Power, Peace, Freedom and Finding Your Flow!

What if you had a way to nullify anger, fear, depression, addiction and violence in your world with a simple tool? Would you be interested? How valuable would this ability be to you, your loved ones, and "fixing" possibly irreconcilable differences?

Seriously! Would you pay $97, $997 or perhaps more than $9,997 each day for a week to have this ability? Would you fire your attorney and place that divorce on hold saving tens of thousands of
dollars, pain and suffering on both sides, and fallout casualties of immediate and extended family?

What if all those awful things he or she said, all the unforgivable things, all the despicable things, all the things that dirty rotten good for nothing individual did to you are merely a mirage like Don Quixote battling against giants of your own design?

Sure events happened. But what "meaning" did you chose to ultimately base such actions  and dictated your direction? This secret could actually be what you have longed for all your life and possibly could ultimately change your life's trajectory forever. Just think, you could have the richness of life awarded the few who dare. It won't come easy and will take work like preparing for a serious race where it takes dedication, perspiration, training and true grit.

Would you agree that our thoughts foster many of our self-defeating feelings filtering our perceptions used to establish hard core beliefs which we then have acted upon? What if you were wrong? What if your actions were based on a fallacy of poor reasoning in listening to your "seemingly" truthful thoughts? How could you "undo" those thoughts, allowing your mind to return to your creative nature, peaceful, awakened, and true?

What would you be without YOUR STORY? She or he did this, and that is why you did that. After all it's not your fault! It's their fault! And that is why you are so angry, sad, disappointed, miserable, broken, and never be able to love fully again. Amen. :-) Wow. That's heavy.

You've said to yourself plenty of times "I just don't know how to . . . (fill in blank) fix this". I'm here to say, what if you had a way to identify and question your thoughts which lead to your beliefs which you have taken action on each and everyday yet were wrong? Your thoughts were totally, ultimately, dismally, wrong! You can find compassion for yourself, your loved ones, and the world by simply doing the work.

Prior to 04-14-14 of this year I challenge each and every reader of these words to do some work prior to taking a 21-Day challenge to "shift" in finding your flow. There are two things you must do which is to believe and do the work.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

0) Example "I HATE MY HUSBAND!" Click Here to Witness a Turn Around

1) Do THE WORK. a) simple worksheet b) ask four questions c) turn it around
Have an iPhone, iPad, or Android device? Check out a fantastic tool by clicking here.
I use this app on an iPhone click here. Watch the "Flash" video below.

2) Sign-up for free 21-Day Meditation starting 04-14-14 by clicking here

I hope you do the work as it is a life changing habit that if used daily will give you the Peace, Purpose, Power in Finding Your Flow!

Blessings. :-)

Bunny Trails of the Mind

Spring and Easter are around the corner with thoughts of bunnies hopping down bunny trails. This is applicable to our daily moment-to-moment thoughts which rewire our brain in a certain disposition of habit. The choice to release happy bunnies or sad bunnies is by our cognitive choice developed through practice.

As many of you know, Ashland, Oregon is home to one of the finest Shakespearean Companies in the world. As such, I am exposed to many plays of human foibles and triumphs. In one play, King Henry V before battle proclaims, “All things are ready, if our mind be so.” Where upon, Westmoreland his cousin, affirms with "Perish the man whose mind is backward now!"

- William Shakespeare, Henry V, Act 4, Scene 3, p. 3

How important is our state of preparedness in thought of mind as we battle life's many challenges? Are the neuro pathways exercised to where it is easy to flip a thought from negative defeat to positive victory?

Recent brain research reports that, through neuroplasticity, our brains may be retrained by establishing new neural pathways, worn like bunny trails, making it easier and easier to reach a certain state of mind. This "rewiring" of the brain also works for negative thinking, positive thinking, and right thinking, as explored in the brilliant book entitled "Beyond Positive Thinking" by Dr. Robert Anthony.

Thus, we can change our brain by our thinking creating "quick" bunny trails to our established destination dictating emotional states with neurochemicals coursing through our limbic system allowing us to "feel". This "downward" causation, from the mental to the physical, was thought at one time to be impossible. However, with the help of the The Dalai Lama, it has been proven to be a two way street.

In 2002, mere placebos of inert pills showed to have the same effect on the brains of depressed people as antidepressants.

The scientists scanned their patients' brains again, expecting that the changes would be the same no matter which treatment they received, as Dr. Mayberg had found in her placebo study. But no. "We were totally dead wrong," she says. Cognitive-behavior therapy muted overactivity in the frontal cortex, the seat of reasoning, logic, analysis and higher thought. The antidepressant raised activity there. Cognitive-behavior therapy raised activity in the limbic system, the brain's emotion center. The drug lowered activity there. Science Journal - WSJ.com 03/25/2007 10:02 PM

Thus, with cognitive-behavioral therapy says Dr. Mayberg, the brain is rewired "to adopt different thinking circuits." eliminating the need for antidepressants.

