Zionist Israelis....  (my judgement prevents my compassion...)
I find it hard to feel compassion because of the horrific way that they treat the Palestinians. As I have become more educuated about the situation there, I have lost all sympathy I had for the Jewish seeking of a homeland.... the Zionist cause. The more I have studied the situation (including 3 trips to the region) the more I have realised that a genocide is occurring right now in Israel and the West Bank, perpetrated by Israel. They openly believe they are superior to the Palestinians as a race and advocate for 'removal' of them from the land of 'Zion'.  It is the same mindset that created the nazi holocaust. History repeating in a terrifying paradoxical scenario. I try to feel compassion for both sides, but it's very hard. I can feel more compassion for a mentally deranged murderer, then those who foster the daily dehumanising of the arab & bedouin people of the region.

So I can see that my sense of injustice prevents me from feeling compassion. It is interesting to understand that it is my feeling of an injustice being done that is the block to my compassion.  I suspect this is a common response in any situation where injustice is perceived, and is the result of making a judgement over the actions of others as being 'good' or 'bad'. Therefore judgement prevents compassion.

However how to heal that? I suspect that Eckhart Tolle has an answer in his new book...

my office... I hope that this is because it is where I find my passion... in my work and in my creativity as an artist and designer
(if you play the flute you must play it every day)
an artist enters their art every day, wherever they go, in their thoughts and experiences which they willl draw from when they return to the canvas.
.... since being able to buy a laptop, I have been able to bring my 'canvas' with me to other places, so my office is now wherever I go... and the room in my house where I spend the most time is the room of my own experience
(... but my dog spent many hours watching me tap at a machine....)

 

That compassion is the root of love. I listened to the words of the Dalia Lama at the Vancouver Peace Summit. http://www.youtube.com/primaldivine
The next day I floundered in the dirt at a sweat lodge and prayed to the Creator for courage and clarity... I received compassion in addition to the other two. In my courage the next day to bring a loving end to my relationship, love blossomed and compassion and empathy carried us through to higher ground.
On the radio just now I heard a scientist talking about empathy and sympathy and other animals.. how chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants all exhibit awareness of self (can identify themselves in a mirror when a mark is placed on their head... ie they understand that it is them in the mirror and that they have a mark on their head...) and that they exhibit complex levels of empathy for others, as do humans.
This means that if a living being can 'know' itself, it can demonstrate/feel compassion for others.

be here now

My older brothers eyes.  He was adopted as a baby, and so I have only met him twice. His eyes were sparkling when he looked and smiled deeply before driving away.  I carried that image with me back to Canada. I saw his love which I also equate with happiness.

Sitting in Amsterdam... definitely feeling called to the OLD! Loving the Dutch Venice!
However I work with the NEW... as a technology artist.
So I suppose that would put my pull equally to the NEW and to the OLD, which is generally a good thing, to be in balance.
I don't dwell on the past. Or on the future.  I sit in the present. But I do look to the future as I make personal plans. I  believe that thought creates, so I put a focus on what I see ahead, and then let SPIRIT arrange it.
In that way perhaps the NEW is actually from the OLD? In other words, it is created from thoughts I had a few days or weeks ago... and is merely a manifestation that is playing catch up to my current thoughts in the present...? An interesting way of looking at the future!!

Today for a change I asked my partner her answer to this question. This is what she said:  "Waking up with my partner. She always smiles at me."

And here's my own answer...
I hear the birds singing which fills me with gratitude. It is quiet, peaceful. I feel refreshed. My dog greets me with a wagging tail when I go downstairs. And then there is the taste of a first glass of water, and then hot chai. My awareness sits more in my heart throughout all this.
As my day gets deeper into its flow... things of the mind take over...(too much?)... identity (answering emails), ego (desires, ambitions for the day) and of list-making (making plans), and deadlines tend to creep in. I switch into a 'work' mode... trying to refresh my morning intuitive awareness periodically throughout the day, by stopping to take a walk with Lucy-dog, eat some food, read a few pages from a book.

Mornings are my favorite time of day.

... that our human culture has gone astray from its spiritual roots... hijacked by commercialism and an identification with the ego and personal achievements rather than to feeling at one with all life and with each other.
... and that we are powerful spiritual beings, able to create our own realities with our thoughts and minds.. that there is an energy force that we are a part of, and that we are able to live our lives in harmony with this 'G-dde - Force'.

Fear. As soon as a fear arises (however minor), memories kick in (past) and planning (future) begins for improved projected outcomes ahead. The brain is constantly scanning the room and one's feelings and thoughts in order to plan an improved scenario ahead. It uses the present moment as a tool for this task... as a databank of current information. We are behaving like computers. (We built computers to behave like us, is more accurate!)
To be present and stay present, I need to release the future thoughts, and to stay only aware of what is all around me and to allow my feelings to be, instead of to analyse them to my best future planning advantage!
In a general sense, what this means is that the day is spent working on ideas and writing lists of task to be completed (ahead) and spends not enough time on the actual moment being experienced.
Modernised culture values this 'planning' behaviour. We are considered ill-prepared in business if we do not use our minds this way. We constantly scan and analyse the people we meet from a fear-based perspective as well, in order to avoid future 'bad' outcomes. Instead of seeing the kindness in someone's eyes, we analyse their clothes, bodies, lifestyle and make quick judgements to determine our level of safety and perceived 'benefit' of talking with that person.
And so it goes on in every sphere.
To stay present I must let go of analysing, planning and judging.
To do that, I must let go of fear. And that is a monumental task requiring great courage and total faith... in the moment. ;)

jamie