Professional Documents
Culture Documents
"BE WHO YOU ARE AND SAY WHAT YOU FEEL BECAUSE THOSE WHO
MIND DON'T MATTER AND THOSE WHO MATTER DON'T MIND"
It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong
man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The
credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred
by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes
short again and again; who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; who
spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the
triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails
while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls
who know neither victory nor defeat.
- Theodore Roosevelt
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to
me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than
education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success,
than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than
appearance, gift, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a
home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude
we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... The only thing
we can do is play on the string we have, and that is our attitude.
I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react
to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.
- Charles Swindoll
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away
from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.
Discover.
-Mark Twain
What difference does it make how much you have? What you do not have
amounts to much more.
- Seneca
The Taj Mahal was built by a ruthless but incredibly rich Mugal Emperor, Shah Jehan, for
his his wife. Both are now dead.
If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't
buy.
- Anonymous
Most people seek after what they do not possess and are thus enslaved by
the very things they want to acquire.
- Anwar El-Sadat
Economics is not about things and tangible material objects; it is about men,
their meanings and actions.
- Ludwig von Mises
We are the slaves of objects around us, and appear little or important
according as these contract or give us room to expand.
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a
fortune.
- Jim Rohn
To repeat what others have said, requires education; to challenge it, requires
brains.
- Mary Pettibone Poole
It is discouraging how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by
deceit.
- Anonymous
Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other
people.
- Anonymous
Your family and your love must be cultivated like a garden. Time, effort, and
imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship
flourishing and growing.
- Kim Rohn
The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and
joy in each other's life.
- Richard Bach
"If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live."
I think everybody who has a brain should get involved in politics working
within. Not criticizing it from the outside. Become an active participant, no
matter how feeble you think the effort is. ~ Cass Elliot
"In search for me, I discovered truth. In search for truth, I discovered love and in search for
love, I discovered faith. In faith, I have found everything." "Obstacles are those frightful
things you see when you take your eyes off your goals."...
"What is [the role of money] in the search for meaning? Is our relationship
to it one of the chief factors that keeps us in our prison, or could it also be
a tool for breaking out, for awakening to a life filled with intensity of
purpose?"
-- Jacob Needleman
Our personality has a need for security. As a human in a material world, we need money
to survive. If we don’t have enough for basics, our lives cannot function. At the same
time, with too much emphasis on the material, we lose the spiritual awareness that
brings meaning and fulfillment. The key lies in the balance.
What draws most of your attention, time and energy: spiritual growth or money? Reflect
on (or better yet, journal on) the balance or lack of balance of these two in your life.
Journey home
1. THE PATH OF PERSONALITY - We arise from the one source of all, to be born as
individuals in a world of form. In this physical world, we experience separation and
limitation. This is a time of immersion in a world of effects, form, ego, distortion, illusion
and pain.
2. THE PATH OF SOUL - When we have experienced enough pain, we find our way back
home to our spiritual source. We let go of the illusion of separation to embrace unity and
wholeness. We work with cause instead of effects. Paradoxically, it's only with a strong
and healthy personality that we become capable of expressing soul.
WHERE ARE YOU ON YOUR PATH? Are you struggling to do more and have more? Are you
aware of your soul challenging you to open to the bigger picture of life?
"Two people have been living in you all your life. One is the ego, garrulous,
demanding, hysterical, calculating; the other is the hidden spiritual being,
whose still voice of wisdom you have only rarely heard or attended to - you
have uncovered in yourself your own wise guide."
-- Sogyal Rinpoche
Love yourself
"It's surprising how many persons go through life without ever recognizing
that their feelings toward other people are largely determined by their
feelings toward themselves, and if you're not comfortable within yourself,
you can't be comfortable with others."
-- Sydney J. Harris
"We have the need to be accepted and to be loved by others, but we cannot
accept and love ourselves. The more self-love we have, the less we will
experience self-abuse. Self-abuse comes from self-rejection, and self-
rejection comes from having an image of what it means to be perfect and
never measuring up to that ideal. Our image of perfection is the reason we
reject ourselves the way we are, and why we don't accept others the way
they are."
-- Don Miguel Ruiz
"If we could learn to like ourselves, even a little, maybe our cruelties and
angers might melt away."
-- John Steinbeck
Co-creation starts with imagination
Imagination is a tool of the soul. Our imagination gives us the opportunity to 'try on' new
qualities and perspectives in our life. Through imagination, we can explore our past,
problems, patterns, processes, plans, perceptions, principles, passions and purpose to
uncover new possibilities.
Without imagination, we stay stuck in the realm of the material, the past, the superficial
and the literal. We remain one-tracked, instinctual and one-dimensional.
Our imagination comes from the soul, subconscious and senses. Only through our
imagination can we become multidimensional, experience more love, create more
beauty, manifest more results, change our conditions, rewrite the past, and connect with
divinity, purpose and others.
"You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were;
and I say, 'Why not?'"
-- George Bernard Shaw
"Knowledge of any kind ... brings about a change in awareness from where
it is possible to create new realities."
-- Deepak Chopra
- We are unaware.
- We become aware of facts, data, information.
- We comprehend meaning from the facts.
- We can personally apply the information in our lives.
- We have wisdom - enlightened, we can lovingly apply our knowledge to world affairs.
- We live in truth.
How have you personally experienced a shifting of applying knowledge from one level to
the next?
"More important than finding the teacher is finding and following the truth
of the teaching...."
-- Sogyal Rinpoche
"There can be no knowledge without emotion. We may be aware of a truth,
yet until we have felt its force, it is not ours. To the cognition of the brain
must be added the experience of the soul."
-- Arnold Bennett
"The word ‘question’ is derived from the Latin ‘quarrier’ (to seek) which is
also the root of ‘quest.’ A creative life is a continued quest, and good
questions can be very useful guides. Most useful are open-ended questions;
they allow for fresh unanticipated answers to reveal themselves."
-- Source Unknown
Questions hold the power to draw out answers that surprise us. If we are on an inner
journey to greater self-knowledge, we must seek to understand unfamiliar parts of
ourselves. The most enlightening answers are released by our subconscious minds or by
our intuition. Use questions frequently to go exploring.
"If we would have new knowledge, we must get a whole world of new
questions."
-- Susanne K. Langer
"You don't want a million answers as much as you want a few forever
questions."
-- Richard Bach
Shifting consciousness
Below are 7 levels of consciousness that clearly outline a path for our evolving
consciousness:
- tribal and mass consciousness - one obeys the group and lives by trial and error
- individual consciousness - one develops a stronger sense of self and ego
- seeker’s consciousness - one asks questions and seeks independence
- intuitive consciousness - one develops the heart and is becoming spiritually aware
- group consciousness - one serves a higher good filling the needs of others
- soul consciousness - one experiences spiritual service.
On which level do you spend most of your time? What are you doing to shift to the next
level of being?
