It's About Me - Emerging - From the Morass

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BE AUTHENTIC - Rediscover Who You Are

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7 Ways to Discover Your Soul's Desires and Change Your Life

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Self-improvement is the only way to empowering yourself. This journey is never finished when you consciously decide to change what is not working in your life.

It doesn't matter if it's more "things", more money, more recognition, etc. Your clue is that dissatisfied feeling of not-enoughness after getting what you thought you wanted.

We all experience these feelings but not many of us are brave enough though, to heed and follow those yearnings that just will not go away. It's your soul's desires calling and it makes for a sad, silent and deeply unhappy person when you ignore it and forge ahead with your "planned" life.

You can begin taking small steps toward understanding yourself, by clarifying your thoughts in order to discover who you really are. This is important because we all lie to ourselves, daily. Only then would you begin to unearth what makes you unique. That's all part of the journey, not the so-called achievement at the end because learning never ends.

Success and happiness go hand in glove when we do what we love. Seriously and I didn't believe that until it happened to me! This is as natural as the rising and setting of the sun, birdsong in springtime, reflections in clear pools and the smile on a baby's face. We always need so many words to try to describe a particular feeling, don't we...

As Abraham-Hicks says there's really no problem and there will be no struggle if we all just go with the flow instead of fighting against the current of what is simply because we have been taught to believe this way is normal.

Personal growth is why we are here - we are spiritual beings living a human experience - and everyone has their role to play so you must focus on yours only and forge ahead. 7 ways to Discover Your Soul's Desires and Change Your Life.

If you knew everything was really all right, and that it always has a happy ending, then you would not feel trepidacious about your future. Everything is really so very all right! If you could believe and trust that, then, immediately everything would automatically and instantly become all right. 
~Abraham

1. Journal Every Day

Journalling clarifies your thoughts and feelings, highlights your motivations and unearth insights into particular events which did not strike you at the time. A journal is a private chat between you and your Self. It's a great way to vent without hurting anyone's feelings, be abusive as you like and get the shit of your chest that's stressing you to the max.

What a fantastic tool for self-discovery when you review it days, weeks or months later, identifying what makes you tick and get ticked off, your shadow side, your warts with which you must become comfortable, and the challenges you face climbing your ladder of personal growth. After years of practice, I discover new insights all the time about myself and others that didn't strike me at the time! It works. Drop your Self a few lines each day.



2. Meditation

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Most people don't think of meditation as a means of improving themselves. If I didn't go to my inner well of stillness every day, I would still be a basket case today. My Jungian psychologist encouraged me many years ago to journal every day.
 

I now know for sure that meditation is the perfect way to become stressless and feel good all the time! 

Sitting or lying comfortably and quietly without interruptions for fifteen to thirty minutes each day, in a calm space by yourself, with or without soothing music, focussing on your breath going in and out of your nostrils, clears unnecessary thoughts from your head.

It works because you are no longer thinking. You are focussed instead on your breath going in and out of your nostrils or your belly or wherever you feel it. 

Afterwards, you feel calmer, think clearer and are able to act in a more thoughtful manner. 

It is a proven medical fact that continued meditation improves your digestion, health, sleep pattern and minimises stress. The key word here is practice. Make the time every day whether you stay in bed longer in the morning or you do so before going to bed.

3. Maintain Positive Thoughts 

This appears to be the most difficult to achieve but that's because you allow others to influence and manipulate you especially when they know that you are intent on change for your betterment. People are like that. Don't be surprised by it.

When you expect a negative outcome you will get exactly that and unless and until become aware of your thoughts and deliberately stop yourself and think something positive and uplifting. Continue to review your objectives and remind yourself about why you want to change and improve your life.

The only way to achieve success is to expect positive results. You and only you, are responsible for the thoughts you think! Are you really going to allow some silly, self-serving bitchy complaining critical remark, aimed to hurt and derail you, put you off your game? Are you really and truly going to allow challenges to impede your progress when you know how far you have come?

I have discovered that the best way to nix all this crap is by writing down your desires, coming up with achievable goals, creating a plan of action to make them come true one step at a time and every.single.night. list what you created that day. Re-read the previous list of everything that went well. Nothing brings a bigger smile to your face than that. Rock on!

The starting point of all achievement is desire. 
~Napoleon Hill

4. Written Goals Require Action!

A written goal is your intention you send out to the Universe. Write down a small goal, one thing that you know you can do right now and is so inconsequential that it's not a big deal and tape that piece of paper or index card somewhere you will see it every day. When you see your written goal in black and white, you automatically begin thinking of ways to achieve it.

You want to take action to make it come true because seeing it keeps it active at the front of your mind. How long did it take to make it happen? Wasn't it great and that was a "small goal"! Imagine the greater feeling of satisfaction on something more significant!

Writing down your goals and seeing them in black and white activates your imagination and you begin thinking of ways to achieve it. Ideas come from the most unlikely sources at times because you have taken the most important step to crystallise your desire. You want to make it happen.

