If you are a helper

"So the only way to reach to truth is to learn how to be immediate in your vision, how to drop the help of the mind."~ Osho Card of Projection

In this case the mind isn't helping. It is clouding, telling stories, and making the immediate truth harder to understand. It's the the word "help" that is in bold when I read the sentence. Hmmmm... I base a lot of what I see, say and do based on weather I think I'm helping. Whether I'm actually helping..... well, that is a different thing. I act based on whether "I THINK I'm HELPING". Hmmmm... I see the flaw sitting with you the audience, the computer as my scribe. But as in Julia's character on "Parenthood", I can't stop myself from being helpful. And I bite my nails while watching her. Back up, give the girl some space, let it breathe. But she spins and spins, until she acts.... in the most helpful way she knows how.

Oh my sweet.....the road to hell is paved with helPing intentions. Just be mindful. Be mindful when you can't bear to NOT be helpful, and try it anyways. Try holding your tongue in line, or when eavesdropping even though you hold the nugget they're looking for, or when you notice a typo on a website. Not everyone is looking for your "help", opinion, insight. How strange...? And then again, how human. How often do you take kindly to people butting in telling you, you're doing something a little wrong. Huh.... This experiment isn't for everyone, just..... the helpers.

Psst..... who would you be if you weren't a helper. That's the real question, and the one you are too busy helping to uncover. (I love you now and always. Whether you help or not, whether you can stop helping or not. This is just a get to know yourself time/ type of experiment. All my love, whatever you find, and who ever you are now and later. It's a win win type of a test. ; ) ).

Consider moving at Your pace

In the words of John O'Donohue in Anam Cara "Many people who are secretly weary of work, have never given themselves the time or taken time out, to allow their spirits to catch up. Giving yourself plenty of time is a simple but vital reflective exercise. Leave all agendas behind you. Let the neglected presence of your soul come to meet and engage you again. It can be a lovely reacquaintance with your forgotten mystery."

Anne Lamott in Plan B writes, "Breath is what connects us to all of life, to God. Therefore, if the devil can't get you to sin, he will keep you busy. At least this means you won't take time to breathe and therefore will be separate from God."

My advice, Move at the pace of intuition. Don't take action faster than you can come into contact with your source to confirm that you are taking the right action.

How we achieve

How we achieve is as important as what we achieve. From the inside out, what we believe we create. How you do it matters because your external world is your internal world reflected back to you. Our attitudes and ways of achieving our goal must be in alignement with our highest goals to be effective.

A couple examples of incongruence: Feminism lead with aggression isn't about equality, rather they become the aggressors lording power over. Or a governement that promotes an era of terror, fear never promotes the hightest good of all. It promotes the idea of "other" not understanding.

In the law of Karma, every act is registered to create good karma or karmic debt. Act with this level of integrity. No act hides from the law of congruence. We live in a world of cause and effect. There are natural consequences for every choice we make, and everyone is held accountable whether you're making the choices consciously or not.

Building self worth

Building a sense of self worth. You are worthy of loving and being loved. You don't have to do anything to be worthy. You are made of love, and if you do nothing you are Still worthy. I know this to be true, but the trick is to build this knowledge for yourself brick by brick, or it won't hold. So, let's begin to build, or add on to what you've already got.

Why are you loveable?
What do you love about yourself? (Is that the deep end? If it is, start with what do you love?) Gather some facts, interests, hobbies, these are the outward expressions of who you are. Do you get a sense of a Being doing the crafting? Do you sense a deep part of you grappeling with the complex feelings that come with raising a child, or falling in love. You are the remarkable being that can contain all this love, this inginuity, and has taken the brave experiment to live. Start by acknowledging when you smile, who you connect to, and what you love. These are small mirrors that reflect a part of you that you love. If you didn't share that same quality, it wouldn't resonate and call forth the feeling of love. Begin to let that love come back to you for you. You are your first love. Everyone else will come second, and that is the way it must be becasue if there is not love in your heart you can not offer it to someone else.

