Accomplishment

We do not need to move mountains in order to experience a sense of accomplishment.

We only need to keep our minds clear and our goals well grounded.

There is nothing like a true feeling of accomplishing real day-to-day objectives to produce a sense of well-being and eliminate the need for grandiosity.

Genuine accomplishment is its own reward, the good feeling it produces makes life worth living.

Genuine accomplishment allows the energies of soul to flow through us and find expression in simple, real ways.

If we can only experience accomplishment when we overachieve, we will miss the beauty of what a sense of accomplishment is all about.

When we put our hearts into our actions and perform the duties of our lives with love and devotion, we move closer to soul.

Take pleasure in simple daily accomplishments.

Barriers

Our task in life is to work with ourselves sincerely and honestly.

To remove the emotional and mental obstacles that are in the way of our personal well-being and soul experience.

Soul is. It is what we put in its' way that keeps us from experiencing it.

Our anxiety, depression, sense of meaningless-ness and purposelessness can also be seen as loss of soul.

By being willing to own and grapple with personal pain, we act on our commitment to deepen our relationship with soul and to open our hearts to love.

Love and fear are two primary feelings. We can identify with either.

Fear is not only fear of another, but fear of our reaction to another - which is fear of ourselves.

We can work with our fear of life, of loneliness, of existential boredom so that we can release them and move through our inner barriers that block our experience of love.

Today I will work with my inner pain and fear.

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all of the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. ~ A Course in Miracles

Surrender

Allow yourself to let go today.

So much grace and beauty enters our lives when we can get out of our own way and let life work out.

When, on the other hand, we try to force circumstances to be a certain way, we are unable to be present in them as they are.

Each day probably has the potential to work out if we can only let it, if we can learn to move with the natural flow rather than try to control and manipulate the events of our lives.

Like the weather, our lives have a natural rhythm. When we are in sync with that natural rhythm, things run more smoothly.

Today have faith, trust that if we allow our lives to unfold and if we stay present and alive, we will come to understand how to live.

Trust in your ability to live your life well.

God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. ~ Reinhold Niebuhr

Maturity

Lets keep ourselves in perspective.

We have been around the block with ouselves many times. We know where we get snagged up, we know where certain relationships or circumstances will lead us. We are familiar with how we react to various circumstances.

Just for today, avoid going down a street that we know is filled with potholes and take a street that runs some other way.

Why should we deliberately set ourselves up for disappointment when we can just as easily avoid it?

Why should we do what we know will not yield high returns?

If we know and understand ourselves, then it is our responsibility to put that knowledge to good use, to allow it to steer us through our lives in positive and pleasant ways.

Our lives work better when we are able to witness ouselves in action, knowing that we can enter in by choice rather than compulsion, feeling free to act as we choose, to tailor our lives to suit us.

To act with maturity.

Maturity consists in no longer being taken in by oneself. ~ Kajetan von Schlaggenberg

Time and Space

Look beyond time and space into the infinite nature of the universe, into soul.

What we see around us is not all there is to this world. See more.

Trust your eyes and trust your heart.

What we see with our minds and our hearts are just as real for us as what we see with our eyes.

Reality is multilayered.

When we are still and quiet it unfolds itself to us. Its wisdom and meaning seep effortlessly into our pores. We come to understand truth and soul because we sense its presence within us.

We are a part of this divine mystery of life.

We are indivisible with the whole, a cog in an ever-turning wheel of time, beyond which lies eternity, more life, more me, more it.

See beyond time and space.

The influence of the senses has in most men overpowered the mind to that degree that the walls of time and space have come to look real and insurmountable; and to speak with levity of these limits is, in this world, the sign of insanity. Yet time and space are but inverse measures of the force of the soul. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Evolution of Spirit

We are all a part of a larger plan, the evolution of the human mind.

If evolution is natural to the species of plants and animals, then we must be evolving as well.

The true scholar seeks to build on what has been developed. He or she continues to test and prove, to grow theories and then to pass them on in good order to the next generation of researchers and learners.

Work to be a good scholar of life today, competent researchers of the human soul.

Work towards doing our part to expand in the accumulated knowledge that we all have access to.

Experiment and add to a body of information, then pass it lovingly on to the next generation.

We are all a part of the evolution of spirit.

"the Manuscript describes the progress of succeeding generations as an evolution of understanding, an evolution toward a higher spirituality and vibration. Each generation incorporates more energy and accumulates more truth and then passes that on to the people of the next generation who extend it further." ~ James Redfield, The Celestine Prophecy

Becoming

Written by Robert Ballard, his response to reading; "The Power of Myth, by Joseph Campbell".

