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?

Disipline and Dreams

What do they have that I want in my own life? I find that I compare at times myself to those who I feel have great bodies, great lives, great relationships, or whatever. I then realized that anything I want, and can think of, is within my grasp.

It may take finding a mentor, self discipline, and time, yet it is something that I could attain. There are many who wish for something but few who take appropriate and consistent action towards fulfilling their dreams.

Much of it hinges on clarity of your desired outcome. How specific can you be in your visualizing what you want? Are you able to breathe into the feelings of having that great body, spouse, life, or whatever? Are you able to consistently get up each morning and work out regardless of the multiple reasons that creep into your head called rationalizations?

It takes the ability to "dare to dream" with clarity while taking consistent and appropriate action called discipline. I guess it really depends on the level of life you want to manifest for yourself. Where do you see yourself? How do you see yourself? It is all up to you.

Zen and Now

Do you find your mind rehashing negative past events? Obsessing on the past through thoughts is often referred to in Zen teachings as a chattering mind. Realize that you have a beautiful mind and not to judge it. Understand that it is designed to latch onto thoughts and problems in an attempt to analyze and solve these puzzles of life.

Have compassion for your mind as it is like a dog gnawing a bone with, at times, bitter ferociousness. Have you ever tried taking a meaty bone away from a normally docile animal only to be snapped at? Your mind is similar as it wants to hold onto that meaty and juicy thought.

Only after compassion and understanding for yourself are you able to realize that you are NOT your thoughts and mind. Your true Christ or Buddha Nature is found not in the thoughts of the mind but between its thoughts in silence. It is found in the peace and quiet of the non-chattering mind.

Be the observer and watch your mind. Breath into the moment and work at being conscious in that moment as you proceed through the activities of your day. It is the Now that becomes the Then. So be more now of what you want then. It's all about the "Zen and Now" as you create your future and past by controlling the focus of your mind now. Use your mind in a more constructive way by focusing on what you want and not on what you don't want. Leave past events in the past.

Two traveling monks reached a river where they met a young woman. Wary of the current, she asked if they could carry her across. One of the monks hesitated, but the other quickly picked her up onto his shoulders, transported her across the water, and put her down on the other bank. She thanked him and departed.

As the monks continued on their way, the one was brooding and preoccupied. Unable to hold his silence, he spoke out. "Brother, our spiritual training teaches us to avoid any contact with women, but you picked that one up on your shoulders and carried her!"

"Brother," the second monk replied, "I set her down on the other side, while you are still carrying her."

http://www.rider.edu/suler/zenstory/obsessed.html

Be at peace.
Namaste.

My Part - Trust and Acceptance

As we co-create our reality I am reminded about "my part".

M anifest Y our P ower A ccept R elax T rust

Tensing up and obsessing until what we want takes place is at best tiring if not living in fear with anxiety. The path to success would be to trust that all is unfolding as it should in the right time.

At times you may feel like you are forcing a square peg through a round hole. Know that at those times we only see a limited path between point A and B. What if the universe has another path that you have not anticipated, see, or understand?

Release and let go of your limiting perceptions and allow the limitless universe to provide the path often of least resistance. Accept. Relax. Breathe. Let go.

Love and Be Loved

The tag line from the romantic movie musical, Moulin Rouge, is: "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is to love and be loved in return". This was borrowed from a song made famous by Nat King Cole called "Nature Boy".

The songwriter of Nature Boy was eden ahbez. eden insisted that no capital letters be used in his name as only God and Infinity should be capitalized. He felt that the tag line: "To be loved in return, is too much of a deal, and that has nothing to do with love."

eden ahbez would have liked to modify the tag line reading: "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved, just to love and be loved". I can identify with this man's concept of love instead of control. In his simpleton life he chose God and Nature first which allowed him the clarity to see miles and miles, over and through, our world of materialism and its entrapping nature.

I can also identify with loving a woman so much to where she becomes all your hopes, dreams, and future. Once loss of this special someone is experienced a realization occurs to where you are left with you. The problem is that there is no more you since you gave that up long before the end of the relationship.

There is hope in that those bohemian ideals of truth, beauty, freedom and love are within your reach again. This is because the magic of love we all long for was the energy created between the two individuals. It's the electricity or chemistry that is talked about when describing relationships.

It truly is the creation factor between the two individuals. Each of us shows up differently through different people as we co-create our reality. Each is an observer, and through mutual expectations, the two create as one their experience of love together.

Spiritual love may be given freely without stings attached. I have experienced it as more of a compassion like when Jesus said "Forgive them, for they know not what they do". Yet, romantic partnership love may actually have agreements or implicit unspoken responsibilities that each party needs to clarify.