When you feel depressed or disappointed with yourself, as will happen, when plans don't work out, go back to your list. Write down the what and the how and be honest about the why (you and your actions), then decide and course correct with a new action plan. Failure only happens when you stop trying. And where did i get all this...from Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich.

5. Journey of your soul's desires

Allow meditation to be your anchor and the pivot around which you improve the areas of your life that you know need work. You will need it once you embark on this journey of your soul's desires and make no mistake, this is what it is - resistance creates the most exquisitely painful experiences - everything in your life will be affected including your relationships, your health and your finances.

Personal growth means powerful change and you will find yourself often out of balance as you ramp it up. Consequently, it is essential to maintain or begin a physical fitness routine (as simple as a daily walk starting slow and building up your stamina). Meditation will take care of your mental and emotional fitness. You need social support from like-minded people like yourself who are genuinely rooting for your success. Community centers, Facebook groups and such are good options. Go with the flow: the direction of least resistance.

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort 
and struggle. ~Napoleon Hill

6. Affirmations

Positive affirmations will change you negative self talk you - that inner dialogue that is constantly repeating and self defeating. For me, Louise Hay has the best affirmations. Use those that resonate with you or create your own. Nothing exaggerated eh. It has to be general! This powerful tool can turn your life around and nix your discontented mind chatter.

Write down and repeat your affirmations every day, out loud and preferably in front of a mirror at home. Keep them with you in your bag or wallet or pocket. When you practice repeating affirmations, silently and out loud, you are in effect retraining your subconscious mind with positive self-talk.

7. You Teach What You Need To Learn

You take charge of your personal growth by teaching what you need to learn. Sure, you know the subject. That's not the issue. You teach what you learn however this is about self-growth and mistakes and self-correcting puts you and keeps you on course and everyone benefits. It's a perfect way of sharing yourself with the world.

Namasté

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BE THE CHANGE - Take Those Steps to Freedom - It is Inside of You

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Steps to Freedom by  Madisyn Taylor of DailyOM strikes a chord in me in this year of 2014 where my resolve to embody the feeling of positively conscious and serene is taking a serious beating.

Life is about accepting daily changes as they occur and that means everyday spirituality to me.

My difficulties simply highlight the veils that must be torn away and the people I meet tell me and show me the manner in which I must evolve by not just facing my "ugly" truth but also knowing when I must remain true to myself and my beliefs.

Right now, it's about absolutely fearless me (or so I thought) having to;

• face down an abuser, a bully and a neanderthal all rolled into one in a police case; I faced the fear I didn't know was there.
• confront an intelligent, gifted and almost schizoid individual who believes that everyone is against her no matter what she does and childishly demands that I show care and concern for her while at the same time she tries to bend me to her will via emotional blackmail and threats and makes denigrating remarks in the misguided belief of having superior knowledge; I extended kindness towards her while severing our relationship at the same time. That was new and rewarding for me. And finally,
• walk away from the mentally disabled women in the homeless shelter where I lived as I have finally accepted after two long years that I cannot assist them in any tangible way.  Sadly, they all decided that they did not want to change anything in their lives. Even though they said that to me at before I didn't believe it. I thought I could change their outlook and thus their minds but that was futile and I feel very sad about it. I walked away with a tear in my heart and good wishes in mind for them all.

Facing these challengers force me to face not only my beliefs but also lisen to their truths about me and question myself about it. I know my truth only after I examine my feelings, bypassing the instinctive anger at the disrespect shown.

I love who I am, right now!

Nothing has the power to move you from what you know to be right. You are unshakeable.

We all will take those steps to freedom or diminish and die - and we all have been on this road reincarnation after reincarnation for quite a while now - and it's not about free speech or anything so mundane.

No, the freedom of which I speak is inside of you, and you, and you. When you free yourselves from the bondage of other people's beliefs and step into your own, you will move mountains by your very determination and perseverance and passion for whatever cause inspires you.

It's not about placard waving although there's that too if it's your style. There's also quiet diplomacy and communication, community development activities, keeping your family together through thick and thin. Whatever moves you to act, grasp it, hold on tight, follow it through to the end and amaze yourself.

That's right, you're doing it for your Self. When you take those steps to freedom, you not only inspire others but those around you benefit in countless ways. You have to be the change; there is no one else!



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 STEPS TO FREEDOM

Change What Isn’t Working

If we don't change what isn't working in our lives, we will continually have the same day over and over again.

We have all had the experience of realizing that something in our lives is not working. This knowledge can come as a sudden realization or a nagging feeling of doubt that grows stronger, waking us up to the fact that something needs to change.

Some people have a tendency to act rashly and make sweeping changes before even understanding what the problem is. Other people fear change, so they live with the uncomfortable awareness that something needs to shift but won’t do anything about it. Between these two extreme responses lies a middle way that can help us powerfully and gracefully change what isn’t working in our lives.

