Daily Inspiration 12-28-15

"Use this week to let go 

of all you do not wish to take with you 

into the new year, 

and to step into the truth 

of your highest potential." 

-- Alan Cohen 

Decisions, decisions, decisions. Isn't it fascinating how so many of us have this tendency to compartmentalize time by making a point in time a turning point, or a time of change, when in reality, change is constant and never-ending. We name time by seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, and within them, none has the magic of potential renewal as does New Year's Day, or January 1st of a new year.

But, since we do, let's make it easier on ourselves by this perfect message from Abraham, Esther Hicks:

"Make a decision and then make it right. There just are no wrong decisions. You could go this way, or that way, and either way will eventually get you to where you want to be. But in the moment you start complimenting yourself on the decision you've made, in that moment, you come back into vibrational alignment with who-you-really-are." 


That Was Easy. Now Let's Enjoy This Period Of Time Like It Won't Come Again.

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting go of all that baggage you've accumulated in your travels. Just leave it on the carousel. It will go to unclaimed baggage. Aren't you glad you forgot to put your name and address on that bag?

Daily Inspiration 12-27-15

"What is a weed? 

A plant whose virtues 

have not yet been discovered." 

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson 

And, so it is with everything we look at, including other human beings. Mr. Emerson takes it so far as to say, "Even in the mud and scum of things, something always, always sings."

In our negative judgment of a thing, situation, or person, our judgment is truly on ourselves for our ignorance, whether lack of knowledge, or lack of compassion. With sufficient knowledge and/or compassion, we would have no need of judgment.

Ian Maclaren said it well: "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle." As I consider that statement, and the people that I do know, I know that is often true, and so as we meet people that we don't know very well, it would be most beneficial to consider they may be going through things that has an effect on their demeanor as they move through their lives. Our kindness in consideration of such a possibility, whether it exists in reality or not, will go far in offering a compassionate point of view.


"There Is More In Every Person's Soul Than We Think." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Spread Some Joy Today--in your consideration of others.

Daily Inspiration 12-26-15

"Doing things "just in case" 

means doing them out of fear." 

-- Anita Moojani 

NOT! 

There is a vast difference between doing things 'just in case,' which is fear-based planning and doing, and planning and doing things because you want to do them. It is the difference between living in fear and living in joy.


Planning For The Worst Is Not A Very Good Plan. It Takes Us Where We Really Don't Want To Go. So, Why Plan For It? 

Spread Some Joy Today--by focusing on what you want.

Daily Inspiration 12-25-15

"But what about you?" He asked. 

"Who do you say I am?" 

Simon Peter answered, 

"You are the Christ, 

the Son of the living God." 

-- Matthew 16:15,16, 

The Bible 

Considering it is Christmas Day, it seemed so appropriate to honor the Christ of whom the day is supposed to represent--that of Jesus of Nazareth.

During the height of my 9-year experience at leading and being on the worship team at our church, I wrote a large number of songs that were simple and straightforward and expressed where my head and heart was during that time. I would often put a Bible quote at the top of the written song that stood as very appropriate for the song content. The quote above was used on a song from 2002 titled, I Know That You Are God. The two verses of the very simple lyrics went like this:

I want to know you more, but all I need, I have, in that I know that you are God. I want to see your face, but all I need I have, in that I know that you are God, I know that you are God.

Some people think that God began and stopped inspiring writing at the Bible. How sad that thought is. That would indicate that God no longer exists, and only wanted to talk to selected people. How sad that is too. I cannot possibly believe such a thing because I know that God IS life, is living, is constantly inspiring, and speaking in hundreds of tongues throughout the world.

From 25 centuries ago, by special request, Lao-tzu recorded the Tao Te Ching. It is a book of 81 verses that are so short, simple, and full of love and wisdom. Beginning at Verse 1: "I choose to enjoy living the great mystery. The Tao that can be named is not the Tao." And, so it is today. The God that can be named is not God. As it is, we have given hundreds of names to this that cannot be named.

I know that a writing is inspired because it resonates with me. And, at the same time, I know that all writing is inspired because it will resonate with someone somewhere. Kevin Hall's delightful book titled, Aspire, is one such book to me. It is the kind of book that I savor like a taste on my tongue that I want to play with and sense with unbridled joy, so I go slow and easy and relish each little bite. 

Here is where I learned what the word, Namaste (nah-mah-STAY) means. I've heard that word a lot, especially in New Age circles, but I never bothered to check into it. Kevin brought me the definition, or rather definitions, along with a whole chapter of how and why it is an important word. The image above shows the reverential way of expressing the word, typically with the head bowed, and the hands together touching the heart.

