It seems important to address something most of us may be in denial about. This problem is rampant in all of us and most will get defensive if it is pointed out. The problem is that our minds and thoughts are totally out of control and they never shut up. We live in chaos because our minds our in chaos. We run around in states of worry and fear because that is what where our thoughts go and they never quiet down. This state of mind is the creation of habitual thinking and a false mind made self. In other words, we drive ourselves nuts by having this false sense of self based on the unreality of our own mind. Maybe we should reassess this situation we find ourselves it?
The problem however don’t stop just with what is going on inside but includes the mass craziness of our inherited collective mind patterns. These crazed and dazed thought patterns are passed on from generation to generation and from the collective unconsciousness of society. So our 50,000 to 60,000 daily thoughts are often a menagerie of learned and repeated false ideas and beliefs. There is good news however.
The good news is that we are not our mind or our thoughts. Whew! This may be surprising to our sense of self. The ego wants to jump right in and argue for the righteousness of our thinking. Of course our thoughts matter at least this is what our mind says. We don’t have to be run ragged by our endless stream of thoughts because our thoughts are just words carrying the meaning we give them. If we quiet our thoughts or at least change them, we change how we feel and experience the world and ourselves.
The next question might be what do I do with this information? Do I go in search of medications, brain surgery, see a therapist? No this problem has a very simple but not necessarily easy solution. We have to learn to slow the mind down, to listen to the wisdom inside beyond the loud turmoil of our thinking. There are a variety of ways that help with this:
• Mindfulness helps by learning techniques to watch the mind and emotions impartially
• Meditation works great and there are many forms of this practice
• Bringing your focus fully to what you are doing works to slow you down, creativity expression like music, art, design etc. demands you be present to do it well
• Breathing deeply and slowly is very helpful because it helps you be fully present
• Other helpful and fun ways to pull you fully into the moment include: fishing, fast moving sports, reading, in depth conversations, dangerous adventures and other focus demanding activities
We are not our thoughts, we are much more than that. So stop believing the nonsense that goes on between your ears.
Last night after I wrote the first draft of this I came upon the following quote in The Power Of Now by Eckhart Tolle and I thought it would shed some further light on the benefit of moving past our identity with our thoughts.
“The moment you start watching the thinker, a higher level of consciousness becomes activated. You then begin to realize that there is a vast amount of real intelligence beyond thought, that thought is just a tiny aspect of that intelligence. You also realize that all the things that truly matter – beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace – arise from beyond the mind. You begin to awaken.”
84 Days To Make Something Happen
My friend stopped by here and left a valued comment about my blog yesterday. He and I worked together at a job that was very stressful. He is a great guy and a very powerful at manifesting of what he thinks about. When we worked this job he use to say often what a pain in the ass it was. One day he came to work to report that he has a cyst on his backside, you can guess where. He had to have the thing removed. We all made fun of the situation but it struck me as a powerful lesson in being careful what we focus our thoughts on.
That same force that can create negative results can also create positive results. Whatever you focus on expands in your life. If you can imagine wonderful results you can make that happen. If you can’t imagine the results you want, what are the chances of it happening?
There is 84 days left in the year 2009. What do you want to make happen before the year comes to an end? Let’s look at some areas you may want to make changes in: you might have a relationship that is not working well; you might have a financial situation that is troubling you; you might have a car in need of repair or replacement; you might be fighting medical issues; you might be suffering from depression or addiction issues; you might feel lonely and in need of friendships, or any number of worries, hopes or dreams. What if you could in the next 84 days change yourself and/or the situations, would you be willing to commit to this change. What if it only took changing your thoughts, your inner story, your emotions, and/or your belief in self?
The answer is yes you can make the changes you most want in a very simple way. Follow these ideas and things will start to happen in ways as good as you can imagine:
• You have to be willing to imagine positive and wonderful results
• You have to be willing to feel excited, energized and enthusiastic about what you want to happen
• You have to be willing to focus on the results you want, not on what isn’t working
• You have to dump the old story or stories in your head that limit the results you want to create.
• You have to believe you are enough and that you do deserve to have what you want in life
• You have to be conscious enough to break from the old patterns and rewire yourself for success
• You have to grow the power of these inner messages so that your subconscious mind has to make it happen
• You have to get clear and then let go, instead of force of will, it works better to get into the flow of the abundant universe
• You have to practice non-attachment to results because what may happen may be wonderful but not what you expected
• You have to full appreciate each day for what it brings and for the blossoming of the potential you have released inside.
Are you clear what you want to bring into your life? Are you ready to commit to making it happen? 84 days will go by fast and before you know it you will be living what you want in your life. I have two things in mind and I will let you know in 2010 how they amazingly manifested.
The Crooked Thinking Of Conservatives and Corporations
The way people rationalize what they are doing and saying is getting more and more out of touch with reality especially those speaking for corporations and conservatives. The corporate speak is “poor me, let me take more advantage of you.” The conservative spokespersons seem to hate being out of power, have nothing to say that is good about those in power, and toss out honesty in the name of whatever it takes to get back into power. Doesn’t all this b.s. make you want to really change things around so that these two forces have little or no power ever again over the people? The following are a few examples of what I am talking about. Let me know what your thoughts are about these articles.
The first article is by Paul Krugman in the NY Times. He comments on the transparency of the Republican Party as they celebrate Chicago not getting the Olympics as a failure for President Obama. They do not want him to succeed at anything because it means they might not get back into power. This hunger for power and glee over failure is a blatant disregard for what is good for America and its people. This behavior has to be a disgrace to any person who is fair minded and compassionate toward their fellow citizens.
This second article made me think that anyone who lives according to the Conservative Christian movement must either have turned off their mind or live in incredible denial. This story is about a conservative project to eliminate any so called, “liberal” comments in the bible. These supposed words of God from their point of view are now not right so they in their arrogance and rationalizing mind are going to rewrite it. Sorry folks but if Jesus was alive today he would most certainly be a liberal according to his teachings.