The first step is remembering that your life is made up of parts that belong to an interconnected whole. Changing one thing can change everything. Because of this, small changes often have a big effect. Sometimes much bigger changes are necessary, but the only way to know for sure is to take the time to really understand the problem.

Examine your life as an entirety—your work, your relationships, where you live—and determine what specifically is not functioning the way you would like. Once you have figured out the problem, write it down on a piece of paper.

For example, “I am not happy with my relationship” or “I don’t like my apartment.”

The next step is to figure out the adjustment you would like to make and how you can go about making this change.

If you are unhappy with your relationship because you spend too much or not enough time with your partner, you may want to discuss this problem with them and come up with a compromise.

On the other hand, if you realize your relationship is not working to such a degree that it needs to end, begin working through that process. Writing down the truth can be a powerful catalyst for change.

The key to making changes that work is to accept the necessity of change as part of life. As we change, we may find it necessary to fine-tune our relationships, work, and living situations. Our lives are living, breathing entities that reflect our dynamic selves.

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Unseen Power of the Dark Moon - Purge Anything You Don't Want

Unseen Power of the Dark Moon by Madisyn Taylor is a powerful message for those of you open to the truth of what is. Be the change you want to see and trust the process. If it call to you then it's the right time regardless of what else is happening in your life.

The last 3 days of a lunar cycle is a time to let go and purge anything in your life that you want to change.

In ancient times, the moon was revered as a goddess, and each of her lunar phases – new moon, full moon, and dark moon – was said to correspond to the three phases of a woman’s life: maiden, mother, and crone. The moon has long been associated with our power within, and you do not have to be a woman to connect with the moon’s power.

The dark moon, which is associated with the crone phase, appears in the sky during the last three days of every lunar cycle. It cannot be seen with the human eye, but it is the dark moon that presides over the sky until a new 28-day cycle begins and a new moon is ready to appear.

Often referred to as the “dead moon,” the dark moon doesn’t necessarily represent death. It is, however, a time for life-enriching endings and a prelude to new beginnings.

When the dark moon appears, it becomes easier for us to shed unnecessary emotional baggage and free ourselves of people and ideas that no longer serve us or add value to our life.

It is a time to cleanse ourselves and create space so that what is new can enter. For many people, the dark moon is a time to rest, be introspective, and replenish their energy.

Powerful, healing dreams have been known to take place during the dark moon, and you may discover that it is during the dark moon that you are most driven to meditate, explore your intuitive abilities, retrieve past life memories, or delve more deeply into your psyche.

One way to harness the energy of the dark moon is to perform a ritual where you light a black candle.

Call forth and visualize the different parts of your life that you are ready to let go of. Through visualization, bind these parts together with light and imagine this bundle moving toward the candle. Watch these old parts being devoured by the flames, and let the candle burn out. Trust that what you’ve released has left you.

You are now ready to welcome the new into your life.

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A Tsunami of Pain and Rage Reconnects Me to My Self

A fabulous thing happened to me on the road to my new life. I got angry, very very angry at the most unjust act I have ever witnessed being inflicted upon a mentally ill woman that I have come to love and admire.

A tsunami of pain and rage reconnected me to my Self.

I wasn't there when other abusive actions were inflicted on Janice but my anger was simmering from the accounts I head and man, when I let loose it was like oxygen feeding a brush fire.

Awareness is the greatest agent for change. Eckhart Tolle

I raged, I sang, I screamed, I shouted, I talked loud, all day long to express the pain I felt. People must have thought I was going mad. I told her abusers who were supposed to be helping her exactly what I thought about them - blunt and raw - and what they should do to themselves about it.

My rage felt murderous and I swore if I had a gun... yeah, it was that bad!

The next day, the senior supervisor of the hostel where it all occurred tried to threaten and intimidate me because you see, he allowed it to happen and his girlfriend was one of those involved.

As the responsible officer he turned a blind eye to what was taking place and hoped (I'm guessing) that all would work out for the best - over three damn weeks - without his having to take any action.

The attendants at the shelter showed no empathy or compassion and they were actually 'fed up' because she was 'forcing' them to do something. That's horrible and sad at the same time isn't it.

I continued my protest the second day then went looking for my friend - after she was evicted from the hostel, a small, defenceless woman in a crime-ridden part of town, at night - but she wasn't to be found.

She was picked up and taken to the mental hospital on the third day after ransacking a man's house in the neighbourhood.


Because I couldn't find her, I reported the abuse of the four staff members to their boss at the St Vincent Society's office.

When I heard myself speaking to the officer I realised that something had changed. In hindsight, it's the sheer clarity with which I spoke and the silence all around was startling. I was as if "everyone" was listening - as if for that short period all was at a standstill.


For two successive mornings after my ranting and wailing, I woke with headaches which I never get, yet I was so lucid in thought and felt so refreshed. I felt great, weird but true.

True life is lived when little changes occur. ~Leo Tolstoy

On probing my feelings, words unbidden came to mind "I am back" and that made me pause in shock. It was like... WOW! I had found my Self again after almost one year of low-level depression from ending up in a homeless shelter with the roaches, no job, no money, living with homeless psychiatric outpatients and so on.
 
