Daily Inspiration 8-31-15

"You can never change the past 

nor control the future, 

but you can change 

 the mood of the day 

by touching someone's heart 

with your smile."

-- Terry Minion 

I dislike quotes from "unknown." Of the tens of thousands of quotes I have in my files, only a small percentage are from unknown and I never have used them. Who the heck is unknown? Is it a man or a woman? Animal or vegetable? Mineral? Does it fly? Walk? Who is that entity "unknown?"

I don't recall ever actually using a quote from "unknown." Some of them appear quite good, but who really cares if no one said it? How did it ever get recorded in the first place? Someone must have known "unknown," don't you think?

So, I made a decision this morning. Mornings are always good for clearer head decisions. The decision is that since I detest, ridicule, find disturbing, dislike, find ridiculous, quotes by no one worth mentioning, or at least no one who wants to accept responsibility for them, that I would take them for myself when I find one I like. I will step up to the plate and own them while unknown hides in the shadows.

The quote above has been commandeered, ripped, stolen from "unknown" and I have accepted responsibility for saying it. I have accepted responsibility for being "unknown" in this case. It seemed like the right thing to do. Next time you see a quote by "unknown," you will know who it was. It was me. I am "unknown." So, now you know. And. . .


You Can Quote Me On That. 

Spread Some Joy Today--go grab your claim to fame!

Daily Inspiration 8-30-15

"Most beliefs are formed by words-- 

and they can be changed by words as well. 

Realize now the power that your words command 

if you simply choose them wisely." 

-- Tony Robbins, 

from Awaken the Giant Within 

Part of what I do with commercial truck dealers we have as clients is to shoot videos for those that are willing. And the great news for those who are is that these videos can make a grand difference in their sales and the growth of the commercial truck department. Between my business partner, Ryan, we have shot hundreds of these videos. We have both learned how to be video directors and cameramen.

Yesterday was my third video session with our local Ford store client and the commercial manager, Kent. In all the videos I have done, he is by far my best student. What makes him the best student is that beyond being willing, he follows directions and is open to doing something he's never done before. In other words, he's willing to do. I will talk to him about what I would like to see, give him some ideas of what to say, then let him go to it, and he does very well at it, growing with each video. I told him yesterday that I'm going to start calling him "one-take Kent."

Just before the start of the first video, he said, "Let's give it a try. I hope I can remember all of that." I stopped him and said that he needs to change what he is saying. I said that he needed to say, "this will be the best video I've done yet!" By the end of the 90-minute shoot, he was saying that on his own. 

We don't realize how powerful our words can be. It's not even the words. It's the feeling behind them. Words like, "I hope. . ." or "I'll try. . ." or "maybe this time. . ." are expressing feelings inside that are guiding what we do. They are affirmations.

Affirmations are intentions. As we speak them aloud, they grow in their strength. We might want to ask ourselves about what is coming out of our mouth, "is this what I want? Or is this what I do NOT want?"

Often the difference in performance is in the words out of our own mouth or spoken in our head prior to the action. When we changed the affirmation to, "this will be the best video yet!" the video was better, and each one improved.

We don't do videos to sell a particular truck as much as to sell the idea of how this truck and combination of body and chassis can be valuable. We never talk about price or terms. It is always about the product and how it can be used, including interesting features, and more. We don't want them dated, and we don't need to list VIN numbers, or disclosures because we aren't really selling this truck. They are more educational. These videos get way more traffic as a result.

In these videos we were doing, I am teaching him how to sell a completely different way than he has always done it. He is picking it up like a vacuum and he is using it when he talks to clients. In fact, yesterday, there was a steel dump that was kind of unique on the lot. It was sold, but I said, let's do a video on this. He knew pretty much nothing about steel dumps, but in a few minutes he knew a lot and he did a walk around on that truck like a pro. It was a powerful teaching and learning moment. By the way, he began the video by saying, "this will be the best video yet!." And it was.


Affirmations Are Intentions. Be Aware Of What You Intend. It Has A Tendency To Be True. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by sharing your expertise and your joy with someone who is willing. The shared joy is worth it.

Daily Inspiration 8-29-15

"It is up to you 

to focus upon and attract 

what is wanted."

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

We get to choose. In fact, we are totally in charge of choosing. Not only that, we create what we choose to create, so we have the ultimate power of our own experience. Knowing this is one thing, and actually acting it out moment by moment is another, yet once realized, once understood, my mind cannot go back. Once I have realized that the world is round and not flat as so many have stated, I can no longer see it as flat.

Yesterday I wrote about the feeling of being adored and finding ways to renew and replicate feelings that I like and want. Those feelings are in my memory else I would not know what they were, so I can jog my memory, and feel them again, and I can also renew and expand them using my imagination.

There was a time when I felt adored by my late wife. It was glorious. Whenever another puts that kind of attention on you, it feels magical, and it is often automatically returned. Then it stopped. Life gets in the way. The honeymoon is over. Shit happens. Things change. However, I might want to say it matters less than the fact that it stopped. Did I change? Did I become less? How can I get that glorious feeling back? I miss it. I want it. I crave it. And yet, it is gone.

I tried all kinds of things to bring those great feelings back around again. I got some here and there, but not the big one that I missed so much. I settled for what I could get, and I felt that as creative as I could get, I was not creative enough.

It wasn't up to me. It was up to her. Or was it? Was it really up to her? In my now wisdom, I have learned that when we rely on others for how we want to feel, that it is quite a hit and miss affair. Trying to get others to do anything is all about the finesse of manipulation. It has very few rewards and is very unreliable.

I have learned that as a creator, I have the power within me to feel as I choose to feel anytime I choose to feel it. That includes the most glorious feeling of being adored and being loved unconditionally. Shit still happens, and life still gets in the way, but nowhere near as much as it used to because I realize that the world is round, and I cannot even imagine it as flat anymore. In other words, I am in control of how I feel and I can no longer go back to hoping others make me feel how I want to feel.

I have learned a lot in the last two years flying solo. I have learned so much more about the power I have within to create whatever I want. I haven't experienced making use of that knowledge as I desire, and I know it. I don't want to beat up on myself for any of that as it is okay to take my time at the moment. But I know that the world is round now, and I can't go back to having it be flat. In other words, I know now that I am a creator, and I cannot go back to a world where things just happen to me and I have to find a way to deal with it. I get to choose.

My reminders on my walls and desktop are just that. Reminders that I have the power to feel however I choose to feel when I choose to feel it.

One thing I didn't mention yesterday was that we have the power to choose to not only adore ourselves but for all others. I mention this only from this perspective: It is not to adore someone else so that it is returned. It may or may not be. It is to feel the feeling ourselves. One way to feel adored is to exercise the action of adoring.

