Forge Strong Relationships in Spheres of your Existence

The world seems like a much brighter place when we choose to actively seek out the goodness that we understand exists in every individual we encounter.  

Though this innate human positivity may not at first be visible to us, we are willing to do what it takes to unearth this hidden beauty in our compatriots.  

As a consequence, we project an aura of warm and all-encompassing acceptance that can inspire others to treat us with a similar level of kindness and respect.  

We create a cycle of goodwill that flows outward from us into the individuals with whom we work and play, ensuring that we always concentrate on their positive traits and that they, in turn, concentrate on the goodness we strive to nurture within ourselves.  

The acceptance with which you greet others today will help you forge strong relationships in the various spheres of your existence. DailyOM

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Source of Power - The Manner You React to Circumstances in your Mind

Source of Power by Napoleon Hill

You will observe that neither success nor failure is the result of luck or chance. I warn you, before you read further, that the knowledge you are about to receive will forever deprive you of the privilege of resorting to alibis to explain away your failures.

I warn you, too, that you will never again be privileged to say truthfully that life never gave you an opportunity, for you will know definitely that as long as you have the right to form and express your own thoughts you have the potential power with which to change the circumstances of your life to whatever you wish them to be.

If your life is not what you wish it to be, you can truthfully say that you drifted into your present unhappy condition through the irresistible force of Cosmic Habit-force, but you cannot stop there because you shall know presently that time and Definiteness of Purpose, backed by Cosmic Habit-force, can give you rebirth no matter who you are or what may be your circumstances.

If you don't like the life you live then change your thoughts. Bob Proctor

You may be in prison, without friends or money, with a life sentence hanging over you, but you can walk through the front gate and back to the outside world a free man, if you adapt yourself to this force in the proper manner. How do I know this can be done? Because it has been done before. Because your common sense will tell you that it can be done once you understand the working principle and catch the full significance of its relationship to time and Definiteness of Purpose.

You are going to make another outstanding discovery in connection with this force. You are going to learn that “every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage.” You are going to discover, beyond any room for doubt, that every experience, every circumstance of your life is a potential stepping stone or a stumbling block, due entirely to the manner in which you react to the circumstance in your own mind.

Source: The Wisdom of Andrew Carnegie. The Napoleon Hill Foundation. 2004. Pgs. 290-291.

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THOUGHT FOR TODAY - That Someone Is Me

Children at Phagwa,  Photo Azlan Mohammed

This is so beautiful and touched me so much that I have to share this thought for the day from Bob Proctor's Insight of the Day.

That Someone Is Me

Someone is lighting a candle for you today and holding you in the light of that flame which burns brightly for you.

Someone is feeling your pain today, your grief and your sorrow and transforming it into joy, serenity and love. Someone is thinking kindly of you today in the deep recesses of their own heart and the depths of their soul. Find peace in that!

Someone is imagining you today surrounded by angels, spirits, healing energies, celestial beings, starlight and deep magic and wonder. Wrap yourself in all of that.

Someone is understanding today, the depths of what you have been going through, and is embracing you with deep compassion and trusting in your own profound inner knowing to see you through it.

Someone is holding your hand today and letting you know that you are never alone and never have been, even though there have been moments, when you lost your way and felt abandoned and afraid. You never were!

Someone truly knows today perhaps at a level that you do not yet, that all is well somehow, even though it may not appear to be so. And that there is great meaning and purpose in your life, just by the very fact that you are here in all your splendor. Without you here nothing would be the same for any of us. Know that and take strength in it.

Someone is praying for you today and their prayers are being heard and answered.

Someone is whispering gently to your soul today to keep going no matter what, one day at a time, one step at a time, one inch at a time. We are all celebrating that you haven't given up and you are making such an immense difference for all of us.

Someone is holding you in the light as things in your world seem to be falling apart and putting them back together for you, in new, miraculous and astonishing ways. Trust and believe in that!

Someone is remembering today, who you really are, and why you came here and reminding you when you begin to close your eyes and surrender, just for a moment, to the truth, to what is right NOW, in this moment, and what can be. Ask for that!