In another interesting story I came about Wellpoint an insurance corporation that has a huge campaign going to promote how much they care about providing good quality coverage and now they are cutting their workers health benefits and raising their employee rates. If that isn’t the biggest mix message I have ever heard, then I don’t know what is. This corporation is tooting its horn and shafting its employees. Oh and I forgot to say their CEO made $10 million last year. Please if you trust these guys, where has your critical thinking gone? Let’s speak up and insist our elected officials vote for real change not some cosmetic give-in to the corporations who don’t care even about their own people.
The last article is enough to make me mad and I don’t get mad often because I refuse to get caught up in the insanity of the way people act or corporations behave ripping us off without any conscience. Banks, which we bailed out with money from our taxes, are making a huge profit by the unnecessary fees they charge us for being our bank. This is highway robbery especially when we bailed them out of the mess they got themselves into. Who is watching out for the people in this area? Congress is a “no show” except when it comes to giving them all the money they need to make sure their profits soar and their executives get very rich off us. Wealth is a wonderful thing but don’t you think it needs to be spread around more?
It is time for real change and we are the ones that must make it happen.
A Stream Of Healing Particles
Lately my mind has been returning to an idea I learn years ago listening to Deepak Chopra on one of his tape series about healing and quantum physics. In that presentation he said on a particle level our body is almost totally renewed every year. That means every year we have a new body. Then how come we still have the old injuries, soreness and physical limitations? As I get older I notice stuff like sore heals and shoulders more and I wonder why they still are sore if this is a new body. That questioned got answered one day in a moment of what I think was an insight. I am curious what you think of this idea? The insight was that those sore and limited parts of the body remain this way because of thought forms in us that we have yet to let go of in our mind or body.
These thought forms are powerful messages and thereby cause the new particles to rebuild in response to the held belief. So I have this chronic sore left heal from years of running or my holding to the idea that I have a chronically sore left heal keeps it that way. The same kinds questions are true for a shoulder that has to yet fully heal from an injury. Is it that I keep on enforcing the soreness because I focus on soreness or is it because I need to replace the images of soreness with ones of healing and renewal? What makes sense to you?
So my plan is to do an experiment with these limitations or points of soreness and attempt to change my thoughts related to them. I will do this experiment for up to a year and see what results I can create.
The following is a visualization, which will evolve over time about this renewing of the body on a particle level:
* First I will take the time to quiet myself down and listen to my thoughts about my healing images and therefore shape the inner impression I want to make on my subconscious mind.
* Next I will set time aside each day to both dissolve limiting thought forms and to create new healing images inside.
* These images come to mind when I think of what being healed by the particles that flow in and out of me would look like. I see a beautiful flow of a rainbow of colored balls of light flowing into me with each inhale. Those balls of healing light almost like Christmas lights in brightness travel into my body through my lungs and into my heart and throughout every cell via my circulatory system. These particles go in and replace the old particles in a never-ending cycle of renewal. On the exhale the old particles of light flow out and back into the universe where they are renewed by their interaction with the air around us. These new particles are healing because I (we) choose to have healing thoughts and the replacement parts eventually win out over the old limiting thought forms or beliefs. Let this visualization grow as you get a deeper sense of how you want it to feel.
* These healing particles are not only physical forms but also affected by the workings of the mind and the emotions of the heart. Thinking and feeling healthy as you breathe in these colorful particles will enhance their effectiveness. When the mind and heart are in alignment with the renewal process it is greatly enhanced.
* Lastly be grateful for the end results. "Fake it until you make it," is a phrase that many use. Another way to state this is, in the energy of appreciation for all that is possible, amazing things can happen.
Healing is up to our receptivity and openness because the flow of particles is endless and always available if we are willing to receive.
Study As A Path To Higher Consciousness
The last two days were on the road as we attended a 50 Year Anniversary for the Colorado Boys Ranch, a nationally recognized program that helps boys and young men who are troubled. My wife does much of their graphic design work from our home. The ranch is just over 3 hours away out on the plains in the Arkansas River Valley, the only reason for green in that part of Colorado. There is a deep and driving passion at this ranch to make a difference for the young people they serve. They need your help, check them out to see if you can lend a hand at CBR Youth Connect.
Last week was a very interesting one. One of my clients experienced a powerful shift in consciousness and is on his way to breaking a long history of dysfunction in his life. I will check in with him later this morning and find out what the shifting is doing to enrich his life so far.
His newfound awareness has been provoked by the mindfulness we teach as part of our treatment. He also has been reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. In just over the past week he has also read a series of powerful stories including: The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman (awesome book), The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (equally awesome), Buddha by Deepak Chopra (another wonderful story), The Laws Of Spirit: A Tale of Transformation by Dan Millman, and Why Is God Laughing by Deepak Chopra. The path of reading and studying many forms of the great wisdom traditions can be very provocative if a person is open.
This is a path of study and thoughtfulness, which can alter the way a person experiences oneself and expands the way he or she sees the world. It takes a willingness to question past thoughts and held beliefs. This way is more a seeking through understanding instead of some rigorous meditative practice. Yet this new level of consciousness often encourages the student to seek out the wisdom of quiet contemplation.
On the long drives on Saturday and Sunday, I made an interesting discovery. My wife was driving so I settled into a quiet time to be mindful. As I closed my eyes and deepened my awareness of my breath I naturally quieted down. The movement of the car seemed conducive to the process and 30 minutes one way and 45 minutes the way home all seem to fly by as I sat in silence. Obviously don’t try this driving even though it may be less dangerous than texting while driving.
This experience got me thinking how can I better set up time for this greatly beneficial inner work. The quiet drive was very conducive; however too often life is just go, go, go. I am committed to set more time aside to listen inward for my own health of mind, body, heart and spirit.
There is much to comment on about politics lately and I can hardly hold myself back from noting the absurdity of ideas and behaviors out there. I will write more soon about how we can integrate consciousness into politics.
It’s Monday and I have a busy week planned. I hope you have a great week filled with love, peace, happiness and abundance.
In Joyous Awareness, I Witnessed A Spontaneous Awakening
This blogger will be on the road on Saturday and Sunday for an adventure and celebration. Here is a very brief account of my witnessing of a human being awakening.
