Daily Inspiration 5-31-16

"I merely took the energy 

it takes to pout 

and wrote some blues." 

-- Duke Ellington 

One of the things that most of us don't think about and don't realize is that we can't be standing with our arms up in the air and be depressed. It just doesn't work.

I've learned so much from Anthony Robbins, or I think he goes by Tony Robbins now. The most important thing to me that I learned from him, I've shared several times and it has to do with the choices we make in vocabulary. When someone asks, "how are you?" It is oh so common to say something lame like, "fine. Thanks. How about you? But, it is a whole other adventure to say, "I'm off the chart today!" Or, "I'm supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!" Or, "What's rockin' your world today?" These are all far better choices and instantly wakes people out of their boredom and sleeping while standing on the job.

The second most important thing I learned relates to the subject today. It is that mood or emotion creates our state, or helps create it. We all know that. That's easy to figure out. But, what is so cool about what I learned is that state can create emotion! I used to teach this in some of my training classes.

Just as a different choice of words makes all the difference in an interaction with another human being, a change in state does it too.

Quite often, when I've been asked to speak somewhere when it's my turn, I ask everyone to stand and stretch. It changes their state. Part of it is getting the blood flowing better, moving some muscles, but most of it is because that little act prepares the brain to receive better.

So let's look at this a bit. In order to be depressed, downtrodden, bummed out, feel powerless, feel grief and despair, you need to be in a certain state physically. It's typical for the head to hang low, the shoulders to be inward, more often sitting, and so on. Feeling sorry for ourselves requires the participation of our body. Then we can really get into those low feelings.

But, if you were feeling any of those kinds of emotions, it is much harder to try to convince you to let go of those thoughts. You might even take exception to my brashness and uncaring attempts. However, if I can get you to stand and lift your arms and look to the sky and go up and down on your toes, your thinking is instantly changed. Why? Because our state creates a feeling, and our feeling creates a state. In other words, they are co-creators.

So, all Duke Ellington needed was to find the energy in pouting, which he probably has had experience with just like all of us, and there in that state, a different flow comes in his thinking. More feelings like that are attracted. Often creative people do this. I've done it and so I think I understand it pretty well. Of course the same is true for the positive emotions, and that they are co-creators with energetic physical positions and movement. This is one reason why exercise is so beneficial to us, including Yoga and Pilates, etc.

Next time you're feeling down about something, whatever it may be, try changing your physical state and watch what happens to your feeling.


You Could Call It The State Of The Union. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by expressing your joy physically as well as mentally. Can't help but do it, right?

Daily Inspiration 5-30-16

"You have underestimated 

what you deserve." 

-- Alan Cohen 

It's a case of artificial limitation. We made it up. We made it up when we desired it, and we made it up when we told ourselves that we don't deserve it, that we are unworthy of it.

I love this bit from Abraham, Esther Hicks: "You have heard of buyer's remorse? I really could be more accurately called desirer's remorse."

"Desirer's remorse is having a desire but not maintaining the vibrational frequency of it. You are letting the reality that you are observing control your vibrational atmosphere, and therefore you are not staying up to speed with your own desire. Your desire isn't wrong. You didn't make a mistake. You just didn't stay up to speed with your desire."

I have had this happen many, many times. I have a desire, then within a few minutes, I begin to talk myself out of it, making lists of why this won't work, why I don't deserve it, how I can't even imagine it very clearly because, because, because.

Another supporting bit comes from Mike Dooley, aka The Universe, where he writes, "It's so tempting to look at your present life situation, at whom you're with, at where you work, at what you have and have not, and think to yourself, "This was obviously meant to be. . . I'm here for a reason." And to a degree, you'd be right. But you are where you are because of the thoughts you used to (and may still) think, and so you are where you are to learn that this is how life works--NOT because it was meant to be."

He continues with the most important part: "Don't give away your power to vague or mysterious logic. Tomorrow is a blank slate in terms of people, work, and play, because it, too, will be of your making. You will again have that sense that it was meant to be, no matter who or what you've drawn into your life. Nothing is meant to be, except for your freedom to choose and your power to create."

I love that line, "Don't give your power to vague or mysterious logic. Tomorrow is a blank slate. . ." We often use vague or mysterious logic on ourselves. We need not be the least concerned about what others think of our choices, because our own ego has plenty of vague and mysterious logic to chill us to the bone.

In all cases like this, it is our own artificial limitations. There are no real limitations, only those that we imagine in our head. There are thousands of examples of people who have not only overcome, but have gone far beyond limitations.


You Could Be The Next One To Share Your Story. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by taking a deep breath. . . maybe two or three. Think about something that feels good when you think it. There it is. It's your joy peaking out within.

Daily Inspiration 5-29-16

"The Glory of God is 

a human being fully alive." 

-- Saint Irenaeus 

I was thinking about platitudes, and then along comes this quote above. Seems to fit perfectly in my mind as a platitude. I mean, what is that all about? What did Saint Irenaeus really mean by saying, "fully alive." I'm assuming that he meant something more than having a pulse and breathing in and out. But, what exactly? What does it mean to be fully alive?

Maybe it means something as simple as enjoying our life. Would a Christian early church leader who died in 202 A.D. say that? Hmmm. I think not. Would it mean to be more giving? Giving more? More loving? Loving more? More devout? More enthusiastic?

Maybe it is knowing our priorities and following through. Or maybe it was to be more physically fit, strong, and/or healthy. Perhaps it means to be more active in the community--a valued participant in affairs outside our own little world. It could be that fully alive means to love God more, or even recognize there is a God.

Who knows? It's one of those phrases that sounds like it is saying so much, and being so profound, and yet, nobody knows what it means. People may even go around repeating it, and others might think that they know what it means, afraid to admit that they don't get it. How many times have we done that in our lives? I know I certainly have.

So, what it comes down to is that, in my opinion, the phrase to be fully alive doesn't mean anything, unless you give it some kind of meaning yourself.


Go For It. Make Your Own Definition Of What Being Fully Alive Means. That Will Be What It Means. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by feeling fully alive? Maybe. Maybe that's where joy lives.

Daily Inspiration 5-28-16

"Finding requires only seeking, 

even if you find something 

other than you're looking for." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

Yesterday, I was reminded of how finding happens. It happens when there is seeking going on. It could have been, and quite often has been there all along, but until the seeking, finding is pointless. I was amazed and delighted by this reminder.

A couple of months ago, I finished the biography of the Wright Brothers by David McCullough. Though I knew a little bit about them, this book brought me into their life and times for a much better view of that part of history. The finding of the airplane they built and popularized was always there, just waiting for the seekers. In fact, they had the science of it down very well early on. It was the building and testing that was so time and resource consuming.

As well, all those who followed, modified their design, created new designs, and took aviation to where it is today, were seeking before they found what they were looking for. And, what is really interesting as the quote above eludes to, is that what we find may not be exactly what we thought we were searching for. It may be so much more. Perhaps it opened the door to a whole new way to see the thing that before could not even be imagined.

We just had a revelation like this in our Internet business. Every time we think of leaving the vendor we began with, we find they have offered more that we even knew about. We could have found these solutions some time ago, but we weren't searching, yet they were there all along. We have been reminded many times that the initial choice of using this company was and is the best choice overall. There are pluses and minuses with every vendor, but in this case, we are reminded that the pluses once again outweigh the minuses.

