The-best-love-quotes

Christmas. The birth of Christ. What does He represent? What does He embody? Unconditional love. So whether we be Christian by faith, come from another religion or none, we can all celebrate the true meaning of Christmas by aspiring to love a little more unconditionally.

This week, a gathering of the best love quotes plus news of a download sale via our webstore as our Christmas gift to you with the suggestion you might like to give these as meaningful presents. Also, you may consider booking into Ruth's next meditation retreat - pre-Easter April 2019, but first cannot go past this one…



      Thought for the day

   I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure.
   I make mistakes, I am out of control
   And at times hard to handle.
   But if you can’t handle me at my worst,
   Then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.

                              Marilyn Monroe








During Ruth’s recent meditation retreat where I filled in, she asked me to present on love - the different types of love we experience, how we might aspire to be more loving, and to be more open to receiving love. It was a wonderful, interactive session and one couple said that after 30 years of marriage and having been at a somewhat stagnant point in their relationship, they now felt like newly weds again!

Anyway, as part of the presentation this collection of great love quote gathered over some time was shared…

Enjoy


You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching,
love like you’ll never be hurt,
sing like there’s nobody listening,
and live like it’s heaven on earth.
William W. Purkey

If you don’t love yourself who will?
Naval Ravikant

Just be you and wait for the people who want that.
Naval Ravikant

We can only learn to love by loving.
Iris Murdoch


You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; and just so, you learn to love by loving. All those who think to learn in any other way deceive themselves.
Saint Francis de Sales

This is the kind of Friend
 You are
-
Without making me realize

My soul's anguished history,

You slip into my house at night,

And while I am sleeping,

You silently carry off

All my suffering and sordid past

In Your beautiful

Hands.
Hafiz

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking.
It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
I Corinthians 13:4-8

Love is simply the name for the desire and the pursuit of the whole.
Aristophanes

You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
Buddha











Love is a gift of one’s inner-most soul to another so both can be whole.
Buddha

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.
Martin Luther King Jr.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
Francis of Assisi


The greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion.
The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being.
HH the Dalai Lama

All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness.
The important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.
HH the Dalai Lama

True love is both loving
And letting oneself be loved.
It is harder to let ourselves be loved
Than it is to love.
Pope Francis






DOWNLOAD SALE
Downloads of the recordings Ruth and I have made are only available via our webstore.

There are 3 “bundles” - collections based on the following themes, and these bundles are being offered as suggestions for meaningful Christmas presents at a good reduction…

• Meditation has 7 releases,regular cost is $59.95.  Offer price: $29.95
• Healing has 5 releases,   regular cost is $39.95.  Offer price: $19.95
• Wellbeing has 4 releases, regular cost is $29.95.  Offer price: $14.95

DETAILS AND LINKS

Meditation (Digital Audio MP3 Bundle)

Regular Price: $59.95 - Special Christmas Offer: $19.90

Contains:

'Meditation - A Complete Guide'
    Running Time: Three tracks for approximately one hour.

'Relaxation for Everyone - Calming the Body'
    Running Time: Four tracks for approximately 72 mins.

'Deepening Your Meditation'
    Running Time: Three tracks for approximately 68 mins.

'Meditation: Pure & Simple - Calming the Mind'
    Running Time: Nine tracks for approximately 52 mins.

'Mind Body Medicine - Healing Imagery Meditations'
    Running Time: Three tracks for approximately 62 mins.

'A Woman's Voice - Mindfulness Meditations'
    Running Time: Three tracks for approximately 52 mins.

'Meditation for Children - Practical Tools for Bright Kids'
    Running Time: Three tracks for approximately 52 mins.

Order Link - click here



Healing (Digital Audio MP3 Bundle)

Regular Price: $39.95 - Special Christmas Offer: $19.95

'The Gawler Cancer Program - How to Use the Principles and Techniques that Offer Real Hope for Healing Cancer'
    Running Time: One track for approximately one hour.

