Notes To The World, Part 8 – Your Intuition Can Guide You

Do you realize that you have intuition?  How often do you tune into your intuition?  Do you allow your intuition to guide you?  If you allow your intuition to guide you through your day the rest of this post is already something you know and appreciate.  However if you are like most people, you may know there is a knowing in you but you tend to rarely pay attention to it or completely ignore it.  This post is about inviting you to more fully utilize your intuitive knowing because doing so will greatly enrich your life.

Let’s begin with the idea of what intuition is.  In my definition intuition is a state of knowing within us that arises beyond the ordinary mind.  The source of this intuition is not clearly known since it seems to originate from somewhere beyond our thoughts, possibly from our Spirit or Higher Self, from a Divine Source or from the Universe.  This inner knowing/universal knowing is in you for a reason; that reason is to guide you to the highest expression of who you are.

If you follow you intuition, you life flows along more effortlessly and with greater success.  If you ignore your intuition, you often bring suffering to your life.  This suffering happens because you go against what you know intuitively is right for you.

How do you get in touch with your intuition?  The answer is quite simple but not necessarily easy.  The way to your intuitions is by listening inward.  The more you listen inward the more your interior knowing will present itself.  Within your own silence is your intuitive knowing and the collective wisdom of all of life on the planet.  You always have available to you whatever you need to know if you only take the time to tune inward.

Simple little practices will help you fine tune your intuitive knowing: when the phone rings guess who is calling; if you don’t know what to do concerning a specific issue, ask for guidance and then notice where the guidance comes from and what it feels like; spend time tuning into those around you and explore with them what they are experiencing; pay attention to body messages; listen for reoccurring themes or songs in your head; open an inspirational book randomly and see what guidance it has for you.  If you are open the guidance will come in many different ways. 

You know your guidance is right when it feels right, energizes you, lightens up the situation, or brings clarity.  You may feel your intuition in your gut, have a flash of inspiration on the inner screen of your mind, or receive guidance from the outer world. 

Each day my goal is to be guided as fully as possible by my intuitive knowing because I have experienced this knowing enough to understand its wisdom is far beyond my ordinary mind.  Will you join me and also allow yourself to be guided by your intuition throughout your day?  If we all live intuitively our light will shine more brightly on those around us and that would be good for all beings on the planet. 



Notes To The World, Part 7 – You Have Unlimited Potential

Much of my early training as a mental health professional happened during a time in which there was a human potential movement going on around the world.  That movement has continued like a deep river through me and I wanted to share this river of what is possible in you and all of us.

From the moment of your first breath you come into the world equipped for genius of your own unique expression.  Not everyone is given Olympic athleticism but your body has potential to star in really an endless number of ways.  You may not be the next Einstein, or maybe you will be, but you have the mind to be a brilliant expression of a human being.  You potential to write, to create, to make others laugh, to gaze at the stars, or to explore has not bounds.  There is in you an unlimited and endless variety of possibilities that you are here to explore. 

Your exploration can take the form of an early prodigy to late bloomer.  You can know who you want to be and what you want to do from the beginning of self-awareness.  You can search much of your life exploring your potential and still be unsure of what your unique expression is.  You can be a brilliant parent, community organizer, special-ed teacher, chef, inventor, idea generator, engineer, botanist, animal trainer, badminton player, ecologist, designer and so many other specialties and few would have heard of you.  You could also be a mega-star golfer, pop singer, abstract painter, snowboarder, rock guitarist, motivator, novelist and be known the world over. 

There is in your genetic makeup, mind power, and emotional passion, the creative potential to be just about anything you set your mind on.  The only limits on you are self-imposed through past experiences, early decisions, hurts of the heart, much conditioning, and false beliefs about self and the nature of the world. All you have to do with your what is limiting you is change your thoughts and open fully to your potential.

What is calling inside of you to be expressed?  What makes you feel blissful?  What makes you feel alive and energized?  What have you always wanted to do?  What feels purposeful to you?  Where do you know you need to stretch yourself?  Where are you holding yourself back?  These are a few questions you may want to answer if you feel yet unrealized. 

There is still unlimited potential in you no matter where you are at this point in your life.  You can begin to explore whenever you want.  Exploring your potential begins by listening inside, by being guided by the wise silence in you.  When was the last time you sat down and brainstormed what you dream of, hope for, would like, what potential wants expression, and anything else that wants to arise from the unconscious into awareness?  If you open up to what you know inside there will be clarity about what potential you need to explore and express next.  This opening up and expressing your potential feels so good and so right so why not go exploring.  

I have dedicated my life to exploring my potential as conscious, compassionate and peaceful human being. There have been bumps in the road and much learning.  Where are you exploring your potential?  If you are confused, just listen in, it is not that hard to do. 

PS If you want some assistance in exploring your potential, I would love helping you do so.  Just drop me a note a josephteach@hotmail.com



Pope Considers Condoms, Out Of Touch Or Not?

It is Sunday and I feel a little religious rant stewing in me. I have been writing my Notes to the World series this past week but then I saw a news healines that the Pope was considering the use of condoms.  I thought he was celibate? Yes I know he wasn't talking about using condoms himself but the social critic in me couldn't help but jump into gear.  I guess this is my way of join millions and doing my church thing on Sunday except with my different twist (or being twisted) of questioning religious beliefs?  I read the Pope is considering allowing Catholics to use condoms sometimes.  Wow is this guy out of touch with reality or what?  This is an example of a major corporation/religion trying to tell people how to run their lives and being so out of touch with the realities of life. 

