Daily Inspiration 9-30-18

"No act of kindness, 

no matter how small, 

is ever wasted." 

-- Aesop 

[Classic post from 8-17-14]

Consciously practicing kindness never hurts either. . .


"Wherever There Is A Human Being, There Is An Opportunity For A Kindness." -- Seneca 

Spread Some Joy Today--through your kind attention.

Daily Inspiration 9-29-18

"True authority dwells within you." 

-- Alan Cohen 

[Classic post from 8-16-14]

Though it is good to hear about wisdom from others, all wisdom is within you. We are always connected to Source Energy, or God, or the Universe, and even though we may ignore or feel that we don't understand that connection, it is there. As we release any fear about that, we may allow ourselves to dip into it any time we choose. Basically all anyone else can do for us that is inspirational is to help guide you back to this place of our own knowing.


Anything That Resonates With You Is Connecting You To Your Own True Authority. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Take the day off, or at least part of the day off and just chill for a while.

Daily Inspiration 9-28-18

"Do I love you? 

My God, 

if your love were a grain of sand, 

mine would be a universe of beaches." 

-- William Goldman 

[Classic post from 8-15-14]

I was meditating today and the idea of being adored came to me. I wondered how many people have experienced what it is like to be adored? Better than this, I wondered how many who have experienced the idea of it, and then actually allowed it to be?

Tasha Alexander said what many might think of when being adored. She said, "it's delicious to have people adore you, but it's exhausting, too. Particularly when your own feelings don't match theirs." I get that concept, but that is more like worship I think than adoration.

To me, adoration is more like unconditional love. Many times we might think that somehow we aren't deserving of that kind of attention, but we are. Sometimes we might think that we have to return all of it or it won't be valid. Not true. Unconditional love has no measure. All we need do is allow it.

I don't go to church anymore, but I was a worship leader until 2006, and as a songwriter, also wrote a lot of songs for church with many of them trying to express the love of God, or Jesus as I knew it to be. Often that was different than was taught in church, but that's another story.

One of the songs that I probably put my whole entire soul into every time I sang it in the church was called, Nobody Loves Me Like You, Lord. It's short and starts with the chorus saying, "Nobody loves me like you, Lord. Not even one. No, not even one. Nobody loves me like you, Lord. Not even one. No, not even one. There is no one like you, not one." It goes on to say that even when I am at my best and when I am at my worst and even when I walk away, His love is like an open door and inside that door, I am complete forevermore.

It's not about religion. I know for sure that I didn't create all of this, so whatever that power is, I know for certain is loving us as fully as we ourselves will allow. We may not often plug into that, accept it and allow it on a regular basis, but it just doesn't matter, because whenever we do and will, that adoration and unconditional love are there to comfort us like no other can.

I felt adored. I appreciated being adored. I am enthralled with being adored and being loved fully without condition. It is very rare here on the ground, but it is always available within by just letting go of the rope of resistance and allowing that love and adoration to wash over us. Today, it washed over me again, and it does every time I allow it to do so. I too must let go of that rope and release myself. I recently committed myself to a regiment of about 20 minutes or so a day to meditate and let go of everything. It is working. I am remembering what it is like to be adored.


Allowing Is The Single Most Powerful Action We Can Take. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Allow your love to flow freely and experience the joy in that allowing.

Daily Inspiration 9-27-18

"To me, 

ideas are worth nothing

unless executed. 

They are just a multiplier. 

Execution is worth millions." 

-- Steve Jobs 

[Classic post from 8-14-14]

The late Jim Rohn was one of my early mentors in personal development. I remember the first cassette tape I got from a friend in a multi-level marketing business who was trying to get me involved gave it and a few others for me to listen to. I was mesmerized by Jim's folksy, and yet common sense approach to becoming better.

On one of his tapes that I listened to, later on, he told the short story of a guy who decided to build a building. It was going to be a skyscraper! He borrowed the money, hired some people, and set about clearing the site and bringing in supplies and building materials to build the building.

Each day, he and his team would bring more supplies and building materials. It was getting crowded on the construction site. The next day was more of the same. It got to the point that people were wondering if he was ever going to use those materials and build something. But, he just kept bringing more stuff in anticipation of getting going on the construction.

Soon the lenders were discouraged, along with the engineers and construction workers and the money stopped flowing. When the money stopped flowing, everything came to a halt. Here was a site with so much building materials and yet after many weeks of preparation, absolutely nothing got built.

Now, on the surface, it might be easy to say that this guy was just loco. But, let me ask a question. Does any of this sound familiar to you? Or, how about if not you, that you might know one or more people that resemble this scenario?

Sometimes it might look like our efforts are constructive and then again, we may need some more information. . . or help. . . or approval. . . or. . .


Like Steve Jobs Said, "Execution Is Worth Millions," Figuratively And Sometimes Literally.

Spread Some Joy Today--Let go of the preparation and simply execute on your joy. It is thought, but even more than this, it is action!

Daily Inspiration 9-26-18

"The true secret of giving advice is

after you have honestly given it, 

to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, 

and never persist in trying to set people right." 

-- Hannah Whitall Smith 

[Classic post from 8-13-14]

This quote is indeed great advice and I have learned it from experience. Yet, what is even more important, when we can achieve this, is to never give advice unless it is requested by the party we are giving it to.

Sometimes it is merely, or rather, blatantly, our ego run amok. Many times this advice is meaningless small talk, but that is a great place to bring awareness so we can catch ourselves before we cross into a more important territory.

The truth is as I have seen it over and over again from experience, that people generally don't want advice. They may not even want it when they ask for it, but we will let that be their problem.

A better way? Share your experience and experiences. Share what you've learned and how it benefited you. You're not then an adviser as much as an observer.