There are as many paths to understanding, awareness, peace, freedom, love and
meaningful service as there are people. Enjoy your journey!
"God acts in history: that is, God provides ideas, methods, and experiences
intended to bring comprehension to man, an understanding heart, a
conscious life."
-- Jacob Needleman
As above, so below
"From a hologrammatic viewpoint, ...you are one little physical image that
reflects all of humanity when projected spiritually upon the cosmic screen."
-- Wayne Dyer
Everything is connected. The universe is a hologram where every part contains the
whole. Outside echoes the inside. The lower is a reflection of the higher. The other is a
reflection of you. We are all a microcosm of each other. The big picture is within us and
even our cells.
"To me there is no difference between one person and another; I behold all
as soul-reflections of the one God. I can't think of anyone as a stranger, for
I know that we are all part of the One Spirit."
-- Paramahansa Yogananda
"A person's worth is contingent upon who he is, not upon what he does, or
how much he has. The worth of a person, or a thing, or an idea, is in being,
not in doing, not in having."
-- Alice Mary Hilton
As a human being, as spirit manifested in form, you are innately worthy. Your worthiness
does not have to be strengthened or improved. However, you may not PERCEIVE yourself
to be worthy.
If you doubt your self-worth, consciously or unconsciously, you will limit the good things
you will allow into your life.
If you find you lack self-worth, don't despair. Just being aware of your self-worth issues
will help you let them go.
"Every achiever that I have ever met says, ‘My life turned around when I
began to believe in me.’"
-- Dr. Robert H. Schuller
"We cannot achieve more in life than what we believe in our heart of hearts
we deserve to have."
-- James R. Ball
"The body has its own way of knowing, a knowing that has little to do with
logic, and much to do with truth, little to do with control, and much to do
with acceptance, little to do with division and analysis, and much to do with
union."
-- Marilyn Sewell
Are you aware of your body’s wisdom? Our bodies usually know us better than our minds
do. If you have a decision to make, consult your body before making a final choice.
Reflect on an option before you and then pay attention to your body. Are you breathing
deeply or barely at all? Are your muscles tense or relaxed? Is your energy blocked or
flowing?
Your body knows what it likes and it feels good when it's happy. As your body is the
source of your vitality, your motivation, your inspiration and enthusiasm and most
importantly, your intuition, it's best to get that part of you on-side if you are venturing
into a new activity.
"When you are saying that you are happy and you are not, there will be a
disturbance in your breathing. Your breathing cannot be natural. It is
impossible."
-- Osho
"Our inner guidance comes to us through our feelings and body wisdom
first -- not through intellectual understanding. ...The intellect works best in
service to our intuition, our inner guidance, soul, God or higher power --
whichever term we choose for the spiritual energy that animates life."
Christiane Northrup
Are you aware of your inner critic? We all have this voice that tells us we are bad, stupid,
clumsy, cowardly.... Although its intent is to help us succeed, the harsh self talk of our
critic just serves to drain our energy and lower our morale and immune system.
To defuse the inner critic, we need to recognize when the critic is speaking. We need to
know that this voice does not necessarily speak for who we really are. This is an old
pattern that may no longer be serving us. We want to open to the possibility that the
words are not likely true. We can ask ourselves, "Are these words helpful?"
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
-- Eleanor Roosevelt
"Any situation that you find yourself in, is an outward reflection of your
inner state of beingness."
-- El Morya
We have discussed that OUR WORLD MIRRORS WHO WE ARE BACK TO US. When we get
upset by something outside of us, our reaction shows us that we have an inner wound to
be healed.
"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into
his pictures."
-- Henry Ward Beecher
Who would allow you to totally ignore, abuse, laugh with, swear at, shed tears on, get
angry at and be totally honest with him/her? Your journal does.
Your journal is an unconditional friend. It does not reject, manipulate, judge, laugh at or
ridicule you. It’s always there for you. So be honest with your best friend and it will help
you discover who you are.
"The positive thing about writing is that you connect with yourself in the
deepest way, and that's heaven. You get a chance to know who you are, to
know what you think. You begin to have a relationship with your mind."
Natalie Goldberg
When we understand how soul works through us, we begin to see how pain generates
the impulse to change. We see that our aim in supporting someone is NOT to get rid of
their pain and suffering. Instead, we want to assist them to understand what the pain is
trying to teach them -- to find meaning in their distress.
Often, all we need do is be fully present to them. It also helps to be present to our own
experience and genuine in our feelings. Living our own truth helps create the space for
the other person to live theirs.
"The significant business of your life is alive and well, awaiting discovery,
within your very soul. You and I were born to come into ourselves as
complete and distinctive persons. Accepting this, we build a valuable life."
-- Marsha Sinetar
What is the significant business of your life? What is your purpose? Andrew Schneider
says that purpose "is more than just having a direction. It is about one’s place in the
universe. It is the journey of finding that place and being there and living fully whatever
that place is. It is your own unique place that nobody else has, had, or will have."
"We become powerful in the face of our fears when we have a sense that
we make a difference in this world. Affirmations of purpose communicate
the truth that we are all meaningful participants in this Universe and that
we are worthy of giving and receiving love. Some affirmations of purpose
are:
- I know that I count and I act as though I do.
- I spread warmth and love everywhere I go.
- I am a healing force in the Universe."
-- Susan Jeffers
Why meditate?
Meditation is considered an essential practice for those who seek self-knowledge and
self-mastery. Why? Basically, meditation brings awareness of how our minds work. Over
time, we become watchers, able to detach from the thoughts and emotions that play out
in our minds.
With this detachment, we gain the freedom to choose whether or not to act on our
thoughts and emotions. We learn to distinguish between objective reality and our mental
and emotional dramas.
"Only in quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet
mind is adequate perception of the world."
-- Hans Margolius
"Fear is a question: What are you afraid of, and why? Just as the seed of
health is in illness, because illness contains information, our fears are a
treasure house of self-knowledge if we explore them."
-- Marilyn Ferguson
In our world of duality, fear and love sit at opposite ends of the continuum. Fear belongs
only to the personality because it believes in separation and impermanence. The soul
never knows fear because it understands the unity of all.
When fear arises, we can invite our soul to sit with our frightened personality. What soul
energies are waiting to be acknowledged? When we bring higher energies into the
presence of lower energies, the lower energies are transformed.
Live now
"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."
-- Annie Dillard
We lose the power of the moment because we're so rarely in it. We're reliving the past or
speculating about the future. We continue to believe that tomorrow's the day when I'll be
more capable, more wealthy, more fit and more loving. Meanwhile, I'm just putting in
time, dreaming of better things but not making any concrete move to realize them.
When you find yourself thinking of the future or the past, bring your awareness into the
present moment. Really experience how you feel and what’s happening around you,
without judgment. If we can treasure each moment, our lives will be rich, no matter
what we have accomplished.