Today at work a very interesting thing happened to one of my clients who has been reading everything I give him (5-6 books in the last week); exploring the ideas about consciousness of Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra; and practicing mindfulness. He spontaneously during an inner practice session became fully present and seemed in an expansive state. When I checked in with him he was very quiet and calm which is unusual. Later after the group I asked him more about it and he said he has been doing this for a few days because of the readings and his own new insights and perspective.
This altered state is familiar to me because I have explored it for many years. These expansive and sometimes unsettling states feel like being connected to yourself and the world in a new and much deeper way. Life seems so vivid. In the afternoon, we sat together out on the balcony and he explained how it felt to him. His description matched my previous experiences.
As we talked I knew this inner movement in him would forever change this troubled 34 y/o man who had been abused by his parents as a child until he flattened his Dad at age 14. So much trauma, so much insanity of drugs and alcohol and since age 10 he has been under the control of a probation officer. This crazy life will not need to continue any longer. He doesn’t know that yet but as time goes he will discover as he watches his thoughts he will not longer need to be run by them. Freedom from the past is now possible.
It was an amazing blessing to share this space with him as he dips his toes in the vastness of consciousness. How it happened is unclear except a willingness and readiness for change was obviously going on inside of him. The thing about these experiences is that you never know when that might happen. There are numerous methods but they always include being fully present. The present moment is the only gateway.
Have a good weekend and I will share more as this awakening continues.
Pleasure Can Taste Good, Be Fun to Watch, And Change The World
Last night we had a wonderful anniversary dinner at a local restaurant The Mediterranean that features Tapas, which is such a great way to have lots of different and interesting tastes. Have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy food both cooking and eating? I get inspired eating really interesting food combinations. Cooking is such a delicious form of creativity. What is your favorite place to have interesting food? Do you enjoy inventing and cooking special dishes?
Speaking of pleasure, the NBA is back into action and now everyday there are new web articles for me to read about my team the Portland Trailblazers. They will be fun to watch and I get a regular basketball fix now daily. What sport’s teams gets you excited? What are you a fan of and how do you participate?
Looks like my theme so far is about what pleasures in life that get me excited. There are many more but these three: my wife, food, and basketball are on the top of my list. Doing what you enjoying doing is big because it makes your life feel worth living when things can be a real challenge at time. What makes you feel good about life? What fun thing do you need to remember to do enjoy this weekend?
This next item I am writing about may not seem connected to the above topic but it is clearly related in my mind. First a quote worth appreciating:
First they ignore you,
Then they laugh at you,
Then they fight you,
Then you win. Mahatma Gandhi
This should be the inspirational quote for all who take on great odds to bring about important and necessary change in the world. Yes promoting positive change is another very pleasurable activity for me. Helping make the world a better place is one of the most rewarding purposes to pursue in your life. When you do something that makes a difference it feels so great.
Have a fun weekend and toss in some pleasurable activities and change the world while you are at it.
Changing Like The Seasons
Three years today for my wife and I. It has been very easy, fun and lots of love. A few weeks ago we visited the place we got married on the Oregon Coast. Where has the last three years gone so quickly? Fall is back and what happened to the summer?
As I rode my bike yesterday I was thinking I needed to get ready in my head for the cold and slippery days ahead. I am not there yet since I am still in shorts at work. The warm breeze the night before is being replaced by last night’s much cooler wind. I feel myself contracting in anticipation of the full onset of the colder months.
This time of year as we transition into fall weather reminds me of us human beings and how we are always in the process of change. Even if we resist and dislike change it is part of the cycle of our lives. Every year we go through the seasons and each one brings its challenges and joys. Change is ongoing and if we go with it and keep open to the flow of what comes our way it can seems much easier and more enjoyable.
This time of year is hot and cold, sometimes in just a few minutes things change drastically. We humans are just like that when we switch from different states of mind and emotions. We can go from hot about what someone said to cold and distant or from cold and out of reach to warmly receptive in just moments.
Fall is a time when intense color can fill our trees just before they are blown into the nakedness of vulnerability. Yes we have all been disrobed of our defenses. Yes we have all felt the colors of aliveness drain from our bodies when we mess up. Life can leave us humbled by our actions, non-actions or reactions.
Last night before the cold smacked my tomatoes and basil around, I went out and harvested what was left and felt disappointed that the cold was coming so soon and so fast. Life seems to come at us way too fast at times and from the rearview mirror it goes by too fast. Change keeps happening and we keep going even if it is too fast.
Do you appreciate that you are flexible enough to go with the flow more easily at this point in you life? Or do you battle with moving on and the unpredictability of living?
Take comfort in the idea that we all find ways to adapt, to survive, to sometimes even thrive as we face the unknown of daily life. Flexibility is a very valuable asset in times like these where change is not going away and is even speeding up almost daily.
As October knocks at the door and enters, I will share with you some ideas to assist your adaptability and flexibility. Enjoy the harvest of your own actions, thoughts and compassionate interactions of others.
Lastly, Much Love to my wife Bobbi on our 3rd Anniversary.
With Twitter, Facebook, Email, Cell Phone, When Do You Have Time To Yourself?
No word from the President in case you wondered ;-) I suspect he has more pressing issues that tending to his email. Do you remember life previous to email? It seems so long ago yet it was just few years ago that emails and cell phones played minor roles in our lives. This is no longer true except I must admit to being behind the times as far as cell phone goes. Most of the time my cell phone lies quietly in my bag and it never rings. Maybe that is because almost no one knows my number. I still think the microwaves of the cell phone are dangerous to my brain in particular when my memory at times is less than optimal. My moments away from work and my home phone are my occasions to enjoy the quiet of my own company.
Do you feel obligated to have a phone with you at all times, to respond to all your personal emails? When do you get away from things and renew? These are wonderful inventions but should we allow them to take over our lives? Keeping in touch in an instant is a great gift to us all but setting boundaries around your quiet time is vitally important to your well-being.
Facebook and Twitter both have been dropped into our lives as another quick way to keep in touch. The last 10 years our less has brought us all these very interesting inventions for communications but have they made us better or more effective communicators? Are we maybe hurried in our response; maybe even less intimate? Have we lost something like our quiet time, our time for contemplation, our important time with self?
