Daily Inspiration 3-14-18

"Dogs do not know it is Monday. 

To them, it is only today. 

It is only now." 

-- Alan Cohen 

[Classic post from 12-5-16]

One of the most notorious acts a human being can do is to label everything. And, yet, we do, don't we? One of the side effects of labeling is association. Now that there is a label, we can freely associate this label with anything we choose. How we associate with this label determines how we will feel about it.


Guess Who Gets To Choose? 

Spread Some Joy Today--That might change things!

Daily Inspiration 3-13-18

"Does it really matter?" 

-- Alan Cohen 

[Classic post from 12-4-16]

What a great question, and with minor phrasing changes can even be a guide to peace, harmony, and love.

This is the so-called 'Holiday Season,' with only 27 days remaining. There's a lot to do, a lot going on including travel, seeing people you haven't seen in a long time and such. You have plenty of experience at this, and yet stuff happens, tempers are activated sometimes, and there is also a good deal of love and refreshment, including perhaps some time off of work, and changes in our physical environment.

When those situations that don't feel very good come up, Alan's question is a perfect perspective tool. Does it really matter? Does this thing that is bothering me really matter? In the scheme of my life, does this really matter? What about this thing is causing me to feel upset? Does that really matter?

Some might seek direction from their religious faith by wondering, what would Jesus do? What would Mohammed do? What would Buddha do? And, my personal favorite: What would Love do?

Yesterday, I wrote about all the stuff that we get upset about is just information. It isn't even real when you look at it from this perspective. In seeing it from this perspective, it is so much easier to see how pretty much all mental wounds are actually self-inflicted. Maybe we just get upset because we feel that we are expected to be upset in this situation. But, truly, we get to choose a response or even no response to any and all information that comes and goes. Of course, coming and going is the good flow, and having it get stuck within us is a whole different story.

Does any of it really matter? Is being upset worth the trouble? In my being upset, is it solving anything at all? Does anybody care if I'm upset?

So, now, in our world of duality, let's look at the positive spectrum. You're feeling good. Does it really matter? You're feeling love. Does it really matter? You're sharing your joy with all those around you. Does it really matter? You're in love with life, loving yourself, loving all. Does it really matter? 


There's Only One Person Who Can Answer This Great Question. That Would Be YOU. 

Spread Some Joy Today--That is if it really matters.

Daily Inspiration 3-12-18

"Help me to be less fearful

of the measure of time, 

and more fully alive

in the time that simply is. 

Help me to live time, 

not just to simply use it; 

to breathe it in, and return it 

in acts of love and presence." 

-- Avis Crowe 

[Classic post from 12-3-16]

What I have learned about life is that it is much more a matter of letting go than in gathering. There is so much melodrama all around us in this world, and even forgetting about the massive amount of outside information, there is as much melodrama within our own thoughts and feelings.

There are hundreds, even thousands of methodologies to try to make sense of it, deal with it, overcome it, and I haven't found any of that stuff that really works as much as letting go. I used to call it not plugging in, and now I call it dropping the rope. In either case, I am releasing the resistance I get from participating in the melodrama of life.

In the medical and psychological world, resistance is more often called stress, and they have hundreds of ways to treat stress, and relieving stress requires none of that. It simply requires letting go. Lay the tug-o-war rope down. Step away. Turn away. Let it go.

We get so uptight about information. Truly. The majority of what we get upset about is simply information. It's funny to think about it that way, and yet, that is what it is.

If we thought of the drama in our mind and out in the world for that matter as if it is information on a long digital reader board like in New York City, we can watch it moving on by even as we are reading it, and then it is gone and more information is coming and going every second of every day. We can just watch it come and go without plugging into it, giving it any energy or attention. Or, we can get entangled in what it means and get very upset about it as we choose. It's all just information.

You got fired. That's just information. What will you do with that information? It can be a problem, a disaster, or it can be a blessing, even the most joyous day of your life. Most joyous day? Absolutely! I know that from my own personal experience. Your spouse wants a divorce. That's just information. What will you do with that information? You can see that as death or a rebirth, or anywhere in between. It doesn't matter what it is, it is just information, and we can treat it that way, watching it, or we can be so involved that we don't know which way is up.

What I have learned from all my experience is to let it go--to let it come and let it go on by. Trying to stop it from coming in is pointless. It will get in. The key is not to worry or stress about defense, or offense, but to take a different approach by rising above it and realizing that this is not me, that these problems only exist in my mind, and that I am not even my mind, but that which is the observer of my mind--that which is my consciousness or awareness.

