First, due to the corona virus, Arizona does have a shelter-in-place order or something like that, and no large mtgs and stuff; however, some non-essential businesses are still open, including the one I work for. Because Prescott Valley is not very large, and Yavapai County has not had many cases of the virus, some stuff is overlooked by the authorities. That's how I'm able to work at the job I have, and am not suffering the host of restrictions that many people are now enduring.
Second, the people who own the sober living home in which I live also own a remodeling company. There is a weekly rent here of $150, and I was not making it due to not finding a job yet; so, the owners offered that if I would stand by the highway with a sign and advertise their remodeling company to passing traffic, the hours that I put in would go for credit to my rent. I told some people I was an advertising executive; my confession is that I am a simple sign waver.
Ok, on to the post:
The first day that I waved the sign along the highway, I didn't wave or anything - I just stood there holding the sign. The second day I did it, I began waving at cars as they passed by. Arizona is a waving state anyway, so there wasn't much personal risk for me to wave as well. Well, standing outside and waving to cars can get a little boring, and when I'm bored, my mind sometimes wanders to dangerous places. What I learned to do to occupy my time was to count the cycles of the traffic light up the road. It cycled every 2 minutes, so 30 cycles is an hour. Keeping track of what cycle I was in helped me keep my mind occupied, and it was helpful since when I first started, I didn't have a phone and had no way to tell what time it was without counting the cycles or running into the office to check the time.
I had learned a consciousness raising exercise whereby a person will endeavor to silently (or aloud, if circumstances permit) bless every person that comes into their physical presence or into their consciousness. It's a great exercise for turning around one's attitude about people. I've done this exercise from time to time, and it really helps raise my mood and shut up the jerk in my mind. So a couple of weeks ago, I decided to try it with the traffic - to spend 7 hours blessing the drivers passing by me. I had my phone by then, so I no longer had to keep track of time by counting cycles, and the traffic in our area has not decreased that much, even with schools and some businesses closing. So I silently shoot blessings to each driver that passes me. I use the spiritual principles that I am learning to live by:
- Love
- Peace
- Joy
- Faith
- Hope
- Acceptance
- Good Health/Healing
- Pardon (forgiveness)
- Courage
- Strength
- Honesty
- Openmindedness
- Willingness
- Gratitude
- Prosperity
- Success
What I do know is that since I've been doing this, my overall vibe (mood) is much higher than it has been for a long time. I feel more grounded, and I feel more like I have purpose, and I like life a little bit better. Additionally, I seem to be getting more wave-backs and even honks and light-flashes.
This practice has also improved my outlook on the world and God's people. I have an underlying belief that I am working to release, and that is that the world is a hostile place, people can't be trusted, and I must always be on guard. It's really been years and years since that belief has been true for me, and in the past few years, it's been quite the opposite. And I've found the people of Prescott Valley to be very nice and friendly. A few weeks ago, I cynically said that this was because everybody carries a firearm; now I believe it's genuine.
Another really big thing this practice is helping with is releasing my judgments of people. God told me once that judging others is not my job, but it's been hard to completely let it go. When I hand out these random blessings, I begin to understand that the people I'm zapping all are human and are subject to the frailties of being human, just like me.
So I will continue this practice, and I will work toward blessing people who come into my consciousness as well. Another way to practice this is to silently say 'Namasté' to each person who comes my way. Namasté means the Divine in me recognizes and acknowledges the Divine in you. This practice is also good to use while driving, if driving tends to irritate you and wear on you. For instance, when a person cuts you off, you can say "Bless your heart, you must need to get to work faster than I do." Speaking of work, I used to pray for co-workers who irritated my by praying, "God, take care of so-and-so." My idea of 'taking care of' was probably different than God's, but the prayer allowed me to turn the person over and get over my irritation.
Thanks once again for reading, and...
Namasté
Ken
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