Last night, as I sat here writing a first draft of my blog for tomorrow, I was waiting for inspiration. The day has been so full of busyness that I was enjoying just sitting here and breathing and appreciating the moment of impending creativity. Here are the random thoughts that were coming into my awareness in the moment as I sit here just listening:
Who am I?
Is there pressure to produce in this moment?
Who cares if I do or don’t?
Wishing I was lying in bed reading a good book and I have a few interesting choices since I just went to the bookstore recently.
I have NBA playoff basketball fever since my team the Portland Trailblazers are in.
I am glad it is Friday.
Work has been unsettled lately with no solid clients to assist. The ones there all seem to want to be someplace else.
The furnace went on thankfully, it is cold down here in the basement where our computers are.
My wife is heading upstairs after checking her emails.
Ah a few minutes to myself after so much interaction with others today.
This running account of my mind shows how my thoughts are just a jumble of random ideas most of which matter little if at all. The writings of Eckhart Tolle, one of my favorites for his depth of consciousness, speaks very clearly of the dangers of the out of control mind. He says our busy chaotic minds are the source of our suffering.
Of course our thoughts are what causes us to feel all that we feel. From my viewpoint it seems all that is going on around us is filtered by our mind and translated into some kind of reactivity. Rarely do we step back enough to even question what we are thinking. We actually believe our thoughts when in fact they are far from the truth. Thoughts are just a group of words parading together down the Main Street of our mind. They only have the meaning we give them not because that meaning is true but because it is what we have assigned to this particular collection of characters marching by.
Let’s imagine that you are actually the programmer of your mind (you are) and that you can reprogram any malfunction at any time. Would you allow the present program to rerun over and over? The answer would be yes if you were feeling great, having wonderful results, in an ever expanding state of higher consciousness and blissed out on life. However since you and I are not totally in bliss than we might look at what thoughts and self-talk are causing us to be restless, worrisome, and unsatisfied. What thoughts make us feel trapped, limited or unhappy?
Once you have identified where you mind has gone on the blink, you can take on the task of redoing the mind by: slowing it down; tossing out the inner critic; eliminating beliefs that aren’t working; talking with kindness to yourself; and in general be positive and appreciative of who you are and of life. Yes you are the programmer and only you know if things are working for you or not.
Enjoy the weekend and don’t let your mind trip you up from having a great time.
Patience, Acceptance and Compassion
The subtle dance towards toward emotional health is a one that takes patience, acceptance, and compassion. As a mental and emotional health professional I assist others in maneuvering the challenges of our feelings towards understanding and healthy expression. This aspect of health seems very important to me because I daily see how emotions shape our outlook and our ability to maneuver the bumpy road of life. The following are three qualities that will assist you to feel emotionally balanced and mentally healthy.
Patience is the first quality I wanted to share with you as a way to better understand the rollercoaster of feelings that flow through you on a daily basis. Patience is important because all feelings are transitory and will come and go on their own. There really is no effort needed if you can just watch feelings arise in you and then dissipate into another feeling, into another feeling and then guess what, into another feeling. Waiting long enough, which will usually be at the most 10 slow mindful breaths, will transform even the most difficult emotions into something you can handle or at least be ok with in the moment. Patience means being able to be spacious with emotions and just let them be and not reacting to them.
The second quality for emotional well-being is acceptance. All feelings are ok. Sure some are very difficult but they are still ok to be experiencing them. Acceptance of yourself having a full range of emotions gives you a wide spectrum of possibilities in your response to the world around you. Acceptance means be ok with who you are and what you feel. Accepting your uniqueness, appreciating your differences from the norm means you are comfortable with yourself and that is very liberating.
Compassion is the third quality of emotional health. Too often you and I learn to be so self critical in the earlier years of life. The critic in you needs to be set aside and the compassionate heart needs to run your self-assessment program. Your caring, kindness and understand of yourself will be very supportive to your emotional wellness. Having compassion for the full range of emotions life puts you through is important. Compassion is needed when your off track thoughts tangle you all up in unhealthy reactivity. The way of compassion is the way of self-love, self-respect and self-confidence.
Today be aware of times when you need to be more patient, when you would benefit from being more accepting, and when a big dose of compassion is called for and give them to yourself and those around you. This will make life seem much lighter and more hopeful.
Beware Of Those Who Use Fear
Lately my social activist/inner questioner has been very activated and it seems to be triggered by things I hear people are doing in response to those who use their misguided ideas to provoke fear. Why do we humans allow other people’s fears to clog our ability to think rationally and act compassionately? Let me give you some ideas that don’t make sense rationally or to an open heart:
• There has been a huge run on guns and ammunition since the day President Obama was elected. It seems the business arm of the NRA spread the rumor (not true) of this administration taking away their gun rights and since then most gun stores keep running out of guns and ammo. This business is totally run by people who seem to be very afraid and so they stock up to fight off the evil forces that linger in their thoughts.
• Those that want to build a wall between the US and Mexico are also fear driven people who seem to have lost the logic of common sense. For anyone who wants to read what is going on, they can find easily that much of the trouble in Mexico comes from the US and our demand for drugs and our huge commerce of selling arms to Mexico.
• Those that spread the fear of socialism have not been paying attention to the way our system has been working for quite some time. In fact opposition to Corporate Socialism and the wealth class dominance has been systematically eliminated since Reagan. This has taken place in the form of disabling the power of unions and the restructuring of laws that create the free marketplace that benefits the wealthiest and hurts the common worker.