In the book, Kevin refers to a time when Albert Einstein learned of the word by watching Mahatma Gandhi greeting people in the streets of India. He said that Einstein wrote to Gandhi and asked what he was saying. Gandhi replied: "Namaste. It means I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides. I honor the place in you of light, love, truth, peace, and wisdom." 

Kevin goes on to say: "Imagine what impact this single word could have on the world if every day you looked each person that you passed in the eye and said, in effect: I salute the Divine within you. I salute what you do best. I salute your natural gifts. I honor your uniqueness and your specialness." 

So, to wrap this up (pun intended) as a Christmas gift to all who may like to receive it, consider greeting all you see today, tomorrow and beyond with the blessing and statement of Namaste: I see in you, God. I see in you, The Christ. I see in you Divine. I see in you Love. I see in you that uniqueness that is you alone. I see in you infinite possibilities. I see in you joy. I see in you, myself, for I cannot acknowledge you and not acknowledge myself. I join with you in choosing to enjoy living the great mystery. I choose to love you, because I too, am love.


Merry Christmas To All. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting go of that rope and relaxing in the mystery.

Daily Inspiration 12-24-15

"Everything exists for the purpose 

of joy in the moment." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

What a perfect time (as would any other) to share this message from Abraham, Esther Hicks: 

"Everything exists for joy. There is not one other reason for life than joy. We've got nothing to prove to anyone, because nobody other than All-That-Is is watching. In other words, we're not trying to get brownie points from some other galaxy. We're not trying to get someplace else; we're not trying to get it done, because there is no ending--we cannot get it done. Everything exists for the purpose of joy in the moment." 

Everything that we do, we do because we think that in the doing of that, we will feel better; feel good; have joy. We work to earn money so that the money will provide the things that we think will cause us to feel better; feel good; have joy. It's the way we choose things that we want--indeed, it is desire itself. That's the reason there isn't anything wrong with whatever someone might want, because, in their thinking of it, they imagine that it will cause them to feel better; feel good; have some amount of joy.

Of course, you know where this is going, right? There is a short cut. We can find ways to be joyous at the beginning instead of the end result. How brilliant! And, the way to take that short cut is via appreciation.

As you go through your day, the last minute shopping, the preparations for the feasts and parties, working to serve those who are doing their last-minute shopping, dealing with all the increased traffic, or whatever you are doing today, if you will find one thing to appreciate, that will lead to the second and the third and more. As your appreciation expands, joy flows. Appreciation and joy are the same vibration. Love and joy are the same vibration. Injoy your day today, in whatever you choose to do and wherever you choose to be.


And. . . Don't Forget To Breathe! 

Spread Some Joy Today--via a trip to the State of Appreciation.

Daily Inspiration 12-23-15

"Can't see the forest for the trees." 

-- Common and very old phrase 

I was looking at the phrase, can't see the forest for the trees, and generally, it is intended to mean that someone is paying so much attention to the details that they cannot see the bigger picture.

Dan Miguel Ruiz says something similar in this: "We are not aware of what we really are because our attention is so focused on what we are trying to be."

I love how Abraham, Esther Hicks puts it in perspective in living a happy life: "A happy life is just a string of happy moments. But most people don't allow the happy moment, because they're so busy trying to get a happy life."

I'll let that last one sink in. . .


Happy Is A Choice, Not A Destination. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by deciding to be happy and joyous. There is no need for the season to assist; however, assist it very well may.

Daily Inspiration 12-22-15

"One of the illusions of life

is that the present hour

is not the critical, decisive hour. 

Write it on your heart 

that every day 

is the best day of the year." 

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson 

We have a tendency to look forward to something, many things, things being better, an event that is coming, loved ones arriving, Christmas presents to get and open at the specified time. That's all good. We need things to draw us, and our anticipation is often exciting.

Yet, as we do that, it is all too easy to think of today as simply a stepping stone on the path to tomorrow, or to that time we are looking forward to. This would be a good definition of wasting time.

As we become more aware of our life as a journey and that the real value is in fully living the moments as they come, regardless of what they contain, that awareness leads us to a joyful life, by en-joying ourselves and all that is going on in and around us.

That's the life I am coming so much closer to living. Eyes wide open, seeing what I want to see, feel what I want to feel, enjoying anticipation but not being carried off with it.


"We Have No Idea What Tomorrow Will Bring, But Today Is Overflowing With Potential." -- Allan Lokos 

Spread Some Joy Today--by bringing it along with you as you're out and about getting ready.

Daily Inspiration 12-21-15

"The invariable mark of wisdom 

is to see the miraculous in the common." 

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson 

There's only a few more days of shopping, but there is still time to find the miraculous in that, while bringing your kindness and peace along for the ride.


Happy Monday! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by simply enjoying yourself fully today.

Daily Inspiration 12-20-15

"Perception is a mirror, not a fact." 