All these communications tools including my blog, which I love doing, has in reality filled my day with more to do and less time to be. My blog writing is more "being" time for me but sometimes it is me just completing my commitment to writing 6 days per week. The good news is that my blog is fun and inspirational to me the writer and hopefully to you the reader. The other tools of communications all have their pluses, especially email from people I care about, but in general I am mixed about them. How about you? Would you be lost without these tools for networking and keeping in touch? You can always put these inventions aside for a time to be quiet, thoughtful, aware of feelings, relaxed and fully in the moment.
*This Is New And Exciting*
There are some new ads here at the Explore Life Journal and I am excited about them. This blog now contains over 900 posts and up to 30,000 visitors per month and it is time for me to start a flow of income for my efforts and to free my time to do the exploration I need to do to keep this blog energized and inspirational. If the new adds at all intrigue you they are all affiliate ads so you go check them out. If you like the product and purchase them, some of that money will come to me. Yeah!!! An enhanced income flow is a wonderful thing.
My Letter To President Obama
Things seem off to a difficult start Mr. President. Your job has to be the hardest one in this country. Thank you for taking it on. All of us fair-minded people are grateful to you for your efforts every day.
I want to share with you some ideas, which you may find helpful. I have spent over 35 years studying human behavior as a counselor, teacher and consultant working in mental health, addiction, EAP, and education. We humans are constantly evolving and what I can share with you is what I understand at this time.
1. Humans are run by their thoughts and their ego's determination to build its sense of self. The ego is never satisfied. The ego is driven toward the future as part of its need to expand its influence. All human caused disasters including war are caused by the ego. The ego always wants more power and control. The main problem for us humans is we actually believe the story of thoughts and ego that play in our head constantly. These thoughts and stories are not real. Realness only exists in the moment and it is from a place of awareness beyond our ego-mind.
2. In your work as president what is real is that you have to deal constantly with the false stories in everyone's mind. Let me give you an example. The Republican Party has learned that if people are afraid they can be in power. Their present tactics of spreading fear about health care, about the census, about socialism is all to get people to be afraid. The more afraid people are the more conservative they get. So the strategy is to get everyone to live in the story of a fearful world of terrorist and an unjust government. Rush, Beck, Bachman and Fox feed the fear. The Republicans cannot compromise because they are run by fear; they believe their own stories. Getting them to work with you may not be possible. This fear strategy will work unless yourself and the rest of us spread the message of hope and compassionate action.
3. Greed and the pursuit of power is what Corporate America is run on. This is the collective ego of business running the story of the importance of free unchecked capitalism. The ego still seeking to grow its sense of power now manifests as our present economic program. This ego driven economic system is about acquiring more with no concern for what is healthy for all. Thus we have banks, credit card companies, mortgage companies, insurance companies, weapons industry, drug industry, investment corporations, utility companies, oil and much more all in pursuit of ever growing profits with little or no regard for what is right or healthy.
4. Wars are all driven by ego. Afghanistan is a battle of the ego in this case the collective ego of the military, those who want more power or to control others. The whole military mindset is unable to see that this is just a story. It cannot see the potential of building relationship with the so-called enemy because it is run by fear and the ego mind. Everyone who you are seeking advice from are all part of the ego-mindset with the story of fear as their driving force. They actually believe their story. You do not have to. Sure there is danger from the terrorist but they too are just living the crazy stories of their own thoughts.
5. What is needed is awareness/consciousness of the insanity of our own minds/thoughts/ego. That is the challenge. When we have raised the collective mindset toward the possibilities for peace and prosperity for all than that becomes the predominate story. In essence stories are neither good nor bad but just stories. Two options here: first we can come up with a positive, hopeful story which is what got you elected; second we can help each other see beyond the stories in our head, see beyond our thoughts and instead live in a world guided by the wisdom of the heart and compassion and the higher capacities of awareness and consciousness.
Your challenge is to not get caught up in anyone else's story but instead to live the story of your new presidency based on the moment to moment awareness of you and your family guided by your hearts and the collective consciousness of all of us who sense the unlimited potential in each and every one of us. Sure that sounds a pie-in-the-sky but in fact there is no reality other than what we make of it. If we live in the past or the future we miss the opportunities of the present. If you are able to impartially watch what is presented to you, you can see past the story and instead be run by the higher knowing of consciousness.
Last thoughts: Universal Healthcare is the right thing to do, the war in Afghanistan is “no win” so save our young people's lives, protecting the environment is essential for all humans, election reform by eliminating money's massive influence is key to saving our democracy, and your re-election is assured if you can help create a hopeful picture for the future.
Thanks for courageously doing what you are doing,
Joseph Bernard, Ph.D.
True Freedom Exists Beyond Our Story
Last night I was watching a DVD called the Flowering of Human Consciousness with Eckhart Tolle sharing his expansive perspective. I got this DVD through Netflix but I am sure it can be purchase at Amazon. Eckhart Tolle has to be one for the great teachers of consciousness on the planet. His insights and awareness are totally amazing.
On the first part of this 2 Disc series he changed the way I will view myself forever. His teachings are about being fully present in our lives and to become aware of who we are beyond our thoughts, our ego and our story. In each moment we are much more than the story in our head. Almost totally who we think we are is really just the story from the past. This story is what we, through our ego, tell ourselves about our life experiences.
Many people don’t feel ok about themselves because they have these stories they learned and now carry with them everywhere they go. The ego is never satisfied so many of us grow up feeling we are not enough. Does that sound familiar to you; it sure does to me? The theme that I am not enough has haunted me most of my life but today I realize that is just my never satisfied ego. None of our story is who we are. Our desire to move toward the future is the self seeking to build a greater sense of self. This seeking to enhance self is the delusion of ego, which is never satisfied.
So far this may seem to be rambling as I am attempting to share something with you that I am just now beginning to understand at a much deeper level of consciousness. Let me see if I can restate this more clearly. We are not our story. Any attempts to build on that story are driven by the ego’s need to be more. We are a field of awareness and potential in the moment. That awareness exists underneath the endless chatter of the ego mind and it is free of any story other than the experience of the who we are in the moment.