There's No Fun In Pushing A Rope Anyway. . . 

Spread Some Joy Today--Where did you hide that joy button? Let's uncover it and push it often today! People might think you're breathing rarefied air. Let them think what they will!

Daily Inspiration 9-25-18

"We are subjected to many illusions

in our daily life. The greatest one is 

the one that keeps us trapped in giving 

our energy to what always has been." 

-- Wayne Dyer 

[Classic post from 8-12-14]

Back with Dr. Wayne Dyer and his book, There's A Spiritual Solution For Every Problem, I found a fascinating analogy that really helps me see the past in a different light, so I thought I would share it.

From the quote above, he goes on to say about what he calls The Greatest Illusion, "This illusion is characterized by the belief that "The past is the reason why I am continuing to believe in these ways." In some of my earlier writing, I have referred to the wake of a fast-moving boat. The wake is the trail that is left behind and nothing more, just a trail that is in back of the boat. You don't need to be a nuclear physicist to understand that the wake does not drive the boat. Nor does the wake of your life. It is simply the trail that is left behind."

How many times have we all let our past dictate our future by giving it far more attention that it deserves?

Wayne goes on to say, "The wake cannot drive the boat. The wake of your life does not drive you today. But the present moment energy that you put into the events and actions of your past, explaining or excusing your continuing problems does affect your life today. That is the source of those problems, and absolutely nothing more. Just like it is the present moment energy being generated by the engine that makes the boat go forward. The trail that you've left behind cannot drive your life today unless you convince yourself that this is the case, and that is why I call it the greatest illusion."

I thought that was such a powerful way to look at our past and the present and the problems that we think we have today. Excellent.


It's Just The Wake. . . It Has No Power Of Its Own. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Enjoy yourself today. Just for the fun of it.

Daily Inspiration 9-24-18

"Anything you remember 

seems to be the way it was 

because that is how 

you are choosing to remember it." 

-- Alan Cohen 

[Classic post from 8-11-14]

When I was in grade school around 3rd or 4th grade, I remember playing a game that we called telephone where a number of us would sit on the ground in a circle and one person would whisper something about a sentence long to the person next to them and then they would repeat that exactly to the next and the next until the last person would say it aloud. Then we would compare with the person who started it to see if it matched. It never matched. It always got morphed somewhere along the line. It seemed like we always had about 8-10 people in the game, but what came out at the end was often so funny compared to what was started down the line.

Memories are like that I think in that we may often remember things so differently than even someone who lived through an event with us. It's called perspective and we each have a unique and totally individual perspective. We may agree from time to time, and maybe even more often, but the details will most likely not match.

As memories get further in the past, they may be modified even more to where we are only remembering bits and pieces, and even combining bits and pieces differently as we speak of a memory in different situations. We might call that a memory of convenience.

One thing that I have noticed with memories of people who have passed from this physical life is that I have a pronounced tendency to remember the best, or better things about them, than the things that I didn't like or were painful in some way. Again, that means I am remembering in bits and pieces and arranging them to suit me.

I think it is especially helpful to purposely rearrange details of the past to suit how we want our lives to be today. I don't think we need to go back and find the pain and try to understand it, but rather, to soften any pain felt today by rearranging and re-membering the way things were. It's not so much blocking it out as it is making peace with it. I know some people who carry hurts from the past with them like a badge of courage, but all that is doing is making today so much less than it could be.

One of the best ways to deal with the past is to treat it by practicing your unconditional love. (You are practicing, right?) So often I have used the analogy of the tug-o-war rope and that we are warring with ourselves carrying these hurtful thoughts into the present, so a great way to deal with it quickly is just to picture ourselves physically dropping that rope. Once the rope is dropped, we can cover the whole scene by bathing it in love--even picturing a warm-colored glow descending over everything we see.

We can do the same thing with memories that create fear in us today not just things that have caused hurt. In both cases, softening and re-membering the past is one of the best things that we can do to make today a better place and a happier place.


"Never Underestimate Your Power To Change Yourself; Never Overestimate Your Power To Change Others." -- Wayne Dyer 

Spread Some Joy Today--Practice your unconditional love. You can start with likable people so it is easy, then work up to people you hate. Of course, once you do this, you won't hate anyone ever again.

Daily Inspiration 9-23-18

"Stop giving energy 

to the things 

you don't believe in." 

-- Wayne Dyer 

[Classic post from 8-8-14]

Continuing with Wayne Dyer's book, There's A Spiritual Solution To Every Problem, the chapter 4 title is the quote above and it leaped off the page at me hitting me right between the eyes so to speak. I know that there are many things that I don't really believe in, yet I have given them far too much energy anyway, and it wasn't to my benefit in the least.

At the top of this chapter, there is a wonderful and telling quote by Michelangelo where he says, "I began to understand that the promises of the world are for the most part vain phantoms and that to have faith in oneself and become something of worth and value is the best and safest course." We so often give energy where it does us only harm and forget the true power that we have in ourselves and in our connection to God or the Universe in the process.

Wayne tells us, "keep in mind the central principle that guides your lifetime in this material universe--as you think so shall you be--seven little words that form the basis for transforming your life. Everything begins with a thought." He adds, "How you look upon the world and the images you have within you determine what you will get in your life. And make no mistake about it, all your thoughts form a bastion of energy that you radiate outward to create the circumstances of your life."

This particular post speaks to harnessing our own innate power by giving our energy to what we want rather than to what at the moment is called reality. Since everything begins in the invisible, for us to focus on the visible and use that as a determination of how we are going to feel or act, is just what Michelangelo was referring to I'm sure. He was choosing to focus on his own power, his own connection to God rather than to what he sees around him in the world.