"If, before going to bed every night, you will tear a page from the calendar,
and remark, 'there goes another day of my life, never to return,' you will
become time conscious."
-- A. B. Zu Tavern
Scan your body with your awareness. Are you experiencing any aches and pains? Any
stiffness?
What might your body be trying to tell you about how you are living your life?
"Your body is the ground and metaphor of your life, the expression of your
existence. It is your Bible, your encyclopedia, your life story. Everything
that happens to you is stored and reflected in your body. In the marriage of
flesh and spirit divorce is impossible."
-- Gabrielle Roth
5 steps to self-actualization
Monitoring what motivates me has helped me see how I am growing. I do things for
different reasons now than I did 10 years ago. As we pay ongoing attention to our
motives, we can see how both our conscious and unconscious attitudes are changing.
Here are some ways that our motives can shift with rising consciousness:
- I desire
- I want to collect things
- I want to know
- I want to serve
- I want to be
"You are what you think. You are what you go for. You are what you do!"
-- Bob Richards
"The key is to not resist or rebel against emotions or to try to get around
them by devising all sorts of tricks; but to accept them directly, as they
are."
-- Takahisa Kora
Emotions are energy in motion. They bring us information if we are willing to experience
them. Unfortunately, many of us are afraid of the energy of emotions and so we
automatically resist them. And when we refuse to experience our emotions, we block
them up. They become trapped and that entrapment drains our energy and brings
continuing discomfort.
Don't let emotions push you into action or reaction. Just STOP and PAY ATTENTION. Allow
them to be and to speak to you. Once they are acknowledged, their energy is released.
Accept change
"We cannot live the afternoon of life according to the program of life's
morning; for what in the morning was true will in evening become a lie."
-- C.G. Jung
Life continually evolves. We’re always moving into new experiences, new possibilities.
This constant change unsettles the personality, which finds security in stability. But with
life always in flux, that security is an illusion. We experience pain by trying to hold on to
things that are not solid.
Life becomes joyful when we can open to the constant flow and ride freely with it. This
requires us to let go of the need to control. We need to learn to trust.
"Can it then be that what we call the ‘self’ is fluid and elastic? It evolves,
strikes a different balance with every new breath."
-- Wayne Muller
"We’re never the same; notice how you’re called to write something
entirely different about a topic you responded to weeks or months ago."
-- Patrice Vecchione
To become more prosperous, we need to change on at least two levels. First, we must
ensure our financial affairs are in order. We need an income that at least covers our
expenses. And we need a foundation of habits, tools and skills so we achieve some
financial stability in our day-to-day experience.
Second, we must become aware of the beliefs we hold around money and prosperity. If
we unconsciously believe we are lacking in some way, then no matter what we do, we
will unconsciously sabotage our own efforts to improve our finances.
And third, it's helpful to understand the spiritual principles that govern our level of
abundance. Once we know those principles, we can work effectively within them to
attract abundance to us.
It’s hard for some of us to believe that the world is served when we seek our own
happiness. We’ve been taught that this is selfish.
If we stop to reflect on how we are in the world when we are happy, we can see how this
serves. We have more vitality. We’re more loving and generous to others when our own
needs are met.
What activities bring you greatest joy? Your unique gift to the world will be found in
those pastimes you love the most.
"Spiritual growth is not made in reaction against, for all striving against
imposed restrictions is imaginary. Spiritual growth is accomplished by
inclination toward. We grow like the sunflower, following the light."
-- Joy Houghton
"The whole secret of freedom from anxiety over not having enough time
lies not in working more hours, but in the proper planning of the hours."
-- Frank Bettger
We need to commit time to doing the right things for ourselves, and only we can judge
what’s right for us. We need to clearly know what we want, and we need to believe we
can have it. Having goals in mind, we can avoid the trap of busyness and get right down
to business. Efficiency is not nearly as important as effectiveness.
For fulfillment, we need to take our lives off autopilot. We need to consciously decide
what we will and will not do, moment by moment. We need to give ourselves the space,
support and freedom to be proactive in choosing how we live each day.
"Learn to use ten minutes intelligently. It will pay you huge dividends."
William A. Irwin
Understand dualities
"Life is the coexistence of all opposite values. Joy and sorrow, pleasure and
pain, up and down, hot and cold, here and there, light and darkness, birth
and death. All experience is by contrast, and one would be meaningless
without the other."
-- Deepak Chopra
Life is full of dualities, opposites. Despite their apparent opposition, each extreme in a
duality is necessary to fully actualize the other. Each depends on the existence of the
other. For example, we cannot know honesty if we don’t know deception.
The key is to not resist or suppress the negative. We need to acknowledge its existence,
though we may choose not to express it. When we embrace wholeness, we move to a
higher perspective.
"The light which man has discovered within himself makes him more aware
of the dark; through the good which attracts him, he sees the evil which is
the line of least resistance; the activity leading to pain simultaneously
permits him to visualize the contrasting pleasure, and thus he experiences
something of both hell and heaven."
-- Aart Jurriaanse
Refuse to be a victim
Nothing and no one can make us a victim. We do it to ourselves when we allow external
circumstances to hold power over us.
Although we have no control over what happens to us, we ALWAYS have a choice in how
we respond. We hold our power when we accept complete responsibility for our thoughts,
feelings and actions.
"A man may fall many times but he won't be a failure until he says
someone pushed him."
-- Elmer G. Letterman
"The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the
oppressed."
-- Steven Biko
"To know how to choose a path with heart is to learn how to follow
intuitive feeling. Logic can tell you superficially where a path might lead to,
but it cannot judge whether your heart will be in it."
-- Jean Shinoda Bolen
"When you have compassion and surrender to your own heart, you are
surrendering to the hidden power in your heart, God. You are surrendering
to love, because God is Love, the cohesive force of the universe that
connects us all. Surrender is not just a religious concept; it's a power tool
for listening to the voice of your spirit and following its directions. When
you surrender your head to your heart, you allow your heart to give you a
wider, higher intelligence perspective. Remember the phrase, ‘The real
teacher is within you.’ Very simply, that teacher is to be found in the
common sense of your own heart."
-- Sara Paddison
"Surrender is faith that the power of love can accomplish anything... even
when you can not foresee the outcome."
-- Deepak Chopra
Natural vibrations
The water that makes up so much of our bodies is like ocean water. The salt crystals in
this water vibrate at ever-changing frequencies. Our hearts are the emotional centers of
our bodies, and they put out frequencies that are 10 times the power of the frequencies
of our brains.
When we are happy, we vibrate at a higher frequency than when we are angry or sad.
Our emotions change the chemical composition of the water in our systems. That's why
happy tears taste different than tears of sadness.
Experiencing physical, emotional and mental stillness harmonizes the vibrational output
of the body, heart and mind and we become stronger.