'What to Do When Someone You Love Has Cancer - Heart Advice from Ian Gawler'
    Running Time: One track for approximately one hour.

'Effective Pain Management - Mindfulness Based Pain Relief'
    Running Time: Three tracks for approximately one hour.

'Eating For Recovery - How to Use your Food as a Part of a Healing Program.'
    Running Time: One track for approximately one hour and ten mins.

'Understanding Death, Helping the Dying'
    Running Time: One track for approximately one hour.

Order Link -click here



Wellbeing (Digital Audio MP3 Bundle)

Regular Price: $29.95 - Special Christmas Offer: $14.95

'Mind Training - Using the Power of Your Mind'
    Running Time: Two tracks for approximately two hours & twenty mins.

'Emotional Health - A Path to Enduring Happiness'
    Running Time: Two tracks for approximately two hours & twenty mins.

'Inner Peace, Inner Wisdom - Contemplation and the Inner Guide'
    Running Time: One track for approximately one hour & ten mins.

'Eating Well, Being Well - The Gawler Diet for Good Health'
    Running Time: One track for approximately one hour and ten minutes.

Order Link - Click here


RUTH'S NEXT MEDITATION RETREAT

RECLAIMING JOY - April 12 - 18 2019, Yarra Valley Living Centre.

Details - call the Foundation - 03 5967 1730 or link here for DETAILS

The legend of Meditation in the Forest lives on!

This classic 7 day meditation retreat is on again for yet another pre-Easter.

In 2019 it will be lead by Ruth Gawler and Melissa Borich.

Some will have had the good fortune to have shared time with Melissa in some of our previous retreats. Melissa is a highly accomplished yoga teacher with a wonderful capacity to tailor yoga for beginners or the advanced. Melissa has also trained with me as a meditation teacher and is one of the people I highly value and recommend.


These two women will present a wonderful retreat - lucky you if you get to be there :)

Why is it so hard to do what is good for us? And 3 top tips to change that…

These days, most of us know what is good for our health and our wellbeing.
Yet why does it often seem easier to do things that are bad for us compared to those that do us good?

This week a guest blog from Ruth with 3 ways to rectify all this, plus a dose of inspiration - all as we embark on leading another meditation retreat together in the Yarra Valley at the start of December, but first

              Thought for the day

         Hope is the thing with feathers
         That perches in the soul,
         And sings the tune without the words,
         And never stops at all.  
           
                          Emily Dickinson




We are the most highly-educated population that has ever walked the planet.
And courtesy of the net we can look up anything and everything in a few moments. Of course there are different opinions that have different levels of authority and conviction but we all know what we eat, how we exercise, and our state of mind all have a considerable impact on our health and wellbeing. Yet often enough we seem to have trouble sticking to doing it!

So what is missing? I believe that rather more than information, what we need is help with implementation. Doctors call it compliance. I call it “Making a Plan” and finding a way to get supported in that plan.

Ask yourself the following questions…

• Do I lack clarity and uncertainty about what really works?
• Am I unsure about who to trust?
• Do I lack confidence?
• Do I have a fear of failure?
• Am I habitually destructive with my thinking?
• Am I unable to let go of old habits or preferences?
• Do I find it difficult to open my mind to embrace new ideas?
• Am I lazy or forgetful?
• Am I in denial? Do I know what being in denial is?
• Do I lack willpower?
• Do I feel under pressure to conform from family, friends
or professionals to maintain a status quo, to keep up an image?
• Do I ever succumb to some deeper, darker self-sabotage?
• Am I frightened about old age?                

Most of us will answer yes to several if not many of the above.

So what to do?
How to cut through all this? Why does it often seem so difficult to do what is in our own best health and wellbeing interests? Why is it so many of us get complacent and lazy and have habits we find difficult to change?

Maybe part of the problem is the modern version of laziness. This current Western Civilisation version of laziness is actually about being endlessly busy. Working, family, shopping, socializing, housekeeping… the days are one long run around! No time for attention to self. No time to attend to what is really good for us.