The backdoor to....control, trust

A need for control can come from a lack of confidence that you can deal with what comes up.

So..... in reverse. If you want to let go more, acknowledge all the little times you feel confident and exert yourself successfully in the world. We're not looking to see only if you won the grammy, but rather, did you sing well?

The backdoor to trust is gratitude.
If you are struggling to have faith in a situation, to trust it is going to all work out. Spend time in gratitude. The more you consciously acknowledge all the ways you are presently provided for the easier it will be to trust.

Living by the I Ching

The I Ching suggests:

Be humble, open, receptive, accepting, detached,

patient, tolerant, reticent, gentle, balanced, responsive, modest

pay careful attention to the truth

Let these principles guide your actions, there is no better advice out there.

Not too much wisdom

Don't worry about knowing it all before you begin. Don't spend your whole life reading and contemplating the philisophical ideas through the ages.

Don't get so involved collecting wisdom so as to distract you from living.

Look up, go on!

What do you believe in?

Your answer to this question fundamentally affects how we go through the world.

Do you believe in God, something greater than you? Do you believe in family? Justice? Whatever you believe in will shape your world in seen and unseen ways, so it's a good idea to take a close look at this question for you, and see how it shapes your daily activities, beliefs, and ideas about the future.

Conflict

Conflict is a chance to change consciousness.

As a literary device conflict is used to define the character as it certainly defines us.

Intimate relationships grow you because they let someone into the hidden, hurt, vulnerable parts of ourselves. They challenge our core beliefs and behaviors and we have a chance to see if we're holding on for the right reasons or if letting go of a behavior might free us to be more ourselves.

Despair also can change consciousness. Hard emotions come baring gifts. Ask yourself, what is the benefit of this hard feeling? How can you be grateful for this feeling?

You have nothing to lose

You have nothing to lose.

In the most profound way this is true.
If you lost your arm would you still be you? Would the essence of you be in tact? In some real way there is a place in us where we are whole, and this can't be taken from us.

Being good is overrated

Being "good" is overrated. Being yourself is barely acknowledged and may be the whole reason we are here.

Being true to yourself is what it is all about. Rewrite your relationship with approval if you need to in order to make space for yourself. Trust your guidance, your intution, and act from there.

Avoidance

It's ironic but avoidance energetically binds you to that which you don't like, it is not freedom from it. We tend to create what we avoid so much energy is spent on not doing something. People will show up with the quality we hate. Use it as a red flag, what are you denying in yourself? What past experiences are coloring this one?

Stay Awake

When we are overwhelmed, or we can't avoid pain. We give up. We sleep.

Oriah Mountain Dreamer writes, "There's no safety in that."

Don't numb out. Come back to us. Only if you are awake to how you are feeling will you be empowered to make a change.

Solitude

Do you ever crave your own company? Do you long for quiet and stillness? This is a sign you are due for some solitude. I get to a point where I don't want to talk to anyone. Below is a journal entry from just such a moment.

Today is different I only crave my own voice, the company of my own thoughts. Actually, I don’t even want to talk. I don’t want the voice that emerges from me to go into the world, in order to return through the outer ear. Even more insular than that. I want to keep the whole experience in me, not just between me and this pen. Yet I can feel something blooming on the edge of my consciousness, and if I stumble upon it I want a witness, so I can remember the trail and the insight later. So I will write. Even the smell and taste of tea is considered other than me, and I pause before extending its welcome. It is vanilla apricot white tea. It is gentle, and sweet. The coulds, flush with the horizon, are a darker grey and up in the trees-branches it is white. I hear something drumming or catching, water in the drainpipe from the night before? Maybe it’s the dreams from last night that have left me in this mood.

Get out of your own way

I had a dream that I was organizing a softball game for second graders. We couldn't get any traction, the kids were all losing steam, no body was getting any points. In short it wasn't working. "Pack it up," I called to the kids. We got on the bus, and that's when I realized we were on our way to a field trip. I sank into my seat like the rest of the kdis.