“For me, The Power of Myth reinforced my view that life is a series of journeys, circles within circles on which you travel through time and space within yourself.

Each journey begins with a dream that grows into a passion to do something important in life. That passion motivates you to learn, to prepare yourself to fulfill your dream.

Finally, you begin the journey itself, which is in my case commonly becomes an expedition to find something lost or unknown.

During this journey I know I will be tested by the storm we must all experience. Some storms will test your mental preparation, but the most challenging will test the strength of your passion and your willingness to endure those storms to reach your goal. And I have learned that all storms will pass: the skies clear and your quest is achieved.

But your journey is never over until you return from it to share with society what you have learned.

Then and only then can you begin your next journey in life as the process repeats itself, as you constantly become.”

 "Life is the act of becoming, that you never arrive. We climb our mountains not for the view we have once we reach the summit, but because we love the process of climbing, of becoming". ~ J Campbell, "The Power of Myth"

Throughout our life, through the stages, we must allow ourself the pause to reflect before we can move forward, onward.

Sharing

Share your joy with others. Simply living a happy life gives us much to pass around.

Living well and happily is no small accomplishment. It means that we are doing something right, that we understand some basic truths about living and prospering in this world.

Life is fundamentally simple, but recognizing this and actually simplifying our lives requires a strong and mindful resolve, the strength of character to resist the complicated aspects of life that lead to self-destruction.

What we come to know through happy living are the profound lessons passed down through saints and sages.

Appreciating joy in our lives and sharing it with others enhances and increases its presence for us.

Share your joy.

Just as the wave cannot exist for itself, but is ever a part of the heaving surface of the ocean, so must I never live my life for itself, but always in the experience which is going on around me. It is an uncomfortable doctrine which the true ethics whisper into my ear. You are happy, they say; therefore you are called upon to give much. ~ Albert Schweitzer

Personal Issues

We become closer to our soul nature through rigorous psychological self-examination.

Analyzing our drives and motivations or listening to the language of our dreams is a form of soul-searching.

To ignore our personal self in our journey toward soul would be misguided; a form of self-erasure.

Grappling with our personal problems can be exasperating and frustrating, but it brings us closer to our inner being, and allows us greater intimacy with soul.

Freud showed us how the soul could become aware of itself. To become acquainted with the lowest depth of soul - to explore whatever personal hell we may suffer from - is not an easy undertaking... this demanding and potentially dangerous voyage of self-discovery will result in our becoming more fully human. Freud often spoke of the soul... Unfortunately, nobody who reads him in English could guess this, because nearly all his many references to the soul, and to matters pertaining to the soul, have been excised in translation. ~ Bruno Bettleheim

The Dark Night of the Soul

Sharing our deepest shame helps us break out of our sense of isolation and disconnection from others.

Secrets that we carry in the silence of our minds and hearts divide us from ourself and others.

When we break our own silence, we crack the hard shell surrounding us, and let in the light.

We take a chance and trust other people with the banished contents of our mind, being willing to trust another deepens our trust in ourselves.

We learn that we can survive knowing and allowing others to know.

Spirit cannot shine in darkness - it casts darkness away. A 'dark night of the soul' is part of letting in the light.

Refused darkness is not light; refusing darkness actually blocks light from coming through.

Honest pain and anguish are part of the process of soul growth, they are part of a willingness to grapple with, and face the angst that blocks the spirit.

Share with another what you hold in silent shame.

Confession is good for the soul. ~ Scottish proverb

Consistency

Be consistent today.

Soul cannot express itself and be explored through a chaotic, disorganized life.

When we allow ourselves to be regular, to attend to the dailiness of a life's work, we create a work space within ourselves for soul.

Pursuing any one goal can get tedious and monotonous.

Working through setbacks and frustrations can make us want to give up, to stop pushing, to abandon our 'mission'. But it is by staying with it that we develop strength.

It is in learning to tolerate small failures and frustrations that we build psychological and emotional muscle.

This strength translates itself into an ability to handle the intensity of soul.

Soul is a paradox, both exquisitely simple and maddeningly complex.

It is necessary for us to develop strength of character in order to meet the inner challenges of a life aware of soul and spirit.

Stay focused and committed to your life's work.

Don't change horses in midstream. ~ Abraham Lincoln

I Am Not My Roles

I have an identity behind the roles that I play in my life, a me that is constant, unchanging and connected to universal oneness or soul.