Once I get to this point of view, I can easily enough allow the drama to come and go without resisting it, engaging with it, or justifying it. As I watch it come and allow it to continue on its path, I am free of the drama. I am free of the turmoil. I am free of the problem. I am free.


Oh, That's Interesting. . . Hmmm, That's Nice. Wow! Look At That Drama! 

Spread Some Joy Today--just for the change of it.

Daily Inspiration 3-11-18

"I wonder if fears really go away, 

or if they just lose their power over us."

-- Veronica Roth 

[Classic post from 12-2-16]

Another quote by Audre Lorde shares a similar thought: "When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid." 

Does fear ever go away completely? How could it? It is part of the duality of the lives that we live. It is always there. Of course, it is the same with freedom at the other end of the emotional scale. When I am depressed and feeling powerless, fearful, and in despair, does joy, love, empowerment, and appreciation go away? No. They are all still where they were.

So what changes then? It is one word: focus. What I am giving my attention to, my energy to, what I am focusing on. As well, this applies to all those different levels of emotion in between the top and bottom. We are somewhere on that scale at all times, perhaps even changing positions quite frequently, but they all remain in their good and not so good feeling places, available to us anytime we choose to change our attention.

As Audre Lorde said so well, as I focus on my strength and accept my power rather than giving it away in fear, it doesn't even matter that fear is on the same scale. It is insignificant as I focus on what feels empowering.

Have you ever thought how often you might give your power away? What is it to give our power away? We give our power away when we allow others outside of ourselves to convince us of a different reality than we desire, and in our lack of knowledge, self-worthiness, or any number of other similar factors, we feel powerlessness, and perhaps even escape into depression or despair--or maybe even not that far down the scale to the bottom--it might be worry, or anger, or overwhelment.

It could have come from a doctor's diagnosis, a lawyer, a bill collector, government official, or any other so-called authority. In all cases though, we are giving away our own power, and accepting theirs over us.

I believe that we have the ultimate authority within us and that by going within, coming into alignment with our internal Source of all Life, we can reclaim our own power.

I'll end this post with a slightly different perspective on not giving our power away, and is one of the most powerfully stated and empowering quotes I've ever read by Marianne Williamson, from her ground-breaking book, A Return To Love, which I've taken the liberty of presenting in this way:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. 

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. 

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. 

We ask ourselves, 

"Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?" 

Actually, who are you not to be? 

You are a child of God. 

Your playing small does not serve the world. 

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking

so that other people won't feel insecure around you. 

We are all meant to shine, as children do. 

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. 

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. 

And as we let our own light shine, 

we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. 

As we are liberated from our own fear, 

our presence automatically liberates others." 

I Am As Powerful As I Allow My Alignment With The Ultimate Power Within. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by rejoicing in your own power of focus.

Daily Inspiration 3-10-18

"We are all at once

both composition and a composer. 

We have the ability 

not only to compose the future 

of our own lives, 

but to help compose the future 

of everyone around us 

and the communities in which we live." 

-- Maya Angelou 

[Classic post from 12-1-16]

In the last few days, I have experienced two people telling me how much something I did or said to them long ago meant to them, and how they became more as a result. What's also interesting is that I wouldn't have remembered these things until they told them to me.

Of course, we know that our lives affect more than our own life, don't we? And, I think that most of us would hope that we are doing that in a positive way; albeit, we may know that our influence can also cause pain and distress, even without our realizing what we are doing.

I think the reality is that as we live, as we work, and as we relate to other people, it is impossible not to be an influence. And, a great question might be, how am I influencing others or my environment?

In these two cases, as far as I was concerned, these acts and words spoken were out of love and kindness. We would have no idea that it might affect them 20 or 30 years into the future, yet it easily can. And, it need not be something that stands out to us, yet it can seem magnanimous to them.

Who knows how a simple kindness we offer can affect another person's life? Who knows how a loving act can affect another person's outlook on themselves in self-esteem or even self-love?

I believe that we have the capacity and power to direct our own lives as we will choose. Knowledge can help us understand how this works and may even enhance the process, but we all have the capacity and power at all times. In other words, we create our lives consciously or unconsciously. It is happening regardless. At the same time, we are affecting others as we make our own choices, and as we interact with them.

It makes me think of that phrase about doctors that was inspired by Hippocrates to do no harm.


Seems Like Great Advice For All Of Our Lives. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Yes! Let's do that today. No ill will. No harm. No nasty looks. No sighs of disgust. Just joy. Simply joy. Exquisitely joy.

Daily Inspiration 3-9-18

"Nostalgia is a file 

that removes the rough edges 

from the good old days." 