And this too is something I practice every single day. Another word for adoration is appreciation. I find so many things to appreciate or to adore every day. I adore little Charlie more every day. I adore the people at the bank every time I walk in there. I adore the weather, whatever it may be at the moment. I look in the mirror and smile at my reflection and say how handsome I am and how I love my body, praising parts of it. I used to find faults in every view, and now I find things to praise. Regardless of the current shape. I even praise that. My body has so much flexibility and creative placement!

I am learning to feel what I want to feel. My reminders help me remember that I have that choice. I'll listen to some great music and enjoy that. I am enjoying my life. It feels like I always wanted to enjoy my life this way, but back then I didn't realize I had all the control within me. Now I do.


What Are Your Most Glorious Feelings? How Can You Feel Them Again And Again? You Are Totally In Control Of How You Choose To Feel. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by choosing.

Daily Inspiration 8-28-15

"Remind yourself that you are loved. 

Not only loved but adored. 

You are loved unconditionally. 

Use sticky notes, posters, photos, 

or whatever helps to remind you. 

Just remember that you are loved. 

No matter what. 

No matter what. 

No matter what." 

-- Terry Minion 

It is amazing what a simple reminder can do to lift a person up, to feel loved, valued, wanted, and more. Some are just touching and others are equal to moving a mountain. I have reminders all over my office, on my computer, on the walls, my Abraham, Esther Hicks perpetual calendar, and more. They help. They remind me that I am loving and that I am loved.

On my computer desktop, I have the above picture on my screen when I'm not in a program. I have many that I use on my desktop but this is my favorite so far. It is my favorite because every single time I look at it, I feel adored. Not just loved. Adored. As if I could never do any wrong. As if I'm the most handsome man on the planet. Adored.

It delights me every single time and every single moment I see it. I bought the photo on Fotolia.com, and she looks a lot like Annette Bening. Maybe that's part of it. I've always loved watching her in the movies she's been in. Whatever it is, I cannot say exactly, but I know exactly how I feel when I look at it. That's all that matters to me. 

Here's a photo of a note I shared a long time ago of a note I stuck on the inside door of a kitchen cupboard for my wife to see when I went on a trip about 12-14 years ago. It is still there. I just checked. Amazing. When I went on that trip, I stuck many of them all over the house, and this one has survived, but it demonstrates how a little message of a reminder like this can have the power to move our hearts and minds and reminds us that we are loved.

When was the last time you really felt adored? That is such a delightful and yet powerful feeling. I hope you feel it often--every day even. If not, please do as I have and find something that reminds you of that feeling so that you can feel it too every time you look at the photo, note, letter, whatever. You absolutely deserve to feel it, and it is totally okay to post reminders to yourself to help you along.

Don't wait for someone else to bring you this feeling. You can feel it in your imagination, in your body and mind right now. You could post notes all over your house to remind yourself, or remind your spouse or your kids or other family members too. Love is meant to be shared, as I am sharing with you now. It is multiplied when it is shared.


Remind Yourself: You Are Adored. You Are Loved. You Are Valued And Valuable. You Matter. You Make A Difference Just By Being Alive. You Are Blessed. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by spreading the word through your feeling.

Daily Inspiration 8-27-15

"What you think of me 

is none of my business." 

-- Wayne Dyer 

So, someone is looking at me and they don't like what they see, don't approve of what I am doing, or how I live, or any other facet of me. I say you have three basic choices. Close your eyes, turn your head or change your mind.

Close your eyes. Stop looking if it bothers you. Turn your head. Go look at something else. Change your mind. Enjoy the view. Let it help you.

Well, if you're ever in a place where you think people are looking at you with criticism in their view, then these three options will apply nicely. But, I don't think that's what Wayne was saying.

I think Wayne was saying that there's nothing really that I can do about what you think or act, but it absolutely is about what I think and how I choose to act. In other words, I can only really focus on what I have control of, and that is me. What others choose to think or do is totally up to them.


And So It Is. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Rejoice in your own power.

Daily Inspiration 8-26-15

"Agreement feels good, 

yet there is something

wonderful about disagreement too. 

Of course, it depends entirely 

on your current point of view." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

A couple nights ago, I watched a movie from 2007, Starting Out in the Evening. On a 5-star scale, I rated it a 3. Of course, the co-star was delightful on the eyes, but other than this, there was one scene that is memorable to me. I think it was memorable because I could relate to it so much. I've been there many times.

The grown daughter was in love with a guy and they had broken up once and were now together again. They broke up because there was a fundamental disagreement in their future of being together. She wanted children, and he didn't want anything to do with that. They both felt strongly about that, so they went their separate ways.

The scene takes place in a line outside a movie theater. She is excited and chatting about the movie she wants to see again, and she is wanting him to feel the same way. He's not feeling it. She tries to change his mind because she so wants him to feel the same way as she does and she wants him to enjoy the movie as much as she does. Agreement feels good.

But, she can tell that he is not into it at all and is basically killing his own desires to attempt to satisfy her, and yet, it is obvious he is struggling with that. I think because they had history and that major disagreement, she softens her insistence that he join her, and suggests that he see the movie at the same theater that she knows he really wants to see. He's immediately elated. She can tell she made a great decision and will learn to be okay with it. They buy a ticket each to two different movies. End scene.

How many times in your relationships has something like this happened? Perhaps you suffered through without expressing your own desires. Perhaps you led the other into the pit of something they do not want to do just because you think it should be done together.

I was married twice. Once for 16 years and the last for 26 years. I've had hundreds of situations like this in my own experience. I guess that's how I could relate to it so much. What usually did not happen in the earlier times for me was agreeing to disagree. Because it is marriage, we think we should compromise whenever necessary. In other words, pretend to agree. In later times in the last marriage, I made my desires more clearly and with love, held on to some independent decision making and activity.

It is nice to agree but to think that any two people, married or not, could agree all the time on everything is silliness. It will never happen. Why? Because we are individuals coming together to share--but not to dominate. Compromise is okay as long as both are in agreement on the compromise, but compromise for the sake of saying we're in agreement is more silliness.

There is something special about disagreement if you can allow that thought to entertain. Consider this regarding the above movie scene. They go to their separate movies, and later they go to dinner and ask each other questions about their movie experience, such as, "What did you like about that movie?", "What was your favorite part?", "Were there things that you could relate to in the movie that mirrors or suggest things about your own life?", "Who were your favorite characters?", "Why?", "How was the acting. . . the direction. . . the scenery and costumes...?"

As we stand in disagreement, and as we have interest in the other's point of view, we can learn much more about each other and enjoy each other so much more than if we simply compromised and did the "right" thing. Often, in my own experience, the thing to do is the "healthy" thing by allowing disagreement and even finding agreement within it.


I Have Learned How To Agree To Disagree And Be Good With It. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing yourself to feel good.