The third day I felt so fab I wondered then wished the feeling would last forever but right after I had that thought, another followed saying "this is normal". That too made me pause then on reflection, I understood, just go with the flow.

That pumping adrenaline that had swept over me for almost an entire day seemed to have swept away the debris that was blocking me, preventing me from seeing, feeling, making decisions and taking action. Basically, I had stopped living which I didn't grasp at the time.

Imagine a gusting, roaring wind that can lift you off your feet and blow you away but instead of doing that, it enters you and changes to a powerful, sweeping spring breeze, refreshing and full of vigor making you think of budding trees, bushes and flowers, dew on early morning grass reflecting jewelled colours under the still cool sunshine, birds tweeting and chattering, all reminding you of the world waking up to a marvelous early spring morning with blindingly bright blue skies and white puffy clouds.

That's how it felt, my waking up! Yeah, wowee!

Life's challenges got me so down that I had lost myself, completely disconnected from who I was and I didn't know it. Those around me are strangers so there was no one to grasp me and say "Catherine what's wrong with you" and if I hadn't felt that tsunami of pain in particular and rage about my friend's predicament the reconnection could not have been made.

We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are. ~Anais Nin

Let this be a lesson to you folks. That nonsense about politically correct will kill you if you don't find a way to not just express your feelings but also act out as necessary and release those tensions.

Stress kills, you know that.

I rediscovered my self respect and love of self which I only afterward knew had been sorely missed. I had even stopped my daily meditation and energy work. I am so grateful for that cleaning up.

Mahatma Gandhi said be the change you want to see in the world and I intend to continue being just that. It's great to be me!

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7 Practices for a Fresh New Year - Resolving What Really Matters and Opening The Door Within

Chinese character for Love 

The loveliest lady shrink I know, Cara Barker wrote a smashing article Resolving what really matters - 7 practices for a fresh new year. 

I completed this immediately after I read the article  and you know what happened, a door opened somewhere inside me.

Now, I haven't a clue on that means for my future but I am game to get it on. I do believe that is love — respecting the soul's needs. That is what I feel and therefore I have no other choice.

I must pursue this, pull at the end of this string and see where it leads.

Take your time and complete each of the seven points. They will highlight, unbeknowst to you, your accomplishments — when you probably think they were inexistent —and perhaps help you to flesh out your goals...

1 - Recall the gratitude you have for what others have given. (I am grateful for Maria, Georg, Marcos, Omar, Raymond, John, and other "human angels" whom I did not know last year but who have assisted me to embrace new challenges by their example of upbeat, loving service.

I am grateful to those of you who know who you are, who have gone above and beyond to assist me to "learn to walk again" in more ways than one.) Your turn. Make your list.
 2 - Recall the personal challenges that have helped you grow. Find compassion for the simple expressions of good that have come your way. (I am grateful for the encouragement of HuffPost readers, and your compassion as you claim your right to grow together, taking the time for outreach when it's impractical to take your time to do so.) Tell those who've assisted your unfolding.
 
3 - Recall moments of beauty. Beauty comes out of chaos. (I am grateful for the forest outside my window, the pond beside the forest, the hummingbirds at the feeder this December.) Share the memory with someone you love. Ask them theirs.
 
4 - Recall the new people, places and things you discovered that touched you most. (I am grateful for connecting with others who care about what's most important to the heart as we grow together, even while limping!) Write a thank-you notes in three sentences or less, and send them.
 
5. Recall the dreams that have continued to stir your heart, pressing your spirit to express them while you still can. (I remember my gratitude for unfolding clarity on The Love Project, and what must be created to live it out in the rest of my life.) Ask someone you love about their current dream, and share your own.
 
6 - Recall the unexpected moments of encouragement you've found in nature, in the stillness, or in a glance or look from another living creature that have reminded you that connection lives, and that life is richest when appreciating the simple things.
 
7 - Recall one favorite moment from this year that touched you deeply. (I remember my grandbaby touching my cheek, again and again, as she drifted off to sleep, and the awareness that what matters most, at the end of the day, is love.) Thank whomever needs thanking.

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How Lives Change When The Student is Ready - Bob Proctor's Story

How Lives Change

The story I am about to share with you may not be relevant to your life. But I can assure you, someone you know can benefit from it.

Read this slowly and then forward it to the individuals you know who feel stuck in life.

After close to fifty years of working in the field of personal development, I am acutely aware there are many people who feel caught in a trap. They're really not sure if or how they could ever spring themselves free.

A person feels stuck when they have no hope. You see hope gives you options. And a person without hope is not able to see any other way to live than what they're doing. And what they're doing is not working.

Today I am fortunate enough to own a company that operates all over the world. I have friends in many different countries. I have a fascinating team of people that work with me. I have great business partners. And believe me when I tell you, life is good.