-- A Course in Miracles 

Alan Cohen says, "The universe is simultaneously infinite in its capacity to support you, and ingenious in the ways it can find to do it." It might be difficult, even challenging for us to really believe something like this from our perspective of living in a finite world.

So. . . it is really good, I think, to take a little bit of time periodically to see just a morsel of the vastness of the space that we live in.

Seemingly unending galaxies, each with billions if not trillions of planets with millions if not billions of stars like our own Sun. Even the closest ones with us traveling at the speed of light would take more years than we have to give to get there. Of course, we currently have no way to travel that fast, so the vastness remains. The other perspective is that the light that we are receiving in our view is light that left those galaxies millions of years ago. It's just mind-boggling to consider how big and vast this all is.

Closer to home, we have the oceans and why our Earth is called the Blue Planet. Some years ago, this photo was taken by my late wife, Nancy as I gazed at the vastness of all that I could see of the Pacific Ocean at Muir Lookout above San Francisco. I can only see a few miles of ocean, yet even that is so vast that I can't get my head around it. As I consider the number of drops of water in that space, my brain cannot do it. I just have to accept this view as it is.

The planet has many vast deserts, some covered with so much sand. Consider the number of granules of sand in this one view. It's a crazy number that we may not even be able to write, let alone the whole of that one desert. You could walk for days and not find anything more than more of this.

So. . . it is really good, I think, to take a little bit of time periodically to see how small we are, how small our problems are, in relation--in perspective to the vast space that we live in. Then, when we turn our focus back on our much more limited views of our lives, a bit of the magic of that vastness may remain to help us to feel oh so good about where we are in our lives. It's a great way to add more joy to your life. I know it does for me. When I contemplate these vast things for a few minutes, I feel refreshed in my perception, giving me a delightful perspective by knowing that I am simultaneously significant and insignificant and that all of my so-called problems are not that at all.


Whatever Problems We Think We Have Completely Disappear In The Vastness Of The Creation Around Us. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting go of your current perceptions for just a little while until your joy returns.

Daily Inspiration 12-19-15

"If you want things to change

to different things, 

you must think different thoughts. 

And that simply requires 

finding unfamiliar ways 

of approaching familiar subjects." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

From my Ask and It Is Given Perpetual Calendar, I was inspired to open the Ask and It Is Given book by Esther and Jerry Hicks. I perused for a minute or two and landed on this bit that I decided to share with you. The above quote is part of it. Here is the whole of it:

"Life is always in motion, so you cannot be "stuck." Sometimes our physical friends will say, "I'm stuck! I've been in this place for a very long time, and I can't get out of it. I'm stuck!" 

And we always explain that it is not possible to stand still or be stuck, because Energy, and therefore life, is always in motion. Things are always changing. 

But the reason it may feel to you as if you are stuck is because, while you are continuing to think the same thoughts, things are changing--but they are changing to the same thing over and over. 

If you want things to change to different things, you must think different thoughts. And that simply requires finding unfamiliar ways of approaching familiar subjects." 

This sort of gives new meaning to the idea of repetitive behavior, repetitive tasks, repetitive motions, repetitive events, repetitive relationships, repetitive actions. To repeat is to do again. We get into habit patterns, whether it is about our sex life, our personal life, our life at work, and all other compartments we play in. To have it be different if that is our desire, we need to focus on what we want, whereas, before, we have been continually focusing on what is--restating the problem, re-living the problem, feeling frustrated by the problem, whatever that 'problem' happens to be for us.

It's like the oft-used Albert Einstein's definition of insanity as in doing the same things and expecting a different result. He also said that the thinking that creates the solution must be different than that thinking which created the problem. In other words, we have to change our thinking. The way to do that is easier than it seems. We need to focus--and I mean focus!--on what we want and stop belaboring all the details and ramifications of the problem, or better said, that which we do NOT want. Yet, as this clearly shows, we will continue to get that which we do not want if we keep thinking and focusing on what we do not want.

As I was studying sales in the early part of my career, they called that, setting goals. I don't talk about goals anymore because I think there are better ways to say that, but it is essentially the same thing. We decide what we want, and if it is different, we need to focus on what we want, thereby creating different thoughts and feelings about that place until it becomes us.


Getting The Stuck Unstuck. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by making the choice and focusing on that which causes you to feel joyful.

Daily Inspiration 12-18-15

"There is no terror in the bang, 

only in the anticipation of it." 

-- Alfred Hitchcock 

There's a lot going on in the world. As if that has ever changed. And, if you watch the news today, or 50 years ago today, the vast majority of the news reported will be dripping in fear, boiling in anticipation of some projected situation as if the facts that we have created support its realization. Heck, even the commercials in between the dark rhetoric are doing the same thing--creating more fear. Drama, drama, drama. There's plenty to be upset about. We don't even need to try. There it is. People around us are upset and asking if we heard about the latest. . .

