Today's DailyOM Offerings...
December 22, 2017
Understand Your Defenses
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
You may notice a heightened awareness of other people today. It could seem that your perceptions allow you to see through their defense mechanisms, which could make you feel insightful. While it may be that you can see the ways in which others protect themselves, you may want to focus on your own defenses in order to cultivate compassion for other people's issues. You might think back to a time when you felt threatened and reflect upon how you guarded yourself, for example, through withdrawal, anger, or laughter. Remind yourself of the triggers for your actions and the fear you felt about letting others in. If you notice someone who has their defenses up today, you can use your understanding to look upon their situation with compassion. Perhaps you might be able to use your experience to create a healing space in which this other person can feel safe.
Becoming aware of our own defenses allows us to see how we can help others when they feel guarded. The defenses people use usually set off our own emotional reaction, particularly if it is a way that is familiar to us. Letting ourselves remember our own ways of functioning and the fears that made us put up our walls, however, gives us a way to empathize with another person rather than simply analyze their patterns. We learn to reach out with kindness and an open heart in order to help someone through their struggles. By understanding your own defenses today, you will be able to lower other people's guard and support their healing.
December 22, 2017
Creating Meaningful Homemade Gifts
Expressions of the Heart
by Madisyn Taylor
Whether you choose to give a gift or share your friendship remember that it is the intention behind the thought that is most important.
The gifts we craft with our own hands are often the most significant because the love that drove us to create is infused in the products of our creation. And the recipients of these homemade offerings receive a token of our willingness to invest ourselves in their joy. Allow these ideas to inspire you:
1. When you craft a beautifully decorated prayer box (or jar) for loved ones, you give them the gift of spiritual awareness. As you share this gift, explain that it should serve as a receptacle for their hopes, dreams, and loves--as well as worries--and thus a reminder of who they were, are, and will someday be.
2. If you love journaling, share your writing joy with family and friends by giving each a unique, handmade personal journal. A simple spiral notebook dressed up with paper, fabric, photographs, or other embellishments will give your loved ones a special place to record their private thoughts.
3. Erase the distance between yourself and your far away loved ones by presenting each with a photo journal documenting how your life has changed in the past year. Or introduce them to your locale with a homemade guidebook that highlights everything you love about your town or city.
4. When you sew medicine bags for the people you care about, you can rest assured your gift will always be close to their hearts. A small pouch can be filled with many meditative or symbolic items, such as quartz crystals, sage, or magical objects.
5. A progressive photo album, wherein pictures tell the story of your relationships from the past up to the present, can be a simple yet poignant reminder of the many wonderful experiences you and your loved ones have shared over the years.
6. Give the gift of serenity with a guided meditation you create and record to CD or tape. Your loved ones will take pleasure in being led through tranquil landscapes by the soothing sound of your voice.
7. Hand-crafted ornaments that can be hung on trees, in windows, and on walls afford you an opportunity to surround the important people in your life with beauty. Whether you prefer to work with clay, crystals, fabric, baked dough, or natural objects, your gift can serve as a calming focal point in your loved ones' homes.
Whether you choose to give a gift or simply share your friendship and love, remember that it is the intention behind the thought that is most important.
Understand Your Defenses
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
You may notice a heightened awareness of other people today. It could seem that your perceptions allow you to see through their defense mechanisms, which could make you feel insightful. While it may be that you can see the ways in which others protect themselves, you may want to focus on your own defenses in order to cultivate compassion for other people's issues. You might think back to a time when you felt threatened and reflect upon how you guarded yourself, for example, through withdrawal, anger, or laughter. Remind yourself of the triggers for your actions and the fear you felt about letting others in. If you notice someone who has their defenses up today, you can use your understanding to look upon their situation with compassion. Perhaps you might be able to use your experience to create a healing space in which this other person can feel safe.
Becoming aware of our own defenses allows us to see how we can help others when they feel guarded. The defenses people use usually set off our own emotional reaction, particularly if it is a way that is familiar to us. Letting ourselves remember our own ways of functioning and the fears that made us put up our walls, however, gives us a way to empathize with another person rather than simply analyze their patterns. We learn to reach out with kindness and an open heart in order to help someone through their struggles. By understanding your own defenses today, you will be able to lower other people's guard and support their healing.
December 22, 2017
Creating Meaningful Homemade Gifts
Expressions of the Heart
by Madisyn Taylor
Whether you choose to give a gift or share your friendship remember that it is the intention behind the thought that is most important.
The gifts we craft with our own hands are often the most significant because the love that drove us to create is infused in the products of our creation. And the recipients of these homemade offerings receive a token of our willingness to invest ourselves in their joy. Allow these ideas to inspire you:
1. When you craft a beautifully decorated prayer box (or jar) for loved ones, you give them the gift of spiritual awareness. As you share this gift, explain that it should serve as a receptacle for their hopes, dreams, and loves--as well as worries--and thus a reminder of who they were, are, and will someday be.
2. If you love journaling, share your writing joy with family and friends by giving each a unique, handmade personal journal. A simple spiral notebook dressed up with paper, fabric, photographs, or other embellishments will give your loved ones a special place to record their private thoughts.
3. Erase the distance between yourself and your far away loved ones by presenting each with a photo journal documenting how your life has changed in the past year. Or introduce them to your locale with a homemade guidebook that highlights everything you love about your town or city.
4. When you sew medicine bags for the people you care about, you can rest assured your gift will always be close to their hearts. A small pouch can be filled with many meditative or symbolic items, such as quartz crystals, sage, or magical objects.
5. A progressive photo album, wherein pictures tell the story of your relationships from the past up to the present, can be a simple yet poignant reminder of the many wonderful experiences you and your loved ones have shared over the years.
6. Give the gift of serenity with a guided meditation you create and record to CD or tape. Your loved ones will take pleasure in being led through tranquil landscapes by the soothing sound of your voice.
7. Hand-crafted ornaments that can be hung on trees, in windows, and on walls afford you an opportunity to surround the important people in your life with beauty. Whether you prefer to work with clay, crystals, fabric, baked dough, or natural objects, your gift can serve as a calming focal point in your loved ones' homes.
Whether you choose to give a gift or simply share your friendship and love, remember that it is the intention behind the thought that is most important.