Feel the love, cherish the knowing, drink in the joy, and take comfort and strength in all of it. It is all here for you. Reach for it! Embrace it! It is Divinely Yours!
Veronica Hay


Veronica Hay is an inspirational writer. She provides inspirational support and resources to help you live a richer life. Visit her website at: http://www.insightsandinspirations.com or email her at: veronicamhay@gmail.com

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Catch the Spirit of Unborn Opportunity

When we are inspired, we need to act immediately on the inspiration and not question it. Ideas that are not acted upon are stillborn ideas. They are never “birthed” into reality, and are therefore merely wishes that amount to nothing.

Some people are said to be so lazy that they are too lazy to even wish for the good things of life, but want others to do the wishing for them! “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Napoleon Hill

Catch the Spirit by Napoleon Hill Yesterday and Today, Issue 331

We who desire to accumulate riches, should remember the real leaders of the world always have been men who harnessed, and put into practical use, the intangible, unseen forces of unborn opportunity, and have converted those forces, (or impulses of thought), into sky-scrapers, cities, factories, airplanes, automobiles, and every form of convenience that makes life more pleasant.

Tolerance, and an open mind are practical necessities of the dreamer of today. Those who are afraid of new ideas are doomed before they start. Never has there been a time more favorable to pioneers than the present. True, there is no wild and woolly west to be conquered, as in the days of the Covered Wagon: but there is a vast business, financial, and industrial world to be remoulded and redirected along new and better lines.

In planning to acquire your share of the riches, let no one influence you to scorn the dreamer. To win the big stakes in this changed world, you must catch the spirit of the great pioneers of the past, whose dreams have given to civilization all that it has of value, the spirit which serves as the life-blood of our own country—your opportunity and mine, to develop and market our talents.

Source: Think and Grow Rich, The Ralston Society. 1937. Pgs. 45-46.

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Endeavor to Help Others Attain Stability

When we feel secure, we find ourselves in the wonderful position of being able to make sure that others can enjoy a similar state of security.

Whatever the nature of our growing stability, there will always be some course of action that allows us to aid people in need open to us.

By sharing our resources or expertise with such individuals, we not only invite more abundance into our lives but we also ensure that we are using our current level of prosperity to change the world for the better.

Our good fortune, whether accidental or earned, serves as the seed of good fortune that others are free to enjoy. Thus the gifts we have been granted by a loving universe become even more meaningful.

As you endeavor to help others attain stability today, the success you have achieved will grow in significance. DailyOM

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2 Ways to Exorcise Your Fearful Thoughts and Feelings

I am a voracious reader  and I find messages in books that help me deal with difficulties What the night knows is one such book.
in my life at any point in time and Dean Koontz's

I've been agonizing for weeks, terrified, worried sick really of never finding another job and I am 54 now and jobless since 2012 and under-employed since 2010. On top of that, I met a man, loved something special in him only to discover that he was an abusive alcoholic who I want out of my life, and to cap it all I live in a homeless shelter.

"So be as a child. Put aside pride and vanity. Have the humility of a child who is weak and knows his weakness. Admit fear in the face of the void. Admit ignorance in the presence of the unknowable. A child believes in mysteries within mysteries and seeks wonder, which should be easy considering that here in this year, this very moment, John was adrift in a sea of mystery, in a storm of wonder. What the heart knows, the mind has forgotten and what the heart knows is the truth. ~Koontz's Calvino

My fear reached its peak and caused me to sit up all night on the balcony wracked with the pain of my negative thoughts.

These powerful, negative feelings only give rise to negative results because we feed those beliefs that
bring us down and we begin living in the hell we created.

Worse, we invited that thing that we don't want into our lives, "nothing's ever going to work for me", "he might as well kill me, I don't care anymore" type of shit. That's where I was.

I stayed up supping all night into early morning on the words of Koontz's characters and gained a lot of insight into my own fears.

This is not a book review. Yes, it's got a psychological thrill but even more important and significant to me, it focuses on the innate strength and intuitive knowing of children and how they hold up the world, theirs and ours.

The book was superb, the best I've read in this genre in a few years. Children and adults overcome their fears in their own unique ways, fight for the right to live and love like any adult and are wise beyond their years.

One of the boys now grown reflects on a 20-year old fear that burdened him: "But he figured that if he worried excessively about the feather and what it implied, he might be inviting something into his life that he would regret. Someone once said that if you painted the devil on the walls often enought, you got the devil on the stairs, his footsteps approaching."