Today I will allow myself to breathe deeply, detach from whatever role I am playing and rest in an eternal sense of self.

I am more than my roles.

The relative reality of these various identities are "real" only in relation to the situation which calls them forth. But if all of our identities are only relatively real, coming and going as circumstance warrants, is there any part of us that remains steady and stable behind all our roles? If we observe our own minds at work, we see that behind all these identities is a state of awareness that incorporates them all and yet is still able to rest behind them. As we loosen the hold of each identity so that we don't get completely lost in it, we are able to remain light and loose - able to play among these various aspects of being without identifying exclusively with any. We don't have to be anybody in particular. We don't have to be "this" or "that." We are free simply to be.
~ Ram Dass and Paul Gorman

Honest Living

Soul cannot shine through a distorted lens; it cannot operate through a dishonest life, a life filled with pretense and subtle lies.

We must be honest and genuine in the way we live.

We must not pretend to be what we are not in order to look good.

Living well requires a constant vigilance, constant awareness.

When we don't pay attention to the way we live, it is all too easy to slip into bad habits and nonproductive ways of thinking, behaving and conducting ourselves.

Live mindfully today, live an honest life.

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you but make allowance for their doubting, too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, or being lied about, don't deal in lies, or being hated, don't give way to hating, and yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not makes dreams your master,
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.
~ Rudyard Kipling

The Mystical Experience

When I transcend my day-to-day world and connect with a force and truth beyond what my eyes see, I sense that I live in a universe with a higher intelligence, that there is a reality that connects us all, beyond words, shape or form.

I have glimpsed eternity and it has changed my life.

It has allowed me to go through my life knowing that I am not alone, that life is not meaningless.

I have experienced the deeper meaning of life.

A mystical experience is... usually profound and almost always positive in nature, leading people to move in an ethical direction, leading them to be more confident, to feel that there is meaning in life; leading them to fear death less, making them take a more healthy approach to life in general. These are experiences that are sometimes related to nature, music, and feelings that there have been meaningful coincidences in the person's life, that how could these things have happened except for an anti-chance power. Sometimes they are conversion experiences and these can be of a gradual nature or a sudden nature. ~ George Gallup (from Gallup polls on 4 out of 10 who reported having a mystical experience).

Quiet Desperation

It may be a little difficult, but just for today try not to hide the pieces and corners of yourself from your inner view.

When we fail to live up to an image of what we think we should be, we hide who we fear we are.

Spirit cannot live a lie. We lie to ourselves when we pretend not to be who we are, and the person we lie to the most is "me".

When we don't tell the truth to ourselves, we undermine our connections with self.

We weaken our most important link - "me" with our own insides, our intellect with our hearts.

Soul comes to us through our own inner depths. When our inner depths are littered with unopened boxes or rejected pieces of self, it barricades the smooth entry of soul.

Today, get to know yourself.

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation... A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things. ~ Henry David Thoreau

The Comfort of Ritual

It is often the elders among us who understand the value of rituals and who help to anchor them.

Older people who understand how to be elders, who are able to pass on encouragement and strength rather than despair and judgment, are gifts to society.

Elders who have worked through their own failures and inadequacies and come to terms with their lives are able to mentor without controlling, give advice without criticizing, and help people who are younger to get in touch with their own strength, their own soul.

They provide encouragement to go on with life and to face our challenges with love and courage.

Generations are connected to one another seamlessly, each leading naturally into the next.

The old receive the vitality of youth, the youth the stability of the old... and those in the middle are supported and nurtured in their life's duties.

Be open enough to accept the teachings of the wise elders.

The hand of liberality is stronger than the arm of power. ~ Sadi

Only Soul

There is only soul. Only one reality, one truth.

When we tune into the deeper layers of life, the world appears to be a stage set.

As we move through our day, look beyond and beneath the surface. Slow down and allow time and space to expand in our presence.

Time and space actually alter the way they feel to us when we are quiet and contemplative; their very qualities seem different when we move further into the moment, experiencing it more deeply.

Life takes on a richness and a fullness that has nothing to do with anything more than just being.

Just being, fully in this moment, allows its beauty to slowly unfold itself before us - to spread its wealth at our feet.

Living here and now is enough.

Allow the richness of the moment to alter time and space.

Before the revelations of the soul, Time and Space and Nature shrink away. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Going Within

Going within can be terrifying; to be willing to truly be still and with self is not easy.