• The fear that if we don’t prop up big corporations then we will lose more jobs is another belief that has us acting crazy doling out huge sums of money. Many of these corporations don’t even offer real products but are based on speculations and the fear driven insurance protection racket. The real truth is that people create jobs by wanting to purchase products. Who has a plan to bail out the people?
• We as a nation went to war based on the trumped up fear mongering of the past administration and most people fell into line supporting the lockstep marching to war against the Leader of Iraq who had nothing to do with the 9/11 tragedy. Fear drove this huge profit making adventure for the corporations that benefit from war.
• People support political points of view that are not at all looking out for their needs because they have been convinced of the fear they peddle to get votes and to have power over others. The so-called red states should be livid over the leadership that got this country into a huge mess for the people but no they buy the fear and follow blindly.
• The business of religion may use fear most effectively. These self-described spokespersons for God run a huge fear campaign warning the sinners of eternal damnation if they don’t do as they are told. They make up concepts like sin, hell, a wrathful God, the evilness of desire, and more to scare the daylights out of people so they will fall in line. It would be better to think of churches and ministers as social control agents.
• Schools are built on the fear of failure for the purpose of control. They are run as authoritarian organizations training people to act like sheep, don’t question things, and do as they are told. Real critical thinking is drowned out by the mindlessness of rote repetition and uninspired textbooks and study materials. Their testing programs only really test compliance not intelligence.
Isn’t there a huge need to start thinking on our own, to question the ridiculous, to think rationally, and to consider the recovery of our heart’s wisdom in all we do? Fear is just a thought and it should be examined with a critical eye and an open heart.
If you live from love, compassion and kindness then fear can’t be used to manipulate. Have a heart filled day.
It Is Always Time For Giving
Today after my presentation at the court about the services our treatment program provides, I got to go to a community awards ceremony with programs that partner with Public Health to make a difference in the community. The awards went out to three effective programs/individuals who have put their positive mark on those who live in this community. It is always an inspiration to me to see people so passionate and so filled with compassion for serving others in need.
What drives people to do good for others? Is it their innate goodness? Is it because they feel they should? Is it because they have an open heart? Is it because they realize the interconnection of us all? Is it their spirit in action? Is it to offset the challenges they endured from their childhood? Is it because it feels so positive to give to others? Is it just a job they do well? Is it that they value helping others so they live by their values? What other reasons do people make such a commitment to the betterment of others?
These questions are part of the search to see what motivates you and I to get involved, to do something that leaves the world a better place. The reason this is important to explore is that in every person is a desire to do something that has meaning. You feel that don’t you? A meaningful life goes beyond the acquiring of what you want and includes how you improved the experiences of others.
The thing about giving is that it creates a positive feeling inside that is almost instant. Acts of kindness like: really listening to someone, being supportive, encouraging a co-worker’s efforts, acknowledging the unique qualities of those around you, cheering others on through their personal struggles, reaching out to someone who is alone, baking cookies for a neighbor who is grieving, calling someone who may be housebound, giving of your time or financial resource to an organization in need, or many others acts of compassion could make a real difference for someone and will give you the gift of feeling better about yourself.
It seems obvious to me that all the world’s problems can be solved by an attitude of giving to each other. Do you agree?
Counseling As A Way To Freedom From Limits
Today I am going to be part of a presentation at the County Courthouse about the addiction recovery treatment program we have and how it works, the kinds of people who benefit and, how we try to motivate clients to get the most out of their involvement with our program. Lately I realized from a conversation with someone who works for another part of our organization, that we therapist types are an unusual breed.
What is unique about our work is that it is highly intuitive and driven more by emotions than rational thoughts. By this I mean that as a therapist I listen more to my intuition and my heart than follow the workings of my analytical mind. People often think of counseling as analytical and psychiatry fits that model more so than counseling. Counseling for me is a feeling or a sense of what is going on with my client in the midst of our session. It is through years of experience that I fine-tune my ability to read and guide my client’s.
Most clients come to counseling looking for answers and would prefer to be given direction and ideas. Good counseling is not telling our clients what to do but rather helping them to be more aware of themselves and to explore options and solutions to what they are struggling with in their lives. Clients seek counseling when they feel out of control, overwhelmed, stuck or in a mess.
My goal is to help them sort things up and come up with their own strategies to head their lives off in a positive direction. The clients are really the experts in their own lives, not me. They have tried many things and they often know what doesn’t work and occasionally what does. Good counseling helps them to have better options through a more clear understanding of who they are and what they want. Affective counseling helps clients to resolve self-limits, find their emotional well-being and get their lives headed in the desired direction.
Good questioning is a key component and that is for me often guided by my intuitive sense of person I am sitting across from. Each moment of interaction is rich with opportunities to take the client beyond the surface issues into their deeper concerns and emotions. Good questions takes a person to the core of what is troubling them and acts like flashlights probing around in the darkness of the unknown. The moment of insight happens when the light goes on and clarity has come into my client’s awareness. With awareness comes choice and the ability to change.
As a counselor, teacher, trainer and coach for the past 30 plus years, I have developed mastery of my profession. This mastery is what comes to all of us who do what we do for a long time and with focused effort. In the service of human kind, I have been blessed in making a positive difference for a number of people and that feels good inside. I still have lots to give and will keep using my unique skill set to assist those who are ready to move to the next step in the further expression of who they are.
Have a good week by breathing with awareness and by being fully present to the amazing possibilities of your life.
Learning To Breathe
My titled today is that of a book I am reading by Alison Wright. The author is a photojournalist who is severely injured in a bus accident while traveling in SE Asia. Her meditation practice and point of view save her life despite injuries that would have killed anyone. This excellent read is about her travels, her long recovery and how she grows spiritually in the process.