I was reminded to face what you fear - FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real - with the utter conviction that it cannot harm you ever. No matter if you are shaking as if you have ague, deal with it and free yourself.

Nothing and no one can harm you unless you believe they can. It means you gave away your power by focusing on the other person instead of yourself and what you want! In these situation, be kind to yourself and have compassion for yourself.

In other words, stop beating yourself up!

After the weight of 20 years apprehension has lifted , Calvino says, "In my work Mr Dugley, I've seen that good usually triumphs. But I've also seen that evil never dies. it's always wise to remain vigilant."

2 ways to exorcise your fearful thoughts and feelings:

1- Write a letter

Don't want to or can't face your monster, imagined or real life events, make some quiet time for yourself then sit down write him or her a no-holds barred letter. Write down every single thing you think and feel about that person to exorcise those demonic thoughts and feelings.

Burn the letter afterward and move on with your new, free life.

2- Face the mirror

Stand in front of the mirror and imagine that beast - mother, father, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, friend, neighbour, lover, husband, or colleague - is standing right there in front of you, in the flesh and let rip. Bare your goddam soul as you never have before. Let it all come out.

When you're done, it's done. Go treat yourself to something that makes you feel good and let that be the end of it all.

These two exercises are powerful, cathartic and emotionally freeing. It's just another way of removing emotional blockages and works on anything that disturbs your equilibrium. The letter is particularly powerful and could be one way of opening the door for a much needed discussion.


 "In this world of ours, there's always a chance that a day of fire will come, but there is nothing to be gained by extending an invitation to the arsonist, no matter how persistently he hints that he would like to have one." Koontz's Dugley

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Failure - Speak or Read the Word - How Does It Make You Feel?

Failure is part of the human existence, unfortunately. We all think it and live it, some more than others but overuse that dastardly word. It stresses us out to the max. It connotes fear, negativity, promotes ill feelings and makes us sick.

We are afraid of it and draw it to us as our best friend then try to fight it because it repulses us.

Once you get into a funk you start thinking of everything that is not right, in other words, failure and that negativity can and does take over unless you make a concerted effort to consciously step out of that space and think good thoughts.

There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure. ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

The problem is, and I know this for myself, is that when you think of one little thing that went wrong we blow it out of proportion then memories of other unconnected happenings big and small come tumbling out and we end up beating ourselves up.
Failure should not be in our lives at all, it has no place there. We are not here to fail but most of us have grown up with that idea. 
Madisyn Taylor of DailyOM has written a superb piece about Failure and it is such a significant and important topic it must be read. She talks about the way fear rules our consciousness when the all encompassing word is used.

We human beings must find a  way to short-circuit negativity, for our own good and the well-being of the whole.

Read the article, open yourself up to the truth of the message her words, do the work needed on yourself and then banish that word, as she suggests, from your dictionary, no matter how long it takes. It's worth it.

Failure ~ Madisyn Taylor

All you have to do is speak or read the word failure and see how it makes you feel.

The word failure puts forward a very simplistic way of thinking that allows for only two possibilities: failure or success. Few things in the universe are black and white, yet much of our language reads as if they are.

The word failure signifies a paradigm in which all subtlety is lost.

When we regard something we have done, or ourselves, as a failure, we lose our ability to see the truth, which is no doubt considerably more complex. In addition, we hurt ourselves. All you have to do is speak or read the word failure and see how it makes you feel.

At some point, the word may not have been so loaded with the weight of negativity, and it simply referred to something that did not go according to plan.

Unfortunately, in our culture it is often used very negatively, such as when a person is labeled a failure, even though it is impossible for something as vast and subtle as a human being to be reduced in such a way.

It also acts as a deterrent, scaring us from taking risks for fear of failure. It has somehow come to represent the worst possible outcome.

Failure is a word so burdened with fearful and unconscious energy that we can all benefit from consciously examining our use of it, because the language we use influences the way we think and feel.

Next time you feel like a failure or fear failure, know that you are under the influence of an outmoded way of perceiving the world. When the world failure comes up, it’s a call for us to apply a more enlightened consciousness to the matter at hand. When you are consciously aware of the word and its baggage you will not fall victim to its darkness.