Because it can be such a despairing feeling to go within and not find what we need, rather than tolerate the emptiness we race headlong into the acquisition of more of what we think will fill us.

When we live suspended amidst the promise of fulfillment, we see the solution to emptiness as adding and subtracting outside experiences.

Each time we leave a job or a relationship, the parts of ourselves that we left unresolved are still within us.

Until we resolve them, all we are doing is creating more complication in our lives.

This keeps us busy with the illusion that we are working on our problems, which only too often are not the problem at all. The problem is generally within ourselves.

Until we are willing to look for it there, all the switching and changing in the world won't give us what we need.

Have the strength to be still.

You are so afraid of losing your moral sense that you are not willing to take it through anything more dangerous than a mud-puddle. ~ Gertrude Stein

The Dream of Perfection

One of the surest paths toward feelings of inadequacy and an inability to move forward in life is to set unrealistic goals for ourselves.

That is, to have standards that represent "getting there" that are so high that we always fall short.

More likely, the effect of these overly high standards will be to keep us from ever beginning because the point of arrival looks too far away, and we cannot imagine how to find and take all of the intermediate steps.

Today be realistic. Know that there is no such thing as perfect, so why should we worry about getting there?

There is the here and now, and when we get there, it will be that day's here and now.

Recognize that perfection is only an illusion, learn to take daily pleasure and fulfillment from the process.

Live in today.

We have trained them (men) to think of the Future as a promised land which favored heroes attain - not as something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is. ~ C. S. Lewis

Alone in the Presence of the Self

When we do not allow ourselves the time to develop an inner relationship with our own souls, we leave ourselves open to countless maladies. We are alone in the presence of self. Being alone in the presence of self is the worst kind of aloneness.

There is something very disturbing about not being able to be comfortable with our own insides.

The reason that a process of introspection is so vital on the road toward self is just this: when we sit quietly with ourself, all the unfinished business, old hurts and unquenched longings begin to rumble around and make themselves felt to us.

If we cannot sit through this process of feeling our painful feelings, sorting through them and resolving them, we really cannot sit with ourself because sitting with ourself is too painful.

When we have sorted out the problem and learned methods of sitting with inner pain, we are able to sit through these feelings so that we can eventually get to serenity and self.

Be willing to sit with all of who you are.

Neurosis is the way of avoiding non-being by avoiding being. ~ Paul Tillich

Commonality

Acknowledge the humanity in other people.

Who I am, they are also.

We need not fear exposure because all the secrets that we think we keep so well hidden from others are only too visible, only too obvious.

We are more transparent than we think, but we are not alone - others are transparent, too.

We are all insecure. We all feel love, hate and fear rejection. We are maddeningly alike under the skin.

If we are unusual and unique, it is not so much because we try to be different, but because at a deep and spiritual level, we recognize the essential sameness of all people.

Live with the understanding that human beings are fundamentally similar.

See the divine spirit in all people.

Learn to see God in all persons, of whatever race or creed. You will know what divine love is when you begin to feel your oneness with every human being, not before. In mutual service we forget the little self and glimpse the one measureless self, the spirit that unifies all men. ~ Parmahansa Yogananada

Things of the World

Why chase after shadows or expect the things of the world to fill our souls?

Any experience, object or passion cannot make up for, eliminate, or otherwise fill up any holes within us.

When we expect the world to complete our insides, we are asking it for more than it can offer.

The world is limited in what it can give us. Bitter though this awareness may be, it is our road to truly enjoying the world as it is.

When we learn the true value of worldly gains, what the things of the world can and cannot offer, we cease asking them to be what they cannot.

People, places and things cannot make us happy. We have to do that for ourselves. It is our ability to use and enjoy objects, rather than letting objects own us, that gives our lives its pleasant rhythm.

Our happiness emerges once we have learnt to value things correctly.

Every real object must cease to be what it seemed, and none could ever be what the whole soul desired. ~ George Santayana

Stepping Back

Keeping a broad view in mind allows us to keep our sense of perspective - it keeps us from getting lost in unimportant details.

In order to do this we must practice an attitude of some detachment. We must step back from our thought processes to see how our day feels when we act as a witness to our mental processes.

Become a watcher of our own process of thinking, an observer within our own mind.

We can better grasp the larger picture when we do not get derailed in obsessive mental machinations.

We feel better about our lives, and it makes more sense to us, when we accept that it has an overall purpose and plan.

Relax, let go and enjoy the ride. Take a deep breath and step back.