However, it wasn't always like that. In October of 1961, I was unhappy, I was sick and I was broke. I was earning $4,000 a year and I owed $6,000. I had absolutely no assets. My formal education consisted of two months high school. And I had no business experience and a poor work record. I was 26 years old and I honestly felt like I was trapped.

Life looked to me like a dark tunnel. But then something wonderful happened. I met a man who saw something in me that I was not capable of seeing in myself. He got me to sit down and explain my situation to him. It was fairly obvious I was a lost soul.

Then he asked me what I really wanted. And I didn't know. I couldn't answer him. He made it very clear to me that my entire mental focus was on what I didn't want and why I wasn't capable of doing any better than I was doing. I was totally focused on problems and believe me I was attracting them in abundance.

The man who befriended me was Raymond Douglas Stanford. He was the first of six individuals who coached me over the past fifty years. I can honestly say these people were responsible for leading me into the bright clear light of day.

They helped me recognize that I had tremendous potential, and they assisted me in developing the awareness required to live a constructive, fulfilling life. Ray Stanford also made me aware that the mental prison I had confined myself in had no locks. I was capable of walking out of it at any time I pleased, but I didn't know how.

And I believe there are a lot of people today especially in the economy we are experiencing who may be losing a home or a job, who's attitude has been impacted by what's going on in their world. Many of these people feel there's no answer to their dilemma. They could and probably are doing what I was doing when I met Ray. They're focused on their present situation.

The doom and gloom is filling their mind. And they have to do what Ray taught me to do - clear your mind for a moment. Make believe everything is fine, and think about what you really want. Because that is what Ray did for me. Then he began to explain to me how everyone including me has infinite potential and the difference in people is the choices they make and how they utilize the potential that God gave them.

It's as Steve Bow, who was the Vice President of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, once said, "God's gift to us is more talent and ability than we'll ever hope to use in our lifetime. Our gift to God is to develop as much of that talent and ability as we can in our lifetime."

Raymond introduced me to Napoleon Hill's book Think and Grow Rich and he spent a lot of time explaining to me what Napoleon Hill had written about.

He explained that the premise that served as the foundation for Napoleon Hill's life's work was the following: "Anything the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve. " Ray made it clear that the operative word in Hill's premise was "believe."

He said everyone's imagination brings beautiful pictures to the screen of a person's mind. However, only a very small percentage of the world's population ever achieves the beauty or the abundance that flows across their mind from time to time. And he said the reason people don't achieve the good that they desire is for the simple reason they don't believe it.

Ray pointed out to me that if you hear anything often enough you will begin to believe it. And when you believe it, you'll achieve it. This is true of good and bad in our life.

Ray explained that if I would read Think and Grow Rich often enough and visit with him frequently to receive the support I required that I could literally turn my dreams into reality. I'll be honest with you, I did not believe him. But I did believe that he believed it. He actually believed that I could do better. And it was his belief in me that moved me on to the right side of the road.

I was prepared to do anything honest to earn some money, and I started to clean offices in my spare time. In less than five years, I had a company that was cleaning offices in Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Cleveland, Atlanta and London, England. My life was changing and it was changing rapidly.

But as Ray pointed out to me, what was really changing was my attitude and my belief about what I was capable of doing. And he made it clear to me that was happening because I was listening to someone that knew more than I did and was eager to help me.

I got so involved in studying Napoleon Hill's work that I was led to Earl Nightingale's condensed narration of Napoleon Hill's book Think and Grow Rich. Now I was reading the book and listening to a long playing record. I was developing a greater awareness. What I was actually doing was getting good advice from people who demonstrated by results they knew what they were doing.

Prior to meeting Ray Stanford I spent all my time talking to and listening to people that didn't know any more than me, people who were living in the same situation I was living in, who sympathized with my negative perception of life and why I couldn't win.

A number of years after Ray introduced me to Napoleon Hill's book Think and Grow Rich and Earl Nightingale's condensed narration of it, I left my own business and went to work with Earl Nightingale and Lloyd Conant of the Nightingale Conant Corporation.

It was then that my progress moved on to a fast track. Earl Nightingale and Lloyd Conant became my two new coaches. It was through them that I was introduced to two other men that had a profound impact on my life - Leland Val Van De Wall and Dr. C. Harry Roder.

These four men taught me more about the mind over the next four or five years than most people would ever learn in an entire lifetime. And it was there and then that I made up my mind I would spend the rest of my life teaching what I had learned to everyone and anyone who had a sincere desire to win, to improve the quality of their life, to live the abundant life which is our birthright.

My basic nature is that I am a quiet, shy, withdrawn individual. There are many people in the world that would not believe that because they only know me as they see me today, but I can assure you 42 years ago, that described me perfectly.

It was then that I met Bill Gove who was considered the Frank Sinatra of public speakers. I watched him speaking on a stage at the O'Hare Hyatt Hotel in Chicago, and I thought "WOW is he ever good."

And I thought if I could do what he does, I could teach what I know to thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people. And I thought "but I can't do that." It was at that very point that a record started to play in my head. It was a record I'd listened to thousands of times. It was a recording called the Magic Word, and it was a record on attitude.