In our "real world," we might be a salesperson who is not doing so well and is focused on the "reality" of not doing so well and creating fantasies of what the bosses are thinking and when the ax will fall and a hundred other scenarios. But, if we trust that we are in this position and that we have access to the power of God through our connection there, and we know that God is good and wants nothing but good for us, how can we possibly get so down? Only by looking at what we don't believe in. Or, is it that we do believe in that and not the connection with God or the Universe?

There are untold numbers of references I could entertain here about business and personal relationships, even International conflicts. It all comes down to what we choose to give our energy to. Truly, others only make choices for us when we relinquish control to them, otherwise, we are in full control--and in all cases, we are in full control of what we choose to think.


We Can Trust Ourselves And Our Connection To Source, Or We Can Choose Otherwise. It Is Always A Choice. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Accept your power and make your own choices.

Daily Inspiration 9-22-18

"By recognition of its existence, 

we invite the power to be known by us." 

-- Wayne Dyer 

[Classic post from 8-6-14]

I was just beginning another Wayne Dyer book from 2001 called, There Is A Spiritual Solution To Every Problem, and on page 5 of the first chapter, I ran across some outstanding advice that goes way beyond just this book, but is a perfect affirmation or statement to God or the Universe for a lot of things that we perhaps know a little bit about but not much more.

Here's the quote: "For example, in this first step when you are faced with a problem, I suggest that you create a personal affirmation such as: 'I may not know exactly how to access the spiritual solution here, but I fully recognize that a spiritual solution exists.' By recognition of its existence, we invite the power to be known by us."

I don't know about you, but I know in my life that when I have a problem (and that is a very wide field), I am constantly seeking solutions through thinking, logic, comparing the past with the present, hoping for a better future, and so much more. In all respects, I am trying to solve it myself--and frankly, not doing a very good job of it either.

But with the sage advice of Dr. Wayne Dyer and others, we can simply accept that we don't have the answers, give it to God or the Universe so to speak, and allow the answers to come from a place we may not fully understand.

In real-world terms, it is like a guy (like so many of us 'guys') who is a bit lost on a trip and yet refuses to ask for help for directions. We 'guys' know of what I speak. We think we can figure it out. After all, how hard can it be? I used to be a pilot so I know north, south, east and west and I can sort of see myself from above to aid me finding things, but then, sometimes I can't. Even on a recent trip to SoCal when I got lost at around midnight, I thought I knew what to do. But, truly, I needed help.

So Wayne's advice is wonderful because it encourages us to allow for help from the source, or rather the Source of everything who has the power and the full knowledge of what we need when we need it. And, even though we get in the way and try to take charge sometimes, the real answer for us is in letting go and letting God.


I Am Open To Guidance And Support. I Recognize The Power That Exists That Is In Full Support Of Me. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by going from not feeling so good to feeling a little bit better, then a little bit more and more, until soon enough, you are in joy. So INJOY!

Daily Inspiration 9-21-18

"Hope is independent 

of the apparatus of logic." 

-- Norman Cousins 

[Classic post from 8-5-14]

Hope is such a turning point for so many people. It alone can make the difference between a person continuing to live or choosing to die as Viktor Frankl explained in his book, Man's Search For Meaning.

Hope is also the turning point in the scale of human emotions where it turns from negative to positive emotions. There are many emotions higher on the scale than hope and all the negative ones are below it, so it becomes the emotion of change in that respect.

Our ego loves logic to help make sense in a strange and varied world, and hope could care less about logic. Since hope and optimism are in the same vicinity of each other, I love this quote by Norman Cousins where he says, "optimism doesn't wait on facts. It deals with prospects." Neither hope nor optimism needs logic or facts, and frankly, that is their ultimate power to help us change.


"The Capacity For Hope Is The Most Significant Fact Of Life. It Provides Human Beings With A Sense Of Destination And The Energy To Get Started." -- Norman Cousins 

Spread Some Joy Today--by simply appreciating everything and everyone around you today. Mentally find things to appreciate and watch what happens.

Daily Inspiration 9-20-18

"The only person 

whose respect you need 

is your own." 

-- Alan Cohen 

[Classic post from 8-4-14]

Once we have our own respect, it seems ridiculous we wouldn't also have that of others. It seems to me that this is the best place to start: within.


R-E-S-P-E-C-T   Y-O-U-R-S-E-L-F! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing your joy to expand and flow. Sprinkle some here, some there, a little all around today. People are craving it and don't even know it.

Daily Inspiration 9-19-18

"There is no passion 

 to be found playing small-- 

in settling for a life that is less than 

 the one you are capable of living." 

-- Nelson Mandela 

[Classic post from 8-2-14]

In taking a few minutes to look back on my life, I can see that I have done a lot of things, learned to do things I didn't know how to do, took risks, often followed my passion, and in the rear view mirror, it all came out perfectly, although, at the time, it may not have appeared that way.

Yes, I have done a lot of things, a lot of different kinds of jobs, except. . .

Except for those things that I couldn't figure out how to do. Except for those things that I didn't feel qualified, or even worthy of doing. Except for those things I was afraid of.

One list may look long but it is really short in comparison to the other. . .


I Wonder What That Other List Would Have Been Like. . . 

Spread Some Joy Today--by reaching out to at least one person you haven't talked to in a while. Since you're on a roll, you might try two. . .

Daily Inspiration 9-18-18

"Judgments prevent us from seeing 

the good that lies beyond appearances." 

-- Wayne Dyer 

[Classic post from 8-1-14]

The ego is very strong and often taken for granted in our lives. Because the ego wants to be number one and everyone else is secondary, judgment of others is a given, and often those judgments are based on assumptions and poor information. Yet, allowing the ego to control us is our own choice. We can choose to let it rule or we can rule.