I love reading books that are spiritual in nature especially ones, fiction or non-fiction, about a person’s journey toward awakening more fully to their higher nature. These kinds of stories I find so supportive of the process of self-discovery all of us seekers are on. Life to me is about discovering who you and I are at our best as we realize our highest more conscious potential. This journey of self-exploration has been a driving force in my life.
Are you a seeker of self-discovery too? Are you driven by learning and personal growth? What is it that you hope to discovery? Who are you beyond the limits of personality and life experience? If you were full realized, who would you be then?
There are many questions that can be asked here. I invite you to join me and many other like-minded souls and keep the growing going. This light of consciousness is so need on the planet these days.
The voyage towards higher consciousness is in the questions, in the lessons, in the moments of insight and awareness, in the expansion of the heart, and in the realization of the spirit that resides in you.
Journey well today in light and peace.
How You Do Anything, Is How You Do Everything
Several years ago I was at an impressive money seminar and the author/speaker T Harv Eker had a reoccurring message he felt was important for us all to hear. That message was,” How you do anything, is how you do everything. “ This message is an important one and I find myself regularly thinking about what I am doing in this context. Am I doing what I intend to do with clarity and purpose and to the best of my ability. Am I showing up fully in what I am involved in? Do I care enough to do a good job and make a positive difference?
The most important aspects of this, how you do anything is how you do everything, are about your purpose, your passion and your presence. What purpose you bring to what you are doing will greatly influence the outcome. If you have a clear intention to do something of value, to express yourself in a way to better yourself, your community, your nation or the planet then that purpose will drive you to success. Daily it is the small steps taken with clarity of direction that real change comes about for you and the world.
Passion is the emotional engine that drives those that are successful. Doing things with passion means that every step matters because you feel what you are doing in your heart. If you think of the great agents of change in modern human history (Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Susan B. Anthony and others) you will see that passion drove them to do what they did daily step by step. The way of the heart is unstoppable.
Being fully present to what you do is very powerful in a quiet way. This moment is all you have not matter when this moment is. In the now there are endless possibilities available to you. If you are truly present you can make what you want happen. How you do each moment will shape your life in profound ways you may not ever comprehend. Today in the now is where all the action is. Live in this moment and you will do what you do with the potential for greatness.
Enjoy your weekend with awareness of your purpose, alive with your passion and fully present to the moment.
Emotions Are Like A River
Last night I worked until 8:30pm running week two of our 15-week program to help our clients move out of poverty. That group went well and the discussions were lively and everyone seemed engaged. It was hopeful and informative evening.
Yesterday one of my clients asked to talk me and then shared that she had an insight into why she was struggling so much. She said, "My mother told me when I was a kid that I was not allowed to get angry. This morning I was angry and I realized I didn't know how to deal with that emotion." She then asked if I would help her to express her emotions in healthy ways. This got me thinking that I would guess 95 to 99% of us were never shown how to express our emotions in healthy ways. I know I was not encouraged to express my emotions as a child. Schools and parents tend to have us stuff how we are feelings. Only as an adult being trained as a counselor did I learn about what healthy emotional expression was.
Emotions are like a river; they need to flow. You could think of emotions as energy in motion. Stopping the flow means blocking your energy. If you block a lot of emotional flow you will find yourself overflowing or going numb from all the emotions that you are trying to contain. There are times to express how you feel and times when it is not appropriate. At inappropriate times at least acknowledge to yourself how you feel. At times when expressing how you feel is ok, share how you are feelings.
Here are some guidelines to Emotional well-being:
• Feel what you feel without judging. All emotions are ok, it's the behaviors/actions you take from these emotions that can get you into trouble.
• Let your feeling flow. Be aware of what you are feelings and acknowledge them as ok to experience
• Feelings are natural and part of being alive. To feel is to experience life.
• Feel what you are feeling and soon it will change to another feeling. Feelings come and go when you acknowledge them
• Remember old lessons growing up about feelings and replace the ones that limit your ability to feel what you feel (examples: girls don’t get angry, boys don’t cry.)
• Unexpressed emotions become tension in the body. Feel your feelings so you don't have to get uptight.
• Emotions are feedback. If you feel good then you are on the right track. If you feel lousy then you need to reassess where you are heading.
• Feeling responses are often learned. If you were told that anger is not ok to feel then you probably stuff anger inside as if it doesn't exist.
• A healthy expression of emotions is to say what you are feelings calmly and clearly. Anger doesn't feel so great but it can be expressed calmly and clearly.
• Others don't make you feel, your feelings are your response to your thoughts about the situations you are in. Taking responsibility for feeling what you feel is a positive thing to do.
• Closing down to any feelings makes you numb to all feelings. If you stuff your anger, you also block your ability to love.
• When feelings come up breath into what is going on and be with the experience. Breathing into feeling assists you in being more aware of your emotional state.
• An open heart is essential to emotional well-being. Your heart is the feeling center of your body and the infinite source of human love and compassion.
Today commit to feeling as fully as you can all your emotions. Real health is only possible if you are alive with the energy of your emotions.
Power In The Hands Of The Few or The Hands of The People
Oh Yikes! The snow had just melted away and now we have a new layer of whiteness. They say we need more moisture but isn't that what winter is for? Yesterday in my blog I may have given you the impression that I am a thoughtful peaceful person inviting my readers to expand their awareness. That would be partly true.
The other part of me however is more of a provocative social activist bent on stirring people up so they get off their butts and do something to shake up the status quo. My blog is also a venue for pointed questions about what we put up with, about rearranging the power structure of this nation so that is again in the hands of the people not corporations, religions and money influenced government.