Daily Inspiration 8-25-15

"My happiness depends on me, 

so you're off the hook." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

This is one of the most appropriate things to learn, accept, and live that I can think of. It only took me a lifetime to get it and live it. Here's the whole quote: "Tell everyone you know: "My happiness depends on me, so you're off the hook." And then demonstrate it. Be happy, no matter what they're doing. Practice feeling good, no matter what. And before you know it, you will not give anyone else responsibility for the way you feel--and then, you'll love them all. Because the only reason you don't love them is because you're using them as your excuse to not feel good." 

Of course, that applies to those I am around the most, like spouses, coworkers, friends, neighbors, but, it applies equally to those on the other side of the planet who perhaps have different ways of doing things, different ideas, different lifestyles. It applies to the goings-on of the world too. Politics, silly laws, outdated methods, lifestyle choices, and the entire boatload of fearful thoughts.

My happiness depends on me, so they're off the hook. I choose to be happy or not, and I allow no other, nor circumstance, nor event, nor idea to interfere with my own desire to feel good.

What a great marriage vow. What a great partnership vow. What a great classroom vow. What a great congressional vow. What a great vow for all of humanity. I am responsible for my own happiness. I do not look to you to make me happy or not. I choose. I choose to enjoy you or not. When I choose to enjoy, my happiness is enhanced. When I choose not to enjoy, I take my happiness with me and allow you to your own affairs and your own thoughts.

I feel strongly about this. I choose my own happiness. That is why I am happy most of the time. It is because I have learned that the only way to be happy most of the time is to not require any other to give me happiness. Happiness is mine to give myself, and as I am happy, I attract happy people. As I am happy, I may lift a small burden from another for a moment or two. As I am happy, others may see that their happiness, just like mine, is dependent only on our own personal choice.


I Am Responsible For The Way I Feel. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by choosing to be happy yourself.

Daily Inspiration 8-24-15

"The action of walking away 

does not hold enough power 

to compensate for the 

attraction power of your thoughts." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

Abraham, Esther Hicks in their wonderful book, The Vortex, Where the Law of Attraction Assembles All Cooperative Relationships shares some critically flawed premises that so many of us live by, such as "Flawed Premise #11: If I leave an unwanted situation, I will find what I am looking for."

I don't know about you, but how many times I have left a job, left a relationship, left a situation that wasn't working out for me in hopes of finding something way better, has happened often. Yet, more often than not, I found myself in the same sort of circumstances, situations that I left.

They explain: "Whatever you are giving your attention to is offering a Vibrational frequency, and your attention to it for an extended period of time causes that same frequency to be active within you. It is important to remember that when a Vibration is active within you, taking the physical action of walking away from it will not prevent it from being present in your experience. In clearer terms, the action of walking away does not hold enough power to compensate for the attraction power of your thoughts.

By the time you come to the point of using strong labels such as oppressive or overbearing to describe someone you are working with, you have undoubtedly been observing unwanted conditions for some time, which means that you have been practicing a pattern of thought and a pattern of resistant Vibration, and that means your point of attraction now is quite strong. So even if you take the physical steps to remove yourself from the situation by quitting your job and finding another--or by asking to be removed from the specific department of this supervisor and moving to another--wherever you go, you will be taking yourself with you." 

This is a great example of how we think our actions supersede our thought patterns. It is that 'make it happen' sort of attitude, but the key phrase to always remember is that wherever you go, you will be taking yourself with you. And, your thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs have all the real power, so until those are changed, any physical change will just be geography.

They suggest that "the better solution you are asking for is this: Try to make peace with where you are," and see the value, or the benefit of the contrast you are experiencing, which is leading you to desire a change. "If your life has caused you to ask for an improved situation--no matter what it is--and you are no longer offering chronic thought-Vibrations that are opposite of your desire, your desire must come to you. But you cannot continue to keep alive within your Vibrational patterns of what you do not want and receive what you do want. That defies the Law of Attraction." 

In other words, I must change my thoughts first by imagining the improvement, appreciating the contrast that caused the desire, making peace with where I am now and have been as I now turn my focus to where I want to be and what I now want. In this case, I won't be complaining about what is wrong, but more like being thankful for that contrast leading me to know what I really want. I will focus on what is or has been good, as I seek to improve my situation and enjoy more of what I want.


Complaining About What Was Is Like Dragging An Anchor Around Wherever You Go. That's A Lot Of Resistance. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Let go of what is not the way you want, and instead, turn and focus on what you want. There is plenty of joy in that.

Daily Inspiration 8-23-15

"The power you give others

belongs to you. 

Take it back 

 and take yourself 

where you would go." 

-- Alan Cohen 

There's a common phrase, "Don't shoot the messenger," meaning that it's not the messenger's fault if the message isn't what you would like it to be. He's not in control. Then there's another less common phrase asking which we are paying homage or attention to--the message or the messenger?

Some may be afraid to hear a message based on the messenger who brought it to them. At the same time, some would completely reject the message because it isn't coming from what they term a reputable source. Or, some will accept anything that comes from a source they feel aligned with or believe in.

Here's where we let go of our power. All of this is some sort of fear. It is often trained beliefs that come from home, religion, or elsewhere. And in all, we are giving our rightful power to them, to it, whatever it may or they may be.

We come cable-ready with our own internal guidance system. When we accept the power that we naturally have rather than delegating it to others or things outside of ourselves, there is no need to fear. We can discern anything within ourselves. We will know that it is in vibrational proximity of our inner knowing, or not. We are the ultimate discerning station, and it is perfectly accurate for us every single time that we hold on to our own power to use for ourselves.

Does the message resonate; that is, is it in harmony with our inner knowing, our source within, our inner being, or does it not resonate. You could say it either feels good to us, or it feels bad to us. There is no one on Earth who can do this for us as accurately as we can for ourselves. Make up your own mind, but don't reject the message or the messenger out of hand. When we do that, our power is given away.


Accept And Rejoice In Your Discerning Prowess. 

Spread Some Joy Today--as you find it within yourself.

Daily Inspiration 8-22-15

"Abundance is more than just money." 

-- Bashar 

Bashar has shared the best definition of abundance that I have found so far. I love it.

"Abundance: the ability to do what you need and want to do when you want to do it. Period! That is all abundance is. If it comes in a number of different ways, what do you care?--as long as you still have the ability to do what you want when you want to do it. Keep in mind that abundance is a general idea, whereas money is a tool." 

"Abundance will always express itself along the path of least resistance, just like electricity. When you broaden your definition of what you think abundance is, then you will allow all the different ways it could come to you, to come to you." 

In what ways do you already have abundance? Count the ways. Elaborate. Expand it. Enhance it. Accept it. Love it. Have joy in it. Relish it. Adore it. Praise it. Be thankful for it. Feel confident in it. Allow it fully. Be it.

As we focus on the abundance that we already have. . . As we focus on the blessings we already have. . . As we focus on the goodness that already exists in our lives. . . As we focus there, we attract more to love, more joy, more to praise, more to be thankful for, more to relish and enjoy, more to allow, and our abundance expands.