I have come to the conclusion having seen this sort of thing so many times, that we really need not be stressed or impatient about finding. Finding is not the problem we think it is. It is the seeking, and before it, the desire for a solution that is the key. Without the desire and seeking, there is no need of finding, nor would finding be of any value.


Seek And Ye Shall Find. Still True. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by seeking your own joy and then you may find the desire to share it.

Daily Inspiration 5-27-16

"You are defined 

by who you love, 

not who loves you." 

-- Gratefulness.org 

Another way to say this is, we are defined by what we give, not what we get. I like how Alan Cohen puts it: "The more you align with your values, the more people and things you value will align around you."

Perhaps another way to say it is that when we are giving, when we are loving, when we are allowing, we need not be the least concerned about what comes back to us in quantity or quality. And, I am sure that whatever quantity and quality it is will be more than enough.

Can someone be loved but not loving? Certainly. They could stay in that unloving state for their entire lives if they wanted to, but that doesn't change the fact that they can be loved.

And that's where it is. It is in our loving of the other, regardless of anything, that says who we really are. I suppose you'd have to say that the opposite is true too; however, I would have to add that this is the way they are choosing to be, but not the way they really are. When we get down to who we really are, there is nothing but love.


Love Is Always The Perfect Choice

Spread Some Joy Today--by choosing to let the real you out for a while.

Daily Inspiration 5-26-16

"In ordinary life 

we hardly realize 

that we receive a great deal more 

than we give, 

and that it is only with gratitude 

that life becomes rich." 

-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

I awoke this morning somewhere around 5:30 am. The clock couldn't tell me what the time was because it was dark. I got up. It very quickly became clear that the power was off. The sun was just coming up and it was light outside, so I wandered around, then to my office area.

It's always kind of exciting when something like this happens because it is a dramatic change from the norm. So, first thing, I decided to meditate for a bit. Then I thought about a cup of coffee, but that takes power, as does my normal breakfast. I thought about what I might do in the meantime. I'm sure the power will be on soon enough.

I got my iPhone and went to the PG&E website (our electrical and gas company), and saw that there was an outage in about a 2-mile circle around my house. They said it began and 5:14 am and had an unknown cause, that they were in transit to the site of the outage and estimated that it would be fixed by 9 am. Hmmm, I thought. . . four hours without power, how fun!

I pulled out my Kindle Fire to download a book I purchased yesterday, but it requires a Wi-Fi connection, as does my iPad when I tried to check the weather. I laughed. So I pulled out some papers of a project I'm currently working on. With windows and blinds open, there is plenty of light, so I turned the page to begin, and the power came on. It was 6:37 am. I thought, dang! Those PG&E people are quick! Back to my normal world of power and powered devices.

I thought how many people would be so upset by this, calling to complain, bashing PG&E for being too slow, not anticipating the outage, and a long list of blame. I thought how even when it came back on so quickly, they might find fault in how long it took, how they were inconvenienced. Complain, complain, complain.

Have you ever met anyone like that? Do you know someone like that? All they seem to do is to find fault, and it is 100% always outside of themselves. It's always someone or some company or some other entity that is doing it to them. The smallest inconvenience is painful to them. They are lost outside of their norm.

Here I am celebrating this new opportunity, being amazed at how dependent I've become on electricity and powered devices, Internet connectivity, and more. I thought how unprepared I am to live this way without power, and yet there isn't much point of preparing for it because it is such a rare occurrence. I do have a Coleman camp stove that I haven't touched since I bought it twenty years ago or so. But those dang PG&E people are just too darn quick. I didn't even get a chance to begin to adapt to my new environment.

The lesson for me in this trivial incident follows the quote above by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in that I hardly realize that I receive a great deal more than I give. I give PG&E a little bit of money each month, and I get 30 days of power and gas. I get hot water as much as I want. I get to use my electric stove, my microwave oven, my regular oven, my Keurig coffee maker, and what would I do without my refrigerator? I get to type this into my computer, connected to the Internet (by a different provider, but still requires electricity), touching the entire world in some tiny way. I get to watch movies which I love to do. I get to have light when it is dark outside. I get to wash and dry my clothes, and so much more.

I get so much more than I give. I praise PG&E and the grid and their business in bringing me these powerful tools for a better life. I praise all of the manufacturers and providers of the things I use and the required services to use them. I pay such a dinky amount of money for these massively valuable services.


This Morning Was Another Unexpected Opportunity To See All The Value I Receive For Such A Paltry Remittance. How Blessed I Am In This Uneven Exchange. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by finding your gratitude renewed.

Daily Inspiration 5-25-16

"The roots of all goodness 

lie in the soil of appreciation 

for goodness." 

-- Dalai Lama 

In other words, appreciation feeds the roots and grows the plant or tree of our good. In better words, whatever you want more of, find a way to appreciate that wherever you see it, and if you don't see it, imagine it.

Sometimes this seems abnormal. For example, the way to find a better job, or one you like instead of one you don't like, is to find appreciation for the job you have. To many, that makes no sense. What makes more sense to them is that they should hate their job more in order to motivate them to make the change. Force the change might be a better way to phrase that.

But, the reality is that this only makes us more miserable, and we end up attracting more of that feeling from other aspects of our life. This isn't working, that isn't working, this sucks, that sucks, leading to a life sucks attitude, or an unworthiness attitude. I don't deserve things to work in my favor because these things are happening to me. This is just the way things work out for me (powerlessness), and more.

Now, here's the cool part. Just look at the last few paragraphs. How does the first one feel compared to the next two paragraphs? When things are not working out and we're feeling down and maybe even sprinkled with some unworthiness and a dash of powerlessness, generously lathered with some fear and blame, are we feeling appreciation for those things? Are we happy they are here? Hell no. We're pissed off and rehearsing the gathering storm of our unhappiness. 

Then maybe in some out-of-out-true-minds-way, we really are appreciating our unhappiness. In other words, we are feeling justified in it, getting comfortable with it, finding other things in our life and in the world that supports it, like being right and everything and everyone else is wrong, justifying our blame of the other or circumstances, and long list of supporting information.

Maybe you've met or known some people who seem to appreciate their unhappiness by continually attracting more of it in many different ways. It's a whole bunch of feeling sorry for themselves, with the world against them--me against the world and all that fantasy turned reality.

Continuing with the cool part, is to open our eyes and our mind to what is going on. What are the fruits on this tree? How does it feel? How do I want to feel? What am I appreciating? What am I accepting? Who am I blaming? In what ways am I justifying my position? My emotions? Is this what I really want? Or, would I rather have goodness? Would I rather feel great? Would I rather have everything working for me than against me? It's all about what we are appreciating or focusing on. Appreciation is simply focus. Value is focus. Worthiness is focus. So are their opposites.


What Are You Appreciating? 

Spread Some Joy Today--by being in your joy. Joy is a state of being. Be there.

Daily Inspiration 5-24-16

"To grow 

or not to grow. 

