Rachel Talley

Rejoicing

A friend just emailed this to me today. I LOVED it! I hope it speaks to you as it spoke to me.

"When you were born, you cried while the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die, the world cries while you rejoice."
-Ancient Sanskrit Saying

by Rachel Talley

The Life of Our Savior

Happy Easter!!

Let our hearts be FULL of GRATITUDE today for what He did because He LOVED us!

"Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then for 3 years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put his foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. He had nothing to do with this world except the naked power of His own divine manhood. While still a young man, the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two theives. His executioners gambles for the only piece of property He had on the earth while He was dying-and that was his coat. When he was dead He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone and today He is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of the column of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that every marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that One Solitary Life."

James Allan Francis, One Solitary Life, pp.1-7 (1963)

by Rachel Talley

Thoughts from the Shower

I must say this is my new favorite quote. Anyone who can add humor to insight makes the information that more intriguing! "Everyone who has ever taken a shower has had an idea. It's the person who gets out of the shower, dries off, and does something about it that makes a difference." Nolan Bushnell

by Rachel Talley

I am a Livingmom

I am in such a place of GRATITUDE for this path I have chosen for this life. The more I learn and grow, the more I hear the word of my God and what I should be doing with my life. I believe in personal mission. We ALL have one. Our goal while here should be to find it. In finding it, we CHANGE ourselves. In changing ourselves, we CHANGE the world.

When I was young, I did all the things I thought would bring me happiness. In this process, I realized my mistakes changed my eyes and how I saw myself. I understood that by making mistakes I knew what I did or didn't want in life, what did or didn't bring me joy and PEACE. I learned life was about PROGRESSION. How I saw myself, others and the world was MY reality. I have been given the free agency to see it how ever I desired.

In the beginning of my teaching, I read a book called Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. This book opened my eyes to understanding that I could see my reality how ever I choose to see it. With this new knowledge, I understood that I can shape my life into whatever I want. I have the power of creation through how I perceive the world. Even when bad things happen, I can choose how to understand them. I can see them as good. I can learn and grow from the things that may seem bad. I can find gratitude and meaning in it all.

In May 2001, I was hospitilized with a bowel torsion. My small intestine had twisted on top of itself. I had severe pain for several days along with vomiting. I spent 10 days in the hospital with an NG tube

down my nose. I wasn't able to eat or drink. My 3 children, including my 4 month old little girl were given to others to be taken care of. I was still breastfeeding my daughter, only to be told after surgery that my mother was going to be taking care of her and she would be given a bottle. My world instantly collapsed. I vowed this would never happen again.
Eight months after this first surgery, bowel pain became a common recurrence. Chris and I were inspired on how to deal with it and what to do. Several times we ended up back in the emergency room only to learn they really could not help.

On the 28th of November 2004, the pain started once again. Thanksgiving had just ended. My husband had recently returned home from 3 months of traveling while I was living at my in-laws. During this time I had read SO MANY wonderful books that aided in my understanding of what God wanted for me. I was gaining so much spiritual insight. I was learning to hear the voice of my Savior.

When the pain hit again, we waited as we had done before, for it to stop. We waited 5 days. I think I had every alternative healing method to deal with the pain. These methods aided in some relief but ultimately the pain would return.

Finally, it was time. I HATE the hospital. Let me rephrase that. I DESPISE the hospital. Of course, I saw it as a place that my life could be spared but I felt I would lose my free agency in the process. I went. Chris carried me because I could not walk. I was malnourished and severely dehydrated.

I entered the hospital and went through the administrative routine. I met with the doctor and went in for x-rays. The x-ray technician happened to be a friend of my husband. When he finished, I asked him if it was bad. The last thing I remember for the next week and a half of my life was his response, "Let me just say, you are a very sick girl."

I awoke, in the ICU, a week and a half later to my family crying and loving me. I could not remember what had happened. They proceeded to tell me of the 2 surgeries. I was told there was 48 hours where they questioned if I would live.

After I awoke, I spent the next two weeks having every test known to man. I had two lung taps. I had tube placed in between my uterus and bladder to look for infection. Finally I was able to go home two days before Christmas with a fever, a walker and oxygen.