"... the only time you ever have in which to learn anything or see anything
or feel anything, or express any feeling or emotion, or respond to an event,
or grow, or heal, is this moment, because this is the only moment any of us
ever gets. You’re only here now; you’re only alive in this moment."
-- Jon Kabat-Zinn
Many people regularly squander their time. They live under the assumption that they'll
live forever. As a result, they don't value the present as a precious opportunity that will
never come again.
Others continually race against time, trying to cram too many activities into each hour,
and suffering stress in the process.
In our view, we are more effective and most happy when we balance being and doing.
We continually ask ourselves what’s most important to get done. And we’re learning to
BE -- fully present -- when we do. We also regularly give ourselves permission to relax.
"Very few of us know how much we can put into life if we use it properly,
wisely, and economically. Let us economize our time -- lifetimes ebb away
before we wake up, and that is why we do not realize the value of the
immortal time God has given us."
-- Paramahansa Yogananda
Many of us believe that we need to keep a tight lid on our emotions. We fear that if we
ever allow these emotions to be expressed, they will do serious damage.
But if we summon up the courage to truly feel our emotions, we discover that they don't
last. The monster in the closet turns out to be a pussycat. In fact, if we are willing to
experience our emotions completely, without resistance of any kind, they burn
themselves out in only a few minutes.
The only thing that keeps emotions alive within you over long periods is your
unwillingness to acknowledge them.
"Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more
things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so they will
be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who
you really are, then do what you love to do, in order to have what you
want."
-- Margaret Young
The formula for success is Be, Do, Have. If we seek abundance, we must be abundant in
spirit. We can begin to cultivate spiritual wealth by opening our hearts in gratitude.
Start a gratitude journal today. Each evening, write down at least 5 things for which you
are grateful. This simple tool will help you open your eyes to the abundance of your
world right now.
"Who does not thank for little will not thank for much."
-- Estonian proverb
Money has entered so deeply into our lives that it can become our primary reference
point. We make so many of our decisions based on how they affect the bottom line. Do
you compromise things you really value for money? Has the power of money hurt your
relationships, your health, your work or your self-respect?
"If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten
out almost every other area in his life."
-- Billy Graham
Reflections on effort
The anxious student asked the Zen master how long to enlightenment. The Zen Master
answered a long time, at least 10 years. The student said, "Well I will work twice as
hard." The Zen master said, "Then it will take 20 years." "No!" said the committed
student, "I will work three times as hard." "Well then," said the Zen master, "it will take
30 years."
Do you need to work at being spiritual? No. You already are spiritual. Do you need to
work at being human? No. That’s just who you are.
The spiritual path doesn’t require us to get anything. It’s a process of opening to new
dimensions of who we already are. It’s a process of awakening to our own truth. It’s a
process of allowing ourselves to be authentic.
"It is not by your actions that you will be saved, but by your being."
-- Meister Eckhart
"People ask what must they become to be loving. The answer is ‘nothing.’
It is a process of letting go of what you thought you had become and
allowing your true nature to float to the surface naturally."
-- Stephen Levine
Levels of consciousness
"The greatest discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life
simply by altering his attitude of mind."
-- William James
Here is one perspective on levels of consciousness and some descriptive words to help us
identify the differences:
Reflect on how you typically move through your day. As we use our minds more
consciously, we open up to the super consciousness.
"Utilizing your conscious mind to direct the subconscious mind to enter into
communication and harmony with the universal mind is the secret of
personal power."
-- Delfin Knowledge System
"We often spend so much time coping with problems along our path that
we only have a dim or even inaccurate view of what's really important to
us."
-- Peter Senge
Look at your career, finances, relationships, growth, health and emotions. Where are you
experiencing major challenges? Of these, which area most needs your attention at this
time? Set an intention to face this struggle and resolve it. ATTENTION on your TENSION
often releases it.
"The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal
with, but whether it's the same problem you had last year."
-- John Foster Dulles
When we own our lives, we accept what we've inherited and the experiences we hold in
our memories. We also claim our right to create new conditions if we're not happy with
what's come before. We assume responsibility for changing what does not suit us. We
acknowledge our own special talents and skills, and truly comprehend our right to enjoy
the journey. In short, we embrace the meaning and purpose, the mystery and the beauty
of our lives.
"I think of life itself now as a wonderful play that I've written for myself...
and so my purpose is to have the utmost fun playing my part."
-- Shirley MacLaine
"Life is too short to be little."
-- Benjamin Disraeli
"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin -- real
life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be got
through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be
paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles
were my life."
-- Fr. Alfred D’Souza
And so it helps to shift our perspective. We can stop trying to avoid the problems. We
can stop feeling victimized by what’s happening. Instead, we can consciously work with
the challenge of the moment to learn more about ourselves and the world. When we
make this shift in attitude, we discover ourselves to be strong and powerful.
"I never know what I think about something until I read what I've written
on it."
-- William Faulkner
Do you know? We get so accustomed to our thoughts that we lose awareness of them.
We don’t see how they are stuck in old habitual patterns, most of which don’t serve us.
Take time to journal so you can capture your thoughts on paper. By doing so, you will
begin to take control of your mind and use it to best advantage.
"When you choose to understand [and] exercise control over the functions
and attributes of your own mind, you will be empowered to create your
own reality, to be completely self-reliant and totally prosperous."
-- The Delfin Knowledge Syst
No judgment
Everything in life holds both a blessing and a curse. We deny this when we label the
events of our lives as either good or bad. The following old Zen story illustrates this
lesson most effectively.
A farmer had a horse but one day, the horse ran away and so the farmer and his son had
to plow their fields themselves. Their neighbors said, "Oh, what bad luck that your horse
ran away!" But the farmer replied, "Bad luck, good luck, who knows?"
The next week, the horse returned to the farm, bringing a herd of wild horses with him.
"What wonderful luck!" cried the neighbors, but the farmer responded, "Good luck, bad
luck, who knows?"
Then, the farmer's son was thrown as he tried to ride one of the wild horses, and he
broke his leg. "Ah, such bad luck," sympathized the neighbors. Once again, the farmer
responded, "Bad luck, good luck, who knows?"
A short time later, the ruler of the country recruited all young men to join his army for
battle. The son, with his broken leg, was left at home. "What good luck that your son
was not forced into battle!" celebrated the neighbors. And the farmer remarked, "Good
luck, bad luck, who knows?"
"If you play it safe in life you've decided that you don't want to grow any
more."
-- Shirley Hufstedler
If you find you are getting anxious, fearful, angry, frustrated, dismissive or unmotivated,
then defence mechanisms are at work. Watch for them and know them to be signs of
fear that wants to hold you back. Then courageously move through them.
"Woe to the man whose heart has not learned while young to hope, to love
... and to put its trust in life."
-- Joseph Conrad
"I trust so much in the power of the heart and the soul; I know that the
answer to what we need to do next is in our own hearts. All we have to do
is listen, then take that one step further and trust what we hear. We will be
taught what we need to learn."
