1457D MAKING SOUND USE OF A WELL-TRAINED BRAIN

When looking at the happy expression on the faces of every adult in our family, I believe it's important to note the natural sincerity of everyone's smile, exposing this fact:  Our deeply absorbed spirit of togetherness serves all of us well as each of us feels individually restrengthened whenever we come together, during thick and thin, in support of each other's welfare, as in:  United we stand strong, divided we're more likely to falter, flail around and fear failure knocking at our door.  In short, our wholesome sense of 'all for one and one for all' has served to pull each of us off of emotional battlefields at times when our injured spirits may have otherwise lost wars, raging deep inside the subconscious portion of our minds, suggesting why ''tis wise to remember that no well-adjusted person is an island ... on the other hand, that's not to say that during periods of mental re-adjustment, time spent, pensively, in solitude (away from the maddening crowd) may prove necessary when a person, wrestling with inner conflict, overlong, has been struggling to turn up the volume of one's own intuitive voice in hopes of gaining insight into which half baked, inner strength proves in need of personal growth.

You see, our smiling faces are not meant to convey the impression that our lives and relationships are perfect but rather that while wholly acknowledging every person's need for personal growth, most especially when conflict resolution proves necessary, each of us freely acknowledges this fact:  Every aspect of life feels better when each person invited into our inner circle of nearest and dearest sets a high value on this harmonic duet of personal strengths:  Mutual respect and self respect, both of which depend upon training our thought processors to click into a well practiced mode of self disciplined, emotional maturity, especially at times when adversarial attitudes, fearing defeat, go off half cocked, because, no matter how high a person's IQ, the untrained brain, experiencing the emotional turbulence that accompanies inner conflict, tends to feel so deeply confused as to release a trigger-happy barrage of verbal bullets, which cuts a treasured relationship off at the pass too quickly for its own good unless at least one person has trained her/his brain to gain insight into our need to identify and acknowledge the frequency with which subconscious fears, exacerbating mentally distressing confusion, burst out of a person's depths in the form of explosive anger.  Unfortunately, when we react to each other instinctively (defensively) rather than intuitively (sensitively), initial reactions on the part of the untrained brain tend to judge an adversary's surface behaviors as being devoid of compassion for this reason:  Spontaneous (untrained) reactiveness, proving emotionally unrestrained, is most likely unaware of this insight, concerning human misbehavior:  The main root of any fear that triggers a person's state of emotional upheaval to overwhelm his/her thought processor to the point of dysfunction is subconscious in nature.

Note this fact in our family photo:  Both of the children, who, feeling free to express their sense of internal distress, can be seen leaning naturally into adult role models whose brains have been well trained to accept emotional reactions to stimuli, which differ greatly from their own, with more grace, less negative judgement, than role models whose defense systems have not yet been trained to take time out on the spot to think deep in hopes of gaining insight into the problem at hand by relieving our thought processors of emotional confusion, born of combustible inner conflict.  (Smile, damn it!  Don't spoil our picture!). Having learned to consciously set our defense systems to one side on the spot in favor of solution-seeking in a mutually respectful (compassionate) manner, our thought processors grow ever more capable of thinking deep with clarity intact rather than instinctively mirroring the tones we hear and reactions we see, and in this sensitive way are escalating power struggles defused ...

As to my inner conflict, concerning my decision to post whatever my intuitive voice feels need to say, day by day, deeper truth suggests that my sense of inner peace has not fully accepted the fact that stories, impatient to be revealed, continue to back up inside my mind as resistance, which remains unnamed, refuses to free my storyteller to pen one true tale after another, all of which remain lined up in an orderly, though restless fashion, hoping to be freed from the vault within my memory bank by way of readiness unlocking a revolving door, thus releasing story after story, each of which will describe the inner workings of a family whose brains have been trained to consciously acknowledge personal need to rein in instinctive reactions relating to sibling rivalry in favor of rejoicing over each individual's hard won achievements whenever one of us takes another step forward toward attaining a series of short-range goals in hopes of realizing a long-range goal that remains just beyond reach, and as all of our voices prove well practiced at swallowing disparaging words in favor of encouraging each other's positively focused attitudes to take another strong minded leap of faith, especially after experiencing a spirit-wearying setback, we each feel remarkably rewarded whenever a plan to enjoy each other's mutually supportive company proves probable ... why probable?  Well, now that our family numbers eleven, we have many moving pieces to consider before a plan to come together actually works for all.