In my work for a public health organization we give condoms to everyone who wants them.  This is a practical solution to a huge population issue and seems much more compassionate than religious dogma. 

I was wandering, does that Catholic Church provide financial support to all the poor people who keep on having children because they have been told birth control is wrong?  It seems to me that the Church is part of the poverty problem not part of the solution. 

Isn’t it time we all question why would anyone want to follow the dictates of such an authoritative organization run by mostly white males totally out of touch with the needs of the people?  Those in power in this mega-corporation truly lack moral authority because they live in almost constant contradiction to the teachings of love, kindness and humility.  What is the difference between religions and corporations?  Seems there is little difference at so many levels.

In my Catholic upbringing I met a few kind and compassionate priests and nun but in general most of them were stern, close-minded people who lacked any sense of humor.  I learned some positive values but mostly negative views of human nature.  Much of my adult life has been spent sorting out the nonsense I was taught in 12 years of Catholic schools.

Beliefs can be supportive to a better world or destructive and limiting.  Take the time to examine all your beliefs and you and the world will be better off for your closer look. 



Notes To The World, Part 6 – You Are Divine

Your nature is divine because you are built of the same stuff of the entire universe.  You have the mind capacity of the creative force of all the stars, planets and living things.  Your potential is unlimited.  Your heart capacity to love is endless.  Your higher nature is one with the Divine Mind.  Your spirit/soul is not separate from the Great Spirit.  You are both a drop of rain as it falls into the ocean and also the entire ocean, this ocean is an ocean of consciousness.  You have the manifesting capacity to have whatever you want.  You can heal yourself and help others heal.  You can live a miraculous life filled with love, joy and peace.  If only you would believe in yourself, all of this is possible.

Your Divine nature and religion may or may not be connected.  Most religion has nothing to do with who we are but is a belief system designed by people who had little or no understand of their higher nature.  Your path to understand how infinite and amazing you are is mostly a solo one.  Yes you can be uplifted by the words of others but only if those words lead you to your own truth.

Look in the mirror and take the time to truly see the Divine, the most holy in you.  You can recognize the infinite inside by noticing how you feel.  If you feel: full of love, expanding in joy, rich in peace, energized by the moment, and connected to everything, you are sitting in your Divine nature.  This state of oneness is such a beautiful experience that it will remain with you forever. 

I have been blessed with this expansive place of oneness often because I have sought it out.  I am no different than you.  Your divine nature is the same as mine.  My practices have always included slowing down and becoming fully present.  There are many mindfulness and meditative practices that can help you get to this open place of realization.  Once slowed down enough to be fully in the now, the next step is to allow yourself to tune into what expanded states are available to you.  These states can include: a peaceful calmness; a clarity of vision that is vivid in new ways; a sense of connection to all that is around you; a feeling of relief as if you returned to who you are; a deep love for everything; a comforting knowing of you without boundaries; and a profound appreciation for the grace you feel.

My invitation to you is to take a walk into the nature of who you are beyond the conditioning, ideas and beliefs.  Step aside from the hurry/worry world and feel the peace of the present.  Find quiet time and quiet places to go inward.  Then slow down, breathe with awareness, feel you in your body but then go beyond that, drop under the word highway of the mind, touch in with your heart, make friends with your spirit, and let yourself be guided.  There is a wise knowing beyond your thinking mind that is one with the Divine Mind.  Spend time in this place of holy knowing and then let the light of your awakening shine out into your life and the world.

I am committed to the highest realization of Spirit in my life.  Would you please join me?



Notes To The World, Part 5 – You Are Enough

The time has come for you and the rest of us to give up the idea that we are not enough.  I know it is time for me to take this enough question and rid it from any and all of my thoughts.  My 12 years of Catholic Schools and the sin-guilt nonsense stuffed down my grade school mind had a very limiting affect on me.  I use “had” here because frankly I am fed up to my nostradamus with these nutty beliefs taught to me by those stern and grumpy women dressed all in black. I am none of those limiting beliefs even though they have been very difficult to rid myself of after those early years.  

So lets take me out of this equation and instead go into your neighborhood.  What ideas of not being enough or not deserving are you running in your internal dialogue?  Where did they come from?  Actually the origin doesn’t matter so much, what does matter is if you carry the old beliefs with you today.  If so how would you know?  Think what do you want more than anything in your life?  Do you have it?  Has what you really want eluded you?  Have you felt unable to manifest something that really matters?  How often do things come easily and effortlessly? 

If the lack of results sounds familiar there are messages spinning around inside your mental velodrome that are about you and your enough-ness, your deserved-ness.   If this is a surprise, it is time to become mindful and discover the workings of your mind, you repetitive thoughts and your reoccurring self-talk.  Whatever you past training or conditioning entailed, you are the programmer of your life experience by what you think about daily.

Lets be honest about the frustrating or dissatisfying part of your life and agree it is time to take full responsibility for the results your create.  The lack of total success can ultimately be tied to the workings of your mind. It’s time to figure out what ideas you need to revise upstairs.

Maybe now what is needed is some kind of mental mind wash?  This could be a great business for tomorrow with a huge profit potential - a drive thru mind wash for $19.95 with a head wax upgrade for only $2.95 more.  So enough with the funny stuff although it is always helpful to keep things light, what does matter most is your programming of your daily experiences via the words that chatter through your brain.

Try this affirmation for a few days or weeks and see what happens:  I am enough and I do deserve that I want to comes to me easily and effortlessly.  Any thoughts or feelings that jump into your awareness as you speak this affirmation are just the ideas you need to clean off the hard drive of your mind.

Once you feel you deserve and are confident you are enough, you can count the kind of results you have been hoping and dreaming of for a long time.