Today I want to ask you some questions about your values, your actions, and how come you choose to live so many compromises? Do you ignore your values to make a living? When your place of work is damaging your community or the planet by what they are doing, do you say something? If you lose benefits, retirement plans or are expected to work more hours for less pay because of a company's bottom line, do you speak up or just get resentful? If your co-workers are mistreated do you speak up? If someone at your church acts pious on Sunday and them cheats and steals from others during the week, do you say something? If you claim to live by higher values and then in daily life act like a scoundrel (I doubt many scoundrels read my blog), do you question yourself and your actions? Do you rationalize your actions and behaviors, which you know are not ok? Is it ok to you that most of Congress are heavily under the influence of those that help pay to get them elected?
These questions are asked because I suspect that many of us are not living up to our higher values and have figured out how to rationalize our behaviors. We may at times fall short of our own expectations. That is human nature but have we gone too much away from what we say matters most, from the values we claim to live by. Don’t get me wrong, compromise has its place but too much means we are most likely uncomfortable with ourselves. Have we done so because we are afraid to stand up for what we believe in? In these financial times of unrest do we more easily compromise our values because we are fearful? Is it ok that we are spending billions on weapons and war while so many are in dire straights, in need of help, going hungry, loosing their homes, can’t afford health care, are being poorly educated, loosing their jobs, are dealing with mentally illness and can’t find assistance?
As I write the questions keep popping up. It seems to me that we live in a very compromised world dominated by corporations and profiteering. Few in leadership are run by higher values and instead worship at the altar of the almighty duo of profit and power. Yet we passively and probably fearfully allow those who want power to take it from us. We have become a nation of blamers instead. There are conservative blamers, religious blamers, liberal blamers, environmental blamers, anti-establishment blamers, establishment blamers, self-righteous blamers, poor me blamers, unknowing blamers.
Just the other day I had a thought about something someone else said or did and for a moment I got a little rush out of a blaming thought I had about them. We all do blame whether we are conscious of it or not. The trouble with blaming it is that it regenerates itself. The more we blame the more crap there is to complain about in life.
Yes I am rambling a bit here in a number of directions. Let’s see if I can bring this together into something you can make sense of or at least get some benefit from reading to this point of the post. Yes questions are very important and questioning how we are doing with living our higher values helps to clarify what adjustments we need to make to feel good about our lives. And higher values are also key to the health of our society and our nation. If we ignore what we know is right both for us and for the greater good then our nation will be in trouble.
Let’s end the adolescent like/ego tainted urges to argue and blame and instead start to take responsibility for the problems our nation faces today. It is time to end the pointing of fingers and instead put our energy into finding solutions that are for the good of everyone. If we stand up for what is right, compassionate, and fair there will no longer be power in just the hands of a few.
Did I do ok at tying this together in some kind of sensible way? Have a good day.
Pathways For Awareness
Yesterday I wrote about the importance of having awareness as a significant part of your life because through awareness your life can be greatly enriched. To bring more awareness into your experience there are clear pathways:
Let's start with the mind:
* Becoming aware of your thoughts and self-talk will assist you in reclaiming your life from the past. Most thoughts and inner dialogue are about yesterday causing you to miss the abundance of possibilities in the now.
* Pay attention to your inner dialogue and make sure it is positive and supportive. If you are aware of the workings of your mind, you can reshape them to reflect what is positive and hopeful
* Learn to be ok with your own quiet mind so that you can become aware of the true wisdom beyond your thoughts. In the stillness within there is a depth of knowing beyond the radar of the ordinary mind.
* Find inner peace by seeking awareness of who you are and what your life is about. Let your mind be inquisitive and always open to further insights.
Next let's look at emotions:
* Get to know how you feel by paying attention to what is going on inside. Emotional awareness enhances your ability to be real and genuine with yourself and those around you
* Awareness of how you feel brings awareness about how you are doing. If you feel energized and positive, you are doing well.
* Tune into your heart, your feeling center and be aware of your compassionate and caring nature. Your heart thrives on positive loving feelings
* Having feelings means you are alive, not being aware of how you feel means you have lost touch with yourself. If you don’t know yourself, you are unable to really know another
Then there is your body:
* To live fully in the body and with all your senses activated is a true joy. Imagine being so tuned in and aware that you are alive to the pleasures of being in a body and experiencing the energy in motion of your emotions
* Become aware of the holding, the tightness that happens in your body and learn to let it go. Awareness of your numbness begins the process of letting go and opening up
* Releasing the tension through exercise, breathing, visualization and other healthy practice will bring to you more awareness of what you need to do to take good care of yourself
* Walk in awareness, eat in awareness, breathe in awareness, laugh in awareness, move in awareness, work in awareness, listen in awareness, and do whatever else you can to let your body teach you about being aware and alive
Now let's explore spirit:
* Explore who you are beyond your ego, your personality, and your life dramas. As you become aware of yourself free of memories of who you think you are, then you can open to your unlimited higher nature
* See yourself as beyond the body/mind, always in existence before this life and always continuing after. This is awareness of your higher self is liberating because you see you are not caught up in life and are therefore able to act boldly and purposefully without fear
* Note that in the times of expanding awareness, you feel in unity with all living things. This is a wonderful awareness of reality, that we are all one and totally interconnected
* Become aware of your oneness with the creative force and source of the universe. Whatever is Divine is part of who you are. Let yourself expand into what is holy within
Awareness will bring well-being, health, love, joy, freedom, purpose, success, peace of mind and whatever else you long for in your life. If you take the time to be aware you will be a light for the world.