-- Melody Beattie
"I never know what the next lesson is going to be, because we’re not
supposed to know; we’re supposed to trust ourselves to discover it."
Melody Beattie
Open to awareness
With awareness, we are fully involved with life. Awareness is sensing deeply and
sensitively for what really is. To do this, we need to approach the present as totally new.
When we can be open and attentive in each moment, we begin to free ourselves from
the conditioning of the past and the suffering that it so often brings.
"If moment by moment you can keep your mind clear then nothing will
confuse you."
-- Sheng Yen
Appreciation
"You can never get to peace and inner security without first acknowledging
all of the good things in your life. If you're forever wanting and longing for
more without first appreciating things the way they are, you'll stay in
discord."
-- Doc Children and Howard Martin
"It is permissible to take life's blessings with both hands provided thou
dost know thyself prepared in the opposite event to take them just as
gladly. This applies to food and friends and kindred, to anything God gives
and takes away... As long as God is satisfied do thou rest content. If he is
pleased to want something else of thee, still rest content."
-- Meister Eckhart
Our life begins to change in magical ways when we open to the experience of life AS IT
IS. With acceptance, we stop fighting what is happening. And this creates space, an
opening for new relationships to unfold.
Explore unconditionally saying yes to the facts of life. Accept your past and where you
are now. Unconditional acceptance is unconditional love and this is healing.
"Sometimes what seems like surrender isn't surrender at all. It's about
what's going on in our hearts. About seeing clearly the way life is and
accepting it and being true to it, whatever the pain, because the pain of not
being true to it is far, far greater."
-- Nicholas Evans
"Even though you may want to move forward in your life, you may have
one foot on the brakes. In order to be free, we must learn how to let go.
Release the hurt. Release the fear. Refuse to entertain your old pain. The
energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life."
-- Mary Manin Morrissey
Journaling is a great way to release and let go. To get things off your chest. Our minds
are our own worst enemies. The same thoughts go round and round in the same old
ways and keep us stuck.
If something bothers you, write about it. Get it out so you can see it from a different
perspective. Let it out. Let it go.
Owning and healing your pressure cooker is an important step in claiming your power,
building your esteem and making your stand.
"In truth, to attain to interior peace, one must be willing to pass through
the contrary to peace. Such is the teaching of the Sages."
-- Swami Brahmanada
Are your words typically negative, critical, gossiping, deceptive, illusory, justifying,
blaming, manipulative and argumentative? Are they more uplifting, inspirational,
positive, questioning, beautiful, loving, universal, truthful, accepting and supportive?
The throat is our center of expression. Who we are sneaks out in our attitudes and in
what we say.
"Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs."
-- Pearl Strachan Hurd
In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their
colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know
who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and
the company itself.
The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were
ordered to control the crowd within the room.
The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement
heated up. Everyone thought: "Who is this guy who was hindering
my progress? Well, at least he died!".
One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin, and
when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They
stood nearby the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had
touched the deepest part of their soul.
There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it
could see himself.
There was also a sign next to the mirror that said:
"There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your
growth: it is YOU.
You are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the
only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and
your success. You are the only person who can help yourself.
Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your
friends change, when your parents change, when your partner
changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when
YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you
realize that you are the only one responsible for your life.
It's the way you face Life that makes the difference
HOT CHOCOLATE
When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said:
"Notice that all the nice looking; expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the
plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for
yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're
drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is
just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you
really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best
cups... and then you began eyeing each other's cups.
Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society
are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not
define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on
the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us. God makes the hot
chocolate, man chooses the cups. The happiest people don't have the best of
everything. They just make the best of everything that they have. Live simply. Love
generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. And enjoy your hot chocolate!!
We can't escape
"Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before
them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them."
-- Orison Swett Marden
We can’t escape problems and negativity. Escaping just brings denial and suppression -
we continue to carry the problem with us. Ironically, it is our lack of acceptance and
resistance to the problem that creates the pain. Resistance builds up an energy wall or
block that, if not discharged, gets suppressed into the body. These blocks identify places
where we have not enough understanding or love.
For health, we must work through what we seek to avoid. How do we do this? We can
love parts of ourselves that we don’t like. We can seek the lessons we are being invited
to learn through the problem. We can examine our beliefs and seek to see different
perspectives and a bigger picture. As our perspectives grow, more of life makes sense
and has meaning.
"The Lord is a good psychologist: he knows the way our minds run. Turmoil
can be the Lord's way of tapping us on the shoulder and saying, 'Don't
forget me.'" Eknath Easwaran
Heal dualities
Our minds perceive and give relative value - positive and negative - to the different sides
of a duality. We usually shun the negative.
It’s important to know that you cannot eliminate the negative by focusing exclusively on
the positive. Energetically, both opposites must remain in balance. Increase one and its
opposite will also increase. Try to be only positive and the negative within you will raise
its ugly head.
We work with dualities by remembering that each is part of the whole. We must
acknowledge and accept all aspects of life, because they all exist within us. And so, if we
seek to be honest, we do so by acknowledging our potential to be dishonest. We can also
bring in love and compassion when we catch ourselves acting out the negative.
Power arises out of integrating the positive and negatives within us. From the tension
that exists between the two, we develop awareness and become more conscious and
compassionate.
"Any fool can run towards the light. It takes a master with courage to turn
and face the darkness and shine his own light there."
Leslie Fieger - author of the Delfin Knowledge System
Daily forgiveness
"As long as you don't forgive, who and whatever it is will occupy rent-free
space in your mind."
-- Isabelle Holland
We cannot avoid daily resentment and thoughts of guilt. They are a part of human
nature. What we can do is release their grip on us. We can forgive others and ourselves
daily.
Forgiveness requires nothing in return. There are no conditions. It gets rid of old
baggage and clears up unfinished business. It leads us to a life of authenticity, lightness
and directness. Forgiveness is the highest form of letting go of resentment and ego.
"Whatever we have done, we can always make amends for it without ever
looking back in guilt or sorrow."
Eknath Easwaran
Deeper communication
Once a human being has arrived on this earth, communication is the largest
single factor determining what kinds of relationships he makes with others
and what happens to him in the world about him."
-- Virginia Satir
For a few days, set an intention to be aware of your communication styles and skills.
After you’ve spent some time talking with someone, reflect on what your underlying
motives were and what level of depth you reached. Write your insights in your journal.
This exercise will help you become more aware and conscious of who you are and why
you do what you do.
"We need people in our lives with whom we can be as open as possible. To
have real conversation with people may seem like such a simple, obvious
suggestion, but it involves courage and risk."
-- Thomas Moore
"You must speak straight so that your words may go as sunlight to our
hearts."
-- Cochise
Consciousness is all about relationships -- especially how the lower relates to the higher
and how the darkness can exist within the light. Hold and experience contradictions like
anger with love. Let opposites coexist in you without choosing one over the other.