In your own use of language, you may choose to stop using the word failure altogether. This might encourage you to articulate more clearly the truth of the situation, opening your mind to subtleties and possibilities the word failure would never have allowed.

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. ― Winston Churchill

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Religion, Reactions and Skewed Beliefs

I never believed that god existed until my 40s. For me, it was an artificial creation and in many ways still is, like the Tin Man in Wizard of Oz - moving stiffly around the stage.

This came to mind when I read a statement attributed to Pope Francis about the clergy betraying god in a local daily and I thought "Religion is an entity that should be abolished - not outlawed for obvious reasons - but gradually stifled over time."
Religion's very existence creates too much discord and gives rise to anger, hate and murderous acts all in the name of somebody's god; I just do not understand that. If this is the One God to whom people around the world constantly offer prayers and praise how then can they not only sanction but commit murderous acts in their god's name?

This is something I have never understood and the bloodshed has been going on for centuries, and that's what I mean by my statement to stifle it until it inevitably dies.

However, I know now at 54 that God is and since I never knew my father, this energetic entity and I have become close and he's now my spiritual father. I suspect he's the only one I will ever know.

As you can probably tell, I am not religious despite attempts by my mother to brainwash me from the time I was 6 years old into Roman Catholicism. She tried them all over the many years I have known her and ended up staying with the Baptist faith.

As a typical observant kid I kept asking questions about the bible stories I was told to read - I was a reader from early - but never received answers and when I did get a response, they were contradicted by the actions of the adults around me.

By age 8 or 9 I understood that what the "big people" said about what was in the "church book" was a lie and even that young, already, I never did anything that didn't make sense to me and that went for explanations as well.

Hence the reason for all the brutal beatings I suffered through.

I have the same attitude today and told my bewildered mother then that nobody who came to mass on Sundays paid any attention to what the priests was saying, and if all adults believed those bible stories how come they were ignoring him.

Of course, no sensible explanation was forthcoming and that was when I decided and informed the dear woman that I would no longer be attending Sunday School (for kis) or the mass.

She ignored what I said and woke me as usual the following week and I reminded her of my decision, I am not going there anymore.

When it was time for Confirmation, dressed in my best I was and accompanied to the ceremony by my dearly beloved grandmother, Mama Rita and my mother to the ceremony. 

We dutifully lined up and when I go to the front, this white man wassitting in his chair in white finery and a tall hat and be told that I had to genuflect and bend down and kiss his ring as he was God's representative on earth, I balked but eventually bowed over that hand and left.

You see, I knew with blinding clarity that has stayed with me to this day that that could never be, no way no how and I bow to no man regardless of who he says he is and that priest was no bloody way higher or bigger than me.

He wasa man, period!

My feelings of revulsion was so overwhelming that to this day I don't remember anything that happened after the ceremony or for the rest of that day nor do I have any idea about what happened to the pretty dress and shoes.

I ended up in a sort of no-man's land for want of a better description. I do remember that I flung away the chapelet as if it was poisoned right there on the grounds.


Because of my experiences as an unloved child and the abuse I endured - I didn't know that what it was then - well into my early 20s, I will never accept anyone's dictates about the way I conduct myself nor their opinion on how I should think, act, dress, speak, read and what I should and should not do.

Not on this planet or any other!

Even when I was taxed to the limit in the office, my supervisors knew, speak, discuss, ask but don't ever tell me what to do. I am superbly competent anyway and knew my job and theirs better than they did.

Blame Pope Francis for getting me started on this god topic.

This wonderful, genuinely smiling Pope on Sunday 14 April 2013 disappointed me when I read a news headline attributed to him which screamed "Clergy and christians must not betray God".

My immediate and visceral reaction was it is impossible to betray God.  We each represent god wherever we are as we each carry a part of that entity with us and are connected to that vastness at all times.

So while some may not agree with the actions of others and particularly those who commit heinous crimes, we all act as we deem fit following our soul's dictates and I guarantee that each person's god is aware of it long before the thought even cristallised in a person's being.

And that gives rise to another idea that perhaps our life path is already set and we have no choice in the matter. Do keep in mind that 90 to 95 percent, some say 98 percent of our actions are already predestined because our subconscious is in control of our lives.