I hope these ideas have been helpful this Monday as you start a new week and hopefully see yourself in a more liberating way? Pick up the writings, CD’s and DVD’s of Eckhart Tolle and you will never view the world in the same way nor will you be run by some story that is not who you are.
No More Honoring War And Its Creator, The Ego Mind
Excuse this point of objection if you don’t agree but as a person who supports peace I have to say this: this support the troops I see on many cars is something I can not do. Yesterday I saw a sign on a car that said, “honor our soldiers”. I cannot do that because I do not honor war or their actions in support of that. Our military is made up of almost all professional soldiers who have this as a career. They are trained as professional killers. Their job is to enforce the ego-driven ideas of men in power. I say men because most women would not put us into the messes we men get ourselves into because of egos. All wars are about the human ego’s need to be in control. Soldiers are part of that ego battle, just watch the ego based ads trying to recruit these young men. Nothing is ever said about being professional hit man for the nation and yet that is their main job.
The idea of support is that they are serving our country in some exceptional way. In fact it is their job like police, fire, teachers, social workers, public health, water departments, government etc. How often do people have supportive bumper stickers for all the others who support this nation?
I honestly see no honor in this work of unnecessary war especially since often these so called high minded duty driven soldiers are the ones who rape and take advantage of women in the countries they are supposedly saving. Last night on Bill Moyer on PBS there was a story on the insanity of the war in Afghanistan and the ego driven thinking of those trying to figure out how to win this mess and the second story was on the plight of women in many nations especially those in war.
Now the ego driven leader of Iran is threatening with his nuclear plans and President Obama is forced to take a stand, which is only going to create another mess. This all seems so infantile and unnecessary and again the workings of male ego.
All wars, all battles of ego can end now if we all take the time to wake up to the insanity of our own ego-minds. These minds in search of power and control are run by thoughts that need to be questioned. These power hungry thoughts are simply the working of the ego seeking control and in reality not real. Not real because they are just thoughts based on fear, on inadequacy, on anger or some other primate emotions that have not had the light of insight or consciousness shown on them. This is thinking without the heart. In other words if we took the time to really examine these thoughts we would quickly see the insanity of them and replace the ego mind with the higher wisdom of compassion and consciousness.
Please question all ego-driven thoughts, all honoring of anything like war, all things said by others who claim to know, all theories that spread fear, all on Fox News, all stated on talk radio, etc. The point here is that we all have to find our own place of truth, watch our own thoughts, seek to be more mindful and conscious members of this nation and planet.
Imagine An Ideal World In These Times Of Uncertainty
Do things seem stirred up in and around our lives? Is the chaotic world reflected in our individual lives or our chaotic individual lives reflected in the world? Maybe most people's lives are just humming along and the news is just about nightly drama? Or maybe stuff is stirred up everywhere? What is true for us and those we care aboutI?
My suspicion is that this stirring up is a reflection of shifting times. Thankfully shifting times are happening because that means change is coming. Positive change is needed as more and more people struggle because our financial system is broken. Caring for our health can now break us financially. Jobs are being lost and what replaces them doesn't cover costs. People are living beyond their means just trying to get by. The American dream of prosperity for all has been replaced by wealth for a few and struggle for many. Corporations are dictating policies and even laws that benefit them and individuals are loosing out to the endless pursuit of profit at any cost.
There is no socialist movement, that claim is by those driven by greed or those that are mindless sheeple. Government seems out of touch with the needs of the ordinary citizens. Even a president who promises change is significantly hampered by the status quo. Opinion has become the new news and sound bits are replacing real thinking and questioning.
How do we cope with such uncertainty? How do we feel empowered when the forces we want to change feel unmovable? If those in influence can't see beyond the wants of those who keep them in power, how will real change happen? It seems there is at least one better option; we the people and our numbers have more influence. If we get clear what is for the best of the all of us, if we organize, if we commit to action, if we follow through, then change for the better is possible. We cannot leave it to our elected officials, they are under the clear influence of those who help pay for their re-election. New campaign finance laws have to rid all money influence if change is going to happen. We also need people of principle as our elected officials, not people who say and do whatever it takes to be re-elected.
Let's for a moment imagine a world: that is about prosperity for all; that protects the environment; that puts people as first priority; that honors those who do compassionate action; that allows for all beliefs and knows no color barriers; that provides for the best healthcare for all; that commits to the peaceful settlement of all disagreements; that makes the best education and treatment services available to everyone; that encourages growth, creative expression, and the exploration for the human potential for all; and more. This is all in our reach if we the people get our priorities straight.
What is holding you back from stepping more fully into your own power and living according to your highest values?
Who Should I Be Grateful To For The Beauty Of All Things?
Yesterday morning I was running along Marshall Mesa and looking at the incredible views of the Flatirons, which are large rock formations that kind of act as a gateway into the Rocky Mountains here in Colorado. Appreciation for what I was looking at filled me. This valley in which Boulder resides is exceptional in its beauty.
What I then thought was who should I be grateful to for this creation? The term “God” has been so ruined by those who claim to know who God is. So in my head I have tried a number of different names/titles that would fit for some great creating force that is not a person or any stories we tell ourselves. In some native traditions Great Creator is the title used and for some New Thought teachers the term Source Energy is used. In recovery the term is Higher Power. Those feel better to me than most. These titles are less tainted by the arrogance of those who claim to know God and act like fools.
How do you related to a greater force in the universe? Is this force something we should fear? Is It a punishing force and so many want us to believe? Does It sit in judgment? Does It just create and everything evolves from that? Is there a force that holds everything together? Are we suppose to pray to this force and why? Does It answer or if things work out is it our own subconscious mind that manifest results? There are so many question and those that say they have the answers or claim to know for sure, it seems best to run from them as fast as we can?
Maybe one of the reasons we are here it so figure out what our higher nature is and what is our ultimate source? Exploring these ideas seems to have meaning and purpose for me, does it for you? Maybe the divine is within each of us if we open to it? Maybe the silence of prayer or meditation is about listening to what can be known and what are the mysteries to be explored?
I hope your day is filled with the light of insight and the joy of the moment.