A tourist visiting Italy came upon the construction site of a huge church. "What are you doing?" he asked three stonemasons who were working at their trade. "I'm cutting stone," answered the first tersely. "I'm cutting stone for twenty lire a day," the second responded. "I'm helping build a great cathedral," the third stonemason announced.

3 Keys to Accepting Change and Letting Go

Is there an area in your life where you’re feeling stuck?

Perhaps you’re feeling stuck in an unsatisfying job or in an unhappy relationship. Or maybe you’re feeling stuck reliving past events that are causing feelings of sadness or regret. Use this awareness as an indicator that it’s time to go with the flow - use it as your inner compass to get you moving again in a new and positive direction.

To go with the flow, ask yourself these three questions:

1. Will any amount of thinking, forcing, or coaxing alter my situation
2. Which thoughts and old beliefs do I need to let go of?
3. In which new direction would I like to head?

1. Will any amount of thinking, forcing, or coaxing alter my situation?
If the answer is no, accept that fact. Without acceptance, you’ll continue to fight, resist, and struggle, which will erode your joy and energy. On the other hand, accepting the situation for what it is and choosing to go with the flow will bring tranquility, peace, and lightness.

2. Which thoughts and old beliefs do I need to let go of?
Let go of any thoughts about the situation that are causing upsetting feelings; such as impatience, jealousy, fear, or anger. One way to do this is to trust that out of every situation, good will come. When you choose to believe that good will come out of every experience, you’ll soon discover that perceived obstacles are really blessings in disguise. Sometimes these obstacles serve to nudge you in a new direction - one that will open up your world to magnificent experiences. Sometimes they help you become a stronger, better, and wiser you. Take all the positives you can out of each experience and choose to leave the negative feelings behind.

3. In which new direction would I like to head?
It’s important to understand that going with the flow doesn’t mean you drift aimlessly and allow the tide to determine where in your life you’ll end up. It’s fulfilling to decide where you want to go and then take the steps to get there.

Free yourself and go with the flow: Accept the situation for what it is, let go of negative thoughts associated with it by trusting that good will come out of every experience, and open up to a change in direction. Allow the natural current of life to take you on a marvelous new adventure.

(Denise Marek)

Honesty

Keeping secrets is a foolish attempt to stay safe from the truth.

We tell ourselves we are sparing another person or protecting ourselves, but all too often the secrets that we keep actually keep us.

What one another need from each other in order to make sense of each other is the truth.

When we withhold that truth, we withhold ourselves. We create distance that no one can cross because the way across the divide is the way of honesty.

We cannot make something better by lying, and we cannot be fully understood if we won't give the benefit of the truth.

We can live our lives in webs of lies without ever uttering a falsehood. The web of lies is composed of not just what we say, but the vast amount of honesty that we withhold.

There is a difference between considerate honesty and aggressive frankness. Honesty recognizes the personhood of both people and is an act of trust; whereas agressive frankness borders on mean.

We can choose to see honesty as an act of trust.

The weakness of a soul is proportionate to the number of truths that must be kept from it. ~ Eric Hoffer

Taking vs. Receiving

There is a vast difference between taking and receiving.

There is a way of receiving that is also giving.

When we can receive, we act as willing containers for another person's gift. We validate the giver's act of giving and acknowledge his or her generosity.

This benefits both the giver and the receiver in equal measure, both are enriched and neither overly depleted.

When we take, we do not acknowledge the gift - rather, we put in the purse of our beings that which we want, then snap it shut and go off to take again, hoping that no one notices.

This leaves both parties wanting - the giver feels he/she has been manipulated into giving whether wanting to or not; and the taker - because without receiving a person never really fills up - just continues to feel empty.

We can acknowledge a gift; we can receive.

Developing the muscles of the soul demands no competitive spirit, no killer instinct, although it may erect pain barriers that the spiritual athlete must crash through. ~ Germaine Greer

God in Nature

There are some who have the serene ability to tune into and appreciate nature. They see God behind the illusion of reality.

Though this world may feel as if it is still and concrete, the truth is that it is always in motion.

The world is in a constant state of birth and death, manifestation and destruction.

Just for today; walk through your day and look at the world through soft eyes, eyes that see not only at, but through.

As an exercise in raising our consciousness, remind ourselves throughout the day to tune into a world in motion.

Attempt to see the hand of creation behind all that surrounds us.

When we look at the world, take a deep breath, quiet our minds and know that we are looking at the many manifestations of soul.

The perfumed flowers are our sisters... the juices of the meadows, the body heat of the pony, and man - all belong to the same family. ~ Chief Seattle

Loving Another

When we love someone or when someone loves us, we become a part of one another.