Allow More Of Your Abundance To Flow Through You. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by acknowledging the joy you already have.

Daily Inspiration 8-21-15

"Your physical reality is always the product 

of what you believe it can or will be." 

-- Bashar 

As much as I've studied some of this, it still amazes me how I'll read one more thing that expresses the same idea expressed differently enough that it gets through to me in a profound way. This is what I have found from Bashar. Here's a bit of what has been exciting my brain and my life for a few days: "Grant yourselves permission and grant yourselves the right to create life as you desire it to be, for you have the ability to create it that way. . . As you think, as you feel, and as you believe, so you experience the creation of the physical reality around you--always! No exceptions. 

You always have a self-regulating mechanism to allow you to know what beliefs may be buried in your unconscious minds. The self-regulating mechanism that allows you to know precisely how to bring those beliefs to the surface of your conscious minds--so you can change them if you don't like them and reinforce them if you do--is the experience of physical reality.

If you see that you are involved in situations you don't prefer, then simply recognize that the only way it could be in your lives is for you to have the belief allowing it into your lives. Therefore, now that a situation has shown you what the belief is you have been operating on, you are free. You have the opportunity to say, "Aha! Now I have the definition of the belief that has created this; it has been buried within me. It has now come to the surface because here it is all around me. Therefore, if I don't prefer it, I can understand what the definition was and I can thus change that definition to what I do prefer." 

Then use 100% of the trust--the same trust used to create the negative scenario--to now know that once you have changed the definition to a positive definition, reality will reflect that definitional belief just as strongly as it reflected the other definitional belief which you did not prefer. You have your own self-guidance system, your own built-in guidance system." 

I've read this kind of thing several times over the years, and it is interesting that only now does it make even more sense to me in a way that I can get hold of to take control instead of accepting in the way things are. The first step is to realize I am in charge of creating my own reality, however that happens to be. The second step is to be aware of how that is turning out and pay attention to how I feel about it. This will help me to understand that it is my beliefs that are causing this even though my beliefs may not be on the surface to see. Next, I look at the beliefs that I must have to cause this. There is always cause and effect, and we can look at the effect and that can lead us to the cause: the belief.

For example, what are my beliefs about my body, shape, and weight? If I believe that I eat this and I will gain weight, I will surely gain weight. What are my beliefs about money in this situation? If I believe I must work hard for money, this means the only way that money can come to me is through hard work. It is as we believe it to be and it is also that we are the ones who control our beliefs. They don't control us. I learned it somewhere. I can change my mind about it. I can develop a new belief about that, and I can change the results by changing the cause and watching the effects change.

Granting ourselves permission and the right. We have the right. We are creators, yet so often I think we are unwilling to accept that role. We've learned that others are in control perhaps, and other limiting ideas. That can change as we grant ourselves permission and accept our right to our own creations.


I'm Not Blaming Others. I'm Taking Responsibility And Direction Of My Own Creations. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing it to flow out of you.

Daily Inspiration 8-20-15

"Any action that is taken 

from a place of lack 

is always counterproductive, 

and it always leads to more 

of a feeling of lack." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

This morning I was thinking about the subject of money and looking at some of my life and my attitudes about money and my results in my relationship with money. I opened one of my top ten favorite books of all time, Money and the Law of Attraction by Esther & Jerry Hicks on the Teachings of Abraham. Only part of the book is about money, part is on careers and work, part is on health and well-being, and part is general knowledge. It is an absolute wealth of great and wise information and the most marked up and highlighted book I own. So, I thought I would share just a few tidbits from pages 64 and 65 that resonated with me.

"The things that you have and the things that you do are all meant to enhance your state of being. In other words, it's all about how you feel, and how you feel is all about coming into alignment with who-you-really-are. When you tend to your alignment first, then the things you gather and the actions you perform only enhance your good-feeling state of being. . . but if you do not find that vibrational balance first and attempt to make yourself feel better by bringing more things into your experience or participating in more activities in order to try to make yourself feel better, you just get further out of balance."

I grew up learning about credit and debt. Credit was good, and debt was bad. And, it took me pretty much a lifetime to realize that they are one and the same thing. Debt does not exist without credit and credit has no value without debt. Having credit allowed us to get things, but the debt often was a burden. They are neither good nor bad and are actually neutral, and the only meaning given them is the meaning we apply individually and collectively. I chose to feel good about credit and bad about debt, yet that became a cycle that was not self-serving and didn't feel good really. I thought it would feel good, but it felt terrible most of the time.

They continue, "We are not guiding you away from accumulating things or from taking action. . . but when you try to move forward from an imbalanced footing, it is always uncomfortable. If you will begin by identifying how you want to feel, or be, and let your inspiration to accumulate or to do come from that centered place, then not only will you maintain your balance, but you will now enjoy the things you gather and the things that you do."

"Most people do most of their wanting from a place of lack. They want things, in many cases, simply because they do not have them, so the having of them does not really satisfy anything deep within them because there is always something else that they do not have. And so, it becomes a never-ending struggle to try to bring one more thing (one more thing that still will not be satisfying) into their experience: Because I don't have this, I want it. And they really think that getting it will fill the void. But that defies Law."

They say that the void they are feeling cannot be filled from a place of lack because that feeling is due to a "discord between their desires and their chronic habits of thought." I know in my own case, my habits of thought were in control most of the time.

Of course, they offer the solution as well: "Offering better-feeling thought, telling a different story, looking for positive aspects, Pivoting to the subject of what you really do want, looking for positive what-ifs--that is how you fill that void. And when you do, a most interesting thing will occur in your experience. The things you have wanted will begin to flood into your experience. But these things you have been wanting will flood in not to fill your void because that void no longer exists--they flow in because your void no longer exists."

What is different for me now? I no longer worship credit, nor despise debt. I'm much more neutral about them now. They don't drive my life anymore. I am focusing on feeling good, looking for positive aspects all around me, pivoting, telling myself a better story about myself and my life, learning what I really want instead of those thousands of things that I have bought that don't mean anything to me. Now I play with getting into alignment first and have let go of making decisions based on my feeling of lack. And, it feels really good. Really good. 


Thank Goodness That It Is Never Too Late To Learn. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting go of habits that no longer serve you.

Daily Inspiration 8-19-15

"Not only the thirsty seek the water, 

the water as well seeks the thirsty." 

-- Rumi 

I absolutely love this quote and it speaks many things to me. When I read it, I think of sales. As a sales manager for a lot of years, I've hired and worked with a lot of salespeople, and I can count on one hand those who excelled at it. I think that I can accurately say how they did that, and it has everything to do with this quote.

I will start that answer with another quote from Rumi: "Let the beauty of what you love be what you do." First, those few love what they do. They don't just love what they do, they love the people they do it with, including the clients and their coworkers. I've heard many a salesperson say things like, "Oh, he's a flake," or, "they couldn't buy a car with cash," and silly things that are put-downs because they weren't the right prospect for them at the moment. That isn't loving the people, or those they work with. The few I'm referring to don't talk that way. They love people. People ARE their business.

