A house or a life can not be built without some form of foundation. When we commiserate in misery, or walk the 'poor me path', it seems our lives will not and cannot change. There is no foundation to build on. We have no working principles in our lives. We believe that we can not become the good we want to become.
Until we stop wallowing in self doubt and all forms of destructive thinking, we don't know that there is a way we can make ourselves, one day at a time, into the kind of person we can accept.
Today, I will find the good in me and build on it.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Spiritual Awakening
Is it possible that we conceive of a spiritual awakening as something gained by blissful tranquility and peace? For many, myself included, it would appear as though this awakening into the realm of Spirit, the Creator of Life itself, more frequently comes through human suffering, a time when we are at our lowest.
"I can grow spiritually wherever I am. Love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love... In a position of utter desolation, when man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way - an honorable way - in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment. For the first time in my life I was able to understand the meaning of the words, "The angels are lost in perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory." Viktor E. Frankl
"I can grow spiritually wherever I am. Love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love... In a position of utter desolation, when man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way - an honorable way - in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment. For the first time in my life I was able to understand the meaning of the words, "The angels are lost in perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory." Viktor E. Frankl
Thursday, December 8, 2011
"Love thy Neighbor"
Love is actively listening to our fellow man and really hearing what they have to say. Sometimes we find it hard to listen and hear because we are so wrapped in our own stuff, or we have another agenda.
It is impossible to really hear and understand another when we are internally focused on ourselves.
When it is we who need to be heard, we feel that we are understood and accepted when the other person is not trying to fix us, or give us all of the answers. We all need a friend, a confidante, to let us pour our hearts out to, to share our experiences with. By giving another the same attention we'd like to have, openly and without our agenda in the way, we create by the Golden Rule, and we allow ourselves the intimacy of true friendship.
It is impossible to really hear and understand another when we are internally focused on ourselves.
When it is we who need to be heard, we feel that we are understood and accepted when the other person is not trying to fix us, or give us all of the answers. We all need a friend, a confidante, to let us pour our hearts out to, to share our experiences with. By giving another the same attention we'd like to have, openly and without our agenda in the way, we create by the Golden Rule, and we allow ourselves the intimacy of true friendship.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
The Road I Travel
I travel along my own, individualized road through this life - I am one of a kind, just as you are. It is not my place to judge another person nor should I take others' opinions of me to heart. There have been so many experiences, beliefs, thoughts and actions that have gone into creating who I am - my road in life has been of my own creation, and all those in my environment have an individual road that they travel. I will not judge another person because it is not my road they are travelling along.
As we are all connected through Spirit, when I judge another, I judge myself as the environment around me, the opinions and perceptions I hold are the mere reflection or image of what is really inside of me.
Today, I travel my own road, and look at others with respect, acceptance and gratitude.
As we are all connected through Spirit, when I judge another, I judge myself as the environment around me, the opinions and perceptions I hold are the mere reflection or image of what is really inside of me.
Today, I travel my own road, and look at others with respect, acceptance and gratitude.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Soul in the Natural World
Have you entertained the possibility that each and every thing, animate and inanimate, carries and is made up of Universal energy or Spirit? Spirit is genderless and shapeless; a part of the air, a bird or an animal, and it lives in everything around us. Spirit is life. Our individual Spirit is an expression of the Universal Spirit, as well as the fallen log and the leaves that rustle in the breeze. All that is contains Spirit and is an expression of Spirit. When we perceive the world around us as being manifestations of Spirit, we begin to see it differently, to value it anew. The world becomes alive, as opposed to just a thing. When we perceive the world as being alive with Spirit, we can connect with it and engage with it rather than try to manage it and move it mindlessly around.
Today, see the world as a manifestation of Spirit - alive and creating wonders.
Today, see the world as a manifestation of Spirit - alive and creating wonders.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Reflection
It's time for us to realize that our attitude - toward the life we're creating and the people in it - has a tangible, measurable and profound effect on what we experience day by day. When we expect good, then good will surely come to us. When we thrive each day to focus our attitude and perceptions on a sound spiritual foundation, we know it will alter all the experiences of life for the better, too.
Today, do you accept the fact that you are accountable for all of the experiences in your life, good or bad?
Today, do you accept the fact that you are accountable for all of the experiences in your life, good or bad?