The point: I'm trying to make things work, but I'm just making it up. I don't know what I'm doing. When I pack it in, I find out, I'm not driving the bus (I'm not in control) and I didn't realize we were headed somewhere. We had a destination unbeknownst to me. When I get out of the way we get on with the trip.

I surrender.

Let Go

I have no idea what you are doing, or what your day has been like, but most likely there is an opportunity to "let go" that would help you in this moment.

How does it work?
Here's what I know and the story is cliche (because it's true and experienced by many). I didn't know I was having a conversation with God. I did know I was at my wits end, holding my head in my hands, and I said, "Help me" to no one in particular. I didn't say it as much as it came up from the core of my soul and I heard it too. Then the phone rang, and it was JUST the encouragement I needed unexpected to get through this moment. (God has many forms, you and you, and you, and you.)

"Let go and Let me," says God.

You are here

One undeniable fact. These are hard to come by, so I celebrate this one. The fact is that if you are reading this, then in fact "you are here". I challenge you to come up with another truth so bold, that would apply to every person reading it. There is little that is so simply true.

So there we are.

Step by step

It seems living forward you have to live step by step. You can't get the reassurances you'd hope for that this is the right direction, that the destination is worth the effort. We can live well by being self-reflective, with heart, and choosing our attitude, but we can't be guaranteed a result. You don't begin because you are assured of the result. You begin to begin.

It is impossible to know how you'll get from here to there until you do it. You may have a goal like getting to the other side of the river, but the crossing of it is always a matter of getting wet, and learning how to swim. You may think this isn't what I thought the other side of the river would be like, but alas the river isn't the other side and you can only deal with what is in front of you, so there we are.

The only constant

We talk A LOT about what's constant. My guess is we like constancy, certainty. It feels good. Here's an informal study:

Change is the only constant.

Life is the only constant not the animal, person, or flower carrying it's flame.

Being true to yourself is constant. The actions you take may look varied and changing, but the core of you is constant. (I have found when I move and rebuild a life. I always rebuild with the same staples: mugs, journals, cards.)

Every year that tree loses its leaves. The constant is that the same change occurrs again and again.

Our life matters & we are insignificant

Joseph Campbell age 80 says to Bill Moyers, “That’s where we’re at kiddo, you are infinitely small and infinitely important in that you are one with it all, and it begins inside of you.”

If you’re not sure of your insignificance, try standing on a pier in a storm with trashing wind and rain overwhelming you. With water on three sides, and the wind powerful enough to knock you over, and the water strong enough to take your life, you will appreciate how small you are. And you are powerful because God is within you. And your power is in your ability to hear the still humble voice inside guiding you, to listen be receptive and follow its direction. Ram Dass says, “You are like one dot of light. It is only one dot against the darkness of a night’s sky, and every dot matters.”

Seriously. We should laugh.

Don't take yourself too seriously.
I do this all the time. I think what I'm doing really "matters" and I have to get it done "right" and on "time". One of my favorite times I was called on being serious was when I was substitute, teaching in a third grade class. I'm uptight, in the first months of pretending to be a teacher. This was the era before I was credentialed, before society gave me the paper, before I had the schooling, and Before I had the Confidence (B.C.) So, I was telling 20 eight year olds to take out their books, and they weren't doing it. (Damn free will ; ) ). Afraid of losing control, or an uprising, I said, "Guys, this is Serious. I need you to Get-Out-Your-Books and Turn-To-Page-38." A lanky boy raised his hand. I called on him, "I didn't know it was serious." He was shining back at me the sincere innocent wide eyes of a child trying to follow the rules. I looked back and had to laugh at myself. "Okay, it's not S-e-r-i-o-u-s..." I laughed. "I just need you to get out the book." It turns out, I think very little of everyday life is SERIOUS, so lighten up where you can, and laugh as you are cracking through your edges.

Group Therapy 101: Opinions

Bill Moyer wrote in "Faith and Reason"

It can be important to have your own, "Declaration of Independence of your opinion of me."

When you hear an opinion:
Check with yourself first, before you defend, counter attack. Sit with it. How do you feel? Is it true for you?