At one point in the recording Earl said "Now right here we come to a strange fact. We tend to minimize the things that we can do, the goals that we can accomplish, and for some equally strange reason we think other people can do things that we cannot."

He said, "I want you to understand that is not true. You have deep reservoirs of talent and ability within you. You're capable of doing anything you desire." As I said, I probably listened to that recording thousands of times. And if you asked me if I understood it, I would have said, of course I do.

But as I watched Bill Gove stand on that stage and through his public speaking ability have that audience in the palm of his hand as I was thinking I wish I could do that but I can't, that record of Earl's started playing in my head and I suddenly realized "That's what Earl means! -- If Bill Gove can do it, I can do it!" And I made a decision there and then that I would not only learn how to speak in public as well as he was speaking, I would have him teach me how to do it, and he did.

He was the sixth coach that I've had. And today I am comfortable on a stage in front of thousands of people sharing this wonderful information that helps anyone understand regardless of their situation there is a way for them to win.

Today I'm living my dream. Through our coaching program we train thousands of people to change their situation and begin living the way they really want. We show individuals how to multiply their income, how to develop meaningful relationships, how to build their companies into global organizations, and we point out it all begins in their own marvelous mind.

I will forever be grateful to the individuals that coached me - that helped me understand we all have tremendous power within us. And life can be wonderful, but we must make it that way. The people I've just written about showed me how to do it. And they made it very clear to me that if I really wanted to be happy in life, that I should spend the rest of my life showing people what they taught me.

Bob Proctor

Bob Proctor was inspired to create his own coaching program in partnership with Carol Gates. They now coach people in 87 different countries. Bob and Carol have a comprehensive program where they work with you every week for 13 months to create life changing results.

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Embrace Your Truth - Be Authentic and Live it With Gusto

Your time is limited so don't waste it living someone else's life.

Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking.

Don't let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner voice.

And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. Steve Jobs

Living an authentic life and embracing truth does not mean telling everyone everything that is on your mind - that is just dumb as there is no reason to antagonise people needlessly by telling them what they do not want to hear.

It means living your beliefs everyday; it means being honest with yourself; it means keeping your word to yourself and others; it means embracing who you are in your totality, the beautiful and the warts.

When you do not honour your word, live what you believe, and say what you think, you lack integrity and that makes you a liar. That sounds harsh but we are all in this together; integrity and honesty go hand in hand.

Here is an everyday example: how do you feel when you leave a meeting, conversation or gathering wanting to kick yourself in the behind because you did not say what you wanted to because... in those moments you do not like yourself very much and the memory of those times lingers, until the next time.

Time to change that habit.

So, am I an honest person? Would you believe I used to say 'no' I felt embarrassed to admit that I was?! That does not mean that I will always be truthful about everything to everyone. Some things must be kept private but I will continue to speak my truth as uncomfortable as it makes me feel at times.

I am a work in progress.

Have you ever lied and the memory stuck with you years later? That happened to me on three memorable occasions and the last time was in 2009 when I did not keep my word. I felt two inches tall and that memory is indelibly etched in my brain.

Plus, lying makes me feel too uncomfortable and it is such a waste of time and energy as well, so why bother.

Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself. James Allen

Considering someone else's feelings is not a factor when I have something to say. I will not deliberately bruise someone's feelings but I have to express how I feel and what I see.

Whether it is accepted or not is irrelevant and if the person feels hurt, it is really how they receive the message that hurts them. Do remember that you cannot hurt anyone's feelings nor are you responsible for how they feel. Children excepted of course.

However, I am not one of those idiots who believe they have to say everything just because... silence is golden at times.

Do you believe that you are an honest person?

When you are being yourself sometimes you feel uncomfortable because you stand out when you stand up and not many people are at ease in those circumstances. We lie about: "honey, do you like this dress?"; the classic "Does my butt look big in this?"; "Are you okay"; "Any problems with this...?" and it goes on ad nauseum.

Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters. Einstein

Gandhi said Whenever you have truth it must be given with love or the message and the messenger will be rejected. That is because most of us tend to react defensively when we hear true talk from someone; it is not the norm in any society, and unfortunately most tend to use it as a blade to "get back" at someone who has hurt them, and so the crap continues.


I have learnt that you can speak your truth without belittling anyone. 

All of us are responsible for the way they feel and thus react; it has nothing to do with you and you can only make them feel comfortable by lying. There is nothing wrong with being honest!

Your security in life depends entirely on your recognition of your divine nature. Udel S. Andersen

Blaming someone else for anything that happens in your life is a lie on a grand scale.

My personal motto is "Don't ask me if you don't want to know" and that is the kicker here: honesty is the best policy and truth is personal because none of us have a lock on it. When we speak truth it is our truth. Linda Elinor says it best:

What you perceive, your observations, feelings, interpretations, are all your truth. Your truth is important. Yet it is not The Truth.