We all know that the keystone and fundamental foundation to any fulfilling relationship worth having occurs first with a clear ability to know and love yourself. I believe that the second most valuable characteristic is the ability to trust the other enough to communicate openly, freely, and with mutual respect.

So, it is important to review your romantic relationship's fine print and verify each other's alignment to that fine print. Most romantic/partnership relationships comprise of monogamy, commitment, responsibilities, trust, respect and ability to put the other's needs before your own.

If each is respectful of the other's needs and maintains their since of self it will allow the unfolding of an interdependent and fulfilling relationship. It is each individuals responsibility to be secure in themselves through self love, self nurturing, self respect, self worth and self esteem. The inner strength of self will allow that individual to be independent which then fosters a relationship of interdependence. This of course is in direct contrast to an unhealthy, controlling, manipulative, and damaging relationship of the dark side of co-dependence.

I now have a greater appreciation for eden's desire to revise his lyrical line of poetry to emphasize that there is "no deal" in love. However, I have to remind myself of which love we are speaking as there is a difference between compassionate love that Gandhi practiced and companion love comprising of romance, financial necessity, and societal convention.

Thus, this first day of 2007, I will commit to self love, compassion love, and know that romantic "companion love" is still within the realm of possibilities.

Thanks eden (nature boy).

1000 Miles

I've heard it said that a journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step. How far have you come this past year? Where were you this same time one year ago? Have you crossed off goals while others remain unfulfilled? How many steps have you taken on your journey thus far?

These are questions of reflection appropriate for the last day of the year. However, the past is in the past along with it's resentments, successes, and personal projections of perceived events. It's good to have a destination and goals while being present in each moment and step, on your journey. Your present state of mind in any given moment is a choice along with your awareness of a single inhalation of breath. The warmth of the sun beating upon your back, or the cold wet rain on your face, are moments equally as important as your final destination.

Give yourself permission to let go of any outcome or destination allowing the Universe to provide the way. It's not as important to know the "how" as it is the "what". Your job as a co-creator with the Universe, is to keep a clear vision of "what" you want, allowing the Universe to provide the "how".

A lot can happen on a journey of a 1000 miles and at times you may not see how a certain road will take you to your final destination. However, trusting that all will be "OK" is the key to fulfillment. We are the total sum of our experiences and this includes the many roads we have trodden thus far.

This next year will undoubtedly include goals, aspirations, dreams, desires, disappointments, successes, and failures along with the many life lessons in self discovery. Know that each moment and step along our journey is an opportunity of choice as we trudge, walk, run, and at times skip towards our perceived final destination. May you choose to be joyful (joy filled) in each moment this coming year as you let go and trust that all is unfolding as it should.

Happy New Year!

Feed Your Soul

We all have responsibilities in life whether it be children, partners, colleagues, parents, friends, etc . . . . But how about the responsibility for the health and well-being of ourselves?

The first order of business when a plane's oxygen mask drops is to place it on the parent before assisting a child. This is because we need to be at our best in order to be there for others. So, taking care of our self first allows us to be there for others.

This includes time management, life focus, knowing ourselves, and even our integrity. "Character Counts!" is the catch phrase at the local YMCA and it rings true here. To be more for the world, our local community, and our circles of influence we need to feed ourselves and this includes our soul.

What gives you clarity of purpose which catapults you from your earthly bonds of humanness to transporting your being to the immortal realm of the heavens?

Kenny Loggins, in the book, Songwriting for Dummies, says: "Slowly, but unsurely, I got back in touch with my muse and onto solid emotional ground. I discovered that with the decision to write again came the biggest blessing of all: the awareness that I do what I do because I was born to, because I love it, because it keeps me alive and fills me with a sense of purpose. Songwriting is my survival."

The question we all have to answer is: Who is the authentic you? What were you placed here on the planet, in this life time, to do? What did you want to be when you grew up? Were you attracted to adventure, intelligence, creativity, etc . . . Being in touch with your inner desires gives you clues on what you were placed here on earth to do.

We all know that to give is to live. We just need to remember to give to ourselves by feeding our soul.

Missing and Longing

Missing and longing for someone or something has been many a thought especially around the holidays. Having so much stimuli of activity including presents, lights, and the hustle and bustle of holiday spirit only emphasizes those things that we feel we are lacking. It's like polar opposites of north and south. The more extreme something is in one direction only emphasizes its total opposite. So, the flip side of total joy is total despair. That's what makes the holidays such a treacherous and emotionally challenging time.