I am enough. You are enough.  I do deserve.  You do deserve.  And that is that.   



Notes To The World, Part 4 – You Are An Emotional Being

Last night in my class the emotions flowed and many began to feel overwhelmed.  The intensity of emotions that came to the surface stirred my heart and made me wonder: how come we are such emotional beings where we can go from teetering on despair only minutes after being giddy? 

You (and the rest of us) are emotional being because you are in almost constant reactivity to your environment.  Your emotions are activated by your reactivity, your reactivity is activated by your thoughts, your thoughts are activated by your conditioning, your conditioning started before your birth and continues until you get to the end of the road.  We are feeling creatures and there are only a few things we can do to be less reactive.

I will get to the less reactive part a little later.  You feel because you are alive.  Your emotions began as thoughts in response to yourself, events, and the world around you.  Feelings arise to add color, passion, and intensity to your life.  Not feeling is numb, boring and lifeless. 

Feelings also provide direction and feedback.  When the primary messages of your emotions are fear, anger, worry and discontent than your emotions are guiding you away from the direction you are moving in.  Being off course is always uncomfortable and unsettling.  The natural response is to change direction in search of what will work better for you.

If you feel upbeat, hopeful, happy and peaceful, you are heading in the right direction.  The reason you know you are on course is that you feel comfortable and going where you know you need to go.  Feelings are a constant reminder of being in your body, of being in relationship to yourself and the life around you.  If you didn’t feel there would be no color and vibrancy to life, no passion or lively interactions, no spice just bland repetitions.

Yes the emotions can feel like a roller coaster but without them life is more a traffic jam going nowhere, feed up and helpless and that isn’t much fun.

Let me share a simple formula for enjoying yourself as a feeling being.  All feelings arise and fall, there are no feelings that just stay around without you fueling them with your thoughts.  If you have feelings that are confusing or disturbing you, they quickly go away if you look at them, acknowledge them and accept yourself as feeling them.  In a few shorts minutes of careful examination feelings naturally transform into other feelings.  If you doubt me, try this: next time you feeling really happy about something try holding onto your happiness.  Soon as you try to hold onto feelings they change into new forms.

If you don’t like what you are feeling change your thoughts and reactivity to what is going on inside of you and around you.  Changing your thoughts is as simple as focusing on something you like or want to experience.  Go into detail in your thoughts about this what you like or this new experience you want to experience and the past sticky thoughts is gone.  You can also go in your imagination to your favorite place and see, feel, smell, taste and enjoy this imaginary place and you will feel as you are there. 

I want to feel what I feel and enjoy and appreciate being fully alive.  Feelings tells me I am alive.  What do you want to do with what you feel, will it be exploring it, replacing it or fighting it?



Notes To The World, Part 3 – Your Heart Is Infinite

This series is growing each day as inspiration seems to be gaining momentum.  I wanted to say a couple of thing more about what I have in mind and then share about the hearts capacity.  The N2W is meant to be a collection of ideas about what is possible in all of us and how who we are can make a positive and significant difference in our world. The reason I have the audacity to take this task on is because it is clear that my writing is inspired beyond me, my experiences, and my work.  Most days my goal in writing this blog is to simply get out of the way of what inspiration wants to be expressed through my fingers on the keyboard of my MacBook.  I know from listening there are many people who know things need to change and are feeling called to be part of call to makes a difference.  In my small way, I am doing my part to respond to my call and the light that is growing in all of us.

Take a moment and become aware of your heart, feel the beat, notice your pulse.  This organ is more than a pump that keeps you going.  The heart has many of the same cells the brain does in its capacity to process information and make decisions that affect us.  There is great wisdom in the heart that collects the knowing of the body and your emotional intelligence.  This heart wisdom is a wise guide for enriching your life. 

Your heart’s capacity to love is infinite, that means you can love all you want and there is no end to how much more you can love.  You can love every being across all the universes and you still have plenty of love to give.  Love can come in many forms from self-love, to caring for others, to being kind, to having compassion for others, to the love of a good friend, to intimate love of a partner, to universal love of humanity, to divine love of Great Spirit, God.  We can have all these kinds of love and still have an endless amount to give in any way we want.  We can keep on giving love everyday all day long and still have more love to give in any way we want to love.   Feel your heart and become fully acquainted with how much love is possible.

Self-love is essential as a key to open the full capacity of the heart.  Many don’t begin to tap into the endless love in their heart because they decided to hold back on love of self.  Holding back on love in any way closes down the flow of love.  If you withhold love it shrinks away access to the infinite pool of love available to you. 

Today the practice is radical love and acceptance and self.  This means you must stop judging yourself and seeing yourself as not deserving of love.  These ideas of you not being loveable are always false and the product of your limited thinking.  Today change any thinking that limits your love for self and be in the flow of love that comes from your open heart.  You deserve all the love you can give yourself, which opens you to receiving lots of love from others.  A heart in the flow of love attracts more love.  Think of being in love and how your heart opens so much that you are filled with the joy of you at your most natural state.  Keep on loving yourself throughout your day. 

Looking into your eyes in a mirror and say you love you is a simple but powerful practice.  When you love you, you spread your light out into the world.

My commitment is to open in my heart as fully as I can so that I am always in the state of love.  What is your commitment to love?  