When we clearly set an intention, our conscious and subconscious minds mobilize to help
us meet that intention. At the start of each day, thoroughly review what commitments
you have made to others for the day, and decide what commitment(s) you will make for
yourself.
What can you do today that will move you one step closer to your personal goals? Own
your power to choose to meet your own needs. After all, we are much better able to help
others when our own needs are met. And at the end of the day, when you've honoured
your commitment to yourself, acknowledge your success.
"If you want to make good use of your time, you've got to know what's
most important and then give it all you've got."
-- Lee Iacocca
What is love?
"When mystics use the word love, they use it very carefully -- in the deeply
spiritual sense, where to love is to know; to love is to act. If you really love,
from the depths of your Consciousness, that love gives you a native
wisdom. You perceive the needs of others intuitively and clearly, with
detachment from any personal desires; and you know how to act creatively
to meet those needs, dexterously surmounting any obstacle that comes in
the way. Such is the immense, driving power of love."
-- Eknath Easwaran
"Therefore, when I say that ‘I love,’ it is not I who love, but in reality Love
who acts through me. Love is not so much something I do as something
that I am. Love is not a doing but a state of being - a relatedness, a
connectedness to another mortal, an identification with her or him that
simply flows within me and through me, independent of my intentions or
my efforts."
-- Robert A. Johnson
"When you are aware that you are the force that is Life, anything is
possible. Miracles happen all the time, because those miracles are
performed by the heart. The heart is in direct communion with the human
soul, and when the heart speaks, even with the resistance of the head,
something inside you changes; your heart opens another heart, and true
love is possible."
-- Don Miguel Ruiz
"When we take one step toward God, he takes seven steps toward us."
-- Hindu Proverb
If our ego is to know spirit, we must make the first move. Spirit does not come down and
knock on our door. It sits waiting for us to acknowledge it. We must want to change and
take the initiative and persevere. The love of spirit will embrace us. But we must take the
first steps.
In what areas of your life are you ready for change? What step can you take to open the
door to new possibilities? It starts with you.
'Faith is not complacent; faith is action. You don’t have faith and wait.
When you have faith, you move."
-- Betty Eadie
"Men are more accountable for their motives, than for anything else ...."
-- Archibald Alexander
Throughout the day, continually ask yourself about your underlying motivation. Are you
doing what you are doing for selfish, manipulative or fearful reasons, or in honest
service? Maybe you will see that much of your activity lacks purpose. This is a great way
to become more conscious.
Your intention and motives are fundamental to the results you receive. Set high
intentions and your life will blossom.
"There is a thought in your mind right now. The longer you hold on to it,
the more you dwell upon it, the more life you give to that thought. Give it
enough life, and it will become real. So make sure the thought is indeed a
great one."
-- Ralph Marston
Most of our self-talk comes unconsciously from our subconscious. Yet every thought that
exists in our subconscious got there through a conscious decision to accept that thought.
"Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what
happens to him."
-- Aldous Huxley
What was your peak experience of this past week?
What was your most challenging experience?
Stepping back to review your week can offer many insights. Normally we can’t see the
forest for the trees. Now back away and see the whole forest. Review your week. Now
write a short summary -- whatever comes to mind for you. If action is required, plan how
you will accomplish it in the next week.
Dare to risk
"To try is to risk failure. But risk must be taken because the greatest
hazard of life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing does nothing,
has nothing, is nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply
cannot learn, feel, change, grow, live, and love."
-- Leo Buscaglia
Daring to risk is an essential step to self empowerment. This is the key to breaking out of
stuck thinking and behaviour. It is about breaking through the comfort zones and
barriers. It is about experiencing new levels of mind and feelings. It is about
experiencing more life.
"A life spent in making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more
useful than a life spent doing nothing."
-- George Bernard Shaw
"Only those who risk going too far can know how far they can go."
Unknown source
Intention and the words we speak are powerful. When we say we are going to do
something, we set energy in motion. When we fail to act or complete our intention, we
drain our energy. We lose our power.
We would be wise to choose our words carefully -- to really mean what we say and to
honour the commitments we have made.
Open to possibilities
"One of the saddest lines in the world is, 'Oh come now - be realistic.' The
best parts of this world were not fashioned by those who were realistic.
They were fashioned by those who dared to look hard at their wishes and
gave them horses to ride."
-- Richard Nelson Bolles
"The world would have you agree with its dismal dream of limitation. But
the light would have you soar like the eagle of your sacred visions."
-- Alan Cohen
"Life is complex. Each one of us must make his own path through life.
There are no self-help manuals, no formulas, no easy answers. The right
road for one is the wrong road for another ... The journey of life is not
paved in blacktop; it is not brightly lit, and it has no road signs. It is a rocky
path through the wilderness."
-- M. Scott Peck
We each have our own pathways to develop both personally and spiritually. They are
based on our character and past experiences. No one else can identify our paths for us.
Tune in to your inner guidance system and follow its direction.
"What every man needs, regardless of his job or the kind of work he is
doing, is a vision of what his place is and may be. He needs an objective
and a purpose. He needs a feeling and a belief that he has some worthwhile
thing to do. What this is no one can tell him. It must be his own creation."
-- Joseph M. Dodge
How can we hear our wise voice of intuition if we are always thinking, talking and
distracted by outer events?
If we take time daily to experience physical stillness and to direct our attention inside,
we can begin to find the peace, love, will and wisdom that exist as our essence.
"In the sweet territory of silence we touch the mystery. It’s the place of
reflection and contemplation, and it’s the place where we can connect with
the deep knowing, to the deep wisdom way."
-- Angeles Arrien
"He who would be serene and pure needs but one thing, detachment."
-- Meister Eckhart
We are the ocean -- vast, deep, powerful and rich. Nourishing and nurturing. Dive down
into the dark stillness of being. Sense the rising and falling of surface thoughts and
emotions, sometimes gentle, sometimes violent. Always shifting. Always in motion. Draw
back and watch the waves of your life at play. Know you are the unfathomable depths --
surface agitations can’t disturb you. Know that you are bigger than the little things that
aggravate you.
"The bird of paradise alights only on the hand that does not grasp."
-- John Berry
"It’s best not to get too excited or too depressed by the ups and downs of
life."
-- Dalai Lama
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone
deeply gives you courage."
-- Lao Tzu
There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back
from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion,
excitement, and acceptance.
We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we
cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential
to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-
hearted vision of people who embrace life.
"It matters not Who you love, Where you love, Why you love, When you
love, Or how you love, It matters only that you love."
-- John Lennon
"Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?"
-- Frank Scully
"At the heart of personality is the need to feel a sense of being lovable
without having to qualify for that acceptance."