-- Doug Larson 

"Remembrance of things past 

is not necessarily the remembrance 

of things as they were." 

-- Marcel Proust 

[Classic post from 11-27-16]

I was watching a TEDed video by Clay Routledge, titled, Why Do We Feel Nostalgia? He said that nostalgia used to be considered a debilitating disease. It was named in 1688, and until around 1850 or so it was treated as a disease in some interesting ways.

Nostalgia is often associated with the idea of the 'good old days.' Remembering fondly something from the past and wanting to be there again, and so we are feeling that place now as we spend time in the past feeling.

I spent several hours on YouTube yesterday afternoon watching many of the Kennedy Center honors of famous musicians and so enjoying the musical tributes given them by other famous musicians. I think I went through at least a half of a box of tissues and felt emotionally drained when I stopped. And, obviously, I absolutely adored watching them with the volume up trying to see through my teary eyes of joy. I think my favorite was Steven Tyler leading a medley of Beatles hits from the White Album as an offering to the honoree, Paul McCartney. Number two was Heart doing Stairway To Heaven for Led Zeppelin. They were both spectacular.

This caused me to remember musicians and groups that I've experienced in person over the years like, Elvis, Boz Scaggs, Rick Nelson, The Eagles, Tommy Emmanuel, Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Neil Diamond, and more. I remembered one of the earliest when I was invited to a senior prom by a girlfriend who lived in Tiburon, now a very high-end area across the bay from San Francisco. Their prom was held in San Francisco and they had three groups playing, all of them along one wall, taking turns. This was 1968, and there was Tower of Power, Sons of Champlin, and Vince Guaraldi. Wow. I was blown away. Our proms had Ralph Rawson and his orchestra. . . so sad. I went to five junior and senior proms, and four of them had Ralph Rawson.

As I sat down trying to remember all the artists I've experienced in person, I found some really hard to remember, and I'm sure I haven't recalled them all. Then I thought about what I was doing and started laughing, and though I was thinking of something else, I decided to write about this mind wandering through the somewhat cloudy waters of nostalgia. Then I thought, what makes something memorable? I answered because I'm the only one nearby, that what makes something memorable is that it is something that is incredibly easy to remember.

Then, I thought, duh! You can see the depth of my analytical mind. This came up because I was putting in some mental labor trying to remember more of the artists that were not memorable. One of those was Donny & Marie Osmond. I had sort of forgotten that show for the most part, although they put on a heck of a show once I remembered, and yet some of the artists or groups came to mind in a heartbeat. Interesting how memorable my memory is.


Is It Real? Or, Is It Memorex? 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting your emotions run freely for a while. No-stalgia, Yes-talgia, what-eva.

Daily Inspiration 3-8-18

"Imagining is perhaps 

as close as humans get 

to creating something out of nothing 

the way God is said to." 

-- Frederick Buechner 

[Classic post from 11-25-16]

Frederick continues, "It is a power that to one degree or another everybody has or can develop, like whistling. Like muscles, it can be strengthened through practice and exercise." 

"If imagination plays a major role in the creation of literature, it plays a major one also in the appreciation of it. It is essential to read imaginatively as well as to write imaginatively if you want to know what's really going on. A good novelist helps us do this by stimulating our imaginations--sensory detail is especially useful in this regard, such as the way characters look and dress, the sounds and smells of the places they live and so on--but then we have to do our part." 

Bob Proctor on an audio taught me how to practice imagination. He said something like this: Imagine yourself on the beach of an enchanting tropical island, lying in a hammock strung between two palm trees with the shade of the trees keeping the hot sun at bay. You feel the warm soft breeze flowing over your body. As you are looking at your perfectly tanned body, you realize that you are looking better than you ever have, and that feels oh so good. You reach down and grab a handful of the fine white sand and feel it sift through your fingers as you move your fingers and squeeze your hand closed. You hear the gentle rhythmic lapping of the water against the shore, and you can hear seagulls mewing not far away. In the distance, you hear music with the unmistakable sounds of someone playing steel drums. You can smell there is some outdoor cooking going on near where the music is coming from. That delightful smell causes you to feel a bit hungry. Just then, your favorite island cocktail arrives, and you feel the icy cold glass and take your first sip through two of those skinny little straws as you notice the little bamboo umbrella in a piece of fresh pineapple . . .

Could you imagine any of that, sense it, feel it?

This morning, I was reading a bit from Abraham, Esther Hicks that makes perfect sense; albeit, we often resist it. They said:

"Whatever your focus of attention, it is summoning the Life Force--and it is the feel of the Life Force that life is about. The reason that you are summoning it is inconsequential. In other words, it is every bit as possible to feel as much joy in the preparation of your taxes as in the planning of an ocean cruise." 