Speaking truth builds you in tremendous ways; it buoys you up, it lights up your path enabling you to clearly see the boulders, crevasses, pitfalls, pebbles etc. so that when you inadvertently fall, and you will, you pick yourself up if you know what's good for you with "Oops, my bad" and move on.

You give away your power when you lie to yourself thus refusing to accept responsibility for your actions.

It is irrelevant how a situation evolved.

The bottom line is that YOU gave away your power to someone else whether it was in a relationship (make me happy); at work (lack of responsibility); on a contract (you signed it without reading it); verbally (you wanted to believe what you heard); in a store (you did not ask questions); buying stocks (you pretended you understood); a medical procedure (you did not get a 3rd or 4th opinion), and so on.

This was all your responsibility (and mine).

Man is buffeted by circumstances so long as he believes himself to be the creature of outside conditions. James Allen

I had my power taken away very early in life. The pattern was set then and I ended up giving it away everytime I felt the crunch because I knew no better.

I learnt the hard way that it opened the door to all forms of abuse. We humans  love our self-destructive habits despite what we have learnt. We are happy being unhappy because that crap was recorded in our psyche in our growing up years.

We mightily resist change and become our own victims when disaster strikes because we ignore the persistent feeling that something is awry. It usually turns out that we were correct (but we took no action) then gleefully point accusing fingers "See, I knew it".

What is wrong with this picture?

It is time to get real people!

If you cannot or will not allow yourself to act as you feel comfortable being - okay, don't go out in public naked, people will think you are definitely nutz and call the cops -  then you are doing yourself an injustice and will continue to be unhappy and feel dissatisfied and the self-abuse will continue.

Embracing your truth is not for the fainthearted. It is a self-learning app and you are going to pat your damn self on the back every time you step out of fear and do what you are afraid of or unaccustomed doing.

Live each day with gusto and savor it!

All life is a chance. So take it! The person who goes furthest is the one who is willing to do and dare. Dale Carnegie

 

Follow up reading:

The well in the garden of the soul - William Horden, superb visualisation techniques

How bold is your creative expression? Time to find your mojo, Cara Barker - be you without shame or apology

Soul Talk: Acceptance - How to expand in the face of your fears, Russell Bishop

»»  read more

You Need to become More to Have More

Port of Spain, Trinidad

Jim Rohn's essay below The Great Challenge of Life smacked me on the forehead when it came in the mail from Bob Proctor's Insight of the Day. It was like 'well, duhh kinda obvious'.

I mean so many of us are struggling hopefully upward. We want more are always demanding more of everything and everyone but... here's the kicker if we don't do the work on ourselves we (you and me both) are not going to get anywhere.

Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless. Jamie Paolinetti

Each one of us must be the change we want to see in our lives. That is how we change the world by extension.

You want riches, feel rich inside. You want respect, respect yourself first. You want others to do what's right, YOU be first in line, no preaching. Others will follow by example.

So when you feel that life is shitting on you, seemingly endless challenges getting you down, look at yourself. Focus on the crappy thoughts you think about yourself and look at your resulting actions.

I am slowly and painfully learning what the great man said, you do need to become more in order to have more (of whatever it is you want). It all starts with you (and me).

The Great Challenge of Life


Here's the great challenge of life - You can have more than you've got because you can become more than you are.

I have found that income seldom will exceed your own personal development. Once in a while income takes a lucky jump, but unless you grow out to where it is, it will go back to where you are.

Somebody once said if you took all the money in the world and divided it among everyone equally; it would soon be back in the same pockets.

However, you can have more because you can become more. You see, here is how the other side of the coin reads - unless you change how you are, you will always have what you've got.

The marketing plan won't do it. It's a good plan but it won't work without you. You've got to work it. It is the human effort that counts. If you could send a sales manual out to recruit - wouldn't that be lovely?

The major thing that makes the difference is what YOU do.

In order to have more, you need to become more. The guy says "If I had a good job I would really pour it on, but I have this lousy job so I just goof off." If that is your philosophy, you are destined to stay there.

Some people say if I had a lot of money I would be really generous, but I don't have much so I'm not generous. See, you've got to change that philosophy or you will never have "the lots of money." Unless YOU change, IT won't change.

Amazingly, however, when we throw out our blame list and start becoming more ourselves - the difference is everything else will begin to change around us.

Jim Rohn
1930-2009, Author and Speaker 

Followup reading

Meditate to boost your self-esteem, Ed & Deb Shapiro
Be the change guide, Ed & Deb Shapiro
Soul Talk: Are you suffering unnecessarily, Russell Bishop
When hope is under attack, finding guidance from soul's beauty, Cara Barker

»»  read more

Live the Best of You not the Worst

When all is going well, you feel up, really pumped.You feel you can take on the world. It's such a marvelous feeling that nothing can get you down. Problems? What problems?! We can fix that!

Ideas flow in an unending stream - such a wonderful feeling...

You have people around who support and guide you. You recognise that a mistake is just something to be experienced. It's not a failure.