Freeing Up Our Energy For Life
Last night I return to my singing practice and I so much enjoyed it because singing really moves positive energy around inside. I wrote about the importance of moving energy recently in my two part series about Self-Care. Most of us tend to hold too much of the past in our bodies, past memories, past trauma, past emotions, and past thoughts. These past experiences need to be released so we can free up our energy for the life we are living today. Each of us must find the ways that works best for us to transform the constricted energy of our past into the potential energy of aliveness in the present.
Energy movement and release happens: when you and I move into action; when we get unstuck by going for something that has meaning to us; when we break out of old holding patterns; when we do something we enjoy; and numerous others ways. We all have this aspect of self we can call our emotional body. This body is made up of our lifetime of feelings, especially prominent are the unexpressed ones, the ones we stuff to avoid feeling. Those denied emotions both positive and negative linger in the body in the form of tension or tightness. The more ignored emotions we have the more uptight we can become. This emotional tension compromises our immune system, our aliveness, and too often our ability to enjoy life.
Yesterday at work I led an exercise in visualization to help release these old holding patterns in the clients in treatment. When people got up and moved around they looked much more relaxed as if the light of aliveness was turned on inside. When I figure out how to record this type of session I will place it here on my blog for you to utilize. The important point is that there are ways to release the containment of the past, to energize ourselves so that we can feel more alive.
The following are some tips to assist in letting go of the past, to help make us feel more alive and energized in our lives:
• Tune in and feel where in your body do you sense holding or tension going on? As you sense where these holdings are, make a conscious effort to breathe into those areas and relax and release them.
• Try a simple practice of breathing more deeply so that it feels as if all the cells of your body are filled with the healing energy of your inhale. This practice is best done in a very relaxed position where there is no restriction of your breathing. If you do this for a minimum of 10 minutes per day you will be amazed at the healthy benefits.
• Laughter is a great healer. Listening to a fun CD or watching a funny movie can be helpful. There is something called Laugher Yoga that is spreading around the planet. You can check that out. Simply watch a child as its whole body shakes with laughter, that is what you want to happen in you.
• Push your body, do some vigorous exercise, climb a mountain, go for a long run or walk, do an exercise class that tests you and more. A good push of self will awaken stuff that may have been slumbering for some time.
• Let go of unfinished business, forgive what needs to be forgiven and move on from it. This unfinished stuff tends to drain the energy of life form us. Survey what you are holding onto like resentments you have and figure a way to let them go today.
• At all times pay attention to what feelings are bubbling up in you, especially note the ones that keep showing up. When you acknowledge what you feel and watch what happens you will see they come and go mostly on their own accord. Feelings respected by acknowledging them just don’t show up later as past baggage.
All of these ideas keep the body and emotional energy in a healthy flow and can assist you in moving old stuff out of you. Often times a good counselor can make this whole process move along more effectively but self-help like the ideas above can do wonders for your well-being.
Too Much Of What Is Wrong Has Become America’s Focus
May we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion. Dwight D. Eisenhower
This quote jumped out at me when I was looking for peace quotes for yesterday’s blog about International Peace Day. I immediately thought of Fox News and Conservative Talk Radio. There is no honest dissent on these entertainment networks because they are more about ego and opinion then they are about honesty. Fox News and Talk radio are really acting more as disloyal subversion to the healthy workings of this nation.
They don’t want our government to succeed. Instead they want, just a minute I am unsure what they want, maybe that is because they spend so much time and resources on what is wrong. I know they want the right to carry guns. I know they detest government oversight. I know many disbelieve in science. I know many hate social security and medicare because they don’t like the government helping people out. I know they don’t like change. I know they don’t like taxes but they want government protection, fire services etc. I know they don’t like people who think differently or have different religious beliefs. They focus much more on what the problems are than the solutions.
Then all this got me thinking or wondering about the human psyche and curious about what is going on inside for most of us. Are we in a time of disruption because we are about to make a leap in consciousness? Are we bleeding emotionally from less caring about each others? Is there a dumbing down because of TV driven by opinion and misinformation not exploration and the pursuit of learning? Do we as individuals feel less powerful to bring about real change when Washington DC is gridlocked by the influence of money? As a planet have we become so populated that we feel the need to hang to that status quo more desperately? Have many given up their individual ability to think critically/objectively becoming more rigid in their thinking in an attempt to feel less afraid? Is there more anger going around and less tolerance of others happening in our country? Are people forgetting the bigger picture that we are all connected on this speck of a planet, are they forgetting the importance of compassion for each other?
These are some of my concerns as I look around and see so many people all stirred up about things that are going on even when there is a clear need for change like in healthcare. There are no clear solutions but anger, less tolerance, closed-mindedness, blame, and rationalization are not working for the good of anyone.
There is an interesting campaign happening over at Buzzflash.com about Fox News. Check it out.
Three Steps For Peace On A Day For Peace
It is Sunday Night and I am writing and posting my blog for tomorrow due to a busy morning. Monday is International Peace Day. This day is a reminder of what is possible. Isn’t it time we humans figure out how to bring peace to our planet. We have been warring for too long and all it had done is put many men and women prematurely into their graves. These wars have always been about power, greed and fanatical ideas all driven by the human ego. Let’s alter the course of this sad history once and for all. It is time for world peace and it can begin within you. Here are three steps to peace you can start today.
1. Peace begins when you can find your own way to having peace in your thoughts and your heart. Your mind greatly influences your experience of the world. If your mind is compassionate, supportive and encouraging of yourself then inner peace is possible. If your heart is open and loving than you can feel at peace. Both mind and heart are yours to program.
Where do you battle inside? Do you make unkind and harsh comments to yourself? Are you not ok with the person you are? If there is any self-struggle it is time to leave that behind. Try something very simple but radical to the thoughts most of us were raised with: try accepting yourself fully and completely as you are. End the judgmental mind and quiet the self-critic. You are an amazing human being in the process of self-discovery.
2. The next peaceful action you can take is to bring peace to all your relationships. This is totally possible if you do two things well. First, you listen and be caring to all those you interact with. This means listening with patience and empathy. Listening in this way is always a peaceful act. Second, you pay attention to your own feelings and thoughts and express them is healthy ways. This means you learn to say what matters to you in ways others can hear them. Unexpressed emotions become resentments and that pushes peace away. When you bring peaceful interactions into your circle of influence the world begins to transform towards peace.