The Cultivation Of Personal Awareness
"There's only one thing that we can control in human life, and that one thing is not our mind. It's not a thought, it's not our breath, it's not our responses, it's not our actions. It is the cultivation of personal awareness, the moment-to-moment awareness of who we are - in charge of our life, in charge of our purpose, in charge of our path." Mother Maya
This quote comes from a spiritual teacher whose formal name is Sri Swamini Mayatitananda also known as Mother Maya. Her story is an extraordinary one and worth exploring if the path of spiritual enlightenment interests you. The above quote is what has my attention for today's blog.
This invitation to focus on personal awareness is a powerful calling that can change our lives for the better. It is a given that our minds are a handful and difficult to bring under control. It is also clear that our responses and actions, to ourselves and the world around us, are clearly affected by our chaotic mind. This instructive quote suggests that instead of tackling the mind we turn our focus to something that will redirect our lives.
That direction can come in the form of seeking to be more aware and conscious of who we are, what we are up to, and where we are heading. The pursuit of awareness is a noble path modeled by the Buddha and other luminaries and the inspirational force of those practices know as meditation, mindfulness and other consciousness raising disciplines.
Awareness is also the realm of psychology where counseling is meant to improve the self-awareness of the client so that they may better understand themselves and their circumstances and make more informed choices about what is best for them and their lives. As a counselor my goal is to be the mirror that shines insight into their lives.
On the level of spiritual activity, awareness is about being more fully who we are by understanding our expanded nature. Awareness is awakening more fully to our potential and opening to yet undiscovered possibilities in us. With awareness we can more completely understand our connection to the creative force of the universe and truly explore what it means to be a conscious human being.
The simplest form of awareness is a combination of quieting down, slowing down and feeling yourself beyond your thoughts. Awareness is often accessed beyond the noisy workings of the rational mind. Awareness is being fully present in the moment to all that arises in you and around you. Awareness is the key to positive change both personally and globally.
Tomorrow I will write about a number of pathways to awareness, some will be a review and some will be new thoughts as I continue to become more aware myself. Here is another thought to contemplate: In this moment there is a vastness of awareness available to you that is unlimited and ready to be realized.
Let's Help Those Who Need Help
Today I am in my social activist mode. Did you see Sunday’s Parade Magazine about the mess we have in with our prisons system? There is a serious need for major change in what we are doing for those from damaged childhoods and those with mental illness in our society. This correction system is very denigrating to the basic mental health of human beings. Did you know that most people in prisons came from abusive childhoods? Many have been physically, mentally and sexually abused and badly need help. Many have diagnosed mental illness. Societies answer has been to close hospitals that treat them and lock them up in prison instead.
Where is the compassionate care that they need? Does sending them off to prison resolve their emotional problems or make them worse? Has the idea of rehabilitation totally been tossed out because of terribly misguided policies? Is it ok to lock up people who don’t know how to live a healthy life because they have never had any real chance to change?
I am asking lots of questions. I have spent many years of my life working with those who have addiction problems. I have met very few who didn’t come from abusive or addictive families. The cycle continues unless we break it and prisons just keep the cycle going.
Here is what I recommend:
• Decriminalizing drug abuse would be a positive first step. The courts and jails are full of people who need help with their addictions not jail time.
• Provide counseling to everyone who goes to prison. Help them break the cycle of abuse and become productive members of out nation.
• End prison time for white collar crime, instead put them to work and make them give what they earn to those they have taken from or hurt from their actions.
• Have those with a history of 2 or more DUI’s get fully involved in long-term treatment or permanently give up their right to drive and own a car.
• Bring AA, NA, other recovery programs and mindfulness practices into prisons in a way that involves as many people as possible.
• Give those in prison opportunities to get vocational training so they can join our workforce and become productive members of their communities.
• Develop healthy programs that encourage those coming from prison to get the help and support they need to change their lives.
• Close down all prisons for youth and instead come up with innovative programs to help turn the lives of young people around.
Be aware that the prison industry is a major lobbying force especially in California so there will be forces that will not want change to happen. The youth prisons in California and elsewhere are a disgrace to humanity. Where have our hearts gone when it comes to helping those in need? Call or write your elected officials and ask them to support Senator Jim Webb in his call for massive reform of the way we treat those who need help.
Input and Output
Today I want to share with you a simple idea that will greatly affect your outlook on life. What you input into you mind will shape: how you view life, how you feel about yourself, and the kind of results you create. This uncomplicated idea makes great sense but it is so often over looked. Let me give you some examples of input and output:
People who watch the nightly news especially the networks that are filled with crime, drama and suffering like Fox are bound to feel uncomfortable with the world they live in. This input equals fear and anxiety and can be very disturbing to you mental health.
People who ready uplifting books and articles, take time to meditate and be mindful and avoid negative input feel more positive about life. This input equals a more peaceful and calm experience of yourself and of your world.
People who listen to talk radio especially programs that are negative and critical like Rush Limbaugh feel angry and fearful. This input creates a powerful disturbing force inside which can negatively affect health and eliminate your ability to enjoy life.
People who are passionate about their work, are active in their learning, put lots of energy into their families, tend to feel positive about themselves and their world. This input of passionate living will make life a joyous adventure.
People who spend time worrying, blaming, hurrying anxiously about will find their lives to be very unsettling. This input of anxiousness, of fear, and of the mind out of control will make you feel powerless and a victim of circumstances.
People who are compassionate and loving to themselves and others, who reach out to help those in need are often a joy to be around because their hearts are open. This input of loving-kindness makes the world a better place and you feel positive about yourself and the world.