Respect and be lighthearted, opinions aren't truths. They are compilations of experiences resulting in a belief and reflected (projected) on you. It may say more about the person with the opinion than you.

Beautiful Boundaries

There are natural boundaries that keep the earth separate from the heavens, and the stars distinct from the night sky.

I encourage you to hold your boundaries. I support you taking care of yourself. Choose what you allow in, and decide what you want to keep out. Most of all, make sure you are doing what is in your best interest. We can too easily give ourselves away, scatter our energy, become distracted. Maybe we need to be needed, maybe we need to feel that we give the most. You are perfect as you are, doing nothing more than being you. Given that, make sure you take some time to water your own garden. Create an environment of peace and safety within, where you can live and take the time to protect this. Boundaries are there for your benefit.

Know your purpose

If you know your purpose you'll have a better chance to grow your attributes. Your purpose may be out of your comfort zone. Yield to the highest idea you have. I am "on purpose" not by accident and all is right in my world as a declaration of spirit.

- Bill Moyers possibly talking to Joseph Campbell

Consciously create the stories we tell ourselves

Consciously create the stories we tell ourselves. If the story makes you feel badly, change it.

How to spot a story:
Check how you are feeling. Thoughts are followed quickly by an emotional reaction to them.
Ex. I feel trapped. (What are you telling yourself that leaves you in a bind. Either you must do this or you must do that. What beliefs do you have about what you "must" do?)
Ex. If you get angry. (What are you telling yourself to get that reaction? They were disrespectful. What do you make of that? They don't value me. Or.... you don't feel valued, but that is not coming from outside of you.)

After spotting a story, you can bring your intellect on-board to help you devise another way to think about the situation. Taking back conscious control of your thoughts helps you create a life where you have some say. You spend less time reacting, spinning, and being in the throws of it.

For more check out: Change your Thoughts, Change Your Life: The Wisdom of the Tao by Wayne Dyer

To Wait Patiently...

As I typed, I could hear the grinding of these words against your nerves like a violin poorly played and reverberating irritation up your spine. Don't read this when you need to be patient, but rather maybe at the end of the day when you are relaxed and contemplative and want to play with the concept later.

First, waiting is a state of mind. I saw this clearly when my Grandma who sits in her chair from 6am to 9pm got ready for church. Dressed for church, sitting in the same chair at 10am she said, "Well when are we going? I'm tired of waiting." To an outsider, it could have been any other 15 min. segment of the day that would not feel like waiting, as she sat in her regular chair, but she was thinking about this time differently and it was making her upset.

So here we go.
1. Don't identify with what you are doing.
2.Be still. Life happens with or without your doing.
3. From a place of stillness take right action.
4. Don't get attached to hwo it turns out.

The Biology of Being Human

Pssst.......I am going to tell you a secret, something no one is talking about. We are Biological Beings. What this means is we are complex organisms with millions of potentials in every cell that can be expressed in millions of ways. These differences will make us unique and confirm the miracle of being alive and being human at all.

Have we forgotten the miracle of life that somehow infuses us? We are distracted with thighs that are too big, skin that is too dark, moods that swing too much. It's as if we've decided it's better to be neutral in every category. Health isn't an absence of any condition we deem not good enough. We have an opportunity to talk to our bodies, listen closely and feel what's going on. So put down your stethascopes, your meds, your paperwork, and spend a moment taking in the awe. Even our science doesn't understand how it all works. We cannot recreate such an intelligent design aritificially. It's magic! Appreciate the miracle, step away from the nagging concerns of media and society, and embrace Briliant Biological You!

There is no "other"

Can we embrace the many ways humans show up? The good news is we have a back door into understanding the human condition. Ask yourself, have I ever felt that way? If you can have compassion for yourself, it will be easier to offer it to another.