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Engagement
Today I will engage in the experience of living. Thinking about life is not living it. Jane Austin referred in her writing to "the healing waters of action." Participation in living is the key to being a part of the world, valuable, seen, heard and known. When we withdraw from the world around us, we withdraw from soul because the world is of the soul. Being a part of the process of living is being and growing with soul and spirit. Times of reflection and meditation are not disengaging from life - rather, they are engaging into it, connecting to it at a deeper level. Withdrawing or hiding from life are fear-based actions. Participation is forward-moving and interactive. It gives life a feeling of exuberance and purpose. I will engage fully in my day today in whatever it is that I do.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Self Imposed Barriers
My roll in life is to work with myself sincerely and honestly. To remove the emotional and mental obstacles that are in the way of my personal well-being and my soul experience - this is part of my life experience. Soul is light and it is what I put in its way that keeps me from experiencing it. My anxiety, depression, sense of meaningless-ness and purposelessness can deplete the experience of soul. By being aware of my personal issues and working through them, I act on my commitment to deepen my relationship with my soul and to open my heart to love.
Today I am aware of the barriers that stand in my way of experiencing soul and love.
Today I am aware of the barriers that stand in my way of experiencing soul and love.
Friday, December 2, 2011
"Attitude Is The Key To Life"
"Victor Frankl once wrote, "Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitudes in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." Frankl was right. Attitude is a choice. You could be faced with a thousand problems, many or most over which you have absolutely no control. However, there is always one thing you are in complete and absolute control of and that is your own attitude.
When you surrender control of your attitude to what appears to be a negative situation, you will react to that situation. More often than not, reacting is inappropriate. On the other hand, if you were to remain objective, you would respond to the situation appropriately, thereby creating a winning situation.
If attitude is such an important word, why do so few people understand it? To be honest, it wasn't until I was in my late 20s when I finally understood its full impact. All through my teens and into my early adult life, I can't tell you the number of times that I heard, "Bob, if you'd just change your attitude, you would do a lot better." In retrospect I can easily see the cause of my problem. I didn't know what attitude was, let alone know how to change it!
Attitude is the composite of your thoughts, feelings and actions. Your conscious mind controls feeling and ultimately dictates whether your feelings will be positive or negative by your choice of thoughts, then your body displays those choices through action and behavior.
Attitude is actually a creative cycle that begins with your choice of thoughts. You do choose your thoughts and that choice is where your attitude originates. As you internalize ideas or become emotionally involved with your thoughts, you create the second stage in forming an attitude; you move your entire being - mind and body - into a new "vibration." Your conscious awareness of this vibration is referred to as "feeling". Your feelings are then expressed in actions or behaviors that produce the various results in your life.
Positive results are always the effect of a positive attitude. Attitude and results are inseparable. They follow one another like night follows day. What I mean by that is: one is the cause, the other, the result. There is a term we use to distinguish this "cause and effect" relationship, it is called The Law of Cause and Effect. Simply stated, if you think in negative terms, you will get negative results; if you think in positive terms you will achieve positive results. Ralph Waldo Emerson reiterated that same point when he said, "A person is what they think about all day long." The results you achieve in life are nothing more than an expression of your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Take a close look at your life and evaluate the results you are achieving in various areas. See if you are able to relate your attitude to your results.
Winning and losing are opposite sides of the same coin - and that coin is attitude. There are many things wrong in this world; unfortunately that is all some people are able to see. Those who view the world in this light are often unhappy and somewhat cynical. Usually, their life is one of lack and limitation and it almost appears as if they move from one bad experience to another. I know people who are like this and I'm certain you do as well. It would appear as if they were born with a streak of bad luck and it has followed them around their whole life. These individuals are quick to blame circumstances or other people for their problems, rather than accepting responsibility for their life and their attitude.
Conversely, there are others who are forever winning and living the good life. They are the real movers and shakers who make things happen. They seem to go from one major accomplishment to another. They're in control of their life; they know where they are going and know they will get there. They are the real winners in life and their wins are a matter of choice.
You can experience that kind of life as well, you only need to decide. Making that simple decision is the first step to a new life. Dorothea Brand once said, "Act as if it were impossible to fail," and I challenge you to do so. By simply becoming aware that you can choose your thoughts each and every day, you will change your entire outlook. You have the power to choose an abundant life no matter your circumstances. That active choice will allow other positive people and opportunities to be attracted into your life. Don't wait to experience all the wonderful things the universe has in store for you. Start today by working on your attitude and welcome the abundant life that you were meant to lead." (by Bob Proctor)
When you surrender control of your attitude to what appears to be a negative situation, you will react to that situation. More often than not, reacting is inappropriate. On the other hand, if you were to remain objective, you would respond to the situation appropriately, thereby creating a winning situation.
