MindScapes Unlimited

09/07/2024

The Mirage

No such thing as perfection
Yet we still
Exhaustively strive to reach it
Seeking it shapes insecurities
Feeling unable to fit in
We think we're broken
Unfit for what we face
Unable to keep pace
With a wayward world
We elevate
We duplicate
We conform to
Until we awake
And escape
This perilous path
We will repeat today
Yesterday's patterns
Yesterday's problems
Flip the switch
Change the channel
Leave your mistakes
Your sorrows
Your shame and pain
And need to please behind
Bring forth the wisdom
It's what experience is created for
Lessons learned
Often the hard way
Are not for dwelling
They are teachers
Look not down
On yourself or others
As the ego tempts us to do
Instead be an uplifter
Seek the Light
Help it to shine
Ever so bright
That darkness loses its power
To keep you and I hidden
To keep us hurting
To keep us hating
Quit trying so hard
As if running a race
It's a terrible waste of time
Let go
Heal
Rise
And realize
Growing up takes an eternity
We are never done
Doing, learning, experiencing
It's painful and pleasurable
It's life!

Onward ho, living life fully we go and grow!

Lori XO ❤️
9.7.24

04/27/2024

The Way

Love the life you live
Live the life you love

Either way
This is the way

Finding aspects of the life you live and love is crucial to shaping an attitude of gratitude. This approach powers up your senses to see, hear, and feel good about that which is present. Not all things will seem delightful, yet delightful things are present. This way you are committed to and aligned with allowing yourself to love life as a whole. This way the pockets of dissatisfaction or disappointment will not derail your determination to make the day worthwhile.

Creating a realm where you're magnitizing energies toward you that align with pleasure, joy, appreciation and love is just as crucial. Here you are not the observer as above, you are the influential intentional creative power. In your minds imagination, in your thoughts, in your self- regulation and hearts coherence, in your prayers, meditations and emotional intelligence. In your actions, intention is to raise your vibe!

To me, both are an expression of God, a connection to infinite intelligence, the divine, and collective consciousness.

Through your fears or through your faith, you are a huge component of creating your reality.

Bottom line, I say this all the time, "Every day may not seem good, yet there is good in every day."

Be a Blessing, Be Blessed, Be Well,
Lori Bestler

03/25/2024

Think about Dumbo...

The theme of Dumbo is not that he can fly, but that he believes he can only fly when holding a feather. Herein lies the premise: Dumbo did not believe in himself.

Fears and anxieties were born from cruelty, seperation from his mother when he was young. He faced bullying, prejudice and discrimination for having large ears, and dressed like a clown.

Dumbo eventually realized he didn't need the feather. His ears were an asset.

Such is the painful journey of transformation and transcending the old ways that no longer serve us.

Awaken my loves!

02/14/2024

The struggle is real, suffering is optional.

My 5 year old granddaughter and I colored this picture yesterday. It reminds me of life, the twists and turns, the dead ends, the mistakes and darkness that sneaks in. Yet in it all we are the artist, choosing colors, changing the tapestry, enjoying the journey or not.

What you don't see is that the page ripped when I tore it out of the book. At first I felt upset, my body responding to the situation with discomfort. My trained mind wanted perfection. Then I allowed ease to enter. I taped it back up instead of dwelling or tossing. It gave my experience history.

Choice, how we're going to feel, is always ours. We can choose to suffer holding onto our woes, or refuse to succumb to the darkness.

Trust me, the darkness won often in my 64 years of life. It's what I remember most. I'd venture to guess you could attest to the same. I'm not preaching I'm remembering and always reminding myself.

As a child my upbringing caused me to bite my nails so bad they bled. Academicly I struggled in school (an ADHD diagnosis at 42 would reveal why). Eating disorders battle for 7 years; eat everything in sight, puke, starve for 5-7 days. Emotional abuse in a 20 year marriage, divorce, single parenting. Job loss, dislocated worker after 14 years, company closed it division, supposed to retire at 50. Alcohol was often my escape. You get the picture. Life sucks at times. A LOT! We can easily justify drugs, drinking our pain away or running away. Yet the truth is, it never heals, and life gets worse.

Until I started envisioning a more colorful world, what can be versus what is, accepting my flawsome self, and loving and caring for me, I could not value my successes or life.

I don't expect life to be without struggle, it's helped me grow and see who I am...who you are, we are One. I believe at some level we chose this s show and are equipped to rise above it. Expansion, enlightenment, growth, come by way of both good times and bad. Contrast is essential for our existence.

People long for a consistent easy life.. Not possible. Life is boring, hard, easy, boring, hard, easy. Pay attention. You'll see. Acceptance is the key. Some days we just need to roll with it.

And tomorrow, when the sun rises, we get to begin again.

Be a Blessing, Be Blessed, Be Well,

Lori ❤️

12/08/2023

11/14/2023

Making the World a Better Place

Every thought we think, word we speak, and action we take (or don't take) contributes to the complex quality and character of the reality we experience. It's simply impossible to be alive without making an impact on the world that surrounds us. Every thought, spoken word, and action taken affects the whole as greatly as those thoughts, spoken words, and actions not taken when it comes to making the world a better place

We can ignore the fact that there is a need to recycle, a need to keep our air, waters, and ground soil clean.

We can keep our thoughts to ourselves and not speak up against what we know is harmful, hurtful, or hostile to upholding a harmonious culture as human beings.

We can minimize the value in placing our vote.