A pitfall can be to judge another. The byproduct of judging another it to lift yourself up at the expense of putting them down. Your judgement also baracades your in, establishing that you are separate, and better. This is a pitfall because it is not true. We all are equal, and all deserving of respect. Be responsible for your choices, but do not stand in judgement on another person's. You can not know all their cirumstances, childhood, or brain chemistry. It is only important to know, that they too are human, and we are all making our way in this often hard life. Have gratitude for your life, and respect for theirs. For all the people we will never have a chance to know, offer them the benefit of the doubt.

Asking Questions Creating Space

John O'Donohue writes in Anam Cara (p.138) Gentle, nonconfrontational questions that pursue the truth, as you see it, can prevent a person from taking over all the power in a situation."

Asking a question has two parts. First, it can be an opportunity to state your truth, hold the space for you, and open your beliefs up for remark.

This differentiates you, shows that you are not necessarily in agreement with the room, and this is what changes the power balance. You are stepping into your own power. You are creating space for yourself and your beliefs from that which you are bing told. For me, sometimes I need small ways to engage, make space for me to think differently about something. The bravest part for me is to hint that I'm not on the same page. I've developed in such a way that the only safety is in agreeing or nodding your head while in the room, what you do later is a different story. I'm at the stage of owning a difference and attempting to feel safe while I do that.

Part two is to be open when they respond, and check in with what they are saying to see if it rings true for you, then correct or confirm your original belief. I’m suggesting a practice of digging deep and speaking your truth to a witness for no gain other than to get experience making a space for yourself. This process also allows you to be open and hold your belief up to the light and see more clearly that which you hold dear. Be Brave!

Love can not be used against you

Love is the only piece of advice that can never be used against you.
It is alone and unique in this way.
There are few, if any other pieces of advice that so succinctly work in every situation. For the naysayer in the group, you might be thinking "Love an attacker"? Maybe you can't do that, but if you have love in your heart, you will be able to forgive them and so not continue to ache from the first offense.

In a war, love could never be used against you. This is the litmus test. If the attitude you are bringing into the world can never be used against you, or if in its use you would be rewarded then you have found a truly great premise to live by.

Trust, Trust, Trust again

This seems to be the process. The "ask" isn't just to trust once, then you are rewarded and then you move on. It's not like grocery shopping. I needed a bag of trust, great. Put it in the cart, take it home, dole it out cup at a time as needed. It's more rare, hard to come by, and when you need it can be when it is hardest to see. You have to choose it when you have no proof, when you need it most, and yet there is no reason to trust. It's an oxymoron in it's design. Trust, though all the evidence may point to the contrary.

And yet.... trust isn't always the answer. There will be times you need to get off your Tukus and do something. The time for trust is over, now is the time to apply yourself. Like so many good pieces of advice. You can't use the same good advice in every situation. So, use your head, but if it's in your best interest, and it will improve the quality of your journey....Trust.

Choose your influences

You are responsible for what you surround yourself with.

I'd choose things, people, situations that support me. I'd choose inspiration, beauty, role models, interesting ideas, poetry, dance, possibilities, positive thinkers. What do you choose?

Tavis Smiley asked Tori Amos, "How do you do it?" She was asked to be "an architect of the classics". I need reems and reems of material before I begin, reems and reems of time, space and good input.

Internal self renewable resources

What are your Internal Self Renewable Resources? Keep those in mind and create a life where you play to your strengths. Keep track and be their steward.

Possible resources:
Energy, education, drive, patience, kindness, strength, clear-headed, vision, a good emotional space, attitude, psychological well-being, gratitude list, ability to make friend, comfort in new situations, an ability to jump in....

The list goes on and on. What resources are you needing to cultivate or lean on now?

Don't let a secret define you

Don't let a secret define you.
Share the secret and define yourself.
From one therapists ears to your heart. The thing we hold most dreadful, that we beat ourselves up with.... we become our own abusers. Something said once, an action done, we flog and flog ourselves. Release the energy and be free. You are wonderful and we all make mistakes. The first step of understanding who we are is accepting the bad with the good. When we can do this for ourselves, it is easier to do it for one another and no one is perfect.

where you gave yourself away as anger

Use forgiveness to gather yourself up where you gave yourself away as anger, disappointment.....