To the extent to which that love carries commitment along with it, we are partners in each other's destiny.

What we do affects the other, a piece of us lives in the heart and mind of that other person.

What piece of us do we want to live on in the mind of another? When they turn inward to find us, who will they find? What will we have left behind us as a legacy of that relationship?

We may have made mistakes or hurt someone without understanding what we were doing, but today be mindful; be honest and try not to harm.

We cannot control how another person acts or feels, but we can be aware of what we put into our relationships.

We can have conscious interactions.

Love is the extra effort we make in our dealings with those whom we do not like and once you understand that, you understand all. This idea that love overtakes you is nonsense. This is but a polite manifestation of sex. To love another you have to undertake some fragment of their destiny. ~ Quentin Crisp

Genuine Health

Do not see a life free of problems as a healthy life. Wanting our lives to look and to be problem-free goes against what is natural and mobilizes our vanity in the struggle to hide anything that we consider "unpleasant."

Problems that we hide don't go away. It is facing adversity and pain in the light of day, sharing it with others - breaking isolation and connecting with those around us - that promotes growth.

When we want our days to be struggle-free, we stop the wheels of life from functioning.

Problems are a part of living well and being alive.

The point that health is not so much the absence of disease as it is the presence of an optimal healing process is crucial for understanding our lives. It is crucial because the principle applies not only to our physical health but also to our mental health and to the health of our organizations and institutions. A healthy organization - whether a marriage, a family, or a business corporation - is not one with an absence of problems, but one that is actively and effectively addressing or healing its problems. ~ M. Scott Peck, M.D.

Inner Depth

Believe in life today, and do not be afraid to admit it. We know what is eternally good in this universe because we experience it daily.

Within our own hearts there is a well of love that we can constantly turn to; within our own souls there is a faith in the universe, in life, that never leaves us.

Occasionally we may leave it, but it is always there when we return, right where we left it, in the stillness of our own beings.

Faith feels natural. Sense that we are alive, see the life that surrounds us. Trust the fundamental goodness of this universe.

Know, in our hearts, that with sincere effort, adversity can be overcome and good will win out over evil. Know that we can allow the best in us to conquer the worst in us - that we can constantly reach toward our higher selves.

A deep man believes that the evil eye can wither, that the heart's blessing can heal and that love can overcome all odds. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Working with Love

The love that we bring to the various tasks and encounters of our day weave that energy into the very fabric of our world.

The world is sewn invisibly together with waves and particles.

The waves and particles emanating from us move in and out of similar fields of those surrounding us.

The energy we send is felt by one another on a deeper level than anything we might say.

It doesn't work to be polite with our words but then to feel hate - people get a double message.

Double messages make people feel crazy and teach those close to us to doubt their own insides.

And what is it to work with love?
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart,
even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.
It is to build a houe with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house...
It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit. ~ Kahlil Gibran

Admitting Fault

If we look at problems that we are involved with from all angles, we may come to see that we are partially at fault for a miscommunication or a destructive dynamic.

If this happens, we need to have the strength of character to admit our own fault to ourselves rather than blame another.

After we get this far, we may see that a change in our behavior is necessary in order to set the situation in a more positive motion; it will improve our side of the dynamic.

Even if we recognize a conflict as such, we must be willing and able to renounce one of the two contradictory issues. But the capacity for clear and conscious renunciationis rare, because our feelings and beliefs are muddled, and perhaps because in the last analysis most people are not secure and happy enough to renounce anything. Finally, to make a decision presupposes the willingness and capacity to assume responsibility for it. This would include the risk of making a wrong decision and the willingness to bear the consequences without blaming others for them. ~ Karen Horney, M.D

Being in Touch

In a search for God and a search for self, we always end up coming home. Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, when asked by Glenda what she learned on her journey, replied, "I learned that if I ever lose my heart's desire again, I won't go looking past my own back-yard because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with." Dorothy's search for the wizard ended in the discovery that he was only a man behind a curtain, with all the needs and frailties that she, herself, had.

We can make our journeys endless by seeking God or self outside of ourselves in people, places and things, or we can shorten it by turning inward and looking for them where we are most likely to find them. Exactly how we get there is of little importance. Ultimately the path will fade away behind us, anyway. It is the being there that matters; our willingness to know that our search begins and ends in the same place, within us.

We are the man behind and in front of the curtain.

Hatred

Pretending that painful or negative feelings do not exist doesn't keep relationships more intimate.