Notes To The World, Part 2 – Your Mind Needs Training

It is time to train your mind.  Can you imagine a puppy not being trained and how difficult it would be having an untrained out of control grown up dog?  Well your under trained mind beats the nightmare of that dog anytime.  Your mind like most minds is like a runaway freight train off the tracks and heading for New York City; chaos on wheels and a disaster waiting to happen.  Imagine 50,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day ramped up, trained for unrest and firing off emotions like a machine gun.  Sorry for the graphic description but I hope it got you past the delusion that you are in control of your thoughts and internal dialogue.  In Recovery this kind of delusion is called denial. 

The mind is also an amazing asset more capable than the best computer money can buy.  The mind made mindful is like a fine tuned high performance car calmly waiting to move into action.  Quiet and still it sits ready to jump into gear and wow your expectations.  Thoughts and internal dialogue are the flow of the mind that either enhance your life experience or make it not so much fun.  When the mind is well tuned it is an idea machine, a creative bonanza, an impeccable memory, and a messenger of hope and happiness.

A good place to start this training is to become watchful as often as you can of what goes on in your thoughts and how you talk to yourself.  This watchfulness brings awareness, which is the basic ingredient in having a choice about the quality of your life.  If you see/hear the workings of your thoughts, you can then choose how to shape your experiences.  A positive thought creates a positive outlook and that feels so much better than a blaming or negative outlook. 

I know I have shared this with you and I want to emphasize this again.  Your thoughts (or mine) are not real they are just words we have assigned meaning to.  Why not put together a collection of thoughts that uplift you, that inspire the best in you, that give you an optimistic outlook, and that help bring you a greater depth of consciousness, compassion and peace of mind.

Training the mind is different than a Bengal tiger.   No whips or stools are needed; instead gentle and kind support and encouragement work the best.  You can’t beat a mind into submission but you can love it: into slowing down, into being more understanding and accepting, and into moments of being present.

Try this for a mind training practice: each day when you wake up set an intention to become best friends with you mind, to become intimately connected with your river of thoughts.  Being in a non-judging frame of mind will work the best.  As the day progresses take notes of where you want to bring more training to your thoughts.  After a few weeks of observations set up plan and training schedule and become the captain of your own ship of thoughts.  You can course correct along the way and one day you will reach your destination, which will be defined by your healthy and peaceful thoughts.

Where you take this is up to you, the possibilities are endless and the rewards are amazing at so many levels.

I prefer a quiet and peaceful of mind, what would be your preference? 



Notes To The World, Part 1 – Your Perspective In Powerful

Today my blog is heading down a new path but not wandering too far from where I have been traveling.  I will move away from political comments and toward encouraging and I hope inspiring you and I toward being more conscious human beings.  Lately I found it important to fine tune my awareness about what feels right to me, what feels draining, what feels needed, and what has the most purpose and passion for me.  My writing will now move in the direction of where I feel I can make the most difference understanding who I am and where my potential can be most realized.  You are encouraged to do the same for your own good and for the good of humanity.  This is great way to nurture yourself and it will enhance the lives of those around us.

My new series will be called Notes To The World (N2W), which came to me yesterday as I was requesting guidance to bring out the best in me.  In my work I counsel those who have lost their way and I feel positive about this work.  However, it seems very clear to me that the world needs all of us with our lights on bright.  To expand my light I need to reach out more with my blog and be of service to more people.  I do not sense I am ego-driven in this desire but feel deep inside that I have to be more and do more because it is what is needed.

This series is about you and all of us and I have a request.  I would appreciate your help.  If you like or get value from what I write please share my posts with others you think will benefit from the ideas and insights.  It is my hope that these Notes To The World will actually be read by people all over the world.  The more readers asking questions, starting to awaken, becoming more aware, are moving towards insights and actions, the better.  Your feedback and questions would also be helpful. 

Today I wanted in this first N2W post is to put things as simple as possible.  It is my hope to supercharge you to be you as fully and completely as possible.  My intention is to empower you to become a person who feels good about self and others and who can make a real difference in his or her community, state, nation or across the planet.   With your highest expression in mind here is the first and most important consideration to be mindful of:  You and I shape all of our experience by what lenses we look through.  If we look through the lens of criticism, finding fault and judging, we are guaranteed to find lots of things that are wrong.  If we look through the lens of appreciation, of compassion and a desire to understand, we will see much to appreciate and we will be wise with understand.

Make it your intention each day to see the goodness and beauty in everyone including you, to have compassion for their struggles and yours, and celebrate the success and joys of life with as many as you can.  Be willing to be genuine in who you are with an optimistic flair.  Let yourself appreciate you and each moment throughout your day.  Please watch your thoughts and put to rest the nagging inner critic because it only causes you to be less happy.

Looking at the world through a positive perspective will let you see what can be done to make it better and what part you can uniquely play that will create even greater results.  A thoughtful, in touch person, seeing what is working and what is possible can be a powerful agent for consciousness and peace. 

Peace is my passion, what is yours?  



We Are Here To Connect To Each Other

Last night I watched a really interesting YouTubeVideo by Brene Brown.  She has a doctorate in social work and spends her time involved in research.  Her results are very interesting and support what you and I already know about human nature.  We are here to connect to each other.   This connection is heart-to- heart and spirit-to-spirit.

She shares that shame keeps us from feeling worthy enough to have the loving connections we want.  Do you feel shame about yourself and your life?  If you do maybe it is time to practice self-love so you can let go of any negative self-judging you are doing.  It takes compassion and courage to free yourself from the past.  Today is a good day to begin that process of releasing yourself from any limiting judgments, beliefs and ideas that keep your heart closed to yourself and therefore to others. 

The mind can be a prison of limiting thoughts that are so repetitive that you and I actually think these thoughts are true.  This inner dialogue is mostly a bunch of words that you give meaning to and act as if they are real.  Step back long enough to examine the reality of your thoughts and before the light of awareness will shine brightly enough to enlighten your viewpoint of yourself and the world.