They continue, "There is no value in using happy-sounding words if you do not feel happy. The Law of Attraction is not responding to your words, but instead, is responding to the vibrations that are radiating from you. It is quite possible for you to use all the right-sounding words at the same time that you are in a state of powerful resistance to your own Well-Being, for the words you use are not important--how you feel is what matters." 

When we want something or something different than we are currently getting, the most positive self-talk, written affirmations, or even reading the words written by the most spiritual of teachers is of very little use. The words at best can only entice you toward a feeling within you and it is that feeling that is attracting more that is like that feeling. How we are feeling is our vibration that Abraham, Esther Hicks, and many others refer to all the time.

How we change our vibration to match what we really want, and this is true especially when we are trying so hard to be positive, is to practice our imagination. As we develop and exercise our imagination to the point that we are smelling, hearing, touching, tasting, and thereby experiencing in our mind that which we are imagining, this is the magic that leads us to change our vibration and via the Law of Attraction to attract more of that which we want.

At the same time, it is completely unproductive in the direction we want to go to give any energy to what we do not want, or what is now that is not to our liking. Pushing against anything only draws more of that which we are pushing against. Here's where dropping the rope is key to change. Then, begin imagining what you want until you are feeling it as fully as you can. No need to spend all day at that, just a few minutes each day will do perfectly.


The Imaginative Mind Is The Tool Of Experience. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by focusing on that which brings you joy.

-Daily Inspiration 3-7-18

"Nothing is more honorable 

than a grateful heart." 

-- Seneca 

[Classic post from 11-24-16]

As I awoke with my eyes still closed early this morning, I asked myself a question. I asked, "what am I really thankful for in my life?"

My first answer came very quickly. I said, "to be me, in this life, learning, and all in all, to experience all of it--the learning; the expansion; the sensory acknowledgement, and I am especially grateful for living to the point that I have come to understand myself as the creator of what I experience."

Well, it was very close to that, but I've had some breakfast and coffee to think it through just a bit more. . .

In all my past, the answer would have been quite different. I would have been thankful for things, for certain people and having a relationship with them. There would have been some obligatory mentions, and sound bites that increased its sounding wise over time. Nonetheless, they would have all been outside of myself.

In all my past, I've not been especially thankful for me, and I've come to know for sure and for certain, that this was a habitually repeated mistake.

After all, what matters more than my experience of my life? There would be no one or no thing to be grateful for without my experiencing this life.

As I am inside my body looking out, I see things, circumstances, opportunities, and people that I am thankful for, and I have learned to consider and express that more and more, and yet have so rarely thought of expressing my gratitude for the opportunity to be me, to live this life that is me, to share this life that is me, to simply and exquisitely be me.

It is not ego. Ego is always trying to be better than, worse than someone or something else. This isn't the ego talking. It is awareness.

When someone asks the question, "what do you value?" Would you be first on the list? Or might you think that egotistical? Yet, to not consider ourselves in this value list, gratitude list, and even at the top of it before anything else, I think diminishes that value and thankfulness.

I've written about loving myself, having unconditional love for ourselves, to accept being perfect in our imperfection, to allow our uniqueness to be pure, and that love begins with the appreciation of ourselves. From this place, any love we feel for and share with others, any appreciation we have for things, events outside of us is exponentially expanded.

It seems from my life passed that I've more often been down on myself in many ways, from being not enough of this, too much of that, insecure about all manner of things, not understanding and appreciating the value of the ego, but instead being at war with it. I was very much into manipulation, of my inner talk, and my outer actions. My intent might be one thing while the result another.

Now, I am enamored in that I have lived to the point that I understand that I am in control--that I am the creator of my own life--and even more important, I am the experiencer of my life. I am not negating one bit the Creator who created this that I call me. In fact, I am even more in awe of that gift as I accept and appreciate that which is me, and also recognize the ongoing and grander awareness of that connection still in force, and has never left me for a moment in time.


From This Place, I Am More In Touch With What It Means To Be Thankful. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by fully accepting yourself as the pure delight that God created.

Daily Inspiration 3-6-18

"Who looks outside, dreams; 

who looks inside, awakes."

-- Carl Jung 

[Classic post from 11-23-16]

After yesterday's post, I was contemplating the duality of our world here on this planet, in this time-space environment. It is said that we cannot truly know joy without knowing pain, or that we cannot know love without knowing hate or fear, and so on. And though this might be true for many, it is not a requirement. It is much simpler than this.