To adopt different thinking, there must be "awareness", and it has been scientifically proven to be achieved through the act of observing thoughts through meditation. The recent book, "The Willpower Instinct" by Kelly McGonigal, also upholds the absolute importance of a meditative practice which will develop a super-aware brain.

"Lent and the Science of Self-Denial. TIME.com February 23 2012. “Both exercise and meditation lead to greater neuron density in the prefrontal cortex,” says Kelly McGonigal, a psychologist at Stanford University and author of the new book The Willpower Instinct. It’s in that region that executive skills such as impulse control and judgment live — making it a very good place to be adding neuronal connections."

Watch the video below for a complete list of findings regarding willpower.

Our thoughts are powerful, taking some of us into a habitual state of depression when our life conditions do not "match" our blueprint on how we think our life should be. We often feel powerless to change it. Thus, causing us to feel depressed dictating our self-defeating behavior.

However, by changing our PHYSIOLOGY, our FOCUS, and our LANGUAGE PATTERNS, as seen in the video example below, we are able to "self-manage" our emotional states. By doing this we release a happy bunny to establish a new neural pathway or "bunny trail" of a new habitual thought pattern. The more thoughts or bunnies go down this trail the easier it will be to reach a certain emotional state each and every time when needed.

This short "must see" video, of a "real world" example, shows how our thoughts, and ultimately
emotional states, may be self-managed in a matter of moments.

MUST WATCH!

Thus, to have a habitual positive state of mind, know it is a learned "skill", which must be mastered via exercise of thought strengthened through daily meditation which allow you to "catch" your thoughts. This is because a brain left unattended, due to lack of proper exercise, may result in the loss of our daily mental battles, depriving us from a beautiful life we truly deserve.

Note at the end of the video example, the subject states he has to "reframe" his chosen interpreted "belief" of what certain events mean. Thus, if he changes the "meaning", it will change his "feelings" and emotions, as his new established belief of events places him on a new trajectory. This new trajectory, will ultimately change his life forever, as he focuses on what he wants instead of what he doesn't want.

"Perish the man whose mind is backward now!"

Need a meditation timer app for Android, iPhone or iPad?
https://insighttimer.com/
Donation based 10-Day retreats are available through the
Vipassana Association on the West Coast in Oregon, Washington, California.
"I survived the 10-Day mental "Mud Run" at the Nor. Cal. Vipassana Center in Kelseyville." 

Three Men and a "Maybe" of Pure Potentiality

_________________________________________

Now onto quantum physics of "Do-Be-Do-Be-Do" with University of Oregon retired theoretical nuclear physics professor, Amit Goswami, PhD, from the movie "What The Bleep Do We Know?!"

~ O M ~

:-)

Shine Your Light

If given one instruction to remember daily when born into this world what would it be? Perhaps it is echoed in the words sung by children in the simple chorus of "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine," with its lesser known subsequent verses naming each day of the week including what exactly this light is, with one verse reminding us that the "Light that shines is the light of love." Simple instruction enough.

But "How"? How do we shine this light of love every day of the week for ourselves and others? What can blow out this little light of ours and extinguish the love to where darkness engulfs and our path unlit to where unseen rocks cause us to stumble and fall?

Is it "ourselves" hiding our little light under a bushel of our own design to where outside forces don't even have a chance to blow it out? Imagine what this power of love could do if allowed to shine bright and clear, illuminating both far and near, to every dark corner you find yourself each day of the week.

But again, "How"?  Well, we all agree that the part of the body that we "see" or "perceive" with is our eyes which lead our entire body either off a cliff or safely down the path of life. Thus, the eye is the lamp or guide to our entire being including our soul determining our perceived reality and affecting our journey. If darkness is hostility or fear, and light our essential nature of love, as experienced holding a newborn, then it's perhaps what "we" bring to our observed reality each day of the week that will allow us to either shine our little light of ours or hide it under a bushel.

What we bring to our reality each day are our "chosen" beliefs, thoughts, and ultimately attitude which affects others in this open loop interaction with each other. So, shine your little light daily out from under a bushel allowing your path to be lit via your lamp to the body of your perception determining your behavior through each moment of thought. The fact is we need you and your light of love.

What is guiding your "perception" and ultimately "behavior" down this path of life?

Citation:  Mathew 5:16, Luke 11:33, Matthew 5:14–15;  Odetta Singing, Wikipedia - Song, 

Your Dream -

It was Emeril Lagasse who said:
"If you don't follow your dream, who will?"

This hypothetical question posses a challenge to the observer of its words. It supposes that there is a "you" with a "dream". What if there is no "you" and this "you" has no "dream"? Then "hypothetically" there is no-thing to follow.

Thus, the observer of the quote must know themselves first in establishing their "you". Which, in turn would lead to the observer's ability to exercise ethereal visioning with future images painted by emotion and desire in broad strokes of a creator's brush of possibilities.

It's all about clarity of purpose in knowing "YOU" and exploring your "WHY". Why are "you" here? "You" must have desires, hopes, longings for something within or outside of "yourself". Do you feel a calling? Are you lead by intuition in "knowing" that "you" should be doing something but are too afraid to embark on the frightful journey? What are your limiting beliefs keeping you from your life's work?

