creativity

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The Super ABC’s Of Happiness

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Over the last two years of living quietly, I have gained some valuable insights about happiness and I want to share them with you today.

As I started going through the alphabet I realized I had more than one idea for each of the letters. They all seemed valuable. What I want to give you is as many good ideas as I can come with. Hope that’s okay with you? Here’s the list:

Acceptance of Self – If you accept yourself as fully as you can, happiness will come easily. Loving yourself will set you free to love the world.

Awareness – Through awareness of who you are and what matters to you, you can create the life you want. Awareness makes your life a choice.

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How To Erase Self-Doubt Instantly

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I continue to notice in myself - and in almost every other human being - that self-doubt is a ongoing challenge that just doesn’t go away one day. Instantly erasing it sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it?

Instantly, maybe not - however there are ways to shrink self-doubt that can be hugely successful rather quickly. I will share these with you shortly but first I want to share 5 ways self-doubt is fueled:

1.  Looking to others for self-approval – This never works but it seems so important when you doubt yourself. There could never be enough approval from others to dissolve the lack of approval inside. Move past this strategy. It only creates more self-doubt.

2.  Trying to satisfy the ego-mind’s need for reassurance -The ego-mind is never satisfied. This mind can have everything it wants but it will go searching for even more. The ego is fueled by fear. Notice the ego’s voice and don’t let it run your life.

3.  Ignoring your intuitive/soul’s sense of what is right for you - This is a frequent mistake made because the rationalizing mind too often pushes the inner voice aside. Ignoring the quiet wisdom inside fills you full of doubt.

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Writing Your Life Story Forward

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Recently I promised you several tools to enhance 2013. The first tool is a plan to become the conscious author of your life story.  

In November I experimented with writing a novel that included rewriting my past and writing my future. The experiment went very well. I have noticed that what I wrote for my future is already beginning to come into existence.

Experiences and inner sensations imagined in the writing of the novel are now in my life. I had a sense for what the next phase of my life would feel like. I now feel that.

As I was writing my recent story I also rewound some of the past by creating another view, a kind of bigger picture focused on the benefits of what I learned even in difficult times. The advantage of looking back is that you can usually gain a fresh and larger experience of what happened and what benefited you. 

This process is one of creation. Since you are the creator of your life experience, why not consciously create the experiences you want to have. The heart and mind, your intentions and where you put your attention all are powerful factors of creation.

My offer to you is:

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What Is Fulfillment For You?

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Recently, in a conversation with friends, I had an insight about how each of us had our own ways of seeking fulfillment. That may seem obvious to you but at some level I saw that I had a belief that we all seek to be self-realized. That I found isn’t true.

Fulfillment is an interesting perspective as a way to guide your life. To be fulfilled may not be something you even consider until later in your life.

The qualities of being fulfilled will vary uniquely to your heart’s desire, the guidance of your intuitive voice or through your contact with your soul.  Insights really come from a tuning in process.

You and I get to decide what fulfillment is for us.  We can also redefine what being fulfilled is as we grow older and more aware of what matters.

My observation is that there are certain paths most conducive to making fulfillment possible. Opportunities to experience being fulfilled come to you along these pathways. Your choice is about how you explore and express the different paths.

These are the most traveled paths of fulfillment.  Each vary in intensity as you explore them:

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Now Is Where Peace And Joy Reside

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Each day is a new day. This moment is totally fresh if you don’t bring thoughts from the past or worries about tomorrow to clog it all up. In this moment you can create whatever experience you want.

You don’t have to be haunted by a past relationship, or something you felt you should have done better. This moment is free to be fully experienced as wonderful moment in your life.

Too often you can show up with a trail of regrets and disappoints and fill what could be amazing with what wasn’t. Have you ever done that? It doesn’t have to be that way.

You can let all that isn’t happening go. You can release the past hurts and regrets. If you don’t, you carry them with you. Then you miss out on what good things are happening because you are too busy with what went wrong.

Living moment by moment makes if possible to enjoy the gift of the present. The present is truly where:

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Boldness Brings Genius In The Face Of Resistance

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Have you ever faced resistance straight on and put it in its place? Feels good doesn’t it?

The War Of Art by Steven Pressfield (you can order that through my Books That Expand The Mind store) arrived instantly on my Kindle reader. It had come highly recommended so I jumped right in.  This book spoke to me. My inner Yah! button kept getting pushed.  I love when books do that, don’t you? 

If you have a passion for creating music, painting, writing, designing or other forms of creativity, you have run directly into a force called Resistance.

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12 Essential Attributes For An Extraordinary Life

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My blog is in the midst of a major transformation.  I thank you for your patience as this transformation unfolds. I am so excited about what I am working on and I have much to share as we go. 