This is the simple theory of input and output. Is there any question that you must carefully attend to what you let in? Disturbing movies and TV shows can be very unsettling. A quiet walk in nature will be peaceful and soothing to you. Be mindful and you will feel positive about you and your life.
World Peace Through You Being More Conscious
This morning I was reading a magazine called Shift: At the Frontiers of Consciousness (Institute of Noetic Sciences Winter 08, 09) and in there was an interview of David Hawkins the author of a very interesting book called Power v. Force. Dr. Hawkins has quantified a Map of Consciousness as a way to assess how people/society are doing on the journey of awakening. If the subject of consciousness interests you, like it does me, then the book is definitely worth reading.
The interview was an excellent reminder and got me thinking about some points he shared. One point was the importance of letting go of our chronic need to judge everything as either good or bad. He says, “Once you let go of your judgments, they are recontextualized. When they are reconstextualized, you can see that something is just whatever it is – neither good nor bad.” This freedom from judging is very liberating and allows us to be accepting, compassionate and fully present.
As an experiment, take the next few days to see how often you judge people, things and situations. Please be cautious that you don’t condemn yourself for you judging; instead accept yourself as a judger seeking to be more conscious. Once you become acquainted with the business of your judging mind, make a commitment to move from judging to impartially viewing the world around you. Pay particular attention to how it feels to be the judger and then be the impartial observer and feel how that feels. My suspicion is that being impartial will feel more peaceful and liberating to you. Let me know how this goes.
Another point he shared was about being peaceful as opposed to demonstrating for peace. He views demonstrating for peace as stimulating the opposite. He believes that peace begins inward and that as each of us becomes more conscious and peaceful then together we raise the collective consciousness so that world peace is possible. This is exactly my point of view and the driving force for this blog.
Where do you and I need to raise our consciousness, free ourselves of our judgments, find our own peace within? These are very invigorating questions for me and I hope for you. I am dedicated to exploring and presenting more and more opportunities for us to awaken. Take a few minutes to tune in right now and ask yourself this: where is there peace inside of you right now and how can you expand that so it touches more of you, your life, and the world around you?
Peace to you.
Take Out A Notebook And Get Started
16 inches of snow turned everything white here at the foothills of the Rockies. Looks like another day of cross-country skiing because I am not going to be riding my bike or running in this white chaos. Today, however I do have the freedom to create what I want on this especially white canvas of life. I choose to have some fun, relax, and enjoy life moment to moment.
As I have been sharing with you, The Joy Diet by Martha Beck is a very inspirational book if by chance you want more joy in your life. Today in my reading she suggests keeping a notebook of ideas that can help you create the life you want. Having an idea notebook/journal is an excellent way to stimulate you mind into coming up with creative ways to manifest what you want in life. Gratitude journals can have a very positive affect for manifesting success according to many including Oprah. In The Artist Way by Julia Cameron she writes about the benefits of journaling for seeding creativity and for unwinding the mind.
So here is my idea. Why not create a journal that has all the aspects you feel would be helpful to you. Is this something that interests you? If so here are some guidelines, which I am going to explore for my renewed focus on journaling this Spring.
• Spend some time getting clear about what you really want to bring into your life. Write about these desires in a way that helps you spell out what it is that matters most to you. (I want more freedom so I will write about how that looks to me and I have plenty of ideas so writing about freedom will help me get clear so I can make things happen.)
• Next begin to tune in and listen to any ideas you might have to make these wants come into your life. Oftentimes just sitting and opening to your own muse/intuition will get ideas popping up like popcorn in heat. (When I think of freedom, I open to how I might make that happen, in my thoughts, financial, my daily schedule/routines etc.)
• Sometimes the best way to stir your creativity resources inside is to just let the pen do the talking. Write 2to3 pages every day that have no intention except to open and flow. (I am in the flow of life when I don’t sensor myself, when I just write from a place of non-judging, when I let inspiration guide my words)
• Having an intention is helpful. Desires are stimulating; intentions are organizing. Allowing yourself to be open to how you can move from the feeling of a desire in your life to making something happen can be powerful. (I have been clarifying my intentions about freedom and I know what it looks like and now I need more concrete action steps)
• There is so much you have to feel grateful about. The attitude of appreciation is a powerful magnet of good things. What today and each day can you see from the eyes of appreciation? Keep notes on new and spontaneous thank you’s that you become aware of through your days. (In this moment, I feel grateful for the heat in my home, and the next adventure cutting trails in the deep whiteness out there.)
• Now go find a notebook or journal and get started. Maybe even get several at your local Office Depot and have the intention of filling them up with inspiration. In 30-90 days those journals will reshape your lives in amazing ways. (My journal is sitting here next to me, I am off to explore what comes up, TGIF, Thank Goodness It’s Freedom)
Snowy Day Off For Birthday
Today was supposed to be fun in the sun and some golf as a way to celebrate but the snow is really coming down. Another year in my life came to an end yesterday. Today I am born anew as it is my birthday. I trust that I am somewhat wiser from the past 365 days. I feel grateful that I had a wonderful year and this next year looks very promising.
Today my thoughts now turn to, where did I come from? What is the source of my creation and all other life? Who am I at my essence? How did this consciousness known as me come about on this tiny planet in this vast universe floating in infinite space? I am still searching for a deeper understanding to these questions.
