Just a brief blog today, I hope you have a fun day. After all it is a holiday.

Here is my top 10 list of what would truly be Independence Day for all of us on the planet:

1. Freedom from corporate domination, power to the people
2. Freedom from debt, our nation needs that badly if it is to survive and we need it for peace of mind
3. Freedom from the radical influence of all belief systems and religious extremist both in the United States and in the rest of the world
4. Freedom from the dishonesty of politics run by the influence of money and need for power
5. Freedom from unhealthy driven egos, the cause of all wars and all the ills of the world
6. Freedom from prejudice and the judgments of all who feel superior to others
7. Freedom from the prison society of America, close more prisons and open rehabilitation/treatment centers
8. Freedom from health insurance corporations that only really care about profits
9. Freedom from our own limiting beliefs and the genuine freedom of an open mind and heart
10. Freedom to be who we are, free to live with passion and purpose, free financially to explore our human potential

Have a wonderful day filled with joy, love and peace.

Three-day weekends are something to appreciate. It is summer time so that means playing, reading some good novels, road trips, and enjoying nature. Today I am going to practice at the golf course so I can improve my shots. This is one kind of practice I never get tired of because it is just so much fun for me. Why it is so enjoyable to me I am unsure but it is. I feel the same about playing ping pong, going to a bookstore, doing artwork, reading inspirational books, indoors badminton, listening to my Shuffle and singing along, having meaningful conversations, having time to myself to just do what I feel like doing, walks in nature, a nice massage, eating good food and more.

What are your favorite things to do for fun and leisure? Is summer you favorite time to play too? What fun plans do you have in the next few months?

Having a good life is what it is about, isn’t it. That good life is something you and I define on our own. No one but us can know what feels right, what energizes us, and makes us feel most alive. This season is the time to tune in again to what creates a buzz for life in you. Take some time to play around and explore what feels right and makes you feel most alive.

What makes activities enjoyable? As I was thinking about the above ideas I wondered if there was a common thread? I know that if I am fully present to what I am doing these activities are the most fun and satisfying.

Golf for example is a very Zen practice. I have to be fully present to each shot or my play falters. I need to constantly work on non-attachment to results. If I hit a shot that goes off course then I must be free of any frustration when I hit again or I may hit poorly. If I am attached to how good each shot is the game will become less enjoyable. I often find golf to be a humbling experience, as do even the best golfers. Humbleness is a positive quality and having more of is beneficial.

Other activities like doing artwork and playing music aren’t a challenge to being fully present because they are so engrossing. Even a trip to the library or bookstore has me fully engaged in the moment of searching for the next good read. Cooking a tasty meal keeps me fully focused on making everything turn out just right and my mind and heart are fully into the process. As I wrote this I got an insight, which is that things we do fully present that have heart feel positive. Let me restate that: if my heart is fully engaged in the moment in what I am doing, joy and bliss are possible.

Why would my heart be engaged in golf, ping-pong or other physical activities? I am writing this in the moment and am still trying to figure out my answer to this question. If I am engaged in physical activities that get my heart going then it is easy to explain my heart’s part. If I love what I do then my heart is engaged also. But what is there to love about chasing a ball around a green surface whether it is a golf course or a ping-pong table? I am not sure except I am fully present in mind and body doing something that takes a relaxed intensity. Maybe the relaxed intensity is a key to enjoying what I am doing?

There are further questions here, which I will continue to explore. I will let you know what I learn. If you have any insights about this topic of having fun, please leave a comment below.

Even when you have messed things up badly, you can turn your life around. We all make mistakes, sometimes people just make lots of them and it takes awhile to get their lives back on track. To do that, to get headed in the right direction you have to make some changes and those changes are almost exclusively internal.

Today I want to dedicate my blog to the person that is completing her treatment at our addiction recovery center. She has taken the first step by removing the substances that were hurting her and those around her. She will now go out into the world with a clearer mind and a heart that is once again open to loving and being loved.