The following 12 essential skills/attributes you will need within and out in the world to live and have the most extraordinary life:

  1. Live Mindfully – this key ability is being aware of self, thought, feelings, and body; a sense of connection to self and how you relate to the world. There are many specific mindful practices that will enrich your life in many ways. 
  2. Have Patience – in this fast paced times patience seems like a lost skill but it is even more important. Can you be patient enough to let things happen as they need to and still keep your focus? Step back when you feel yourself in a hurry and worry mode and patiently trust in things working out.
  3. Skilled at Self-Care – taking good care of yourself is essential for your well-being and for your effectiveness out in the world. How are you taking care of your heart, your mind, your feelings, your body, your health, your energy, your spirit and your social life? If you work intensely with people you need to focus even more on self-care.
  4. Are Accepting and Non-Judging – to excepting of yourself as you are and to stop the self-judging are very important if you want to believe in yourself and what you are doing. Once you are accepting of self and stop the judging you can go out into the world and be free of judging everyone or everything as “good” or “bad” and instead be accepting of things as they are.
  5. Courage for Action – the biggest step is often moving into action around ideas that matter you. It takes courage to set your own course, to live by the values that matter to you and to be boldly out in the world making a difference.
  6. Have Emotional Wellness – your feelings are critical to pay attention to because they are clearly telling you when you are on course or have lost your way. When it feels right and alive you are heading in the right direction. Please simply acknowledge all your feelings because they are all okay. Acknowledging and accepting all your feelings brings you emotional health.
  7. Have Wholeness Of Mind – an open mind is essential in today’s world. Many old ideas, strategies and solutions are not working so your mind has to be open to learn, grow and be flexible. A healthy mind is one that questions its own thoughts and knows how to quiet down the endless thoughts. No one has all the answers, if you are absolutely sure of your right, you most likely have a closed mind.
  8. Are Creative In Your Expression – to enhance you effectiveness it is very helpful to access your creativity. Your creativity can come in many forms including your leadership, the way you appreciate others, your writing, the way you parent, the unique viewpoints you come up with, the way you use humor in conversations etc. There never has been found a limit to human creativity.
  9. Live From the Heart – the most powerful tool in the world is your heart, your compassion, your ability to care and your loving kindness. Listening with compassion is the best gift ever for those you love.  Love really has the power to transform you and humanity for the good of all beings and the planet.
  10. Have Appreciation and Gratitude – if you can live in appreciation and gratitude then the whole world seems like a gift. A daily practice of appreciation will enrich your life in many, many ways. Appreciate those you love, the beauty around you, the gift of the moment and everything else.
  11. Present Focused – the only place you can do anything is now. There is nothing you can do ever that will change the past. There is nothing you can do that will control the future. All you have is the here and now. If you can be present to life there are endless possibilities. 
  12. Inner and Outer Connected – first you must find your connection to your inner wisdom, intuition and your purpose, then find your way to move into connection and unity with those around you. When connected you can be work with others in collaboration for the well-being of all of us.

These attributes are all ones you can acquire and get skilled at. My work going forward is to help you develop these personal skills so you can be a positive force for change in your life and in the world.  The times call you and me and everyone to not settle for the ordinary but instead be extraordinary in all we think, feel, and do. You are awesome!

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Five Unstoppable Forces For Change

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On the path of change it is helpful to keep things as simple as possible.  There are five forces that when called upon can produce powerful results in uncomplicated ways.  These forces are unstoppable because they represent ideas and actions that have the ability to rise above the chaos of life.

Each one is unique in both access and influence. Combining them multiplies the transformative energy they create. If changing the world is something you have a passion for it would serve you well to come into alignment with these forces:

Compassion – the heart is the driving force, the source of courage and passion needed to keep you going when fear strikes or complacency slips in. Compassion is also a powerful healing force both for you the change agent and for those you interact with along the way.  A kind and compassionate heart can bring people together both through listening and through the energy of aliveness an open heart spreads. Having compassion for yourself opens you to having compassion for others and vice versa. Self-love is an essential ingredient if you want to realize your potential. Imagine a world where loving-kindness was the guiding principle.

Consciousness – the ability to rise above the chaos and see the truth of the moment is why consciousness is so important. Higher Consciousness is the light of wisdom that guides you through the darkness of self-doubt. Consciousness is about awareness and insight into your expansive nature and the possibilities of every human being. Your highest consciousness is accessed through silence, through stepping away from the noise of ordinary thought, by going around the needs of the ego-mind, and instead sitting in the quiet stillness that resonates with your spirit. The collective consciousness of all humanity is available to you in the silence of the now.

Connection – the reality is that as human beings you and I and the rest share many more commonalities than differences. When you connect with the common ground of others together you are all much more powerful. Connection means spending time with others with an open mind and an accepting heart. Imagine a world were you shared your greatest dreams and hopes and found many others who share similar ideas of what they wanted in life. Then those people helped you realize your dreams and hopes and you helped them realize theirs. At the atomic, spiritual and consciousness level you are one with everyone. Find that place of oneness within and meet others there.

Creativity – many of the biggest forces for change come from inspired words, uplifting images and the human being ability to imagine something greater.  This is creativity in action. You can uplift yourself and others by expressing your creative urges. There has never been found a limit to creativity. So if you are already a creative person there is much more to explore and if you are not yet creative, that is creative expression waiting for you right now. Imagine writing a poem, song or story that lifts others up. Maybe a creative conversation will transform a relationship or a creative act of kindness with help someone going through difficult times.  You are a creative being waiting to be more full expressed. When you join with other creative people together you can produce fireworks of inspiration. 

Collaboration – the most effective way to usher in change is to have people work together. Collaboration beats competition every time when it comes to shifting cultures, expanding possibilities, encouraging the evolution urges within us. What would happen if the people of the world got together and went in search of solutions for all the world problems? Would you doubt their ability to succeed if they worked collaboratively? You can being like-minded people together or people of different points of view and together see what solutions you can discover for common problems.  The best thing about collaboration is that you work with other people you get to experience the oneness of connection, you get to feel compassion for each other, you get to encourage creativity, and you get to help each other be more conscious.

Working together with open hearts, expansive minds, in connection to each other, expressing your creativity in collaboration will change the world in amazing ways.