You are here with the purpose of loving and connecting to others in ways that are enriching to you and those you share your life journey with.  If you are willing to be vulnerable and to risk being seen for who you are, you open yourself to endless possibilities and to experience lots of love and compassion.  You, with an open heart, are so needed in the world today to rise above the closed-minded and the numbed hearts. 

On a spirit level, you know that expressing love is why you and the rest of us are here and you know there is no separation so connection is a given if you simply drop the barrier of self-doubt.

Please spread as much love, compassion and kindness as you can and together we will raise the vibrations of the planet to towards more light and goodness for all.



Please No More Need For Veteran's Day

It was Veterans Day yesterday and there are so many with PTSD from the awfulness of their experiences who suffer their whole lives because we as a nation let another leader put us into a war.  This pattern of every president doing some kind of war has to stop.  How come we let our government kill other people for a political and economic agenda?  We are always lied to about the war; about what terrible things we do in the war; and why we are in the war.  The patterns are so consistent, so predictable, so ridiculous and yet we allow this going to war to continue. 

Let me make something very clear.  We go to war for reasons like oil, precious medals, economic benefits not for the reasons we are told.  We go to war because those in power pump up our fears, by telling us bad people are out to get us and we need to get them first.  This fear-making story is the same story over and over again.  Wars wreck our national budget but make huge profits for those who make bombs and kill people for a living and it is called Defense. 

The threats may have some truth to them yet they are always greatly overblown and the methods we use are those of ego-based minds, which is to kill them first before they get us.   This is so primitive and unconscious yet it continues year after year, billions and billions poured down the drain to keep killing people who the so-called experts say are our enemies.  The real problems are not the “enemies” but us who put up with this nonsense.

Yes I am upset by this and it seems from my perspective we should all be.  What will it take for this to change?  It will take an effort by all of us to pay attention, to question, to demand changes, to take action, to say no more.  I wrote the president for 100 days and requesting we get out of the wars we were lied into.  Nothing happened and I decided that raising consciousness and expanding compassion was the best thing I could do to bring about real change.  Still nothing is happening and more and more young people in the military are being trained to numb their hearts and distance themselves from their spirit so they can be trained to kill others.  They do what they are told and are scarred permanently.   

I wish the best for those who make their living in the military but frankly I would prefer they all lost their jobs and were home making a positive difference here.  We need the best for all of our young people and that will never ever be war. 

Those that glorify war are just rationalizing their heartlessness.  Let us no longer have a Veterans Day for those that fought in wars but for those that are retiring from a life of helping their fellow human beings.  That is true service and so needed.   



Seventy-Five Instant Inspirations

Today I have the day off so I get to spend more time writing my blog and having fun.  First I wanted to start with a reminder: over at Sounds True there are the most amazing free podcasts from their series call Insights At The Edge.  I am inspired and my consciousness is expanded regularly by the interviews on these podcasts.   If you want to be uplifted, to see the world from a brighter light check out Insights At the Edge (look to the right --> for Sounds True). 

Lately from the direction of a co-worker I have discovered a podcast series on PBS called This American Life.  This series is full of very powerful stories and well worth your time to download them and listen to them on your computer, laptop, or shuffle (mp3 player). http://www.thisamericanlife.org/

I find instant inspiration from both of these series is such a gift of enrichment for our lives.  When you need to be uplifted where do you turn?  There is always the sacred text in most religions.  There is also inspiration is the hero’s journey of others, the excitement of those who are exploring the human potential, the wisdom of deep insight, amazing stories of healing and expanding ways of being in the world, the beauty and amazement of a fresh and enriched perspective. 

Here are 75 instant inspirations to lift you up when you have had a challenging day:

Deepen and/or slow your breath for just a few minutes

Step outside and feel the energy of the natural world

Put a smile on your face

Go for a walk and sense your body

Go for a walk and encounter the beauty around you

Look into the mirror and directly into your own eyes and express your love and acceptance of who you are

Eat something that soothes you

Meet a friend for lunch

Walk through a botanical garden

Watch a funny movie

Read your favorite books again

Take out some paper and a pen and draw for fun

Call a friend and say “hi”

Bake cookies for someone who needs to be uplifted

Write or read poetry

Go shop for something that makes you feel better

Make a special meal for yourself and invite a friend

Change your thoughts when they are not uplifting

Talk more with people who are fun and inspiring

Do something you have wanted to do for a while

Forgive someone that you need to move on from

Forgive yourself from all of the past

Be present, live in the now

Think big thoughts about what you want to do with your life

Try acceptance and stop judging self and others

Play a musical instrument or sing

Do something different each day

Change what isn’t working for you

Follow your bliss

Take responsibility for you life

Learn to walk mindfully

Stop watching the nightly news

Set a positive intention each morning

Be grateful for your day before you sleep

Express your heart in some way each day

Listen with compassion to others

Daily say a positive affirmation about you and your life

Pray and listen for guidance

Watch your thoughts and remember they are not real

Spend time in silence

Get to know your higher nature

Play with your pet

Make a list of all you appreciate in your life

Take a nap and visualize being relaxed, renewed and reenergized

Eat a piece of pie with whip cream on it

Accept and respect your feelings

Quiet you mind by relaxing your breath

Tell others you love them

Bring peace to the world by finding your own peace

Relax and let go of the past

Trust in the future

Find happiness inside where it resides

Listen to an uplifting podcast

Write your hopes and dream in a journal

Stand out in the sun and soak in the energy

Go to the library and find inspirational books to read

Stop all complaining and blaming and instead do something that makes a positive difference

Focus on finding solutions not on problems

Be intimate with your partner

Play fun games that get you up and moving

Find work you love

Start your own blog and express yourself

Open up to the creative flow within you

Go for what you want

Be willing to take risks and be spontaneous

Learn how to go with the flow

Ask what is good for your well-being

Open your mind to new ideas

Find practices you like that expand your consciousness

Be willing to be guided by the universe

Seek your own approval and worry less about others

Take a day off and just have fun

Chant or sing verses that uplift you

Fully feel your footsteps when you walk

Spread some joy and humor wherever you go

Have an inspired day!