I think it is true that what is going on outside of us is a direct reflection of what is going on inside of us. We see with our eyes that which is outside of us, and all the interpretations of that information are done on the inside. We use our brain to recognize and extrapolate what it means. We interpret based on known information and experience what anything means to us.

I was specifically thinking last night and this morning about the adage that we cannot know happiness without knowing unhappiness, or that we cannot really know joy without knowing fear, and so on. In other words, we cannot know this feeling without having experienced the opposite feeling as if it is a requirement in order to feel something. Is it really necessary to feel bad so that we can understand and experience what it is to feel good?

I love Abraham, Esther Hicks' emotional scale found in their book, Ask and It Is Given, as well, I have shared it a few times in these Daily Inspirations. It has 22 places and goes top to bottom where at number one is love, joy, freedom all the way to depression and powerlessness at number 22, with various improving or degrading emotions in between. It isn't meant to be a complete list because we have hundreds, maybe thousands of words to express a feeling point. But, I think it is helpful and has been for me.

At one point, I felt that I agreed that to know and appreciate love, feeling those emotions that are the opposite enhances what it is like to really know love, and although that can certainly be true, it is not a requirement. We get to choose all day, every day of our lives how we want to feel.

I interpret Carl Jung's quote this way: Looking outside at what is going on and paying much attention to it is dreaming. It is happening to us. We often react to it one way or the other. It's sort of visually like being a pinball in a pinball machine. And, looking inside is awakening. This is where we realize that we have much more control than we imagined as we were focused on the outside. We have guidance within to help us change, rearrange, or reinterpret the events outside of us, and we realize that within is where everything is interpreted. Inside is where we realize that we are in control of our life here to the point that we accept that control and make use of it. And, the really good part is that we are not alone in that task. In addition, we can create from the inside that which is going on outside, or rather, where we can create what we want to see on the outside by accepting and practicing that idea.

Just after I wrote and published yesterday's post, I received this message from Abraham, Esther Hicks, and I thought it was perfect:

"Source is there for everyone at all times. We are always there. And so when you are aware of the presence of Source and when you are not offering a vibration that prevents you from your alignment with Source, then you have those wonderful moments. And you can do that all the time. And people refer to those who are doing that as masters. But all of you can do that. It is the mastery of focus. That's what it is." 

So my experiences at the grocery store and the clouds were not so much what was outside of me, but what was inside. It was how I interpreted it. It was what I was looking to see. I have learned that I want to feel good, and I now find all manner of ways to feel good. I am not required to feel bad in order to feel good. I get to choose all day, every day.

I'll add this affirmation from the sign on my wall that I've shared many times, also from Abraham, Esther Hicks: "Today, no matter where I'm going, and no matter what I am doing, it is my dominant intent to see that which I am wanting to see." 

I am wanting always to feel good, and feeling good to me is all about seeking to find things to appreciate, realizing that we are all from the same Source, being in joy as much as possible because joy is feeling good regardless.


I Now Spend Most Of My Time On The Feeling Good Side Of The Stick. I Don't Need To Feel Bad To Experience What Feeling Good Is Like Or To Try To Enhance It That Way. I Just Like Feeling Good. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by choosing to feel how you want to feel, and I'm guessing that feeling good and being injoy is really your desire.

Daily Inspiration 3-5-18

"I did have difficulty

with someone telling me they loved me, 

and then putting a limitation

on what I can do or be. 

Love shouldn't diminish you, 

it should enhance you." 

-- Carole Bayer Sager 

[Classic post from 11-21-16]

In a relationship, we often give the other more power than they deserve. It's as if we have this amount of power between us, and then we shift much of our own power over to the other, leaving us with less. But, there is plenty to go around when we accept our own power, while also allowing the other their own. When we try to impose our thoughts and needs on the other, we give them a responsibility that is not deserved, and many times, they just mess it up.

Anita Moorjani was talking with someone in her book, What If This Is Heaven? about choosing joy. She offered some questions for that person to consider. "How can I love myself more? How can I support myself more? What would I be doing if I did love myself? What can I do each day to show myself how much I love and support myself. And then I would write down what comes to me and actually do these things each day." 

She adds, "I've also learned that it's important to feel that what I'm doing comes from a place of love and not from a place of fear; that is, I make whatever choice I make because I love myself, treasure my life, and want to feel good again--not because I fear what will happen otherwise." 

As I look at the newspaper, it is a place to advertise for some of our clients, but more than this, it is an instrument of fear. It is so biased toward fearful events that have happened, and a good number that might happen, that it would be easy to think that this is the way the world is. As we look at movies, television, social media, and the Internet, the mix seems so similar. It's hard to know what is real or not sometimes because people publish things out of context, and ignorance, and negative emotion. This is often true with how relationships are shown in the supermarket tabloids, and popular magazines. Who's divorcing whom, who's cheating on whom, and so much more.