Second, they know how life works instinctively. They love what they do, the products they sell, and they know for sure and for certain that there are buyers who are looking for them too. Those buyers want to feel good buying, and they want to feel taken care of and so this seller and this buyer are attracted to one another.

Third, there is no struggle. It isn't work. They don't have to work at it. They have learned to play with it. They are having fun and that's why it isn't work to them. It is the difference between putting your rowboat in a stream and rowing against the current trying hard to get upstream, and letting the current guide you to all the joy downstream. The difference is that stark with many.

Fourth, or maybe actually first, the Law of Attraction is bringing them more of what they are thinking about. It is bringing them more people to love, more rewards, more of who they are. That last sentence is worth repeating: It is bringing them more of who they are.

Yes, they are also knowledgeable because they love what they do and they like being good at it. They don't need closing tricks and strategies because their main asset is that they are loving. They are confident because they know what they want and love what they do, and love who they come in contact with. Their sales training is in their heart.

All of this will sound 'airy-fairy' to some, but to those few that I have known from over a hundred I have worked with, they will completely agree.


Whatever You Do, Do It With Love And From Love. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by finding that joy within you and letting some of it escape.

Daily Inspiration 8-18-15

"Once you learn how to be happy, 

you won't tolerate being around people 

who make you feel anything less." 

-- from Karen Salmansohn 

The Happy, Dammit Daily 

This statement above is interesting and in my experience, it is true as well. I would change one word in it though. I would change the word 'learn' to the word, 'decide' and remove the word how completely. So it would then look like this:

"Once you decide to be happy, you won't tolerate being around people who make you feel anything less." So now it is even more true.

However, I think something about this idea is even more significant. The Law of Attraction states that things that are like unto itself are drawn. So, when you are happy, you will be drawing like people to you rather than people unlike you. In other words, you won't be seeing unhappy people in general. They won't come around you. You won't draw them to you. They will stay around other unhappy people. The Law of Attraction insists on it.

At the same time, if a negative or unhappy person happens to get through, or is someone you need to be around as a duty, they won't have any real effect on your happiness unless you change your mind and decide to be unhappy. It's totally in your own control, and never anyone else's.

If you want to be around happy people who help you to feel happy, all you need do is decide to be happy and then be happy. As soon as you do, those unhappy people won't be in your experience anymore. They won't be affecting you. Instead, you will be finding more and more people who are happy. You might even realize that you had no idea there were so many happy people around.


Whatever You Want, Be It. 

Spread Some Joy Today--naturally.

Daily Inspiration 8-17-15

"An intention synchronistically 

organizes its own fulfillment." 

-- Deepak Chopra 

More from Deepak Chopra: "If you obsess over whether you are making the right decision, you are basically assuming that the Universe will reward you for one thing and punish you for another.

The Universe has no fixed agenda. Once you make any decision, it works around that decision. There is no right or wrong, only a series of possibilities that shift with each thought, feeling, and action that you experience.

If this sounds too mystical, refer again to the body. Every significant vital sign--body temperature, heart rate, oxygen consumption, hormone level, brain activity, and so on-- alters the moment you decide to do anything. . . decisions are signals telling your body, mind, and environment to move in a certain direction."

Speaking more about bodies, he said, "If we are creating ourselves all the time, then it is never too late to begin creating the bodies we want instead of the ones we mistakenly assume we are stuck with."

It is so easy to forget that we have been responsible for creating the body we now have. It didn't just happen. We made choices. If the way it is right now is not what we want, we only need to make a decision to change it and the Universe will help us have it be our new reality. If we get off track, we begin again from where we are now. Knowing that we created it the way it is should be sufficient evidence that we can create it differently with different thinking and different behavior.

Sometimes having success in changes is attached to old baggage, whether it is our bodies, or our work, or our home life. I like this last quote by Deepak Chopra which ties it all together: "If you focus on success, you'll have stress. But if you pursue excellence, success will be guaranteed." 

Success is one of those strange words that produce a lot of definitions, but excellence is so much easier. If we forget about success, which is often a slippery thing, and instead focus on something each of us has the power to do, such as doing whatever we are doing with an attitude of doing it to the best of our ability, we cannot miss.


There's Nothing Like A Decision To Kick Things Into Gear. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Deepak Chopra says that "The healthiest response to life is joy."

Daily Inspiration 8-16-15

"Have expectancy--not expectations." 

-- Bashar

Wow. This quote is so powerful to me. Here's the full quote: "Have expectancy--not expectations. Expectancy is the emotional knowingness that, a) you have changed, and therefore, b) your physical reality will follow suit. Expectations is placing upon the change that your physical reality will go through the method that your ego thinks should be the way it should change, to represent the change you have made within yourself."

This caused me to think about the difference between intentions and goals. They say that goals are dreams with a deadline and that intentions are impotent goals. I see intentions as having an expectancy, and so often goals are more like expectations. So, the difference in intentions and goals is similar.

I'm not putting down goals. There's a place for goals, but in my travels in business and sales for so long, the whole idea of goals is very convoluted causing them to be ineffective.

Another way to look at expectancy and intentions is like was described in yesterday's post about letting go in order to open ourselves up to infinite possibilities. In other words, expectations and goals are likened to the knowledge we already have or have immediate access to; whereas, expectancy and intentions is likened to allowing. Whether we look at that as help from the outside or from the inside is not important, but let's just say, by allowing, we are laying the door open and we are eager to see what the Universe will provide.

I think that the more we can open ourselves to the higher power that we possess though we may not be aware of, the easier things are, the smoother they come to us and the better our lives get. It's like the difference between making and allowing, or better yet, taking charge, and allowing. The more we struggle, the more struggle is there. The more we allow, the more ease we experience. Sometimes people think that things are hard when they could just as well be easy.


I Am Eagerly Anticipating As I Allow It To Unfold. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing your joy to flow through you.

Daily Inspiration 8-15-15

"If I can accept that 

my understanding is incomplete, 

and if I'm able to be 

comfortable with uncertainty, 

this opens me up to 

the realm of infinite possibilities." 

-- Anita Moorjani 

Anita continues from her awesome book, Dying To Be Me: "I'm at my strongest when I'm able to let go when I suspend my beliefs as well as dis-beliefs and leave myself open to all possibilities. That also seems to be when I'm able to experience the most internal clarity and synchronicities. My sense is that the very act of needing certainty is a hindrance to experiencing greater levels of awareness. In contrast, the process of letting go and releasing all attachment to any belief or outcome is cathartic and healing. The dichotomy is that for true healing to occur, I must let go of the need to be healed and just enjoy and trust in the ride that is life."