What a great question." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

Until two months ago, I have never had someone mow my lawn, edge, trim bushes, pull weeds, and other yard maintenance. I've always done it, but now it is much harder for me to do, and I've never really enjoyed doing it anyway. So, I hired a guy that was doing some work next door to do all of that for me.

He is from Mexico and I instantly loved him. He has such joy about him. He smiles a lot, seems appreciative, almost like he's having fun doing what he does. His work is excellent, and I am thrilled to have him.

There is one issue though. He is not fluent in English.

I can imagine myself moving to Mexico, getting a job, or going into business and not speaking fluent Spanish. I imagine that it would be torture for me to only speak and understand a little while trying to do well. I imagined that this was the case with my new gardener too.

I wanted him to do something different by taking out my front lawn (well, it used to be a lawn before this long California drought), and putting in plants and some design elements. They call is xeriscaping--take out the water guzzling grass and add some far less thirsty hardy plants.

As I was trying to describe what I was thinking, he just didn't understand what I was talking about. So we arranged for him to bring an interpreter. He brought his cute little hipster of a daughter to translate.

I said to her to translate that I would like to help him grow his business if he was interested in that, and that the number one thing on the menu would be to become fluent in English, or he would be limiting himself to mostly Spanish-speaking clients. He said to me that most of his clients are English-speaking. But, I'm not so sure since the next door and across the street customers speak Spanish.

But, he's still limiting his business because he just does the same things: mow the lawn, edge the lawn, trim the ivy, use the leaf blower. He now does the next door neighbor's house, my house and a new job across the street, but I am the only one asking for more and paying him more.

I could give you the whole conversation and how we came to an agreement to take out the lawn and do some landscape design, but the one point that stood out to me was how he was thinking that he's doing okay without learning English better.

That caused me to think of how we all may find ways to just get by when what we really want deep down is so much more. It's kind of a way of settling, of seeing compromise as success. Knowing what I know from so many years of business, I cannot imagine going to Mexico and obviously dealing with Mexican clients and not being fluent in Spanish. I might not be there in the beginning, but I can assure you that I would make that my top priority.

This caused me to wonder if I am settling in anything or things today. It's okay to desire less, to be satisfied fully with less, but it is a very different matter to want more and then begin to accept less and get used to it by not paying attention to the bigger picture.


It's Okay To Make Do. It's Also Okay Not To. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by releasing those heavy thoughts. Lighten up!

Daily Inspiration 5-23-16

"Education is 

the kindling of a flame, 

not the filling of a vessel." 

-- Socrates 

Way back in 1972, I listened to a record where a guy said that there are only three jobs in life. He said they were, filling the things that are empty, emptying the things that are full, and scratching where it itches. Of course, it was funny at the time, but it is also very accurate. In fact, over these many years, I have looked at all kinds of jobs, businesses, professions, and activities and trying to decide where they fall in the three jobs of life. Many overlap and cover more than one, and sometimes, even all three jobs.

If you had asked me what was the job of education, I would have said without hesitation that it was filling the things that are empty. I now know that it is scratching where it itches.

A garbage worker's job is to empty the things that are full, but it is also to fill the things that are empty (the landfill, the truck, etc.), but mainly it is to scratch where it itches. Why the last one? Just imagine the garbage people on strike for a couple of months. As simple as we may think a garbage worker's job is, it is not so simple. It is not menial, but extremely important. In fact, I think of at home garbage collection and recycling as a joy to me. I can remember the time when there was no such thing and we had to deal with the garbage in our own ways.

It's really been fun all these years to use that tidbit of knowledge learned in 1972, which I find myself using all the time. It's fun to think about different jobs and how they fit in that basic philosophy. I haven't found any yet that don't fit.


Where Do The Tasks That You Do Fit Into The Three Jobs Of Life? 

Spread Some Joy Today--Well, since you're here, you might as well have some fun with it, don't you think?

Daily Inspiration 5-22-16

"Agape doesn't love somebody 

because they are worthy. 

Agape makes them worthy 

by the strength and power of its love. 

Agape doesn't love somebody 

because they're beautiful. 

Agape loves in such a way 

that it makes them beautiful." 

-- Rob Bell 

Agape love is the love of God of us according to the Greek definition used in the Bible. It is the very definition of unconditional love. The Holy Spirit according to my understanding is that invisible entity that is quite real, and when we allow ourselves to be open to it and be touched by it, we are changed forevermore by its unconditional loving touch softening our heart and mind to be more loving and compassionate toward ourselves, as well as toward others. Yet once touched, we may still choose otherwise, because we have free will to do so.

Mark Nepo has a line that I had to write down that to me speaks of the love that is most common, and the agape love that is a challenge to hold on to. He said, "the strong live in the storm without worshiping the storm." I'll let that settle in because it is a very powerful phrase in my mind.

Love is one of the most interesting words in any language because it has so many different contextual meanings. Thousands of movies play with it. We hear it and see it all around us, and yet, almost none of that is agape, or unconditional love. That is because the vast majority of the love in the world is very much conditional.

It is conditional on millions of rules, beliefs, memories, and future projections. It is the kind of love that feels great when things are going well, when passion is in force, when kindness prevails. Think of it as good times love. As long as the times are good, there is love, and when the times are bad, it's everyone for themselves.

Conditional love says that as long as you meet or come very close to my expectations, or match my worldview, I can be open to love you. I am willing to be more vulnerable in loving you. . . until. When that is would be anyone's guess. It could last years, or months, or days. You could easily conclude that it is a temporary love. I give you my love for a while and we'll just see how it goes. I feel your love for me and it feels great and I want it to last forever, but I know deep down it can never last.

Do something that pisses me off, and my love for you is no longer flowing. It is now subject to review. You are now on probation. Make it up to me in the right way, and we can get back into the flow. Maybe. It all depends on the depth of the cut. Some cuts never heal.

Maybe I do something I'm not particularly proud of but I got carried away in the momentary flow of that thing, and now you've found out and no longer love me. I'm deeply hurt and miss you terribly and wish only for your forgiveness and understanding. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was careless for a moment. I am human. I want to make it up to you. Let me make it up to you. I'll be better. I can change. I can be lovable again.

Well, I'm sure you get the drift here. Love as we know it in the world, or as Mark Nepo says, "in the storm," is the way love is in general. We may have learned it from our family, or our peers, or the movies, or high school, but we learned it. It is almost inescapable. But, "the strong live in the storm without worshiping the storm." The world can be as it will, to choose as it will, and it may be very similar to the idea of a storm all around us, yet we are one child of God who can be strong enough, brave enough, open enough, to choose to love without conditions, rules, beliefs. We can choose to think otherwise.

As we are connected (and we are all and always connected) to our Inner Being, or God within, our Christ Consciousness, or whatever label you enjoy using, we can plug into the unconditional love that is God's love for us, and we can share that same unconditional love for others. We can feel its fullness, and express that same love. The more we are a vibrational match to our Inner Being--the more in alignment we are with that higher power within, the more we can sense this magical, marvelous, and miraculous thing called agape.

Just imagine for a time what it would be like if love around the world was truly unconditional. No rules. No hurts. No blame. No failures. Just love with a peace that defies understanding. We get to choose. We get to choose when.