It would be easy in paying much attention to all of this to ask, where is the love? But, at the very least, each negative thing or statement we see, there is a minimum of one positive one that may not be shown. The Ying and Yang, the plus and minus. We live in a world of duality.

But, we get to choose what we focus on. Equally, in a relationship, we get to choose for our own health, happiness, and well-being--indeed, loving ourselves as fully as we can, or hoping the other will do it for us. At best, they could only succeed sometimes. It's too much for them to take care of themselves and us at the same time with the fullness of that which we seek from them. It's not really their job. It's ours.

The quote at the top came from a just-released book by Carole Bayer Sager, titled, They're Playing Our Song: A Memoir. They became lovers and collaborators, and soon enough their hopes of what the other would be for them became the impossible dream--unless. . . that is unless they gave up themselves and gave it all to the other. And, of course, that would only play for so long too. We easily lose respect for people who give up themselves. 

I see this all the time in movies and books and if I read them, in magazines and other publications. As well, I've seen and experienced it in my own life too.

The part that was missing in my own life was loving myself, respecting myself, caring for myself, which affected the other and vise versa. We can't be selfless and be ourselves, can we? When we give up ourselves, what good are we to a partner? It's like taking all the flavor out.

Let's go back to the questions above. How can we love ourselves more, care for ourselves, do and be what we need to be? How can we do this and share a life with another? I think it makes sharing a life with another as perfect as that can be, providing we are both loving ourselves as much as we love the other.


When We Give Up Ourselves, We Have Nothing To Give. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by finding ways in which you can feel more joy, feel more love, injoy yourself, love yourself--even up to how God is loving you and injoy about you.

Daily Inspiration 3-4-18

"You do not have to conform

to a particular idea

of what success represents. 

You are successful exactly as you are." 

-- Bashar 

[Classic post from 11-20-16]

Bashar adds, "remove the expectations! It doesn't have to manifest exactly as your ego or your habits think it should. It doesn't have to! Let it manifest along the path of least resistance. Stop fighting yourself. You do not have to push yourself into a mold. You fit exactly where you are." 

Sometimes, we might think that we are not deserving enough, or that we aren't this or that enough, or that it isn't in the cards, but that's just putting obstacles in our own way.

Let's let go of that whole deserving idea. According to Bashar, "You deserve anything you can conceive of just because you have the ability to conceive of it. You don't have to earn the right to deserve happiness; you already have that right because you exist." 

We often create 'rules' for success, happiness, or whatever we say we want in our lives. It will come when __________, I have to get to ____________, I have to pay my dues, and a thousand and one more. There is only one rule: Decide.

By deciding what we want, by acknowledging how it is feeling to us as if it is accomplished right this moment, it cannot not come. As Abraham, Esther Hicks has often said (in my minor paraphrasing), "be as specific as you can and still feel good, but if you are not feeling good, let go of the specifics, but hold on to the way it feels as if you had it." When the specifics start causing us to feel off, have anxiety, bringing up that old deserving aspect, we are encroaching the part that is not our job, or as Mike Dooley calls it, "the curs-ed how's."

We have so much more power than we think. We get to make it all up. We get to choose how we will feel. If we are feeling bad, or off, we can instantly change that by recognizing it is happening, then pivoting toward something that feels better. When we try to conform to someone else's idea of what success is or happiness, or anything else, we are trying to take on the curs-ed how's. Our job is what, not how, and it's a good thing too because how is full of problems for us, but for God, whose job of how truly is, it is child's play.


You Are Perfect The Way You Are. You Are Perfect The Way You Choose To Be Next. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Relax. Enjoy the ride. You're the driver.

Daily Inspiration 3-3-18

So, the story of young George Washington 

goes like this (from my memory in school): 

George's father: 

George, did you cut down the cherry tree? 

George: 

Father, I cannot tell a lie. 

No, I did not. 

[Classic post from 11-19-16]

Is George telling the truth? Does George's father believe that his son is incapable of lying? Or, could it be that there are quite a number of versions of the truth? Is anyone truly honest all of the time, or do we make all manner of judgments and develop countless punishments only for the very few?

When I was a young kid, my mom or dad would ask if I had done something when they knew darn good and well I did it, as they listened to me say I did not. Much of the time they knew I was lying, and I got the board, belt, sent to my room to contemplate the next move, etc. That is, until one day as I was somewhere between 10 and 12 years old I think, my answer to the question from my step-dad was, "what's it to ya?" Well, I don't know if you can guess what happened next, but he slapped me so hard in my face that my glasses flew all the way across the room. That quelled the bolder new me for a while.