Families Shape Us, Limit Us, Love Us

In my studies for the class I am teaching on Counseling Theory, I had to do some reading about family therapy.  It has been awhile since I studied this topic and it reminded me of the power of families in our lives.  As a therapist of course I was well aware of the impact of their families on my clients but it was good to review what to pay attention to because there is so much from our childhood that shapes our experience today.

In the class last night, I wanted to give my students the feeling of the dynamic of the family and how powerful family therapy can be.  To give them the experience I used a dynamic technique called Family Sculpture.  This technique has a person introducing a moment/slice/scene in their family when they were growing up that had a great impact on them.  They then choose to have people play the family members.  What happens every time is that when they share the specifics of that scene everyone involved, and also watching, get a feeling for the emotional dynamic of what was going on.  The participants feel what it feels like to be in the roles and are moved by them.  The storyteller is sometimes so moved that tears flow and a healing shift takes place. 

The family stories were so powerful that we were all moved deeply.  There is so much substance to explore in all of us around the families we grew up in.  There can be deep pain or sorrow, unfinished business, love and joy that are waiting to be expressed.  Our families have imprinted upon us their influences sometimes passing on across generations: dysfunction, fear and false beliefs all of which keep us from being whole and healthy. 

What old past family traditions of dysfunction, fear and beliefs are you being limited by?  Are you passing them onto your family or are you breaking the cycle?  If you feel and are aware of what the unhealthy traditions you carry with you are, are you ready to let them go and be you instead of the influences in you? What was the quality of love and compassion that your family passed on to you?  Was the love encouraging and expansive or possessive and entangled?

Just a reminder – you are not your past unless you bring it with you in the now.   



Determining What Is Best For You

"Mindfulness can assist you in taking the power of determining what is best for you away from the "experts" and holding it firmly in your own hands (and mind and body) where it belongs."  This is from Babette Rothschild's book 8Ways to Safe Trauma Recovery.  I got this very useful book through our public library and am reading it to add more options to my therapy tool box for helping those that are trying to recover from the pain and darkness of their past.  As I said recently, I have been reading all I can get my hands on about techniques to deal with trauma so I can empower my clients.  It is unrealistic to think people can get through these traumas with simple formulas but they can use practices or techniques that will no longer let the past control their lives in the present. 

This idea of mindfulness helping us to determine what is best for us is one of the reasons I teach mindfulness to all my clients and students.  Most of us were raised to doubt what we felt inside, doubt what we sensed intuitively, doubt the wisdom of our gut because this inner wisdom was overrun by our ego-mind and the limiting beliefs and ideas of those who were our models.  We knew what was right for us but those around us claim to know better so instead we sought the approval of others and denied our own truth.  Mindfulness gets us back on track towards our own inner wisdom. 

We are most empowered when we listen inward to the wisdom of our heart, our intuitive messages, our body's guidance, and our spirit's higher knowing.  This inner knowing is much wiser and more trustworthy than our thoughts.  The mind is a county fair circus of thoughts most of which need to be thoroughly examined.  If we learn to trust what we know in the deepest part of us we automatically liberate ourselves from the tyranny of our conditioned ego-mind and open ourselves to a greater flow of possibilities and potential.

A simple mindfulness practice is to tune into the world inside of you and around you.  In this practice all you have to do is pay attention to what you are aware of when you are present to your body, your thoughts, the energy of your emotions and the world around you.  Set a period of time from 5 minutes to 30 minutes and just notice all you can notice, feel all you can feel, pay attention to all sensations, and hear your inner dialogue.  You can do this practice daily or even throughout your day.  The more you practice, the more you will be aware of yourself and your world.  With more awareness you empower yourself to live the life that matters to you.

Mindfulness is not only consciousness raising but also will make your life full of the interest of discovery. 

Three Books By Psychiatrists Worth Reading

Two nights ago I finished The Dancing Healers by Carl Hammerschlag, recently I read Hector And The Search For Happiness by Francois Lelord and I am just finishing, Lying On The Couch by Irvin Yalom.  These three books have been very enjoyable and all were written by doctors who practice as psychiatrist.  I don’t know if I have ever read another book by a psychiatrist so what is with this sudden interests?  Two of the books are works of fiction and thereby more interesting than most non-fictions. 

The Dancing Healer is actually a collection of real life stories by the author about his experience working with Native Americans.  These stories are the kinds that expand how we see the world through the ways of another culture.  If you work with people from other cultures and are involved in the healing professions, this is an enjoyable and enlightening book worth reading.

Hector and The Search For Happiness is a story about a psychiatrist that goes in search of what is the source of happiness.  This is a fun and simple novel, which I found uplifting as I got to learn what he learned on his journey to different countries.  This book was also about the advantages of traveling to other cultures.  I recommend this book if you are looking for a fun and simple read.