I Have Begun. I Am In Practice. Join Me If You Desire To Do So. So Far, It Is A Most Enlightening And Inspiring Journey. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Agape love.

Daily Inspiration 5-21-16

"I've come to understand joy 

as very different from happiness. 

While happiness is a mood, 

joy is a state of being." 

-- Mark Nepo 

Just when you think your piece of coal is a perfect description of your thought, someone throws in a diamond.

I've talked often of joy because I have come to know it, and the natural result of that is to also share it. But, first we need to understand what joy is. I've talked often of happiness because I have come to know it, and the natural result of that is to also share it. But, first we need to understand what happiness is.

Over time, I have offered many different perspectives of both of these concepts, and yesterday, I heard the quote above by Mark Nepo, which simplified, and at the same time, clarified both happiness and joy. "While happiness is a mood, joy is a state of being."

This led me on a brief thought journey this morning and I began thinking about learning. First, I was celebrating how when you keep looking, you find more, and I am always open, willing, and even eager to learn more, understand more fully, feel more aligned. Mark's quote moved me quite a distance by resonating within me so that it was a vibrational match.

That caused me to think about learning in general, and somehow, I thought of school, and especially junior high and high school. I was thinking how some teachers might see some students as incorrigible, unwilling to learn, or as unteachable, maybe even worse--unlearnable. My thoughts about that was that these kids are not only willing to learn, but they cannot help but learn. If they are alive, they are learning. They may not be learning what the teacher wants them to learn, but that is a different issue.

Unteachable? Impossible. They are being taught all day every day. They may not be being taught what the teacher wants to teach, but that is a whole different issue. Unlearnable? Another impossibility, and only the opinion of the teacher. Incorrigible? Impossible also. They can be directed and moved and changed as they desire that or allow it. Another opinion of the teacher.

This train of thought led me back to the quote and my response to it. It resonated within me. It led me to more alignment, a greater and deeper understanding of things I have talked about quite often. This reminded me also how continually being open to learning the things that are important to me, I find better and more effective ways to share; to teach.

The kids in school simply need the knowledge that the school and/or the teacher are trying to teach to be as relevant as possible to them. They are eager to learn, and at the same time, impatient to learn. Aren't we all. We are all learning what we allow ourselves to learn, what things and ideas we are interested in learning about, and we all get excited when we find that resonate bit--that bit that resonates and causes more alignment within ourselves. That bit that helps us feel spurts of growth, of becoming, of our own unfolding.

It is true that some are patiently or impatiently waiting for that which they want so much to learn to come upon them. Of course, this isn't really how it works. Think of it like golf: If we put ourselves in the fairway--anywhere in the fairway, we've got a good shot. As we lounge in the rough, the opportunities are somewhat diminished. It's never about ability, intelligence, or even attitude. It's about desire. Get on the fairway of someone else's desire to know, and let the party begin!


How It Is Said Is Equally Important To My Proximity To It Being Said. 

Spread Some Joy Today--You'll know it when you feel it.

Daily Inspiration 5-20-16

"When you do things from your soul, 

you feel a river moving in you, a joy." 

-- Rumi 

It continues to amaze me how when I read, listen, or watch something, how one or two phrases, or one little idea, screams for my attention. It's like I saw, read, or listened to the whole thing just for that one little gem. But, I'll come back to that in a minute.

When my late wife, Nancy and I first came together as a couple in 1987, there were so many of those young, infatuated lover kind of things. One that touches me with joy and wonder every time I even think about it is that when I left the house for work in the morning, and because the house is on the corner, I would drive out, turn right and through the trees and bushes in the courtyard in the front of the house, I would see Nancy out of the corner of my eye at first, with a huge smile, obvious joy, waving at me as if she was wishing me a perfect day and that she was so happy to be with me and that she would miss me until I came home again. I can't even express how touching that was. It was special.

Then, each time I would leave, I would look through the courtyard view to see if she was there. At some point, she stopped doing it. I don't know if I ever told her how special that was to me, but if I didn't, I certainly should have.

Somewhat later when I began working at home and Nancy was going off to work, I began doing the same thing to her. I did it many, many times, regularly, then sporadically, but I don't think she ever looked over to see me there. I should have told her that too.

So back to the beginning. I saw a Super Soul Session on www.supersoul.tv with Marianne Williamson. I've been a fan of hers since I first read her book, A Return To Love, long ago. Near the end of her talk about relationships, comparing spiritual relationships with human experience relationships, and more, she came to some practical advice or thoughts. She said that when she would talk to people about relationships that some would ask, "How do we make our relationships better?" And she said, "I'll say, when your husband left for work this morning, did you pray for his happiness?" That last line is what screamed at me.

She went on to talk about other kinds of relationships, as with children, friends, co-workers, etc., that it is equally important to pray for their well-being and happiness, and that becoming more centered spiritually, leading to being more loving and centered in our human environment is a practical art. In her words, she said, "with spiritual practice, we train our attitudinal muscles." She said, it doesn't just miraculously arrive, but we need to choose it and use it or lose it (my words).

Marianne's video and that one sentence surrounded by supporting material reminded me of what is important and special. Nancy coming out and demonstrating her love and joy was oh so special. It was so special that it brings tears to my eyes right now just thinking of how I felt then, and can still feel now from that very simple demonstration.

In Marianne's video near the beginning, she said that, "It's not about me. It's not about you. It's about US." It is the interactions--or it is the relationships that matter in our experience, and yet we cannot ignore the fact that we 'feel' separate though we're really all connected. She said that our souls are not contained within our human body frame, and that they extend out connecting with all souls.

But, whether you believe her thoughts about the soul or not doesn't matter. The practical message she brought fits all circumstance and all relationships. Finding a way to connect is key. Some are intimate and we allow more closeness, and more of our vulnerability, and others are more superficial, but all are valuable. Kindness never fails because it is in the giving of our kindness that we are made whole. How the other receives that kindness is not up to us.

We can be in our own thoughts, remembering hurts and disappointments, or we can let go (forgiveness) and remember to pray for the happiness of the other (kindness, love). We can say thank you, and we can share stories of things that touch us. Remember to celebrate your relationships.


U + i = US. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by celebrating your love today. Find your joy again, and let it flow out of you.

Daily Inspiration 5-19-16

"With every book, 

you go back to school. 

You become a student." 

-- John Irving 

What is the value of the written word versus the spoken word? Mainly, it is time. There is time to think a thought through, arrange, rearrange, add, delete, change. It is the luxury of long pauses with no one knowing. It is the excitement of flowing expression. It is improving expression. It is a more permanent expression.

Back in early 2011, I finally decided to write the book, Commercial Truck Success. I had accumulated a lot of knowledge on the subject over many years and thought it might be of value to others. As I tried to write, I struggled to get words on the page. So, I had an idea. I asked a friend who was at the time an editor and a writer if we could do some vocal sessions with a recorder and then transcribe it into the book.

I actually thought that was a good idea. We had several sessions and as I spoke, answered questions and so on, what I heard coming out of my mouth vocally sounded pretty good. It was fun too. I knew the subject, and I spoke about it easily. But, writing it seemed like hard work in comparison.