-- Dr. Paul Tournier
Take a few minutes to write down why you perceive yourself to be unlovable. Look at the
list and see if you can identify where those characterizations originated. Can you pinpoint
old messages from parents, teachers, and friends that led you to negative conclusions
about yourself? Are those messages valid today?
The beliefs we adopt as children usually don't hold when we view them objectively as
adults. Can you let them go? Can you begin to see yourself as a unique expression of
life, a genuine gift to the world?
"Our inability to see beauty doesn’t suggest in the slightest that beauty is
not there. Rather, it suggests that we are not looking carefully enough or
with broad enough perspective to see the beauty."
-- Rabbi Harold Kushner
Who are you? You can gaze at your reflection in a mirror but you’re not likely to see your
true likeness. You are beautiful, unique, perfect. Do you see that?
The world needs you to see how whole and complete you are -- now. Can you begin to
own your divinity? The world needs you to know who you really are so you can be the
mirror for others.
"The sun shines not on us but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through
us, thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our
bodies, making them glide and sing."
-- John Muir
"It is the mind that makes one wise or ignorant, bound or emancipated."
-- Sri Ramakrishna
Zen distinguishes big mind from small mind. Big mind identifies with its process, is
impersonal and participates universally. Big mind is unlimited possibilities, deeper
understanding, forgiveness, acceptance, insight, connectedness, attention.
Small mind is self centred and focuses only on itself. It is compulsive, limited, reactive
and mechanical. Small mind feeds on itself -- fear reacts to fear, judgment reacts to
judgment, anger sparks more anger.
Always seek higher perspectives and you will in time find freedom.
"If a pickpocket meets a Holy Man, he will see only his pockets."
-- Hari Dass
"If you accept a limiting belief, then it will become a truth for you."
-- Louise Hay
Pick one aspect of your life, e.g. your health, your competence, your prosperity or
relationships, and think back to when you were a child. What messages about this
subject did you hear from adults at that time that are still playing on your subconscious
tape recorder? Messages like: "Men can't be trusted." "Money doesn't grow on trees."
"You're not smart enough to succeed in business."
"There are no limitations to the self except those you believe in."
Seth
Racing through life is very stressful. If we stay in high gear too long, we lose our ability
to shift down. And when we're stressed, we can't access happiness, appreciation, fun,
compassion, generosity, awareness of beauty and other wonderful qualities. High stress
also triggers negative emotions like frustration, impatience, anger and fear.
Life has so much to offer if we will slow down and truly experience it. We must always
remember that we are the ones in control of the accelerator. We CAN choose to brake.
"Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too
fast -- you also miss the sense of where you are going and why."
-- Eddie Cantor
What's important?
"Where you are headed is more important than how fast you are going.
Rather than always focusing on what's urgent, learn to focus on what is
really important."
-- Stephen Covey
Time management is all about making decisions. At each step of the way, we want to
choose activities that best support what we want to do with our lives. To do this, we need
to be clear about our short and long-term goals.
Here’s a general question to ask yourself often: "Is this the best use of my time in terms
of meeting my goals?" Sometimes, of course, we don't have any choice. But ask yourself
honestly, "Could I take more control if I really wanted to?" Often, we play the victim
because we don't want to make the effort to change our behaviour.
"Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time,' is like saying, 'I don't
want to.'"
-- Lao-Tzu
Racing through life is very stressful. If we stay in high gear too long, we lose our ability
to shift down. And when we're stressed, we can't access happiness, appreciation, fun,
compassion, generosity, awareness of beauty and other wonderful qualities. High stress
also triggers negative emotions like frustration, impatience, anger and fear.
Life has so much to offer if we will slow down and truly experience it. We must always
remember that we are the ones in control of the accelerator. We CAN choose to brake.
"Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too
fast -- you also miss the sense of where you are going and why."
-- Eddie Cantor
"The future, higher evolution will belong to those who live in joy, who
share joy, and who spread joy."
-- Torkom Saraydarian
Joy, as the energy of love, is the highest vibration on this planet. Everything in the
universe is energy; it can be measured and reduced to vibrational frequencies. It’s a
universal law that as we think and feel we vibrate, and as we vibrate we attract. When
we are in the high joy vibration, we attract what is for our greater good.
The Ancient Egyptians saw Joy as a sacred responsibility. They believed that upon their
death, the God Osiris would ask them two questions: "Did you bring Joy?" and "Did you
find Joy?" Those who answered ‘yes’ could continue their journey into the afterlife.
For at least the next week or two, ask yourself these two questions each and every day:
Did I bring joy? Did I find joy?
"Man loves because he is Love. He seeks Joy, for he is Joy. He thirsts for
God for he is composed of God and he cannot exist without Him."
Sathya Sai Baba
On the path of evolution, we move from being a willing and obedient member of the
group to wanting to take control over our own lives. This is a necessary but difficult
transition.
Andrew Schneider says, "At this point we are afraid of being ourselves. We are afraid of
being unique and different. We are afraid of being individually powerful, and even
successful. For all of these things stand against the old ways that told us that conformity
was right and individualism was wrong.
"For as long as we possibly can, we make a compromise. We try to live both lives - the
dependent tribal life and the independent personal life - as contradictory and opposite as
they are.
"We want approval from others. We want to be accepted and popular. We seek this
comfort to overcome our fear and feel more secure. ...So, at times when we conform, we
don’t feel the fear of living. But we might lose the new sense of adventure, discovery,
daring and enthusiasm for life that the questioning and questing have brought us."
"Nature never repeats herself, and the possibilities of one human soul will
never be found in another."
-- Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Spiritual pathways
"In any way that men love me in that same way they find my love: for
many are the paths of men, but they all in the end come to me."
-- Song of God, Bhagavad Gita
Spirit - the life force - exists in everything. It follows, then, that ANY path, any encounter
is spiritual if we have the awareness to see it as such. Going deeper, going higher,
emptying, connecting, believing or disbelieving, bouncing off the bottom, experiencing
the heights, in pain, in ecstasy....
Too often, we search afar for our own purpose when it is in our lives all the time, waiting
for us to express it more openly. Bring greater awareness to each encounter and
situation in life. Tune in to what you are inspired to do, who you are inspired to be. Your
answers are waiting for you to pay attention - every moment!
"...focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an
activity but in doing it."
-- Greg Anderson
Watch yourself shift from the self-centered, controlling behaviours of the ego to the
power, love and wisdom of the soul
The greatest glory in living lies not in ever falling, but in rising every time we fall.
Nelson Mandela
Does the prospect of changing and growing seem monumental to you? Just too much to
tackle?
Then consider this approach. Take a simple step of affirming your openness to experience
more or something new. Or a different first step might be to let go of judgment by
embracing the neutral. Begin to see the people, activities and things around you as
neither good nor bad.
A journey is made of many small steps. Don’t focus on a far-off destination if you’re not
clear how to get there. Build a foundation that is solid for you. We get to new places one
step at a time.
"You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.