Today, I went downtown and on the way back I had the passenger window down for Charlie to hang his nose out in the air. At a stoplight, the car behind the car beside me had a lady yelling with anger about this and that and that and this. I thought maybe she was on the phone with someone but I could not see her from my vantage point. She went on for the length of the entire red light.

As the light turned green and we began moving, I was curious to see the person in the car, but they got in behind the person behind me and I did get a glimpse from my mirror as they got in the turn lane to turn left. It was a man and a woman and the woman was on the passenger side. At first, I thought how loud it must have been in his ear for me to hear it two cars up! It was obvious that she was extremely upset and in disagreement with someone.

It would have been normal for me to think what a loudmouth she was and fantasize about why she might have been upset, or to think she is just crazy or something else. At that moment, I thought about loving everyone else on the planet, and I decided to send her love mentally and spiritually. I was lifting her up to her highest self and pictured her bathed in the glow of the love of the Universe, encouraging her to accept it and benefit from that better feeling perspective. I did that for about a mile or two after they turned.

Then I realized that rather than making up judgments about others where ever they find themselves in their travels, that I would simply offer loving thoughts and uplifting thoughts just in case it helps in some mystical way. Who knows if it works or not? I'm not sure that even matters. What matters most is that it works for me.


The Power Of Love Is Undeniable. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by sending your loving thoughts vocally or silently.

Daily Inspiration 9-17-18

"Mirth is God's medicine. 

Everybody ought to bathe in it." 

-- Henry Ward Beecher 

[Classic post from 7-31-14]

They say that laughter is the best medicine and I find a lot of things funny, so it's all good. One of my favorite, silly, yet so funny movies that I own is a farce called, My Blue Heaven with Steve Martin and Rick Moranis, among other greats. I've watched it several times and find myself laughing aloud each time and most of the way through. There are some really funny lines, and Steve Martin is classic, and in addition, the cast selection is superb.

What I found for the first time watching it again tonight is that it was written by Nora Ephron and executive producers were Nora Ephron, Goldie Hawn, and Andrew Stone. I adore Nora Ephron movies and she is so funny as a writer and director. I had no idea she was involved in this movie until tonight. Interesting.

Nora has written books, screenplays, essays, drama and more. Some of her work is Sleepless In Seattle, You've Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally, Silkwood, Heartburn and more. I love her book, I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts On Being A Woman. In fact, I love all of her work and movies and own most of them. She helps me to laugh.

Laughter simply has a way of brightening my day and the more of it I find, the better I feel about everything. Don't you find the same thing? It doesn't matter how serious things might get if you have laughter available on demand.

My business partner helps me to laugh often, I laugh with clients and I have learned to laugh at myself when I find myself doing something goofy, strange, or just interesting.

I have a number of signs I made around my office room. One in a prominent location says, No Seriousness Allowed!, another says, Lighten Up! Have More Fun! These days, I find that my main goal in life is simply to enjoy myself and I find a lot of ways to do just that. Oh, and I do some work here and there in between. Just for the fun of it.


What A Life!

Spread Some Joy Today--What can it hurt? In fact, it may soften a lot of hurts.

Daily Inspiration 9-16-18

"It takes great learning 

to understand that all things, 

events, encounters, and 

circumstances are helpful." 

-- A Course In Miracles 

[Classic post from 8-7-14]

Wayne Dyer states in his book, There's A Spiritual Solution For Every Problem: "Great learning is an understatement! It takes great faith and courage to begin to view our lives in this way."

Later, he goes on to say, "Our conditioning is so strong that we often have far greater faith in our problems than we do in our ability to no longer have them. We often display a much greater faith in the power of cancer, heart disease, or AIDS than we do in the power to heal them."

To put it all in context, he says, "Our best thinking is exactly where all our so-called problems exist. If we couldn't think about them, they would not exist." And he adds, "You cannot send problems out of your life by attacking them or understanding them in more depth."

What I find true in many cases is that we want to attack them, or prior to attacking them, we want to fully understand them and all the ramifications that may be involved. This is particularly true of disease. I know this from experience that studying it has little or no effect on healing, but it has a huge effect on continuing along that path.

Solutions require different thinking than examining or discussing the problem. As Albert Einstein said so well long ago, "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking which created them."

The easiest way to solve problems without losing our sanity is simply to acknowledge them as what they appear to be, bless them for what benefits they may contain, and then let go of them so that we can change our focus to solutions instead of focusing on problems. Once acknowledged and then appreciated, they become less of an issue already and this more naturally leads us toward the answers we thought we were seeking, but in truth, we were just beating the drum of the problem in lots of different ways. Hence, letting go is the best place to begin.


All Problems Are Mired In The Past. Solutions Are In The Present. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by connecting with people today and giving them your love and attention.

Daily Inspiration 9-15-18

"The fact that you are willing to say, 

"I do not understand, and it is fine," 

is the greatest understanding you could exhibit." 

-- Wayne Dyer 

[Classic post from 7-29-14]

I just finished reading a couple of treats. One was James Garner, whom I have always admired and who died within the last week. He published an autobiography, The Garner Files in 2011 and it was absolutely fascinating. What a life! It's amazing he made it through his twenties, let alone into his eighties.

The other was, I Can See Clearly Now by Wayne Dyer, which is also an autobiography handled in a very interesting manner. Another fascinating life, and still living it fully. Though I learned so much about him and his early life in the book, what I took out of it mostly was my travels with Wayne, how and when I walked away, and then much later came back to his fine teachings, and yet, even though there is so much that he has taught that has resonated perfectly with me, there is also much that has not, and that I don't understand in the way he does.