3. After you get the inner peace going and the peaceful interactions happening, the next thing you can do is to get involved in action that is meant to make the world a better place. Peaceful action can come in many forms: becoming a mediator, advocate for the less fortunate, caring for those who need help, support food banks, work for greater human understanding, help develop tolerance for different beliefs, spread consciousness, explore with others the connections and commonalities we all share, teach children about being peaceful, and so many other worthwhile and purposeful activities.
You can make a difference starting today. Imagine one year from now when together you and I and many more have taken these three steps. The momentum for peace will be unstoppable.
War is an invention of the human mind. The human mind can invent peace with justice.
Norman Cousins
While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.
St. Francis of Assisi
If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.
Thich Nhat Hanh
PS. Please checkout the peace shirts my wife and I designed at Peace Together and take a stand for peace.
Four Key Components Of Life
It is football Saturday here in Boulder with CU taking on University of Wyoming. The city turns into a bunch of intoxicated kids wandering the streets acting crazy. Too many of them will end up where I work at the County Detox. I remember those day when I was in college, they were fun because we all felt we were invincible. That feeling of invincibility seems to fade as we get older and realize how precious this lifetime is.
Whether we believe in the transmigration of the soul/reincarnation or not doesn’t really matter. This life is all we know we have for sure so it seems best to live it as fully as possible. What does it mean to live life fully? How do we know if we are doing life the best we can?
Living life fully seems to have four components that stand out clearly. Those four include: learning to love, living with purpose, exploring our potential and developing a relationship with our soul/spirit. Other ideas that come up may include: making a living, having a career, raising a family, doing good and more. These seem part of the first four components.
Let’s explore these four taking on learning to love first. It seems clear to me after over 50 years on the planet studying human nature that loving, be compassionate, caring and being kind is as important as anything on this journey called life. Keeping our hearts open and expanding our ability to have compassion is the stuff of being a wonderful human being. Loving-kindness is what we will call this practice of expanding love for self and others. The world is ripe for love to become a powerful force to uplift humanity. How do you grow love in your life? Do you realize that your capacity for love is limitless and that you can make a difference on the planet by expanding the range of your heart’s influence?
Living with purpose is the second human directive worth exploring. To live with purpose means we have something we are here to do that is unique to only us. This purpose can be anything that we know inside we are to be or do. It could be a famous football player (today is your day if you are in college), an explorer of the human mind, a creative and loving parent, a genius at video games, an artist that inspires, a kind and caring helper and in infinite number of other possibilities. Is it clear to you that you have a special purpose, if not maybe you need to listen inside? Can you feel the calling of something noble within?
Closely tied to purpose is the reality that each of us comes into our bodies, minds and hearts with an unlimited human potential. We are all equipped for greatness, for simple or profound impact. There is nothing we cannot achieve if we get clear what it is we want to explore. This is part of what makes life so interesting, we can continue to explore our potential our entire lives. We can keep on growing and learning until we close our eyes for good. Listen to what wants to be expressed inside and everything will get much more interesting. This expression can be in the quiet of the moment or on the big stage of life. What do you want to explore in your life? What special expression of your talents are you in the midst of discovering?
The fourth component is the most challenging to write about because there is so much unknown about the spirit/soul/life force that inhabits us. Many people want to tell us what/who this force is but frankly they know little or less than we do. This spirit seems to have existed before this lifetime and most likely will continue after. This divine force is infinite and aligned with the Source of all life in the universe as far as we can tell. To explore this higher self we must tune in, sit in silence because the words of others never do it justice. This soul force seems to invite us to be more of the above three, it wants us to love, be purposeful, and explore our potential of which it is the source. This is what being spiritual is about. How do you practice opening to your spirit? What does it guide you to do with your life?
There are so many questions and so much of life to explore. If you ever experience any self-doubt, boredom, depression, or lack of clarity, take out some paper and write down strategies to explore these four components and you will find happiness.
Last Friday of Summer Political Comments
Lately I have been keeping my political views quiet because I am really much more about expanding awareness and consciousness, about how to get the most out of life, and how to have more love, joy, peace, health and freedom. However we live in very political times and I have to make some comment once in awhile. My comments are never done claiming I have the answers nor that I am right and everyone else is wrong. It is essential that we all figure out what we believe in, what we support, and what we believe will make the world a better place. Here are my rants for this last Friday of the Summer.
First of all I have to say that what Rush and Glenn Beck have to say has nothing to do with making the world a better place. They are angry and emotionally unaware males with strong opinions that are filled with prejudice and misinformation. This is America and they have the right to say what they think. Those that listen to these points of view are giving Rush and Glenn space in their minds and frankly the mind is a terrible thing to waste.
The healthcare debate is being almost totally shaped by lots of influence money and is about one thing only, profits for the corporations and not about exceptional care for the customers. Checkout this information about the latest ideas proposed by Senator Baucus who has been paid over a million dollars toward his campaigns. Is he representing you and I or the Insurance Industry?
About 45,000 people will die per year because they do not have healthcare coverage; that is up from 18,000 in 2002. Is this ok for you? Healthcare reform has to include everyone with the public option taking away the monopoly of the for profit insurance business.
President Carter believes that much of the opposition to President Obama is driven by racism. Take the time to read this informative post. This seems to be true from my viewpoint too. What do you see?
The Politics of Anger now dominates the national scene and it has become very nasty out there for people who think differently than those who are sure they are right. People who want to be in control hate it when they are not. People who are run by fear feel very uncomfortable when they listen to those that feed their fears. People who have the need to be right don’t like to be questioned. What happen to civil and public debate on real issues? What happened to the idea of trying to understand other people’s points of view? Has the idea of compassion for those in need been totally dropped from all considerations in Washington DC? Who speaks for the less fortunate now that Senator Kennedy is gone?
Lastly the war in Afghanistan is not where we need to be. There are so many better places to put our resources rather than this war we cannot win. We could pay for universal healthcare. We could rebuild our educational system. We could repair our budget issues. We could create new productive jobs and more.