The best is yet to be. Robert Browning

No challenge is too great because you are in the stream going with the flow which in turn brings all the solutions to your door in one form or another.

Life is grand, stressful but it's good stress of working towards something positve and lasting.

It brings you joy that shines from within and expands outward further than you can possibly imagine. Sometimes you can't even express the vastness and solidity of the connection you feel inside but hey, as long as you know it's all good.

Your highs come with some lows and you recognise, hopefully early in the game, that you need to maintain a balance to maintain focus on what's real and important to you.

When we are criticized or attacked it is important to not take it into our heart space. Madisyn Taylor

Are you aware that it's possible to live this way permanently? It is but it takes work not hard work, eh. I'm talking about the effortless effort to stay in the flow and not allow yourself to be pulled out of the zone when you engage in another's story.

When you love what you do, it's not work and no matter the difficulties, solutions abound. Everything gels. That is effortless effort!

From my experience and I'm only just starting at 53, meditation in whatever form you choose is the key to maintaining a solid inner life while the outside world is off-kilter.

Port of Spain, Trinidad

Dan Millman's book The Peaceful Warrior beautifully illustrates this, and Ed and Deb Shapiro's books and articles discuss meditation for the uninitiated. One of their user-friendly articles on Huffington Post is linked below.

When life starts to go wrong, which by the way is impossible, you panic, you become afraid and your fear pulls you out of the flow and as a consequence, your connection to Source is blocked.

When that happens you get a sinking feeling in your stomach because you know you're up shit creek without a paddle and you don't know how to find your way back.

It's at this precise moment that you can stop, take stock and figure out where you went wrong, and return to the stream of consciousness. All will be well or at least better than you expected.

I have experienced this - both sides actually - but few of us are that aware and that was a passing phase for me because I was not conscious of what I was doing but it worked.

Know that all it requires is a decision and faith in your life choice.

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear. Mark Twain

When you don't reconnect with your higher Self, Inner Being, or whatever you call it, and you decide to fight against your circumstances you create more difficulties.

Because of this negative vibration, all that you touch seems to disintegrate and turn to muck. Then you being to act small (petty) just like everyone else. After all the situation demands it, right?

You then find yourself like the salmon constantly fighting your way upstream against the raging current, and like them you meet the hungry animals of land and air along the way just waiting to bite your arse off.

This kind of living can and does last years. I have lived that too. It's pretty damned awful and it feels worse when you finally understand that you and only you created your unpleasant living conditions.

Self-flagellation is the order of the day.

You have to decide to stop exhibiting the worst of you. You have to decide that you want and deserve a better life, that you are worth it. A prosperous life is your right!

Money is not the only measure of prosperity and in any case, when you are back on track money naturally flows to you.

You must decide to stop re-acting. It's a negative action with a a negative result. Decide to live to the best of you one day at a time. When you do so you rise and will eventually see others way down there and wonder why did I take so long. They really are little people.

Decide to be the change you want to see. You decide to take charge of your life and not leave it up to others. You get to decide to be open and listen to what others say to you.

Sometimes it's shit but you accept it because that's what you are living. Nothing wrong there so just brush it off.

Be bigger, taller, better, greater. You just may find a golden nugget in there too and when that happens, say thank you and move on.

Wisdom comes from the most unlikely places and that is why remaining open is essential for lasting change and growth.

It takes determination every day to live up to the best of you. No one can do it for you. Your efforts will be noticed and that is your signal that the tide is turning in your favour.

It's impossible to miss like people offering assistance unasked or support coming from the darndest of sources. Regardless of where it originates never look a gift horse in the  mouth.

It begins as a trickling stream and turns in a deep, powerful and unstoppable flow.

Say thank you and stay in it this time!

Pay attention to everything that uplifts you, ask for the guidance and support you need and for heaven's sake, be explicit and watch it come to you without any special effort on your part.

Offer blessings to those who have hurt or wronged you. That is the best medicine you can offer yourself. Forgive in your heart and smile. That's magic right there.

Dr Judith Rich sent me this magnificent mantra when I told her I wasn't up to blessing anything or anyone recently. When pain strikes offer yourself these words, use them as a mantra she says:

May the pain in your heart be soothed with the warmth of love.

May you send back love to those who curse or blame you.

May you see light in the darkness and follow it home.

May peace be your constant companion on the journey.

Be grateful for that steep learning curve and the lessons learnt and every day admire your life as it turns around for you, and like as said earlier, live the best of you, not the worse.

As Eckhart Tolle says in A New Earth, you are life so how could it not flow in your favour!

Soulful Reading:

Ending the Cycle, Madisyn Taylor

Let it roll off our backs, Madisyn Taylor

Your feelings matter, Mike Robbins

The Act of Blessing: A GPS guide to the soul, Judith Rich

The best friend you will ever have: Meditation, Ed and Deb Shapiro

Stillness is where creativity and the solutions to problems are found. Eckhart Tolle

»»  read more