Note to self:  Patience, Annie, patience—with time, resistance will be named and inner conflict will wain, suggesting that with perseverance, your long range goal of dispersing your brain-training stories, worldwide, will prevail ... and once again, my decision to pen and post today's intuitive train of thought has inspired my conscious mind to relieve itself of the cutting edge of my current sense of devisiveness ... at least for today, and knowing that I can live only one day at a time, tis time to thank my intuitive powers for encouraging my think tank to set its restless impatience to one side, freeing my spirit to lift and enjoy every experience that awaits my pleasure as I remind my brain to approach, each next day, feeling graciously bright eyed and fully alive ... Hooray!

1457C UNACKNOWLEDGED, FEAR-BASED EMOTIONAL REACTIONS FILTER INTO PLANS, WHICH WE BELIEVE ARE BASED PURELY IN LOGIC

Just as when Ray looked utterly miserable in our family photo—reflecting
His natural misery, rumbling deep inside his tummy—Whatever 'hurts'
Lke the dickens inside our minds may be so deeply repressed for so long as
To have caused insight, which longs to reveal deeper truth, to remain
Consciously unidentified until our many-layered walls of denial come
Tumbling down, releasing emotional distress, festering so painfully in
An unacknowledged state within your subconscious (or mine) as to have
Influenced our decision-making processes ever since childhood, so
Rather than casting a negative judgement call upon another person's
Reactiveness when a friend or relative seems to be behaving badly
Let's remind ourselves that mind-readers we are not, suggesting that
We can't see what's actually taking place inside another person's head any more than
We can always know what's actually distressing inner peace inside our own, and
With today's string of insights clearly in view, let's hope to
Grow ever more apt to offer others the same gift that we'd hope to receive if
Their unacknowledged emotionally repressed pain was our own—
And if you ask me to name the gift, which we fail to give nearly
Often enough, I'd say—Let's offer the other guy the benefit of the doubt by
Tuning up our sense of compassionate objectivity while listening to
Him present his case instead of poking him so self-righteously as to
Increase the likelihood of wrongly condemning his soul (and our own) to
Suffer the negatively focused weight of undeserved guilt, which
After considering the whole story, may prove unmercifully unjust, and
Before I ask you to review today's insight-driven train of
Intuitive thought in its entirety, may I suggest that you reverse roles, thus
Taking up the mantle of he, who has been too severely accused of
Wrong doing, thus inspiring your intelligence to absolve yourself from
Self imposed guilt, absorbed and subconsciously stored during
Your youth, which has unknowingly burdened your adult mind and
Spirit ever since an over-reactive parent, striking down the vulnerability of
A child's self image to hang his/her head in shame, had (also unknowingly)
Passed the ball of this self defeating belief system over to you (and me)
However, if our conscious minds choose to align, like teammates, keeping
Both pairs of eyes trained on the self defeating effects of holding fast to
This particular ball then our smarts will know when to let self diagnosed
Harsh recrimination roll out of bounds rather than freeing undeserved
Guilt to tackle our sense of clarity, repeatedly, and as your conscious mind and
Mine choose to become ever more knowledgeable about the complex functions of
The human brain do we both grow more aware of disallowing attitudes, shaped by
Parental negativity, to dizzy our smarts into running down the field in
The wrong direction for the rest of our lives ... in short, our brains will
Function just right as soon subconscious dysfunction is known

Hopefully your smarts caught onto how many times the root word know was
Italicized throughout today's insight-driven, train of intuitive thought, as in:
If you, too, hope to recreate a healthy sense of well-balanced wholeness by
Acknowledging the existence of subconsciously repressed emotion, which filters
Into plans that had seemed based purely in logic, then wisdom, passed
Forward through the ages by sages suggests
KNOWing both sides of THYSELF ever more deeply for this reason:
Just as we, whose minds' eyes have been trained to focus upon not leading
Ray's naturally bright, young mind, sweet spirit and loving soul astray by
Condemning his behavior, too quickly, that which had appeared to be
His churlish over-reaction on photo shoot day made perfect sense to
One and all once the offending contents of his tummy poured naturally out of
His mouth, and by keeping this messy metaphor in mind, your
Conscious awareness and mine may continue to real-ize more in the way of
Personal gain with less pain as we readily identify, release and ultimately relieve
Our conscious minds of yesteryear's undeserved guilt, repressed in
Unacknowledged pockets of your subconscious and mine, thus affording us
Countless opportunities to deepen our adult relationship's mutually
Rewarding, whole-some sense of inner peace, little by little, day by day
And knowing that life is short, there's no time like the present to
Muster the courage and humility necessary to emptying secreted
Pockets of subconscious fear in hopes of activating
Well-balanced plans in which change for the better proves so probable as
Your future and mine unfold that we wisely choose to dive, headfirst
More pensively than anxiously into your past and mine, scooping up
Personal growth spurts, which have awaited mindful discovery, overlong ...