Only "you" can answer these questions and only "you" are able to dream "your" dreams. It is then up to "you" whether "you" choose to fulfill these dreams. After all, "If you don't follow your dream, who will?"

Time Machine of Now

Do you have something you would like to change in the past? Maybe you would have what you want now if you could only make a different choice back then. Perhaps this is true but what is in the past is in the past. However, you are creating history with each breath right now. Each moment of now is an opportunity to create a new past. In a since you have a time machine to change your past now.

Knowing what you don't want reveals what you do want. The question remains "What do you really want?" If you were like Aladdin and had a genie grant you three wishes what would you ask for? To gain clarity you may ask a friend to repeatedly drill you with the question "What do you want? What do you really want?" as a 20 minute exercise while facing each other in chairs.

Make a conscious choice to allow yourself to feel into these heartfelt wants and desires. Know that this is your true self and ultimate fulfillment of life purpose for you. You have the right and ability to achieve and fulfill these desires. Not everyone wants the same thing. So, these are your wishes to be granted. Just allow yourself to be worthy of having them.

Know that you were who you were back then. The decisions you made were yours and based on what you understood at the time to be true. You are the total sum of all that you have experienced. That which hasn't killed you has made you stronger in character, fostered greater understanding, and allowed you to gain deeper compassion for yourself and others.

We know that perspective is gained by distance and the passing of time. It is also gained by outsiders giving their feedback on what they perceive as their current experienced truth. Realizing that all of us project onto others through our own "filters" we need to take their advice, and at times our own, with a grain of salt. After all there is a little truth in every lie.

Ultimately, take care of your integrity and don't beat yourself up over past choices you would like to change. Instead be clear on what you want and use your time machine of now to change your past. Create a new history for yourself giving yourself permission to achieve your dreams, to want your desires, and to attain your happiness.

Namaste.

Take Responsibility for Your Life

It's your life!
Sign a waiver saying that you take responsibility for it.
Set yourself and others free.

LIFE WAIVER

I understand that during the course of my life I will be required to make many decisions, such as where I want to live, whom I want to live with, where I work, how much fun I have, and how I spend my money and time, including how much time I spend waiting for things to get better and people to change, and whom I choose to love.

I understand that many events that occur will be out of my hands and that there are inherent dangers and risks in all decisions I make. Life and people have no obligation whatsoever to live up to my expectations; I have no obligation to live up to the expectations of anybody else. Life is a high-risk, full-contact, sport, and I may become injured along the way.

I agree that all the decisions I make are mine and mine alone, including how I choose to handle the events that are beyond my control. I hereby forfeit my right to recourse as a victim, including my rights to blame, complain, and whine or hold someone else responsible for the path I choose to take. I am responsible for my participation - or lack of it -in life. And I take complete responsibility for the outcomes and consequences of all decisions I make, understanding that ultimately it is my choice whether I become happy, joyous, and free or stay miserable and trapped.

Although people may voluntarily nurture and love me, I and I alone am responsible for taking care of and loving myself.



Signed: __________________________ Dated: ______________

(This is taken from Melody Beattie's book "More Language of Letting Go" page eight.)

If Not Now, When?

Have you ever chosen behavior that is self defeating in nature? Who hasn't? However, why haven't you stopped? If not now, when will you stop?

Popular self defeating activities include the usual cigarettes, junk food/TV, alcohol/pot, swearing, etc . . . . Knowing that something is "bad" or "self-defeating" is not enough for us to stop the behavior. It's because we haven't associated enough pain with the activity.

What's the payoff we are getting for that continued behavior. For many it is "comfort food" giving that immediate sensation of fulfillment physically when what we are really looking for is emotional fulfillment. For others it may be meditation through medication as they look at changing their physical state of consciousness through chemicals like alcohol or pot. Perhaps we are all looking for peace and happiness. However, it's the pain/pleasure principle exploiting our human nature that is the driving force behind the continued behavior.

Each moment is a choice of will. This creation point of "Now" manifests our destiny. If we are to "be" something know that we are "it" in a given moment. "Be, Do, Have" are three words explaining this creation process. We are to "Be" more of what we want in a given moment, do it, and then have it.

The question on the table is: What do you want out of life? The answer is to then "be" more of that thing you want. Drop the limiting behaviors by making a conscious choice each moment. It isn't a one time choice. You will have to continue to be steadfast in your resolve in adhering to your commitment to these guiding values and yourself. Your continued path of being less than you are continues with just one drink, puff, or bite.

Remember, we are not rational beings but rationalizing beings. Don't fool yourself! No one said having self discipline is easy. If it were everyone would be in great shape physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. They would have the happiness and peace they always desired. What do you want to experience in this life for yourself right now?

It is consistent adherence to a set of guiding principles that allows us to have a goal. It also reminds us of who we are or want to be. Find ways to set yourself up for success.

See yourself, having that perfect body, career, bank account, relationship, and life. It is your choice and it always has been. Be more of what you want now.

Because, if not now, when?