Please if you have issues and concerns, contact your elected representatives and insist they represent you and your fellow citizens. The President needs to hear about what he is doing well and what needs to be his focus. He hears from the influential all the time so he needs to hear from us all the time too.
Enjoy this last weekend of summer.
Self Care Is Essential - Part Two
The following are then second ten ideas for self-care. I felt very inspired writing all 20 of these self-care tips. I hope you will be also.
1. A key to self-care is self-acceptance. If we feel ok about ourselves then we are willing to care for ourselves. If we are judgmental and critical of self then we will tend to not take compassionate care of ourselves. Self-acceptance is not complicated. It begins with having an open heart to who we are and appreciating our uniqueness. This self-appreciation is possible if we shrink our inner critic and make sure our self-talk is positive and supportive. There is no real reason to reject who we are except that our thinking has gone off in the wrong direction. In this moment and every moment we are: brimming with potential; equipped with a heart that can love without limits; have a mind that can achieve anything it can conceive; and have a spirit that is simply divine.
2. Expressing our own uniqueness is what life is about and essential to caring for self. There never was nor will there ever be someone just like us in the history of humanity. We come with all we need inside. We can create our life and our expression in unlimited ways. The universe is waiting for us to express ourselves and it will aligned its vast resources to support our unique expression. Our creativity, in whatever form it takes, was meant to be a gift for all those who inhabit our planet. To be less than we are is to settle for mediocrity and it will short change all our fellow humankind. Our purposeful expression is here right now in us waiting to be more and more fully realized.
3. Leaving work at work is big part of being healthy and staying healthy. If our work is our passion it is a wonderful gift to us and the rest of the world. We still however need to set boundaries so that we have time away, time for renewal, time to recharge. If we work in intense careers the "leaving work at work" is essential to our survival and long-term resilience. Pay particular attention to any worrying, problems solving or obsessing about work and then refocus our brains on our interests outside of work. If there are no other interests then it is time to develop some. If we have families then building relationships with our partner and children is a great place to focus our energy when not at work. Self-care can also be a productive focus away from work. There is so much of interest about life so there is no shortage of new adventures to explore.
4. Finding our way socially when feeling the intensity of work can be a perplexing challenge at times. If our work is deeply involved with people then we may need time to ourselves, we may withdraw socially, or we may seek ways to numb out. That may not work very well. It is best to hang out with people who understand your work, people who are supportive and positive, people who are willing to listen, and/or people who share common interests. We are social beings and need the contact with others. There are times when being quiet and alone is necessary. After that alone time is taken, social interactions will seem more comfortable. Isolating won't work nor will it meet our needs so make sure there is time for play set aside with others.
5. Sometimes we have to speak up for ourselves. This means saying, "no" to what isn't working and saying, "yes" to positive opportunities. Setting limits can be difficult but very important. We must learn to say "no" to situations that are not healthy for us for example: negative and draining friends, unrealistic expectations, unhealthy activities etc. Saying "yes" to what you really would love to do, what excites us, what pushes us out of our comfort zone are where our energy needs to go. If you don't take good care of our needs, our ability to be of service to others will be compromised.
6. There is no failure, just feedback, so why not go for life with passion, be willing to take risks, stretch ourself toward more and more personal freedom. Failure is an invention of our school system and a poor one at that. There really is no failure because whatever we do our best at is not a failure. Not winning the Super Bowl, the World Series, The US Open is not failure, it is dam good to be even playing at the level. The same is true about life, we all show up and do our best and oftentimes with an open mind and heart we can learn to get better. No one is a failure, we are all doing the best we know how and the level of success we achieve will vary over time. We can see ourselves as a successful person if we: learn to love, make a living, do acts of kindness, listen well, care about others, find peace of mind, be creative, find joy, forgive, have a real smile, continue to grow, learn how to course correct, raise healthy children, live purposefully, and so much more.
7. Patience is a wonderful quality in a world on speed. Everything seems to need to happen right now but that isn't necessary. Getting caught in traffic can be no problem if we have patience. Trust in our child-rearing skills, add 10 years after school, plus a large dose of patience and we will feel like we did a good job. Being patient enough to really listen will resolve almost all relationship issues. Patience with those we love will endear us them. Patience with ourselves will mean we will have adequate time to fully grow into our potential. Patience with our mind will allow us to live a more mindful life. Patience with our heart will allow us to expand our compassion for others and grow in love for ourselves and for those we truly care about.
8. Shrinking the inner critic is key to self-care. Yes the inner critic is highly trained and most of the time off the radar of our conscious mind. We learn from early on to be very judgmental and to cut ourselves and others no slack. Just because we learned it doesn't make it right or healthy. The inner critic doesn't make you and I better people, it just makes us bitter and dissatisfied. If being the best we can be is our goal then we need to eliminate the critic and instead employ an inner dialogue of support and encouragement. If we put the inner critic out of a job, we will be more creative, loving, joyous, free, healthy and peaceful. Shrinking the inner critic is as easy as paying attention to our thoughts. As critical thoughts come up, replace those thoughts with love, acceptance, kindness and compassion.
9. Being Present is really the only place there is. There is no past except in the memories of the now. There is no future, except in the hopes we have today. When we are present we are open to the endless opportunities of the now. When we are distracted about the past, worried about the future and elsewhere in our thinking, we miss out on the gift (present) of the now. Being present allows us to drop the baggage of the past and the anxiety about what is next. Being present means living fully in the moment, free to be just who we are and to fully enjoy the now.
10. If we want to live a good life the first question might be are we happy? Are we open to feel the joy that wants to flow through us at all times? A sense of humor is a positive indicator of living joyously. Humor that is sarcastic misses the point of happiness as the goal. If we have happiness that is clear sign that something is working out well. Always move toward people places and things that make us happy and move away from people, place and things that are not working for us. Laughter is a great partner in this journey we are on, plus it can be very healing to the mind, body and heart. The desire to be happy is a very powerful and positive force within that can be a wonderful guide to an amazing life.
Please let me know how these 20 ideas benefit you and your life.