How did this person get herself headed in the right direction? The following are changes she made that have the potential to permanently alter her life for the better:
• She decided to start believing in herself again. Sure the past has been imperfect but the “now” contains a fresh and clear version of who she can be. This potential in all of us is unlimited if we can only feel ok about who we are today.
• She decided to take responsibility for her life. As soon she quit blaming others and situations, she took back the power to shape her own life. Blaming and complaining makes a person feel helpless because we can’t change others, we can only change ourselves.
• She changed her thoughts from limiting, fearful and negative to open, hopeful and positive. Simply put, an optimistic outlook will make life much more enjoyable. We are about as happy as our mind chooses to be.
• She has begun a dedicated and thorough assessment of her strengths and weakness, what is working for her or not. She will now shape her life with much more awareness and be able to make healthy choices for change.
• She has begun to realize that as a emotional human being she feels the best when she feels all of her emotions. She now knows that acknowledging how she feels keeps her feeling alive. This means she has more energy in motion (e-motions) to create the life she desires.
• She writes to empty her mind, clarify her thoughts and to energize her days with hope and appreciation. Her flow of words onto paper keeps things flowing in her mind, her heart, her body and her spirit.
• She is building a network for success. The more recovery meetings, the more sober friends, the more guidance for the steps along the way the better. The more numbers to call when she needs to reach out to others, when she has a sense she can’t do it all on her own, the greater her chances grow to keep her life going where she wants it to go.
• She has a plan, she has people to help, she has her hopes, she has a heart filled with wanting and now she can give it a try out in the world. There is within her the belief that she can do recovery well and now she gets to go and give it a try. There will be ups and downs but she has the tools and resources to keep her life headed in the right direction.

Yes she has been an inspiration to herself, her peers and us staff. Sometimes the blessings clearly go both ways.

Last night was Golf league and I always have fun. Then we stopped for Mexican food and now I am sitting here with a full stomach and tired legs from chasing a white ball around for over 2 1/2 hours. I was getting my news fix on the Web. These are some things I wanted to comment on.

I am saddened by the death of Michael Jackson. He was a tortured soul who inspired us by his music and movement. He seemed so confused at times about who he was and how to live life in happiness. I have one of his songs (Billy Jean) on my Apple Shuffle and it always makes me want to get up and move. I hope he has found peace of mind and a happy heart.

Finally Norm Coleman stepped down after Al Franken won the senate seat in Minnesota. Coleman has been a very poor looser and it kept his state from being fully represented in Congress. Senator Franken is a bright mind with a great sense of humor. Both seem to have been in short supply in Washington DC.

I just read of a Baptist Church in Toledo, OH that says the Bible and Jesus Christ support them in arming themselves with deadly weapons. You have to wonder what kind of mind twisted these sacred writings into such a self-serving and obnoxious bunch of b.s. This argument is ridiculous and the workings of people who live in fear and out of touch with the lessons of love and compassion central to the teachings of Jesus.

Lastly, Governor Sanford further lies and deceptions from someone who claims to be a religious person seems like the workings of an ego-driven mind. This person used his religion to get votes and from all appearances lacks any true religious values. How many does it take of these so-called religious politicians for us to understand that these phony pious talkers are not to be trusted? Isn’t it crystal clear that if you parade about claiming certain beliefs and values then you probably are all talk and no substance.

Genuineness is what we all want in those we interact with and those who represent us in Congress. People who just say what they think people want to hear lack any genuineness and really can’t be trusted. Isn’t it time we raise the bar on our expectations of our elected official and those claiming a higher moral compass?

There seems to be a lot of vested interested in keeping things the same Washington DC. No one there likes change because it is going so well for those in Congress who have great health insurance, lots of money from corporations to pay for their re-election, prestige, power, and high paying lobbying jobs when they retire. They don't know the struggle of the average citizen. They are not going bankrupt over medical bills. They are not losing their homes. They are not losing their retirement benefits because their company is collapsing under highly paid bad management. They are not losing jobs or losing their children fighting is unnecessary wars.

What do those in Congress know about the plight of the ordinary citizens? What they know is what we tell them. If we don't speak up they listen to those with money and influence because that is the way the system works. It cost so much to be re-elected that money buys power and influence. That is why the people's voice has to be strong, powerful, with no quit and never quiet. If we let them do government as is, it will continue to be government for the rich and powerful not for what is good for the majority of people. Influence is influence; it is just a matter of whose influence is the strongest.

Change can be about people moving together towards what is right for the good of all. This seems like such simple formula. Does this work to benefit everyone or just those special interest groups that use money to get what they want? Most of the bailout has been for the benefit of those who are already wealthy. There has been little benefit to the people who work hard everyday. Are the CEO's suffering through these tough times; most likely not? Are the ordinary working people suffering; you bet?

Money and influence are powerful forces and can be used for much good but are often instead used for the accumulation of more money and influence. Power is like a drug that feels so good it keeps being accumulated even if it destroys the health of the country. Those in power always seem to benefit even in really down times.

The time has come for all to have a life where everyone is better off, not just a few. The time has come for health care for everyone. The time has come to take care of the planet even if profits suffer some. The time has come for every person in this nation to get the education they need to succeed, affordable housing and all the healthy food they need. The time has come to clean up government by taking money out of the equation. The time has come to have real equal opportunity for all, equal justice, equal representation, equal chances for prosperity and most of all equal freedom.

Today is a day to speak up for what is right and just and so will tomorrow be a day to do the same.

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