If attitude is such an important word, why do so few people understand it? To be honest, it wasn't until I was in my late 20s when I finally understood its full impact. All through my teens and into my early adult life, I can't tell you the number of times that I heard, "Bob, if you'd just change your attitude, you would do a lot better." In retrospect I can easily see the cause of my problem. I didn't know what attitude was, let alone know how to change it!
Attitude is the composite of your thoughts, feelings and actions. Your conscious mind controls feeling and ultimately dictates whether your feelings will be positive or negative by your choice of thoughts, then your body displays those choices through action and behavior.
Attitude is actually a creative cycle that begins with your choice of thoughts. You do choose your thoughts and that choice is where your attitude originates. As you internalize ideas or become emotionally involved with your thoughts, you create the second stage in forming an attitude; you move your entire being - mind and body - into a new "vibration." Your conscious awareness of this vibration is referred to as "feeling". Your feelings are then expressed in actions or behaviors that produce the various results in your life.
Positive results are always the effect of a positive attitude. Attitude and results are inseparable. They follow one another like night follows day. What I mean by that is: one is the cause, the other, the result. There is a term we use to distinguish this "cause and effect" relationship, it is called The Law of Cause and Effect. Simply stated, if you think in negative terms, you will get negative results; if you think in positive terms you will achieve positive results. Ralph Waldo Emerson reiterated that same point when he said, "A person is what they think about all day long." The results you achieve in life are nothing more than an expression of your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Take a close look at your life and evaluate the results you are achieving in various areas. See if you are able to relate your attitude to your results.
Winning and losing are opposite sides of the same coin - and that coin is attitude. There are many things wrong in this world; unfortunately that is all some people are able to see. Those who view the world in this light are often unhappy and somewhat cynical. Usually, their life is one of lack and limitation and it almost appears as if they move from one bad experience to another. I know people who are like this and I'm certain you do as well. It would appear as if they were born with a streak of bad luck and it has followed them around their whole life. These individuals are quick to blame circumstances or other people for their problems, rather than accepting responsibility for their life and their attitude.
Conversely, there are others who are forever winning and living the good life. They are the real movers and shakers who make things happen. They seem to go from one major accomplishment to another. They're in control of their life; they know where they are going and know they will get there. They are the real winners in life and their wins are a matter of choice.
You can experience that kind of life as well, you only need to decide. Making that simple decision is the first step to a new life. Dorothea Brand once said, "Act as if it were impossible to fail," and I challenge you to do so. By simply becoming aware that you can choose your thoughts each and every day, you will change your entire outlook. You have the power to choose an abundant life no matter your circumstances. That active choice will allow other positive people and opportunities to be attracted into your life. Don't wait to experience all the wonderful things the universe has in store for you. Start today by working on your attitude and welcome the abundant life that you were meant to lead." (by Bob Proctor)
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Self Sabotage
How do we feel around miserable people? Angry, trapped, negative, and anxious to get away from them. Somehow, many people have developed the belief that depriving ourselves, by becoming 'spiritual martyrs', being a victim, and suffering needlessly will get us what we want.
It is our job to be grateful for all of our blessings in life; to notice our abilities, and our strengths, and to take care of ourselves by developing and acting on them.
It is our job to notice our self sabotage, and begin to take steps to allow and give ourselves abundance. It begins inside of us, by changing what we believe we deserve, and by treating ourselves the way we deserve to be treated.
Life is not hard, but we make it more difficult by neglecting ourselves. There is no glory in suffering, only suffering. Our pain will stop when we take responsibility for ourselves and stop our own pain.
It is our job to be grateful for all of our blessings in life; to notice our abilities, and our strengths, and to take care of ourselves by developing and acting on them.
It is our job to notice our self sabotage, and begin to take steps to allow and give ourselves abundance. It begins inside of us, by changing what we believe we deserve, and by treating ourselves the way we deserve to be treated.
Life is not hard, but we make it more difficult by neglecting ourselves. There is no glory in suffering, only suffering. Our pain will stop when we take responsibility for ourselves and stop our own pain.
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