Have we all gotten too inflated by our personality and ego to see our insignificance? Yet it is not as if we do not matter. In reality the consciousness that we are is the same knowing, creative force that is the designer of this planet and all beyond known and unknown. We however miss out too often by having an exclusive identity with our bodies and personality and neglecting to tune in to our alignment with our higher consciousness. This part of us, our infinite nature is filled with endless love, joy and freedom.
Too often though our busy ego-mind has convinced us of the importance of hanging out at the lower levels of our being in some limiting idea of self-protection. This is rational b.s. frankly. There is a knowing in you and I that is so much more true than the biased mind attempting to make sense of things.
I invite you to join me and to align with our higher consciousness, to put the ego-mind it’s place of quiet service, to turn the light on fully of the spirit that has been part of you before this life and will continue as you after.
Looks like my morning workout has changed from a nice run on a trail, now covered with least six inches of snow, to cross-country skiing. I am taking the day off, looks like it will be a day around home. Have a good day.
Steps Toward The Peace Beyond Struggle
Yesterday I wrote about struggle because I think about how much stress is present in your and my lives. Struggle is caused by fear and that fear is of the unknown, of the uncertainty of life. When you and I struggle our bodies contract, tighten up. (If you tune in right now you may feel some of those contractions.)
The world you and I live in is too often filled with these feelings of fear and bodily contraction. This got me thinking about how do we counteract the stressors, how do we take back the natural quietness that is in all of us. My blog yesterday gave you a list of 15 resources to counteract these challenging times but now I want to write about finding our own peace within.
The world we live in is constantly speeding up, everything happens so quickly these days, everywhere there are road hurriers and mad worriers. We may even find ourselves pounding on our horn or wide-awake staring at the night ceiling trying to resolve our anxiety. Even the best of us who work at reducing stress daily often still tighten up and after a while loose touch with our numbness. That numbness can spread and soon we can feel out of touch with what was once alive in us. This loss is not necessary.
I am writing this today as a reminder to both you and I that we must take care and imprint on our ways of living the following: First you and I need to take time each day to be mindful, to tune in and notice what is running through the river of our thoughts and over the rapids of our emotions. Emotions are clear signs as to how we are doing. If we are feeling lousy, we are not doing well; we have gone off course. If we are feeling energized and open, we are doing well and heading in the right direction. If our thoughts are supportive we feel positive, if our thoughts are negative and blaming we feel poorly. This inner feedback system works very well if we pay attention to it.
Secondly, we need to tune into our bodies. If we are: low energy, feel uptight, losing flexibility, restless, eating to placate, gurgling in the gut or other signs of stress, then we are not taking care of our bodies. Every day needs to include some down time, some time for rest, relaxation and renewal. Naps, yoga, mindfulness practice, meditation, eating healthy, walks, taking a break, exercise and more all can do wonders.
Thirdly we need to align with our spirit, our Higher Self, our compassionate heart and/or the intuitive knowing inside that is waiting this moment to give us guidance. (Take a moment right now to listen in to your higher guidance.) Silence is not only golden but the door into the infinite within each of us. If we take the time to hear the higher forces that flow through us we will always be living on purpose, expanding in consciousness and available to the peace inside.
These three ways lead to inner peace. Walk any one or all three paths and see the return of the sparkle in your eyes, the spring in your step, and the joy of well-being. Peace to you.
Struggle, Is Your Focus On Limits Or Resources
Sometimes you find yourself in the midst of life struggles that you can't find your way out of even was good effort. These hard to move out of struggles are affected by a number of factors, which you can shape by your responses. The following are ways you limit you and resources you have that can set you free. First the limits:
• Fear can play a large role in you getting stuck. If you are too afraid to change, you will stay in the struggle. In fear you are contracted and your inner resources cut off.
• If you have past experiences that didn't work out the way you hoped for, you may choose to avoid dealing with any situations you might fail at. This means you have closed down to possibilities.
• During the earliest years of childhood you have experiences that were difficult and you make false assumptions about all of life from these events. Often as an adult you are still run by these faulty decisions based on inadequate information.
• A closed mind is negative, chaotic, inflexible, ego-driven and falsely sure of itself. This kind of mind is rigid and unable to grow so you can learn from your mistakes and be open to new ideas.
• Not trusting yourself or the world around you keeps you stuck because most situations involve others. If you don't know how or even want to trust others or yourself, your life will remain as it is.
• When you have much self-doubt any movement towards being healthier will be tough. Not believing in yourself and/or having a low self-esteem makes you feel you don't deserve things to work out and they don't.
• If your past is filled with unfinished business and still to be expressed toxic emotions then you will be using much of the energy of life to contain or restrain what is inside of you. Without energy change is going to be very difficult.
• If you spend much time blaming and complaining then you are sure to stay in struggle. Blaming is a crap magnet and complaining means your feel helpless to change your life.
None of these factors will work to move you into a better place so here are some inner resources, ways to kick start your destruggle machine:
• The best place to begin is with an open heart. Open- hearted people are ahead of the game because they run at a higher vibration level then fear and struggle.
• If you are aware and open to insight you can figure your way out of almost any mess. There is a knowing inside of you that is always available to guide you to a better place. Your intuition is always waiting to be utilized.
• Are you willing to grow? If so, all of life becomes an opportunity for learning, all struggle becomes a playground for new growth. Being a life longer learner prepares you for the hurtles you may face.
• There is in you a Higher Self that is not bound by ego and personality and that always knows what is best for you. This Self is your spiritual force and your direct link to the Source of all creation. This is an amazing force that can change struggle into joy and freedom.
• When the positive mind runs your show then there are many happy endings. A mind that is supportive and encouraging feels free to do what is necessary, when it is needed, for the best possible results.