Do kids lie? Do bears do it in the woods? Do parents lie? Do bees make honey? Does everyone lie? Hmmm, I can't speak for everyone, but my guess would be yes, under certain circumstances at least.

I ran across this piece from Abraham, Esther Hicks that sheds some beautiful and colorful light on the subject of liars and truth-tellers:

"If you feel drawn to someone, but you are annoyed because you think that they are telling you some lies, try to look beyond the lies and try to focus upon the feeling. People offer all kinds of words for all kinds of different reasons. Most lies are offered to try to keep things in alignment. We're not encouraging it, but the motive behind lying is usually a pretty honorable motive. In other words, when a child lies to their parents, it's usually because they want to be free to do what they want to do, and they don't want their parents to be upset about it. It's about wanting an alignment. Physical ears have a hard time hearing this. You keep talking about "We need to be honest." And we say, we don't meet any of you who are honest. Even those who claim to be the most virtuous, are not honest, but your vibration always is. We would trust the feeling more than the words." 

After I read this, I instantly got some insight into children lying, and speaking for myself, my own lying even as an adult when I felt the need to do so. Then I thought about the parent and child situation, and wondered, what if the parent understood what Abraham understands about this situation, and they did not react, but responded with love? What if there were no consequences? Interesting. What if the parents taught alignment with our inner being as our guidance system and that this was the most important thing to understand and learn to follow? What a different world that would be, at least in that one world.

I think lying is as natural as breathing when it comes to communication. Heck, look at the most recent election. But, regardless of what words come out of a person's mouth, it is their vibration that is key and we can all sense the vibration of others when we allow ourselves to do that, which allows us to know a great deal more than the words tend to speak.

Liars Are People. People Are Sometimes Liars. Unconditional Love Sees No Problem. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by laying down the resistance rope. We all do what we think is best, and we also know everyone has an opinion. Just take a chill pill and let it all go. We are all connected. We understand more than we will admit.

Daily Inspiration 3-2-18

"Ask, 

and it will be given to you; 

Seek, 

and you will find; 

Knock, 

and it will be opened unto you."

-- Matthew 7:7, NAS, The Bible 

[Classic post from 11-18-16]

What a magnificent quote from the Bible. Notice what it doesn't say. It doesn't say, "Complain, and you will have more to complain about; close your eyes and mind and you will be blind to opportunity; forget about your power and you will experience powerlessness." No, it doesn't say this, but these would be equally true with the words from the Bible.

It has been said, and I have heard it, and read it many times over the years that, "it is better to give than receive." You've probably heard it and maybe even said it yourself, but do you find it to be true? And, if so, why do you believe it? Is it because you think this is the right thing to do, to be selfless, or is it because of how you feel doing one or the other? Was that feeling taught you, or did you experience it on your own?

Here's a better question: Is it possible to give without receiving? Likewise, is it possible to receive without giving? And, another: is giving really better than receiving? Is there something selfish about receiving?

Some of us who have believed that very old adage that it is better to give than receive, are leading lives with a huge lack of receiving. We are not getting what we want because we somehow think that we don't deserve it. We might even think that we deserve the lot in life we have become accustomed to--never enough money, unsatisfying jobs, and a very long list of lacking this and that and the other. Is giving really better than receiving? Why is receiving lacking when compared with giving?

I think it is purely training. Perhaps well-meaning training. It may have been passed down generation to generation. Yet, it is only real as we say it is real.

Abraham, Esther Hicks in their first published book, Ask and It Is Given, is exactly as the Bible quote from Matthew 7:7. Abraham says that whatever you ask, it is gladly given. They say, that there are three parts to this simple, yet profound teaching. Step one: Ask. This is our job. Just like the sign on my wall that begins with, "WHAT is my job." Asking is always our job. If we are not asking, there is no getting.

Step two: It is given. This is exactly what the Bible quote says, isn't it? It is given. Ask, and it is given. There isn't any negotiation. It is done. It is given. As soon as we ask, it is given. Gladly. With unconditional love. No magic, just fact. This part is not our job, and as the second part of my sign on my wall says, "HOW is God's job." I don't need to know how because that is not my job. My job is to ask. When I ask, it is given. Done deal.