Maybe someone you love is not with you or your past life's memories become overwhelming as you think of loss. The best we can do is honor the past, be fully present in the moment, and trust the Universe that all is unfolding as it should. We can be centered in love and wishing all well while loving ourselves. Beware of undermining thoughts of lack by focusing on gratitude. It is through thankfulness that joy will enlighten the darkest corners of despair.

Why not reach out to those you love with a phone call? Send those you miss true love and then release any expectations of returned love. Be more of what you want. If you want more love, be more love. If you want more friends, be more friendly. If you want more gifts, than give more.

Expectations focused on what we want keeps the Law of Attraction bringing us more of what we are thinking about. So, watch those thoughts this holiday season while giving yourself lots of love, breathing, and quieting of the mind. Know you are truly valued and a gift to the world. It is up to you to give that gift to the world each moment of each day. God bless and be at peace this holiday season.

Change Christmas

On this day (December 23rd) in 1823, the first published record of the poem, "Twas the Night Before Christmas" was submitted to a newspaper, the New York Sentinel, anonymously and entitled “A Visit from St. Nicholas". Prior to this poem a sleigh and reindeer were not associated with the patron saint of children, St. Nicholas. Now this poem is world renown and read by many on Christmas Eve.

Eight reindeer in all are mentioned in the poem without a word about Rudolph and his red nose. It would take a department store copywriter, Robert May, at Montgomery Ward in 1939 to invent a story to give away to their customers. It was based on "The Ugly Duckling" and a deer who was ostracized because of his physical abnormality which would latter prove to be just the thing needed. Ten years latter, a songwriter, Johnny Marks, with much poetic license, rewrote the story setting it to song. The popular singer, Gean Autry, then breathed life into the most famous reindeer of all creating a new facet to Christmas traditions.

So, it started with an idea, and putting that idea out there to where now Christmas has more dimension of flying reindeer, a sleigh, and a ninth reindeer Rudolph. What ideas are you holding back that could change the collective consciousness our world?

To Lead A Better Life

"To lead a better life I need my love to be here..." are the opening words from the Beatles "Here, There and Everywhere" hit. Do we need a special someone here, there, and everywhere to lead a better life? The romantic in me says YES! But, the recovering co-dependent says sheepishly "no". I think it's "no" as the voice is really quiet.

It is so much easier to have another love us, someone, and at times, anyone, to show us how special we are. It feels good like the warmth of a fire on a cold winter's day. It takes a special person to be willing to trudge out in the cold snow while they maintain their inner warmth to enjoy the winter wonderland of those Arctic chills of life circumstance we have all experienced.

It's hard to love ourselves during these times while we hang on to self limiting beliefs including those false projections from others. It takes work to continually remind ourselves that we are lovable, have value, and are worth knowing. These are just some of the things that are needed in our winter survival pack.

To stoke the inner fire of warmth you may want to say aloud as you trudge "All I need is inside me now. All the love I need is inside me now. All the joy I need is inside me now. All the happiness I need is inside me now." The more you trudge while reciting this and feeling it to be true the more warmth you will gain from within.

If the outer world begins with the inner world perhaps we could start "falling in love" with ourselves. We could start with compassion for that inner child that feels rejected, insecure, or unloved. We could spend time with ourselves discovering our preferences in activities, food, and the like. Maybe it would be like dating our self with an agreed date and time including the activity scheduled for once a week.

Perhaps the phrase "I need my love to be here" is love for ourselves each moment in the here and now. The love we all desire is not found in another yet is enhanced through another. So, once we carry our love for ourselves with us we can "lead a better life" instead of relying on another and dragging them around "Here, There, and Everywhere".

So, to all those experiencing the winter chill, or know someone who is, remind them to stoke their inner fire by chanting "All the love I need is within me now"!

Complete Me!

"Complete Me!" is our underlying mantra spoken by each of us as we go through life looking for one thing after another to complete us. Many of us search for our completeness in another saying: "You complete me". This feeling of wholeness is also searched for in material things buying one new thing after another in our search for happiness or wholeness.

What if we were already complete yet were distracted and focused on just one half of the balance between "Thing and NoThing"? Perhaps we need to look at the "nothing" side of this balance to gain perspective. It seems we can see and comprehend nothingness best by our observations of outer space with its vastness measured in billions light years. We know there is a lot of space or nothing out there yet we have trouble perceiving the same nothingness in our own inner space.