I read his first book published shortly after it came out. It hit the world by storm in a very short time and it was called Your Erroneous Zones. Since I was studying a lot of self-help psychology in the early seventies, this book was perfect for me at the time and I loved it. His follow up the second book, Pulling Your Own Strings, was equally powerful for me and was what I needed at the time, along with a few million others on the planet.

I was very much into Transactional Analysis from, I'm Okay, You're Okay, and other similar books then as well. I was looking for ways to understand my emotions, other people and what they did, my own motivations, and so much more. I read everything I got my hands on from a wide variety of authors introducing this new genre of self-help books.

Then Wayne departed from psychology for the masses and was exploring spirituality and doing his best to interpret that for the masses. I read, but couldn't keep up with that change, so I backed off and went looking for other authors.

In 2007, I finally came back and began reading some of Wayne's books again. It was the book, The Secret, that got me enthused and reinvigorated toward learning about what I call practical spirituality. It was the same thing that appealed to me about Wayne Dyer with Your Erroneous Zones. It was the practical, common sense explanations that helped me to develop a greater and greater understanding. Then with Wayne's, The Power of Intention, Eckhart Tolle, Esther Hicks, and many others, I was back on the path and excited all over again.

What I enjoyed about Wayne's autobiography, I Can See Clearly Now was the transition he made and mine were so similar but the timing was not the same. It's interesting to sort of "grow up" with someone; an author; a mentor that I've never met or talked to, and though he is about 9 years older, it is like having a big brother.

I am so full of gratitude for Wayne, and all these other teachers who have been opening my eyes and heart to a better life. And, it is only getting better still.


Enjoying The Wonder Of My Own Expansion.

Spread Some Joy Today--There's more joy where that came from!

Daily Inspiration 9-14-18

"Sell your cleverness 

and buy bewilderment." 

-- Rumi 

[Classic post from 7-28-14]

This is not just wonderful spiritual advice. Just imagine every day going through life at home, at work, in relationships with this awe and curious approach. The wonder of it all and the value of it all. The wonder of each other and the value of each one.


An Outstanding Bargain. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by simply enjoying yourself in whatever you find you are doing.

Daily Inspiration 9-13-18

"When it is dark enough, 

you can see the stars." 

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson 

[Classic post from 7-27-14]

It is fascinating to me what I thought of when I read the quote above. Of course, we all know that when the sun goes down and it becomes dark, and if it is a clear sky, that we can see thousands of stars at sea level. Even when we are at a higher altitude like four or five thousand feet, and away from the lights of the city, we can then see millions of stars with our naked eye.

Then, if we used a large telescope, we could see billions of stars, and then if we took the telescope into space out of the Earth's atmosphere, and took some time, we could see billions of galaxies of billions of stars, along with uncountable numbers of planets and other objects that we cannot see.

It's all there. It is always there. And, if we didn't go out at night and look, we would not even know it existed, but it does with or without our observation of it, or knowledge of it.

Everything that we think we might want is there. As we look deeper into space, we see no end to the abundance. It is there. It is always there. We may not be able to see it with our eyes right now because we are blinded by the daylight, or the circumstances, or the noise, but it is there with or without our observation of it, or knowledge of it.

It is not something we seek so much as it is something we open our awareness to. Then by believing it, and knowing it is there and has always been there, we may experience it.


It Isn't Lost. It Isn't Found. It Is. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Jump in with both feet. It feels great.

Daily Inspiration 9-12-18

"What you seek is seeking you." 

-- Rumi 

[Classic post from 7-26-14]

In all my years of learning, seeking, experiencing, there is one thing that stands out above all else other than virtues like unconditional love, joy, etc. It is this: The most powerful thing for a human being to have is the knowledge of what he or she wants. Expressed another, simpler way, it is desire.

We need to know what to move toward, look forward to, draw to us.

Sometimes we may not know what we want and it is telling in our lives. We lack enthusiasm, and we don't feel alive. We may feel lost. It isn't about feeling bad or feeling depressed, although that can certainly come as a result of this, but just a listlessness that is a great indicator that we have lost desire. Without desire, there is no life.

A good question expressed in the form of a desire is the best thing to grab onto here by saying to God or the Universe, 'I want to know what I want!' It almost sounds silly to say such a thing but saying it is important. It looks weird to write such a thing but writing it is important. It is important because knowing what I want is the life in the living and without it, a life not worth living.

What we want will always be a moving target. This is why it is called living. We may not even reach the desire before we have a stronger desire to replace it and that is perfection. It is, after all, the desire itself that is life.


"Everything In The Universe Is Within You. Ask All From Yourself." -- Rumi

Spread Some Joy Today--Seek and you shall find.

Daily Inspiration 9-11-18

"The components of anxiety, stress, fear, and anger 

 do not exist independently of you in the world. 

They simply do not exist in the physical world, 

even though we talk about them as if they do." 

-- Wayne Dyer 

[Classic post from 7-25-14]

When people say such things as, 'I'm having an anxiety attack!', or 'you make me angry!', or 'this job gives me so much stress,' or 'I'm afraid it's going to get worse before it gets better,' they all mean it I'm sure, and yet they are all victims at the same time.

Anxiety doesn't attack, others cannot make us angry, jobs cannot create stress, and all fear is generally a fantasy taking place in the future.

When we take control of ourselves and realize that, as Dr. Wayne Dyer states so nicely, these things do not exist in the world independent of us, or in other words, they are fully our own creation for our own purposes, we may find more peaceful and self-fulfilling lives. 


Choose Relief Instead. Choose A Better Feeling Thought. Baby Steps If Necessary. 