Blinded by anger at others, burdening yourself with this heavy load because you thought it ought to be different, and it wasn't.

So, it is. Free yourself from the role of universal police and choose inner peace.

your expectations won't be met

Accept with equanimity all your expectations won't be met.

The good news is you only made up your expectations in your head, and we know little about how this all works, and what is ultimately best. Does that help you let go? Doesn't matter if we understand the request is to let go anyways.

There's a great poem by W.H. Auden "Leap before you Look". Look if you want to, but you're going to have to leap anyways. It's kind of like this. Expect if you want to, but you'll have to accept anyways. No, you're right, you don't Have to accept, but there will be less suffering if you do.

Approval of others

One of Buddha's 4 temptations was to get the approval of others.

What if in our culture, approval was seen as a temptation? If approval was seen as dangerous, and comparison as being a harbinger of suffering. What would advertising look like? What would media look like? We wouldn't have judging and singing competitions. Would it be instead 336 Million ways to accept yourself? Would we be driven by intrinsic goals, and life satisfaction more of the time? "Chase what matters;" maybe we wouldn't be chasing at all. Maybe we would be busy Being, and with ALL of our energy on BEING who we truly are, think how far we would come.

Don't get ahead of yourself

Ram Dass reminded me of this in a way I hadn't heard it before. The thing is, getting ahead of yourself doesn't work.

For me the example comes with discipline. I can't meditate for 5 minutes everyday; though, there is time, and I have no excuse. I can't do it because I'm not disciplined. It is like this. If discipline is born from your desire to meditate. Discipline should be the by-product of what you are doing, trying to achieve. When discipline is the tool to help me achieve what I want, then it will work. I can't get ahead of myself and force myself to "do" anything. So.....okay. I accept that. The trick is don't get ahead of yourself. It will come, when I'm ready, more mature, when I want the thing badly enough to accept the life of discipline. I'm almost there. I'll write a post later about how great it is. For now, all I can say is. I'm better at doing what I like to do, and I'm not so good at doing those things that require discipline. ; ) Maybe soon.

Or, Fake it 'til you make it. That works for some people too.

Be gentle with yourself today

Some days are gentle days. Some days you can power through. This may be a day when you need a little extra self-care. Check in. What does this mean to you today? Would a bath feel good? Would putting your toes in the grass tickle your soul, swing on a swing, sway to your favorite song, watch just your favorite scene of your classic movie. Pay attention to the things that cheer you up. Keep them close at hand. A little comedy on Youtube. Eating healthy, buying a papaya. It doesn't have to be extravagent. I hope it's indulgent. Listen to your body what does it need? What makes you feel safe, secure? What communicates everything will be okay on a soul level? Close your eyes, take in fewer sights, fewer sounds. What rejuvenates you? You are looking to do that which comes naturally and feels like you.

What we do explains how we feel

If you don't know how you feel about a thing, look how you are acting.
Sometimes we are the last to know.

(Ex. Notice when you procrastinate, Notice when you don't care to look closely at the details, Notice when you grow "tired" just before doing taxes.)

Brain + Memory is not Fact

The Brain doesn't know the difference between what it sees and what it remembers with all its creative shading.

I recognize this when I have a strong conviction about something I learned in college; though, I can't remember a single fact to back up my position. The thing is, I can't re-evaluate my belief based on what I've learned in the last 18 years becasue I no longer remember the facts. I just sense my final judgement on it. The point is, watch your convictions, your righteous feelings, that you can't quite articulate. They may no longer be true for you. Time has run away with the facts, and left you holding the baggage of a "could-be" outdated perception.

Affirmation of Life

I relax into the flow of Life.
and let life provide
all that I need easily and comfortably.
Life is for me.

Blessing of Love

Help me to be open to love from the moment I wake, to the minute I step into the world, to the time I return home. Let me find love in me abundant and reciprocated to me through every bird, tree, and human being.