But, every single nano-bit of that is a choice. Is it real? Sure. Everything we experience can be called real--even that which we are thinking, and it is even much more that which we are thinking than what we are seeing that is affecting us. It's a choice of focus; of attention. Where will we decide to place our attention? The answer to that is what we see as our reality.

Here's a delightful and insightful message from Pam Grout and her uniquely inspiring book, E-Squared:

"Let's take being broke, for example. Most of us can agree we don't want to be broke. So what do we do? We devote our minds to avoiding it. We work long hours. We call our stockbrokers. We read books and articles about getting rich, fully ignoring the fact that by trying to "get" rich, we are devoting our minds to the idea that we're not already rich. Consequently, we've decided in advance to be broke. 

If we simply devote our minds to feeling rich, to being grateful for all the already-apparent riches in our lives--say, our families and our wonderful friends--being broke would disappear. We only experience it because we devote our thoughts to it. That's how powerful our minds are." 

Some might say, "but, if I ignore what is in the news, it will be like me putting my head in the sand and being ignorant of what is going on in the world. You want me to put my head in the sand?" I say, YES! Emphatically, Yes! Unless. . . that is the world you want to live in. If it is, great. Jump in. Start a movement, get in there and stir it up. If that lights your fire and has you feeling good, that is perfect for you.

However, if that stuff is having you feeling bad, upset, unhappy, then that is the indication that you want not that. Turn your head toward that which causes you to feel better, to feel good.

The world is not as dark as the press, publications, television, and the Internet make it up to be (and making it up is the right phrase!), but there are a plethora of messages in that place. There is another reality that this is but a small portion of what the world is like. This reality sees a bright present and future, full of love and growth, and impending joy. It focuses on solutions to contrast rather than on the contrast itself seeing only problems. The world you choose to focus your attention on determines the world you live in. The choice is always our own. It doesn't matter what others are focusing on. They make their own choices of focus and attention. The choice is always our own to make.


I Choose To Be Rich Because I AM Rich. 

Spread Some Joy Today--or not. It is, of course, your choice. I choose joy.

Daily Inspiration 12-17-15

"Wisdom is merely the movement 

from fighting life to embracing it." 

-- Rasheed Ogunlaru 

The more I looked at this wonderful quote, the more I think I have to agree with it. So much of my life was some sort of struggle with life, swimming upstream, trying to make things happen with my actions alone, and much more.

It's only in the last ten years, and the last five or so in particular, where I feel the wisdom of embracing life rather than being at odds with it.

Alan Cohen, one of my favorite authors, said it similarly this way: "I always end up making the right decision. The length of time, and degree of ease or difficulty that it takes me to get there, is the subject of my spiritual practice."

Wisdom is something to move into by embracing life, and our ability to make choices and all of it is a spiritual journey, so it is a work in progress; although, I like the word journey better.


Here's To All Of Us Embracing Life On Our Mutual Spiritual Journey. 

Spread Some Joy Today--What a valuable journey that is!

Daily Inspiration 12-16-15

"Before we can salute 

 the greatness within others, 

we need to salute 

the greatness within ourselves." 

-- Kevin Hall 

Celebrating people where they are as if they were all that any one of us could be is a very effective and loving way to consider others.

In America, in particular, we celebrate celebrity with a passion. If we were to actually sit down and talk with one of those holy icons, I think that a majority would feel less than, when equal to would be the most appropriate comparison, if we compare at all, which is a given in the human nature of our ego-affected lives.

I ran across a great quote by Wayne Dyer that helps here:

"Release your need to feel superior by seeing the unfolding of Spirit in everyone. Don't assess others on the basis of their appearance, achievements, and possessions. It's an old saw, but nonetheless true: We are all equal in the eyes of God." 

Now take the word superior and interchange it with the word, inferior, and read it again.

Being more than, less than, better than, worse than, winning, losing, success and failure are all temporary illusions influenced by temporary situations and circumstances--and most of it is severely prejudiced by our own ego. As we are able to see the Spirit unfolding in each other and in ourselves, we are all on the same journey with individual paths, and every path is good and perfect.


Seeing The Greatness Or The Unfolding Spirit Is Exactly The Same As Loving. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Happy Wednesday to all of you. Take some of that joy spilling over in your life and find a way to share it. There are plenty craving it.

Daily Inspiration 12-15-15

"The grass always looks greener 

on the other side of the fence." 

-- Common phrase 

The reason why "the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence" is that many people have developed very strong tendencies toward complaining about what is on their side of the fence." -- Abraham, Esther Hicks


I'm Making Lists Of What Is Good, Right, Enjoyable, Fun, Interesting, Delightful About What Is On My Side Of The Fence Today. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Here I am complaining about . . . nothing!