Rather, we can actually create inner distance when we act as if our intimate relationships are not strong enough to hold any pain, anger or hate.

Powerful feelings can be frightening, but to deny their presence keeps us from the deeper layers of ourselves.

When our intimate relationships are able to hold these powerful, paradoxical feelings of love and hate, anger and forgiveness, then something deep within us allows us to relax and let go.

If we are not able to do this, then perhaps we may need to withdraw from the relationship, so as to once again become ourselves.

In this era of self-understanding and conscious efforts at parenting, we learn we should not come down to our children's level. That is, we should not be as hateful toward them as they are to us. Yet, if we seal ourselves off they are cheated and burdened by the illusion that anger and hatred are personally inappropriate. Therapists are like parents. When the therapist comes down to their level, both grow from it when the generation gap is reestablished. ~ David V. Keith

An Attitude of Healing

It was Viktor E. Frankl who said that the only thing that we have that cannot be taken away from us are our attitudes, the contents of our minds and hearts. 

Today, more than ever, we are called upon to take an attitude that will promote wellness and healing, to choose life.

When I take responsibility for the contents of my mind and heart, I take my place as a person of value to society.

Quantum physics tells me that we are all part of the same particle mass, interconnected, of one stuff or soul.

Who I am from within affects all that is without.

One very practical thing that I can do for my world is to think positively about it.

I can attempt to live a more conscious life.

Each person who transforms within, who enters into this struggle toward a more conscious life brings others with them.

Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you – all of the expectations, all of the beliefs – and becoming who you are. ~ Rachel Naomi Remen

Living in Spirit

When we think we are only a body, we are in denial of our true source of aliveness. When we think we are only a soul, we forget to be human. We are in this body for a purpose, so that we can further actualize and move toward soul. Soul is not about being a goody-goody, or not making mistakes or never hurting - it's about being alive. There is nowhere to hide from life. We can become numb or deny it, but that only leaves us listless and depressed and makes life feel meaningless. Why not go with the flow and embrace our spirit nature.

The question whether soul and body are identical, therefore, is as superfluous as to ask whether wax and the shape imprinted on it are identical, or, in general whether the material of a thing is identical with the thing of which it is the material. "Is" and "one" have various meanings, but in their most legitimate meaning they connote the fully actual character of a thing. ~ Aristotle

Surrender

The internal position of surrender is a recognition that I am not in control of every event or circumstance of my life. It is a chosen sense of powerlessness, it frees me from my illusion of control.

The take-charge person knows how to work with the natural flow of events and personalities in order to accomplish something; letting providence and individual creativity play a role.

The controlling person attempts to manipulate people and situations to conform to his/her idea of what is right. This person shuts down the creative possibilities.

The concept of surrender runs contrary to the Westernmind. We have been taught to aggressively go after what we want, to make things happen. But surrender asks us to allow events to unfold at their own pace, to get out of our own way and to let go of our desire for control. Surrender is an act of trust in the universe, an acknowledgment that there are forces beyond our own will at work. Most people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can only be felt if you don't set any condition. ~ Arthur Rubenstein

Growing Anew

As we become new - we grow young.

As long as we have eyes to see and ears to hear, as long as our senses are alive, we are here.

We have another chance at life.

Learn something new today or take a fresh look at an existing situation.

The same old information represented in a new way fosters cell growth; new connections are made and we learn.

When we do this we actually help ward off the degenerative diseases connected with aging.

Walk into today with a virgin sensibility. Allow youyself to be surprised and amazed.

Recognize you have not passed this way before.

As long as new perceptions continue, your body can respond in new ways.

There is no secret of youth more powerful.

80-year-old: "People don't grow old. When they stop growing, they become old."

New knowledge, new skills, new ways of looking at the world keep mind and body growing, and as long as that happens, the natural tendency to be new at every second is expressed.

My Life

Bring positive structure to my every day.

Visualize, take responsibility, learn, & appreciate.

Remain focused in the now, refrain from alcohol (or any/all negative influences) - realize these cause my soul to fade into the background and lose sight of my special existance.

Take time to appreciate that everything has its’ place and is beautiful.

Make time for quiet through still and calmness, while retaining my spontaneity.

Recognize life has no boundaries, only those created through self limiting beliefs.

Smile more, have gratitude, and embrace the uniqueness in all.

Live, do things, motivate myself and others around me through action.

Take time to meditate, move, appreciate, and share.

Success

I will not make success my goal today or measure my state of happiness by it.