Finally, I got some of the transcripts of the sessions. As I read the words, I wondered who the heck that was. It wasn't me. It was someone else. It wasn't clean, clear and crisp, it was all over the place and hard to follow. It sucked. I mean, it really sucked.

That's when I decided that if I was going to write this book, I would have to actually write the book. Once I got that spoken word transcribed to the paper idea out of my system, the resistance I was experiencing went away, and the words became a book.

The value of this experience was that I learned so much in the process. I became a student as well as a teacher. Though my great idea of dictating the book was terrible, I learned how the spoken word has value in other ways. It is certainly possible and there may be many who do well with the process of dictating a book, but it taught me to just sit down and get it done by doing it. In the process of writing it, I learned better how to express myself--to take it out of my head and on to paper.

I also learned that overcoming my own resistance was the real issue. But, as I was willing to get started--even with the dictation theory, then the real deal, the resistance went away on its own. Resisting resistance is a zero-sum game.

Ever taken the long way by accident on a journey? It didn't change the fact of the arrival but look at all the interesting scenery found on that other path.


It's Interesting How Many Times I'm Reminded That The Journey Is More Valuable Than The Destination, And, There Are Many Routes To The Same Place. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by spreading joy. Hmmmm. That was easy!

Daily Inspiration 5-18-16

"You Choose It All." 

-- Terry Minion 

I awoke this morning with the phrase above--you choose it all--in my being. It wasn't just in my head but seemed to permeate all of me. It was as if I was saying it and a benevolent deity was saying it at the same time. So, I knew what I would write this morning before I even stood up.

I will change the voice from third person to first as a way of accepting responsibility for it and to allow those who choose to do so, to see themselves in it.

I choose it all. I chose to come here. I chose this body. I chose this life. Everything that I experience is of my own choosing. I may not have always been aware that I am the chooser, but now I know for certain that I am and always have been the chooser.

I came to experience this experience--my experience. I came to live. I came to learn and become and unfold in my experience. Every single choice that I have made from the moment I arrived, and whether fully consciously or unconsciously, I chose them.

I chose what thoughts to think, how long to think them, thought by thought by thought. I chose how I would feel because I chose all of my thoughts and my thoughts created my emotion as a response to my thoughts as compared to my desires and to that of my Inner Being, or my always-connected-connection with All-That-Is.

The Universe, All-That-Is, God, the Oneness, or whatever name you might enjoy using to describe that which you know as well as I, is always wanting the best for me; always sees the best in me; always has my back; is always wanting that which I truly want.

When I move away from that which my Inner Being wants for me, and what I truly want for myself to remain whole, I feel negative emotion. It is better to say that I am out of alignment, or not a vibrational match to what I truly want. When I am feeling positive emotion, I am in alignment. It is the simplest and easiest way to know how to live an enjoyable life.

All I need in the way of guidance is within me. I need not look elsewhere. I am my own best guide in my own life experience.

It's okay that I have chosen misalignment from time to time. I get to choose. I got to experience how that felt. I got to experience that. I learned from that. It always held value for me. There was always a payoff for me. And, I have chosen it hundreds and hundreds of times throughout my life.

It's equally okay to choose alignment. I get to choose. I got to experience how that felt. I got to experience that. I learned from that. It always held value for me. There was always a payoff for me. And, I have chosen it hundreds and hundreds of times throughout my life.

There was a time in my life when sometimes I believed that choosing misalignment was better than choosing alignment. Somehow I felt that the payoff or the value was better, more meaningful. Often it may have come from the philosophy of others that influenced me until I chose otherwise.

I began choosing differently. I began liking alignment better than misalignment. They are both valid and perfectly acceptable choices, but I began to really appreciate feeling good.

I chose relationships with other people. Sometimes when I would meet someone, I had the distinct feeling that I have known them for all time. Some that I chose were of a very temporary nature and time, but I even felt that I knew them on a much deeper level.

I learned a lot from relationships with others. I learned that I didn't just choose them, but that they were choosing me. It was a co-creation. The more important thing that I learned about relationships with others is that because it was a co-creation, I could only choose for myself, and I could not choose for another. Believe me, I've tried very long and hard to change others or to have them do as I wanted when I wanted, but I can only choose for myself, and I cannot choose for them.

Of all the things that I have learned in my life experience, learning that I cannot choose for another was of immense importance for me to understand. I choose all for me, but only me. I certainly can influence the choices of others, but ultimately, their choices are their own.

The more I understood this as I was learning this, the better the relationships I had because I was allowing them to be as they chose for themselves, while I chose for myself, and however and in whatever way we were co-creating was good and perfect, and in the ways, we may have not been in alignment with each other, that was perfect as well.

The best way to a great relationship is, to honor equally in each other, the capacity and authority to choose for ourselves.

I have come to accept every single choice I have ever made, whether consciously or unconsciously. I accept everything that has come in my unfolding life. I accept all that seemingly was 'done' to me as if I didn't really choose it, because I did choose it; albeit, I may not have been paying attention to my choices.

Nothing happens to me without my permission. If it is in my life, then I chose it. I accept full responsibility for all of it--the so-called 'bad' along with all the so-called 'good.' I accept responsibility for any pain I attempted to spread to others, as well as any joy I've tried to spread. In fact, in the end, it is all good. Each road chosen exposes the scenery of that road, and each road chosen is ultimately experience.

And now, I come back to the beginning: I choose it all. Besides understanding this at a deep level, which I now do, the real value to me of this understanding is that I can appreciate what I've done with my life thus far. I now appreciate every choice that I've made and the results that came from those choices. I have no regrets. In fact, I celebrate my choices and whatever the outcome because I got to choose. Then, I got to choose again. Many times, I chose differently. Many times, I simply chose again.


All In All, I've Chosen It All. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by accepting your capacity for joy and allowing the expression of it in yourself when you're all alone, and sharing it lavishly with others regardless of how they choose to accept it or reject it. It's all good.

Daily Inspiration 5-17-16

"The key to knowing joy 

is being easily pleased." 

-- Mark Nepo 

As with so many things that we complicate in our lives, we may often complicate how we find joy. Is it in here? Is is over there? What are the rules for joy to be available to you? Do the stars have to line up? Or circumstances all in alignment? Or perhaps it is available away from work, or on the weekends.

As Mark Nepo says so well in only nine words, "the key to knowing joy is being easily pleased." In other words, the less rules the better. The less complications the better.

In his book, The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have, he adds, "the further I wake into this life, the more I realize that God is everywhere and the extraordinary is waiting quietly beneath the skin of all that is ordinary. Light is in both the broken bottle and the diamond, and music is in both the flowing violin and the water dripping from the drainage pipe. Yes, God is under the porch as well as on top of the mountain, and joy is in both the front row and the bleachers, if we are willing to be where we are."

Joy is in our release of our cares, allowing the simplest of things to be recognized as reminders of that power of creation all around us that is so much more than our troubles or circumstances or concerns. It is in being so easily pleased that in being that way we open vast riches that before were not even noticed.

This can then become that which guides our life, creating a more fruitful and enjoyable life at the same time. I like how Alan Cohen puts it in the title of one of his great books: Joy is my compass. 


Rethink Your Rules For Experiencing Joy. Better Yet, Let Loose All The Rules. 

Spread Some Joy Today--and all day every day.