Lying on the Couch is an inside look into how a psychoanalysis works with his patients from a fictional viewpoint.  This book paints at times an unflattering portrait of the ego mind at work inside of people who are suppose to be helping others.  I found the story interesting both for its insider perspective and because it had enough tension to keep me engaged.  Dr Yalom has written other fictions and I will probably go in search of some of these other works. 

As to why I am all of a sudden reading the writings of psychiatrist is unclear except in this case all three authors expanded my awareness and I love books that do that.   These books also gave me a more positive view of psychiatry because much of what I have seen in my career as a mental health professional primarily includes men who have large ego’s, with little interest in psychotherapy, and thinking that medications are the magic potent for people’s problems.  Expanded awareness and a more compassionate view of psychiatry are two very positive outcomes. 

What readings have you found interesting lately?  Please feel free to share them so we can all benefit.   



Where Does The Truth Lie?

Yesterday I wrote about the loving-kindness being my religion and today I am feeling the difficult of living by the principles of loving-kindness when it comes to the political process.  Like many I have very strong opinions about politics and get upset at much I see as needing to change.  This upset state of mind is only because of my thoughts, which I keep saying are not real – my thoughts are just a collection of words I give meaning to but that is all they are.  My thoughts are not where the truth lies, neither is the truth the emotions that get stirred by my thoughts.  This is all just human drama created by our minds. 

Should this thought created drama be ignored?  Should we ignore what we know are problems because they are just the workings of our mind?  What is the truth?  I wish I could give you a clear answer and find my own peace of mind but frankly that is difficult to do some times.  What I can see and hear are usually true but even then my thoughts color most everything.  So where does the truth lie? 

What is clear from my viewpoint is:

That there is human suffering because some people were severely damaged from their upbringing

That greed is playing too big a force in commerce and in dictating policy in Washington DC

That our healthcare system is about profit making not about the compassionate care of those who are sick and in need

That our political system is broken and the game in Washington DC is becoming frustrating to a most of us 

That unchecked commerce is a disaster as Mr. Bush proved by the huge deficit and mess he left

That Wall Street means more to those in power in Washington DC than us on Main Street

That the Middle Class is rapidly shrinking to those that have and the millions who do not

That putting people in prison only makes them worse and doesn’t break the cycle of abuse they grew up in

That the GOP has the same plans for the economy that made a mess of it and they only care about getting back into power

That President Obama has a very difficult job and the opposition party will do everything possible to make him fail

That our planet is being impacted by us and our damages will hurt future generations

That war is insanity and our leaders seem to think it is ok to go to war and rationalize killing other human beings by their campaigns of fear

That without government the US and the world would be in total chaos

That with the abundance in the world there is no reason anyone should go without food, a home and medical care

That no one has ever explained adequately why the third tower went down on 9/11 and no significant passenger plane parts were found at the Pentagon or the field in Pennsylvania

That it is time for us all to demand that politics become honest, concerned about the people and not longer the childish ego battle it is

That the Supreme Court should not be a political body but impartial legal court that stands for the highest clarity of the law

That those who want to eliminate Social Security and Medicare are wealthy enough to never use them and heartless enough to not care about those of us who will need them

That it is time for us all to get involved in governing out nation, in standing up for what we believe in, and in asking questions until they are answered to the satisfaction of all of us

These seem obvious to me, what seems obvious to you and how can we know where the truth is.  I am sure we all have more to question, more to see, more to understand but it seems to me that we need to get involved in meaningful ways or the crazy ideas of the greedy and power hungry will run us into the ground.



Loving-kindness Is My Religion

“Loving-kindness is my religion,” this is a quote from the Dalai Lama and whenever I see it I am touched by the wisdom and truth of this.  I know loving-kindness is also my religion because I can feel it deeply in my heart.   Isn’t that where religion should reside instead of the world of thoughts and beliefs? 

Loving-kindness is the healing energy needed today in this country after a divisive election. 

Loving-kindness needs to be the intervention before people are locked up in prison.

Loving-kindness is the solution to all relationship problems every time.

Loving-kindness is the best way to handle people who attack because it is very disarming.

Loving-kindness is the best way to open up those who are pushing you away.

Loving-kindness is needed in the form of funding for all the social programs that are making a positive difference to those who are suffering.

Loving-kindness is so needed towards oneself because we all have a lot of thoughts that are critical and judging of who we are.

Loving-kindness is the best way to have good friends and co-workers that are fun to be with.

Loving-kindness is the key to another’s person’s heart because who can resist a loving and kind person.

Loving-kindness is the doorway into expanding consciousness because this allows us to be open to our higher nature.

Loving-kindness is the most direct path to happiness because the world seems so much better when we are loving and kind.

Loving-kindness is the guiding principle to keeping the body healthy through loving foods, kind exercise and the compassion of sleep.

Loving-kindness is the best form of meditative practice because only in being loving and kind can we see our true nature.

Loving-kindness is the path of emotional well-being through acknowledging and accepting how we feel.

Loving-kindness is the solution to most of the world’s problems because it has the ability to melt away what isn’t working.

Loving-kindness is the way to peace of mind guided by a loving heart.

Will you join me today and everyday and practice loving-kindness and then we will share in the light and joy of human nature at its best. 



Mr. President, We Need Your Leadership

Dear President Obama, this election shows we as a nation need of your leadership.  A number of Democrats were tossed out of office because people are mad out politics not because they believe Republicans can do a better job.  The last two years have not felt like things got better for most people.  Many are mad because they only see the problems we all face with no clear plan on how this is going to get better.  

This is where you come in Mr. President, we need a vision of where this country is going, we need inspiration, ideas that make sense and renewed hope.  This is what leadership does and when you were elected you inspired great hope.  Your gift for speaking and sharing your ideas inspiring is exceptional.  We need you to use your gifts for the good of our nation.