1. Fear
In my experience, what often breaks through all this first and foremost is a good dose of fear!
Maybe this is not the answer you had hoped to hear, but what I observe is the people who generally do “Make a Plan” for their health and carry it through are those who start when facing extreme difficulties and are afraid of dying or of becoming disabled - like many of those who come to our cancer programs and multiple sclerosis programs.

Fact is we can benefit from being afraid of not recovering, of being afraid of an unhealthy old age, of being a burden on our families or communities, of being in pain and of suffering physical disability. Fear can be a great initial motivator. It can be very helpful to observe what is happening to so many older people we know and to fear for our own future. Of course, overwhelming fear is stifling, even paralyzing; so that level of fear needs to be balanced with hope - the hope of being able to doing something about it.

2.Inspiration
And for hope we need to be inspired - by people, magazines, books, podcasts, programs and films. Our present culture is too tough to just expect we will automatically become inspired. We need to be prepared to be different and change the culture of our family.

3. Making a plan for our health 
This is the third essential. There are so many choices, so many options these days, we need to make time to consult, to read, to ask questions and contemplate. A good plan does not occur by accident; it can take time and focus, but then it establishes our direction. And then, informed by a good plan, we need to choose like-minded friends - people who also want to have a go at being healthy - to support us in our lifestyle.


And how is this for inspiration?


Some years back now, Ian and I attended the marriage of our dear friends and colleagues, George Jelinek and Sandy Neate, both Emergency Medicine Physicians.

George is well known now for his invaluable contribution to Multiple Sclerosis.

George, being a rigorous academic and Professor of Emergency Medicine, was diagnosed with MS in 1999.

This led him to undertake extensive research related to the illness and enabled him to arrive at his own conclusions.

He changed his diet, exercise routine, Vitamin D levels and way of life.

Overcoming MS is a great book.

As for George - many years on he remains diligent with his lifestyle and he remains very well!

But back in 1999, speaking at the reception, Sandy recollected first meeting George. Sandy become aware of what she thought in those days was his rather restrictive diet.

So, she asked “Do you ever cheat on the diet George?”

Sandy said he responded with a somewhat puzzled look, as if not to understand the question, so she repeated “Do you ever cheat?”

This time George did reply. “Why would I cheat on the diet when there is so much at stake?”

Simple really.

Men like George are an inspiration. His clarity made it easy. George is fully aware that when it comes to the chronic, degenerative, medical conditions - cancer, depression, anxiety, heart disease, autoimmune diseases (including MS), Alzheimer’s, arthritis - what you eat, how you exercise, what your state of mind is  - all have a major impact on the course of these illnesses. And if you have not got an illness, these factors play a major role in whether or not you develop them.


So why wait? 

Medical evidence is now very clear - an unhealthy lifestyle is linked to just about every health issue you would rather avoid.

Also, a healthy lifestyle is linked to more than "just" prevention, it is linked to recovery from just about every health issue you would rather not experience.

So why wait? 

Draw on any fear you can muster.

Draw on inspiration wherever you can.

Make a plan and expect to experience the side effects of a healthy lifestyle - chronic good health and an active, engaging old age.


RUTH'S NEXT MEDITATION RETREAT

RECLAIMING JOY - April 12 - 18 2019, Yarra Valley Living Centre.

Details - call the Foundation - 03 5967 1730 or www.gawler.org

The legend of Meditation in the Forest lives on!

This classic 7 day meditation retreat is on again for yet another pre-Easter.

In 2019 it will be lead by Ruth Gawler and Melissa Borich.

Some will have had the good fortune to have shared time with Melissa in some of our previous retreats. Melissa is a highly accomplished yoga teacher with a wonderful capacity to tailor yoga for beginners or the advanced. Melissa has also trained with me as a meditation teacher and is one of the people I highly value and recommend.


Together with Ruth, these two women will present a wonderful retreat
- lucky you if you get to be there :)