We can see tremendous needs in our family, our neighboring community, our virtual community, or beyond and think that you have nothing to offer.

We can believe that our own needs trump others and turn our back on others.

When we downplay the need to do something to affect a better world, we are denying ourselves the opportunity to be an agent for positive change. WE ARE creators of change.

You matter
They matter
Our planet matters
What you and I do matters
Do something worthwhile to make a difference-be an agent of change.

The world needs you.

Lori XO

09/19/2023

Power of Empathy

It is one of the most important relationship-building skills you could ever possess, but this is not something you are born with. You have to learn it by having great models in your life or getting some training in how to be more empathic.

One young man had to learn empathy the hard way, as my friend, Palani, at PAL Vision Associates told me. He told me about a young man who went to apply for a managerial position in a big company. He passed the initial interview and now he was about to meet the director for his final interview. The director discovered from his resume that the youth's academic achievements were excellent. He asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?" the young man answered "No".

"Was it your father who paid for your school fees?"

"My father passed away when I was one year old. It was my mother who paid for my school fees." he replied.

"Where did your mother work?" The young man said, "My mother worked as a clothes cleaner."

The director asked the job applicant to show him his hands. The applicant showed his that were smooth and perfect. So the director asked, "Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes?"

"Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Besides, my mother can wash clothes faster than me." said the young man.

The director said, "I have a request. When you go home today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning." The young man felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back home, he asked his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to her son.

The young man cleaned his mother's hands slowly, with tears dripping down his face. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled and so covered in bruises. Some bruises were so painful that his mother winced when he touched them.

This was the first time the young man realized that it was this pair of hands that washed clothes every day to pay for his education. After cleaning his mother's hands, the young man quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother. That night, the mother and son talked for a very long time.

The next morning, the young and eager job applicant went to the director's office. The director noticed the tears in the applicant's eyes when he asked, "Can you tell me what you learned at your house yesterday?"

The young man answered, "I cleaned my mother's hands and I finished cleaning all the remaining clothes. I know now what appreciation is. Without my mother, I would not be who I am today. By helping my mother, I not only realized how difficult it is to get something done on your own, but I also have come to appreciate the importance and value of helping other people."

The director said, "This is what I am looking for in a manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired!"

The new manager worked very hard and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and worked as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously. All because this new manager had grown in empathy and increased his Social Intelligence skills.

As a footnote, let me tell you that a child who is protected and habitually given whatever he wants ... develops an "entitlement mentality" and will always put himself first. He will be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts work, he will assume that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he will never know the sufferings of his employees and will always blame others when things don't go his way.

A child raised this way may be good academically and successful for a while, but eventually he will not feel a sense of achievement. He will grumble, be full of hatred, and fight for me-me-me.

You can let your child live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, and watch TV on a big screen. But if you want to raise Social Intelligence in your kids, when you are cutting grass, let them experience it as well. After a meal, let your children wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. Let your kids know that even though you could afford a maid, you may not have one ... because you want your children to experience the difficulty of learning how to work with others to get things done.

Photo credit- Image by Freepik

05/10/2023

Life is full of opportunities to realize how able we are to create a reality worth living. Recently I went on a short vacation with a cousin and friend. Our plan was to enjoy the outdoors, get fresh air, exercise by hiking alongside the roaring rivers and waterfalls located along the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. Now I love warm sunny weather best, yet it was damp, cloudy, windy, and rainy which for some could put a damper on one's mood. We had a list of what we wanted to do, yet on one really cold rainy day we changed our plans, went with the flow and the entire day unfolded beautifully. We did the unexpected, explored an area we never would have, which made the trip that much more enjoyable. The rain, cold, windy weather brought blessings and enjoyment totally unexpected. Bottom line, there is always a sunny side to see when you're willing to look beyond the clouds.

10/31/2022

Moving Forward During Dark Times-
YOU are a POWERFUL Creator! Do you believe that? Be an Empowered Thinker, who like the Alchemist, can transform a dark mentality into a reality where an up-leveled vision lights the way!!! This enemy of the mind is mentally, physically and emotionally crippling people, especially with fear, who, like you, have so much to contribute to the world. When I read a writing by Victoria Reynolds I was inspired to write my own poem. I knew I had to share them both on my website. May these words comfort and inspire you to move beyond fears and follow your heart versus your head.

https://mindscapesunlimited.com/moving-forward-during-dark-times/

10/04/2022

Enlightenment is found when you find balance between self-care and seeing a need outside yourself and fulfilling it.

~Lori Bestler
Mindscapesunlimited.com

Be a Blessing, Be Blessed, Be Well!

08/29/2022

True love! Great example of standing by the side of the ones you love.

I had adopted her but she refused to come away with me. It was weird because dogs can't wait to leave the kennel. She was crying and stubbing her paws. I should have dragged her. But when I looked down I understood the reason and I had to make a CHOICE "When the time came to take her home she was just out of that cage, from that moment a new world awaited her, a wonderful life and a lot of love. Any another dog would have run into the embers of her rescuers. But she did not. She stood still, sticking to all fours and refused to come out of the cage. In a corner a small Chihuahua Taco looked at her in fear. She understood that she was about to lose her her best friend. And in that moment a small miracle happened. The couple saw the whole scene and decided to adopt them both. They did the documents also for the chihuahua and all 4 went out the door of the shelter. was taken in the car, before leaving. Personally I would like to wish these two dogs a happy life full of love !. But above all so much happiness also to these two wonderful people ❤️
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