If that's true then the beauty here is that we still have that 3 to 5 percent to change the course of our progress. I prefer to believe that we have a choice and it's all about growth and the ace in our favour is called free will.

This is a huge subject and not one I'm going to expound upon any time soon, I'm just throwing it out there.

Now, while some thoughtless and/or well-planned acts create massive negative and painful reactions, it is the responsibility of those of us who can to connect with others of like minds around the world to raise the vibrations of the whole to positively impact humanity.

Yes, there are people out there who dedicate their lives to this purpose and I am grateful to personally know a few of them and I have met a handful of others.

So imagine my relief after my consternation had passed when I read Pope Francis' actual words during Sunday Mass at St Paul's that day "(the) clergy and christians must not betray the word of God with their actions or they undermine the credibility of the Catholic Church."

He continued "those who listen to us and observe us must be able to see in our actions what they hear from our lips, and so give glory to God."

While I am not a god hound and don't consider myself one of these so-called christians - who believe they have the only answers - I must admit that this Pope appears to be on the right track.

So pleasing for a change,eh.

Although, why would 1.2 billion Catholic people be unable to think for themselves is beyond me!

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CHARACTER COUNTS - The Boys Down At The Stable, A Lesson

What happens when we step up into the life that we want to live only to discover that people who we thought supported us, don't?

Here's one of those stories and the response from the files of Bob Proctor...

Many years ago a young lady who was attending a seminar shared an interesting story with me.

Apparently she and two or three of her girlfriends went and tried out for a place in a stage play. She got the starring role while her girlfriends were not even picked for the supporting cast.  

Opening night she said she was really excited but afterwards became very disappointed when her girlfriends never came out and supported her. She was explaining the situation to an elderly friend of her fathers named Hap. He wrote her a letter and she gave me a copy with her permission to share it with others. Read it carefully and think.

Dear Ann,

Once upon a time there was a fellow by the name of Al Capp who wrote a comic strip called "L'il Abner."  

Many years ago he had some characters in his strip who lived in a town near Dogpatch. They were the town bums, the n'er do wells, the failures whose whole aim in life was to pass judgement on others.  

Their criticism and ridicule became so vehement that in time the rest of the people in the town became acutely conscious of it. "The boys down at the stable," as they were called because that's where they spent most of their time, soon set the social standards of the town.  

Nobody could do anything without their sanction.

Because they lived within the structure of their crummy little world, they would laugh and point their fingers at anyone and everyone who tried to be better than they were.  

As a result the people feared the ridicule of the boys down at the stable so much that they stopped trying. Soon everybody became bums and the town died.

In every social structure, Ann, whether it be family, town, county or state, there are "The boys down at the stable." They are the jealous ones.  They are too scared to try something different. They show their ignorance by laughing at those who do.  

Learn to recognize them Ann, for what they are. Don't let them hurt you. It takes a certain amount of toughness to succeed. One has to rise above those who would tear you down so that they can laugh and say, "I told you so!"

There are too many of us who love you and want you to make it. I could put myself at the top of the list. You aren't going to fall flat on your face as they would have you. You are going to do a superb job.  

Remember this show is only a small step in the direction of greater things you will do, many of which are beyond your wildest dreams. All you have to do is want to. One of the things I like about you best is that you always give it hell for try.

The show will be a success because of you and others like you who try. There are only winners in the cast. The losers are gathered down at the stable laughing and hoping for your failure.  

If we could dig down deep inside them, I'm sure we'd find they want to win also, but are too scared to try, and they attempt to cover up their own failures as human beings by laughing at others.  

In a sense I'm sorry for them. Their guilt must make them very unhappy people.

Much love,
Hap

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Love Letter to One Who Dares

Love letter from one who dares by Dr Cara Barker is a must read. This woman is boss... In her article she has paved the way for us with 9 steps to self-fulfillment and self-discovery (read the entire article Cultivating self affection during tricky times). It resounds, is profound and right in line with what I am living right now. She has taken time off to go renew herself by practising these 9 steps.

Here's a brief look at the 9 steps she proposes to One Who Dares:

1- Give up self-blame. There will be many willing to crucify you if you decide to dissolve your old way of life, if not with nails, then at least with words and judgment.