If I am to succeed, it will be a byproduct of following a path that feels relevant and meaningful to me.

I will try to follow my heart and respond to an impulse or a call from within.

When I move in a direction that is natural for me, that draws and speaks to me, I have more of myself to bring to my work.

Success will come to me naturally if I love what I do.

Loving what I do is its own reward and will give me the staying power necessary to do well. It will help provide the motivation necessary to go the extra mile.

Following my heart, my bliss, will put me on a track toward the realization of my soul's passion.

Don't aim at success - the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue... as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a course greater than onerelf. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Involved with Life

Allow yourself to tend to and take pleasure in every detail of your day.

When we take interest in the activities of our day, we experience it differently.

Instead of managing our day, we live it.

Rather than seeing our day as a series of tasks to be accomplished, we are able to go with the flow of activity.

Happiness is not something that happens. It is not the result of good fortune or random chance. It is not something that money can buy or power command. It does not depend on outside events, but, rather, on how we interpret them. Happiness, in fact, is a condition that must be prepared for, cultivated, and defended privately by each person. People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us can come to being happy. Yet we cannot reach happiness by consciously searching for it. "Ask yourself whether you are happy" said J. S. Mill, "and you cease to be so." It is by being fully involved with every detail of our lives, whether good or bad, that we find happiness, not by trying to look for it directly.
~ Mitaly Csikszentmihalyi

Dispassionate Observation

When we gain detachment from our own thinking process, we are able to be separate from our own obsessive and neurotic thinking. We can watch our thoughts in a dispassionate manner. We can be a witness to our own emotional and mental processes. When we cultivate this habit of mind, we are provided with a wonderful opportunity to learn about what makes us tick. Getting lost in every thought we have leads us away from self. There is no greater teacher than that of our own internal witness. When we look at the way in which we think, we can begin to self-define; to separate from who we have been programmed to be and make choices as to who we wish to become.

We dis-identify by observing. Instead of being absorbed by sensations, feelings, desires, thoughts, we observe them objectively without judging them, without interfering with them in any way. We see them as distinct from us, as if we were looking at a landscape. We calmly observe from a detached viewpoint. ~ Piero Ferrucci

Living in the Moment

A day-at-a-time relationship with life acts as a deterrent to the scarcity principle that threatens my psyche.

The scarcity principle sees life as holding a limited amount of satisfying objects or experiences, and if one does not gobble them all down the same year, or stuff them into three weeks of living, they will be gone.

The day-at-a-time way of living sees that one cannot be in two places at once or do everything there is to do.

Setting priorities or doing only the amount of activity that is comfortable has no bearing on what will be available to me in the future.

All it really means is that by the time the future comes, I will be able to be in it in the same way I am in the moment, and that I will not have burnt myself out with anxiety and worry.

Living a day at a time is the only way I can enjoy what lies around me, what I already have.

The desire for imaginary benefits often involves the loss of present blessings ~ Aesop

Hundredth Monkey Effect

The Hundredth Monkey Effect is a supposed phenomenon in which a learned behavior spreads instantaneously from one group of monkeys to all related monkeys once a critical number is reached.

By generalization it means the instantaneous, paranormal spreading of an idea or ability to the remainder of a population once a certain portion of that population has heard of the new idea or learned the new ability.

The story behind this supposed phenomenon originated with Lawrence Blair and Lyall Watson in the mid-to-late 1970s, who claimed that it was the observation of Japanese scientists.

The story of the hundredth monkey effect was published in the foreword to Lawrence Blair's Rhythms of Vision in 1975. The claim spread with the appearance of Lifetide, a 1979 book by Lyall Watson. In it, Watson repeats Blair's claim. The authors describe similar scenarios.

They state that unidentified scientists were conducting a study of macaques monkeys on the Japanese island of Koshima in 1952.

These scientists purportedly observed that some of these monkeys learned to wash sweet potatoes, and gradually this new behavior spread through the younger generation of monkeys—in the usual fashion, through observation and repetition. Watson then claimed that the researchers observed that once a critical number of monkeys was reached—the so-called hundredth monkey—this previously learned behavior instantly spread across the water to monkeys on nearby islands.

This story was further popularized by Ken Keyes, Jr. with the publication of his book The Hundredth Monkey. Keyes' book was about the devastating effects of nuclear war on the planet. Keyes presented the hundredth monkey effect story as an inspirational parable, applying it to human society and the effecting of positive change.

Since then, the story has become widely accepted as fact and even appears in books written by some educators.