Spread Some Joy Today--be yourself--the real you.

Daily Inspiration 9-10-18

"Be hearty
in your approbation
and lavish
in your praise."

-- Dale Carnegie

[New post]

A couple of days ago I was looking at information on a new Redbox release of a movie and it had two reviews. I was amazed at one and laughed at them both. The title of the movie doesn't really matter, but it was Ideal Home. Redbox has a 5-star possible rating.

Here was the 3-star positive review:

"This movie is a heartwarming story, with lots of witty banter that makes you laugh. Touching, funny, well written. Even my boyfriend, who thought it was going to be stupid, [he] thought it was funny, and enjoyed watching it. Well worth the watch. I almost gave it a 4-star."

Here was the negative 1-star review:

"liberal rubbish."

I thought it was interesting that the 3-star was so positive and using words like heartwarming, touching, funny, lots of witty banter, and well written, and yet only gave it a 3-star rating. She even mentioned that she was on the fence of giving it a 4-star rating but chose not to.

The other review, of which I have seen so many on Redbox and elsewhere is so negative that it isn't worth any more than some laughter at the effort they took to put it down. How sad.

So, here's the message I intended. Why would we withhold praise? Why would we withhold approval? What are we saving those other two stars for? Why would you want to spread dung as in the liberal rubbish quote? What value is that coming out of our minds and fingers or mouth?

The joy of appreciation is in appreciation. The value of praise is in the praise or the upliftment. The value of approval is in approving. 

I have learned that to approve and appreciate and to praise openly and often has caused the most dramatic shift in my love centeredness. The Apostle Paul said to "pray without ceasing." This is to be in love, to be in joy, and to see the world with the new eyes of being "born again."

Years ago back in the 1970's, I studied Transactional Analysis. In that, there were those who stated that we have two bags with us at all times. One is a bag of warm fuzzies. They feel good to give and feel good to get and they are just delightful things to share with the world around us. The other bag had cold pricklies. These feel cold, harsh, and are not desired by anyone. Yet, somehow we came to think that the bag may become empty, and so we began saving our warm fuzzies for those special times and with special people. We never want to run out of warm fuzzies. They are so valuable that we must be careful not to empty the bag, and so we dip into the cold pricklies so that we at least give something. 

But, the underlying truth is that both bags are bottomless, and when we realize that we can pray without ceasing, praise lavishly, and be in love every moment of every day, we can then drop the cold pricklies bag and stick with the only bag we will ever really want or need.

The Choice Is Ours Alone. Knowledge Is Powerful. Awareness Is Supreme.

Spread some joy today--by being hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise. Give lots of 5-star reviews wherever you roam. You will notice the difference immediately.

Daily Inspiration 9-9-18

"The only limitation 

placed on our abilities 

is our inability 

to easily recognize 

our unlimited nature." 

 -- Jim Rohn 

[Classic post from 7-23-14]

Continuing with another post from Jim Rohn's wonderful book, The Seasons of Life, I think that I relate so well to the quote above. I do believe that we are unlimited beings and so often we see our limitations instead. It's part of the time and space thing, I'm sure.

He goes on to make it even more interesting: "It takes effort to become aware of our staggering and limitless abilities. It takes effort to become enthusiastic over a cause, or an occupation. It takes effort to continue when our results--as well as our friends--tell us to give up trying. It takes effort to feel right about everything that happens--the joy as well as the sorrows of life. And it also takes effort to learn to love ourselves above all others, especially when we are so consciously aware of our failures, doubts, and tragedies."

Jim continues, "It does not, however, take effort to fail. It requires little else than a slowly deteriorating attitude about our present, our future, and about ourselves. It is ironic that one of the few things in this life over which we have total control is our own attitudes, and yet most of us live our entire life behaving as though we had no control whatsoever."

Finally, he fills in the rest with, "By our attitude, we decide to read, or not to read. By our attitude, we decide to try or give up. By our attitude, we blame ourselves for our failure, or we foolishly blame others. Our attitude determines whether we love or hate, tell the truth or lie, act or procrastinate, advance or recede, and by our own attitude we and we alone actually decide whether to succeed or fail."

I have always loved how graphically attitude can be seen in an airplane, even if all you could see were the instruments. The picture above is called an artificial horizon and it graphically shows your airplane's attitude relative to the horizon. The yellow in the middle is the plane, the blue is the sky, the brown is the earth. Push the nose down, you see mostly earth, pull it up, mostly sky, turn right or left and it shows that visually.

Our own internal compass, or rather, artificial horizon, demonstrates our own attitude relative to other things. It may not be earth and sky, but you get the idea. Straight and narrow is good. Feeling good is good. How we feel is our true artificial horizon. By knowing how we feel, we know where our attitude is and what to do to correct or improve it. All we need to do essentially is pay attention and be interested in feeling better.


They Say, 'Attitude Is Everything.' I Think That Is A Fair Statement. A Better One Is, How We Feel Is The Best Indicator Of Our Current Attitude. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Choose to feel good today. Make a conscious choice.

Daily Inspiration 9-8-18

"What we have been
is an established and unchangeable fact. 

What we can yet become 

is an unlimited, boundless opportunity." 

-- Jim Rohn 

[Classic post from 7-22-14]

Continuing the quote by Jim Rohn above, he says, "Therefore, do not allow your awareness of past difficulty or failures to adversely affect your current and future possibilities." This is a quote from Jim's great book, The Seasons of Life. This little gem of a book is only 125 pages and almost all of them have art on them, so it is short, yet is full of sparkles of wisdom from a so-called and self-professed failure who found a mentor who led him in a completely different and far more productive direction.

