey

Steady the course

Life goes on – even after the adventure is gone. We must not forget the importance of living fully, of keeping the excitement of life. If it seems that your life has none, then it is your quest to find it and live it and share it.

I find, at twilight, that I experience that unique second, the moment that you recognize your complete and utter solitude and your deep and abiding connection to the universe. The feeling keeps me connected to the adventure of life and to the universe, and readies me to share my journey.

The journey through our days is often long, and sometimes seems too solitary, but you will meet the people you need in your life as you walk on the road. Open yourself to them, and let them open to you, and you will find adventure in the knowing of one another, and share the adventure of each morning, each evening and each lovely twilight as you walk side by side.

Some parts of the journey we walk alone and feel alone, but we are never really alone Photograph copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2013

December 29, 2012 by IdealisticRebel

Tying up Loose Ends

Positive thinking and owning our actions

Well, here we are at the end of the year. As expected, we did not witness the end of the world. We are at the top of the fiscal cliff. We have survived another holiday season. I, for one, have enjoyed the time with family and with myself. Meditation to see where I stand at the end of this eventful year has brought me new insights.

I don’t believe in regrets. At every moment, I do the very best I can at that moment. Not all do, but that is their work if they choose to tackle the issue. I do believe in looking forward to issues that I want to change. Nothing ever stays stagnant. I realize some people don’t like change. It is not my favorite thing, however, it is a constant in every human life.

Change takes work, determination and courage. Deciding to change requires action; the first step. News media often takes a look back at the year. I like to do the same with the vision of hindsight. I can look at the small things and then pull back to see the big picture. Was I perfect, no. Were there times I could have made different choices, possibly. Would I do things the same way, I believe I would. Not that I did anything perfect. I didn’t, but I am today, who I am because of the love, time, kindness, prayer that I gave to others. Could I have done more? Yes. Will I change. Yeah! Why, because I believe we are on this journey because the Divine experiences life through us.

I believe in magic and harmony and peace. It is magic that I am here in this life, walking the path of my journey. The magic continues every morning I awaken and see the birds, the trees, my friends, and remember my annoyances. These are the items that make up each of our lives. The good, the bad, and the miraculous.

The magic in life

I realize that this past year wasn’t perfect for any of us, but we were blessed. How much depends upon your outlook really. An event could happen to me and I will find it awkward. The same event can happen to someone else and they will be thrilled. It is the way of our life.

We are also at a point in time where we can choose how to live with what has happened in the year. For me, I need only to look around me and if I missed blessings during the year, I am reminded of them now. If my heart wasn’t in the right place, and it isn’t always, I have to look that in the eye and own it. Often, we do not accept responsibility for our actions. We have to own them. Good or bad. We are responsible. So I suggest you take a few minutes and look inside. Own what is there and change what you don’t like to see. The year is ending but there is still time to tie up those loose ends. Then you won’t need to make New Year’s resolutions. You will have already begun the changes and will happily embrace what the New Year is bringing.

Year end inventory

December 26, 2012 by IdealisticRebel

The Blessings of This Year

Celebration of blessings

No matter where you live, or whatever your culture, it is a great time of year to look at your blessings. I am having my first snow this year and I am very unhappy about it. Then I realized that it isn’t so bad after all because of what really matters in my life.

This year has gone by very quickly. Amazingly quickly. It seems like yesterday that I was visiting my best friend in North Carolina. And today is a week until New Years. This year, for me personally has brought love, tears, joy, excitement, silence, music, friends, family, health issues and some healing.

This year has brought surprises and a wedding. It has brought sadness and loss of people who carry parts of my heart. The year brought some financial blessing and the ability to share.

This year I worked on developing a side of myself I had never experienced before. I am excited to see this blossoming in my life. It is quite amazing to me to see this new side of me. And, of course, as I change the world and people around me change. I hope that I am able to add some positive and loving energy to all the people in my world and I hope it will radiate out to others.

I am grateful for the laughter as well as tears. I am grateful for days of brilliant sunshine and gentle breezes. I am grateful for the Divine within me and the reality that brings to my life! I am love, I am loving, and I am the Beloved. I am grateful for each person I have met here. Our virtual home that gives us the ability to meet, to share, and to understand this journey we are all experiencing together. It is a privilege to have gotten to know you and and to experience this together.

I can see a web of loving, giving, sharing, and good people forming the threads of caring and positive thoughs that circles our planet and helps to counteract the bad things that happen. Our prayers, positive thoughts, and our ability to love others is helping to heal Mother Earth and we are slowly replacing suffering with peace.

Thanks to all of you for your dedication and good hearts.