It is amazing to me the power in letting go, releasing, or an even better way to express it is to allow. I read a quote by Bashar the other day that has stuck with me: "Everything is Neutral. You supply the meaning you've been taught to supply it with. . . So if you find you are anxious, you are supplying a meaning that is by definition generating anxiety. If you don't prefer that, supply a definition to what is happening that will allow you to extract only beneficial experiences from it no matter what anyone else may be experiencing in the very same event."

I love the idea that everything is neutral and that we are choosing to give everything meaning. It's so creative. It's a power that we may not recognize. It is also a perfect way to let go, or allow. To change direction, or to change what is in our lives, we can choose to supply a different definition, to refocus, to see things differently. Letting go entirely may very well be a great step toward that which we really want. 

The other idea here of becoming comfortable with uncertainty is fascinating. We seem to crave the opposite, and yet that very act closes us off to all but that which we know as possibilities. But as Anita so powerfully said, "If I can accept that my understanding is incomplete. . ." Oh my, that is seemingly difficult by admitting that we are clueless sometimes. "And, if I'm able to be comfortable with uncertainty. . ." Say what? Who in their right mind is ever comfortable with uncertainty? That's crazy! But, "This opens me up to the realm of infinite possibilities."

Now that's a place worth getting to I think. . . If I can and If I am able. It might even be easier to think of it this way: If I can let go of the rope, I will be in a position of allowing, but I can only achieve this by letting go of the rope, letting go of my judgments, beliefs, and allowing an open mind to all that is currently and seemingly beyond me now.


As I Allow, I Am Empowered, Loved And Supported. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by choosing your joy. No one else can do it for you.

Daily Inspiration 8-14-15

"Doubt is a 100% trust

in a belief that you don't prefer. 

You are never really actually in doubt, 

you are always completely trusting in something. 

The question is what do you trust in?" 

-- Bashar 

It's interesting that I have always thought of trust and doubt as polar opposites, that I was either trusting or I was doubting, and if I was doubting, then I wasn't trusting. Perhaps I wanted very much to trust, but I had lingering doubts, so trust was a slippery thing to try to hold on to.

Mira Kelley, in her book, Beyond Past Lives, awakened in me a way to see this more clearly and expanded my awareness of something I have dealt with poorly most of my life. She begins, "We do not need to learn to trust; we need to learn not to doubt." As Bashar says, doubt is trusting 100% in a belief that is not in alignment with our true self. For example, if you are out of work and doubt that you'll ever find a well-paying job, you're putting all your trust into the belief in scarcity--the belief that you're not enough.

Learning about this perspective on trust gave me a sense of relief. I did not need to learn to trust. There was no hurdle to overcome. I already knew how to trust; in fact, I was trusting in every moment. What I needed to understand was why I would trust in thoughts of scarcity--specifically, the belief that I would not be financially supported for work that fully reflected my passion. And the answer was clear: The evil I knew was less scary than the evil I imagined."

She mentions her previous career and how demanding it was and how many hours she worked and that it became the evil that she knew. She knew how to deal with it--even comfortably, but the thought of the new venture was far more frightening and it was the evil that she imagined. "Once I saw this, the question became, how would I allow myself to trust what I want to trust? I realized it was simply a matter of refocusing."

"We hypnotize ourselves into believing certain things. We pick out a point of view--or a point of view is supplied to us--and we take it for granted without questioning it. Meantime, we exclude all opposing points of view. This is so automatic that we don't stop and ponder the different steps. I decided that I already knew how to hypnotize myself to believe in one assumption to the exclusion of all other possibilities. It worked so perfectly that I simply had to go through the same steps consciously, but this time instead focus my concentration on the things I preferred to believe in. The difference was subtle--I was simply aware and awake. But the results were profound.

I now wanted to change the definition of who I was. I trusted that in its unconditional love and adoration of me, All That Is would support that creation, too. That is what unconditional love is--love and help without any restrictions or conditions. I chose to redefine what abundance meant for me. I chose to see that I am abundant not only in money but also in opportunities, friends, possibilities, and open hearts and minds.

I chose to trust the expansion of my being. I chose to trust the direction in which I was growing. I chose to trust that I would be supported for who I am. I chose to trust that I am loved for who I am. I chose to trust that the Universe was supporting me with its infinite abundance in every thought, in every idea, in every desire, and in every plan that I had. I decided to trust that this support was and is always appropriate and always right. I created a little mantra for myself: I trust myself. I trust my life. I trust All That Is."


Our Choosing And Our Choices Are Far More Important And Powerful Than We May Realize. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by just being you. You are joy. You are love. You are appreciation. So all you need to be is yourself.

Daily Inspiration 8-13-15

"Accepting personal responsibility 

is completely foreign to the ego." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

Does what we think and say to ourselves and to others matter? Do we have no control over our own lives physically and emotionally? According to the ego, that answer would be no. To the ego, we are always a potential victim of the indiscriminate actions of other people and uncontrollable circumstances. When life is good, the ego wants all the credit, and when life is going downhill, the ego has a long list of external things and people to blame. So, accepting personal responsibility would be completely foreign to the ego. The ego could not even consider such a concept, let alone a reality. 

Here's the good news. The ego has its place. It is a minor place. It has usefulness at certain times, but by and large, it is mostly talk. And, more important than this is that the real person that we are is far larger and far smarter than the ego ever could be. It's just that we as the smarter, larger entity need to take personal responsibility in owning up to our power and to keeping that ego in its rightful place. 

We keep the ego in its place by paying attention to what we are saying silently and aloud, and the best way to do that is by simply paying attention to how we feel. If it doesn't feel good, it isn't good for us. As we hold on to negative thoughts, self-talk, images, past hurts, we create within our natural well-being a discord or dis-ease. To the degree that we hold those thoughts and feelings, the dis-ease grows.

I have always remembered and loved a quote from Wayne Dyer from his earliest book. He said, "Anxiety doesn't attack." Of course, it is the ego who is thinking of having an anxiety attack, and it is totally open to that because it comes from the outside, but Wayne knew differently.

Let me share some very wise and important information from Abraham, Esther Hicks on this subject: 

"The first indication that you are disallowing your physical well-being comes to you in the form of negative emotion. You will not see a breakdown of your physical body at the first sign of negative emotion, but focusing upon subjects that cause a prolonged feeling of negative emotion will eventually cause dis-ease.

If you are unaware that negative emotion indicates the vibrational disharmony that is hindering the level of Well-Being that you are asking for, you may be, like most people, accepting a certain level of negative emotion and feeling no need to do something about it. Most people, even when they feel alarm at the level of negative emotion or stress they are feeling, do not know what to do about it because they believe they are reacting to conditions or circumstances that are outside of their control. And so, since they cannot control those unpleasant conditions, they feel powerless to change the way they feel.