I went two months only seeing my children twice. My arms ached to hold them and love them and caress them. I ached to be a mother again and function normally. I wanted so badly to be able to take a shower by myself. I look back on this experience and it puts everyday decisions into perspective for me. Everything else pales in comparison to this. God saved me. He gave me tools that aided me in being able to save my life. This is when I chose the name livingmom.

This all sounds really awful, doesn't it? I'm sure plenty of other people have been through something like this. This changed my life forever. I tell people, jokingly, if they are struggling to hear the word of God, all they need to do is almost die. It works.

I would NEVER take back this experience. I am honored that I could have it. This experience may be the worst one, but I have had several that have changed my life in similar ways. I am grateful for each and every one. I always will be.

From this experience and others I have had, I choose to live in a place of gratitude and peace. I choose to see the world in a reality of joy. That once I have found my path, once I understand the teachings for my life, once I hear the words of my God speaking to me about my mission and his plans for me, I can always find the good in my reality. This comes, for me, from my prayer of constant gratitude. My hope is ALL of us can find this place. It is inside all of us waiting to be found. It has a name. It is called PEACE.

by Rachel Talley

Verbal Truthfulness

How many times in our speaking to others do we feel the need the tell them the "truth" and exactly how we feel even if it is going to hurt them? I know in my life I have done this SO many times feeling it will benefit the person in some way and help them to change. As I am reading my "Kriya Yoga" book, I am learning this truly is not the way to treat people. It says:

"It is only establishes in intellectual truthfulness that you will be able to speak truth. Yogis are constantly reminding each other that what they speak should be spoken for the betterment of others. The Mahabharata states, it is good to speak truthfully, but better still to speak that which benefits others. The importance of this statement is emphasized in the fact that many people are compelled to speak what is truth, but do so with intentions to hurt. This statement helps us realize that there are many truths that can be spoken, but if we are truly practicing the vow of verbal truthfulness, we will speak a single truth that does the greatest good for the greatest number of people."

I am given the opportunity to change myself. In the process of changing myself, I am blessed with the opportunity to help others do the same. We ALL are. As we are on this path, let us think before we speak. Let the words be filled with LOVE not with intention to change that person. This is called judgment. With judgment intake toward to others, we are taking the "slow boat to China" in our progression. As we speak truth with LOVE and PURE INTENT, it will be heard with open, inspired ears. Our words are the key to opening the doors of CHANGE!

by Rachel Talley

The Practice of Non-Violence

So right now, I have been studying the book "The Spiritual Science of Kriya Yoga" by Goswani Kriyananda. I consider this one of my "core"books. I try to read out of it everyday. It has helped me gain so much insight into myself and personal changes I am wanting to make. I use it to meditate and establish the Yoga positions that best help me. I would recommend this book to EVERYONE and will probably be quoting out of it quite often.

This particular entry I am posting because this is something that I see that needs understanding and light, THE MOST right now. This is the practice of non-violence in ALL forms. I am also reading another book called "Nonviolent Communication" by Marshall B. Rosenberg. Imagine the change we could all make in the world if we all used the language of LOVE when we spoke. This is the world I am creating for myself and family. I hope we all have the desire to do the same.

"As you master intellectual non-violence, non-violence speech becomes perfected. Verbal violence manifests itself in various ways, such as:
1. Abusive words
2. Insulting statements
3. Angry speech
4. Bad Advice

Needless to say, verbal non-violence arises by acquiring the verbal habits of:
1. Speaking softly
2. Speaking gently
3. Speaking wisely

Non-violence is to be observed on all levels, not just the physical level with which most people identify it. There is a saying in the Mahabharata: A wound caused by an arrow or axe heals swiftly, but a wound caused by violent speech heals very slowly. In becoming established in non-violence, it is important to understand, intellectuality and spiritually, that Spirit that pervades your life is the Spirit that pervades all life. The dignity of your being is the dignity of soul. The spirit is the same in each and every living form. We should come to understand that the spirit in a bacterium is not small, and the spirit in an elephant is not large."

by Rachel Talley

Successful Marriage

by Rachel Talley