Step three: Receive. Now, here's where it gets dicey. God says, ask, and it will be given; seek, and we will find (with our eyes and mind open!); and, knock, and it shall be opened to me. All the same thing. We say what we want, it is given, and asking, seeking, knocking are not activities as they might seem, but expressions of our desires. Abraham, Esther Hicks from a seminar in 2001 said this:

"You might say, "How do I know if I'm in a receiving mode or not?" And we say, you always feel good when you're in a receiving mode. When someone offers you a compliment, do you receive it, or do you sort of just shrug it off? There's something about believing that you must justify your existence through your effort or through your perseverance, through your struggle. And many of you just have not practiced the receiving mode." 

Most of us who have always believed that it is better to give than receive, have taken that to heart to the point that they are not allowing themselves to receive in many different ways. Some are not feeling deserving, not loving ourselves, not believing they can have what they want, feeling powerless, unworthy, and many more. But receiving is part of the three-step equation, and it isn't just Abraham, is it? What comes next from the Bible quote is receiving. Ask, and it is given. Receive and you shall accept the gift that is given.

Part one is our job. We must ask. But, as Jesus said, we are so enhanced by the power of our asking as we ask in believing. I want this, and I believe I can have it because when I ask it is always given. I don't even need to trust. It is always given.

Part two is not our job. God, the Universe, All-That-Is will be fully in charge of this part. It is given. Every time. All we need do is ask. However, if we are complaining, lamenting, not believing, we get that too. The asking part is our choice and whatever we ask is okay, and whatever we ask is given in love, even if we are not loving ourselves.

Part three is our job. Are we ready to receive? Will we feel deserving to receive? If God says whatsoever ye ask is yours, then what point is there is arguing with this by feeling undeserving. Receiving is as important as giving. It is not more important or better to give than receive. They are both equally important. We have much to share (giving), and we have much to learn and delight in (receiving).

Trust. Trust that the Bible verse and Abraham's plan is true. Consider what you're asking, and take joy in that it is given while accepting that the asking is given by receiving with equal joy and confidence.


What's The Difference Between Asking For What We Want Or What We Don't Want? Joy! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by receiving the joy that is offered to you every day, everywhere you go, even as you are standing still.

Daily Inspiration 3-1-18

"How often do you find yourself 

paying a lot of attention 

to the cracks in the sidewalk, 

when to focus on the horizon 

would be so much more beneficial?" 

-- Terry Minion 

[Classic post from 11-17-16]

The other day when talking with a client's representative, I said to her much the same thing as above. We were discussing the idea of following web stats on their site, and I said that giving that a lot of attention is like watching the cracks in the sidewalk when to give most of our attention to the horizon can be much more beneficial. It's true. Web stats change so much and so dramatically, and after a while, it becomes like the tail wagging the dog instead of the other way around.

When I was a kid, probably between the ages of 7 and 11, we made our own skateboards. This was long before the kind of skateboards you can buy now. We took a piece of 2x4 of sufficient length, took those old steel roller skates that you could put on to any shoes with clamps and straps, pulled them apart and nailed them on to each end of the board. That was our skateboard, and it was fun--and scary at the same time.

Those old, inexpensive steel wheeled skates were problematic on anything except smooth concrete. You had to watch the cracks in the sidewalk, and raised portions of the concrete so that you wouldn't hit them wrong and have the skateboard suddenly stop and due to momentum, I would keep going, soon enough falling down, skinning something or another. The worst thing was little rocks. They would stop those boards no matter how fast I might be going.

So, it became obvious to watch out for trouble. . .

Yet, if one was to become really good at skateboarding, he or she would have to pay far more attention to the horizon, or the bigger picture, and the faster you wanted to go, the more this was true. If you wanted to get good at it. You could say that it was trusting, looking on the bright side, not worrying, enjoying the process, believing it would be just fine.

Isn't this a great analogy of our life in general? The horizon is the place to focus. When we give more attention to the cracks, the pebbles, the changes in rising and lowering of things, we often lose track of where we're going, why we are doing a thing. The horizon is where growth is, and watching the cracks is anticipating lack of growth. The horizon is having hope and confidence, and watching the cracks is not trusting, worrying, and then you look up for a moment and there are a mother and her baby carriage, toting a young child holding her hand taking up the whole sidewalk. . . React quickly!

How often do I give so much attention to the details that often don't really matter very much? When I predict the future based on the past, I am immediately putting stones in my path. There is only now, and as I enjoy what is right now, enjoy the view and the experience of whatever I am doing without worry or concern, I am fulfilling the grand purpose of life. When I trust, like the sign on my wall that says, everything is always working out for me, it does, and it will.

How often might you be paying attention to the cracks in the sidewalk, when the horizon gives you the best view?


Loving Life Eyes Wide Open. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by raising your vision to the joy that is all around you.