The chapter these quotes came from is The Effect of Environment on Circumstance. At the beginning he says, "All of us, whether rich or poor, young or old, educated or not so educated, is the sum total of all those people and events that have touched us since first entering this world." He says that every thought we've had, movies we've watched, TV shows, and books we've read have had their effect. "Every disappointment, triumph, doubt, dream, and love for someone each had their effect. What we are and what we have, we have slowly brought upon ourselves. It is the human tendency to blame someone or something else for our lack of progress--we blame government, competitors, managers, inflation, pay schedules and even the traffic and weather for our circumstances."

But, he says, "Those people and events which have left their mark--whether favorable or unfavorable--are now behind us. What happened even as recently as yesterday is no longer of any consequence unless we choose to allow it to be. What is of great importance is who and what it is that leaves its mark today, and each day thereafter."

You know, I think it is so important to understand that every second of every day, we are beginning anew. We have certainly gathered a lot of experience and influences along our path, and yet, we get to choose what we do with that mass of information. If we are to use that information gathered all of our lives to our best advantage today, it would be to love it all, not feel that anything should have been different, and accept it as it was and how it was would have been full of value and benefit.

The only time we have that we can do anything with is this second, so often called the NOW. What was has been. It all had value. It all had benefits. If you didn't see that, it may be worth another look. Then, we can make choices here and now for whatever we want today. We do get to choose all of that. There is nothing and no one to blame. However, there may be plenty of people, events and circumstances to thank once we see the value and benefit, and I can absolutely state as fact in my life that being thankful for all that has been is the best and most sure footing for moving forward today.


Wherever You Are Now Is A Perfect Place To Begin. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by blessing the path you have been traveling while learning to enjoy the view.

Daily Inspiration 9-7-18

"A great many people 

think they are thinking 

when they are merely 

rearranging their prejudices." 

-- William James 

[Classic post from 7-21-14]

What a wonderful and insightful quote. You can tell someone is rearranging their prejudices whenever you hear them say, "yes, but. . ."


"The Greatest Weapon Against Stress Is Our Ability To Choose One Thought Over Another." -- William James 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting go of your prejudices, it becomes second nature.

Daily Inspiration 9-6-18

"The only man I know 

who behaves sensibly is my tailor; 

he takes my measurements anew

each time he sees me. 

The rest go on with their old measurements 

and expect me to fit them." 

-- George Bernard Shaw 

[Classic post from 7-20-14]

Often we may not realize how much people change unless we periodically see a child at two and then four and then six and ten. How easy it is to see how they change physically from that perspective. Yet, we are all constantly changing, rearranging, becoming, modifying beliefs, maturing or not, and of course, adults change physically plenty though it may not show nearly so easily as in the child.

It's good to catch up and see how things are now. We know that we are changing, and we may assume others are not because we may not be around them much. They are.

Time to measure anew.


Also, Time To Accept, Love And Appreciate Anew. . . 

Spread Some Joy Today--by putting down the rope every time you feel that you have picked it back up. Joy is always letting go.

Daily Inspiration 9-5-18

"The single biggest problem in communication

is the illusion that it has taken place."

-- George Bernard Shaw

[Classic post from 7-19-14]

I smiled when I saw this quote because its truth has been shown in some recent so-called communications. How many times have we told someone something and later they have no recollection of it. My late wife, Nancy used to say so often how she told me about this or that and I thought for sure I was hearing it for the first time.

It might remind us that communication is not only something we sometimes take for granted, and also that it requires more than one participant. Like the radio or television signal, there is a transmitter and a receiver that makes the whole thing work. So too then, is paying attention when transmitting and receiving.


Memory Can Be A Tricky Thing. . .

Spread Some Joy Today--Pay attention to how joy is all around you today. Let it be yours!

Daily Inspiration 9-4-18

"What we profess,

what we think,

and what we do

may all be in different camps"

-- Albert K Strong

[Classic post from 7-18-14]

Have you ever seen, or been in a loving family where brothers, sisters, parents, children get angry with another and then hold on to their own righteousness as if it is the correct response? Obviously, one is making choices that are upsetting the other, but the real question is why? And an even better question is where is the love?

I can totally understand that someone else's choice is not one that I might make, but to disagree and call it wrong, and then to hold on to it at the expense of the relationship is absurd. They might even say that we are selfish in our choice, but the true selfishness is not in making the choice but trying to get others to live according to our own opinion.

What is the downside to loving people where they are and for who they are and celebrating their choices, whatever they may be? The only downside is our own bruised ego. But, how can we love and not actually love? How do we define love? Would that be how we would want to be loved? Obviously, much of what we call love is conditional love. If you do what I think you should do then I will love you and if you do not, and I cannot change your mind, then I don't want to have anything to do with you.

The best answer I have ever found is loving unconditionally. As Wayne Dyer taught me so well with this quote, it is a choice. It is not automatic. We get to choose each and every time. "Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you." Love is the ability and willingness. . . Some are not so willing it seems. Allowing others the respect, dignity, and authority to make their own choices, and then let me love them no matter their choices, no matter their agreement with or disagreement with my own. It is the only way that makes any sense if we want to call it love.

Yet, as important as this is to learn a better definition of love and how to love people, it is the willingness to actually practice it that will have it become part of our lives. We will always have things in other people we will disagree with no matter whether it is family, or outside of the family, but we can learn to let them be as they choose without any insistence that they satisfy us. Insisting they satisfy us is the height of selfishness so we can practice letting go of our resistance to what the other thinks and does by remembering that it isn't really them at all. It is us. We are creating the resistance in ourselves. It is our own thinking that creates the divide or learns to love.


How Important Would Your Disagreement Be If The One You Disagreed With Were To Die This Afternoon?