1457B FAMILY PHOTO SHOOT IN THE PARK: SUMMER OF 2016

David, Marie, Barry, Ray (just before 'losing' his lunch), Tony, Annie, Will, Ravi (who'd been 'rudely' awakened from napping in her stroller), Steven, Celina, Brent

Ravi's spirit, now fully awake, delights in high flying hi-jinx with Brent and David

Once again—timing is everything—thank goodness our photo shoot took place in the morning, because that afternoon, every one of the guys was flu-bound, and just like Ray, they all spent the next couple of days ... upchucking rather than chuckling

1457A IN HONOR OF BRENT

Last week, I sent the following note, via email, to David's little brother, Brent, (who could not afford to absent himself from his after school job on the coast to celebrate Passover with our family in the desert):

Hi Brent,

Just a love note to say how much you were missed, this week, when our family celebrated Passover.  After flying home, Barry mentioned that you and David are having dinner with his family, tonight, making my smile grow even wider than usual!  An Easter surprise for you and your family to enjoy may arrive a little late as your holiday snuck up on me after Barry's gang and David flew home, last weekend.

Feel our love across the miles!

Annie

Today, I received this reply from Brent, who was eagerly absorbed into our family soon after he and David were paired up by Big Brothers and Big Sisters when Brent (now, eighteen and college bound) was a boy of eleven:

"I truly miss you guys💜 I really wish I could've celebrated Passover with all of you, as I did, last year. I LOVE YOU VERY VERY MUCH!"

As with most heartfelt reactions, I replied to Brent's out-pouring of love with no conscious clue that this next insight-driven train of thought would flow out of the intuitive portion of my mind, one word at a time, as naturally as ducks lining up in a row, and not until my whole thought process had marched across my screen did my conscious mind absorb my message to Brent in its entirety  ... I love when that happens:

Hi Brent,

When a young adult is beginning to carve out life's independent path, as is presently true of you, it's important to train both eyes toward tracking each short range goal that lines up, directly ahead, so that by the time you reach my age (when many of life's most enriching long-range goals have been achieved) you, too, will freely choose to pass the ball of leadership to the younger generation in favor of embracing your Golden Years by relaxing into your primary role as chief cheerleader in charge of cheering on your team of offspring to work individually and together toward attaining each next first down until another game-winning touch down on the field of life has been won.  At this point in our lives, you are hard at work, gaining yardage on the field of life while I, who have climbed up most of the steps in the stands, have come to see how a growing sense of objective hindsight serves to expand a person's ability to oversee the game of life as a whole.  And having consciously chosen to acknowledge my on-going need for personal growth at each stage of life while working proactively toward making gains in self improvement, I (having opened my mind to gracefully embrace the best of what this last stage of life has to offer while bracing myself for the reality of irretrievable loss that lies inevitably ahead), believe that, over my lifetime, I've earned the right to enjoy peace of mind, which offers my new found sense of wholeness many opportunities to sit down, relax, smell roses planted in the past and bask in the sun while absorbing an ever deepening awareness of a job well done except for those times when fate offers me reason to grow attentive to need to tackle a new task of my own while continuing to cheer on my beloved team of sons, made up of three seasoned players (and now, one rookie), each of whom pauses to wipe the sweat of a hard day's work from his brow, followed, occasionally, by enjoying a well earned, momentary 'R and R' before re-committing his heart, mind and spirit toward setting and achieving each next set of heartfelt short-range goals ... and ever since our family chose to embrace you as one of our own, we've all applauded your inner drive to fulfill your responsibilities at home, school and work, suggesting why we can't all be together, every time a family gathering has been planned, and whenever that's the case, along with missing you, we admire the strength of your commitment to focus most of your time, energy and positive attitude upon creating a personal and professional path alongside each of our own.