"One may walk over the highest mountain one step at a time."
-- John Wanamaker
Ego's tricks
The Tibetan teacher, Chogyam Trungpa, warned of the trap of spiritual materialism. He
says we must be ever diligent to spot the ego’s use of the spiritual journey to further its
own ends.
We may think it’s spiritual to yearn for divine connection. And yet, if the longing is to fill
an emptiness inside, just how does this differ from the one who yearns for money or
possessions to fill the inner void? Do we look to our spiritual practices as proof of our
evolved consciousness or as protection against fears?
Any time we use spiritual disciplines to maintain our identity and security, we are not yet
on the path of genuine spiritual development.
Do you believe, deep down inside of you, that you can succeed in what you want to do?
Beliefs are strong, and they have the power to attract what is believed to us. If we doubt
our ability to succeed, if we in fact believe we WON'T succeed, then sure enough, that’s
what will happen.
What do you believe about yourself? You have the power to change your beliefs, and that
will change your outcome. Set goals you believe you can accomplish. Your beliefs will
shape your actions. As you achieve these goals, you'll begin to believe you are capable of
succeeding and of doing even more.
"Believe it can be done. When you believe something can be done, really
believe, your mind will find the ways to do it. Believing a solution paves the
way to solution."
-- Dr. David Schwartz
Define 'rich'
"It ain't so much trouble to get rich as it is to tell when we have got rich."
-- Josh Billings
If you want greater wealth, what does that mean for you? A large annual income? If so,
how large? A beautiful home? Health? Security? Happiness? To be in service?
Get really specific about what would bring you a rich life. There are no right and wrong
answers here. Don’t judge your desires. Just dig deep to discover what it is that you
really want. If you want things, explore what qualities of life those things represent to
you.
"No one can tell whether they are richer or poor by turning to their ledger.
It is the heart that makes a person rich. One is rich according to what one
is, not according to what one has."
-- Henry Ward Beecher
"If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free. If our wealth
commands us, we are poor indeed."
-- Edmund Burke
In most cases, especially in relationships, you will only get 80% of what you NEED and you will hardly
get the other 20% that you WANT in your relationship.
There is always another person (man or women) that you will meet and that will offer you the other
20% which is lacking in your relationship that you WANT And believe me, 20% looks really good when
you are not getting it at all in your current relationship.
But the problem is that you will always be tempted to leave that good 80% that you know you have,
thinking that you will get something better with the other 20% that you WANT.
But as reality has is, in most cases, you will always end up with having the 20% that you WANT and
loosing the 80% that you really NEED and that you already had.
Be careful in deciding between what you WANT and NEED in your life!
It rhymes with weed. It produces the oak tree. We often eat it or grind it up for flour. It
can mean cause or origination. You guessed it. It is SEED.
Our minds love to associate one thing to another. But as we get stuck in very fixed
patterns of thinking, we think of fewer and fewer connections. We are ruled by habits,
associations and automatic responses. So we must stimulate our thinking with lots of
different seeds to chart new paths in our brains.
“Just as our eyes need light in order to see, our minds need ideas in order
to conceive.”
-- Napoleon Hill
“You never will be the person you can be if pressure, tension and discipline
are taken out of your life.”
-- James G. Bilkey
We need tension in our lives. It’s the force of personal evolution -- it sparks creativity
and higher consciousness. If we’re not comfortable with a situation, we try to improve it,
right?
Tension arises through our experience of opposites. These opposites fight each other as
each one struggles for dominance. Tension is transformed when two opposite dimensions
of reality are brought together in balance and in wholeness.
Know that tension is an integral part of growth. Instead of avoiding or resisting tension
when it arises, identify the opposing forces at play. Make space for each of them to be
there together and the tension will transform.
We encounter tensions between positives and negatives, mind and body, self and
environment, self and others, and personality and soul – the dualities in our lives.
All is mind
Everything -- absolutely everything -- that happens in our lives has a spiritual cause.
Mental, emotional and physical events are only effects.
When we are struggling with any challenge, whether it be ill health, a lack of money, a
lost job, relationships, an accident, whatever -- we need to look for the spiritual learning.
We can ask ourselves, “What quality does my soul want me to live more fully?”
“I went to the root of things, and found nothing but Him alone.”
Mira Bai
“If you're having difficulty coming up with new ideas, then slow down. For
me, slowing down has been a tremendous source of creativity. It has
allowed me to open up -- to know that there's life under the earth and that
I have to let it come through me in a new way. Creativity exists in the
present moment. You can't find it anywhere else.”
-- Natalie Goldberg
Feeling trapped in some way? Give yourself space. Space to do nothing but breathe. To
intentionally relax those tight muscles. To just for a few precious minutes, let it all go.
The world will keep turning if you tune out for a short while. And your world will begin to
recover its balance.
Although soul works through individuals, its focus is on the needs of others and
on service to humanity.
“Do not feed your ego and your problems, with your attention.
...Slowly, surely, the ego will lose weight, until one fine day it will
be nothing but a thin ghost of its former self. You will be able to see
right through it, to the divine presence that shines in each of us.”
-- Eknath Easwaran
Our grand business in life is not to see what lies dimly at a distance,
but to do what lies clearly at hand."
-- Thomas Carlyle
We each play a role in the bigger game of life. In this bigger picture, life plays
with energy and matter to expand, create, express and evolve. It explores new
possibilities, realizes them and then reaches for even more. Life continually
transforms what is into something brand new.
We choose how actively we take part in this cosmic dance. We can become mere
spectators to life if we get stuck in old ideas that have lost their energy for us.
How much passion do you feel for your goals? Are you still being creative in how
you work with them?
As a first step, we can be willing to truly feel our anger and hurt. Honouring our
feelings by being fully present with them helps to release the feelings
themselves.
And it helps to remember that people only hurt others when they themselves are
in pain. When we can recognize the other person’s suffering, our heart can open
in compassion. We can also remember that at some time or another, we too have
hurt someone through our own unskillful action.
Only love can heal the rifts caused by a hurtful deed. Forgiveness holds immense
power because it mends separation. It moves us towards the unity and love that
lie at the core of our being. It is a fundamental part of the healing process.
"Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the
future."
-- Paul Boese
The physical, emotional and mental realms are all effects! Shift into working with
cause by developing your higher mind, heart and spirituality and then your life
will significantly change for the better.
The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, But the mouth of fools spouts folly.
Douay-Rheims Bible
The tongue of the wise adorneth knowledge: but the mouth of fools bubbleth out folly.
Proverbs 12:23 A prudent man conceals knowledge, But the heart of fools proclaims folly.
Proverbs 13:16 Every prudent man acts with knowledge, But a fool displays folly.
Proverbs 15:7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge, But the hearts of fools are not so.
Proverbs 15:28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, But the mouth of the
wicked pours out evil things. (NASB ©1995)
The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.
poureth Ps 59:7