2- Find a garden. If not literally, then do so symbolically. We each need a space

3- Be prepared to stand your ground when you feel betrayed, by those you thought would understand, support, protect. Most especially, be prepared for your monkey mind to oppose your grand plan.

4- Throw a party. Once you have dissolved your beliefs about why you dare not shine as you really are, why you dare not cultivate affection for yourself, invite a few over for your "last supper," that is, a time of celebration to acknowledge what you appreciate in your loved ones who stand by you, when you are poised for a new leap of faith.

5- Surrender what is dying in your life. Release the old husk of life you've been living, those behaviors and relationships that deplete that are just too much darn work-intensive, those "puppies" where you are doing all the heavy lifting.

6- Forgive all that depletes life. Include in this relationships that are deadening, beliefs about yourself or others that rob you of joy, vitality. Make a list of them and address them one by one.
7- Be prepared to wait in the dark. Throw away your watch. Go into your cave. You will know when the time comes to return to new life. One way to go to the cave is through spiritual practice: meditation, the expressive arts, and prayer, a walk in the park or nature, a literal retreat. Do this every day and watch what happens.

8- During this process, do whatever you can to cultivate self-affection. I capitalize "self," because we are referring to your sacred self, the center point of soul as psyche. These days, we are enjoined to forgive others, and even self. But, there is a vast difference between forgiveness and cultivating self-affection.

9- Leave no forwarding address. How can you? If we don't know where our process is leading, best not to restrict life's flow. Yes, this is risky. But, isn't life fully lived risky? Likewise, choosing to opt out of life, and leaps of faith, carries its own toll, one I'd rather not pay. We are here now. Why not live now? Why not love the whole of who we are, this life we live, with all we've got, and be about the adventure? There are endless iterations of who we are, of the way sacred self-expresses. Ours is to get introduced, to come into loving relationship with the all, and celebrate this grand and glorious life, regardless the bumps along the road. (complete text)

Suppose the beloved - YOU - had a message for you today that went like this.

Love letter to One Who Dares

Stop being so hard on yourself! Yes, you. I am talking to you. Stop being so unfair to you. Give yourself permission to step back, to witness, and to find awe for which you are that has been hiding.

Your planet is on a collision course. Everywhere you look, notice the rushing here and there, the disconnection with human beings, with life in all its forms, the epidemic of loneliness and secret pain, the side-talk of he said/she said, the gossip, the blame, the suffering, the fear undergirding the mess.

Surely this is not living. Surely this is not the "more" you have been seeking. Search between the cracks and crevices of your schedule, your plan, and your previous agreements with yourself. How much room is there for you to appreciate your heartbeat in this present breath? How much space are you willing to give yourself to simply "be"? How much "skin" are you willing to put in the game to discover the magnificence awaiting to arise through your life?

How rare to find those who sit quietly, or hilariously, with one another, meeting in the moment, content to be together in the moment, without distraction, cell phones, screens, excesses of any kind. How rare and precious to participate in unanticipated love without strings.

How much space are you willing to give yourself to simply "be"? How much "skin" are you willing to put in the game to discover the magnificence awaiting to arise through your life?

Know this. I wish you fresh, gentle breezes. I wish you that special joy that comes from letting go. I wish you gold, finding it in hidden places, such as the daffodil in all her glory. I wish you life: the resurrection of who you were called here to become. I wish you fertility of self-expression, that sort which inspires you to new heights, from your innermost depths. I wish you peace, sweet dreams, and glorious sunrises to bless you on your way. I wish for you an age of inspired realism as you reclaim your original way on this earth, your wonder, and your mark upon the path that we might celebrate together.

Consider: If you took to heart the meaning of this letter, what might shift for you today? What is time to dissolve in your own thinking which limits you? Be brave, my friend, be brave. You have the right stuff in you, regardless what you have believed up to now in private moments of self-doubt. 

Consider: If you took to heart the meaning of this letter, what might shift for you today? What is time to dissolve in your own thinking which limits you? Be brave, my friend, be brave. You have the right stuff in you, regardless what you have believed up to now in private moments of self-doubt.

Be the Love You are,

Cara

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