Spread Some Joy Today--Just let it go. Joy is downstream.

Daily Inspiration 9-3-18

"Habit is habit, and not to be

flung out of the window by any man,

but coaxed down-stairs one step at a time."

-- Mark Twain

[Classic post from 7-17-14]

Yesterday, I heard myself saying something about a business and its leader that after it fell out of my mouth, a few minutes later upon reflection of what I said, I wrote down on my notepad this remark: Stop that!

Knowing how I want to be can help me to become that and yet as Margaret Atwood said so well, "Every habit he's ever had is still there in his body, lying dormant like flowers in the desert. Given the right conditions, all his old addictions would burst into full and luxuriant bloom."

The big advantage for me now is that I am paying attention to what comes out of my mouth and how I feel about that, and this helps me to make choices from my thoughts of what actually comes out of my mouth. There is a substantial improvement over years past, yet the habits remain and from time to time become vocalized.

What to do? Realize the progress, feel good about the awareness, bless it and let it go, and live to enjoy another day.


Sometimes The More I Think I Know Something, The Less I Really Know.

Spread Some Joy Today--Bless it and move on.

Daily Inspiration 9-2-18

"I wanted to change the world. 

But I have found that the only thing 

one can be sure of is changing oneself." 

-- Aldous Huxley 

[Classic post from 7-15-14]

It's really kind of interesting how we can see how things can be so much better if only the other person would make the changes we think will make all the difference. Why in the world can't they see it? Even when I try to show them with facts and figures, along with plenty of dialogs, they proceed to do things the way they've been doing, or if they change, so often they are listening to the wrong people and all of it is a big mistake. Are they blind? Can't they see the reality of the situation? Surely, they should be open to the wisdom of how to do things right or better. Why won't they listen? I don't get it.

Well. . . I cannot tell you how many times I have said that exact dialog or some more expressive version of it. It seems that everywhere I have worked in my life, I could see things that needed to be changed that would make a big difference and the owner or manager just didn't seem to agree or even be much interested.

Heck, I call it swimming upstream now, and I did a serious amount of swimming upstream most of my life. Yet, everything that all of us wants is downstream. Changing the world, changing the company culture, changing others is serious work and all upstream. And, it only leads to unhappiness and loads of frustration. In some cases, it leads to quitting and leaving the company, only to begin the process somewhere else again.

Then I learned the answer to all that stress. Let it go. Let go of the tug-o-war rope. Leo Tolstoy said it well when he said, "everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

We cannot change anyone. Not a company, nor the boss, the workers, our spouse, sons and daughters, no one. We can only change ourselves. If others are open to influence, or open to opportunities to change, we might influence them or guide them in some way, but it will always be they who change themselves. So, it is a total waste of time and energy to even try. Just let it go. Drop the rope.

The best thing is to accept the situation as it is without any more judgment about it. Then, get to work on doing what we do best and changing ourselves to be the best that we can be within the accepted situation where we find ourselves. If we are working for a company, then be the best employee we can be, and do all we can do within the parameters allowed. Leave the rest alone. That is not our work. Our work is ourselves alone.


Doing This, Life Will Take On A Whole New Feeling Of Confidence And Joy. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Who needs the stress of any kind? It serves only to wake one up and that is all. Let everything go. Be not concerned. That will spread some joy.

Daily Inspiration 9-1-18

"Be careful how you interpret the world. 

It is like that." 

-- Erich Heller 

[Classic post from 7-13-14]

There is a movie in my collection that I haven't seen in a while, so I watched it again. Isn't it interesting how you may have seen something several times and each time see something different or differently? That fascinates me.

The movie is New In Town with Harry Connick, Jr. and Renee Zellweger, and it was filmed in one of the coldest places on earth, Winnipeg, Canada. What I saw differently this time began at the start of the movie when Renee's character, Lucy, was in a meeting with her boss and coworkers (all men), and the boss was talking about a manufacturing plant in remote Minnesota that they needed someone to go in and cut the workforce by 50% and turn the plant into a mechanized, robotic plant. Lucy said that she saw the numbers and she thought that the plant should just be shut down and that it was a lost cause. But, the boss wanted her on site to get the work done, so she went.

Then it happened. Lucy met the people who run and work at the plant. She learned about their goals and dreams and how they lived and played and soon she began caring about them. This change brought her to the point that she staked her entire career on making the plant successful and eventually when the company wanted to sell the plant, she arranged to buy it with the employees.

Wars and hate are like this scenario. We are not in touch with actual people and merely see ideologies, strangely different modes of living, different beliefs, maybe different color skin, different climates, dress, languages. The further away we are, the easier it is to not only not care about them but to not even see them as people. We dehumanize them just as Lucy did in the boardroom at the beginning of the film.

I remember that I was told by my manager as I became a manager under him, to not get close to people because it will make it hard, later on, to let them go. The further away we get, the easier that is. That reminds me of another movie I love called Up In The Air, where the lead character goes all over the country firing people at large companies. It is easier to pay someone to come in from the outside than to do it in-house.

I've seen this in jobs that I've had, I see it in the government, the newspaper, TV. If you don't know them, it is easy to not care. I remember when I was a young boy and my grandfather took me up in a Piper Cub airplane over southern California when most of that was farms. The people were so small you couldn't even recognize them as people and the cars were even like dinky little toys.

Yet, the good news is that we don't have to view the world this way, though so many around us may choose to. We get to see it however we want. We can see love. We can care about people, pray for them, lift them up, send loving thoughts whether it is across the street or the other side of the planet.


This All Begins By Loving Ourselves. In That Space, We Automatically Love Others. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Lift two or three people up today. In person, or in Spirit.