Daily Inspiration 5-16-16

"Who is the happiest of men? 

He who values the merits of others, 

and in their pleasure takes joy, 

even as though 'twere his own." 

-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

The more I know, the more amazed I am at what I do not know. The more I learn, the more I see there is to learn. With access to such a volume of knowledge growing exponentially every day, it seems impossible to keep up, even in one small category. It is also true--or at least it has been in my life before now--that it was easy to be upset by what others know in my own field that I don't, and of course, this is all ego-based thinking. Now, I celebrate what others know. I am completely (nearly completely) open to learning from those who do know to enhance my own position. In other words, I like to think of myself as teachable.

Take a subject like the Internet. I own a business that deals with aspects of the Internet, including building websites, blogs, working with social media, video and YouTube, and much more. Since I began this enterprise in January 2008, I've learned so much about the playground I'm playing in. And yet, what I know relative to what there is to know would probably fit on the top of a common pin.

We've run into some knowledgeable people in this field that act like we're idiots and that they are so superior. There's that ego again, and of course, it would be so easy for our egos to react accordingly. Now I celebrate their smarts. I celebrate their knowledge. I celebrate their expertise. I celebrate their prowess. I find appreciation in what they do, what they know that we don't, and so much more.

I love smart people. I love people smarter than me too. It is so refreshing to find someone who knows, understands the big and the small picture, and is willing to be of assistance in sharing just a bit of that knowledge.

Here's one of the most profound things I've ever learned: I don't have to know it. In fact, I've learned that I don't even have to know it to do it. Since I am totally (almost totally) open to learning and being teachable, I can afford the pleasure of doing while I learn what I'm doing.

I can afford the pleasure of doing while I learn what I'm doing. How exciting is that? If I had to wait until I knew, I might not have any time left to do. In fact, often it is in the doing that knowledge comes. You meet an obstacle, and that will require some learning to overcome, go around, or go through.

I highly recommend the idea that getting started is the best thing that can be done in the process of doing--and being open to learning as you go.


Celebrate All Those Who Know Something And Do Something. We Are All In That Category Together. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing yourself the opportunity to do so.

Daily Inspiration 5-15-16

"There is nothing as free or freeing 

as the exquisite joy of gratitude." 

-- Terry Minion 

I like how Karl Barth expressed joy: "Joy is the simplest form of gratitude." It is. I don't just believe this, I know it. I also know that there is no thing that has changed my life more for the better than becoming a grateful person, giving thanks all day, every day, and the more I do, the more joy appears in my life.

Happiness is cool, but joy is like happiness on steroids. Happiness is like a smile, and joy is like jumping up and down inside, rolling down the hill, skateboarding down the mountain, skydiving through billowing white clouds feeling the moisture and exhilaration. Joy cannot be contained completely. It must express itself. If nowhere else, then in our aura.

I've heard people say, or have seen it in writing that we can't go around being joyful all the time. Or, that joy is only meaningful compared to sorrow, or despair. Well, I certainly allow them their point of view; however, I do not share it. I do not need sadness to know the value of joy in my life. I've experienced sadness, sorrow, despair, and much more in times long gone, but they have only one thing to do with my joy today, and that is that I accept the responsibility and result of making choices of what I think and focus on.

Today, I see there is sadness, despair, and pain in the world, but I realize that this is their choice, not mine. They may choose as they will. We all have the power of choice. I choose otherwise now. I learned from trial and error that as I am grateful, or as I give thanks, to God, and to others, I experience joy. I have also learned that joy has many, many levels. Joy is a full-spectrum feeling. What started as a small amount of joy; albeit, oh so good, has become something I live in every single day now. And, I play around in it, finding ever more to be grateful for, to express my thanks for, and receiving ever more joy.

If I made a list of the things that I express gratitude for and find joy in, each day would fill a notebook.

This morning I walked out to get the Sunday paper and I heard what seemed like hundreds of birds singing. I saw birds chasing each other in the tree (it is still Spring!), feeling the cool air caressing my skin, enjoying the blue sky and the early sun rising, my favorite and delightfully tuned windchime tickling the notes with the softest touch. I walked and looked at my lawn, stared at the old tree in my front yard, walked to it and put my hand against the trunk feeling its strength, and in all giving thanks for this place and these plants and trees. Then I walked back into my office/library/music room/theater/main living area, giving thanks for everything here, for Charlie, my constant friend, and the list just keeps going all day long. That's only about 8 minutes of my morning. . .

I never tire of giving thanks. I never tire of receiving joy. I never tire of learning and enjoying. It really has become 'heaven on earth' to me. If there is such a place as heaven, I am in it now.


The Kingdom Of Heaven Is Within. 

Spread Some Joy Today--You can't help it when you have joy. It is impossible to hide. And, why would one want to?

Daily Inspiration 5-14-16

"Einstein never actually said 

that humans only use ten percent of their brains. 

It's an urban myth." 

-- Scott Ginsberg 

I was reading a blog post by Scott Ginsberg and it began with the quote above. Here is more of that quote: "It's an urban myth. An accidental misunderstanding of nineteenth century neurology that was perpetuated by the human potential movement of the sixties and seventies."

He continues, "What is a plausible claim, however, is that most people only meet a fraction of their full potential. That the majority of our skills and talents and gifts and assets are going untapped. And it's heartbreaking, because every organism has only one central need in life, and that's to fulfill its own potentialities."

After I read that on my printout of that post, I wrote next to the last three sentences, "What if it doesn't matter? What if everything worked out according to plan?"

I've heard this bit about the smartest person only uses 10% of their brain, and I've read and heard from so many authors, saying essentially the same thing without the actual number as it comes to where we are on the path of our potential. And, that the obvious goal, of course, is to fulfill that potential.

What if that is a bunch of hooey? What if it doesn't matter? What if everything worked out according to plan?"

I've heard Jim Rohn say, "How high does a tree grow? All it can!" This, intimating that all of nature unfolds to its potential, but it is we humans, that can choose, and so often choose otherwise.

What if it doesn't matter? What if everything worked out according to plan?

What is potential, anyway? According to Dictionary.com, it is, 1. possible, as opposed to actual. 2. capable of being or becoming. All of it is focused on the future, or what could possibly be, but may not be now. Hmmmm. Wouldn't that be every form of life? Wouldn't we all--and I mean each and every person on this planet--be in a state of becoming?

Or, maybe we're just lazy. Of course, that's it! It's a lot of work to reach our potential. I mean, it's out there somewhere--somewhere in the future. I'm just on the road to my potential, and I don't know what it is, or how far it is, but I'm on my way in search of it. Right. Well, that's the whole idea, isn't it? It's something that is hidden. It's something unknown and unknowable. It's a mystery. It's potential. It's my potential.

Or not. What if it doesn't matter? What if everything worked out according to plan? What if potential is meaningless? What if it is not worth measuring? How would one measure it if they wanted to? Since potential is unknown and unknowable, it seems impossible to measure, and if it can't be measured, what is the value of giving it any attention at all?

We can all be something more when we choose that. We can all do more than we choose to do. We can all learn more than we now know. We can all have more joy than we experience now. Does that mean we are missing our potential? It doesn't mean diddly-squat as far as I'm concerned. The future is potential. Everything about potential is in the future, but life is right here and right now.