Our inner space is comprised of nothing between our molecules, atoms, and electrons which are held in orbit by an invisible field. This invisible field is where pure potentiality of creativity exists. Our lives are shaped and created by our intent and held thoughts that affect this invisible field thus creating our reality of things.

Space also may be found between the words we speak and our thoughts. It is said that it is the space between the bars that keeps the tiger caged. What if the unseen is more important than the seen? Perhaps we have the order reversed when we place emphasis on things first. Can't we remember that it is out of nothing that we manifest reality? This is the way creation works. Out of no thing comes some thing. So, we must place primary emphasis on the space of no-thingness and not the things.

So, if we are not our thoughts nor our things then we simply ARE. This state of "being-ness" is best experienced in the non-action and stillness of thought and deed. Quieting the mind and body allows us to catch a glimpse of our true selves being in a moment. Once the ego stops trying to protect its existence with mind chatter in turn influencing our emotions we are allowed to sit in the stillness of our being. Enjoy that moment. This "in-joy" is finding happiness within and not from outside ourselves. We are thus, "in-joy" with our selves. By simply being in the now of a single moment we can expand that space between our bars that keeps us caged.

What if, instead of focusing on: "Life being one damn thing after another", we remove the "damn thing" now reading: "Life. Being. ONE. After another"?

Thoughts are Things

We are all working with one power, one law; and it's the law of attraction.
Everything that is coming into your life you are attracting into your life.
It's attracted to you by the images you are holding in your mind.
It's what you are thinking.
Whatever is going on in your mind you are attracting to you.

Like attracts like at a level of thought.
Hold on to the thougts of what you want and not on what you don't want.
You become what you think about most and attract it.

When you are looking at something you don't want and shout "NO" at it you are actually not pushing it away. Instead you are activiating the very thought you do not want and law of attraction is lining up the same for you.

So, "Thoughts Become Things".
See yourself living in abundance and you will attract it.

Days of Agitation - Strong Undertow Day

So what's eating you? What underlying thread of discomfort annoys your inner being to the point of aggravation? Beware of the undertow of discontentment as it has a strong current, which will not only pull you under but also send you a drift far from where your heart purpose lies.

We all can fall prey to these darker emotionally charged thoughts and feelings. The trick is to catch ourselves before we get pulled under. What may help is to embrace and accept these feelings, honoring them, and let them go. It's the letting go that will occur over time and with practice.

Placing your hand on your chest and inhaling into the feeling has helped many to honor this inner-child of pain. As thoughts manifest our reality we need to take care and focus on what we want, not on what we don't want. You may have heard the saying "Thoughts are things." or "We get more of what we focus on."

So, what are the mind's thoughts focused on today? Breath into the feelings, embrace and allow this discomfort, and then let go; all the while focusing on gratitude and acceptance of where you are in the moment. After all, circumstances change, environments change, but the "law of attraction" remains the same. Attract what you want and co-create your day with God.

Sandy in Mt. Shasta - "You can't buy it off the shelf"

Sandy and I bond over a cup of jo/tea and our Mac laptops at one of the "hip" coffee/pub/music venus in Mt. Shasta called the "The Stage Door". http://www.stagedoorcabaret.com/
He shares Chris Smither "No Love Today" words of wisdom set to song.
---------------------------------------------------------
No Love Today

I don't know much, when I knew less,
And I was heartbroke for the first time,
I was drowning in my tears,
I went looking for a lifeline,
Trying to find some comfort,
A simple tender touch,
Searching for some little cure
That would not cost too much,
And I could hear that produce wagon on the street,
I could hear that farmer singing,
As I cried myself to sleep

CHORUS
I got ba-na-na, watermelon, peaches by the pound,
Sweet corn, mirleton, mo' better than in town,
I got okra, enough to choke ya,
Beans of every kind,
If hungry is what's eatin' you
I'll sell you peace of mind,
But this ain't what you came to hear me say,
And I hate to disappoint you,
But I got no love today,
I got no love today,
I got no love today,
No love today

I could not love to save myself
From lonesome desperation.
Everything I thought was love
Was worthless imitation.
My concept of commitment
Was to take all you could give,
I thought the cheapest thrills I loved
Were teachin' me to live,
But nothin' seemed to last or see me through
Nothin' but that little song
That I still sing for you.

CHORUS

No love today, none tomorrow,
Not now, not forever.
You can't see what comes for free,
I think you much too clever,
For your own good I will tell you
What's right before your eyes,
Intelligence is no defense
Against what this implies,
In the end no one will sell you what you need,
You can't buy it off the shelf,
You got to grow it from the seed,

CHORUS
---------------------------------------------

Thanks Sandy for putting yourself out there!