People will gladly get behind a positive vision for the nation as long as they believe there is a plan that makes sense and will benefit all of us.  We would appreciate knowing that government can be a force for good.  As CEO of the United States, your job to lift us up and show us where we can go that will make a difference for the nation.  We need a program or a plan that lifts us up to dream of a world that meets the needs of the people, a world where we know if we keep working hard there will be better days ahead.

You are a very bright and charismatic person; those qualities infused the nation with hope in 2008.  Now we need you to stand strong, to point the way to a better tomorrow, to bring out the best in us.  People are ready, willing and able to rise up to greater heights if you give us clear ideas of where to go from here.

The time is now to move into action, to show us what will make a difference, to bring together the force of compassion, of commerce, of creativity, of connections to each other and energize positive change that will bring true prosperity and peace to all of us. 

Please Mr. President, the call has been made for your leadership to rise up and we need your words and plans on the airways all the time, we need you ideas discussed by everyone, we need you vision bringing light to the hearts and minds of all Americans.  There is no doubt you have the capacities to shine so bring so invite the best in all of us and we will not disappoint.



Present and Positive

Reading through the headlines at the Huffington Post where there are always lots of interesting articles, I came upon two that I think you will find worth reading.  One was on mindfulness and how it empowers us and the other was on positive attitude and living longer. These article inspired me to write this post about two very important qualities we can benefit from if we take the time to practice them.  These qualities are being present and having a positive focus for our thoughts.

Do you ever worry about money or the future?  Do you ever anxiously rehearse conversations you will have later? Do you ever spend time reviewing and obsessing over what you should have done?  You are allowing your mind to take you out of the now; you are no longer present.  This not being present is how most of us live and frankly it’s not working so well.  Being present allows you to fully be available to the infinite possibilities in the now.  Even in the most difficult of moments, being present minimizes the harsh impact of hard to be with emotions and opens you to the find peace within.  In the moment, joy, peace, compassion, and openness naturally arises.

Take a few minutes as you read this to sit back and feel yourself be present; present to the energy in your body and the energy of the place you are in; present to the sounds and what is available to be taken in by your sight; present to your body and sense the chair you are sitting on; and whatever else comes into your awareness.  Were you able to slow down? Now how was that to be fully present?   What did that feel like?  The more you practice tuning in the more tuned in you will become.

How does things work out for you when you are negative state of mind?  Is your attitude helpful or limiting?  The article above is from three research projects that all seem to point to the benefits of a positive attitude.   Attitude is just thoughts but positive attitude works better than negative ones and these reports seem to support that idea.   See yourself in a positive light feels much better than being critical of yourself.  Seeing the world through a positive lens is more hopeful than seeing it through the blaming and judging mind. 

Take a positive viewpoint for the next few days no matter what comes up.  Positive means you are going to focus on what is going well, what is feeling ok to you, see the gold not the crap of every situation.  See how you feel in this frame of mind.  See what emotions arise in response to your positive mindset.  See if you enjoy life more in a positive state of mind or a negative or fearful state of mind.

Have a great day being present and positive.



Today The People Speak, Election 2010

Today is Election Day and the people’s statements by their votes will be recorded, the experts will spout what it all means and the government will go on.  Today is a county holiday so those who want to can help out with the elections.  It is a day off for me and I am enjoying it and taking care of my own mental health.  Our democracy is very precious to me and I am sure to most.  There are many questions about how we can fix our ills as a nation and many who blame government for the problems.  From my viewpoint, the blame is on the blamer not on the structures we have set up.

Those who blame government for our problems come in several categories:  1. those who blame but have no real or workable solutions, 2. those who blame because they don’t want to be regulated, and 3. those who follow the lead of others without questioning. The first category includes the many who think that government is so bad they just want it eliminated, what would replace that structure?  If there was no government it seems like chaos would rule and then the ones with the most resources would take over by force.  That does not seem like a good idea.  How would we defend ourselves as a nation without government?  How would we keep greed from dictating all policies? 

The second category is made up of those are those who don’t want to be regulated.  That would leave corporation in charge.  Is that a good idea?  If the past 10-15 years of a government seems like a mess is was because government was less and less involved in regulating commerce and we had massive financial breakdowns.  How would that get better with greed as the only guided force?  If banks are not regulated by government would they be kinder to their customer or take more advantage of them?  Anyone who would say the banks would be kinder are in incredible denial.   

The third category includes all those who oppose government but do so because others say they should but they fail to question what would be best for the nation.  No one likes taxes but without taxes there are no services so the wealth pay for what they need and the rest of us live in chaos.  Those who don’t question but only blame are a great wave of destruction on the future of this country.  The blaming of government is financed heavily by those who don’t want to be regulated.  If we don’t question then we are doomed to be controlled by those who have all the influence.  That kind of government is called fascism where corporate rule is the law of the land.  This my friends would make the need for government very clear in a short time.  The middle class is disappearing and it will be gone under a fascist government.

Please vote for what will work, not for what others tell you, not for more power to greed, not anti-government, not for eliminating taxes if you care about the future of our nation.  We are the ones to blame and we are also the ones that will save our nation or damage it even further.  Step up and do the right things: think, be rational, don’t be run by anger, fight against greed, have compassion, stop blaming and see what you can do, find ways to make government better, and don’t forget this nation is about freedom and liberty not about making profits as our guiding principle.

One last point, there are no liberals or conservatives, there are just people who want better lives.  All the labeling is done by people who need to do something better than living in the delusions of their thoughts.