Feel the depth of my admiration, respect, and love, every day,

❣️Annie

1456 SOCRATES AND THE ROOT WORD OF SELF-ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In answer to why I felt the sudden swish of Socrates' spirit swoop down to
High-five my think tank's growing sense of intuitive clarity, this string of insights
Inspired my heightened awareness of the sage's presence to emerge from my mind:

The soulful spirit of the sage (who continues to be revered, today, for imparting
Wisdom with brevity) beseeched his peers, repeatedly, to seek to know
Themselves in depth so that each one would gain a growing sense of
Clarity, naturally.  So naturally, Socrates, whose wisdom has been
Diving ever more deeply through my streams of conscious thought, chose
To swoop down to commend his disciple's tireless commitment to inspire
An evolutionary change for the better within myself by focusing
My intelligence toward employing every mental strength that
I've worked consistently to enhance so as to realistically 'acknowledge'
The person, whom I've chosen to grow to be, right up until ... today
So if you've not yet had the time or inclination to spotlight the root word of
'Self-acknowledge' then insight, concerning that which had inspired
The sage to whisper 'Kudos' into my ear, will surely emerge from
Within your intuitive intelligence once this root word (which mollified
My sense of unresolved inner conflict) appears on your screen, so
Without further ado, the root word of self-knowledge is self-know

Self-know is my brain's way of saying 'know thyself', and
If you're rolling your eyes and groaning aloud, because
Coming up with the answer to this week's riddle was child's play then
With tongue in cheek, I'd go on to say:  No doubt the soulful spirit of
My mentor will swoop down from his high-diving board in the sky to
Whisper Kudos into your ear while high-fiving the natural prowess of
Your intuitive intelligence each time you choose to make your way through
Streams of consciousness, which may be exceptionally complex until
A lengthy editing process, easing our way toward comprehension, proves
Complete, and now that today's string of insights, verifying reason for
Socrates' presence, has been clarified and simplified beyond
A skeptic's disbelief, here comes another string of insights, which is
About to push past the former as would a sibling, who has need to
Redirect the spotlight to shine on him/her, too:
Though pleasing others still pleasures me,  my conscious acknowledgement
Of harboring subconscious fear since Janet's death (of feeling cast out to
Fend for myself, all alone, if I don't satisfy the needs of others) has
Freed me to satisfy a highly personal, unmet need, which, over
An extensive period of time, has refused to take a back seat inside
My insight-driven mind, and if you feel need to ask:
Don't you feel guilty of being selfish when meeting your needs
Conflicts with differing needs of those you love?  I'd reply:
No, not since I came to see that certain unmet needs must be
Satisfied if the human spirit is to thrive, and having learned to
Acknowledge insights, which serve to high five
Self-respecting changes for the better, concerning my
Self-perceptions, my self worth continues to improve, naturally ...
For example: I finally know why my intuitive powers directed
My story-teller to sit on a back burner until insight, illuminating
The main root of my current inner conflict (to write stories or
Not write at all) was clearly revealed to the conscious portion of
My brain, suggesting that storytelling would run interference with
My pressing need to consciously absorb each
Personal growth spurt by spotlighting every popping fresh
Insight that proves too hot off the griddle to be
Set to one side of center stage, and one day in the near future
I'll clue you into the simple reason why it's taken three years for this
Final insight, concerning my storyteller, to spark as bright as
An epiphany, popping out from within the depths of
My subconscious once the main root of my current conflict with myself
(Which had been based in subconscious insecurity), felt ready to
Unmask, ride into town and gun down my sense of anxiety as
This week's string of insights, blazing as fast as bullets, served to
Resolve this long-lasting inner conflict, freeing my peace of mind to
Gallop into the sunset, shouting a jubilant:  High-ho, Silver, away!

Perhaps you've noticed that each time clarity aknowledges reason
For mental confusion, born of indecision to resolve an inner
Conflict, My mind enjoys an angle of restful repose, which
Releases my fine feathered, corny side(kick) to
Come out to play with The Lone Stranger, who dwells within
The most existential portion of my brain (marking me as
Being unique in ways that are unlike any other individual who has
Inhabited planet Earth) and each time I'm at one with my
Uniqueness, the whole of me basks in this blissful, peaceful
Wholesome state of being until such time as the simmering pot of
Oil inside my head (also known as my brain) feels stimulated by
Fate to meet the challenge of yet another unidentified
Inner conflict, which, unexpectedly leaps off of a back burner in
Favor of wandering darkly through the depths of
My subconscious until another unexpected situation stirs
Another unnamed childhood insecurity to feel a flaring sense of
Readiness to raise its S caredy-cat head in hopes of tunneling through
The depths of my mind, questing blindly toward glimmers of
Insight, thus putting my intuitive powers to the test, yet again!
And if you want to know why I'm about to publish
Today's post, right now, instead of pushing save and
Reverting it to drafts so as to rest my brain before tackling
The mind bending task of simplifying the complexity of
Today's stream of intuitive consciousness, thus easing your way and
Mine toward gaining a thorough sense of comprehension of
Insights marching across your screen and mine in such an
Organized fashion as to please both of our brains, I'd go on to say:
The conscious portion of my brain does not yet know why this is
My intuitive choice, but it is, and having decided to leave that
Puzzlement on a back burner, that's a wrap for today

1455. THOUGH MY BLOG HAS SEEMED PASSIVE, MY MIND HAS PROVED PROACTIVE

Throughout this week, my intuitive need for insight-driven clarity has directed

My conscious mind to review, revise and improve Post 1454, repeatedly ...