Allow For Your Spaciousness

P.S. (What were you hoping to see written? I give you permission to write it. Fill this space with your longing, your affirmation, your truth. You are all that is needed. Feel the space in the lining of your skin.)

A model of the Universe

I believe there are 4 boundaries that build in concentric circles outwards.

In the inner most circle is you and source (God).

One layer out there is your thoughts, attitudes, and energy, you in and of yourself.

This is contained by your body. First you must feed and water your body. There is also a thin permeable barrier of choice. What do you let in? How does what you think affect the 3D world outside of you? Here resides the witness in meditation.

One layer outside the body is the 3D world of matter and action. It is here that you feel pressures of society and can contribute to a larger community.

The boundary that holds all life (human, environment, animals) is a universal truth, again it is god/ potentiality. This potentiality connects us, and it exists within the heart of you. We are one.

Choosing to Be Love, shows up on every level maybe with a different action or result, but always connecting your to source, and acting on your best behalf, and therefore on the behalf of all.

Mitigating Disappointment

To mitigate disappointment, live in integrity. Then whatever the outcome, you'll know you took responsibility for your part. (The rest is not up to you.)

Disappointed they could not be everything I needed them to be.
Forgive them.
Forgive myself. We are all human.
We don't show up always as we're needed.

Forgiveness is all about me, AND it has nothing to do with me. Don't take it personally.

The answer is....

The answer is not in the analysis, it's in the openness.

Openness and accepting what is has been my greatest key to success.

On humor

"Don't play the moment, find the honesty in the moment." This was Bill Cosby's advice to Malcom Jamal Warner to creating humor.

I've decided the thing about humor is stating the unexpected. A good comic leads you down the garden path. You know what's coming, you've been here before, "Ah, yes, the bed of roses." Then the punchline hits you hard, knocks you off center because you had no Idea what was coming.

When you can, laugh, when you can't smile. Neuroscience says, even faking a smile tells the brain it's better than it is. Fake it 'til you make it. And if you can't, surrender, accept, and laugh another day.

I am glad for my disappointment

I am glad for my disappointment.
How can this be true for you? It is proof you are alive, engaged, wanting, trying for something. You share an experience that connects you with every other human. It means you can feel. What would it look like if you lived as if this were true? You can survive it. You will not regret not trying later.

How can you befriend disappointment? Invite it in for tea, accept it at a chair beside you. It Is, you can not ignore it. It occurs without our wanting, but how can we not begrudge it? Offer it the gift (of acceptance) it could not offer to you.

Ask the Universe

I asked yesterday, how long it would take us to know our sun had died? I was watching Brian Cox explain the "The Wonders of the Unvierse" and it came up. And you wouldn't believe it! The following day, I went to see the movie "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close", and in the openning scene, Oscar announces, "It would take us 8 minutes to know our earth had died."

This is the magic! Ask and you shall receive. This is how precise the universe is! It is timely, and will address exactly what you put in front of it. Try for yourself if you want.
More examples are listed on the extended version blog. Have fun!

Anticipate Less

Anticipate Less. This is hard, why? Because inherent in the request is a bid to trust yourself. I'm asking you to set aside what you've seen before. I'm asking you to not worry, because this closes you, and it's better to be open. I am asking you to acknowledge the fearful fact, you have not been here before. This is all different. It's a new day, a new you, a new moment. There is no map. Let the compass in your heart direct you. Take a deep breath, know you are capable of handling the challenge in front of you. I believe in you. We all share the same wonderous creative core. "Man is in the Heart of God," Kahil Gibran writes. So, be brave. You've got this one. It takes practice to get good being present, and this is your chance.

Time passes; What will you choose to make constant?

There is a direction to the passing of time. Things tend to go from order to disorder (ex. past to future; decay). When we bring order to the situation (building a sand castle from sand potential) it is not natural to stay in this state of order. The sand will scatter in time. What fundamental values are the grains of sand with which you order your life? When the wind comes will you be able to say, "Be what it may, there was love, integrity, honesty, authenticity?" What elements are most important to You? What actions can you take in this moment to live in alignment with these elements?