We want you to understand that your emotions come in response to your focus, and under all conditions, you have the power to find thoughts that feel slightly better or slightly worse--and when you consistently choose slightly better, the Law of Attraction will bring steady improvement to your experience. The key to achieving and maintaining a physical state of well-being is to notice the indicators of discord in the early stages. It is much easier to refocus your thoughts in the early, subtle stages than after the Law of Attraction has responded to chronic negative thoughts, bringing bigger negative results. 

If you could make a decision to never allow negative emotion to linger within you--and at the same time acknowledge that it is your work alone to refocus your attention in order to feel better rather than asking someone else to do something different or for some circumstance to change to make you feel better--you will not only be a very healthy person, but you will be a joyful person. Joy, appreciation, love, and health are all synonymous. Resentment, jealousy, depression, anger, and sickness are all synonymous." 


How Are You Feeling? What Stories Are Going On Inside Of You? 

Spread Some Joy Today--by just mentally letting go of all of your cares and issues. Just let them drift away like putting them in a boat in a fast-moving stream, pushing it into the stream and watching it float quickly away downriver.

Daily Inspiration 8-12-15

"True forgiveness is when you can say:

Thank you for that experience." 

-- Oprah Winfrey 

When we carry negative feelings about an event, and especially when it involves another person or persons, it can and often does fester and become more profound in our minds, as well as negatively affecting our bodies. The act of forgiveness, or letting go of the rope as I like to say it, brings us relief, and to the degree that we let go, that relief can change our lives in a very positive way. But, we may become willing to forgive others and then have it not be complete because we fail to forgive ourselves.

I'm reading Mira Kelley's new book, Beyond Past Lives. I absolutely love it and I am finding some real gems of wisdom and expansion. One subject she addresses is to forgive yourself and others. I'll quote a few paragraphs that are in the book:

"We all know that it's important to forgive those who have wronged us. For most of us, it's a challenge to forgive, but once we do we feel lighter and freer. It gives us peace of mind and the ability to move on in our lives, rather than remain a victim of people and circumstances.

The first reason forgiveness is a challenge for people is because we assume it needs to be difficult. This is a cultural belief: "Everyone knows it is hard to forgive, so why would it be different for me?" We elect to hold on to our hurt egos--to the sad stories we tell--because that's what everyone else is doing and we think it's the right thing to do. It does not benefit us in any way, but we continue to do it. The solution is simple: Tell yourself it's easy to forgive. It's a good belief to have, so choose to hold it as your truth. You originate from a place of Oneness, a place where you have no reason to hold yourself separate from anyone else. It's already in your essence to forgive because there is no need to punish any part of yourself.

The second reason we find it hard to forgive is that we only focus on the first step of the process--forgiving the other. We were never told how important it is to also forgive ourselves. Forgiveness is a two-sided coin. No forgiveness is complete when we only focus on forgiving others. 

Forgive not because the other person deserves to be forgiven but because you deserve to be at peace. Forgive because you love yourself more than the need to be 'right.'"

In every situation, interaction with others, and my interpretation of events, I get to choose love or fear. Which of those perspectives I view these from determines how I will feel. Forgiveness will always and only come from a perspective of love--the love of ourselves and our love for all others, and from that perspective, we become thankful for the experience because it brought us back to love--that which we truly all are.


I Forgive Myself. I Forgive you. I Release You. I Let You Go. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by making some letting go choices.

Daily Inspiration 8-11-15

"Being compassionate 

means being able to see 

beauty, greatness, and potential 

where everyone else sees 

lack and limitations." 

-- Mira Kelley 

A week or so ago, I gave what I thought was a better definition of compassion. Then, I began reading a new book by Mira Kelley and she offered something that jumped off the page at me.

Here's a better part of her quote on compassion: "We need not look to save anyone, or to feel responsible. Nor do we need to feel guilty that we're better attuned to abundance and support. Instead, we can find the possibility of being truly compassionate. Being compassionate means being able to see beauty, greatness, and potential where everyone else sees lack and limitations. We can see behind the masks of failure, sickness, and not-enough-ness to the true strength underneath." 


What A Perfect Vision Of Compassion. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by demonstrating your compassion for others.

Daily Inspiration 8-10-15

"Don't grieve. 

Anything you lose 

comes around in another form." 

-- Rumi

Time flies. I'm not really counting, but today marks the second anniversary of my wife Nancy's passing, so I felt like marking it. It is not from the point of view of loss. She is part of me and most likely always will be. From the first day, I've chosen to celebrate her life, and our life together, rather than lament any kind of loss. I do miss her, but I know she isn't far from me even now.

So, I thought I would share three photos I've chosen. The first shot above is one of my favorite shots of Nancy. It was taken sometime around 1989 at a Toyota dealership that she worked for in Vacaville for a short time as a fleet manager. What I like about this shot is that she is gorgeous and showing that smile that captured me the night we met, and it shows her as a sales manager at a car dealership because that was what she did when we met, except that she worked in southern CA in Van Nuys at a Chevrolet dealer, which is how we came together because she won a Chevrolet trip to Hawaii and so did I from a northern CA dealership. We did the same kind of work, so it was easy enough to talk shop with her.

The next two photos are the first photo together and the last. In between went 26 years of time. The first photo was taken at the Honolulu airport on May 1, 1987. We had only just met less than 15 hours before this photo. Nancy took her daughter, Alisa on the trip and I took one of my salesmen and friend Dallan. We were waiting for Dallan's sister to arrive from the big island coming to visit with us for a few days since we were conveniently located in Hawaii for a week. I'm sure Dallan took the photo.

We were on the north shore of Oahu at the Turtle Bay Hilton and we met in the evening of the first day at a dinner reception. The next day we were taking our rental car and going to visit Honolulu and see the sights as well as pick up Dallan's sister. In the lobby on the way to the car, we saw Nancy and Alisa about to get on a bus for a tour of Honolulu and suggested they might enjoy riding with us in a convertible. After some convincing by Alisa, they came along. Nancy and I, and often with Alisa too spent the rest of the time of the trip together. We decided to get married the next week.

The last photo taken together was on July 20, 2013 only 21 days before she passed. It was the wedding of Nancy's nephew, Stewart. She looked forward to this event for several months. The photo was taken at the reception and is also a beautiful photo of Nancy's granddaughter, Joslyn standing over us. Nancy was uncomfortable in the crowded room and her wheelchair was cumbersome, so she wanted to leave shortly after this photo was taken, but she got to see the whole wedding and the first part of the reception.

I have several hundred photos in between these first and last photos. I still have about 60 of them on display in my office, so I see Nancy every day. I find more love all the time because love grows when you allow it to prosper. It's not about living in the past, although all of the photos are from another time. Right now they are simply a reminder of how blessed I was to have shared a substantial bit of time with Nancy and her family. In my travels, I have learned and practiced unconditional love, and Nancy encouraged my expertise at that many times. I am thankful for all of it, for that time and this. 