What if it doesn't matter? What if everything worked out according to plan? What if it's all good? Let us celebrate our ability to choose, and to choose otherwise. If I accept anything regarding the word potential, it is that we have that ability to choose. And, that isn't even really potential because we cannot help but choose. Whether we are choosing the same things over and over like riding the same ride at the fair over and over, or trying something we haven't yet tried just for the experience of it, we are choosing.


Enjoying Our Choices--Or Making Better Choices. We Are All Choosing And Thereby Fully Living Our Potential. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by experiencing your joy, by cardboarding down the hill in it, splashing it all around you, pouring it over your own head, and choosing how much of it you want to experience.

Daily Inspiration 5-13-16

"Nothing is worth more than this day." 

-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Not plans. Not regrets. Nothing is worth more than this day. This day is all there is. Where we are living with this attitude toward time, we are living in the present. The present is all there is. The past and the future are merely illusions, fantasies, memories, projections. Now--the present is all there is, so if you're alive, then nothing--no thing--is worth more than this day.


I Hope And Pray That You Enjoy It To Its Fullest. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by being here. Now.

Daily Inspiration 5-12-16

"The solution to pollution is dilution. 

It is very logical that 

if a chemical is bothering you, 

you should increase the flow of good air 

to dilute the level of the chemical." 

-- Sherry Rogers 

Yesterday I was briefly talking with a friend about my excited learning experience the day before, which continued into yesterday, and today.

I told him that I used to be in Shaklee, a multi-level company that started with one product in 1956. When I was introduced to Shaklee in late 1980, I found myself listening to a lot of cassette tapes about business in general and multi-level marketing more specifically. In fact, this is where I first heard one of my early mentors, Jim Rohn, speak.

I was sharing with my friend something I heard Dr. Forrest Shaklee say on a tape. He said, "the body can throw off a lot of worthless junk, but it can't get value from something that it doesn't receive." He was referring to the value of good food and high quality food supplements, of course. But, this quote stuck with me.

As I was relating to my friend about my excitement of my learning, I related this story and how it relates exactly to how in our world of so much contrast and so often negativity, that we can let so much of that bounce off us and not leave us damaged, but if we don't feed ourselves with the positive, uplifting and inspiring things, we will not receive the value of that.

Think of a lake that becomes stagnant and polluted. Then think of several streams of fresh water feeding the lake, keeping it healthy and clean.

Every single day of my life for so many years now, I have fed myself a number of positive, uplifting, engaging thoughts and ideas that serve to dilute the pollution of the negativity that is so abound in our world. It makes all the difference in my life. In fact, I have ordered up such a course of this as to be the main diet of my healthy mind and attitude about life. I'm reading, listening to audiobooks, looking at uplifting video, receiving many newsletters and daily quotes too. Even more than this, I carefully chew what I receive, swallow, digest, and regurgitate it for my own benefit of translation into my own language, as it also benefits others in the sharing.

Yesterday, I was watching a little bird feeding some little ones who could fly but they were still holding on to mom feeding them. They were on the ground where I had put some birdseed and this mom was feeding four youngsters. How appropriate for the late afternoon of my day to continue to relate to feeding myself and others with good seed.


Only You Can Insure You're Getting Good Nutrition By Adding The Supplements Your Body And Mind Needs. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by getting excited about a life of more and more joy.

Daily Inspiration 5-11-16

"Sometimes my cup overflows 

with gratitude and I am in awe 

of the blessing I've received." 

-- Terry Minion 

It is delightfully amazing how something comes to you at the perfect time and as it is accepted, it becomes a part of who you are. I've had so many of those times, and yesterday was one such day. It is also fascinating to me how these things come into being and expand, like following a narrow path that leads into a shining metropolis.

I could write about this experience and what I learned for days on end, but I will keep it short, though I am quite unable to keep it to myself.

I subscribe to emails from Marie Forleo. I love her videos and think she is a fascinating person on the Internet. Yesterday, she shared a talk that she did on Oprah Winfrey's Supersoul Sessions, which are much like TED talks but range from 24-35 minutes each, and from well-known authors and speakers. I've heard of Supersoul Sunday, but never really plugged into it, and knew nothing about all that is going on at supersoul.tv until Marie shared her talk and I saw the supersoul.tv website.

I very much enjoyed Marie's talk about how everything is 'figureoutable,' a term her mother taught her at a young age about self-reliance and creativity. In the video window was four thumbnail sized video images of other talks in the SuperSoul Sessions, so I watched another by Eckart Tolle that I enjoyed very much. Then, I watched a talk by Dr. Shefali Tsabary, who I was unfamiliar with, and I was fascinated by her talk about parenting that was so insightful and deeply touching, yet so simple as to feel perfectly wise. I was very impressed with this unique talk.

Next, I watched the talk by Kris Carr about living a crazy, sexy life, as she has learned how to do with cancer in her body. Then, I watched Oprah's own talk about shedding the weight to a better life which addressed her own struggle with her body and the path she is now on, appreciating the journey as a whole. Next, I watched the video of India.Arie of whom I was completely unaware, but became a huge fan from this short 'songversation' expressing her life, lessons and journey.

Then I watched Deepak Chopra, one of my favorite authors, then Elizabeth Gilbert gave a moving talk, along with Janet Mock. I was completely blown away by one of my most favorite authors and speakers, Marianne Williamson. This talk about Universal intentions, and much more, was so profound to me as to feel like the top of my head blew off like a volcano of insight and understanding. Wow!

In so many of these talks because they were personal and touching, I shed tears--many tears, many times. I spent virtually the entire day yesterday watching, learning, feeling emotion, being amazed, and absolutely and completely full of gratitude. I hardly knew who to thank. Of course Marie Forleo, sent me the email with the link that led me to the other talks, and Oprah Winfrey created the environment, exposure, promotion to the entire range of talks. I haven't yet seen all of them because there are so many. I wanted to write Oprah and gush my thanks and I'm sure she hears stuff like that all the time. I wanted to write each of the people I watched in the videos and express how moved I was with their talk, and sharing themselves and their travels. I felts stifled almost not knowing how to express my gratitude for such a moving day that moves me still just thinking about it.

Then, I thanked God, the Universe, The All-That-Is for this. I was thanking the Creator of the Law of Attraction which helped bring this to me and ultimately, it is the Creator, God, the Universe, All-That-Is, and a thousand other names to describe this that guides all that is responsible and my gratitude here is perfectly placed. I am also thanking those involved as I have so briefly described above, and sharing it all here to express my gratitude and joy outwardly. I am blessed greatly. Thank you.


Sometimes Your Cup Runneth Over And It Feels Like Gratitude Isn't Enough. But Gratitude Is ALWAYS Enough Because It Is Love. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by sharing your joy. That's how easy it is. Share it in a text, a letter, a blog, yelling from a mountain top. You get to choose the venue.

Daily Inspiration 5-10-16

"Could a greater miracle take place, 

than for us to look through 

each others' eyes for an instant?" 