• There is a part of you that is capable of being an observer of watching you and your life detached from the drama and with the necessary impartiality to shed light on who you are and what you are up to. This watcher beyond the mind sees what is true.
• Sometimes what is needed is courage to live with an intention and to make a commitment to move you towards the life you want. Courage from the heart is needed, a clear intention sets the course of action and commitment assures results will be created.
• Finding your channel to a Higher Power, to Spirit, the Creative Force of the Universe will look differently than anyone else’s. This relationship is one some give their lives up to, others make requests, and still others sit listening quietly.
• Having compassionate friends is a great resource because you can reach out for help beyond your own self-imposed limits. Support groups serve a similar purpose of providing feedback that sidesteps blind spots.
• Self-acceptance is where you want to be. Anything less is something you learned falsely. There never was nor will there ever be a better you if you just be who you are. The world needs that from you.
• Do you realize that your potential is unlimited? It is. What are you sensing inside that wants to blossom in you. Tap into your vast reserves of possibility and bless the world with you coming into your full expression.
• Yes you do have a specific purpose that is unique to you. Living it will bring you great joy and satisfaction and leave the world a better place. Are you waiting for something or have you been exploring and expressing you life in meaningful ways?
• There is the practice of mindfulness that is about taking back your mind from the chaos of thoughts set on hurry and worry. Mindfulness is liberation from the untidiness of destructive self-talk and opening to the stillness of your deeper knowing.
• Taking responsibility for your life will set you free to be the creator of your own reality. Feeling that you have the ability to respond to the world around you makes you an empowered human being.
• Emotional well-being means you appreciate, acknowledge and validate how you feel. There are no good or bad feelings, instead there is simply a feedback system that tells you if you are “on” course or “off” course. Well-being is the realization and healthy flow of energy in motion, emotion.
Please use this information to set yourself free from as much struggle as you can. It will make life more of a joy to live and peaceful in the heart.
Knowing From Beyond the Mind
As I look at what I have written the last two days I feel positive about expressing these ideas. I hope for you the reader, these two weekend blog posts stimulated your own thinking both about what you believe and about your spirituality. These two topics feel important to me especially if we are interested in expanding our consciousness at a time when our full awakening is so needed. What do you think?
Recently I was reading about our minds being so out of control in the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. This man may be one of the truly enlightened beings on the planet. If you haven’t read and reread the Power of Now then you have an assignment to complete this Spring. That book is must read and study for anyone wanting to wake up fully to the possibilities in them.
In my reading he said that we have an observer in us, which can be called impartiality. In the past I have written about impartiality, brows through my posts if you want to learn more. That observer is a powerful ally in our seeking to be more conscious. When we truly understand something it is because a part of us beyond the rational mind is engaged. Impartiality allows that beyond the rational understanding. The observer sees and knows what is often beyond the mind to understand. (Here I go again trying to explain with words what often escapes explanation.) This is why it is better to read Eckhart Tolle here because he is exceptionally versed at explaining the unexplainable.
It is my hope that your week goes well, that our nation shifts more in a positive direction under the hopeful and aware leadership of us all, and that each of us have the insights and awareness necessary to live daily in as much freedom and joy as is possible.
“So the single most vital step on your journey toward enlightenment is this: learn to disidentify with your mind. Every time you create a gap in the stream of mind the light of your consciousness grows stronger.”
“What a liberation to realize that the "voice in my head" is not who I am. Who am I then? The one who sees that.”
“Whatever the present moment contains, accept is as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. Make it your friend and ally, not your enemy. This will miraculously transform your whole life.”
Eckhart Tolle
Are You Religious Or Spiritual?
Last night my wife and I watched Bill Maher’s Religulous. We laughed, had conversation, and were shocked at scenes and points of view. The movie is very provocative as it questions the validity of most religions. This movie is worth seeing if you are open to the questioning of religion, if not it is best you avoid it. The basic question of the film is how can rational thinking people believe what they are suppose to believe to be a member of a religion.
This film supports the importance of questioning our beliefs. So much of what people believe and base their lives on is in need of questioning. Religion is human invention full of human misperceptions. Most modern religions seems to have very little to do with spirituality. Religion today seems to be big institutions driven by money, full of misinformation and led by people who have no more sense of spirit than anyone else. Some of the founders of these churches had even less sense of spirituality and seemed as if their mental health was not in order.
Spirituality and whatever/whoever God is seems to be a more personal relationship that cannot be guided by some mega organization. Each of us has to find our own answers, our own relationship with the higher forces of the universe. Many of those that claim to be guided by their faith act as if their rational minds have been shut down and their hearts closed up.
There is no doubt a wiser creative force in the universe than us humans because we would be in one hell of a mess if our religious leaders were in charge of keep the universe in order. Thankfully there seems to be is a greater wisdom, a creative source that is an overriding guiding force of all that is known. What that is, is pure speculation and it seems to have little to do with religion.
Speaking of religious leaders, the Pope has been traveling through Africa on a recruiting trip. Does he seem totally out of touch with the reality of the times or what? He represents the church of my upbringing and frankly I see no relevance of this religion to my spiritual life.
What have you come to understand about your spiritual life, your connection to the Source of the Universe? Is your heart and mind open to the deeper knowing that is possible through you own contemplative life? If guided by a religion can you find your own answers or are you following the ideas of those that say they have direct contact? What is your own truth about the spirit within you?
Whoever the Great Spirit is totally a personal experience and it seems there must be as guiding principles: love, compassion, kindness, understanding, patience, peacefulness and the joy of being aligned with the expansiveness of our higher nature. Have a good Sunday.