And now, today, I am learning to celebrate myself. At another time, I might have thought this to be egotistic or selfish, but I have found that it is exactly what I need and I also know that it is a universal need and desire. As we celebrate others, and find even more joy in our time and experience with them, it is equally, if not even more important to celebrate ourselves. When we love ourselves unconditionally, loving others takes on a whole new dimension. This I am learning and I have Nancy to thank for a good deal of that.


Celebrate Someone You Love Today. Don't Forget Yourself. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting go of your need to be right.

Daily Inspiration 8-9-15

"Developing rapport is a one-sided affair 

where listening and asking questions 

demonstrates the leader." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

There is a habit that probably the majority of us have developed wherein when we are trying to develop a rapport with someone, we hear something similar to what we've done in our lives, or having had a similar experience, and then we share it as soon as we can. Having things in common are the places that we tend to focus, and then sharing stories back and forth becomes the desired conversation and friendly outcome.

I have known better for some years now, but the old habit is easily brought back to life, as I was recently reminded of last week with a potential client. The only saving grace for me now is that I have learned to pay attention to the other person--especially when I am talking. If I detect that they are not listening, and this is pretty obvious most of the time, then I often will stop talking, sometimes even mid-sentence, letting go of my attempted control of the conversation. More often than not, they don't even realize that I didn't finish, which is the confirmation that they were not really listening. 

Sometimes the habit is strong enough that I may inject two or three anecdotes, but it is rare that I get that far. What I've found that works best is to listen closely to them, participate by agreeing, nodding, or speaking really short quips of encouragement or confirmation. Then, I find an interesting question to ask from what I've learned, and ask it. This keeps them talking more, and rapport comes much faster, and more smoothly.

Larry King says it nicely: "The first rule of my speaking is: listen! I never learned anything while I was talking." He adds the secret to gaining more rapport: "You gotta ask 'why' questions. 'Why did you do this?' A 'why' question you can't answer with one word." 

Try it yourself. Pay attention to a conversation you are having going back and forth with stories or comments. Does it seem like they are listening or are they thinking about what they're going to say next? One way to tell is to stop in the middle of your story. If they ask you to continue, great. If they didn't notice, it's time to really listen to what they are saying, and start asking good questions.


"I Never Use The Word 'I' When I Interview Someone. I Think It's Irrelevant." -- Larry King 

Spread Some Joy Today--Go have some fun.

Daily Inspiration 8-8-15

"The world 'out there' won't change 

until the world 'in here' does." 

-- Deepak Chopra 

This quote I have found to be so true and simple. As singer-songwriter John Mayer expressed so well in one of his very popular songs, "We keep waitin' on the world to change." As we do, we will be waiting pretty much forever. The way to change the world is to change the way we see it.

Here's another Deepak Chopra quote that fits here from his book, The Way of the Wizard: Twenty Spiritual Lessons for Creating the Life You Want: ""If you could really see that tree over there," Merlin said, "you would be so astounded that you'd fall over." "Really? But why?" asked Arthur. "It's just a tree." "No," Merlin said, "It's just a tree in your mind. To another mind it is an expression of infinite spirit and beauty. In God's mind it is a dear child, sweeter than anything you can imagine."" 

Wayne Dyer makes it matter-of-fact: "If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." 

Others say, "That's a bunch of crap! This is reality. This is real. You're living in a fantasy world." But, according to Quantum Mechanics and Theory, every bit of energy is changed by our thoughts of it. Simply by observing it even. But, from a semi-practical point of view, I like it best how Abraham, Esther Hicks says it: "Never face reality unless your reality is just the way you want it to be." 

"Wait, Terry, are you suggesting that we be delusional?" Well. . . yes, of course. Although I might not use that particular word, I love to be delusional when I see reality that is not to my liking. I love to look at the newspaper and see other people's reality. It is certainly full of drama. Better yet, I love to not look at the newspaper, or the news, or any of that. But, whether I look or not is not the issue. It is what I see that counts. It is how I feel that counts. Do I get upset and worried? Heck no. That's other people's reality.

What is absolutely unique in each and every one of us ever to grace this diverse planet is that we all see through our own eyes, hear through our own ears, feel through our own touch and sense through our own non-physical knowing. There are no two that are alike. So, each of us has our own view of the world around us, and within us. Each of us has our own reality. We choose what we see when we see that tree. We choose what we feel when we read that report. We choose everything as an individual.

Because of this that I have come to know for sure, I celebrate your delusions. I celebrate your choices. I celebrate your own individual view. I celebrate your life and your ability to shape it as you desire. I celebrate you. You are in control whether you think you are or not. It is all about your own power to create. And create, you do.


And, I Celebrate Myself Too. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by expanding your awareness to all the good that surrounds you today. Don't forget to pay attention.

Daily Inspiration 8-7-15

"A desire to appreciate 

is a very good first step." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

This image is funny. I've never had anyone ever say such a thing, and it is laughable that anyone might say it. Maybe there's some who really, really like being negative?

Yesterday, I walked into the bank to make a deposit just before 5 pm. I walked in and the bank was empty except for two tellers and I announced, "Happy Thursday!" The girl that helped me said, "You always have such positivity. I find that hard to do. How do you do it?" I said with a smile, "It's an acquired taste." My transaction was done, so I said goodbye, then halfway to the door, I stopped, turned around and asked her, "would you really like to know how to do it?" She said, "Yes."

I went back to her window and I said, "It's really simple and really easy. It's not about being positive. Just find something to appreciate. You know how I might compliment one of you about your nail polish color or something else about you? I am appreciating that. Or, you can look out the windows and see the blue sky, or a bit of it, and appreciate that. You simply find things to appreciate, and then you will find more and more and more things to appreciate until your day is so full of appreciation that there isn't any space left for any negativity."

During the last couple of weeks on my perpetual calendar, Ask and It is Given, the message is about appreciation and the value of it in our lives. I began with a brief one line quote above from the August 4th message. Here's the whole message: "A desire to appreciate is a very good first step; and then as you find more things that you would like to feel appreciation for, it quickly gains momentum. And as you want to feel appreciation, you attract something to appreciate. And as you appreciate it, then you attract something else to appreciate, until, in time, you are experiencing a Rampage of Appreciation." 

Here's another from July 29th: "The more you find something to appreciate, the better it feels; the better it feels, the more you want to do it; the more you do it, the better it feels; the better it feels. . . the more you want to do it. The Law of Attraction assists with the powerful momentum of these positive thoughts and feelings until--with very little time and effort--you will find your heart singing in your joyous alignment with who-you-really-are." 

It is as easy as I have said. Just find one thing. Then one more. Then one more, and pretty soon you'll be looking for things to appreciate on purpose. And, because it feels really good, you will want to keep doing it. Then, within a relatively short period of time, people will ask you how it is that you are so positive all the time.


Then You Can Pay It Forward. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by discovering the ROI of appreciation.