-- Henry David Thoreau 

It has been said that the eyes are the window of the soul. Looking into people's eyes is a special thing. You can see a lot of their expressions, or reactions in their eyes. When people hide their eyes behind dark glasses or in more subtle ways, they are hiding a lot of non-verbal information that is so important in human interaction. Indeed, they are hiding the essence of themselves.

I have long enjoyed looking into the eyes of my lover as we are making love. It's like it takes that wonderful act to a whole new level.

As a sales manager, I've taught salespeople to never, ever, under any circumstances wear sunglasses--even in the middle of a bright sunny day surrounded by everything white. When prospects can't see your eyes, they instantly do not trust you. I cannot stand to talk to someone with sunglasses on. If I can't see their eyes, there is something very important missing in the conversation.

I think it is so important to give people the perfect attention of looking at them, especially looking into their eyes in a friendly conversation, or even in a confrontational exchange. Either way, it just goes better.

Then there is the magic of what I call the miraculous moment. Maybe you're driving or riding in a car and people are walking toward you on the sidewalk, and then you are watching and, all of a sudden, you lock eyes for just a moment with a complete stranger. I've always imagined that there was special communication going on in that moment--volumes of it--that we can only feel a sense of but not recognize it in the normal way of communication.

That is a special time. You could be on a platform watching a train moving through the station and all of a sudden you lock eyes with someone on the train. Or, you're walking and lock eyes with someone in a car. In most of these scenarios, we are in a situation where we cannot stop. Yet in that moment or occasionally a few moments, we are exchanging information soul to soul, I believe.

You probably know what I'm talking about. I'm sure it is a common thing, though perhaps never mentioned. I just call it all magic. It is the magic of how we communicate with our eyes--when we have plenty of time, and also when it is as short as a moment.


Enjoy All Your Miraculous Time Today Looking Into The Eyes Of Another Human Being. 

Spread Some Joy Today--feeling the magic of being alive.

Daily Inspiration 5-9-16

"Supreme excellence consists 

in breaking the enemy's resistance 

without fighting." 

-- Sun Tzu 

It seems like such an automatic reaction to resist resistance. I visualize it as the tug-o-war game, which helps me see it so clearly. Meeting resistance with resistance is the whole game. Resistance is to be overcome and subdued as in any contest where there can only be a winner and a loser.

Instead, I have been practicing releasing resistance as a more effective way to deal with resistance for many years now. I need the practice because resistance is pervasive in our world, and it is incredibly easy to react to it with resistance.

I like how Abraham, Esther Hicks brings resistance vs. resistance to light: "If you don't meet resistance with resistance, it dissipates dramatically. It just softens. Try it! Next time somebody says to you, "I'm right, and you're wrong," say, "Pfftt, you're right. You are right. You're right." And mean it. In other words, don't mock them. Don't be sarcastic. "You're right." And then watch how, all of a sudden, their legs almost go right out from under them. They don't have the energy to blast you, because you just took the fuel away from the fire." 

I like that line, "you just took the fuel away from the fire." I can just imagine standing there arguing and pouring gasoline on a fire. The fire has to have fuel to continue to burn. It craves it and will search hard to find it. But, when the fuel is gone, the fire goes out.

One of my favorite ways of looking at resisting resistance also came from Abraham, Esther Hicks when they refer to paddling upstream. I call it swimming upstream, but it's the same thing. It is so much easier and much, much more productive to turn and go with the flow instead of against it.

Often I may find myself swimming upstream. I've learned to recognize it pretty quickly now, so when I find myself swimming against the current, I will stop and go with the flow instead. This has been one of the most helpful things in my life to learn to do. It gets me out of trouble because trouble is always upstream to me. Now I might swim a stroke, or maybe even a few strokes, but I surely don't swim upstream very far any more. I've learned that in each and every single case of swimming against the current, I am feeling more and more tense and uptight, and headed for more trouble the further I go. Now, I simply stop--sometimes mid-sentence or mid-stroke.

Some think that persistence is what overcomes resistance. I don't have that much energy any more. I find that simply releasing resistance is the calm, cool, and joyful way to deal with resistance. Whether it is a simple argument, or a major confrontation, all of it is resistance, and meeting resistance with resistance is certainly a strategy for many, but I am choosing non-resistance instead. Besides, here is another opportunity to choose love or fear, where fear is resistance, and love is non-resistance.


To Your Health In All Your Choices. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by paying attention to the resistance you encounter, or even create daily. Joy is letting go, releasing it, and sharing that joy with the world around you.

Daily Inspiration 5-8-16

"In every given moment we have 

a divine spiritual assignment in front of us: 

Choose love or choose fear." 

-- Gabrielle Bernstein 

Mom, my new little sister, and me in 1951, South Gate CA 

Happy Mothers Day to all mothers. I was thinking about my mother this morning. She passed five years ago at 80, and I am certain that she has found her joy. As I was thinking about her and my childhood, and then seeing the quote above from Gabrielle Bernstein, I thought, this is what I would have loved to have learned from her. Instead, I learned it much later from others.

In looking back, I can see how my mother and father chose fear so much more often than love, and I learned it that way also as a result of their example. How much better would it have been to have them know what they were actually doing, and making conscious choices based on the simplest of ideas that in every moment, we will either choose love or fear. This teaching is from a Course in Miracles, and is taught right at the beginning of that huge work. And, then, throughout the work in hundreds of ways that most basic idea is expressed again and again, and again.

Indeed, in every moment of our lives, every thought we have, every action we take, every view that comes into our eyes--in every single moment, we have the opportunity to choose love or fear. Add to that, the teachings of Abraham by Esther Hicks, in how we can know which we are choosing--is in how it feels to us. Each feels a certain way. We might correctly imagine that love would feel good, and fear would not feel good. And, since it is impossible to pay close attention to the 60-80,000 thoughts we have each and every day, it is easy in comparison to pay attention to how we feel.

As an example, someone did something or said something or wrote something that doesn't feel good to me. I am choosing fear thoughts. It doesn't matter if it is right or wrong, or even if they actually did or didn't because we can imagine it with equal clarity. But, by paying attention to how that feels, we know what we are choosing.

Gabrielle teaches a bit more: "I am willing to see things differently. I am willing to see love." The course even takes this further in lesson 21 of the workbook for students, by saying, "I am determined to see things differently."

What a different life I would have lived had this simple teaching been the foundation of my learning. In every moment I have the choice to choose love or fear. In every moment, I have the option of seeing things differently than they appear. In every moment, deep within me, I have the ultimate power to direct my thoughts by paying attention to how I am feeling, well knowing how love feels and how fear feels.

In every relationship, personal or professional, this teaching would have caused better relationships, more fulfilling, and more expansive.

Yet, I celebrate my mother for doing what she knew how to do, learning and teaching that which she chose to learn and teach. She did nothing wrong. All her choices were what she chose. In my unconditional love of her then and now, I see no fault. Instead, I celebrate her life as having been lived within her choice framework. I am what I am, partially a result of some of those choices, and those choices more often than not encouraged me to choose differently. And I have.

I wonder how it would have been had I learned these simple truths from her, but no matter--I have learned them, and now I teach them as well. It all goes around. It all has worked out perfectly. It's all good.


Thanks, Mom! Happy Mothers Day. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by accepting your own joy. There is an unending supply within.