1454 REVISION: WHY TODAY MATTERS MORE THAN ANY DAY EXPERIENCED BEFORE

Today ...


As is often the case, I awakened with a heightened awareness of a string of
Insights, which had processed through the depths of my think tank before
Filtering from my subconscious into my conscious mind, overnight, and if
You ask me to reveal the significance of the final insight in this string, I'd reply:


The final insight (which served to relieve a state of mental inner conflict)
References the fact that my brain's resistance to reawakening the story-teller
Has been founded in sound reason, and if you'd like me to pinpoint the
Insight that relieved my sense of inner peace from feeling conflicted, I'd say:


Here is the insight, which relieved the conflict that remained unresolved until
Intuitive thought had probed so deeply within my mind's eye as to have
Directed my processor to pen today's post so as to single out this awareness
Naturally and clearly:  Recently, I've experienced countless growth spurts


Next, if you ask why probing for insight concerning each growth spurt
Caused my storyteller to take a back seat so as to free
My intuitive powers to drive my conscious awareness toward tracking
Each change for the better as relentlessly as a bloodhound, I'd reply:


My mental energy has been working to become conscientiously sensitized
To observing and fully absorbing each personal growth spurt processing
Through my mind, most especially when strings of insight are exposing
A negatively focused attitude, which proves in need of conscious expansion


At times when positively focused, mental expansion is processing through
My conscious mind, the complex functions of my brain act like
A pot of boiling oil, churning out poppin fresh kernels of insight, each of
Which spotlights a heightened sense of self-enlightenment

Sooo--in order to consciously 'self-acknowledge' each piping hot
Change for the better, my intelligence has needed to employ every
Mental strength that I've worked consistently to enhance so as to
Realistically recognize the person I've continued to grow to be ... today


And since I just felt the sudden swish of Socrates's spirit high-fiving
My think tank's growing sense of clarity, your think tank may ask me to
Name the insight that inspired my intuitive powers to deem today's
Heightened awareness of Socrates' presence as being undeniably true


(Hint:  If you spotlight the root word of 'self-acknowledge', insight
Concerning that which had inspired the sage to whisper 'Kudos' may
Emerge from your intuitive intelligence as spontaneously as insight
Inspires my heightened awareness to mollify mental irritation, naturally)

1453 SOME DAY ...

When faced with undeniable defeat
My intuitive voice inspires my spirit's
Never-give-up attitude to stand strong by
Whispering words filled with hope into
My ear until feelings, nearing despair
Are thoroughly infused with the concept of
Change being the only constant in life
And as today's insight into deeper truth rekindles
The flame, which brightens my mind to possibilities that
Deflate despair from ballooning, all the love in
My heart, feeling as light as air, breathes new life into
Attitudes, which are as positively focused as
This next one proves to be:
As long as the door to my heart is consciously
Propped open with a welcoming smile
Change for the better may choose to stop by, suggesting
That though the future proves unpredictable
My eyes (known as windows into my soul, revealing
Mindsets so hopeful as to nourish my spirit with
Sound reason to thrive) will remain focused on
The emergence of intuitive trains of thought, guiding
My intelligence to heed the directives of this bouncing ball:
Though my intuitive power is no crystal ball, clarifying
Which day will be the 'right day' for change to glide
Through my front door, hope's guiding light, highlighting
Today's train of thought, suggests that some day
The happy day will dawn when change for the better
Extends its hand in hopes of holding fast to mine, and at that
Time, my open-minded, heartfelt attitude will naturally invite
The blue bird of happiness to fly back in and
As we freely embrace our good fortune by
Rejoicing in each other's company, sheer delight
Will be clearly conveyed as your sparkling smile and
Twinkling eyes shine every bit as brightly as will mine  ...
And since (a non-defeatist, positively focused, hopeful)
Attitude is everything, I feel better, already!
Oh!  One more thing:  In case you feel need to say -
You're dreaming!  Imagine your friend, Annie, with
Tongue in cheek, suggesting that you train your eye to
Follow the bouncing ball while singing along with me:

When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you

If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star as dreamers do
Fate is kind

She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of secret longing
Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through

When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true